Red

Listen: None of us know for sure the extent of the role Modrak played in the Bills drafts. For instance, is he told by the coaching staff to look for a player that has X, Y, and Z and find the best one available? In that case, does the coaching staff and overall philosophy not deserve the brunt of the criticism? Or, is there someone running the show who has got an rift w/someone else, or financial concerns, or basically just political infighting inside OBD? My understanding is that the Bills front office was a joke, namely because of guys like John Guy, Jim Overdorf, Tom Donahoe, (sadly) Marv Levy and maybe Tom Modrak. This is a complete 180 for me on Modrak. In January I wanted him gone along with Guy. Guy is gone and we got Whaley from the Steelers. Nix was promoted/ brought in from the Chargers. Believe me, I know the Bills stats on draft picks this past decade. Like the 1 where between the years 2001-2005, we picked some 50 players and only 6 of them were with the team last year. That is horrible. Those years provide the depth and talent for the team we should have now. There should be mature veterans, at all positions from those drafts. Or the stat about how this decade, out of all of our 1st round picks (12?), only about 5 are still with the team, but McCargo is probably gone after this camp and who knows if Lynch will be traded? So, not only has our drafts these past 10 years not produced in terms of player volume, but it has also sucked in terms of getting true talent in the 1st round- arguably the round when the pick should be a player who can instantly contribute. How much of that is Modrak? I don't know. How much of what Modrak has done, has been what he has been told to do?

They still sing 'Hail To The Redskins' down here in DC...

2 guys that I simply cannot believe are still on this team are 1.) Chambers and 2.) McCargo Chambers is absolutely terrible on the offensive line. Even as a depth player he gets blown up or just plain beat on the outside by average speed rushers. It befuddles me as to how he is still employed. McCargo was shipped and on his way to Indy, but has back problems- thus nulling the trade. When the Bills had to take him back, I thought...hmmm...awkward? Hopefully with the new regime BOTH of these guys will finally be gone.

...and the knack for making untimely turnovers, staring down receivers...

Excellent point. Buyer beware...

I agree, McNeil would be an excellent pick up for us.

Interesting. I think they might keep 3 or 4. I would say Nelson for sure. Matthews just had a write up in the Buffalo News. If Gailey values his blocking like the article states, then I guess he stays. Schouman has been a surprise to me since he arrived. He's a little out of the typical TE mold (seems short & squatty), but if he can stay healthy he might make a difference as a capable #3 or H-back. Stupar is an underdog too, but the guy looked like he sure can play last preseason. I would not rule him out, but if the above three produce, Stupar might be out for a numbers game. Klopfenstein has the size, but I don't know if he has any ability.

PHEW! For a minute there, I thought that this was going to be a post saying 'GET R DONE' or some other kind of stupidity. I tell 'ya, I'm really more proud of London Fletcher after hearing him bash Fat Al. I respect Fletcher that much more. Fat Al is self-fulfilling prophecy. Now we know that the year in Tennessee where he lit offensive lines up was, in fact, a 'show me the money' year and nothing more. What a disgrace. To have that ability, and to have gotten the money you wanted, and to just pee it all away... ...how can one be soooo stupid?

There certainly was something amiss in that situation. There is alot of pressure on all involved in professional sports. The player could have been lying or denying or hiding the severity of an injury to avoid IR. Contract year, etc all come into play. With a position such as LB, the ability to run and cover offensive players is key. To negotiate a contract and be viewed as damaged goods does not help contract demands. I think both sides were guilty on this one. The Bills certainly reacted in a pissy way, but I don't believe that Crowell was completely up front and honest, either.

This is embarrassing. Both for the Redskins, and for Fat Albert (even though he's too ego-driven to understand). I applaud London Fletcher coming out and blasting Fat Albert today. London is a guy I wish we still had, and to hear him come out and call Haynesworth for what he is is priceless.

This is extremely intriguing. I would love to see something happen. Maybe some kind of 3 team deal, sending Lynch to the Seahawks, McNeil to the Bills, and the Chargers get draft picks or something. I think McNeil offers more upside than Flozell Adams and anything on the roster right now.

This is actually a very good point. I read Bill Walsh's book Building a Champion many moons ago. In it, he talks about how the 49ers gradually scripted a large bulk of the plays to start the game, before identifying key areas of weakness to attack and build on later on. Those plays scripted would be in the 25-30 range, therefore what Montana did to start most games was follow the plan. Which would have less to do with Montana and more to do with Walsh. Great point, Philster!

It's disappointing. I really saw Lynch as anti-McGahee- somebody who would work hard and fight for every yard not because he was just trying to win a starting job and party it up having babies out of wedlock all across the area with many women (Travis Henry also comes to mind on the baby-mama front)- but as it turns out, Mr. Lynch is the other kind of moron. The kind that gets into trouble with the law. He busted his butt for 1-2 seasons, then has faded away into the sunset. All of his own doing. I read this yesterday, and could not agree more. It would seem logical that if you want to be traded, you should demonstrate something of value in order to be considered worthy of trade. What he did 2 seasons ago does not hold to much weight in a 'what have you done for me lately' (besides get suspended, run down Canadiens, drink and drive, gun run...) league such as the NFL. Based on his off field transgressions, I can see why no one would offer more than a 5th. And if that is all that is offered, then I can understand the reason that the Bills are content to stay w/Lynch for now. I mean, if I was Lynch, I would wake up. If Spiller comes in and has as dramatic of an effect that Johnson has had in Tennessee, Lynch could just plain be riding the bench and become a relief back instead of a feature back. He needs to come in and earn his spot- just like everybody else.

Growing up in the Buffalo area, I graduated high school in '92. I attended the game that catapulted the Bills into Super Bowl 25 (can we finally get rid of the roman numerals for Super Bowls?), that infamous 51-3 drubbing of the Raiders. I did not leave Buffalo until '99 after college.

One thing that really stood out for me in this years draft was how quickly the Bills were calling in the picks. That tells me that they knew who they wanted, and when they had the chance they fired, immediately. Now if we sign all of our own picks and get them in before training camp starts, that would also be impressive.

You missed my final paragraph, obviously, and perhaps you should take a little more time to settle down and breathe before you post. If you go back and re-read my last paragraph, I state that an offensive line is exactly what we need. With the exception of Wood and maybe Levitre, the Bills don't have much where it counts. And if you don't think that the speed burst and escapability of Chris Johnson does not make the job of run blocking easier for the Titans offensive line, then man, speaking with you is really for moot.

I agree with you. All is not 'sunshine and lollipops' at OBD. It will take time. But I have to say, I'm finally interested again. I just re-upped for Sunday Ticket, too. Atleast we get HD included this year, so from that sense the price went down. How often does that happen? I think we finally have a coach and staff w/an identity. There is talent, it was mismanaged for several years. And we really need a starting LT. One thing to remember about the Bills the past couple of seasons has been that they have been in most of the games they played. Injuries to key players & lack of conditioning were common problems. We should no longer suffer from those maladies. We are building a running back group built for the long haul. Our coach knows how to cater an offense to the abilities of his players. If we can remain relatively injury free (as compared to seasons past), could the Bills win an extra game or 2 per year? I think so. There are holes, to be sure. Questions. But for the first time in about a decade, I have a certain sense that this is for real. The plan to build a winner is in motion.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Man, I've wanted to start watching this show for a long time now. This seals it! "The s_ _ _ winds are a comin', boys!" Here's to hoping we s_ _ _ all over those bright whites of the Dolphins.

Well, improved running back talent and depth, for starters. That's even without Lynch. I'll point to Tennessee as a perfect example. The Titan offense is a joke without Chris Johnson. The speed with which he hits a hole and his home run threat every time he gets the ball makes every one better and forces defenses to respect the offense. We now have a similar threat in CJ Spiller. And don't underestimate our undrafted signing of J. Bell, and our free agent from Indy. Another is coaching philosophy. We've had some real bozo's in here the past decade, but for once I don't get the impression that Gailey/ Nix/ Whaley are in that class. Gailey has a track record of building an overall offensive philosophy around the talent and abilities of his players. Case in point: Thigpen looked like a Pro Bowler in KC when Gailey was there. Now he's a 3rd stringer in Miami? An improved offensive plan, as mentioned by Dilfer, is going to be an improvement. A philosophy, an identity will go a long way to getting Trent back some confidence. Like he said last year, there were times when he wasn't sure who was the boss as so many people were saying different things (Van Pelt, Mauron, Schonert, etc). Consistency in the play calling will go along way. Also the effect Gailey will have on overall team toughness and attitude will erase those 4th quarter quitters made famous by Club Mauron. My final point is an improved and (finally) intelligent approach to strength and conditioning. One of the reasons the Bills trailed at the end of games was because other teams were just plain tougher and better conditioned. I won't get into it here, but books have been written about the mental toughness associated w/proper conditioning. I remember Patriot players quoting how they were never worried about the Bills have a lead over them because they knew we couldn't keep it. Granted, that was in the Robert Royal days. But how many times in the past decade have the Bills just been plain beaten? Quite a few. Alot of it can be traced to talent, but more recently I believe it can be traced to lack of NFL caliber strength and conditioning. Do I even need to mention all of the games lost due to injury of starting players? But with all of that being said, I agree with you on the offensive line. Our best line prospect in some time- Eric Wood- gets injured last year w/a broken leg. I pray he returns to form. Green at RT seems like an upgrade we really need. Is he sensational? No. But for right now he's better than Bell or Meredith. I wish we could finally lose Chambers (he sucks so bad). Levitre plays w/fire and seemed to improve as the year went on. Our C is not amazing, but he held his own. IMO- we really need help at LT before the season starts. I heard about Gaither still being trade bait today even though he signed a tender. Now I read the LT Marcus McNeil of San Diego is not going to sign his tender, the Chargers will retract their offer, and he will sit out in favor of a long term deal from a club. I think the Bills would be excellent contenders for his services. If we brought in a starting caliber LT like McNeil, I'd be happy.

I am totally not into muscle chicks, but she is pretty hot. And impressive. I've been lifting for years, and if people want to talk about squats and some want to talk about "core"...this takes care of 'em both. I wonder if she can do that naked...

+1. Labatt is my #2. Molson Golden starts to taste like p!$$ after, like, 3 and Molson XXX has got waaaaaay too much alcohol that likes to hover at the bottom of the bottle so that when you're finishing up, you get a nice swig of paint thinner in your mouth. PHEW! No thanks. Living down in VA, I can only get Molson at Wegmans with the added price. But man, it's my favorite.

HUH?

With the exception of the 2 miscues last season- especially in the Cleveland game- I did not understand Parrish's fall from grace last season and removal from the punt return team. He did seem off last season, but I can't help but think that Camp Mauron had almost everything to do with that. With CJ Spiller in the fold, and Parrish on the field, I am hoping that Roscoe can become that sensation we all hoped he would be when he was drafted. I'm hoping that Parrish, Hardy, AND Trent have break-out seasons.

And therein lies the issue. DirecTV is alive because of Sunday Ticket. I can understand why they would not want to diversify. But what about the NFL? I love the Bills and the NFL brand, but they are not of the world's best because they are humble. The NFL oozes greed- and that's not a judgement. But for me it does raise questions as to where all of this greed, desire to expand, reach more households, etc disappeared to when it came time for DirecTV to renew the NFL Sunday Ticket deal and its exclusive rights. Why would the NFL limit themselves in this situation?

I share your sentiments, exactly (though I'm still a sucker and just signed up for auto renewal). When we bought our HD TV, we were told we'd have to pay what, $200 (?) to get the HD receiver? I took one of the Dish Network flyers we get in just about every new mail delivery, along w/the free HD upgrade for new customers, and called DirecTV to complain that I've been with you for 6 years, always pay my bill on time, sometimes do pay per view, subscribe to NHL and NFL packages...and somebody that you don't know if they will even pay their bill on time gets a free upgrade to a HD receiver? The guy on the phone transferred me to retention and I got the receiver for the cost of shipping ($20). This past season, I wanted to cancel the NHL package because I am finishing up my Masters Degree, we just had a son, and money was tight. Since it was 1 game into the season, I could not cancel. I was really p!$$ed on this one, and threatened to leave once my contract was up. Even though I was powerless in the situation, they gave me the NHL package for 1/2 off, and I got a credit on each bill. Why? This tells me that they are massively overcharging for these things, but more importantly why should a customer have to call up to threaten walking for you to get a deal? Shouldn't these deals be built in, ESPECIALLY for returning/ reliable customers? Kind of a "the longer you stay, the more you buy, the cheaper it gets" kind of thing? I 100% agree with you, though. I don't like this as a business practice. And its common knowledge. I actually got the HD receiver idea from a friend who tried it after also hearing it from a friend. The only reason, the ONLY reason, we have DirecTV is for Sunday Ticket and for the Bills games. I understand that cable offers the NHL. FIOS sounds good, as our phones and internet are also through Verizon. What I can't understand is why the NFL is content to only deal w/DirecTV on this one. The contract was set to expire early last year, and the NFL just resigned for another several years. Why? And why doesn't cable and Dish Network push more to have equal distribution and rights to broadcast? As you have said, its a huge money maker. Why is DirecTV the only one able to provide it?