LA Grant

Looks like a dump: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hall+of+Frames+Sports+Collectibles/@43.1128499,-75.2687488,3a,75y,12.01h,79.72t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shkXYEUpo4n3FryeXTxlLTw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xc63a2fb6c81069ee!6m1!1e1

I just discovered this thread. Nice work all around. But holy crap! This is crazy that you called this!

I can't decide if that makes the story better or worse but you're right, it would not be too surprising to discover that was a factor.

I don't believe so. Although this was the first year I remembered seeing the little person trainer but maybe I just wasn't paying attention before.

John McKay was one of the funniest guys to ever coach. Here's a bunch more quotes from him too: http://sports.espn.go.com/classic/obit/s/2001/0517/1200798.html

"You over-officious jerk!"

This is so stupid. Your argument only boils down to "we weren't in the locker room, so we should defer to Coach Marrone's decision and assume benching Urbik was the right decision, therefore he must have been a malcontent" despite that Urbik's play was clearly superior when he finally played and no indications (besides benching) that Urbik was doing anything detrimental to the team as a whole. In fact, all of the evidence points the other way — that Marrone loved power games. His track record is full of stupid pissing contests, whereas Urbik's (as far as I know) is not. Now, if you want to make a separate argument on coaching strategy ("how effective is it to play head games with pro players?"), then that would at least be more constructive than the current debate, which is basically you just arguing poorly for a dumb position. Even then, it's hard to say the strategy of head games were effective because Urbik > Pears.

That's stupid. The starters on a professional football team shouldn't be based on who meshes best with Coach Marrone's personality, it should be the people with the best ability. That's a dumb defense of stupid coaching. Urbik was clearly better than either of our starting guards last year and proved it once he finally took the field. If he was unwilling to see that, then Marrone made a selfish decision to spite somebody for whatever reason and hurt the franchise as a whole.

100%. It was mind-boggling. Marrone's decision-making matched his articulation. Both left you scratching your head.

Wow, 5 parts is a lot. Here's my guess how they break it down: Part 1: Childhood through USC Part 2: the NFL playing days (the only fun part!) Part 3: Media darling and movie star Part 4: Murder and Trial of the Century Part 5: Life after the trial

Yes, but consider that the Jets and Dolphins each tend to split with the Patriots most years, whereas the Bills do not. Brady's record at Sun Life stadium is actually a losing record, IIRC.

Vic Carucci has been wrong ALL SEASON. Every story he's tried to establish has blown up in his face, from Polian to Cassel to Rex losing the team, now this. Carucci somehow has a decent reputation for a guy who is always just trying to stir stuff up. He takes pride in coining "The Bickering Bills" but people seem to forget how much he instigated that, too. I can't be the only one who remembers the Thurman Thomas post-game where he went off on Vic. Carucci sucks.

Dome is less romantic, but far more utilitarian and better for the region as a whole. It should be a dome, ideally in downtown. EDIT: But at the same time, I'm torn. TheFunPolice summarizes the argument for open air stadium nicely and I agree with that too.

Vic Carucci has been wrong ALL SEASON. Every story he's tried to establish has blown up in his face, from Polian to Cassel to Rex losing the team, now this. Carucci somehow has a decent reputation for a guy who is always just trying to stir stuff up. He takes pride in coining "The Bickering Bills" but people seem to forget how much he instigated that, too. I can't be the only one who remembers the Thurman Thomas post-game where he went off on Vic. Carucci sucks.

Tyrod comes back with dreads.

Said before the season I was hoping for Arizona / Cincinnati. Gonna still pull for that.

I think RG will improve a lot with a real RT. Improving both would be ideal but if you can only do one, improving RT will help the line as a whole.

I don't think he has incredible hands. He drops kind of a lot, to my eyes. He's "okay" — he does everything decently, but does not excel in any one area. He's also not particularly big or fast, but he's not clutch to make up for that. I would say the other needs are relatively equal to WR2. O-Line we need a RT. LB and Safety, definitely those are big needs too. But WR2 is right there with them. IMO.

Tyrod seemed to be able to do it just fine all day versus the Jets. All of a sudden today we're seeing Sammy running and catching balls over the middle. I never thought it was a question of ability, it was a question of play design and play calling. I guess you could say those plays weren't designed or called because the coaches didn't think Tyrod could do it. But, today he seemed to be able to do it just fine. In fact, it was throws to the outside that were batted down, not over the middle. My question is, does anyone know why today was different?

We have a real QB and the makings of a real offense. The defense regressed further than expected but they are in good hands. Rex is like any coach in the NFL — he's going to use his scheme. Every coach is like this. I think the D bounces back in force next year.

I'm not convinced going backwards is the way forward.

#1) Arizona — I like Arians, I like Palmer, and I just like how they play. They're a solid team full of good veterans and they play smart. Would like to see them succeed. #2) Green Bay / Minnesota — Cold connection. Small market-ish connection for Green Bay, 0-4 Super Bowl connection for Minnesota. #3) Actually, besides the Redskins, I like most of the NFC playoff teams. They're all about the same for me but for different reasons. #4) Cincinnati is the only AFC playoff team I actually like. #5) Anyone but New England.

Treadwell would be an amazing get.

Remember last year when Whaley & Marrone were like "yeah everything's cool, don't worry about a thing, onward and upward" and then like 30 hours later we had a head coaching vacancy?

His play today was probably the best game of his career. Kidding aside, I think we all love EJ as a person. He seems like a great guy. As for his play, I don't want him to start but you could do worse for a #2 QB (you could do better, too, but you could definitely do worse).