May Day 10

Its still not close

That and the fallacy of sunk costs. That was supposed to be Trevor Lawrence in a tank year, but Frank Gore had to pile up yards in a meaningless game

People forget that he was becoming unpopular here near the end of his tenure. They had some sluggish games various parts of that season. Then we had the 'perfect game' and 13 seconds which were the best 2 offensive performances in the history of this franchise, and that is what everyone remembers. I think Daboll was a very good coordinator. I do think it is probably a good thing to change it up with coordinators every few years (as long as your QB is indoctrinated into the NFL and can deal/adapt). No matter what a coordinator does, Im sure tendencies and predictability exist on some level once they hit 3-4-5 seasons with the same Offense (or defense).

I do like his enthusiasm and he does a decent job... He suffers from the same problem that Murphy has though. I listened to the first 20 minutes of the game on the radio yesterday. You have little idea of down/distance or the depth of a play. Van Miller used to paint that picture so well and build that information into the intensity of his voice and calling the game. "Theres a pass out there to Kincaid... he grabs the ball! He is brought down there by XXXX. Nice quick pass there by Allen who was already feeling some pressure from his left side. They only gained 3 yards though and its 3rd and 7. Most plays can be anywhere from 1 yard to 12 yards and you don't really know for too long. Id say Brown is a little better at giving those details on a timely basis than Murphy.

I don't feel bad for the Jets and their fans at all. They tried to skip to the front of the line by putting all their chips on a 40 year old QB. I heard so much hype, and they were planning their Super Bowl trips. Not to mention, Rodgers as they face of it is a bad look as he has become insufferable. Their fans can and will just shape-shift into Yankees or Mets fans for the playoffs (whoops).

At one point, we had an embarrassment of riches, especially on the blue line. Myers (still very young, but not a prospect at that time), Zadorov, Ristolainen, Pysyk, McNabb were all blue chip D 1st Round level prospects. There were also guys like Compher and Lemieux who were highly rated around that time... plus Grigorenko and Girgensons drafted in the first round, not to mention the promise of the upcoming tank picks. They also possessed a ton of draft capital at that point. Under Murray, they squandered much of that and also failed to develop, and lost organizational assets at pennies on the dollar. Now, they have the organizational/prospect depth at forward (while also have top 3 young NHL defenseman). It looks like they are developing well. I think they hit a grand slam on Benson falling to them. Still need to put it all together and get over the hump to be a relevant NHL franchise.

You are probably right. If the Bills had a developmental team, I think I could (possibly) be compelled to watch

I havent watched anything in the Spring since the first ever XFL game a long time ago... and that got boring and I tuned out by halftime. I dont know what can move the needle for me to be compelled to watch. I dont like the cities/markets they always choose. NY, LA, St Louis, DC, Seattle, Houston, etc. The team names and identities are also very boring. They try to be extreme for the sake of it and as a result, you have miscellaneous brands and logos that represent the CPU generated teams on Madden or something. I believe if they went more regional, played in smaller venues, in places where people will go and care about the team.... maybe enough heat can be brought where it is interesting to watch for atmosphere? I dont care about 'bad football'. I have watched a ton of compelling and entertaining MAC games. I guess these leagues try to be "NFL Jr" and in Vince McMahon's case even intended to compete with the NFL, it is offputting. They need to know their place, find their nitch, get some traction, and grow it. Not start the league, play in front of 60,000 people and sign giant TV deals.

For as bad as last week felt (honestly we are a year or 2 more of terrible Week 1 games from everyone jokingly referring to Week 1 as 'preseason')... That was possibly the most complete and impressive Bills win I can remember. Obviously you have the perfect game in the playoffs vs New England, some of the other blowouts and all that... This was 38-10 and it wasn't that close. No huge plays though, no hero ball, Diggs didnt need to have 10 for 150 and 2 TDs, Allen didnt need to rush for 50. But the presence of James Cook completely changes everything. He has home run potential all the time... and he can catch passes. Everything was just greased because of that and the offense was everything everyone wants. Harris and Murray were the perfect complements to that. 9 Players caught passes, and 5 players had 3+ receptions. Allen was nearly perfect efficiency-wise and didn't need to run. Short, efficient, safe, moved the chains (needed to be a bit better on 3rd down). Defense kind of had their hands full with Adams early, but clamped down and Jacobs had his worst game. Hopefully they can keep it up vs Washington, then the real test will be against Miami. Really liked what we saw yesterday (how could you not?). Sustainable and methodical

I thought it was no big deal, and figured everyone behind the scenes would just laugh it off... but the fact that it seems to have irritated Diggs means she should be let go. This cant happen with a Bills in-house media staffer who can be replaced in 30 seconds.

The thing that gets to me, and is now old/alarming... I don't understand how this team chronically loses these games where they are the better team, have assumed control, and need a comedy of errors to lose. Not even one or 2 big plays. You can point to 6 or 7 (often far-fetched) plays that all needed to happen in order for the Bills to lose these games. You name it: Houston playoff game, Vikings game, Jets game last year, Ill include the Miami sun-stroke game, this past Monday night game, 13 seconds, the Patriots wind game, the Jacksonville meltdown, Titans Monday night. There seems to be an inordinate number of close games they lose, often give the game away, as opposed to close games they gut out. A seemingly detail-oriented coach like McDermott should have his team buttoned up in these situations. But instead, meltdowns happen, whether its dropping the ball in the end zone vs the vikings, not knocking a pass down in the same game, allowing a punt return in OT, the entire 13 seconds sequence, etc. Why is this happening? I feel like they have lost a huge opportunity for a few Super Bowl appearances at a minimum.

I find this to be no big deal. And if she doesn't like it here, she can go back to Tennessee and see how she likes it there

Just from what I publicly know about Terry Pegula over the past 12 or so years... I cannot picture him saying something like that. I remember him even putting out a statement going against Donald trump and getting behind Lesean McCoy. The Bills allowed the players to do as they wanted during that whole thing. Maybe below the surface he could be slightly prejudiced. Most white men that age seem to be susceptible to that (boomers)

It was actually a terrible, unentertaining football game featuring quarterbacks Zach Wilson and someone who played worse than Zach Wilson

Jp ej peterman

Plays looked telegraphed and predictable. It didn't help that Allen's turnovers lit the game on fire though

They aren't a good looking team. Same team we saw the second half of last season. Fly by the seat of their pants, get punched in the mouth, every once in awhile athleticism will bail them out

Why would those idiots run that play?

Allen looks like a clown out there. Single handed loss.

I guess I'm not sick of it. The roster looks great. It's NYC. It should be expected. The other side of the coin, is if things go south, the media and fans will make it a soap opera whether the players want it or not

He had Canadian partners who were vested in the city and Canadian media. Tim Lieweke is a guy who's career role is seeking teams for relocation. Once Wilson died and the team was for sale, the Toronto team entered the process to buy the team. They clammed up about relocation and Toronto because that is how these things work. If they were successful, they would claim they were proud owners of the Buffalo Bills... but oh would you look here... you have a stadium that needs replacing. We "need" $X and $Y (unattainable) or... oh shucks, we will have to explore other options. Other options explored in Toronto, stadium greenlit, not official until near the end of the lease, 1 or 2 lame duck seasons, and see-ya. There is no way that Toronto group was just going to own the team in Buffalo into perpetuity. I would bet most/all NFL owners were salivating at the opportunity. The existence of Pegula, his dedication to Buffalo, and his liquidity (as well as the timing of RW's death so early in the lease) made it virtually impossible for the Bon Jovi/MLSE group (or any out of town group) without the full weight of Rogers to buy the team, build a stadium, pay the relocation fee, and possibly pay off the NRA. The Trump story (embellished like he chronically does) creates a neat story for Bon Jovi that makes him more relevant, and also saves face as a good salt of the Earth guy with no enemies in the world who would buy a team in a small city and keep it local. It also excuses his failure to obtain the franchise. That's why he doesn't deny it. Its a nice convenient story and creates a mythology. I have no doubt Caputo distributed some fliers and got some local bar owners to join in on some Bon Jovi hate. But that is hardly sabotaging the purchase of the team. I do not know how that affected the $s Bon Jovi's group were able to pay. If you think that group with Bon Jovi, Lieweke, MLSE, and Rogers were going to buy the Bills at $1.4 Billion, allow them to stay in Buffalo, I guess we have to agree to disagree. An NFL franchise in Toronto would end up worth double what they are currently worth.

The idea that Trump and Caputo 'fooled' us into thinking Bon Jovi was in a Toronto based group looking to move the Bills to Toronto is foolish and is a revisionist We were onto Bon Jovi even before Ralph Wilson died. It was pretty much public knowledge if you were paying attention https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/jon-bon-jovi-mlse-give-toronto-inside-track-on-buffalo-bills-kelly/article_f3c8277d-d282-54f6-b107-6ecf7a81bd46.html https://www.businessinsider.com/jon-bon-jovi-may-be-positioning-himself-to-buy-the-buffalo-bills-and-move-the-team-to-toronto-2013-11

We will find out definitively in the next 2 years. The lease is up in 2025. The arena is going to require private and public investment. I don't see pegula jumping through the hoops, investing in the arena (already announced a few things), and signing a lease if he was going to sell the team. All indications from people in the know is that he is very happy owning the team. My guess is that Jessica and her husband and terry's son Matthew will be more and more involved with both franchise over the next decade

Yeah. I love the stability. I think they are fairly genuine people for billionaires. I believe their desire is to win. I love their resources.... but yeah. From day 1, they needed (for each franchise), a vetted and experienced team president to work alongside them who builds the team from the top down. Ease them into managing and being involved. I had thought they learned with the Sabres and was shocked to see them buy the Bills and not have that person in place (and continue to grope around with that buffoon Russ Brandon a few more years). That was a tough day, but it was just a symptom of the systemic failing of their structure and lack thereof. It was screwed up from day 1. They decided to hang onto Regier and Ruff, who clearly ran their course here. We had a decent nucleus that was stagnating, and with different leadership they may have been able to succeed. That mini-run in the spring to grab a playoff spot was probably a bad thing. There was a lockout shortened season that started in January, extra long offseason. They waited that long and decided to fire Ruff early in that season, after all that time off, mainly because the home crowds were turning ugly and it was getting national/canadian media attention. Half-measure. They hired Ron Rolston who was unqualified/unfit. Then they hung onto Regier longer, allowed him to start a rebuild... but then decided to fire him, again early, the next season to hire LaFontaine (without a GM in place). This was apparently due to a chance meeting at a Concussion seminar and an impulse. I thought it was great as he had Craig Patrick as a mentor and I was all in on Lafontaine's stated philosophies and goals. Then LaFontaine left amid drama, leaving Murray as the GM and defacto president. I honestly believe that Murray was going to serve as kind of more of a head scout/talent evaluation role, while LaFontaine would take care a lot of the interpersonal stuff and sign off on everything. It could have worked. LaFontaine is my favorite player all-time and its gutting that he is on the outs with ownership and the organization. Murray was a disaster running the show. They screwed Nolan over again which was bad mojo. Bylsma was horrible, Housley was worse. Botterill was a decent hire based on his resume, but he was a disaster as a general manager. Kruger, woof. They made bad hires, strange flat management structure, and waited too long to make moves, hanging onto bad for too long at times.

I think she was probably still going around the building and making decisions prior to her presidency as well. Im not a Kim Pegula (or Terry) hater or anything. I just think that in a lot of ways, this organization was undermined by their desire to be involved, as well as failure in defining roles. It was all very dysfunctional. They hired Adams, who seems to open to including the Pegulas (and probably others) in roundtable-style decisions... and I think Krueger was as well, and to some extent, Botterill... but those guys were just awful at their jobs.