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Pats can keep their rings; I'll take the Bills


Shaw66

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I’ve been commenting for weeks about first this thing and then that thing that the Bills are doing like the Patriots.  The examples are everywhere:

 

1.  The do-your-job mentality.

2.  The offensive coordinator with the Patriot pedigree

3.  The multiple shifts and offensive formations.

4.  The solid tackling, stifling defense running out of the same sets most of the time.

5.  The attention to detail.

6.  The preparation for every situation.

 

There are plenty of examples. 

 

I was thinking today about being happy to be a Bills fan instead of a Patriots fan.  It’s an odd thought, I know, given the relative levels of success the two franchises have had over the past twenty years.  I’d love to have the Patriots’ success, and as I’ve said often in the past few months, I actually believe that success is coming for the Bills. 

 

In New England, however, that success came out of an amoral culture.   Too much has happened to support any other conclusion:

 

1.  The Patriots had a murderer on their roster.  A flat-out, cold blooded murderer.

2.  The Patriots have a big-time drug addict on their roster.  Now, I know taking drugs isn’t immoral, and I know there are other people with drug issues in the league, but drug addiction often is symptomatic of other behavioral issues. Josh Gordon has those symptoms.

3.  The Patriots have, if you can believe the latest news, a rapist on their roster.  A rapist who, by the way, quit on his first team and quit on his second team.

4.  The Patriots are owned by a billionaire who, for his personal pleasure, encourages sex-trafficking of poor women from other countries.  

5.  The Patriots coach, for all those things I admire about him, is a cheater.   His obsession with winning takes him beyond clearly delineated rules.  He isn’t gentleman enough to behave morally.  He often talks as though he respects the game and it’s past, but if he really respected it, he wouldn’t cheat.  And that’s perfectly okay with his owner who, despite his good press, clearly respects winning more than he respects people. 

 

Any one or two of those things, okay, I get it.  Nobody’s perfect.  The Bill have a guy who’s been in prison.  Richie Incognito had his issues.   Duke Williams wasn’t a choir boy.  The difference is, the Bills acquired those players and have kept them AFTER they’ve demonstrated that they’ve put those issues behind them.  And they’ve actively rid themselves of players, like Incognito, who can’t continue to behave.  The guys the Bills have are model citizens, and they are that way because McDermott and Beane wouldn’t have it any other way.   It’s important to them, and I suspect it’s important to the Pegulas, too, that the players on their team be good people as well as good players.  With the Patriots, the inquiry seems to stop at the good players test.  And it’s not surprising, when the owner has such blatant disregard for the people he uses and abuses for his own personal pleasure. 

 

They can keep their rings.  I’ll take the Bills. 

 

Go BILLS!

Edited by Shaw66
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39 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

 

I’ve been commenting for weeks about first this thing and then that thing that the Bills are doing like the Patriots.  The examples are everywhere:

 

1.  The do-your-job mentality.

2.  The offensive coordinator with the Patriot pedigree

3.  The multiple shifts and offensive formations.

4.  The solid tackling, stifling defense running out of the same sets most of the time.

5.  The attention to detail.

6.  The preparation for every situation.

 

There are plenty of examples. 

 

I was thinking today about being happy to be a Bills fan instead of a Patriots fan.  It’s an odd thought, I know, given the relative levels of success the two franchises have had over the past twenty years.  I’d love to have the Patriots’ success, and as I’ve said often in the past few months, I actually believe that success is coming for the Bills. 

 

In New England, however, that success came out of an amoral culture.   Too much has happened to support any other conclusion:

 

1.  The Patriots had a murderer on their roster.  A flat-out, cold blooded murderer.

2.  The Patriots have a big-time drug addict on their roster.  Now, I know taking drugs isn’t immoral, and I know there are other people with drug issues in the league, but drug addiction often is symptomatic of other behavioral issues. Josh Gordon has those symptoms.

3.  The Patriots have, if you can believe the latest news, a rapist on their roster.  A rapist who, by the way, quit on his first team and quit on his second team.

4.  The Patriots are owned by a billionaire who, for his personal pleasure, encourages sex-trafficking of poor women from other countries.  

5.  The Patriots coach, for all those things I admire about him, is a cheater.   His obsession with winning takes him beyond clearly delineated rules.  He isn’t gentleman enough to behave morally.  He often talks as though he respects the game and it’s past, but if he really respected it, he wouldn’t cheat.  And that’s perfectly okay with his owner who, despite his good press, clearly respects winning more than he respects people. 

 

Any one or two of those things, okay, I get it.  Nobody’s perfect.  The Bill have a guy who’s been in prison.  Richie Incognito had his issues.   Duke Williams wasn’t a choir boy.  The difference is, the Bills acquired those players and have kept them AFTER they’ve demonstrated that they’ve put those issues behind them.  And they’ve actively rid themselves of players, like Incognito, who can’t continue to behave.  The guys the Bills have are model citizens, and they are that way because McDermott and Beane wouldn’t have it any other way.   It’s important to them, and I suspect it’s important to the Pegulas, too, that the players on their team be good people as well as good players.  With the Patriots, the inquiry seems to stop at the good players test.  And it’s not surprising, when the owner has such blatant disregard for the people he uses and abuses for his own personal pleasure. 

 

They can keep their rings.  I’ll take the Bills. 

 

Go BILLS!

 I mostly agree with you,however #4, I did see some miss tackles that needs to be cleaned up. But of course I think that's a fairly easy fix. I look for them to wrap up a bit better from here on out.

Edited by Patrick_Duffy
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1 minute ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

 I agree with you,however #4, I did see some miss tackles that needs to be cleaned up. But of course I think that's a fairly easy fix. I look for them to wrap up a bit better from here on out.

If they missed tackles, they'll get cleaned up.  It's the Patriot way.

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Well stated Shaw66, Ever consider sending the Athletic one of you op/ed pieces, you are a good writer with passion for your chosen team and sport. I think you may find a audience that likes your work.

 

Go Bills!!!

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I appreciate the delineation, though It will remain a test of time if the Bills can keep it going. I still billieve especially on offense the Bills are a work in progress.  The O-line needs time to play together and gell, but you can see the talent.  Play calling and adjustments need to get faster.  But you can see Allen's head getting around how to vary his options up and keep another team's D off balance. All the Bills D has to do is keep bringing it as the O gets better.   Go Bills kick the Giants arse.

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2 minutes ago, Nester said:

Well, we had OJ

 

lets call it a tie

 

Let's be honest...

 

OJ was one of the most electrifying football players the world had ever seen at that time.

 

He was the first running back to reach 2000 yards in a single, shortened season.

 

He later went on to show his personality chops with his Avis commercials.

 

Then he moved into TV and big screen dramas like The Towering Inferno, Roots and Capricorn One.

 

Soon after, he had us laughing with his stint in The Naked Gun series as the lovable character Nordberg.

 

After all that, the dude has ONE BAD DAY and everyone gives him schitt.

 

 

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