Utah John

Doing what? PRACTICING over and over and over until he can't do it wrong.

This, my friends, is what a professional does. I think Diggs is going to work out great.

The game has moved on. If you have to punt from the other team's 40 (instead of taking a 57 yard FG attempt) you lose a couple of scoring chances a game. Granted, with our D, punting from their 40 should mean a good chance to pin them back, and get the ball back after a 3 and out, but with our punter that doesn't happen often enough. Too many touchbacks when we punt. So If we can get a guy who consistently hits from 55+, move on. Thanks, Haus, but you aren't the guy anymore who made all those consecutive 50+ FGs a couple of years ago.

I hope it's true that the Pegulas are loaded, and aren't at risk if the fracking industry tanks. But there's some reason they slashed staff. If it isn't money, is it that they just threw up their hands and figured, let's start over? Or, hey, we've been losing after we spent a lot of money, so let's try not spending and see what happens.

The McD approach sometimes didn't work. The Bills lost to Cleveland by not finishing the game. Sometimes even a great defense gets scored on.

I went with the Hughes trade because McCoy, though still very very good, was also very very expensive, and at the time the Bills were in bad salary cap shape.

Get a better right tackle and good LB depth, then come talk.

In 1973 our HS band (from West Seneca East) did a band exchange program with a school in Maryland. They came up to WNY and got a day at Niagara Falls, and we got a day in DC. A group of us boys found our way to Rep Kemp's office and asked if we could see him. His secretary cleared some time on his calendar, and he had us all come in. He couldn't have been nicer. What I remember is that while my friends were all looking at the photographs (there was one of Ernie Ladd in the air about to come down on Kemp, who had just thrown a pass -- and Ladd was a very large human), I talked to Kemp about politics. I was sort of a young radical at the time and I told Kemp I thought the people of China were benefiting from the Communist system they had in place. He was mortified that an American youth would feel that way, and we talked about that for half an hour. I'll never forget his real interest in what I had to say, even though he didn't agree with it. He was, as everyone is saying, a real gentleman, and a very smart man.

I don't think what Brees said was evil, or racist, but it's wrong. I am a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. I served for over 25 years. I did that to defend the Constitution, as per my oath, and the country. What Kap did was not to disrespect the flag, but to call attention to racial injustice that was a stain on our country. I applaud him for that. I applaud him for taking an unpopular stand for something he felt was very important. Every time someone does something that forces us to recognize a broader interpretation of our rights applies to the new situation, those rights become stronger, and therefore our country becomes stronger. I understand that many people view the ceremony of the national anthem played before football games as being patriotic, and that it's unpatriotic not to play along. I respect that opinion but I disagree with it. My view is that having the national anthem played before sporting events actually degrades the anthem, and turns it into a little part of a much more important event, the football game or hockey game or whatever, which is really crazy. We turn the anthem into something no more important than the coin toss or car commercials. The anthem should be protected from this bit role and left for situations where it's taken seriously as the most important part of the event. When we start playing the anthem before movies in theaters, or plays, or operas, or concerts, let me know. It belongs at those events just as much as it belongs at sporting events, which is to say, it doesn't belong at any of them. The flag is a symbol of our country, but it's not the same thing as our country. Given the choice of honoring the Constitution or the flag, it's no choice at all. The Constitution is the most important thing.

The only things left after WWIII will be cockroaches, Cher, and Fitz still finding another team he hasn't played for yet.

Haslett, Nelson, Smerlas

My dad was an amateur photographer, and he did up some Christmas cards for Al Bemiller with Bemiller's family. Bemiller came to our house in the mid-60s. My father always claimed Bemiller stiffed him, not paying him or even getting him a football in exchange. Things were REALLY different back then. Players made less money in the regular season than it took to earn a living, and most of them had off-season jobs.

Ron McDole Haven Moses Marlin Briscoe Pete Gogolak Gary Anderson Paul Posluszny Frank Reich (as coach)

Fitz is good for one or two really fine games each year. Unfortunately for the Bills, he seems to have one of those when playing against the Bills. The rest of the time, he ranges from adequate to subpar. He's a caretaker, and somehow he's been able to parlay that status into a long and profitable, and fun, career. I hope he moves back to Hamburg when he finally hangs them up.

The only team that will really be affected is the Chargers, which are used to playing in empty stadiums at home. I guess you haven't lived in California. The climate conditions in the Bay Area and Southern California are really different.

I'm a big Moss fan and a big Utah fan from my years living in Salt Lake City. I am convinced Bills fans will LOVE this guy. He plays with the same heart and determination that Freddie Jackson had, but has more skill and power than Freddie ever did.

The Jets are a couple of years behind the Bills. Unfortunately for the NJJ, their window to win while their QB is on his rookie contract, and there's a lot of money for everyone else, will probably close before they catch up. It's Miami that I'm more worried about. Miami has a solid coach and a lot of new players and high draft picks. A lot like Cleveland except Miami's coach is much better, so the fish aren't falling apart if they don't win right away. Also Miami has its QB on his rookie contract and can afford to keep all those new talented players around for a few years. The Bills will peak this year and next year, and then it's going to be tough to keep Miami from taking over the division. The Jets just can't get things right.

I apologize if anyone has asked this already (too busy to read five pages of comments) -- would KW be entitled to a veteran's minimum salary? If he could be signed for relatively cheap I don't see this as a problem. I love Zach Moss but Moss has been hurt from time to time, and KW could provide the thunder (along with Singletary's lightning) if Moss is unavailable.

I like the Bills hosting the Dolphins in January. Some of those guys won't want to get off the bus. The schedule is harder with all the west coast trips, and at Tennessee but this time not against Mariotta. It will be tough for any AFCE team to get a wild card slot. The Bills need to win the division -- even if it's 9-7 I would take it -- and hope for the best in the playoffs.

Nope. I've lived in 9 states, but never Arizona. In Alaska now. I kept my online name. I was John in CA, then John in VA, then Utah John. Grew up in West Seneca and WNY is still home.

I got to be a Utah fan while living in Salt Lake City. I love this guy. He plays with the heart of Freddie Jackson. You will love him too.

Who cares?

Sometimes an average talent gets into a situation where other players make him look better than he is. Sometimes a good talent gets into a situation where the scheme or the coaches or the other players are a bad fit. (Ref: Rosen, Josh, over and over) Fortunately for these guys, they have a lot of money in the bank. McMahon was very good, but not elite. The 85 Bears defense was the best in history.

Dareus was a great physical talent but completely lacked self-discipline. He was a very young person, not chronological age but wrt maturity, when he arrived. He got to a Bills team with losing culture, and figured, OK then, that's how it is. He didn't push himself and no one really pushed him. No one, no matter how talented, makes it without hard work. It's all just a shame. A waste of a potentially great career, and a waste of a great draft opportunity.

The Bills pulled out some very close, tough wins last year, against teams that didn't win a lot of games. Yes, they won those games, which is a lot better than what they used to do. But they got killed by Philly and lost to Cleveland when the defense couldn't hold a late lead. There's a fine line between success and failure. The Bills still don't look as loaded as Cleveland did last year, and the Browns fell apart. That seems unimaginable under McBeane but imagine how last year would go if the Jets MLB didn't get hurt before halftime, and the Jets held on to win the first game of the year. The next week the pitiful Giants were ahead of the Bills. Last year could have gone a lot differently. This year is NOT a guaranteed walk to the division. Keep an eye on Miami, which seems ready to challenge the Bills for the AFCE championship, and the only playoff slot to any team in the division, due to the terrible travel schedule all four teams will have.