All_Pro_Bills

Not sure Buffalo will ever reach its previous level of prosperity but I applaud people like TP that have the willingness, the funding, and perhaps the vision to make things happen. Restoring the city center with things like Harbor Center seems like a worthy goal. With this I support the downtown stadium idea which could lead to all kinds of activity springing up around it. Buffalo continues to get a bad rap but I think its generally from people who have never been there. The weather issues are overrated. Sure it snows but the city rarely has any downtime as a result. This can't be said about many east coast cities but its generally true of the cities around the Great Lakes, another resource that can't be underestimated. Fresh water something many cities, for example the US southwest, are experienceing shortages (or maybe no shortage of water but too many people stressing the environment being the problem). Add hydroelectric power to the list of pluses and close proximity to the Canadian market. The big hang up probably being the high tax environment.

My understand is that the NFL did not consider Canadian territory to be part of the Bills market and only considers the U.S. territory when determining markets. That is why Buffalo is a small market team. If Toronto was considered to be part of the Bills market that would make the Bills one of the largest market teams in the league since the population of Toronto and Southern Ontario exceeds most NFL cities and its surrounding population centers. Does the league consider Vancouver to be part of the Seattle market? The distance between the two NFL cities and their Canadian counterparts is about the same. Windsor and western Ontario part of Detriot? But then again, I don't know this for sure, just sayin'.

From a quick read of the process and criteria it sounds like Pegula's mutli-billion dollar liquidity and single bidder status would put him near the top when ranking against the league's owners criteria. And if his bid is in the ballpark or the highest, and all cash, that would score points on the bid and payment and provide a straight path for the trust. No loans, no credit risk. Of the 'known' potential bidders to date my guess is Terry sounds like the right fit for the NFL owners along with an all cash payment to the Wilson trust.

I'm sort of where you are now. Used to attend at least one game a year from out of town. I love the tailgating experience, mingling with other fans both friends and strangers, along with the 'live' game experience. But I absolutely do not want to deal with the plastered idiots, shouting profanities, staggering around, and making a general nuasance of themselves.

I am by no means a soccer fan although I'll watch a little of something like the World Cup. One thing I do like about Soccer over US Football is the flow of the game with very few stoppages. NFL games have way too many stoppages generally for commerical time. Team 'A' scores a TD and kicks the extra point, Then 3 minutes of commericals. Team 'A'' kicks off and the ball sails out of the end zone. Change of possession to Team 'B'. 1st and 10. Now 3 more minutes of commericals. Worst case a 3 and out followed by a punt followed by 3 more minutes of commericals. So in about 12 minutes of clock time you see 3 minutes of action and 9 minutes of commericals. If somebody calls a time out we go to commerical. Only in OT are there no commerical breaks. Sometimes for a 1 PM Bills game I'll set the game to record, go outside and do some work in the yard for about 1 1/2 hours, clean up, not peek at any scores or game updates, and then watch the game from the start on tape delay. By about half way through the 4th quarter I'm usually up to real-time.

There you have it. People that don't have money don't have it for a couple reasons. Either they have no ability to make it or they don't know how to keep it. The guys that blow it all don't understand the simple concept of cash flow.

What should we consider facts? Is it hard numbers or other types of evidence? To be sure social norms have changed over time. Just look at the way people dress. If you look at pictures of people from the 1920's and 1930's ditch diggers back then were better dressed and groomed than the average mope you see roaming around the local mall transfixed by their smartphone. Looking at them and the blank stare on their faces as they await the next urgent message about the latest you tube video makes you understand why zombie flicks and shows are so popular now. Life imitates art I guess. At the game its not just the fights and the drunks but the level of profanity. Who wants to bring their kids to the game when every other word coming out of the mouths around you is 'F' this and 'F' that. And I get tired of hearing it too because after a while it just sounds stupid. So for sure, the average level of competency with the English language has come down dramatically over 20 or so years. Having a couple beers along with tailgating is great but I never understand why anyone wants to get so plastered that they cannot even walk or remember anything about the game. Getting drunk is not the problem but rather being nuasance to the people around you is the issue. If they would just pass out during the 1st quarter it would be a better game experience.

I think you're right about this. The two situations are similar in some respects but quite different in others. With the Sabres you had a long-term team of Darcy and Lindy in place for what seemed like a lifetime. And while both handled their jobs with complete professionalism they failed to deliver a championship. Compare their tenure and success rate to that of other hockey franchises like the Penguins or Devils that are not shy about making GM and HC changes and you can conclude ownership stayed with the duo far too long. And this might have been compounded by the series of ownership changes with the Sabres. The fact that Pegula was not only a new owner but a life-long Sabres fan appears to have clouded his judgment or at least delayed the decision to make the change. I suspect you won't see that kind of emotionalism with the Bills if he acquires the team. This is year 2 of Whaley/Marrone on the job so their book of work is not complete. I think they're headed in the right direction. I couldn't say this about Reiger/Ruff where I felt the Sabres were just treading water while preparing for the annual push for 9th place in the conference. The football duo will need to sell any new owner on their 'vision' for building a winner. And having a successful, winning, playoff appearance season in 2014 will go a long way in convincing ownership to stay the course for now. He's going to have to get on board with the current front office team or move in another direction if he doesn't buy into their approach. Either way, priority #1 is assured. The team stays in Buffalo with a TP as potential new owner.

I was excited about the Spikes signing because it filled a glaring need with regards to the run defense at MLB. And the guy brings a certain 'edge' that has been lacking around these parts for a whiile. I get the feeling the defense is going to develop a 'we don't get no respect so we'll show them every Sunday' attitude and that fits into Schwartz's wheelhouse pretty well per the feedback I've gotten from some Lions fans I know at work. As for SJ, he was an interesting personality, an honest guy that gave straight answers and told you what he was thinking. He was a good and productive receiver during his time with the Bills. But not faultless, with too many drops, some questionable judgment with TD demonstration penalties, and at times he displayed a lack of accountability when refusing to 'man up' to mistakes on the field. I wasn't quite sold on the idea of trading him but I understand the coaching staff wanting to move on with the new generation here. My other thought was the dynamic between Steve and Harbaugh should produce some interesting interactions and perhaps some entertaining sideline moments during the season.

The $400 million payment is an early termination fee for breaking the lease agreement prior to the year 7 $28 million 'buy out' window with the lease being transferable to any new owner for the said term of the lease agreement which is 10 years. If so, court action would be required if the team broke the agreement and refused to pay the termination fee while attempting to relocate the team. The county/state would file legal charges against the team in court to sue for the $400 million and request an injuction to block the team from playing any games until the litigation is resolved. If anyone thinks judges and the courts hear and rule on cases as defined solely by the law then you haven't spent much time in court dealing with litigation. A lot of procedural BS comes into play too. The team could file a request for a change of venue citing the county/state courts would not provide an impartial environment and that might or might not be accepted. If it is not accepted then you pretty much have pissed off the county and states courts that will now hear your case. If they lose they could certainly file an appeal but legal filings, briefs, and injuctions filed in the courts by the county and state could tie up the litigation for years. You think the NFL wants to see a scenario play out such as this one and also take on powerful poltical interests to support the sale of a team to a foreign concern that has more or less no political clout in Albany or Washington DC at the expense of a large and loyal fan base of American voters to move the team to Canada? To win the case, the team would need to prove the terms of the lease are in violaton of some county/state/federal law. The specific legal strategy of the owner seeking to terminate the lease agreement and avoid paying the termination fee is unclear. Even if they decide to pay the $400 million the county and state can still file charges and injuctions against the re-location move and sue the league if necessary and to lobby Congress to revoke the leagues anti-trust exemption. This would be the nuclear option to the league and its worst nightmare. My expectation is the team is sold for 'fair value' by the trust to a group interested in keeping the team in WNY with the condition a new facility will be constructed on or before year 7 of the current lease agreement. The league and owners will want to avoid any unnecessary political battles to move the team up north for what might be a few million each per year per team. And with a large and loyal ticket buying fan base along with plans for a new stadium many owners will find it impossible to vote for re-location. Enough to block the move.

Clearly Dareus has no comprehension that there are consequences for his actions. Whether or not he needs professional psychiatric care is unclear. I understand Sullivan's views but I don't think cutting the guy is going to solve the problem. It might solve the Bills disipline problem with Dareus but it will create a hole at the DT spot and it won't solve Marcell's behavioral issues. Somebody will pick him up and the problem will move to a new venue. What I'm looking for is more than HQ Marrone to stick out his neck and say he wants to help the guy. He's a head coach not a guidenace councilor. This situation cries out for veteran leadership. Maybe this is happening behind the scenes? Somebody like Fred Jackson, or the Williams boys on the D-line need to sit down with Marcell and tell he that he is F##$ ing up here and to knock off the crap here and start acting like a professional. Not some dumb kid playing college football going to keg parties the Saturday night after the game. I was thinking about the old Bills teams of the 90's and visualizing a guy like Talley getting in his face telling him to man up and tow the line here.

But isn't there an additional element at play here? That being the league and the requirement for any sale to be approved by the owners? Similar to a condo association's membership needing to approve of the sale of a members unit to another person. In the case of the team the 'prinicpals' might include the 31 other franchise owners because although they receive no direct compensation they have a vested financial interest in the transaction. But like you I am not a lawyer so I am not clear on the specifics of estate sales governed by NY and federal law. The other thing is consideration for re-location. I assume this would be a separate vote. So one vote by league owners to approve/disapprove of the sale of the team and a 2nd vote by owners to approve/disapprove of a re-location plan. Unless I am missing something a buyer intent on keeping the team in Buffalo would need to secure approval once while a party seeking to move the team would need approval twice. Unless the terms of the sale are defined otherwise since it would make sense to anyone wanting to move the team to secure re-location approval before paying for the team and finding out the owners won't let you move it.

The Bills 3-13? I'll go 'all in' taking the over against that line. I think we Bills fans should check with the guy to see if he's willing to back up his convictions. On that bet I'll wager he's not..

The league would not want to see a scenario like this play out. Teams generally move for two reasons, lack of a facility and lack of fan support. Neither appear to be an issue with the Bills going forward. Given that moving for the sake of higher revenues while an obvious objective of any team might be too blantant obvious for the league to consider. And the bid process is not a auction, but rather an evaluation of many factors one of which is price. Along with this several owners have already gone on record as saying their preference to keep the team in WNY given great fan support and concrete plans for a new stadium in place. The votes to support relocation might not be there. I suspect much of what is happening with the new stadium proposals is designed to have a plan in place prior to the bid reviews, making support for relocation harder to come by with the owners. The other thing is I am just weary of the LA story and if that happens it would be a major shock to me. If the decision process was solely dollars and cents then one of the 30 teams not playing in the NYC market would have jumped at the chance to move to LA since they could surely make more money playing there. What's it been about 20 years without a team? Nobody rushing out to the west coast to pluck the gem of markets? How about the Packers, Steelers, Bengals? Hey, even the Cowboys should be able to make more in Los Angeles than Dallas. More viewers, more people, right? From a football perspective I've never liked the LA market upon examination of the demographics. Teams have left there in the past and not much has changed. The region has lots of transplants from elsewhere that are fans of other teams with large Asian and Latin communities that don't put American football at the top of their sports preferences. You probably have a bigger group of hardcore fans in Buffalo. The only attraction is the corporate sector but that doesn't fill the stadium. And with the amount of noise and support the corporate box occupants produce you can hear a pin drop at the 50 yard line.

If you're a pending free agent, even having 'optional' off-season surgery might be a red flag for some teams and could have had the potential to lower the offers. If the Saints knew he was coming off back surgery would they have been so eager to pursue and sign JB? So putting it off makes sense from that aspect. From the view of being ready for the season not so much.

And I suspect the idea of maximizing profits is not what is motivating a guy like Trump here. The motivation is the spotlight, being 1 of 32 guys in the world that owns an NFL franchise. The real thing, not some fantasy league team, maybe a $1 billion entry fee to get into the club. I doubt any of the other guys willing to keep the team in WNY are focused on maximum profits either. If they were they'd probably invest their money elsewhere and probably do better. They have pretty much everything they need and want, what's another hundred million more going to do for them? Their motivation is the pursuit of prestige and power not money from this. Lots of concerns about meddling owners and wanting a hands off guy. No matter who it is I don't see anybody saying 'here's a billion dollars of my money, go do what you want and I won't bother you'. What you'll get from each of the prospective buyers is a varying level of patience with holding others accountable. An owner like Pegula, as noted by his handling of Reiger, might be a little more tolerant and have a higher threshold of patience but in the end he's going to hold people accountalble. Trump probably would have canned Darcy on day one. Still, I don't see Trump as being on the extreme fringe as a guy like Jerry Jones. He thinks it was him that built the Super Bowl Cowboys teams and that Jimmy Johnson was just along for the ride.

The thing is, every dog in this race has some fleas. Trump, Golisano, Jacobs. Take your pick, I can list some pro's and con's for each. It's likely one or all of them are going to put together bids, along with the Toronto group. Maybe some others too? We still haven't heard from Jim Kelly's group. Not clear just who's involved there. Sure Trump has his flaws. He's comes of as a self-centered ego maniac and at times a B.S. artist. And the other two guys I mentioned have been called 'cheap' at one time or another. But regardless of wishes, some generous, trustworthy, and poor saint of a guy is not going to buy the team. So we have to play the hand we're dealt here. Bottom line: I don't have a problem with any of them as long as they're going to keep the team in Buffalo and have a commitment to winning.

In my view it comes down to being discreet rather than trying to draw attention to yourself by going out of your way to let everybody know your every move and everything you do at all times. I may be guilty of generalization, but I've come to the conclusion that people in their 20's and 30's have a lot lower expectation of personal privacy than do people in their 40's and 50's. And I count myself in the camp of the latter. I prefer to keep most of the things about my life private. I'll post an occasion message on the board here on a topic of interest but I don't post pictures or tweets on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Does anybody really care about looking at pictures of your vacation or weekend? I don't and I'll bet nobody else does either. If it gives people the illusion of self-importance and makes them feel like some kind of celebrity then knock yourself out. As far as I'm concerned most of that stuff is a complete waste of time and it has absolutely no value to me. But obviously my view isn't the only view. Manziel is from the younger crowd and they have grown up to believe they've got to let everybody know everything. To me this makes no sense but that's just the way he is and I suspect soon enough he'll figure out he's moving into a professional environment where things are done differently. Whether he learns the easy way or the hard way is unclear. Have your fun but there's no need to advertize your business. Show up to work the next day on time and ready to work.

My nephew once asked me why I root for a team named after the thing I hate to pay?

A couple months ago I would have put our chances at about 20/80 but circumstances since that time have swung the odds in our favor, maybe something like 60/40. Solid plans for a new stadium blessed by the league would more or less lock the deal. I am less concerned with a possible relocation of the team given the activity around a new stadium and some sound bytes out of the league meetings from a large enough group of team owners (given a new facility) supporting the idea to keep the team in Buffalo. Still who knows until it all plays out? Perhaps the biggest and most under appreciated advantage against relocation is the political clout in both Albany and Washington. Unfortunately for Toronto, the city, provincal, and federal governments have more or less zero power in this area. How the trust evaluates and determines which bid to accepted is another black box with the other factor being the league owners must approve the deal and a new owner. Teams generally move for 1 of 2 reasons. Old, outdated facilities or a lack of fan support. The first is being addressed and the later was never an issue. Given a proposal for a new facility along with a large and loyal core of fan support most owners would find it diffuclt to vote for a relocation just to pursue additional revenue. My vote would be for a downtown facility but that's without any of the details that I expect the search committee gather and review.

Good question. The league does not consider Southern Ontario as Bills territory for any metrics or market size statistics because it is outside the US even though much of the province falls within the league's official market radius limits. If the league counted current Canadian Bills fans and their fellow Canadian citizens in their numbers the market size would be significantly higher and the 'small' market Bills would be seen as playing to a much larger TV audience. The only other team that might be impacted by this would be Detroit but the Windor market is obviously much smaller than Toronto and probably a fraction of the impact the Bills have with Ontario. The upside of this for Bills fans is that by not counting Southern Ontario moving the Bills is technically categorized as a relocation. If Southern Ontario was counted as Bills territory then the move would not be a relocation but rather a move to a new facility within the territory. So maybe we're better not counting it? I'm not at all familar with Canadian broadcasting. Are NFL games available on Canadian networks, like CBC, or just off the air signals from CBS and FOX stations in Buffalo? Do Canadian cable providers as a matter of practice carry US network stations?

I saw the Jerry Jones quotes in an ESPN article this morning. To me it came off as more or less 'politically correct' babbling and not an endorsement of anything one way or another. One wild a$$ assumption he's making in his comments is more people equates to more paying football fans. Demographically speaking, that is just not so simple. Normally this 'relocation' talk would set off alarm bells on this message board. Given there are only a few pages of discusison on Jerry's remarks shows how the level of anxiety among Bills fans here has diminished. At this point it appears chances of the team staying in WNY are greater than the chances of moving somewhere else with a lot of political and economic power lining up behind keeping the team in place.

Most people that don't like the move up have reservations with the Bills decision on Watkins basically because they don't see this making the Bills any better and foresee another 6-10 type season and a bottom 10 finish. They expect the 1st next year will be a top 10 pick. If the pick turns out to be a high 20 next year with the Bills making the playoffs and having a winning season then the deal won't look so bad. For now speculation is all anyone can do and we won't know until December whether Whaley's move was a couragous decision or a major blunder.

The improvement in this group and their performance is going to be the key factor in determining just how much the Bills improve both statistically on offense and scoring along with the win/loss column. Glenn and Wood are the only returning veterans certain to start this season. The starters in the other 3 spots will be determined by what should be the most competitive training camp and pre-season in many years. After much neglect this could be a position of strength this season.

What you're saying seems like a reasonable expectation. The guys what? 22 years old. I don't know squat about his upbringing or background or his experiences at Miami but there are a lot of 22 year old guys out there making stupid decisions. Most of them figure it out at some point. If everybody that made a mistake didn't get a second chance at things we'd run out of people pretty quick. So I'm willing to cut this guy some slack until he becomes a problem here. Maybe this kid will pull it together given a change of scenery and adopting a different perspective on life that being in college just doesn't give you. He's at the pro level now where talent alone won't cut it without a high level of effort and motivation. And having to work for a living has a way of changing your outlook real fast. Here's what draft insider had to say about Henderson. In general the player assessments on that site are pretty good: Positive: Two-year starter at right tackle. Suspended three times at Miami for violating team rules. Suffered back issues in the past. Massive lineman who flashes the ability to dominate opponents. Strong, explosive at the point, and easily drives defenders off the line. Athletic, adjusts to oncoming defenders, and knocks them from their angle of attack on the blitz. Possesses big, powerful hands and jolts opponents with violent punch. Effective when he bends his knees. Quick into blocks and flashes the ability to slide out in pass protection. Negative: Lacks balance and struggles finishing blocks. Gets tall as the play proceeds. Indecisive and does not show great awareness. Has made a lot of questionable decisions off the field. Analysis: Henderson looks the part and occasionally plays to it but really has not maintained the high level of consistency scouts thought possible. Underachieving on the field while showing immaturity off it, Henderson possesses the size and skill to start at the next level if the light ever goes on.