Fan in Chicago

What I mean is that his holding out was wrong on multiple fronts. Not only did he send a wrong message about him being a me-first guy but missed an opportunity to start the O-Line gelling process in the offseason (as they were under a new OC). missing the early games and then taking time to get 'up to speed'. Even after that he was good but not near his 2007 level. Which means that in one way or the other, he hurt the team throughout the season. He was certainly not a strong piece of the O Line and hence did not solidify the LT position for the Bills this season. We now have a question mark - which player is he ? the 2007 potential great or the 2008 average LT ? Did his injury bother him or was he not motivated to play up to his potential ? I don't have enough evidence to say one way or the other. But I am hypocritical enough to give him the benefit of doubt and lobby the Bills to pay the man (at least he is a known devil).

fair enough that you do not agree and I think most people will not. I just thought it was the flip of a coach trusting his D to stop an opposing offense. This would be a gamble to allow the O 3 or 4 chances to get into the EZ and seal the game.

I have never played Madden.

I grant you that he has been a team player till the holdout. But it was not just the holdout but his mediocre play after his return that bothers me. If he decided to end his hold out, he should have given his all in solidifying his position but came up small. I hold that against him big time. To return to the original topic, Gandy made big critical mistakes which arguably were some of the major reasons Arizona lost. I think Peters is much better than him but has to prove himself to be a total team player and also be able to handle the likes of Harrison. Then he will be truly elite.

Not to take away from the spirit of this thread - but I have a debatable point to make. I think Fitz should have knelt down at the 1 yard line during his touchdown catch and run. There were under 3 minutes left in the game and that would have allowed Zona three tries at the EZ and chewed up a lot of clock time. I know most of you will say that they were trailing and it was a no brainer to take the 6 but I think it was a gamble worth taking. Giving the O the challenge to score the TD and in the process not allowing enough time for Pitts to have an opportunity to score would have been gutsy. As for the OP - I also agree that Fitz is one hell of a WR and Holmes just happened to be on the winning side of the ball (albeit being on of the reasons for being so)

I don't agree with that perception. Yes TD blew that pick badly. However, if MW had panned out, we would have been better on O but it would not have spelled the difference between the sorry record we had compared to being a playoff team. In its entirety, his mistakes were picking MW, picking McGahee when we had other pressing needs, picking bad HCs and not retaining Lebeau.

I highly doubt you can give credit to Cowher for that. It is more about the organization as a whole and the owners in particular. Anyway, to answer the question posed, I too think TD's team would win. Which is kinda sad after our prevalent perception that we are far better off with the direction of this team. Reasons I think that team would win - better defense and great DC.

While I disagree with the basic premise that the government 'should do something', the fact that they are going to spend our money is a given. Plenty has already been spent and indications are that 2xplenty more will be. However, I argue that if they are going to spend it anyway, might as well undertake this fiscal policy change and spend on infrastructure.

My opinion in general: - Don't trade/get rid of Peters - Don't get McNabb I don't want these scenarios individually or together.

Right now, I pay a little shy of 17% and am perfectly happy. At the time I bought the house about 5 years back, it was something like 25% and my real estate agent was pushing me to get close to 35% which I politely declined.

I will take your word for it and applaud the move. Sounds like a good and early decision to prepare for the draft.

And I think the argument should be about the team's record especially 3 years after Marv took over. Granted he was only here two years but we are living the effects of the coaching and draft choices he made. As I said before, I am not willing to place the entire blame on him but he certainly was part of the state that we are in today. As an aside, you don't appear too dispassionate about the team in this thread.

100% standard ? We are not requesting that and I agree that no team is perfect. However, our misses far outnumber the hits. The one consistency we have is mediocrity. I am not blaming Levy or Jauron alone but this organization as a whole does not know how to win. We can argue till the cows come home about who is more to blame but the fact remains that organizations such as the Steelers, Cowboys, Ravens, Colts find ways to be relevant and competitive year after year whereas we wallow in the bottom with the Lions and Bengals. There are few mistakes that really set back the entire franchise (Mike Williams may be one) but all these collective miscues show up in the pathetic season record we repeatedly sport.

Da List

Well, if he was just a figurehead, he should not get any credit for all the good things you write about. Can't have it both ways. Bottom line is that the organization was ineffective in producing a winner and Levy's short tenure did nothing to change that.

NOW I am really worried about the economy. I will be going to my favorite wing place (a 50 minute drive) in the next two weeks and hope he doesn't have those wimpy Mary Kate Olsen wings. Text Link to story.

How do you define being in better shape ? Yes, we have good character guys and excellent special teams on the team but: - Still have a losing record - Still haven't made the playoffs - Don't have an identity on D or O - Way under salary cap but don't use it to make key additions - No stability at the QB position Bottom line is the team players 'look' good but the results are about the same.

Someone should have told him he doesn't have the Bills on his schedule for 16 weeks.

Yea. Driven gently on Sunday's only, in the right lane while other cars passed it by, driving style for maximum mpg, weak headlights, very clean rear-view mirrors, never subjected to hard acceleration and habit of easing off the gas pedal when approaching the destination. Last expert diagnosis - needs engine overhaul and new tires. Last maintenance - new expensive paint job and new wheel covers.

Thats not really saying much now is it ?

Or, given the current hot philosophy on this board, we could trade him for a two play wonder <DB/WR>

What do you expect from someone who could have burnt gasoline instead and saved a buck per gallon ?

Works both ways, Bill. Peters was also lucky to be picked by the Bills and his talent at LT seen as opposed to being a TE. So I would call it quits on that aspect. I am in the camp that wants Peters to be the Bills' LT for a long long time. However, his not being able to make the ProBowl is disconcerting coming on the heels of his injury, holdout and subsequent sub-par performance last season. Perhaps there is something about his health that we don't know about ? Much as I want him to be our long term answer at LT, any serious injury that prevents him from performing at the 2007 level will be a liability for us. If his 2008 (under) performance was due to a lingering injury, I want to know the long term effects of that. I am not willing to commit to a 2008 Peters.

I argue that it is more than adequate if we had a stout DL. They would then do their primary task of defending the pass and the occassional run support. If the DL and LB is doing their job, the secondary should primarily be seeing the WRs which I think they are fast and strong enough to defend against. In decreasing order of priority on the D, we need 1 DE (assuming Schobel is back in full strength next year), 1 interior lineman, 1 LB. If we achieve this, watch the pass defense excel and interceptions to spike up.

Why ? Our secondary is fine and dandy. There are other areas that can use the money - both lines for starters.