Jump to content

BarleyNY

Community Member
  • Posts

    10,403
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by BarleyNY

  1. I tend to agree with this, despite the source:

     

    James Walker, Miami Dolphins reporter: It's interesting that Rich Cimini, Mike Rodak and I have experience covering Ryan over the years. I covered Ryan at two different stops -- first as defensive coordinator of the[/size]Baltimore Ravens while reporting on the AFC North and later as head coach of the Jets while reporting on the AFC East. He has always been the same person -- a confident, outgoing coach. That won't change, and I don't view that as an issue. The problem is Ryan, for one year at least, lost his knack for getting the most out of his defensive talent. This was (and is) his biggest strength. I watched Ryan turn average players into solid players (Jim Leonhard), solid players into great players ([/size]Antonio Cromartie, Bart Scott) and star players into future Hall of Famers ([/size]Darrelle Revis, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis). Which Bills defensive player got significantly better last season under Ryan's tutelage? Maybe [/size]Ronald Darby, who was a rookie? Ryan knows he must get back to that. He is still a great defensive coach, and I view last season as a one-year exception.[/size]

     

    http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/24938/afc-east-qa-is-it-time-to-question-rex-ryans-coaching-style

    That's interesting. I hope it works out that way.

  2. we are dangerously close to Sparty becoming a bigger rival than the maize and blue. Never thought it would happen. All of harbaugh's talk and hype landed with a big thud last November. If he can't back it up he will be a joke. This is their big chance and at this point their relevancy is due to the Khaki-Cam, stupid tweets and silly recruiting tactics. They are selling tickets again and the hype is high with their fans. 42-13 must have been a giant buzzkill but he's got hopes up again. Too bad they didn't come to Cbus last year instead of this year for the The Game. Would have been a much better set up for him. My favorite moment after the huge celebrity bash he threw for NSD with Rick Flair, Brady, Jeter, etc. where he acted like the recruiting class had actually won something ... A reporter asked Urban how Osu was going to do to celebrate NSD. He said "Practice."

    That's awesome. You're right in the heart of this so you'd sure know what's happening. I remember the Cooper years (I was a freshman for Earl Bruce's last year). So many years of doing so poorly against scUM sucked beyond belief. Ditto hearing scUM fans with their condescending attitudes about the rivalry and longing for the days when it was more competitive. Yuck. I will never root for a competitive rivalry with scUM. I want us to roll them every single year. If that means MSU takes their place as our main rival, so be it.

     

    As for Harbaugh, I don't know what he'll do there. He's had success in college and the pros, but he's never lasted more than 4 years anywhere. Until I see otherwise my expectations are that he'll do the same there. He'll improve the team, maybe even turn them around - and then move on.

  3. He is the Rex Ryan of CFB because of the media obsession with him and his clown antics. Climbing trees at recruits houses and sleepovers, his celebrity soirée for NSD, wearing the jerseys of local stars at his 7500 satellite camps - it's the definition of trying too hard. Subtweeting at Saban and urban calling them out, even though they have seven titles to his zero. Next he will probably jump out of a plane like Rex. They are kings of the offseason.

    I should have said Harbaugh was Belichik and Michigan were the Pats? Bills are Osu? Yes, that would indeed go in the unpopular opinion thread. Michigan has beaten Osu once in the last 13 years and that was the year Osu had their LBs coach as the interim HC and went 6-6. And they still almost lost. The absolute pounding Harbaugh took at home to Osu (after being favored!) reminded me of what the Patriots did to the Bills at home after the Bills were favored. I can't think of anything Harbaugh is doing that reminds me of Belichik, sorry.

    It's up to him to prove me wrong. I didn't say he wasn't a good coach, but I didn't say Rex wasn't a good coach either. I said they both have proven they can win off season hype and media attention, and the rest we are waiting on. He needs to show he can beat Sparty and Osu just as Rex needs to show he can beat the Pats.

    By the way, I don't "hate" Michigan or harbaugh. I just want them to actually do something. We need them to be better than they are for the rivalry and for the conference. I haven't hated Michigan since the 90s.

    I agree, Yolo - except I do hate scUM. Jim Harbaugh comes off as insincere to me. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a very good coach and he's sure had some success. But he's never stayed anywhere for long. Some combination of his desire to move up/on and him wearing out his welcome seem to be the reasons. His schtick and antics do seem to wear thin after awhile.

  4. Watkins will need to be paid, but not next year. He's a FA in 2019. 5th year option will be 2018 though and not cheap. It does look like Gilmore could be the odd man out if TT earns his deal and as much as I like Gilmore, it is what I'm hoping for. Nothing is more important than the success and solidification of the QB position on this team.

    Obviously if they can find a way to pay both Gilmore and TT that is ideal, but it's not realistic if they both want top dollar.

    Yeah. We will be having the same discussion about Wakins in 2018 as we are about Gilbert now. Gilbert's going to get paid North of $13M/yr, but South of $15M/yr. it'll be interesting to see where the final contract lands. That'll leave enough to pay (or tag) Taylor if he earns a big deal. It'll be a nice problem to have if he does.

  5. In order?

    This is not in any specific order, but I'll do that later if you want:

     

    1- Sammy Watkins

    2- Marcell Dareus

    3- LeSean McCoy

    4- Stephon Gilmore

    5- Jerry Hughes

    6- Cordy Glenn

    7- Richie Incognito

    8- Ronald Darby

    9- Kyle Williams

    10- Tyrod Taylor

     

    I struggled with the last spot. It could have gone a lot of ways, but I used positional importance as the tiebreaker.

  6. I like Chef's, but it's definitely overrated as far as Italian food goes. If you're looking for homestyle Italian, Romeo & Juliet's, Mulberry's, and Carmine's (which I'm told will re-open next year) are all pretty solid. For upscale Italian, you can't beat Lombardo or Trattoria Aroma, unless you're wanting pasta--Sinatra's has the best pasta in the area.

     

    Then there are the places that deftly combine solid Italian food and incredible drinks--Cecilia's and Vera Pizzaeria. Cecilia's is the go-to for Martini lovers, whereas Vera is a must if your'e a craft cocktail guy.

    Thanks for the recomendations. I do like Trattoria Aroma (fresh pasta!) a lot and R&J's is always good. Buffalo seems to like their red sauce very sweet and Chef's is the sweetest in town. Natives seem to love it, but transplants don't nearly as much. Just a regional thing I guess. You're not the first person to recommend Sinatra's. That's next on my list.

  7. Thanks for the incredibly detailed review. I saw it pretty much the same way. There was excellent variety, including some things you just don't see elsewhere (I really enjoyed the lavender g&t I had) and the tapas sharing is always fun, but some dishes weren't as good as others. Also I'm a value shopper and I felt the prices were a bit high for what we got in value. I'll go back again, but I'm not in a huge hurry.

  8. Probably not. There are things a coach can do that warrant firing in 2 years - or even less. If a coach loses the lockerroom or shows himself to be incapable of doing the job, then that coach has to go. In those cases, the sooner the better. Rex probably won't do either so I expect him to be here in 2017. If he does lose the team or the team implodes and has a horrible season, then he has to go. I can even think of scenarios where he stays after a horrible season.

  9. Do you think people in Cleveland say the same about the Bills and Buffalo?

    Living in Cleveland and Columbus for most of my life (I'm 47) there was never any animosity for Buffalo or the Bills. Clevelanders pretty much saw Buffalo as another town going through the same Rust Belt stuff they were dealing with. Buffalo was a little smaller of a city, got even more snow and had a bit worse weather in general, but was pretty much seen as a kindred spirit. That held true with sports teams. Buffalo was really the only city that suffered close to what Cleveland dealt with. No NBA in Buffalo, no NHL in Cleveland and the Bisons were the Indians AAA team for a long time. The Bills and Browns didn't really ever have a rivalry. I can't ever remember them crossing paths in big games. It always seemed like when one was good the other wasn't. The only exception is over the last few years when the two teams have had some tough games. I've seen the fans on both sides get chippy. The game where both Hoyer and Manuel were injured was a big part of that.

  10. Nothing is worse then a Brown, I hope they never have success not only b.c they are in the AFC but b.c I hate everything about them. Haslam the owner is a dirtbag and I hope he keeps making decisions that hurt the team.

    Everything you've got is very weak, except for the Haslam bit. He is a scumbag and a crook. Just not sure how you throw the team, the fans and the whole city under the bus with him.

  11. So you don't care being lumped in with a piece of crap team like the Browns? Or a place like Cleveland?

    Having lived in both, I can't see how you can think Cleveland is terrible but like Buffalo. B-lo is largely just a smaller version of C-town. The are differences, but they aren't that big. As for the Bills, of late they haven't exactly been a great team - or that much better than the Browns for that matter. Over the last 15 years the Bills have exactly 15 more wins than the Browns - and one less playoff appearance. Having an average of one more win a year is better to be sure, but it doesn't exactly separate the Bills from the Browns by a lot.

  12. Glenn was a 2nd round pick. Peters was an undrafted FA. LTs that suffice can be found.

     

    History is clear--bad and mediocre teams paying top dollar (or drafting high in the first round) for LTs never get value.

     

    Wow. Using Peters as your example is like saying the Bills should just draft their HoF QB in the 6th round like the Pats did.

     

    And you actually said that "bad and mediocre teams" don't get value from paying top dollar to LTs. Do they get value from paying anyone any amount since they're bad/mediocre teams? What about good and great teams that pay top dollar to their CBs and LTs? Do they get value?

     

    And I don't even totally disagree about OTs. It's better to have two very solid OTs than one great one and one sub-mediocre one. Exceptional OTs are a luxury. But your reasoning and over-statements are terrible.

  13. I always wondered why they moved the ball back up to the 35 instead of something else. Why didn't they just keep the ball at the 30, but eliminate the run up by everyone but the kicker? They could have even written the rule as allowing only on player to be able to run up. On normal KOs that player would be the kicker, on onsides KOs it could be one of the coverage players.

     

    At this point, the time after a TD is becoming the worst part of the game. Review time (which is the absolute worst part of a game), XP (second worst unless teams are going for 2) and KO (third worst). It's getting brutal.

×
×
  • Create New...