yungmack

Just for the record, Da Raiders moved to LA without league approval, then took the NFL to court. Did the same thing in reverse when Davis got a better offer from Alameda County. But the last laugh is on Davis. He's kept a bevy attorneys busy trying to make Alameda live up to its deal. Meanwhile, the expected "big money" in the Bay Area never materialized. So, essentially, he makes less dough than he did in LA. I don't remember the details on the Rams but it's possible they too forced the NFL to acknowledge the move after the fact. Based on the legal history, I'm none too sure the NFL has the power any longer to really enforce its will on the franchisees. And I don't think they want to risk losing yet another round in the courts, which would add to the precedents that have weakened its central (dictatorial?) authority.

What? You hate him? On behalf of your fellow posters here, may I ask what he did to you personally to create such an incredibly strong emotion in you? I mean, come on, hate? Wow!

I find your post to be level-headed and accurate. As to those who stress stats to show that there isn't really that much difference between Edwards and Fitz, this shows the limitation of reliance on stats. I would suggest you rely on your eyes instead. What I saw with Fitz last season was a guy whose focus was downfield, a guy who'd risk putting the ball into tight coverage, a guy who took off running only when it was the last option and made sense. All the statistical comparisons in the world can not cover up Edwards's inability to accomplish any of those things. Many of the problems the offense had last year were caused by a horrible defense not being able to get the opponent's offense off the field, which let them score more, which forced the offense to play from behind too often. When you're in that one-dimensional situation, the opponent knows you're going to have to go to the air and so adjusts, heavily covering your receivers and sending the blitz. So naturally the offensive stats go down. An improved D this year should mean less scoring by the opponents, more opportunities for scoring by the Bills (along with less desperation to catch up) and a more balanced attack. If that situation comes to pass, which it should, then Fitz's passes (or any QB's) will be less risky/desperate and more "high percentage." That alone should improve his stats. Is Fitz the greatest QB in NFL history? Of course not. Is he the best in the league right now? No he is not. Could he become a top ten QB? Probably not but who really knows. But the comparison that matters is not with the rest of the league but with the Bills QBs of recent vintage. And there the difference between Fitz and Edwards/Losman is day-and-night. Until the Bills find that mythical "franchise QB," Fitz gives the offense the best chance its had for success in this past decade.

I believe the issue is that the owners USED TO TAKE 1 billion off the top but now want to take TWO billion off the top AND add two more games. For the life of me, I can't see why those greedy players object to this.

Brilliant!

Thanks for doing that for all of us.

Because WE are paying usually a premium price to advertise THEIR product(s). Maybe instead of "surreal" he could have said "Only in America," "Or there's a sucker born every minute...and two to take advantage of him." I try to never buy a product with a logo on it (Bills cap or Buffalo stuff excluded). If however someone gives me a freebie I might wear it. And if Marcel Dareus, the NFL or the Bills want to pay me to walk around promoting them with the modern version of the "sandwich board", I'll happily slip into their gear.

Buffalo consistently outdraws Oakland and makes more money. If win-loss and championship success are the only criteria, then the Cubs should be sent packing from MLB. And the Saints would have been demoted decades ago (there's still talk about moving them). And half the NHL could be removed, along with a fair number of NBA teams. As to Hassle-back's powers of analysis and insight, look no further than the wife he chose.

What's it like being a Bills fan on the west coast? Nice, very nice. But for all you posters who aren't from there, or haven't been there in a long time, here's a fine little clip about The Nickel City:

I had a very good "seat" for the business side of the LA Express in the USFL. It was a fragile but marginally successful football league that showed promise of growing into something much bigger. It's business plan was based on shared revenue and on an agreement about costs, pretty sensible ideas for a start-up. Then The Donald got involved and blew it all up. No way were any silly rules going to stop him from spending whatever he felt like to have "the best" team in pro football. It wasn't too long after that that the LA Express had a new owner (a "billionaire" originally from Syracuse who later went off to jail, I believe, for scammy business dealings), and was right there with Trump, offering Steve Young something like $45 million, an astonishing amount of money for the 1980s. And shortly thereafter, the league collapsed. No one can know if the USFL would have grown and prospered if left to its own devices. But its demise is widely laid at the feet of Donald Trump and his ignorance and vainglory. Let's hope to God he never gets near the Bills. Or the NFL. Or the White House.

Didn't say anything about him buying the team (he's only a step or two behind Ralph in the soft parade). But he could be very useful in facilitating a sale. At the very least, his involvement would definitely elevate things to a higher level than, for example, Jim Kelly's "I got some guys" approach.

You know, there is a very rich man who has a connection to Buffalo, hits the town every once in awhile, seems to know what's going on. That would be Warren Buffett. Now, he's pretty old himself. But in any discussion about how to handle Wilson's estate, or who to sell the Bills to, I have to believe he'd be a great guy to have on the team. And it would be in his own self-interest to assist in keeping the Bills in Buffalo as that scenario can't be good for the value of The Buffalo News.

If Ralph really cared about his heirs (And why should he? He'll be dead.) he would have taken the pipe in 2010 and solved all the problems.

I like it. If your predictions come to pass, the Bills will have one hell of a year. And I think that is highly possible But why pick on Ed Wang?

You're on the money.

Well, as long as we're talking about curses, I seem to remember the Seneca's put a curse on the Bills because the stadium was built on sacred ground. Has anyone else ever heard of this?

I never was a fan of McNabb's, as I am not a fan of several other "star" QBs. But I recognize his talent. While he's far from one of the all time greats, he's above average. That means he's not perfect, he's going to make mistakes, and he's going to cost you at times. But at the end of the season, he will have done you more good than harm. But like nearly every other QB, he needs a coach and a system that maximizes his strengths and masks his deficiencies.

Whoever is brought in is going to have to mentally and emotionally accept being the backup. He cannot be a divisive force in the locker room. He still must prepare every week as though he was going to have to go into the game in a split second. And he must be good enough to help the team win if he is forced to become the starter. If Jackson, or any other candidate for the job, fits those criteria, then bring him in.

Dukes in particular has focused on the "widely known" need the Bills have for a QB. He seems completely unaware that Fitz's stats put him right in the middle range of all starting QBs this past season. I don't believe he has it in for Fitz or the Bills. I think he's just been lazy and hasn't done his homework. Instead, he passes on "insights" he's glommed from listening to other pundits and from reading reports from equally uninformed "draft experts." Here's something else to add to your collection of Things Jamie Dukes Doesn't Know: The Bills lost four games last season by 3 points. 3 freakin' points! One or two more 3-and-outs by the D (which also means one or two more possessions for the Bills offense) and there's a very good chance the Bills win all four. That's why Nix is focusing on the defense.

Great and insightful post, RR (I say this because it reflects my opinion. Of course).

He was offered (and apparently accepted) scholarships to two major universities. I don't remember them off the top of my banged-up head but I believe Old Miss and Florida might be them. What happened, in both cases, is that the coaches who recruited him left/were fired. So off he went elsewhere. I would hate to think that going to a small school was grounds for avoiding a player because, in that case, the Bills wouldn't have brought in Freddy Jackson, Phil Hansen, Andre Reed and a bunch of others.

There are many, many ways to mitigate estate taxes. For example, there are financial instruments that fall under the generic term of "insurance" that pay off the estate tax. While they're not cheap, the premiums are much, much less than the tax whack would be. Most wealthy people are not stupid when it comes to money (seems obvious, doesn't it). And if they are, there are plenty very smart people they can hire to structure their estates. So it's not out of the realm of real possibility that Ralph long ago considered the tax liabilities and took steps to protect his heirs and his beloved Bills. I fervently hope he has so that his heirs can pick and choose the owner they want, and give him whatever price they want. the alternative is to unload the Bills under fire sale circumstances to the highest bidder. And that's not reassuring.

Yeah, he did. But he followed in lock step with Dukes on the Bills using Dareus at NT. Really idiotic. The only reason those two imbeciles would assume the Bills need a nose tackle is because they've never heard of Kyle Williams. Seriously, why would they think the Bills need Dareus at Nose when even a cursory look at the Bills line problems shows the need for a DE which is exactly what he's going to play in the 34. BTW, Dukes identified a QB as the Bills most pressing need in the draft. So when Buddy didn't do what Dukes wanted, he gave the Bills a mediocre grade. I used to like the guy but he's starting to really annoy me with his attitude of being informed while he's clearly not done his homework.

As much of a disappointment as I feel Spiller was last season, he did have over 1600 all-purpose yards, the 4th most for a rookie in Bills history.

About a year ago, Buddy said he was going to greatly expand the scouting department. I believe that's underway. And in recent days, Modrak has been sent packing and Doug Whaley has moved into his old job. So it appears the Bills understand that the more good scouting you do, the less money you waste on poor draftees and free agent signings. A good team also draws better, can charge higher prices, etc. I don't know what the scouting department costs (a million? 3?). But it's a whole lot cheaper than what they're wasting on just Maybin (to name one much-maligned signing). To cut back on scouting would be "pennywise and pound foolish."