The Big Cat

Jesus. After Dante Fowler last year?

Please. The OOO in you believes that converting to NNN will be the difference. And it's the OOO in me that believes the same and will thank you to GTFO.

If Whaley's quotes are to be believed--not saying they are--then the misleading came from the Med Staff. And I'd expect the Pegulas to make whatever changes they'd feel appropriate if in fact they felt "misled." So we'll see. If no changes are made, then there was no amount of deception. If you believe there is uncertainty at the QB position, and if you believe (as I do) that the organization feels the same way, then I don't believe the organization, and the owners in particular, are so aggressively in on "win now" that missing their first round edge-setter for a portion of the season is--to them--a crushing blow. I believe that Shaq will play. He'll start anywhere from 4-10 games this season and when he does the defense will perform better.

Yeah, it's entirely dependent on how it all goes down. I'm just as hesitant to say Rex is definitely back as am I to say Rex will definitely be gone if... I'm 80% sure Whaley is safe, though.

Chris Wessling doesn't believe the Bills exist.

I don't think it's even remotely that simple. If they finish 7-9 and lost all 9 games by a combined 12 points, all while TT is injured and EJ is turning the ball over at an alarming clip, then yeah, they're both back. Also, Whaley just signed an extension, I think it'll take quite an epic meltdown for him to lose his job. Rex, on the other hand is on--at best--a flat trajectory right now. His situation is a bit more dubious. But I don't think he's on any kind of "hot seat." Great find. Medical staff, meet the under side of the bus!

His routine is so stale, we could probably write a very simple algorithm to reply for us at this point!

I'd love to dig up the transcripts. There is some seriously selective memory of what was said about the injury.

The shear volume of activity sorting through FA scrap heaps has accelerated tremendously since 2010. The success rate has been decent, but not great. But what could you expect? At least they're in the game.

But the Bills didn't draft Lawson for 8 games. They drafted him for a full career. So if they get a great, healthy career out of him, why should they have passed on him at 19? This isn't a top-5 pick we're talking about here. Plus, they weren't unforthcoming about anything. They were asked about it...IMMEDIATELY...because ESPN had Schefter on screen talking about it before Shaq even reached the stage at Draft Town. Their response wasn't nearly as inconsistent as you and others are framing it. They addressed it with the medical staff, they had him cleared, acknowledged that he played in a brace for all of 2015 and also acknowledged that injuries and re-injuries are unpredictable and that they would deal with whatever happens when it happens. They never said that the chance for re-injury was zero. They never pretended like the injury didn't exist. I can see why you and others think they downplayed it, and perhaps they did. But what evidence did they have that he would need the surgery NOW? Even Schefter said the surgery would likely come AFTER his rookie season. https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/725872691291508736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

I don't understand how you've concluded that his injury wasn't taken into consideration. Also, can you link to a few of these projections you saw with him all the way at 24? I never once saw him on a big board in the 20's, let a lone a few of him in the mid-20's. Why is half a rookie season not worth a healthy career for you? That's really the most important point in your post.

Lawson's injury is nothing at all like Smith's or Jack's. Theirs are knee injuries, with Smith's having nerve damage, that have the very real potential of derailing their careers. The process to surgically repair Shaq's injury will make his shoulder stronger and will set him up to have virtually no more problems with that injury. Yes, it's derailing the first part of his rookie season, but by no means will it have the impact on his career in the same way Smith or Jack's very well could. They are not comparable. At all.

But but but but but but but but but but 16 YEARS

welcome to the department of redundancy department

I'm worried about you.

It's a room full of horse ****, K-9. There's got to be a pony in here somewhere!

There are zero mistakes in arithmetic anywhere in those heat maps. When we talk about having to stop, go back and refute things because the "realists" make **** up, this is exactly what we're talking about.

The "realists" bend realities, make "mistakes" when they present their data and live mostly on the extreme end of assumptions for the sake of "realism." There is no counterweight to that which isn't hyperbolic for comedic effect. "Obnoxiously obtuse optimists" (and I'll happily march under their banner) get mired in having to just reel "realists" back to reality (ironically). There are people here who say the Bills will go 2-14 every season. And they mean it. Nobody says they'll go 14-2 without having their tongue pressed firmly into their cheek. To equate the two is "realist"-level absurdity.

Agreed. Well managed teams always seem to have comp picks fall to them. It's no accident.

I'll happily concede inconsistent logic on this point: I have no problem with his attitude...because he's a wide receiver. And mostly--as you've pointed out--because he's a damn good one. I also don't believe his attitude has anything to do with the nature of injuries he's sustained, and I think they, more than anything, will impact his longevity/success in the NFL. A foot injury scares the bejeezus out of me. It's also a damn shame that a premature exit from the league and an inability to produce to his potential solely because of injuries (as the case has been to date) will enable some Bills "fans" to further question the pick and its cost.

Clearly, the man has resolve. A durable body? That's beyond debate, at this point. It's a shame that there's a real possibility that these injuries prevent him from having what could be a long and phenomenal career.

Then it's equally "hardly a stretch" to say that the Bills are the second best team in the division. Right?