RuntheDamnBall

That's my Robert, always peeing on people.

Orton's involves the use of the business end of a busted bottle of Jack Daniels, but this is more of a Mortal Kombat move. Agreed.

The syllable count is definitely innovative for a haiku. Good on ya.

Yep. Orton/McCown/Fitz are all the kinds of guys we should have had around last year: capable, durable, but not long-termers. Kolb was missing that crucial second element and it cost the Bills dearly. Consider the luxury the 49ers were afforded in retaining and building up Smith before pivoting to the QB they believed in long term. Not only did Harbaugh get to evaluate his talent better with an experienced QB, he wasn't shackled to the performance of an unheralded young QB. No new coach/GM tandem should put themselves in this situation unless they have an Andrew Luck in the fold. They had a perfect situation to start from with Fitz under contract, and botched it doubly by signing his more fragile, less capable counterpart in Kolb while eating Fitzy's dead cap money.

Jerry is a very Zen writer who lives in the moment. There is no other explanation for the kind of horsesh-- delivery service he has been running over the past 15 years, because if he remembered half of what he wrote, he'd see that he hasn't written much that he can be held accountable for.

Mario is a difference maker whether you hear his name or not. Defenses always have to account for him. If you watch the all-22 he is just consistently a disruptive force. People who look at the stat sheet only have developed this myth that he disappears, and knuckleheads like Jerry Sullivan perpetuate it. But Mario is exactly what you want in a flagship DE.

Wait, sacks can be attributed to poor line play? Besides which, Johnny Swan's prized asset is supposed to be his escapeability and improvisational play. Just saying, Sam got him twice in the game.

He looks like a guy I'd trust as a muffler analyst.

He sure schooled a certain QB in Cleveland that half this board believes in.

That's sort of like talking about Jim Abbott's "best hand," but I digress.

Are you Philip K. Dick, perchance? "Its only preseason" is a phrase, dude, about a single preseason that belonged to something. Whew whew whew whew whew (that's a grammar police sound effect, because I don't take myself that seriously).

I see what you did there, and I am amused (not hazed, presently). And then there are those openly rooting for the dude to get injuries, which conjures up my worst memories of Bills fans.

I want the Fendi Onabun goodness to continue. Or at least the jokes associated with him.

That was a Buffalo/coax me from "retirement" premium, not starter-money premium, IMO. If the coaches pull EJ for a guy who hasn't had their playbook for very long, they are writing their own obituaries.

Erik Swoope from the Colts could be a sleeper. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10917651/indianapolis-colts-sign-miami-hurricanes-basketball-player-erik-swoope-play-tight-end

Not a big contract, but Alan Branch just gave us one case study (has he landed anywhere yet? I would presume we would have heard the landing). I wonder if analytics departments have this kind of info (performance tied to contract status), and if they do it separated by position. I could see it applying for a few positions specifically -- RB, WRs begging for the ball more often, DTs softening up after making their money. And the big paydays are usually coming after a number of years in the league. These guys may be dumb but they aren't stupid when it comes to knowing what gets them paid. I think for a few other positions you just can't argue in favor of this. Every day that a QB isn't "on" is a day that his job is in jeopardy, unless he is one of the very best. If he's one of the very best, a great contract is never in question. Even if he's average, a decent contract will come. So "contract year" wouldn't seem to apply at this position.

I don't know about that. Getting rid of Stevie and acquiring Mike Williams wasn't a desperation move at all. It was a move made to ditch a guy who didn't "buy in" and an attempt to buy low on a guy who might resurrect his career and superior talent in a more familiar setting. I'm not saying it's certain to work, but it's an example of a team-building move. I see more head-scratchers than desperation (cutting Tuel now as opposed to at any point in the last 13 months, not acquiring another TE, not drafting another QB - and these seem to be the two most uncertain positions).

On either side of this question, IMO the smartest people will add "I could be wrong." Because the fact is, we just don't have enough information. I think this is a very important year for Manuel but the first thing that I hope he can do is just tune out the negative outsiders - of which there will be many - and just play ball. Coaches will be there to help him, and he should listen, but when he gets out on the field overthinking it will kill him. Just play ball.

What in blue blazes are you talking about?

Yeah, using one pick to acquire - a candidate for DROY - plus the quarterback you like best out of the draft Total desperation.

He's insurance. That's what's needed. The hope for all except a few mouth-breathers here is still that the kid with upside progresses. If he doesn't, we're in much better hands.

Or they thought Thad wouldn't be bad and got forced into this situation. Getting Orton now is about the best scenario possible in late August. Remember also that Orton wasn't available until just a month ago. For all we know, he was feeling serious about the retirement talk and the Bills were only now able to convince him to do otherwise. Does it excuse not gunning for McCown or drafting someone else? No. But I'm happy to have Orton when we know Buffalo is always going to be a tough sell for FAs.

Calmer than you are, dude.

So calling EJ gay because you don't like him is some kind of masterstroke, I suppose.

Not impossible, but forcing trades simply doesn't happen. The caliber of player is so run of the mill, and the values so close, on these bubble guys that most teams will take the risk that they can just be gotten for free. It's possible a la the trade for Thad, but not probable.