TimGraham

He was considered good enough on that staff that Cam Cameron, an offensive guru who has been a great coordinator at many stops and insisted on calling the plays in Miami, secretly turned over the play-calling duties to Mularkey. The team was going down like the Titanic by then, but it indicated the respect Mularkey has within the coaching ranks. And we saw what Mularkey did with the Falcons last year. He'll be a head coach again, maybe next year.

You're saying Chris Mortensen has no basis for his opinion on the Bills. Based on that statement alone, I can't even begin to have a reasonable conversation with you. Mike Mularkey has been considered a brilliant coach everywhere he has been except Buffalo, and Marv Levy wanted to retain him. Those are facts. The common thread to Bill Polian, John Butler and Tom Donahoe leaving is Ralph Wilson. Those are facts. Why doesn't Tom Donahoe have a job in the NFL? Why doesn't Mike Shanahan? Why doesn't Steve Mariucci? Why doesn't Jim Fassel? Why doesn't Dennis Green? Stuff happens. Clearly you're set in your opinion. I respect you as a passionate fan. But I'm not going to get into a debate about whether or not Chris Mortensen has proper credentials to have an educated NFL opinion.

I have to admit this subject is beyond my grasp at the moment. The NHL lockout was the same way to me about a year out. I'm so focused on the day-to-day coverage of actual football, that the thought of trying to figure out such a broad and uncertain concept totally overwhelms me. But, as the NHL lockout became inevitable, I turned into an expert on it. As the uncapped year gets closer, I'll be able to comment more intelligently.

I guess I should clarify ... He wouldn't be an average player, but his chances to make big plays would be so limited, he wouldn't be nearly as noticeable. Just like Donte Whitner or Jim Leonhard looked behind the Bills' defense. Put some better talent in front of them and you'll see a different player.

This debate is illogical. You're speculating about where the Bills would be today based on your opinion of Mularkey, Donahoe and Losman. And then you say Mortensen needs to check his feelings at the door. No, he doesn't. He gets paid to have educated, strong opinions. He generates his opinions from spending practically every waking hour of his day talking to people in the NFL. If you disagree, fine. If you choose to be irritated, fine. But I would suggest you accept one man's opinion as an opinion and not let it ruin your day. But I will say this: For those so pumped up about the T.O. signing, it's straight out of Donahoe's managerial playbook. People are ecstatic the Bills are trying something so creative and daring. Isn't that what Donahoe was best at?

Ed Reed is a straight up freak because he had guys like Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott in front of him. Rex Ryan then unleashed Reed to gamble. Without that personnel and Ryan's philosophy, Reed doesn't do the same things. Sure, he can return a ball when he intercepts it no matter who he's playing with, but those chances dry up in a less dynamic defense. As of this afternoon, the Bills weren't even sure who was going to wear what number. There was the idea Owens might switch to 18 if he didn't insist on taking Hardy's number.

I don't know if I disagree with that. Mort could have thrown Polian's name in there, too.

Nobody involved in the process I have spoken to has told me Jauron pushed for Owens. I saw a report that Jauron instigated the Owens signing, but a highly placed source tells me that's absolutely false. Some people have painted Jauron more as a passive observer who didn't protest. With Owens, the national media attention will increase -- win or lose. The only way I can see it fizzling is if he suffers a season-ending injury. Even a nagging injury would fuel the saga.

I think way too much is being made of the Trent Edwards text message as the reason T.O. was signed. Edwards himself downplayed it at his news conference today. I'm confident the Bills would have pursued T.O. in exactly the same manner had Edwards not sent the text. And just because Jauron signed off on Owens doesn't mean he was all for it. This is a coach who almost didn't keep his job. If an authority in the front office tells Jauron they're interested in a player, his response will be "Yes, sir." Also, there's a link in my blog to the audio from Mort's appearance on "Mike & Mike in the Morning." Mort does not say it was 100 percent Wilson's idea. Mort doesn't attack Wilson. Mort speculates why Jauron didn't speak on Saturday and says "Ralph Wilson Jr. is 90 years old and wants to get back to the Super Bowl, and that maybe is the reason why this happened." "Maybe is the reason why" is not 100 percent anything, and it's not an attack. I think people are listening so hard for an agenda they misinterpret the message actually being delivered. Mort doesn't mention Tom Donahoe once in the appearance either. I don't see any line being crossed by what Mortensen has reported. He has sources I'd give my molars for. Mort gets paid to get information out of them and give an opinion based on that info. I can guarantee you Mort didn't make anything up, and nothing I have heard him report about the Owens signing would I consider out of line.

I like Donte Whitner. The thing about safeties, however, is that no other position's naked-eye performance is as dependent on the overall strength of a team's defense. Put Ed Reed on the Bills defense, and he'll look average.

I've never understood Bills' fans obsession with what Chris Mortensen thinks of Tom Donahoe. I've never once heard Mortensen "throw it back in the Bills fans' faces." I don't recall ever hearing him say anything incendiary on TV. When Mort does bring it up, it's usually in a chat and as a shot at Ralph Wilson, not the fans. He's a fan of Donahoe. He's entitled to his opinion. Big deal.

They could use a player like him, but that bridge is a heap of cinders.

I would agree with that. Places are never as bad or as great as their reputations.

You're missing some games.

I think you hit on three big needs right there, but O-line needs to be addressed, too.

in catches, yards and TDs NYJ, 3 games 13-163-2 NE, 2 games (not counting Super Bowl XXXIV) 9-127-2 MIA, 2 games 9-140-1 BUF, 3 games 12-166-1

Excellent idea. Based on your note, I've put in a request with our research department. I'll let you know what they compute.

I'll disagree on the laziness part. If a newspaper wanted to spend a couple thousand dollars to dispatch a reporter to Buffalo to dig around and research and find out everything there was to know about the city, what the reporter would come away with are the same things he already knew: The weather sucks, the economy is crumbling, there's not as much to do as in other NFL markets. Yes, they'll also discover the charms of the area, that the people are friendly and the schools are impressive (at the price of high taxes). But every city has its charms. Still, a columnist's point about this particular story would remain the same: Buffalo almost never would be the first choice for an NFL player. Cleveland is the same way, which is why Bernie Kosar remains a demigod there. He came out of college actually wanting to play for the Browns. But if a writer wants to illustrate why players don't place Buffalo at the top of their wish lists, you get all the same reasons we've heard for years because -- quite simply -- that's exactly what the players think. It's not laziness. It's accurate, and it's reflective of what players truly think. A reporter could write the story about why Buffalo is a great place to play, but that's a different type of story all together. What people are writing about now -- and will be writing about for the next eight months -- is why Terrell Owens coming to the Bills is so unusual. If a superstar athlete had his pick of several teams and chose the Bills, then the story lines would be totally different.

I respect the question, and I'm sure you're not alone. But the word "phenomenon" suggests this is a new trend. People have been writing about Buffalo this way for years. As for your last question, my answer is "neither." What is there to be jealous of? I'm proud of Buffalo and will be moving back by choice in June, but to think people are writing about Buffalo in this manner to, say, knock it down to Philadelphia's level, is misguided. A "trash Buffalo" complex? Nobody thinks of Buffalo enough to have a complex about it. Writers mention all of these things about Buffalo because it's easy and, in most cases, true. I'm sure Philadelphians get sick of hearing the Santa Claus line every time some outsider writes a sports story about their town. I grew up in Cleveland. I've heard and read the same jokes for decades. Yes, we know there is a lot to love about Buffalo. It's a great place to live and raise a family. But the region's shortcomings are numerous ... and obvious. It's not an easy place to recruit NFL players to. Even the biggest Buffalo supporter has to recognize that.

If you're spending time on this board, then your Bills opinion is more educated than most others.

Thanks for the heads up. It otherwise might have remained that way permanently. It has been fixed.

Keep sending in your thoughts. I'm going to post an unprecedented second mailbag purge tomorrow. I can't thank you guys enough for responding so strongly.

A quick heads up ... The response was so overwhelming, I won't be able to use everybody's submission. The file would be too huge ... even for the internet.

I just want to thank everybody for contributing. I didn't want to look into the mailbag to see how the responses were going until this afternoon (watched pot never boils, and all that), and I must say I'm blown away by the volume. I'll be posting your comments today. Again, thanks for the passionate response. People will love reading your take on the Owens deal.

Yes, I'll definitely link it. What's the address of choice? Two Bills Drive or the Stadium Wall?