metzelaars_lives

Okay, here we are again. 16 years. Here's the good news: the Bills appear to have a QB. That's kind of an important thing. More good news: this is not a Dick Jauron team that overachieved and somehow bumbled its way to 7-9. This is a team that actually has a lot of good football players on its roster. What they HAVE to do is go Ron Rivera/Panthers style and see this regime through. No one is hiring Greg Roman as their head coach. They need to bring everyone (save for Crossman- let him be the fall guy, deservedly so) back and give it another two goes minimum. ABSOLUTELY bring Whaley back. If I could select one adjective to use to describe this team it would be UNREFINED. Sammy Watkins is unrefined. He's talented but he needs to tighten his game up. They are undisciplined with respect to the penalties, their special teams, etc. Their field goal kicker is shaky. They do all the little things wrong that a team like the Kansas City Chiefs does right. Does anyone think this team can't be as good as the Kansas City Chiefs next year? Hell, does anyone think if this team made the playoffs this year that they couldn't beat anyone- save for the Patriots with a healthy Gronkowski- on their best day? They're not that far away. They just need to tighten things up. And that comes with familiarity and repetition, period. And for everyone who thinks Rex Ryan sucks, I can assure you that Panthers fans thought the same of Ron Rivera, that Bengals fans have thought the same of Marvin Lewis for over a decade, etc., etc. What doesn't work is the Browns model of recycling coaches and starting from scratch every two years. You gotta see this thing through folks. They need to go front seven in the first round- preferably a monster linebacker from the Big Ten or something. And you know Ryan will. As much as everyone wanted it to happen this year, this team has nothing to do with teams prior. This team, this regime is 0 for 1 and that's it. They have an owner who is playing with monopoly money and will tell his GM to spend whatever he wants. They're gonna be fine. Give Ryan a year to put together his own defense and let's see what happens. If we're having the same conversation a year from now, I'll be damned.

They could've dinked and dunked their way to a field goal attempt on that last drive in their sleep. The insistence on constantly throwing it long in this game when they only needed a few yards was what did them in.

I'm not sure there is one Bills fan on planet Earth that wanted Cassel to start.

Funny, you haven't heard much from those guys this week. One guy in particular has vanished entirely.

Luck has been injured all season and Flacco's team has been decimated by injuries while the Bengals have one of the more complete teams in the NFL and have remained most injury free. Dalton + complete healthy team > Flacco + crippled by injuries team. Does not prove any point whatsoever. A few weeks ago, Osweiler + complete healthy team > Brady + absolutely destroyed by injuries team.

Hooper drives the boat, chief.

Dude come on. No one ever said that the order of how good teams are each year is the exact same as the ranking of the best QB's. But by and large, there is a high correlation- higher than there was 20 years ago. And those three examples are poor ones: the Chargers have been absolutely decimated by injuries. As long as they get healthy, Rivers alone gets them to 8-8/9-7 next season. Matt Ryan isn't even that good, we are starting to find out. He is a big reason they are in a tailspin. And Drew Brees is in the twilight of his career and playing with one of the worst rosters in the entire league. In his prime, he won a Super Bowl with a team that wasn't that great, which would be a classic example to nullify your argument. He's right. If the OP's point is that people say "ALL" you need is a good QB then of course that is not the case. But no one has ever said that. What you need is a good/great QB, a competent roster and to avoid major injuries. But there can be no underscoring the value of a good QB, I'm sorry. Exactly. Look back over the last 20 years and tell me what has happened more: a great QB winning a Super Bowl with an average/competent roster or a complete team wining a Super Bowl with competent/"game managing" QB play.

Very well done.

What some people fail to realize is that the Texans and the Raiders and really the Jets for that matter, don't really matter that much at this point. If we are in a position where we have the same record as the Texans, we're not making the playoffs anyway. Same goes for the Raiders. Even if we go 3-1, either of those teams would have to go 4-0 to pass us. Not happening. The Bills need to win out and get one loss from the Steelers or lose one NFC East game and get two losses from the Steelers plus one more from the Jets. And to the person who said, "can you really picture the Chiefs winning out..." Yes, I can. They are really good. I think they'll lose one but it would take them losing two AND us winning out for us to pass them. Not happening either. It's all about beating the Eagles and rooting for Cincinnati to get that one Steelers loss out of the way. It's actually simpler than it sounds. Yes, Jets loss would be nice but we'll get our shot at them regardless.

Brian Billick has a Super Bowl ring as a head coach and yesterday you stated that ice hockey is as dangerous as football in terms of sustaining brain injuries. I think it's a pertinent stat.

Again, this could easily happen to you as an opposing fan at a Bills game.

We can agree to disagree. Green Bay is a family atmosphere. It's rated PG. You could absolutely bring your young children to any tailgate and into the game, no problem. Buffalo has that Oakland/Philly riff raff element. It is rated R. If you follow deadspin, you might even argue that it is rated NC-17. Kansas City, at least I find, is directly in between Green Bay and Buffalo. It's got more of an adult edge than Green Bay but by and large, you don't have to deal with the absolute trash that comprises a good 10% of fans at Bills games (I'm sure we have all seen early 20's guy with no formal education, chinstrap beard, wearing old McGahee s****y era jersey that he has taped over the "Gahee" and replaced with "Drunk," funneling beers, puking and hurling homophobic slurs at fans of opposing teams). Kansas City is rated PG-13. It's a perfect mix. All three offer passionate, semi-knowledgeable fans, excess alcohol intake and professional grilling. But I'm sorry, I am as big a Bills fan as anyone but if you were a fan of an opposing team and wore an opposing team's jersey walking through the main lot at 12:30 PM on the way into the game, you would probably dock Bills fans a few points. Conversely, I have worn Bills jerseys to Chiefs games multiple times and you don't really endure more than good-natured ribbing. I will conclude my rant by saying that per capita, as a lot, ex-pat Bills fans living in other cities represent the Bills as well as any team in the NFL and certainly better than the 70,000 people who actually attend games on Sunday. Again, general rule.

Green Bay and Kansas City are unbelievable. Both better than Buffalo. Every other stadium I have been to- Denver, Miami, Seattle and San Diego- are not nearly as intense as a game in GB, KC or Buff. HUGE drop off. Then again, there seems to be an inverse correlation with intense fanbases/tailgating and how much there is to do in your city. I was also at the Seattle game in 2004 and would anticipate a different scene when I go next year. Back in '04, every fan we met, to a man, was like, "you guys are crazy, we don't really take the Seahawks that seriously, this is a Mariners town first." I would agree with the posters who said that there is probably a pretty big bandwagon factor when it comes to their fanbase.

You are having a tough day all around it looks like. Urbik has ben just fine. He's as good of a swing guard as you could possibly hope for. He has been an upgrade over Miller. I realize the point you are trying to make with Mario Williams but, no. You do however, look to be one of the only people on this website who is aware of the fact that we have an elite left tackle.

Curious- who said that you should live your life in bubble wrap or that it's awesome to do so?

I don't even have an argument. I am saying that I think it's good that parents are aware of the risks in playing football. There are risks. I would let my kid play football. Some people wouldn't. I certainly would not hold anything against someone who wouldn't let their kid play. I just think it's important that people are made aware of the risks so that they can make their own educated decisions. I can't imagine that's a controversial opinion to have. Let me ask you this- do you think that linebacker from San Francisco, Borland, is a "wuss?" Do you think there is something dishonorable in his decision to retire after a year because he decided playing football wasn't worth the potential risk? Also, I would agree with you that part of a lot of former players' depression probably has to do with them being lost without the limelight of their playing career. But for a lot of players it goes way beyond depression to more cognitive effects and in those cases, there is no debate as to the cause and effect correlation.

You guys keep inventing this straw man as part of your argument. No one acts like that. What is sad however, is to see a once proud and strong 50 year-old man reduced to a drooling vegetable or more often, someone that cannot fend off the demons in their own head. Is that the norm? No but it does happen more often than you realize. And I think it's fair that players are made aware (as they now are) that that is a risk you take. No one is saying that they would rather their son end up as an incarcerated druggie than a football player.

Let's say for the sake of argument, America is being wussified. In some cases, I would agree with you. But do you really think sharing studies on brain injuries and making parents aware of the risks of letting their kids play football is a good example of that? You are aware that seven kids have died playing high school football in the United States this year, right? I guess I'm just a wuss for mentioning that.

That can't be true. Can you please provide some numbers to support this? Did you watch the game yesterday and see the very ordinary/happens almost every play hit that McCoy took to the head? Can you please tell me what sport you believe someone is more likely to a sustain a concussion in than American football? You mentioned cycling earlier? I have rode my bike all summer along, almost every day for years. And I've never worn a helmet once (except for when I go mountain biking). Still not a single concussion if you can believe that. Every non punter and kicker (and now I would start to include QB's in that group) that's ever played professional football for a substantial amount of time has sustained a concussion. Do you think I'm more likely to sustain a concussion riding my bike or playing volleyball than Nickel Robey is next Sunday? If so, I think you need to be put through the concussion protocol yourself. Of course there were bound to be a handful of geniuses on here that would equate making parents and football players aware of the risks of playing football to the "wussification of America."

Ha. 1. I never said it's suicide to play the game of football. I have already said twice in THIS THREAD that I would let my own kid play high school football. I played high school football. I'm fine. I said very clearly that I don't think it's healthy for someone to play high school football, then college football, then pro football until they're in their mid-30's and bash their helmet against opposing players' helmets literally tens of thousands of times. 2. I also stated very clearly that my only hope is that the players are aware of the risks involved. Largely due to the efforts of the very doctor in the article we're supposedly discussing, THEY ARE NOW. Although it is somewhat difficult the more I learn about brain injuries, I am perfectly comfortable still rooting for the Bills because the players now do "know better." When I see a guy like Roethlisberger or McCoy take themselves out of a game and follow the concussion protocol it makes me feel a little better about being a football fan in 2015. Much the same way I still like to eat ribs even though I know it's unhealthy and I wouldn't slaughter a pig myself. Dude it is OK to be aware of brain injuries and their correlation to the game of football and still watch and root for the Bills to beat the Texans. Most intelligent people on this board would fall into that category. So are you suggesting that you either have to be a moron and be ignorant of the studies we now have access to or stop being a football fan?

No I just want people to be aware. When Roddy White says he totally understands the risks inherent with playing but has made a conscious decision to play anyway, then I'm fine with it. This has nothing to do with my love for football. And I already said I would let my kid play high school football with the assumption that he wouldn't make it any farther. I would not be thrilled if my son turned out to be a guy like Jason Witten.

Dude come on man. You may be a UB Bulls fan but you clearly did not attend UB med school.

I guess it's all relative. Is it the majority of players? No. I agree with your point that a guy like Frank Gifford did show signs of CTE but it didn't affect his life the way it affected, say, Junior Seau. But I think there are far more Junior Seau's than you realize. I remember 20 year ago, way before any of this came out, we used to hear about former players like Al Toon, who would hear a doorbell ring and go to answer the telephone or constantly forget why they walked into a room. Jim McMahon is like that now. So is Darryl Talley. I think it's more widespread than maybe you realize.

They will be affected from one extent to another. I hope everyone here with a strong opinion has watched the original special (I think it aired on PBS) on this topic. You can watch it on youtube right now. It also disturbs me that the doctor who was at the forefront of this discovery and is interested in making people aware of the inherent risks associated with playing football is being labeled by some as someone who is simply trying to cash in on their "15 minutes," etc. What if he really just was/is a good guy? I think people who are saying stuff like this should make themselves aware of the cover up by the NFL to silence this type of information from being available to its players.

Yeah and when is the last time you saw a hockey player knocked as woozy as McCoy was yesterday? Maybe happens a handful of times a year. I watch a s**t ton of hockey. Football has done everything they can to make the game as safe as possible, I agree with you. But the nature of the game dictates that this is an issue that isn't going anywhere.