hondo in seattle

We should build something like the Vietnam Memorial in Delaware Park to all the Bills fans who loyally supported the Bills but didn't live to see the glorious day.

I'd be reduced to tears and unable to think.

I may have told this story before... When I was in Desert Storm, I was told to give unlimited access to a NYT reporter who wanted to interview some soldiers. One of my soldiers was quoted as saying, “Tell President Bush to get out of his fishing boat in Kennebunkport and come down here.” That critical remark was noticed by the entire chain of command from the Secretary of Defense on down and caused me a lot of trouble. But my soldier never said it. The reporter asked if anyone was willing to have that quote attributed to him. A young PFC who had said nothing resembling the quote agreed to the attribution. Some of the soldiers present speculated that the reporter had already written the article on the plane to Saudi and just needed some naive young soldiers to agree to some prewritten quotes. That's how I feel about Dunne's hit piece on McD. Dunne had an opinion and sought out people who would support his proposition. He didn't try very hard to find opposing viewpoints, just enough to claim he made an effort to be balanced. The main thesis of the article was determined before any interviews were conducted and no contrary view or datapoints could have changed Dunne's poisoned mind. I liked Dunne before that article and haven't read anything he's written since. Not because he doesn't like McD. Lots of folks here don't like McD and I'm fine with that. But because, for me, Dunne lost all credibility as a journalist with that article.

Coach, I notice you vomiting anytime someone says something negative about Dunne. Let me ask... Are you a fan? A friend?

The two guys I'll watch most closely tomorrow will be Keon on offense and Cole on defense. I was disappointed in both - especially Cole - last season but am hoping they take a big step forward this year. If they do, my optimism for a Lombardi will likewise take a big step forward.

We're used to thinking of the Chiefs as our nemesis for obvious reasons. But maybe this year our main threat to earning an AFC crown is the Chargers. Or the Ravens. Or some other team.

When OT Jawaan Taylor committed his third penalty of the game, Kelce started jawing at him. Later, All-World Chris Jones broke contain and let Herbert get outside for a crucial first down. Jones and LB Drue Tranquill got into it after the play. Reminded me of the Bickering Bills - but worse. It's certainly not the kind of behavior you see on the current edition of the Bills. The first game of the season and we're already seeing disunity on the Chiefs. I think that's a good sign for us and, yeah, I think you would have enjoyed it. I did.

Good to see the Chiefs lose. But not just lose, bickering among themselves too.

Similar story... I think I've watched one woman's tennis match before Pegs: Chris Everett versus someone or another. Jessica is a great story. Not as athletic or powerful as some other women's tennis players, and plagued by injuries, she didn't accomplish much in her early career. Considered quitting the sport. Didn't crack the top 100 until 2019 she was 26 years old. Younger players like Naomi Osaka (age 22) were already winning majors in 2019 while an older Jess struggled in smaller events. But Jess kept grinding and eventually cracked the Top 5 through resilience, intelligence, and consistency. Like you, I hope she wins a major before retiring.

I kind of care because it's a data point that may tell us something about the Bills' coaches. If Elam balls out with another team, I'll wonder if the Bills coaching staff didn't coach and mentor him correctly.

I get she's not quite as good as Swiatek and Sabalenka. But those two have lost to lesser tennis players than Jess. And lesser players than Jess have won majors. JPEG just needs them to have a slightly off day while she's playing her best. The talk about a curse is lighthearted banter. Trust me, there's no ruminating self-pity on my part.

Look, as an empirical, rational human being, I don't believe in curses or anything else supernatural. But some of us folks born and raised in Buffalo years ago can't help but notice that Buffalo doesn't earn its fair share of championships. Call it a curse. Call it whatever you want. And even though I'm a rational man, there's a small part of me that feels if Jessica had won the US Open, it meant that the curse was lifted and the Bills were now more likely to win a SB.

As I recall, Sports Illustrated, back when it was a big thing, ran an article calling Randy Smith the best athlete in all of American sports, or something to that effect. Sometime later, I remember reading an article saying some other team was the first NBA team to have three Macs. They forgot the Braves three Macs: Bob McAdoo, Jim McMillian, and Tom McMillen. I stopped following the NBA when the Braves left town.

You're right as usual, Shaw. Just learned that David Cook, Purdue's mental performance guy, also served as mental training coach for the San Antonio Spurs during their championship runs. When I first became an army officer my attitude was: leave me alone... this is my platoon, I'm fully capable, and don't need help. Later as I grew as a leader, I wanted to harness all the outside resources I could get, not because I lacked self-confidence, but because I wanted to win and win big.

That's true. I didn't mention that because it didn't fit the narrative. 🙂 Still, for as long as Buffalo has been involved in professional sports (100+ years), it's sad to think our only championships have been in the junior pro football league and one of two professional lacrosse leagues. It just doesn't seem fair or right.

Yeah, I agree. That's why I posted. Gruden has some serious flaws as a human being but he's an enthusiastic and knowledgeable analyst. I didn't learn anything about the Bills in this vid but I did learn things about the Ravens. If he did a Bills preview every week, I'd probably watch every week. We also struggle with power backs like Henry. And given our injuries, it looks like we're going to struggle with talented wideouts, too. Their talented offense is a matchup nightmare.

I love Levy so I hate to pile on, but I'll tell this story... In 1983, the Purdue Boilermakers basketball squad was predicted to finish at or near the bottom of the Big Ten. It lacked the kind of prototypical talent seen on other squads. But the Boilers had some uniqueness to them. For example, center Jim Rowinski was only 6'8," clumsy, and could barely dribble. But he was built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Keady believed that if he could leverage the team's odd and disparate skills, and play together as a team, they could make a run. But the team needed to believe, too. Only they didn't because of their lack of accomplishment in the past and the poor assessments of them in the media. So Keady hired a motivational consultant/mental performance coach named David Cook to work with the team. And the Bad News Boilers went on to shock the basketball world that season by winning the Big Ten title and earning a NCAA Tournament berth. Rowinski was named Big Ten co-MVP. I always thought Levy should have hired a mental performance coach because it was clear there was something mentally off with the Bills in the Super Bowls.

I'm not sure he didn't have leverage. It seems like he could have driven on the ball once he determined where it was heading. But he just watched the receiver make the catch without any attempt to disrupt it. Weird rep.

I'm a Purdue alum so I was a bit of a Kyle Orton fan. It was good to see him earn a starting role in the NFL. Wish he was better. Really wish he didn't slide.

A friend and I were texting about Jessica Pegula’s run at the US Open yesterday—and how the evil juju just won’t quit. The Sabres made it to the Stanley Cup Finals twice. Came up short both times. The Braves had the league’s top scorer for three seasons - Bob McAdoo - and still never reached the Finals before the team was stolen from us. The Bills? Sure, they won titles in the inferior AFL. But never in the NFL. The current edition of the Bills has earned the highest point differential in the NFL since 2020 - by a mile. Second-most wins. Zero trophies. And Jess? She’s ranked #4 in the world, has been in the Top 10 for five straight years, and yet… no Grand Slam titles. She’s the only Top 10 player without one. A living, breathing metaphor for the current edition of the Bills: dominant, consistent, and heartbreakingly ringless. The Sports Gods let us win. Just never the Big One. The Curse is real.

I remember watching an interview with Amari last season when I thought something like, "Smart guy. Likes the Bills. But talks more like an impassionate outside observer than an excited member of the squad." I know he's always been kinda low key. But I didn't get the impression he loved football the way Josh loves football.

I think the Ravens O completely outclasses our D. If someone put a gun to my head and demanded my honest, most rational prediction, I'd say the Ravens by two scores. But there are no guns to my head: Bills: 32 Ravens: 17

Signing Gabe to the PS only makes sense if they're planning to elevate him when healthy. Otherwise, some other team will sign him to their 53 when he recovers. So who gets demoted? Shavers? Though maybe one of the wideouts will get hurt by the time Gabe recovers, making the decision easy.

There are a lot of football fans in the world who can't name their favorite team's starting lineup. I appreciate TBD where posters know the roster, and care about it, all the way down to the PS.