msw2112

I have no interest in the hype, lead up, etc. I have not and will not watch any of the coverage. Once kickoff comes, I will watch. Although I don't love the matchup and I detest both fanbases, I am a football junkie and this is the last game to see for months. Also, although I am not a fan of Philly teams, I like some of the Philly coaches. Pederson seems like a decent guy and a good coach, and I would like to see Reich and Schwartz win a SB. Finally, I look forward to getting together with friends, eating, drinking, etc. It's an event and an excuse to be social on a Sunday evening, when I might otherwise be doing something around the house that is not fun.

I'd draft Rosen. I think he's the best QB available. Darnold concerns me, as we have seen other highly touted USC QB's fail (Leinart, Barkley, Sanchez), plus he didn't have a particularly good season. Rosen's team wasn't very good this year, but his individual play was impressive. He has great arm talent and while his personality/attitude raise some questions, he may have some Jim Kelly type of swagger to him. He's also a bright guy. Allen is too big of a crapshoot, as although he has the measurables, he hasn't played against a high level of competition and has not shown that much in the games he has played. Mayfield has swagger and some Russell Wilson type of ability, but he also has some Johnny Manziel in him. If Mayfield is the guy we really want, I would trade back.

Didn't Dennison work under Kubiak for a number of years? Given that relationship, I doubt that Kubiak would be interested in a job that was created by the firing of one of "his" guys. Just my gut feeling on the topic.

As a Bills fan, I found the game entertaining. Any game in which I care about one of the teams and the teams are within one score for the entire game has drama and pressure. I was on the edge of my seat and nervous the entire game. That said, if I was not a Bills (or Jags) fan, I would have likely found the game to be boring and borderline unwatchable.

While Watson has some valid points, you can't live your entire life in the negative. The Bills accomplishment means a lot to a lot of people, it's a source of civic pride, and hey, winning football is fun! We can enjoy the Bills success AND also be concerned about the many issues facing the Buffalo community, the United States and the world.

Kudos to the front office for this excellent FA acquisition. These are the kind of FA moves that really improve a team (Poyer, Hyde). Signing 4th string guys and camp fodder is necessary, but usually doesn't improve the team and the big time FA investments (see Mario Williams) usually leave you in salary cap hell. Let's hope to see more of these kinds of effective signings in the offseason, plus a good draft with all of the capital we have. These supplements to a solid team with a winning record and a playoff appearance bodes well for the future. As a side note, if Benjamin can get healthy for next year and Gaines re-signs and can get/stay healthy, these acquisitions will also reflect very well on the front office.

I never liked the Bills' version of Shout, as it sounds like it was recorded by a high school band or a low budget marketing firm, which it probably was. It's just a terrible production. That said, it is part of the fabric of the Bills history/culture and needs to remain. The train whistle is horrible and annoys me every time. It is recent enough that I don't view it a part of Bills history/culture and would be glad if they got rid of it. I have a special place in my heart for Talkin' Proud. It was big when I was growing up and I like it. We actually spun it at my wedding and it drew crowds to the dance floor and was the "wildest" song of the night. And my wedding was in Chicago.... We did have something like 6 hours of open bar, so that might have had something to do with it. I gave a copy of Talkin' Proud to Mike, the owner of Delilah's, the Bills bar in Chicago. They play it at various times during Bills games and people love it. The best part is when everyone "rings the bell." Once again, it may have something to do with the amount of booze that flows there. (They also play Shout after every TD and everyone goes crazy).

Taylor is a good QB. He is not a great QB. He is a good fit for a team with a strong defense and a good running game. He can move the chains and not turn the ball over. He throws a good deep ball. He does not "throw receivers open" and he does not "throw to a spot." He is not a great passing QB and he cannot "make all the throws." His elusiveness and running ability picks up a lot of first downs and compensates for his unwillingness to release the ball before a guy is open. Thus, I think he is a good QB, but he is limited. He is good in a system that is designed to work with his skill set. He played very poorly last Sunday and took too many sacks against the Jests. I'll go there - if Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer can be Super Bowl winning QBs, so can Taylor. But he has to be in the right situation. Maybe with a different OC, it might work, but we have who we have and it isn't working. The current Bills team is not the right situation and the team is making the right move to see what Peterman has. We will not get any compensation for him because the trading deadline has passed and teams already know that we will be moving on from him in the offseason. Might someone give us a 6th or 7th before the cut deadline to secure his rights? Maybe, but we are not getting compensation to the his value as a player (a starter in the right environment and a solid backup in pretty much any environment). I'm supportive of the move to Peterman, but I am not supportive of those on this board who want to crap all over Tyrod. Why? What benefit do they gain from it? Tyrod is a classy guy who is a good team player, works hard and gives his all. Yes, he gets paid to do those things, but many others get paid to do those things and don't. Go ahead and crap on the guys who beat their wives, are lazy, knowingly take drugs when they know they risk getting suspended, etc. I wish Tyrod well. Go Nate! I will be there Sunday and look forward to him getting the ball out quickly to his big WR's and forcing the Chargers to take the 8th man out of the box, which will open up the running game for Shady!

I live out west now and these WS games are brutal. I'm still at work when they start, so I record them on the DVR. I get home from work, feed the kids dinner, put them to bed and prep them for school the next day (with some help from the wife), then start watching the games on DVR around 9 PM. Even though I can fast forward through the commercials, it still is 11, 12, 1 or later by the time the game are over. I either fall asleep before the end or I stay up so late that I am a zombie the next day. In the past, I just gave up on playoff baseball. This year, because I like the Yankees and because the games have been so exciting and competitive, I have toughed it out and watched them all. I'm a zombie all the time! And it's even worse when I have to double up with a NFL game and/or a Sabres game - now I try to watch TWO games on tape after 9 PM. Tonight is another double-header - Bills-Jests on TV and Sabres are in Arizona to play the Coyotes. I have lower bowl seats near the faceoff circle on the side the Sabres shoot twice. Still working on a plan to watch the Bills game too. Can catch the first quarter/most of first half prior to the puck drop, then may stream the rest on my phone at the hockey game or record and watch when I get home. I have NO IDEA how I can be in a building with 5,000 or so Buffalo sports fans and not know the outcome of the Bills game, but that would be ideal. Enjoy the Sabres live, then get home and watch the rest of the Bills game via DVR on the couch. And I'll be up late and be a zombie again tomorrow! The suffering we go through to be a sports fan - and particularly a Buffalo sports fan!

This chapter meets at a place called Pullano's. It's a casual Italian restaurant and sports bar. They have some of the best wings you will find outside of Buffalo (and the best I have had in Arizona), good pizza, beef on weck and an active Bills chapter. Pullano's is in a western suburb of Phoenix called Glendale, very close to the western border of Phoenix. Depending on where you are in Surprise, it's about a 30 minute drive, give or take a few minutes. I would recommend it if you don't mind venturing a little bit outside of Surprise.

I think that this was true (lack of jobs) 20 or 30 years ago, maybe even 10 years ago. Many left a long time ago for education and jobs and ended up settled elsewhere, established careers elsewhere, met their spouses and started families elsewhere, etc. I am one of those people. I have always loved Buffalo, always will, visit annually, etc. Both my wife (who is not from WNY) and I love it and would love to live and raise a family there, but we are established elsewhere and cannot make the move at this point in our lives. We have to rely on visiting friends, Sunday Ticket, and Two Bills Drive!

26CornerBlitz, on 28 Sept 2017 - 4:41 PM, said: Thanks for the tips. I always look to this board for good info on Directv. I just called and no such luck for me. They were very nice, but did note that I am already getting free Sunday Ticket and $55 off my bill for 12 months (and I'm getting another $20 off for 12 months that they didn't mention, as well as free HBO and discounted Showtime), so I wasn't going to push my luck. The truth is that I usually don't even look into the NHL package until after the Super Bowl. I love watching so much NFL, college football and now baseball playoffs that there just aren't enough hours left to watch all of the early season Sabres games too. The games don't really get meaningful until later in the season and by then, I can tell if the team is a contender or not. Plus, I'm not quite ready to get divorced! Good luck to the rest of you. And, yes, given that NHL Center Ice has a free preview this week, I am recording the Sabres opener and will probably watch it tonight after the family goes to bed.

Coleman's spot IN THE ROTATION will go to Dareus and/or Worthy. That would not be an incorrect statement. No need to bash anyone. As to Coleman's spot on the 53 man roster, I have no idea, but there are a number of areas where we could use some depth, we could elevate someone from the Practice Squad and we have a couple of guys coming back from suspension in the coming weeks. Most of this has been said in bits and pieces in earlier comments.

I have not heard the interview, but he sounds like a character guy that fits in nicely with what McD is trying to build. And he isn't devoid of talent. He doesn't have the same upside as Watkins, but if he can stay healthy and not be a negative distraction with his public comments, perhaps he may be a better fit than Watkins. While I think that many of Sammy's past comments were overblown, it still isn't a good look when a millionaire athlete comes out publicly to talk about being underpaid, or calling the fans stupid. While I realize that Matthews wasn't traded one-for-one for Sammy, with one WR and one CB being shipped out and another WR and another CB (along with two fairly high draft picks, of course), coming back on the same day, it is functionally a swap.

Everyone heals differently. Some guys heal in a few months and others take a full year. For some guys, they are good enough to go after 1 year, but are not back to their full capacity until the 2nd year. I have nothing against Ragland personally and I wish him well in his career. I hope his knee heals to 100% and he can have a productive NFL career. I also hope the Chiefs do very poorly, as we now have TWO draft picks coming from them. I liked Ragland as a draft pick and think he has potential to be a good NFL player in a 3-4 defense. The Bills had two good reasons to make this trade: 1) he's a 3-4 LB and the Bills will be running a 4-3 for at least the next 2-3 years. Just not a fit. 2) he's coming off of an injury and even if a better fit for the scheme, he doesn't appear to be at 100%. He may never get back to being the player he was. Getting a mid-round pick was reasonable value under these circumstances.

THIS

Pre-Pegula, I was afraid of a rebuild. If the team is terrible (2-14, let's say), attendance drops, interest drops, merchandise sales drop, etc. - revenue drops. Under those circumstances, a move to a bigger market looks more attractive. By moving to a new market, you have the novelty factor selling tickets, plus a bigger market would have higher costs for tickets, parking and concessions, all of which bring in more dollars and make a move more attractive to a bidder for the team after Ralph Wilson dies. When the team is somewhat competitive, shows some rays of hope and can at least win a few games, Buffalo fans will fill the stadium, making a move to a bigger market more of a financial risk and less attractive. Now that Pegula owns the team and it isn't going anywhere, plus the fact that there is a new coach & GM who will be given 2-3 years to sink or swim, the time is much more appropriate for a rebuild. Personally, I could go either way. Drafting a QB in the top 10 really necessarily mean that much. Look at the Blaine Gabberts, Blake Bortles, Jared Goffs, RG3s and Jake Lockers of the world. Not to mention David Carr, JaMarcus Russell, Matt Leinart and others. It's a crap shoot. Darnold could turn out to be a bust and Rosen be a star. Maybe both will be busts and the kid from New Mexico State is a star. Sometimes the better QBs are found a little later, such as Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Brady, etc. Tanking may or may not get the desired results. That said, nothing else has worked, so I'd be willing to go in for a little bit of Darcy Regier style suffering. I also won't be upset if they don't. Maybe McDermott puts together a great defense, they run the ball well, and squeeze just enough out of the passing game to be competitive. I guess that's why I watch every year....I should note that I was confident that they wouldn't go far under Rex. He's a buffoon and his lack of success his last several years with the Jests left no doubts. But you know what, I still watched. Like most of us, I am a bit of an addict.

I used to love Endberg and Trumpy. Also, Don Criqui was a favorite. Not only because he's a Buffalo-area native, but also because he was very good.

@schopptalk First four CBS crews, #Bills games: Wk 1 NYJ: Harlan/Gannon/Tasker Wk 2 Car: Harlan/Gannon Wk 3 DEN: Dedes/Archuleta Wk 4 Atl: Gumbel/Green I can't even express how much I dislike Spero Dedes. He routinely makes comments that are patently incorrect and it annoys me to no end. I'm not a big Harlan fan either, but he's OK. Gannon is pretty good in the color role and Tasker gets a pass because he's a Bills great. Gumbel is great and I enjoy when he calls the game. If Archuleta was partnered with Dedes last year, I can't stand him either, but I cannot recall if that was the case or if they are a new pairing. I think Green (is that Trent Green?) is OK. It always amazes me with all of the sports fans in the country and all of the kids who graduate from communications/broadcasting school every year that the major sports networks cannot find better talent than they do. Same thing on the color side - there are so many former players and coaches out there, yet some of the ones that call games are absolutely terrible.

The Lofton comparisons are because both are veteran WRs who signed with the Bills at the tail ends of their careers. That's it. It has nothing to do with speed, toughness, route running, style of play, etc. I can't speak for others, but the comment in my post on this topic started with "I know they play different styles..." I believe that I also said somewhere that I would be thrilled to see Boldin have the kind of success that Lofton had. Lofton, in my opinion, was very successful in his stint with the Bills. He was a very productive contributor that made a lot of positive plays for the team. Based on what has come out so far, Boldin is already making a positive contribution, which is fantastic.

While $2.75M + incentives is a decent chunk of money, it's a one year deal and we have the cap space. At this stage of the game, there are not going to be a lot of big money signings, so it's a wise, low-risk use of the cap space that we have. I'm far from a salary cap expert, but I believe that this contract will have zero impact beyond this season. I'm pleased with the signing and think that Boldin will be a good addition to the roster. I just don't see it as a major event. I have two reasons to think he may not have a lot left. 1) He is a year older. While every guy is different, it is often the case where a guy in his late 30's/early 40's is playing great one day and he wakes up the next day and it's just gone. 2) The Lions elected not to re-sign him after a very productive season last year. BUT, please don't take this the wrong way. I'm pleased with the acquisition and I would be thrilled to see Boldin put up numbers similar to last season. If he does that, it will be a fantastic signing. His style of play is different and he doesn't have the same type of QB throwing to him, but wouldn't it be great to see something like what happened when James Lofton signed with the Bills at the tail end of his career?

Let's not overreact to the Boldin signing. He's a nice 1 year, low risk, veteran depth signing. If he has nothing left in the tank, his salary isn't prohibitive and he is a veteran presence in the locker room and on the sideline. If he has a little bit left, even better. He can help make a few first downs and catch some balls in the red zone. No need for major excitement nor for alarm about the direction of the franchise.

Maybe a thank you to Doug Whaley and his staff will be in order for this one. We'll see. Let's hope he's the TE version of Terrelle Pryor. Thomas was a pretty good, athletic college QB (at VA Tech), but not a very good NFL QB. He's bigger and heavier (and presumably a bit slower) than Pryor (a pretty good, athletic QB at Ohio State, but not a very good NFL QB), but, generally speaking TEs are bigger, heavier and slower than WRs. Pryor has developed into a very good NFL WR, so let's hope that Thomas can similarly develop into a very good NFL TE.

Don't forget Kevin Kolb slipping on the rubber mat and never appearing again.

Over the past 5-6 years as a DTV customer, I have had a random collection of $5 and $10 monthly credits that kept my cost low - under $100 for one of their higher packages, a HD DVR/Genie, three additional TVs, and one premium channel. At that level, I was happy doing the annual call and getting Sunday Ticket or MAX for half-price or free Ticket with $100 for MAX. I really enjoy Sunday Ticket and always get $100-$180 of value out of it. This year, my discounts slowly expired over time and my bill had escalated to over $150 per month. I called a few times during the course of the year and was advised that my contract was going to run out at the end of July and that I would then be eligible for $50 off per month and likely a great deal on Sunday Ticket. The rep told me she would call me last Thursday with my "great offer." She never called, so on Friday, I called them and got to Retention. For those of you that do this every year, you probably know within 10 seconds whether the rep is going to help you or not. The rep that I got offered me $55 off per month, but had "no offers on Sunday Ticket." I asked if he could get his supervisor and he said "my supervisor is on a call and has been all day." Seeing that I was getting nowhere with this ass clown, I asked him to notate the account of the $55 offer and that I would decline it for now and would try back another time. I called back about an hour later and decided to go with a "regular" rep, then work my way to Retention (now called Customer Loyalty). She immediately got me over to Loyalty. The guy who answered was really friendly. I told him I was looking for the $55 discount, plus "a great deal on Sunday Ticket." He asked what team I liked and I told him the Bills. He started talking about how he was from Alabama, but used to love watching Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly. I figured I had a winner and dropped a couple of Crimson Tide comments (which he liked). He took a brief break and came back with the news that I had free "Regular" ticket. I was happy, but asked if he could try to get me "MAX." He took a brief break and came back with a $96 charge for MAX, which he would offset with a $96 credit. He also gave me about $35 in one-time credits to lower my current month's $150+ bill. In exchange, I had to agree to a one year contract. I willingly took this, as my cost is now back below $100 per month, plus free Sunday Ticket MAX AND I am again out of contract at the end of July next summer, right around the time for Sunday Ticket renewal. I am extremely happy with this result! My advice to others: 1) Consider your leverage. If you are still in a contract, you have less leverage and may have to settle for half-price Ticket or some other discounts. If you are out of contract, push for getting Ticket for Free. 2) Be patient. In some cases, what you get is based on what offers are available that day. In others, and I believe is more the case, it really all depends on who answers the phone. If you get a rep (assuming you are in Retention/Loyalty) who really wants to help and keep you as a satisfied customer, then can get you a deal. If you get some schmuck who is punching the clock and just wants to get on to the next call, forget it. If you know your call is going nowhere, politely thank them and end the call as soon as you can. Don't waste your time. Call back again and hope for a better rep. It may even require a third call. Your patience will ultimately pay off! One final comment is that I owe all of my DTV and Sunday Ticket discount "expertise" to this forum. A few years ago, I was young (not really) and naive, but thanks to all of of you, I am now a savvy veteran of the game. I hope I am now able to impart my wisdom on others and give back to the community.