GhostsOfTheRockpile

Well said.

To tout Locker, Mallet or any number of QB's is a joke. At this point in 2009 people were head-over-heels about the likes of Jevan Snead and a few other guys that fell off the face of the Earth. Let this season play out and let's see if Locker, Mallet, Luck or any of these other guys can actually win a few games and look like NFL-ready QB's. Because last time I checked, neither had accomplished anything worth the hype.

No. Once the shine wears off of the draft and T.O. signing, you're left with a team that is well below average at head coach, average (at best) at QB, has a tough schedule, has no chance of winning the division and thus has to compete with a good eight or so teams for a wild card spot... ... they can improve from last year and still finish 7-9.

He was recently arrested for being passed out in his car, high, with a bag o' weed. There's no way the Bills go after a guy with such "character issues."

Agree. If Bowen is healthy and hasn't lost much to injury, he'll join Posluszny and Mitchell at LB.

I didn't realize Orakpo or Ayers was already a proven NFL stud!!! Damn Bills!!

React.

Don't forget Robert Royal was one of Buffalo's "key departures"! This stupidity rivals Prisco saying our very own Brandon Rodd (who?!?) was a "decent" guard.

The only name that matters is EDWARDS. That line is good enough to win. Its all about Trent getting consistent, getting better. Like Steve Young told Keyshawn, "this isn't a quarterback DRIVEN league, its a quarterback league. Period."

Judging by what they did without Peters last year to start the season, I'm guessing: LT - Walker LG - Hangartner C - Wood RG - Butler RT - Chambers

No judgment on Maybin OR Orakpo's NFL future, but to respond to the original poster... ... I seem to recall several big UT games where I didn't notice Orakpo at all. Same as Gholston.

No judgment on what kind of player Maybin is going to be, but... ... so was Dwight Freeney.

He's an old dude, cut him some slack. That prostate's got a good 80+ years on it, he's probably hittin' the head!

This is more of a Jay Bilas, NBA Draft thing, but: "Upside potential" bothers me. To say a player has "upside" is enough, Jay. It necessarily implies the player is mostly potential at that point. No need for the redundancy. I hate when people crap on the language like that. That is, unless, he's trying to make the point the possibility exists that a player might turn into a guy who may develop into something special?!? Stupid Duke alum... To make it worse (better?), sometimes he adds "tremendous" to the front, creating the always baffling, sometimes entertaining "tremendous upside potential."

Its all well and good to have four or five games where you put up respectable numbers offensively, to have showings like the Bills did last year against the Chiefs, Broncos, etc. But the best identity to have as an offense is one that consistently scores... you know... touchdowns? And doesn't fumble away games in Miami. And doesn't throw red zone picks at home in key situations (Dallas in '07, Jets in '08). And can score more than a meaningless late-game TD in Foxboro. And doesn't throw three picks in a quarter... at home... on Monday Night Football... against the hapless Browns. And puts up more than THREE points... at home... to the freakin' 49ers. And puts up more than THREE points... at a neutral site... against the stinkin' Dolphins. And can execute a simple roll-out, and not fumble away another game late in the contest. Oh, and one that can score A SINGLE GODDAMN POINT... AT HOME... against the Pats. Let's start with that.

A stadium anywhere on the Buffalo waterfront is a terrible idea. For one, access is abysmal. Not to mention, there actually ISN'T enough land on the outer harbor, unless you want to spend billions to clean up the old brownfields in Lackawanna. There simply isn't enough land (for one, much of the outer harbor isn't WIDE enough to accompany the stadium, let alone the massive parking investment that would have to be made) from the old site of the Pier all the way down to what used to be St. Lawrence Cement. Your only hope is a massive project requiring billions of dollars to rememdy large swaths of land in Lackawanna... and who, pray tell, is going to pay for that? If you can't get the land on which the Perry Projects sit near the arena or the land on which the Shoreline Apartments sit near City Hall, there are very, VERY few areas in the city that could accomodate a new stadium and the ancillary lots it would consume. The Bills are better off spending $400 million on a massive, Lambeau-esque renovation of The Ralph than a billion or so on a brand new stadium.

BJ is a little B word, plain and simple. He got WORKED by a bigger, stronger, more prepared fighter. If GSP isn't the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now, he's right up there with Silva and Fedor. BJ, his yes-men camp and his make-any-excuse fans come off looking really bad after this... and pointing to their first fight is pointless. If you can't recognize how much different a fighter Georges is since his loss to Serra, then I don't know what to tell you. GSP was in better shape and it showed, period. BJ's mediocre, on-again/off-again conditioning reared its ugly head once again and it led to him throwing in the towel early. For all the crap he talked about GSP tapping from strikes and how that made him a "quitter" and a "little B word" himself, he comes off like a complete pansy (relatively speaking, of course) for not even trying to finish the fight. I guess thats what you get for taking a vacation in the middle of training. GSP was better that night, he's better most nights, and he'll be better on the night they fight again, if Dana ever wants that debacle repeated. Personally, I can't wait to see KenFlo and BJ tangle. I think Kenny has a legitimate shot (especially after his deconstruction of Huerta), and if BJ loses... he's going to have some serious soul searching to do in an effort to get his career back on track before he goes from one of the PFP best in the world to "man, if only that guy had taken it more seriously." Because, let's not fool ourselves here, he's on that precipice right now.

I'm not worried about Summers, he's been nasty all year, and has been pretty consistent since the end of last season. But I'm confused, and this is an honest question... you continue to say Harris is consistent but at the same time Boeheim rides him more than anyone else (which is what my coworker always points out). The question I'm posing is - why is that? You seem to be contradicting yourself... I'd say he rides Harris more than the others because Harris gives him reasons to. He's just not as focused at both ends of the floor game-in and game-out as he needs to be, and I'm pretty certain Boeheim has said as much. You don't see guys diving for loose balls all the time, and other guys ending up in piles around them? Do you not watch basketball? Because I DO see players diving after loose balls and other guys ending up in piles on or around them... ALL THE DAMN TIME. Its called hustle. If you want to see reckless, take a look at the February '07 GU-WVU game where Joe Alexander dove at the BACK of Pat Ewing Jr's legs... 5 feet from the ball!! And Georgetown doesn't start white guys and hasn't since Causey... so? There are plenty of teams that don't and haven't. But if you want to stick with all this "Token" yap, feel free. Like I said, you stay classy Syracuse. Good to hear Rautins is coming back, I've always enjoyed watching the kid shoot. I hope you guys smoke Notre Dame. Easily the most loathsome team in the Big East. Hopefully we'll take care of business against Duke, WVU, Marquette and Cincy (twice) before meeting you guys again, and you guys hold up against YOUR tough end of the schedule before Valentine's Day. It'd be nice to have this game be between two top-15 teams again.

Sorry, psaunders. My family has had seasons tickets since 1987 (including four years I lived in DC, but not including four years I lived in Boston), and far more often than not Bills fans are the ones puking in the aisles or parking lots, peeing on people in the bathrooms, starting with opposing fans... ... don't get me wrong, most stadiums have their share of jerks and by no means are all visiting fans behaving like saints. But the fact remains many Bills fans treat the lots and the stadium like a toilet, and coupled with dark, disgusting concourses, horrible bathroom facilities and the few major a--holes in the stadium that puke again, act like complete jerks... you see why many of us think The Ralph - for all its glory - is a complete dump.

Childish? Oh please. The guy stood up and yelled "AND ONE!" Its the kind of emotion Syracuse could have used last night in droves, instead of sleepwalking through most of the game. This is the Big East. Its supposed to be physical, guys are supposed to get emotional, and I'm sure if the shoe had been on the other foot, you'd be praising Harris or someone else for playing with intensity. I wouldn't mind having him on my team, but his hot-and-cold play is maddening. Boeheim SHOULD be hard on him, as his play is far too inconsistent for a supposed blue-chip recruit, team leader and THIRD YEAR player. My co-worker is a two-time Syracuse grad, and can't stop harping on Harris. Take an objective stance, and you'd see he simply doesn't bring the same intensity and focus to both ends of the floor every night like he needs to. You're joking, right? The guy dives for the ball, saves it, and now he's dirty? Again, if Joseph had rolled Summers' ankle, what would you be saying? This is Big East basketball... these things happen. To even call the play "reckless" is beyond stupid. Don't be so myopic, its a play that happens in the course of basketball games ALL THE DAMN TIME. For what its worth, both myself and the Hoya fans on our message board are all hoping the best for Rautins... we've seen what chronic injuries can do to a career first hand. As for the "token" comment with regards to our Russian player... you stay classy, Syracuse. I'd expect nothing less! They probably won't. And Syracuse probably won't play as horribly on the defensive end as they did last night. Which is why I said I fully expect Syracuse to win the rematch. Reading comprehension, people...

If you'd read my post, you'd see I indicated LAST NIGHT'S GAME turned on those three things. Last night, those three factors helped turned the game in G'Town's favor, that's all. Who's to say the same doesn't happen again 2/14? Or that Syracuse doesn't completely turn the tables?

That's not how it works. Whether its club seats, luxury boxes, the enclosed club seats in the tunnel endzone... there is a ticket sold for each seat in those areas. The home team gets 60% of that take, the visiting team 40%. Its like that in every stadium. When Dallas and New York open their new stadiums, the Bills will get 40% of the club and suite TICKET prices when they play there. The money that is untouched by visiting teams is that paid for PSL's, to buy the luxury box, etc. For example, my company has a Dugout Suite at The Ralph. They pay roughly $80k PLUS they must buy tickets for each seat in the suite. The Bills keep the $80k, and split the take on the actual tickets. That's why the Bills will never come close to Dallas or New York or Washington or New England... ticket prices are always split, but the PSL's and suite "reservation" fees are kept by the team.

Then what's that punk girl-puncher "Cheddar Bob" Devendorf? The game was about even for the most part. Rebounding was in G'Town's favor in the first half, SU's in the second (and late, when the Hoyas stopped sending big bodies into the lane). Turnovers were about even. Where the game turned: (1) Depth - Georgetown ran too many bodies at SU last night. Wright was in foul trouble, but Clark did a fine job checking Flynn much of the night. No surprise that Flynn picked up several of his 14 when a cold Wright checked back in at the beginning of the second half. As for bodies in the paint, Monroe, Sims and Vaughn outplayed Arinze and Jackson for long stretches. Lastly, without Rautins SU's depth looks diminished. (2) Scheme - look at the assist:turnover ratios. Georgetown was almost 2:1, SU was almost 1:1.5 !! Georgetown did a better job running their offense than SU (which at times resembles "Give it to Flynn, see what he can do"). When they're running it cleanly, G'Town creates as many open shots as any team in the nation, and last night they were knocking them down. But its more than the 3's, they had open mid-range shots all night both in the zone and when SU went m2m. Flynn's bad habit of trying to do too much and take it inside amongst the "trees" hurt SU for stretches last night. (3) Harris - this goes to depth, but he needs to show up in these tough Big East games if SU wants to have any sort of chance to make any noise. As far as I'm concerned, the guy's career has been a disappointment thus far. He's what... a junior now? And he STILL needs chewing out time next to Boeheim??? With Rautins out, the bench gets a lot shorter. As G'Town brought in more and more big bodies (Sims and Vaughn off the bench), they needed Harris to step up... and despite the fact he picked up a double-double, it was the quietest 15-11 I've ever seen (garbage time points and a few big plays at the start of the second when SU trimmed the lead). Those five or six minutes when Boeheim sat there chewing Harris out (again) were when G'Town went on their runs, taking advantage of Joseph and Ongenaet's mediocre play. And please... let's not whine about the officials. On palming, that has been a point of emphasis all season long, I've seen it called more this year than I have in the last five. If you want to get technical on travels, I give you exhibit A: Rick Jackson's shuffling feet nearly every time he gets the ball in the post. Monroe/Sims/Vaughn were hacked just as bad in the post as SU's bigs were. The point is, officiating goes both ways and evens out over the course of a game/season. Devendorf may have slapped that girl, but Georgetown hit Syracuse with a closed fist last night. See you again in February (which I fully expect SU to win at home... home team seems to have the edge in recent years).

If Detroit is as high on Smith as Miami was on Jake Long, they'd do well to take him. Yes, you could trade down, grab a few more picks... but I'd follow Miami's blueprint. Unless an offer blows you away, grab the guy who's going to anchor the line for (presumably) a decade or so.

Agree 100% R. Rich. FedEx probably has the absolute WORST access of any stadium in the league. Fortunately, I've only attended games with (a) partners of the firm I used to work for who had indoor club seats or (b) friends from college who sit in the lower bowl in some sort of "preferred" area and have parking passes for lots immediately next to the stadium.