SoTier

I'm not sold on McDaniel. Much like rookies who sparkle in their first seasons and then tail off in succeeding seasons, some new HCs never develop into good HCs. Unfortunately for you and all these "experts and pundits" so in love with the Fish, having a supposed "clear cut top 5 roster" is meaningless. An elite QB working with a top HC makes up for most talent deficients most of the time. The Pats and Chiefs have demonstrated this pretty regularly over the last 2 decades. Tua isn't an elite QB and McDaniel isn't a top HC.

The mishandling of high draft picks and sending their best players off to other teams were hallmarks of the end of the Wilson era, but so was signing big name FAs like Mario Williams and Terrell Owens to put butts in the seats rather than to make the team better. It's why I don't whine about Beane like so many others on this board. I'll take honest -- if sometimes unsuccessful -- attempts to build a winning team any day over the crap show Bills fans suffered through prior to 2018. There is nobody ever associated with the NFL I loathe more than Russ Brandon.

If anybody wants evidence that the Bills under Ralph Wilson put profits over winning in his last fifteen years as owner, compare the players the Bills drafted and/or developed that they traded away or allowed to walk in free agency and those that they kept. The list of ex-Bills who went on to star for other teams is far longer than the players the Bills kept who became more than JAGs. Jason Peters, Marshawn Lynch, and Stephon Gilmore all became All Pros for other teams after the Bills sent them packing -- and won SB rings, too. Antoine Winfield, Sr made the Pro Bowl three times and was also named 2nd team All Pro. Willis McGahee made the Pro Bowl twice for two different teams (Baltimore and Denver). There were many more. Kyle Williams was one of the few good home-grown players the Bills kept. They were much more likely to keep players like Chris Kelsay, Lee Evans, and Leodis McKelvin. IMO, the only way the Bills can hope to improve their OT situation via other teams' castoffs is if they find a very raw rookie/2nd year player that another team tries to stash on their practice squad. That player would be unlikely to be of much help this season though.

Actually, the Bills were paying Peters low-end RT money -- and wanted to continue to do that -- even though Peters made the Pro Bowl and 2nd team All Pro at LT. The LT whom Peters replaced left in free agency the next season and signed for more than the Bills were paying Peters IIRC.

When, exactly, was Country music "really country music"? My late step-mother loved the country music of the 1950s and 1960s. I'm more of an Alabama, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire fan myself but I like more recent music by Kelsea Ballerini, Eric Church, and Florida Georgia Line. America in 2023 isn't the same America as in 1933 or 1953 or 1973 or even 1993, and country music, like most popular music genres, reflects that.

I think Peters would be a great insurance policy at OT but some people hold grudges long after the parties they think did them wrong are totally out of the picture.

Given that Ralph Wilson and Russ Brandon refused to renegotiate his very unfair contract after he was named to the Pro Bowl and 2nd Team All Pro twice, I'm not sure how Peters feels about the Bills.

Try Googling "adult adoption in Tennessee". All that's required is for the biological parents to be notified. They don't need to agree to it nor do they have to be present in court. FYI, according to Touhey, Oher's mother was, in fact, in court. In one of the articles cited in this thread, Sexton was identified as a close family friend of Touhey as well as the lawyer who set up the conservatorship. His status and reputation doesn't exempt his actions from scrutiny in regards to the ethics of his being involved in giving his friend financial control of someone who became his client.

The Touheys lied to Oher because a conservatorship is not an adoption. The law in Tennessee allows for adult adoptions. They chose to use a conservatorship rather than a simple adult adoption.

According to the court filing, Oher's new lawyer discovered the conservatorship in February, 2023. My guess is that the Touheys didn't exercise as much control over Oher as they could have, so he didn't question anything until after he retired. Oher's agent when he signed his first NFL contract (and maybe his subsequent contract(s)) was described in one of the articles quoted upthread as a close personal friend of the Touheys. This same lawyer set up the conservatorship, which was set up when Oher was just 18. Oher claims in court papers that he thought he was being adopted by the Touheys when he signed the conservatorship agreement, and the Touheys have represented the legal proceeding as adoption for years. Sean Touhey has also claimed that they couldn't adopt Oher because he was over 18, so they had to do the conservatorship, but Tennessee allows adult adoption so that statement by Touhey is untrue. I think that Oher trusted the Touheys and his agent (the Touheys' friend) to take care of his interests because he thought he was truly part of their family so he never questioned much. I think that he feels betrayed and exploited by the Touheys, and that's what has prompted the lawsuit.

I would think that Luke Combs tix will definitely be in demand since he's a major country music star with a long string of recent hits. He's a 2 time CMA Entertainer of the Year. I do wonder about having an outdoor concert in Highmark in April ... although I once stood in line for 2 hours in 10 degree temps to get an armband that enabled me to buy tix to a Garth Brooks concert back in the day.

Since 2000, Allen is just about the only "project" QB taken in the first round who has become a top QB. Tom Brady was a sixth rounder and Tony Romo an UDFA. Those are the only QBs I can think of who underwent "complete make-overs" as pros and turned into top NFL passers. It seems to me that Allen's problems with decision making and mechanics were rooted in lack of good coaching. He went to a small rural HS. He went to a junior college and then a lower echelon college program, which is not exactly the best path to the NFL. Even his first year with the Bills, his QB coach wasn't very experienced, and Allen struggled. I believe that Allen worked with Jordan Palmer before his second season, which helped. Under Daboll and Dorsey, you could see Allen improve over the course of his second season, and he's continued to hone his skills as he's matured.

I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or if you are naieve about human nature. Financial success doesn't necessarily mean a person has "morals and values". In fact, many successful businessmen have built their success by exploiting their employees or ruining their competitors, and numerous very wealthy people have been convicted of fraud, embezzlement, etc for a relatively small amount of money. Sadly, I'm not surprised at all. I think too many fans don't see NFL players as people but as Madden game pieces. There's a lot of resentment, too, that successful NFLers make a lot of money over their careers, at least some of which is based on racism from some posters. I have real issues with Sean Touhey's statement above. It's simply untrue that they couldn't adopt Oher over the age of 18 in Tennessee: Adult Adoption in Tennessee. All it would require would be Oher's consent. Adoption would not have given the Touheys control of Oher's finances but it would give Oher legal rights to the Touhey estate if Sean or his wife died. The conservatorship enabled the Touhey's to control Oher's fiances and profit from it indefinitely. The conservatorship is still in effect, so the Touhey's still have control over some of his finances. I imagine that this will all come out in the court case.

How much did they make? And how much did he make? Did everyone sign off on this? Did someone fail to perform according to the agreement in any way? There is a lot of moral outrage here. If someone could give us the Cliff Notes on the facts and the contracts, that would be helpful. According to the ESPN article, the conservatorship is still in effect, and ending it is the primary reason for the lawsuit. If Oher is broke -- as several posters on this thread have claimed -- that seems to be the Touheys' fault since they have been in charge of his finances for nearly 20 years. The court filing also claims that the Touheys not only profited from the movie, but they have continued to profit from claiming that they adopted Oher, from foundations that they ran to books to motivational speaking tours, etc. Moreover, Oher's sports agent was a close friend of the Touhey's, and the same lawyer who filed the conservatorship papers. This entire situation stinks to high heaven. As a former grad student at a large Midwestern university that was a football powerhouse (ie, National Champion) in the 1970s when I attended, I will attest to this. Grad students without scruples could earn big bucks by "tutoring" football players so they could maintain their eligibility. The New York Times article quoted by Syhuang in his/her post suggests that the Touheys were hardly altruistic in helping Oher. It seems that they viewed helping him get NCAA acceptance as an "investment" in getting him to the NFL which lead them to help him skirt the intent of the NCAA rules. If Oher's GPA was too low, he could have attended a junior college for a couple of years where he could have improved his grades in order to transfer to a NCAA school. That was both Cam Newton's and Josh Allen's route to the NFL (although not necessarily for poor HS GPAs).

Here are some things to do around Buffalo in October 2023 depending up when and how long you are in town ... Events in October.

I'll believe KC is falling off when I actually see it on the field. Elite QBs can make up for so many deficiencies that these teams are always in play to win the SB unless they lose their QB or the wheels completely fall off the rest of the team. Pundits predicted the Pats' demise almost every year for a decade before Brady left. I think it's the same with the Chiefs. I would add that the Bills and Bengals are right there, too, with probably the difference being that Andy Reid is a great coach while McDermott and Taylor aren't shoo-ins for the HOF at this time. One of the reasons that I couldn't put the 49'ers in the top 5 is because of their QB situation. Maybe Brock Purdy is the real deal but there are dozens of ex-NFL QBs who looked good for their first six or eight games before their careers went south. Trey Lance hasn't played enough to even know what kind of a QB he could be. The Chargers, Fins and Vikings need to acquire a semblance of an average defense before they can be considered top teams in the league.

Chiefs Bills Bengals Eagles Ravens Other dangerous teams: Jets, 49ers, Steelers

When were you last in Buffalo ... if ever? Either your experience dates from 30 plus years ago or whatever "city guide" you're using does, Joey. Now, go crawl back under your bridge.

^^^ I doubt that Rodgers' ego can tolerate being the QB of a mediocre offense for 5 or 6 games. In his mind, Rodgers knows he's the greatest QB ever. I agree with Fleezoid that Rodgers would become divisive to the entire team in short order with a poor start. He repeatedly demonstrated a penchant to blame everybody but himself for the Packers' missteps over the last couple of years.

LOL. I can't think of better examples of "groupthink" and having a "hivemind" than embracing conspiracy theories based on disinformation spread on social media.

Here's the link to the NFTA game day express bus service (NFTA Game Day Bus Schedule). I think you want to take Route 253, which leaves the Metropolitan Transit Center in downtown Buffalo (181 Ellicott) and drops you off at the stadium after a stop at the McKinley Mall. This bus route will have buses returning to the MTC a half hour or an hour after the game. Enjoy the game!!!! PS When you go to Niagara Falls, take the time to ride the Maid of the MIst boat ride!!!! The Cave of the Winds is good, too!

It might be a very hungry, very desperate young hawk.

I think that even if he stays healthy, Tua is simply a "good" NFL QB. Surround him with lots of talent, and he'll look good, put up impressive numbers, and win some games. He'll even win some playoff games, and maybe, if things go perfectly, maybe even a Super Bowl like Joe Flacco did. He's not an "elite" NFL QB who can enable JAGs to play far above their weight classes when needed. That's what Allen, Burrow, Hurts and Mahomes do. It's what Brady, P Manning and Rodgers did in their prime. I think QB is where the gap between the Bills and Miami is not only the widest but also the hardest to close. The Miami offense may have more talented offensive skill players than the Bills but because of Allen, the Bills get just as much firepower -- and sometimes more -- out of their somewhat less talented group. There's little doubt that the Bills also still have a better defense than the Fish. Even with injuries to key players almost from the start of the season, the Bills D held its own as one of the best Ds in the league, which speaks to the talent and depth the Bills have on defense. Last year, Miami's D was in the bottom quarter of NFL statistically, so they have a long climb to catch up to the Bills there, too. They've improved, but while they've strengthened their defensive starters, they lack the quality depth that they need to be a top defensive team in 2023. Having to replace Jaylen Ramsey with Eli Apple early on is a major set back to closing the defensive gap. Finally, while the Fish have added some big name players and a well-known defensive coach for 2024, the Bills haven't exactly slept through the preseason. They've modestly improved their OL, RBs and WRs. They added a top flight pass catching TE and a promising interior OLer in the draft. If White, Hyde, and MIller can return to pre-injury form in 2023, the Bills will again be a tough defensive team. The gap between the Bills and Fish has narrowed somewhat but the Fish have definitely not closed the gap. They may even have fallen further behind if Tua can't stay healthy.

I think the addition of Rodgers can change the Jets' narrative. Forty-year-old Rodgers still tops Tua, especially since Tua, even healthy, has never been mistaken for an elite QB. Rodgers could crash and burn in the Big Apple as Russell Wilson did in Denver, but at this point, he makes the Jets the Bills closest challenger. I saw a take on the Bills-Bengals playoff game last month or so by somebody on TV (maybe on GMFB) that suggested that the Bills hit a mental/emotional wall in the Bengals playoff game because they had been through so much as a team toward the end of the season that they were literally "running on empty" by the time they got to the playoffs. They certainly played "flat" in the Bengals game, and that mental and emotional fatigue might have been the reason.

I agree. The Jets have more of the right pieces to be a real threat than the Fish. Rodgers is easily better than Tua. I think their WR corps are about equivalent. The Jets defense is significantly better. I think that Saleh has proven himself a competent HC at worst, but the jury is still out on McDaniel.