mjd1001

Chiefs, Chargers, Ravens (in that order) in the AFC Tampa in the NFC. I'm 'amost' over Arizona because they simply haven't been that good, but the back part of my mind always think if the do 'figure things out' they could be trouble.

And if he and Tampa DO win the superbowl, what else will that do for him? Risk/Reward for Brady is weighing much more heavily toward 'risk' at this moment. But maybe for him its not about the risk or the reward....its probably about the attention and needing the spotlight.

I'm all for letting either go if they want a lot more money that what you can value them at. The offense is what will take this team into/deep into the playoffs or to the Superbowl. Ensure an elite offense (including a 'good' O-line to keep Allen from taking to many hits) and do the best you can with the D-unit with what is left over.

The only thing I don't like about the deal is the length, same with Josh. If you have a guy in his early-mid 20s and you believe in him, I'd rather see 6-7+ year deals rather than the shorter ones the Bills are doing.

There are some people on this board that going back even 5-10 year, they said BB was a great D-coordinator and an 'above average' head coach with a great QB/Roster that made him look better. Even when the Pats were winning SBs I know some posted that and stuck by it. Looking at his career, the good and the bad, and what is happening now (and what happened Before Brady), I think that assessment is turning out to be the closest to the truth. Add to that the cheating that the NFL admitted to by punishing the team and I think that reinforces the above point even more. Opinions about him are all over the place. But for me, it you are caught cheating AND you spent the greatest part of you career with who some consider the greatest QB of all time....but WITHOUT him you teams (more than one franchise) are average-to-below average, you don't get the nod as the 'greatest coach of all time'.

I'm still upset about it. Nothing is going to change for me that it is one of the bottom 5 moments in franchise history for me.

I haven't comment until now because for me this is black-and-white. If he participated in a crime, and/OR gave statements that were not true to cover up any kind of investigation, he gets cut. If he didn't participate in a crime, you keep him.

I like Simon. However, I like the 'young' guys on nights and weekends just as much, or better than Schopp and Bulldog. I'll miss Simon though. I'm really surprised by the hate for the younger guys. Are they perfect? No, but I find them much, MUCH more enjoyable to listen to than what they put out there from 3-7. Very few things/people have gotten me to change the station because of how bad the sports talk hosts are/were on local radio. The WGR young guys don't do that for me. Schopp does, and when I lived out east and could pick up NY radio stations, Mike and the Maddog did also (I have no idea WHY people like him screaming and yelling, but it drove me crazy 1.1 seconds after he started)

It is enough, I agree. But as fans, if we keep going to the games and watching on TV, it doesn't matter. The NFL can say or do what they want, the athletes can put out any statement they want, but not much changes if the dollars keep coming in. Nothing new there. Personally, many things about the NFL have worn me down, including this. I don't buy tickets for the games anymore. I watch less of it on TV (including the Bills). I cannot even remember the last time I bought an NFL product (shirt, cap, video game, etc). I just don't do it anymore. I do watch MOST bills games, and I do watch a couple other NFL games per month but that is it. Part of the reason I am not into it as much as before is I have pretty much seen everything in a game I think I will ever see and not much is new. But the high salaries, the issues you brought up about players/owners getting away with stuff.....those things matter to me. However, I haven't seen to totally give up on watching or following the sport. I just do it less than I used to.

I'm OK with it. Well, I'm not totally fine, but as others have said, supply and demand. If someone wants to go to the game, they put a value on how much they are going to pay. If the tickets are getting sold, then the people who are buying them are making the decision that the price is good for what they are getting out of it. Ticket buyers may LIKE for tickets to be lower, but if they are paying the current prices then by definition they are making the decision the product they are getting is worth it.

As is the thinking in all of our society. There is minimal critical thinking. Watch your news network of choice, follow who you want on social media. Argue with people on message boards. People no longer read opinions, THINK about them, and then develop or alter their thinking. Now it is a matter of finding a source of information that you WANT to believe, have it presented to you in a way that you want to hear, and then take it as truth. Going to message boards is the same, it is no longer about hearing other points of view that might be different than yours so you can think about them. It is developing your own opinion, and looking for people to agree with you and preparing for battle with people who don't agree with you. I was always thought the best way to learn about things is to take in as much information as possible, engage with people who don't agree with you with an open mind (basically asking them to explain to you why they think they way they do) and then developing your own theory. Then, you try to disprove that thought, break it down to is smallest parts, and if you cannot do that, then and only then have you 'validated' your line of thinking. When I come up with what I believe, I WANT to hear other opinions that are different. I WANT to hear people give me a WELL THOUGHT OUT counter point for me to consider, maybe they thought of something I didn't think of, and I want to hear that. But in todays world, its all about 'being right' or just getting spoon fed what you want to hear like a baby eating baby food.

It all matters, like you said, how well he develops as a passer. He might be a good passer, he might not. As far as his running, yes, he is dangerous. Just remember, a flashy, exciting to watch 20 yard QB scramble is just as valuable as a simple 15 yard crossing patter completion where they WR falls forward to get 20 yards. Sure, a mobile QB has to be accounted for which may open up things downfield, but he has to make those completions.

If they want to try to build something 1.5 miles away from the stadium, with private money or "orchard park" money go ahead, I don't think a new stadium is going to help whatever they do all that much. The attraction will the the stadium. The things that might/will succeed will probably not be private businesses outside of the Bills, but rather anything/everything that the Bills can do right on that plot of land. Bills Hall of fame, Restaurant ON site, as other have said stadium tours, etc. Its a fallacy that sounds good...that development can happen outside of a football stadium that gets used 10-15 times per year. A few years ago I talked to a small business owner up in Lewiston about how business was on Tuesday nights when Artpark used to have their free concerts in the summer. 5,000, 10,000, sometimes more than that would show up and many would have to park in the village or beyond it to get to Artpark. He told me it was awful, probably his worst night of the week. Why? The locals didn't want to come to the village shopping and deal with traffic, and the people attending the 'event' would walk right by because they wanted to get to the concert. Once they were in Artpark, they ate and drank there, but then once the concert was done, their goal again was not to go shopping or go out to eat, but rather to get to their cars and get out of traffic and get home. Any thing you can build 'on site' will do fine. Development even across the street from the stadium will be 'iffy'. Development more than 1/2 mile away that you think will be supported by fans...pipe dream.

Ultimately I agree with you. Private development and restaurants/hotel might do well during events, but will struggle year round. Put a Bills Hall of fame there (the one at Lambeau is really nice), the larger stadium store, and stadium tours would be a hit for years after the new stadium was opened. Creative ideas would be welcome, but year-round, non-gameday development is a tough sell. Think of things that would be cost effective and popular DURING game weekends.

Boston isn't a city that is known to get stuff done quickly, but it is startling to see how fast they developed that area, compared to what is happening at Canalside, when planning and development started about the same time (within a few years) The seaport district 15-20 years ago was not a place you wanted to be. Abandoned warehouses and empty parking lots. Yet today, it is filled with glass skyscrapers 20-30 stories tall (or more) for business hotels and apartments, high end restaurants, outdoor plazas, nightlife, rooftop bars overlooking the downtown skyline, the Childrens museum, new subway stations and more. Its a place that families can walk around feeling safe at night. It hasn't taken away from Downtown boston, instead it is like a whole mini-city that was built attached to it. Now, I'm not comparing the money available in Boston to Buffalo, but still, that one district of the city is brand new and it probably has multiple times more development in it than all of Western NY combined and it has turned into a really, really great place. Whoever is in charge of Canalside should look at how things were approved and done there.

Even near Boston with the money and population around there it is an iffy proposition. I lived in that area in the past, my work office is about 10 minutes from Patriot Place, and when we vacation or visit friends in the area we stop by on occasion. Not on gameday, but on an average typical weekday, its open but it isn't that busy. Over the years, a lot of shops have come and gone. Unless you live right near it, the shine has kinda worn off of it over the years. If you want nightlife, entertainment, or even a fun meal out, The Seaport District in Boston seems to be the new 'in' place to be. I'm sure its great on gamedays or when events are going on, but I'd say 60% or more of time its pretty dead. And that is in the Suburbs of Boston (not to mention Providence RI being less than an hour away also.). I agree something that size wouldn't do well in OP.

A small museum dedicated to Bills history, a nicer, expanded Bills store. A cafe/restaurant/eatery open not just during games, and one or two other things (maybe a small, nice hotel) is something they can do. Patriot Place I don't think can be replicated in OP, not enough demand for it. But something closer to GB could be done, just DO NOT make it 1.5 miles from the stadium. Anything they do, no matter how big or small needs to be done right near the stadium.

Not sure if this was posted yet or not, haven't seen it: full article: https://www.wgrz.com/article/sports/nfl/future-of-the-bills/economic-development-ideas-new-buffalo-bills-stadium-site/71-6bf9dc8b-f307-4e56-abc8-0bebb1a86d17 Lorentz envisions both the Patriot Place retail, office, services mix concept as we've shown you before surrounding Gillette Stadium in the much larger Boston market. But actually, the Titletown development built around Lambeau Field in Green Bay may be closer to the mark. He is already in touch with their planners. Lorentz also has an idea for a location, but it's not right around the stadium. Lorentz suggests land right across from the existing Quaker Crossing retail complex on Milestrip Road. "Build across the street from there," Lorentz said. "Build a beautiful hotel, a museum, everything else, and you're within walking distance to the stadium, or we can shuttle people to the stadium from there." Personally, that last part I don't like. Building something "Bills related" that is over a mile away from the stadium to shuttle fans back and forth seems more like someone trying to get a land development deal done than building something for the fans. 'Walking distance' to the stadium is not 1.5 miles away, if you can't figure out something that is within sight of the new stadium, then that distance is too far.

I wanted a Dome. I wanted downtown. We got neither but I'm pretty sure I will really like and be happy with the stadium when it is done. Except for the cost.

The thing I don't get about Watson is....the NFL could just ban him from the league, suspend him long term....just like they could have done with a few other players in the past...and it would have a minimal impact on the game or their revenues. If Watson wasn't in the NFL at all, how many people would stop watching? Very few. Its not even like they need or 'want' any story (good or bad) to keep the league in the news. it pretty much is already in the news most of the time. Personally, I'll root against him and that team now. And if Cleveland happens to go to the playoffs and they are winning big, I'll just turn the game off because I don't/won't want to watch him succeed. I'm guessing there are others that feel in a similar way.

Agreed. Is he, or has he progressed into an 'average' QB? I think that is possible/likely. And as an average QB, you surround him with great players and he can statistically have a very good year. Play pitch-and-catch with great playmakers and you will win some games and put up numbers. However, if you DO make the playoffs and need to win some games against QB's that are better than you on teams that are as good as you or better than you...good luck.

Don't you think you should see how he actually does in the role before you make him your 'lead analyst'? I guess they want to throw money at him and get him to sign up, but just how much impact does signing these guys to top dollar have for the networks? I can't imagine a LOT more or LESS people are going to watch a game based on who is, or isn't doing the broadcast?

I don't know how much money/term he wants, but if it is high I'm good with letting him walk. Is he a good player? A good leader? Yes to both. But when you are a team now competing for Super Bowls with a top tier QB, I really think you have to identify the 6-8 core pieces and just fill in around them. To me he is just outside that important 'core' group you pay big $$ too, especially at his age. When you are up against the cap, there will be tough choices to be made EVERY year going forward. I don't think giving a 30+ year old safety top dollar would be a good choice.

You are speaking from such a narrow point of view. Its almost funny how you are exasperated by my comment because you only see things through the point of view of an ardent Bills fan. I would bet the majority of the people living in the area are either not Bills fans or are casual fans.... a lot more than are hardcore fans. You just don't see it, you don't want to see it from the point of view of those people, or you aren't capable of. Everything I mentioned above does/would apply to those non-fans or casual fans (you know the ones who won't watch the Bills on TV or only watch them when they are competitive/winning.)

Other cities without the NFL would include places like....Austin, Tucson, Louisville, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham....Any Canadian City including Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver......not saying I don't want the Bills but just saying. Without an NFL team life goes on, and often times the money spent on those teams get re-allocated other places and generates other entertainment options. Again, I do not want the Bills to leave Buffalo at all, but I have to admit I have thought of what it would be like in WNY without the Bills and what may pop up in the void they leave for people to do with their entertainment dollar/time.