Ennjay

Thanks.

Does anyone here know what happened to Baker? Did another team pick him up?

Maybe this has already been said but I don't have the patience to read every post on the board. This Bills team is not going to win the Super Bowl this year. It's not about eking out a win here or there, although the wins are nice, but rather it's about building a solid team that wins every week and rolls into the playoffs and beyond. Which means no more "we're a young and inexperienced (and inept) team that has to be grateful for what we can get, especially on the road against a good team" -- that's all true, but it's not going to win a Super Bowl. I thought Jauron, in his way, was calling out his own team. He was saying, "There's work to be done. You guys go out and do it. And then we'll see who's ready to play." Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas and Kent Hull and Darryl Talley and a lot of other glory-days Bills would not be whining (like some fans -- not the players) about going for it on 4th down. They'd be pissed as hell that the offense couldn't pick up one GD yard. And they'd be taking it out on the next team they played. THAT's the attitude you want. One last thing: Jauron saying after the game he might take the call back is just him taking the heat for his players. I expect the guys in the locker room know better.

What bothers me the most: How many decent teams (c'mon, the Patriots are still at least "decent") get caught off guard in front of a big home crowd on Opening Day? And how many young/untested teams fall apart on the road the first time the lights come on? I'd feel more optimistic if this were Week 7 and NE was between bigger games or just heading into its bye.

Was it really Vincent? He's also the guy who took out Losman two preseasons ago. Hmmm . . . .

Thanks. Link? Call letters?

Thanks, but I wouldn't want to waste it on a preseason game.

Anyone?

Thanks for the link. Interesting website.

My Bills 365-day calendar notes today: "William Fowler rushed for 120 yards on just 15 carries in Buffalo's 38-38 tie with Denver 11 games into the club's inaugural season in 1960. It was the first 100-yard rushing day in Bills' history." I've been a Bills fan since the mid-60's but I've never heard of this guy. Does anyone remember him? Have any history? College ball? CFL or NFL before '60? Could we keep the answers serious, please?

Can anybody tell me what it is? A gambling tout sheet? Blogging teen-agers who didn't go to camp this summer? Their stuff seems pretty flimsy but not ungrammatical, so it actually looks like legitimate media. And whoever runs the front page here thinks they're credible enough to post story links. Anybody know anything?

Thanks for doing the homework on this.

And what Willis is wearing looks good too.

Absolutely. Look at the crap jobs Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Bill Belichik, Dick Vermeil (St. Louis), Marv Levy, Bill Parcells, Tony Dungy, and Marty Schottenheimer (KC) did in their second times as head coaches.

I'd adopt a system like in college, but each team should start at the 50 -- the college start from the 25 is too easy. That's why 21-21 games end up with final scores like 49-48.

Thanks. And you're all right, it was Brandon, not Brendan.

Wasn't he supposed to be the back-up middle linebacker a few years ago? I think he got hurt but I can't remember what happened next.

You're right. I've always been a big college fan (FB and BKB) and I was disappointed that Buffalo didn't develop into a major college sports town. When I was a kid we had a chance when Lanier was at Bonnie and Calvin Murphy at Niagara, and people were generally pretty excited. But just as they left we got the Braves, and in a strange way pro BKB (which left town later anyway) killed the colleges because the sports dollar in Buffalo can only go so many places. BTW, I refuse to believe pro BKB really "failed" in Buffalo. It was mismanaged out of town by John Y. Brown. I see no hope for a new franchise now but the Braves did not have to leave when they did.

The key factor may be that basketball has a salary cap and baseball doesn't. Look at Buffalo's likely sources of cash and corporate sponsorship, and also the massive start-up outlays for baseball (like funding a farm system) in addition to the franchise fee, before you even get to player salaries, and you get something behind the Kansas City Royals. It's not going to happen. Basketball has smaller capital requirements (franchise costs less, no farm system outlays, less front office, the facility -- HSBC -- is already there) AND a cap keeping all teams closer to each other, so it's more realistic even if it's still not going to happen. In baseball, even if Oakland and Cincinnatti can win a few games they're not really perennial serious contenders like the Yankees and Boston and even St. Louis (every corporate dollar in that part of the country sponsors the Cards). In basketball, San Antonio can be a perennial champion and the Nets (who don't have nearly New York's money) can be pretenders. Of course, the real bottom line is competence. Hence the Atlanta Braves (+) and New York Knicks (-).

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I caught the end too as I was flipping channels but basically Stephen A was fishing for something negative. I thought Fletcher showed a lot of class and smarts not taking the bait. Then the conversation turned to the kind of guy Fletcher is -- left a Div. I basketball scholarship (!) to take care of business at home, and that's why he went to John Carroll. Nice quotes from Dick Vermeil about him. In all, a guy who's too good to waste his time with Stephen A.

A lot of people have complained about Buffalo weather but I can't remember anyone else who said he couldn't work out in it.

Hold it. Trading Price for a first-round pick was one of the few things TD actually did right, although we can debate what he did next with the pick. But losing Peerless Price did not drag the Bills down to where they were in '05.

Are we expecting to see the DC on the field a lot?

Thanks.