Rivermont Mike
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Posts posted by Rivermont Mike
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If I wanted to watch four hours of Bloopers and Blunders then I might be inclined to turn on the TV this Sunday and watch the Bills and Cards. Either way the Cards are 3-0 at home this year. I have to believe they will be 4-0 at home after Sunday's game and that the lifeless Bills will be sent home with a 4-2 record
I'll take 4-2! How'd you do that!? ; )
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When I was a kid in the late Sixties, I would watch or listen to the Bills every week. It was my team, it was my city, and that's what we did win or lose. (There was more "lose" than "win" in those years.) Fast forward to 2012: I was sitting in utter disbelief in mid-fourth quarter and my son, who is the same age now as I was then, looked as disappointed as I did. Ever get the feeling that you've come full circle? Yeah, that.
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I wonder if he has aggravated his injury. Not making excuses--if he's on the field, he has to perform.
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T-r-a-i-n w-r-e-c-k.
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I am, generally, able to ignore most of the preseason prognosticating on TBD because I buy into the notion that the team is making adjustments, not showing their hand, pretty vanilla, etc. However, considering the comments coming from Levitre, Wood, and Gailey just prior to the game of the preseason for the starting unit, I've got to confess to being a bit worried. Your thoughts?
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article1019741.ece?two-bills-drive
To be more specific, it was this quote from Levitre that caused the concern:
"I don't know when it's going to click," Levitre said. "We only have a week, and it's not like you can just flip a switch."
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We lost another Bills fan yesterday. Kevin Weil, an artist and businessman from Kenmore passed away last night. He was responsible for the early artwork for the Buffalo Bills in the AFL in the early 60's. he will be missed, he was also my Dad
Two of my uncles had season tickets during those early Rockpile years, and I remember seeing the programs at their homes. Sorry for your loss.
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There have been a number of threads on TSW in which posters have said that a better Bills record depends on Fitz playing better this season. There are people who consider him to be "average."
In your opinion, does Fitz "doing better this season" mean A) more touchdowns, fewer INTs; B) same number of touchdowns, fewer INTs; or C) more touchdowns, more INTs.
Asked a different way: would you accept am average Fitz who is a leader, has intangibles that can lead the Bills to 10-11 Ws, and puts up average passing numbers?
Discuss.
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Why was the former laker and current Cleveland cavaliers coach signing autographs at the bills blood drive?
Whoops.
Original post corrected. -
The front office gets a lot of crap because they have consistently failed to put a winning product on the field. I truly expect a giant corporation like the Bills to be doing such Social work. It would be a shame otherwise.
Earlier this evening...
Me (thinking): Hey, maybe I'll post something positive on TBD that fans can feel good about.
::fail::
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Two of our boys (7 and 5) attended the Red Cross Blood Drive today at The Ralph. Not only did Bryan Scott let them sit at the autograph table and take pictures with him, he made them feel like they were the most important Bills fans ever. That's an NFL player with a lot of class. The Bills organization did locker room tours, let them wear helmets, and let them run around on the field. Great photos, temporary tattoos, photos with Jills, and something they'll remember for a long time. The front office gets a lot of crap on this board (sometimes justified), but they did this right today.
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We have a new QB and his name is Ryan Fixedpatrick.
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The Bills have had "experts" running this team into the ground for years.
Listening to another one shouldn't excite anyone given their track record.
As merely one example, remember when everyone was on board the Trent Edwards Express just because former Niners great coach Bill Walsh said that Edwards was going to be great. Yeah, well ...
And what makes Lee such an expert anyway? His biggest claim to fame is the wildcat, a gimmick offensive set w/ limited use.
Are you impressed with his work on Henne, a former 2nd rounder and now all but journeyman backup, while he was at Miami?
I think you've had too much of the Kool-Aid.
We'll find out this season though, but when a QB has a passing game built around him that relies on shorter passes to the extent that we had one of the shortest passing games in the league last year and ahead of only a few scrub teams, but he still leads the league in INTs, that's not good.
Also not good is that Fitz cannot seem to capitalize except early in a season and in a new system that opponents haven't seen. This season he starts using the same essential offensive scheme as last season, so we should know right quick whether he's more of a backup than he is a starter.
We're also going to find out if Nix and Gailey are starters or backups too. Third season after having posted the worst two-season combined record for the team since the Stephenson years. 9-7, a winning season, is minimally acceptable at this point, wouldn't you agree?
My original point: as soon as Lee was hired and his opinions hit the media, this board lit up with people picking apart Fitz's mechanics and explaining why he wouldn't be able to open up his hip, no time for muscle memory, etc. etc. etc. All I'm saying is that, with respect to other posters, I am going to stick with the opinions of a professional coach who is actually on the field working with our QB. Lee and Fitz might fail completely, but then again, Lee might change one little glitch in Fitz's throwing that could result in a few more completions in a game.
The only thing that is minimally acceptable at this point is a wildcard spot.
GO BILLS!
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Why don't the Bills just release all their current receivers and sign terrell owens, chad ochocino, braylon edwards and plaxico burress.
I can see it now...90 yard TD from Young to Ochocinco. OMG...it's Dream Team II!
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Nope, you're not the only one. I also think it's kind of lame Fitz didn't haul himself off to one of the coaches around the country that do this sort of thing on his own dime. Lots of QBs do.
Other than E. Manning, T. Romo, and Brady (with his late coach from Michigan), can you name the "lots of quarterbacks?"
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Let's see...38 years coaching experience, has worked with Romo and E. Manning, and from Wawrow's article:
"To Lee, Fitzpatrick has all the tools - confidence, toughness, mobility and plenty of arm strength [emphasis mine]- to succeed at this level. It's just a matter of smoothing out the rough edges."
With all due respect to the insightful posters on this board who have questioned Fitz's skills and have called him a "backup at best," I'm going to go with the expert on this one. I am not slamming your opinions, just suggesting that there's a chance that this guy can "smooth out the rough edges" and get Fitz to the next level.
Maybe I've had too much of the Kool-Aid.
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I think the optimistic thing here is that Merriman's not being relied on. We now have enough other talent that, if they all remain reasonably healthy (expect a few games lost here and there), they should be pretty good - and possibly even scary.
Love the reference to that old Dennis Hopper commercial.
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This conversation reminds me of the continuing Kelsay discussion. There are seemingly three categories of fans:
1 -- Fitz can/will be a "top 15" QB if he stays healthy and has the weapons
2 -- Fitz is an average NFL QB with many limitations
3 -- Fitz sucks
I don't see anyone suggesting Fitz is great or "elite."
Fans in category #1 are encouraged by discussion of working on mechanics, and focus on the first seven weeks of 2011 as well as overall team health. Fans in category #2 think the first seven weeks of 2011 were somewhat lucky, and only mildly factor Fitz' rib injury and other injuries on offense into the 2nd half meltdown. Fans in category #3 think the first seven weeks were the result of crappy opponents' play, and the "real" Fitz is what we saw for the 2nd half of the season.
I don't see anyone changing their minds until the regular season is well under way.
Good categories.
#1 here
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No, his throwing sucked the first half of the season too, He still had many knuckle balls and plenty of almost interceptions.
I also found it surprising that he never new how to throw correctly or where to go to fix his Mechanics. That's just nuts bc many fans a aware of QB mechanic coaches let alone an NFL player. Someone should have told him where to go or take some initiative himself to find out where to get better, that's what the best QBs do he should have too. I'm just glad Chan brought somebody in to straiten him out bc as he was we weren't going anywhere.
He had 14 TDs and 7 INT in the first half of the season (including Washington game). Not Pro Bowl numbers, but I wouldn't say that his throwing "sucked." There are, and have been, plenty of winning quarterbacks with less-than-ideal mechanics. And just because fans are aware of QB mechanics coaches doesn't mean that every NFL QB uses one. When Fitz gets some help with the nuances, the knuckleballs and near-INTs will drop in frequency.
This is an NFL QB performing at a very high level, not some dub off the street. There are a lot of people on this board wondering about muscle memory and Fitz's ability to change old habits. That's all cr#p. He's a professional quarterback who is paid to throw TDs. If he improves his mechanics, he wins games and his bosses are happy. If he doesn't, he gets benched.
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I just don't ever see him throwin the ball like a Brady,manning, Rodgers, etc. where we're ultimately headed with him I just don't know.
Yeah, minus the fabulous hair, super-model wife, and 'lil Wes Welker to dink and dunk to 700 times a game, there is no way he can throw like a Brady.
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Since the second half of last season I have been critical of Fitzy's arm strength and accuracy. However with QB coach Lee working on his mechanics for the first time ever I am hopeful that he can overcome his flaws and be the franchise QB that we have long waited for because he has decision making and mobility of the top QBs already. I was on the bandwagon last year because I wanted Fitz to be good but then reality hit and got thrown off like a bad accident with no seatbelt. So now I'm officially back on, don't let me down Fitz.
You're taking into consideration the broken rib in the second half of last season, right? The work on his mechanics should help--making a throw to the left with more accuracy = fewer DBs jumping the route and taking it to the house. Right there with you on wanting him to be the guy. He's got that workmanlike quality that fits the Bills and Buffalo. Save me some room on the FitzWagon--I'm climbing back on with my #12 jersey.
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You guys are reading too much into this, with all the business stuff.
The answer is simple: Grandson Justin Rogers needs a spot on the team.
You, sir, are a genius,
Now go tell the suits how to get this done!
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Hey Mike:
Some people think that "marrying" content and distribution maximizes the value of both. There's an explanation of that here (using Rogers' recent agreement to purchase a partial ownership interest in MLSE as the main example):
http://offsidesportsblog.blogspot.com/p/mlse-buy.html
While that doesn't directly answer your main question, it might give you some insight into why a telecommunications company like Rogers is generally interested in owning sports "content."
As for the "corporate ownership rule" - - it is widely misunderstood. Publicly traded corporations with hundreds or thousands of shareholders can't own an NFL franchise, nor can non-profit corporations regardless of size (except for Green Bay). But closely held for-profit corporations with a small number of shareholders can own an NFL franchise. Here's one:
When Ralph passes, there might be a way for the "Rogers Control Trust" to structure a purchase offer for the Bills that would comply with current NFL ownership rules. It depends on, among other things, how many people are beneficiaries of that trust. If you are interested in how that might work, see post # 164 in this archived thread:
Finally, if you still have the link identifying or mentioning the 18 or so owners you mentioned, would you mind posting it? I'm curious about the details. Thanks.
That's what I was driving at in one of my earlier replies mentioning the considerable personal wealth of the surviving Rogerses. It is conceivable that the bulk of the 91% control of Rogers may be the three or four family members, with the other directors holding nominal amounts. Thanks for the reminder on the difference between large, publicly-traded corporations and closely-held private corporations--or even LLCs. The 18 I referenced are directors of Rogers--if I can find that PDF again, I'll post the biographies of the owners in a reply. Thanks for all of the links and pointers--appreciate your help.
Update: this is even better than what I found earlier--here is the rundown on all of Rogers' directors, including the insiders. What this doesn't reflect is the value of the Rogers trust--and that is where the wealth lies. Anyway, for what it's worth:
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/board.asp?ticker=RCI:US
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What's in it for Rogers?
The same that is in it for Rogers when they host anything.
Rogers pays the Bills to have a game in their stadium. People go to the game any pay Rogers.
Why does Rogers have UFC matches?
Why does Rogers have Sesame Street Live?
Please provide a source for this.
I have heard it. I have tried to verify it and cannot.
Rogers paid approximately $75 million for the last deal and will pay a smaller amount for this deal. The article I cited indicated that the Bills' take on each game was twice what it would make in revenue at a home game in the Ralph--and Rogers lost its shirt for the large part of the Bills/Toronto Series. They're not dumb, and they are not going to pay double the revenue projection for a home game just because they're Rogers. That's why I asked the question in the first place. Your examples of UFC and Sesame Street don't hold up. Rogers is not paying $11M+ to host a UFC match or a Sesame Street live show.
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Correct, and there has to be an individual who is a majority owner.
Thanks for the reminder about the corporate ownership rule. I just checked Rogers' annual report (I googled something like "Rogers Communications structure). I wanted to see if it was private or public. It is public, but it is relatively closely held. The companies 18 owners hold over 91 percent of the company's stock. Three or four of them are survivors of Ted Rogers. It would seem that there could be enough personal wealth to see a primary owner emerge.
The rule blows a hole in my theory about Rogers' diversification. However, it brings me back to my original question. What's in it for Rogers? If it awfully expensive dabbling minus some intent. Another question: do any of you remember if the Bills sought this out, or did Rogers approach Wilson/Brandon?
EJ hurt knee according to BB.com
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted
This^^^