Lori Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Pulled into One Bills Drive to find the stadium lights on and rock music blaring from the PA, courtesy of something called the Heineken Combine - kind of a Punt, Pass, and Kick contest for grown-ups. The winner gets a trip for two to Honolulu next February "to see his/her favorite Buffalo Bill(s) play in a post-season event currently scheduled for 2/13/05." Hmmm - sounds like somebody didn't want to pay the rights fees to use "Pro Bowl"...... Conservatively, I'd estimate at least 50 people inside the M+T Bank Club - so all the smartalecks making cracks about "gridlock on 20A" or "all 8 people who showed up" are hereby cordially invited to get stuffed. Speaker #1 was Howard Simon. He began his remarks by saying something along the lines of "You invited the wrong guy - I thought they'd be 10-6 this year, so I obviously know nothing about football." From the audience reaction, I'd wager most of us had predicted something similar - comments like "yeah, they fooled a lot of us" prevailed. Some of his thoughts, in response to questions from the peanut gallery: Defense is solid, special teams are improved, but the offense is dragging the rest of the team down with it. He still believes a conservative, run-first style of offense is the right plan for this team, if only because their execution in the passing game is so dreadful. Someone asked about the possibility of Mularkey taking over playcalling in the red zone; the way he sees it, the big problem isn't the plays being called, it's the team's inability to run those plays correctly. (Case in point: the red-zone running game. I just broke it down further, to running plays in goal-to-go situations - 13 carries, 15 yards. 1.15 yards/carry. That STINKS. Every single guy on the OL weighs more than 300 pounds; add in a TE or FB blocking and a 200+ pound RB getting a running head start behind them, and you hafta ask - how can this team NOT average more than 41.5 INCHES/carry inside the 10?) At that point, Howard handed the microphone to Erkie Kailbourne. Kailbourne talked about various stadium/marketing issues the team and Business Backs the Bills are trying to deal with. Someone asked him how close the lease deal came to falling through back in '98; he said, "To be candid, it came right down to midnight on November 30th". Yeah, that close. Considering Buffalo's small-market size and economic situation, he's proud of the job BBtB has done. (Justifiably so, IMO.) After Mr. Kailbourne left the meeting, Mr. Simon answered a few more questions. Talk turned to the chances of getting another Bill into the Hall of Fame next year - Howard thinks Ralph Wilson has a better chance than any of the Bills players on the list, but pointed out there's a sizable group of selectors who think the Hall should be solely for players. I asked if Larry Felser's retirement and Will McDonough's passing had made it more difficult for Ralph to get in; he agreed, and expanded that to include any potential AFL-era nominees.... The third speaker was Steve Tasker, fresh from mingling with the "Combine" participants on the field (and taking Billy Buffalo's chopper for a spin while he was down there. Factoid you won't hear anywhere else - "That thing doesn't have any BRAKES!" ) Our own #89 made a point of mentioning some Wallers' complaints about his being-impartial-to-the-point-of-being-anti-Bills. He said trying to call the game objectively is what he was hired to do, but admitted it was tough at times (and hoped his "Yeah!!!" scream wasn't picked up by the mic while Criqui was calling TKO's INT return against Miami...) He said he really doesn't miss playing, or at least he doesn't miss the stress of playing - the pressure of trying not to do anything to let his teammates down. He does miss the togetherness of that team, but still keeps in touch with a lot of the guys. (Something I didn't know - Pete Metzelaars is now the QC coach for the Colts, working for Bill Polian...) He thinks free agency makes it harder to build the kind of cameraderie those Bills teams had, because the rosters are turning over so much faster. Oh, one more thing - in regards to a certain Fin-head's recent remarks before the Bills-Dolphins game, somebody asked him to "set Dan Marino straight about Buffalo". He replied, "I'm not setting anybody straight about Buffalo. You know why? Because the worse they think it is, the less riff-raff we get here." In other words, Dannyboy, go right ahead and stay in Florida! OK, the Diet Coke that fueled the drive home is starting to wear off. Good thing I have tomorrow (today?) off. G'night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunTheBall Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 There's a lot of interesting info in there. Thanks. Maybe Tasker will recognize that he doesn't have to be anti-Bills on the air to be objective. RunTheBall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Great report Lori (for a Habs fan! ) I agree with Howard, although I'm usually dubbed a GW-clone, but it really does come down to the players executing the play, something we haven't done very well in the red zone I'm afraid. I'm glad to hear someone else sees it that way too. And I'll go on record that I see nothing wrong with Tasker's commentary when he does Bills games. Anybody who's ever talked to him, or even listened to him, knows he a Bills fan. His attempt to remain objective is obvious, same as Paul's done on Sunday night games, but they're both "Bflo Guys" at heart. Thanks for taking the time to let us know what went on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#89 Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 yes, I was thrilled when she said she would take the notes. It being a costume party for some I had my hands full. Ony one man asked me to "COVER UP" my wife is here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Great report Lori (for a Habs fan! ) And I'll go on record that I see nothing wrong with Tasker's commentary when he does Bills games. Anybody who's ever talked to him, or even listened to him, knows he a Bills fan. His attempt to remain objective is obvious, same as Paul's done on Sunday night games, but they're both "Bflo Guys" at heart. 87315[/snapback] Thanks Lori! Campy I fully agree about Tasker. He's improved his presentation and doesn't slant things away from the Bills IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidbuff Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 yes, I was thrilled when she said she would take the notes. It being a costume party for some I had my hands full. Ony one man asked me to "COVER UP" my wife is here 87368[/snapback] Good report ....very good report......THank You As for you CINDY...........U NAUGHTY NAUGHTY GIRL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Thanks Lori, nice report. Conservatively, I'd estimate at least 50 people inside the M+T Bank Club - so all the smartalecks making cracks about "gridlock on 20A" or "all 8 people who showed up" are hereby cordially invited to get stuffed. 87310[/snapback] I don't understand those cracks, sounds really interesting & a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammered a Lot Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 At that point, Howard handed the microphone to Erkie Kailbourne. Kailbourne talked about various stadium/marketing issues the team and Business Backs the Bills are trying to deal with. Someone asked him how close the lease deal came to falling through back in '98; he said, "To be candid, it came right down to midnight on November 30th". Yeah, that close. Considering Buffalo's small-market size and economic situation, he's proud of the job BBtB has done. (Justifiably so, IMO.) BBTB and Mr Erkie Kailbourne have done a great job selling the suites and club seats. While there was talk right down to the deadline, I do not think the Bills were going to move. Why would the Bills and goverment officials have a private meeting, which I set up, with me and a couple of neighbors concerning some of the on going problems at the Ralph, RATS, public exposer due to lack of rest rooms, and litter. This meeting took place about a month before the deadline. The Bills NEVER did anything in the past to correct these problems yet some of the problems were correct the next day. If there is one thing about the Bills back than, they never did more than they have to. $$$$$ So if they were going to move they would have never FIXED these ongoing problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiew Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Thanks for the info Lori. These reports are always special for those of us who are far away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Pulled into One Bills Drive to find the stadium lights on and rock music blaring from the PA, courtesy of something called the Heineken Combine - kind of a Punt, Pass, and Kick contest for grown-ups. The winner gets a trip for two to Honolulu next February "to see his/her favorite Buffalo Bill(s) play in a post-season event currently scheduled for 2/13/05."Hmmm - sounds like somebody didn't want to pay the rights fees to use "Pro Bowl"...... 87310[/snapback] The guy that won it ran away from the rest of the compitition. In the end he had a good point lead over the 2nd and 3rd place. During the punting for distance, his longest was about 56 yds. Several 1000 people entered, only 33 were chosen to take part, and each of those people were allowed one guest that could either also take part or just sit and watch. Each person that came got a Bills away replica with a number and Heinekin on the back where the players name would be. There was a second, smaller group for Heinekin distributors, they had 56 people taking part, also got jersey's, the home version, and their prizes were not as nice as the contest winners. Special surprise was in the first contest winners group was Brian Moorman, whom they were calling Rudy (some polish name I can't remember). He started out at the punting for distance, his first two were between 45-50 yds with no warmup, his next was over 55 yds, and final was a 61 yd. He was nice enough to autograph his kicking shoe and include it as part of the 1st place prize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#89 Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 He is so classy and just an all around wonderful person. Can you actually tell me that the people didn't know who he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Good report. I do like the fact that tasker said he hopes no one heard him celebrate when spikes ran the ball in. And its good that you made him aware that some of us think he sounds like an anti-homer. Constructive criticism is good. We all KNOW he loves the Bills, that was never in question. It just seemed he tried too hard to hide that when broadcasting. Thanks for mentioning it. I look forward to his next broadcast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 He is so classy and just an all around wonderful person. Can you actually tell me that the people didn't know who he was. 87511[/snapback] Brian "hid" around where we were standing during the contestants introductions on the Jumbotron. He was dressed same as they were with sweats and a jersey, and a hat pulled down over his face. The only thing that would make him stand out is that he was wearing two different shoes, one a regular sneaker, the other his kicking cleat. Once the contestants went to their stations, he blended in with the crowd walking over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 And another note, Tasker was showing people how to catch a punt at that station. Those that listened to him, had no problem catching. Those that ignored him, were dropping their punts, or getting smacked around by the ball as they tried to catch it. One person caught it with his nose. The EMT's had to be called cause the bleeding would not stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomoe Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Great report Lori, thank you for the info on what took place during the meeting. I have to apologize to anyone on the Booster Club who took offense to the remark I made about all 8 people showing up. I was kidding and basically said it in reference to the frustration that all Bills fans are feeling these days and the fact that the meeting was held in the Red Zone and the Bills offense wouldn't know what to do if they were there. Sorry Thanks Jack for your report on the competition going on at the stadium and the fact the BM was out there donating his time and having fun doing it. He seems like one of the real good guys on this team and the Bills are lucky to have him. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Thanks Jack for your report on the competition going on at the stadium and the fact the BM was out there donating his time and having fun doing it. He seems like one of the real good guys on this team and the Bills are lucky to have him. Thanks 87660[/snapback] I should also add that Rian Lindell was there also, but did not take part in any of the competitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#89 Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 I have to apologize to anyone on the Booster Club who took offense to the remark I made about all 8 people showing up. I was kidding and basically said it in reference to the frustration that all Bills fans are feeling these days and the fact that the meeting was held in the Red Zone and the Bills offense wouldn't know what to do if they were there. Sorry 87660[/snapback] I didn't because I KNOW that I SUPPORT the TEAM no matter what. You will not find me jumping on and off the wagon. I try to show up for as many Bills events as possible. Too many just support when the team is winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 I should also add that Rian Lindell was there also, but did not take part in any of the competitions. 87684[/snapback] He would be competing for his job!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 I have to apologize to anyone on the Booster Club who took offense to the remark I made about all 8 people showing up. I was kidding and basically said it in reference to the frustration that all Bills fans are feeling these days and the fact that the meeting was held in the Red Zone and the Bills offense wouldn't know what to do if they were there. Sorry 87660[/snapback] I've been a booster for 2 years and I didn't take offense to it. I even laughed at it. I thought it was funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 I have to apologize to anyone on the Booster Club who took offense to the remark I made about all 8 people showing up. 87660[/snapback] Yeah, me too. I was the smartass "Route 20 should be packed" comment. I think it would be cool to go, if for nothing else to hang out with Brian Moorman. I was just commenting on how i thought participation would drop in such a dispicable season. .. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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