HankBulloughMellencamp

thank you kindly, eball is among the best of the best on here, and I say that not just because I agree with his football logic 99.44% of the time

Nice observation ... after watching Fitzy throw knucklers for awhile, I'd say throwing a tight spiral is pretty darn important in the Ralph. Jimbo could certainly spin a nice one, and whenever #12 stepped into a throw, you just knew the point of the ball was going to be delivered right into the numbers of Andre squaring across the middle. Or dropping right down the chimney to Lofton streaking down the sideline. Ah, the memories. And I love the comparison ... we can only hope EJ has some Culpepper/the early years in him. Daunte was a lethal weapon for a time there, pretty much right up until I decided to select him first overall in my fantasy draft circa 2005.

Thanks, your response makes me quite glad I started the thread. I seriously doubt the interview was the least bit contentious (as Sully certainly tries to imply), and it even started out with a nice little family-is-important theme, but devolved into what I'll call a total hit job. It reads as if Lawson is barely worth a squirt of piss as a player.

Excellent post, and I totally agree with the sentiment of the thread. I would even offer that I now have come to enjoy seeing/hearing updates from Murph and Chris Brown even though they are on the payroll --- at least they give information that I can get something out of. The grandstanding that we saw from Bucky and Harrington with the Sabres this past season was ridiculous. And I have a feeling that this fall will see the likes of Graham and Sully whining like babies over the lack of information they are likely to get out of Marrone and company at OBD. When Marrone first got the job here, some reporter asked if he would be talking to other teams if they happened to inquire about any of his former Syracuse players before the draft. He was quite unequivocal in answering that the Bills are really in the information gathering business, not the information sharing business. What a great answer. I am sure there will be more fireworks this season - unless of course the Bills start winning games ... and all this petulance from TBN personnel will evolve into glowing praise.

Well said ... Normally, I simply just consider the source, and it usually doesn't compel me to start up a thread. But I just re-read the paper version, and I see they even did a front cover tease to this embarrassment of an article ... it's just so condescending that it makes me want to throw up. The guy has barely even practiced in a Bills helmet yet. I can hardly wait to see Sully squirm and try to pry information out of Coach Marrone this fall.

Sorry, http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130729/SPORTS/130739981/two-bills-drive-1004 (it's also on the TBD mainpage at left)

Not that Manny Lawson isn't a grown man who can handle himself, but I was quite taken aback by the patronizing tone of Mr. Sullivan's article in today's Buffalo News. It starts off in classic Jerry Sullivan fashion - basically a back-handed compliment on Manny's career achievements to date, along with a comparison to none other than Chris Kelsay. Old #90 was a whipping boy to some around here, and he may not have been a Bruce Smith or a Phil Hansen, but he was a far better pro football player than Sullivan would ever understand or even acknowledge. And I'd bet my right arm that Sully would not have made that comparison had the highly-respected Kelsay still been around in the Bills locker room. TBN readers get served this cynical view of Lawson just as he gets established here - in a new town with a new organization, and right after the birth of his first child - who happens to be a few thousand miles away as camp opens, no less. A divorce and/or the death of a loved one not withstanding, Manny is now simultaneously navigating through two of the four most stressful life events we humans ever go through. Then it seems as if Sully's credibility complex gets the best of him, and he wants us to believe that Mike Zimmer himself was consulted to help craft the next few paragraphs. This is really where I begin to take issue with what he wrote. According to the way Jerry presents it, the Bengals supposedly got better BECAUSE Ahmad Brooks replaced Lawson. And Manny's 34% of snaps played had essentially zero positive effect on their fortunes last year. Let's not forget that he all but got benched after being "torched" against the Dolphins in week 5, which stilll has me wondering how he ever got to play 34% of the snaps last year - was he at 100% until that game? Some fuzzy math to be sure, and clearly intended to be passed off by conditioned readers with maybe even a "boy, that Sully sure does his homework." To me, a four-year deal worth $12M is hardly extravagant spending on a veteran linebacker who can rush the passer and who the new staff feels can provide some much needed leadership to the room. "There were people rolling their eyes in Cincinnatti at that contract." Really now, Jerry, you don't say ... care to reveal any names? You know, people who, unlike yourself, would actually stick their neck out a little? Sully's football mind can only process the past; he is the master at repackaging everything with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. "There are certainly people who believe you have something to prove, Lawson was told." Yes sir, I'll do my best to make you proud, Coach Sully. I can not believe TBN actually published this condescending piece of garbage. I really hope Lawson ignores Sully in the locker room from this day forward, and makes him eat his words in 2013. Welcome to Buffalo, Manny. As you can now see, the Bills are not the only outfit in town with 13 years of half-assed performances on record! Just have a look at TBN's 'You only have 10 articles left!' paywall system ... it's state of the art!

We all thought Trentative might have had "it" for a little while there, but it turned out he was far more Peter Pan than we needed. Fitz showed a hint of "it" here and there, but ultimately led us nowhere. You just never know "it" until you know it with QBs, and the only shortcut in knowing "it" is putting up W's in big games (ex: Brady, Roethlisberger, Rodgers, Kaepernick, et al). But lately, I do catch myself envisioning the day when EJ Manuel's #3 jersey is one of the hottest sellers in the entire league. And if that day ever comes, it probably will also mean that Spiller's #28 will be right up there with him. CJ showed that "it" factor in his first preseason game when he did a shake and bake at the LOS & froze an unblocked Robert Mathis dead in his tracks. I think it was the first ever Toronto affair, and (then) #21 outran him to the left sideline and took it about 45 yards to the house. It was all Spiller, a true "holy sh*t, what a run" kind of play that not many other backs can even make. I would subjectively say that Mathis would probably have Frank Corral-ed 98% of RBs who took that handoff. I sure hope EJ makes some similarly awesome plays this preseason!

Exactly. Like everyone, I had high expectations for Troup and Easley, and if either contributes at all in 2013, they are certainly 'found money' by my definition at this point. And they "got paid" for the last few years because they got hurt trying to play in the NFL ... whether it happened in camp, pre-season, or game action does not matter at all. That's the way it works. Jeremy Maclin is about to "get paid" again - as he should. Troup sure seems like a tough, hard-working dude who showed enough D-line ability to get selected in round two out of UCF. I do remember Gil Brandt saying something on Sirius NFL radio like "that guy there would play with two broken legs if you didn't take him off the field" shortly after he was selected by the Bills. OK, now a back injury is a whole different animal, to be sure. But of course, the Nix-hindsighters can not stop themselves from chiming in to say "yeah but we could have had Gronk at that pick." This is not unlike like the drivel that lapdogs of ultimate fence-rider Jerry Sullivan like to spew ... "and why wouldn't you take Russell Wilson instead of TRADING UP for TJ Graham last year?", they often ask. Then again, if they had only had the foresight to play their cards correctly back around the time Troup was selected, they could have probably already been named as an NFL GM by now - just like Ryan Grigson, David Caldwell, Tom Telesco, and Doug Whaley, right?

I am 100% certain that Jeff Miers could write much more interestingly and eloquently about the Bills and/or Sabres when compared to Jerry writing about Canadian rock music. He claims he actually shed tears at the Tragically Hip show? Now I am more of a Hip enthusiast than most other fans I know, and I just do not buy this one, Sully. Maybe it's because I wasn't up front with "the people", I was over there off to the side in VIP land.

After reading your post, it, it looks like you sorta went Ryan Leaf on Peter King a little there. I do like to read Peter King ... mainly because he is so connected, but I also tend to agree with you in that I find his sunshine-blowing and fence-riding a bit tedious at times. But that's also exactly why he IS so connected; good reporters cultivate their sources if they want to keep up a pipeline of good copy. If you want to see an example of a talented writer who has burned too many bridges by being a total douche, see Reilly, Rick. And this story was right in King's wheel-house, and I thought he did his best Cespedes impersonation with it.

Totally agree on Schiano, and the term "manufactured intensity" hits the nail on the proverbial head in describing his douchey persona. That kneel-down nonsense was what you might expect to see from a JV coach who had a few RedBulls at the half. With Marrone, it seems real genuine (at this point, anyway). And perception is all we have at this point, but from what I have read, Marrone has certainly earned a lot of respect throughout the NFL and college coaching fraternity. And the respect also seems to come in droves from players with whom he has worked as well.

Exactly, irrational responses will get a few innocent nibblers to re-explain themselves about five or six times, then WEO marvels that the thread can grow to twenty-six pages over 'nothing'

I see that WEO is up to his antics again, much like a one-legged man in an a$$-kicking contest, and just as he seems to enjoy it. To suggest this is some overblown, mountain-out-of-a-molehill media frenzy is ridiculous. Johnny ballgame brought this upon himself by getting all dehydrated & "sleeping through his alarm" - and by extension, blowing off the commitment he made to be a part of the Manning Passing Camp. It's that simple. Archie/Peyton/Eli are not in any way playing the holier-than-thou 'how-dare-you' angle, they are simply running a camp for young QBs with their name on it. And Johnny has now, through his actions, set a fine example for all those greenhorns to learn from - mess up your commitments, and you may not enjoy the bad publicity and/or consequences you will have to deal with. Regardless of the damage-control spin the story has now taken on, I salute Archie for kicking Johnny out on his hung-over arse. And is it any wonder that his boys are making it quite well in the NFL, and life in general?

Thanks, love the story and wish I had the chance to meet Coach Marrone and chew the fat in a setting like that. I have to admit that I have developed quite a man-crush on Marrone as our new leader, and stories such as this one only solidify my feelings a little more. I am sure part of it is the fact that we have been starving for a good coach since, well, I'd have to say Wade ... but I really like Marrone's no-nonsense/highly motivated way that he comes across. Is there a rookie-of-the-year award for head coaches? I choo-choo-choose him to win that if it exists. And I love what Lindell has done with his clutch old leg for us, but Dustin Hopkins will be our kicker this year.

What an excellent way to put it into perspective. Johnny Football is by no means the first college athlete to enjoy the spoils that are afforded him at the collegiate level, but if he can not start making some smarter choices, some pro teams may ultimately shy away from making such a large commitment to this guy come April. I am sure the Manning men are not too impressed ... Peyton probably thinks of him in the same class as Mike Vanderjagt - "idiot-QB" perhaps. I personally don't think he will translate to the pro game very well at all ... I can't see his game/body holding up to NFL defenses. To me, he is just a modern day scrambler in the Flutie mold, with apologies to our crafty old #7.

I am not disagreeing, but would like to point out the incredible performance turned in by Pat Williams in his last game as a Bill, which was also a heart-wrenching loss to the Steelers on home soil. He was all over the field ... in the backfield all day, stuffing then-unknown Willie Parker runs (except that one big one) and getting pressure on St. Pierre of all QBs. Big #93 was on his final audition for a life-changing contract - which unfortunately for us, he got from the Vikings instead of from Tom Donahoe. And I definitely agree on your first point - a good football player is a good football player ... scheme is not irrelevant, but it is too often seen as an explanation/excuse by fans. It's too easy to chalk up a player's success/failure to the scheme and/or what they may have done in the past. Our own Mario Williams had never played OLB in a 3-4 before Wade came to Houston, and he performed rather well in that scheme before getting injured. If you can win your individual battles, you will make an impact on any defense. This is precisely why I could not stand Kelvin Sheppard as a player - I can not ever remember seeing him shed a blocker and make a tackle. It doesn't matter to me if some say he is a 4-3 guy or a 3-4 ... who cares, he seemed to stick to offensive linemen and get negated on the vast majority of his one-on-one battles. Head of nail, meet Mr. Hammer.

Dating myself, but my first official concert as a 7th-grader was seeing Black Sabbath at the Aud for the Born Again tour --- Ian Gillian was then handling the vocal duties, and Quiet Riot opened the show. And in 2008, I made sure to see Heaven and Hell at the ECFair, approx a year before Dio passed away. Dio singing with those guys was incredible. Iommi and Butler are one hell of an engine for those heavy tunes. And that comes through loud and clear on the new record as well - Iommi came up with some fantastic guitar work, even at this point in his career. A must-buy for Sabbath/Ozzy fans.

Pretty much dead-on. Think about this as you read the next Sully article that might make sense to what you are thinking as a Bills/Sabres fan ... is he going out on a limb in any way? Do you recall him ever doing so? He blasted Nix mercilessly for the luxury selection of CJ Spiller, but you didn't hear too much of that criticism last season, did you. There might have been a slight mention of it around the time Lynch was named to the ProBowl. There's a reason that most players eventually get fed up with Jerry. He is adept at playing both sides of the coin, re-hashing the past, and using the wonderfully accurate benefit of hindsight to validate his argument/criticism-du--jour.

Can't argue point 1, but point 3 plays into this one a bit. On point 2, whether or not LB Marcus Dowtin amounts to anything in Buffalo remains to be seen, but he is an ex-Jet, albeit very low-profile. And regarding point 3, I remember when some NY reporters were interviewing Rex about Pettine's contract being up and the possibility of him taking another job, and Rex's response was sort of like 'If he does, he does,' but I distinctly remember his quote ... "I just hope it's not Buffalo." Sexy Rexy was/is in full-fledged save-his-arse mode, so the jumping of ship to a new staff is understandable as to why a guy like Pettine would go laterally. How Rex managed to stay on after laying a sizeable enough egg that brought about a GM change in NY is just beyond me. And I totally agree with your summary statement in CAPS.

Not sure, but the sporting of mesh jerseys is strongly encouraged. Specifically, any authentic mesh from the Will Grant/Eugene Marve era could result in an immediate seat upgrade. Half-jerseys and/or mesh jerseys worn by cougars will be entered into a drawing to win the opportunity to retrieve the kickoff tee for the 2nd half.

Dat sounds real good. Dey make real good Polish eats dere at da Polish Villa or even Peter K's is pretty good.

Hey dere. Me and my fellow Polish Americans from Chicktowaga are still just glad we drafted dat guy Posluszny from Penn State, I tink. He was pretty good.

I would gladly wear a lapel pin identifying me as a charter member of the Kevin Kolb fan club. And I would sport it proudly on the basis of how #4 came across in his opening presser alone. His NFL credentials notwithstanding, he sure seems like a man of conviction and a strong team leader. He should add that veteran presence we will need in the QB room with an anointed youngster trying to cut his NFL teeth. We know very little about Tarvaris Jackson based on what Chan did (not do) with him last year, but I have also heard good things about #7's work ethic as well. Sounds like a nice recipe for baptising a greenhorn QB to me. I would really hope and believe that EJ will ultimately win the job by opening day in September. And if he does, I will still wear my Kolb button, because either Kolb or Jackson (or both?) will be right there sporting a fresh New Era lid to help #3 decipher what he is seeing once the games start to count. To me, Kolb is Fitz with a better arm, stronger leadership, and ultimately more upside (if necessary). So, a very good value and/or insurance policy that essentially cost us nothing but the money we wanted to pay Fitz to tutor the new guy anyway. And if Tarvaris ends up as the primary backup, he comes even more cheaply.

Enjoyable read, and what an incredibly detailed breakdown of Gilmore's rookie performance. It confirmed what I thought/hoped I was seeing out of Stephon in his rookie year. By that, I mean you can't possibly know how a DB moves until the camera finally follows the ball to the receiver he's covering. I don't think I am going very far out on a limb in saying that, based on this article alone, the author (@Cianaf in twitter-land) seems to know an awful lot more about scouting football than Todd McShay even pretends to know for ESPN.