Red

From Bills Daily: "Special Teamers Go Outside: It's always fun to play football in the snow and Rian Lindell, Brian Moorman, and Garrison Sanborn went outside during yesterday's practice in blizzard like conditions. They practiced kicking field goals and punts under the watchful eye of Bobby April while the rest of the team stayed warm and dry in the fieldhouse." Huh? I thought that these Mauronic tendencies of having the Bills practicing INSIDE when the Buffalo weather is OUTSIDE would be gone when Jauron left. These players are too pampered. Last year's Cleveland game proved that we are not properly prepared to play in the elements. I don't like it.

I agree. I don't know about rumblings or rumors making an impact, but the simple fact that there currently IS a head coaching vacancy means that most (if not all) of the staff will be gone. It's a pretty smart move by Tolbert, as waiting around and taking a tremendous chance that he would be retained is not anything worth betting on. I'm starting to get excited again...

Shanahan would not be able to use snow as an excuse. Denver snow starts earlier and ends later than even the worst snow in WNY. Besides, I would not want a coach that does not realize that the WNY weather is a tremendous asset for the club and should Buffalo ever get good again, can be an imposing place for opponents to play. I would personally like to see a ground and pound offense, with some maulers up front to wear defenses down.

First off, thanks for the summary. Secondly, let's keep in mind that Dungy is NOT a GM. And before we go and hand him the keys to Bills land (and Brown gives him a key to the city- from Owens), let's remember that it was Dungy AND former Tampa GM Bruce Allen that turned the perennial punching bag Bucs into an eventual Super Bowl winner. There was a rumor that flashed quickly about 2 months ago that the Bills were interested in Bruce Allen as GM. Now, if we got both men, I would be all for it. As far as Vick is concerned, on the one hand Dungy acting as Vick's mentor would most likely translate well to a coach/ player relationship. On the other hand, I really don't want Michael Vick so much as sniffing a dog park in WNY, let alone be given the role of starting QB for the Bills. The difficult thing is that he may be the best option available for teams this offseason as a possible free agent/ trade. Personally, I feel Jeff Garcia has got to have 2 seasons left in him. Once Owens vacates OBD, Garcia would be a much more interesting option IMO that would give us a couple of seasons to find/ groom a replacement. But please, please, PLEASE let it be Allen AND Dungy. And no Vick.

Huh? Belicheck inherited that team from Parcells. And where has Parcells been that he has completely failed? Even the Jets were in the playoffs, and were tough to beat year in and year out. The Cowboys are also in similar stead. The Giants, the Patriots (and soon the Dolphins) are/ were powerhouses.

Labatt's used to be my #1. Now it's Molson Canadian. mmmm...beeeer....

But wait...the JP parade...was just...starting...

Sad, but true.

Well, and therein lies my point. How the Bills continue to sell out, despite their losing ways this past decade, is beyond me. I think that it has more to do with the small market- minded nature of the fan base, who have been too scared of losing the Bills for too long now that mediocrity is accepted, as long as their is a team to root for. There exists some sort of imagined threat of moving that scares most into continuing to subscribe to losers. Defies logic. Obviously, in cities outside of WNY and southern Ontario, a terrible football team means empty seats. Empty seats, means blackouts. Blackouts mean less local exposure. In other words, less exposure means less money for advertising, etc. No one outside of Buffalo pays for a losing franchise like this one. The league should care because to have all teams be competitive (hence free agency, salary cap, etc- all geared for greater parity and competitiveness- thus more $$) spells an increase in the bottom line. Creating a rabid fan base with rabid competition amongst teams is a huge money maker. Tolerating mediocrity hurts that premise.

And that is something that I find so interesting about the NFL. Since, as an organization (or collective of owners posing as an organization), they have proven themselves to be nothing if not worshippers of the almighty dollar, why the NFL tolerates losing franchises of multiple years. For instance, the KC ticket issue is something, but how about our attempts to stretch to Toronto? Its painfully obvious that a substandard/ mediocre product does not sell tickets anywhere, outside of Buffalo. I wonder why the NFL does not issue "closed door" ultimatums to losing franchises and their respective owners demanding fielding a more competitive product or risk some sort of colossal penalty (financial, draft, or otherwise). The effects of horrible teams, especially for a decade or longer, do more damage to the image of the NFL than a legion of players that resemble the Predator. The Bills sure could use some pressure...

Awesome! A part of me shudders to think that WNY's claim to innovation fame of late may based solely on the 'Beer Sphere', but seriously...why hasn't anyone thought of this sooner?

I don't get into these sport talk shows that much- if at all- but how about Glazer's sweat stains, huh?

If I recall the Tucker episode, he was a blood-and-guts player who fought his arse off for us- and to keep his job. He did give everything he had- the only issue was everything he had was not good enough. When it came time to renew the contract, and I believe that this coincided with the regime change in the front office- or could just be creative revisionist history by yours truly- he was not offered a contract. He was, if I remember correctly, another player in Buffalo sports who truly wanted to stay (P. Williams, Greer, Briere, Campbell, etc), but for the reasons that I most likely cited above (not good enough) management decided to go elsewhere. Tucker never recaptured any playing time like he had with us, and I think I recall him bouncing to the Cowboys and Browns (?) before he disappeared, only to reappear in SI.com. He always seemed like a good guy when interviewed, and was an extremely hard worker. A blue-collar guy. I think the way that he was dismissed and so casually cast aside still lingers in him. His articles do seem to be anti-Bills. Didn't he write an article criticizing the Bills for blowing up the O-Line by letting Fowler and Preston go?

I, in theory, agree with you. If not we all could return to a time when things like coachspeak and playerspeak were not so controlled and manipulated. I too, desire just a straight shot answer. For instance, supposedly Schobel was vocal following the loss to the Jags. He criticized a few things, but stopped short of truly speaking out against the front office when he realized that a couple of front office personnel were within earshot of hearing his remarks. Why? I think the NFL is too protective of its product at times, and the simple, emotional, and thereby REAL human reaction is muted for some politically correct mumbo-jumbo that is extremely successful at saying nothing about something. I wish we all could speak freely.

Though I do appreciate the HGH jibe, its all of the steroids the players take that contributed to his man boobs.

I never thought that Tucker left gracefully from Buffalo, and may still harbor resentment towards them as I believe the Bills are the only team where he ever saw significant playing time. That being said, constant turnover of coaching staff, a general lack of direction for the franchise, and more importantly 2 complete idiots in Modrak and Guy in charge of recruiting, evaluating, and recommending talent are not something that we were not aware of in terms of what ails this organization.

Perhaps the 2 most consistently successful football minds in the NFL for the past 2 decades have been Bill Parcells and Bill Polian (perhaps a 'Bill', connection?). If either one does or says something, consider it gospel.

You sir, are a lemming. You believe everything that is spoon fed to you. Though this is not the proper forum for such 'discussion'.

IT's called Climate-gate.

He's an idiot.

Baloney. Or even better, Mularkey!

Good news is that I am sitting, not standing. On another note, without a GM no coach will succeed in Buffalo. Period.

...crickets... psst...dude...this was mentioned like 3 seasons ago....sorry to wake you...

>Yawn< I'm sorry, did you say something?

PRE-season. It Did NOT matter.