Buftex

This thread has gotten so big, I haven't read the whole thing, so forgive me if this was mentioned. Paul Hamilton just said something that got me thinking... is it possible the Bills made what they thought was a very good offer...Byrd/Parker reject it because they still think they can get more money (this appears to be all about money)... so the Bills agree not to franchise Byrd, let him go out and see if he can get more money elsewhere, and then the Bills get the opportunity to match that offer? Interesting scenario...and it would explain why the Bills are not planning to franchise tag him.

Yeah...he is remarkably awkward...not a lot of panache! Like a chubby Dwight Schrute. He defintely went to the Scotty Bowman school of "how to win friends and influence people"! When they asked him whether he still wanted Nolan to coach the team, his answer had a certain coldness about it... "we made him an offer, so that is obviously what we want...but I am not begging anyone to work here." That said, this might be the time for somebody who is not so warm and fuzzy for this franchise. The Sabres have always been led by "good guys"...it is always easier to pull of those guys, but in the end, where has it gotten them?

SmokinES3- so you listened to the pc? I feel the same way, in regards to Nolan. I did find it a little odd when he mentioned, emphatically, "I can coach, I know I can coach in this league"....as if that was being questioned by somebody. Nobody at the PC asked him if he could coach, or any question that would broach the competency of his coaching skills. Murray says, today, he still would like him to coach the team, a 3 year extension was offered....ball seems to be in Ted's court. The fact that the offer was made a while ago, and still not signed, makes me think he won't return. Perhaps he has known of the Lafontaine situation (whatever it is) for a while, and was waiting to see how it shakes out. Whatever happened with PL, PL should implore Nolan to sign the deal. He isn't likely to get another offer like that...and Lafontaine himself has already landed on his feet.

After listening to the pc that Ted Black and Tim Murray held earlier today, and then Ted Nolan's pc after practice this morning....I really don't think Ted Nolan is going to be the Sabres much longer... certainly not next season. Poor guy... I feel kinada bad for him. He is an emotional guy, has a hard time expressing himself...but you can hear it in his voice, he is depressed.

Its' okay...but I wish people appreciated Leonard Cohen as much as they do Jeff Buckley....

Not sure if it is everywhere...but in my marked (Austin, TX) there is currently a free Center-Ice preview right now. If you want to see Ryan Miller make his debut in the "other blue and gold" sweater tonight, tune in. Also, in a twist of irony, Steve Ott will be pared on a line with Derek Roy....if you recall, the Sabres traded Roy to Dallas for Ott...now they are linemates in St Louis! I buy it anyways, but during the Sharks game on Friday night, the "you are watching a "free preview" message was streaming across the bottom of the screen all night....so, if you want to see Miller and Ott tonight, you should be able to see them. They normally do the free preview about the first two weeks of the season, and then after the all-star break...or in this case, after the Olympic break!

What's wrong with being sexy?

In the words of the great Silvio Dante "Sadness accrues" Pretty sad on all fronts...but if you take the emotion out of everything, it appears the Sabres made out pretty well in the Miller/Ott trades... and there is still a small chance, Ott could return next season. That would make me happy! As for LaFontaine... I don't know what to make of this.... but again, take the emotions out of it, and the Sabres still have some good hockey people on the job...LaFontaine, perhaps like GM Marv Levy with the Bills way back, a figure head, who likely didn't have as much influence on what was going on with the team (particularly once Murray was hired) as he thought he would. I don't like what I am hearing about the "voices in the ears" of Terry Pegula from "his guys". Another rumor I heard floating out there, is that LaFontaine has been suffering from post-traumatic concussion symptoms as of late. Apparently he has been absent from numerous team functions as of late....not sure if I buy this, but who knows? Might also be possible that his family wasn't enjoying the WNY lifestyle as much as expected? Who knows? Whatever the reason for this latest stunner, you can be sure, it will be perceived as franchise incompetence...but maybe LaFontaine is just a big baby? I am not sure we will ever know what happened. I guess, too, it puts another dent in the perception of Pegula as being a great owner. I am still behind him, don't get me wrong...perhaps a Pegula "kool-aid" drinker... but his decision to bring Darcy back for this current season was my first pause for concern.... this story just makes the Sabres front office structure (which by most account LaFontaine set up) sound pretty dysfunctional. Why do they need an owner, a team president and a general manager? Also rumors floating out there that this is tied into Nolans' future with the team. Paul Hamilton, earlier today, said that it is known the team offered Nolan a three year extension a few weeks ago, but he has yet to sign it, and hasn't made it clear he will accept it. Perhaps Nolan was stalling because he knew there was trouble brewing with LaFontaine? Oh well.... FYI- Miller, Ott and the Blues play in Phoenix tonight...will be weird to see them in the blue and gold...of another team!

Been saying since last year, Byrd just doesn't want to be in Buffalo. It doesn't matter how much money the Bills offer him, he wants out. I am just finding it difficult to blame this on the Bills. You can't negotiate with someone who already has his mind made up... the (apparent) decision not to franchise him is a little puzzling...but perhaps the Bills feel they don't want to take the chance that they will stuck with him another season, paying him a ridiculous amount of money, when he isn't a part of their future.

I will admit, over the last 2 of 3 seasons prior to this, I had felt a little frustrated with Miller from time to time. He has been pretty stellar in 2013-14. In retrospect, frustrations should probably been directed more toward management for their unending inability to find any goal scoring support for their goaltenders. I happen to think Enroth is a very good net minder as well...but have seen some of the same issues with him this year that Miller suffered...bumbling defensemen, too many turnovers and an eventual loss of confidence in the teammates in front of him. We were spoiled by Hasek to a agree. I realize now, I can't blame Miller for not bezing Hasek. When he was Ryan Miller, on his top game, he was pretty spectacular in his own right. He played a lot of games, more than any goalie in team history...it might have served him (not to mention the team), if he hadn't had to play quite so many. The last couple of seasons, chasing that eighth seed we couldn't afford to have him play any way less than "A-game" Miller...he went through a couple of long, miserable stretches where he just couldn't deliver that game. In the end though, one of the greatest Sabres ever... I don't intend to disrespect the guy at all, but I do feel that losing Ott is almost as big a blow as losing Miller, at this point in time...Ott is the kind of forward this team has been lacking for years...if Drury had just a little more of Otts tenacity, even at the expense of a few goals, who knows how much kinder this century might have been towards our franchise?

Yeah... no point in going through it all again, but for me, not canning Darcy, at the very least, after last season, was pretty baffling. I will be very interested to see if Darcy ever gets another NHL GM job.

Rumor out there that Chris Stewart is likely to be dealt to Ottawa for more picks. For me, I appreciate Millers efforts over all these years. I will confess, after his Vezna season, I thought he had been as bad as he had been good....very up and down performances...either great, or just tough to watch. That is, until this year. He has been the lone consistent bright spot for the team in this miserable season. He wasn't as vocal and acting as frustrated as he has been in recent years (frustration has been warranted), just focused and did his job. And did it well... I will miss the guy, he always played like he cared. Am I nuts though? I am almost as sad to see Ott go as I am Miller. He is the kind of guy the Sabres have needed for about 5 years before he got there...maybe longer. It may just be a pipe dream, but I hope the team can bring him back after the season, when he is a FA. But, maybe that is just stupid thinking? Re-build...stock up picks, get young.... I am the fool though, who is going to watch most of their games along that long rebuild...I just hope the cupboard isn't completely bare... Rumor mill says that other teams have shown interest in Tyler Myers and Christian Erhoff... everyone assumes that Moulson is not long for Buffalo either.... this could be a radically different team (again) in 3 days.

I would pay Carpenter. He was excellent last year. Hopkins may turn out to be great, but it seems, so often, drafted klckers do not make the cut with the team that drafted them. That said, from what I heard at the end of the season, from Carpenter, it didn't sound to me that he was necessarily going to be grateful for whatever the Bills offered him...he knew he had a good season, and never said "of course I want to return"...it was more like "I will have to look at the options available to me, and judge what is best for my family when the time comes."

For a zombie show, it isn't very realistic, huh?

Awesome! I actually kind of enjoy preseason games, for what they are. Will just add a little more fun to Andre Reed weekend!

Always thought Tina Turner nailed this version of the Beatles "Help!" Turns it into a totally different song and makes you appreciate the lyrics even more...

Not disagreeing with you there, but I have heard quoted a few times, on the John Murphy show most recently, that safety is, on average, the lowest paying position on an NFL squad, aftter punter and place-kicker. I don't know if that speaks as much to the lack of quality safetys in the game, or a lack of value placed on the position. To me, perhaps after watching so many years of sub-par Bills defense, there are few things that stand out as much as a weak secondary... The thing with Byrd though, in relation to the guys mentioned (Reed, Troy P, Sanders, Thomas, etc) is that those guys are all pretty physical players, almost like lighter, quicker linebackers...I don't think of Byrd like that. He is definitely a crafty guy, who knows how to cover, and ball hawk...but I don't think of him as a hard hitting, sure tackler.

Is that you saying that, or Massare? I would think a trade for Byrd would have to bring a 1st round pick.

I realize you are talking to jboyst, but I think the issue of whether it is "right" (or however you want to say it) for them to "hold it against you", would depend on how you show your dislike or disapproval of their lifestyle or decisions. Is anyone really trying to force you to "like" their lifestyle or decisions, as much as they are asking you to accept the fact that they have the right to live the lifestyle they choose, and make the decisions they make? There is a difference.

I won't pretend to know about Sam as a college football player, and what his prospects are as a pro. I do know, the day of the "announcement", I heard repeated a few times (ESPN types) that he was projected to be a "late 2nd to 3rd round" draft pick. Heard he was considered to be somewhere at the outer fringes of the 10 best pass rushers in the draft. Then as the story gathered steam, it just seemed, in NFL circles, to be accepted that he is a "3rd day" pick at best...maybe not even a draft prospect by some. It kind of happened as the story grew. All insist that where he is picked will be determined by his performance... I am not a huge draft-nik, but I did find it a little odd that there would even be a question, by some (I have now heard him referred to as a "core special teams player at best"), that the SEC Defensive player of the year would be draft worthy. My perception is that everyone in the NFL INC is playing this very carefully. I have not heard a single negative about him from any NFL executive, active coach, or team executive...just lauding him for being courageous. But, at the same time, it seems like guys who make their living off the teat of the NFL, while saying many of the same things about the kids character, are kind of cleverly downgrading him as a prospect. I realize, Sam did not have a spectacular combine, but the mantra the last couple of years (from those "who really know") seems to have been that the combine results mean less than the one on one interviews that teams have with prospects...by most all accounts, Sam handled himself very well with media and team interviews. So, it almost seems like the NFL has itself covered from all sides. I have little doubt that some team will draft him...and it very well might be a "publicity stunt". I could see the Jets taking him....have you seen the demand for Brooklyn Nets Jason Collins jerseys?

Not entirely true... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4biNFY9Omk

One "insider" (can't remember who, for the life of me, been listening/reading too much draft **** lately) that Whaley is most concerned about the linebacker position on his squad right now. They were speculating that the Bills would "surprise" everyone by grabbing a LB with the 9th pick. Wonder if that outlook might change if a quality vet, with some good years left, fell into their lap... I would prefer that this need be addressed in FA, rather than the draft, myself.

My guess is that the release is as much to do with money as it is ability. I mean, I can't imagine, all things equal, Pettine preferring to be without Jackson, unless there was some cap benefit that they needed by releasing him.

I bet Bud Carpenter is snickering!

There is a beautiful irony in this post....