SouthernMan

What an idiot you must be. Can I suggest some remedial reading classes? He wasn't saying that Lynch might be cut! He was talking about Lynch's 3 week suspension preserving Omon's roster spot for those 3 extra weeks. Which, by the way, I disagree with. I think Omon, if he continues as he did last night, can earn a roster spot on the strength of his own merit. I thought he looked quite good. I think he'll make the roster if they keep 4 backs and he maintains the instensity. Age may even be in favor over Rhodes if it comes down to those two. Hall all but sealed his future with the botched kickoff, or punt, I forget which.

I'm usually one of the first to defend the broadcast booth announcers, since it seems it doesn't matter who you mention, somebody on this board will hate them. But for God's sake, Michaels and Collinsworth seemed to forget there was actually a contest going on, and particularly in the second half, virtually ignored the action on the field - not describing plays, naming names, etc. There was a penalty on the Titans int he 4th quarter that I still don't know what the call was. It put the Titans at 3rd(?) and 28. Not a peep about the penalty. Before I put too much blame on Michaels and Collinsworth, I have to keep in mind it's the producers who ultimately script the show and Michael and CC are just hired hands. But I think there's too much emphasis on the sideshow (network booth "celebrities")and not enough on the main attraction (THE GAME!). I thought the whole Michael Vick conversation with Dungy was never going to end. Can we focus here fellas? I'd almost rather hear the broken record story about Marcvus Patton's linebacker mother for the 100th time. Sheesh. Canton is temporarily populated by a slew of hall of fame NFL players, I sure many with entertaining anecdotes, and all you can give us is have a damage-control pity party for "converted animal rights activist" Michael Vick? Where's Art Donovan when you need him? When Reggie Corner intercepts a pass, how about mentioning that Fawcett Stadium, site of the evening's game , was a familiar venue for Reggie, being his high school home stadium. I would have very much like to hear about some of the newcomers playing for their football lives. I just hope this exhibition isn't an indication of how NBC will handle their Sunday Night games or I'll be wearing out the "mute" button on my remote.

Ok then, how about that he's a "mouth breather"? Hard to argue that one. Did anyone mention that there were a few moments when Marv looked like it was past nap time?

It's a nice compilation, though it's mostly stuff we've seen before. The best parts for me was the AFL footage, which is not seen very often in NFL production presentations. Man, seeing image of the facade of War Memorial, with the stands rising up in the background gave me a fanstastic deja vu moment. As great as The Ralph is, I feel bad for those who came up post-rockpile and have never seen a Bills game in as intimate a setting as that old stadium. That old stadium is where I was "baptised". As a young kid with a short attention span, I didn't fully get it, but the seeds had been planted and came to full fruition during the glory days of OJ Simpson. Back to the 50th Anniversay DVD... It's real enjoyable and all, but there are some glaring inconsistencies and errors in the production. In the sequence featuring the Bills 1980 victory over the Dolphins after 20 straight losses, in addition to the actual gameday footage, they show film from the Orange Bowl. I guess since the Bills wore their blues in the Orange Bowl, and they needed a good defensive sack highlight, NFL films figured they could get away with it and nobody would notice. Nice try. There's a part showing Bills defensive coach Walt Corey, complete with the graphic under his headshot, showing his name, Defensive Coordinator, and years of service. Only problem is it's actually Chuck Dickerson, and not Walt Corey in the frame. There was a mention of newly drafted Jim Kelly not wanting to come to the lowly Bills on the heels of their dismal 1983 season. Of course, we all know he was actually drafted before the 1983 season began. In another part featuring old War Memorial, they inexplicably have a shot of the outside of the Chiefs stadium which didn't fit well in the narrative. It made no sense. Again, I suppose the fellas in the editing room figured, "old stadium shot, whatever, just stick it in there". I'm nitpicking, but damn, how do I get a job as a fact-checker/film editor for NFL films? Edit: Just went over Bills Daily site. Nice site, but like the NFL films guys, have a tendencey to stray from facts and spelling fairly often. Check it out. According to the site, Bills are now playing the Texans Sunday night! Good one.

This may be a dumb question, but never having been to the HOF ceremonies, I'm curious - do the teams participating in the HOF game that weekend have the opportunity to see the induction ceremonies or are they too busy with travel and game prep? I think it would be truly inspirational for the new 2009 Bills to see their owner and another Bills legend being presented, and giving their speeches, all the while with a huge contigent of vocal Bills fans giving a small preview of what they can expect when they lace 'em up for real in Orchard Park.

You didn't actually read the whole thread, did you? See me previous post in this thread. And just to stay on topic, yes Tasker should receive serious consideration as a HOF inductee, though I don't see it happening for a very long time, if ever. I'm just glad that Ralph Wilson is being inducted in his lifetime and will have the opportunity to don the yellow jacket. As humble as Ralph has always been, often quick to deflect praise or attention from himself, it's refreshing to read the accounts about how "giddy" he is regarding the honor. It's nice to know that even at his age, there are still great moments of joy to be experienced, and his happiness this weekend is richly deserved. Congratulation to Ralph and Bruce. Sorry Steve, but you're going to have to get in line behind Andre and Kent.

I think that's only with the DVR. That's one of the greatest features of the thing. You have a particular interest, say "snow shovels" for instance, just put in "snow shovels" and it will automatically record everything with that phrase, if you want it to. ---)****

I seem to remember the other #78 Bruce, Armstrong, of the Patriots, usually gave Smith a good battle.

The Sunday Ticket, is for, well.... Sundays! Unlike the regular season, the preseason games are not included in the multi-billion dollar contract between networks and the NFL. There are a small number of games that make it onto the networks in preseason, such as games in London, HOF, and some Monday night warm-ups, etc., but most are carried by local affiliates (WKBW-TV for instance) and therefore can have no connection to the Directv package. Even so, the games are generally spreadout from Thursday through Saturday, with minimal scheduling conflict, and with those sprinkling of national broadcast preseason games, and a few live broadcasts on the NFL network, a good portion can be viewed live anyway. Many that can't be seen live, can be viewed the same day/night on a delay basis. I can usually hold off for a couple of hours before I start Jonsing. Very few are behind by more than a couple of days. It's still only an exhibition. I enjoy the games more from a scouting perspective than for the competative angle - which barely exists in those contests. So. to me, it's not that big a deal if I have to wait a day or two. At least we are able to see all the Bills preseason games at some point within that weekend. We know the first two, maybe more, we'll be able to see live. It wasn't that long ago, maybe 3 or 4 years, that we could only read box scores or see local Buffalo TV's website highlights. I believe we were able to see 3 of the 4 live last year. The good news is that starting this weekend, we'll have a chance to see fresh Bills action every week (except for the bye) past New Year's day. What's to complain about?

The other element I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned is that this was the middle game of 3 in a row that all had incredible nail-biting endings, in which the Bills were victorious. This was the year they could do no wrong (until that final game....ahem....but I digress) The week prior to the Broncos game, the Bills were down 24-14 against the (LA)Raiders. James Williams ran a blocked punt back for a TD. Shortly afterward. Nate Odomes stole, I mean he took it right out of the receiver's hands (Willie Gault) after a clean reception by Gault, and ran the other direction for a touchdown. Gault, at that time, one of the fastest, if not the fastest men in the NFL, stood there not believing what had just happened. In between those two plays, Norwood had kicked one for 3 points. Bills won the game, 38-24. In the Jets game, two weeks later (the week after Broncos game), the Bills won on a last second pass in the endzone to Jamie Mueller to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. I don't have reference manual "Relentless" handy, but I think those 3 scores (TD, FG TD)in the Raider game, as in the Broncos game, all came within a very short span also. In the combined games that year against the Raiders (AFC Final participant), the scored were a combined 89-24. Cmplete domination. Should have saved some of it for the Giants, (who they also outscored in the 2 game combined outcomes). They never felt like they were out of it. That team had an extreme level of confidence. I think Marv has to be given some credit for using their egos and cockiness and molding into the team chemistry that made them so confident. Ah...those were the days.

You were overlooking the obvious, Grasshopper. If you have Directv, you can alawys use your remote and search function. Just put in keyword "NFL" and you'd see all the upcoming events. I also have mine set to Buffalo Bills so it records automatically. Works great, except that I have to keep deleting the old movie "Annie Oakley", starring Barbara Stanwyk.

The perfect scenerio to really stick it to an agent/player tandem who don't want to play nice: Draft him again next year and only offer ½ the previous year's offer. Sure, they'd lose out on a couple of draft picks, but hey, it'd almost be worth it to piss off a player agent.

I used to subscribe to the "tough division" excuse, until I thought it out more clearly. Even if you have 3 somewhat equally matched divisional foes, someone has to come out on top - even if that means 8-8 for 4 teams. Every division gets at least one representative in the superbowl tourney known as the playoffs. If a team can't take their division with at least an 8-8 record, they probably have no business being in the playoffs, much less the superbowl. With an 8-8 record, even if each team in the division split each series, that means they only won 4 of their 10 out-of-division contests. Any team that can't be victorious in the easiest part of the elimination process - coming out on top of a 4-team grouping called a division - simply ain't good enough. So what if New England or Miami are tough? If the Bills are better, they should win those games. If not, they're not championship caliber. End of story. Blaming a "tough division" is a lame excuse.

You can't expect Katie Couric to actually report on the ever growing Marxist stable of the president's czars, quietly designing the elimination of freedom as we know it - not when there's word of some GQ-looking football players honing their TV skills for their second career. Lights, camera , action. Toss to you, Mary Hart.

Can I suggest you save that picture for when the Buffalo and Erie County Hysterical Society holds an exhibition of bygone local business concerns? In this case, they might feature WNY haberdasheries and chapeau trade merchants that have gone out of business for obvious reasons. Can't blame the unions this time around.

The link states that Ralph has been the president since the Bill's inception. Wasn't some douche named Donahoe president for a while?

This idea that they have to wait for Crabtree is idiotic. Simply look at the existing contracts and compare them to last year's player contracts from similar slots. Is there a trend showing a noticeable difference percentage-wise? If a trend is evident, crunch the numbers into a ratio and and figure it out. If there's no trend, then who gives a fk about Crabtree? Base the contract on what you think you're worth, negotiate, and get it done for crying out loud. Mr. Maybin....If Travis Henry jumped off a bridge would you do it too? Just get it done and quit screwing around. There's enough signees, this year, and last, to get a frame of reference. One thing for sure - if Crabtree decided he was only worth $10 million over 6 years, I guarantee Maybin wouldn't give a crap what Crabtree does.

What's lost in a lot of the Peters/Bell comparisons is the fact that Bell has been coached at and playing the tackle position through college and one year in the pros. Peters was a TE/special teams ace until they realized he had the skill set to be a good tackle. I don't believe Peters was a tackle in his first season as a Bill. It's not out of the question that if Bell displays the same apptitude, he could find himself in a starter's role before long. In theory, Bell's learning curve should be shorter than Peters, who only took a couple of years at the position to be a highly regarded tackle.

Jesus, the guy gets beat to the inside on one practice play and everyone's ready to give up on him. Let's see him in some live game action before we draw any final conclusions. And I agree that keeping Walker at RT might be the best move. Chambers filled in fine at LT last season, and let Bell compete for some playing time. If there's a lot of worry concerning the left side, devise some schemes that favor rolling to the right side and/or leave a FB or H-back in to help block on the left side, or slip past the defender, acting as an outlet receiver in the flat. I think having Wood at LG, Hangartner C, Butler a RG, and Walker in his natural position at RT makes the most sense. But again, who am I. I have to have trust in the Bills decision makers who deal with this stuff on a daily basis. Still, I wouldn't be shocked if Walker ended up back on the right side. Time will tell.

I believe the nagging injury Schobel experienced last season caused him to miss his first game action ever, so I don't know where you're getting that from. Schoble isn't exactly ancient. He's a seasoned, experienced vet, and is getting to an age where might start to slow down. On the other hand, maybe not. Every player is different. Eric Moulds, Marvin Harrison - great players who are finished after father time caught up with them. Drafted in the same class - Terrell Owens, who seems to still be going strong. Schobel's presence should provide a huge upgrade over last year's DE alignment.

Well Awright, ya got me on that one. And besides, how was I supposed to know the F'king thing was loaded?

Maybe because the organizations has had a good long, up close look at Bell, not only in a handful of preseason games from last year, but in multiple practice sessions, one on one conversations, game planning participation, attention to diet and conditioning, coachability, learning curve progress, and after disecting hours of Demetrius Bell video from OTAs, minicamps, last year's training camp, and practices throughout the 2008 campaign. If they see nothing but positives and expectations being met, it should be easy to see why they might be "high" on him. Most of us have only seen a fraction of what the Bills staff has in regard to the players skill level. I'm inclined to take their word for it. And BTW, when these writers put out glowing commentary about a particular player, often it comes via a recommendation by those in the Bills organization, who request anonymity, but are glad to have the players praised when it's deserved. The coaches put each one of their players under a microscope, not just in camp or from Sept-December, but all year long during their preparation for the next season. I have to assume that their view of Bell's potential must have been a positive, and figured into the Peters trade decision.

Too bad the HOF game didn't feature the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos - the only 2 AFL teams to maintain their original city and mascot names since the league's inception in 1960. On the other hand, it sort of makes sense that the only 2 original franchise owners, and holders of 4 of the 10 AFL Championships, meet in the 50th anniversary celebration. I just hate that the Oilers were moved out of Houston. From a purest point of view, the Tennessee Titans were not in the AFL, and I wish they weren't playing. I believe both teams will be wearing throwback unis, including the traditional Oiler derrick-logo helmets. A shame that Jack and Lou just missed on the chance to be part of it.

In the wake of the Peters controversy, I surmised that the Bills' expectations for Bell may have been a major factor in the decision to cut Peters loose.

Bell is one of the guys I've been high on since last year, and am looking forward to seeing his progress this preseason. As a raw rookie, I thought he looked outstanding in the preseason. I wasn't at camp, so I have no idea how he fared in those battles. There were a couple of instances during the preseason last year where the opposing team (forget which one) left their starters in longer than the Bills, and the Bills 2nd tier offense was playing head to head with the other team's starting D. I remember noticing how well Bell did in those 1 or 2 series against the starters. Like Peters, he's got the great footwork and athletisism that is so coveted for a big man playing tackle. Assuming his game and technique progress, making the most of his raw talent, I wouldn't be shocked to see him take over on the left side and get Walker moved back over to his natural right side tackle position before the season is over. With all the talk of rookies Woods and Levitre being question marks on the O-line, I'm more concerned about Butler and Walker's ability to man the outside consistently. One jailbreak by an opposing pass rush could be enough to put Edwards out for a prolonged period. I'll be watching Bell and wishing him luck. He doesn't have Peter's agent - does he?