metzelaars_lives

Well stated. Can you even imagine how inspiring this must've been for some gay 15 year-old in middle America today who is afraid to be himself in school, seeing someone be so open and proud in the face of, as you put it, the epitome of male heterosexuality? Sadly, most people on this board are not grasping this very simple concept. All this being said, the cake eating display was a little much.

You got it Maryland Bills Fan. As if it's not also the lead sports story on Fox News. And I can't read through the ignorance on this thread (I actually thought the affection he showed with his buddy was over the top and blatant attention grabbing) but anyone who is questioning why this is news is a moron. Period, end of story. Just understand that if you were saying about Jackie Robinson, "I don't care what color he is, if he can play, he can play. Why is this a news story?" in 1947, you would've sounded completely ignorant then just like half the people on here sound today. And if you are insulted with the comparison just look at a guy like Richie Incognito. Can't imagine it would've been much easier for Michael Sam to play alongside a guy like that than it was for Jackie Robinson to play with some of his teammates. Oh geez. If you people don't realize that this was/is an iconic moment in American sports history then I don't know what to tell you. Do you really have to bring Obama into this? Mitt Romney or anyone else this side of Michele Bachman would've wished Michael Sam the best just the same. And lastly, if you need proof that this is newsworthy, I guarantee you that every team's fansite has a hotly debated thread just like this one. A STORY THAT GENERATES PUBLIC INTEREST IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF NEWS. And finally, WRT your bolded text, that is the whole point. You're exactly right. Up until now, society has always cared. You may not have, but believe me, society does. Michael Sam is the living embodiment of people transitioning to no longer caring. That's why this is so significant. If society has never cared, as you insinuate, just like you insinuated that Marquise Goodwin is no better than TJ Graham all season, then all the gay athletes prior to Sam would've just come out as well. There is a reason they did not, which is what you clearly cannot wrap your head around.

I love how people overvalue late round draft picks on this board so much. Look at this way: if you drafted a running back in the fourth round and after two years in the league he flashed the potential that Bryce Brown has, then you would consider it a successful pick. But people continue to believe that future 4th and 5th round draft picks will result in the drafting of magic players down the road. Look up the 4th round of a draft 7-8 years ago and look at how many ever make the Pro Bowl, let alone are even still in the league. Good trade.

I could not agree anymore with this sentiment. If EJ sucks, with the glutton of talent now on this team, we would not be in a position to roll the dice on another rookie QB and wait for him to develop as well. If it becomes clear that it's not happening for EJ, 2015 is when you go out and get a Tony Romo or a Jay Cutler, etc.

You may be a good guy, I just don't think you know that much about football. Like I've said, I am also a big Deadhead. Let's start with a conversation that we could maybe find some middle ground on. Best Dead studio album? I'm going Wake of the Flood. Also, Emotional Rescue is one of the worst Stones songs ever. Play me something from Beggars Banquet or Goats Head Soup and we may be onto something.

I'll take it all a step further too- if Manuel can't get the ball to this ridiculous receiving corps, then Lewis will. This team is way too deep with talent now to not win at least 8 games and give Cleveland a middle of the 1st round pick next year. That's worst case IMO.

Good post. Agreed 100%.

I am sincerely looking forward to Bill from NYC trying to convince everyone every Sunday afternoon for the next five years that Sammy Watkins isn't good even though he is.

I am actually quite familiar with Native American history. I studied it a lot in College (at Canisius), frequently read books on the subject (am currently wrapping up Empire of the Summer Moon about the Comanches) and have been to Pine Ridge in South Dakota a handful of times. It's what struck a nerve with me and prompted me to respond in such a manner. Anyway, that's why I used the word "relative." As a very, very general rule, Native Americans often warred with neighboring tribes but battles tended to be more for sport (and horses) and involved relatively few casualties. Again, I said general rule, so please do not pick out an exception (the Comanches in particular were a savage people) and throw it at me. But I think we're kind of on the same page. Personally, I think the Cleveland Indians logo is way more offensive than the Redskins name but I agree that it's kind of their call to say whether it offends them or not. Uhh dude, there's still an Ireland and there's still Irish people. I know lots of them that do quite well for themselves. Again, I never said that the Irish did not have their share of persecution throughout history- no one would dispute that- but these are two totally different scenarios. I've been to Ireland, it was beautiful. People were happy and the towns I visited were thriving. I implore you to visit Pine Ridge one day, or hey, go on youtube, search Pine Ridge and watch a few videos to get a better perspective on what has happened to the Native Americans and their culture.

Perhaps if the Irish lived in relative peace and harmony for millions of years and then out of the blue a foreign culture came in and methodically eradicated them utilizing means of mass genocide rendering the few remaining Irish who were never given an opportunity to adjust to this new culture in a corner of South Dakota with very little means to fend for themselves, and meanwhile this new culture invented a silly game where men hit each other and throw around a ball made of pigskin and they used an offensive term for the Irish (which Irish, clearly, is not an offensive term) as a team name in their game and still to this day, in South Dakota, the Irish were completely forgotten about, were and still are living in abject squalor, their promises of peace and treaties long since ignored and their once proud culture destroyed forever, then maybe you would be offended by that as well.

Some of those guys were good picks- McNeil and Lageman at least.

I am predicting that at some point over the course of the next three days, the New York Jets will make a selection and they will immediately pan to the audience at Radio City Music Hall and show Jets fans- many of them teenagers- giving that unmistakable look of shock and disgust because the Jets didn't draft one of the five players they've heard of, when in reality, it is a player that was projected to go right about where the Jets drafted him. Again, you heard it here.

Honest question- do you want the Bills to stay in Buffalo or not?

The Bills are not leaving Buffalo and no lawyer will be able to skirt the $400 million penalty for someone intending on moving them.

Well I admit I haven't read the entire thread, I did read your original post in which you said (in reference to said three players) that "some may argue that they are 'good'." That is not a ringing endorsement as I interpreted it. Did you mention who you thought they should've taken in place of those three players? We desperately needed a cornerback and Gilmore was a lay up in the position we took him. Spiller shouldn't have dropped that far and Budddy Nix felt that he was too unique and special a talent to pass on him and it certainly paid off in 2012. As far as McKelvin, like Gilmore, he was the consensus best CB on the board when we picked and we desperately needed a CB at that time as well (don't agree with why needed one- ditching other first round CB's that had played well for us- but that is another conversation). I am not trying to vent anger, I just feel like you have this not-so-hidden agenda of telling everyone that you don't think Gilmore is going to be good and this entire thread is just another way for you to tell us that. I think Gilmore is going to be very good. And if he's not, you don't win the argument because it was a smart pick at the time by nearly everyone's account. It's not like it was a reach like Whitner, Troup, Graham, et al. So you may as well get on the bandwagon and start pulling for him like everyone else. And yes, go Bills!

Exactly.

Well if they do happen to get Watkins, let's hope that your intuition is wrong about him just like it was with McKelvin, Gilmore and Spiller because all three of them are good football players. And if your argument is that their record disproves this then I would ask you how the Vikings' record has been with Adrian Peterson or what the Jets ever won with Revis. All three of those guys were the right pick and the consensus pick by most experts at the time. How you mention those three and not Maybin or Troup over Gronkowski baffles me but this is nothing new. Let the record state that I have great "vibes" about Watkins by the way. EDIT: So I live in Colorado and am a diehard Rockies fan. Obviously Troy Tulowitzki is insane right now but my friend Bob, who also claims to be a Rockies fan, constantly says that he's overrated, can't stay healthy, etc. and says, just wait, he'll get hurt... It's gotten to a point where he almost wants Tulo to fail just so he can say "I told you so." I feel that you have this same thing going with several Bills players, most notably Gilmore. And ironically, my friend Bob was born and raised in NYC.

Yeah those 4th and 5th round picks are so valuable. They almost always work out. And god forbid we are paying him a million dollars. That is so expensive for an NFL player in 2014.

Just like they drafted Jackson, right? I know it's cliché now but RB's are a dime a dozen. Unless you're talking about taking a flier on a guy in the 5th round, then I'd have to disagree with you. I'd say it has, yeah. We've had a pretty consistent rushing attack during this entire streak of futility. Not to mention, we have used an inordinate number of high picks on running backs during the last 15 years already. Travis Henry, Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch, CJ, Spiller- all of whom, if I'm not mistaken, have put up 1300 yards, or at least 1200 yards. What are you talking about anyway?

Yeah that looks about right. Thanks for the update.

I don't have the time to read through this whole thread but is that Kelly to Reed guy still insisting that none of this means anything and that if you have a good lawyer you can just break the lease no problem?

Super close grip on the bench press.

FWIW, that was 1986. We're about the same age though. My first game was the opener against San Diego in 1985. The Chargers beat the Vince Ferragamo-led Bills in a snoozer in the drizzling rain. Once my Dad saw how interested I was, we started going to more games in '86 and then got seasons in '87. The rest is history. I was at that game in '86 too. That's the game where Kelly stumbled and fell backing up, got up and then threw a beautiful TD strike to my namesake in the back of the endzone.

Live here. Bout to get chastised but I'm a controversial guy so what the heck. Colorado Bills Backers are loud and there are many of them. But... they are kind of dorks. The dude who is kind of the MC at games at Lodo's (the Bills backers bar) in Denver is the absolute worst. And at the Sabres-Avs game, Lodo's was very generous in giving us a free shuttle to the game. Very nice of them. But we get on the shuttle and all these Buffalo ex-pats were bumping like bad new school hip hop on the speakers. So being the type of guy I am, with a few sodas in me, when the next song ends, I take the initiative to walk through everyone and put on the Hip from my iPod (Little Bones). I'm thinking, buncha Buffalo ex-pats, hockey game, this one's gonna be a showstopper, right? Wrong. Not one person on the bus even knew what band it was. It blew my mind if you wanna know the truth. Anyway, all that being said, Denver has the best climate of any city in the United States (I believe that with every ounce of my soul), that time of year you could very well go skiing and do a righteous hike the same weekend. And if you're a Jeremiah Johnson type, probably camp too. It will unquestionably be sunny. That's the beauty of Colorado, you never have to worry about the weather, it always works out just right. I would absolutely recommend coming out here but if you gotta crew, just roll with your crew man. That's what I've been doing ever since I moved here. You will run into cooler Bills fans in a random lot than you will going with the organized party scene. Take it for whatever it's worth. Oh and Broncos fans? So freaking lame. If you're anything like metzelaars, you'll be there at 8 sharp. They'll be rolling in with their wine coolers at noon. Book it. I've been around. Kansas City, Green Bay, Cleveland, Pittsburgh- those are our NFL party cousins. Broncos fans are corporate wine and cheese all day long. I grimace every time I see them listed in some poll of the best fan bases. Probably in 1987 they were. Not no more. God I would love for them to suck for 15 years straight and see how many of them showed up then. I root for the Patriots loud, proud and vocally when they play the Broncos. And the incomplete chant? Ah man, I could go on and on...

Oh geez.