3 biggest surprises & 3 biggest disappointments (so far)

[elltrain22]

I would like to share my 3 biggest surprises and 3 biggest disappointments, so far. I would also like to see what you, the Billszone community has to say about this topic as well.

Here are my 3 biggest disappointments:
1.) Kevin Kolb- Easy no-brainer of a choice, and I'm sure the masses agree with me on this. I live in NC, so don't have the luxury to go to training camp. From what I've read about camp, and what I saw versus Minnesota, was not good. He has never been accurate, which is a big time concern, especially since we all still have a Ryan Fitzpatrick hangover!! The fact, that a veteran guy, doesn't at least have an advantage over EJ Manuel on overall grasp of the offense, is a big red flag as well. To me, Kevin Kolb is a guy that is gonna surprise you from time to time with some good looking drives, but alot of the time, he's a 3 and out qb, b/c of propensity to throw behind his receivers.

2.) Da'rick Rogers- Kind of hard to put him here b/c he caught a td against Indy & he hasn't really gotten reps like you'd expect. There is a reason he hasn't gotten the reps though; he's not as good as Easley & Hogan, and maybe even Kauffman. I think Manuel & Tuel have been so good so far, that if your open, they'll get you the ball, and he just doesn't get open as much as these guys. He's been decent, and in other years, he would make this team, but this year, baring any injuries, I think Hogan & Easley have clearly seperated themselves.

3.) Doug Legursky- I thought when we signed this guy, he'd be a prime candidate to a surprise starter, but he has been below average. He'll make the team, but he better step it up!!

3 biggest surprises: (I could throw Manuel on here, but I left him off, b/c the fact that he's good isn't that much of a surpass to me)

1.) Jerry Hughes- We all probably thought nothing of that trade with Indy, except we were happy to see Shepp in another uniform. This guy has looked real good, and has shown the ability to make big plays. He's versatile, and maybe this coaching staff can develop something that the Indy coaching staff could not.

2.) Nickell Robey & Ron Brooks- This is a no-brainer of a choice to me. Robey especially. Robey was a guy that I wrote off as another failed attempt at a "db with promise" (as we have had what seems like 500 the past 8-9 years). This guy has been our best corner, besides Gilmour. He's also shown ability to return punts, which is an added bonus!! Brooks, minus the stupid penalty versus Indy, has looked like one of the most improved players under this new coaching regime. He hits like a ton of bricks, and seems like a guy that can make big plays when you need him too!!

3.) Chris Hogan & Marquise Goodwin- Both of these guys are completely different, but I couldn't choose just 1 and leave the other out. In Hogan, we have a poor man's Wes Welker. This guy is always open, and I think he's going to surprise alot of people this year. Goodwin is the ultimate homerun threat. He's so fast, and he is the definition of a guy you have to watch play b/c you never know when he's going to do something great!!

Honorable mention: Kiko Alonso, Marcus Easley, Manny Lawson, and, this whole coaching staff

Go Bills!!

What say you???

[elltrain22]

I'm such a dummy b/c I forgot Jeff Tuel. As good as Manuel has been, Tuel has looked just as good, if not better. He's extremely accurate, and I guess the only knock on him is he has done this versus 3rd stringers. I say, we should start him versus Washington, and give him an opportunity to face 1st teamers. I don't think that is going to happen, but if it did, I betcha he outplays Fitz, I mean Kolb...

[sting32]

Explain your Hogan is a poor mans Wes Welker comment. I've watched both of them play and I don't see it. Just curious where you drew the comparison from.

[ServoBillieves]

Explain your Hogan is a poor mans Wes Welker comment. I've watched both of them play and I don't see it. Just curious where you drew the comparison from.

They're both white. It's why EJ Manuel can only be compared to Warren Moon, Steve McNair, Vince Young, and JaMarcus Russell.

[Bert102176]

Warren Moon is the greatest black QB ever we can only hope that we can compare EJ to him someday

[GingerP]

Explain your Hogan is a poor mans Wes Welker comment. I've watched both of them play and I don't see it. Just curious where you drew the comparison from.

Yeah, they aren't anything alike. I have heard Miles Austin as a comparison, but that could be because both played at Monmouth. They are about the same size/speed.

Hogan is a unique case because he hardly played college football. I can't think of too many guys at WR with as little experience as he had coming into the NFL. That is likely why he bounced around until now, any guy that raw needs time to develop. He has the athletic skill to be an NFL player, though, and has proven to be a real find.

[YardRat]

Warren Moon is the greatest black QB ever we can only hope that we can compare EJ to him someday

I would rather be able to compare him to quarterbacks that have won Super Bowls.

[X-Era]

Disappointments:
1) Da'Rick Rogers
2) Da'Norris Searcy
3) EJ getting hurt

Surprises:
1) Nickell Robey
2) Kiko Alonso
3) The solid play from the team

[Fletch]

Warren Moon is the greatest black QB ever we can only hope that we can compare EJ to him someday

I would actually rate Cunningham higher despite the fact that he didn't have the career longetivity and wasn't as durable due to his role. He was also a more efficient passer, particularly for a QB with over 4,000 career rushing yards.

Moon's W/L record also wasn't nearly as good at about .500.

If you're going by straight career yards or total wins, apart from W/L pct., then Moon has it. Otherwise Cunningham was a better QB IMO.

[DraftBoy]

How is Rogers a disappointment exactly? He was a UDFA WR with minimal expectations. Additionally multiple outlets have raved about his practice performances which weigh heavily in the pre-season.

Disappointments:
1. Searcy
2. Injuries (Stevie and EJ)
3. CB play

Surprises:
1. Butler
2. Hughes
3. Hogan

[OpIv37]

I wouldn't call Kolb a disappointment only because I fully expected him to be this bad.

I mean Tarvaris Jackson sucks too but he's capable of going 11 for 23 with no TD's and a pick in preseason.

[mayotm]

I wouldn't call Kolb a disappointment only because I fully expected him to be this bad.

I mean Tarvaris Jackson sucks too but he's capable of going 11 for 23 with no TD's and a pick in preseason.Op, you can just list 6 disappointments since I'm sure you can't possibly find 3 positive surprises.

[Night Train]

Bad

1. Searcy - Looks lost
2. DaBong Rogers - Internet legend
3. Kolb - Not even sure he's a good #2. Skins game will speak volumes.

Good

1. Jerry Hughes - looks unblockable. We got him for Sheppard ? Incredible.
2. Aaron Williams - looks very good at Safety. Instictive.
3. Pettines D - Especially the front 7. Attacking from all angles and applying real pressure, not imagined.

[justasportsfan]

Good Surpise
Even though it's just preseason, we're learning how to win. We're changing our losing culture! :clap:

Bad surprise
It's preseason and it doesn't count :sadwalk:

[The Jokeman]

Explain your Hogan is a poor mans Wes Welker comment. I've watched both of them play and I don't see it. Just curious where you drew the comparison from.

They're both white and play in the slot. Other then that I don't see that much in common either.

[The Jokeman]

I wouldn't call Kolb a disappointment only because I fully expected him to be this bad.

I mean Tarvaris Jackson sucks too but he's capable of going 11 for 23 with no TD's and a pick in preseason.
Actually TJax preseason has been half way decent going 12/16 for 221 yards and 3 TDs and no picks.

http://www.nfl.com/player/tarvarisjackson/2495863/gamelogs

[better days]

Lawson is no surprise to me. I told everyone when the Bills signed him that he was going to be a solid addition to the Bills & help them win games.

I am surprised at how GOOD Hughes looks. I also think Butler is a good surprise & has the highest upside of all CB's outside of Gilmore. Goodwin is my 3rd good surprise.

Kolb was a big disappointment last week. Very Fitz like performance. I hope he plays MUCH BETTER this week.

My biggest surprise is that aside from Kolb, there have been no BIG disappointments.

[Historian]

Surprises:

Manuel
Tuel
Coach Marrone

Disapointments:

Rogers
Kolb
Steve Tasker's announcing. It's gone from worse to intolerable.

[OpIv37]

Also I'm surprised at how good S/T has looked so far.

[Fixxxer]

Suprises:
1) Hackett and pace of the offense
2) Rookies not struggling so far
3) Pass protection, I thought it would be bad without Levitre and Pears being a year older.

Dissapointments
1) Alan Branch, looks ordinary
2) Searcy in coverage
3) EJ getting hurt.

[Mike]

Surprises:
1) Rookie QBs: both Tuel & EJ have looked good!
2) More Rookie Play: Alanso & Goodwin look good.
3) Coaching: team looks crisp & ready to play.

Disappointments
1) Injuries: EJ & et al
2) CBs: still getting toasted
3) Kolb: it's hard for me to out him up here considering that this was my expectations but boy has he been bad.

[NOT THE DUDE...]

surprises, aaron Williams, hughes, ej manuel. disappointment, kolb, darick rogers, mark anderson

[PromoTheRobot]

I would like to share my 3 biggest surprises and 3 biggest disappointments, so far. I would also like to see what you, the Billszone community has to say about this topic as well.

Here are my 3 biggest disappointments:
1.) Kevin Kolb- Easy no-brainer of a choice, and I'm sure the masses agree with me on this. I live in NC, so don't have the luxury to go to training camp. From what I've read about camp, and what I saw versus Minnesota, was not good. He has never been accurate, which is a big time concern, especially since we all still have a Ryan Fitzpatrick hangover!! The fact, that a veteran guy, doesn't at least have an advantage over EJ Manuel on overall grasp of the offense, is a big red flag as well. To me, Kevin Kolb is a guy that is gonna surprise you from time to time with some good looking drives, but alot of the time, he's a 3 and out qb, b/c of propensity to throw behind his receivers.

2.) Da'rick Rogers- Kind of hard to put him here b/c he caught a td against Indy & he hasn't really gotten reps like you'd expect. There is a reason he hasn't gotten the reps though; he's not as good as Easley & Hogan, and maybe even Kauffman. I think Manuel & Tuel have been so good so far, that if your open, they'll get you the ball, and he just doesn't get open as much as these guys. He's been decent, and in other years, he would make this team, but this year, baring any injuries, I think Hogan & Easley have clearly seperated themselves.

3.) Doug Legursky- I thought when we signed this guy, he'd be a prime candidate to a surprise starter, but he has been below average. He'll make the team, but he better step it up!!

3 biggest surprises: (I could throw Manuel on here, but I left him off, b/c the fact that he's good isn't that much of a surpass to me)

1.) Jerry Hughes- We all probably thought nothing of that trade with Indy, except we were happy to see Shepp in another uniform. This guy has looked real good, and has shown the ability to make big plays. He's versatile, and maybe this coaching staff can develop something that the Indy coaching staff could not.

2.) Nickell Robey & Ron Brooks- This is a no-brainer of a choice to me. Robey especially. Robey was a guy that I wrote off as another failed attempt at a "db with promise" (as we have had what seems like 500 the past 8-9 years). This guy has been our best corner, besides Gilmour. He's also shown ability to return punts, which is an added bonus!! Brooks, minus the stupid penalty versus Indy, has looked like one of the most improved players under this new coaching regime. He hits like a ton of bricks, and seems like a guy that can make big plays when you need him too!!

3.) Chris Hogan & Marquise Goodwin- Both of these guys are completely different, but I couldn't choose just 1 and leave the other out. In Hogan, we have a poor man's Wes Welker. This guy is always open, and I think he's going to surprise alot of people this year. Goodwin is the ultimate homerun threat. He's so fast, and he is the definition of a guy you have to watch play b/c you never know when he's going to do something great!!

Honorable mention: Kiko Alonso, Marcus Easley, Manny Lawson, and, this whole coaching staff

Go Bills!!

What say you???

Isn't that 5 big surprises?

PTR

[senseofdoom]

Surprises:

Manuel
Tuel
Coach Marrone

Disapointments:

Rogers
Kolb
Steve Tasker's announcing. It's gone from worse to intolerable.

I couldn't agree more. When he tried to blame Kolb's INT on Goodwin I was literally yelling at the TV.

[jdaltroy5]

How is Rogers a disappointment?

He was an UDFA.

[elltrain22]

Explain your Hogan is a poor mans Wes Welker comment. I've watched both of them play and I don't see it. Just curious where you drew the comparison from.

First, I must confess that since Hogan is white, Welker is the first guy you think of. It seems to me early on, he catches stuff over the middle (slants, hitches, etc) which is where Welker has made his bread and butter. What I haven't seem from Hogan that Welker is especially good at, is the ability to get those YAC yards.

Second, it should also be said that my comparison is a "poor man's" Welker, which means he is no way near as good.

[elltrain22]

Isn't that 5 big surprises?

PTR


I knew someone was going to bust me on that!! I couldn't decide b/w Brooks & Robey, and didn't want to leave one out, same w/ Easley & Hogan.

[DraftBoy]

I couldn't agree more. When he tried to blame Kolb's INT on Goodwin I was literally yelling at the TV.

He's actually right, Goodwin has to snap that route off and get in front of the DB, not round it off. The QB's job is to make that throw before the WR breaks.

[MTBillsFan]

Surprises: Tuel, d that attacks on 3rd and long, speed of the team
Disapointments: Rogers, penalties, not throwing deep passes

[better days]

Warren Moon is the greatest black QB ever we can only hope that we can compare EJ to him someday

Moon may have the stats, BUT IMO, Doug Williams is hands down the BEST Black QB in NFL history.

[POTLAND PSILBYLO]

Tell me that if it was Fitz, Thigpen and Tuel, we wouldn't be salivating at the prospect of Tuel time. Huge.

- - - Updated - - -

On Doug williams
From SB MVP to cut the next year....

[better days]

Tell me that if it was Fitz, Thigpen and Tuel, we wouldn't be salivating at the prospect of Tuel time. Huge.

- - - Updated - - -

On Doug williams
From SB MVP to cut the next year....

Doug Williams was drafted by the Bucs in 1978. He was the FIRST Black QB to play in the Super Bowl & is so far the only Black QB to win it in 1987.

The Redskins drafted Mark Rypen & Williams was injured but was still Rypens back up until 1990 when he retired.

Earlier in his career, Doug led the Bucs to the playoffs 3 times in 4 years including the NFC Championship game in 1979.

The Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse unlike Ralph Wilson TRULY was CHEAP & refused to PAY Williams when his contract was up so Doug bolted to the USFL.

The Bucs went 2-14 the year after he left & were cursed until they finally WON the Super Bowl with Gruden as HC.

[senseofdoom]

He's actually right, Goodwin has to snap that route off and get in front of the DB, not round it off. The QB's job is to make that throw before the WR breaks.

Admittedly, I only saw the one live angle but I don't think he had a shot at that ball either way. I thought the throw should've been to the opposite shoulder.

[DraftBoy]

Admittedly, I only saw the one live angle but I don't think he had a shot at that ball either way. I thought the throw should've been to the opposite shoulder.

No that throw goes to the inside on the hitch route. Goodwin didn't have a shot at the ball but that wasn't due to throw, but due to his poor route.

[senseofdoom]

So was the problem a poor hitch route or did he actually run the wrong route?

It was the first play I saw when I turned it on (actually the replay of it) but it looked like an out to me.

[DraftBoy]

So was the problem a poor hitch route or did he actually run the wrong route?

It was the first play I saw when I turned it on (actually the replay of it) but it looked like an out to me.

Looked like a hitch to me the way he turned in.

[senseofdoom]

Looked like a hitch to me the way he turned in.

I guess I don't remember it as well as I thought. Thanks for clarifying.