Just some thoughts

[Guest BackInDaDay]

Most of the older Bills fans, like me, have survived many frustrating seasons.

I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but these last few years have been particularly painful.

 

In the past, your team had to have successful drafts and pull off the occasional trade to improve their roster. Years could go by before everything clicked and the team was competitive. Those were the days of dynasties and doormats. Some of you don’t remember that NFL. But some of us do, and I for one am happy that teams are now able to pursue the players that can strengthen them.

 

Our last GM was hired to clean up the Bills personnel problems. Although he publicly advocated the Patriots style of finding bargain players, his actions didn’t seem to support that opinion. He signed many high profile players in his time here. Good players who may have won with experienced coaching. Not surprisingly, as those of us who've been dizzied by a 40 year coaching carousel will attest, there was no commitment along those lines.

 

The owner signed the checks he allowed the GM to write and was disappointed with the results. The owner then decided another approach was necessary. He’s decided that his new GM will build a competitive team within a more prudent budget. This last statement is very important.

 

Had the recent coaches and players delivered playoff caliber football, the owner would have tolerated the cost, for a time. Unfortunately the final product didn’t justify the money being spent. So now he’ll hire the best players and coaches available at bargain prices. Don’t expect any outrageous bids from the Bills on FAs anymore. As a matter of fact, a trade down in the draft that could net multiple picks at lesser compensation would seem likely. If a trade could be made for our 1st round pick that gets us two 2nd rounders, it will be made.

 

I’ll always root for this team to do well, to play hard and be competitive. I’ve got no problem with giving unheralded coaches and players an opportunity. I’m just getting tired of my team being the minor leagues of the NFL.

 

In the last 40 years I was given hope by Dennis Shaw and Haven Moses, awed by OJ Simpson and the Electric Company, proud of the efforts of Joe Ferguson and Joe Cribbs, and elated by our Super Bowl teams.

 

Coaches came and went.

Players came and went.

 

Every once in a while the right combination clicked, and I’ve been rewarded with some wonderful memories. Great moments. Brilliant and fleeting as shooting stars that I consider myself lucky to have seen. But am I being greedy and ungrateful to expect more?

[BillsCelticsAngelsBama]

No you are not.... and it sounds like were seperated at birth. Been a fan since I was 5... 1965. Hang in there !

[Guest BackInDaDay]

No you are not.... and it sounds like were seperated at birth.  Been a fan since I was 5... 1965. Hang in there !

635726[/snapback]

B-B-B-BROTHER!!!

Yeah, you too!

[fmr60]

I've been around as long as you have and completley support your contentions and position.

[Fan in San Diego]

No you are not.... and it sounds like were seperated at birth.  Been a fan since I was 5... 1965. Hang in there !

635726[/snapback]

 

Maybe we are triplets ? I was five in 65 and a fan since then as well !

[Lurker]

Coaches came and went.

Players came and went. 

 

Every once in a while the right combination clicked, and I’ve been rewarded with some wonderful memories.  Great moments.  Brilliant and fleeting as shooting stars that I consider myself lucky to have seen.  But am I being greedy and ungrateful to expect more?

635719[/snapback]

 

Sounds like the Red Socks to me. Or the Buc's, Seahawks, Vikings, Chiefs, Chargers, Panthers, Bears, Fins, Titans......

[Guest BackInDaDay]

I've been around as long as you have and completley support your contentions and position.

636338[/snapback]

Thanks. Maybe we'll catch a little lightning in a bottle this year.

[Like A Mofo]

Well I have not been a Bills fan as long as some of the others here (1982 was my 1st season as a Bills fan, the year of the loss at Cincy in the Divisional Playoffs)...but I support your thoughts as well

[ROSCOE P. COE TRAIN]

Great post. I agree with much of what you said. It is hard to articulate what the Bills have been through. But you nailed much of it in your somber post. The fact is that this team is lacking an idenity and talent.

 

But I see some light at the end of the tunnel for us. Look at Miami, who just two years ago was the dog of the league. They now have an excellent looking team and skill players at the major positions. Most importantly, they have a GREAT coach. A year ago, I posted that Saban would turn that team around in 1 season. And now we see that. We have had CRAP coaching for 9 years now. And I think that has a lot to do with our poor play and overall growth as a francise. Look for LEvy and Jauron to bring in fiber and fabric and build up the team with young players for a run in 2007. We will win 7 games this season if mcgahee stays healthy.

[Guest BackInDaDay]

Great post.  I agree with much of what you said.  It is hard to articulate what the Bills have been through.  But you nailed much of it in your somber post.  The fact is that this team is lacking an idenity and talent. 

 

But I see some light at the end of the tunnel for us.  Look at Miami, who just two years ago was the dog of the league.  They now have an excellent looking team and skill players at the major positions.  Most importantly, they have a GREAT coach.  A year ago, I posted that Saban would turn that team around in 1 season.  And now we see that.  We have had CRAP coaching for 9 years now.  And I think that has a lot to do with our poor play and overall growth as a francise.  Look for LEvy and Jauron to bring in fiber and fabric and build up the team with young players for a  run in 2007.  We will win 7 games this season if mcgahee stays healthy.

636947[/snapback]

 

I agree that Levy and Jauron are well suited for guiding the Bills through the next few years. A return to the basics, an emphasis on fundamentals and a goal-oriented approach may be enough to field a team we're proud of. But gallant efforts won't be enough to defeat more talented teams. Sadly, that's the reality of where the Bills are heading.

[Dan]

This is perhaps the best thread I've read in quite some time. Thank you.

 

I agree "fielding a team we're proud of" is likely all we're heading for next season. However, I'll take that any day over a team full of TOs. In my opinion, the best thing about the Levy led Bills of the 90s - they were a team Icould be proud of. Despite the wins and losses. I liked the players, I liked the coaches. And I'll settle for that again.... for now.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

Less schmaltz, a little more substance, but similar results?

 

 

 

Could this team actually not make the playoffs for the entire decade?

 

 

 

That would be an unfortunate first. Even though they barely squeaked out an appearance in the 70s.

 

The post season drought is glaring. Darick Holmes and Tim Tindale ruling the roost in the last playoff victory.

 

I am willing to give Gramps and Jauron as much time as they need. Just PLEASE!!!!!! Do the rebuild correctly.

 

[Marv's Neighbor]

You're absolutely right! I was in 6th grade when they played their first season. Moved all over, traveled all over but the BILLS will ALWAYS be my team.

 

However, after all that time my patience is getting pretty thin. When Ralphie takes the dirt nap, if the team moves, I'm finished!

 

Great memories are one thing but the future is now!

[plenzmd1]

allright boys, im a little younger(42) and remeber good and bad times. Jowever, I just do not understand the doom and gloom that is permiating this board. I gotta feeling its like this in every city outside of DC, Cleveland,NO, and Miami. How do you think Charger fans are feeling now? Listen, every year in DC at this time they are elated, but the clock don't stop in March. It eventually rolls around to Sept when games are played. Every stinkin year there are teams that rise up and surpise the chit out of everyone.

 

Couple years ago, think Panther fans were jumping up and down at the big FA signing of Jake Delhomme.How bout couple years ago when the chargers went the preseason without their QB of the future and had to settle for the miserable QB Drew Brees to play, and everyone had them down for no more than four wins. Are bout the Rams winning like 10 games total in Vermeils first two years, picking up essentially no FAs, losing their starting QB in preseason, and turning to an arena guy. Um, I know I would of had them for no more than 5 wins. And lets not forget our most team the Pats, going like 5-11, picking up nothing but low priced, middle tier"backup and depth" type guys, and then winning three out of 4 SBs.Will not even talk about the Beras last year

 

On the flip side, we have the Skins .

 

Listen, we've had some down years, but we also looked pretty dam good at times last year. KC game, Pats on the rd, Panthers game,up 21 on the supoosedly now mighty Dolphins. If Mularkey and Grey were was as bad as thought, could not some of those games be in the W column with better coaching.

 

I not saying we are going to the SB, or even making the playoffs, but dam its March, there lots of tweaking that can still be done on the roster, the draft is still ahead of us, and I feel like we have a GM and Coach who have a plan and are gunna stick with it.

 

Last but not least, I am not as enamored with the rest of the division as everyone else here. I think the Pats are slowly going downhill, the Dolphins played some sisters of the poor down the stretch(sounds familiar), got a QB coming off complete and total reconstructove knee surgery that took willis nearly two full years to come back from.

 

I say let the reat of the off season play out,enjoy it and look forward to the camp, the preaseason, and finally the regular season.

 

After all, as they say in Angels in the Outfield"It could Happen"!!!!!!!

[RJ (not THAT RJ)]

Amen, brother! Posts like these and others in this thread keep me from despairing completely about the Children's Crusade that is threatening to storm TSW.....

 

Go Bills!

 

 

allright boys, im a little younger(42) and remeber good and bad times. Jowever, I just do not understand the doom and gloom that is permiating this board. I gotta feeling its like this in every city outside of DC, Cleveland,NO, and Miami.  How do you think Charger fans are feeling now? Listen, every year in DC at this time they are elated, but the clock don't stop in March. It eventually rolls around to Sept when games are played.  Every stinkin year there are teams that rise up and surpise the chit out of everyone.

 

Couple years ago, think Panther fans were jumping up and down at the big FA signing of Jake Delhomme.How bout couple years ago when the chargers went the preseason without their QB of the future and had to settle for the miserable QB Drew Brees to play, and everyone had them down for no more than four wins. Are bout the Rams winning like 10 games total in Vermeils first two years, picking up essentially no FAs, losing their starting QB in preseason, and turning to an arena guy. Um, I know I would of had them for no more than 5 wins. And lets not forget our most team the Pats, going like 5-11, picking up nothing but low priced, middle tier"backup and depth" type guys, and then winning three out of 4 SBs.Will not even talk about the Beras last year

 

On the flip side, we have the Skins .

 

Listen, we've had some down years, but we also looked pretty dam good at times last year. KC game, Pats on the rd, Panthers game,up 21 on the supoosedly now mighty Dolphins. If Mularkey and Grey were was as bad as thought, could not some of those games be in the W column with better coaching.

 

I not saying we are going to the SB, or even making the playoffs, but dam its March, there lots of tweaking that can still be done on the roster, the draft is still ahead of us, and I feel like we have a GM and Coach who have a plan and are gunna stick with it.

 

Last but not least, I am not as enamored with the rest of the division as everyone else here. I think the Pats are slowly going downhill, the Dolphins played some sisters of the poor down the stretch(sounds familiar), got a QB coming off complete and total reconstructove knee surgery that took willis nearly two full years to come back from.

 

I say let the reat of the off season play out,enjoy it and look forward to the camp, the preaseason, and finally the regular season.

 

After all, as they say in Angels in the Outfield"It could Happen"!!!!!!!

637267[/snapback]

[Daniel B. Juliano]

Amen, brother! Posts like these and others in this thread keep me from despairing completely about the Children's Crusade that is threatening to storm TSW.....

 

Go Bills!

637347[/snapback]

Great thread and I am there also as a 45 year plus fan so that makes me an old baby boomer.

 

What you said is so true and perfect to grow the capacity of this Board to recognize we are built more as Green Bay than Dallas _Oh God how I hate them-This is our team and our roots wherever we are today! Thanhs so much for the walk through of our team and its history and destiny-such as it is!

[krazykat]

Our last GM was hired to clean up the Bills personnel problems.  Although he publicly advocated the Patriots style of finding bargain players, his actions didn’t seem to support that opinion.  He signed many high profile players in his time here.  Good players who may have won with experienced coaching.  Not surprisingly, as those of us who've been dizzied by a 40 year coaching carousel will attest, there was no commitment along those lines.

 

The owner signed the checks he allowed the GM to write and was disappointed with the results.  The owner then decided another approach was necessary.  He’s decided that his new GM will build a competitive team within a more prudent budget.  This last statement is very important.

 

Had the recent coaches and players delivered playoff caliber football, the owner would have tolerated the cost, for a time.  Unfortunately the final product didn’t justify the money being spent.  So now he’ll hire the best players and coaches available at bargain prices. 

635719[/snapback]

This is and continues to be a failure by the owner that the former GM simply held onto a philosophy that was defunct, yet himself fails to recognize that.

 

If these high profile players were high profile in more than historical bases, then perhaps it would have worked out better. But also, that GM didn't address the line needs, in actuality completely neglecting them.

 

Our owner should be astute enough to realize that you can't stock a team with has-beens and expect yesteryear's performances. Then to do so at top dollar makes even less sense.

 

There is more than enough blame to spread around to all parts of this organization. Our drafts have been crap too. Modrak bears blame there as well. Levy and Jauron are left trying to clean up a mess that isn't going to be cleaned up the way that they are going about it. We've dug ourselves into many seasons of being bad. Few big name veterans will want to come here now. We'll have to build via our drafts, and we just don' t have the draft guru installed to do that.

 

So expect this road to be even more painful and longer than we think. Evans, McGahee, Losman, Spikes, Fletcher and maybe even a few others will be likely be gone before we're ever competitive again. The Niners have been trying to build from the ground up, and we see how difficult it is w/o top drafting.

 

Once you have a good team in this era of free agency, then it's easier to maintain. If you've had a good team but have gone through a couple of lean years, then it's also not difficult to come back. But when you have near a decade of incompetent leadership, a proneness towards being cheap with coaches and GMs, overall poor performance, then it becomes much more difficult as we are now beginning to see. Premier players use us as a negotiating device but don't really want to come here. And why should they if they want to win.

 

It's gonna be a long road, and it'll only move forward, either by chance under this administration with Modrak, or after we get some competence, good football intelligence, and winning experience in charge of this team from the top on down.

[shagmago]

Most of the older Bills fans, like me, have survived many frustrating seasons.

I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but these last few years have been particularly painful. 

 

In the past, your team had to have successful drafts and pull off the occasional trade to improve their roster.  Years could go by before everything clicked and the team was competitive.  Those were the days of dynasties and doormats.  Some of you don’t remember that NFL.  But some of us do, and I for one am happy that teams are now able to pursue the players that can strengthen them. 

 

Our last GM was hired to clean up the Bills personnel problems.  Although he publicly advocated the Patriots style of finding bargain players, his actions didn’t seem to support that opinion.  He signed many high profile players in his time here.  Good players who may have won with experienced coaching.  Not surprisingly, as those of us who've been dizzied by a 40 year coaching carousel will attest, there was no commitment along those lines.

 

The owner signed the checks he allowed the GM to write and was disappointed with the results.  The owner then decided another approach was necessary.  He’s decided that his new GM will build a competitive team within a more prudent budget.  This last statement is very important.

 

Had the recent coaches and players delivered playoff caliber football, the owner would have tolerated the cost, for a time.  Unfortunately the final product didn’t justify the money being spent.  So now he’ll hire the best players and coaches available at bargain prices.  Don’t expect any outrageous bids from the Bills on FAs anymore.  As a matter of fact, a trade down in the draft that could net multiple picks at lesser compensation would seem likely.  If a trade could be made for our 1st round pick that gets us two 2nd rounders, it will be made. 

 

I’ll always root for this team to do well, to play hard and be competitive.  I’ve got no problem with giving unheralded coaches and players an opportunity.  I’m just getting tired of my team being the minor leagues of the NFL. 

 

In the last 40 years I was given hope by Dennis Shaw and Haven Moses, awed by OJ Simpson and the Electric Company, proud of the efforts of Joe Ferguson and Joe Cribbs, and elated by our Super Bowl teams. 

 

Coaches came and went.

Players came and went. 

 

Every once in a while the right combination clicked, and I’ve been rewarded with some wonderful memories.  Great moments.  Brilliant and fleeting as shooting stars that I consider myself lucky to have seen.  But am I being greedy and ungrateful to expect more?

635719[/snapback]

Amen.....I became a fan of the Bills because they were so bad in the late 60`s, and I wanted them to win because of it.I guess you can say I felt sorry for them.........its come full circle now.It just gets old spinning wheels and starting over every 2-3 yrs.

[cooldudeav]

I suppose im the youngest poster on this thread and honestly dont remember the bills ever being good. It has been fun at times rooting for them but it has also been very discouraging the last couple of years. I am 18 and am just old enough to remember marv and kelly and kelly running no huddle opening the game. I am not old enough to remember a single superbowl.

 

I have had a rough go as a fan(think about the last ten years). Every year i think the same thing though. (probably because im young and green) This is the year the bills are going to give me something to be proud of. I really try and keep up my blind optimism and hope for a playoff berth.

 

Maybe this is the year.

[Realist]

I suppose im the youngest poster on this thread and honestly dont remember the bills ever being good. It has been fun at times rooting for them but it has also been very discouraging the last couple of years. I am 18 and am just old enough to remember marv and kelly and kelly running no huddle opening the game. I am not old enough to remember a single superbowl.

 

I have had a rough go as a fan(think about the last ten years). Every year i think the same thing though. (probably because im young and green) This is the year the bills are going to give me something to be proud of. I really try and keep up my blind optimism and hope for a playoff berth.

 

Maybe this is the year.

637467[/snapback]

Good to have such young fans here...spread the misery to the younger generation. or should I say .