Buftex

John Murphy, on his show, not too long ago, mentioned "spending some time with Van Miller", which sounded kind of ominous....got to admit, I miss Van Miller more now, than I thought I would...

I though they were amazing...that is how you put on a Stadium show. We up on the nose-bleeds (section 308), but it didn't feel like we were a mile away. The sound was top notch for an outdoor stadium show, though Lisa Fischers' microphone did seem to crap out at the crescendo of "Gimmie Shelter" Mick was in fine form, and really played to the audience. He shouted out "Terry and Kim", commented on how nice the stadium looked ("toilets made of gold" he said)....then playing to the hometown crowd, after shouting out "Cheek-a- tow- aga" and Tonawanda, he said that the hotel they were staying in was great...he said he was staying in the "Tom Brady suite"...it was greeted by lots of boos...then followed it up with, "it's very nice, but the pillows are a little under-inflated"

I have never seen the show, but I have heard much the same from those who used to pester me to watch it all the time....I believe it is a Jenji Kohan production? If so, it sounds to be starting the same trajectory as her other smash hit show, "Weeds"...strong start, you strart questioning yourself as to why you are still watching it...and then by the end of the series, you start to realize it successfully transformed itself from the "excellent" to the "so bad it is almost good" category, while you weren't paying attention...

Good to know!

"Rectify", season 3 starts this Thursday...season 1 & 2 are awesome!

I am not convinced that Manuel is useless...some had their mind made up about him after a small handful of games. To me, he has had 14 NFL starts...in about 6 of them, I think he played very well...in another 6 he played so-so, some good, some bad...and he had two really awful games...I just don't think we have seen enough of him to come to such definitive conclusions, as some have. Honestly, I re-watched his 4 stars from last season...the first two games (Chicago and Miami) I think he showed himself to be a credible "game managing" QB...what we have all been asking for...against San Diego, I don't think he was remarkably awful, the whole team (offense and defense) was sub-par that day...then there was the Houston game. So, he got spooked by, arguably, the best defensive player in the NFL. It happens...it certainly did that day. Sure, if a viable, legit, NFL starting caliber QB were available, I would love it if the Bills snagged him. I am not talking about McCown or Cassel... But that isn't the case. And, I am not convinced EJ can't be that guy. I find the prospect of Manuel starting much more exciting than Matt Cassel... Geno Smith, as mentioned earlier, after some really atrocious football, finally started to settle down the last month of the 2014 season...we don't have a better option, so give the kid some breathing room, and let him learn. There are people here (not necessarily you) who have been all over him since the Cleveland game his rookie season... when it comes to QB's, people are just too damned impatient. I do think the EJ has a lot of talent, and I do think, too, there is a point for some players where the "switch" flips on, and they just start to get it. But that usually comes with some failure along the way. Generally he makes good decisions, and is not a turnover machine...I think he has had 12 picks in 14 starts, and I would guess that about 6 of those came in two games. I have heard talking heads who study QB's attribute a lot of EJ's accuracy issues to his poor footwork. That is something that can be corrected, and coached. There have been comments from "insiders" saying that Rex and his staff have been surprised by how little Bills players were actually coached on the nuts and bolts of playing football, at the pro level. I don't want to make excuses for Manuel, and I don't want to blame all of his perceived woes on outside factors, but I do feel like the offense regressed a lot under Marrone and company... I am not sure that was the best staff to be handling a QB that was seen as a project coming out of the draft. Lets see what a real coaching staff can do with this kid...

I thought I read somewhere (here most likely) that the Downer is doner...as in closed.

I think bbb knows this guy! Lucky sob!

When I was a lad, I got to choose one game to go to every season...I always chose the game that the Bills had the best chance to win...the drive home was always brutally long after a loss...

When you say "love from the team" do you mean from the Buffalo Bills franchise? Not sure (both guys are a little before my time), but I can tell you, Booker has been one of the most active Buffalo Bills alumni guys from the AFL, over the years...he shows up for every alumni function...I have probably met him a half dozen times over the years...he represents those championship teams well.

So you don't think EJ is any good? It is hard to know where you stand on this issue....

He didn't do a lot of things well, but he played with some of the worst QB's the franchise has ever seen...I seriously think his career would have been much more productive and successful if he had been with a franchise that had a more stable foundation...nobody did very well...I would say he was the best offensive player on some very bad teams. His game didn't get better, in my opinion, because we had, perhaps the most uninspired coaching, and sub-par talent level...a very good football player, stuck on a sinking ship...

I guess I was firmly in the "Ralph is cheap" boat when it came to the Knox-era Bills. Cribbs was awesome, in my opinion. If he hadn't had the contract scuffle, I think he would have gone down as one of the greatest Bills ever...I think the contract thing has really clouded the view of some about how talented that guy really was. He was really a pre-curser to the "all-purpose" back...people hated him for holding out, and going to the USFL, but the NFL was a lot different back then...he had another option, and he took it...who would do any different? For me, for about 7 seasons, Lee Evans was one of the few good things about Bills football. I just think NFL history is littered with guys like Evans who, in all honesty, kind of had wasted careers because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. People can dog him about being one dimensional and all, but how inept were those entire Bills squads, offensively, most of the time he was there? We had guys like Willis McGahee and Marshawn Lynch who were considered disappointments...but both thrived once getting out of the muck of Bills football in the 2000's. Evans wasn't quite so lucky...and all most will remember of him is that dropped pass as a Raven...it was big, granted. I remember reading things about Lee, after he left Buffalo...it almost sounded like all the losing in Buffalo had kind of ruined his love of the game..

I would like to include guys from the AFL days, but honestly, as legendary as they are in Bills lore, I never saw any of them play, other than highlights...for me, my earliest Bills memories started in 1972, when Dennis Shaw was the QB..I was 7. Shaw and I shared the name Dennis, which wasn't so common, it seemed at the time...so he is kind of the player that lured me in... There are so many more I would love to include, but my personal Top 10...not necessarily the greatest of all time (though some were), but just they guys that made the biggest impact on me, in a life spent as a hopeless Bills backer...they are listed more chronologically than by preference: 1- OJ Simpson 2- Joe Ferguson 3- Jerry Butler 4- Steve Freeman 5- Joe Cribbs 6- Bruce Smith 7- Thurman Thomas 8- Rob Riddick 9- Jim Kelly 10- Lee Evans

There must be 50 ways to look up Paul Simon...looking up Dylan is one of them!

There are few people in sports that I can't stand more than Jim Harbaugh and Colin Cowherd....which is the bigger douche?

It is not good for you...at all....

Were there 50 of them? Please tell there were 50!

Coffee, skim milk and Coke Zero, occasional Dr Pepper, only from a fountain machine.

Yeah, the article itself, seems like a backhanded compliment to Rex. But it the end, it isn't saying anything we don't already know...if he doesn't win sooner than later (there will be a honeymoon period...Buffalo fans in general are pretty patient), his persona will seem like shtick....if the team shows the improvement we all want, makes the playoffs, plays with "swagger", Rex will live up to his billing, and all we be happy. It really is as simple as that. I just recently re-watched the first 4 episodes of Hard Knock 2010, featuring Rex and his NY Jets. We have never had that kind of access to the Bills coaching staff, but I find it hard to imagine that any of the most recent Bills coaches (except maybe Marrone) really put their imprint on every facet of the team, like Rex seemed to. With that NY Jets team, he had a very experienced staff (for the most part), and the assistants seem to do most of the heavy lifting, but Rex seems to have a good feel for where he needs to step in, and where he needs to back off, as far as his assistants go. His staff really seemed to work well together...and they seem to have a focused message. The only hint of any disagreement seemed to come between Rex and Pettine...at one point, during a pre-season game, Bart Scott is flying all over the field, being super aggressive, and playing, honestly, kind of dirty. Pettine gets kind of pissed at him for his reckless play, but before he can scold Scott, Rex, via headset, tell Pettine "I told him to play that way, to play with passion"...at which point, Pettine (not visible to his boss) says with a look of disgust, "there is a difference between playing with passion, and playing dumb" or something along those lines...

They didn't lose 4 games to great defenses...they had one of the all-time worst offenses...their defense was dominating enough to overcome the completely inept offense. This is the blueprint for what the Bills are trying to do, I think...though I don't think our offense will be near as awful. I do distinctly remember, when the playoffs started that year, almost nobody took the Ravens seriously...there were those saying that Billick would be fired when the season was over, because his offense (his specialty) was so atrocious. As I recall, late October, they lost 3 games in a row, and scored a total of about 12 points, but only gave up something like 30 in those 3 games. Tony Banks started the first half of the season and was awful...he lost his job to Dilfer, who was only marginally less awful. Shannon Sharpe was their only receiving threat, while their offense really depended on Jamal Lewis, who, at that point, was solid, not spectacular...young Priest Holmes as his back-up.... Of course, as you recall, Rex Ryan was the D-line coach on that team. He has seen it first hand, how to win with a team like this...I think he has been trying to re-create that magic ever since...the 2015 Bills may be his best team as head coach...

Actually, the Jets only had 30 sacks that season, 2012. Not sure how to interpret these numbers, but just throwing it out there: 2012 Jets D- (under Pettine) 11 ints / 25 fumbles recovered= 36 turnonvers (30 sacks- 3 TD's) - 26th vs run / 2nd vs pass 2013 Bills D- (under Pettine) 23 ints / 23 fumbles recovered= 46 turnovers (57 sacks- 3TD's)- 28th vs run / 5th vs pass 2014 Bills D- (under Schwartz)- 19 ints / 20 fumbles recovered= 39 turnovers (54 sacks/ 1 TD)- 11th vs run / 3rd vs pass Only conclusion I can really draw is that the Bills defense has a lot more talent than the 2012 Jets defense did....I think we will be fine. Defense is not going to hold us back...

Not sure exactly, my memory is starting to go.. but they were #2 against the pass that year, so I can only assume teams decided that pounding the ball on the ground was the only way to beat them...if you run the ball enough, eventually you will break one or two...looks like they gave up a handful of huge runs that season...

Like I said, living in Austin, the pizza landscape has improved...but I would still take my 3rd or 4th favorite pie in Buffalo, over the best in Austin. I guess I am not a foodie so much...to me, pizza is cheese, pepperoni...when you start getting into gourmet pizza, it isn't my idea of pizza. The best places here all tend to be of the "NY style" (thin crust, greasy)...not terrible, but not Casi de Pizza or LaNova... can't wait to get my fix when I go back in a few weeks for the Stones show...

I listen to the show almost every day (the podcast), and all in all, I enjoy it. I like it best when there are guests. The callers don't really add much, most of the time...I give kudos to Sal for not being afraid to reference old Buffalo Bills. I enjoyed him talking about Jerry Butler the other night, in more than just passing reference...I would love it if Murphy, or Sal, or whoever is hosting, from time to time, had former players on to talk about the nuts and bolts of their time in Buffalo. I am not talking about Andre Reed, Thurman, or Jim...I love those guys, but we always here from them. I would love to hear from older players like, for instance, Rob Riddick, Lee Evans, Billy Brooks, Steve Freeman, Ben Williams..hell give me Joe Dufek... guys who are such a big part of our love for this team...maybe that is just the old guy in me...but I enjoy reminiscing about the older years... and I am sure a lot of these guys would be thrilled to get some air time... they don't necessarily have to be trying to raise awareness for some cause, or promoting something...just reminisce about their peak years as Buffalo Bills. For some reason, hearing 25 people call in about the same topic, all, essentially saying the same thing, is just not compelling.