Peevo

This is so good. I completely agree. Why is the NFL so desperate to make "Bills-Jets" happen? 3 straight years on Thursday Night Football. Stop trying to make it happen. It's never going to happen. I hate the old rivalries, the entire system is completely flawed and is desperate need of change. Why so many fans are so hesitant to any new ideas that COULD MAKE THE BILLS COMPETITIVE is beyond this poster.

Disagree. Buffalo is more a Great Lakes, rust belt city than it is North East, like Boston, New York and Baltimore. The "Rust Belt" division of Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Detroit, or Cincy is a fun, geographically easy idea that would get killer road trip rivalries. The winner each year could literally win 'the Rust Belt," a "once proud," "looked really cool in the 1960's" championship belt that would be passed along team to team every year. It fits so well on the highways I literally see no reason why the NFL should't do this. Realignment and relegation are sorely needed in this sport.

I agree with the above posters about NE. It's borderline impossible to compete with them in the AFC. There are MAYBE two teams in the entire conference that could potentially beat them in the Conference title game. B + B have set an incredible, unattainable standard for NFL success. Similar to the western conference in the NBA, the best you can hope for is to get into the playoffs and maybe win one game against the Warriors. There's literally no hope for 29, maybe 28 NBA markets. How the leagues of both of these powerhouses throw their hands up at at it and refuse to act speaks volumes. What can you do? The only option available is to realign the conferences or divisions and make the Patriots someone else's problem every year. And that's only to help the Bills end their playoff drought. Seriously, no snark, who can beat NE in the playoffs? Pittsburgh? Maybe Denver? Who else? What's the point of following this stupid sport if there's virtually no hope for a team to win besides fans of New England? It's utterly hopeless. If you can't tell, this whole 17 year playoff drought has changed my attitude about the world for the worse.

I just can't process how anyone, even correctly, predicting 7-9, 8-8, 9-7, is somehow either A) satisfied with that performance, and/or B) thinks that's somehow a mark of a successful NFL season. Vegas has the Bills at +/- 6 wins. Those that make insane profits on correctly predicting sports outcomes don't think the Bills will do too well this season.

Why is 9-7 the goal? If you're gonna go 9-7 in the AFC East you're almost certainly missing the playoffs again. The Bills did it twice themselves during the drought. I'm over being mediocre. Seriously. I'd rather be 1-15 and guarantee myself at least one very high pick than go 9-7, draft 17th again, and "wait till next season to get the QB cause we all know how highly rated they are compared to this year's crop." Does it guarantee them a winning team? No. Spare me the list of teams that tanked and didn't win. Would you rather be the Bucs, Titans, or Bills right now? Be objective. I choose Tennessee. Talented young QB with lots of weapons. We have to give up on the idea of getting a wild card and losing in the 1st round by 34 points as some sort of victory. When is this team gonna go 13-3 and win home field? Control the AFC? Call me when Brady retires and Belichick somehow croaks. Until then, hope for the worst cause that's the best situation we could have.

Jesus Christ.

Personally, as "millenial" Bills fan who rarely tailgates, I'm usually embarrassed by the Billsmerfia stupidity. I'm also a pretty judgmental wrestling fan and they often botch the moves they try to sell. If you're gonna go for the AA, bend your knees and get the guy over your head. It's hard for a reason, you gotta be in good shape to sell the bumps correctly. Just use the damn table WWE uses so it breaks cleanly and looks right! I can't believe I just openly complained about the quality of backyard wrestling at Bills tailgates. But that's beside the point. As much as it pains me to say it, the chubby kid at about 7 mins in says it best, "if you don't like the table slams, don't watch it." It's one example of a group of fans that CHOOSE to risk bodily injury week in and week out for their own supposed entertainment. No one is pressuring anyone else to do anything else. As strange as this is going to sound, the concept of letting fans police themselves and reap the consequences sounds pretty liberating in 2017. I don't want people to get hurt, and I don't want people deliberately hurting other people. But if two consenting adults want to throw amateurish, shoddy wrestling moves on each other for fun, they know the risks and it's only gonna hurt their tailbones and their pride. And it's sorta grating to read old-timers wax nostalgic of "the day" back in the '70's. If you hit it so hard back then, why are you criticizing the next generation? You can't in one sentence boast about how hard you guys partied, then complain about the kids on your lawn the next.

Just goes to show how oftentimes fans forget how long this drought is. Just look at the Presidents. Clinton, Bush, Obama and now Trump. 5 terms! By my count there's been 9 Olympiads since the Bills last made the playoffs. It's all just so hopeless and depressing. "See! Remember that one time we beat the Patriots back in 2011 when Tom Brady threw 5 INTs! It can happen!" Remember that one awesome throw JP Losman made back in 2006? Remember all those great kickoff returns Terrence McGee made? Member? I member! Brady has one bad game every 3 years or so, so maybe Buffalo gets him again on such a fateful day.

I can't be the only poster on this board that was too young to remember the 90's Bills, right? I'm 30, and I genuinely can't remember a thing from those years. So imagine being 22, 18. Plenty old enough to be "into" football, but why on earth would you care about the Bills in the same way? The team beats to death, "love the Bills because you love Buffalo," as if because I reside here therefore I MUST love and worship a for-profit organization, that does all of its business in a white-bread, suburban sprawled, country town 15 miles south of Buffalo. Maybe it's time to ask them to their job better. I know, I know, "I'm a hater," but seriously how much can they sell "We were really good during the first Bush administration 30 years ago" before it wears off?

I agree. There's never any vision or cohesion with this team, thus all the turnover in management and coaching and then talented players are stuck somewhere in limbo. Bills fans in general seem to have such short memories. Why sign Terrell Owens then trade your starting LT in the same offseason? An aging former superstar doesn't help your team do much when your young players in their prime get the boot. No vision. Why trade up to draft Sammy Watkins if your head coach wasn't even on board with the idea? If the coach and GM aren't on the EXACT same page in the draft room, why do it? No vision. It ought be pointed it out not every player that's left Buffalo has had tremendous success. Jairus Byrd, Mario Williams, Lee Evans, McGahee, etc. There's plenty of examples to prove either point. But I do think the Bills are very guilty of never fully executing any plan they have. I think McDermott needs an honest 5 years. If they're 6-10 again next season, I say start completely over. Trade/cut McCoy, let Taylor go and tank the year. And then rebuild from scratch. Then he has 4 years to build a winner in his image. I just can't stomach 6-10, 7-9, 7-9, 8-8 again. Either be good or be terrible. The drought is old enough to drive after 9, why not let it vote, get drafted, buy cigarettes, do porn, and eventually buy alcohol? Seems fair, it's just starting it's life!

This is hard to argue with. Great job. Let's see the apologists try their hands at defending this one.

No it's not about CuJo specifically, it's terrible drafting year in and year out that keeps this team mired in mediocrity. One player left from 2012 draft. None from 2013. 3 from 2014. A small market team can't survive without drafting well. You can point to the Patriots terrible drafting over the past ten years, and that may be true. But we all know the reason why that doesn't affect them. Buffalo consistently whiffing at the draft is a major reason they don't get any better.

Amazing. The Bills have a total of 3 players remaining from the 2014 draft. 6-10 do it again!

It is really both parts fascinating and sad that 17 years removed from this era fans remain so passionately divided on this topic. Fascinating, and sad. Bear in mind, I was 12 years old at the time so most of these memories are very hazy. But I remember our household, my mom, dad, and older brother were firmly in pro-Flutie camp. So I was a Flutie guy by default.

Thanks, Russ Brandon.

I don't forget this stuff because I refuse to give this team any kind of a pass, especially when holdovers from that era still remain employed with power in the organization. Namely - Russ Brandon and Jim Overdorf. Until all the old guard execs at One Bills Drive are no longer receiving paychecks, I will refuse to give them any benefit of the doubt. Too few fans on this board view the Bills with enough well-earned, much needed skepticism. I don't trust them, and until they prove me wrong, neither should you.

Wrong, it's when multiple separate people are some how equipped with the power to make decisions when the the team itself says someone else is equipped with said power to make that decision. How in hell is Jim Overdorf powerful enough to cut a player, but the GM didn't make that call? This is the point. This.

I think this is completely reasonable. Since the drought, the Bills have been inept at explaining, in plain English, who does what, when , and why over there. Who cut Troy Vincent? Was it the GM? No, it was Jim Overdorf. Oh, ok. Who drafted EJ Manuel? Was it Buddy Nix? No he's Whaley's guy! No but Buddy Was the GM! Who drafted Aaron Maybin? Russ Brandon was their GM, but apparently Jauron "had to have him" - I specifically remember an Allen Wilson report about this some years ago. RIP to a very respected NFL writer. Who drafted Shaq Lawson? Whaley was GM, but how much influence does Rex have? Doug Marrone wanted to fire Bud Carpenter, but was overruled by "the old guard" management of Brandon, Overdorf and !@#$ing Scott Berchtold, their COMMUNICATIONS executive. So, when all of those Buffalo News writers fans hate ask a VERY SIMPLE question, "who makes the decisions about the players?', expecting a lucid, simple, explicit answer after 17 years of dysfunction is more than fair. Sorry. Not sorry. These are all pointed, specific examples of ineptitude of their organizational decision making. Fans care about this stuff because most of those above players mentioned furthered the drought, albeit the jury's out on Lawson. This ends this fall, or in 3 years time when the Bills are 6-10, 7-9, 9-7 again, they fire everyone and start over, again.

Precisely. Any Patriots #thinkpiece about "The Patriot Way," or "model organization top to bottom" is code for "we have the greatest QB ever and you don't." Why has no one abdicated for some useless, no name, never heard of him DT to just take the guy down? He's won 5 rings, has nothing left to prove to anyone. Furthermore, whatever punishment the Bills (preferably) would receive is so extremely disproportionate to how losing Tom Brady affects the balance of power in the AFC so greatly. Headhunting is commonplace in the NHL. Teams do it every day without apology or guilt. As terrible as it is to say, what's the worst thing that could happen to the Bills if they just took Tom Brady out? I'm serious. What's the worst thing that could happen? The lose a draft pick? Suspension? Fine? Who cares? You just put your team in a position to win its division for the first time since the Clinton presidency.

I think this is the best one so far. Buffalo Bills 2017: "Now is the time to feel the power to lead the recharge of running deep in Bills Country." Order your season tickets now! Russ is a business guy now! He only works for the Sabres!

I think the goal is the most obscure, irrelevant cant-believe-he-was-a-thing drought era Bill. What's another useless Bill from circa 2008? For example, 3rd round pick DE Chris Ellis from VIrginia Tech. I sincerely have no idea who this person is. Did he ever play? I'm sincerely asking.

You forgot such drought era notables as Ryan Denney, Derek Schouman, Derek Fine, Tim Euhus, Coy Wire, Keith Ellison, and TJ Graham. Oh, and James Hardy.

Totally agree. How many of these players even played through their rookie deals with the Bills? Can anyone remember anything of substance McCargo, Maybin, Troup did on the team? I'm seriously asking. I cannot think of one play. Hardy had, what, 10 career catches as a Bill in two seasons? I know, Troup had a severe, life threatening back injury. I get it. But man, so many wasted picks. Yeah, I guess it's sad a 75 year old man is gone or whatever. I've buried at least 4 close friends that never got a whiff of 30. So I'd say 75 is a pretty good life.

This makes sense. As a Millenial (I hate using that word, but born in 1987 I am definitely in that demo), it seems we can't get enough craft beer in this town. I wonder when the ceiling hits on the breweries/distilleries. Every where I go, Resurgence, Thin Man, Big Ditch, CBW are all usually pretty busy. But I'm def concerned about over saturation. Regarding it seems inevitable new stadium, keep an eye on what happens with the new train/transit hub in Buffalo. I'd absolutely think the logistics of a new light rail/Amtrak/Metro bus station and its proximity to, lets say, miles and miles of undeveloped waterfront or east side property, is a MAJOR tell as to what the Pegulas ultimately will do. And as someone who's read a lot, and I really mean a lot, about how taxpayer funded stadia rarely, if ever, benefits the taxpayers, I'd have to support any structure that gets long term, multiple uses. A retractable roof or dome is an absolute must. It's almost inarguable. Who can possibly defend spending upwards of $800 million of taxpayer money on a building to be used 8 times a year? It's abhorrent. Hell, KeyBank Center maybe gets 100 days a year of use. Maybe, including Bandits games, WWE and concerts. Is it even 100 times a year? The possibility of luring big time events, say, Wrestlemania (Buffalo is a BIG TIME WWE market), or deeper NCAA basketball tournaments, or major college football neutral site games, can only happen with a domed or retractable roof stadium. I know, these are all out-of-the-box ideas, but in my opinion, if we're spending that kind of taxpayer money, we better use the damn building. AT&T Stadium's hosted the Final Four, Wrestlemania, Alabama football, the College Football National championship. I know, Dallas is major market. I know. I'm not an idiot. I'm just saying Buffalo needs to start thinking in these terms with new stadium construction. I need concerts, conventions, trade shows, etc. Think big. Buffalo's too often bogged down by it's own inferiority complex. We just hosted one of the best-attended opening rounds of the NCAA tournament. This is all positive. We need more of that.

All of this. So well written. Any "conservative" would freak out if some community center was built with $800 million of public money to be used 10 times a year. But because it's some mediocre football team that never wins anything, TAKE MY MONEY. Also, LOVE the idea of Super Bowl Saturday. Why isn't this a thing? The Super Bowl is a de facto American holiday. Why wouldn't every bar, restaurant, brewery, etc in America want Saturday night business? It pumps tons of money into LOCAL entertainment business, while also giving the stressed out, overworked, exhausted M-F 9-5ers a day to recover. I fail to see literally any good reason why the Super Bowl should remain on Sunday. Screw tradition. I'm also the guy that wants whole scale conference and divisional realignment and relegation. But that's me.