MRM33064

He should at least be allowed to remain in his position an extra year for each pro-bowler he, or his underlings, have drafted since 2001.

Without intending any disrespect at all to EndZone, whose passion is evident, this is exactly the kind of thread that Ralphy's crew posts up in the Detroit office ... to remind him that he's bulletproof. No matter what decisions are made, no matter how badly the loyal fans are treated by bizarre, ill-timed, or otherwise odd moves (or moves that aren't made, like the defeaning silence of a lame off-season that we're supposed to excuse just because we signed T.O.) .... the fans will come. Sure they'll complain a little, call a radio show, giggle at Sully's rants, but their wallets will be wide open when it comes time to renew those tickets. Ralph isn't so old that he can't hear the criticism; rather, he just knows it's all bark and no bite. I can't help but believe that ridiculously dumb things can happen at One Bills Drive solely because the fan love for the team goes so deep. I suppose one could argue that we're lucky that we even have a team, but I think guys like EndZone deserve a lot better.

I'll have a steak sandwich and .... a steak sandwich. Charge it to the Underhills. Stats aside, I think we can all probably agree that Poz has been at least a bit of a letdown so far, but he's young, and injury obviously put him back a bit. Time to turn it around.

That's what I don't see. I'm not sure the franchise has really done anything in the last several months to demonstrate that's the real intent. Signing Owens, cutting Turk (way late), calling a meeting in Detroit (that we assume involved some kind of a lecture to Jauron and co., who by all rights should've been gone last year) and cutting another starting OL on an already highly inexperienced O-line, all seem to be more directed at keeping the fan base from revolting than a move toward ensuring we have a competitive team. I'm sure Ralph would rather win than lose, and that he cares ... to a point. I just don't think his actions are showing us a willingness to forego an extra dollar of profit for an extra ounce of competitiveness. Thoughts?

Sometimes we're a bit like the NFL's version of the Florida Marlins ... without the titles. The big difference is that the collective loyalty to the Bills is so deep that we keep coming back, no matter what. We see that Bills logo as part of our family crest but to Ralph & Co. it's another business unit. Sure, Ralph wants to win, but when push comes to shove he knows he doesn't have to. Not exactly a profound observation, but that seems to be the crux of just about everything, because it seems to drive almost all of the unpopular decisions. We let ourselves fall in love with a working girl.

Ko Simpson, huge star Told the cops, "I'm worth millions" Detroit says, draft pick Doughboy takes over No more Turk-ey leftovers Poppin' Fresh offense Red zone, fourth-and-1 Dick is confused, kick or go? Delay of game, fail

The clap is up there with all the tired media references to Dick's Yale heritage, typically used to imply that he's some kind of intellectual giant. Dick went to Yale to play football because he was a star high-school athlete in Massachusettes, not because he was on the fast-track to run MENSA and head up the United Nations.

I'll try a few .... Ralph kills the Turk-ey Dick serves a Pillsbury roll Hoodie is hungry T.O.'s toe is sore Training camp? Sure, for rookies Bruce Smith sees, giggles Trent is our starter Fitzpatrick, Hamdan, Baker Our scouts are awesome Brandon signs T.O. Sprinkles on a pile of poo Smells like ticket sales

Let's hope he doesn't strain it this week watching Patsies run past into the secondary. Back when he was drafted, big, tough, white linebacker gave me irrational flashbacks of Shane Conlan, Chris Spielman ... maybe a little Bryce Paup. So far, it's been a little more like John Holocek, Brandon Spoon and John DiGiorgio. Let's hope this is the breakout year.

"Stringer" Bell and Chidi Ahanatou were good .... but he really reminds more of some big 20-something dude I saw start in a handful of games at Penn State.

The offense was terrible for the bulk of last season, the O-coordinator situation is a mess. In the last 10 Bills/Pats matchups, the Pats have beaten us each time. Our total scoring output in those games, inclusive of all scoring plays, was 0, 10, 10, 7, 6, 17, 7, 16, 6, and 17. What have we seen that tells us that the Patriots aren't the Patriots, or that the Bills will score this time (when they haven't before - against the Pats or anyone else), or that Dick will overtake Belichick? Yes, "any given Sunday (Monday)" applies, anything can happen. But let's be honest, this one is the Patriots or pass ... and there are a lot of other better plays on the board. If you're going to play this game, the better move might be to grab a little piece of the Patsies now on the assumption that the traditional flood of MNF favorite money will show as the game gets closer. With a little luck, and a lot of favorite money, maybe you'll catch a modest middle.

If your eternal loyalty and beer goggles compel you to do the unthinkable and bet the Bills, at least wait until Monday afternoon to do it. That -10.5 is going to get dangerously close to -14 after Joe Fan tries to recoup his Sunday losses by betting on MNF. Barring Tom Brady getting crabs during the week, the public money is going to come pouring in against the Bills come Sunday night.

It even sounds uber thin for a fantasy football team. Maybe the simple answer is that the Bills intend to pick up someone else's castoff to get us through until Marshawn is back, at a rate much cheaper than what it would've cost to carry Rhodes.

It'd be interesting to know what plays actually were being called, what the designed progressions were, and so forth. All we really see is the result. If Turk decided that he was going to try and defend himself in the media, it seems like a better rationale would've been to say that aggressive plays were being called, but for whatever reason weren't executed - i.e. the majority of the checkdowns were a result of Trent's reluctance to make a tight throw, let one of the WRs make a play, etc. I'm not defending Turk, but I think Evans has hinted at that idea before, which might've contribued to Evans' perceived preference for his buddy JP over Trent. Of course, fired NFL coaches don't often make a practice of airing a lot of dirty laundry (enabling them to be quickly recycled by some other team), but once Turk decided he was going to take a shot, I wish it would've consisted of more useful information.

Dick Jauron just held a press conference stating that yes, of course Ralph was consulted, but the decision to call a meeting at Ralph's house was entirely his.

<Wood's nickname should be Bad Santa.> Genius.

Off-topic: Somewhere, Mike Shanahan is giggling.

OK .... Orakpo goes to the Skins .... again I have no clue as to which DE will pan out (if either!), but it looks like my questioning not trading down (and still picking Maybin) probably wasn't a realistic option, assuming that Maybin was their guy. Mea culpa. Go Bills.

I have no clue how any of these players will pan out, but I seem to be asking myself the same question year after year with the Bills. We seem to grab guys well ahead of the consensus of where they "should" go, implying that we could've moved down and received the same pick + some other value.

An extremely generous C-. With the exception of one fleeting Sharpie autographing, popcorn-popping moment, the off-season so far has resembled one of Dick Jauron's peaceful, emotionless Sunday afternoon walking naps. Now that we have an extra 1st rounder to play with, maybe the team will light it up a little and show us some of its urgency to win as we approach the draft .... you know .... like trading Roscoe for a 4th rounder in 2010, or swapping Kelsay for someone's 6th rounder and their backup TE. :-) In reality, it's certainly not too late for them to step it up. Let's hope.

Attitude issues and such aside, the basic problem seemed to me to be that $60 million over 6 years is just too big of a nut for us to cover now with all the other holes on the team. I'm not doing cartwheels over the trade, but it was a little bit of a "rock vs. hard place" decision. I would like to have been a fly on the wall to see what else other teams were willing to part with. If Andy Reid's puffery ("he's the best left tackle in football") was actually shared by anyone else, it would seem we could've received a little more in the deal.

Terrific news, thank you for posting it. "Joe Ferguson gave one of the most gritty performances in Bills history. In their first playoff game since 1974, against the explosive San Diego Chargers, Fergy had the Bills leading for almost the entire game. With 2:08 remaining, Dan Fouts hit little used Ron Smith with a 50 yard TD strike that broke the hearts of Bills fans everywhere. Limping to the line of scrimmage, Fergy tried desperately with time running out, as he hit Frank Lewis with an 18 yard pass bringing the Bills to their 48 yard line. On the next pass he tried to hit Jerry Butler with a bomb but his left ankle was now so painful that as he tried to step into his throw, the ball sailed high and was intercepted ... Ferguson was literally dragging his leg along the whole game. Unable to move effectively .... it was later learned that Ferguson was playing on a fractured ankle." Guts and determination. Classic Fergy.

Superb!

Buffalo Bills: We're Still In The NFL, Technically or, for marketing purposes: Buffalo Bills: 3 Points/Game Or Your Money Back

Conveniently for Uncle Ralph, the economy is in the crapper, so there will be another plausible reason to explain a decrease in season ticket sales other than ... say ... ownership implicitly endorsing a 3rd consecutive losing season. Plus, the one thing Ralph knows with a fair degree of certainty is that WNY fans love to throw out the hyperboles after losing seasons ("I'll never ...", "I'm done ...", "This is the last straw ...") but come August they'll be lining up to see night scrimmages in training camp. The team is everything to a lot of WNYers, and that's what makes it all even sadder, because they deserve better.