The Red King

Honestly, no idea. I think packed, but not every seat taken...typical for the '90s Bills when playing a team of NE's (at the time) calibur. BUF/NE games back then weren't exciting draws to Bills fans then...much like the same is currently true to NE fans. Definately through a mirror darkly there.

...we currently have the longest playoff drought?

This is why we can't have nice things. People quibble over every rule, want everything quantified down to the last pixel when common sense should be enough. I used to be a mod and then admin on a board a decade or so ago and I know I only stepped in when I had to. From what I can tell, staff here seems the same. Simply put, we're not idiots. We all know how to behave and what we should be doing. If a staff member says something, one of two things happened. You got carried away and got a private nudge to settle down, or you did something you didn't realize was wrong, and got a private poke from staff letting you know. When that happens, the staff isn't out to get you! Most likely they just want the issue done and corrected so they can go back to doing almost anything else. If people listen, learn and respect that...there shouldn't be further problems. Sadly, one or more people are not listening, and so we have this thread, one I'm certain the staff would have much preferred not writing. It's a blanket statement, because the goal is correcting the behavior, not shaming the offender(s). So, to support the staff, let me be blunt. Please realise the staff are human, and staff duties are rarely fun. If a staff member messaged you privately, it's not because they are bored, or a jerk. There was behavior disruptive to the forum taking place. Please pay close attention to what is said, and make any adjustments requested. Good staff members will drop the hammer when need be, for the good of the forum. But good staff members will usually feel terrible when they have to. Don't put them in that position. Listen when the staff tells you something, and just use some common sense when posting. That's really all it should take.

Don't forget, during the Super Bowl years the Pats were us. I remember being at the stadium for those games. I felt truly bad for one Pats fan who was drunk out of his mind by the second half. The Bills were crushing the Pats and scored yet again. During the 'Fight!' song this poor guy barely managed to slur out..."The Bills make me wanna puke!" in rythem to the song. I couldn't hate him, just...pitied him. Some Pats fans need longer memories I think, remember their franchise history pre-Brady. Might make 'em a lil more humble.

Never forget those who fought not just so they could be free, but rather so we all could be.

In the olden days when you said something to someone it was to their face. Internet anonomosity lets people be jerks. Just Google "John Gabriel's Greater Internet F***wad Theory". ?

Going to four consecutive championship games...winning the conference four consecutive years...makes you the worst team in professional sports? ?

OMG...just watched that yesterday! So, would that lead to..."He can't do that to our posters. Only we can do that to our posters!" ?

Still another year to The Process. Too many holes to fill. This year the D got beefier and we nabbed our QB. We're going to follow the same plan as last year, lean hard on the D and hope the O can put up enough points for the win. After this upcoming season we'll recover a ton of salary cap room. Next off-season we'll completely overhaul the O through free agency and the draft, custom tailored for our QB.

Makes sense, I suppose. But that's why these early draft grades are just as meaningless as pre-season power rankings. All comes down to guesswork and opinion. Could get something just as accurate by rolling a Magic 8-Ball over an Ouijii board.

NFL QB, or Fantasy Football QB? As noted earlier by HaplessBillsFan, that site focuses more on FF. I'm guessing TT's style of play lends itself wonderfully to wracking up FF points, ergo #12 QB. Likewise, our draft did more to bolster the defense then offense, leaving a ton of questions about taking any Bill in upcoming FF drafts, so I could see how, looking from a more FF mindset that someone could see it as a bad draft. Me, I still more care about the actual NFL games. ?

Getting some luck is not the same as them lucking in. I've said this multiple times. My gripe is people that attribute it all to luck, belittling the effort and accomplishment of the team. As for your earlier example...end of the Carolina game, replay it 100 times, how many times does Buffalo make that play, go 10-6 and make the playoffs while Carolina doesn't? Luck was in play, yes, but it was not the main reason the Bills made it, as some claim. I also disagree about this year, but that comes down to opinion. Thanks to offseason moves I see our defense (the main reason the Bills made it, and main reason the JAX game was close) as being even better. I think the O-line is weaker, but our new starting QB will stretch the field better then TT preventing opponents from stacking the box shutting down Shady and the short passing game. I think the Bills defense will be better then last year and the offense will at least be on-par with last season resulting in a slightly better team overall. I still predict another 9-7 season with a week 17 Wild Card birth, this time without help this time...but that's my opinion, we'll see what happens.

Trying to conclusively grade a draft before anyone takes a snap in a regular season game is akin to judging someone on buying a pack of trading cards before the pack is even open. All you can judge is...did teams adddess points of need. You cannot judge how well they did so. Buffalo got a high-pick QB...their most glaring need. They nabbed a linebacker, also high need and a defensive tackle which is will be a need with Williams retiring soon. As such, I think it looks like an outstanding draft. As to how well these specific players will actually fill the holes...that's impossible to tell right now. Too early.

I disagree strongly. Snow game was heart. Looked like it was going to be a tie until Shady said "Oh, hell no!", tapped every reserve, and ripped off a game-winning run. That wasn't luck, that was determination and one player wanting it more then an entire defense.

Agreed. But saying it took some luck to get in is different to saying they were lucky to make it. Some people seem insistant on throwing out the efforts and accomplishments of that team, handwaving it away and crediting the playoff birth soley to luck...implying (or even saying) the Bills didn't deserve it.

Yeah, but at the same time we had moments like fumbling the kickoff with the lead and two minutes left in regulation on MNF.

Only two ways to beat the Pats, outgun them (Eagles) or knock Brady around like a pinball (Giants, Broncos). Since we've had meh offense and zero pass rush during the drought, it's understandable that NE has been routinely thrashing us.

The Titans were also 9-7 last season. I don't hear anyone saying they were lucky. 9-7 is frequently good enough for a Wild Card. And again, it was a weak schedule that cost Baltimore a spot, we beat them out through strength of victory. Did you even read my OP?

...which only more justifies my loss of respect for him following his little tantrum. That Super Bowl was poetic justice.

I reiterate what I said earlier. Some people hated the Allen pick so much that they will use any little thing Rosen does right or Allen does wrong as evidence the wrong decision is made. And so, we will endure threads like this, including fanatics who claim to be able to see into the future well enough to say for certain drafting Allen was a mistake despite him not yet taking a snap in a pro game yet. Sadly these supposed psychics still have yet to provide winning lottery numbers, leading me to believe they are not psychics, and rather mistake their own personal opinions as fact. Basically, the minute you state with certainty that we made a mistake, rather then prefacing it with "I believe..." or "In my opinion...", the rest of your post becomes white noise to me because it's obvious you are a fanatical zealot with nothing positive to add. Rather, you're about to rant about how people are idiots for not acknowledging your opinion as fact.

I used to. Then the whole scandel thing started. Beli went and threw a temper tantrum, running up the scores on helpless teams just to make a point and stick it to the commish. It was childish and immature. I lost all respect for the man that season and grinned a little more then I should have when karma came back and bit him, ruining his perfect season by tripping him up at the finish line. I still respect his coaching abilities, just not the man himself anymore.

I'm an odd case. I hate Brady and Belly (and now Gronk after the WWE flying elbow he dropped last season), but other then them, I don't hate the Pats. If, for example, all three of them retired, my feelings toward the team would shift drastically. As such, I hold no ill-will toward any other Boston team.

There are some people that wanted Rosen over Allen. Some of them are still quite upset/angry we didn't take Rosen and are convinced Rosen will be a star while Allen will be a bust. Those people will seize on any Rosen success or Allen failure/setback as an opportunity to say "See? See?!? I was right, the front office was wrong! Rage with me! See?!? It's so obvious!!!". That's why this thread was created, and sadly there will be more. >.>

I think that's a fair assessment. Sometimes it takes a lucky bounce here or there. My issue is with people that attribute their playoff appearance mostly or entirely to luck, usually in the context that they didn't deserve/earn it. That team busted their asses to get to 9-7, even pulling themselves out of a three-game losing streak that would have been a death spiral other seasons in the past. What I object to are people that think last season's team was terrible and didn't deserve to make it. As if the playoff fairy descended from above and blessed a 4-12 team with a playoff birth, and Buffalo didn't do a thing to actually earn it. And yes, some people here feel that way and have said as much.