VJ91

Anybody notice "little" #89 for the Bills make that jarring tackle on the punt in the 3rd quarter that really turned the game around for the Bills? Steve Tasker, 7 time Pro Bowl special teamer. How can he not be in the HOF??

Here's an idea for you. Why not have a friend or relative drop you off in their air conditioned car and pick you up after practice? Or, you can rent a nicely air conditioned limo to drive you up to the gate at St. John Fisher. Hey forget the limo, I'm sure most cabs have air conditioning too! Or, you can keep yourself naturally air conditioned by riding your bike to the practices.

I don't know who you would blame more, but I do know that if that were to happen this season, nobody's sister-in-laws would be getting winked at by T.O. around Western New York next year, that's for sure! The only way this physical speciman of a future HOF receiver will hang around another year or two so we can watch his immature selfish behavior tear apart our favorite team, is if Edwards connects with him for his usual 1,200 yards and 10 TD's.

That Cleveland playoff game was the best Bills road game I ever attended. In fact, it was one of the best Bills games I ever watched live, home or away. It felt like I was on a roller coaster ride the entire second half. Neither defense was able to stop either offense, and it came down....literally...to the Bills stopping themselves with the football last. We sat with nothing but Browns' fans all around us, and when the game finally ended on Jimbo's unfortunate interception with less then 10 seconds left on the Brown's 15 yard line or so, we were all high fiving eachother - Bills and Browns fans, because we knew we had just witnessed and amazing football game played on a frozen dirt field spray painted green at the big old Cleveland Stadium rock-pile. As far as Harmon dropping that ball on purpose? Who knows. Watching live, I was on the opposite corner away from that end zone, and I did not have a good view of the play. But even from my distance, it sure looked like Jimbo laid that ball exactly where only Harmon would catch it, with plenty of room to get his feet down inside the corner of the end zone. Anybody remember Don Beebe holding onto the football for a vital first down after being flipped completely upside down and landing on the top of his helmet?? What guts that guy had for a smurf sized receiver. That second half of that 1989 - 90 playoff game was truly the beginning of the Bills no-huddle K-Gun run, and I'm glad we decided to make the trip to Cleveland to watch it up close and personal.

I was there, and I think it was the last game of the season. Two weeks later at home against the Raiders in the playoffs, it was almost as cold again! I don't remember how the Bills won the Jets game, I think I was just happy to thaw out after the game. I do remember Steve Tasker running back a squib kick almost for a TD against the Raiders in that playoff win - it was one of the strangest kick off returns I can remember watching. The ball was line driven almost directly into Taskers' hands and he basically just took off untouched almost into the end zone. Again, I don't remeber too much else about that playoff win over the Raiders, other then that game was damn cold too! The next week it finally warmed up into the 30's or so, and the Bills blew out Joe Montana led Kansas City to earn their 4th trip to the SB in a row. Now that was a great game to watch. Esecially when Bruce and Biscuit met at Montana early in the second half and drove him right into retirement. As fantastic as Montana's career was, and most fans believe he was the best QB to ever play in NFL history, that sack by Bruce and Biscuit that slammed the back of his head into the ground, was the last play of his illustrius football career. Those were the days, all rgiht!!

Great. I hope Fewell has his guys doing extra conditioning work every day. One minute 3 and outs will have our defense sucking into oxygen on the sidelines real fast. Personally, I would rather see the Bills heading in the opposite direction. I would like to see them building up a run-first offense around their new road graders on the O-Line, and pound the hell out of their opposing defenses first, and then blow past them with Evans and T.O. second. What would you rather see more of: A second and 10 out of the no-huddle, after a first down incompletion, or a second and 3 out of a nice deliberate paced regular huddle, after a Freddy Jackson run off tackle? I bet Evans, T.O, Reed, Edwards and Nelson would rather see the second and 3, if truth be told! Sure the Colts and Pats can run no-huddle and/or shot gun all day. But last I checked, the Colts and Pats have Manning and Brady. Last year, the Pats didn't even need Brady for their shot gun offense to work, becuase of their excellent O-Line giving Cassells all day. Anybody want to call our new O-Line excellent yet?? However, our O-line looks to be bigger and stronger up the middle, and that should translate to a better RUNNING GAME immediately.

...and then lose to the Bucs at home the very next week and show the NFL that we are really a work in progress. Sorry, but as much as I would love to see the Bills "stomp" the Pats that first game on national TV, it is a long season and Peter King and every other sports media expert in the country know the Bills are one huge question mark going into this year. I'll get really excited when the Bills win their 10th game of the season, validating them as real playoff contenders for the first time in 10 long years. And to be even more realistic here, 10 wins may not even get them into the playoffs. Teams with 10 and even 11 wins the past two seasons in the AFC have missed the playoffs! So beating the Pats would be a hell of a lot better then losing to them by 46 points on national TV again. But win or lose that first game, I'm taking this season one game at a time.

Butler, Walker and Hangartner have experience in the NFL. Walker has played some left tackle, as recently as last year, and Butler started the entire season at guard while his college position was tackle. Hangartner played center last year for the Panthers, although he did not start every game. In all, this line should come together better then you are projecting, even if both rookies do end up starting at the guard positions. (And I think they definitely will.) Wood, Levitre and Hangartner look like they are strong, fast and nasty. What a change from Fowler/Preston and the overrated weak Dockery. I thought Butler did a good job at guard last year anyway, and he seems to have the agility to take on the right tackle spot. The biggest question mark will be how well big Langston holds up on the left side. But all in all, the added youth and strength on the line this year is something to applaud the Bills for. The mental mistakes will come, but they can be masked with muscle and desire down in the trenches, more then mental mistakes can be masked at the skill positions.

Great article, and excellent post!! After reading that article, I have some questions about other posts on this thread: First of all, with 12 sacks and 20 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, what the hell do you guys mean "there are no highlights of Maybin available on youtube"?? How hard could it be to search out any Penn State game and watch it until Maybin makes one of those 32 great plays?? Secondly, how could any scouts ignore those stats, and be a pro scout, and not already know everything about this kid that was written by Tim Graham?? Finally, for young kids like Gholston last year, and possibly Maybin this year, maybe, despite being stars at major college programs, they still might find the NFL huge steps up, and may need a couple of seasons before playing up to their full potential. So what?? Bruce Smith was everyone's number one pick of the '85 draft. (Everyone except myabe Ralph Wilson who was said to want Doug Flutie instead....thank you Bill Polian for steering Ralph away from that one!). Anyway, as Bruce enters the HOF this summer after setting the all time sacks record in the NFL (although Deacon Jones will once again remind us that they did not keep sack stats until years after he retired), does anyone remember how much he struggled in his first season, overwieght and a bit overwhelmed by the step up to the NFL? Bruce needed to address his off season training and nutrition in a big way before he turned into the great player he became. (And a big shout out to Rusty Jones for hleping Bruce become that player, too!) So I say give these young defensive ends a year or three before writing them off as busts. Obviously, with the size and talent of the OT's in today's NFL, the DE position had become a bigger challange over the past 10 years or so.

Did you mean "it" was the one shot in Buffalo and Niagra Falls, or were you actually shot twice, once in Buffalo and then again in Niagra Falls? And if you were shot twice, how are you doing??

Roger Goodell had the opportunity to become the "Judge Landis" of NFL commissioners this past week. He had the opportuntity to "just say no" to criminals playing football in the NFL. By telling Vick that because he served time in prison, he will be banned from the NFL for life, he could have sent a landmark message to all future ignorant spoiled criminals who just happend to be elite athletes, that the NFL will not tolerate them. But he caved into the popular liberal opinion that Vick had "paid his debts to society" and deserved another chance to make a living in the NFL. My question to Goodell is, now that Vick has been reinstated, what message are you sending? Donte Stallworth only spent 24 days behind bars, so obviously you must allow him and his manslaughter conviction back into the NFL. And of course Plaxico Burress only shot himself with his illegal handgun, so after he gets out of the big house in a year or two, you will be forced to throw him a welcome back party too. In fact, there is really no crime that you can say will ban an NFL player from every playing again in the NFL, as long as he still has some career left in him after his jail sentence is up, right?? Here's another question for our big hearted commissioner. Who is he to give Marshawn Lynch a three game suspension, when a convicted criminal who served almost 2 years in jail only received a 6 game suspension? If I were Marshawn Lynches lawyers, I would sue the commissioner and the NFL right now. And those 4 game suspensions for failing those drug tests a second time? You have got to be kdding right commissioner? Why should any NFL player be suspended at all for smoking a little pot or taking some steioids, when the convicted felons who serve time in jail are allowed to play again in the NFL after just 6 game suspensions?? No "penalties" handed down by Roger Goodell make any logical sense to me any longer, after this insane Vick decision. To me, Roger Goodell and the NFL are saying it does not matter what you do off the field anymore, as long as you still have talent and we can earn money from that talent, just serve your time in prison and come back to us as soon as you can. The players union should have a real picnic with Goodell the very next time he tries to suspend a player for anything they do that is less serious then prison!

Sorry, this "article" is even worse then you thought it would be. Any article that starts out with "random thoughts by scouts who wish to be anonymous" is about as credible as Skooby asking Russ Brandon to "Git er' done Russ" and sign Vick. Here's a thought about these scouts that wish to remain "anonymous"; if they are real, and they did talk to someone at PFW, (and who knows if the PFW-writers just made those thoughts up anyway?), then they should grow balls and tell us who they are, or just shut the heck up in the first place.

Good point. Take a look at the Bills schedule right now. At least two of the teams everyone thinks will be better then the Bills will finish worse, and at least two of those teams everyone thinks will finish worse then the Bills will finish better. It happens every single year in this age of parity. Don't believe me? Who picked Atlanta and Miami to finish in first place last season at this time last year? And who picked Seattle and Jacksonville to suck so badly last season at this time last year? So yes, power rankings in July are pretty lame.

I suppose if Brandon brings Vick into Buffalo that will shoot their average power ranking up to around 10, right?? Maybe it's time to bring O.J. back as a consultant for players....oh wait....the Bills will have to hold off on that for another 8 years or so, since he's in the big house right now himself.

Option plays? For convicted felon Vick to play football this season for the Bills? You're crazy. Here's the only option play I think Vick deserves: Never playing another down in the NFL again, and since he's paid his debt to society for his crime, and he does deserve to earn a living as everyone keeps ranting and raving about on this site, he can excercise his options to pay back his debts to the bankruptcy courts by finding a job in the real world.

Great, I'll say something. Due to the fact Vick is a convicted felon, and has served time in prison, he should receive a lifetime ban from ever playing for or working for the NFL again, in any capacity. If you have expensive lawyers who can get your crimes plea bargained down to not serving any prison time, great. If you don't go to jail for even one day after sentencing, then the commissioner has the right to review your crimes and serve suspensions as he already does. However, if you get a sentence that includes jail, you are gone, end of story.

Why, yes he did. And I think I remembered Kerry throwing multiple ints and getting sacked at crucial times, leading to a lop-sided loss to Baltimore in that SB. That said, the defense of the Ravens that season may very well have done the same thing to Joe Montana in his prime.

NFL head coaches wear stupid hats during training camp. Yes, Dicks' choice this year does remind you of a male stripper cowboy, but don't be surprised if you see a few other head coaches wearing the same ugly idiotic hat.

I disagree. Based on the columns written about Owens today, they all had a very "wait and see" theme to them. They all go out of their way warning the fans about how much the Bills still lack despite having the future HOF diva smiling for the cameras. It seems as if they were alerting us to the fact that they are still the small town Buffalo media, and sure they will spend time covering what Owens does, but they will be more focused on what the team does. So maybe they won't write about Woods' farts. Instead they might write about T.O.'s belches. But make no mistake, they will continue to write about how Woods is playing day in and day out, once he and his 3 rookie holdout buddies finally show up for work this summer.

No problem, you're crazy. Lost-man's natural ability and talent would have won the day no matter who was coaching him. Why do you think the NFL's coaches and GM's didn't even rate him as one of the best 96 QB's available?? Nobody even offered him a contract to compete for as little as the 3rd guy. And although I have no idea what this little 4 team league is supposed to be, based on the fact their season is over in October, it could end up being an "injury-feeder" league for the NFL. Lost-man should absolutely get signed this season because there will be some QB injuries by then. However, even if that happens, I would not expect two months with Jim Fassell to turn him into a starting NFL QB anytime soon!

Outstanding observation!! What a lucky signing as far as this year at this time for the Buffalo Bills! Alex Mack is almost a clone of Eric Wood. He was chosen just 7 picks higher, and his contract is done. If we were fans of any other organization, we should expect Wood's deal to be done by tomorrow's first practice!! But alas, we are fans of the Buffalo Bills and the inner circle-jerks running the show. My guess is that they will wait until the number 27 and number 29 players are signed before they agree to anything Wood's agent puts on the table. Of course, Wood's agent can also wait around as long as he might want to as well. Time will tell, but Wood and Levitre should be in camp right now, with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to walk in and start in the NFL as rookies awaiting them. Too bad they are products of the worst rookie pay-scale system in the modern sports world. Please owners, demand a new rookie salary cap complete with a new system of it being impossible for rookies to hold out for your new collective bargaining agreement!!

How did the Jags' line do their first season in 95? And how did the Browns' line do in '99, and the Texans' line in whatever exact season was their first as an expansion team? Maybe the Panthers line came together pretty well, but most lines' that have new guys playing each position, will struggle. I hope this experiment works well for the Bills this season, because although I agree that Dockery and Fowler/Preston sucked, I thought Butler did a fine job at his guard position and he should have stayed put, while Levitre was used at right tackle with a better veteran FA to compete with him. I also think that a better FA left tackle should have been signed to compete with and at least back up Langston after the Bills traded Peters, who I thought should have been paid his money in the first place. So yeah, I have my doubts about this line like everyone else.

Outstanding avatar - I went to many Braves games as a teenager. With the Aud being torn down now, it seems like a hundred years ago that my family used to go from the Bills game on Sunday afternoon, right down to the Aud for the Sabs game that night. And then the Braves game sometime later in the week. Great times.

I think you are confusing his crimes with the fact that he is a convicted criminal. We all thought he was a monster when this all first came out. Now, because it was only dogs he tortured and killed, some of you think he has served his debt to society, lost his fortune, gone through bankruptcy, and so he should be forgiven. Maybe your're right, and maybe you're wrong. I look at how much my family and I love our goofy mutt Major, and I can not forgive this idiot for doing what he did while he was signed for over 100 Million dollars to play football! And I'm on record on this board believing that going to jail for at least one day, after sentencing, should be an automatic life-time ban from the privilage, (not the right), of playing football in the NFL. I consider myself having plenty of common sense about life. It makes common sense to me that with all the money these athletes earn, the commissioner should be able to draw the line at not allowing convicted felons back into the league. Or at the very least, not allow convicted felons who actually spend time behind bars, back into the leauge. So forgive him or not, he has gone through the justice system of our greatest country on earth and certainly deserves the chance to start over and begin working somewhere again. Just not as a player in the greatest sports league in the world, ever, again. That is my opinion. Next on Goodell's docket, will be Donte Stallworth. OK, he only served 24 days in jail, and the guy walked right in front of his car, and the guy's family have already settled a civil suit with Stallworth. But guess what, Stallworth was behind the wheel and hit a man that died. He admitted his guilt, was convicted of a crime, and served time in jail. He should also be banned for life from the NFL. If that rule was on the books, maybe Vick never evens starst killing dogs, and maybe Stallworth would have had a limo drive him home knowing he was over the legal limit of alcohol, and crimes plus jail = lifetime ban from NFL. Hey, even our own dunce Marshawn Lynch may have not been doing such stupid things with his free time if he knew (or was advised) that if he gets convicted and serves jail time, he will never play again. Who knows?

Well let me phrase it a different way for you then; It took Schobel 6 years and 2 games to go past Hansen's career sack totals. Sorry I said 6 or 7 years in my first post. I'll try to be more exact next time. But seriously folks, I understand that Schobel is a better end then Hanson was. And I understand it took Phil more seasons to get his 61.5 sacks. But until Schobel passed him, Hansen was number two behind Bruce. And Dr. Sackless was nothing more then a blip on the Bills DE radar screen for a few seasons.