Utah John

I think the ONLY reason for hope is that the Bills pushed back on the Toronto fiasco. I have believed all along that Byrd doubted the organization's commitment to winning watching them give up a home game every year, and certainly gave up on the organization after the Falcons loss. If the Toronto "experiment" is over, the Bills can wipe the egg off their face and try to represent themselves again as a professional team, committed to winning. Byrd wants to win. He wants a SB ring. He's in a position to switch to a team that has a better shot than the Bills do. If the Bills can convince their own players that they also want to win, just maybe Byrd will come back. However I think the chances are much better that this Byrd has flown.

Two first round draft picks? Sure! How about Mike Williams and John McCargo? Oh, you mean two FUTURE first round draft picks. Nevermind.

We don't know what went on behind closed doors, but one thing is certain. If the Bills tagged Byrd and then traded him, they could control where he plays next year. It could be he follows Pettine to Cleveland, which is bad enough, but imagine him in a Patriots or Jets or Dolphins uniform licking his chops while EJ checks down. I'm looking forward to Duke Williams taking Byrd's place on the Bill's starting defense. Along with Aaron Williams, Kyle Williams, and Mario Williams. We already have Nathan Williams on the roster. I say the Bills go after Brandon Williams, Cary Williams, Dan Williams, D.J. Williams, Ian Williams, Jabara Williams, Jason Williams, Jesse Williams, Nick Williams, Shawn Williams, Steve Williams, and Sylvester Williams. That's more than 11 but we need some subs.

Littman Littman Littman No way the Bills spend what it takes to win. They won't even give up the cash from the Toronto fiasco to preserve a home field game. We're all suckers.

I don't think it's money that's at the top of Byrd's decision criteria. He wants to win, and he doesn't think he can do it here. I think the last straw for him was losing to the Falcons in Toronto. Every player on the team knows the Toronto series shows the Bills aren't about winning, they're about making money for Wilson and his family. There are probably enough good ex-Bills in the NFL now to replace half our starters and would be upgrades, but the Bills are still millions under the salary cap, and they couldn't use that money effectively because few FAs will tolerate an environment like this. How we're able to keep ANY good players is a mystery to me. The Bills will never get past this until the Wilson lapdogs, primarily Jeff Littman, are gone.

The most critical need to be addressed in FA is free safety. Either sign Byrd or replace him.

For that kind of money, I'll carry TWO clipboards.

I think the OT loss to Atlanta in Toronto settled things for Byrd. The players realize this is an organization not committed to winning, instead just adding millions to Ralph's estate (and probably squirreled away in Jeff Littman's Swiss bank account). Players comments after that game were discouraged and fed up. The primary difference is Byrd will fly (haha) and the others are stuck. If the Bills end the Toronto series immediately, before trying to re-sign Byrd, they'll have a better chance of keeping him.

I'll trade you any amount of snow (and I grew up in West Seneca) for the filthy air we have all winter long here in Salt Lake City. Plus we get snow besides, sometimes a whole lot of it the higher you go into the mountains.

One factor that hasn't been mentioned is that he wasn't drafted as high as many other LTs. Look at who's picked for the PB and you'll see a lot of 1st rounders, which isn't surprising by itself since those guys should be the best players but we all know that's not how it always works out. Being a 1st rounder is like having the serve in tennis. You are assumed to be the pick, and the other guy has to beat you out by a considerable margin.

My biggest problem with this hire is that if the Bills do well we'll keep him only for one year. Another rent-a-coach, who will look like a viable HC to some other team. As for me, I remember Schwartz as a putz, getting into embarrassing situations and not appearing to have clue one as a HC making game time decisions. Maybe he's one of those guys who's a very good coordinator but who can't make it as a HC.

Doesn't anyone remember what happened when Wade was fired from Buffalo? First of all he had taken the Bills to the playoffs, losing to the Titans on that botched call. Then he refused to fire his assistant coach and then HE was fired for what Ralph called insubordination, and Ralph tried to get out of paying Wade for the remaining years of his contract, which goes against all normal NFL practice. Eventually Ralph backed down and paid Wade, but the damage to the Bills' reputation around the league was done. That, and firing Polian and Butler. We have never been taken seriously again, for good reason considering Jeff Littman is still counting Ralph's beans and preventing spending the money needed to build a strong team. Wade might come back to a city he enjoyed, but I doubt he'd come back to Ralph's organization. Ralph might be a good guy, but he's got real jerks working for him, and a lot of good coaches and execs won't consider working in Buffalo until ownership changes hands.

My only complaint about Whitner when he was with the Bills was, he never wrapped up tackles. He always tried to knock people down with his shoulders or helmet, and he missed tackles and gave up extra YAC as a result. When I see the 49ers play now, he's doing the same thing. I guess that's how he was taught to play.

Watch it again and see the offensive holding on the guy next to Knighton. Apparently Patriot O-linesmen have different rules. That went uncalled all day long.

I'd like to watch those two teams but with a set of referees that were also watching those two teams. That was the worst ref performance I can ever remember.

Instead of referring to failed Jim Kelly replacements by name, we should just number them by when they served time with the Bills (not "played"). Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie would have low numbers, Billy Joe Hobert would follow soon after, Edwards and Losman and van Pelt and Fitz and Bledsoe would each have a number. Using the numbers would be quicker and more efficient, and would minimize the nausea I get from seeing these names in print.

McCargo wasn't worth a first round pick, but he was a decent player who was injured and then fell out of favor during the coaching carousel. George Edwards tried to run a 3-4 without the right skill set. I don't think the 3-4 was his idea. I think Gailey thought it would be better, based on what I don't know. In any event, he'll probably work out OK for MIN.

Wilson and Kaepernick are both very good players who play at the level of the rest of their teams. They don't put their teams on their backs and get them through a tough game like Brady and P Manning do. I think for a few more years the more interesting QB rivalries will be Foles v RGIII, and Brees v Newton.

Bill Walsh invented the West Coast Offense. Belichek has not been an innovator but he's been able to win consistently despite injuries and retirements that would have crushed others. Shula was a great Xs and Os guy and always won, in Baltimore and Miami. Lombardi was a great leader as was Joe Gibbs (the first time). Marv Levy was really good for only about 5 years, not in the same class as the others. Jimmy Johnson was an arrogant jerk who rode a great roster without innovating -- not in the same class as Landry or Shula, two guys he got reckless stupid owners to fire so they could hire him. Note the common denominator of the great coaches. Great QBs. I wonder if there's a connection?

In 10 years time, the top three QBs of all time will all have been Colts, and the question will be what order do you put Unitas, Manning, and Luck on your list. By then, Manning will have won at least one more SB with the Broncos, and Luck will have won three. It ain't fair, I tell ya. My list of top non-Colt QBs is -- Marino -- Montana -- Brady -- Brees -- Favre (I don't care if he kept playing too long, he was amazing for a long time) -- Elway I don't put Warner on the list because he wasn't amazing for very long. I might put Kelly on the list but I have a hard time evaluating him against the others because I saw him play much more and make more mistakes. Also the Bills offense was really stacked, as was the 49ers offense when Montana played. Steve Young didn't start long enough in the NFL. Bradshaw? To quote Hollywood Henderson, Bradshaw is so dumb he couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the c and the a. Fouts? I wouldn't object but won't advocate for him. Didn't see him enough. Y.A. Tittle was great for his day too but I don't know if he'd make it now. Same with Sammy Baugh. NOT: Staubach, Aikman, Bledsoe, Starr, Stabler, Lamonica, Tarkenton, though you can probably find advocates for all of them.

It's odd watching Kiko play. His body type makes him look like a safety. Then you see him standing next to the D-linesmen and he's taller than they are. I think he could add a little weight and be just as fast and quick, and a little better against the run, but what will really make him even better than this year is experience. His main flaw this year was that he guessed wrong on gap assignments sometimes and took himself out of plays. When he fixes that, he's going to be fantastic.

Byrd's style of play relies more on smarts and study than on physical aggression. He knows the tendencies of the opponents and often "just happens" to be where the ball is thrown -- yeah right. He's where he is because he knows where to go. Except for his foot problems he's also likely to last a lot more years than the kamikazes playing safety for other teams. If the Bills can re=sign him they should do what it takes.

Driesbach is taking the fall for all the times Kiko guessed wrong on which gap to attack, leaving no one in the middle of the field to stop gash runs by the other team. The Bills have one good LB, Kiko, and one OK LB, Lawson. No other real talent. (Hughes is a pass rusher, not a LB.) I'm thinking the Bills take a LB in the 1st round and sign a FA LB. That plus two guards and they'll be in business.

Denver and Seattle. That's been the call since the middle of the regular season, and the top seeds and home field advantage seal the deal. I don't think anyone can go into their home fields and beat them in a playoff game.

In the Bills glory days, John Madden was the most influential person regarding how players were regarded. He focused on NFC players, and in truth the NFC generally was better. AFC teams were noticed by most people only during the playoffs and the SB. Reed had great games in the playoffs and SB but so do a lot of people who don't have great corresponding careers to go along. My point is he was not noticed much by most people. The reason a lot of Bills are in the HOF, besides being worthy, is Larry Felser. Felser was very well respected within the community of sportswriters, and when he told them Billy Shaw was a great guard, they believed him. There's no one with Felser's credibility covering the Bills or advocating for the former players anymore. I think if Reed was going to make it, it would have been during the time when Felser was still active. Then I get thinking and wonder why Reed DIDN'T make it while Felser was active. Maybe Felser didn't think in his own personal opinion that Reed was really that special, and he the other writers picked that up. Or maybe it's not quite so bad, maybe Felser just thought a lot of other ex-Bills deserved it more than Reed, and he supported them instead. The point being, I don't think Reed will ever get in unless he gets an advocate or he does something else to get his name noticed. If after he retired, he'd taken communications classes and gotten on the air as a color announcer, that might have helped. It separated Dan Dierdorff from the pack of really good O-lineman and got him in. It hasn't worked for Steve Tasker which is a shame but that was Tasker's only shot. My personal opinion is that Reed deserves to get in. He was the second best receiver in the game for a few years, and since the number one guy was Jerry Rice, the best ever, you can't hold that against Reed. He finished #2 in receptions, for Pete's sake. He dominated games and was a consistent part of the juggernaut. I'm just afraid that while the Bills were doing their thing, not that many people were paying attention. My the way, the notion that a player must have been on a SB winning team to get in is silly. If Norwood made his kick, how would that make Reed a better player?