1billsfan

The Patriots are a huge name draw and they're expected to be 2014 Superbowl contenders. They're like the AFCs version of the Cowboys. The only difference is when Brady is gone no one in the country will care about them anymore. I'm not upset at CBS choosing to show that game over the Bills. The season has just started and this game simply isn't a big one for NFL fans. It will probably be a 100 times more entertaining, but that doesn't matter when it comes to initially drawing fans in to watch. Though I could see the game get switched over if the Pats are blowing out the Raiders and the Bolts/Bills game is close.

What Peterson did is stomach turning for the majority of Americans. To the point where the public blowback from the Vikings jaw dropping decision to let him come back made sponsors start putting warnings out there for the NFL that they are not happy. That’s how it works in the private sector where you depend on the public watching advertisers products on TV. There are no black and white rules and it’s a case by case situation. As an example, see how the Redskins name change issue has not resonated with the public to the point where there’s real outrage and the gears are in motion for any change? 4 year olds are completely defenseless. Right minded people know that, and when they saw those pictures they knew that Peterson was guilty as charged. Due process simply doesn’t matter in this case. Peterson did not show that 4 year old any mercy and the public is giving back to him their version of not showing any mercy. It would be real nice if, now that this issue has come to the forefront, the NFL would do a full investigate into Nike’s production habits. I hear that there are still sweatshops where there's horrible conditions with beatings in some places and also still possibly using child labor. Its 2014 and if Nike can’t get a handle on the outside shops making their products then it’s time to bring production to America or the NFL should stop using Nike and change to a brand that is totally clean of "sweatshop" practices.

Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco and Eli Manning just called to let you know that they were not considered All Pro QBs when they won their recent Superbowls and that it was actually more important to for them to win a Superbowl for their team than for them to become an All Pro QB. So the hope is that EJ Manuel will be good enough to win a Superbowl for the Bills, not become an All Pro. Got it?

If you grew up with your dad beating your mom, then it's ok for you as a grown man to beat your wife?

That perfect bomb pass that hit Watkins right in the hands was not good at all.

I never bought into Edwards because the guy wouldn't ever throw it deep and he didn't even seem to like the game of football. IMO he had a lot of Mike Williams in him in that aspect. As far as the dinks and dunks, I knew that it was only a matter of time before the clock struck midnight on Edwards success as a starting QB. The list of QBs in the NFL that you'd rather have over Manuel is starting to shrink. That's a very comforting feeling to have.

Fantasy football isn't real football. Just thought I'd clue you in.

If the game starts with the Bills getting the ball, I really hope they don't go conservative on that initial drive. The crowd will be beyond crazy and as much as everyone loves the running game, a deep bomb on first down is in order. I think the success of that play increases with the electricity the fans will bring.

Seriously, you are now defending Peterson? Those pictures are horrific. The story is horrific. Peterson should be sent to jail. He can tell his sob stories to his cell mate.

Yet society ultimately did rule supreme on the NFL. The NFL did not stick to their guns with the 2 game suspension after society's backlash. So you were wrong and he was right.

So it's ok for the NFL to treat player punishments however they'd like regardless of how society feels about the crimes? That's simply a belief that is just not based in any sort of reality. Imagine if they gave Vick a 2 game suspension for what he did. What if a player raped a woman and got a 2 game suspension? I could go on and on. The NFL either adheres to society standards in regards to punishments or they would eventually no longer receive billion dollar TV contracts from the networks, which in turn would doom the league. So one way or the other they have to adhere to societal standards. I think it's both their moral duty, given how big they are, and for their survival as a business. But either way it's a given they follow societal standards.

It's goofy to think that the NFL possibly doesn't have the power to influence society. Do you realize how many millions of people watch and follow the NFL? Don't you think that if the NFL gave slaps on the wrist for domestic violence incidents perpetrated by their players, that their male fans with the propensity for beating women would feel empowered and validated by a lenient domestic violence policy in the NFL? If the NFL doesn't think it's a big deal, then why should they? Like it or not, the NFL is a big part of American society. Especially in the male population.

It’s 2014 and people don’t picket anymore. They post comments on the internet and participate in polls which is much more effective when the decibel gets high enough. Will I boycott the NFL? No, because I think the NFL brand is getting severely punished with the media’s 24/7 video of Ray Rice knocking out a woman in what is the first week of the 2014 regular season. Society’s disgust has deemed it a huge story and that’s why it’s not going away. Goodell broke the public’s trust and he’s bearing the brunt of it whether he stays or goes. He’ll never fully recover his credibility from this either way. That is a punishment in and of itself.

Because the NFL is by far the most successful and influential league in the country. Every year the top 20 TV show ratings almost entirely consist of NFL games. Yet Goodell acting as NFL Commissioner has no moral obligation to consider the broader societal standards and decency in a case such as this one? You're hung up on “sending a message” and it’s only semantics. If he had given Ray Rice a proper punishment, Goodell would have sent a message to NFL players and to the millions of NFL fans that domestic violence has no place in the NFL and will not be tolerated. He sent the opposite message by giving Ray Rice 2 games. If this was your sister, I’m sure you would be singing a much different tune. If this was Roger’s daughter do you honestly think he would have not seen the tape? Suspended him indefinitely? Give me a break.

When an NFL player is caught knocking out a woman then it's not only the commissioner’s job, but also his moral obligation to get to the bottom of it and administer proper punishment. He failed. Both the legal system and the NFL sent out the message that it’s not a big deal. Only in the face of the video coming to light did he find proper perspective. I find it outrageous that people are being sympathetic to Goodell. As if he did all he could do. As if this wouldn’t have taken a completely different course if it was his daughter who took a knockout blow by an NFL player she was dating and it was caught on tape. Goodell's a joke and TMZ's Harvey Levin called him out today in a way that Goodell can no longer plausibly defend himself.

I never told his wife what to think and me saying “I’m sure there are very many woman…” isn’t close to speaking for “all woman”. I think your being upset about the double jeopardy suspension of Ray Rice is completely missing boat on the bigger issue. As a man, I’m upset at the legal system and Goodell going easy on Rice. That sent out the wrong signal to men who beat woman. Earlier in this thread, I even said that Goodell should be fired right after the 2 game suspension came down. It’s shameful and I still think he’s lost all credibility to remain in charge. I’m amazed that he put the NFL’s reputation and his job on the line for Ray Rice like that. It’s crazy and I think Goodell is clueless.

I'm not sure if you’re understanding why this has become the huge story and that it goes beyond the wishes of the victim for it to go away. Domestic violence is usually a hidden crime that goes on behind closed doors. What happened here is that it appears the legal system, the NFL and Ravens were all complicit in going easy on a man who punched his woman in the face, knocking her unconscious and all three knowing full well there was actual video proof of what he did. That there was video evidence is something that is very rare. So you have two things at play here, by going light on Ray these institutions were giving other men who beat on woman a wink and a nod that this stuff really isn’t a big deal and the other thing is that you make victims of domestic violence feel less safe knowing that even with video evidence, your going through with and prevailing with any charges you may have against a man who’s beat you up is highly questionable. This has become a touchstone issue that goes beyond Ray's wife’s wishes. I'm sure there are very many women affected by this issue who were hurt and feel less safe by what these institutions did and did not do.

It shouldn't be different, but the media made the decision to let it die down because they're partners with this multi-billion dollar business and they didn't want to create waves when there was no video proof of what actually happened. Even though he admitted doing what he did. The media still should have held firm and not let the story die down, but they did. The media is very powerful in this country and they should have been the ones to not let the story die down after the 2 game suspension outrage. But they were protecting their bottom line until they no longer could do so with actual video proof showing up today.

Because for the most part this country is led by the media and the media no longer could protect the league once TMZ published a video of the knockout punch. With no video, the media (who makes good ad money off of the NFL) played good soldiers for the league and let the thing fade away. The media has egg on their face as well.

It's amazing that the backlash died down after the 2 game suspension came down. It seems like the NFL media played good little soldiers letting it die all down and are now are trying to play catch up today. This is a black eye for everyone. It's crazy that Roger Goodell would risk ruining the NFL's image by acting favorable to Ray Rice in his judgement as if he was some kind of sacred cow or something. This is supposed to be the NFL's best PR day of the whole year and everyone is talking about the just released video showing Ray Rice knocking out a girl and Goodell's stupid 2 game suspension. Goodell may need to go because this is a blunder that may be too huge for him to recover from. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business and this blowback is happening because Goodell was a fool in his judgement. Multi-billion dollar business interests vs Ray Rice's interests and you rule in favor of Ray Rice? If I was an owner I'd be ticked off at Goodell's role in this whole matter.

Also, he keeps saying that he slapped her when the slow motion part (if you pause on the knockout hit) on the TMZ video looks exactly like a closed fist. A pro football player punching a woman in the head like Ray Rice did, is like an average man punching a defenseless child in the head. It doesn't matter what the person's head hit after the initial punch. This guy needs to quit defending this coward, it's embarrassing.

This goes beyond the 2 game suspension outrage. Why in the world was this video held back from the public? Was someone in the judicial system doing this to protect the NFL and Ray Rice's image? Seems there might be people in position of power that need to lose their jobs here...possibly the prosecutors, Goodell and Harbaugh. When it's a Johnny nobody slug punching a woman in public then the video is shown all over the place on the news. Something's not right here.

I am really happy for the whole team and EJ in particular. It just seemed like he was getting overly blasted by the media and by fans who were pronouncing him a bust and basing it on his preseason performances (they'd deny it but it was clear that was the case). Those performances weren't even that bad, they probably just wanted to see him raining touchdowns in those meaningless games as if that mattered. They wanted that security blanket. I think that this game is a big confidence builder for Manuel and a big giant pelt for his career. The fact that he gave this kind of a speech to his offensive teammates makes me think he just might be the QB we've all been waiting for. Just look at the good but not "great" QBs that have won the Superbowl in recent years...Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning. You don't have to be an all-pro, you just have to have enough talent and a very good team around you to win it all. This might be something that EJ Manuel could actually do. Glad I can say that I never gave up on him. I'm looking forward to see him play even better in the Miami game. Hopefully this is the first win of many!

Hoping ribs are ok and we see Sammy Watkins take it to the Bears today...

Great video! I think a lot of Bills fans see a few offensive players on this team who have that "human highlight reel" kind of talent. I think that's what we are so apprehensive about this season because we're waiting for liftoff already and worried that it will never happen. Our guys should be able to have a great day today against this old and toothless Bears D, right? Thanks for the video buddy!