RuntheDamnBall

Doctor's recommendation: if you're so disgusted reading about it, 1) posting moves it back to the top of the threads 2) Don't read about it. No one's holding a gun to your head.

Is there any reason at all to sh-- on your own players when they may be trade chips or they may be on your roster next year? If we try separating ourselves from our fandom for a moment, we could all realize that what he's saying is pretty rational. The baseline is that nothing was good enough to take them to the playoffs this season, and they have to work up from there. We have zero idea what pieces will be available in FA or the draft, so all that can be done is research and offseason work with the players that are there right now.

Apparently someone who took time to make three posts in the thread to talk about how he doesn't care.

This is the way I've been thinking about it. People want the team to be ruthless and claim that Byrd is being a crybaby, asking for too much, etc. You can afford to be ruthless if your team is balanced and your front office is strong. You can also afford to do this if your primary piece (QB) is cemented in his role and gives you a strong chance to make the playoffs no matter what. One reason is that the second-tier, role-playing free agents see a team that is successful and will sign for less to go there. Keeping Byrd is, in a sense, a symbolic gesture as much as it is one to retain talent - that the Bills won't let their own leave for nothing. It's kind of a continuation of the re-branding that began when they signed Mario.

I've beaten the drum for McCown before, but it sounds like he might retire. I'd try to best Chicago's offer and see if he'll give it a go for a couple of years.

Hyde would be a killer pick in the 3rd round, which is why I don't think he'll last till there. I beg to differ with those who say the running game is set. I definitely don't think you waste a round 1 pick on one, but they can be a significant enough factor in the offense that a good R2-4 pick could be a game changer for that side of the ball.

Rodgers. Steve Young?

Johnny Coli was definitely great.

Lori, Chewbacca, and I know he's occasionally around, but Dr. Dareustein. Also Sketch Soland.

My list: Cut / jettison 1) Graham - replaceable. Gets open, has poor hands 2) Danny Crossman - can't make tackles himself, but obviously doesn't have the guys prepared 3) one of Bradham or Moats - these guys need to go back to reserve roles Demote: 1) one of Bradham or Moats - see above FA / Draft 1) LB to replace Bradham 2) LG 3) early round LB to replace Moats 4) reserve swing Interior OL 5) Capable vet backup / prospect at QB - don't want to screw with the draft unless a guy like Murray falls. This position needs to be filled with either high ceiling young talent in case injury is an ongoing concern for EJ, or a vet who can keep the gears turning. I might try to outbid Chicago for Josh McCown as a stopgap vet, but it sounds like it might be Bears or retirement for him. 6) TE talent. Nuff said. 7) WR upgrade - tall jump ball catcher. A Dez-like talent is wishlist material, but not essential. 8) Yes to retaining Carrington, but also draft a raw or low-division talent in the later rounds to compete/ provide injury insurance on DL.

I'd like that. It'd sure be nice if you could find one that wasn't so pissy, too.

Yet the all-22 frequently tells you there were holes that CJ missed. I'd love improved guard play, no doubt. We probably need a new starter at LG and a swing interior OL to be safe. Success is shared, as is failure. It's a game with a lot of little moving parts.

Some very empty statistical analysis there, and definitely some mis-representation of Jackson. It took him all those years because he was at a D3 school where the NFL does not often go to pluck talent. He is where he is, as a product of hard work and despite the fact that the team has tried to draft improvements over him. Now, I am a Lynch fan, but there were extenuating circumstances there. That CJ's average is only .2 ahead of FJ's when he is capable of the video game runs tells you something else. That's a lot of, not even 3 yard gains, but tackles for losses, stuffs at the line, and gains of maybe one or two. The guy could be truly special, but he wasn't, this year. Whether that's a product of a really rough injury for a RB -- I'll give him the BOD. But I do think people are fair in their assessments when they look at FJ, see him make all of his blocks and never give up on a play, and when they see CJ protecting himself. You can't blame either one of them, but I do know which one I'd pick first for my team. New England has built a reputation picking up guys like Fred Jackson. You can ride a guy like CJ Spiller to the playoffs if your blocking is strong, your QB play is adequate, and if the guy stays healthy. That's a lot of "ifs."

Ludacris wouldn't "roll out" right into his pursuers, though.

I'm suggesting he can't be relied upon, and yes, probably is no better than a #4-5. Wish I could say I expected more, but I haven't seen cause to. I am not piling on the guy, but look, if you fail to execute on a critical play, you're going to get heat. Ask Jeff Tuel.

You cannot hire someone when they don't want the job. I think the Bills are in a better position now than they were then, but still far to go, obviously.

Plenty of Super Bowl teams have tolerated worse. Dareus has been a dummy but he has also been a force. He needs to be pointed in the right direction, not traded for pennies on the dollar.

How about Julian Edelman or Wes Welker? I don't think you have to be Johnson or Green to try to make that catch with your hands and not your body, and not to jump up for it. Again, not a great pass, but generally on target.

Is this the argument? I thought it was that we should hire our fifth coach since 2003 and start over again. Because that sounds awful.

AD7, one other thing. If the staff is telling him to play, but to take it easy on himself, that's monumentally stupid of them. If they are that concerned about the injury, they should hold him out, period. They did it with EJ.

I did think it was a bit too much of a bullet from Thad in the rain, but you've got to catch that ball. This is nothing new for Graham. But hey, he's open all the time.

Cowher is closer than a Dungy to a Belicheck, in terms of his success rate. Can't take away a SB win, though - only the refs can do that.

That may be the case, but I'll just say: I can't imagine Fred Jackson or Eric Wood or even Leodis McKelvin would tell you that this was a meaningless game. You get one chance a year to beat NE in their house, and they haven't done it in more than a decade. Maybe it's as simple as the staff telling him, "hey, stay healthy, we need you next year." Fine. Sad, but fine. I disagree with that stance, but it's reasonable. I expect big things next year. Little lapses in effort and concentration coupled with the normal growing pains associated with young players will kill you. I'll let it pass today, but I wouldn't be so kind if we're staring at the same situation next season.

Conversely, if you want to champion Spiller, do it after he takes over a game that we win. The number of times he has done so in the past year, you can count on one hand. I saw LeGarrette Blount do that today. Spiller had a pretty good game, nothing more.

If your calling card is accountability, you can't work this way. The fact that no one on this board disagrees that the guy is a hack is pretty telling. Crossman needs to go and there is not a soul in this world who doesn't know it, save for, perhaps, Marrone. Hopefully he comes to his senses.