Archives for April 2006

‘Brown, 70, is particularly incensed at what he calls the personal nature of the attacks on Wilson and his age. He says the critics should debate him fairly on the issues by using “Marquis de Queensbury rules.”‘

‘”If they want to debate him on the issue, fine,” said Brown, the only other owner to vote “no.” “But I don’t buy into this stuff where they want to undercut his opinion with fallacious, ad hominem attacks. Ralph Wilson is 87 years old. He is probably close to the same age as Justice (John Paul) Stevens on the Supreme Court. You can be 87 years old and very strong mentally, and he is. And to say these things that have been bubbling up about him bothers me.”‘

‘The team needs offensive and defensive line help. Southern California OT Winston Justice and Florida State DT Brodrick Bunkley are enticing. Neither was projected to be a top 10 pick after the season, but each has increased his stock with strong workouts.’

‘Yet, somehow, Wilson is being painted as the bad guy for attempting to take a proactive stance. Perhaps, he should’ve stayed quiet and merely allowed the franchise’s next owner take the heat.’

‘At the end of what was a very trying and humbling season for Losman in 2005, he needed to get away from the game in which he buried himself mentally for the majority of the calendar year. He spent time with family, friends, former college teammates. He also spent time by himself to reflect on what he accomplished and what he failed to do in his first extended exposure to the NFL game. "I just had a lot of time to think about what I want to do, where I want to go, how hard I want to compete," said Losman. "What kind of person I am."’

‘At this point, not much seems in the way. Wilson’s credibility in NFL meetings has all but vanished. His cronies have died or settled into retirement. Newer owners ignored him while he contested the new CBA. They’re already looking beyond his arguments and toward where sports have been headed for years.’

‘Aiello says in the near future, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will name a committee of both small and big market team owners to address the issue. "A committee will be appointed which will include a cross-section of owners to ensure the new system works for all teams." Aiello adds that the league is putting together a ‘best practices’ model that will give guideance to small market teams on ways to maximize the money they can make.’

‘Brown, who called the deal “tremendously costly” when it came out, declined a request to comment on Wilson’s political efforts to get a more liberal revenue plan passed. NFL chief operating officer Roger Goodell, a Jamestown native who helped hammer out the labor agreement and is a person many Bills supporters see as an ally to replace outgoing commissioner Paul Tagliabue, has been made unavailable to the media. Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has addressed the challenges the new CBA presents small- and medium-market teams and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver is on record as saying the deal “was a little rich for my blood.” But nobody is commenting on Wilson’s staunch views.’

‘Fairchild has stated already that he’s not looking to emulate what he and Martz did in St. Louis, however, there are certainly some elements of that offense that he likes and has incorporated into Buffalo’s new attack. "He’s built some of those things from the St. Louis passing game into this system," said Bills offensive quality control coach Alex Van Pelt. "You won’t see the same conservative ball control passing game that you saw here last year." "I think we’ll be aggressive," said quarterback Kelly Holcomb. "I think we’ll go down the field more. If we get the running game going that’ll help the play action pass. I certainly think you’ll see some more down the field stuff."’

‘Bills’ Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly was in Rochester on Wednesday and weighed in on the possibility of the team leaving Buffalo.’

‘Even if the Buffalo Bills could acquire a high second-rounder and a mid-round pick for Clements a deal would be worthwhile. Why? Because the Bills need to stockpile on picks to help in their rebuilding effort, and they will have some difficulty retaining Clements past this season anyway, unless they franchise him for a second straight season.’

‘One prominent businessman said he became concerned three or four years ago that the Bills would leave town should something happen to Wilson. "Nobody would talk about it, so you could only draw one conclusion," said the businessman, who did not want to be identified.’

‘The Buffalo Bills made a profit last year, but less than $10 million, team officials say. This year, under the National Football League’s new labor agreement, they expect to lose money, somewhere between $5 million and $10 million. And Bills officials fear their financial situation may only get worse in the coming years.’

‘One potential trading partner for the Bills could be Minnesota. The Vikings reportedly want quarterback Jay Cutler but they have the No. 17 overall pick and he’d probably be gone by then. If Buffalo isn’t completely sold on Bunkley or Ngata, and if Minnesota really wants Cutler, a possible reasonable swap would be the No. 8 pick for the 17th, 48th and 51st picks.’

‘Slowly, perhaps inexorably, the NFL appears to be shifting toward Major League Baseball’s model. And that’s scary news for markets such as ours.’