vincec

I like some of the glimpses that I saw from Carrington last season. I think he could really push Edwards for playing time at DE. Merriman - Poz - Sheppard looks like a LB group that would be fun to pass against...

I can't see Batten unseating Moats at ROLB. Based on this video, I would project Batten as a LOLB anyway. Also, since the Bills are playing a 4-3/3-4 "hybrid", there will be a lot of even fronts that include Kelsay as a LDE, probably in lieu of Merriman or Sheppard. Still, if everyone can stay healthy it should be an upgrade over last season!

Everyone who is disparaging and passing in VY will be sorry a couple of years from now. He has a ton of talent and is a winner. He is just young and needs a mentor. Fisher was not a mentor to him. If he can find the right situation, he is going to be successful.

He's really been trying to run himself out of town. If he'd just kept his mouth shut and let his agent negotiate, he might have had a chance to stay in Buffalo. At this point, I'd say it's a long shot.

I guess this is good. Really, i don't care about this behind the scenes stuff. I want to see a better product on the field. Ralph and Buddy can hire and fire whomever they want as long as the Bills are winning.

Whitner is a good player who wants to be paid like an elite player. There was probably a chance of signing him for some compromise price before he started being an unprofessional ass with his actions and tweets. He has now basically burned this bridge and is gone. The Bills should focus on signing Florence, who has contributed more than Whitner has anyway. It sounds like they are doing this. If the Bills front 7 improves, Whitner will be missed less than he thinks.

Doesn't make sense to me because of the reasons being mentioned, including: 1) Why would Hasselbeck come to Buffalo to be a backup? 2) Hasselbeck is not the "8-10" year prospect that Nix said the Bills are looking for 3) Hasselbeck has played his whole career in a different style of offense The new QB that they bring in will be a young guy with "potential" who is affordable and hasn't panned out where he is.

The more good D linemen the Bills have the better. They're going to have to fight it out amongst themselves for playing time, which will only cause them to improve. Regarding Troup, I think he's still the NT when the Bills go with an odd front. If one of the really big guys develops into a rotational or depth player, then that's good. If he pushes or replaces Troup then that's good too. Competition is good.

Donahoe was the last real GM the Bills had until Nix. He may have been marginal, but he was way better than no GM. The Bills got worked by the rest of the league between him and Nix and cemented the culture of losing that permeates the franchise. The only reason that Donahoe is gone is because he couldn't get along with Wilson.

Another appearance by the thought police.

I'm a little concerned about the weight loss thing. When a player is used to playing at one weight and has success at that weight, it's not that easy to gain or lose a lot of weight and still be effective, IMO. I'm not saying that he shouldn't lose the weight, but playing at 440 vs 300 lb guys is not the same as playing at 375 vs 340 lb guys. He's going to have to develop skills and techniques that he just didn't need before so it may be a stretch to say that he will be effective anytime soon.

Nice.

While I strongly sympathize with your Marxist sentiments, you still didn't answer my question. What is the basis of the anti-trust violation? There are no games. How can the courts force the NFL to play them?

I'm not lawyer, but I just don't get the anti- trust issues. If the NFL was proceeding with games and certain players were being blacklisted by the Owners from participating or if the Owners were instituting a wage scale without player consent, then that is obviously an anti-trust violation. But if there are no games then what's the problem? It's like a business which has closed (e.g. Wendy's has just indefinitely shut down all of their stores). How can the courts force them to open back up and start operations again? If the players want to play then I'm sure the UFL or some minor league team would be very happy to take them at a reduced salary.

I would assume that it's because without a CBA between the players and the Owners it's collusion for business owners to team up and decide who is allowed to hire who in the business world. Frankly, even with a CBA it has always been a little sketchy to me.

No, that's Charlie Brown. Levi is the "Godfather of Soul", the hardest working man in show business.

I didn't realize that Jeremy Stevens was such a nice guy.

Me too. I wouldn't be upset if Fairley was picked either. If they take Peterson, he'd better be the next Revis or it'll be a major waste given the current roster. I'm not sure the Bills can afford to risk this.

Either that or it's a memento.

Saying it in public is the problem. It can only really be an effort to look tough to the public or to hurt the players reputation, which is below the belt IMO. It's fine if he tells the players what he expects and then cuts them if they don't provide it, but why take it to the media? It's his job to produce wins. If the Bills are winning, then I don't care what he is telling them. If they are losing, then I don't are what he is telling them. It's all really just tabloid fodder. Here's an article that sums up how I think a head coach (or any leader) should behave in assigning blame or credit to his players. It's the philosophy I try and live by with my company. http://www.weldingandgasestoday.org/index.php/2010/08/the-wisdom-of-bear-bryant/

How about he calls himself out next. If you are a part of a team and you are looking for where to place responsibility for a lousy season, the first place you look is in the mirror. "Calling out" players in public is a cop out.

Talk is cheap. Head coaches in the NFL are judged by wins and losses. I don't give a rat's behind what he says. So far, Gailey is 4-12. Show me the baby.

Palmer is nothing special and getting worse every year, IMO. They'd be crazy to trade anything good for him.

You can pause the action on the TV to allow the sound from the audio to catch up. I usually synch it to a whistle for maximum accuracy (pause the TV when you hear the whistle then unpause it when you hear the same whistle on the streaming audio then mute the tv). Anal, I know, but definitely need the HD and the opposing broadcast is usually very annoying. The only problem is that you have to resynch it at the start of each period because they manipulate the break on the audio to fit commercials in and mess up the timing.

I know that it will not happen, but they really should just build a new state of the art stadium close to the downtown. There is nothing architecturally significant about "The Ralph" and its age and lack of amenities make it pale by comparison with other newer stadiums. What would it take to do this?