FistingBot

Pretty entertaining thread! The real problem, as always, is cheapskate Ralph whose formative years were spent in the great depression. As soon as the new CBA allowed for two years without a salary floor (which I'm sure Ralph was pushing) it became a license for him to cut payroll. We've spent $15-$20 million less than anyone else in our division. We have among the lowest payrolls in the NFL. We have among the lowest paid coaching staff's in the NFL. All part of Ralph's master plan to capitalize on the fact that he knows fans will fill the stadium regardless of how putrid the product is. Isn't it clear by now that Ralph cares more about dumping Benjamin's into his estate than fielding a winning team? A .397 winning percentage this millennium. The team looks terrible as usual. 2011: Different clowns, same circus.

I like Pryor... he could make a fine tight end for the Bills.

The Bucs GM Mark Dominik was quoted as saying that Tampa needed more players who suck!

Not entirely related to the subject of this thread, but I vividly remember a majority of posters on this board slamming Vick and saying things like they'd boycott the team if the Bills signed him... they're awfully quiet about him these days...

One of the most informative posts I've seen on here in a while. Some actual data to think about... Thanks for posting!

Well at least Modrak is finally gone.

It is amazing to see so many fans evaluate the Evans trade (and most moves the team has made over the past decade) as if it were a football move and not a financial transaction. Unless the guy is hurting team morale, is no longer effective, or you have a cap problem, there is not a strong football rationale for dumping a valuable asset like Lee for next to nothing (4th). We jettison salary year after year and the party line on this board is "he was never any good" or "we have good players to take his place"... maybe so in some cases, but this misses the bigger picture of Ralph and company preparing the franchise for it's ultimate sale by not tying the team to high priced and/or long term salaries. The stadium lease is about to expire (likely to remain year-to-year afterward)... There is no naming rights deal for the stadium... We continuously clear salary from the books... BTW - Any news on Ralph's health as of late? (just wondering)

To recap what we all know: Ralph has made it clear he will not sell the team before his death and his family does not want to own it once he is dead (which given his age isn't too far off). When he dies his estate will sell the Bills to the highest bidder, whomever that may be... and Ralph's family can conceivably make up to $1 billion or more from a bidder who wants to move the team to a more lucrative market like Los Angeles. That said, this is clearly an accounting move, not a football move... it's a salary dump, pure and simple. Lee had the highest salary on the team and now he is gone. In parallel terms, this is something a private corporation might do prior to being sold; clear large and/or long-term liabilities in order to prop up the sale price since said liabilities would be factored into the sale price... and as was correctly stated above, there is no salary floor this year so he isn't constrained in his cheapness. This move in no way makes the team better - far from it. Anyone who thinks Ralph cares a bit about winning or the fans needs to get off the pipe... he cares about his own family and the almighty dollar. And, the only thing that would affect Ralph right now would be if the fans stopped spending their hard earned money on the team. But, that won't happen, so Ralph wins and we lose... Next year, we'll dump McGee and/or Dwan Edwards for the same reason... book it.

I've had Virginia Tech season tickets since 1993 and IMHO it was clear in college that Wang would never be an NFL left tackle. He (in college) had good technique and good feet, but was susceptible to the bull rush and always had trouble with bigger, stronger players (guys like Merriman). This year we focused on defense in the draft (probably rightfully so). Next year I assume the plan is to draft offense, including some tackles. So I see nothing wrong with trying to get a year out of an older player like McKinney. Better to have an experienced guy in there than a "never will be" guy at left tackle. At worst, the experienced guy may be able to help Bell get better.

One time I asked Mike Jasper to dress up as Santa for a Christmas party I was having for my children. Anyway, Jasper shows up as Santa, says I've got goodies for you kids. He reaches into his bag and proceeds to hand out scrap metal and cigarettes to them. Then he takes off his beard and says "There's no Santa cause I ate him!" To Jasper!

LIONEL! (*said in my best George Jefferson voice*)

Congrats on post 20,000!

Here is a nice Time magazine article on BPD from a couple of years ago: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1870491-1,00.html If you know someone with BPD, you know that it does exist. And telling them to "snap out of it" or toughen up will not work...

I heard he was being moved to right tackle.

Guess when Ralph was born? (see screen name) ...some Ralph Wilson trivia. He was born on the same day as Rita Hayworth. (of course, she has been dead for a quarter of a decade)

Nah... our master plan is to have Dareus play iron man football.

Me two!

Lots of buzz on twitter that the contract details are worked out and now Atlanta gets one last chance to match...

I have a surprising amount of faith in our two rookie ILBs, Sheppard and White. Both of these guys dominated in the SEC this past year and both were coached by Chan for a week in the Senior Bowl earlier this year. So our staff knew exactly what we were getting when we drafted them. I'm strangely optimistic that one or both will emerge as a solid "find" this year. http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post?id=11442 http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/20186/the-secs-25-best-players-no-20-2

No doubt, there certainly are some. Brad Johnson comes to mind as a fairly recent Super Bowl winner. But for the most part these guys are the exception. I sure hope Fitz falls into the "exception" category, but the empirical trend is strongly against he or Thigpen becoming top-tier QBs. Maybe Chan really can work magic with these guys... I guess we'll find out soon enough!

The point being, if a guy is any good he generally doesn't bounce around the league. There are exceptions (maybe you think Fitz is an exception), but the top 13 QBs last year in terms of passer rating have only played for one or at most two teams in their careers. This trend goes back many, many years. Get a clue.

Tyler has been with Minnesota, KC, and Miami already and he's only 27. Personally, I find it hard to believe he's magically going to be a difference maker. As usual we sign a marginal player at a marginal salary... Ralph = the anti-Pegula.

We drafted two all-SEC inside linebackers for a reason. I think one of them will have a good shot at starting. Chris White can play... don't sleep on him.

Yay. Pigpen. This is the best we could do? ...I sure hope Fitz makes it through the year without getting hurt.

151 tackles by Poz was third in the league. However that stat can be misleading... our defense was on the field for the 4th most total plays, so he and Donte had a lot more opportunities than others on better defenses... 2 sacks, no interceptions, no forced fumbles, no passes defended... and, stats aside, my own eyes tell me Poz is brutal in pass coverage... I've always though Poz was a solid pro but nothing special. I just don't think Poz is anywhere close to irreplaceable.