gumby

A winning franchise? At this point I'd settle for a step up to competent franchise.

"Holy overly optimistic Batman". Let's hope he makes the team first before putting him in the pro-bowl.

It's becoming a Buffalo tradition. The annual "let's hate on the analysts thread". Like last year when Marshall Faulk had the nerve to say the Bills were the worse team in the NFL. The teeth gnashing and hand wringing was something to observe. But I guess Bills Nation showed him since the Bills were the third worst team in the NFL and NOT the worst. Ha! Suck on that Faulk. Personally I think the Bills are good for 6 or 7 wins this season. It looks like they are finally heading in the right direction. But to complain about the analysts is stupid. Sure the Bills "could've" won 3 more games last year. It's just as plausible to say that they "could've" lost 3 more games as several of those wins were by the skin of their teeth. It's football and arguments can be made for just about any stance you want to take. There's no way to prove or disprove anything until the games are played. I would love to see the Bills in the playoffs again. I don't think they're quite there yet.

I'm glad they have him at his natural position. I was never a fan of him at guard.

Actually I'm looking forward to the movie draft. I think Beerfest is a good sleeper pick.

Where I'd differ with this is assuming that Nix/Gailey know what to do either. Donahoe/Williams and Levy/Jauron spent their whole lives in football too and the results were less than impressive. I see no reason to give the new regime the benefit of the doubt. We're supposed to be building through the draft but based on last years draft I'm not to encouraged. As for the original premise of this topic: I'm not upset about the offseason because it's going exactly like I thought it would up to this point. The teams the Bills compete against try to make moves to improve and the Bills do a whole lot of nothing. So if you go into it with low expectations you really can't be disappointed.

Couldn't agree more. What the OP fails to consider is why the fans act the way they do. I would argue it's because the Bills don't deserve the benefit of the doubt on any move they make.

Not for one minute do I think Golisano would be a great owner. But he would be an owner who keeps the team in Buffalo and that's what we all want. One of the stipulations of selling the Sabres is that on the day Pegula ever sells he has to sell to an ownership that will keep the Sabres in Buffalo. That is clearly assuring the fans the team will be in Buffalo for a long time. Wilson has never come close to that.

You can't compare Pegula to Golisano. Buffalo won the ownership lottery the day Pegula bought the Sabres. Pegula is a rare exception in sports where the owner doesn't care if he loses money so long as he wins a championship. There are very few teams in any sport that operates that way. But even with that we don't know if his spending will result in championships like Steinbrenner or become a joke like Dan Snyder. If you think the Sabres were not in danger of leaving your fooling yourself. The NHL couldn't keep the Thrashers in Atlanta and saw them relocate to Winnipeg. There's no way Bettman wanted to see a team go to what is now the smallest market in the NHL. (replacing Buffalo BTW). Coyotes have one more year in Phoenix and they'll be gone too. Phoenix is in a dire situation but Buffalo was every bit as much so. The former owner was led away in handcuffs and thrown in jail. The team was being run by the NHL on an austerity budget until such time as an owner could be found. But that was a temporary solution at best. Only the Hammister group came forward with a proposal to buy the team and that offer was all smoke and mirrors. Golisano literally came in at the 11th hour and saved the team. Yes I know much of that was for political reasons at the time but he still stepped up when no one else did. I don't begrudge him one penny of the money he made on the transaction. There has been a lot of speculation as to how much control Quinn had over the hockey department. I have never seen any proof one way or another. Briere wasn't part of their long term plans, Drury was. Then Drury screwed them over. After assuring the Sabres they would have the opportunity to negotiate with him before July 1 he never once returned any of their calls and signed in NY. I am by no way saying mistakes weren't made but the decisions that were made was to keep the club on the team's self imposed cap. As for the other players mentioned. McKee was a UFA and signed a huge 4 year contract in St. Louis in which he was bought out before he fulfilled the contract. I will give you Dumont. That was a mistake, but that was a hockey decision in which the team decided to keep Kotalik and cut ties with Dumont. Quinn is no saint but I never doubted his desire to bring a championship to Buffalo. I have never thought that about Wilson. And to PTR: Just stop. Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough already.

The worst moment for the Bills since '87 is the day Bill Polian left. The team has been on a long steady decline ever since. 18 years later and the organization still shows little sign of recovery.

I have little problem with the way the Sabres were operated under Golisano. He allowed hockey people to run the franchise as they saw fit all he asked was they keep to a budget. That's how most franchises operate. I'd take Golisano owning the Bills instead of Wilson any day of the week. Before he purchased the Sabres they were in real danger of leaving. HSBC was half full on most nights. He bought a team on life support, saved them, and for a couple years gave the fans in Buffalo some of the best hockey they ever seen. God forbid this man ever owns the Bills

I'm on the fence whether I'm going to get it or not. I've picked up every NCAA title since NCAA02, but last years sucked. My biggest problem with it was the players progression was minimal at best. When you recruit a blue chip prospect you expect him to get better from his freshman to senior year but they rarely did. After several seasons all the good players have graduated and there's no one moving up taking their place. Seems to me EA is going the way they did with their FIFA title where they're downgrading the franchise mode in favor of online play.

I've no doubt JW is more clued in about Vancouver than me but it seems from an outsiders view than Vancouver has a penchant for rioting. They rioted after the '94 finals. They rioted during the '97 APEC meetings. They rioted during last years Olympic games (small compared to the others but still a few hundred people). Now there's the past riots from the '11 finals. Could it be the culture there? I've read that there's a anarchist movement that's pretty strong there. Some are reporting the riots were organized by these groups others saying the opposite. What I'm NOT saying is that all those people where that, but it doesn't take many to whip a mob up into a frenzy. Maybe I'm completely full of it but there seems to be something going on their that's more than Canada's version of being an "Ugly American". So any more insight JW can give I'd appreciate it.

I agree with this completely. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

Ranking seems fair. You can't say they're bashing Buffalo since the Sabres are 11th overall.

I believe the two Whites, Johnny & Chris, were picked to primarily be special team contributors. The Bills special teams have taken a step backwards the last few seasons with the loss of some of the more talented players on that unit (Mario Haggan, et al). Both Whites are billed as hard-nosed players willing to do whatever it takes for the team. If they get on the field at their designated positions that would be a plus.

I think you should hope he can make the team first before comparing him to a former defensive player of the year.

Dan Snyder and Al Davis are taking a lot of heat here. But I'm not sure what's worse, an owner that wants to win desperately but doesn't have a clue how to go about it, or an owner who appears not to care one way or another as long as the money keeps rolling in.

It's going to take more than signing an ex-con WR to make this a legit offense.

The Bills have been irrelevant for over a decade. They don't deserve the benefit of the doubt from the national media, NFL fans, or even their own fans. Hopefully things are turning around but they have to prove it first.

Not only that but for the 5th straight year the Pats spent either a 1st or 2nd round pick on a DB.

Furthermore with all the complaining about the Bills taking more DBs it should be noted that for the 5th straight year the Patriots took a DB in either the first or second round.

In the 2nd round if the Bills picked Dalton he'd B word they should of picked Kaepernick. If they chose Kaepernick he'd of said they should of picked Dalton. Bottom line is the Walter site is a big steaming pile of cr*p and always has been. Don't waste your time trying to get any football insight there you're not going to find it. He takes shots at Buffalo all the time knowing that the Bills fan base is one of the more vocal out there and will flood his site and drive up his numbers. Don't play his game.

I like it. It addresses an area of need as he'll most likely be a safety.

Is this the official launch of the Andrew Luck watch?