ThurmasThoman
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Posts posted by ThurmasThoman
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I agree I have been posting on yahoo that the pats will be a .500 team bc their cheating is finally done and over. Other teams will be on their toes and aware. They will have contingencicy plans for playing the cheats. I think this will hurt them.
The pats always start slow and finish strong bc it takes them a while to build up their cheating database of info on teams. Their amazing halftime adjustments are from illegal spying on other teams communications and locker rooms. Without flat footballs they will turn it over more. Without a coach in his head I will be impossible for Brady to ALWayS find the open guy in the flat. Without these benefits the pats are screwed.
I couldn't agree more.
For clarifications sake, I should say that I did hear a rumor this week (and I brought this up in the Brady thread): the general gist was that the league found out early in the deflategate case that Beliceck was the man who should be primarily held accountable, as he orchestrated it with the equipment managers. However, because of spygate, the league knew that proper punishment (on shaky evidence) would be to permanently ban him from the league and strip him of his (and the Pats*) accomplishments. Because this move would be so unprecedented in the history of modern day sports, the league opted to make Brady the fall guy. Because he did not orchestrate the deflations (but still benefited from it, but that's an aside) he is fighting it tooth and nail to, rightfully, protect his legacy at the expense of the patriots fortunes. The pressure on the league, because of the fact that the Patriots are the culprits, is that someone affiliated with that organization should pay their pound of flesh. And the owners are well aware of this public demand, and are the main reason that Roger hasn't capitulated.
Anyways, sorry for the digression--it was discussed at length in the Brady thread--but my point in making this thread, and as it ties in with yours, is that these stories that are leaking this week (bugged locker rooms, conversations in hallways, etc.) paint a VERY clear picture that this "infraction" that the Patriots caused engendered some anger with certain parties within league circles... Mike Florio can try to spin that any way he likes, but teams essentially told on the Patriots to the league, and now players are speaking out. It all seems to add up to a season being played out where the Patriots have to "play by the rules".
And you can scoff at that as you wish, or insist that their cheating didn't give them an advantage--quite frankly, I don't want to have that discussion.
The facts are that they have routinely violated league rules, which for whatever reason, has really come home to roost with deflategate.
I think the stench around that organization is so strong in league circles that the piper is about to be paid, and I don't think it's going to be a very fun season for the Patriots. I would imagine behind closed doors there have been some owners meetings (sans Goodell) to figure out just what the hell Kraft is doing with his organization. It's making the league look ridiculous, and no matter how many PR firms he hires to dissuade his fellow owners from thinking that the comment sections don't matter, the fact is that the majority of 31 of 32 NFL fanbases think that the Patriots are crooks, and their wins are invalid. Considering the last decade and a half of NFL football has been defined by the Patriots, specifially Brady and Beliceck, this is an enormous problem for the league. Anything said by any owner or team official as it relates to deflategate should be taken as nothing more than positive PR--they are pushing a message to some extent in the public, but at the same time they are lowering the hammer on the organization by refusing to concede anything to Brady's camp.
Make no mistake, Kraft's organization has absolutely wounded the integrity of the game in the public's eye. The owners are a small group of billionaires whos primary concern is year over year net. They're not thinking wins and losses, theyre thinking bottom line. Kraft is treading on dangerous ground, and I expect a complete cleansing of his brand in the coming offseason. You can already see the beginning of it this year with the veterans they let go (on both sides of the ball) as well as the free agent visitors they had that refused to sign--stevie johnson, percy harvin, reggie bush, frank gore, andre johnson etc. in league circles, i would imagine the word is starting to spread that the patriots are going to tear it down and start over, and agents are warning clients looking for "one last shot at a ring" that new england isn't the place to sign.
as i mentioned in the brady thread, ill state it again here: the initial rumor i heard concluded with brady being disgusted with the organization for trying to make him jump on the grenade, and this will be his last season in new england, and belicecks last as well.
if you take all of that into account, and then also consider that their first team has looked completely overmatched and embarrassed in 2 straight preseason games, this might "finally" be the year when, playing by the rules, the 38 year old, 6th round quarterback who plays outdoors in cold weather, is unable to lead a team of ragamuffins and cast offs into the superbowl, due to fumbling at an equal rate to the rest of the league, and their 38 year old, 6th round quarterback throwing the ball at a lower velocity than the 24 year old athletic freaks of nature who populate the position around the rest of the league.
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Fast forward home opener inside the CBS booth,
Solomon Wilcots: And this highly touted Beels defense holds Andrew Luck three and out on their first possession
Spero Dedes: So after a 36 yard punt we get to see Matt Cassell and the Bills offense
Solomon Wilcots: Beels are hoping new weapons such as McCoy Harvin and Clay will add firepower to their offense
Spero Dedes: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!!! EJ MANUEL Trots out there !!!!
Speed Dedes: Solomon?... Solomon? ... Solomon?!?!?!
fixed
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the Patriots looked bad at the start of last season too. Then they won the Super Bowl
Si.
The Patriots also have a decade and a half of allegations of organzational cheating, which include not one but two cases of imposed fines and draft picks, which have been paid by their owner with no appeals to federal courts. Also, former players, GMs, and coaches unanimously agree that they cheat, but stop short of saying it outright so as to not be painted as "sore losers". Also, current players suspect that the visitors locker room is bugged, and conduct "game day" business in secret, to maintain a level playing field to the greatest extent possible.
I'm excited to see what happens when that entire "scaffold of sin", as it were, is removed from the Patriots football structure. What will be the result?
Will we continue to see a band of misfits, led by a 6th round quarterback, continue to fumble at a rate less than all of their peers (despite playing outdoors in a cold climate) and win games that by all rights they should lose 10 times over? Or will we start to see results more closely inline with what you would expect (and have seen) from literally every other athletic competition that has been held in the history of man playing sport against fellow man in the absence of cheating?
If this preseason is any indication, Patriots fans might not think the NFL is such a fun sport to follow when, you know, you have to play by league rules.
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I didn't see the game, but I'm curious about their starting front 7. It looks formidable on paper. Was it just the secondary that looked bad (though in fairness they were facing Brees) or was the pass rush and run D poor as well? Also I heard garoppolo had a good game, but knowing the saints D I didn't make much of that.
Unfortunately I have never played, coached, or been involved with football at any level, so I can not give a breakdown that would be sufficient to back up my point--all I can do is provide my subjective analysis of a game I watched on mute.
The NFL network is replaying the game at 430 today. Give the first quarter a watch.
Also: I am a massive Bills homer who predicts the Patriots demise every year, so take my prediction with an ocean of salt, lol.
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Amid all the talks of Deflategate;
of Suh signing in Miami;
of Geno getting his jaw broken;
I'm curious if anyone has tuned into any AFC Eastern preseason games this summer?
For once, in the decade and a half reign of the Patriots*, they don't just look beatable--they look bad.
Last night against the Saints starters, Tommy and the Patriots looked equally as inept as the Bills offense from 2009--you may recall, the offense that led to AVP getting canned as Buf's OC the week before the season started. And their defense, (the one that lost Revis, Wilfork, Browner), to paraphrase a much earlier observation by Bart Scott "couldn't stop a nose bleed".
In about a quarter of game action last night, the Saints starters raced out to a 21-0 lead and absolutely embarrassed the Patriots. Yes, the Patriots eventually "won" the game, with the bottom of their roster putting up 12 points in the fourth quarter to salvage a 26-24 win. But make no mistake, this is NOT a talented Patriots team. If you factor in the likelihood that Tom Brady will have to play with regulation equipment this year, and other teams may be on a witch hunt to expose their cheating once and for all, meaning the organization may have to play by the rules outlined for the other 31 clubs... Dare I say the Patriots might be lucky to break .500?
As a thought experiment: Imagine a game against the Patriots where Brady throws the ball like he did against Kansas City, their offense turns the ball over at a clip equal to other NFL teams (both due to playing with balls inflated to legal PSI's). What would be the results? Likely similar to the first quarter of last night's game against New Orleans, which very much looked like a team with no talent, led by a 6th round QB, getting pancaked by a far superior Saints squad. Now imagine the push of our defensive line complicating things, or the Jets D line (Leonard Williams could win league MVP, forget rookie of the year), or the Dolphins D line with Suh.
Contrast that with the Bills, who finally... for once... look like a "modern" NFL team: Their defense is off the field quickly, their special teams are electric and create good field position, and the first team offense has been moving the ball fairly well--despite missing nearly their entire stable of skill players. The Bills have the look, demeanor, and general talent level to win 10 games with their eyes closed, and 12-14 wins seems very much in play.
When you factor in the Patriots other 4 games against tougher divisional opponents, not to mention a (possible) Brady suspension, it is damn hard to imagine that team winning more than 8 games.
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I get that it's a quarterback competition, but the Bills are trying to find the QB that can win a Super Bowl, not find a man to tar and feather on the way out of town.
EJ looked good last night, and Taylor looked good last night.
It is not a zero sum game. Sometimes teams have TWO good quarterbacks, and later use one of them to reap draft picks, ala New England, or groom the heir apparent over time, ala Greg Roman with Kap in SF while Smith was the starter.
To my mind, both men have proven capable starters this preseason--in fact, EJ has the best stats of the 3, and that's playing with the third unit.
I get that this is like politics, or gambling for that matter, and people want to see their horse win the race.
But please, enough with the hyperbole that the loser of this battle "can't hack it" in the league and should be cut immediately.
It's short sighted and mean spirited. EJ and TT are both men of deep faith who do right by their friends, family, and community. They go out, play good football, and do right by the Bills.
Just enjoy the show, support the winner, and cheer like hell when the "loser" takes the field, because it was Frank Reich who led the greatest comeback in Bills history, which at the end of the day, might have been the most "successful" moment of those Super Bills teams' era.
GO BILLS!
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EJ deserves more time with the first unit
He has stayed the course, was here first, has commitment to the team, has worked hard, Cassell is temporary, backup.
TT is good, EJ is good.
Start RJ the next couple of games. These injuries are killing us, we need 3 QBs.
Rex, the wonder boy, is doing EJ a great disservice, if he doesn't have the chance to be the NO 1 QB.
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Some of you are so concerned with the ride, I wonder if you'll enjoy the destination.
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I'd rather the Bills win 10 games with Freddy than 10 games without him, so here's hoping to a speedy recovery and some receptions taken to the house this preseason to shore up that roster spot before the fourth game so he can be rested for week 1 vs. Indy. I want to see his excitement after the game--that place is going to be packed, rocking, and make life absolutely miserable for Luck and the Colts. I think the Bills blow them out big time and start a new era atop the AFC East, and it wouldn't be right to see it without Freddy a part of the action.
God Bless, Freddy--go get em kid!
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For all of you who have been had by JohnnyGold (of whom I am a big fan), I encourage you to read through a good portion of his catalogue...
I agree, I have not been the best poster on here.
I have been an !@#$.
Some of my beliefs in life have changed quite a bit lately, however, and the Bills are something that brings a lot of joy and love into my life.
I like sharing that on here, and I am trying to be a better poster.
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Little of that is true from what has been said. The NFL immediately said they didn't fire Jastremski and McNally after the Patriots said in some unknown source they did. Now, the NFL could be lying but Goodell was asked about it and Goodell himself said "No." There was never to my knowledge any official Patriot source saying the NFL asked them to fire them, just "a source" in maybe one report. Then Goodell was asked if the league had anything to do with it and he said flat no. Again, I suppose the NFL could be lying about it.
Brady knows Jastremski well. Every single week Brady has Jastremski prepare the balls for him and together they pick them out. So they see each other all the time and talk about the balls all the time. To say Brady doesn't know Jastremski well is just not true. He's Brady's guy at all times for how his balls are prepared for the game and he's been doing it for years.
For starters: you guys are experts in this case and the 115 pages can attest to that lol.
I don't know the major characters or players in this case, and my post is third hand information that I am likely getting wrong with specific details, as I don't know who Jastremski or McNally ARE in relation to the Pats, but the push of the story is that Beliceck knows Brady likes his balls flat, and Beliceck is the one that paved the way for whoever did the deflating to do the deflating. Brady was "generally aware" it was happening (maybe), but really, he was equally as "aware" as he was during Spygate. He reaped the benefits then, and he reaped the benefits now.
Please understand the "thesis" statement of the rumor, and fit the facts around it accordingly:
The league is using Brady as a "fall guy" to punish the Patriots for institutional cheating, because
a) they can't NOT punish the Patriots for cheating allegations, after they have been busted for cheating in the past
b) they can't punish the TRUE culprit, because then it would be egg on their face for not kicking Beli out before AND having a cheater win another title AND it was the clause of spygate punishments that he couldnt cheat again or he would be banned AND THEN it would literally invalidate all of New Englands accomplishments (and Goodell's entire tenure as commissioner) so they thought it would be easier to give Brady a game or 2, but the public reaction was so strong they pushed it to (and held it at) 4.
Sorry to edit this, but you can fill in the blanks from there I hope:
Brady fights back because he knows hes innocent
league leaks things to make him look like a criminal
brady camp leaks pics of nanny wearing rings and giselle divorce rumors to show why he might have destroyed his phone
I mean...
if you can come up with a more likely story as to why Patriots fans are 100% certain that Brady is innocent, yet the rest of the world is 100% certain the Patriots are crooks, enlighten me: I'm all ears.
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I cannot describe just how much I would love for this to be true.
I don't know, I am getting the information 3rd hand, so it may be like a game of telephone, but I believe the thread that started this sweater unraveling was that Jastremski and McNally signed an NDA with the league and NOT with the Patriots, because it was actually the league offices in New York that want to keep them off the stand.
Brady really didn't know Jastremski or McNally all that well, and did contact them for the first time following this debacle to ask wtf was going on. It's also why he swore under oath he didn't do anything wrong--because he didn't.
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I wanted to fill you in on an interesting insight I heard from someone whom I consider to be fairly reliable (he also knows some of the dealings with the PR firm the Patriots outsourced for the social media flood that you guys bang your head against in every comment section on PFT and ESPN, and quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if they're using dummy accounts here that were activated long ago, but I digress):
Essentially, the league knows that Bill Beliceck is behind this entire process, and was the main party responsible for instructing the ball boys in how to do what they do by way of stealing and deflating balls to a specific PSI. Believe it or not, Brady is actually innocent, to the extent that he did not command his underlings, OR orchestrate this operation. Because of Spygate, the league was faced with the prospect of essentially banning Beliceck for life, which would have invalidated the last decade and a half of NFL football. So, the ball boys were gagged and fired (that's what she said), Kraft paid a fine, and this now public debacle was heaped on Brady, because the public smelled blood in the water, and the Patriots absolutely CAN NOT walk away from this with no penalty after Spygate. HOWEVER, there IS no evidence that pins it on Brady, and he DID destroy his phone because him and Giselle have been on the rocks for months and he gets a new phone every 3 months. Beliceck, Goodell, and Kraft (who are still very much buddy buddy), assumed Brady would gladly be "the fall guy", and cooperate, and take a game or 2 suspension. Apparently Brady balked at this notion (which actually makes me respect him), and the league was painted into a corner. The word is: win lose or draw this is Belicecks last season coaching and Brady is moving on from New England after this season because he is disgusted by how it went down, but because the league writes his paycheck, he cant turn state.
Take it for what it's worth, but I believe it.
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Thanks for the link. An excellent read.
After reading the piece on him I got the sense that this was more of a psychological profile than a football profile. My takeaway from the article is that Harvin is not a bad guy but he is also not an easy person to deal with. Some players are very resilient and self-contained. You don't have to worry about them because they are mature enough to work out the unavoidable trials and tribulations that they will encounter in their line of work. That's not the case with him.
With Percy there is a multi-layer of volatility and insecurity that will constantly need to be addressed. Harvin has been at a number of places, and at each location he had the same type of issues with players. Even if he isn't the instigator or the cause of the problems in the interactions he hasn't learned how to maturely handle those types of challenging interactions.
My worry is that he is on a team with mediocre qbing. He certainly will not be the primary receiver. How will he handle his diminished role and productivity because of the limitations of the qbs?
There is no doubt that he is a talent. The bigger challenge for him is fitting in and accepting the role he has with the offense. The Bills have a more positive team support environment than where he came from. If it doesn't work out the onus will be on him.
Again, I think he is a good person who has a good heart. But my sense after reading that article is that he needs to learn how to tame his passions when dealing with others.
It is going to be a special season.
I look forward to watching this young man blossom into an outstanding member of our team, and a likely fixture of the community for years to come, like all the greats that achieved success in Buffalo before him.
Young men are allowed to make mistakes, and there is nothing he's done so severe as to warrant people who don't know him (us) to use a game as a referendum on his character, or to paint a picture of who he is as a man.
Good luck Percy--go Bills!
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If this is meant to be a slight towards Doug Whaley, I think you should retract your post. Doug's a good man who has built a team that is going to be very fun to watch this season. It's important that we drop some of the cynicism that we've had for years as fans, and sit back and enjoy the ride like its 1990 all over again. This might be one of the best seasons in history, and we should all (myself included) town down some of the rhetoric and enjoy what we've been given.
With that being said:
For the 2013 draft, you seem to be marginalizing the impact of Woods to fit your argument. Robert Woods is a good receiver, and the free agent addition of a (potentially) "better" receiver in Harvin does not negate Woods' value to the team.
Our third round pick that year was swapped for one of the 3 best running backs in the league, and that was after Kiko had missed an entire season due to injury--so that in and of itself is finding incredible value for an unnecessary asset.
Marquis Goodwin is still very much on this team, and with Sammy Watkins, Harvin, and Woods having the importance to the team that they do, it says something about the skill set of a guy like Goodwin to still be considered more on the good side of the roster bubble than the bad--not to mention, he has world class speed, and showed it last night on a play that he took from one side of the field to another, with not a defender in sight.
Duke Williams is an excellent safety, and he was selected in the 4th round, Meeks may not be as highly regarded as Duke, but he is still a player that figures to make the cut.
The only players from that draft that haven't paid dividends are Gragg (TE) who is still on the roster, and may make the cut, although his position has been upgraded significantly; and Hopkins, the placekicker, who has been replaced by Carpenter, who is potentially a top 3 kicker in the league.
So, by all measure, 2013 looks like a great draft to me, and a deft handling of the roster.
Yes, EJ will always "define" that draft, but the only reason is because that's an easy narrative. The actual story is far more complex, and one that involves a GM beeing hoodwinked by a prank caller and forced into drafting a QB, a quarterback twisting his knee on a rubber mat; the strangest head coach/OC combination in Buffalo Bills history; and, currently, playing with the 3rd string offensive unit, a solid span of football with some nice throws and mobility--I'd be interested to see him getting some run with the 1s.
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I had read what you said, and it was great.
Ditto to that.
Thank you.
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I hope this has been a civil discussion!
I typed up something longer discussing my views on this subject, but it felt inappropriate, so I am deleting it.
God bless.
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As I said, minute.
Tell me what you think of this. On the surface, it makes Goodell look very disingenuous (i.e., a liar), but I know the original source is NE-based and possibly biased. I also don't know if this is an accurate interpretation of the situation, but on my reading the league comes off poorly. If you think it is reasonably accurate based on what you know, how do you think it reflects on the league's process and MO? http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/04/ruling-mischaracterizes-bradys-testimony-about-communications-with-jastremski/
I have not been following this case as closely as Kelly the Dog, but I could field this question for him, if he hasn't already responded.
And that is because
Florio is arguing that Goodell made the assumption that Brady called Jastremski on January 19th to get their ducks in a row, so to speak, about the illegal proceedings they had engaged in. Brady testified that he "does not remember" exactly what he talked about with Jastremski on the 19th, and that it was probably something to do with prep for the Super Bowl.
Despite the fact that Brady had never called this guy before any other game to discuss prep, Florio wants the reader to suppose that Brady and Jastremski were having a phone conversation "to try to figure out how someone could have taken so much air out of the footballs."
So, I think that article could be summed up as: Not only is Brady innocent, but he's trying to solve the case too!
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Relevant to our Kyle Williams--did anyone see his interview with Dareus on Training Camp Primetime?
He seems like a really good guy, very excited to get the season underway, referred to a "championship effort" about 10 times.
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those are your words, and that was NOT what was written in the column. but now you're accusing him of being an alcoholic, based on...i don't know....messageboard rumors?
one hell of a glass house you live in...thanks for proving my point.
The fact that he writes derogatory articles can not be argued.
His criticism of the NDA linked it to abuse of women, which, again, can not be argued.
I think that the man is in a dark place in his life, and if what other posters have said about him drinking on the job is true, then he is in a darker place than even his public persona lets on.
I do think his inflamatory articles have no place if they are going to criticize the character of young men on the team, if those men are apologetic for their transgressions--everyone is allowed to make mistakes in life, we are all human.
I don't live in a glass house, I'm not throwing stones--I'm commenting on the derision with which the man writes, and proposing that he gets help.
I don't know what point you've made that I've proved, but please don't use my words to imply that I am somehow validating your statements.
I am not.
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he sounds like a lot of people who post their opinions on this site.
Myself included. We've all done worse when angered about something we're so passionate about. To act in such a way will forever be a part of what makes us human. But the capacity to love, honor, respect, and forgive your fellow man is what makes us human too.
To criticize a man who is apologetic, because he (for some reason) does not meet your (as of yet, undisclosed) spiritual and moral code for living, as Sullivan seems to do in this article, is taken as repulsive by 99% of the people who read it.
To take it further, by arbitrarily making suppositions as to what McCoy's intentions behind his actions were (such as the strong implication that the NDA was so women could be raped and beaten by McCoy and his savage friends) opens the door into the pained life that Jerry Sullivan leads away from his articles with the Buffalo News.
If fans are now to the point that they actively protest his articles, and each of his writings comes with pages of people lamenting his character, and the way he chooses to write about the Buffalo Bills, then some action must be taken by the Buffalo News. Additionally, to have people in this very thread say that he drinks on the job and (maybe) struggles with alcohol problems, paints a very dark picture of this man. I would be happy if the Buffalo News invited him to take a leave of absence until he can regain the passion for writing about a game for a living. No, not every article should be written with effusive praise for an organization that has failed to meet certain benchmarks of success over the last 15 years--but the flip side of that code of ethics is that one should not be disparaged publicly based on the assumption that they are living a life of rape and violence.
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Geez all the guy did was report facts about McCoy and you don't like what you hear?
The article is titled "McCoy not getting it right now", which itself comes with the implication that, as a man, Jerry Sullivan has a high ethical standard with which McCoy, (whom he reminds the reader in the second sentence of his article is "a man they call Shady"), needs to abide by.
Even though McCoy may outwardly act as a good person, (throwing a football into the stands for the fans, hugging the owner, and conducting a cheery press conference), and even though he admitted that he acted in error to present his party in such a light, and even though McCoy clarified the issue by admitting it was one of his group of friends that made the post... Jerry Sullivan still would choose to judge another man, with the implication being that, he, Jerry Sullivan, is qualified to pass judgement on this case, and McCoy is a "bad person", and Jerry Sullivan has declared this to be so, so McCoy must make amends not with a higher power, but with Jerry Sullivan himself.
The fact that a man is so willing to judge another, despite the object of his judgement apologizing for his actions and taking steps to lead a good life in Buffalo, flies in the face of thousands of years of moral conduct codes that human beings have generally agreed to follow with regards to how we treat one another. The fact that the mere mention of Jerry Sullivan's name brings up pages upon pages of people complaining about his character and the way he treats others, should serve as a notice to Jerry that he is living out of balance. He is too harshly judging young men who play a game for a living, and bring much joy to the people who watch them compete.
Jerry Sullivan needs far more spiritual guidance than any of the athletes he judges.
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So the patriots leak false information and pretend the NFL did it to try to discredit the NFL and then act all offended. Cheaters gonna cheat. They can't help it. I wasn't for invalidating their championships before, but it has to be considered now.
this thread is moving so fast it is hard for a working family man to keep up--can you link to this article? (i'm not being facetious).
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But there was no precedent of deserving a timeout for stealing cookies before mom!!!!!
Or worse yet:
"Our younger brother (you know, the one who eats glitter and takes a special bus to school) told the news that I stole 11 of the 12 cookies in the jar, but how would he know that! He can't prove it's 11 out of 12!!!! Look Mom, I even made a website that shows I'm innocent, and all my friends from school believe me! It doesn't matter if I've been stealing cookies for 12 years, I'm above punishment, I HAVE GOOD HAIR AND A UNIQUE CHIN. DON'T YOU KNOW THAT THE GOOD LOOKING SON WITH THE PRETTY GIRLFRIEND DOESN'T HAVE TO DO THE WHOLE TIME OUT THING?"
The Bills are going to do well, and the Patriots are not.
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted · Edited by JohnnyGold
I say this to you in all honesty brother: we are victims of trauma as Bills fans.
I don't mean this in the "ha ha" way, in which we dwell in our communal sorrows that only a true Bills fan can know.
I mean it in a very literal sense--as a fanbase, regarding the Patriots, we display many of the same characteristics of children with alcoholic parents. We ultimately justify their actions, and try to find fault in ourselves.
How bad are we, really? How good are they?
Take a look at our record, adjusted to what it would be over the course of Brady/Beliceck's reign atop the AFC East, if the results were reversed, and we beat them every time they beat us:
Season Modified Record Modified Result
2002 10-6 host wildcard
2003 7-9 DNQ
2004 11-5 road wild card
2005 7-9 DNQ
2006 9-7 road wild card
2007 9-7 DNQ
2008 9-7 DNQ
2009 8-8 DNQ
2010 6-10 DNQ
2011 7-9 DNQ
2012 8-8 DNQ
2013 8-8 DNQ
2014 10-6 road wild card
A disclaimer: No, I do not think it's practical to assume a win for every loss over the course of the Beliceck reign of dishonesty--this is merely meant to show the exponential impact that outcomes of divisional games can have on not only the season, but the legacy of a franchise.
Looking at them reversed shows a Bills team with Bledsoe that was pretty good--good enough to make the playoffs a couple of times.
The Losman/Edwards era, looked at without the lens of cheating in the way, yields a handful of middling seasons, on the outside looking in, with a wildcard game thrown in for good measure.
The Gaily/Fitz era looks like what it rightfully was: an aging owner in failing health, not overseeing the day to day operations of his company, and instead handing it off to his trusted advisors, who hold a tight budget and bring in marginal talent--Gailey and Marone. Those "dark days" would have been a measily 2-3 years, and the quality of football would have been in the 6-10, 7-9 range.
Those days give way to a new day, with Pegula stepping in--or certainly, word coming that the team was staying in Buffalo. Spending goes up, Whaley takes over, talent stays on the roster, bold draft decisions are made, the financial backing is in place, and the Bills are on the uptick, with the last 2 seasons seeing us playing .500 ball and above, and with last year's season ending with a road wild card game.
It would seem to lead into the notion that the Bills are trending up. And removing the stain of the Patriots when considering the recent history of the Bills lets us see that it's not necessarily an organization mired in a decade and a half of futility, but an organization who was never truly terrible, and had the talent to grab a wild card here and there over the past 10 years. An organization that now has stable ownership in place, and should turn into a perennial contender, like they were for the decade and a half before the Patriots infected our division with cheating.
What I mean to say is--we're not as bad as we think we are, because they're not as good as we think they are.
And that's what I mean when comparing us to the sons of alcoholics. We display the characteristics of the abused. Because we have been artificially held in place by a team that cheats for a decade and a half. We should have been good. Our eyes were not lying to us. Some of those teams were bad, yes, but some of them weren't. A team with Marshawn Lynch should be able to grab a wildcard, and they would have, if the Pats were removed from the picture.
And now, Bills football can return to what it always was, because I think the specter of cheating has been removed from the division.
I firmly believe that option has been revoked from them, by Kraft's fellow owners, forever. It has now made the league, the owners, the Commissioner, and the league's lawyers look ridiculous in the court of public opinion, while simultaneously having their Super Bowl winning franchise be mired in a cheating scandal all offseason. Any publicity may be good publicity, but please consider: 31 out of 32 fan bases are pissed as hell that the cheaters are champs. The league will look to correct this.
What I am saying is that Deflategate has finally brought the issue to an end. The Patriots crossed a line, and they are being tarred and feathered in the court of public opinion, and are about to pay the price as an organization--it's why Kraft dropped his little appeal song and dance so quickly, while Brady soldiers on. They are an organization divided, and the writing is on the wall. If you had a way to contact the agents for : Percy Harvin, Stevie Johnson, Frank Gore, Reggie Bush, Revis, Browner, or any other number of veteran free agents who have avoided the place like a plague while chasing a Super Bowl ring, I'm sure they would tell you the same thing. The final straw has been placed atop the camel's back, and now they will be laid bare. No, preseason results are not indicative of what's to come, but preseason performance is. They have looked bad. Very bad. It will be on at 430pm today, the NFL Network. All should watch.
And the Bills look like what they are too, what they've always been. A good Buffalo football team, built from the middle out. Ready to hit hard, and run the ball right down someones throat.
I want Brady's suspension overturned. I want him in Ralph Wilson Stadium week 2. It's going to be ugly. It will be the ceremonial "passing of the torch", a moment of catharsis for Bills fans. The gig is up, the piper will be paid, and the Bills will lay claim to the division September 20, 2015. They should paint the endzones red that weekend, so when we watch the highlights of it for years to come, we can associate with the only brand of Bills football we ever should have known: winning.