BillsfaninFl

Well, you have been a member of this board for almost two weeks, and we are already impressed with your rapier wit. You were kidding, right? If not, sit down before you fall down.

I know you wrote this when angry. A lot of us are angry about the organization's failures, but an exit speech is never well received here. We are the FANatics that keeping hoping for a turnaround even if there is no evidence of it happening. Time will tell if we are wasting our time or not, but we haven't given up yet and when someone does, it's best if they just stop participating.

Try 31.

Are you aware that the Bills did just what you are suggesting? They signed him to a contract extension at a hefty raise. But a year later he listened to that scumbag agent and held out. I rarely defend the Bills brass, but they signed the guy after he was undrafted and switched him from being a tight end to an offensive tackle. He blossomed in the position and they gave him an appropriate raise. A number of other agents even commented at the time that the holdout was out-of-line for his situation. It's easy to say "pay the man," but the circumstances were such that the organization would have set a bad precedent that would encourage other players to do the same thing. It would have been different if Peters didn't agree to the extension and raise in pay, but he did, and had three years to go on the new contract. After being named to the Pro Bowl, it went to his head and he wanted a top payday immediately instead of a couple years down the road.

This was the football gods getting revenge for the way the team management screwed Brett Favre. The Packers were a favorite of mine until that episode.

For those of you who may have recently joined this board, I must proudly tell you that this is a "green" group. We have been recycling the same head coaching names for months. If you live in the Buffalo area, pay no attention to those rumors about global warming. Things will only heat up here when the Bills come to life again. But Buffalo is the best kept secret in the U.S. A great city to raise a family in, lots of great restaurants, beautiful surrounding area during all four seasons and friendly people who have a lot of heart. I sometimes wonder if Ralph Wilson would have done it differently this last half century, if he lived here instead of Detroit. Perhaps he would have had more pride and appreciation for the community and would have wanted the Bills to do well because of it.

Ralph to Buddy: I don't know any of these guys, do you? Wouldn't it be simpler and less expensive to hire from within? Who do we have left on the staff?

Maybe Seattle wasn't trying to placate their fans into thinking that they made an honest effort to get a big name coach. Someone on this board made a good point months ago (when the Shanahan rumors were flying around), that this is just a ploy by the organization, which will eventually take a lesser individual and say, "well we tried."

Yes and yes.

Aren't we getting a bit hysterical over this? I wasn't there and therefore cannot judge if a serious wrong occured. But it was $20. Forgive me for being insensitive, but let's look at this strictly as a potential crime. At worst, since the money has been repaid, it amounts to an upsetting incident. There was no blood, no smoking gun, no trips to the emergency room. And since we already know what Lynch is like, does this incident constitute the "last straw" or is it really just another chance for the Lynch haters to want him sent packing?

Go to your room. No snack tonight.

I wanted to laugh at your comments, but instead, a chill ran up my spine. I've had this same nightmare before. I wish I knew someone in the Bills organization who knew what was going on, and who would give the information out even though it would jeapordize their job. Or as a second choice I wish I knew a sportscaster or article writer who really had an insider in his pocket and was correct in his predictions time after time. The only guy I know who had some inside stuff about the Bills (swearing that it was from a taxi driver) was "nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills" Boomer. You know, I'll bet if they circled the wagons like they did in the early 90s, they wouldn't have as many injuries.

And now we find out that Mangini is staying on at Cleveland. If Holmgren had sent him packing, we could have made him an offer. His record is as good as Dick Jauron's. If this keeps up, they'll have to take Haslett and make him play linebacker as well as coach. Maybe we could convince Shottenheimer to play LB on the other side. Just kidding. Please don't pass this on to Wilson. He would think it's a good idea. Of course, Ralph would think they are very young (under 70), but I'm sure that is a minor annoyance. The most important thing is that they are intensely loyal to the organization.

Why is it a surprise? Several guys and gals on this board have already stated that they didn't believe our defense was the Bills' biggest problem. Personally, while I prefer a different scheme, I think the D played well enough (in spite of the injuries and being undersized). IMO, if the defense was on the field only as long as the average time in the league, we would not have seen so many fourth quarter collapses, when many opponents had a lot of rushing yards and multiple scores. I still say we need bigger players in the front seven no matter what scheme the Bills use. And I am convinced that the team would win more games (especially in the AFC East), if they used a 3-4 alignment. But it's hard to be very critical of the job the Bills' defense did, all things considered.

You make a good point. At least he didn't look at a list of candidates and immediately discount them all because he didn't know any of them. At least he hasn't decided that the best course is to promote from within, picking one of two candidates. He apparently hasn't interviewed a lot of people yet, but I'll believe he is trying until the facts prove me wrong. Hey, it's tough to sell a Bills head coaching job.

It makes sense. He has been acting like a coach of the Bills for seven weeks. Even making public statements that should come from the HC. I'm surprised he hasn't asked Nix for an interview. Then again, maybe he has.

LOL Good one.

You are a classy guy.

But the Giants just fired Defensive Line Coach Mike Waufle. He might be interested in the Bills HC job. Imagine how Waufle that would be.

The only reason why the Bills would initiate a covert flight to NC is if they planned on holding Cowher's wife hostage until he accepts our coaching job. Cowher is not there. He is working overtime speculating about the playoffs and analyzing what strategies the teams will be using against each other this weekend. I hope I am wrong, but I don't see any way that Bill would take a job where he didn't have enough decision-making power. Don't believe me? Look up the power struggle between him and Donahoe at Pittsburgh. It was ugly.

LOL I don't know when, but I know where: at the scene of the crash.

Your response is just as illogical. Grimm didn't specify the reasons you threw out there. Like Cowher, Gruden and others, each turned down the same request. The only one who didn't was Shanahan, who many people correctly guessed was just drumming up negotiating power for another team. We don't know what Grimm really thinks about the Bills opportunity. All we know is that Fewell is interested. I wish we really knew the interest level of some of these coaching candidates, but these guys are careful not to burn their bridges behind them because it could cost them an opportunity they wish for.

I believe the term is masochistic.

Let's see some examples of that generosity. I have followed the team for 50 years and could give you dozens of examples of the Bills not signing their own stars because they would not pay them what they were worth on the market, and the trends are just as frugal regarding getting top free agents. We dont... period.

From the perspective of an outsider considering joining the Bills' staff, keep in mind: It's not just that Ralph signs off on the decisions, it's that he isn't qualified to be involved and screws things up. There are other owners that get involved, but they are more knowledgeable about players, running a winning organization, etc. It's not that Ralph is old and may expire soon. It's unlikely someone would buy the team and immediately dump everyone. The problem is he has a reputation for being a cheap owner, who will not let a GM and Coach make the player moves (because of the price) they need to succeed. Knowledgeable coaches and GMs know Wilson's history of not paying for high-priced free agents and not paying our own stars to stay with the team. Anyone who is any good would realize they would not be given a chance to do a good job.