Buftex

There simply are simply far more running backs that will "kill" your team than help them... Spiller has far more "upside" than all but about 10 backs. He may have been over drafted last season, but he wasn't a completely useless pick...and, people are ignoring that he was playing injured most of the 2013 season. If he had been completely useless last season, I could understand all the trepidation... I say this as somebody who had the 12th & 13th pick in a snake draft last season..RB pool was extremely thin at that point... I ended up with Ray Rice and Chris Johnson, in that order..talk about busts...even knowing how it turned out, I would take Spiller this year, in a heartbeat over those two guys...and most rankings I have seen don't rank Rice, C Johnson and Spiller all that far apart...rediculous!

Funny, Sal and Joe B are my favorite Bills guys on GR (I like Paul Hamilton for Sabres stuff), but man, when Sal hosted the Murphy show, for some reason, it was hard to listen to. His pho-enthusiasm is hard to listen to at times...and I just don't like that way they just throw out some random topic to frame all the phone call discussions...it just leads to bad radio. Everyone pretty much says the same thing... I know some hate Joe B, and while I don't always agree with him, I feel like he is not lazy (unlike the rest of the hosts), and his opinions are, at least, based in actual observation, and not just assumptions based on false kowledge. As for Murphy, I like the tone of his show, but I honestly wonder, sometimes, if he knows much more about the game than the average hardcore football fan. Obviously, he knows the Bills very well, but I don't get the impression that he has an exceptional knowledge of the X's and O's stuff, like Sal. I wish Murph would interview more players from other Bills eras. A lot of us old timers would love to hear an interview with Jerry Butler or, hell, even Lee Evans...Garay Marangi...any guys from the 60's...just somebody with different perspectives on the history of the team..particuarly in the deep off-season, would be cool. I would think a lot of these guys would love to talk.

Ok. So the original post is pretty absurd. But, keep in mind, much of the apparrell that players wear is required by the NFL, and their marketing department. QB's are the most visible players on the field, normally... you may not believe it, and I am not 100% certain in this case, but often, when you see a guy getting draped in a coat, or putting on a wool cap, even though he is clearly sweating his nads off, it is becasue they are required to do it. I think it was Tim Hasselback, or maybe it was Dilfer, a few years ago, talking about this...it was one of the bald, or balding QBs. He said "the last thing I want to do, when I am playing a game in Miami in September, is throw on a ball cap...but I am required to, you just get used to it" I am sure some guys do things as a matter of personal preference (Rob Johnson and those freaking bandanas!), but a lot of it is required. The visor thing is widespread in training camps this season. I would bet, players are getting a few bucks to sport them.

I think that is the rule, rather than the exception in the NFL these days...it isn't just the Bills, and other sucky teams. There are, by my count, about 6 teams in the league that, barring injury, will have one very dominant ball carrier...that is why guys like McCoy, Charles and Peterson are so valuable. I don't think this is necessarily a reflection on the players, as much as an indication of where the game is heading right now...it is a passing game, few teams will have a 300 carry back...very few. My own personal rankings, I have CJ ranked as a top 20 back, somewhere around #15-17. I would be very pleased to get him in the late 2nd or 3rd round. Spiller will have a bit more value in PPR leagues as well...I just have a feeling that the Bills/Hackett will do a better job of taking advantage of Spillers talent...if they do, he could be a steal.

Not denying your credentials Tom....I have a bit of a resume myself. I have no issues with anything you have posted... but I also get tired of people who don't know a thing about what they are talking about, speaking so definitively on the topic. And the ones who compare their situation to somebody else's are particularly galling. Of course they are trying to escape pain...but the sources of that pain can come from any myriad of places...including low self esteem...chicken and egg argument...

The board psychologists are comparing a severed arm with a paper cut. Great... One persons depression is not anyone else's. Those like Shep Smith, and all the other armchair psychologists who knee-jerk to the "suicide is an act of selfishness" are a bit simple. Depression lies, they say. It convinces people that their loved ones would be better off without them... of course that isn't true, but when somebody suffers this disease, they are not thinking as rational as somebody, who say, has the blues every now and again.

Its going to come down to our defense slowing them down... As odd as it may sound, the Bears have the makings of a very potent offense. Bills have to "bring their A-game", so to speak...no slow start... I do believe this is a winnable game. It would be a huge win to start the season.

Can't it be the opposite of what you stated? I often wonder why people, like Todd Brigdes, seem the feel the need to chime in...

I "like" Steve Johnson on Facebook, he has had nothing but great things to say about the Bills..when the Bills started training camp, he posted a picture of himself from a Bills training camp in recent years, commented on how hard it was not to be there, and about dealing with change. Say what you want about the guy, but he loved being a Buffalo Bill.

Yeah..been saying it for a while, Mike Williams was, perhaps, the best lineup addition the Bills made this off-season, and they have made a few. I think he is the most physical receiver the Bills have had since Eric Moulds was in his prime.

Is that a live cam? Somebody pleas PM me when the poor guy makes it over the fence...

Not necessarly. Perhaps the Bills wanted more than Bryce Brown for Spiller, and nothing else was being offered. As low an opinion as some here seem to have of Spiller, at this point in their careers, Spiller is far more valuable than Brown. I think Brown is a nice player to get, especially for very little, but lets not forget, he had a bit of a reputation as a fumbler. Which is what made him expendable to the Eagles.

If you want to get an auto during the game, or on the field, in Carolina, my best recommendation is to park yourself behind the Bills bench, in the second half. As this is a pre-season game, I would be surprised if there weren't empty seats there... depending on how militant security is, you may be able to get stuff singed by some of the guys who are done for the night (the vets) as they are, essentially, milling around, talking with eachother, waiting for the game to be over. I have had some success with that...but that might also depend on the head coach...during the Marv and Wade Phillips years the sidelines were pretty loose...never cared to put in the effort after that. If the game were in Buffalo, I would recommend the parking lot where the Bills players park their cars, after the game. I got, literally, hundreds in the late 70's and 80's. Also, though things may have changed since then, visiting team buses would park in the same lot as well...got a lot of visting players that way...Terry Bradshaw, Steve Grogan, Bert Jones...

WTF? WTF?

Nice post. The only thing I question, if Marrone was that upset about this loss, or was placing such a high priority on winning it, why didn't he coach it to win it? Not saying he should have let the starters play longer (though I think EJ could have played longer, for him, not to win the game), or put starters in at the end, or anything like that...but there was no attempt made to conserve time at the end..hell, Marrone didin't even use all his timeouts! They pnly lost by 4 points. If he really wants the kids to go out and win this game, why not do what most coaches would do, and give them the opportunity...within reason, for a pre-season game anyways. If Marrone had done that in a regular season game, most would be calling for his head. I agree he seems very passionate, and I have no doubt he wants to win....but I don't really buy that his Jeckyl & Hyde routine with the media has anything to do with losing this pre-season game to the Giants. I think that is the real answer... he realizes he has much more important stuff to be doing, than answering a bunch of "silly questions". I know the feeling...working round the clock on a project at work, you are really focused, and then you have to step out for some required meeting...it is annoying. I will be interested to see if Marrone returns to his jabber-jaw forum in the future... As an aside, you guys who constantly rail on the media guys and their silly questions... you do realize, the whole thing is silly? What could anyone really hope to learn from one of these press conferences? It has been that way forever... I think Marrone could be a good, maybe great coach...but I hate to see him get himself so visibly worked up over such a meaningless thing, that is, unfortunately (for him) part of his job.

Chan over Chin is a one trick pony...

I think you are really underappreciating what Thurman meant to the Bills offense. And we are talking about greatest Bills, afterall. Thurman was Marshall Faulk before there was Marshall Faulk. Emmitt was a fine running back, but I am not so sure he could have done what Thurman did in the Bills offense...and perhaps vice-versa...Thurman was a much sneakier runner than Smith.

Brazil is known for its' "lady boys"

Good for her. Spurs are being progressive..i am sure it will piss somebody off somewhere!

I know Mike Schopp is a scourge here, but I liked his take in this whole new "surley Marrone" persona. He said, essentially, "people seemed impressed by his long winded explanations to most questions last year, and now they are upset that he is giving short answers. I say, "who cares"? Whether the answers to questions are short, or long, he is only going to tell you what he wants to tell you, you aren't going to get anything out of him...so who cares if he is "nice" or terse with your answers. Schopp is right. It may also lend some insight into Schopp as well.

You can make a very legit argument that Bruce Smith is the greatest Buffalo Bill of all time, depending on your criteria. If we are just talking as pure football players, it has to be OJ or Bruce. Now, if you are talking about performance and intangibles, Jim Kelly has a legit claim to that title. There may have been no more important a player in team history.

I have no doubt that answering "stupid questions' every day is likely very tedious...but what are "smart questions" or "good questions" they can ask? Why does the NFL bother to mandate that their employees talk to the press at all?

Yeah, I noticed a big change in his appearance last season, just between week 1 and week 17.

Good point...though his miserableness seems deep seated to me.. he always looks pissed. Found this article from his days at SU: http://orangefizz.net/2012/08/doug-marrones-media-day-crankiness-grabs-syracuse-fans-attention/