VJ91

TJ said..."I'm not playing Madden no more until they get my rating right." I think that about says it all, as far as TJ is concerned. Maybe T.O.'s two PR-Hookers....er I mean "assistants" can spend a week with him to help him get through this stressful time in his life.

This has nothing to do with the rookies themselves or the inner-circle-jerks. It is all about the idiotic rookie payscale "system" in place, allowed to exist thanks to the owners and players' union. The agents for Maybin, Wood, Byrd and Levitre won't even text Brandon and Overdorff until they start seeing what other players drafted near them, combined with last years' players drafted in the same slots, all got paid and will end up being paid! Even if Overdorff did perfect mathematical calculations of that crap, and made very nice offers to those top 4 picks to get them into this first training camp of all 32 teams on time, (and we all know that won't happen), none of the agents have to agree to any of it until next week when they see what other players drafted near them signed for anyway! The rookie payscale system is broke, non-sensical and stupid. And the fact that the Bills for some reason are the first to start camp this year, (even 4 days earlier then the Titans, the other team playing in the HOF game against them!), makes it basically impossible for any of those 4 top guys to start on time, unless any of them decided to come in without a signed contract.

....in other words, thank God the players are starting to play football again!!

Trade partners? Let's review here shall we? Free agency started at the beginning of March, and the Bills didn't sign a single DE, LT or OLB. That was when the very best of the best were out there waiting to take offers, and the Bills would not have had to trade away anyone to get them. Then, they drafted a DT with their first pick, and ignored LT & OLB. It is the very eve of training camp, all the OTA's have come and gone with depth charts finalized to begin camp with, and you think Russ Brandon is going to make a trade with another team now? Hey maybe he will. He might trade away Parish for a 6th round pick in next year's draft to save his salary. But Russ Brandon does not make trades for other football players this late into the season. He traded for Stroud early in March last year. That is when you move and sign players. To try and make a trade now this far into the whole process, would cost Brandon way too much money to help the team. Why? Because any decent DE, LT or OLB another team woud even consider trading now, would be because they would want to dump his overpaid salary, just like Brandon seems bent on dumping Parishes overpaid salary. And good luck with that, since a 165 pound WR is not about to reap a starting caliber DE, LT or OLB straight up in any trade anyway!!

The headline of the unsubstantiated, un-confirmed story says "Vick to Get 4 Game Suspension and able to atttend training camp." I love the media today. Why wait until the commissioner himself tells us that was the result, when you can report information that may or may not be true right away? If this crap is true, then Commissioner Goodell is an idiot. Here he had the perfect opportunity to make a stand against the criminal fringe seaping its' way into the billion dollar NFL. "Sorry folks, Michael served time in prison and is a convicted felon, the NFL has no place for him any longer." I love the media. Back when they were piling on Vick like starved scavangers, he was a monster. He was a parriah. He was total scum. How horrific was his sick repulsive dog fighting ring that he was absolutely running from a distance. Now all of a sudden, just because his jail sentence is over, he is completely "rehabilitated." "He has served his time - he has paid his debt to society, and deserves to play in the NFL again." Why? So they can have his story to report 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Back here in the real world, we all know Vick could still care less about dogs. We all know he will never own a dog himself, or ever do anything for animal rights or the SPCA if it is not ordered by his PR staff - his well paid PR staff. And please stop talking about him "losing his fortune." If he was penniless, where did the money come from to pick him up in a black 2009 luxury SUV, complete with a possee of $500.00 suit wearing "assistants," who drove him into a gorgeous home with a pool in a very upscale looking neighborhood? How does that make any sense? How is he flying around the country for these secret meetings with the Players Union and Goodell if he has "lost his fortune."??? Look at it this way, if he spent $130 Million of his $145 Million dollars to pay for this ordeal, that still leaves him with $15 Million to scrape by. Oh wait, he has filed for bankruptcy, I forgot about that one. OK, well even when you file for bankruptcy, you are allowed to keep one residence. If that one residence happens to be a million dollar home - you still get to live in it, as long as you can make the tax payments, because it was most likely paid for in cash when you bought it. And even if he really doesn't even have a penny to spend anymore, I'm sure there are plenty of PR companies and agents and marketing scum with no morals who are financing him right this very minute into a lifestyle most of us out here will never live, while they wait for Vick to get back into the NFL, or the UFL, or the speaking circuit, or his movie to be made, or his book to be written. So again I come back to this: Goodell could draw the line at serviing time in prison for lifetime suspensions. This was his chance to force other criminal fringe type athletes to make better choices based on fear of losing their rights to re-enter the NFL. If this 4 game suspension rumor is true, then Goodell will only have himself to blame when the day comes when a rapists or murderers who serves reduced plea-bargained sentences demands to play again based on the "Vick decision.", after they "paid their debts to society."

Let's try to be realistic, OK? : 1) You cannot duplicate the Bermuda Triangle with a 4-3 "2-gap" defense. 2) Ben Williams and Sherman White were way better then just "servicable" ends. Schobel is a little better then both of those when 100% healthy, but Kelsay would never see the field other then as back-up behind both of them. 3) Did you even watch Nixon, Romes, Freeman, Clark and Simspon play full games back then, or are you just going on a few old highlights from Youtube?? The current d-backs would all be bench warmers behind those guys. 4) All of those defensive players you seem to think are "about as good or worse" then the Bills current defenders, combined to be named the number 1 defense in the NFL after the 1980 season. Did you know that? Please tell me you don't think that the 2009 version can finish number one - if you do think that, I would love a bottle of whatever you are drinking. To be fair, I'm hoping the Bills can improve from their top 15 finish last year to inside the top 10 - that should be good enough to fight for a playoff spot. On to your offensive observations: 1) "Revamped offensive line"? Well, they may have been revamped with Grant coming in at center and Dobler replacing the stupid trade of HOFer Joe D. to Cleveland, but those 5 guys sure had more experience then these current new players at every position. And did you know that Dobler set the goal from day one of training camp that the Bills would have the least amount of sacks in the NFL that 1980 season, and they went out and did it? 2) I really only remember watching Brammer play tight end that season. Whoever ends up starting there this season should be able to at least duplicate Brammers' production, but he was a good blocker and made the catches when he needed to. 3) I agree that the running backs and wide receivers are somewhat comparable. 4) Can Edwards duplicate Fergys' 1980 season? Now that is a huge question mark, don't you think? Stats wise, Fergy did not knock your socks off at all. That season he did throw for 20 TD's, but also 18 Ints. His final passer rating was only 74 and he got injured in the last regular season game at San Fran and was hobbling for the playoff loss to the Chargers. But despite that injury, Fergy did play in all 17 games that season, and Edwards has not made it a full season yet. The 20 TD's should be easy to duplicate with T.O. on the team ready to catch his usual 10. But the one stat that is most likely impossible to duplicate for QB play from Fergy in 1980 was the league leading 13 sacks he took. Watch for Edwards to fall many more times then that this season. 5) Bottom line for the offense? This year's team has more of a chance of duplicating the 1980 offense then the defense has, that's for sure. The biggest question mark is how the Bills can improve by 4 games to duplicate the overall record of 11-5-0 and AFC East Division Championship that year. Good luck with that, Bills, but I do hope you can somehow do it, of course!!

This was already covered....in the 50th anniversary team you had months to vote on that was listed on the Bills' website. After you finish your last shot, check out buffalobills.com to see if it is still there. From here on out, I'm only interested what this year's mystery O-Line ends up looking and playing like.

Phil "iron-man" Hansen vs. "Dr. Sack-less"?? You have got to be kidding. It took Schoebel 6 or 7 years to pass Hansen on the Bills all-time sack list. Did Seals ever have 5 in any one of the few seasons he played opposite Bruce? What is your next comparision question going to be; who was better opposite Andre Reed, Eric Moulds or Flip Johnson???

Get over that hail mary by Leftwich in week one already. When it really counted, late in the season, the Bills came home off a 6 game winning streak. Six straight wins leading up to week 17....(poor DJ would probably have a heart attack if his Buffalo Bills could end a season like that) Last home game of the season, against the Steelers who had everything sewn up and were only playing a choice few starters. We had no way of knowing until late that night, but with a win over that less then full strength Steelers team would have put the Bills in the playoffs....even though Nate didn't knock the ball down in week one. What happened? Of course Bledsoe played like a frieghtened rookie, the defense could not stop third string Wille Parker running behind 2nd and 3rd string blockers, and the Bills lost the damn game that Cowher was trying to hand them. The fact that Parker ending up being a premier running back the next couple years did not make me feel any better. He was the 3rd stringer for that game, and the Bills "great" defense sucked when it needed to be at it's best. Sorry, but I had to remind the 2004 fans that the season was worse then they think. And the way they fell apart in 2005, dumping Bledsoe and starting Lost-man finishing 5-11-0, was a more fitting season then the "fake" success of '04.

Polian drafted Manning. It was his first draft as Indy GM. The first thing he did after getting hired as Bills GM was to make contact with Kelly's people in the stupid USFL, and by his first training camp as Bill's GM later that year, Kelly was his QB in Buffalo. Even in his few years in Carolina, he drafted Kerry Collins out of Penn State to become their franchise QB. Collins led them to the NFC Championship game just two years into the Panthers' existence. Yes, it seems as though Bill Polian likes to get his QB drafted or signed within about 5 minutes of being hired as GM. Seems like Polian gets it, huh? Big John Butler didn't too as well, with his trade for Rob Johnson and signing of Doug Flutie during his years as GM. And then we had Donahoe trade for Bledsoe and draft Lost-man. So yes, I agree that if Wilson could have figured out how to co-exist with the hot tempered and passionate Polian, there is no way we would be looking forward to our 10th year of Bills' football without having made the playoffs!!

If the Bills start out 1-3-0.....who the hell would possibly be surprised? But seriously folks, if the Bills start out 1-3-0, I bet they go 6-6-0 the rest of the way! Hey, I got a million of 'em. Honestly, if they start out 1-3-0, or even 3-1-0, remember that it will mark only the first quarter of the season. As I've done these past 9 long playoff-less seasons, I'll keep hoping until the Bills either sew up a playoff spot, or get eliminated from one.

Valid point or not, I want to know where the NFL draws the line for these idiots? What is the obsession with him "paying his debt to society?" Who cares? He also paid people to fight and torture his dogs on his property. He paid his lawyers to defend him, and even they could not keep him out of jail. And this is my one and only point. Why would it be so bad to make one simple rule for all players in the NFL...if you serve time in prison, any amount of time, for some stupid crime you committ while being a player in the NFL, you will receive a life-time ban. With that rule on the books who knows, maybe Vick may never have started his psychoticly stupid dog fighting ring. Maybe Donte Stallworth calls a freakin' cab? How can it possibly be a bad thing to make a rule like that??

Growing up in Buffalo, and having the opportunity to go to many Bills games, I have become a life long Bills fan. I've gone through all the phases, season ticket holder never missing a game, road warrier going to many Bills' road games, and even attending one SB game the Bills played in. Now that I'm older, and have had those "Sundays filled with great friends, hot food and cold beer" at Rich Stadium/The Ralph, I don't go to games anymore, but still must watch every game on TV. The Bills are my team, of the greatest sport in the world, in my humble opinion. That's what they mean to me. Although I don't share all of that Bills being a part of the fabric of the "microcosm of the American Dream" that is Buffalo - stuff, I will most likely be right next to you in a drunken celebratory haze, the likes of which have never been seen, if the BUFFALO Bills (not the Toronto, Los Angeles or San Antonio Bills), ever win a Lombardi. Given Ralphs age and the state of the economy in Buffalo, I sure hope the Bills get that good again - FAST.

I don't think it's too much to expect. In fact, I am predicting the kid to get 7-8 sacks this season, more then the other more heralded d-ends that got drafted with him this season. I think this kid is the missing link Fewell has been looking for and Perry will put him in position to succeed.

I was only 5 and 6 years old when the Bills won their two AFL titles, so I cannot say I enjoyed experiencing them. But reading about those teams, and those first two Green Bay teams that beat Kansas City and Oakland in SB's 1 & 2, I think the Bills were just one or two years ahead of their time back then! Those two AFL Championship teams seemed to match up with those two Green Bay SB teams much better then the Chiefs and Raiders did. If only the SB's would have started in 1964, Buffalo could be known as the first SB winning franchise, and perhaps have even won the first two SB's ever played!! It reminds me of those great Browns' teams in the mid to late 80's that could not get past those damn Broncos in the AFC Championship games! The Browns of those days were built much more like the Giants and Redskins and would have made much better SB' games then the Broncos did. As far as the 89' season, no team in NFL history could have stayed close with those 49'ers, and Browns' fans were most likely relieved that the Broncos went into that game! (49ers 55, Broncos 10)

Kidding aside, (sorry, but I thought the post warning you to watch out for fake Bills tickets was funny), I love your enthusiasm about your seasons. I had seasons for many years in my younger days, and I used to love getting them in the mail. I don't remember any of my packages (even after the SB seasons), being as cool looking as yours are this year, but reading your post reminds me of feeling exactly the way you feel today. I absolutely could not wait for that first home game - regular season of course - to get here!!

Yeah, but other then those things, the Bills are right there with those Pats! In reality, the Bills organization is not that bad, and the Pats are not that good. At least not heading into this season. I cannot argue your facts about the past decade of course. But Brady eventually going into the HOF does not change the fact that the first game of the season against the Bills will be his first game back from missing the entire season last year, and even he should be rusty. The Pats did not even make the playoffs last season, so they are not as cocky and invincible heading into ,09 as they are in most season openers. And I like the added toughness along the Bills O-line - that will be something the Pats have not seen since that '03 opener, that's for sure. So the Pats will most likely win the game, but it should be a good game, and the Bills should be in it most of the way.

You are 100% wrong about one thing; every Bills' receiver is better then Les Welker, because he is not even listed on the Pats roster.

I hope you end up being right. At least that would be a small consolation after Peters held out under a very fair re-worked contract that both he and his agent were eager to accept just two years before when Peters had still not made any Pro-Bowls. I never said Peters was a great person, I just thought he was and will continue to be a great left tackle for the Eagles, and that Russ should have paid him. That said, the Bills had every right to collect every dime of their fines.

Never wish for NFL players to get injured!! Despite being overpaid they risk their very lives every down of every game they play!! However, that said, although it's good for Williams that he has found some ambition to improve his overall health and even try to come back to the NFL, I will always hate him for being so lazy and immature as a top 5 draft pick of the Buffalo Bills! I hate the Bills scouts of that time for not knowing the kid better, and of course I will always hate Donahoe for being the idiot that drafted him. No, I would never want Williams to get hurt. But I do want him to get cut from the Skins camp and simply go away from the NFL forever. I'm sure he has enough money to live on the rest of his life from the contract he stole from the Bills 7 years ago.

I think I remember the Bills making a settlement on the fines, or forgiving them entirely, along with the promise to try and re-do Peters' contract during the '08-'09 season. You may want to check the Buff News archives for Jason Peters stories around early September '08 for confirmation of that.

Great post. Too many owners in major sports today are jealous ego-maniacs. They whine about how much more money the owners in bigger markets demand, while they may have more cash in the bank then those very owners they are jealous of for all any of us small market fans will ever know. Now to me, that makes no sense. If you are already wealthy, and buy a sports team, your only goal should be to win that sports' championship year after year after year. Period. A few time over the past 50 years Wilson has allowed winning to become more important then how much money he wasn't earning, and it almost paid off into a SB Championship, or two. But then inevitably, the four men who were most responsible for the Bills coming close to Championships over the years, Lou Saban, (Lou won AFL Championships), Chuck Knox, Bill Polian and big John Butler all had falling outs with Ralph and losing followed all of their departures eventually. Then, the unfortunate hiring of Tom Donahoe was the worst "stepping aside" decision Wilson made. At least those other strong willed guys WON. But all of the other many years Ralph accepted in some cases spectacular losing seasons, he was more obsessed with the money he was not earning compared to other owners. While he did some great things for the old AFL, and has been a smart advisor to the NFL for many years and deserves his place in the HOF after all this time, he still never shared the basic passion for winning that the father-son HOF team of Art and Dan Rooney shared from the just down the road in small market Pittsburgh. And if I was Ralph, watching the Steelers win 6 Lombardis while I never won a single one, would piss me off!

1.) Langston Walker 2.) Trent Edwards 2a) Hangartner, Wood, Levitre, Butler, the tight end that ends up starting, Kyle Williams, Chris Kelsay, Aaron Schobel (and his ankle), Keith Ellison, Donte Whitner (if he even starts), Ko Simpson (if he even starts), the new special teams players after losing a couple of studs to free agency & Rian Lindell if the Bills improve enough to have some close games at the end of the season mean making the playoffs. Other then those guys, I'm fine.

Wouldn't it be refreshing for Roger Goodell to end the speculation and thousands of upcoming stories, reports and features about Vick, by simply banning him from ever playing in the NFL again simply because he spent time behind bars as a convicted felon?? Thousands of companies in the freedom-loving USA would refuse to hire Vick for that very reason. Time spent behind bars really should be the line in the sand for all sports teams, in my opinion. These stupid athletes have the money and fame to get almost any crime dropped to community service or suspended sentences with probation. The very few idiots that do things so bad that they have to go to jail for even one day after sentencing, should be made the example for the rest of these rich spoiled ego-maniacs that think they can do anything they want out in public, anytime they want to and any way they want to.