mjd1001

I pretty much dislike any team that is A.) Considered the favorite. I almost always root for the underdog. B.) as obnoxious fans. MOST teams have annoying fans....but when I am subjected to them personally, It kinda turns me to root against that team. C.) Any team that has a lot of national-bandwagon fans. D.) A team that has been successful for a long period of time without any (or many) losing seasons mixed in. If there is ever a team that has all 3 of those...that will get me to the level of hate. Right now, the Pats are on the top of the list....so is Alabama Football...Red Sox are up there too.

I go back and forth on this one. Greatest of all time for his team? I have to say yes. Greatest in all aspects of the game? No. Basically, if you were to Plug Tom Brady into each and every NFL team to 'try him out' in different situations, and then do the same with Peyton Manning...I think Manning would be more successful overall across the board. Brady has won more though.

A few years ago on a 46 hdtv, I never noticed this, but now when watching the games on a bigger TV, Fox's 720p broadcast looks a lot worse than CBS at 1080 resolution. Hoping fox and ABC/Espn will upgrade to 1080 (or uhd) cameras soon.

I think the blame for most of this goes right on Pegula(s). Whether Rex is a good coach or not..whether he wants to pass the ball or run...has a winning season or not....it might not have mattered much. You NEED your coach and GM to be on the same page (or at least in the same chapter. By not allowing Whaley to make the coaching hire, Pegula is the one that made the decision to get to this point. If they really REALLY wanted Rex and wanted him as the 'figurehead' of the team, they they should have asked him to look over a list of GM candidates that he thinks he can work with and share his philosophy. If they REALLY wanted Whaley as the GM, they should have let HIM pick his own coach. I'm not a huge fan of Sullivan and his style of confrontational writing, but I am agreeing with him more and more with the Pegulas...they just seem like they sometimes operate as amateurs. Yes, they are new at the game, but they haven't brought in experienced people with either team to guide them, and then look the situations that just look bad for the teams (Lafontaine, "Lidny's not going anywhere", promoting Rolston, Ted Nolan, bypassing whaley in hiring of Rex, how Marrone left......some of this may not be their fault, but a lot of it could have been avoided.)

If he is gone, I'd put the odds at: 5% another head coaching job this year. 10% he takes an assistant coach job of some kind. 25% he takes a year off. 60% he ends up broadcasting.

agreed 100% If you are going to go for a big-name guy from NFL past (Cowher, Gruden, etc.) I'd just as soon have you keep Ryan.

If you are being serious, I mostly agree with you. I have reached the point where Taylor probably has to go, I'm good with that, But I'm fine with the other 3 staying.

I agree with you. Unless a coach leads this team to an AWFUL record (like 5 or 6 more losses than expected), I want to see ANY coach get 3 years.

Raiders 34 Bills 19

For the the bar is I am entertained. As I said before, I want the team to win badly, but I'd much, MUCH rather they do so in an entertaining fashion than to do so in a 'bog-through-the-mud' fashion. Many people already made posts about them being glad they won the game in other threads...now that it settled in, they are going to CONTINUE the conversation with observations about what needs to be improved....both to make the team better and to make the product more entertaining. I want entertainment. I'll take the win, but I don't see ANYTHING wrong with constructive criticism of the team when they put on a performance where they barely get by. That is the whole point of message forums for many people...not to just be glorified cheerleaders behind a keyboard.

I don't know about that....I watch a game to be entertained, not just for wins and losses. And its not just entertainment....what we see today is part of the evaluation of what we think our team will be going forward. It is very narrow minded to complain about others 'complaining' about a win...that is not what it is at all. What people are doing is making observations and comments about how enjoyable the game was to watch...and about how what they think things will be like in future games based on what we saw today. Would you propose that after a win, ONLY positive comments about the game can be discussed, nothing else? Or should there be 2 different forums..one for discussing wins and losses, and one for discussing the aesthetics of the game and our opinions on how particular players played?

I think the problem with Harbaugh is you do NOT get longevity. From all we hear from media, players, and even people he has worked with, and what we have actually seen, he seems to wear out is welcome pretty quickly. Even if you think that isn't exactly true, the fact is he does change jobs pretty often. I think he is not the guy you look for if you want one of those 6+ year coaches.

Yet many of the people who go to games won't have it any other way. When you bring up a new stadium, reduced tailgating...higher ticket prices....a lot of people are angry about that. Many people go to the games not just to watch the game, but that is their place to party. There are just a lot of regular fans who WANT to have one or two (or 5) drinks, want a place where they can act a little crazy. If you change that, there will be a lot of unhappy fans. I'm not sure if there is a solution...unless you are willing to go all out to eliminate that type of fan from the stadium. I don't go to many (any) games anymore, but in the past when I did...I did see some really crazy behavior.

Season being on the line next week? The sad part is...it is probably true. With a loss...they would be 4-4...and having such a bad AFC record...they would probably lose most tiebreakers. So 10-6 would probably not do it. At 4-4...they would need to go 7-1 to get to 11-5....not looking good. A win though....and everyone is back on board the playoff bandwagon (with good reason). Might be the most important game the Bills have played in quite some years.

The frustrating thing to me is...I would LOVE to see this Rex Ryan coached Defense (this years version) play a few games in a row with a full D roster (Williams, Dareus, and at least a little contribution by a somewhat healthy Lawson) Dareus is so frustrating now (and its not just this year)...I am close to the point of NOT wanting him here anymore..no matter how good he is WHEN he plays....the frustration he brings as a player to me as a Bills fan isn't worth it.

Is there something in his contract that says he can't renegotiate? Or the Bills can't decline the option but still negotiate and resign him? It just seems to me everyone and I mean EVERONE says either the Bills have to play him $20+ million next year..or they have to move on..there is no other choice. If Tyrod continues to play 'average' and he KNOWS he isn't going to get $20+ million next year..wouldn't he be open to having the Bills not pick it up..but signing a new deal for $15 million with them?

My impression on why the lost..tackling. How many missed tackles did the have? More than in any game in recent memory. The D looked like the Keystone cops out there trying to bring down Miami runners.

I didn't like the red helmets at all. I was a kid, but I hated them when they were introduced in the 80's. Throughout the 1990s, every year I wished they would bring the white ones back...and now I'm very happy they have the white ones. Hated the red helmets, never want to see them again.

I think the NFL will be OK with TV ratings. Baseball and Hockey are where I see problems in the near future, and I think it is the case after a few conversations with some friends who got rid of cable. I have 2 friends who are pretty big sports fans...and their families just got rid of cable in the last year. What they told me is they miss watching sports, but once you make the decision to get rid of cable, you come to terms with it. As far as the Sabres and MLB games go, you pretty much come to grips with not watching every game. You read the recaps, watch highlights online...catch some games at a friends house or a local restaurant/bar, but you live with that decision. The thing is, as long as MLB and NHL games are primarily on Cable, those who 'cut the cord' are not coming back...they will live with the reduced exposure to the sport. The NFL, however, is still available on broadcast TV (and BASIC cable, which you can get for about $10 a month). As long as the NFL doesn't push for more games on higher tier Cable networks, they will be OK. This is just a blip.

Loss to Baltimore. BAD loss to Jets at home. Very nice home win vs Arizona. Good win on Road vs hurt Pats team. I'm SO glad the Bills won today, not so much as Buffalo winning, but to see the Pats lose. Now for the Bills, I'll be back on board 100% if they are 4-2 in a couple weeks from now.

I follow the NFL just as much as I used to, but I watch the games a lot less. IN the past (10+ years ago), I had season tickets to the bills, watched EVERY MINUTE of every road game they played, and usually watched 90% of the other games on TV. Now, I'm down to watching 50% of the Bills games and maybe 1 or 2 other NFL games per month. However, I still follow the NFL as much as I did. I don't play fantasy, but I still read all the boxscores, read recaps of the games, listen to a bit of talk radio (not too much). So what has changed? I can think of 2 main things: 1. I HATE the personality of the commentators. Some of my friends say i'm "not fun", but I don't want ex players or loud mouth media guys shouting at each other and debating if every other player is the best ever week after week. I don't really want their opinions (I hate hearing their opinions most of the time), what I want is to have someone report the facts. It has gotten so bad, I tune out most of the time, literally. 2. There is very little chance in any game I am going to see something I haven't seen already. Sure, every game is different and the players are different, but nothing really jumps out at me. I still enjoy the game to a certain extent, but after years and years, you don't have much new to look forward to.

I lived in Boston for a few years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when he became a regular on WEEI...at the time (before the Pats were good) he was a Pats fan, but the other guys kinda made fun of him for his ties to the Bills and how he showed he was still a fan of the Bills. As the years went buy and I listened to WEEI daily for a few years after...his love for the Pats grew and his being a fan of the Bills faded....it was gradual, but you could tell it happened.

As a consultant I'm fine with it...as any kind of coach, even a football Czar....and I'm not for it. He did well as a coach just a few years ago, but I really want younger, fresher minds in positions where decisions will be made. A guy to just throw ideas at and get his thoughts, sure...but decision making power, no thank you.