Jay4481

I flew in from Memphis! It was an awesome time...

2004 was our last "best" season....I had a ton of fun watching us that year. I still feel that we had a Super Bowl caliber defense with Jerry Gray that could have taken us places eventually. With an O-line that could have kept Bledsoe upright we would have ended the playoff drought for sure. To roar back after going 0-4 like that was really exciting. I think AJ makes a great point about TD. We were on the doorstep of the playoffs and things were finally moving in the right direction. The last game sucked for sure (Willy Parker....who knew?) but I still feel that jettisoning Bledsoe for Losman was a mistake. TD bet everything on JP but it turned out to be his downfall. Then the Levy/Mularkey debacle....yikes. I will always wax nostalgic about the 2003-2004 seasons. Those were the years I started traveling to Buffalo for games for the first time (I am from MA originally) and I loved so many of the players. Spikes, Bledsoe, Winfield, T. Henry, Moulds, etc.... http://en.wikipedia....lo_Bills_season "According to Football Outsiders, who has tracked every play in the NFL since the early 1990s, the 2004 Bills are statistically the best NFL team (in their record-keeping history) to have failed to qualify for the playoffs." *Sigh*

I don't post much Bill (I'm more of a reader) but your threads are always some of my favorites. You're all class brother....God bless you and GO BILLS!!!!

Week 1 9/9: Buffalo Bills at New York W Week 2 9/16 Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills W Week 3 9/23: Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns W Week 4 9/30: New England Patriots* at Buffalo Bills L Week 5 10/07: Buffalo Bills at San Francisco 49ers L Week 6 10/14: Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals L Week 7 10/21: Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills W Week 8: BYE Week 9: 11/04 Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans L Week 10: 11/11 Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots* L Week 11: 11/15 (Thurs) Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills W Week 12: 11/25 Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts W Week 13: 12/02 Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills W Week 14: 12/09 St. Louis Rams at Buffalo Bills W Week 15: 12/16 Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills W Week 16: 12/23 Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins W Week 17: 12/30 New York Jets at Buffalo Bills L 10-6 Overall 3-3 Divisional Hopefully enough for a Wild Card berth

From New Bedford, MA to Colts Neck, NJ and now Bangor, ME. I am active duty Navy so I am not sure where I'll end up next. I've never been a Buffalonian, but I've always loved WNY and plan to end up there someday when its all said and done.

I agree, the only thing I don't like is the collar. I have no idea what they were thinking there...

OK, just so another service is represented in this thread...GO NAVY I am originally from Southeastern Massachusetts and I've seen a lot of the country (and world) through the military. I have been visiting Buffalo yearly (except when deployed) for the last decade or so and I can honestly say that WNY is my favorite part of the country. I love Buffalo, I love the blue collar loyalty, and I love the people. I have made lifetime friends through being a fan of this team. I have such pride in the area and I have never even lived there. When I am done in the Navy, WNY will be my permanent home. GO BILLS!!!

So this is a play on the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters that were originally meant to be distributed in WWII in the face of Hitler's impending attack on England. I've always loved the poster and the idea behind it, so in honor of that my wife and I put this together to show our support for the current Bills regime. I know it's been a rough couple of weeks. I am as frustrated as anyone about our recent performance as a team. I believe that we lack true depth, and now that the injury bug has bitten us I think it's going to be a rough road the rest of the way. At this point the playoffs would be a minor miracle, but after a 4-12 finish last year I think a winning record would be a great accomplishment and something to shoot for. This team has played some really exciting and inspired football at times since Chan took over last year and I really believe that he is the coach that is going to bring the Buffalo Bills back to respectability and eventually, the playoffs. I watch his press conferences and I just have a total feeling of trust in him. I can't put my finger on it really, it's just a feeling. Anyway, I hope I'm right and I hope you guys enjoy the image. Now let's go out and Squish the Fish today! GO BILLS!!!!!!!!

Okay, obviously I am bitter about today but little Mark Sanchez is already calling next week's game with the Patriots the "divisional championship". Really dude? REALLY? Last time I checked you CAUGHT UP WITH US with your win today and we are still very much alive at 5-3. The Pats already beat you once and in case you didn't notice you have to face us again in three weeks, and now we have bulletin board material and you to thank for it. Your team wins DESPITE how average you are as a player so you need to shut up. Both of your "big" plays today were gift wrapped by the officials... I AM GOING ON RECORD RIGHT NOW, I AM ROOTING FOR THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS TO ABSOLUTELY DESTROY THE NEW YORK JETS NEXT WEEK. YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, I SAID IT... http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2011110600/2011/REG9/jets@bills?module=HP11_headline_stack#tab=recap&recap=fullstory&menu=highlights

Wow that's a blast from the past. Seeing those posts about the Steelers game still gets me a little upset. From 0-4 to the playoffs would have been something.

You got the right idea.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d823ae442/article/afc-landscape-shifts-after-steelers-take-down-patriots?module=HP11_hot_topics #4. Wow. This season has been like an amazing dream that I never want to wake up from.

I absolutely love this team....

I grew up in Massachusetts and I agree completely with what is being said here. I have a 50/50 split in allegiances between Buffalo and Boston sports: Bills/Sabres - Red Sox/Celtics, so obviously I have mixed feelings here. As far as football is concerned, NOBODY gave a sniff about the Pats until Bill Parcells, Drew Bledsoe, and Curtis Martin came to town. They would be the St. Louis "Whatevers" had Robert Kraft not bought the team. There were more Giants fans down there than anything because most of the older generation were raised on the NFL's Giants and not the AFL Patriots. The Giants were the locally televised NFL franchise. My friends and I grew up fans of other teams because our parents didn't raise us to be Pats fans! You would get to a certain age and just pick a team that appealed to you for whatever reason (despite the 4 Super Bowls and the last horrible decade I am still so glad I chose Buffalo, I absolutely LOVE being a Bills fan). However, when Golden Boy arrived it brought bandwagon jumping to a new low. EVERYONE became nuts about the Pats and even left their old teams behind. That's why those if us who are from there and stuck with the teams we grew up rooting for can't stand the Pats or their fans...we see through the facade. Before the recent success of the Celtics and Bruins, only diehard hockey and basketball fans were hardcore about those teams, respectively. One thing I will give my New England brethren credit for is that we are absolutely nuts about the Red Sox. It is bred in you there, like the Bills in Buffalo and the Packers in Green Bay. It definitely runs deep and I was really happy for my region when we finally won the World Series in 2004. Trust me, that fanbase deserved it. That being said, it is good to see some humble pie finally being eaten down there, ESPECIALLY when it comes to football

Awesome poll!!!

I grew up in southeastern MA and now reside in ME and I can tell you that WEEI are a bunch of arrogant fools, always have been. My brother called in to the station last year when Fitzy started playing well and asked for an honest assessment about whether or not it was possible that he could be our long awaited franchise QB. Michael Holley blew him up and they basically laughed him off the air. I know Boston sports has been incredibly successful the last decade or so but to say these guys look through rose-colored glasses would be an understatement. And don't even get me started on Fred Smerlas. To listen to him trash the Bills on that network makes me sick that he ever wore the uniform...

As much as I hate seeing us labeled under the heading "fake", his assessment isn't far off. It's looking like we have the foundation in place for the future (and a bright future it looks to be) but he is right about the fact that we have shaky depth in some spots. I think we are going to make noise this year for sure, but I think Buddy needs one more off-season to add the pieces to make us a true contender...

I remember when I was deployed back in '07-'08 I was subjected to the snow game in Cleveland, it was the only Bills game I could watch on AFN that whole year, UGH. I did however, get to announce to the men working in my compound (who were mostly made up of New York Giants fans) that the Giants had beaten the heavily favored Pats in the SB, that was a treat Hopefully you boys overseas will get a treat tomorrow and a Bills victory! God bless you and keep you safe...

Pats look great again Brady makes me nauseous Let’s end this s@$# now

I think this is an excellent post and pretty much sums up how I feel right now. I am going to enjoy the games where the team looks like they are progressing nicely, and I am going to be frustrated at those "back to earth" moments that I know are going to come at some point (probably next week). Either way its looking like another exciting season and I'm sure there are going to be twists and turns, and ups and downs. But I like our coach, I love our QB, and these guys make it really easy to root for them...

Someone doing the highlight reel from Sunday's game actually referred to him as the Amish Rifle. I think its the first time I've heard anyone in the media do it.

This was also my very first game at the Ralph, and other than being deployed in '07 I've been ever year since, traveling from MA and NJ, respectively. I'll never forget Jim Kelly being shown on the Jumbotron waiving a towel to pump everyone up, I went bananas. And of course, there is 2003 opener, 31-0 drubbing of the Pats. Too bad it got turned around on us I still enjoyed the day though, and rode back to Massachusetts with a bus full of upset Patriots fans

I watched the game this morning on NFL Rewind and I think he is honestly the best player on our team. He is definitely the most complete player in my mind (Kyle Williams being a close second). He just seems to do everything right. His blitz pickups are as remarkable as his gaining three extra yards on every carry. And he is so fluid and makes it look so EASY. Tasker's quote about him being like water poured into a glass is spot on. That's honestly why I am not so worried about Spiller. Let's just continue to sprinkle him in here and there, and let him learn from one of the best in the game for the next couple years until it's his time to come in. Having him behind Freddie is perfect in my mind...

Gruden gushes over absolutely anyone. Now, if you really want to hear a Brady slurper watch a game called by Phil Simms. Just count how many times he says Brady's name in a broadcast. Never seen a bigger mancrush in my life...

I haven't been able to see the game yet, but how was that Gailey/Haley exchange at the end there? I thought Haley might B word about that wildcat playcall when we had a big lead...