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Last Guy on the Bench

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Posts posted by Last Guy on the Bench

  1. With Byrd back in the fold, the starting D now has 8 out of 11 guys selected in the first or second round.

     

    5 first rounders (Mario, Dareus, Lawson, McKelvin, Gilmore

    3 second rounders (Byrd, A. Williams, Kiko)

    1 third (Carrington)

    1 fourth (Bradham)

    1 fifth (K. Williams)

     

    The first rounders are high ones too. Overall - Mario (1), Dareus (3), Gilmore (10), Leodis (11), Lawson (22).

     

    The lowest guy, the fifth rounder, might be the best defensive player on the team.

     

    I know some of those guys haven't lived up to their draft billing. And I know it doesn't really mean anything once the ball is snapped, but in terms of raw athletic talent it says something. Hope Pettine can put it all together.

  2. Everyone is thanking Bill for his good job. I also, though, want to thank everyone here for making this a great thread. :thumbsup:

     

    Absolutely. In addition to Bill's always engaging take on things, one of the reason's his AFTATGINPO posts get so much traffic is that they consistently generate good discussion and debate. They rarely devolve into pissing contests (although of course there is always a little pissing going on in any internet message board thread). I really enjoy them, and often learn something.

  3. The government blocked it last year, they have a nasty habit of blocking websites, the NFL refunded my $. I could have complained probably but that other language thing...... I think the bandwidth is okay and I am pretty sure it was blocked in my area but worked in others. :wacko: Not sure why. They block a lot of porno too and political things that they don't like, can't even get some very common sites. I am set with not paying though anyway (good at finding links, hah). But by the end of the season there are less and less available (I didn't buy it until week about 3 last year and cancelled in week 5, I think). PITA but it is what it is, life abroad.

     

    Ah. That's a pain. Nothing is ever blocked here in SA, so that's good. Bandwidth is expensive, though. I used to just use the shady links, but between the lack of quality, the irritating ads, and the way they disappear in the middle of the game, I was more than happy to go legit, once I had the option.

  4. I would do that if my Thai gf and mother of my child wouldn't kill me or cut off my penis for doing that :blink:! Plus, I don't drink but that is okay..... I would like to watch games with Bflo people though.

    I live out a ways too, Ramintra area. Taxis would be a B word at 4am (or at least expensive). I have been wondering how to do it here. This one is on NFL network not sure even the True plan has it on (I stopped using dish tv 2 years ago) though. How do you usually watch the games here? The NFL internet thing is a pain, easier to find streams in my experience, tried it last year and cancelled after 2 games. The Damn government blocked it at my house!

     

    BTW hope it is an injury free day for the Bills!

    GO BILLS!

     

    Why is Game Pass a pain for you? I live in Cape Town and feel like I've died and gone to heaven with Game Pass. I watch all the Bills games live and watch tons of others either live or later in the week with the condensed version. Love it. It's the easiest $200 I spend all year. I would assume Bangkok would have better bandwidth etc. than Cape Town but maybe not? Anyway, hats off to you since you have to watch the games even later than I do.

  5. This causes me to question things since Murphy tows the company line. The 'Kolb is terrible' stuff is pretty convenient thus far.

     

    I don't know. I don't think "Kolb is terrible" is the company line. That's certainly not what Marrone is saying. And the national guys coming through this week - whom the Bills have no control over - are pretty much saying the same thing as Murph.

  6. I have to say, even though we lost that game in completely agonizing fashion, it was one of the most incredible games I've seen. The fact that it was a night game on national television only added to it, as well as the fact that it was the craziest and loudest I think I've ever seen the crowd at the Ralph. The TD interception return by Wilson was electrifying, and the one by Kelsay was one of the most awesome single plays I can recall at the Ralph.

     

    The OP stated this list should be restricted to wins, but that game, as horrible as it was at the end, has to be up there on the list of great games. If only we had a shread of offense that game...

     

    I agree. As heartbreaking as that was, that was still one of the most enjoyable games I've been to. And it was insanely loud. My father couldn't hear right for six months after that game.

     

    Makes me wonder what people would list for their favorite games that the Bills lost. I know, I know - that's kind of an oxymoron, but for me some losses are definitely better than others in terms of how the team played, what kind of heart they showed, what kind of growth potential they hinted at.

     

    That Dallas MNF game would make my list for sure. The Leodis fumble game against the Pats in 2009 was very fun until that ending.

  7. Look, I don't like the Jets (obviously), but anyone who has ever played for him has said that he's fair and honest -- far more honest than most coaches, if players are to be believed. He also has a sharp coaching mind. I find him entertaining and fun. He brings life to the league, in contrast to the grim Belichicks and bland Jaurons of the world. In short, he comes across as a person who wears his heart on his sleeve and loves life. The fact that he's a Jets coach is neither here nor there.

     

     

    Ditto on all of the above. I see the same thing.

     

    I really enjoyed watching him in Hard Knocks. If he were the Bills' coach, I bet most people here would love him.

  8. Terrific article. For once there is some real, sustained legwork behind it. It's not just from press conferences and press releases.

     

    It paints a very interesting picture of Marrone. I was fine with the hire, but not overly enthusiastic from what I've seen of him in press conferences, etc. (Not super critical, mind you, just not overly enthusiastic.) Well, after this article I am feeling MUCH more charged about Marrone as our head coach. He seems quite impressive in a number of ways. Definitely his own guy. Not just another robo-coach.

     

    You never know how things will turn out, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him do a great job here. I'd be rooting for anyone the Bills hired, since I have the incurable medical condition of being an unreasonable Bills fan. But I'll be pulling for this guy extra hard. Would love for him to turn out to be "the one."

  9. Context is key, definitely.

     

    Me saying I'm going to go eat some watermelon is not racist.

     

    If I made a snarky comment about a black person, and told them to eat watermelon, then yes, that'd come off as racist.

     

    Here, we have a guy who, at worst, has been a little whiny and heart broken about his draft placement in the draft, getting called a thug. What other reason would he be called a thug? So it comes off as a bit racist.

     

    If he had problems with drugs, violence and that general attitude? Then yes, thug away.

     

    Well said.

     

    If a white guy said/did everything that Geno has said/done, he'd be taking all sorts of crap, but I seriously doubt anyone would be calling him a "thug." It's not "PC" to point that out; it's logic.

     

    Doesn't mean the OP is racist, but his comment definitely comes off that way, and you don't have to be hyper-sensitive to think so.

  10. Nice work, people. This needs to turn into a poll.

     

    My votes from what has already been suggested (based purely on entertainment value):

     

    1) Wide Starboard

    2) The Wreck of the Ryan Fitzgerald

    3) This Boat'll Have a New Captain in Three Years

    4) Ashton YouBoaty

     

    How about:

     

    Home Run Rowback

  11. calm down guy and have a stalk of Rhubarb or something. It was a joke.

     

    Rhubarb :lol:. Now that's actually funny.

     

    It's all good. I'm a big admirer of Marv, so this thread has gotten me worked up a bit. I just don't understand the narrow (and in my opinion unrealistic) views on coaching that equate quality with how things turn out in a handful of games rather than looking at the body of work as a whole.

  12. if acty true, even more of a reason not to like him.

     

    Jim has to agree with me in this one.

     

     

    Yes what someone chooses to eat is an excellent reason not to like them. Well done.

     

    Besides, the point was that Marv wasn't being hypocritical in the pork chop way that Jim implied. Otherwise, I would agree with Jim that people who criticize hunting while happily chowing down on packaged meat don't have much of a leg to stand on. Hunting your meat is much more honest, in my opinion.

     

    Full disclosure: I am a vegetarian. Feel free not to like me either. Marv and I can console ourselves over a nice plate of Tofurkey. :rolleyes:

  13. I, for one, think back to the '93 Comeback game, and one play (call) in particular that solidified my belief that Levy was not just a good, but great, head coach.

    In the 3rd quarter, trailing 35-24, and having momentum- Levy eschewed the field goal and chose to go for it on a 4th and 5 from the 18 yard line. What other coach makes that call? Maybe a Belichick, who knows? I'd say 99% of coaches would not. Conventional wisdom dictates kicking the field goal and cutting the lead to 8 (after all you have an entire quarter left to play). If the Bills had failed to convert on that play, Levy is ripped to shreds by fan and media alike. But the Bills went for it, got the touchdown pass to Reed, and the rest is history. One of the gutsiest calls I've ever seen a coach make.

     

    I'd forgotten that. Good recall.

     

    Those teams did play like crap on occasion, but they never played scared.

     

    People can question any number of individual decisions Marv made, but I don't think he made any out of fear.

  14. Honestly, you people do not know what you're talking about. You were either too young to watch Marv

    as a coach or you're so disgusted with Bills football of the last 12 years that you're just ragging on everyone.

     

    I think too many people discount how good of a coach he was because of his lackluster outing as a GM.

     

    Marv was a great coach!!!! Do you really think it is just a fluke that he is in the HOF and still considered one

    of the 20 best of all time?

     

    Oh right, it's just because he got lucky to have great players...

    What about Shula having Unitas, Griese, and Marino

    Or Jimmy Johnson having Aikman, E. Smith, and Johnson...just for a start

    Any team that makes a Super Bowl has great/all pro/HOF players. If you say that for

    Marv, you have to say that about every other Super Bowl coach

    Walsh...Montana, Rice, etc

    Knoll...Bradshaw, Greene, Stallworth, Franco, Swan, etc.

    That is just such a bad argument.

     

    That Bills team was full of egos...Marv united them, made them a family. It was war, us against them,

    being accountable to the other men in the trenches with you. He inspired that team. Do you really

    think without Marv's leadership they would have gone to the Bowl 4 times? No, that team would have

    been at each other's throats (remember the bickering Bills) and imploded. They persevered because

    of what Marv instilled in them. They didn't achieve in spite of him, they achieved because of him.

     

    He may not have been the architect of the K-gun/no-huddle, but he definitely had a hand in it (if you remember

    how it came about---after the Cincinatti game) and he had the final say on using it, how they would use it,

    allowing his QB to call the plays, etc. and ended up overseeing one of the most prolific offenses

    ever. And it was due to Marv that Special Teams became important again league-wide and made a name

    for Steve Tasker and Mark Pike.

     

    What? Marv was only a .500 coach in the NFL before coming to Buffalo?...Well, Bill Belichick was under .500 in 5 years

    at Cleveland and 1 year in New England before Brady took over. Marv also coached in the Canadian League.

    In 5 years up in Canada, he was in the Grey Cup (their Super Bowl) 3 out of 5 years, winning 2. And although,

    his time with the Chiefs wasn't completely successful, he had inherited a horrendous 2-12 team and each year

    they improved to 4, 7, 8 wins, then 9-7 in 1981 (before a strike shortened season).

     

    The reason we failed in the Super Bowls was because the league was changing at that time to bigger, beefier

    offensive lines and our small 3-man front couldn't stop the run consistently enough against those new O-lines

    (Washington and Dallas). And sure the Giants (Parcells and Belichick) had a good game plan in SB XXV to

    use a time sucking ground attack to keep the Bills offense off the field, but it's not like he was severely out coached,

    we lost the game by 1 point for Christ's sake and if Norwood's FG goes through we would have won. And don't forget,

    in week 15 of that same year, we had beaten that same Giants team in the Meadowlands 17-13. Those teams were so evenly

    matched and those were two hard fought, close games.

     

    Marv is the only coach to go to 4 consecutive Super Bowls (do you know how hard that is even though they lost them)?

    He was also the coach of the greatest NFL comeback of all time.

    In an 8 year stretch, his Bills won the AFC East 6 times.

    He was Skyline Conference Coach of the year both years he coached at the University of New Mexico.

    He also won Southern Conference Coach of the Year awards 2 out of 5 years he was at William & Mary.

    Won the Annis Stukus Trophy (Coach of the year in the Canadian League) in 1974.

    Was NFL Coach of the Year in 1988 and AFC Coach of the Year in 1988, 1993, and 1995.

    One of only 2 coaches (Tom Flores was the other) to have a winning record (17-6) against the winningest coach

    in the history of the NFL (Shula).

    One of only 14 coaches to win at least 100 games with one team.

    One of only 2 coaches (Bud Grant, the other) to appear in both Grey Cup Championship and the Super Bowl.

    Over a 10 year span (1988-1997), an entire decade, the Bills won more games than any team in the AFC and

    2nd only to San Francisco in the entire NFL (I'm sure coaching had nothing to do with that...right?)

     

     

    I just don't understand this revisionist history. Give the man his due and have some respect for not only one

    of the best Bills coaches ever, but one of the best of all-time.

     

    "Where would you rather be than right here, right now"

     

    "When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us."

     

    Come on Man!

     

    Thank you, thank you, thank you. Great post.

     

    Super Bowl fever makes people insane. Winning the Super Bowl is a huge crapshoot. So many things have to go right. A few plays go differently and Brady and Belichick have won zero. Or five. (I think they are both all-timers, BTW.)

     

    The way to judge a coach or team is consistency in terms of being in the hunt. Marv and the gang couldn't win the big game because they lost 4 Super Bowls (3 against superior and/or extremely hot teams)? Really? Those conference championship games weren't big? Those other playoff games? Those comebacks? Those division clinchers? Those games against arch rivals like the Dolphins who had been pounding the Bills for years? Those Monday nighters?

     

    Marv's Bills won a donkey load of big games. They were competitive and entertaining and resilient for a decade. They were a joy to watch. But sure, Marv had nothing to do with it.

  15. I look forward to the day when the product on the field makes those press conferences irrelevant.

     

    Good point. This past decade, the drafts, the player signings, the coaching/admin changes, and the press conferences surrounding them have been the most exciting moments for this franchise. Sadly I've gotten used to it and now seem to confuse those things with football itself. I would love to have my brain re-washed by actual football highlights. Here's hoping Whaley and Marrone are the guys to make that happen.

  16. The beat writers' job will be tougher. Nix was relatively open and chatty while Whaley mostly sticks to his message. You could ask Doug three different questions and not get much more than "it takes a commitment from top to bottom, we're excited." I don't envy those trying to get quotes out of him, he doesn't budge.

     

    That's for sure. It was stunning. I never thought someone could make Russ Brandon look like a paragon of authenticity. Never heard such dense corporate-speak in my life.

     

    Not saying either guy is inauthentic as a human - from all accounts they are both good guys. I'm just talking about their approaches to public communication.

     

    I hope Whaley does well, and I'm sure he is as hard working and likable as everyone says. But press conferences are going to be painful. From that respect, I miss Buddy already.

  17. Nix was on with Ryan and Kirwin yesterday. They asked how he felt Mario did last year...to paraphrase

     

    "Well, the other team certainly knew where he would be every snap"

     

    I knew you would love that....just amazing gu did not get fired mid season

     

    Didn't hear this, so don't know the context. But are you sure that rather than taking a dig at Wannstedt, he didn't simply mean the other team had to game plan around Mario (i.e., implying Mario was good, from that respect)?

     

    I can't see Buddy taking a cheap (even though true) shot at Wannstedt. I can see him defending Mario's overall play by highlighting the respect that opposing teams had for him.

  18. over weights bench press under weights broad jump especially for WRs- in three months of hard work I could double DaRich's bench press reps, no ones adding more than 10%-15% to their vertical jumps

     

    Exactly. Any metric that equates a FOOT in the broad jump with one bench rep is absurd.

     

    Say there are two guys with the same vertical jump. On the bench, Player A does 25 reps, player B 22. But Player A has a 9' broad jump and player B has an 11' broad jump. Player A will have the higher "explosion" number. Nonsensical.

     

    If we are just looking at explosive athleticism, I'll take the guy with the massive TWO FOOT advantage in the broad jump over the guy with the very slightly stronger upper body.

     

    Even if he got the weighting right, though, it's still too reductive to mean much. Too many other athletic factors in play.

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