uncle flap

I meant Irwin Raij would come to that conclusion. Cuomo gave him the job of finding a way (the best way) to keep the Bills in Buffalo, not determining whether or not they should stay, or under what stipulations they should stay. But you're right, I can't imagine a politician involved in Buffalo politics that would want his or her name attached to letting the Bills walk. In any event, all these guys probably aren't going out on any limbs here, since we keep hearing from those with access that "there's nothing to worry about." So, as has already been mentioned by many, a lot of the politicians are simply trying to make it seem as if they have something to do with keeping the Bills in Buffalo (likely a foregone conclusion), so that when the BIlls are ultimately sold to an owner with local interests, these politicians can take some credit/share the spoils.

Watch, in three months, he'll come to the same conclusion as Schumer; "Somebody better change the rules for Buffalo!"

No, that wasn't me. I drive a BMW JK, I drive a POS that's about to get traded in, and I was at work then and just saw the recap on the news later. But even if I didn't I would've guessed it was McKinley.

Not much of a shocker when you consider they aren't keeping him AND Thigpen. It's one or the other. When they signed VY, I naturally assumed Thigpen would be gone. But since VY hasn't clearly established him as better than Thigpen at this point (and I'd even argue the opposite), I have little faith he will suddenly make great strides. I also think it'd be foolish to cut VY before at least giving him a shot in the preseason. There is always a chance the Bills D is just so good that they are making both backups look bad. I don't think that's the whole story. VY plays best when he can improvise, and that simply isn't a part of Gailey's offense. Then again, VY could go maverick and run sandlot plays to prove his worth in the preseason. Either way, I question the "source" saying something that everyone who has been paying attention has already considered a distinct possibility.

I think it's a good thing for the all the reasons posted. I might've been concerned about the lack of personal sideline contact with the players, but after seeing him practically flying all over the field at training camp in different players' ears between almost every rep, I'm sure the players already know what is expected. Hopefully, they won't need that face to face contact, and if they do, there are players and position coaches to do so. WIlson, Kyle, Barnett, and Kelsay are proven leaders, and word is Dareus and even Sheppard are quite vocal as well.

Funny stuff! The annoying reporter was Dave McKinley from Channel 2. He's really trying to make a name for himself by "asking the tough questions," but more often than not he just seems like a smart ass. I was really hoping for something more substantial than a "plan" that was really more of a "plea." Poloncarz was on the news saying that Schumer's presser might not help negotiations, but certainly wouldn't hurt. It probably won't impact the negotiations themselves, but they could make Poloncarz look bad if the lease does include substantial taxpayer contributions considering Schumer just made it seem as if a lease could be done without taxpayer contributions. I'm not saying it can't be done w/o taxpayer $, but it would make Poloncarz appear weak to some for not forcing the Bills to take advantage of the amended G4 program if in fact it becomes amended.

Welp, I'm thinking I should change the thread title to: "Much Ado About NOTHING"

http://www.wgrz.com/...opnews|bc|large Very interesting! F5 all day on my phone at work tomorrow! UPDATE: Also, Goodell will be in WNY on Wednesday as well at another event in the morning. Does he show up with Schumer at OBD in the afternoon? http://www.buffalone...ticle991234.ece

Romneycare circa 2006

I wouldn't know, I've been trying to steer clear of PPP. So many nuts there it's tough to tell which is yours! However, I just did swing by to see Dr. D and gugny paid a visit. What you guys do to get them to jump into the shark tank?

I agree and I think the biggest "tell" is the screen name. Then again, TI could just actually be an oddly mature HS freshman. EIther way, as a performance artist or as an insightful teen, I think TI is a much better poster than Selmon.

D'oh! OTOH, I do have the legs for a skirt EDIT: If the above didn't make you uncomfortable, I'm supposedly the guy second from the left: GB Men's Hockey Team

Well, would ya?

TRUE STORY! Have yall seen the Mohawk Guy?

Phew, I'm a hockey player. Totally was expecting something strange like synchronized swimmer

Thanks for the report! Would you say that the 2nd and 3rd team offenses are getting better as camp goes on? I didn't see too many negatives mentioned in the article, so I'm hoping things are starting to click.

Thanks for the write-ups! It's good to hear from different perspectives because there's so much going on there, there is always something that one guy picks up on and another guy misses. Or even just different interpretations of the same thing. When you read the reports from the "professionals," you notice they all key on the same things, as if there is a script for reporters. It's usually echoing something that the coaches say, so that the reporters don't have to go out on a limb. EDIT: I realize reporters will ask questions to support/expand upon what they saw at practice, so I'm not claiming there's some kind of conspiracy, I'm just saying most reports don't vary much within the day... What we've been getting here is more well-rounded, honest, and without any type of agenda.

"I'd like to introduce the new industry standard in lo-cal, lo-carb, lite beer: BUD LIGHT INVISIBLE!! For sale exclusively at all Bills home games this year!"

Thanks to everyone for the updates! Sucks to hear Stevie isn't 100%

ugh I was there and that was soooooooo heartbreaking at the end. But your point is a good one! Even tho I've questioned Chan's coaching abilities in the past, looking at his tenure here as a whole, I'm now more convinced that his lack of success stemmed more from a lack of talent (and injuries, etc) than his ability to game plan and scheme. I expect people to criticize his abandonment of the running game, but that was a more a product of circumstance than anything else. Like everyone said, Rex can STFU. If he ever says anything of any import it'd be drowned out by all the BS he constantly spews. Whatever happened to "Speak softly, and carry a big stick?"

They looked better run blocking than in pass protection. Hairston and Glenn look good in general, but I think them getting beat was more that the d ends and d linemen as a whole are just that good. Wood wasn't in that much, so hopefully he'll add some added protection and push once the season rolls around. Fitz was getting the ball out quickly anyway, even on those deep throws/ longer drop backs. To be honest, I didn't focus that much on the interior, and was even tho I was watching the ends, I wasn't necessarily paying attention to who was which tackle spot each time. Also, a good move by a D end is more memorable than a good block by the T, so maybe I'm not remembering the good protections as much. Fitz definitely connected on several deep passes, so he must've had at least adequate protection on those. All in all, I guess I'm just saying that IMO, it's probably just that the D line is SO good, that the o line is just going to look worse than they actually are. Even an all-star line would struggle against the likes of Mario, Merriman, Dareus, Kyle, and Dwan.

Sorry if my sarcasm detector is on the fritz, but ICYMI I wrote in the OP: Furthermore, he had a good mix of moves. He was able to set the edge (showing his strength), and quite a few times just blew right by Hairston and Glenn. Like I said, even if he isn't 100%, he certainly seems "healthy enough." If this was a real game he would've KILLED Fitz at least twice. I mean even with Fitz getting the ball out in under two seconds, Shawne was already on top of him. I noticed that a few of the decent run plays had to be redirected away from Merriman. Whether they were designed cutbacks or not, Merriman was pushing the LT backwards the more often than not. You might be on to something. However, it still seemed to me that is wasn't so much of when he decided to throw the ball, but that it was more that his "flick of the wrist" release caused the balls to sail a little a lot, and just not get to the spot in time. Or at least some combination of the two. I'm looking forward to the preseason to see if VY can get the ball downfield with some pace. It really just looked like he could either throw a low-trajectory bullet, or a super high arcing fade, and nothing in between. The fades looked good in those individual drills where he was throwing way downfield, but like I said before, if there was a deep safety involved, he'd likely be able to get under it before it got to the receiver. Well, you should've just started your own thread then! But really, if that was your intention (and I'm sure it wasn't), you could've said something like, "Can you imagine next year when the Bills are showing off their Lombardi?" Even then, I fail to see what that had to do with the OP or the subsequent conversation. But hey, this is America, post whatever the hell you want! THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE APPRECIATION EVERYONE HAS SHOWN! I too love the camp reports by TBDers, and I am more than happy to share. I only wish I could get out there more often! GO BILLS!

Thank you, and thanks to everyone else for the kind words! Unfortunately, I don't think I will make any more practices this year. Thigpen wasn't really that bad, he did have a couple of nice throws. However, he didn't really do anything that gives me any confidence in his ability to step in and lead the offense. Overall, he was too inconsistent in the team drills to impress me at all, and even as a backup, I expect more from an NFL caliber player. Then again, Fitz was playing so well, Thigpen might've just looked that bad in comparison. When they were running drills with just the QBs throwing to WRs, both Thigpen and VY had some nice throws. Then again, so did Brad Smith. No pass rush and no safeties/over the top coverage can make any QB look pretty good. I didn't really elaborate on this earlier, but the the good/bad news about Young is that during the team drills, VY would seemingly make the right read and find the open receiver... but then he'd either over/under throw the ball, and any advantage gained by the receiver getting open would be negated by a mistimed/inaccurate pass. Many of his deeper balls were these floating touch passes that seemed to hang in the air forever- so even if they were somewhat accurate, the D would have a chance to recover before the ball got there. Maybe even worse than VY's inaccuracy was that he doesn't seem to have that zip on the longer throws. Which is weird because he obviously has a cannon for an arm, as evidence by some lasers thrown over the middle on some short and intermediate routes. But down the sidelines and on deep posts and flags, he would just throw these fade type tosses that were too late getting there. I think if VY is going to throw these long lobs, he might as well just throw them 60 yds in the air and hope the WR can outrun the coverage because he seems incapable of dropping it in between the corner and safety. Which sucks because it seems that he is picking up the offense as far as making the right reads. His timing was just horrendous. As I said earlier, I am no VY "hater," I initially liked the signing. After watching practice though, I don't see him as much more than an option QB. He was very elusive when he pulled the ball down and ran with it. Rather than try to push the ball downfield, I think he would be best served by making one read on a quick slant or skinny post, and if it's not there- tuck and run. Or maybe call some play action and hope the safety bites so he can simply throw up a prayer past the defense and hope a speedster like Graham can track it down. Thanks again, everybody!

I think his experience with top-flight defenses (obv not DJ's) might give him a little extra value. Maybe he can add a little veteran leadership to the younger DBs. And you can't have enough high-character guys on the squad.