Punch

No matter how difficult the circumstances were, I do find it a little difficult to respect him after he quit an NFL head coaching position. How can a HC preach mental toughness and character to his players when his method of handling diversity was to bail? I know a few Falcons fans who are glad he's no longer their offensive coordinator but I'm not totally sure what that tells us. Blackmon just agreed to terms about an hour ago, BTW.

We may be at a disadvantage here, as I've actually long suspected Brady is the type that can "get off inside of two seconds" In all seriousness, I happen to think the Bills match up extraordinarily well with the Pats after this offseason and I'm anxious to see it all play out on the field. I'm particularly curious to see how Gilmore is used against NE's receivers--- will he exclusively cover Gronk, Hernandez or Welker? Or will he be moved around? Using the Super Bowl Giants as a kind of template, I firmly believe the Bills have altered the chemistry of the AFC East.

Do the Bills have Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Lloyd, and Aaron Hernandez? I'm honestly optimistic we can take the AFC East, but it's not quite that cut and dried.

I don't disagree with much of what you wrote, but repeating this meme doesn't make it more meaningful. They're pedestrian numbers accumulated as a situational player on a talented defense--- the Bills defense overall has been LESS THAN pedestrian since approximately 2005 or 2006, so it's a small wonder they haven't produced better individual stats. Maybin was drafted to be a difference maker, and although his draft position is not his fault, he clearly needs to be surrounded by difference makers in order to be effective. More power to him if he can carve out an NFL career but a better comparison than Derrick Thomas might be a poor man's Dexter Manley. Thomas had astute football intelligence whereas Maybin has exhibited none.

What preparation does he need to line up on the outside and rush the passer?? The article clearly says "he rushed the quarterback on 94.9 percent, or 185, of his 195 passing plays last season, the most among regular 3-4 outside linebackers". I wonder if, say, Stephon Gilmore could accumulate 6 sacks in a season if Wanny lined him up on the outside and had him run around the tackle in numerous 3rd and forever scenarios where we were protecting a late lead? I also wonder if he can A) keep the weight on, for the first time in his career and B) if he can keep the weight, maintain his quickness.

According to the article, his teammates refer to him as "Microphone" due to his loud mouth--- I wonder if it's intended as an insult?

Ryan Lochte was born in Rochester but I think he moved to Florida as a kid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mesler Steve Mesler in the 2010 Winter Games.

One of his favorite books is "The Secret"? For !@#$'s sake...

Maybe this Summer Olympics, but not the first ever.

Teambuilding exercises and classy gestures are not the reasons Mike Mularkey is a ****ty head coach. I doubt either instance came at the expense of game preparation.

The Patriots had a nearly unstoppable offense--- it can be argued that an injury which severely limited Rob Gronkowski's effectiveness was the difference in the Super Bowl. It doesn't make the Giants victory "flukey" but it certainly contributed to the game's outcome.

8-8 is literally the definition of average. You're implying the Patriots single victory against those teams caused their 8 total losses. I guess you're right, that proves the Pats are great. You're making just as little sense with each post as you did with your first, so that's something. THIS is the case for the Pats--- not the bull **** ramblings of a (*^*&%^$^#troll.

Pretty cool move.

Other notable points to consider: the sky is blue, grass is green, and water is wet.

No one's pretending. He played reasonably well last season in the brief time he was healthy and anyone could see that, but the amount of time he's missed since signing here negates that relatively meager on-field contribution. He's made a much larger contribution off the field, which is all anyone is really contending in this thread.

I was impressed with his run stopping, as well. It's an area of his game he's worked hard to improve over the past few seasons and it shows.

If he never produces on the field (beyond the few solid, if unspectacular, games he played in 2011) he is largely responsible for recruiting Nick Barnett and playing an important role as Buffalo Bills ambassador in the media. Those contributions can't be understated and make his signing worthwhile.

Erik Pears was also an excellent signing--- incredible that so much of our line has been rebuilt so quickly in large part due to under the radar signings. I've wanted to take a deeper look at the Bills scouting staff continuity over the years but haven't made the commitment. Despite the front office blunders of the previous regimes, the UDFA scouting has been exceptional pre-Nix/Whaley as well and I wonder how much credit should go to those unsung guys--- Fred Jackson, Jabari Greer, Jason Peters, George Wilson, etc. I really lament the inability to retain Greer--- he should have been locked up prior to becoming a FA, which of course forced the Bills to draft another 1st rd DB in McKelvin. Jabari was a character guy that would absolutely fit in with this current group.

Part of the problem so far is that there's really nothing to talk about: leaguewide there are no moves of significance and the CBA can only be discussed for so long when no real headway has been made. Duff gets exceptional guests via his considerable contacts throughout the league and media from his time at NHL Network and he's a terrific interviewer--- he knows how to direct a conversation without injecting himself into it and smothering the guest. I highly endorse listening to his work, thought perhaps there needs to be something more to discuss. Then again, I could listen to Duff talk about other topics and still find him listenable. The Sabres made a great decision in luring him away from the NHL Network--- then again, he's a lifelong Sabres fan from Southern Ontario so it's very possibly a dream job for him. Peters is terrific on WGR. The only exceptions occur occasionally with Sylvester--- the show is generally less focused and Peters is able to go off on tangents which derail the show. They were arguing about Starbucks for nearly 5 minutes at the top of a show last week, which makes for less than compelling radio. Jim Lorentz used to add anecdotes of his road travels with Rick during games, like crazy cab drivers in Montreal or whatever, and made it interesting. Oh well, that's enough Kev-bashing from me! Back on-topic: Murph's show is fantastic, BTW--- it's a !@#$ing dream come true!

It occurs to me, what if the Bills were to clinch the Division the previous Sunday: Week 15 against Seattle--- in Toronto.

The few times Brian Duff has hosted the show in Kev's absence were evidence enough that the problem is Sylvester himself. There's a reason he's being phased out in favor of Duffer in the 1st place: he's not a hockey guy. Even after several years as intermission host of the television broadcasts he still comes across as an amateurish local yokel stumbling over basic hockey terminology and tactics. That may work for something like AM Buffalo, but Hockey is in Brian Duff's DNA, as it is/was for Ted Darling, Rick Jeanneret and Jim Lorentz. Professional broadcasting presence and high hockey IQ are prerequisites and necessary for game presenters... and Kev ain't got either of them--- although I'm sure he's a nice guy and all.

Another way of looking at it is No. 1 playoff drought.

Season ticket holder here in Northern VA, champing on the bit to see some game action, so the updates are desperately needed and wholly appreciated. Thanks, man! By all accounts, Easley and Hagan are looking good. I hope they continue to impress.

It's hard not to appreciate a dude with a good sense of humor. I think if Chan has plans for him to contribute even in some relatively small way via WildCat or whatever he'll be pretty popular as a Bill.