macaroni

To us Bills fans there will always be a QB controversy ... it harkens back to the days of Kemp/Lamonica and is a common thread through Flutie/Johnson and Edwards/Losman .... yes even during the Kelly years there were calls for Reich (although less so because we were winning). It's our heritage ... it's what we do

If there wasn't enough time to read it, how did he know it was a bad deal ....... cuz it was heavy????? Just joshing .... bottom line IMHO I don't think Ralph signs just to follow the crowd ... if he feels informed and likes the deal he votes yes ... if he doesn't feel compfortable he votes no.

Actually it's not a simple poll .... If I remember correctly Ralph didn't vote against the last CBA because it was a bad deal, he voted against because he felt he didn't have "full disclosure" and the owners hadn't enough time to digest what the CBA really said. The fact that it indeed turned out to be a bad deal (proving the owners maybe SHOULD have read it before voting) is beside the fact. I don't have a feel how "plugged in" OBD was during the process ... we all know Ralph wasn't at the meetings, and I don't know if the Bills were represented during the process or not. I just have a feeling that Ralph likes to understand what he is signing before he applies his John Hancock on the bottom line. So my vote is a wishy washy he votes yes if he feels he is fully informed ... he votes no if he feels a select few owners (Jerry Jones et al) are trying to jam something down his gullet.

Agree with what??? SH****NG the bed, or rolling to my wifes side first? (see what I did there)

Careful when you use the word "they" .... because I WOULD **** the bed with glee .... but not before rolling over to my wifes side

Orrrrr .... how about a "high motor" punter that we intent to convert into our starting RT

Let me preface this post with I'm a Fitz "guy", I feel he is a good QB ... but ... I think a team always needs to be looking for that GREAT QB. What Fitz gives us is the luxury of not having to "reach" (what ever the heck that means) and force a higher grade on a QB to be the first team to pick one. IMHO none of the QBs in this years draft has that "CAN'T MISS" aura about them (I'm not saying none of them won't end up great, I just don't feel they are top 5 talents). Nothing says there isn't a Brady or Romo in there, I'm just not convinced there is a Manning or Rivers there. I do think we need a QB if only to back up Fitz ... but it's OBDs job to evaluate the players (not overly weighted by our need)and if a QB is there at the right time we can take him, we don't have to force the pick.

I haven't seen this posted before ... the article claims that he missed a meeting, and was late for another ... I wonder if the team he "stiffed" was the Bills? http://www.buffalosportsdaily.com/source-bills-have-no-interest-in-nick-fairley

I guess my point is .... The league limits each team as to a salary cap to promote a fair playing field ... each team may or may not spend up to that level. Now it would seem to me that it doesn't matter what that spending level is based on, the level only exists so one team can not gain an unfair advantage because of financial circumstances. (and I think everybody agrees the cap is a butt ton of money) Now each team lets individual contracts to individual players based on real dollars, not on a percentage of profits. (Now if this was a true anti-trust situation ..... the league could levy a salary cap of 99% of the gross income of the league, but the teams would secretly agree to keep their expendatures to 50% of the net. Yeah ... yeah ... I know that would never happen because some owners would cheat on the secret limit .... but I'm just trying to figure out this anti-trust thing)

let me get this straight ..... The league is going to cut the wages of the players the teams have contracted to pay? Drew Brees isn't going to make whatever his contract says the Saints were going to pay him this year??? (I don't think so, but I could be wrong). On your second point .... are you saying that Drew Brees' contract says the Saints will pay him a percentage of their profits? (I always thought it said the Saints will pay him X number of dollars per year). I think your example should be that you hire me to sell your apples, and tell me that you estimate that you sell about $200 dollars per year and therefore can afford to hire me for $100 dollars per year ... if I take the job, I take it on the basis of the $100 figure NOT your estimated profits, and therefore I have no right to see your books.

Maybe I'm not asking my question clearly .... so I'll try again; Drew Brees will be one of the names on the class action suit right? Drew has a contract with the Saints (not the league)right? Drews contract is based on dollars per year and NOT on a percentage of the Saints (or the leagues) profits right? He can either honor the contract and get paid, or sit out and not get paid right? Whats his beef? what fault does he need corrected? I understood the ant-trust angle when the players were fighting for free angency ... but what does it have to do with "I want more money"? (by the way I don't mean to be bashing Drew Brees .... I'm just using his name as an example)

But exactly what would be the anti-trust law violations??? The NFL does not involve themselves in individual contract negotiations ... nor do they involve themself in contract length ... or arbitrarily decide who can go where. The individual teams have individual contracts with individual players, contract size, contract length, and contract provisions are between the player and team. The league rules only dictate restrictions on the teams (such as roster size, drafting order, waiver wire order, and salary cap) to allow for a far playing field. I really don't understand what the class action suit can be suing for.

The phrase I keep hearing out of everybody is that the CBA needs to be settled because Football is more than just a game .... I guess this rally cry is supposed to pull at our heart strings and polarize the fans support. But in thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that it IS more than a game, but only to the T.V. networks, the owners, and the players .... it's an industry to them. IMHO ... to the average fan ... it's just a game. We could care less if the owner makes $1 dollor profit or 1 zillion dollars profit, we don't care if the player makes minimum wage or makes 100 millon dollars a game, we just want to watch a good football game. What started this is I had been baseball fan as long as I've been a football fan, when baseball went on strike years ago I just kind of lost interest in the game ... I've never thought about why ... but I haven't even watched a game on TV since then ... I was pissed big time when they went on strike, but when they came back I just wasn't interested. I now think it may be because from that day forward baseball became something other than a game .... it became guys going to work in their chosen "Industry"... with the owners providing a "comodity" and that interested me far less than a bunch of guys playing a game.

What I don't understand ..... and excuse me if this is a stupid question ... But what the heck is the big deal with the union decertifying? Why is the next step an NFL lockout? It seems to me that the players have their contracts, they can either honor them or sit out ... just like normal players with out contracts are free agents ... pretty much just like normal As far as the players filing a class action suit .... what are they going to sue for???? As long as the league has rules that just effect the "fairness" of competition levied on the teams and not individual players, what's their beef????

My son noticed that too .... we ended up replaying that commercial a number of times looking for other players in either Bills or Bengals gear and didn't find one. My son is convinced one of the coaches told Von Miller that if he was still available at #3 the Bills are taking him, and then jokingly fliped him a Bills cap and told him he may as well get used to it. I on the other hand don't know what in the heck it could mean, but I do find it strange that there was no other NFL gear worn.

I agree it would take some time ..... but by the end of a decade or so we'd have hands down the best team in the NFL as opposed to now, where after a decade of futility we've got ..... ahhhhhh ... something less.

IMHO, the #1 advantage of Fitz's play last year is that he has taken away the NEED to draft a high round QB and has made it a "want" .... if the brain trust at OBD feels there is a QB worthy of our #1 pick then more power to them ... if they are not 100% convinced there is a QB in this draft worth our first round pick they don't have to try a despiration gamble. We may want a better QB but; we NEED a better run stopper we NEED a better pass rusher we NEED a better RT

I guess what I was trying to say in a round about way, is that our best defensive player better fits into a 4-3 scheme, we have a player who is just horrid when they tried to convert him from a 4-3 DE to a 3-4 OLB (and was not too bad when playing as a 4-3 DE) and a chance to draft a very VERY disruptive 4-3 DT to play beside Williams ...... who in their right mind still insists on playing a 3-4????

I don't agree that he hasn't dominated ..... maybe not this game ... but he has this season, and one of the reasons he hasn't dominated this game is that the Ducks have game planned around him, and who on the Bills D does any team feel they have to game plan around? (by the way while you may feel he is not "dominating" this game you have to admit he is disruptive). I do agree 100% in that he is a 4-3 DT ..... but then again so is Williams, and Kelsey is a much better 4-3 DE than he is a 3-4 OLB doncha think?

I've said it before ... I see a lot of Kelly in Fitz's style of play. I don't know if Fitz will have the success that Kelly did over his career, but I do know that once again I enjoy watching our QB playing the game.

Great point ... but depending on who/what they have tagged as their #1 priority could they afford to trade to a position below us???

I don't know about that .... it seems to me that everybody drafting from #4 through #12 (with the possible exception of Dallas and Houston) would be chomping at the bit to give the Bills the key to their kingdom to swap picks with us if Luck was still available.. It just may be too good a deal to pass up since Fitz has shown he is "sevicable" ... I'd sure be happy if we were able to stop somebodys running game .... anybodys, as well as shore up our O-line a bit more.... and maybe be able to sack a QB once in a while.

Arthur Moats built the house he was born in.

I propose we DON'T draft a QB just in case new QB = J. P. Losman or Trent Edwards or Ryan Leaf or Jeff George

If the Bills put Brown at Tackle, and have Wang as Guard does that mean we have.... our wang inside our colin??? I don't like the way this O-line is forming