IslandBillsFan

I would like to see some stats on comparing NFL employees to other large company organizations. For example, there are 32 teams with 53 players. Add about 5 high publicity coaching positions. That makes it around a 1,824 employee organization. I am not surprised there are this many arrests. Additionally, the media coverage continues to keep this incidents in front of the fans. From 2000-2008 USA averaged about 1.4 Million DUI's per year Linky. If you average our population over those years we have about 292 Million people.Linky 2 Without breaking down, race, class, and gender, that approximately means one in 209 people in the US get a DUI year. Based on abbreviated info the NFL should have about 8.7 Dui's per year. By my count, we are nearing this number already but many of the notorious headlining charges have been assault, disorderly conduct, domestic.....not just DUI's The NFL needs to behave better because they are in the public eye and our "role models". However, I don't feel they are nearly as bad as the media (or many on this board) make them out to be. If someone really wanted to do a study, they should compare young pro athletes to young celebratories with money. Lindsey Lohan and company would probably be a worse lot.

Stevie is good. I am very thankful he is coming back. I would say I "like" him as a receiver and a part of our team. However, I HATE his celebrations resulting in penalties. However, I can almost understand his doing so. It is not just "for fun" or to "celebrate" when he gets to the endzone. He and may others like him are drawing attention to themselves. Every 15 yard sharpie penalty gets him a clip on Sportscenter and some media attention. If you a Joe Blow fan from Nebraska you start to notice Stevie more than other players because of his antics. Their are fans (mostly younger) who love the show of the game. Their are those who hate it too. However, in the highlight reals if you have a choice to show Barry Sanders celebrate in the end zone or a guy like Stevie you show Stevie. The difference here is guys like Barry made their highlights before the end zone in the field... and guys like Stevie make them in the endzone. Stevie has made great plays on the field and he should be credited for that not his "why so serious" antics. I also find his "I was ready to go to San Fran" attitude a little frightening. Seems like he wanted to quit and go to a winning squad. Not grid it out and make a team better. His "change of heart" to be all aboard this year will need to be proven Lastly, and most importantly, STEVIE PLANS THESE 15 YARD PENALTIES!!! He premeditates his dances and shirts written on with sharpies. I absolutely loathe this. I can sympathize with the guy who accidentely takes his helmet off or does something in the heat of the moment. The fact that Stevie plans it pregame is outright an embarrassment and makes him a me first type of player.

Unrelated thoughts from a small time college football fan: 1) Seems pretty stiff and rightfully so. I would have preferred the Death penalty rather than a four year dragging on penalty. 2) I am always curious about when they take away wins or trophies. What does that actually accomplish/ penalize? I understand Joe Paterno will lose his legacy but.... Any player during those years will remember their records from each year. Whether they were stripped of the wins or not. Any student/fan will always remember their teams from those years. Also, I would be curious to see if during any of the years wins are being pulled away, if Penn State beat a #1 ranked team, undefeated team or national championship contender. If so, theoretically said team should have been playing for a nationally championship. Does anyone know if they ruined another teams season during this period? 3) Bush decided to forfeit his 2005 Heisman trophy, however, everyone still knows he was the best player in 2005. Hard to just erase trophies and wins. 4) USC had a 2 year bowl ban and lost 20 football scholarships. However, being bowl eligible this year, they are preseason ranked by many around #2 or #3. seems like the lack of bowl games and scholarship losses did far from KILL the program. *I know 4 years is much worse than a 2 years because you loss a whole class, however, I am just making the point USC has returned as strong as when they got penalized.

I really like Hondo's description of him as a "serial father" Hahahahahh

For your first post I am quite impressed!

The Youtube quality is a little poor but it looks like Kelly is struggling to keep a straight face.

It's Monday morning/afternoon and I think I am still in the wake of a hangover. However, I feel a little optimistic this afternoon. I have always said if Buffalo makes it to another Superbowl, I will be in Buffalo to watch it. (I have traveled and lived many places and currently live in PR) Anybody on TBD have any plans or promises they want to make if Buffalo manages to get a ring? I personally promise free Puerto Rican Rum to any Buffalo fan who wants it.

Wrong. As a Bills fan he scares me.

I know this is supposed to be a highlight video but......... (my thoughts) @ :10 - Horrible throw by Sanchez. I think anyone could have made that pick. Additionally he ran out of the end zone and only made it to about the 17. @ :30 - Blind side blitz with no blocking. I hope any player could make that sack. @ :43 - Decent tackle on speedster DeSean Jackson, however DeSean had already stopped forward progress and had no room to go anywhere @ :54 - Another decent tackle, however, the RB was already stopped with no place to go. Line was collapsed with defenders everywhere. @ 1:06 - Great hit! WR still held onto the ball. Maybe he shoulda tried for a pick or deflection. IMO this is more of a highlight for the receiver than Byrd. @ 1:12 - Nice play. @ 1:25 - What the hell is Byrd doing in this play. He taps the ball and the receiver loses control (a good thing). However, he seems to have no commitment to either hitting the receiver or going for the pick. @ 1:28 - Byrd is late getting to the play. The receiver has already caught the ball and started moving down field. We are lucky he doesn't protect the ball and we get the turnover. Additionally, look at Byrd's tackle (or lack there of) here. He is using only his arms. Weak. @ 1:52 - Wonderful pick. Poor throw. @ 2:19 - Great open field tackle. @ 2:29 - Nice blitz. Byrd came in unblocked with a lot of support. @ 2:35 - great defense by Byrd. @ 2:44 - Hahahahha. The receiver fell down. Easy Pick. I know this post makes me look like a hater, however for a highlight video this looks like any safety in the league. 90% of these highlights are from C grade quarterbacks. If this video displays our "#1 safety in the league" I am signing up to play in the NFL next year.

I would put: Trent Edwards JP Lossman Dick Jauron Mike Williams Immediately after it's creation I would devote my life to blowing it up.

This is related but going in a bit different tangent. I'll tell you what has driven me nuts lately..... the commercials on the jumbo tron. I lived in Miami the last seven years and went to many games there. The commercials are OUT OF CONTROL! During normal television time outs they go to commercial. What makes these worse is the commercials are boring and can't really be heard well. So it basically just kills the mood of the game. I look back to the old days when cheerleaders or local announcers would fill that time. What makes this even worse is the fact that the stadium even squeezes in more jumbo tron commercials than regular television broadcast. During some of the regular timeouts and injuries, where TV would just cut to the announcers and add a few replays, they squeeze in a couple more commercials. Changing direction.... I haven't been to many soccer games and none in Europe of Latin America where it is the dominant sport. What has always impressed me about these stadiums and games (from what I can tell on TV) is the fact the energy is derived from the fans. Due to the fact the game has very little "set" breaks... the fans are constantly entertaining themselves with songs, chants, and generally craziness. I am not saying eliminate breaks or lets start making crazy songs and dances.... however, I would just rather hear music, or chant lets go Buffalo than hear "Come on down to Marooni Ford, the home of the Miami Dolphins."

"cousinrk" is going to have a rough year....

Seems like a pretty good assessment. On another note, I am trying to get my # of posts up... however, reading and posting in the off season seems like sometimes we are just repeating ourselves....basically I CAN'T WAIT FOR OPENING DAY!

Oct 19-21 is my birthday weekend... Might have to make it in town.

I am not sure how many years it was ago, probably 4 or 5 but I remember probably the most successful weekend in Buffalo ever. At the time I lived in Miami and went back to Buffalo to visit some family and see the Bills take on the Chargers. Little did I know it would turn into the ultimate Buffalo Weekend. Friday Night I watched the Sabres beat someone at home. Sorry I can't remember who. Saturday in the day, I witnessed UB beat Army at home. Sunday, the Bills went on to beat the Chargers. It was the game in which the power went out for about 10 mins in the stadium in the first quarter. 3 for 3!!!! Awesome trip to Buffalo. Sorry for not having the dates or the specifics but I am sure someone else remembers that weekend. BD

Wow! I am impressed I was the first to make a post about this. I thought it was probably old news because I live on an island away from Buffalo (literally and figuratively).

Great assessment. All the new starters have me pumped up for mega improvement. However, their is a little voice I hear which says all these new players playing together might take a little time to gel.

I was driving along in a rental car today that happened to be equipped with Sirius radio. As I was flipping through the stations, it read "Bills GM- Buddy Nix". As I don't have Sirius and therefore never listen, I am not sure if this was a re-run or a new interview and didn't catch the station. I caught it halfway through and Buddy said everything you would expect him too. My brief summary of what I caught is below. Feel free to add if anyone else caught it. 1) HUGE Personnel improvements from last year- Notably, the defensive front four are amazing both on paper and in practices thus far. Front four on paper look as good as the Superbowl year d-line. However, he noted they players are all bigger these days. Equally impressive in a different way is our depth behind these front four. 2) Gilmore- Looks great and are happy with the pick. Nix made a joke about how he hates to sound funny but Gilmore looks really good in shorts (as in without pads) 3) Improvements on O-line- should allow for more time for Fitz. 4) Very excited about Freddy and CJ- Hosts asked him if we would see them line up at the same time this year. Nix promised we would with Spiller sometimes being motioned out to the WR position. All of this seems pretty standard and all things we heard before. Sorry for not having a link, but maybe by my summary someone knows where I heard this. Go Bills!

Love the Bills, love the shows. Interesting article. I will be happy to see the Bills in the playoffs. However, the end had me rolling on the ground laughing when I read: "The Bills simply cannot withstand the offensive inferno that is Cutler" HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA

I think distraction is the biggest reason. Even though I think the Bills should obviously turn down the show if offered I still think it would be great to see more of the players and coaches personalities. I guess I will just have to rely on bb.com and the buffalo news headlines to get this info.

Week 1 9/9: Buffalo Bills at New York W Week 2 9/16 Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills W Week 3 9/23: Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns W Week 4 9/30: New England Patriots* at Buffalo Bills W Week 5 10/07: Buffalo Bills at San Francisco 49ers L Week 6 10/14: Buffalo Bills at Arizona Cardinals W Week 7 10/21: Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills W Week 8: BYE Week 9: 11/04 Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans W Week 10: 11/11 Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots* L Week 11: 11/15 (Thurs) Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills W Week 12: 11/25 Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts W Week 13: 12/02 Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills W Week 14: 12/09 St. Louis Rams at Buffalo Bills W Week 15: 12/16 Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills W Week 16: 12/23 Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins W Week 17: 12/30 New York Jets at Buffalo Bills W 14-2 I think I am on crack. I never realized how easy our schedule looks until entering this contest.

These threads in the off-season concern me sometimes. However, in some strange way, I think they will make me savor the game discussions even more come the fall

San Juan, Puerto Rico. Born in Hamburg. President, treasurer and sole member of Bills Backers Puerto Rico.

1: Ryan Tannehill QB - Dolphins 2: Michael Floyd WR - St. Louis 3: Courtney Upshaw OLB - Chargers 4: Lamar Miller RB - Bengals 5: Orson Charles TE- Raiders

Love the Kelly block at 3:31 Thurmans run at 4:00 is great