RuntheDamnBall

It often happens that a backup can come in on injury relief duty and light things up because the team has game-planned for a starter with different talents. The difference between Favre and Jackson is greater than that between night and day. To judge a player as a starter, you have to look at what he has done when starting games. Also, if you're evaluating any player based on his performance against the Bills, you may as well use Madden ratings and save yourself the time looking at tape.

This will be fashionable - and not just for Smith - until draft day. The objective is to drive down the cost at an expensive position. Once the draft is over, it'll be all "we can't believe he lasted until our pick," "we targeted this guy all along," "this guy can start in the NFL," "he's going to prove all the doubters wrong, make them pay for passing him up," "Team X are the draft day winners for getting the best QB in the draft late in round 1," etc etc. The cycle of draft rhetoric and narrative is fun.

Except his teammates seem to love him and the energy he brings to the game. He also really enjoys a relationship with the fans and even if some don't like it, the Bills Mafia thing brings a lot of fan interest that is rooted in the game - not just in tailgating or drinking oneself into oblivion. I think he's a pretty positive guy. The "I need attention" thing is only a problem when you're excessively negative and/or not winning. When T.O. was helping his team win, people put up with it. When he wasn't, the negativity won out. People hated Deion Sanders - and I especially did - but the dude won. Tell me, did his and Irvin's "antics" hurt the team and set bad examples for younger players, or were they part of an earned bravado? If we had a lot of quiet losers, the lot here would be complaining about how there is no passion a la Jason Pomminville. I don't care how they do it - brash, quiet, who gives a sh--? Just win, don't be a total a--hole, and I'll enjoy it.

Your words were that SJ's following T.O.'s footsteps. He's not. Stevie HAS exhibited some selfish behavior and done some silly things. He also worked his way from being a 7th round afterthought / project to being a #1 WR in the league. T.O. exited the league as he came in - talented but disruptive all the way, and hardly ever seeming to actually have fun. I just fundamentally disagree that their paths are at all comparable except for the fact that they're both known for on-field celebrations. Stevie is far more self-aware and this actually plays well into the things that he likes to promote, and also makes him a heck of a lot more likeable - even if some Bills fans don't like him.

He's happily married since college, he is a happy (not brooding) guy, he has never held out. He likes attention, but he is not courting it to the point where it is actually fracturing his psyche. He's a jokester to a fault. T.O. is seriously conceited and fragile. WRs are generally a different bunch. Megatron or Jerry Rice aren't walking through that door... get used to that, enjoy the production, and realize that Stevie may be one of the few reasons people know that Buffalo has a football team at all. He cares and I like that. He doesn't always show it in the right way, but I'd rather get the sense that he cares than that he doesn't. Or we could just alienate and cut the one good receiver on this football team because he doesn't play and shut up like Steve Largent or Wayne Chrebet or some other hard-working, gritty (yes, this is code because we're talking about cultural differences) ideal teammate.

So who is this all obviously-not-properly-cited scouting from? Kiper?

I like the idea of a UDFA. Unless they are truly special talents worthy of a top-15 pick, most draft pick RBs are a crapshoot. There are fourth rounders out there that are as good as 1st rounders that are as good as UDFAs. Target a UDFA since there are already well-regarded RBs here.

I think he meant: "the Bills would have to be pretty high to draft a RB early." At least that's what I got from it.

People offended by this tweet are communists. I don't find fault with it. Nor do I take much grief. I get a lot of "oh, yeah, they still have a team there? They used to be good awhile ago, right?" "Didn't they win a Super Bowl?" The last one I actually kind of appreciate. Honestly, it's a whole lot of nothing. If I really thought it was affecting Stevie's play, I'd get more upset. But there are enough hours in the day to goof around and be oneself and still do the job well. Stevie is never going to be Jerry Rice, or the WR equivalent of Barry Sanders, and that's totally OK.

Uh, it says it's totally fake at the end?

Anything off of Saturday Night Fever.

It's all noise.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TWEET

That's a Damn Hurtful Blow.

This was my first thought. It is in EVERYONE's best interest to send the top QBs spiralling down the charts and recoup a bit of value from what have become inflated-value picks. So, if lots of scouts are not so much lying as deliberately letting slip the things they don't like about a player, to make other teams believe the player will be available later... well, I wouldn't be surprised. see earlier response.

Don't top scouts actually get employed by teams?

I feel like I'm in the minority among those who aren't really impressed by Patterson...

The Bridge To Nowhere. Keep Running For That Bus Buffalo Bills: Keeping Your Lawn Looking Great All Football Season

Silly argument, no? He is a better QB than most that have ever played, but he definitely bounced around the league. No one sane is placing him alongside any of those QBs (except for with Dilfer as a SB winner).

Of all things, I am not too worried that they didn't sign a TE coming off an Achilles injury. Takeo Spikes was one of my favorite Bills and he was a shell of himself after that injury.

That's totally simple... until they realize how hard it is to get another team to agree to trade conditions.

Don't worry. If they make it better, they will be better.

There really isn't one. My somber approach to this is the product of years of worthless promises, not this move in particular.

Fan morale. I don't think Kolb is going to sell a lot of tickets, but if response here is any indication a lot of people will view it as at least a fresh approach to take in someone who has at least recently been thought of as an NFL starter and had a nice little win streak last year. I see lots of concerns re: Kolb but it's not a 100% hatable move. Too many fans would view keeping Fitz as treading water (myself included). Color me cynical, but this basically allows the Bills to proceed as they would have with Fitz as the starter, eyeing a better QB this year or next if they like one, while not being rushed into starting the guy. It's a new coat of paint on another year of "just wait till next year."

I love Stevie, but that's just ludicrous. We're talking about the difference between pretty good and elite here.