JohnC

There is nothing personal going on between Byrd and his agent with the Bills. This is a very important contract year for Byrd. He is in his prime and his leverage is as high as it is going to get. The Bills are not looking at this contract as a singe transaction. They are aware that this contract can have major repercussions for upcoming contracts. It is apparent what the Bills prefer doing. If the organization can't get him to agree to a multi-year deal that is closer to their terms they would want him to sign a one year tender and then let him walk. They drafted two safeties in this draft and they are moving Williams from CB to safety. So they are protecting themselves for the future at his position. My preference is to keep him. If the franchise has to "somewhat" extend themselves in signing him then so be it. He is an instinctive playmaker on a team that lacks playmakers. Byrd has been an impact player on a defense that was very vanilla. Playing in a more aggressive and attacking defense should make him even more effective. You make a good point that playing for a perennial loser can be demoralizing and dispiriting. Without a doubt always watching other teams in the playoffs can be frustrating. But the heart of the matter with Byrd and the organization is economics. There are no bad guys here. It's simply a tough business where cold blooded $$$$ decisions often get made by the competing parties.

The mistake (I believe) you are making is that you are being too strict in categorizing types of players. It isn't an issue of a being an athletic qb at the expense of being a more cerebral qb. There is a spectrum where there is a merging of traits. You interestingly cited O'Donnell in your comparison to Stewart. O'Donnell was a heady qb with physical limitations. He is an earlier version of Fitz. That type of qb is not going to be the type of qb that will get the Bills out of their generational muck. Would a Kordell Stewart type qb raise the prospects of this franchise? Absolutely not. But that doesn't mean that an athletic gifted qb can't be adequately adept at the mental side of the game to succeed. Kaepernick and RGIII are both in their way physical marvels. Both played in very simplistic offenses, and both excelled. Just because they were effective in their first read offenses that doesn't mean that as they gain experience they won't mature into second and third read qbs. They both are smart people who have a passion for the game and are willing to put in the effort to get better. You have made good points indicating what makes a good qb prospect. Where my position departs from your position is that your paradigm is too rigid. Players learn and evolve. A strength is a strength. But a weakness is not always a weakness if a player is receptive to hard work and good coaching. That is why I'm more optimistic to Maneul's prospect than you are.

I read the link you provided written by Chris Trappasso. From reading that link I am more encouraged, not less, that he is an excellent prospect with the odds suggesting success more than failure. You are absolutely correct that what most often differentiates a qb's success from failure is a qbs (innate) ability to quicly process information (read defenses and go throught the progressions.).As you smartly noted Trent Edwards had most of the required traits to be a good qb but failed in the most important category: having a deeper dimensial mind to sort out the chaotic burst of information a qb faces. Where I think you are making a mistake is in setting up a paradigm with limited categories that predict qb success in today's game. The offensive game is changing. Without a doubt being able to read defenses is critical. But with more athletic qbs such as Kaepernick, Cam Newton and RGIII the read option has come into play and allowsqbs with another set of traits to be successful. Don't misunderstand what I am saying. You make very strong points regarding what is most essential for a qb to be a success in this fast paced game. What I am suggesting is that you widen your paradigm a tad bit in evaluating qbs then I will be more comfortable with your assessment of Manuel. As it stands I have a much more positive view of Manuel's prospect than you do. .

Thanks for the link. It was informative. What does it say about his future pro prospects? It's inconclusive as it is for most qb prospects. The only recent prospect that was almost a given was Luck. He was as close to being a ready pro qb as I have seen in a long time. He was a Peyton like prospect but more athletically gifted. I understand Edward's Arm's hesitancy to embrace Manuel. He gives cogent reasons as to why he is not buying the product, at least at this point. Manuel's success or failure is going to be very much influenced by the way he is coached. Will they immediately throw him in the fray, or will they gradually bring him along? The way they handle him will be critical. Even if they take a slow and steady trac with him I don't believe that it will take that long to determine if he will be a capable NFL qb. Just as some people learn languages differently (immersion vs gradually adding vocabulary) the coaches will have to determine what is the best approach for Manuel. He certainly is not going to start off playing a complicated multiple read offense in his rookie year. Simplifying the offense and then as he gains experience adding more complexity to the offense is probably the best way to go. The offense that Cam Newton played and even RGIII played was not a complicated offense. My preference is to get him on the field sooner rather than later. If he can handle the responsibility then go ahead with the immersion approach. If not, then bring him along more slowly. I rather find out that a player with tools can or can not play than play a qb I already know will not be a success because he lacks the requisite tools.

Why don't you think that Manuel can be the long-term qb? He has the physical tools and most reports indicate that he is a smart and mature person. Without a doubt no one knows for sure until he actually plays. Usually it takes time to become an accomplished qb but it doesn't take much time to get a sense as to whether he can handle the position.

I don't think that there were negative reasons for the name change of the stadium.The city council wanted to honor Veterans with the name change. Jaws now lives in the Philly area and is very involved in that community. He still visits his home town and participates in charitable endeavors (golfing). I have never heard anyone say anything bad about RJ. Although he is a very successful person in a high visibility profession I never got the sense that he was anything but a well-grounded person who never forgot where he came from. (At least that is my perception of him}. http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2001/01/20010115/Other-News/Faces.aspx

You make a good observation regarding premature evaluatiions and how it can make you look foolish. However, as you noted both analysts are not afraid of changing their opinions based on the further play of a player. Sometimes players have slumps and are criticized for their poor play at that particular juncture. Those same players can come back in the season and turn their mediocre play into stellar play. Both analysts (as you noted) are not afraid to admit they were wrong with their initial assessment and change their evaluation to a more positive view. Especially with Jaws I never got the sense that he had an agenda against any player or team. In my view Greg Cosell has a little more edge to his evaluations.. Both analysts are good at breaking down the tape and communicating that which they see. In my view both individuals are good at what they do and they are fair. I respect and like them both. A side note: Greg Cosell was very harsh in his evaluation of Barkley in this draft. His main criticisms dealt with his arm strength and lack of athleticism. He liked Nassib a lot. If I recall correctly he also liked EJ Manuel.

Jaws had a long but not too distinguished career. He was a decent qb but nothing special. What he now does very well and is acknowledged by many people in the business is break down game tapes and evaluate players. His specialty is breaking down the play of the qbs by watching the video. From what I have observed over a number of years of watching his commentary on players is that he knows what he is talking about. He has no agenda or team loyalties when evaluating players. He gives his opinion and he demonstrates the point he is making regarding the play of players by showing the video. In my view he knows what he is talking about. Another person I have a high regard for in evaluating players and prospects is Greg Cosell. He, as is Jaws, is a video junkie who bases his opinions on what he sees and not what others are saying.

I'm not against him at first sitting and watching. The 49ers didn't play Kaepernick much in his first year. They played him in spots gentlely acclimating him to the game. Russell Wilson played right away and struggled for half a season. He then took off and played at a very high level. The coaches have to decide what is the best approach for his development. It is a tough call. How much can Manuel handle? Is he mentally tough enough to handle struggling and failure and grow from it as opposed to being demoralized by it. . This is where coaching becomes critically important.

I agree with much you stated with the exception of where I highlighted. Kolb knows his role. He came to a team because the prior starter wasn't willing to accept a backup role and a pay cut commensurate with his change of qb status. Kolb is also very aware that the Bills used their first round pick on a qb. He signed with the Bills for the simple reason that no other team was banging on his door. He had no other options at that point Whether Kolb starts or not is determined by not how well he plays; it is determined by whether E.J. is prepared enough to play right away or not. Even if Kolb starts right away he is not the long term qb answer, and never will be. A qb such as Kolb or Fitz can make a lot of money and can last a long time in this league if the player understands and is accepting of their role. Rex Grossman has been in the league for 11 seasons. At his best he is nothing more than a pedestrian qb. But as a backup he has carved up a very useful role that has turned out to be very lucrative. Make no mistake about it Kolb is not gong to be a quarrelsome and resentful veteran qb who resents the young qb prospect like Favre did in Green Bay. Kolb signed with the Bills with the staff making clear what they expected from him and with the understanding where this franchise was going with the qb position. What was more mind boggling about not having a backup plan if Fitz was not the answer is in the first place believing that Fitz was ever going to be the answer, short or long term. Nix's lassez-faire approach to drafting a serious qb prospect in his first three years was tantamount to malfeasance. His three year record was 16-32. The Bills are now in another rebuilding faze. Yet there are still ardent devotees of him insisting that he did a good job. That willing acceptance of mediocrity is somehting I don't undrstand, and never will!!!!

No team gets anywhere meaningful when its starting qb is a Kolb, Fitz, Orton and Grossman caliber of qb. You can hope all you want. Dreams of success rarely turn into reality when you don't have an authentic franchise qb. Backup caliber qbs are what they are: backup qbs. The new regime in Arizona didn't release Kolb because he was battered by one of the worst OLs in the league. They released him because they didn't believe he had the potential to be a quality starting qb in this league. The Bills probably won't have a winning team this year. That doesn't mean that they can't have a successful season. It mostly boils down to whether E.J. Manuel demonstrates that he has the ability to be a legitimate franchise qb. If he doesn't then this is another setback season for this plagued franchise. If he does show starting ability then the trajectory for this franchise finally moves upward. This coaching staff has to make the tough decision of whether to play E.J. right away or to bring him along more slowly as a backup until he is better prepared to play. In the grand scheme of building a successful team how Kolb plays is meaningless. His job is to help prepare Manuel to take over the reigns as a starter as soon as possible. Ron Jaworski is one of the best qb evaluators in the business. But you don't have to be too accomplished to recognize the difference between a Fitz type qb compared to a good qb in this league. All you have to do is watch the games with your eyes open and have an ounce of objectivity. Those people in the organization who invested in Fitz as a starting qb should be ashamed of themselves.for their gross incompetence. They set this bumbling franchise back by years.

I'll repeat what I said in the prior post: They got more production out of their TEs over the past few years than the Bills have gotten out of their TEs in a half century of playing. I'm aware that AH will probably never play pro ball again. From a physical standpoint it is an open question whether Gronk will ever be what he was. But even given the short duration of playing the team got maximum production from a position that the Bills haven't gotten much production from over its history of playing. With respect to Chandler he is a productive TE. He has terrific hands and he runs good routes. He is far from being a dynamic player but he is still a solid player He was a good pickup for us. A few more good value pickups like him will help bolster the roster and make this team more competitive. .

If Gronk and AH never play again you have to acknowledge that they got excellent production from these drafted players. The coaching staff smartly and uniquely taylored their offense to maximize the talents of their TEs. Whether or not these two players ever play again they still got more production from that position than the Bills have ever gotten out of their TEs in more than a half century of being in the NFL.

Chandler is what he is: a dependable short to medium range route runner who is not going to out run his coverage, something that most TEs can't do. What many teams resort to is spreading the field with multiple receiver sets that often don't include a TE in that formation. If you want a TE who can get past the coverage then get in line with the majority of other teams searching for such a big play receiving TE. The Patriots were unique offensively when they built a good chunk of their passing game around their two superb TEs. Their wideouts were average at best with more emphasis placed on Welker (now departed) to run the short interiour routes. The Bills can't duplicate such a TE centric offense because they simply don't have and haven't ever had that type of quality TEs. I agree with you that the Bills for a very long time haven't effectively addressed the TE position in the draft. What's new about that? Even with the positions they have drafted for they still have missed with a high percentage of their draft picks. The central drafting weakness isn't about any particular position so much it is about evaluating prospects in general, regardless of position. Teams that draft well and make a high percentage of their picks count can address their remaining position needs throught free agnecy. With the Bills you create a hole and then go back and refill it. It is a cycle of ineptitude that maybe will be slowed down with this new regime.

I'm with you on this topic. I listen to some of the discount approaches and try to select the most plausible case i can provide to the representative. Usually I'm very hesitant to make my case but in the end I sheepishly make the call. For the past few years I have gotten the discount. So again I will make the call and put my hesitancy aside. Do you know what I will do if the representative says no? I will at a later time try again.

Chandler is not going to get behind defenders because that is not the type of receiver he is, or most TEs are. He is primarily an underneath receiver who will be more effective with the speed receivers added to the roster. Chandler runs good routes and he has terrific hands. You rarely see him drop a pass. Another asset is that with his height and size he is adept at coaching TDs passes when the offense is near the goal line. The offense is going to be playing to his strengths, not his weaknesses. With better wideouts there should be more open space inside for him to catch the short and medium range pases i.e. the type of routes that Kolb favors.

All teams draft players who have risky issues associated with them. Each team makes their own calculation as to whether drafting the player or signing the player is worth the risk. The Bills signed Da'Rick Rogers as an UDFA. His talent rating on most boards was in the first or second round level. Not one team in the league was willing to draft him or sign him after the draft as a free agent other than the Bills. The Lions drafted Titus Young in the first or second round. It was well known prior to the draft that he had behavioral and emotional issues. The Lions were enticed by his talent level and drafted him. It didn't take long for the team to grow tired of his volatile personality. It is apparent now from witnessing his erratic behavior that he has serious mental health problems. Many people are arguing that the Patriot organization should have known about his off-field criminality. Why should they? While he was with the Pats he wasn't arrested or involved in any improper activities that were brought to the attention of the organization. AH wasn't a warm and embracing personality in the locker roon, but he didn't do anything that warranted the attention of team officials. He kept to himself and associated with his own people. So what? Does anyone really believe that if the organization had an inkling that AH was a cold-blooded killer or capable of doing such evil deeds that they would have signed him to such a lucrative contract? Does anyone really believe that if Kraft or BB knew what was going on behind the scenes with AH that he would still be an employee in that organization? When the organization belatedly learned of what he did or was accused of they did the right thing by quickly cutting him. What more can they have done? There is a sanctimoneous notion being promoted on this topic that the Bills and other teams use a higher standard in selecting players. That is nonsense. All teams make judgments and take calculated risks when selecting players. Sometimes the person you think is not a risk becaomes an off the field liability. And then sometimes the player you assumed was going to be a risk becomes an off the field asset.

I never said the school was responsible for him becoming a murderer. You are making up a bogus issue that I never promoted. Yes, I am saying that serial rule offenders should be thrown off the team. They are representing the school. With respect to balance of power I don't care how it plays out in that respect. Having rules and enforcing rules would be a good start in lessing the separation of the sports department from the university. I don't ever expect the big time athletic programs to be run as tightly as the military academies. But almost completely separating the athletic department from the university is not a system I am for.

You are missing the point or refuse to acknowledge the point. Even in college he didn't abide by the rules relating to drugs and off-field behavior. Although violations were known by the staff he was never held accountable for his actions. My point of emphasis focused on the lack of accountabillity at college. .Students in general aren't tested by the school. What they do is what they do. Athletes on scholarship are tested for drugs. He was not held accountable for his failed tests and he was not held accountable for punching the lights out of a bouncer, a criminal offense. If a student knocked out and injured someone in a fracas there would be legal consequences. That didn't happen with this particular football player.

Hernandez is certainly an aberration; he is a killer!

We'll just respectfully disagree and leave it at that. You are making the point that big time school athletics is completely separate from the educational system. I agree that to a great extent they do exist separately from the educatiional system, but not completely. When drug rules exist in the football operation and they are ignored by the coaches and players then in my view things have gotten out of hand. If you are promoting an athletic system that is completely divorced from the educational system, then that is a reasonable point of view. The problem with your position is that as it currently exists it is still associated with the educational institutiion, although in some places it is a very thin relationship. If you have drug rules in your athletic program and they are ignored then what is the point of even having those rules.

It's not going to change who he is and what his tendencies are. I'm not arguing that. My point dealt with the issue that he being a student at all was a fraud. His behavior, at least what has been reported, indicated that although he failed a number of drug tests he was still kept on the team. He should have been kicked off the team and out of school after a certain number of drug violations. I don't have access to his academic records but it is more than likely than he didn't spend too much time in study hall. The football program kept him eligible when in reality if the academic rules that applied to other students applied to him he would have beendisqualified from the program and school. You don't have to be arrested to be kicked out of school. He had a football scholarship that paid for his schooling. It isn't a carte blanche entitlement. With that scholarship he is obligated to conduct himself to a particular standard. Failing numerous drug tests at the University of Florida certainly doesn't indicate that he lived up to that standard. Yet, he was kept on the team.

I'm not going to give Urban Myer a free pass on the way he handled his program. Of course he had no inkling that the player he had bible study classes with would end being a cold blooded killer. He couldin't forsee that. But what he did know was that AH failed a number of drug tests as a player. Was he held accountable? I don't know what AH's academic standing was. But if I had to guess odds are that he didn't attend classes on a regular basis. It's been reported that off the field AH had some questionable associations with some tough street characters. You don't think that Urban Meyers, the HC of a very prominent program in a college town, would find out about it? Urban Meyer recruited a very good football player from a tough neighborhood. He knew what he was getting because he recruited a number of good players from similar backgrounds. As long as these type of kids are producing for the team and the coach wide accommodations are made to keep them playing. As soon as they are no longer useful to them they will be dispatched back to the streets. The starting qb at Nortre Dame is ineligible. That type of academic accountability rarely happens in the SEC, and especially for the marquis players. The relationship between the schools and the major football programs is twisted, especially in the SEC. The football programs and the alumni are driving the bus and the school is at the back of the bus having little influence as to the direction it is going. I have no problem recruiting athletes who to put it mildly marginally qualify for these football schools. The problem I have is that once they are in the programs there is little accountability for behavior and academic effort. A lot of these coaches who are put on a pedestal are nothing but pimps using up the whores and then discarding them once they are no longer useful. Then they go on to the next batch of fresh whores and continue the short cycle of pimping. What makes it even more outrageous is that these pimps who are widely esteemed conduct bible classes.

Thanks for that information. I wasn't aware of the family link. Rosie Grier is an interesting character with a variety of interests. He became a reverend who visited O.J. in jail shortly after the killings. Supposedly O.J. confessed to him that he did kill his wife and her friend. When the authorities tried to get Grier to tell them about the conversation he couldn't respond because he had a minister priviledge of confidentiality.

The Texans knew well in advance that they were not going to keep Williams for the probable gilded price. The organization did what good organizations do i.e. anticipate player and contract situations. The Texans drafted Watt with the 11th pick in the draft. They knew they were getting a good player who would be a backup plan for allowing Mario to leave in free agency. Did they know how good he was going to be? Probably not. But my main point in the prior posting is that he is a better player and value than Mario. That is a point that you can't disagree with if you are a fair-minded evaluator of players.