Luxy312

I see several. I don't see Levitre as a top-5 guard, nor do I think you pay top dollar to a guard anyway. There's very little distinction play wise from top-5 to top-10. I also don't see Byrd as a top-3 safety. Maybe he's top-5, but the discussion starts there and moves downward. His agent is asking to be the top paid safety in the game as well. He's CLEARLY not the best at his position in the NFL. Good player no doubt, but not that good.

To make a simple point on that, you just need to look at the pdiff and ydiff stats. Defense appeared to give up a lot, but they were on the field a bunch. Offense made up for it by being one of the best in the NFL. On the contrary to the current team, they've been sporting an average offense, but toting out a crappy defense. No team will win many games that way. Scoring more points will make up a lot and help though.

Regardless of the rankings (which are subjective at best), I'm relatively happy with the Bills draft for the last 3 years. Let's face it, when they took Gilmore, everyone thought they should have selected Dre Kirkpatrick. Gilmore has been more productive than Morris Claiborne, and covers the #1 receiver on the field every single play. What's not to like about him? Dareus had 5.5 sacks again in his second year with the team, but suffered a tragic loss of a family member. I'm happy the guy could even suit up and be on the field. I would like to see more this year, but wouldn't call him a bust or a marginal talent. His numbers are not far off of Suh, who many would consider the best at the position. Glenn was a steal in the second round. Despite being a rookie and being picked so late, he started every game last season at LT. The Bills gave up some of the lowest sack numbers of any team. Searcy and Bradham aren't stars, but weren't expected to be based on being picked in the 4th round. They are starters though. With the first 4 picks in each of the last 3 years, they have 4 guys that look to be really good (Gilmore, Glenn, Dareus, Spiller) and another 3-4 that will likely be starters or see decent playing time (Bradham, Searcy, Williams, Carrington). I say 3-4, because I do think Williams could wash out.

The only difference between Armstrong and Braun is that one got caught sooner than the other. They both cheated. They both intended to keep it a secret. To say that one guy is worse than the other is pretty lame. To a degree, it's like trying to argue which serial killer was the better guy. How about just leaving it at they both suck? As for Rodgers, he was duped by a buddy, but clearly didn't say he is betting his salary on it, nor has he bet anything. Pretty silly as well to even try to evaluate the statement.

Colin Cowherd is a coward, so the name fits. All he's doing is spitting back the same garbage to us that we get from practically every media outlet. Patriots are the favorite, blah blah blah. Let's look at the reality from the Vegas perspective. Patriots are 7-1 odds to win the Superbowl right now. The only team with better odds is Denver. They share the same odds with San Francisco and Seattle. Miami's odds are 50-1 or about middle of the pack. The Jets are a little worse at 60-1. Buffalo is at 100-1 right now, with only Oakland, Arizona, and Jacksonville worse. Vegas is saying 6.5 wins for the Bills, so why wouldn't Cowherd?

Simple answer is the system. Hughes fits better as a multi-positional player, where Anderson really is just a DE. Hughes can rush the passer from the edge and play a little pass coverage.

Not really. They're talking about guys drafted this year, but also about young players recently drafted. If that were not the case, they wouldn't have mentioned Sheppard. In that context, the Bills don't really have guys that have performed as well as some other teams. Potential, sure.

This in a nutshell. The self proclaimed experts are still mad that the Bills didn't pick Geno Smith or Matt Barkley with their first round selection. The Patriots being ranked higher actually makes sense to me. Let's just look at some of the guys they've drafted just in the last 4 years. Gronkowski, McCourty, Ridley, Mayo, Jones, Hightower, Chung. They factually do have a lot of young guys and they're playing well. Hey, but I still hate the Patriots more than you do.

ESPN Insider is irrelevant. Go back and look at their predictions for every season or their so called "rankings" of talent, and you'll see that they're completely wrong most years. Denver was supposed to compete for their division, but certainly not have the best record in the AFC. Green Bay was the odds on favorite to win the most games in the NFC and barely won their division. Washington was supposed to be the worst team in their division and yet won it. Insider is a joke to me. Gave away Sheppard? That's ridiculous. They traded a guy that can play just one position for a guy (Hughes) that can play 3 and fits what Pettine is trying to do defensively much better.

To expand on this point, you simply have to look at the Bills performance last year defensively on third and long. They were one of the worst teams in the NFL. Why? Was it player personnel? I would say no. Going back and looking at game film, they were predictable. During games, I was calling their plays from my sofa while the guys were still in the huddle. If I can do it, you can bet that opposing NFL coaches can do it as well. One other thing I'll add here about the defense is that Mario Williams didn't have a bad year last year. He did have one of the quietest 10.5 sack seasons that I've ever seen. Great article on Pettine and glad to see that he's hungry to prove himself. Rhetorical question as well for the board, but how many truly great defensive coordinators didn't become head coaches at some point? I can't think of any.

The single biggest flaw in your argument is the new CBA. Right now, the Bills are REQUIRED to spend 95% of the cap figure. Next year that grows to 98% of the cap figure. Looking at the past 10 years, they had the luxury of spending or not spending whatever they wanted. They used the "cash to cap" formula to justify not re-signing players. They can't do that any more. Any shortfall in spending is a penalty that they will pay to the NFL, so it makes ZERO sense not to spend what is required or even a little more. The logic of the Bills spending to maintain profitability is egregiously flawed for this reason. It's what they did in the past, but not what they can or have to do do right now.

Too much of this: "Let's give (insert aging injured cut vet name here) a try and see if he can work out". Waste of time. That's exactly what this team has been doing for the last 13 years. Let's try something different. Let the young guys play and let's see what happens. Stop the patchwork BS of other teams throw aways, which is exactly what this guy is, and why he was cut.

Gilmore followed around the top receivers on opposing teams all last year. While he had struggles here and there making typical rookie mistakes, he was the defacto best defensive back on this team. I don't see this season being any different. The initial estimate of yards and touchdowns seems extremely high and the estimates for some of these players is a joke. The biggest question is whether the Bills figure out how to limit opposing teams from running the ball. If they can't do that, it doesn't matter whether Gilmore gives up 1,200 + 11 or 700 + 4. They still lose.

Not signing the franchise tender means he doesn't get paid anything. You're 100% correct that there's not benefit to him, other then sticking to his position that he wants to be paid like the top guy. Signing and showing up today, he collects any workout bonuses and would get his full $8.4 million contract for the season. He would obviously be ready to play this season and actually be playing for something (i.e. big payday next year). If he waits until week 10 and signs, he gets paid roughly $3.2 million for the remainder of the season and like you indicated probably doesn't see the field. That absolutely crushes his value for 2014. This situation is a bit different from Wallace. Pittsburgh had a young talented receiver waiting in the wings and just refused to pay Wallace top dollar. To be fair, Wallace deserved the contract he received. How many guys come along that succeed at their game (speed in this case) without other teams adjusting. Steve Smith may have been the last guy like Wallace. On your last point, I've seen nothing suggesting that he wants out. He hasn't commented to that effect and neither has his agent. Technically, another team could sign him now, but would cost them 2 first round picks. Alternatively, they could do a sign and trade for different compensation. IMO, the Bills best move at this point is to wait, because they have all the leverage. As Warren Sapp said, I would like to see Byrd get out there and play to earn his contract next year. Agree to the tender with a condition that he cannot be tagged next year. That's what's best for both.

Would that be the Bulgarian version of the U.S. "strip"?

Goodbye football career, hello used car dealership.

But the "eyeball test" can't be disputed. Also, looking at just one game (as he cited) is better than looking at the collective body of work. LOL. Made me laugh.

Not sure I would agree there. A 58.2% completion percentage in college isn't all that great. EJ's was 66.9%. EJ also had a higher QBR. Also, you have to temper college stats by the level of the competition you're facing. Go back and look at what Kaep did against ranked talent. Not impressed at all with his numbers, particularly the W/L which comes out to 1-7. Statements about revisionist history come off fun (I knew Russell Wilson was going to be a star....no), but don't get you anywhere. No question that Kaep was a better runner in college. Temper it against the level of talent and I'm not all that impressed.

Respectively, I don't think there's anything "definite" about it. Ryan Tannehill was a less accurate passer than Fitzpatrick and threw more interceptions than touchdowns. The Dolphins lost their best offensive weapon of the last several years in Reggie Bush, who represented more than 25% of offensive production. Despite his contribution, they were 27th in points scored and 27th in yards earned. I don't think there's anything definitive about it until we actually see some of these guys take the field. Clearly, there have been some substantially big changes for both teams. PS - if you're going to pull the defense argument, don't bother. The Dolphins were good in points allowed due to turnovers, which you cannot guarantee year to year. The teams were 21st and 22nd respectively in yards allowed. Also not that impressive.

I have to agree with most of this and would only add that if Byrd doesn't sign the 1-year tender for $8.3 million, that he doesn't get paid a dime. I'm not familiar with this aspect of the CBA, but would have to believe there's some protections for teams that might suggest that he WOULDN'T go up to $11.9 million if he sat out this entire year. Most guys like these eventually show up and either sign their 1 year tender or come to terms on a long term deal. At the end of the day, his agent is giving him crappy advice. He's not the best safety in the NFL and not worthy of the top pay.

He's going to go with Bella due to his affection for the Vampire Diaries. LOL.

Marrone did grow up in the Bronx as well and has mentioned previously that he does every charity event that he can there for the community. At the end of the day, it makes sense.

At the end of the day, there's always a choice to be optimistic or pessimistic about this team going into any season. Is losing Andy Levitre really going to be the end of the running game for the Bills? The guy was a decent guard, but not great by any stretch of anyone's imagination. Same with Chad Rinehart. Both of those guys are essentially "utility" offensive linemen that you can plug into other positions if need be. Quite frankly, I'm tired of this team trying to find gimmick players like this (including Brad Smith) and "finding" a place for them to play. It's bush league. Eric Wood is the Center and Cordy Glenn is our Left Tackle. The rest is important, but not really all that important. In terms of the other comments about the Bills being cheap/etc., they're very short sighted and demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the new collective bargaining agreement. The baseline cap number for 2013 is $123 million. Of that amount they are REQUIRED to spend at least $117 million on player payroll. The formula is of course complex, but the reality is not the same as it was a couple years ago, when the Bills could simply say they're using a "cash to cap" formula to limit spending. They did do it before, but cannot do it now. The rules have changed and in a significant way. There is also no "moneyball" system in the NFL as there can be in the NBA, MLB, or NHL. The institution of the salary cap a number of years ago got rid of that possibility. The new CBA now just doesn't allow Ralph Wilson's wallet to sound like a creaky door when he opens it. So where does that leave me personally? I'm optimistic that they took the guy they wanted in lieu of the "experts" opinion. Kiko Alonso had character issues or would have been a much earlier draft pick by pretty much any standard you look at. Remember some other guys that went later that had attitude issues? Cornelius Bennett, Daryli Talley ring a bell to anyone? Da'Rick Rogers was another guy with issues. I'll go out on a limb and say that a healthy C.J. Spiller could be the most productive running back in the NFL. Anyone that watched him run last year can tell you that blocking from Andy Levitre is not the key to his success. He makes the first guy miss and then he's 8 yards down field or more. Big big threat in the passing game. I'm still pessimistic about our linebackers. I don't think it's an issue of play calling or scheme, but simply lack of ability. Alonso will help, but they need other guys that can play. I'm also pessimistic about Byrd. I'm blown away that he thinks he should be the highest paid safety in football. If he signs a 1-year deal, and earns it, then so be it. If he holds out, what does the team really have there? In short, the offense should be exciting, fun, and new. The defense not so much so. None the less, I'll have fun watching. At least the first part of the season anyway when they're still in it.

Reporting for stupidity. Has nothing to do with the Buffalo Bills.

Why do fans constantly do this? Let's find a guy who's prone to injury who never really did anything in his career and give him a contract to play. Why? Also, why sign a player at a position that isn't even one of need. The Bills were the 6th most productive team rushing the ball last season. This might be the Best worst post I've seen in awhile.