OCinBuffalo

This is gonna sound strange but how do we know it's not the Bills negotiator that is causing the problem? From many of the training camp reports around here it seems that Bowen is at least capable. How do we know that, as each day passes by, the Bills aren't saying "Hey, look at Bowen today, your guy isn't as important as you say"? The more days Bowen does well, the more difficult DW's bargaining position becomes. If Bowen keeps this up, time becomes DW's enemy. Or, I could be full of crap. I'm bettin on the latter.

Truthfully my biggest surprise is that anyone paid attention: figured it would be written off as raving lunacy(the know it all slant was intended - wanted to see what would happen ). I am glad I finally left the ranks of lurkers and actually got an account this year. This is a lot of fun and I appreciate all of your perspectives. I only hope the Bills can improve this year so that we have more to say than "Oh no, we suck again".

Better wormburners than floaters.

Hallelujah!

Seriously guys this was a rant. I wanted to provoke thought. I see I did that - that's all I wanted. Job done. As far as the personal attacks go - I am that confident(based on results not talk) so don't bother with trying to attack me personally - please, you'll be ignored at best. Plus all it does is weaken your position -i.e. if you can't repsond to what I am saying because you have nothing then attacking me as a last resort makes you look weak. Now on to business: Whining would be trying to do what I did for only a year, or worse, talking about what I wanted to do but never actually kicking in. I am not whining->amazed that this is what came out of this since I spent a considerable amount of my own money and 3 years of my life. Rather, I am simply stating the facts as they happened. Captain Obvious List: We all know the Bills sucked last year. What's the point in focusing on the past?/Telling us that they are gonna suck this year? Negative conjecture sells these guys' newspaper, period. I am neither a Democrat or Republican (reading comprehension is important - I clearly go after both sides here) but I generally vote the latter. The area does not suck. I say again: the area does not suck. I thought we all knew that? Why are u saying it does? I am not talking about the area, I am talking about the so-called leadership of the area. Wait - it's going to take hard work, investment from business and government, and multiple years to get going? Really? Buffalo and Stalin/Hitler (again reading comprehension is important) is just silly. Most if not all of this, especially the --warning part, is written tongue-in-cheek. I am kidding - what you think I go around talking to people like this? This is my goofing around but getting your attention at the same time thing. My question to you all is: If it's going to take years why don't we get started now? Think about it. What are the politicians waiting for? My grandmother's house in the Falls to be the only non-crackhouse? Also, it's not like we can't follow the same exact model that SF/SJ/Okland did. They arleady did the hard part, all we have to do is use their work. Potential Misunderstandings: Honestly - I certainly don't think I am above anyone on this board(excpet maybe that BF guy). Therefore condescention is not possible for me. If I consider you all equals, then I sure as hell cannot "lower" myself to your level. Anyway, that's not how I think, in any situation, and certainly not regarding u guys. Bill - the last sentence is either a screw up on my part or you didn't take it right, probably a screw up on my part. I can see how it could be interpreted negatively. What I mean is: we all have to do something about positive action in WNY - not talk about it. I hate hypocrisy so I am explaining what I intend to do next week. Finally, I cannot understand why a post like this moves some to focus on me rather than on what I am saying. Relating my personal experiences in an effort to define larger problems in WNY is the goal here. What do these larger problems have to do with me personally? As of now, not much. Acting like I could solve all this if everyone would simply listen to me - that would be ridiculous - and I could see that I would need to be smacked around. That's not what I posted. Regardless, the solution is not going to come from me personally. I don't have anywhere near the resources or the influence. The solution needs to come from all of us. Anyway, I can't wait to go to camp on Monday+Tuesday I will take pictures and post them - might even find a way to get some video up. Oh yeah I almost forgot: Hey BlueFire: Check my signature - How the hell could I be a Democrat?

-- Warning: this post requires objectivity and critical thinking skills. It is also long. Therefore, it requires a relatively decent attention span. All political party drones and ADD kids should move on now:) I am not responsible for any ruffled feathers, emotional distress or making you think - as dangerous as that is for a few of you. This is basically an open letter and while I am interested in your responses, my goal here is to provide a platform for thinking, not necessarily comment. Moving on: Ah yes, this is why we have the largest out-of-town fan club in professional sports. What was I thinking? - I came to 2 Bills drive to hear about camp and, What a surprise! niagarafallsreporter has applied their typical negative conjecture on the Bills too! Exploiters of Negativity.lamers-r-us.com I am so sick of the negative attitude that prevails in upstate(read: anywhere above Orange County) New York. Please understand, my parents are from the Falls. I was born in Texas(yes Army Brat) - I have never lived anywhere for long, both growing up and working, but I actually went to most of High School in upstate New York. While there I learned what it meant to be from WNY(Southern Tier), or at least the surrounding area, and those values have been key to my existence ever since. When I left California start-up computer work for good - 2000 - I couldn't wait to return to a place where I "knew" that people had a stand up attitude under all circumstances and could be counted on to maintain the values our grandparents taught us. Most people in the Silicon Valley can't even comprehend this. It's not that they are stupid, they are simply ignorant to our supposed shared values. It's kinda like teaching a Pigmy about gunpowder. Upon returning to upstate, I was shocked to find endless variations on the theme which the article above defines consistently. That is: the area sucks, the people suck, if anyone does anything to improve things we are gonna say it sucks before it even starts(sound familiar?). Before anyone starts to question the relevance/verity of my statments please understand that my uncle introduced me to, and spoke at length with, most of the staff of this so-called newspaper in a bar in Niagara Falls. Suffice it to say that my family has helped to create/uphold the original Democratic Party principles most of us were raised with, if not exposed to, since before all of us were born. More simply: politics - that's why I was introduced. Having met these NFR(New Found Retards) guys personally, please let me tell you that they are nothing more than used car salesman. Rather than advocate for positive change - or even better - keeping the positives we do have and changing the bad stuff, they have seen an opportunity: Take a negative situation, sensationalize it, and get others to either go along or be ridiculed. This is what both Stalin and Hitler did initially, except the NFR guys do it without the megalomanical goals - they simply want to trade influence and/or make money. Truthfully, they are too low-end to ever approach Stalin's level. Here in Philadelphia, I am responsible for my people before everything - especially myself. Believe me when I say that, minus the smoking in the bar thing, I would much rather be in Buffalo. BTW, I love the crew of Backers we have in Philly(over 100 now from all walks of life - 0 dummies). But seriously: Who wouldn't want to have season tickets and not have to fly to get there? However, I cannot ask my people to buy property in a place where apparently the attitude, and therefore the general thinking, is: "we suck before we even try". I like Philly because it has the same "my work speaks, not my mouth" attitude as Buffalo, without the pantywaist nonsense we get to hear from niagarafallsreporter.com. I cannot ask people to trust me, move to Buffalo, try to enjoy the area, and wake up in the morning being told they live in a sh!thole. If you are reading this and want the area to improve PLEASE, stop bitching, start thinking positively and/or proactivley and give those of us who have the means to return and make positive changes something to work with. Moreover, please don't tolerate any more negative exploitation. Before you start yelling cop-out please understand that my original HQ was in NY. Before I moved back to Philly I spent 3 years trying to convince the NY politicians that we could create a brand new Valley(let's see: we have the educational institutions, we have the people, we have the infrastructure, and my guess is it doesn't cost $150 a night to stay at any Motel 6 within 100 miles of Buffalo - like it does within 100 miles of San Francisco) but all I heard was "we need to spend our money on factories cause manufacturing is what we do in WNY(read: I need to placate the dying manufacturing unions so I can get votes)". The truth is that these "pillars of the community" have clearly had the world pass them by, or they don't have the intellectual honesty to represent the long-term interests of those who they claim to "fight for". These Democrats are the lowest form of life on the planet. For the Republicans in the group: please understand - the average stud computer guy/girl from upstate doesn't mind paying high taxes as long as we can guarantee a return in terms of new rookie programmers(or engineers, sales, etc.) we can count on. So stop talking about taxes and start talking about (my new phrase I invented 2 seconds ago): Talent Reclamation My peers and I represent a natural resource that is just waiting for someone to give us a reason to move home. We want to live in NY and we don't mind heavy social services as it will, or at least should, benefit us long term. Buddy - we are from New York - do you honestly believe that we can't reasonably deal with coming from behind when it comes to tax rates and other states? It ain't taxes - it's lack of creativity and knowing we have a partner in government that makes us move or stay away. Moreover, it's your party's need to ensure that the old guy stays in power no matter how many times he screws up - so that if you do it long enough you get to be the old guy. Also for Conservative Republicans: we don't need your "leadership". We are the leaders, not you. We are the guys/girls who create cool stuff from scratch. We did not inherit our daddy's business/influence/money and thereby create things that benefit the club(I was in a wealthy fraternity - because my parents busted their asses - so I know the deal) and not everyone. We also don't then promptly turn around and thank God(should say Daddy) for our "blessings". For myself, I thank God for what I should: the talent, drive and balls to make it happen in the face of withering adversity - and the sense of duty that requires me to use those gifts. We are not the ones who stand straws on edge, knock them over, and because we can do that year in and year out call ourselves "business leaders". As always, there are a few exceptions but not many in the Republican party. What we do need is a clear and consistent partnership between corporations(however lame) and excellent educational institutions - how the hell did UC-Santa Barbara become the best MIS(business and computers as a major) school in the country? Answer: Shitloads of post-graduate placement at the best IT companies in the world who just happen to be 30-40 minutes down the road. This will give us the best opportunity to retain our talent. We need to get the old bastards out on the golf course rather than in the board room. Or, we need to free the old bastards who know what I am talking about from the old bastards who do not, and let them lead the way. I am sure that: they exist, that they will lend their "old bastardness" to the effort if allowed:), and that they are capable of leading. Of course the flip side of my argument is: why didn't I stand and fight? Answer: Maybe if I was a lawyer - like my best friend who still lives in Buffalo - I could have. Unfortunately(fortunately from my perspective) my work requires teams - not individuals. I have to think about my people, not just myself. Niagara Falls Reporter has the exact opposite values we(I think) have. As long as they can exploit($$$) the negative wave, and you allow them and those like them to, they will. If you want positive change in WNY, I suggest we start with attitude. We already have the hustle. Maybe we need a coach besides Golisano and his "I started my company with $3,000"(and the part most don't know - millions in State and Federal aid!) nonsense to motivate the entire area. Please, before you say anything, understand that paychex has offered me a significant job - twice! Tom has done a great job in turning around the Sabres. But, let's see if he can find a way to sign our whole team from last year. Does he even want to? Either way - negativity breeds negativity. I don't live there still so I guess it's up to you! Perhaps after we move into our next phase we can take another look at WNY. But, I refuse to do it alone again! I am coming back to WNY next week, family reunion stuff, and, in addition to trying to get to training camp:), and have set up a few meetings to see what's what. Regardless of all I have said here I am doing what I can personally to keep a positive outlook on WNY! I hope that you all expect the same from yourselves.

till 7 pm

I'll take that bet. Will Marv suddenly turn into an idiot next year? No. Do we now have all the d back help we need for the next 3 years? Yes. Didn't we draft 2 D Lineman and 1 O lineman this year? Yes. On average, it takes 2-3 years for lineman to either develop their skills and understanding or be assigned to the scrap heap. D backs, and other players that rely much more on their prue talent, tend to be able to start much sooner. We obviously needed starters, or close, this year - not prospects. That is why we drafted the way we did. The one time we tried it your way we got Mike Williams. IMHO, we should draft lineman in the lower rounds and see if they develop than waste high draft picks on them. We can always look to free agency to get line help, since we know exactly what we are getting in a guy who has played in the league 3-4 years. With the draft being the crapshoot that it is, why in the hell would we pass up chances to draft potential high output skill players(and maybe get another Andre Reed or Thermal) for lineman we won't know about for 2-3 years? I am not saying that we should never draft lineman. I am saying that our emphasis should be on skill players. I understand your thinking and motives regarding what it takes to win overall and I agree(especially with getting consistent lineman and keeping them together). However, I don't agree with your proposed methods regarding the draft - they are like hoping for a river card to fill an inside straight. Hopefully we will be out of the "drafting for need" trap next year and on to simply taking the best available player. But, if not, we should never ever have an arbitrary, lineman only draft and pretend that will solve all our problems. All in all, it's still a crapshoot. Anything can happen that makes one, both, or neither of us right.

I am Hercules Australia, and I will be using that name when I go out tonight!

This is a dopey statistical model. That it comes from ESPN is no surprise. I can explain in depth but suffice it to say it doesn't take total number of passes into account properly. Without getting into it: What I am saying is based on the same concept as why you have to have a minimum number of games played/attempts, etc. to qualify for leading the league in any stat based on average. I.E., From the Bills.com article: #9 Can special teams, etc. "And Roscoe Parrish came on late averaging better than 13 yards a punt return which would have led the league had he met the minimum number of returns to qualify." Again, without getting into it, there is a specific set of statistical rules/approaches that set that minimum number(technically there should be a maximum number that diqualifies you as well) when averages/percentages are used. Clearly there has to be a wide range between pass attempts per game/season amongst the list of QB's above. Without adjusting for this, K.C.'s analysis is skewed at best. I would guess that is precisely why we don't see Brady, Rothelisberger, et al. on this list. Not controlling(or at least segementing the data) for the distance of balls thrown using the same max/min standards as described above, skews the results as well. Last year the list's #1 Bulger attempted 287 passes, #15 McNair attempted 476. Farve is not on the list but he attempted 607! No frickin' way this is an apples to apples comparison. Incidentally, Holcomb attempted 230. In contrast, baseball averages are relatively reliable because the average at bats/season over the entire league is very close for players who play all season. This is why "statistics don't lie, but good liars use statistics." I am fully prepared to be called nerd now.

HAHA! Hard to cure cancer on your back - assclown! Who am i kiddin' They will probably include that clip, as a symbol of our lord and savior's struggle to come back, in some dopey NBC made for TV movie.

What else is there to say after that? other than GO BILLS!!!!

Up early/late too huh? I didn't expect a reply this late. Thanks for all this though... A lot of what you are saying makes sense when you think about last year. We all observed strangeness, to say the least, last year from the coaches and management as regards what they were saying to the press. What you're saying seems to match up as to why those responses were so strange. It seemed like everyone was on their own little island. While they each wanted to take slight pot shots at each other, they didn't want to nail someone to hard for fear that this might actually unify the rest of team/coaches/mgt.(read: the other islanders) against them. Your inside info seems to back that up. I thought TD was a assclown based on his responses to press/fans last year. Crying about a coach doing something nice for the front office staff confirms- he was a clown. Have you asked your friend if s/he thought that another reason that TD was crying was that he wasn't invited to that dinner? What a shit_y manager. I don't tolerate that nonsense from anybody, especially myself , in my organization. Everyone should be at least respected until they give you a reason. If he was that insecure about his job he should have simply resigned = the honorable thing to do. Yelling at a bunch of executive assistants, etc. about not attending a "team building" dinner = this guy was weaker than we all, or at least I, thought.

Ok. Like I said, I am not doubting you. I just wanted to know where all this inside scoop stuff was coming from. DJ reviews matter huge to me - and most of the fans here! While you are at it, can you give us any indication of Levy's reviews? How about what the management/coaches acutally think about the draft. I know, this is probably pushing it, but hey, can you blame me for asking?

I'm kinda new here so I don't know about everyone's cred. For the record, I am not saying that what you are saying is untrue. However, can you explain how you know that TD was in the booth attempting to call plays? That this is the reason Clements was removed from playcalling? These seem like mightily handy excuses to cover Bulsh!t(Mularkey)'s ass. As far as Bledsoe being shocked - he should have been shocked about losing to Pittsburgh's backups/throwing a horrible interception to kill our playoffs hopes. No way he should be shocked about getting released because of it

Absolutely. Are u comfortable with following secondary lineup for the next three years? SS Coy Wire FS Troy Vincent CB Nate Clements CB Terrence McGee Please don't tell me that Wire is your guy - now or ever at SS. He's a good guy but not a starter. This was a hole before the draft. Troy Vincent is 35 - be honest - he's close to done. This will be a hole very soon. Nate Clements can go either way. We may keep him, we may not. It's not like he had a stellar year. What if his performance has more to do with him actually slipping than "motivation" or coaching problems? I don't understand how a guy goes from potential all-pro to bum without anyone taking a look at his individual play as the possible cause. This could be a hole next year, and we may get lucky with Baker, but Youboty is a good insurance policy. McGee is the only guy that's guaranteed solid. No hole. So, we drafted for 3 holes and that's why we took 3 players to fill those holes. You, or I for that matter, may not like it but these holes needed to be filled. Long- term, starting, skill players are way, way harder to draft and retain than Lineman. Just ask TD how the MW at #4 pick worked out:) I am more comfortable this year with: SS Whitner FS Vincent/Simpson CB Clements CB McGee and going forward with: SS Whitner FS Simpson CB Youboty/Baker CB McGee It remains to be seen whether these guys can fill these holes but I don't see why we keep hearing dopey points about drafting, so we can start?, rookie offensive lineman? - as though that's a guaranteed way to win??? We did draft DL and we expect them to play immediately. Whether they can or not, which is the eternal question, also remains to be seen.

Jeez, the posts are long on this one - don't be discouraged though. Not every issue can be explained, discussed and resolved in a sound bite! Especially not when the topic/posters demand that we compare: 15 years of history, Decent Vs. Good Qbs, Sick Defense compensating for mediocre QB play, etc. It appears to me that the folks who complain most about long posts are the same guys who never back up their positions with reasoned arguments, or, they define the problem but never offer a reasonable solution, i.e., whatever you are saying gets met with ("Yeah but we don't have a O line") without any suggestion as to how we obtain said O Line. Moreover, they never address the specifc points that were just made. If I undertand you properly - essentially you are saying that: 1. Quarterbacks make more money based on supply and demand 2. A great, not good, QB is vey helpful but not necessary to win a SB 3. Even an average NFL QB will most likely need to play the best season in his career to win a SB 4. Upgraded players on D can compensate for sub-great performance at QB 5. Not sure - it depends on your spelling( I think you mean contract not contact) - but I think: get a decent O line, but, more importantly, keep it together. My response to you is: 1. I Agree. But Holcomb sucks. (Sorry. I couldn't help it ) 2. I Agree. However, the x factor here is real time QB decisions, not stats(i.e. Phil Simms). Believe me. When I lived in Tampa, (used to be easy ticket to get from a scalper fo 50% face value by the 2nd quarter) I saw Dilfer make decisions that actively lost games, as opposed to winning them or at least making him a non-factor. In contrast, Phil Simms played Bill Parcells Frankenstein Football(in 1986 when that used to work), and acutally had the discipline to stick with it no matter what. 3. I Agree. Jeff Hostetler and Mark Rypien played the games of their lives(and got lucky to match), which means they made hardly any mistakes. They did not dazzle us with 300+ yd passing games to beat us in the Super Bowls. 4. I Agree with the premise. But I disagree with your conclusions. How do we know for certain that we haven't already upgraded at DT(McCargo and Triplett)? Regarding DE, how do we know for certain that taking off the leash we have had on Schobel, and, Kelsay dropping weight so that he can finally play like he was born to, won't allow both to be our starters, and good, for a long time? Clearly we have the linebackers we need, for now and later. We were, long term, weak at D back, and have effectively addressed that through the draft/releases/FA. 5. Dwight is right. However, your emphasis is wrong! Cycling O lineman year in and year out, not the QB, is the biggest mistake we have made. No one can ever get used to what the other guy is gonna do if that guy isn't around next year, or tomorrow, for that matter. Never mind the fact that the "good" O lines I have been around personally(college), and in bars/airplanes/hotels(college and pros) are practically gay for each other when it comes to team unity and pride of their unit. Seriously - u should see the Eagles O line guys out together - it's enough to set off your GAYDAR. Can't be gay with the new guy - he might not understand. The K-Gun O line didn't need to be awesome individual players(they weren't) - just fairly effective as a unit(they were). Anti-Hypocrite Check: #5 has clearly been a problem and therefore is clearly defined. My solution is as follows: 1. Hire a teaching coach that will demand that his assistants teach players the necessary fundamental and/or high level techniques and demand adherence to those techniques in practice and in games without exception. Do not spend good teaching time tinkering with paper skill sets and/or schemes and/or our players' heads and/or coming up with backyard Statue of Liberty plays. 2. Bring in a conditioning coach whose program will ensure, if nothing else, that WM doesn't need to be "rested" on third downs - or any time - and that our defense does not give up large runs in the third and forth quarter. 2. Demand that all coaches, captains, and other veteran players lead, not drive. Expected Result: We will improve/develop the guys we have as a unit rather than constantly cycling in new people for the Mularky(Bullsh!t) System to devour. As such, our guys will have a winning attitude, and, as such, will have the strength and stamina to out hustle the other team. Wait, didn't we do all that already??? I like the coaching (read: teaching players and then leading them) family tree idea, as well. Success breeds success, with regard leadership(read: winning).

I was gonna post that but u beat me to it. The only thing I would add in between o and d is "special teams wins games". At least we have that going for us .

I hate to be repetitive of others as much as I hate people telling me things I already know so I will state what seems to be the stipulated facts regarding Nance: It has been said that Nance can help us in the red zone - fine. It has been said that Nance has separation problems - fine. I saw the same video on Bills.com that you saw, so far seems like he has the character that our new team is/will be about - fine. It has been said that we have lots of small receivers - fine. There is more that's been said but you get the idea. Original thought time: Not to start the comparison engine, but hey, doesn't Nance have Randy Moss, TO, etc. characteristics -at least athletically? I think he may help us more on 1st and 10 on our own 30 than he does on 3rd and 5(4 for Holcomb) at our opponents' 15. That is, and should always have been, Willis territory. If Nance's character holds we may have a real steal on our hands. Why? If it is true that most of the teams we face this year run the same D we propose to(seems to be a trend): Then we can expect safteys to try and cut off/catch up to balls thrown beyond 15 yards. And, from what I have seen and heard so far, JP(no one else matters) is being asked to smoke balls into tight spots. Doesn't it help us to have a guy to that can bring a 3rd axis - height - to the gameplan since more likely than not he will be 5-6 inches taller than the guys trying(and failing let's hope) to cover him? Won't that get us a great 15 -25 yard pass threat? I can't wait to hear about the offensive line thing again in - to quote LABillzFan - "3...2...1"-->Some Frankenstein guy talkin about non-skill players as though their individual play matters more than how their unit plays as a whole. I also can't wait to hear more of the endless talk about putting a group of individuals together(what we have had since 2001) with FA contracts/the draft, rather than building a Team (what we had prior to TD) that will play hard, because they don't want to let the guy next to them down, and therefore, win. To all that babble I say: "Albequerque!...Snorkel! See, I can do it too".... but seriously, with JPLs mobility and arm strength, can't he run away from pressure and throw spot passes to a guy who can get up and get the ball? The only question I have is: can Nance take a hit? If not, I have just wasted 15 seconds of your life, sorry. If it's any consolation I spent 2 minutes on this one - fair trade? In all honesty I hope that they don't put too much, but just enough, pressure on him during camp/out of the gate. At the same time, I don't want to be reading headlines that say "Nance catches 3 TDs for (random team) in Superbowl" in three years. GO BILLS!!!!!

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones to Issue Six Guns to Players Cites need for personal protection in a related story: Jones to Issue Bledsoe Ball and Cup Cites need for slow and steady progress (Why the hell is the FAA teaching us how to make toys?)

You're right. I also noticed that J.P. didn't seem to throw the ball his way much either. I wonder if that was retaliation or that he didn't want to make a mistake "Serving Mr. Moulds his football".

Nonsense. Utter nonsense. Well, maybe that works if you coach JV Football:). Were you a pop warner all-star? I guessed it! You're the assistant tight ends coach/chief orange slice provider of your kid's team and now you "know football". This type of thinking provided us with exactly what we got last year, good job. Yeah offensive lineman are the whole game, keep telling yourself that. Yeah, that's why Dibs is wrong, sure. The quaterback play(and the overall offensvie game plan, for that matter) have nothing to do with it, BRAY! Go Frankenstein!!! Your post would be laughable if it wasn't so predictable. Why you are wrong: The Eagles had a good team from the inside out last year. (there are mores examples: Redskins, Chiefs, Bears, and others but let's stick with the Eagles) The Eagles have sick offensive lineman - I know because I see them every week, sometimes in person. Can you tell us what happened, please? Did the o line suddenly start to suck? or have they sucked for years? Did they give up more sacks? It seems clear that they had bad attitudes on that team and a leader who wasn't willing (until halfway through the season) to take corrective action. From what I understand, winning ANYTHING, not just football, starts with good leaders unifying the group towards a common goal. Winning continues with the acceptance of that goal by the group. The leaders must convince the group that the goal and the methods to obtain the goal are solid. Winning ends with the entire group accepting their roles and therefore responsibilities, working together to consistently execute, and solid communication. I know a little about leadership(from starting up and leading a company of now 50+ people, from my coaches(D1 not Pop Warner), teachers, and most importantly my family), since that's exactly what I do for a living, but I am still learning. I know a lot about winning, and that's all I am gonna say about that. Why don't you explain your Frankenstein, O Line GOOD D Back BAD, points as they relate to the Eagles for us? Perhaps, you are right. More Bullsh!t/Mularkey thinking might be just what this team needs! (By the way, I am just having fun here. If I come off too strong, I apologize. It's only because I would rather be High and Mighty than Low and Silly) GO BILLS!!!!

Your defensive backfield assessment is dead on. We keep hearing so much about how our draft sucked from the feather merchants out there that it's clear, to me anyway, that they haven't bothered to try to understand what is actually happening. After all, it's much easier to be a negative parrot than a homer. Hey, every year the Bills don't win the super bowl they end up being right! What balls it must take to be a "realist." According to the feather merchants we should waste high level draft picks on O lineman. Didn't we just get rid of the guy that picked an O lineman as our number one? Why the hell should we repeat mistakes? A good career corner or safety is uncommon in a draft. Elite ones come along every 3-4 years. I think we stole 3 elite d-backs in one draft. How many 3rd and longs did we have last year and couldn't get the D off the field? A ridiculous amount. Is it possible that bad D-backs might have something to do with that? Anyone who actually knows football understands that the OL is about 5 guys working together, not an individual player - they also know that d backs are generally in the opposite situation and therefore are infinitely harder to come by. But, oh yeah, I forgot, Marv is too old to do his job. IF that is the case why the hell did scout.com rate our draft #6? See this Scout.com's Draft results and, Hey, I am right! We did steal this draft - according to them. And, before you start saying: Who the hell is scout.com? Why should we listen to them? But, my favorite overpaid, hotel bar genious (place commentator's name here, John Madden is my pick) said we suck. Why should I listen to an independent media outlet? Read this: Scout.com's Credentials and click on the company milestones. I love that SI, the home of Peter King(all hail), signed scout.com in 2001(so did CBS Sportsline and FOX). That's right: all SI, CBS and FOX parrots can step off NOW. Your favorite talking head gets his talking points from these guys. Moreover, please confirm what you think you know with scout.com before posting any more nonsense facts(they are all over this board). Bad opinions we can tolerate, bad opinions based on bad facts is annoying. Independent = no de facto spinning because their on-air talent, or main sports columnist, end up being wrong(underestimated teams always get spun as surprise! teams around week four). These guys have no agenda, and no dopey Terry Bradshaw egos to contend with. Also, sorry about your ESPN insider account->wasted money. From my experience, real Bills fans stay positive and root for the team, win or lose, and we expect the team to stay positive and play hard, win or lose. As fans, we don't act like Jim Rome(he did such a fine job reporting on the L.A. Rams - especially Jim Everett - that they don't play there anymore. Good Job Jim? WTF!), but we also won't tolerate TO-type nonsense from our players. It's an equation that has worked since long before Kelly came from the Houston Gamblers, and probably long before most of the negative folks were potty trained. We saw the results of screwing with that equation based on what Bullsh!t, I mean Mularkey, did last year. Sorry about being so forceful but it seems some of you need a good trout slapping to wake up and see the plan.

Agreed.

The last thing I want is to pile on here with the logic thing but has anyone considered how the super bowl appearances factor into after the fact pro-bowl appearances? Jeff Hostetler would never have made a pro bowl appearance withoug being on the team(more accurately the coaching staff) that beat us in 90, and he didn't get there until 94 with the raiders - questionable at best. He was nowhere near the best QB in the league, ever. Yet he plays for a high profile team and whamo, pro-bowl. If you don't get it, reverse the logic: Kelley went to the pro-bowl in 90,91,92 and all super bowl appearances. He did not go in 93, but we went to the SB. Conversely, Marino went in 91,92, 94 and 95 with 0 super bowl appearances. Is the point that somehow the Dolphins got hosed out of the Super Bowl, or is it that teams win games not QBs? I can cite more examples at will but,(pyrite gal has a point here, as usual, it's just that s/he makes it in a way no one understands - sorry pyrite) pro bowl appearances at QB have a lot more to do with John Madden telling us how good a guy is after his team is up by 20 pts in the SB than an actual day in and day out performer, and why not? This way Madden is never wrong! Do I need to invoke memories of the sweat-meter? Would anyone honestly turn Peyton Manning away from our team if by some magic we had an opportunity to start him? Hey, he doesn't have any SB appearances, so I gues the answer is yes? Better yet, how many of you think he is going to the pro-bowl this year? I say he has no chance, based on the media-fed perception we now have that he is a "choker". Would that stop anyone here from picking him for their fantasy team? Kool-aid, hot pockets, rack it, Flamer in Transit, Ed is gay, LA has herpes, retatta, VA is short, pyrite gal is annoying, Wonderlic, Barbara Streisand, blah blah blah! Ok it's Monday and I gotta get to work, in my american car, wait, I don't have a car...but...but...but here's a picture of peter pan, and by the way this post is boring, but I'm just being a realist. If you don't get that check out this board some more. Obviously, I need the season to start soon. "I'm not broken but you can see the cracks" GO BILLS!!!