Observer

Agreed great post. I am hoping Rex brings all of the good, and has learned from some of the bad. Every coach will have weakness but the one about player loyalty is a killer in 2015 NFL. It's the huge plus that Belichek carries. He's the ideal salary cap coach. If he saw Brady slipping in deliver, he'd be cut the next day.

I will see the movie but I'll say that as I wrap up the book, the book hasn't been that great. I like it. IT's interesting. But perhaps I've read a few too many books in this genre (first person Iraq/Afghan narrative) so that I find it a bit dull. Not that I don't appreciate his service and his ability. I completely respect what he did and am grateful. But I just didn't feel like the book shed much light on him as a person or opened up a new historical chapter. Short though they were, I enjoyed the chapters from his wife's perspective more than the action chapters.

So you'd teach your team to quit in the face of adversity? Your "win to fight another day" is what you do in war, not in youth basketball. In youth basketball, you play hard, together, as a team, and make the best of it. The only time I would ever pull my team from a game is if it was unsafe. Losing is never an excuse to quit, even if the other team's coach is a jagoff and even if the margin is embarassing. You play the game hard. At the end, you shake hands. Always.

"Shooting lefty is like telling them to play with an arm tied behind their back." Maybe if they are shooting 3s but not in the paint. Shooting lefty inside is an important basketball skill and most players, especially kids, totally blow at it. Most adults can't do it either unless they are perhaps post players. Working on a skill turns the game into something of value for the winning team. What value is winning by 160 points? I'm assuming most people here played sports. When you showed up to play Sr. Mary's School for the Poor and knew you'd win the game by 90 plus, did your coach put the starters in and start throwing 50 yard bombs until you were up by 80? Or did you have a better coach who tried to help some other players on your team develop some skills? (In high school, the 50 yard bombs might have been the developing skill since most high school teams can't throw for beans but you get the point.)

I respect sportsmanship. Maybe that makes me more modern. 160 point wins in youth sports is not that. Shooting left handed is not "goofy." It's teaching. Teaching skills and sportsmanship. My teams (the ones I played on and the ones I coach) have been blown out. I don't complain. It happens. But there are right ways to win and wrong ways. 160-2 is never going to be right. Never. Not even if the other coach peed in your Cheerios.

You don't see anything wrong with what the winning coach did? The losing team didn't file a complaint. The worst thing the losing coach said was that the winning coach has long been known to be a bad sport. Seems true. No. You challenge your team to win in another way. When my team is playing a worse opponent, and we know the win is going to be easy, we don't run up the score because there's nothing to be learned in that. I challenge them to win in a way that works on a skill they need to work on. How about if he had all his players shoot lefty? There's almost no kid that can use both hands. How about if he made them only pass with no dribbles. Always a great skill. How about if he had them play zone instead of full court press for a half. Maybe move his guards inside and have his bigger players play outside. Have weaker dribblers bring the ball up the court. So many ways to make it into a learning experience. A million ways to coach in that game. If you coach your team to a 160-2 win, you're a douche. It's not against the rules, but that doesn't make you any less of a bad coach, bad sport, and bad role model.

Poor guy makes Doug Marrone look like Cicero. It was a WTF hire when it happened. I haven't seen anything to change that.

Here Rex gets a monster defense supported by a GM with a Pittsburg background. That's a pretty good match for Rex.

Spiller may well be a luxury role player but there's no way you can compare him to Mario. Mario is earning every cent he gets. He's a monster.

You really got your crush on in one year!

This commentator says there are two free gent guards to get then a dropoff. http://walterfootball.com/freeagents2015G.php Good thing the Bills only need 2 guards...and one knows Roman. Fire up the machine Doug.

Ryan's worst defense finished 11th. He's a defensive genius. I am not going to worry about the D.

Levy was an also-ran when hired. The only big name coach the Bills ever hired before today was Chuck Knox. I hated Rex as the Jets coach. I hope I grow to love him with the Bills. He is Mr. Charm so the fans will love him...especially if he wins.

Press Conference is Weds. No time set.

? He had clear possession, 3 feet down, and an elbow...THEN the ball hit the ground and came out. The rule makes no sense. They can remove all the garbage in the interpretation and just say possession plus feet (elbow, butt) = catch.

They changed the "shove WR out of bounds rule" to make it 100% objective. Why not do that with this ground rule? If you have possession and get two feet (or elbow or butt...) down in bounds, it's a catch. The end. If the ball comes out after that, it's a fumble. Probably a rule change coming this off season.

In Rex Ryan, the Pegulas gave the media the best Christmas present ever.

Finalizing a contract can take time.

Marrone become a dirtbag when he quit. No one is "kicking the fired guy" but it's easy and acceptable to "kick the quitter." Screw sensitive Dougie who quit and then pissed all over the team on the way out the door. I agree with you regarding Rex concerns. The Jets quit on their coach last year, and that's a giant problem. That and he's full of bluster that he did not back up. On the plus side, he's smart with the media and funny. He inspires confidence in the team (until/unless adversity hits). I hope he learned something in NY. There was no consensus choice this off-season. Interesting that the Bills probably got the biggest name. Ryan certainly isn't a Mike Mularky/Ralph Wilson era choice.

Doug Marrone rode Doug Marrone out of town. If the next coach is worse, and face it we're Bills fans so we're conditioned to believe he will be, that's not the fans' or media's fault.

Andy Dalton looks scrweed up too. The Bills would be good with either one.

Wrong. The firing of Bill Polian is probably less about Bill, who's basically been retiring for a few years, and more about Chris Polian, who he was grooming to be his replacement. I bet the stories about how Irsay was not happy with Chris are coming soon.

Keep disciplining him. Yes. Ge rid of him. No. He's a bit of a knucklehead, not a team cancer.

Sneaker riots happened 25 years ago too. I remember the air Jordan shootings in schools.

The Colts lost their best offensive player and no one is shocked that they can't win. But you dismiss the Bills losing Fred Jackson (best player on offense) and Kyle Williams (best player on D) as no big deal? That makes no sense.