gobillsinytown

I'm not questioning your motivation or passion for the team, any more than I would question your Linux programming skills (I'm guessing you're an IT professonal). However, I'm just using what I see as good logic: It is very difficult to succeed at the NFL level, both for players and for coaches. The level of play is much more complex than you think. There's a book by Peter King called "Inside the helmet" that really opened my eyes. If you get the chance, pick it up. You will be suprised at how complicated an average NFL playbook really is. These players are asked to process a great deal of information on every play in a very short period of time. My father had a friend who was drafted by the Oilers in the mid 80's. He said that the team PRACTICES were tougher than most of his college games. There's more to evaluating players than you think.

Remember this when the next "insightful" article or report comes out from these bozos. They dont know anything more about the NFL than the average Bills fan, most of whom are quite well informed.

Both sides of this coin are correct. However, there's one thing that everybody on the board is missing: None of us here really know what we're talking about. We don't know anything about player evaluation, or even what to look for. We don't know anything about putting a team together. We certainly don't know anything about player contracts and the rules of free agency. And at this point, I doubt the professionals who have careers in the NFL really understand it yet. Everybody wants winning football. Marv, however old he may be, has built winning football teams. I have no idea how to build one. It may take longer than we want, but I'll stick with Marv.

Bring back Donahoe! He sgned free agents faster than this!! Why should you take your time when you can get someone like Bennie Anderson? Fire everybody!

He doesn't realize what? At 87, he doesn't have to be embarassed about anything. What the hell does he care? He doesn't need to realize anything. Especially since he's being honest about his opinion of the deal, when the other owners couldn't or wouldn't admit that they didn't understand it either. I can't imagine having just 45 minutes to read and digest a complicated legal document that might affect the future of my business, and then be able to make an informed decision. The other owners didn't comment because they were concerned with their image. Ralph's an old man and he doesn't have to be. I'm also sure that Ralph is especially unconcerned with the opinions of sports reporters and talk show hosts, who don't know any more about the inner workings of the NFL than we do.

I don't know if this quote is in your post, but I especially like their asessment of Bennie Anderson: "The pulling guard is supposed to hit the hole BEFORE the running back, Bennie"

I don't know about anyone else, but now I'm getting aggravated. I just sent an email to Mike and Mike and I hope everyone here does the same. Just head to the ESPN "Mike and Mike" page and fire one off. And, while it's true that I have some time to kill before I go to bed and I'm not doing anything else right now, I'm still aggravated, dammit! I think Mike and Mike need a little reminder that Bills fans don't appreciate their retarded jokes. Ralph may be an old coot, but he's OUR old coot.

Ridiculous. What two sports reporters think about the organization will have absolutely no impact on attracting free agents to the team. None. What attracts players to a team is money and the perks of the deal. And, what Ralph said is what every other owner in the room was thinking, because the deal is very complex. It will take capologists, general managers and owners weeks to figure out how it's actually going to apply to the real world. The difference between Ralph and the other owners is that he doesn't give a rat's rear-end what ESPN or anyone thinks about it. He says what's on his mind. Sure, he's 87. I'd be willing to bet that no one on this board will even be able to walk without help after living that long. Professional sports reporters look for "quotable" people in their field, and Ralph is very quotable, because he's got nothing to hide. What's wrong with that? We're a laughingstock from what perspective? ESPN's ?

The sports reporters are all over it because Ralph was probably the only "quotable" thing to come out of the meeting. Also, Ralph is 86 (or is it 87). If I live to that age with the successes he's had in his life, I doubt I'll really give a sh*t what anybody thinks of me either. I also doubt he voted against it for any cap reasons or other owners circumventing the cap. Since the Bills are a lower-revenue team, they will not have to pay into the cash-over-cap revenue pool and will actually benefit from the deal. Ralph's got more than enough money to spend on players. On that note: Look at how much money the Redskins have spent. I doubt anyone sees them seriously contending for the Super Bowl anytime soon. Another example: The Steelers. Traditionally one of the cheapest franchises in the league, so they're not spending tons of money on free agents.......and yet they just added a fifth Superbowl.

Someone decided to ask Jerry Jones what he thought (why?). Per KFFL: "It's not something I am particularly excited about, but the expectations were that I wouldn't be excited about them," Jones said. "But I don't know if anybody cares how happy I am. Can we make it work as a league? We will see. I don't think we would have gotten to this point unless you brought a proposal to the table that could work." He's right about one thing......nobody cares how happy he is. Apparently the f'in arrogant "genius' owners amongst the billionaire boys club think their league is indestructable. Then again, wasn't baseball?

I noticed I wasn't on the list, so my agent and I talked and he said I should take my cause before the people and hold out for more money. On Monday, March 6th, I will be in my driveway lifting weights and telling my story about how SDS does not understand my posting value, and without me he simply can't make it to the Superbowl of web page hits!

Soprano: What does your source say about the CBA? Because if that doesn't get done, nothing else is going to matter much......

I think they'll get it done, at least I hope, because they have to. The last thing the NFL needs right now is a walkout/lockout. If they !@#$ this up, both sides will deserve the backlash they will get. If it's true that Mr. Jones is on record as saying the smaller market teams don't work as hard as his, how does he know? This idiot benefits by location alone. If Nike and Pepsi are going to do a sponsorship deal with an NFL team, would they pick a growth market like Dallas, or stagnant markets like Buffalo or Green Bay? Jerry gets it by default. Actually, it's the smaller market teams that work harder, because they're working to get much smaller revenue sources. Man, I wish there was a way to force that bozo out of the league.

Profootballtalk.com reports Vince scored a five out of fifty on the Wonderlic. And that's after someone prepping him specifically for the test. I'm not a big proponent of the riduculous level of testing and prodding they do at the Combine, but scoring five out of fifty is about as dumb as it gets. No wonder the agents don't want their players there.

I think one of the biggest mistakes of the Donahoe era was firing Rusty Jones. Fitness regimens are pretty much a cut and dry science now, but Rusty has that rare ability to really get the players to buy into what he's preaching. He was a critical part of the K-Gun because everyone had to be in top aerobic condition as well as physically strong to handle the pace. I hope we have a real protege in Allaire, because at times last year it was embarassing watching guys like Sam Adams being so gassed that they were sucking all the oxygen out of the first six rows of the stadium in the 4th quarter.

And about 20 minutes after that, there'd be a "bring back Donahoe" thread, along with a "Ralph didn't give Mularkey a chance!" thread. And I'll bet that the first time the Dolphins score more than 21 points in a game, there'll be a "The Bills were stupid to let Mularkey go!" thread....

How about this: Let's cut every player on the team, and then build a whole new team with all the great free agents that everybody says are out there! And we'd only be, what, 30 million over the cap?

I think KFFL forgot Donahoe isn't going to be doing the drafting this year.

ExiledInIllinois: Please don't misunderstand me. You're absolutely right: In the long run and in perspective with the rest of our country's problems, this stuff is just a hobby. I think people follow professional football, or any sport, with such enthusiasm because it's an escape from reality. In Pro Football, there's a winner and a loser when the game is over. It's pretty black and white and makes it easy to get behind. Of course, we all know that real life is usually one big grey area filled with compromises and no clear cut winner and loser. I've been a Bills fan for over 35 years and I love the team. And even though I spend time following the team in my leisure time, it all takes a backseat to my family and job. But if we didn't have a message board like this to argue the finer points of a league we'll never be a part of and probably don't have a clue about, it wouldn't be any fun!

I understand where you're coming from, but those economics do not apply here. Different parts of the country have different levels of economic success. There's also the issue of tradition and history, which plays a large role in how the NFL views itself and markets itself. Also, the owners and league have more than enough money to help the smaller market teams. This is not an issue of need or competitiveness. This is an issue of greed. I'm sorry but I simply cannot defend individuals with almost unlimited amounts of money (primarily based on geographic location) and notions of entitlement. The arrogance of Jerry Jones to say: "Other teams don't work as hard as us" is complete horsesh*t. First of all, Jerry has no idea of how hard the other teams are working. Second, he benefits from his location more than anything else, because the team is located in a growth market. It's also one thing to play out an uncapped league in theory and quite another to see its real world effects. Does any devoted follower of the league and student of the game really want to see teams with almost over 50 years of history and tradition just up and disappear? This is where I think the most damage would be done: The perception of the league by sports fans in general is going to change, and not for the better. And uncapped NFL will get a lot smaller, and I think we would all be quite suprised and what teams would be in immediate trouble. Besides the small market teams like Buffalo and Green Bay, I could see Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oakland, and even San Diego and New England and Philidelphia running into major problems. The last thing I think many are forgetting: The costs of an uncapped league are going to be passed on to the fans. Just imagine how much ticket prices will go up if the costs of aquiring players goes up by say, 30 percent? What makes the NFL unique is it's hard salary cap, which benefits the entire league. And in my mind, Jerry f'in Jones has more than enough money to suck it up for the good of the sport. [

Yes, they were found guilty of anti-trust exemptions. Their damages? Three dollars.

Snyder and these other arrogant, ignorant "new wave" of owners have no clue. It's the same mindset that brought baseball to it's present low state. They think that the sport is invincible and that it's their "right" to make as much money as they can grab. What they don't understand is that they're a part of a private league that has significant antitrust exemptions, and that they have an obligation to act in a manner that benefits the league as a whole. However often the rest of the country pokes fun at Ralph, this is the one concept that Ralph understands completely. This is a group of people that joined together initially for the love of the sport, and it's this core concept that made the league into the greatest professional sports league in the world. Years of teamwork and doing what is good for the league as a whole made the league into what it is today. It's sad to think that some shallow !@#$stick like Dan Snyder or Jerry Jones is actually a threat to that. An uncapped league will spell disaster for the sport and teams like the Bills, Browns, Packers, and Raiders will disappear.

I don't think MW's run blocking was ever in question. The problem is that NFL linemen are asked to do a lot more. In college a player can rely more on his physical size. I'm guessing here, but with Mike's natural ability he most likely just lined up and pancaked everyone in front of him when he was at Texas. It seems to me like he never really adjusted to the increased speed and complexity of the NFL game.

There was an article on TKO in one of the national sports magazines (I think Sports Illustrated). Based on what I read, if anybody can come back from this type of injury it's TKO. He's an extremely determined individual. He was operated on by James Andrews and he seemed optimistic because the tear was not as bad as originally thought. Keep your fingers crossed.............

It's suprising what a few hundred miles and some smart marketing can do for a beer. Here in Youngstown, OH, Genny Scream Ale is considered "exotic" because it's rarely seen. I remember in the 80's being at Lancaster Speedway, being forced to drink large cups of the Scream because it was the only beer that was available. But I guess when you're 24 years old and like to party, the taste just doesn't matter.