Dan

Big difference there, though. The pansy league is now postponing games because they don't want to play in cold and snowy weather. Pathetic.

I take mine straight up.. bitterness included!

Can't you wait another 10 minutes to start a dozen and one threads complaining about how bad the Bills are?

one cup of apathetic insanity coming right up...

Got 'em right where we want 'em... for the greatest comeback in the history of histories! Time to pull out the secret play.

I'm glad I'm not the only that's noticed that. Sometimes, I really think Chan outsmarts himself.

Goodell's plan is now complete. The NFL has officially become a pansy league. It was bad enough when they made it illegal to hit a QB. Then they make it illegal to tackle. Now they're postponing a game because it's going snow! Un friggin believable. Can you imagine what pansy rules will come out of the new CBA? It's pathetic.

I agree. But that was a damn hard hit on an outstretched receiver. SO I can give him that... but not some of the other drops. As I'm seeing it.. the Pats* are hitting A LOT harder than the Bills and it shows. Just once I'd like to see the Bills try and punch the Pats* in the jaw rather than the other way around.

To win, the Bills need (1) to be near perfect, (2) outplay the Refs bad calls, and (3) get heat on Brady. So far, they haven't done any one of those.

Stevie got nailed by Mayo and dropped the ball. Really good hit by Mayo, so I can't blame him. Still sucks though.. would have been a 1st down.

Absolutely, there's nothing out there on the interwebs to suggest that Chan and company don't like Brohm. In fact, all evidence (he made the team and moved up to season-long #2) suggests they're quite satisfied with him, IMO. It'll be very telling, to say the least, to see what they do in the draft regarding the QB position. I really can't see them bringing in a FA to backup Fitz. So, whether or not they draft someone could say everything about what the feeling is towards Brohm.

I'm sorry, probably didn't explain myself well enough. I agree Trent was shot, here. They almost had to get rid of him. But, they also had to have some confidence in Brohm as the backup because they didn't bring in someone else. In this league, it's almost a matter of when, not if, you're gonna play backup QB. So, you've got to have some level of confidence in your backup. Therefore, I think Chan is fine with Brohm as a backup.

I could very much agree with both of those statements. To think that firefighters, who are issued full face respirators as part of their gear and trained to use them and use them routinely in their job, would not use PPE and have respiratory problems seems nonsensical. All I can say from being there is that the stress and unique circumstances of working on the pile were unlike what most people experience in normal circumstances; therefore, I can live with some measure of "understanding". So, I don't completely disagree with the compensation fund either.

I'd suggest it's a little of both. Yeah, they almost had to cut Trent. When you have a marginal starting QB and bench him, the last thing you want is players second guessing the decision when you're 2, 3, 4 losses down the road and the former starter is sitting over there saying he's healthy and ready to play. So, you get rid of him and remove all doubt that you're moving forward - for better or worse. However, they had to have some amount of confidence in Brohm to think he could be a viable back up. Otherwise, you don't make the cut or you go and get a backup. You just can't go through the whole season with someone you have zero confidence in as your backup QB (unless you have Manning or Favre starting because they never miss a game). So, they had to like what they saw in Brohm enough to make him #2 and not bring in anyone to challenge him for that spot. Personally, I fully expected to see Brohm starting by the bye week. But, Fitz has been a very pleasant surprise and is making it awful hard for anyone to unseat him. At this point, I wouldn't be upset at all if they went into next season with Fitz and Brohm #1 and #2, respectively, again.

You are soooo right! Don't forget those that will lament the loss of another draft spot. But, I say to hell with 'em all. I'll be proud of my team.

I can very much agree with that. I don't want them to keep it close, to just be content with being competitive. I want them coming out playing hard and expecting to win. I hope to see some real emotion from them. I'm slowly changing my attitude about this team; that is, I've grown accustomed to just hoping to see them play competitively. But, last week (for example), I expected them to win. I thought they should win. It's been quite a while since I felt that way about a Bills team. I guess the reason for my original post is.. I just can't feel that way about the Pats* yet. Sure, on any given Sunday... yeah, yeah. But, will they win; do they expect to win? Do we as fans think they will win? I'm finding it hard to go there. IMO, if they somehow win this game... all bets are off. We finally have a real team. None of this they can't beat good teams stuff. A win and they've proven that no game is out of reach.

My wife reminded me of that on Monday when she realized we play the Pats* this week! She tried to calm me down proactively, saying you know the refs are going to make bad calls or something... try not to get too mad. The breaks the Pats* get are truly amazing.

He's a solid player... not great, but certainly good enough to be starting. Not re-signing him creates a hole on a team with several other holes. It's not my money. So.... up the offer to $6mill or give him more guaranteed cash.. I don't really care, just get him re-signed. I really don't understand how fans can blame Ralph for being cheap, but then they immediately start screaming about high salaries being paid to players. The only pertinent question is: are the Bills better with or without Whitner? I say better with him.. .therefore I hope they come to terms.

Someone would have to be insane to build a stadium for a football team without any signed guarantee of a team playing there. Furthermore, how do you build 2 stadiums without the guarantee of even a single team? Is this an either or situation; meaning just one of the stadiums would be built based upon whomever can lure the team in? So I guess we get news of a team moving to LA first, then news of which stadium would be built? I don't watch the final four, but is there precedence for basketball games being played in a stadium built for football? Seems really odd to me. I would think another incentive would be the possibility of the new LA stadium being a regular draw for the Super Bowl.

I love the fantasy football induced nature of what makes a game good to watch.... points and offense. If a game doesn't have lots of scoring, it's considered boring.

I can agree with your take on how to beat them. And that's what has me worried. Chan has rarely relied on running the ball. I'm not sure why he hates Fred Jackson (i joke); but he needs to run the ball alot. I also don't like the use of 4-5 wides with no RB on 3rd and short in this one. BB is too smart; take away a run and his defense will have the answer. So, given Chan's tendencies this season; I'm not hopeful. Also, we haven't blitzed consistently all season, either. Granted their blitzing more lately. But, I think they need to blitz 2 out of 3 plays and get some serious heat on Brady - penalties be damned. Not only does that - hopefully - pressure Brady; but known of our LBs are good in coverage. Play to their strengths and rush the passer, I say. We'll see I suppose. I like that fact!

I do understand the point you're making; however, a few points of background information: I assisted (and selected many of the sites) the EPA to monitor air quality at ground zero and in multiple other locations - some on the pile, some blocks away, some many, many blocks away, and at sites throughout the area (NYC/Jersey). I don't recall the exact data each day (we had daily briefings on air quality), of course, but within a week or so the air quality was vastly improved. However, the air quality on the pile was consistently poor. So, for individuals working in battery park, Staten Island, etc. (for example) there was little danger. However, for the rescuers and eventual construction crews on (and under) the pile the air quality was quite toxic. Hence I'd doubt anyone from Brooklyn or Long Island had much worry. Staten Island is a valid concern. However, we had a very strict policy of washing down all debris leaving the pile. This was set up within about 1.5 weeks. All truckloads of material were required to stop at one of 3 check points and literally hosed down with firehouses in an effort to diminish the dust leaving the site. Not, that there wasn't dust on Staten Island. But, SI was where the debris was actually sorted and sifted for evidence and eventually remains. Hence, it was a highly restricted place - even more so than ground zero. Mostly just CIA, FBI, NYPD (and perhaps a few other initials that we don't discuss) were allowed access, along with a few others (such as yours truly) from time to time. PPE there was mandatory and absolutely enforced. So, again, I'd expect there to be little concern with health problems in those individuals working on SI. Furthermore, the drop off and transit points on SI were directed in the dump, so the debris didn't travel on any public roads once it left the pile. Actually, I'd be worried about the debris that was trucked off prior to setting up SI as the dump site. There were 3 dumps, I believe 1 each in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Jersey. Although I was dealing with other problems in that first week, so don't hold me to those locations. Most of that debris was not washed down either. The concern about individuals living in (and I'd assume working in) lower Manhattan may not be so much about when they came back, but would be for that first day. We've all seen the images of people completely covered in dust walking away from lower Manhattan. They may have gotten out alive, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're able to live normal, healthy lives. But what most people don't realize, prior to opening up areas of lower Manhattan for people to come back; Fire and Sanitation would hose down and clean all the streets and buildings to remove the dust and debris. However, the residents and store owners would have to clean up the interiors. And there wasn't a square inch of lower Manhattan, inside or outside, that wasn't covered by an inch or more of dust/debris. I inspected many buildings and can attest to that. So, although outdoor air quality may have been fine; I'm certain indoor air quality was less than optimal. So, again, these people may have gotten out alive, but they came back to a house or business that was filled with debris. So, yes, perhaps just the first responders working the pile get all the attention. But, there's no doubt every resident and visitor in lower Manhattan on that morning suffered and quite possibly have long term health affects. Is it good to help all of them with their medical bills? I don't know the answer. But, I have no problem with trying. Again, will there be individuals trying to abuse this and gain unfairly from it - yes. But that, IMO, doesn't mean we shouldn't try to help the many, many people that have legitimate problems and need assistance.

We all know it's been a long and horrid run going against the Pats* this last decade. Horrid. Even in the games that were close, or we were leading... you just knew the Bills were going to find a way to blow it. And they have. But, for the first time in a long time, I'm beginning to believe in this team. I no longer see a 3rd and and goal from the 18 as an automatic FG try. For the first time in forever, they actually seem to make in-game adjustments. Do these young guys actually think they can beat the Patriots*? The Pat* defense is looking less than stellar, but that damn Brady and the offense is playing as well as they ever have. So how can our less than stellar defense stop them? And if by some Christmas miracle, the Bills could achieve victory, what does it do for this team's confidence? For the fans confidence in them? Does it once and for all end the doubts about Fitz and Chan? Does it wipe away a bad season? Or is it all just another cruel hoax to make us think this team is getting better when in actuality, they're just losing draft slots? I want to believe.

*slamming hand against computer screen* How do you like them apples?!

I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not. But, I'll take it! It does seem like leveler heads prevailed and a good compromise reached for the betterment of all. For that, I think we can all say good job. Being down there for the initial 4 months, and very much involved in the health and safety effort within the restricted zone as well as lower Manhattan, all I can say is I have very mixed feelings about all of this. On one hand jboyst62 makes some very valid points. On the other, the circumstances down there were quite unique in most every way possible. So, I can't completely just say they had respirators and should have worn them. In the end, I guess I can say that this was one of the more tragic events in America's history and the single most tragic event in many thousands of American's personal lives. Any comfort we, as a nation, can provide; I'm all for it. More than anything... I'm just sick and tired of politicians and pundits, on both sides, politicizing and profiting from the events of that day. Will there be people that try and abuse the bill and profit off of it? As with everything... Yes. But, that shouldn't let us detract from the many that truly do need this bill passed and will hopefully suffer just a little bit less.