BillsVet

All the way from starting QB to perhaps 3rd string. In less than 1 year. EJ may develop. He may not, but he's not developing fast enough to supplant a guy who's thrown less than 40 regular season passes.

Will McCoy be the same runner in his 7th season as he was in say, 2013? Who knows. But what is apparent for guys that rely on speed is they struggle when the wheels aren't there. Pretty much what BADOL already said. McCoy has 1400+ carries on those legs. He'll be the featured guy but I'd assume someone else will be getting decent carries as well in that offense.

That's the main issue. He's been a featured back for 6 seasons now and the shelf life is so short for the position. McCoy is not going to gain yards after contact, at least not the way Fred did so well in his prime. That said, they've identified their guy and he's going to grt his chance to prove Chip Kelly wrong.

Whether plays a role like John Schneider does in Seattle. The HC tells him what he's looking for and Whaley provides options. I think more often than not Rex is making decisions, notably the trade of a Whaley pick (Alonso) for their starting RB (McCoy). The team is being built to Rex's standards not Whaley's.

I don't think you can underestimate this point. Whaley's made some curious moves since he became GM and Jackson isn't a Whaley guy. At the same time, I think Rex has final say and he's not a FJ guy either. Still stinks. Bad

I remember Schopp hosing on 107.7 WNSA a number of years ago. That show's tagline was "sports talk for smart people." A lot has changed since the early 2000s, but I think he, like other local sports media, are tired of watching the organization fumble in the darkness for the light switch for 15 seasons. I don't agree with he or Bulldog all the time, but I sense that they realize it's not going to be the "same old Bills" this year for the first time in forever.

Ever hosted a radio show, college, local, national? Nearly every on-air talent needs to be acutely aware of their words and being deliberate isn't a bad thing in that context. You can't just be a stream of consciousness type and let it all out, especially when it's charged issue. It's so absurd reading this thread. I guess some people are completely intolerant of anyone who doesn't share their opinion...and...they then seek to silence the opposing view instead of just ignoring it. I don't understand why, when someone doesn't like what another says the first person just can't go somewhere else and not be offended. Essentially, this is a digital temper tantrum. And there's no appeasing those throwing the tantrum until the other side absolutely capitulates.

GG: Your signature may never be more appropriate and timely than it is to this thread.

The rampant cheerleading going on shouldn't be surprising on a message board. At the same time, it all but eliminates debate save for a few snide posters covertly defending the organization while giving the appearance of being objective. If the media observes EJ not getting snaps, it's not an anti-EJ crusade, but merely them reporting a reality occurring on the field. I recognize that conflicts with certain fans' worldview, but there isn't some big conspiracy going on among the media. It's just that EJ isn't good enough and the new coaches are admitting that with his playing time.

The problem with the EJ debate is that people here have made it far too personal, as though they have a vested interest in him starting. The result is a lashing out at any and all critics who don't absolutely share that same viewpoint.

There are elite QB's...and then beneath them are guys who can be elite in short spans. Flacco in the 2011 playoffs and Eli in the SB runs come to mind. Wilson may be somewhere in the middle. If you think Manuel's career hasn't progressed because the coaching he had in his first 2 years was substandard, well, I've got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

There isn't a Bills fan on this board who wouldn't sign up for having a 27 year old QB who, in years 1-4 of his career, has thrown for an average of 3700 yards, 25 TD's and 16 INTs each year. And who's to say he's reached his peak? Downplaying another team that's made the playoffs 4 years running out of a tough AFCN when the Bills are 0-15 in playoff appearances really comes off as pointless.

IMO, they should poll the entire team and front office via a secret ballot and count them up after the final preseason game. In that way, we can have fairness and a democratic process. Only trouble is, we have three QB's vying for the starting job and there may not be a clear majority so they'll have to establish that it's a winner take all secret ballot and require them to abide by the vote.

Tyrod is the same guy Ozzie Newsome allowed out the door in UFA and replaced with Matt Schaub. Being a clipboard holder doesn't mean the starter's magic pixie dust spreads to the backup.

And this ratchets up the pressure to win now. Keeping the core of a good team together is expensive. That is, unless you can mine talent to replace the talent which supports those core players.

What if re-signing Dareus means you're going to part ways with Bradham? Or requires re-negotiating Mario's contract? Or hinders the re-signing of Gilmore? I'm sure they've prioritized who and which positions mean the most based on a) who they already have b) Rex's/Roman's scheme needs and c) ability to replace the player based on position played. They may "only" be apart 15M over the length of the deal, but that's money not going to someone.

It's a bad approach for addressing future talent, acquired via UFA or drafted and seeking extensions.

Only if you want to make it impossible to sign future UFA's and re-sign your own talent at the end of their contract.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13473403/kam-chancellor-not-report-seattle-seahawks-deal Chancellor signed a deal before the 2013 season through 2016. Michael Bennett is also unhappy about his deal and Lynch had contract issues last off-season. This is the price you pay when your team gets good. Guys want to get paid. The Bills however haven't gotten good just yet though, which illustrates how important it is to win now.

They did pay some playmakers this year. McCoy, Clay, Hughes, and Harvin. The issue isn't that they won't pay, it's the priority of who they'll pay and how that affects other players. It should be based on team building priorities. When you make a decision on one guy, it's going to impact another. Look at Seattle with Russell Wilson. They chose to prioritize him over guys like Kam Chancellor. Probably a wise decision, but now Chancellor is holding out. The Bills are finally reaching a point where they cannot possibly re-sign all of their guys. Someone will be let go via UFA. At the same time, this is a tremendous departure from the days when they could afford players (Peters, Clements) but management forced them to improve the bottom line.

Tyrod got 2 yrs 7M total. Cassel and Manuel's contract are not huge, so they're probably spending all of 10M in 2015 on QB's, or about 7% of the 143M cap this year. Then you look at how much they spend on QB versus the total cap and then the DL versus the cap, it's amazing. The Bills have chosen to invest in their DL, draft DL, sign UFA DL. They need that strategy to pay off and make up for what may be average QB play.

They're too busy complaining that Dareus is negotiating publicly and that he should accept what they're offering.

Ironic that during contract impasses some fans instinctively blame the player first, especially if the negotiations are acrimonious. But why does the team predominantly get the benefit of the doubt here? The player has no leverage but to negotiate publicly and threaten to leave in hopes the fan base will tell management to keep him. Still, it's amazing how much the Bills have invested or will have to invest in their DL.

Is that why Schwartz got so much interest after he was essentially fired?

It's only just shy of the 43k+ posts the two of you have combined for defending the organization during their greatest period of ineptitude. But you can debate when the snark gets turned off. For now I stand by what I wrote. Their strategy hasn't worked and it could undermine what's been built already.