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DOOMED?


ndirish1978

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I'm sure I'll get slammed for posting this, but I cannot possibly be the only one who feels a bit hopeless entering the offseason. The FO has shown no signs of good decision-making in the past couple years apart from drafting Pos. While we were 7-9 a couple seasons ago, at least we appeared to be resilient. In its current incarnation I can't see this team being better than 8-8. Unfortunately, I can't say I hold on to much hope that we will bring in the right people to change that this offseason. This is the first time in a long time that I find myself struggling to see a silver lining with the Bills. I still support the team 100%, but I gotta admit it's frustrating. Anyone else with me here? Feel free to agree or call me a piece of Stevestojan for venting.

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I'm sure I'll get slammed for posting this, but I cannot possibly be the only one who feels a bit hopeless entering the offseason. The FO has shown no signs of good decision-making in the past couple years apart from drafting Pos. While we were 7-9 a couple seasons ago, at least we appeared to be resilient. In its current incarnation I can't see this team being better than 8-8. Unfortunately, I can't say I hold on to much hope that we will bring in the right people to change that this offseason. This is the first time in a long time that I find myself struggling to see a silver lining with the Bills. I still support the team 100%, but I gotta admit it's frustrating. Anyone else with me here? Feel free to agree or call me a piece of Stevestojan for venting.

 

Nope, can't slam you for this. I tend to be the eternal optimist type, but the organization simply hasn't given me a reason to have faith in the team. I'm not one of those people that will rant about how we're destined to never be a winner (teams can turn it around pretty quick), but things are certainly not looking up at the moment.

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I'm sure I'll get slammed for posting this, but I cannot possibly be the only one who feels a bit hopeless entering the offseason. The FO has shown no signs of good decision-making in the past couple years apart from drafting Pos. While we were 7-9 a couple seasons ago, at least we appeared to be resilient. In its current incarnation I can't see this team being better than 8-8. Unfortunately, I can't say I hold on to much hope that we will bring in the right people to change that this offseason. This is the first time in a long time that I find myself struggling to see a silver lining with the Bills. I still support the team 100%, but I gotta admit it's frustrating. Anyone else with me here? Feel free to agree or call me a piece of Stevestojan for venting.

 

Thing is, this team went 7-9 in 07 with a young team and injuries. Fast forward to 08, and with ultimately the league's second easiest scheduled only managed to duplicate their previous season's final record.

 

2009 already looks like an uphill challenge. ATL, NO, CAR, TB, HOU, IND, JAC, and TEN. Then NE, MIA, and NYJ 2x. About the only games I'm somewhat confident are CLE and KC. It's a long ways off, but they won't have a simple schedule in 09.

 

I like Trent, but he needs to stand and deliver. Well, maybe not the stand part (hopefully he learned from the Wilson hit) but start making plays. And the Bills need to find players who make plays, not hard workers who are physically limited.

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I'm sure I'll get slammed for posting this, but I cannot possibly be the only one who feels a bit hopeless entering the offseason. The FO has shown no signs of good decision-making in the past couple years apart from drafting Pos. While we were 7-9 a couple seasons ago, at least we appeared to be resilient. In its current incarnation I can't see this team being better than 8-8. Unfortunately, I can't say I hold on to much hope that we will bring in the right people to change that this offseason. This is the first time in a long time that I find myself struggling to see a silver lining with the Bills. I still support the team 100%, but I gotta admit it's frustrating. Anyone else with me here? Feel free to agree or call me a piece of Stevestojan for venting.

 

I agree with you on everything except the fact that drafting Pos was a good move. I think next offseason people will be calling him a bust. I realize the possible crucifiction I may face by saying this but I think the guy is absolute crap. I pray he proves me wrong.

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I'm sure I'll get slammed for posting this, but I cannot possibly be the only one who feels a bit hopeless entering the offseason. The FO has shown no signs of good decision-making in the past couple years apart from drafting Pos. While we were 7-9 a couple seasons ago, at least we appeared to be resilient. In its current incarnation I can't see this team being better than 8-8. Unfortunately, I can't say I hold on to much hope that we will bring in the right people to change that this offseason. This is the first time in a long time that I find myself struggling to see a silver lining with the Bills. I still support the team 100%, but I gotta admit it's frustrating. Anyone else with me here? Feel free to agree or call me a piece of Stevestojan for venting.

 

Right there with you. At some point you run out of enthusiasm for a team like this. Even when it's been a lifelong passion. When you make the investment of time, money and emotion with little or no return on that investment - you find other places to invest those things. The season does look like an uphill battle and confidence in the coach is very low. I suspect that by the end of next season, fandom for this team will be at the lowest level in over 20 years. I'm not renewing Sunday Ticket this year for the first time since I moved away from Buffalo in 1995. Some of the younger fans (under 30) might have a bit more staying power.

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I agree with you on everything except the fact that drafting Pos was a good move. I think next offseason people will be calling him a bust. I realize the possible crucifiction I may face by saying this but I think the guy is absolute crap. I pray he proves me wrong.

 

Come on, the guy had 110 tackles in what was essentially his rookie season. Overrated? Perhaps. Absolute crap? No way. He was an average starting MLB for us, not a piece of crap. The term "bust" is thrown around too lightly here. It seems like a lot of people define "bust" as simply not being in the upper eschelon of starters at a given position.

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Come on, the guy had 110 tackles in what was essentially his rookie season. Overrated? Perhaps. Absolute crap? No way. He was an average starting MLB for us, not a piece of crap. The term "bust" is thrown around too lightly here. It seems like a lot of people define "bust" as simply not being in the upper eschelon of starters at a given position.

 

I'll admit absolute crap might have been over the top, but he's ranked 16th in tackles for MLB or ILB. I think that's pretty poor for a projected first rounder that was a "steal" when we took him. DiGiorgio had 113 tackles in 07 and did it in 13 games. No I'm not saying Digiorgio should start but I think we should be expecting more from Poz.

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I put myself into the "Doomed" category, possibly for slightly different reasons.

 

As long as Ralph is alive, Brandon's job is going to be to put a "financial face" on the Bills that makes them a viable (i.e. relatively quick) sale when Ralph dies. Otherwise, Ralph's kids might actually have to declare bankruptcy just to pay the inheritance taxes, because unless the team sells, they probably won't have the $$ to pay those taxes. That means making at least $30 if not $50 million per season, so the new buyers will have enough slack to cover their financing charges. Which means they probably won't be spending even up to the cap anytime soon. When Ralph dies, the new owners will be faced with the same situation, except instead of making $30-$50 million per season, they'll just be breaking even without being able to afford to spend to the cap. It'll be a virtual lock that the team moves (probably to Toronto) within a few years after Ralph dies.

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I am not as gloomy as I was a month ago, mostly because, I think I have thought this team has been heading in the wrong direction for years now, and the hiring of Marv Levy (who I love) as GM was the begining of the end for me. Oh, I don't mean I am not a Bills fan anymore, or that I am not going to follow them avidly, just that I am not going to live or die with their every off-season move, and trick myself into thinking they are getting better, until the results are there. Going into 2008, I was one who was sure that the Bills would be no better than 8-8, maybe even 6-10. So, they ended up 7-9. I shouldn't be shocked, but, it was the way that they got there that was so bad. I think the feeling of disillusion that so many have here, is stronger this off-season, than ever before. Nothing, I suppose, another 4-0 start won't cure... it would be one thing if the talent was hopeless (it isn't great, but there are some pieces) but you get the feeling this coaching staff, and owner could screw up the 1985 Bears if they got their grubbies on them... that is what is depressing.

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I'm not at doomed by any stretch at this point. I think we have the potential for an excellent run game. I think TE had a tough go, but will perform much better next season, still think Evans is a possible all pro. Get us a little bit more in pass protection department and Haynesworth and a good DE in the draft and we'll be cooking with gas. Gotta admit at this point the schedule looks pretty grim.

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I'm sure I'll get slammed for posting this, but I cannot possibly be the only one who feels a bit hopeless entering the offseason. The FO has shown no signs of good decision-making in the past couple years apart from drafting Pos. While we were 7-9 a couple seasons ago, at least we appeared to be resilient. In its current incarnation I can't see this team being better than 8-8. Unfortunately, I can't say I hold on to much hope that we will bring in the right people to change that this offseason. This is the first time in a long time that I find myself struggling to see a silver lining with the Bills. I still support the team 100%, but I gotta admit it's frustrating. Anyone else with me here? Feel free to agree or call me a piece of Stevestojan for venting.

 

No, there are lots of us that feel this way. Its very tough to get excited about the upcoming season when you know that the most likely scenario will be the same as it has been in the past few years. In a lot of games at the end, but ending up with a 5-7 in the win column. The Bills aren't going to be lighting the fire of excitement (at least for me) anytime soon if all they do is bring in some 2nd tier FAs and rely on draft picks.

 

Ralph whined that the team doesn't have the talent (cheap copout to keep jauron), so i say to ralph...if you think we dont have the talent, then fuggin do something about it and bring in some talent.

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I can't slam you either. I am always optimistic every off season, have a smile on my face at Training Camp and enter the season, just confident this is the year. Like yourself, this year is different, so different. What has the organization done to leave any hope lately, nothing. Maybe our best player is a thug who will probably be gone soon, we have a coaching staff that can't win, an owner who won't do anything about it and fans who keep filling the stadium, so the owner has no reason to do anything about hit, he gets his bucks. As it has been said here over and over, we really are becoming a laughing stock, and for someone who has been a diehard Bills fan for over 35 years, it really sucks!

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One big trade or one top free agent or draft pick and the excitement level will drastically change

 

Not this year. Even optimistic fans have been down that road before. Before 07, this team spent money on Walker and Dockery while adding Lynch and Posluszny. The result was another 7-9 season.

 

Before 08, they made the big move (for Buffalo) in acquiring Stroud and signing Mitchell. The took a top CB and tall WR. The result was another 7-9.

 

IMO, it's going to take a whole lot in UFA for the fan base to get excited. When all the smoke clears, DJ is still the coach of the team. It'll be hard for the marketing folks to overcome that one little fact.

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"Ahem. Well, obviously the game didn't end the way we wanted it to. I though Trent had a terrific game. The first interception wasn't his fault and the fumble there at the goal line hurt us. But he's young and he'll continue to learn. We had a great week of practice; they practiced hard all week, they really did. So we're 0-8, not where we wanted to be half way through the season, obviously, but we've got a lot of football left and we're going to play hard. This is a hard league to win in. Questions?"

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Does anyone really see us getting Haynesworth though, really? Buffalo suffers from not being a "sexy" major city like NYC, Miami or Dallas. The team doesn't look like a contender and it doesn't appear the FO is changing that any time soon. Gonzalez reputedly vetoed a trade to Buffalo for those reasons. Do we really think we can make a major signing? I doubt RW will offer the kind of cash it would take to get Haynesworth.

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Does anyone really see us getting Haynesworth though, really? Buffalo suffers from not being a "sexy" major city like NYC, Miami or Dallas. The team doesn't look like a contender and it doesn't appear the FO is changing that any time soon. Gonzalez reputedly vetoed a trade to Buffalo for those reasons. Do we really think we can make a major signing? I doubt RW will offer the kind of cash it would take to get Haynesworth.

 

True, Buffalo isn't a "sexy" city. From an optimistic standpoint, I'm sure there are free agents out there who would prefer the less sexy city. Many people do not desire the limelight. We can only hope Fat Albert is one of those people. Of course, that's assuming RW would dish out the necessary dough in the first place.

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