JoeF

I guess we are blessed to have a Pro Football team that evokes personal passion. We are blessed that we had an unprecedented success run 20 years ago... We are blessed to have that eternal hope that comes with every late summer and early fall. The blessings do outweigh the curses -- but its just so damn frustrating. Nice article JW and you picked a perfect fan from among us to quote.

They should close that place down before Ralph has to apply for food stamps because of the deals cut there.

No wonder Wilfork is so angry...

sad but true....

As reported by Jason LaCanfora at NFLN. Good luck #8...you will get plenty of chances to punt based on what I have seen of the Stars O...

Unlike the past 12 years -- this Bills team wins the lion's share of the battles in the trenches -- that puts us in every game-- Shaub and Brady will likely beat our secondary some but Kolb, Alex Smith, Jake Locker don't scare me --- so go 1-2 against the Texans and Pats and 2-1 in the other two games. That puts us at 5-4 -- so 5-2 the rest of the way likely makes the playoffs.

As the father of a current UNC student and thus a tuition payer -- I support that logo with good old American greenbacks!

Just a punt in the nuts...dang...... really liked #8 - he is a classy, community oriented guy and a very good athlete. Chan was obviously upset by the fact that the directional punts gave up field position -- he wants both a non - returnable punt and the ability to flip the field. They believe they get that in Powell so the proof will be in the results.

When there is only 32 of a commodity -- and its a desirable commodity -- there is a steep, steep demand curve.

You gotta fight for those inches.......you gotta reach out and grab those inches

In this political season, I began to think about the Bills current leadership in terms of a presidency or a governership. I normally try to take a non-partisan or neutral approach and look at the facts. What did this regime inherit, have they addressed issues that will produce a better end result, are they building for the present and the future? If you look at the ultimate results you would say Nix/Gailey and company are failing....records of 4-12 and 6-10 and 2-9 in their last 11 regular season games, no road wins in over a year...all that would tend to say the Bills are not producing. However, I tend to try to look a little deeper into things like the make up of the roster, the development of players and the culture of the team -- on all these--I believe the Bills have made substantial progress from the Donahoe and Jauron/Levy "terms"...here's my evidence: - Roster in particular the lines --The Bills have been pushed around the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball for the last dozen years. Its tough when the majority 3rd and shorts on either side of the ball are not going to go your way. The Bills now have relatively young and stout players on each side of the line. This is something you cannot win without and have a great foundation to win with. Nix has secured this talent for the future and I bet a lot Levitre gets extended before the end of the season. This regime understands the importance of these positions and has built talent and depth. They have excellent teachers as position coaches on both sides of the line and the fans have seen young talent developed particularly on the Offensive side. - Culture-Due to a lot of things--this team is steeped with a professional attitude that knows how to prepare and doesn't get too high after a win or too low after a loss. There is a quiet confidence with good leaders -- Eric Wood, Fred Jackson, Fitzy, Corey McIntyre, Kyle Williams, Nick Barnett, Bryan Scott, George Wilson -- who hold others accountable and keep the team balanced. There is also very little ego on the team -- no player seems to scream to be singled out -- but the message is -- do what it takes to prepare and put the team in a position to win -- gone are the "me" first players from the recent past-- Whitner, Lynch, Evans -- who thought the system and team should adjust to them rather than be part of a team. I liked each one of the three players I mentioned but look at it this way: Whitner -- was an attention whore -- just wanted to be heard Lynch-off the field actions hurt the team and himself Evans-liked to stretch the field but couldn't adjust to the read and react game that Chan's system requires Stevie is our most "me" guy and he is tame compared to the above -- he is still a team first player and willing to do anything to win. This regime is not afraid to cut ties with players who don't produce on the field and can't adjust to the culture they are trying to establish. This team also invests in its own talent which is a break from the past -- Kyle Williams, George Wilson, Bryan Scott, Fitzy, Stevie--keeping players who buy into the culture. - No ego front office -- the no ego front office point above is important--every talent evaluator is going to make mistakes -- the key is moving on from them. We lost $3M on the Merriman experiement but in the scope of a team that is valued at $800M -- its worth the risk. Talent evaluation is a risk business. They key is cutting bait when you have given it enough time and giving the roster spots you have to the players who can best succeed -- no matter what their draft position or investment. Its a balance between patience, potential and progress. CJ is a great example--clearly needed a year and a half to adjust to the NFL game -- but the team never waivered on his potential and they saw progress--Chan was critical of him and made it clear what he needed to improve on but never waivered about the talent he saw in CJ -- some fans wanted to cut bait after a year and were panning the pick as a bust -- we can argue all day if a running back is worth a top pick -- but we have a dynamic player today -- who we are likely to get 5 or 6 great years from. The Alex Carrington vs. Dwan Edwards choice is another -- this regime brought in Dwan as one of their first FA signings -- they drafted Carrington the same year but had more invested in Dwan -- they cut bait on Dwan -- hard decision but its based on improving our depth at the position forcing tough choices. This leadership group will continue to pursue upgrades everywhere -- there are no sacred players -- the chance to upgrade will always be a priority. Overall--I think this regime deserves our patience -- this may be a 2-6 or 3-5 start due to the schedule -- Cleveland is no gimmie -- and then the first part of the schedule is looking brutal after that -- but I would rather stay patient for this year and let this regime have at least the 2013 season to figure it out...the talent upgrades (particularly the lines) and the culture change give me hope.

They changed the wording... Bills equipment manager Dave Hojnowski has retired. Hojnowski was one of the longest-tenured employees in the organization, and was in his 35th year. The Bills had no comment on Hojnowski other than to confirm he no longer is employed by the team. He had been working with the club throughout training camp and preseason. The move apparently came last week. The Bills' equipment staff is headed by Jeff Mazurek, director of equipment operations, and includes two assistant managers.

There is no excuse for not knowing assignments....that is coaching and study... There is an opportunity to end the first 6 games 3-3 without much effort (Wins KC, CLE, AZ) and if we can beat SF (highly unlikely) or NE at home (Like last year) 4-2 -- if we can get there we can make a second half run. Not ready to give up but this better be the last time we see the team that showed up at MetLife today.

We did suck today there is no question. We sucked throughout the preseason. We sucked at the end of last year. Since a 5-2 start last year we are 1-13 including preseason. This is all true. For some reason I cannot even figure out for myself I still think this team has a shot to be a winning team. Someone needs to shake this team up -- the team I saw today lacked passion and fire for the game and we aren't good enough, no one is good enough, to win without knowing and executing assignments. CJ Spiller played his ass off today--when's the rest of this team going to join him?

Bulletin Board Material: Ryan believes Maybin reasonable facsimilie of Mario

Means Dickerson made the team I bet

Players and agents are tweeting. That's the source. Joe B at WGR is posting as he sees them.

The article said the cobra bit him in his rice paddy...sounds very painful.

Where's Prince Harry?

This is part of the strategy to neutralize the Pats TE threat. If you have to keep six to block four there are seven to cover four in the secondary.....

Prune futures I tell you--that's what I am into now.... Seriously-- he had a great line today--something like-"At this new center they can figure out how we lost four super bowls"

She probably has a more acute sense of smell though...

Okay let's do it again after a 12 pack...

Sorry for your loss. Prayers to Matt's family. No matter the view on the war and our country's role in the world -- our soldiers face tremendous danger from an unorthodox and fervent enemy every day. I feel a great sense of indebtedness to our soldiers every day. CH--if Matt was a Bills fan I am sure the team would do something to honor him at his funeral -- the Bills seem to be very supportive of Western New Yorkers who serve. The Jersey unveiling last year using soldiers injured in battle was just the latest demonstration. Its so tragic that I feel the team would want to recognize Matt, his new bride and their family.

In the tradition of Belinda, Stojan, Rettata and other codes TBD has developed over the decade and half -- I would recommend that all Hot for ???? and Would Ya? threads just be named "Poojer Thread"