Buftex

If you haven't seen the finale yet...don't say you haven't been warned!

Your right... substitute Hogan for Scott Chandler then!

Ha ha... no doubt. You are always the exception!

Sorry... you were so positive, I was sure you were being sarcastic! It seems to me that Graham has been targeted by fans since his rookie year. As I recall, his rookie year, he was completely misused in the Bills offense. They were thin at the position, and Fitz wasn't particularly good, most weeks (he was erratic) at completing longer passes....so Graham, as small and fast as he is, seemed to become almost a possession receiver, catching passes 2 yards behind or after the line of scrimmage, on third down, fighting for a first down...as I recall, he got those first downs as often as not. He rarely had any targets down field. I don't know that the guy will ever be a great NFL wide-receiver, but the way some people carry on about him, they act as if he is the biggest problem the team has. In my eyes, he has shown a knack for being able to get open. and we know he has speed to burn. Last year, his second year, being used situations more fit to his strengths, he had a few nice moments. Early on in the season, especially, I thought he was looking like he had made some good progress. As the year went on, with three different QB's, all essentially rookies with growing pains of their own to go through, his game, predictably, suffered. Even Robert Woods faded some as the year went on.

No, not directed at you specifically... it just gets depressing to come to the football part of the board, day after day, and see threads started where people, are, essentially trying to one up themselves at some players expense. I get it, not every player becomes a pro-bowler, and maybe not all live up to their draft status. But, unless the guy is clearly a jerk, or doing something detrimental to the team, beyond just not being as good at his job as a bunch of slobs wish he was, I just don't see the point of running our players down, like we, as a whole, seem to have a compulsive need to. I may be very wrong, but I think OP started the thread with that intent, and most have gleefully followed suit. Perhaps it is just the result of years of losing, but I really don't remember the board always being so relentlessly negative, particularly to our own players. We seem to have this need to have a whipping boy, a punching bag. Donte Whitner, Leodis McKelvin, Stevie Johnson, Aaron Williams, TJ Graham, EJ Manuel...Chris Hogan waiting in the wings. I just don't see that it does anything good for anyone, and I am pretty sure that these players are aware of fan perception of them...and to pretend it doesn't effect them is naïve.

When did Bills fans become such insufferable douches?

Glad somebody agrees with me...

Agreed. I did see a bit of Fitz last year...a lot of what we saw in Buffalo. A guy who makes just enough plays to make you think, maybe, just maybe, he can pull the game out...put up okay numbers, but was a turnover machine in the clutch.

Shoot...that reminds me, Marv Levy was on the NFLNetwork this morning...forgot to set the DVR! I am sure it was nothign earth-shattering...but its' Marv!

Too jewey?

How many times have the masses here been wrong about players? Remember when so many of you were convinces that Aaron Williams was worthless... give Graham a break... I happen to think he still has a chance to turn into a decent player. Since he has been a Buffalo Bill, the offense hasn't really had a lot of consistency... his rookie season he was being used in ways that did not take advantage of his speed. I realize, too, everyone likes Goodwin...I like him too. But everyone seems to overlook the fact that Goodwin can't get through a game without getting injured. Don't bet that there won't be a spot for Graham.

What is happening now in Iraq is what would have happened anytime we withdrew...

Just kidding with you...

Got that TPS?

Well, not that it necessarily means he is a great QB, but he is 31-18 as a starting NFL QB. He may not have been the reason the Ttians won that many games with him as a starter (13-3 one year), but that is an indication that he can (or could) start in the NFL, and he is capable of doing enough to, at the very least, not cost his team those games. I thought the Bills were foolish to cut him when they did. If rumors are to be believed, the Bills were spooked because somebody came to a Bills practice to "serve him" on some financial issues. He wasn't fantastic, but he wasn't awufl either. He was certainly more capable of a big play than Fitz was...just think he is the kind of guy, when he was still in the game, at the very least, who could come in and bail a team out on a bad day, with his athleticism. He did it time and again with the Titans... made a big game changing play or two, almost every game... I remember him doing it twice to the Bills, pulling out games with his legs, and huge arm, when the Bills were otherwise dominating the Titans. There must be something about his personality that keeps him from sticking anywhere...I just don't see how there is no room for him on any NFL roster, particularly when you see some of the junk teams have to drag out when their starter gets hurt. I might not ever want him as a long-term starter...but for a game or two? Sure. Even in his couple of starts for the Eagles, he came out and played lights out his first game....looked great. Came back to earth the next week...

I think he was referring to his experiences in Green Bay and Cleveland....he would sign somewhere if he was guranteed a chance to stick on a roster. When Ted Thompson let him go in Green Bay, he said that it was 'on him"...he felt that if he had signed Young earlier in the off-season, he could have made the roster. As I recall, Young played better than their third QB in his limited pre-season last summer in GB (sorry, can't remember who it was off the top of my head) and getting cut by the Packers was a "mild surprise" to a lot who followed the team. Perhaps he wasn't picking up the offense quick enough? As for Cleveland, he was simply and arm for their first set of OTA's... like I said earlier, unless he was just incredibly out of shape, I am not sure how they could have done much of an assessment.

I will say, Casey Kasem was a big influence on me, growing up in the 1970's. His weekly Top 40 show was a "can't miss" for me nearly every Sunday. If I couldn't listen live, I would put my little box tape recorder next to a radio, and record it. I used to keep track of the countdown in a little black marble meade notebook... my soft spot for 70's pop music is still alive today, and whenever I hear an oldie from that time period, I can almost here the voice of Casey Kasem talking over the intro, or the fade out... or telling one of the maudlin stories mailed in from listener from Fayettville, Arkansas or somewhere else that seemed a million miles away... just one of those iconic voices from my childhood...like a Ted Darling or Rick Azar.. for the Top 40. RIP Casey

Yes... I was asking, is there a stadium that is privately owned, by someone other than the team owner? I can see the inherent advantage for Kraft to own the stadium that his team plays in...but what advantage would there be to the NFL, for, say, Terry Pegula to own the Bills, but Jacobs own the stadium they play in? The advantge to a tax-payer funded stadium, to the NFL, is obvious, they, nor any of their owners, would have to fund a new stadium. But why would the NFL want to deal with a team owner, and a private owner of an NFL stadium? I would would find it hard to fathom, whoever buys the Bills, would not want to be clear on the stadium issue, before they agreed to invest 1+ billion dollars on buing the team. We know that Goodell has said that the Bills "need" a new stadium. It is unclear to me if that means simply that they "need a new stadium that is up to the standards of modern NFL stadiums"....or does he mean they "need a new stadium, and the NFL owners will not approve a local buyer, without some promise of a new stadium being part of the deal".

What always stood out to me, as Whitlock points out, when Young had his melt-down with Fisher, he has started 9 games for the Titans that year, and was having, by far, his best year as a pro. His QB rating was 16 pts higher than his previous high. My memory is a little hazy now, but I remember that there was a lot of speculation at that time that not all of the Titans players were on Fishier's side in this dispute with Young, and there was a feeling that Fisher was trying to get fired. Apparently, Fisher resented Vince Young, from day one, as he never wanted the Titans to draft him. The previous season (2009) Young was put on IR, with a relatively minor injory.

I really don't know the answer to this, so I ask earnestly. How many NFL teams play in stadiums that are privately owned, other than by the team owner? I can't think of any. If Jacobs is talking about building a stadium on his own, for the Bills to play in, that would be great for Buffalo...but what would Jacobs really gain from it? Sure, Delaware North would make a lot of money off of concessions, but it seems to me, it would take a while to break even on the cost of a brand new stadium. Could the NFL object to this, simply because, in a way, it would mean there were two ownership groups to deal with... to re-locate the franchise in the future, should the NFL see it necessary, or beneficial, would they want to be obligated to a another owner, a stadium owner? What we have now, in Buffalo, is a tax-payer funded stadium... in a strange way, the Bills lease situation with Erie County, assuming the team stays, will have played a pretty major role in keeping the team here. You have to wonder if, say, the lease expired in a year or two, the NFL wouldn't be so (apparently) eager to keep the team in WNY.

As an Austinite (but not necessarily a huge Longhorns fan), I wish the guy nothing but the best. He was one of the very best college football players of the last 25 years or so...Mack Brown, Deloss Dodd, and the University of Texas owe him a lot. I think things in the pros might have worked out a little better for him, had he played for a coach that wanted him. That is not to place all the blame at Jeff Fishers feet, just saying that Young may have turned out better in the pros, had he been coddled a little more. NFL coaches will never admit to coddling some players, but they have to do it in some cases, to get the best out of their guys. No question that Young was a bit immature for his age, and no doubt his incredible success at every other level went to his head...but Young would hardly be the first pro athlete to start his career under those conditions. I am not advocating the Bills signing him, but I still find it hard to believe (unless he is just so out of shape) that he couldn't be one of the top 96 pro QBs in the NFL. I honestly felt he looked good enough to stick with the Bills a few years back, and he didn't look completely awful for the Packers last year.

I find myself thinking the same thing when I see one silly thread after another, during the off-season...then the season rolls around, losses start to pile up, and I find myself thinking this is a better place in the off-season...

Way, way back, I got flamed for saying letting Pat Williams was a huge mistake! Now it is a mantra!

Or maybe a down-payment on the Clippers, to move them back where they belong!