uncle flap

He's still under contract for next year. And the year after that. So he'll be 29 when his contract is up. I'm not advocating anything, but a better question to ask is, "how many seasons do you expect him to be one of the league leaders once he turns thirty?" Most RBs hit a wall around then, or at least begin to decline. So do you want to be throwing all that money at him just for another year or two of production? And before someone says, "Well, just extend him early," let me ask: Why would he agree to that when there could be a substantially better opportunity down the road? Again, we don't have to speculate about Spiller now, because he is under contract til 2016. Too much can change between now and then. He could blow out his knee. The Bills could become a powerhouse and maybe he would be willing to take a hometown discount. Who knows? But to think that Byrd's contract will have any bearing on re-signing Spiller in 3 years makes no sense. While I do agree that you need to take future cap hits into consideration when making deals to a degree, I don't think we need to pay as much attention to particular players as much as pure dollars. For example, it'd be prudent to save some space for Wood, but if he's injured again, that money could be used on a sturdier replacement, or even elsewhere if they draft a center or maybe someone already under contract steps up. See? There's too much at play to speculate even to next year, much less 3 years down the road.

2010?

This is true. Harrington is a chump. I think Tim Graham is a pretty good writer, and the "hissy fit" referred to above wasn't a hissy fit on Graham's end, but by other posters who were seemingly offended by his thin skin. Graham didn't make 30 pages of posts about his departure, "we" did. On Graham leaving TSW, that was a choice that any of you would likely make if you were constantly insulted, asked to betray the trust of others, and/or badgered in a variety of ways. IIRC, basically he asked for some civility, which I think is reasonable. In the end I believe he said something like, "I came here because I enjoyed the interaction, and now I no longer enjoy it." I don't see anything wrong with that. Some claim he's putting himself on a pedestal. Well, if that's your interpretation, fine. As far as the insults and stuff on twitter, it's always in response to be antagonized. I find it funny when he clowns someone who deserves to be clowned. Sure, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," but if someone asks a stupid question or questions one's integrity, I don't see anything wrong with defending one's position the way he does. It's entertaining and some of you need to lighten up. I've had a few interactions with Graham on twitter and they've been nothing but pleasant. But if someone asks a question, doesn't like the answer, and then insults the answerer... I mean, come on.

That does suck. However, I'm hoping all the early home games where the weather should be nice and the Ralph will be rocking will offset some of those disadvantages. Stack some wins early on, and use the momentum down the stretch. It might even be motivating for the players if there is some perceived slight by the league; "Let's go prove to everyone how good we are despite the league giving us a raw deal."

FWIW, Skurski writes for the Buffalo News. Not sure if you were being sarcastic. The thing about the Bills we have now is that one can make a reasonable argument either way. There are just as many reasons to say they'll suck as there are to say they'll be good. Considering all the youth slated to play prominent roles, it's also pretty easy to imagine that they'll eventually be consistently good, or even simply trending upward, but still have a lousy record. In a season preview, it's probably safest to say, no matter how good you think they Bills will be over the course of the next few years, that they probably won't be all that good this year. Don't worry TC, we will hear from plenty of writers that will claim the Bills are on the brink, and that they're this year's sexy sleeper pick for the playoffs, etc. Which I also feel every year!

Is that how that works? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression his contract was for $2.25 mil including bonuses and escalators. The $550k in bonuses is dead money, and that brings the total to $1.75 saved on the cap. http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/tarvaris-jackson/

Wow that's really out of position!

With Tarvaris's release, the Bills gain $1.75 mil cap space.

EJ is insured like all highly drafted rookies. Byrd is likely insured as well, but not to the tune of the $20 mil guaranteed he's likely to get one way or the other.

UKRAINE IS GAME TO YOU?!? http://youtu.be/Uvuz-hm3XZ8

I suppose you're right and I agree with you in general. I guess my "beef" is that plenty of people make that same criticism re: "arrogance," etc., when it isn't really an issue, IMO. A bigger sign of arrogance would be the EPL claiming their best team is the "world champion" when the Bundesliga, Serie A, and La Liga arguably have teams that are just as good or better. Sure the NFL could be considered arrogant by claiming their title is the "world championship," but it's not as if it is some slight to the Calanda Broncos who just won the Eurobowl. Thanks for introducing me to korfball. Interesting game. Sorry to everyone else for the thread hijack.

Wait is he actually Ukrainian?

Nothin personal, but I hate that logic. So are you saying there is a better football team in the world that didn't have a chance to compete for the title?

Damn you're right I just looked over their press release: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/04/nfl-verizon-wireless-agrement-will-add-sunday-afternoon-streami/ Still worth it for the RedZone IMO. I live in Buffalo and have season tickets so doesn't change things for me anyway.

CJ and SJ are the best players on offense. Mario, Byrd, and Gilmore are the best players on defense. I think Mario will have a nice comeback this year. It'll be interesting to see if the "improved" WR corps helps Yeevie stat-wise (by drawing away double coverage), or if the added threats take away some of his targets. I expect Byrd and Gilmore to shine in an attacking defense. Gilmore especially. I think he'll be regarded as one of the top corners in the league if the Bills are even sniffing at the postseason.

I'd def take Leroy Hill for depth at ILB. Assuming of course the Bills aren't concerned with his legal troubles.

More on the stadium blackout: https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/342542

Yeah it will. See my post above. They already streamed Sunday, Monday, and Thursday night games just fine, as well as NFL RedZone. And whatever is on NFL Network is streaming 24/7 as well.

If I understand the interview and how NFL mobile has worked thus far, if the game is blacked out in your market, then it'll be blacked out there as well. Your bill won't go up at all. I imagine the cost will be more than offset by the new subscribers to NFL mobile. I subscribe to NFL Mobile and love it. You can watch live NFL network 24/7, as well as RedZone on Sundays. They also aired all the primetime games (including Thursday night games). EDIT: Which is great because I don't have cable. You could also listen to any game live. So the big change here is that you can watch any game as well. Here's what was a huge load of BS tho: if you are in (or in the vicinity of) the stadium during game time- NFL Mobile was blacked out! So I couldn't turn on RedZone immediately after the game in the parking lot while post tailgating/ waiting for traffic to thin out. It wouldn't come back on til you were either miles away or like nearly an hour after the game ended. It used to be free and I think the are charging $10 a month for the full features. I'm pretty sure I'm paying $4.99 tho because I called and complained when they started charging for it, but I'm gonna have to check my bill. I think they only charge the fee during the season as well, if I'm not mistaken. EDIT #2: So, I don't remember exactly how I worked this all out, but I don't pay extra for the premium features. I think maybe it's because I upgraded a second data plan on of the lines on my family plan- I'm not sure. I do have some subscription to a Verizon Video service but that is included for free in my plan. If any of you have Verizon already, maybe just download the app and see what you get. It may already be included for no additional cost. I guess the $10/ month subscription fee to NFL Mobile is only if you don't already a plan that includes the video service or unlimited data. Either way, I'd pay the $10 if I had to. I love away game Sundays where I've a got a game on the TV, TBD/twitter/fantasy updates on the laptop and iPad, and RedZone streaming on the phone. Surrounded by a bunch of brews, of course

"If I'm not on the list, it just adds another wood block to the fire... I won't have any hard feelings against anybody, I'll just go out and try to prove everyone wrong again... It'll be great to make... but the main focus for me is to try to end the 13 year playoff drought." http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/0ap2000000208334/C-J-Spiller-expects-more-carries-in-2013

Nice post!

Power rankings are subjective and "ordinary" rankings are objective.

Jason Peters revisited: Bills, agent say trade won't affect Jairus Byrd June 1, 2013 - 6:02 PM By Tim Graham There isn't a contract scoreboard in Russ Brandon's office. Influential agent Eugene Parker might have forced the Buffalo Bills to trade left tackle Jason Peters four years ago, but that doesn't mean safety Jairus Byrd's situation will be considered a rematch. In interviews for a Parker profile that will run in Sunday morning's Buffalo News, he and Brandon revisited the Peters contract standoff in light of Byrd's contract negotiations. Click for the rest of the article: http://blogs.buffalonews.com/press-coverage/2013/06/jason-peters-revisited-bills-agent-say-trade-wont-affect-jairus-byrd.html