Fadingpain

http://media.wgr550.com/a/115202349/5-16-caller-george-on-lawson-injury.htm Interesting phone call to S&B from earlier today. Caller (who had a SLAP tear in each of his shoulders himself) asserts Shaq has a SLAP tear; would have been diagnosed in 1 minute by competent doctor; guarantees the Bills knew of this on draft day; Bills have decided to fix it now rather than later; Shaq will be useless for 3 months while arm is in sling; once fully recovered his shoulder should be 100% with full strength and with little chance of recurrence.

Don't you get it? When the Kool-Aid Krowd around here attacks posters and generally spews their own form of negativity and divisiveness, it's OK.

You realist.

The short answer is that the NFL tends to be very cautious and conservative, and once a guy establishes a resume of being an NFL head coach, he is perceived by many in the sport as qualified for the job, even if he's not. Also, Rex talks a good game, which can be effective.

I would imagine to outsiders, the Bills might come across as a Green Bay type of team. The little guy underdog who has no business being in the league trying to compete with giants. That's a good story and it sells. What neutral observer wasn't rooting for the Royals in the World Series? Same idea.

Everything about the at-game experience in all 4 big N. Americans sports is a constant reminder that you are there to make others wealthy. What's classy about it? The on-TV NFL experience is so horribly broken up by the pursuit of the almighty dollar, it is almost impossible to watch a live game. What the hell. Plaster them with sponsorship. Won't change a thing.

The funny thing is that EJ, now and again, has uncorked some really nicely thrown long balls completely immune to criticism.

It's not about giving you a subsidy. It's about the billionaires who control this business throwing a few more nickels and dimes on their pile of hoarded loot. As I've posted here many times before, I can't believe this didn't happen in the NFL at least a decade ago or more.

Our fate this season is going to rest on the sustained health and continued progress of Tyrod Taylor, and no other QB. If Tyrod goes down for an extended time, or substantially regresses, it won't matter who the #2 holding the clipboard at the time is.

I listen to John Clayton every week on GR-55. As I've said before, he doesn't offer much expert insight and his comments about the Bills are often wrong. I hope he's wrong about this off-season too!

I wouldn't retire numbers lightly, but #78 is a great one to retire. He's gotta be on a very short list of greatest Bills of all time. Assuming he'll be in the stadium for opening night, the place will be rocking and rolling.

Great interview; worth 4.5 minutes to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28z08_qfcPY

If we could have come up with 10 more PPG last year on aggregate (more points scored, fewer points given up however you want to slice and dice it) we would have won five more games than we did and tied one, which would have gone into OT and maybe we could have won that too. That turns an 8-8 team into a 13-3 team or maybe even a 14-2 team! If Tyrod's added experience can get us an extra scoring drive per game, and if a playmaker like Ragland can turn 1 opponent's scoring drive into a punt per game....we may have something.

Slauson is your prototypical big ole Nebraska Cornhusker OL, sporting a Grizzly Adams beard and considered by his Bear teammates the toughest guy on the team; plays old school style. SIGN HIM He's from Oregon. He looks like he throws 20 foot logs around as his form of weight training.

My 2 nephews are 13 and 16, and I hate to say it, but they are not Bills fans. We've been a tire fire for their entire lives and they just don't follow or really care about the team. They are into the English Premiership though.

It's doubtful Tyrod makes it through 16 games unhurt this year. I bet he'll miss a few entire games. Do the Bills play EJ or does Cardale have a chance to move to #2 on depth chart if he impresses in camp?

It was always a special treat when the TV was wheeled in! Hell, we often had "film strips" with a film strip projector that looked like it was made in the 1930s.

I love the emphasis we seem to be placing on top college programs. Our top 4 picks already have a winner's mentality instilled in them and think of themselves as something special (in a good way). They have also seen a ton of big time games with lots of pressure and fan frenzy. Sure the NFL is a different level to even big time NCAA ball, but if the OSU and 'Bama guys spread that "expectation of winning because we are special" attitude around the locker room, only good things can happen.

I love how Troy Smith slaps skin with Brutus Buckeye for some good luck mojo prior to his throw. Regarding Cardale's throw: no one is going to criticize that guy, ever, with anything to do with arm strength. Now if we can get him reading NFL defenses, we're in business.

It's a Pegula ownership nexus I had not really contemplated. As Whaley said, even if only one small positive comes from it, so much the better.

I was always fond of "The Bermuda Triangle" myself.

Agreed. Surprisingly so. More than that, he comes across like a big teddy bear and a good kid.

One thing we can all agree to: no matter how it plays out, this was a weird draft that saw a lot of talent slide down into our picking position, more than once. We definitely got players we shouldn't have based on draft day projections. In that regard, it was a great draft. We hopefully got 2 starting difference makers on D, that alone is great. And who knows...what if Cardale turns out to be something special!?