GaryPinC

I think PTR's right on with his arguements. I love the Senator's ideas for putting it near Buffalo but a big part of the issue is bringing more Canadian money in and that seems best served by Niagara Falls. I also would love it if that area wasn't so damn commercialized but that's the history of the area and it's not going to change so might as well take advantage of it. Also you've got the fact that all the new gambling places are putting a hurt on Atlantic City: http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110531/ap_on_re_us/us_reshuffling_atlantic_city I've got to believe the Niagara Falls casinos have seen drop off in business especially when you factor in the economy and the newer ID restrictions. I'm sure the area would be amenable for a large draw of people on fall weekends and at other times during the year. Toronto companies might consider purchasing stadium suites, especially with all the other entertainment around there. To me Niagara Falls is the area's best attraction for drawing in people and therefore arguably the best place to put a new stadium. And let's be honest, Buffalo will never be a tourist destination so a stadium would help spur some development in the area but won't be a significant growth catalyst. When they built the Indians and Cavs new facilities here in Cleveland it certainly helped make the immediate area look better and resulted in some new bars and restaurants but these businesses struggle in the off season or when the teams suck and aren't drawing fans. Those facilities haven't changed Cleveland much. Buffalo needs to focus on new parks/greenspace, cleaning itself up and luring in new businesses. Make itself into an area where outsiders would come to raise a family, not try and lure in a bunch of tourists for a vacation.

How about if City Hall gets off its arse and has a Ralph Wilson appreciation day, even a halftime ceremony? When T.O. got his city key Ralph joked he's never been given a key to the city and you know the truth is often said in jest. Looking at how much vitality Ralph has lost in the last 6-10 months (he looked very run down when Dareus showed up) I honestly believe this season will be his last. Mayyyybeee he makes it through 2012 but I doubt it. I do believe some sort of succession plan is in place and Ralph wants it secret just to torment all the disrespectful "cheap" jokers he's had to endure over the years. If the city were to show him some respect perhaps he'd soften up and talk about the future.

There's a big difference between getting a smaller raise next contract and taking an actual pay cut. The only one lying to themselves is you.

My referencing the NBA's situation is due to a few months ago when posters who favored the NFL player's rights were touting the NBA arrangement as what the NFL should do. Open the books, make the players full partners like in the NBA. At the time the NBA was optimistic they wouldn't have a lockout, because of this open relationship. Fast forward a few months and the landscape looks much different there now. Even though NBA players have full access and some posters like tgregg feel that because of this the NBAPA will accept a large salary reduction, I think that instead they will attempt to dictate to the owners how to change their spending decisions to funnel more money to the players. Which is exactly why the NFL owners will not and should not "open the books" to the players. No matter how much info you give the players and their agents they will try and maximize their salaries alone, but it is the owner's team and it is their business and their league and their right to grow the league, not have the players shut that down in order to pad their wallets. Look at Green Bay's situation (check out the link posted on page 2). Over the last 4 seasons they have watched their profit margins shrink considerably while player cost increases outpace revenue increases. That is a recipe for future business troubles, that seem to have started shortly after signing the last CBA. I have a feeling their situation is similar to the rest of the league and the owners feel they need to act now before most of the teams are losing money. Why not open the books then? Maybe they've opened them enough but DeMaurice and the players aren't satisfied because they are making a pure power grab and want access to everything. Does anyone here honestly believe the NFL hasn't provided any justification for their demands? They say they have done this on multiple occasions but the players deem those efforts inadequate (go look at that Green Bay article for example). I support the players rights to be well paid but the owners have a right to make the decisions about their team and their league. And no, I am not under the erroneous impressions you presume. I know exactly how this started and certainly appreciate what the players have given up to be in a CBA and also how the current setup provides for a reasonably fair distribution of talent across the league and how important that is to our Bills.

Very interesting read: http://www.revengeofthebirds.com/2011/5/27/2193897/nfl-lockout-news-kurt-warner-says-players-have-to-give-back-money In all the discussions about this topic I remember some posters saying the NFL needs to open the books and be more like the NBA. Well, in one sense, they've gotten their wish: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118032543 "National Basketball Players Assn. exec director Billy Hunter has said he's "99%" sure that a lockout will occur." "We need a system that provides all 30 teams, regardless of market size, an opportunity to compete for a championship and be profitable," NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver says." Kind of like the NFL has? "According to Forbes, more than half the NBA's clubs (17 of 30) are losing money, with five teams facing deficits in the double-digit millions. Saying that the current system is completely broken, the league aims to cut player salaries by $700 million to $800 million annually -- a whopping reduction of 40% from what the players make now." Sounds like the NBA will have an NFL-style lockout and that at the end of the day they need to structure themselves more like the NFL. So much for opening the books. Shouldn't this mean the players will readily accept these salary reductions since they can look at the figures themselves? We'll see.

bad footwork, not being in sync, no push as a unit. Is this because there's not enough talent on the line or simply because they're not understanding the playcalls, not on the same page and thus making all kinds of mistakes? This is a very young line that hasn't played together much and they had a new offensive system and terminology on top of it all last year. There were lots of mistakes but that doesn't mean there's not enough talent there. I don't know why many posters ignore the fact that when a new coaching staff comes in, the terminology and system changes take around half a season for the offense to adjust to. If it's a solid, veteran offensive line they'll pick it up in the first few games, younger lines may take the entire year depending on how much the coaches simplify the playbook. I remember specific plays last year where Bell turned to protect to his inside and the defender outside of him blew right by. Posters on here were blasting him a new one ignoring the fact that he wasn't even trying to block the guy that got by him. I too long for even a decent O-line and respect your opinions on this but when I consider all the above factors I can't condemn them the way you do. Our coaches/GM also think there's an upside so we'll (hopefully) see this year.

Translation: We're whacking our puds against the desk and trying to look really busy doing it.

Good points, Delhomme just seems to fall to pieces at the wrong times. I would rather have a solid,unspectacular backup who can execute an offense consistantly and get a win or 2. Seneca would be a much better choice, Vince Young is certainly an intriguing option from an physical standpoint, my problem with him is that he seems like a head case that would disrupt the team/locker room. But if Nix/Gailey did some due diligence on VY and felt he was worth bringing in I would be ok with that.

I watched Delhomme play last year in Cleveland. He can execute when the offensive line is having a great day protecting. The minute there's pressure, and especially if he has to scramble, he makes some really stupid decisions. I mean rookie backup Div III quarterback stupid. Nice guy, but I don't want him and honestly the Bills shouldn't either. I do think Seneca Wallace got a bit of a raw deal being displaced by Colt McCoy. He played well and moved the offense well and would be worth bringing in.

What a true shame they fired him. Probably saw too much behind the scenes of the FO.

Somewhat flawed? At least. WGR claims Fitzy sucks with a guy in his face, but while the original article alludes to this situation I don't see anywhere they clearly define "pressure". How do you correct for the fact that the Bills offense was pretty much a complete clusterf* the entire first half of the season, young, inexperienced, new head coaches, new offensive system with everyone struggling to get on the same page? Can anyone watching the Bills offense last year honestly claim it was all Fitzpatrick's fault and therefore he sucks? From the games I watched, he was the guy most responsible for improving the offense in the second half of the year. Fitzpatricks TD to int #'s under pressure(back calculating from the %) was 2:5. Colt McCoy's was 3:3. I think it is irresponsible to take such small #s, convert to ratio and rank. Especially if some quarterbacks were playing from behind and forced to take more risks than others. Even if it "seems" to make sense. In a previous report PFF has Fitzy down for 227 blitzes last year. For this report they only gave him 164 "pressures" which I assume includes non-blitzing pressure. Just recognizing the blitz and making a play should count for something even if the pressure isn't "in your face" at the time. So sad when an author claims to account for many factors in their analysis then don't have the guts to present their accounting formulas. For the record, I think Fitzy deserves another chance this year. I am completely in line with Buddy and Chan's plan and not reaching to draft a QB. Fitzy may suck, he may be a good quarterback, or he may be a great quarterback. I don't know what type of QB Fitzy will be, I only know he made a noticeable positive difference to the offense last year. His team and coaches seem to have a large amount of confidence in him, their priorities this past draft seem to back up what they've been saying.

Problem is I've heard Brent say this exact same thing more than once and I wasn't watching this particular basketball game. He's so contrived and cliche that for me he diminishes the excitement of the game. Ditto for Gus. Just my opinion though. Everyone's different and and I certainly respect your opinion about these 2 guys. For that type of announcer I always preferred Keith Jackson.

Thank you, very well said. And here, I think, is your answer: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/478472/projection

Agree completely with you. He never impressed me with his knowledge of the game, either.

Well, you know if they cut him loose over the slavery comments there'd be a entire stadium's worth of activists rushing to Mendenhall's defense. The Bin Laden comments are just a big ol' softball begging to be hit out of the park. Touch 'em all time! I feel bad for Mendenhall simply expressing his opinion but as an athlete and role model you've got to know when it's inappropriate to express controversial opinions. Lesson learned (hopefully).

Wow, sounds like Alphadawg on one of his anti-Fitz crusades.

NGU, Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to provide us this info and your insights. It is most welcome, especially when the chicken-squabbling reaches fever pitch. Could you provide us any insight about why Mr. Nix and the scouting department feel Cam Newton's character issues won't be a problem in the future? ie: do they consider them minor enough to not matter or has Newton shown signs of remorse/maturity? Thanks in advance

Great point, I thought the same thing when I read it. Having knowledge and being able to apply knowledge are equally important. At least we know he'll have 1 of them down for sure.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=lc-carpenter_memory_improves_gabbert_stock_041911 Good article, apologies if this has already been discussed elsewhere.

Wow, ever hear of "skewed distribution" in regards to the mean? Ever hear of the median? How about the fact that WEO is referring to the average career of an NFL STARTER, not every single player who signs an NFL contract as per the NFLPA's mean. There's no redefining going on here, an often overlooked but critical part of determining a mean is assessing how accurate that mean is, and there's nothing wrong with considering the mean of a subset of the population (ie NFL starters). Get a grip.

I watched the video. You're right on with everything you're saying. It's not like that drunk girl was going to hurt anybody with those bag swings or weak punches, especially that dude who knocked her out. Guy was built and probably more than twice her weight, plus she punched him on the arm 2-3 times and he cold-cocks her like that. The way she fell I wouldn't be a bit surprised if she got a concussion. Dude should be arrested and everybody on that video and this board who think she got what she deserved should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of basic human compassion. That girl's obviously got major issues but no way does she deserve that. No way should a guy hit a woman but I certainly could understand if a guy's life or serious injury was imminent from a female assault. This was not anywhere near that type of situation.

JMO reading between the lines, I think Maybin isn't listening to/doing what the coaches are trying to teach him. He seems a bit too full of himself and maybe he "knows" how best to do things. Obviously he's working at it, so I wonder if he's just mentally immature. He's running out of time to grow up, and if/when he does get cut I'm sure he'll be blaming the coaches for not being able to coach him properly.

Mr. Peterson: Welcome to the working world, jackass. I guess your description would be apt if we didn't get PAID. Only most of the rest of us don't have the size paychecks you do.

Excellent post and one that I agree on completely. It's all about power for Smith, he wants to elevate the players to partners so they can control the money flow of the league. Seems like the owners made a fair offer on Friday and came way down on most of their demands. Smith had already made up his mind that unless he saw the detailed financials, they were decertifying. Seems like the owners are the only ones trying to seriously negotiate. Now that Smith has seen how much the owners were willing to negotiate, he will try and hammer even more out of them. At least the court case wasn't assigned to Doty this time.