mjt328
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Posts posted by mjt328
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Among all the rants and angst, let me discuss one simple truth, without Ralph there are no Buffalo Bills. There might be the Miami Bills in the 1960's, the Arizona Bills in the 1970's, the Houston Bills in the 1990's and the Los Angeles Bills in the 2000's. Every one of them would have made more money than Ralph Wilson has made by staying in Buffalo. If you want to call him names, I would suggest starting with what kind of idiot would have kept a team in Buffalo the last 50 years? You think things will be better when he passes on? I sure hope you are right, but my logic says remember the Buffalo Braves.
Yes. Most likely without Ralph, the Bills would have moved long ago. I get it.
But I'm so tired of this being shoved down the throats of the people in Buffalo. Why can't Ralph get any blame? He gets to do whatever he wants with the front office, put a crappy product on the field year after year...and if the fans get frustrated and critical, we get the "the Bills are going to move" pulled on us.
With the support this city has given the Bills, Ralph owes us. But instead of making WINNING his top effort, he's more interested in profit for his family. Nice for them. But bad for everyone that has been waiting almost 50 years for a Super Bowl. There are other owners in the league with the same "money first" philosophy (Arizona, Cincinnati for example). Fans of those teams are still waiting too.
Ralph says we aren't a profitable market, but he really cares about keeping the team in Buffalo. Well, then why hasn't he spent the last few decades pushing for ways to keep the team in town after he dies?
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I think Pryor will be a better pro than Cam Newton. Wouldn't mind adding him at all.
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- If you get the urge to boo the dolphins when you visit an aquarium, you might be a Bills fan
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Ralph deserves credit for keeping the team in Buffalo, but little else.
Throughout the Bills franchise history - outside of the 90's team built by Polian - the team has consistently been at the bottom of the league. We've had dozens of coaches, hundreds in the front office and thousands of players. But the only consistent has been Ralph Wilson.
Of course, the one time Ralph found success (with Polian), he ended up firing the guy for personal reasons. Polian then went and built the Colts into a powerhouse.
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I grew up with the red helmets. But there is just as much history behind the white ones.
I'm just excited to see if they are the same as the "leaked" version.
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When it comes to the NFL work stoppage, I'm just as frustrated as every other NFL fan.
I'm tired of seeing greedy billionaire owners and bratty millionaire players fighting over money, while regular people who depend on football for a living (stadium employees, bar owners, etc.) potentially face a tremendous loss of income. I'm tired of Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith. I'm tired of hearing about lawsuits and player-organized workouts.
I'm ready for the two sides to shut up, get in a room and work out anything that saves the 2011 NFL season.
Still, when I don't let me emotions get the best of me, I realize that a "quick fix" isn't the answer. The ramifications of this collective bargaining agreement will have a huge effect on football as a whole - and especially for a small market team like my beloved Buffalo Bills.
This thing needs to be done right.
Losing all or part of the 2011 season would be bad. But signing another bad CBA could make things much, much worse. And if you don't believe me, just ask Bills owner Ralph Wilson.
For all of his shortcomings as a football guy, there is no questioning Wilson's brilliance as a business man, or that he understands how to keep an NFL franchise afloat in a small market. He's already done it for over 50 years.
When the previous CBA was agreed upon a few years ago, Wilson and Mike Brown of the Bengals were the only owners to vote against it. They said that revenue sharing plan was going to make competing very difficult for small market teams. At the time, the two owners were laughed at for their reluctance in keeping up with changes to the sport/business. But as time has passed, many of the other small market owners have discovered that Wilson and Brown were spot on.
The problem is, under the old CBA, only some revenue was shared amongst NFL teams - such as money from television contracts and jersey sales. Money from stadium box seats and many team-licensed products was not.
Because of that, a large market team with a brand-new stadium (like the Dallas Cowboys) can make $400 million each year, while a team like Buffalo brings in closer to $200 million.
Players get a percentage of the NFL's total revenue, which determines the league's salary cap. And that salary cap is exactly the same for every team. So when Jerry Jones builds a new stadium in Dallas and his profits go way up, the salary cap goes way up as well - and all the teams have to shell out more money to fill their rosters and stay competitive.
Rising player costs aren't a big deal for the teams at the top of the pile who are raking in the dough. But for those at the bottom (like Buffalo), those massive contracts are taking up a bigger percentage of profits every year.
If the new CBA doesn't properly address this issue for small market teams, it's probably only a matter of time before the Bills are gone. When Wilson passes and another owner comes into the picture, bigger cities like Toronto and Los Angeles are going to look awfully tempting.
Revenue sharing isn't the only issue being debated right now that could negatively affect the future of the Bills in Buffalo.
Thanks to the players, the courts are now involved in negotiations. And that could have a lasting effect on the salary cap, free agency and the draft.
Look at the trouble we have had winning with everybody on equal footing. Then consider what happens to the Bills if there is no draft and top prospects are able to sign with the highest bidder. What if the salary cap is completely eliminated?
Just like everyone else, I'm hoping a deal is worked out before it starts impacting the 2011 season. But as a fan of the NFL and especially the Buffalo Bills, I'm willing to be patient if it means keeping the team in town.
http://buffalobillsstampede.blogspot.com/2011/05/bills-fans-should-be-patient-with-labor.html
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Not a hockey fan.
Go BILLS!!
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Ha, ha, ha....
That was hilarious when he launched the guy 8 feet in the air!!!!
Would love to see him do the same thing to Tom Brady.
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Love all the old classic Bills games.
Why is it, whenever you watch those old highlights, Andre Reed ALWAYS stands out? Yet now that he's retired, people want to say Tim Brown or Chris Carter were better. Garbage.
REED BELONGS IN THE HALL OF FAME!!!!
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Bruce started thinking about how bad our quarterback situation was and his brain exploded.
It's almost happened to me a couple times.
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I agree with the majority, saying the Washington Redskins are looking like frontrunners for the #1 pick. They are considering starting Jon Beck. Nothing more needs to be said.
Personally, I think that any team with questions at quarterback has the potential to be worse than the Bills. It's the most important position on the field.
Carolina, Arizona, Minnesota, Cincinnati and Tennessee are probably locks for Top 15 picks again.
Don't be surprised if Miami, Cleveland, Oakland are pretty bad too.
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Both of you are making the argument that helmet to helmet hits are unavoidable.
The truth IMO is that sometimes they are unavoidable and MANY times they are not.
You are also ignoring the fact that the latest rules proposals are meant to protect "launching oneself into a defenseless player or receiver." In other words initiating the contact or put differently, being proactive or "delivering the blow."
Have either of you guys watched old time football?
Sometimes tacklers need to just tackle the offensive player and forget about "getting in a shot."
The NFL is trying to reprogram players into actions whereby if there is any doubt, the defensive player has to absorb the blow and simply make sure that the offensive player (usually a defenseless receiver) is simply taken to the ground.
This means on occasion, that the defensive player, instead of trying to dole out punishment, has to settle for catching the offensive player and just making sure the tackle is made.
The beauty of this "reprogramming" is that the rules are the same for all teams. It doesn't hurt any team any more or less than another team. And all players, both offensive and defensive will reap the benefits of compliance with the new rules.
Football is a violent sport and always has been. Why do we need gratuitous violence? Why do they call charging in hockey? Because at some point, it crosses the line and becomes unnecessarily violent, that's why. Why are there TKOs in boxing? Because no one should be "out on their feet" and continue to absorb needless punishment.
Why should pro football be a sport where a person can be crippled or killed just to satisfy the bloodlust of a few people?
On another subject, the "improve the equipment" argument is as ridiculous as the "take away their helmets" argument.
It's exactly the improvements in equipment (in football as in hockey as in other sports) which has made players even more reckless and violent. When you improve the equipment you increase the violence of any sport. I can assure you that when they played with leather helmets that players were not using the helmet as a weapon. NHL hockey players say all the time that players had more respect for their opponents in the days when no one wore helmets.
And you can't take equipment away Dre. Theoretically the only way to do that would be to start in Pop Warner and condition players to not play with equipment and carry that group of players up to the NFL. They would have a lifetime of not playing with helmets/equipment… just like rugby players.
You can't take helmets/equipment away from people who have been playing with it their whole lives. The carnage would be unimaginable.
It's just my opinion but you guys, along with the idiot James Harrison, are dead wrong.
I'm not completely disagreeing.
Like I said: I don't care if the NFL wants to review film after games and fine players for hits that are deemed bad. That doesn't affect the games. And maybe over time, it would change the way players attack on the field.
Where I have a problem is these ridiculous 15 yard penalties, when it's very clear that it's impossible for the refs to determine if it was an illegal hit or not in real time. A 15 yard penalty is a potential game changer. The refs already have too much power to change games one way or another. I've seen way too many times that someone does a shoulder to shoulder hit, but the ref THOUGHT it looked illegal. Boom...there is a 15 yard penalty and automatic first down.
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I understand the concern for player safety, but I just think the NFL is going the wrong route.
I don't care about players losing paychecks. But personally, I'm sick of watching "illegal hits" lead to game changing drives. Especially when the refs get it wrong half the time.
Football is a fast moving contact sport. Defenders are supposed to make hits, tackle and jar the ball loose. These kind of hits are going to happen all the time and it's almost impossible for refs to tell the difference. Most of the time, the refs end up penalizing 15 yards for guys leading with a shoulder pad (not a helmet).
Besides, illegal hits are almost impossible for a defender to avoid. I would bet that most of us played football in high school or college. Think about it:
- If a defender tries to tackle the ballcarrier in a completely upright position, they will be unable to wrap up, so most of the time they will MISS the tackle. Proper technique teaches you have to go a little bit lower (aim for the midsection) to wrap a ballcarrier up.
- When aiming for the midsection of a ballcarrier, a defender has no choice but to lower his head. This is common sense.
- In most cases, a proper tackle is going to lead to a defender's helmet in the chest of the ballcarrier. But there is almost no room for error. Contact is a little bit high, you get helmet-to-helmet or blow to the head. Bend over too much, you get a leading with the crown of the helmet penalty.
- The defender also only plays a small part in this equation. He has no control on where the ballcarrier will be when contact is made. He could be aiming for the guy's chest. But if the ballcarrier drops at the last second, you've got an illegal hit.
It's just crap.
They should be spending their time focusing on improving the equipment.
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These guys really are living in a fantasy world.
First we have guys comparing professional football to slavery. Now this.
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Ray Lewis knows crime...
This video is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
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The differance is a first round draft choice that wins games VS. a journeyman QB who does not. The fact that these wins and losses dont solely reflect the play of the QB is meaningless. Unitill the Bills turn the corner and become a respectable team and can make the post season none of our players will get the respect they may deserve. Look at NFL Networks top 100 players of 2011 and tell me Kyle Williams isnt better than at least 10-20 of the players listed. Until the entire team can start winning and prove the deserve the recognition and respect this is the coverage we will continue to recieve.
Exactly.
Fitz played better than expected last year, but his team was bad enough to end up with the #3 pick.
And while it can't always be put on the quarterback, it seemed that Sanchez came up big in big games. Fitz was inconsistent all season.
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I hope this article is right.
Unfortunately, I see way too much Reggie Bush in Spiller's game. Running backs usually don't have a huge learning curve, with the exception of pass blocking. Basically, I guy either has what it takes to be a good NFL back or he doesn't, and it's usually pretty apparent within his first year.
I just don't think Spiller is ever going to prove his worth as a Top 10 pick. Freddy Jackson is a much better running back in all phases of the game.
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Most rookies deal with growing pains and Troup was no exception.
For some, it's the speed of the game. In college, the fast players really stand out. In the NFL, everyone decent has speed. CJ Spiller for instance, found that he can no longer outrun people around the corner and he suffered. His future success will depend on how he adapts to things like reading and following blocks, hitting the hole with speed and also being able to run inside.
For most linemen, one of the biggest issues is strength. In college, they can easily overpower the guy across from them. In the NFL, no such luck. That's why scouts always make a big deal about a guy's frame, because it shows how much muscle they can potentially add. Troup seems to have a good frame to add size and strength, so that's a definite positive.
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Cam Newton will be bad for a few years, then the Panthers will have to start over.
Von Miller will be alright, but I don't think he will do well in a 4-3 defense.
Marcell Dareus will be a very good player, but it probably won't show in the stats.
AJ Green will take 2-3 years to become the player he can be, but then he'll start making Pro Bowls regularly.
Patrick Peterson will be good, but will never live up to his potential as a Revis-type shut down cornerback.
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The NFL shouldn't be compared to the average business.
Without the draft and salary cap, football becomes like baseball. Certain teams like Dallas, Washington, New England, attract all the major players and pay them ridiculous amounts of money. Teams like the Bills, Jaguars, Packers, etc. are screwed. Eventually, those teams will have to move or the NFL will cut down to less teams.
A select few players will make way more than they make now. The majority of players will probably make less.
O.J. Simpson vs. Thurman Thomas
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted · Edited by mjt328
Story link
Includes highlights of both players at the bottom of the page.