SirAndrew

Yeah, absolutely true. Buffalo has significant ethnic populations that wouldn’t exist without mass immigration taking place after the civil war. The city’s population was 81,129 in 1860 and plateaued at 580,132 in 1950. This area had immense growth following the Civil War.

Agree. I’ve seen enough prime time Bears/Packers games to last a lifetime. Both the Pats and Browns are far more interesting.

Yeah, Packers fans in Wisconsin are the real deal. The random Packers fans you meet elsewhere are the ones who give some the wrong impression. That bandwagon has had a nice run with Favre and Rodgers.

Yeah, I’d shocked if the Packers don’t take it easily. The Packers have a great fan base in Wisconsin, just as the Bills do among current/former WNY’ers. The big difference is the Packers have the nationwide bandwagon fans.

Brady certainly wasn’t good in that Super Bowl, but that’s what worries me when dreaming about the Pats dynasty coming to an end. They always find a way to win. As far as Jared Goff is concerned, I’m not his biggest fan, but the Pats make a lot of QB’s “puke on their shoes”. I’m going to give Belichick at least some credit for shutting down the Rams. Sure, the Bears and Eagles gave the blueprint of how to slow down Goff, but the Pats perfected it in the Super Bowl. The Pats have historically been all about Brady, but he did decline a bit last season imo. The issue is the fact that Belichick is also the goat, and Brady can still win while declining with such a great as his head coach. Every week Belichick makes his fellow NFL coaches look like clowns.

Exactly. Lost in all the talk of Gronk’s retirement is the fact that the Pats held the Rams high powered offense to 3 points in the Super Bowl. Everyone wants to credit either Brady or Belichick as the leading contributor to the Pats success. That is unfair as both guys have perfectly complimented each other to create such sustained success. Both Brady and/or Belichick can beat you on any given Sunday. When Brady is off, suddenly Belichick’s defense always seems to appear out of nowhere, even during seasons when they don’t have good stats. That team will be fine without Gronk, I’ll believe otherwise if we sweep them this season.

They will be fine. Their blocking scheme along with uncalled illegal picks and offensive line holding will keep things operating as usual. On a serious note, I agree his blocking will be missed. It wasn’t something I honestly thought of. With that said, I still believe they will continue to function just fine without Gronk’s blocking. Would have been a much bigger loss had he still been a game changer as a receiver.

This^ Gronk was really a shell of his former self, and he frequently missed games the past few seasons. It definitely hurts the Pats, but he was no longer a reliable elite TE. That offense is more about controlling the line of scrimmage in the run game with Edelman moving the chains.

Carr seems very thin skinned from some of the things I’ve read about him. I agree, it’s going to be good.

I agree, being a nice guy isn’t required to be a great football player. The issue with Kelly is the fact that his attitude/personality has caused drama that interferes with his ability to play football. It’s one thing to be a jerk, it’s another to throw away opportunity due to suspensions, being kicked off teams, etc. It’s just a natural response most people have when seeing someone throw away every opportunity they are given to redeem themselves. The guy is definitely skilled enough to be on an NFL roster. Very few people are given such a gift. It’s actually quite sad to see a guy throw it all away how he has up to this point.

Yeah, but the issue is when the national media picks on Buffalo they aren’t talking about taxes (or the real reasons some people move), they are just people who have never stepped foot in Buffalo making up a bunch of bull.

Exactly how I remember him as well. It’s funny how the years go by and fans often remember the same player quite differently. I recall a guy who was shut out in a lot of games. There were so many games where he was a complete non factor, which is not what you want out of a number one WR. When he was unable to make big plays his game seemed non existent at times. Whether it was the player or the scheme could be debated. I’ll always remember him as a slightly above average player with great speed, but not as an elite talent.

I agree. The national media already loves the story of the 2019 Cleveland Browns before it even begins. Cleveland is loaded with big names and strong personalities. This team is either going to be an overwhelming success, or will crash and burn quite hard imo. I can already imagine how some of those personalities would react to a losing streak. Does this team have the character to overcome the tough times good football rise above? I’m not convinced of that, especially under the leadership of a first time head coach.

Ask me about acquiring the aging Demaryus Thomas a couple years ago, and I would have said it’s a good idea. After the Davis and Boldin incidents, I suddenly have no interest in signing big name aging veteran players.

Agreed, I’d be more concerned about AB’s attitude than hurting Poyer’s feelings. I don’t think AB is a risk I’d be willing to take. Josh Allen will be a second year QB, and growing pains are to be expected. AB needs to play with an established QB imo. I’m not confident that he wouldn’t become a locker room problem if the team goes through a rough patch. If Allen were to have any difficulties getting the ball to AB, the drama could immediately begin. A superstar diva receiver in a young QB’s ear constantly demanding the ball could also hinder the QB’s development. All of the great ones have an attitude/swagger, but AB is entering T.O/OBJ territory with his act.

Consider me a weird dude, but I’d be more upset with my buddy actually marrying the woman who cheated on him. In some relationships I guess what’s good for the gander is good for the goose, so it works for both parties. Personally, I just don’t get involved in that type of trashy drama, even with friends. Locker rooms are full of all types of cheating, I’m not really sure how much it phases these dudes.

Bingo, McVay’s offense has masked many of Goff’s deficiencies. I wouldn’t be shocked if this game becomes the blueprint other teams use to beat the Rams. Imo, it’s not difficult imagining Goff becoming the rare Super Bowl QB who is quickly forgotten. I could see him becoming a below average starter in the future. McVay’s pre-snap communication with Goff has made him most of what he is. The QB’s helmet headset isn’t turned off until 15 seconds remain on the play clock. The Rams do their best to rush to the line, allowing communication of what the defense is doing with both sides actually set. It all just seems like a lot of smoke and mirrors that NFL coaches will eventually expose. That’s when we’ll see what Goff is all about. The Gurley situation will also remain interesting, as no one seems to have legitimate answers as to what is occurring. Regardless, this was as bad of a big game as any young QB could have.

Good information and great points. Marrone is an interesting case as a head coach. He was ultimately proven to be correct about EJ and the Watkins trade. It’s possible we would have been headed in the right direction sooner if had more input on those decisions. Marrone seems to desire total control, which is interesting considering that he now works under Coughlin. It’s tough for me to imagine the Jags being anything less than Coughlin’s team. Marrone desires total control, but hasn’t done enough as a head coach to receive that status. Maybe he could build a winner, but coaches are rarely given that chance before proving they can win with the players they are given. It will be entertaining to see how it plays out.

Yeah, I think I remember that, but didn’t he say that fans were being disrespectful or something? I’m not sure if they disliked the city itself, after all they did live in Syracuse for four years.

I wouldn’t put it past him to his family as an excuse.

Absolutely, plus if they are looking to party they can find just as good partying in Buffalo as anywhere else. It’s not as if most pro athletes are looking for classy parties. I could make the argument they’ll have more fun in Buffalo, because more people around these parts are star struck by random football players than people in larger markets. The negative view of Buffalo among free agents really comes as a result of being viewed as a perennial loser, along with the idea that Buffalo has Siberian like weather (a common misperception among many people who were raised watching the Weather Channel). This city does get a ton of snow, but the average winter temps are no worse than Chicago, and much better than Minneapolis. Winning would solve all those problems. None of these guys know much about what each city has to offer. They only where it’s warm and where it’s cold, along with who wins.

This ^ There is most certainly still a need for balance, but there is no denying the fact this league is quickly becoming based on offense. I’ve seen a lot of discussion regarding the Pats/Chiefs AFC championship game that seem to be missing one key point imo. The last team to have the ball was going to win that game. How confident are we that the Pats defense was going to prevent the Chiefs from scoring a TD had the Chiefs won the coin toss? I don’t think that game is a very good example regarding the importance of defense.