JasoninMT

He's a Pat*.... doesn't that mean the punishment should be doubled? Correction.... he WAS a Pat*... according to a sidebar mention on that link, he's been released from the Pats*... Link: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/footbal...Willie_Andrews/

It seems like the Bills are willing to pay their players more... I hope this extends to Evans and Peters... I'm a bit disappointed in Peters decision to hold out - seeing as he was just extended (and presumably given a raise) last year... But, he didn't have a Pro Bowl then and deserves a raise, holding out just doesn't impress me... And it could have an effect on his conditioning and ability... many times before holdouts are injured early in a season when they don't show up for training camp. We NEED Peters if we are going to be the team everyone hopes we can be this season.

Alright, so we wanted specifics and I glibly said 6-10 earlier... Here's a week by week breakdown as I see it. 9/7 - Seattle . . . W. It's opening week, and Seattle sucks on those East coast Trips... 1-0 9/14 - @ Jacksonville . . . L. We always manage to find ways to lose to Jax... 1-1 9/21 - Oakland . . . W. Oakland still doesn't have what ti takes, especially not on the road. 2-1 9/28 - @ St. Louis . . . W. The Rams are retooling... 3-1 10/5 - @ Arizona . . . W. This game could be tougher than it looks... 4-1 10/19 - San Diego . . . L. We might keep it close if we're lucky... 4-2 10/26 - @ Miami . . . W. Eventually they'll get better... but not yet. 5-2 11/2 - NY Jets . . . W. This should be a W... of course the Bills tend to falter when they are supposed to Win. 6-2 11/9 - @ New England . . . L. Sorry, not happening this year. 6-3 11/17 - Cleveland W (I hope). This will be a tough Win... Cleveland wants to prove their good as much or more than we do. 7-3 11/23 - @ Kansas City L. I know the Chiefs aren't as good as they used to be... but Arrowhead is tough 7-4 11/30 - San Francisco W. It'll be cold, and the 9ers haven't got what it takes to win in Buffalo. 8-4 12/7 - Miami (in Toronto) W. Somehow, Some way... they'll want to impress the Canadians and Miami is still Miami. 9-4 12/14 - @ NY Jets . . . L. I don't see us sweeping the Jets... so I see a loss here. 9-5 12/21 - @ Denver . . . L. Winning in Denver is never easy. 9-6 12/28 - New England . . . L. We still haven't solved the Pats* 9-7 Perhaps I've just become too jaded... I used to always think in terms of those 11-12 win seasons... But years of finishing much worse than that have me thinking more realistically. It is better than I thought earlier... but I still think some of these W's could easilly be L's, especially if we end up with injuries. So I wouldn't be surprised w/ a 7-9 or worse finish.

Endzone - The paraphrase, is insulting at best. KTD - I agree his letter seemed a bit 'polished', but if you or I did the same thing and were important enough to have to write a public apology, you can bet we'd have a lawyer help write it and it wouldn't completely be our words... There is a probable civil case coming, so he has to be careful what he says... If there were one thing I sorta wish he'd stated, it's that he would take care of the victim's emergency care... (The trip to the hospital right after - not the afterthoughts when she (and her attorney) realized there was a potential money train). I accept what Marshawn says as fact. I accept his apology as a fan, and I'm willing to forget it. I'm happy that he chose to make a statement before walking in to plead guilty. He didn't deny everything and claim someone was out to get him or whatever. I doubt there will be any further issues other than a civil case which he'll hopefully be able to settle reasonably out of court. I like that he's losing his license for a while... it's more than the slap on the wrist fine to have to deal with having a driver for a while... My ex lost her license for 6 months for something stupid (altered license/fake ID) - that was more punishment than the fine she paid.

The #8 pick only matters during the draft in which it was spent... 3 years from now, the only thing we'll care about is whether Whitner has had a decent career w/ the Bills... And hopefully he'll have been extended, though I suppose some people here will argue we overpaid for an extension then. Why do people need to debate what pick was used for a player 2 years later? Whitner is a very good Safety and has turned out to be a valuable asset to the Bills D. To me, that's End of Story... I don't care what draft pick was spent. If you want to have a beef w/ a wasted pick, look at Mike Williams who never amounted to anything... Or Erik Flowers... Trading up for Drew Bledsoe... Trading up for JPL... Some people have to search for things to complain about... If picking Whitner with Pick # 8 was our biggest problem... I'd be ecstatic. So would a lot of other fans (or is it alot... )

As I recall it wasn't a college... it was the artist and a rights thing where they wanted to be paid each time it was played... Then they were able to show their version was "different" enough from the original - or that they used a different artists version which was in the public domain... or something like that.

I always gave OJ the benefit of the doubt... It was so out of character for him to do that - at least his public persona... My father actually met him once while he was still in Buffalo (after his playing days I think) and he was out with Nicole... My dad said Nicole was a B**** to him, and used some very derogatory rascist language in describing OJ while my dad was there... she was drunk, but it was inexcusable... I'm not saying she deserved being killed or anything, but she wasn't an angel. I do believe that OJ was responsible - and was in fact the person who did the deed. I have zero respect for him as a person. Since this happened after his playing days, I have the utmost respect for his on the field accomplishments. I still think he is a better RB than Thurman was... If he'd have had a better team surrounding him, we might have had a much better showing in his time. (off topic, but my top 3 RB are OJ, then Thurman, then Cookie). If Marshawn gives an honest apology - even if he says he didn't know he did it, but is contrite in his apology for the action itself... I'll accept that. I don't know that he "knew" he hit someone... If he comes of as insincere or unapologetic then I'll be disappointed. Marshawn Lynch has the potential to be the greatest RB for the Bills. I truly believe that. This should be a Hiccup (I wanted to say speedbump, but that's too close to the truth) on his record - and I believe it will be, not a road block.

Well, there is a chance he didn't know he hit her - I wasn't there... I know of other hit & run cases where the person didn't realize they hit someone... but, with 3 other people in the car, I'm pretty sure someone would have realized it... As far as being impaired is concerned, it's 3am on a Saturday night in the Nightclub district... very few people driving at that time of night are not impaired or distracted in my experience... I've been lucky a lot of times... Enough that I've stopped going out and only drink at home... I still have respect for ML... but, if there was enough damage to his vehicle for the police to have found something at the scene and been able to ID the vehicle... it's hard to think a person couldn't realize they hit "something"... unless they were impaired or distracted... I'm not trying to be mean... I just find it hard to believe a person wouldn't realize they hit something... even if it was a block or two later... and the "mature" thing to do would be turn back and check it out... I think everyone deserves a second chance, sometimes even a third chance depending on circumstances. So, as long as Marshawn takes care of his mistake he deserves his second chance like anyone else. I won't hold it against him... but, if he continues to hide behind a lawyer and doesn't deal with it, then I'd be disappointed in him... I'm trying to be reasonable... but it's hard to root for someone you don't respect as a person. At this point, I'm sort of in a holding pattern, waiting to see how he'll respond and take care of business. I don't want him getting taken to the cleaners by the victim either... he's responsible for her medical bills, and perhaps a small amount of pain and suffering... but it doesn't sound like she was seriously injured - meaning no long term health impact.

Don't forget that in the '07 draft, they'd traded Holcolm... we had no second QB... so, there was going to be a QB drafted for sure. That doesn't necessarilly imply they were planning on replacing Losman at that point. I agree with most of Kelly's points. I don't think anyone on the Bills staff intentionally tanked Losman's career, because they would be tanking their own as well. I do think Fairchild was in over his head - and will be as a HC too... but that isn't our problem anymore. This day in age, to not put an audible package in, is extremely foolhardy at best. That isn't setting up your offense to succeed when you don't give them the chance to change a play at the line based on the defensive set. ... OK, so you have 9 in the box, but we're going to run it anyways, since we can't change the play. And when they have dime coverage, I guess we'll have to stick w/ the playcall. Heck, My son's 7th/8th grade Pee-wee team calls audibles... It couldn't have been hard for a defense to figure out they weren't able to audible - since usually you can tell when the offense is changing the play... so, they could do whatever they wanted, and audible themselves based on our formation... To me, that isn't giving your offense the best possibility for success. Perhaps, they were afraid Losman would audible too much, but that can be dealt with on the sideline...

I wish ML would come out now and do his Press Conference... but I guess that has to wait until after the plea is entered to be safe... plus, he has to deal with the civil suit which is likely to come up (probably shortly after the plea is entered). I really hope they can resolve this as nicely as possible... I also think even though it seems harsh, it was a smart move for him to wait. He made the mistake of hitting her - possibly while under the influence of something - or maybe he was on his cell when it happened, we'll never know. His second mistake was not stopping and making sure she was alright etc. if he'd done that, we might never have heard about it, the police might never have been called... I don't think keeping his mouth shut after the first two errors in judgement was a mistake... agonizing for fans... but it was smart to keep quiet about it and allow emotions to settle down.

Early Prediction: 6-10 This season will have its share of problems on the field and off the field. New Offensive scheme. Potential suspension of Lynch. Disgruntled players (Peters & Losman). Lots of young (inconsistent) players. Still have Fowler's open door policy. Off-field drama of the "stolen" game in Toronto. This doesn't reek of 12-4 to me... The smell I detect is the foul odor of 6-7 wins.

Not living anywhere around Buffalo, I don't pay too much attention to Season Tickets... But, with 2 less games on sale, didn't the price dramatically drop? This could be a reason for legit Season Ticket holders... Can brokers buy season tickets for resale? Since the team holds the seat owner accountable for the user of the seats actions during the season, that could be dangerous... if they have the wrong ticketholder... One person screws it up, the other people you sold the tickets to wouild be SOL...

Bill Bellyache, how do you spell what happened to the Patriots last year? K - A - R - M - A

There's a difference between "Want" him to fail... and "Think" he will fail... I don't Want anyone on the team to fail... but I personally think he will... He will more than likely fail to live up to whatever sick and wrong expectations are put on him by some fans. Buffalo Bills fans expect every QB to live up to a very MYTHICAL expectation to be as good/great as the great Jim Kelly... I remember the "Jim Kelly Era"... Jim Kelly didn't live up to the expectations fans placed on him... as time goes on, the legend grows as people who only heard or recall the best times forget all the other things - playing poorly while injured but refusing to leave due to the fear of the growing love for Frank Reich. The fact that despite being a good QB, he was unable to win a Superbowl. If we don't stop holding our QBs up to this mythical standard, we'll continually burn out players and churn through QBs as fast as we do Head Coaches. I've said it many times... JP got a raw deal - and for that some fans feel bad for him. No, he wasn't the second coming of Jack Kemp or Jim Kelly... But, he wasn't Todd Collins or RJ either... He lost his job due to injury - and when he got it back, it was "temporary" because every week the coaches refused to say he was the starter for good. I don't know about most of you, but if you were replaced with a trainee at your job and made to stand around and watch him struggle at times but be told that you probably would lose your job to him, how would you feel? Betrayed? Hurt? A little angry? Trent Edwards is not going to throw for 5,000 yards, 50 TDs and have no Picks... Hell, I bet he won't throw for 3,500 yards, 30 TDs and only 10 picks. So, will that be "success"? The team isn't going to win 19 games next season... The team is probably not going to win 12 games next year, so is that "success"? I don't want the boy to fail... I just know that he will fail to meet the ridiculous expectations fans place on him. Both sides of the debate are going to place high expectations on him, his backers, because they think he can do it and JP cannot... his detractors because they know he can't and therefore it will be easy to denounce him as NOT the solution - which to them would prove JP should have been given the chance. Since I'm powerless to make the decisions at One Bills Drive... I choose to support their decision, and hope that it works out for the team.

I like it... And, you can shrink the window down to almost nothing if you are concerned about the "ad"... Unlike some streaming players.

It's sad.... but it's pretty fair... I could bicker with a few of the rankings... (the Steelers should be higher - like #4 or #5) I agree we should be a few slots higher perhaps... (above the Seahawks, Lions, and Panthers for example). If/when the Bills win the Superbowl, they would vault up over some other teams to be around 15th... but seriously, the Bills have been successful in only 2 of their 5 decades ('60s and '90s). And there has been a lot of disappointment in the other 3 decades.

There is a VAST difference between "potentially" killing someone and killing someone... Rank the following recent player transgressions... Killing your spouse Killing a random person - or at least being in the presence of it and possibly having something to do with the death Taking Steroids Being involved in a traffic altercation which could have resulted in serious injury or death, but did not Taking Recreational Drugs - repeatedly Being the Kingpin of a Dog Fighting Ring Beating your spouse Being charged w/ a DUI/DWI (allegedly) Shooting a person outside of your nightclub and lying to police about it. If you ask me, Marshawn will get up to a 1 game suspension... Marshawn has alienated a portion of his fans by refusing to acknowledge his role and take responsibility for it... This is why we feel anger/betrayal... but in terms of league suspensions, I doubt it'll be much - even w/ Roger Goodell. We have more and more athletes in the public eye as leagues expand... We have much more media scrutiny than we ever have in history... I think it's fair for the commish to hold players to a higher standard, but at some point we have to allow a certain amount of bad behaviour. We accept it in ourselves, our friends, and our families, why not from our athletes?

According to some fans, Buffalo is taking one...

At first that missing "Buffalo" bothered me... but when you look at the "Bills" logo anywhere, it doesn't have Buffalo... it's sort of implied... we're being overly sensitive... however the Buffalo Bills should respect that their fans are paranoid about it and maybe should have included it... they did call it the "Bills Toronto Series" and the "Toronto Series" is in a smaller font... As far as where it'll be used... they mentioned in the presser that it'll show up as a patch on the jerseys during the games in Toronto... My guess is it'll also be painted on the field. I actually like the logo... It might be a bit busy though, it's got the Bills Logo (obvious), the Maple Leaf, The Rogers Centre, and the CN Tower... I know the Centre would be against it, but I could do without seeing their appearance on the logo... The tower is a Toronto Landmark...

I'll only add this to the discussion... I have heard of local cases where people have hit and run accidents and don't realize they hit someone, because the weight of the vehicle vastly outweighs the weight of a person... So, perhaps he didn't know he hit someone - especially if he was at all impaired... The Facts: 1) A person was hit by Lynch's SUV. It caused them injuries, not critical or fatal injuries but did require a hospital visit and 7 stitches. 2) Lynch's SUV did not stop. It was damaged - I haven't seen photos so I don't know the extent, but the Police and DA do know how much. 3) Lynch has remained silent about the incident. 4) An eyewitness is placing Lynch as the driver w/ 2 passengers. - this was what was reported to media. 5) The driver faces a misdemeaner A charge, which has a maximum penalty of 1 year in Prison w/ up to $1000 fine. There's a lot of speculation outside of those facts. I personally think it's a crappy thing to do, if it was Lynch. So was T Henry sleeping w/ a minor - which he had a habit of doing. I am willing to give him a second chance. Bruce Smith was found passed out in his SUV in an intersection, you don't think he could have hit someone and killed them while in that state? The league will penalize him as they see fit, and that's good enough for me. I won't be buying his jersey any time soon - and I'll tell my kids it's important not to drink and drive... but I'm not going to condemn Lynch at this point.

What if.... It was his Mom driving? Enough Hypotheticals... ML does not HAVE to say anything to the press, ML SHOULD say something to the press. I'm certain that his atty has told him to stay quiet, this situation won't go away, but until the authorities have everything sorted out, he'll remain quiet. If they question him, he'll answer in coordination w/ his counsel. I don't believe ML has a prior record of miscreant behavior - this will work to his advantage. After the "legality" parts work themselves out - I'm positive he'll issue a presser and in it he'll apologize for remaining quiet, but he was acting on his counsel's advice. The fact that he's not on TV denying everything, does not mean he is guilty... in fact, I applaud the fact that he isn't playing the NOT ME game most athletes use until they are proved to be lying about their involvement. This seems to me a very smart move by him. if he's guilty of something, he'll admit it when the time comes, and not beforehand... I hate the media posturing often made by defendents, whether they are famous, infamous, or nobodies.

The NFL really should find some way to pay for performance... Consistently... Every player should get paid X for being on the roster, Y for each down they play, and extra for each "success" for their participation... The X would be a sliding scale like the current League Minimums. Obviously the extra portion would be paid out based on weekly results and even season results. I think this was sort of what the XFL tried while they were around... This amount should equate to 40-50% of league revenue. They currently have a "league" bonus which is similar to this for players who earn the league minimums which is paid out each year. Also, every player should have some sort of guarantee or insurance which pays them for the life of the contract even if they get injured on the field or during a team activity. They should be offered some sort of retirement/pension program they can participate in. Most people have 401K's available to them now, I don't believe the NFL does... Maybe they could get some sort of Profit Sharing program if they invest a portion of their earnings into a retirement fund... They could still get a signing bonus... but as far as their games, they should make roughly the same based on performance.

I can't believe I actually read this thread... what a complete waste of time... oh no, I'm even replying to it... Stop the Madness!

C'mon.... Haven't we all gone over to our dad's house on Mother's Day (not that he's with James' mother mind you) and pulled a weapon on our father? This is old news... [/sarcasm] Because Hardy is an athlete, he lives under a spotlight. It isn't like he shot someone outside his own nightclub with a custom made handgun and then claimed he didn't know anything about it and "his" custom made handgun was at home... until they found it in a trashcan outside another one of his businesses... He's a young adult, he made a mistake, he's made other mistakes, and I'm sure every person here has done something stupid at least once - maybe not with a firearm, but something they regret later. I guess if I'm the Bills front office - you tell him the behavior is unacceptable and he needs to make certain to use his head in the future. I don't think the NFLPA will let you put language in the contract to negate the contract if he repeats the off-field incidents.

I was just about to say the same thing as the thread title... Clearly, JS has some sort of agenda with this... His drivel is the sort of thing which causes the controversial stuff he is lambasting... He admits that JPL was a good soldier last season (which he was), and somehow assumes that in his last season when he hopes to be signed to a lucartive deal next season he'll turn in to a poison pill? I'll admit that I like JPL. He adopted Buffalo as a home, and spearheaded a volunteer effort to make Buffalo a better place. Even if he was Todd Collins he doesn't deserve that op-ed piece. It's insulting. JP has done absolutely nothing to merit that sort of venom. All that said... There is a bit of a valid point to his article if you cut through the BS. JP is not part of a long term solution in Buffalo (since it is very unlikely he'll stay short of some miracle), and so it is true that every down he plays is detracting from the teams future. I still think he'll be a servicable backup. If I were Brandon, we have the following options: 1) Cut Losman (get absolutely nothing for him, take a cap hit, and look like a fool) - which seems like what JS would have him do. 2) Trade him for whatever you can get. Both these options hurt the team (I'm sorry, but I don't see a FA QB or one on the roster who can step in this year as a backup with as much as JP has to offer...) this year. The best you could hope for is getting a servicable backup QB in return for JP in a trade. 3) keep him on the roster as backup knowing he will not resign with the team regardless of how the season unfolds. Of course, something could happen which would change this - one never knows but it is doubtful. (this seems to be the option the Bills are going with). Then next year, when he doesn't sign with the Bills, perhaps a compensatory pick could come our way in 2010. 4) keep him on the roster, and if you really want to screw around use a tag on him at the end of the season to try and trade him like we did with Peerless. (Probably not the option the bills will take). None of these are optimal solutions in my view... but how does the phrase go? Foisted in your own pitard? The Bills made their bed when they showed no loyalty to JP. It doesn't matter that Levy and Fairchild are gone to JP - and I think he's absolutely right that Wilson still pulls some strings - which is his right as owner.