May Day 10

Im a big fan of robert woods. Great football player. Love his play when he doesnt have the ball

you have to admit. The Bills make it very easy. And it isn't satisfying. I was firmly in full support of Beane/McDermott and believed there was a plan being expertly executed. Until the McCarron trade. Even then, I was like "OK, I guess Peterman probably has the goods to get us through a tough season". But man, was that an unnecessary and foolish risk in hindsight. We have a high end, raw, project QB with a 2nd year 5th round garbage QB not good enough for the CFL as his only mentor. Putting Allen out there to lead the team I watched Sunday would effectively ruin his career. Its tough to go with Peterman. What choice is there at this point. I feel like they are painted into a corner. Then you start thinking of the other moves, like Darby for Matthews, the trade for that slug Kelvin Benjamin, trading up for Zay Jones, trading up for Edmunds (I like Edmunds) minutes after paying a lot to trade up for a QB, the FA signings that are looking especially questionable. As a Sabres and Bills fan, I have been burned so many times, especially under Pegula-run organizations. I cannot trust they have it right when there are a lot of warning signs. If the Bills lost that game 28-20. Im very content right now. As I said earlier in the thread, I was counting on 4-6 wins, and fine with it. Sunday's game was a complete failure

I was fully prepared and comfortable with a lean transition season of 4-6 wins. What i watched sunday was a complete systemic failure

wake me up Labor Day 2019

Should have hired Andy Reid instead of Doug Marrone

Nick mendola is one of the biggest losers i have ever encountered in my life Thats all

Whats the worst loss of my lifetime? This? Or the 2007 patriots flex game?

"We need runners. And tight ends who dont get hurt" -Ralph Wilson

I was more optimistic before recently. I feel like there are a few warning signs. Going into the season with only Peterman and Allen seems like a risky move. Trading McCarron seems like an unnecessary risk. He seems like a great guy and has been through the grind a handful of times. Even on the bench, he brings value. I also dislike trading up to the core. With a QB it is permissible. With trading up for a linebacker though. Although he looked great on the car lot... I dont know. In the NFL, with all the injuries, career unpredictability, etc., many assets > 1 player. They also have one of the older NFL rosters. They have a fairly clean canvas though with all the dead cap money coming off the books. They have a QB with top-end physical talent. They have 10 2019 draft picks, including a pick that could very well be a top 3 pick (I'm content with this being a step-back season). McDermott seems like a very good coach. He seems very detail-oriented, seems receptable to change for the good of the team. He also is a great motivator. Watching him addressing the team makes me want to suit up and run through a wall. Im still guardedly optimistic

I do not know what they did. However, with both teams, they came in without help. It showed with the Sabres as they retained the management... then decided to change it only when it was absolutely boiling over with fans in a series of half-measures. They got rid of Ruff a month into a shortened season, after a lockout, when a new coach could have had a year and a half to prepare. Then, the following season, they got rid of Regier in November, a month into a season again and brought in a completely inexperienced LaFontaine (based on a chance meeting) and a fly by the seat of the pants coach in Nolan. Then months later hired an inexperienced young GM who ran the team into a tree, squandering a staggering amount of organization assets...... The Pegulas again, hired a first-time GM, who, before winning the lottery, made the team worse. Through 7 years owning the Sabres, the Pegulas have not brought in any sort of experience or help at a management level. I have witnessed a string of awful decisions that plague the franchise, often times embarrassing. They have been stuck at the very bottom of the NHL for going on 5 years now. They are paying so much money to people who aren't actively working or playing for them. They have also kept the front office pretty much consistent, tons of nepotism that dates back pre-Pegula, and the franchise from an off-ice perspective really needs refreshing. I thought Ted Black was doing a decent job. You also have other hi-jinks like LaFontaine's "resignation", the situation around Russ Brandon, the unfair dismissal of Ted Nolan, etc. The Sabres have been a disaster and deserve an F. The Bills, is more incomplete. We will see how this works out. It has been a similar path as the Sabres, with trying to make it work with failed management, hitting a tree, and at this point Beane/McDermott = LaFontaine/Murray. Maybe (hopefully) it will work out and the Bills will be primed in the next few years for perennial contention. It is also possible it creates a dumpster fire and sets them back 5 years like Murray did. Then at that point, the Pegulas will need to choose to either get help, or try their hand again at the full interview process and choosing a young executive, who doesnt mind owners helping scout players. Terry Pegula said last Summer that he didnt want anyone else in control but he and his wife, and he really regrets handing some degree of control of the Sabres to a team president. My fear is that owning Sports teams is a mid-life crisis vehicle and these teams are merely a motorcycle substitute.... toys to play with and entertain a man who can afford anything. With that said, I DO like the Pegulas. I love the stability of the teams and resources available, as well as the downtown improvements. They are likeable people, easy to get behind. Someday, they are bound to strike the correct note with a coach/GM combo. I'm about out of patience though with the Sabres (although with the Bills I am willing to wait a few more years before contention).

If i bought a team... during the purchase process i would be scouring the football world and assembling a management team to right the ship and guide the transition and build from the top down Coming in unprepared and sticking with russ/whaley is inexcusable. Especially after burning their hand on the stove the same way with the sabres I would be comfortable admitting i dont know anything and tell management ill be there to accept the lombardi trophy. Not 'scouting' quarterbacks

Where were the Sabres going? They were rock solid, in zero danger of moving. Golisano made the team financially viable and locked in the waiting list (which has now been breached). Balsielle (sp) inquired with Golisano about buying the team and Golisano told him to take a hike as the plan would almost certainly be a move to Hamilton. Golisano has a very unfair reputation with Sabres fans IMO. There were a lot of things to dislike.... Larry Quinn with too much power and full job security, slug uniforms, "1 year contract" revelation that brought carnage in 2006 and later 2007... but HE was the one who stepped up when the team was in REAL peril and there was no owner on the horizon and the team was a shaky investment. He was committed to Buffalo and re-kindled interest in the team that wasnt seen since the 70s and (very) early 80s. The team was financially solvent for the first time since the 80s.

No referendums in NY. Wish we could have some sort of constitutional convention thingy where we could re-organize the cumbersome state government in the interest of the citizens. Oh, thats right. We had a chance to vote for it, but the State Unions executed a fear campaign to sabotage it. We'll get another chance in 2037 though. As far as legalization. A few years ago, it stood zero chance. Then medicinal opened the door a crack and it was very limited. Last year, the barn door on medicinal was thrown wide open with the "Chronic Pain" availability, where almost anyone can get a card. The also just decriminalized it in NYC I believe. Now Cuomo, who was once publicly against it, seems to have changed his tune. He assigned the State Health Dept to perform a study on recreational (expecting mixed results), and the results came back overwhelmingly positive. He has created a group of experts who are now crafting a bill for recreational for the legislature in 2019. We will see how far it gets there... but there is a growing wave. In the states who have legalized recreational, these marijuana law rollbacks seemed to be inevitable after a certain point and it feels like NYS is past the threshold.

C for the Bills. Its "incomplete" at this point. It all pivots on Beane and McDermott. If they succeed (Im willing to give them a few more years and I am optimistic), then the Pegulas will score high. If the thing blows up.... Pegulas get an F for constantly rejecting experience in running the team. Their apparent desire to be directly involved frightens me. F for the Sabres. Im primarily a Sabres fan, and they have chronically made poor decisions since the moment they purchased the team. I can detail each step of the way, but I have done so many times. This season was rock-bottom once again. The 2nd worst season I have witnessed in 35 years of watching (and understanding) hockey.... only slightly better than the Reinhart-tank season. They were extremely fortunate to land the lottery because it about-faced everyone's attitudes about the team/franchise. Again, like the Bills above, they have rejected any experience in running the team in exchange for their own close involvement. Flying by the seat of their pants. The arena experience is as stale and boring as it ever has been. The bottom line is, from 2011-2018 the Sabres are in the darkest days of their franchise (on the ice) and it is not even close. The team was coming off a Division Championship season in 2010, followed by a mad rush to claim the last playoff spot in 2011.

Schmidt was really bad this preseason

Choking sounds stupid

Why is this guy talking so much? Is he trying to create some sort of brand for himself?

I'm a "process" guy. I believe that they have a plan, and the plan is to be a perennial contender. A team who is in the conversation for the Super Bowl for 5-10 years, and with some good management, sustain the engine. It is very likely the team will take a step back this year record-wise, although the mode of the coaching staff and management is positive and winning attitude (unlike a typical *tank team who muddies the waters a bit). This season is a blip, but it will help rebuild the roster, through new draft picks, building toward 1 system, and a lot of cap flexibility. I am fine with it. Especially since the clock will be striking midnight on the Patriots before long and the AFC, specifically the East will be in play. I do think it is still possible this team just competes. The defense does well, McCoy stays upright, and the team wins 7-9 games again. Im not feeling all too optimistic on that, mainly due to attrition on the O-Line and Tyrod... but I do not doubt McDermott's ability to motivate and gameplan. I expect 3-6 wins though. I will be fine with it. However, if this is the case, I will need to see a step forward for 2019 on some level. As far as the QB question. I want them to do whatever is best for the long-term. If they think shielding Allen from non mop-up gameplay, while developing him behind the curtain is the best route.... Im all for it. If they think throwing him in there for 16 starts will be best for his development.... and possible extreme failure and possible scrutiny will not faze him, then Im for that. I dont know which is better.

That was a tough read. Very juvenile nonsense, calling people "tools" and trying to make everyone look bad. "There are venereal diseases harder to get rid of than Dan snyder" had me rolling on the floor laughing and thirsting for more "insight". Not at all

It turned into more than just a pass. It was a rare thing in pro sports. A POSITIVE story, fueled by a grassroots fan initiated wave. That fan base is ours, and it gives me immense pride. It turns out, Dalton and his wife seem like good people, and have a wonderful foundation/cause. Boyd's youth football organization also raised a ton of loot. Dalton reciprocated and used some of the money raised in our city to help children Dalton and the bengals' offense could have easily threw in the towel or gone through the motions, but fought in a "meaningless" game. It culminated in a dramatic play that acutely put the bills in the playoffs and ended the drought. Like everything in football, the QB gets most of the attention, credit, or blame. Im going to give dalton a standing O. But its also a recognition of all things above, including our fans. Itll be a unique and special moment. Nobody is going to take my man card away. I can take time away from my grunts, boos, beer dispensing helmet, and pork rinds, demanding sacks to show some recognition to the human side.

I have said it before, but Madden, and all sports games should not come out with a new title every single year. It seems they always degrade some aspects in an attempt to improve. It would also give them some more development time. Instead (for a charge, $25-$30?), they should come out with a major roster update for the upcoming season, with maybe a few major tweaks to gameplay and the game mode(s). Maybe release some classic teams, stadiums, etc amongst these offerings.

Its coming in New York...

Thanks, you too. I remember getting sad reading this thread a month ago. Sorry to grab it, but didn't want to create a new thread for my guy. I hope I didnt expose old wounds. I am thankful that (and in your case too), we were not faced with difficult decisions in terms of surgeries, finances, hanging onto the dog for possibly selfish reasons, etc. It all came and went quickly and there was little option. He had a fairly long and happy life. Our lives were/are enriched from him. He had diabetes the last 2.5 years too which caused cataracts that made him blind. We were doing well managing it, but I knew there was a house of cards with that and an elderly dog. If it makes sense, I think I actually started the grieving process a bit while he was still alive, so I think I have come out relatively OK (a few crying fits a day, but relatively together). Hope things have gotten better for you

My dog had a sudden medical emergency which led to him being put down. My heart is shattered. I met him just minutes after he was born. He was a Jack Russell Terrier and always had a look of a puppy. Even when he was nearly 13 and diabetic/blind. He has been my shadow for his entire time here and its very hard to not be tripping over him. He went through a lot of changes in my and my family's lives, from me being single, to married, 2 kids, house, etc. He loved running around, walks, playing with other dogs, rump scratches, pooping, and his human family. We feel very lucky to have had such a faithful companion