RuntheDamnBall

Nothing new to report, but glad to see people are sharing it. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks. By the way, the San Marcos PD # on here is wrong. The actual # is 512-753-2108 Trying to see if I can alter the graphic. Edit: Fixed it.

Fellow Bills fans, I know some of you live in Austin or in the surrounding areas. A friend's daughter ran away last night, and is very depressed. You may know Scott Reynolds from Dunkirk -- punk fans might know that he played in All and Goodbye Harry, and used to work at BJs in Fredonia for awhile. age - 15, height - 5' 0", weight - 105 lbs, hair - blonde, eyes - blue Last seen in Westlake Hills Tx. at 9:00 pm 10/10/13. Believed to be in San Marcos Tx. If you see her, or have any information about her, please call the police immediately: in San Marcos at 512-753-2108, in the Austin area at (512) 327-1195.

Stay classy!

I agree. There should just be more straight-up RFA rules after the fourth season, for a couple of years. It could allow teams to maintain control if they want to with right of first refusal on any offer, and for the drafting team to receive compensation should the player leave. If a player really wants to leave and the team matches the deal, it can trade him and the value and desire of another partner for the trade is clear and out in the open. And the restricted signing window is just BS. All this tag business does is breed animosity among teams and players by and create uncertainty and discrepancies regarding value among the players. People can argue till they're blue in the face that most players sign their tag deals, but that doesn't change the fact that it's an inherently unfair system where a guy like Levitre cannot be retained under any circumstances by the Bills, while a guy like Byrd is, and cannot negotiate with anyone. I understand why players hate it.

And if EJ succeeds? I think it's possible that EJ will benefit from some time away to be able to see things from the box in ways that he can't on the field. Anything that can slow this game down for him will be a plus, as far as I'm concerned. That said, will that be balanced out by the reps he's missing? Debatable, and unknowable.

I understand your concerns, Badol, but if there is an elite QB where the Bills pick next season, they can either draft him anyway and have an embarrassment of riches at the position, or they're in a high-leverage situation to collect some valuable picks in trade. They can afford to be selective. I know it's very much a short-term league now but I think the Bills have never been looking at 2013 as the year in which they have to have all the answers on EJ. Is that a bad thing? Better question. But I sincerely believe it was not their hope that he would be the best option left standing, and that he would win it outright. If Tajh Boyd or even Murray, maybe McCarron are there, and they like everything about them, I think you just bite the bullet and deal with it. You're gonna get a lot of talent one way or another.

It's all about the shock value. When one of the dumbest people on TV says something dumb, there's not much to be outraged about. It's just par for the course.

That's about the size of it, except I'll say that we probably have precious little intel on what the S&C dept does and if/how it's affecting anything at all.

If only we had Ryan Nassib; then the Bills' defense surely would have confused Geno more. PS - to the OP, is it beyond the realm of possibility that both teams got good QBs?

I think he does need to develop his footwork, but I really think the advances in that department are going to be VERY incremental in-season, especially if he's favoring anything (and perhaps has been already) due to injury. I expect it'll be a lot more crisp in season 2 after he's had some time to analyze it and work on it with a coach / trainer in the offseason. Rookie burnout is a pretty real thing, and he's been working to get into this position without stopping, for a long time. I'll wager that this kid hasn't had a true break -- aside from healing from injury -- since the spring of 2012.

Or... "we were wondering what those were for."

Best pink flag:

Hey, if he sucks, we can call him "Zeworstsky"

Nice shots, sodbuster. Jesus. I hate conspiracy theories, but there can be little doubt that "good teams" get the BOD. "Bad teams" rarely do, in which case, how do you get to become a "good team" when you're getting penalized consistently and the calls are not balanced?

They obviously just played a clean, perfect, technically sound game. And lost.

One borne of extreme confidence in Manuel - and in his not getting hurt, too. Which, yes, in the NFL is a pretty bad idea. You could end up needing 3 QBs during the year and in week 5, we're already there. I doubt they anticipated that this would happen to Kolb in preseason, though. You'll find no argument from me that there was no reason whatsoever to let go of an asset like TJax until camp cuts. Tuel obviously would have made it to the PS. Here's hoping Lewis is a diamond in the rough, at least as far as NFL backup quality goes. Shirley, you jest.

I'm guessing they didn't have a crystal ball that would tell them that Kevin Kolb would get a concussion. One can argue that if there was ever a bet that you might win, putting money on Kevin Kolb getting hurt would be a pretty sure winner, though.

As for practice squad-eligible QBs: anyone familiar with this guy? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._J._Coleman

I'm starting to believe they think EJ's injury will last on the shorter side of the time frame that they've outlined. If they thought it would be persistent through week 12, I imagine they would have picked up a guy with starter's chops. I'm mildly interested to see what Lewis can do. We're all writing Tuel off at this point but he might be a guy who, with a year in the system, could come in and capably run the offense if not the entire bag of tricks. Or, he might be a guy who gets replaced by a vet, by Lewis, or by a 2014 draftee. I hope the Bills keep doing due diligence at this position. While folks are complaining about not picking up Freeman (whom I would have liked here), it's worth noting that the Bills had a backup plan with a veteran who is still getting paid here; that plan just completely blew up. I wonder if Kolb will be an option in 2014. I don't think he's great by any stretch of the imagination, but I sure would feel more comfortable with EJ - (a healthy) Kolb - Lewis than EJ - Tuel or EJ - Lewis - Tuel.

You're presuming he wants a multiyear deal in 2013. I'm betting he wants an audition in 2013 so he can hit the market in 2014 with much better prospects and many more openings available. Given that TB is paying a sizable amount for him to NOT be on their roster right now, I think the scenario I've outlined is highly plausible.

I wanted to see him succeed, but I still thought he was a colossal dumb-ass. Turns out, I was right!

Nailed it.

I'm sorry, Hackett's play calling hasn't been so consistently bad as to hold EJ back from winning some games. Tuel did zero, and I mean ZERO to demonstrate his acumen against NFL "ones" the other day. If you want to argue that that's due to the short week and not getting many reps, I might buy it, but plenty of other guys have come in and plugged in as a backup (often against the Bills) and had success. Weeden is one such example, and the difference is talent and experience. The jury is out as to whether Tuel has the former, but he certainly doesn't have the latter, and the team can ill afford to trust him as the only (or best) option going forward this next month or two. It would be a slap in the face to the defense, and a major hindrance to the development of said rookie OC's game-planning skills and the young offensive pieces surrounding the QB.

Here is a hearty "no" to that thought.

Except for somehow Marrone had agreed all along that Byrd was too injured to play, and Marrone does not sign the paychecks. Seems ludicrous to me to conflate football and business decisions. Marrone is responsible for one set of them, and Brandon and Whaley are responsible for the other set, and if the two are mixing that's a real disturbing sign.