Buftex

I think, in theory, you are correct, but if a player refuses to sign and the situation bocomes toxic, the team is kind of forced to either trade them (which they likely want) or deal with the repercussions of having a guy on the roster who doesn't want to be there, and will likely miss as much time as they can...IIRC, there was somebody (Albert Haynesworth in Tennessee maybe?) who went this rout. The player has no legal leg to stand on (it is part of the CBA), but they can make it very clear that they are going to be a pain in the ass, and a distraction, if they don't want to stay with the team, even for another year, likely at an inflated rate. Byrd seems like a good guy, pretty grounded, so I doubt it gets too acrimonious...but then there is the Eugen Parker factor too.

I have held my tongue on Byrd for a while...but I honestly don't think he is as good as his reputation seems to be. Now, granted, he has been a good contributor on some really horrid defenses, and he seemed to have found his ball-hawking form again, to a degree...but other than the picks, I just don't see him as an elite player, especially on the Bills. I would let him go, and get the best deal possible for him. It often seems that when guys become free-agents, their reputation gets inflated. I like Byrd, and would rather have him than not, but if it means paying him some ridiculous sum, or having him hold the franchise over the coals for crazy money, I say let him go... the Bills have been creating holes in their roster for years, why stop with Byrd? IMO, this team is still a ways away from contention...stockpile draft picks now...

Happy be-lated!

Ain't noting but a sandwhich...

There is a thread over on Sabre Space about this topic. A poster who goes by the name Ghost of Dwight Drane wrote a pretty nice post about the 2006-07 season. He contends, this is the season that (my own words) the Sabres sort of became the "thing to do" in Buffalo, and the arena went from being barely sold out on a nightly basis, to everybody wanting tickets...there were a lot of "bandwagon" fans latching on to the team. He contends, that was the season that the atmosphers at HSBC/Frontier really changed from a hockey lovers' realm, to a broader fan base who were more apt to not understand the game, and more apt to boo at inappropriate times. Interesting. I have only been to one game in the last 5 years, and I don't remember the crowd being overly rambunctious....

A 3,000 yard passing season was exceptional back then...it means different things at different times...teams, in general, really didn't start airing it out until the 80's.

I don't remember this at all...at all. You sure you got the right Joe Ferguson? True, he had Bobby Chandler and JD Hill at various times, Ahmad Rashad too...but it was a different era in the 70's, and those offenses all revolved around OJ Simpson. His rookie year, Ferguson had only 114 pass attempts, starting 14 games. Only had one int as well! Very true that Knox built his teams around the defense (god they were good), but for all the "ground Chuck" legend, the offense in those years was much more open than what they had. Of course, some of that had to do with Joe Cribbs, one of the early "new breed" running backs who could catch anything thrown his way.

I may be wrong on this, but it seems like hockey teams feed off the vibe of a crowd, more so than with other sports. Funny, one of the guys on the morning show referenced a story about Grigorenko who, as you recall, was sent back down to the minors, in Quebec. They asked Grigorenko what the biggest difference was between playing in Buffalo and Quebec...his answer was "I don't get booed here". Ouch! Personally, I think, at last count, I have been to close to 200 Bills games, and 200+ Sabres games in my day...so I have some experience rooting for bad/under-achieving teams...I can't remember ever, once, booing. Maybe I am forgetting something...I agree fans have the right to boo, but that game the other night was kind of embarassing. A friend of mine, a Devils fan, was watching, and during the game, he posted on my Facebook page some comment about "Buffalo sounds like Philly"...wasn't sure how to feel about that. I understand where you are coming from, and I guess in theory, intellectually I agree. But, the whole notion of fandom kind of makes the fans part of the team, in a way...beyond the money, we are kind of bonded with the guys on our teams, for better or worse. I would hate to think that my disgust with Darcy Reger would interfere with the development of Mikhail Grigorkenko!

So, Steve Ott was just on GR55...my new favorite Sabre. Howard Simon asked him about fans booing at Frontier. He said it was, "rediculous", "disheartening" and "pissed him off"..."negativity from fans doesn't help young players" , "neagativity breeds negativity" etc etc. He tried to back-track a little, saying he understands why the fans are disappointed, but mentioned how when they play in other buildings, the home team normally gets positive energy from their crowd. Howard just mentioned that they have received a number of negative tweets about Ott's comments, people saying things like "Steve Ott just lost me as a fan".... I have only been to HSBC arena a handful of times (never since the name change), but always found the crowds pretty supportive, even in lean years. Watching the games on Center Ice, I often hear the opposing teams broadcast... a number have made mention of the bad atmosphere in the arena this year...from things like "this is the quietest building we have been in all year", to "these fans are tough...its' a 0-0 hockey game". For me, I have no problem with what Ott said, he backs it up on the ice. Is this "hockey heaven"? Has all the losing really gotten to the core of the fan base for our two teams?

Yeah..if I had any quibble, it was the storyline for Betty. If she would have had a badge, it might have been like a alternative universe episode of "Dragnet"! I don't hate the character like most people, but if kind of felt like "well, we have a contract with her, we gotta pay January Jones, so we have to find a story for her". Of course, that is after just one week...the writing on this show is pretty brilliant most of the time, so it will all likely be relevant by the end of the season. The fact that JJ is back to her old slim self in real life, and is wearing a smaller "fat suit" than last season is kind of cool. Its' like putting on the weight has become a part of her character, not just a plot device to get around her real life pregnancy. Through Don, and Betty to a degree, they seem to be exploring some of the issues of dealing with becoming middle aged, in a slightly deeper way than you normally see on tv. If you haven't been through it, while it isn't all bad, it isn't all fun either! Will be interesting to see if Betty casts off her upper -crust life and joins the counter-culture! BTW- speaking of Christna Hendricks, how about those Johnnie Walker Black (Johnnie Walker Red?) ads that ran through the show...whoa!

Yeah, I agree...but the conscensious amongst most fans seemed to be that he was a head hanger, yadda yadda...he and Jerry Butler are likely my all-time favorite Bills. I certainly don't blame him, and I am aware, the NFL (or fans morevoer) weren't quite as stat happy as they are these days...but as an huge Fergy fan, I can't be oblivious to the fact that the team didn't have a whole lot of success during his tenure (though we would take it now), and he really only was near the top of the league in passing during those great Chuck Knox years. I have no doubt, on another team, he would have fared better. Incidentally, for years, I had this great picture of Ferguson, on my wall...it was taken from the Buffalo News around 1977 I think, from a game against the Redskins.. It was a picture of Fergy screaming at his linemen, after a sack...he has his arms outstretched, holding the ball in one hand...you can see his teeth..but his helmet is nearly turned all the way to the right covering his face, jersey covered in mud... ...he got killed on some of those teams.

I suppose Fergy would rate as mediocre, but, when he had pieces around him, he was quite a bit better. The only time during his tenure in Buffalo that the Bills had a good, balanced offensive attack (ie: not OJ right, OJ left, OJ up the middle), was during the 1980-81 seasons...and their offense was pretty proliifc. As I recall, Ferguson was near the top (top 3-5) in most passing categories those years.

Yeah, the notion that anyone other than Kevin Kolb will be the opening day QB for the Bills is pretty silly. Wondering if Jackson is regretting signing the paltry deal he signed to stay in Buffalo, without even testing the FA market. I admit, I have some reservations about Kolb, but the move is growing on me. I just hate to see a situation, as we have in the past, where one guy is the starter based on his salary, rather than his performance.

Forgive me if there is already a thread...coudl have sworn there was. but I will damned if I can find it. Won't give any spoilers away, but I think this is setting up to be a very dark season for "Mad Men"...really missed this show. Was just wondering, aloud, the other day "whatever happened to Linda Cardilini?"...oh my!

No link, but there will be a press conference at 1:15pm (eastern) today to announce that Kevin Kolb has signed with the Buffalo Bills. Travaris Jackson still waiting for his press conference...

Some of us are old enough to remember when the logo switch happened. The fact that it looked an awful lot like the Howard logo did not go un-noticed at the time. But, as pointed out, the logo wasn't copyrighted (copyrighting logos, particularly at the small college level wasn't all that common at that time, from what I understand), and, for all intents and purposes was public domain. So, to say the Bills (or Ralph Wilson) stole the logo is not legally correct..even if there is some merit to it. It's really a non-issue. What I find humerous, about once a year, during football season, it seems as though somebody comes to TSW and reports to everyone that there is some college team that has stolen the Bills logo...

Winfield had a very productive year last year...but honestly, at his age, he is more likely not to have that kind of production again. It would appear from the free agency activity the Bills have been involved with so far, they are not going to pay anyone more than they think their value to the team would be. Winfield will likely get a decent salary from the Redskins, or whoever...he just isn't the type of guy the Bills are targeting in free agency, and it makes some sense. The Bils are not a great team, looking to add some insurance...they have a ton of holes to fill, and likely will, for another year or two (being optimistic)...bigger picture, other than vetran leadership, Winfield wouldn't really help them out this year... Also, as I recall, Antoine, a great player and a great pick by the Bills, was never really all that enthralled with living in Buffalo. I don't think he would even be interested. Only way he would entertain the idea of coming back to Buffalo, IMO, would be to drive up his price for another team that wants him.

Like many here, I played all sports as a kid (no organized hockey though) all through the 70's...coaches could be pretty harsh verbally, and occaisionally, I do remember a little pushing and shoving going on...but that normally only happened when two kids got into it, and a coach tried to break it up... I also remember a basketball coach (much bigger than any of us) one time stepping into the middle of a play during a scrimmage, grabbig the ball, and whipping it against the wall, and, of course, it bounced back and hit a kid in the head...nobody was hurt...coach went on a tirade against all of us...not a lot of swearing, but a lot of anger. I remember a football coach, on a few occaisions, "horse collaring" a kid as he ran on, or off the field...maybe grab a face-mask now and again, to get your attention, and let you know who is in charge. But, I certainly don't remember anything close to what they showed on those Rutgers video tapes. The fact that the little dip-**** assistant coach was doing the same exact thing, to me, makes it even that much worse. What a !@#$ing moron. I keep in mind, the fact that the videos we see on ESPN are edited, so it looks like this kind of behavior was going on from start to finish of practice, and I am sure it wasn't...but it should never get to the point, at any level really, It was disgusting. Honestly, even back in the good old days when "everything was better, and everyone was tougher" I am pretty sure I would have fought back against any coach who shoved me, or whipped a ball at my head....and whats' with the kicking the kids (actually not really kids I guess) in the shins, shoving them from behind? In a few instances, you can see where one of these young guys wants to reataliate, but his teammates kind of hold him back.

Me three...they didn't call him "Fast Eddie" by any chance, did they?

Honestly, I didn't get to see a ton of the exhibition games the last few years...but the one I did, I remember him moving the ball really well (against Denver, IIRC) between the 20 yrd lines. For a guy like Thigpen, who has been around a few years, and started or games, i don't put as much stock in his pre-season performances as I would what he did in real games, even if it was with another team. I may be in the minority, but I was one of the handful (mini-handfuls maybe) who wanted Chan to put him in last year, before the season got way too out of hand. I would have been curious to see what he could do with the starters...and if he sucked (as everyone assumes) if nothing else, it may have lit a fire under Fitzpatricks' ass. Thigpen was moderately successful running Gailey's offense, as a starter in KC. As I recall, that was with little aid of a running game, or a stable offensive line.

Sorry...just busting yer chops! You bring up a valid issue. Do we even know if Kolb signed a contract yet? It seems like there has been a hitch in the plan...I assume they will work it out.

I was talking to Kevin Kolb earlier... he didn't seem overly concerned with how much money some fans were making!

If it ain't Chuck it ain't !@#$! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3haYAbqKjA

Roy Clark was a really elite guitar player... there was really not a lot of places, particularly in those days, for guys like him to earn money, just being a great guitar player...so they did things like "Hee-Haw" becasue it was steady paycheck. I suppose it had its' perks, like hanging around backstage with the ladies of the All-star Jugs Band, or getting a check-up from Nurse Goodbody.

Is anyone else a little nervous about this "no signed contract yet" thing? I was assuming Kolb would be in for workouts with the rest of the team this week.