SoMAn

I’ve known a few locals who drink a lot of brew on a daily basis, so please come visit. It’s still a free country. The point I was attempting was how normal the whole blue collar mentality of sitting in a gin mill every evening (except for bowling night) is perfectly normal for a bigger percentage of Buffalonians. The people are generally very social and love to sit around, buying shots, and giving opinions on the Sabres and Bills. I’m not passing judging-just an observation. It goes on here, just not on every neighborhood corner.

Note to some members: not everyone is that into beer drinking and breweries. Yeah, I know it’s a rust belt tradition and considered completely normal to down a 6-pack every evening for many of you, but believe it or not, alcoholic beverages aren’t often a high priority for family vacations. When I relocated to the Atlanta burbs 37 years ago, I was surprised what a different culture it was where people drinking beer and smoking a pack of Marlboros every day wasn’t nearly as common as what I’d experienced growing up in Buffalo. So, when a group of college roommates or hockey teammates are looking for leisure activity, the Elmwood strip or the Canadian ballet may be good recommendations. But for most families with kids and in-laws, those aren’t usually go-to spots to enjoy a wholesome taste of what the city had to offer. Hanging out at any Buffalo bar with a gang of 30 something’s is the last place my wife would care to spend more than 15 minutes at. Just sayin’ 😉

Going the Peace Bridge and the Niagara River Pkwy (from Ft Erie in Canada) route to Niagara Fall will have the added scenic bonus of what should be peek fall foliage in October.

We see these inquiries often and always wish the people asking would state what interests them. Dining? recreation? art? Museums? local people and pubs? shopping? etc. ?? TSW responders frequently respond with the best wing joints or other bar food destinations. That's fine, but stuffing their face with local fare may not be high on the list for some out-of-town visitors. That said, if visitors want to get the true WNY/Buffalo experience as part of their Buffalo Bills trip, the local specialties are wings (of course) and a local sandwich call beef on weck (don't spare the horse radish). Pizza is also highly regarded in the area. No matter who you are, if you have access to transportation, by all means get to Niagara Falls. The Canadian side has better views and more tourist stuff, so bring a passport. It would be a shame to travel many miles and get so close but never experience the falls. If you can't get to Canada, the American side is still impressive. There are attractions in NFalls like The Maid of the Mist, the boats that take tourists to the foot of the falls. Amazingly, I’ve never done it myself! One day. If you want a more cosmopolitan experience, there's a world class art museum (Albright Knox) and beautiful parks and great restaurants in the city. There's also a few nice museums (historical and science)and impressive architecture. I don't know that there's any hot shopping spot anywhere downtown as I'm not really a shopper. For a more festival atmosphere with plenty of activity, music, people watching, etc, there's canal side in Buffalo. Don't know too much about it, but it's a 'go to' destination for a lot of visitors. I don't know too much about East Aurora, mentioned previously. It seems like a lovely little town with easy access to the stadium. From what I can tell, it would be a similar experience as staying in Williamsville. Maybe the Roycroft Inn would be a great home base for the visit, and if you have a car and time permits, make your way to the falls and the city. Lastly, be sure to check out the Buffalo Bills store at the stadium for souvenirs and official NFL apparel. One thing I'll guarantee is that your family will be amazed at how friendly the locals are (other than the random drunk jerk in the stands at the game). Buffalonians bend over backwards to treat guests with hospitality. Also, unless you hit a rainy weekend, the weather should be ideal fall sweatshirt weather. Enjoy the experience. Don't surprised if after the visit, one of the family members half-jokingly suggest looking for a home in Buffalo. Go Bills!

Their [lack of] diligence was shocking? Hardly. It's a trend. The Browns seem to be having a competition over the past 20 years with the Jets for who can draft the most early 1st round QB busts.

Exactly. Like the time Beane gave up assets in the 2018 draft for an unproven small school QB. What a dope.😒

I don't understand that mindset. It sounds like the voice of the hand-wringing mother afraid to let little Johnny climb the jungle gym. 'Saving him' until week 12 to be ready for the playoffs is presumptuous. For one thing, the Bills don't have such a dominant D-line with other pro-bowlers who can pick up the slack. They have the potential to be very good, but there's not an Aaron Donald there holding down the fort while Miller heals. In a league, division, and conference this competitive, a single loss can mean no playoffs and starting draft talk for the Bills the second week of January. Or, it could mean the difference between home field advantage or no home games in post season. Getting home field and having a bye week in the playoffs means one less game to risk injury to the every other player. There are no teams that should be taken lightly that we can assume a W without the best d-line they can field. When Miller is ready, he's ready. Play him if it gives the Bills the best chance to walk away with that W. Playing the edge and being on the field to harass opposing QBs is where is value to the team is.

Agree. I think Isabella, Gilliam, and Klein all make the team unless veteran salaries get them cut in favor of cheap rookies/2nd year players. A lot can happen between now and Sept 11, and it's entirely possible an injury or two to any of the other 53 named could make way for these three. I think the slot receiver position is over-loaded, so could Shakir be odd man out? Traded for low draft pick? Calling Brian Dabol. Does Matakavich make it based on teams? Will Dodson show he's worthy with impressive play in preseason games or will Spector live up to some of his early hype? Of the 53, it's pretty easy to pick 45 or so. We'll have our answers for the others in about 3 weeks.

I started participating in the pre-TSW days of Rochester D&C Hyperbills. For those too young to remember or know, that message board was to TSW what the Quarry Men were to The Beatles. If you still don't know, it doesn't matter. Basically, being a southern transplant and a huge fan from the Buffalo area, there was little Bills information to be found on local news or newspapers. There was the occasional blurb in USA Today or on ESPN, but very little in-depth stories. I could get the Sunday Buffalo News at a bookstore in Atlanta (not convenient). Then, sometime during or directly after the super bowl years there was a publication in newspaper form called 'Shout'! that had lots of good info. It came out weekly during the season and I believe monthly during the off-season. I'm pretty sure that preceded the advent of popular internet use and message boards. I'm thinking Chris Brown, now a Bills employee doing the afternoon WGR show with Tasker was involved. Seems he was the guy I had to contact when Shout didn't show up in the mail - which was a frequent occurrence. If it arrived, it was often weeks after the previewed game was played. Very frustrating for subscribers and the publisher. Thank-you USPS. 🤨 Finally the internet came around in the mid-90's and became the best way to waste the company's time at the office. There were these things on-line called 'newgroups' that had every topic imaginable, populated by the early computer nerds. Suddenly, there was all kinds of Bills news to be found at my fingertips. That eventually evolved into message boards, graphics, hyperlinks, video, and unlimited access to anything your heart desired. side note: The first photo images viewed at work were frequently from a porn site. 😁 It was mischievous novelty in the pre-cancel-culture world. After several years of digging for any tidbit of Bills news, I had at my disposal as much information as the fans back home. Combined with the technology that made games readily available via satellite, the isolation I initially experienced following my move to Georgia in the mid-80's was no longer an issue. To answer the OPs question - my thrust was to have the virtual bar stool experience hanging with like-minded Bills fans who could share news and experiences. A little bit of home brought to us though this community. Thanks Scott and all the others who make it possible.

Who among us?

With 12 personnel they still use 5 linemen. TE doesn’t take the place of an OT.

Overhyped players are frequently overpaid. In a couple of years when the Bears figure out what they're getting for their money, Edmunds will be looking for another team. I've re-watched games from the past 3 seasons, specifically focusing in on Edmunds. More often than not he was a liability in my opinion. He had a couple of decent games, but most of the time he can be seen chasing the play, getting blocked out of the way, not creating fumbles, not getting interceptions, 'assisting' on tackles when an opposing ball carrier is already halfway to the ground from another defender, or just being in close proximity to that ball carrier after the tackle. His condor-like wing span was supposed to be integral in clogging up passing lanes. That doesn't work unless your in a position to do that. Edmunds' poor instincts prevented him from being in position. My guess is he followed the defensive playbook to the letter, making him predictable. It was weird watching him trail a ball carrier when it appeared another Bill would be there to make the tackle, and it looked like Edmunds was running at half speed, assuming the teammate would make the tackle. Seriously, he sometimes looked like he was out for a morning jog. I have nothing against him personally, and by all accounts was well-liked by his teammates. I just don't believe he was all he was made out to be by the press and some fans. The organization is very loyal to their players and would never disparage any of them publicly, but I believe if they had really wanted to keep him, they could have found a way. Prediction: in a couple of years he'll come knocking on the door at One Bills Drive as a FA, just like the numerous other players that came back home after a stint with another team.

Oh! 😄 I see how you interpreted that first line. Mea Culpa. It wasn't stated clearly. No, I meant it as a rhetorical question, as in 'how can you (everybody) not like Mitch Morse'? i.e. who doesn't like Mitch? Lost in the translation. I never meant for it to sound like I thought you didn't like him.

How can you not like Morse? He's smart and has done a decent, if not great job at center. He's probably sightly better than average, but he's no Kent Hull. I can see the Bills looking at signing a top FA center or drafting one early next year. I'm optimistic about the o-line and I believe Brown may make some of his detractors eat their words. He's only in year 3 and he was playing catch up after being injured last year.

I think you have to view those ‘mediocre’ wins as having a team decimated by injuries, yet still managing to get the ‘W’. That’s all that matters in the end. Nobody’s getting handed a trophy for biggest point differential. I won’t bother researching it for the sake of this post, but I’d bet that many of the teams that we historically remember as dominant actually had a lot of close games on their way to winning championships.

Rob Johnson. Perhaps the luckiest NFL player who ever wore a Bills uniform. With minimal exposure, shined in preseason with Jags enough for Bills to give up 1st round pick and sign to big contract. Then, gets beat out by Flutie, but has great game in meaningless finish against Colts before playoffs. Later, gets another nice contract with zero accomplishments! Later, experiences something warriors like Kelly, Thomas, Smith, Hull, Tasker, Reed, Talley, Bennett…et al never did…being part of a winning Super Bowl team and getting that ring. That China doll has some Irish luck. That’s for sure.

The X factor: which teams will remain relatively intact with good health? It’s impossible to know who and when a key player for the Bills or their competition may miss time. Assuming Allen and Diggs don’t miss significant playing time, the Bills will get deep in the playoffs and have as good a chance (or better) as anyone else to make it to the superbowl. If Allen goes down, I think they’re toast. The Bills have some tough competition on this year’s schedule, but so does the rest of the division and the other first place finishers from ‘22. They’ll all be handing losses to each other. I believe the defense will be top 4 and won’t miss Edmunds. I think Gabe will bounce back and be a legitimate threat. Hoping the O line will mesh with new additions. Not worried about big Spencer Brown. I think he’ll surprise a lot if you with improved play at RT. The line has room for improvement, but they weren’t as bad as some believe. Receivers finding openings and Josh getting rid of the ball quicker will magically make that line look great. I’m bullish on the Bills chances for winning it all. Bring it on.

Thanks for the insight. The only jerseys I ever owned was a replica #12 (I don’t believe it even had a name on the back) and a 2003 Travis Henry away jersey. That one should have come with the little family stencils seen on rear car windows, depicting Henry’s 20 kids and concubines. On a similar note regarding team Jerseys- I’d be reluctant to spend $100+ on an authentic jersey with players changing teams and numbers so frequently. They’re often already dated after a couple of years. Anyone get a James Cook #28 last year? Sorry. James is now #4. # 28, who knows? Camp fodder?

I’d be surprised if that’s correct. My recollection is it was only that single game against the Broncos. If you have any photo evidence or links regarding that same ugly helmet worn in Oilers contest, please share.

I heard he was sleeping under his desk

Uniform appeal is completely subjective and dependent on an individual’s opinion. I actually like the old school classic look of the Browns. Fall colors and the whole Jim Brown/Otto Graham vibe. Rub some mud on the jersey and stick some turf in the face mask and it almost looks like the way god intended it. Same opinion for Packers, Steelers, and a few other unis.

It is what it is…a changing game and changing market for some positions. If they don’t like the job, go sit for an insurance license exam. They effectively get paid over $1,000,000 with 4 months off to vacation or just spend time with family. In the glory days of when RBs where taken 1st overall and were often the best paid, corners, receivers, and OTs were second tier players on the wage scale. That’s flip-flopped with the change in game and rules that favor the passing game.

Anyone have a good potato salad recipe they’d care to share? 😏

It’s amusing to me how much if the off-season discussion is centered around rankings or opinions from various writers, commentators, and pundits who cover NFL matters. I get it. It’s not September yet and we’re all hungry for Bills football. I don’t put a lot of import on the rankings by Joe Blow of the Miami Herald or whomever is the latest lazy columnist who’s run out of stories. If they run dry they can always rely on ‘a list’ to make the deadlines. Not knocking it at all. It’s a conversation starter. But, I don’t know that the so-called experts who’ve managed to eek out a living sharing this stuff know any more than us or that their rankings have any real merit.

When I was a teen working in a Tonawanda foundry, we had a vending machine for coffee where someone had thoughtfully placed a Mr. Yuk sticker on it’s front glass panel to warn us of the inferior brew that could be ours for the bargain price of thirty cents. 🤮