FLFan

In an age when communication about Sports was all about the newspaper writers, Larry Felser was amoung the best anywhere, not just the very best in Buffalo. He was well respected in the NFL community and did Buffalo proud. There is certainly no one that compares in today's crop of local writers - not even close. Thanks for all the memories Mr. Felser, and best wishes for a long and healthy retirement.

Nelson's playmaking ability is strictly limited to schemes designed to create a mismatch. When the Bills had a full compliment on offense, the first part of the season, Nelson was the 4 th receiver, often lined up in a tight end or H-back position, or split out slightly from tackle, but generally the 4th WR on the field. In this situation, Nelson was able to exploit mismatches and confusion in coverage very effectively. The bills were rolling on offense then, and Nelson was a star. Once the injuries began to pile up (Parrish, Jones, LT, Woods, Jackson) the Bills suddenly had very limited offensive threats, and much poorer OL play. Nelson was expected to play more of an every down role in Gailey''s offense as a slot receiver, but with other offensive threats increasingly non-existent, and the OL struggling, Nelson became a non-factor over the second half of the season. I love the guy, but he is no "threat" on his own. He can, and has been, very effective as an overload to the defense, but will not be productive as a starter at WR in any of the top 3 slots. I think this was pretty well proven last year.

Evans cannot play the slot. He never has been and never will be an over ethe middle receiver. No thanks on Lee Evans. I was pretty happy to see him go at the time actually. It was the right time to move on, even if the plan to utilize younger receivers did not work out due to injuries.

You are exactly right. People continue to harp on this issue but it is a non-issue for the reasons you have stated. The bills are going to have at least $40 m in room on cash to cap, perhaps more. This is plenty of room to get everything done they need to get done on extensions and resigning their own players as desired, plus go after some expensive free agents if they choose to. It is only a matter of will (and spending wisely) not a limitation of the cash to cap philosophy.

This is exactly the kind of short sighted, parochial thought process that has kept Buffalo and Western NY on a continually downward spiral for the past 30 plus years. Local politician's have routinely been unable to come together on agressive strategies for rebuilding the city and revitalizing the economic base, while the State funnels everything to other places. People that do not believe a new owner will run, not walk, to greener pastures have their head in the sand. It may be that Buffalo can just no longer support an NFL team in the modern NFL economic era. One way to find out in a hurry is to refuse to support the upgrading of the facility to the point that gives a new owner a fighting chance to compete. It is pretty simple economics. With a purchase price of at least $800 m, much of which would end up being financed, the debt load on the team goes from virtually zero to tens of millions per year, eliminating the modest profits the franchise now enjoys. Adding stadium renovation capital costs on top of that make an already difficult business case for WNY impossible. Do you really think the Buffalo area fans can support $150. per seat pricing plus seat licenses like NE, Baltimore, Washington, Dallas, NY/NJ etc.? Where is the business support for expensive boxes and other luxury seating? Without taxpayer support, this franchise will not survive. I can sympathise with people who believe that taxpayers should not have to foot the bill. However, do not confuse your principles with reality. The end game is the loss of the franchise and a further erosion of Buffalo'a already third tier status. If you do not think the Bills are important to WNY, then by all means urge your elected representatives to just say no to the greedy NFL. (and they are no doubt a greedy bunch) Otherwise, encourage them to get behind working out an acceptable deal, sooner than later. Just my opinion of course - flame away.

He is medically cleared to play, meaning, there is no medical reason he cannot play. This is much different than being able to play. Manning had serious nerve damage resulting from a neck injury and what sounds to me like at least one botched operation. He does not have complete feeling in his right arm. How bad the numbness is I don' t know, but this would seem to be a serious problem for a right handed QB! Don't you think? He could very well be done, certainly never the same.

They both make me sick, frankly. I hope the Giants knock his head off. Sorry, sweety, but that is the most positive thought I have for "Tommy".

It's one of my favorites, along with the "trade down in the draft", "Ralph is cheap", and the endless comparisons of how well ex-Bills players are doing for other teams, even though nobody wanted them when they were here.

I dont think he was referring to character as much as the tendencies/philosophy of team on Offense.

I would not be at all surprised if the Bills went after him, but I would be shocked if he came here, and that decision will not be about scheme or money, IMO. If he hits the market he will draw very wide interest inlcuding from some teams perceived to be serious contenders. That will be the issue for the Bills - convincing a player of this caliber that they are serious and have the horses. If he were to come here, you can bet it will not be for his cover skills as a LB. Whether they are in a base 4-3 or a base 3-4 on any given play, his hand will be on the ground. The scheme is of no real consequence in taking advantage of his talents. Perhaps injury concerns on Mario Williams will knock his stock down some. This is the negative and a potentially big risk, but he could be a real difference maker for the Bills, assuming he is healthy. Another point - "cash to cap" is not a hindrance for the Bills to compete dollar wise. Most teams use this philosophy, and the Bills have plenty of room.

Please do not feed the troll. Thank you.

By the way, the "crappy" pick the Bills made in the 4th was OT Chris Hairston. Pretty good take in the 4th in my opinion. As for Evans being "one of our best players" evidence from the last couple of years would suggest otherwise.

The only chance Denver has of scoring on Pittsburgh is with turnovers deep in Steelers territory. Then, a field goal may be possible. The Tebow miracle is over.

You can argue stats, but you cannot separate the reality of the situation when evaluating his performance. Fitz has limitations and will never be an elite QB, but you want to ignore the discontinuity of the offensive personnel on this team, which were not elite in most positions to begin with and is now relegated to the level of a scout team, in determining he is "below average". Perhaps Brady or Rogers could have risen above this mediocre mess and posted a couple of wins along the way, but Fitz is going to struggle with the subpar OL and new receiver of the week environment they are in. Virtually any QB would. Not excuses, but a fact. I personally did not see him play much before he came to Buffalo, but I know what I have seen since then, and stats do not tell the whole story. As for accountabiloity, he stands up there and takes responsibility each and every week so that the turds he is playing with do not have to. It is not denying accounatbility to say he is not solely responsible for the offensive mess we have witnessed for the last seven weeks, just recognition that he is not solely, nor even mostly, responsible for it.

Fitz is neither as "good" as he looked in the first half of the season, or as "bad" as he has looked since. Fitz is not Rogers or Brady or Brees, but with the right offense and some consistency in the players around him, he has shown he can perform very well. Some people want to ignore the injuries on the Bills offense as "excuse making" but you cannot ignore them. They lost 3 of their top 4 receivers going into the year fairly early. They have Brad Smith starting at WR for crying out loud - he was sixth on the depth chart at that position going into the year. They lost their best offensive weapon in Jackson and now Chandler for the last two. Hello! Any QB needs some talent around him, and perhaps more importantly, some consistency in the lineup. The group of receivers he worked hard with in offseason and training camp to develop chemistry and timing are mostly gone. The bigger issue may be the OL. Wood was the glue that held the whole thing together and it is no coincidence that the offense has been completely out of synch ever since he went out. You see missed blocking assignments and other mistakes you just did not see before. The revolving door at LT has not helped and neither is having to play Urbik at center as he was better at RG than his replacement. OL depth should be a major priority this offseason. The lack of execution on the OL and lack of timing with ther receivers are the big reasons for Fitz's drop off in performance in my opinion. Yes, he is not Brady, or Rogers, or Brees and never will be, but even they would be struggling with the issues the Bills are facing on offense. Fitz has shown he can produce at a high level - he did not suddenly lose the skills he does bring halfway through the year. That does not make sense. By the way, one thing to love about this guy - he has never made an excuse for his play although he could come up with many. He takes responsibility and acts like a leader. He is just not getting any help out there.

Don't spoil people's conspiracy fantasies.

I agree with you but I doubt you will find much support amidst the lynch mob that is TSW. Nix moving aside for Whaley would make sense, as would a makeover of the Defensive staff, but anything beyond that would be taking a step backward yet again. This year has been disappointing but not the casue for panic or proof posiitve of the same old, same old as some here clearly believe.

Respectfully, you are wrong about Poz. They had no option prior to FA. As for Whitner, I think Wilson has played far better this year at SS than Whitner ever did, and I think Byrd is a better FS. Not sure I understand your comment about locking Whitner up before the impasse. The impasse was about him over valuing his services and voluntarilly cutting off negotiations to wait for FA. By the time he signed, the Bills had already locked up their plans with Wilson. I think they are better for it frankly. Stevie Johnson may walk - we shall see. Perhaps someone will offer him a bloated contract he cannot say no to. I do know this - if he wanted to be here as he says he does, he would not have cut off negotiations. He has stars and $ in his eyes. He will be with the Bills if he wants to be, but I would not be surprised if he gets an offer well beyond his value. Should the Bills over pay to keep him? I am not so sure, although I woould like to see him stay. Yes, an arguemnent could be made over developing players I suppose, but I would not use Whitner. He is a decent player, over drafted at number 8, who I think reached his limited potential when here. As I have already said, I think Wilson has outplayed him by a mile. Evans has contributed nothing to the Ravens. It was unfortunate that he had to endure such a revolving door of bad coaches and worse QBs in Buffalo, but those are the breaks. No problem with the Bills letting this one trick poney go. There was no way to predict that 3 of their top 4 receivers would go down with injuries fairly early. In hindsight, it would have been nice to have Evans obvioulsy, but I have no problem with the decision to cut him loose and go with the youth. As for Maybin, I am not sold. I still think he sucks frankly. He is not an OLB or a DE and a major whiff that high in the draft. The jets were able to pick him up off the street and make some use of him for a minimum salary, but there is no arguement to be made the he was a good investment of that high a draft choice. I hope McKelvin is next on the list. How much more evidence do you need that he cant play CB? Should we be extending him? If his contract is up, good riddance. If not, give him one more chance to contribute at the position. He is no better than the 4th best CB on this team right now. Spiller is not going anywhere.

They tried to negotiate with Whitner but he felt he was worth much more money than the Bills thought he was worth so he waited for free agency. By the way, he did not get what he was originally asking for as he found a relatively soft market for his services. This is all well documented. The Bills were restricted in negotiations with Poz before his contract expired due to rules set by the CBA with respect to extension offers and percentagtes of existing salalry. I do not recall the specifics of the dollars, but again, this was well documented and you can look it up. When FA started the Bills immediately made what Poz's agent referred to as a very competitive offer. He chose to play elsewhere. You need to look elsewhere to justify your arguement. The Bills have acted to lock up key players this year. They resigned G. Wilson in FA and Florence. They signed Fitz, Williams, Pears. They extended Merriman before the season started. They tried to sign Stevie and negotiated with Fred as well. Those players rejected initial offers and decided to wait. You may disagree with who they have extended but it is hard to argue they are not trying to lock up players they feel are essential to their plans, at least under this regime. I am not interested in past behavior under Donahoe or Levy as it is well past the point. The big problem with this team is the misses in the draft over the past 10 years, the past 5 years particularly. Since you mentioned San Francisco, here is another stat they mentioned during last night's game. SF has 11 players on their roster drafted in the top 10 picks of the draft, 8 of whom they drafted themselves. The Bills have had as many opportunities, but have whiffed. Free Agency is a great way to fill in a few good players here and there but means nothing if you have not built a solid core through the draft. Evidence abounds in the league to support this. I think the jury is still out on the last two drafts but they have picked some decent to potentially very good players. Some are strating caliber and some are decent depth. They clearly need a few more. I would love to see a stud receiver, they must have a pass rusher to fill at least one of the gaping holes at OLB. They clearly do not have even one starting quality outside LB on the current roster. They need depth on the OL at least, but a real stud at LT would be sweet. This year has been awful but this team is closer than everyone thinks.

Well reasoned, cogent post, that happens also to be true. How dare you!

They must have missed the starting center sitting out there after week 11 of the season just waiting to be picked up, taught the offense, schooled in all the line calls and made ready to paly for the following Sunday. What a bunch of screw ups.

Seriously? What evidence has Jackson ever given you in his time here to suggest he would lay down on his team that way? By the way, he has a chance to lead the league in rushing and all purpose yards and make the pro bowl. I am sure he would be ouit there if he could. Yes, I am sure old Mr. Smithers in his wheelchair up in Detroit is scheming how to make a few sheckles by holding out the Bills best player. Wow! I have heard some half baked conspiracy theories in my time, but this one takes the cake.

Unfortunately, this game is likely to be over in the first quarter. The Bills do not have the horses to compete with the Jets at this point. This will be another week of humiliation I am afraid. I hope I am wrong and the team somehow rallies and plays over their heads, and the Jets come in so over confident that we can surprise them, but I just do not see it. I would be surprised if they could stay within 20 points.

This is the most reasonable post(one of the few with ANY reason) that I have seen so far today. Way to go.

This is exactly the Bills problem. They are unable to get sustained pressure with just 4 rushers and have been largely ineffective with the blitz as well. The last two games in particular, Sanchez and Romo have literally had all day to stand back there and wiat for the recivers to open. They always will given enough time, against any secondary. In games where the Bills have had pressure, not necesssarily sacks, the secondary has performed, as the interception total would indicate.