vincec

Wood sitting out of the first day of camp??? Did he play at all?

Dick Jauron told him that small DEs was the wave of the future.

I hope that the Bills can pull it off. I have always been of the belief that complex systems tend to collapse under pressure and/or when things aren't going right. Can the Bills execute something this complex in the 4th Q of the Superbowl, down by 4 with 2 minutes left, and the Giants DL bearing down on Fitz? We shall see (I hope).

"You can't turn the page until you're successful," Gailey said. "There's a lot of excitement. There's good reason for it. But we have not turned the page. We have to go prove it on Sundays before that changes." This is my take on all of this. "Show me the baby."

That is the main challenge with this system, IMO. It all looks good on the blackboard, but figuring it out on the field is another matter.

Kelsay was rotating with the first team during mini-camp. Since he's seen as the best run defender of the three, I suspect that Kelsay will get a strong look as the "starter" with Anderson coming in on passing downs. My theory on Merriman is that if he looks good the Bills will take out Dareus on some passing downs and slide M Williams to DT so that you have Merriman, M Williams, K Williams and Anderson. I would be very surprised if there is a clear starter at RDE this season.

I think the confidence that they built up going 5-2 got beat out of them during the 1-8 finish. Gailey said as much after the season. I'm all for "the future is now", "if not now then when", etc. but the realist in me says it is a process that takes time.

I don't see how the team can "expect to win" when they haven't made the playoffs in 12 years, have only had one winning season in that time (9-7) and lost 8 of their last 9 games. The Bills still need a season where they learn that they can compete with the top teams on an even footing over the course of an entire season before they take the next step to believing that they should beat them every week. I hope that this is the season that the Bills can finally turn the corner and go 9-7, or at least a very competitive 8-8. Then next season take the jump to a championship contender.

This issue must have been dealt with long ago in the NHL. There are tons of cross border games and lots of pro hockey players have baggage.

Yes. I expect them to pick it up over the second half of the season as the new pieces jell and they start playing more home games. If they stay healthy, a 4-3 start could easily lead to 10 or 11 wins and the playoffs.

On the other hand, it says that they're basically all about money and not all that concerned with the Buffalo area fans. With that sentiment, why would a new ownership group not move the team to a more lucrative city? Do you really think that a few more game tickets are anything in comparison to what they could reap in a bigger market?

These points are loudicrous. And the name calling and video don't strengthen your case. They only make you seem child like.

I don't think you need to look at stats to know that the Bills probably pass more than a team with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB and Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller at running back should.

Well, I've purchased a TV so I guess I'm all set in this regard. I'm not saying that I should be given a ticket to the game. I'm saying that if the team broadcasts the games then of all people, the people who funded the stadium improvements should be allowed to see it. Also, I think that those who are saying that the municipality will recoup its money from the team need to do some research on stadium subsidies. The general consensus is that they do not pay for themselves in returned revenues. Most of the money that fans spend at the stadium would still be spent on something else in the same area and the majority of the money that the team generates goes to the players and owner, many of whom do not live in the municipality that paid for the improvements and hence don't pay taxes there. The money doesn't really come back to the city.

So then I guess that you "stakeholders" won't mind if the whiners don't pay anything for any of the improvements. The Bills should just sell PSLs to you diehards for the $$$ to renovate the stadium and then only you can go and see the games. Anything shown on TV is just a bonus (althought something tells me that the league will want as many games as possible televised anyway). It's a model that's been used many times. There are a lot of other uses for the taxpayer money that would benefit the region far more than funding a football team- especially in these economic times. If, on the other hand, tax dollars are used then EVERYONE is a stakeholder and deserves a say. I would imagine that the minimum that they would deserve is the right to watch the product that they're partially funding when others who have not paid anything can do so.

I don't live in the area any more so it doesn't affect me but I think the team is cutting their own throats. As they are trying to expand their market and become regional they take games off the air. This can't help them compete with the NYC teams in the middle of the state. Also, they really are rubbing it in the face of their home fans who's support they rely on when they punish them for not going to see December games pitting one crappy team against another. I know, they can backout ALL of the games and just air them locally on pay per view. That way they can really cash in on local revenue.

The logo is awful, but there is so much history behind it that I would be a shame to see it go. Still, the logo is awful...

Any article that shows Bills highlights is a good one.

It's all in the coaching. Finding and developing the abilities of the players that you have. In Maybin's case it may be limited but he obviously has some ability and the Bills coaches weren't interested. Jauron wanted him to play DE and then he was too small for Nix and his "getting bigger" obsession. The Jets put him in a position to be successful and he responded with a decent performance. 6 sacks and 4 forced fumbles would've led the Bills in both categories last season. If you don't think that that would've been useful then you're crazy. The Green Bay backers were 1-10-1 in 1958 the year before Vince Lombardi took over. That team had 13 players that were all pro, pro bowl or hall of famers at some point in their careers but could only win 1 game. When Lombardi took over he took essentially the same core group and won 5 championships. Coaching matters. JMO, of course.

If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all.

One vs Chandler, one vs Pears. I don't think that Maybin is an all pro or anything. He's just better than the coaches allowed him to look.

Yeah I know... and Drayton Florence was the Bills best cornerback last season. You know what they say about about statistics.

That didn't happen in the two sacks he had against the Bills. Fitz didn't even have time to set his feet. Funny how he was getting stoned by Ed Wang when with the Bills but then smoked Pears when in a different scheme with the Jets.

No. Just trying to redirect some of the blame from Maybin to the coaching staff, where most of it belongs IMO. You mean that one of the worst pass rushing teams in the NFL couldn't afford the luxury of a pass rushing specialist? Were the Bills so deep that they couldn't find a roster spot for a guy that contributed 6 sacks and 4 forced fumbles for the Jets in 13 games? These arguments aren't very convincing to me. Good coaches build their schemes to take advantage of the personnel that they have. The Bills didn't do that. They kept trying to turn Maybin into the player they hoped that they had drafted instead of the one that they had. That's poor coaching.

Dareus F Jackson