The Plunge

Hello fellow Bills fans. This is a public service announcement from those who believe that it's possible to jinx a team. Now, I don't care if you believe in this sort of thing or not. I'm asking you to respect the fans who do. So far this year I've witnessed the following things said by Bills fans: 1. Week 4 (Houston): Bills are the only team in the NFL to have 0 dropped passes by WR's. You said it, a bunch of times, to everyone who would listen, and then we dropped about 8 balls that game. 2. Week 7 (Minnesota): Bills are the only team in the NFL to have NOT allowed a 20 yard run. You said it a bunch of times, to everyone who would listen, and then we allowed not one, but TWO 20 yard runs that game. 3. Week 8 (Jets): Bills haven't allowed a rushing TD yet this year. You said it a bunch of times, to everyone who would listen, and then we allow 3 rushing TD's to the Jets. Are you starting to see a pattern here? 4. This week, someone started a thread called "Who can we least afford to lose to injury". I couldn't f'ing believe this was started. You are just ASKING for an injury. This jinx was so bad, we didn't even need to wait for a game. Sammy goes down in practice. Now, I don't believe this injury is going to keep him out of the lineup for any length of time. But that's not the point. Treat this as a lesson - a jinx is a powerful thing. Would you go to a hockey game and comment on the status of the shutout (ok, bad example Sabres fans - sorry about that), or would you talk about a no-hitter halfway through the 6th inning? Of course not. Because we all know that these are things that a knowledgeable sports fan simply wouldn't do. Have some common sense here people. The next time you learn about an impressive streak or stat with your team. Digest it. Take a minute to be impressed. And then keep it to yourself. Go Bills!

At what point do teams just stop dealing with Eugene Parker? The guy is never interested in a "win-win", he's only interested in getting his client (and himself) a deal that will be instantly regretted by the team who signed him. A bad contract can be a career killer, and that's what may have happened here with Byrd. It won't matter how good he plays. He will have to play WAY better than he ever has to justify that contract. Byrd will wake up one day and realize that he had a pretty good thing in Buffalo. That extra $1.5 million per year may end up costing him a lot more than he thought he gained. I was thrilled when I saw that Dez Bryant fired Parker. It will be great to watch what Jay-Z's agency can do for him. I bet he signs a fair deal (still a LOT) and then makes boatloads in endorsements.

Nope. There has not. I fell in love with this team in the early 90's. But Fred Jackson is my all time favorite player. Not just for what he does on the field, but for stuff like this. He perfectly epitomizes everything that this franchise means to me. If it were up to me, I would make him the first ever player to be put up on the Wall of Fame while still playing. I suspect that most of the league doesn't really understand how great he is. That act might help in getting him the respect he deserves.

How many times have you seen an athlete find success with one team and then never be able to replicate that with a new team? It happens in every sport, and on a regular basis. I firmly believe that the difference between excellence and mediocrity is incredibly fine when we are talking about elite athletes. And these guys, they get the impression that they could find success no matter where they go. There are countless athletes who never make it because they were never put in the right position to succeed, and then the ones who DO succeed take for granted how fortunate they were to find that success in the first place. The difference can be so small and it can come down to things as intangible as chemistry, confidence, a happy family (with the city they live in), time zone, their favorite restaurant or plain old superstition. How many athletes can you think of who've fallen into this category? Let's see how many we can name. Peerless Price. Chris Drury Daniel Briere Paul Kariya Vince Carter Andy Fantuz (CFL) Nate Clements I'm sure I can think of more. There are countless examples of players moving to a new team and never again finding the success they did originally.

I loved Chan for the way he designed his plays and got the most out of his players. I HATED the way he called plays during the game. His situational decisions were just awful. I don't know how many times it would be late in a game, 3rd and short, and he'd line up with an empty backfield and put the game in Fitz's hands. As much as he did for Fitz, I actually think a lot of the big mistakes that Fitz made came from play calls that should've never been called. If there would be a way to get Chan in here, but have someone else either call the plays or veto the play calls when needed, I'd be all for it. I think it would be scary to see what he could do with CJ, Sammy, Woods, Williams and Goodwin. Like, really scary. I hate when a coach gets so set on keeping a certain co-ordinator. I'm a Marrone fan, but a HC is only as good as his co-ordinators and I'm not overly confident that Nate will ever be able to get the most out of our guys. I'd love to be wrong though. There are so many things right with this team. I just want to give them the best possible chance to be great.

Thanks for starting this post. Some of our fans, and most of the media, are just WAITING for this team to have a hiccup so they can jump all over them. I swear, this team could win a superbowl and the first articles written would be about how unlikely it is that we'd repeat. Look around the league. The term "Any Given Sunday" is more applicable than ever. We just lost to a team that HANDLED the Superbowl champs last week. We played a stinker, no doubt. Not one area was good. We lost. We stunk it up and got beat by a very good football team. We did this after playing very well for the previous two. If you read what people are writing, we need to fire everyone and start from scratch. Look, I'm not saying that we can't be upset when we lose. We all have that right as fans. But have some perspective when you get upset. For example, if EJ was starting to give you confidence based on the prior two games, you don't need to lose it all at once because he had a bad game. He's still a young QB. They won't all be good. I promise you, EJ will have a few more bad games. He'll also have some good ones. Tossing him to the curb after his first bad game of the year makes about as much sense as handing him the league MVP trophy after a good game. There is a middle ground here. The fact is, we played a rotten game. We were outcoached. We were outplayed. They were more intense than we were. We had a bunch of penalties that came at horrible times. It wasn't our day. But guess what, NOT EVERY DAY WILL BE OUR DAY! That doesn't mean we need to cancel the rest of the season. We have a chance to go 3-1 in September. I think that's pretty good. Funny thing is, if we DO go 3-1, this message board - the same one pouring gasoline on Ralph Wilson Stadium and a match in their hands - will be planning our Superbowl parade. It's ok to have something in between. Get upset. Get mad. Get happy. Feel however you'd like. But don't be rash. Don't be dumb. And don't forget that it's a long season. Go Bills!

You absolutely have that right. You can hate anyone you want. You could hate people from any race too. You have that right. You live in a country where people can have any view they want, no matter how ignorant it is. We also have the right to point out how ignorant your views are. We can point out that hating someone for being who they are is not really a healthy way to look at the world. Michael Sam chose to be gay the same way you chose to walk on your feet instead of your hands. It makes me really sad that there are still so many people who feel this way. I sincerely wish that one day you will meet someone who can change your opinion and give you some enlightened perspective.

Yup. And only because that's what I think it will take to get him. Reid is licking his chops with this kid. If a third would get it done, then great. I really believe that KC sees him as their future QB and I doubt they'd move him, even now, for a 3rd. My first choice would actually be to do the draft all over again and take him in the 4th or 5th when he was available there. It is completely and total inexuseable that our current management team thought they were "set" at QB with the three on our roster today. Even if that were true, the teams that really "get it" never pass up an opportunity to add more good QB's to their roster. Yet ours told the world "Nope. We're good. We have Thad Lewis and Jeff Tuel! We've got enough great QB's, thank you very much!!"

KC is going to have to do something with one of their QB's. They have 4 right now: Smith, Chase Daniels, Tyler Bray and Aaron Murray. I've read that they love Bray. They obviously aren't going to cut Smith. So that means they will either cut Daniels, or try to put Murray on the PS (assuming they don't keep 4). Daniels has a pretty hefty contract, so I'm guessing he could be had. I would make that move today, no question. Likely wouldn't cost much as they are either going to have to cut him or trade him. They also know that putting Murray on the PS won't fly. He'd get picked off immediately. If any of you watched the game last night, you would have seen what I've been saying for 2 years now: Aaron Murray is a stud. You couldn't see it on the stats line, but he looked fantastic. He had a 60 yard pass play called back on a questionable penalty. He sees the whole field and can make all the throws. I would trade next year's second round pick for him right now. For those of you who roast me on that, please make sure to come back and apologize when he's tearing it up in the league as a starter. He is Drew Brees 2.0. I'll guarantee you, Andy Reid knows he's got a star there and he wouldn't trade him unless someone blows their socks off. I haven't given up on EJ, but we need a better plan B in case he doesn't work out. We don't have that plan B on the roster today and to me, it is the most glaring weakness on the team. I find it frustrating that teams who are set at QB continue to draft more QB's (KC, NE, etc) yet we just sit on our current QB's as though they are definitely "good enough". Really pisses me off actually. If Whaley and Marrone lose their jobs this year, they will look back on what they did in rounds 4 and 5 of this years' draft. They had the chance to draft a very good QB and declined. Critical error, in my opinion. Regardless of how we got here, management has to know that we need to solve this problem and we need to do it now. KC just might be our best option to fill that need.

Ha ha. Maybe I should've just asked for World Peace instead. Ha! Go Bills.

Good Grief. Can we please allow some common sense to enter this conversation??? A few thoughts... 1. Last year, CJ played on ONE LEG. The fact that he gutted it out with a high ankle sprain for the better half of the year should tell you everything you need to know about this guy's desire to win. 2. CJ is in the process of hiring a new agent. He is also heading into a contract year. If he has a big year, this next contract will represent the biggest payday of his life. I don't know about you, but I want that kind of motivation working to my advantage if I'm Whaley and Marrone. 3. At the start of last year, the Bills wanted to build their entire offence around CJ. Now some people are saying that the coaches don't have any use for the guy? Come on guys. Really? 4. None of the other backs represent a home run threat like CJ. The fact that the other team will need to account for that when he is on the field will make it easier for every other player on the Bills offence to succeed. This is not rocket science. 5. In a year where the biggest question mark on this team is the QB position, we may need to rely on our running game even more heavily than we did last year. You know it. I know it. And the coaches know it. Do you honestly think they would take the best back out of their rotation with such a big question mark at QB? I don't. This team is in "win now" mode and CJ is heading into a "produce-now so you can pay me" sort of season. Surely to goodness, we can see that this is a good thing for us, right? I absolutely love the Bills and I'm incredibly proud to be a member of our fan base, but sometimes we are just the worst. The panic our fans feel after a report that someone had an off practice at camp, and the instant confidence we get when someone makes a good play in a preseason game is simply hilarious. Take a breath everyone. It's going to be a long season and we are poised to do some good things. Enjoy it! Go Bills!

That's a great story. Thanks for sharing. It's a lot easier to build a winning culture when you have people who "get it". Go Bills!

That's why you only sell a portion before he died. Locks in the future owner without taking on too much additional tax pain. It could have only been 10-15% of the club. We wouldn't be having this conversation today if that would've happened.

All of this could have been avoided if Ralph would have sold a portion of the team to the next owner. Say what you want about Modell, but that's what he did in Baltimore. Ralph could have chosen his next owner, sold them 49% a couple of years ago and then would have the sale completed upon his death. Instead, he left us with this mess. Sure, he put provisions in place so that it would be DIFFICULT to move the team, but not IMPOSSIBLE. And with $Billions at stake, it is likely that we will see more than a few predators attempt to buy this club with the intention of moving them. I know I'm going to get roasted for this. That's fine. But IF it turns out that someone buys the club and moves them, it will be because Ralph left the door open for that to happen. Knowing that I'm going to get roasted, let me save you the trouble: You idiot. Ralph did everything he could to keep them here. It's not his fault that a group from Toronto overpaid for the team. How was he supposed to know that someone would willingly pay the $400 million to move the club? Right. Because Ralph had NO IDEA that that people like the Roger's family would pay whatever it took to get an NFL team in Toronto. He had NO IDEA that there is literally a lineup of billionaires who have dreamt of owning an NFL team. He had NO IDEA that an overpayment for the Bills plus a $400 million penalty might actually be CHEAPER than getting an expansion franchise, if that option ever presents itself. You idiot. Ralph did everything he could to keep the team in Buffalo. It's not his fault that nobody from Buffalo could compete with the offers from other regions! Right. Because Ralph was completely unaware that a franchise in Buffalo would be worth less than a franchise in Toronto or LA. He knew that this discrepancy would do NOTHING to the bidding process on the club. You idiot. Ralph had no choice but to sell the team to the highest bidder after his death. Right. Because this process is the way that every other owner of a sports franchise has taken. Oh wait. NO IT'S NOT!!! There have been dozens and dozens of cases where an elderly owner had to worry about capital gains and estate taxes and STILL found a way to sell their franchise in a different way. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. THIS PROCESS IS DESIGNED TO DRIVE UP THE VALUE OF THE FRANCHISE, SUBSTANTIALLY. It will do one of two things, drive up the price to the point where nobody in Buffalo can afford to match it, or drive up the price to the point where the new Buffalo owner will be forced to overpay and put the club under financial strain right from day one. You idiot. The other owners still need to approve the move. They would NEVER approve a move to a city like Toronto! Right. Because all of the extra revenue that would come to the league by being in a market with 6 times the population, 10 times the corporate support and the potential for HUGE television contracts will have no appeal to the other owners. Do you think Bob Kraft will give two sh*ts about the blood on his hands by approving a move when he sees how much more money he and the other owners would make? Good grief. Sorry to be a jerk, but I'm pissed off. We shouldn't be having these conversations. Billionaires got to be billionaires because they are opportunistic and have figured out ways to get deals done that were tricky and full of challenges. In order to keep these predators out of this process, Ralph needed to make it AIR TIGHT. The only way to do that was to choose an owner before he died and sell off a portion before opening the door for this mess. Again, I know I'm going to get roasted for this. But I needed to say it. I love the Bills and even though I don't live in Buffalo, it would break my heart to see them move. It would be a tragedy and the thought of it makes me physically sick. I am not saying that the Bills WILL move. Not at all. But I'm saying that Ralph has left that door ajar and that in itself is inexcusable, in my opinion. Go Bills

When the Bills hired Coach Marrone, this article stood out to me: http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootball/index.ssf/2013/01/new_buffalo_bills_coach_doug_m.html "The Bronx native immediately set out to change the culture of the Orange program — instituting a discipline and dress code that was an abrupt departure from the previous coaching staff. More than 20 players left the SU program during Marrone’s first 15 months on the job." I believe that it is virtually impossible to win without great culture. People might say that, but not many people actually understand what great culture looks like. Well I'll tell you: Great culture is achieved when people with similar values align themselves to accomplish something great. People also misuse the term "values". They will substitute it for words like "integrity" or "morals". Values are not about right or wrong. Values are about defining what is important to you. For instance, maybe I value apple juice, and you value orange juice. That doesn't mean one is better than the other, it means that this one is important to me, and that one is important to you. Doug Marrone is doing in Buffalo is EXACTLY why he was brought here. He is building a great culture. The news about Stevie Johnson is tough to swallow. He was one of my favourite players. But how many times did we hear rumblings that he just wasn't fitting in properly? Or that he couldn't quite get on the same page with this coaching staff? If I had to guess, it's not that Stevie wasn't a good teammate, or a good player, but rather he just looked at the world a little bit differently than everyone else did. Tough to win when one of your most important players is dancing to a different beat than the rest of your team. I'm not saying thats what happen, I don't know and neither do you. Just an assumption on my part. I would also guess that Byrd was doing some damage to the culture. I don't blame him for holding out for more money. But I do think his situation was a distraction that had a negative effect on the locker room. This presents a bit of a double edged sword for me as a Bills fan. Stevie and Byrd were two of my favourite players. But if they didn't fit in to the culture properly, then it is good that they were let go. You can't win without great culture and great culture ALWAYS starts at the top. I hate to see these players go, but if this is what it takes to win, then I am all for it. I'm sure I'll get bashed for this one. Bash away! And if you want to tweet at me, get me at @ElPlungeo Go Bills!

I predict that they will trade down and draft Marquise Lee.

I don't know why everyone is getting so heated about this. My dad died of cancer and one of the things that was re-enforced to me over that time was that everyone has a choice. A choice on how they want to live their life. A choice on how they deal with adversity. And in this case, a choice in how they want to treat this horrible disease. For anyone to be critical of someone else's choice is seriously inappropriate because it's not YOUR choice. I don't blame people in the medical world for believing in the path that they recommend. And I also don't think there is anything wrong with exploring alternative treatments. The truth is, nobody has "the cure" yet. There have been successes from a number of different sources. The most important thing, in my mind, is giving the patient and their family a number of options for them to choose from so that they can make THE CHOICE that is right for them. It is absolutely critical for the patient to believe and be 100% committed that their choice for treatment is going to work. Because I can tell you, if there is doubt, you have no chance. Please stop being so critical of each other on this topic. There is absolutely nothing wrong with exploring options. And for those of you in the medical profession, as soon as you have the cure that works 100% of the time, you will have every right to tell people that the alternatives are crazy. Until then, please respect the desire for people to try it their way. It's their body and their life. Their choice. "If we don't change directions, we'll end up where we're going." Chinese proverb.

Many agree that if Lee were eligible for the draft last year, he would have been a top 10 pick for sure. Maybe top 5. Comparing him to Woods simply because they went to the same school is just silly.

Many people forget that Marquise Lee was arguably the best WR in college football in 2012. Last year was a disaster for him. Nagging injuries. Team had some issues. Certainly an off year. Take a look at his highlights from 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAWJ2FRTRFg If you knew you were getting the Lee from 2012, would you take him? I think I would. None of his injuries in 2013 were major. Just the nagging variety. When you look at what it would cost us to move up, I have a very hard time justifying the cost, particularly in a year where the draft appears to be a very good one in rounds 2-4. I just don't want to see the Bills part with those picks. In fact, I'd love to see them acquire an extra one if possible. I firmly believe that trading down a few spots to take Lee + an extra 2nd rounder is a significantly better move than trading up for Watkins and LOSING a 2nd rounder. Just one man's opinion. I'm sure I'll get roasted for it, but thought I'd put it on the record anyway! Go Bills.

Think about this for a second... Question 1. What do they gain by telling the truth about this? Answer: Absolutely NOTHING. Question 2. What do they have to gain by lying about this? Answer: Potentially, a lot! Lets say that the guy they really want is Manziel. Or Mack. Or whoever. By leaking that Carr is their guy, they reduce the odds of someone leapfrogging over them to take the guy they want! I would assume that the guy they really want is Manziel. And this smokescreen is likely designed to fool either Oakland or Minny. If they can convince Oakland and Minny that they are taking Carr, then they are unlikely to trade up with Jax or St. Louis. I could be way off on this, but it if we were to look at this from the perspective of Cleveland's motivation, that theory would make sense. That said, it would be GREAT if that is actually what they are planning on doing. If 2 QB's are taken in the top 8, it sure makes our draft pick at 9 a lot sweeter! Go Bills.

Yup. Me too.

You make a great point. So much of a player's success is dependant on the supporting cast around them. There are a pile of HOF'ers that got lucky early on in their career by being in the right place at the right time. Also, you could probably find a number of players who WOULD'VE been good, if only they were on a different team. I always thought Lee Evans, for example, would've been an all world WR if he had been drafted by Indy instead of Buffalo. I also agree that they seem committed to EJ. But what if EJ isn't the guy? How long do they wait? I know there is speculation about getting another back-up to play behind EJ. We already have a SERVICEABLE back up in Lewis, but Lewis isn't going to be a long term option as a starter (IMO). I would like a back-up who has the potential to be the MAN if it is ultimately determined that EJ isn't the right guy. In order to do this, you need to draft someone with long term starter POTENTIAL, and get that guy in a mid to late round so that he doesn't create an unwanted QB controversy on day one. I believe Murray does that. Many experts believe that Murray COULD be a very good QB. If we can get him in the 4th round, it would be absolutely perfect. Scenario #1: EJ turns out to be the man. We've spent a 4th rounder on a back-up QB. Good idea. Scenario #2: EJ eventually turns out to be no good. We have a QB with POTENTIAL waiting, preparing to play. You give him the shot at being the man before spending another 1st rounder on a possible QB - an experiment that will take 2-3 years before a conclusive answer. All I know is this: you can't possibly win in this league on a regular basis without having a QB who understands how to play the game and is capable of making all of the throws. I am cheering hard for EJ to be that guy. But I want a plan B. And that plan B needs to have the potential to be the long term solution at the QB position. In what is one of the deeper QB drafts in a while, I believe this year represents an ideal scenario to add a QB in the 3rd-5th round who could ultimately be a key part of this franchise, should EJ falter. By the way, I have intentionally avoided being active on message boards because I have seen too many ridiculous conversations on here. This is really the first time I've weighed in. This has been a well thought out, enlightened debate between some intelligent football fans. Thanks guys! I'm really enjoying this! Go Bills!

Ha ha!

Would you like to guess at Kaep's hand size? I'll give you a hint. It's EXACTLY the same size as Aaron Murray! Newton's hands are 9 7/8"s. So 3/4 of an inch larger. Can't seem to find the number on Ben.

That's a very interesting point. One I had not yet considered. I know that one of the things that they liked about EJ was that he has big hands. Great insight! But let's dig in on that. With EJ you have a guy with big hands, lots of raw ability, but has some serious short-comings (most notably, accuracy on passes downfield that require a bit of touch). For me, I'd place more weight on the skills required to read a defence and throw it accurately downfield than I do on someone's ability to hold onto the ball in the snow. How long has it been since we had a QB that TRULY understood how to play the position? That's what draws me to Murray. He sees the field, makes great decisions, knows where every player on the field is and can throw it downfield. That is what I look for in a QB. I place more weight on that than I would on any combine stat, height, or hand size. But that's just me. Also, should be noted that Blake Bortles hands are 9 3/8"s. Not much bigger.