transient

He hadn't gotten to that chapter in "NFL offenses for Dummies" when Schonert spilled coffee on it, prompting his firing.

Is that so he doesn't break your nose/cheek when he tries to punch you in the face, or is it only his own teammates that have to worry about that? Personally, I don't care if players hurt themselves tripping over their dogs or break their necks base-jumping, it's their life. The circumstances are immaterial. If they violate their contract by hurting themselves, they don't get paid and/or they get fined, it's their risk. As a fan, it sucks if it's an important player, but whatever. I think I'd tend to ignore it if my boss told me I couldn't play a pick-up game with the boys during my free time, too. If I happened to do it and messed myself up to the point I couldn't perform my job, then it's a risk I took. Accidents happen. Now if you'll excuse me, it's off the soapbox and back to the bubble wrapped cocoon of safety.

I'm of the opinion that Nix knows value, and that holding on to Lynch and putting him in a position to showcase his talents to potentially trade him for a higher round pick next offseason is more what he is going for. Let him be on his best behavior this season to let some of the character issue talk die down, and let's see how this year pans out. Maybe even put a bug in his agent's ear that this would be in both of their best interest. If he gets suspended, or if he sits and pouts, the Bills have already put themselves in a position to deal with life without him, so right now it is about getting value. And if he turns it around and looks good in this offense, you can always trade Jackson next year.

Way to ignore the part in the first post about how he felt they were both nice people, and the part in the second post about how she seemed nice and smart. Keep flexing those beer muscles from behind the keyboard, there, tough guy.

I dated a girl whose younger brother's tee-ball team was coached by Joe Devlin... you'd have thought he was coaching inmates instead of little kids. Couldn't have acted like a bigger ass if he tried. Who intimidates opposing players and coaches in a tee-ball league?

Didn't they sing a song about a bullfrog?

...and the right coaching staff, cuz you can also draft the next HOF QB first overall and destroy him by surrounding him with ineptitude and getting him killed. (Before we get out the torches, I'm in NO WAY suggesting anyone currently on the roster is headed to the HOF)

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! Have fun storming the castle! Do you think they have a chance? It would take a miracle.

I agree with the reasoning behind this post. I just wanted to point out the irony of stating we should replace our QBs with someone who make take 1-3 years to be good enough, given that all of our current QBs (save Fitz) essentially fall into this category. With a few exceptions, QB is a position that needs time to develop... and this development is contingent on having the coaching in place to facilitate it. For the first time in ? 5 years ? we might have the coaching in place to get the most out of our QBs, and now because of this 1-3 year clock, it's time to move on... and the cycle continues. As far as this past draft, Bradford aside, I think the remaining QBs were as much of a gamble as what we have on the team already, therefore why waste the pick. If there was someone they thought had more potential than what we already have, they would have picked him.

After reading through this thread, this is the point that seems to have been cast aside til now. I don't think the WCO as it is known develops the way it did if it didn't start with a QB and coach on the same page. Walsh recognizes Montana's incredible ability to anticipate the game and designs an offense around a player's instincts. As a hockey fan, it's like listening to an elite goal scorer or goalie talk about knowing where everyone is on the ice, and anticipating what will happen three steps ahead. Montana, more than anything, had a composure on the field that was unrivaled, and knew where to put the ball by the flow of the play, seemingly without looking. His head for the game is what makes him stand out, and it never seemed forced. The creation of that offense was as much a product of Montana's intangibles as it was Walsh's game planning. IMO, the Bills' current QB situation is this: despite the last few seasons, who knows what you have in Edwards. Maybe with a legitimate NFL offensive scheme he can grow as a player, maybe not. Brohm and Brown are unknowns with potential. Fitz is Fitz. I'd rather see them cut Fitz and keep the other three. If Edwards can't cut it, handing the reins to Fitz proves nothing, cuz, and I think the consensus supports this, he's not going to be your franchise QB. Who cares if you win 1-2 more games this year, it won't help you in the long run. If neither Edwards nor Brohm turns out to be the man, then you draft him next year and hopefully more of the pieces are in place at that time to allow him to grow as the franchise QB ala Flacco, Ryan, Roethlisberger, etc. (I deliberately left out the Sanchize, cuz I just don't see it)

I'd love to see Bell be productive in training camp and pre-season so they could inactivate Lynch for the season opener. Let him be the 4th best, inactive back on the team. And let him languish until he realizes careers are short and people's memories for this type of s*&t are long. And he still has, what, 3 years left on his rookie deal. Potential for a lot of pine riding.

My point was that he hasn't exactly kept his thoughts on retirement a secret for the last two years, so to suggest his announcement today is somehow surprising is misguided. Also, it's not as though the Bills haven't been acquiring LBs to fill out the roster. Taking his time, as he said he would, has in no way hurt the team. There's no telling if he would even succeed in the 3-4. None of this is surprising. Also, the protestation of fans suggesting that taking his time to consider all the ramifications of making a life altering decision to retire is somehow inconsiderate and should be done to meet their arbitrarily imposed timeframe is ludicrous. There are 60 and 70 year olds that struggle with this decision. He's telling management where he's at in the process, and that's all you can ask of him. He's even stated he understands if they need to move on before he makes any final decision. What more do you feel you or the Bills are owed? He owes it to himself to make sure he is comfortable with whatever decision he makes.

One of my favorites was Robert Smith. Prove to yourself you can do it, play out your contract, and leave on your terms to pursue loftier goals. Can't blame Brad Butler, either, for pursuing a lifelong career when he had the chance.

?? Really?? He's stated since last season that he's contemplating retirement, and has alluded to it since he got hurt in '08.

You have to hand it to Ricky, not many have the strength to be their own man in the stereotype that is the NFL, especially when their beliefs are so far left of commonly held social norms. I applaud TG for having the intestinal fortitude to write the piece in a way that could open him up to ridicule as well, instead of taking a cheap shot at William's "eccentricities."

I'm with you on that. I think it is the general negativity surrounding most disingenuous athletes that makes people look for ulterior motives. I'm not getting that from him. I think this was a heads up from a decent guy who's been saying for months that he's considering retirement that while he's not ready to make it official, his employer should probably move on, and if they do he's ready to accept the consequences. If he's true to his word, he's not looking to play elsewhere. Thing is, if he was looking to play elsewhere it would benefit him to say so, cuz he's more value to the team disgruntled and tradeable than retired.

IMO this says if you really, really need me to and can talk me in to it, I'll consider coming back. If not, I'm retiring, but I'm only 32 and it's really hard to make this official at this point, so let me ponder it as long as I can before I have to look myself in the mirror and officially say I'm done. Essentially he is letting the Bills move forward without having to make anything official this minute, which is considerate on his part. I don't think he's looking to play elsewhere based on his comments, but who knows. I take the "it's in the Bills' hands" to mean they should find someone to replace him or somehow convince him otherwise that they really need him to be a part of the team, and their actions will ultimately dictate the outcome. While it's waffling, I can't imaging retiring from something that I love because I knew I couldn't perform the job at the level I wanted to... let alone at the age of 32. He's one of the few athletes in this day and age to give all he had on the field and for the most part keep his complaints out of the media, despite this disastrous Bills' decade. He's been a true professional, and I wish him well.

I wouldn't think that any seasoning you could apply would get rid of that bitter aftertaste.

pessimist= overly negative EVERYTHING AT OBD SUCKS!!!! optimist= overly positive EVERYTHING AT OBD IS PERFECT!!!! realist= Not expecting much this season but willing to be surprised MAYBE THINGS AT OBD CAN CHANGE THIS TIME ROUND??? closer to living a less frustrating and more fulfilling life= What are these Bills you speak of? Where is this OBD?

Carroll spoke to Tate and agrees Maple Bars are irresistable

Depends entirely on the scenario. If this season was about advancing in the playoffs with a hope for the SuperBowl, then veteran depth would be a valuable thing. However, in a season that is more likely to be based on player evaluation, keeping a replaceable player like Mitchell around and paying him money that could be spent elsewhere is foolish.

To be accurate, Thigpen's numbers were what they were, however he was a third string QB playing cuz of injury to the other two QBs on a team with no defense. Given the offense on this team the last few years, I think fans would take 18 passing TDs in 11 games. I don't think Thigpen is a starting QB in this league, however I think Gailey got all he could out of him. He hasn't turned pigs*&t into ProBowlers, as someone suggested, but he has designed offenses around his player's strengths. His offenses were successful behind such inauspicous QBs as Kordell Stewart, Jay Fiedler, and a host of other second string has beens. There are 4 young QBs on this team and IMO, with the exception of Fitz, all of them have the tools to potentially succeed. Give the man the chance to evaluate them and see what he can get out of them. There was no QB in this year's draft with the potential to come in this season and be more successful in this situation than what we already have. Nix has said all along that if you bring in someone else who doesn't make the situation better, you've only compounded the problem. Regarding LT, I'd love to play poker with those that insist something has to be done now. There are two LTs potentially on the market, and now SD's LT doesn't want to sign his tender. The only team that comes up as a possible destination is Buffalo, because everyone knows we could use a tackle. That's three sellers potentially, and one buyer. We don't need to make a move before training camp, and realistically not even a week or so before preseason starts, as I'm sure a starting caliber tackle can probably pick up a blocking scheme and cadence on short notice. So, why not wait for the market to come to you while evaluating what you already have, which is a couple of young players with potential who ended up starting too early last year because of horrible decision making and a kharmically challenged slew of injuries. Why spend money or burn draft picks when you don't know what you have in place currently.

My tastes vary, as well. HUGE IPA fan though, especially the Imperials. Love most of what Dogfishhead and Stone brew. Also a big fan of Avery's Maharaja. Unfortunately, on moving to Houston I've found a general lack of good beer on tap at a lot of places, so now I just drink my tears... especially on game day.

I am glad to see they finally brought in a QB coach who's done it for a while to work with their young QBs. Expecting both your QB coach and your QB to learn on the job is a recipe for disaster.

I had heard Dos Equis had approached him to be the new face of their "Most Interesting Man in the World" campaign so that they could stop paying him royalties to use anecdotes from his life.