FLFan

Like, Romeo Crennel? Charlie Weiss? Eric Mangini? or were you just kidding?

He would be third string strong safety and third string punt returner on the Bills, just like before he was not resigned. What is with this fascintation? He is an average player at best who had the good fortune to be the back up safety on a team with a great front seven, an all time player beside him in Ed Reed, who had no other options when the starter went out. Get over it.

I know everyone is in the mood to whine, but I just do not see it here. The Bills worked him out, made an offer his agent admits was impressive, but the player decided on Miami because of a better fit of scheme to his skills. Exactly how does that point to the Bills FO being wrong here? People are upset at the Bills FO in general - I get it. The facts here simply do not justify the whining. Lets see what happens when the real game begins.

Not sure where people are getting the $160 million number from with regard to the Rich Stadium renovation in 1998. The actual project cost was around $60 million, and it was a massive struggle to get that. The following link will take you to that informnation and an interesting review of "the Ralph". http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/BuffaloBills/index.htm The sad reality is that WNY can not afford to compete in the modern NFL with cities that can dump massive amounts of taxpayer funds into stadium construction. At the prices the Bill's charge, they can not afford to pay for them either. PSL's, very expensive suites and club seats, and extremely high prices for all extras are the norm.

I think you are dead on here. TE was a different QB starting in game 7. Once the turnover/mistake fest started, he seemed to withdraw and certainly did not play with the same confidence, waiting for recievers to open instead of throwing with confidence based on the play design. This lack of confident play by the QB kills the offense and forced the ultimate regression to a run first and dink/dunk pass offense. In the first 6 games, plenty of downfield and over the middle medium throws; after that, TE refused to throw those routes. All the histeria over Turk boils down to poor QB play mostly. I am sure he made some rookie mistakes, but he had to adjust midstream to a suddenly underperforming and under confident QB. Better QB play equals better offense, plain and simple. The Bills are simply not built or schemed like the Ravens. While it could be argued we should have followed a more conservative attack philosposhy from the beginning, the fact is the offense was built on the assumption that TE could execute it, and he simply could not after the first 6 games. Any coordinator would have looked foolish with the inept QB play we experienced in the second half. In the first 6 games (discounting the AZ game where we had to play JP) the Turk looked like a genious.

Great Post! Your reply on item #5 is particualrly right on. There is only one reason the Bills still exist in Buffalo and that is Ralph Wilson's committment to keeping the team there, despite the fact he could have made much more money elsewhere, or sold the team for hundreds of milllions at any point. Buffalo can simply not play the same game as other communities who have supported $300 to $500 million investments in new stadiums and that contain corporate sponsors and wealthy individuals in suffcient quantity to support high prices. That is the future of the NFL and Buffalo does not belong. When the old man dies, its all over, in all probability. I am intent on enjoying the team while I can, despite the failings. These anti-Ralph Wison whines I see on this board constantly annoy me to no end.

When the losing streak started Turk was getting criticized for being too creative. Now he is not creative enough. The problem on offense has been QB play - plain and simple. TE was on fire early in the season - executing crisply, with confidence, and the team had confidence in him. Then the turnover festival started with him. TE no longer plays with confidence or executes crisply. That, combined with the need to play JP who has never shown the ability to make good decisions or execute consistently, and you get bland offensive game plans and simple approaches, the hope being "at least lets limit the turnovers". Not saying I like it, but you need a QB performing well to score points in this league consistently. If TE plays better, this offense will look very different - certainly good enough to have won the last two games and the Cleveland game as well. He and JP, however, have combined to suck the life out of any offensive game plan.

Agreed. There is no way Buffalo is a playoff team. Look at what Indy and Baltimore did yesterday. The Ravens crushed an inferior opponent on the road. Indy pulled out a win on a very poor performance by their all star quaterback. These are playoff teams. The Bills could not generate a win over a supposedly inferior opponent at home, now twice in a row. They will be lucky to finish 8 and 8. 6 and 10 is not unlikley.

A few points to the discussion: - I was always a JP supporter, however, yesterday's performance by JP combbined with TE's outstanding play YTD should put this silly debate to bed once and for all. JP was certainly not the sole reason we lost, but he was terrible. Three turnovers, holding on to the ball way to long, poor judgement - we got the whole package. I am really disappointed that he could not play in a relief role and get the job done. - This game was about turnovers. The Bills had 4 turnovers leading to 24 points. Whe you put your defense on the field for 2/3 of the game because you can not hang on to the ball, this is what happens. Everything else is secondary. We have no idea what would have transpoired absent the turnovers, but it certainly would have been a closer game. - The Bills are not as good as people were making them out to be before yesterday, and not as bad as yesterday's game would indicate. This was an important learning experience. How they react as a team, and as a coaching staff, over the next 4 games will detrmine their fate, not yesterday's subpar performance. - Like every team, the Bills have some issues. They also have some great components and great potential to be very good for a long time. Lets not over react to one bad day.

The North Star is great, but no food. Its bring your own. Great hangout though. I watched the Sabres get clubed by the Senators there 2 seasons ago.

Where's Mickey?

Could not agree more. Peters is not on the team at this point. Get ready to enjoy some Bills football and accept the fact that neither you nor anyone else on this board has the slightest idea what is really being said or thought of by the Bills, and you can not control it in any case. I wish he were here, but oh well, he is not.

What a tool you are. Further response not warranted.

And what time would that have been? Enlighten me. Kelly refused to negotiate a contract with Buffalo because he did not want to play there. It was not about money, it was about his ego, a bigger stage, and the Bills reputation for being losers. When the USFL folded, The Bills made Kelly the highest paid player in the league at the time. As for the Peters situation, this is not about "Ralph being cheap". It is about a player throwing a tantrum and the Bills refusing to give in, as they should not, because it will impact the management of this team and their ability to retain a solid core for years to come.

There is zero probability he sits for the season or the Bills trade him. That is just hysteria. I am disappointed as anyone that this situation is occurring, but Peters has no leverage and will show up. The alternative is career suicide and bankruptcy. Unfortunately, because he has chosen this route, the team will not be as good as they could have been, even if he shows up now. For that he should be rewarded? I do not think so, but others clearly do.

Good one, Senator. All the hysteria will be over soon. My prediction - Peters will report before Game 1 and play for his existing sh***y contract, because it is better than not getting paid at all. He will suck through the first 4 games at least being out of shape and unfamiliar with the new offense. He may or may not get back to pro bowl level, and he may or may not make it through the season unhurt (my guess is not), yet his reputation will keep him among the "elite tackles" in the game, and we will be right back here next year.

Correction - 9:00 am and 6:00 pm on Saturday the 16th.

Unless you live in Pittsburgh, the local FSN channel will be blacked out. Outside of upstate NY (Bflo, Roch, Syr), Toronto, and Pittsburgh the only option is the NFLN replay currently listed 12:00 Mid on Saturday the 16th, or later that morning at 9:00 am.

It is certainly not time to panic over the "offensive" display of offense last night, but it does point to a key factor largely ignored in the great Jason Peters debate thus far: It is the play of the QB that will determine the fate of the Bills this year, not any single lineman's presence in the game, even Peters. The Bills will go as far as Edwards will take them. Can he exhibit toughness and leadership? Can he make good decisions under pressure? Can he deliver under less than ideal conditions? These are big questions about him given last year's at times promising, but in the end, disappointing finish to his season. he certainly did not answer them positively last night. Yes its only two series in the first game so, as i said, not time to panic, but he looked awful. Indecisive, too quick to check down, and very locked in on primary routes. Not much evidence last night, but what was there was not encouraging. I am not trying to revive the Losman vs Edwards debate (plenty of that going on this morning already) but just pointing out that the absence of Peters was not the problem. The Bills will rise of fall on the play and leadership of the QB, not on whether their left tackle is a pro bowler or merely adequate.

Neither new QB in the East really scares me. Favre is an upgrade for Jets but can not win games on his own. It will take some time, perhaps even the first half of the season, before Favre will even be comfortable with the offense and players. I think they will be competitive, but there is no reason to believe as far as I am concerned that Favre suddenly makes the Jets the team to beat. Remember - Favre has a losing record in his creer against the AFC East, including Buffalo. I predict two comeptitive games, with Buffalo winning at least 1. Chad Pennington is even less scarey. I hope he starts for the Dolphins. He is acurate at short distances, but slow and relatively weak armed. He has not proven to be hard to beat and he is on a team rebuilding lines, new offense, etc. Will not matter. 2 wins for the Bills. As for Parcels, last I looked he was not the coach of the Dolphins. What he has done as a coach has little importance to this discussion. He is now front office, not responsible for player development, motivation, and day to day coaching. His impact, if any, in his new role will take years to discern. I think the bills go at least 3 and 3 in the East, and perhaps 4 and 2 sneaking out a close win over either the Jets in NY or NE in Buffalo.

The precise chain of events does not matter. Peters has made it clear he has no committment at all to the organization that elevated him from unwanted free agent tight end to pro bowl offensive tackle, while they clearly showed their commttment to him two years ago making him, at the time, the highest paid offensive lineman on the team. This was not the case with Schoebel. There is clearly something else going on here between Peters, his agent, and The Bills. My guess based on the public information and Parker's history is that his agent is playing this poorly and giving him bad advice. The Bills need him, but he needs to show up, and then the team will negotiate. If he does not, then he can sit and throw away his career. The Bills own his rights. He will show up and play, or he will find a new job. If the Bills back down on this point, there is no end to it. Peters will be in camp, sooner than later. If not, move on. Its a business, and no business would negotiate with any employee under these tems, when they clearly hold all the cards.

The Bills own his rights. If he sits out three years, he still owes them three years. He has no leverage, which is why he will show up eventually.

I have to agree. The Peters situation is unfortunate, but the fact is the Bills showed a major commitment to him two years ago. Now the guy quits on the team. I have no sympathy for him. I wish he were in camp, but he will show up eventually despite all the hand wringing from fans who can not seem to understand the big picture. He will show up, because he has no choice. Hopefully he will show up in time for the O line to get enough reps together before the season starts, but if not, Chambers will gain valuable experience. The Bills hold all the cards here and should not cave or they will only create an unmanageable situation for any future players finding themselves in this position. Chill out KrazyKat. Go Bills.

The Bills hold all the cards here. Jason has completed 2 years of a 6 year deal. He may deserve more money, but there is no reason to rip up his contract now. He is not going anywhere, and has no leverage. What is he going to do - sit out the year? 2 years? He will still be under contract to the Bills in the NFL. If anything, they should promise him a renegotiation after this year, or perhaps offer a bonus clause as an adder if he makes the pro bowl, starts X games, etc. This kind of posturing by players, this complete lack of respect for his committment as represented by the contract he signed, is sickening. I can certainy understand he feels underpaid, but how about a little repect for your team mates, if not to the club that took a chance on you when no one else would, and taught you how to play NFL football.