Buftex

Nick...I am with you, although, I don't think he is unhappy with his job... just kind of worry-wart in general. He really does remind me a bit of Tom Couglin, before he started winning Super Bowls. There was an interesting article about Marrone at the beginning of training camp, where he basically says that he "always" mad (maybe it was another word, other than "mad", but something to that effect, can't find the article now),,,he said it is just part of who he is. We all know there have been plenty of good coaches in NFL history with this persona (Pacrcells, Belechik, Couglin come most recently to mind), as well as other sports, so I am trying not to make that to mean that he can't be successful. I just wonder if all players react as well to that kind of demeanor, all the time. You might say, "well screw the players", they are getting paid to play a child' game, yadda yadda yadda... but the truth is, in modern sports, players have nearly as much power as the head coach behind the scenes. I have no reason to suspect that Marrone has "lost his team" or anything like that, and accept that notion that it is just his style... but I do feel like there is some unspoken frustration going on, in this case. I remember, as a rookie NFL HC, I thought Marrone was extra chatty with the media...but it appears those days are over. I have also sensed the same thing, on occasion, with EJ Manuel. I think these guys are not deaf to criticism, and some kind of fall into these sort of defensive postures...winning is the cure all!

I honestly don't know what to make of Doug Marrone. I want to like him, but I find him hard to listen to, I don't think he has proven a thing as a coach yet. I like some of the reasoning for his demeanor here, I just wish I could buy them. He has always struck me (or at least since coming to Buffalo) as fairly negative and thin-skinned. I don't mind at all the notion that he just wants his team to be serious about winning, pre-season or not, but then, he doesn't really do anything to help insure that his team wins. It may be nothing (and really it is), but if he was so serious about winning the HOF game, why end the game, down by four points, with time-outs to burn. And why play a game of "playing not to get hurt" with your QB, who could use some work? All this might be cool, if from time to time, I haven't found myself wondering what the !@#$ Marrone is thinking along the sidelines, during real, regular season games. Seems he could use all the practice he can get, knowing how to manage timeouts, paly inside two minutes, etc etc. If you want your young team to keep their eye on the prize, play to win at all coats, and all the other clichés, you should probably coach the same way. I am not suggesting something like putting first stringers in in the fourth quarter, but use these preseason games to work out all the kinks with your team, and your coaching staff, rather than treating them like, you know, meaningless exhibitions. The Bills aren't good enough to waste opportunities like these. This isn't the Seahawks or the Broncos....and to whoever suggested that Marrone doesn't want his team to have built in excuses for losing, that sounds great, but I think Marrone does it all the time...I am fully behind EJ Manuel, but Marrone makes excuses for him at every turn.

The house next to my sisters went up in flames last week...on Elmwood. It was all over the news...though her place suffered no fire damage, it was severely damaged by fire hoses... turns out water may be almost as bad for your house as fire! She sent me a picture over the weekend of her dining room ceiling that just collapsed over night....the BN reported (the morning after the fire) that her house suffered $2500 in damages...not even close!

Very much disagree with the first sentence (I thought he looked remarkably and noticeably comfortable in the pocket), and not sure what it is you mean by the second sentence. He doesn't act like a starting QB? How should he be acting? We (most of us) anyway, knew that Maneul was a "project"... 10 games into that project, many are ready to throw in the towel, choosing to ignore any positives of the kids' game, and focus only on the problems with his game. The more people say "I hope I am wrong", or "I hate to say it, but..." the stronger the sense that yeah, they love saying it, and they assume they are right...and some have been doing this since the Browns game last year...what is the rush to piss all over this kid, and this season? Like it or not, he is our QB, likely for the next two years, at the very least...

I am not sure where i heard this, and I am not sure that it is accurate...but wasn't it supposed to be some sort of kidney issue?

I beleive Marrone (or was it Whaley?) indicated that they fully expect Glenn back in camp, but said it wold likely be much closer to opening day of the regular season than it would the opening of the pre-season...if he is still out two and a half weeks from now, then you might worry.

Not really true. Tuel looked very good last pre-season, which is part of the reason for the "tuelamnia" that overtook this board for about two weeks, when it appeared that he might be our opening day QB. And, sure, it would have been cool, great even, if EJ had come in and put up better numbers...but even if he had, people would still be bitching. Last night, it looked to me (keeping in mind that EJ is still the work in progress that the Bills told us they drafted) that the emphasis for EJ was to get the ball off fast...he didn't hold onto the ball at all...a big criticism of the I Hate EJ fan-boys. He got 3 passes blocked, true, in my opinion, part the result of this "quick release" plan that Hackett has for him...I know, the OP has had a hard-on for EJ for some time, but really people, let things marinade a little. If everything and everyone is as awful as you think (hope?) it turns out to be, you will have a good 8 months solid of "I told you so" time... I am going to venture a guess that Manuel plays a little longer next weekend, puts up better numbers (maybe even good numbers) and people will still rag on him...don't forget, this is practice.. Oh, most definitely the thread title!

Jury is still out on Marrone for me. I didn't think he was a great gameday coach last year, and frankly, I find his Debbie Downer act a little tiresome...seems like the honeymoon is very much over for him as far as dealing with the media. Of course, I had the same feelings about Couglin a few years back, when he was in serious consideration for the Bills head coaching job...two rings later...

Love me some The Dean!

Two guys I thought were going to be great NFL'ers for years to come: Nate Turner (RB/FB/TE) and Corey Moore (OLB). Turner was a pre-season stud, kind of a Christian Okoye type in the early 90's...did pretty close to nothing in the regular season...Corey Moore, undersized linebacker who was one of the best college lb's of his time (Oklahoma)...but he sucked for the BIlls...got cut, spent a few weeks with the Packers (IIRC), never to be heard from again...

Oh ****...best post of the month... :lol:

You know you did something right when mrags and Rico hve something nice to say! Congrats Andre! Overdue bill...

I think the most likely, by far, is Polian. Of course I am basing this what we know up to this point. If the Bills should, heaven forbid, win a Super Bowl in the next three years or so, who knows? Mario Williams would likely put together a pretty decent career resume for the Hall, if he wins that ring in Buffalo... the next, IMO, would be Tasker. Ray Guys' induction (which I think is a good thing) opens up the door a bit for special teamers...Tasker has made the preliminary rolls a number of times, so people are aware of him. I predict, if he doesn't make it in the next couple of years, it will be in about 15 years... guys like Hull, Talley, Bennett, etc were all heart and soul Buffalo Bills, but I am not sure their contributions to the Bills will ever be recognized to the degree that they mean to us. The fact that the Bills will have 5 guys from the Super Bowl era (7 if you include Lofton and Ralph!) is pretty damn impressive, considering the results of those games. I say that with all respect..but that is almost like Steelers/Cowboys "dynasty" level. Another guy who has an outside shot as an old-timer, is Fred Smerlas. I think the guy is a complete a-hole, but he was a terrific player in his prime, and kind of "re-defined" the nose tackle position during his era...another guy who has been nominated numerous times, but never made the cut.

Relax Mark...I think the OP was just trying to come up with a clever way, injecting a Bills reference that many remember, to report that Berry had been injured...it may or may not have been funny, but I don't think anyone was celebrating an injury...good lawd, what a fun bunch here...

Ok, so now it is hilarious!!! :lol: I don't think Stevie would blanch, because he doesn't know what it means, to blanch....I remember when Berry did get seriously injured on the play in question...Stevie did not blanch then...so why would he blanch now?

Berry blamed Stevie for his injury a few years back, said he was illegally blocked ... though Stevie did nothing illegal in blocking him....Berry vowed vengeance on Stevie.

GR reporting (speculation from Toronto Star) that the TO groups inability to match the offer, revolves around Bon Jovi's intent to be the principle owner...he doesn't have enough of that 1.3 billion dollars, to meet primary owner requirements. Still...!@#$ Bon Jovi!

As one who OC would likely put in the "leftist hack" ledger: I think some people are upset with Bulldogs' rather tepid comments (certainly more tepid that OC is making them to be...their topic of discussion being "what motivates Terry Peugla to want to have such a big footprint in the WNY economy?), because they want to be free to enjoy their Bills, without having to feel like their devotion to the team puts them "in bed" with somebody associated with a controversial industry, such as fracking. But, as can be human nature, sometimes we just have to look the other way... I want Pegula to own the Bills... I don't like fracking, In some round about way, with wealth distribution the way it is, we all end up supporting, indirectly, things we don't personally approve of.

I think the Maziel comments will get blown up this weekend..and Reed will come off looking bad. Not unlike Warren Sapp when he went in....cant remember who it was, a current player (Suh maybe)... Sapp used his HOF attention to criticize the player, and was taken to task for it by the media...anything Johnny is hot right now...no matter how he meant it. For him to say Manziels' partying ways wouldn't have been tolerated in Buffalo will only illicit memories of the Kelly/Reed era teams who were not known as choir boys, in the partying arena.

I wouldn't be too sure of that...its' one of the biggest cities in country, and only an hour away from Austin, one of the fastest growing cities in the country. San Antonio takes a lot of pride in their one pro sports team, the Spurs. I realize, an NFL team is a little different, but Spurs tickets aren't dirt cheap, and they manage to draw an average of 18,500 for 41 regular season basketball games... Central Texas is busting at the seams...I actually think a pro football team would do pretty well there. I don't know many that travel from Austin (where I am ) to Houston or Dallas for games, though many would id themselves as Cowboy or Texans fans...or, in true Texas fashion, they would be fans of both, and throw their allegiances to whichever one was doing better. Throw into that equation, San Antonio is predominantly Hispanic... I would hazard to guess that the Raiders are the most popular pro football team amongst Hispanics, who don't live in an NFL city, and many that do. Still... despite my excellent argument, I don't see it happening!

Idiocy prevails...

<p>Actually, Reed going off on Johnny Football bothers me more than the Toronto comments. Why would he say something like that? I say this as somebody who is not a Manziel fan, but as one who feels a little kinship to Cleveland sports fans...why would a guy who is finally getting his overdue recognition in Canton choose to use that moment to blast the local teams "next big thing" before he has even taken a snap in a real NFL game? I love Andre, and have been making the case, here, that he certainly belongs in the HOF, for a number of years now...but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the Manziel criticism is not his finest moment.

This isn't a GR or Schopp bashing thread...I just thought this was a thought provoking comment... they were talking about opening day, against the Bears. He said he couldn't conceive of any possible scenario by which the Bills win on opening day. After taking a lot of crap from callers, he said that the Bills hadn't had, in his opinion, a road win over a quality opponent, since beating the Saints in New Orleans in 1992. While Bulldog didn't necessarily agree with him, he didn't offer any examples of great Bills road wins, since that game.... I know they beat the Steelers and Dolphins on the road, that same season, in the playoffs....so I know he is a little off... I would say a conference championship on the road is pretty impressive, no matter who you beat.... My memory is for **** lately... I know they haven't won a lot of road games in recent years...but thinking about it...any big road victories since the Kelly era? I am struggling to remember any...help me.

I (as most of you) have seen a lot of really bad football games, as Bills fans. It is a lot harder for me to say which one, or two, or three are the "worst", than it is for me to say which were the "most exciting". If I had to pick one, I would guess, it came during the Dick Jauron era... for me, the worst era of Bills football, ever... I would pick the game in the Meadowlands, in 2008, as I recall. JP Losman had been demoted to second string, for good...Trent Edwards was struggling (or was he injured? It is all a blur)..Losman was getting what many said was his "very last chance" to show the Bills weren't fools for drafting him in the first round in 2004...his last chance to show he was a starting caliber NFL QB. As I recall, he played "ok", not great...until the final few minutes. He threw 2 picks late, but somehow, the Bills, who were in the midst of one their futility streaks for road games, were actually winning in the waning minutes of the game...all they had to do was kill the clock... 3rd and something (2 or 3 maybe), Losman rolls right...is he going to run or pass? While it looked like he might have been able to get it with his feet, he started to bring his arm like he going to try to throw it...a Jets D-lineman stripped him of the ball, and it was recovered, and returned for a TD by Sean Ellis... Up to that point, I was as positive and as apologetic as any Bills fan... but instead of getting pissed off and slamming my hand on the bar, I remember, I just started laughing...I couldn't control myself...it was "so Bills".... that game, or maybe moreover Dick Jauron, for the first time in my life, had my wondering why the hell I root for this team...

If I recall, that was the first game of the Drew Bledsoe era! That was actually a pretty fun season all in all...the next week they had an OT victory of Minnesota, on the road...Bledsoe made one of the most beautiful passes I have ever seen from a Bills QB, in that OT...