bearstobills

Man....I love sanity!!

If you are a Bills fan...what more can you ask for than to be in the hunt. And BB has certainly put us legitimately in the hunt. They were actually good enough last year, but a perfect storm of maladies converged, and the team simply ran out of gas. Next year will be the true test. Josh's and Stef's big money kick in, and we are already something like 35 mil over the cap. The Super Bowl or failure attitude expressed on this board is maddening. So much needs to go right; including luck, health, officiating, and favorable matchups. Constantly dinging Beane for drafting guys like A.J. or Boogie is also frustrating. Have any of these "fans" actually looked back at the draft boards to see what was available? Of course you can cherry pick a few guys in retrospect, but the cupboards weren't exactly stacked. Or Ed's draft year....I believe over half of the 5th year options weren't even picked up. The Bengals drafted Jonah Williams after the Bills selected Oliver. Or all the love Howie Roseman gets, and he selected Jalen Reagor one pick before Justin Jefferson. How about the Chiefs throwing a first round pick to the wind with CEH. Or SF throwing a king's ransom at the chance to draft Trey Lance. We could go on and on. Imagine the skewering BB would get on here for any of these moves. But the bottom line is drafting, roster construction, and winning is damn hard business. And Beane's rosters win. Backseat GM's, here is my motto. "In Beane I trust". I simply think he is better at his job than most of his peers, and certainly folks on this board (although this board is full of humor, wisdom, and level-headedness). He's more than capable of putting together a string of elite draft classes, just like he has put together a string of elite rosters (note to fans, we lost 3 games last year and 2 of them were flukes...that's elite). Can't wait for the season!!

Maybe that was part of the problem....we had to share that team with the entire basketball world. There was nothing like those first few years with Michael. Just remembering the energy in the stadium still gives me chills. But by the time they won, they were rock stars. Rooting for the Bills is much more personal for me. The team reflects the city in many ways. Buffalo was just beginning its renaissance when I arrived. And being part of both the team and the city's co-evolution was an absolute blast.

I need to chime in here. It happens. I grew up in Chicago. Bears, Bulls, Cubs all day (with some love for the White Sox and Blackhawks). I moved all over the country and enjoyed some minor flirtations with other teams while remaining staunchly loyal to all jerseys with Chicago on the front. Moved to Buffalo in my late 30's. The Bears had just signed Jay Cutler, and we were feeling Superbowl. Trent Edwards was the QB for the Bills. They were mired in a horrendous losing streak at the time and had just drafted Aaron Maybin. I was at Bada Bing on a Sunday afternoon watching the Bears in a nearly empty bar. The Bills game was also on. My interest began to shift from the Bears game to the Bills game. And low and behold, the Bills found a way to win and break the losing streak. For some stupid reason, I began to clap. And NOONE else in that bar seemed to care. In fact, I sensed a deep resentment toward the Bills. And I thought...."This team needs me." After that day, I fell hard. My love for the Bills exceeds any team I have ever rooted for. And I was 12 when Michael Jordan came to Chicago, and would fall asleep at night with a transistor radio under my pillow listening to those games. I grew up at Wrigley Field. We soared with the 85 Bears. And none of it holds a candle to my devotion to the Bills. My friends were baffled. But I moved to Buffalo....BUFFALO....from Los Angeles. And it quickly became my favorite city in the U.S. I live in Japan now. I wake up at 2 a.m. to watch the games. I wished I cared less than I do, but dammit...I'm an addict. Konichiwa from Japan Bills fans.

I'm not sure he'd want a head coaching gig. Mcdaniels turned down a bunch of offers. Life is pretty good for Brian Daboll right now, and he just may want to finish what he started......especially if the Pegulas make it worth his while.

The days of Mike Singletary and Ray Lewis seem to be over. The game has changed. Those guys were able to come downhill toward mainly stationary quarterbacks. The Bills are going to have to deal with guys like Lamar and Kyler for years to come, and Edmunds was brilliant against the Ravens last year. We essentially shut them down because Edmunds had the range and speed to keep Lamar from doing his thing. Those thumpers are fun, but their era may be bygone.

Matt Barkley currently has a 2 million cap hit. Is it that irresponsible to upgrade the most important position in football for another 2 million?

My main issue with Zay is that he wasn't very good at catching footballs

Now I'm all excited about the possibility of Fitz as a backup next year. He's perfect. He's already pocketed 70 mil in his career, has Buffalo in his blood, is almost 40, and would be ideal if Josh went down. I gotta believe we could get him for 4-5 million.

I wonder why it hasn't been mentioned that the Bills have made almost every key player on this team available to the press (including Siran Neal, I Hodgins, and Dean Marlowe) but not Trent Murphy. That seems extremely telling.

It's gotta be tough for Beane to cut draft picks. Guys like Joseph, Sweeney, Johnson Jr......they are under cost controlled rookie contracts that are voided the moment they are cut (not to mention all 3 of those guys could get claimed quickly). That makes it hard on practice heroes like Mike Love and T. Smart to make the team.

So why are they so loyal to these guys. They didn't hesitate to pull the plug on Murph (who at least talked shop). Mike is rude to guests, arrogant, not funny, and offers so little insight into the actual team. He's obsession with fantasy football and other inane matters hold no interest for me. Pair Sal with Bulldog and I'd listen all the time.

So frustrated with WGR. All I want is the Sal segment so I can hear about today's practice. Finally he comes on (the segment is actually called 'What Went On At Camp Today' complete with a sponsor). Sal starts talking about how solid Allen was. Then Mike steers the conversation off the rails, and suddenly they're talking about the Jets signing Kallen Ballage and what his fantasy impact will be. After 15 minutes of this, it's time for Sal to go. Arggghhhh.....we deserve better. And that my friends is my first post. I figure it's a better outlet than screaming in my car.