The Dean

Congrats in this thread, too.

Congrats!

Depends on where you relocate it, no? I say tag it and relocate it to a preserve or other protected area.

Well you can run to your car, and then your chance are pretty good. No?

Excellent.

I hadn't seen that report, and I agree it is odd. Marrone's conversational style is odd, though. Seems to me he is just be saying, as long as he is making the decisions, Orton is starting. But that decision could be made by someone else--new HC if he is fired, or Whaley (or Pegula, I suppose) should he decide to exercise that power. For what it's worth, I think the HC should make all those decisions. When you lose faith in the HC's ability to decide who starts, it's time to let him go. I disagree the Williams pickup was "a joke". It made some sense, at the time. It ultimately didn't work out. But the guy was a 1st round draft pick and did play all 16 games in 2013. He SHOULD have been an improvement on what the Bills had. You are talking about Brandon, right? What does he have to do with the team showing up on game day? He isn't a coach or even a GM. Pretty harsh assessment, I think. I'm not sold on him by any means, but as a 2nd year HC, I think he has shown some potential. Like all new guys, you have to learn on the job. The team was better in year two than it was last year. If he gets another shot, I'd expect the team to win more games next year (all things being equal). If he fails, then his learning curve isn't steep enough. I'm not sure playing HC roulette is the best way to move forward at this point--that is if you see any improvement in the HC's performance year-to-year.

My biggest problem with Orton is his inability to avoid sacks. I don't expect him to run. I know he isn't an extremely accurate QB. But he is a veteran. He should be able to throw the ball away when he is getting pressured. For some reason he fails at that too often for my taste. And I think EJ looks like a perfectly natural athlete. He does, at times, look like a QB who has been taught NOT to run. While that is preferable to the, run as soon as your first option is unavailable (like Johnny Foosball), I'd like to see him get a bit more latitude should he get another shot as a starter. When Marrone was an OL coach in the NFL, did his lines suck?

Agreed. But I could never tell if it was a formal job. Sometimes I think he just did some stuff for Ralph. I think the Bills could give him an official "Ambassador" type position. That would be a nice touch, IMO.

I heard Ian hated hippies and that's why he didn't go to Woodstock. But I had never heard this story. Very funny. Funnier still is that Ian Anderson looked very much like a dirty, drug-addled hippie, back then. I'm of two minds about this sort of thing. I understand people want to go to a concert to have fun. And sometimes that fun translates to standing and dancing, and singing along. But others, who also paid money to see the concert, go to hear (and see) the artist perform (no this isn't a Prince reference)--not the drunk guy/girl next to them. And while there is a time in a concert to stand, having people stand in front of you the entire time can be quite a pain in the ass. Fortunately, in most venues, for most bands, the crowd figures this stuff out on their own. But other times rude audience behavior can really kill a concert, IMO. I think there are some decent ways to handle this, and some over-the-top obnoxious ways. For example, at the Tralf, the David Grisman Quintet was performing. There were tents on the tables that said something to the effect of: This is an acoustic, instrumental show. Please be courteous and keep conversations to a minimum." I thought that was a perfectly reasonable way to deal with the situation. There is nothing more disrespectful to the artist, and to other patrons, than ignoring the music and gabbing the entire time the performer is playing. Some were put off by this, but I was happy as hell. When I go to see/hear music I want to listen to it without being subjected to extraneous conversations. That's not to say there is no room for any talking, but be reasonable. I can't believe people go to hear music and talk the entire time. On the other side of the coin, Keith Jarrett (an extremely talented jazz pianist) as been known to walk off stage and end concerts because he heard people in the audience cough. For the most part, I don't think they are coughing on purpose. These are humans, and not automatons, for goodness sake. Part of this is venue-related, I think. When you go to an outdoor festival, you don't expect proper behavior of any sort (or you shouldn't). But if you are in a proper concert hall, a different code of behavior should apply. Part of this is band/genre related. Don't go to a Dead concert expecting people to sit down and listen---ain't going to happen. But if you go to see complex music, that needs to be LISTENED to, you shouldn't have to deal with some idiot who thinks his singing/dancing is just as important than the artist's. For some reason, Saint Augustine concert crowds are unbelievable. The most enthusiastic and appreciative audiences I have ever experienced. I was quite shocked the first few times I experienced it. When I saw Steely Dan for the first time in St Augustine (I'd seen SD many times before, elsewhere), I was a bit disturbed by the crowd singing along and dancing the entire concert. But it was hard to be mad, as they were clearly having the time of their life---and the band loved it. (Fagen in his recent book, where he trashes many of the audiences for The Dukes of September, actually mentioned how good the St Augustine audience was.) So, despite my desire for everyone to STFU and LISTEN, I had to go with the flow and enjoy it for what it was. Still, I prefer the crowd not sing-along, except for a song or two when it clearly is what the band wants.

Not sure I know what remarks you refer to. I know he said this game is important to him and that Orton gives the team the best chance to win. That is getting strangely interpreted by reporters, IMO. Sound pretty much like HC-speak in general and specifically like Marrone-speak. Was their something else? I have to concur. I might have begun starting EJ a few weeks ago. But to throw him to the wolves, in Foxboro, for the last game of the year, with only a week of prep, seems almost cruel at this point. What would it prove, at this point? If he plays good, people will say it's a game the Pats* had no incentive to win. If he plays poorly (as Bills QBs have done most if the time against NE) will have proven he isn't a starting QB, to those who already believe it. I say let him earn the starting job next year (and I really hope he does).

Of course. But I happen to think the supposed blow up was an over-reaction by reporters who heard part of a conversation. I believe Wawrow reported something to that effect a day or two after "the incident". I'm not saying NOTHING happened, but words are exchanged all the time in organizations---even by people who get alone great. As far as I have heard. nothing since preseason suggests they have a real problem working together. And I believe little of what Bucky writes.

I believe they both likely stay. I can't imagine Whaley getting the boot (even if Polian is brought in at some position) and I think Whaley probably did enough to keep his job. I get the feeling real football people admire what he has done in Buffalo. His job might hinge on him replacing the OC and some guys don't go for that. But it's a new dawn, it's a new day, so I suppose anything could happen. Other than having a voice at the table, I don't believe Brandon will have the power to hire, or fire, anyone on the football side of the organization.

If you are major NCAA football or basketball program, there is probably a scandal or two lurking in the background. But you have to admit, The U, and all the big Florida schools, have an impressive history in this regard.

The perfect role for him. They'd be crazy not to use him if he is available and willing.

Another stupid post by TSW's dumbest poster. Good to see some things never change.

Iron Butterfly. They were stuck at LaGuardia Airport. There is an apocryphal story of them trying to get to the concert that goes something like this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/woodstock-trivia_n_4334870.html

I disagree with many of the comments on that page and some here. I think it was clever and not at all snotty. Sometimes well-meaning adults can be quite trying on teenagers. Since most of her relatives found it amusing, who are we to find it obnoxious? Sometimes you just have to know the person before judging an action. I'll trust the reaction of those closest to her before I cast judgement. And yes, she's pretty hot.

Christmas and the flu are closely related for much of my life. I feel for you my Bills brother. Get well soon.

Assault Life and The U---aren't those the same thing?

Of all the things one could choose to be (that would also be in that room) a mouse seems like a strange choice. But it got me thinking, if the OP were a mouse in that room, then came back and shared what he heard there, would that make him a rat? Kelly who? JIM Kelly? To take a job that has huge marketing responsibilities? Or would you give him more power (probably more than Brandon has now)? You do understand that Jim Kelly has ZERO managerial or coaching experience in the NFL. I love and respect the guy as our former QB. And I feel badly for his health issues. But had JK had ANY interest in being in management of an NFL team, he should have been doing the work one needs to do that position well. Has he taken one assistant position? Has he shown a great deal of savvy in running businesses of any substantial size? He has done a nice job with his non-profit work for Hunter's Hope, but that hardly qualifies him for a top NFL exec position. That's not a dream, it's delirium.

Or advertising your (mostly ignorant) political beliefs, or what club you are in, or----whatever. I believe in your right to advertise that stuff. But I shake my head at those who choose to do so.

Merry Christmas ya bastards! Slept til almost 10 AM and LOVED it. Putting on a pot of sauce, talking a walk and coming home and making a nice omelet. Was going to make some killer french toast (with nuts, bananas, strawberries, booze, etc) but I've been eating too many carbs and too much sugar (in the form of Christmas cookies) lately.

She's just gotta have it.

Actually, if he actually learning, that isn't so bad. Every great coach learns on the job, to some extent. The question remains: Is he learning quickly enough and is he capable of learning enough, soon enough, for this team to win? Obviously it is a combo of bad play, bad scheme and bad coaching. At least it seems obvious to me.