WinBeforeYouLeave

Didja notice each of the San Diego girls has the little hearts to dot their I's or weird high school spelling for their names? Like LinZ? I know, I know... I shouldn't care... but still, it keeps the stereotypes intact.

I remember thinking that the 1995 season was the most 'heroic' of Jimbo's career, at least to me. He picked that team up on his back and had a very effective year. The pick 6 against Miami in the closing minutes at Rich Stadium really showed the decrease in zip in 1996. We (as Buffalonians often do) started getting the rail ready to run him out on after that game. At least I remember that game being in 96....

Eloquent, well stated. It's not about being cheap, I agree. Money has been spent. I think it's about a lack of intensity and focus. Calling for the death of anyone is sick, and it embarrasses me to read stuff like that.

My father and I have always been close. If there was a problem with our relationship, it's that our interests were very different, and we were running the risk of drifting apart. He picked up the tab for season tickets in 1992, as we had been fans for years and caught single games here and there. We made the commitment to ride back and forth from Rochester, having great conversations and a lot of laughs along the way. He plays a great straight man to my moronic ramblings. He's 67 now, and I don't know how long he can physically do this with me- we can't afford fancy seats and sit in the upper deck. We've met a lot of great people that have come and gone, some became close friends- attended weddings of fellow ticket holders, you all know the drill. During these rides, Dad and I discussed the birth of three kids, a marriage break-up, a retirement and the maddening decisions made by the front office. I don't think we'd still be so close- like best friends- without the shared passion for the Buffalo Bills. It sucks to say it, but we both lost the belief this organization really wants to win. I think the 90's may have been a magical fluke, as the bookends of the 80's and the last ten years show a lack of focus that makes it awful tough to billieve any longer. I hoped that the team acquired a taste for success through the playoff runs, that the Donahoe era would be an aggressive change, etc. Nope. I'm sure Ralph feels keeping the team in a financially depressed market is enough of a commitment, that no further financial investment makes sense. Fine, I can understand that. What he has to understand, is he's messing with more than a football team, many of us in WNY have precious little else to do with our entertainment dollar and NEED the Bills for several reasons. I hoped against hope his advancing years would lead to a splurge, a phuck it attitude that was driven by an urge to finally get it done. Clearly, that's not the case. Dad and I used Bodine (great people) to visit Yankee stadium this year. Maybe that's where our interests need to go, the Yanks are bloated and gluttons, bullies, yeah... But they want to be the finest franchise in sports. Ya gotta respect that. The long bus rides make for a great opportunity to keep the dialog going. Kiss my ass Bills... You've sucked the joy out of a lot of us.

I haven't read the whole thread, but this post struck me as an easy comment from someone who hasn't been out there in the cold for 17 years. Perhaps I'll read the rest of the thread and realize I'm not alone, but this struck me as.... a typical comment from someone not as 'invested'.

Ahhh, for the love of Felser.

McGee can't play like a linebacker. Isn't what the safeties here are supposed to do?

Just a thought.... Has provocative reporting trumped good reporting? The guy is interesting to read, but is he anything more than a fire starter?

One way the Bills could get better very fast is to go for a shooting star.. bring Josh McDanials as head coach and Matt Cassel as the QB. This would accomplish not only making the Bills more effective in drafting and acquiring players, have an instant successful QB and play caller. Matt Cassel. The next Derek Anderson, or the next Rob Johnson, or the next Tom Brady? I would cringe if the Bills locked up that kind of money in this guy. Like the Broncos running attack, I fear they can plug me in there and have some success. I still like our chances with our cap friendly QB. I wonder how he would look in New England, I bet very good. Unfortunately, to generate some pass rush, this team may have to lock up even MORE at DE. We'll need a government bailout to finance these average lines.

Hardy just doesn't seem to possess the ability to aid his quarterback when he's in trouble. A good receiver is as much about reading what is going on with the play when it blows up as what happens when it's all peachy. Moulds took a while, so there's certainly time, but there is reason to be concerned with Hardy. Anything out of a seventh round pick as a rookie is a bonus.

I hear ya, but I'm suspicious if it would affect him/Brandon as much as people sitting there voicing their disapproval, signs, bags, etc. Leaving at halftime is normal in some markets once their team gets behind, I don't know if the point would be as crystal clear to the national media. Getting them on the organization's collective azzes has worked in the past, and after all, ESPN loves pissed fans in bags.. This feels like the mid 70's, doesn't it? Cheap Ralph, bad coaching, Ferguson even questioned his 'frugalness'. What a mess then, what a mess now.

The Bills are the joke of the league this week. Meltdowns are more pathetic than just sucking. We have become masters of the meltdown, and the national talk radio guys have been making that point en masse.

.....and, that will cost RW what? The parkings been paid, the beer purchased, the tickets in hand... It would just be an example of our 'lack of support' somehow. Ralphie does seem to have the capacity to be embarrassed, however- and with all the bitching about him, I still believe he loves his low budget team. Simple signs, typical paper bags over the heads, it's enough. TV cameras love that stuff.

I was thinking the exact same thing. I still highly doubt he will be the coach in 2009, but I do believe he will be getting paid to be. The Bills can be incompetent, but the beauty of having a marketing guy up front is that he can communicate better than anyone the value of a product we don't despise. Loving the Bills has been tough, but I am getting indifferent and that is a tough place to be.

Agreed. Firing Jauron alone only treats the symptoms. This disease runs deep.

Poz is the guy all the chicks want to be with, and the dude all the guys want to be like. He was anointed before he ever covered a snap in Roch. He's a good lookin feller, and someone we'd like our sons to hang out with and our daughters get impregnated by. I think there is an element of white guy discount. It's not that people will ignore bad play because he's white, he'll just have further to fall from that pedestal of hope he was placed upon. You know, that Great White Hope. Wasn't it similar when Coy Wire first played? BTW, Bruce said we were all racist. Bad example.

My thoughts exactly. I think they'd have a tough time beating Syracuse at this point. I know this means NOTHING, but I sat on a plane ride next to Schonert back in 2000 or so. For what it's worth, he seemed very level headed, and we talked about approach, from dumb fan to guy that was involved... and he was candid and patient with me. This doesn't mean he's even marginally qualified for the job, but he sounded like Jaws, placing an emphasis on getting Johnson's comfort zone established, etc. etc. He also admitted Johnson was a long-shot work in progress. I bet they know what to do, just can't implement it. That must be the difference between the not so good and the very good, knowing the right approach, and getting it done.

I thought I was one of a select few that felt this way about Sullivan. On a similar note, I couldn't stand 'The Coach' either. Watching him scream at Bruce at training camp in 1990 was amusing, what with his snazzy headband, but after Washington (SB XXVI) he became a bitter old man that catered to the angry and the lowest common denominator of Bills fans. The whole thing with Parker was a mess. He implied Moulds was mentally deficient, (this was late 1997) claiming it was an 'inside source' that told him he was too dumb to be coached. Uh huh. Sullivan is not as over the top, but he's still inflammatory. He's the assh*le at work that might say what everyone is thinking, and that makes us giggle, but we all know he's still an assh*le. I like critical journalism, but getting on a topic and pounding it into the dirt gets old. We know Ralph has many, many faults, but Sullivan takes it to where I feel like a voyeur just reading it. Leo Roth plays the role of J Sullivan here in Rochester, and he's not even good at it.

I hope she manages things operationally- that's a good size staff that travels a ton. Managing the operations of the staff and picking scouts/players are a lot different. One can only hope.

I hold Schonert, as the 'head' of the offensive side of the ball for the regression of TE. His play calling has not helped a once promising young QB. As much as I want AVP to succeed, he's got to be held up to scrutiny as well.

In all fairness, if I was put in the spot of needing a quick sound bite, I'd F it up. This 90 year old man mumbled a bit and took off. He didn't apologize for Donahoe until after the season, but he did it, and that wasn't too long ago. Problem is, it's no better now. It's just a little less sickening, I don't feel quite the same level of despair. I'm not apologizing for him, I just don't have the energy to be mad at a part of the team that is what it is. Give the guy a chance to think it through and he'll at least sound as clear headed as the Wall of Fame ceremonies. Whew, aren't those brutal...

So far so good, but I'll count him as a success when he shows some tenure, wins a playoff game moving forward after this very good season. As much as there are Derek Anderson's, there are flash in the pan coaches too. (Jauron in Chi) I'm of the opinion most (not all) screamers lose their teams quickly when things go bad and the players tune them out.

No doubt. It's for my own good.

I dunno, Ralphie didn't throw his coaches under the bus- saying 'we need more talent' is a lot more benign than calling out 2-3 individuals. If Ralph went after the coaches with three games left... I think that would harm more than help, especially if he knows he entering the coaching market soon- He's not going to make a move before the off season. It's a deadly 'vote of confidence' perhaps.

I think Guy has been asleep at the wheel, not just for what FA's he's brought in, but who he missed and even worse who we retained. When's the last time we were credited with that 'sleeper' FA signing? I don't know where Guy's oversight ends and Jauron's begins, Jauron's ends and Modrak, Brandon, take over, etc... But there's a darned good chance that Modrak didn't get dumber, perhaps he's handcuffed (or blocked) by the others in the room. The draft has restocked this team with solid, but unspectacular players. I don't think the cupboard is completely bare, I feel a helluva lot better than during the Holcomb era. There are building blocks in place, I still like ML, (I believe there are too many calls that play to the OL's weaknesses...) The OL has a good LT that is locked up for another 3 years, a fairly good set of guards an a fat mess at RT. Who is available as a FA for a center? Trent still looks like damaged goods since AZ, but Losman is a solid reminder of what a 2yr quarterback (hell, a 5 yr qb) often looks like. With smarter play calling, I think he is more than serviceable. I think there's potential for 'goodness' still. Stroud probably has 4 yrs left, Poz is as overrated as they get, but quick and tenacious, Crowell will be an upgrade over Ellison if he is retained, Schobel is a very expensive 'situational' player, but still good as what he does well. The DE's are either too small or slow and expensive and never require double teaming. Perhaps Schobel would be effective as a situational speed rushing compliment. 3-4 would require guys at least 20 lbs heavier, so either way DE is in need of some help- how good would a guy like Tuck look in a Bill's uniform? Yabouty is showing enough physicality to make up for what I think is average cover skills. McKelvin is a physical specimen, Safety? They can hit, but... I really think this team is where they were in say... 1987. I'm not as anti Jauron as many, I think the Bills would benefit most from an old school, badass GM that can evaluate talent and delegate effectively to a competent staff.