Red

Dick!

Reddog, THAT, my friend is a terrific question! Me personally- I would be especially ticked off that a former arena league/ World league RB that was a free agent walk on took my starting position from me. I would be using that hatred, to train- ala Walter Payton- like a mad man to reestablish myself as not only the starting RB, but as a leader on a team in desperate need of those! Speaking of the late Walter Payton, anyone out there ever see his offseason training of running hills, lifting, etc? Man, if that does not get you motivated then nothing will. I think Marv was right about character. With the exception of sickness or a death in the family, Mr. Lynch needs to be in Buffalo. With the incidents of the past couple of seasons, and now this...at a time when we need leaders and he lost his starting job...again, I would have been first in line to get into the weight room. But I guess when there is drinking, gun running, and hitting Canadian pedestrians to do, who has time for lifting weights?

Thanks, Thurm. Glad we could agree on something for a change...

Again, spoken like someone who has never lifted anything heavier than a 12 ounce bottle in his life. The weight room and resistance training are established so that athletes can better themselves. Since the human body is resistant to this type of change, it takes time, discipline, hard work, and most of all CONCENTRATION (key term) to achieve those goals. The TV's were a distraction. They set the mood or attitude of a relaxed resort. Which one do you think would produce a better environment: working out at your local gym or starting that gut busting workout while you're away on vacation? Reference my previous post on the topic. Schwarzenegger himself routinely spoke about the environment of a gym being crucial (read: most important) to achieving one's goals. To go on the extreme, do you think working out at Gold's Gym or World Gym has better energy, or working out at a senior center? Which one do you think would get you motivated? Success begets success...

Mr. WEO, I don't know what your lifestyle may be. And this is in no way intended to be an insult. But if you've never set foot in a gym, and never lifted a weight in your life to train for an athletic event, then it would best if this was something one did not comment on. As someone who not only has competed in bodybuilding contests but also played football AND is finishing up a Masters degree in Phys Education, I know a thing or two about lifting, muscular development, training, etc. There are differing philosophies out there about training. One only need turn on their television late at night to see the plethora of different equipment, routines, diets, etc all claiming to be the one to fix your spare tire! FAST! Likewise, as someone who has been training for several years and lived in several states, I have been and seen all kinds of approaches. There is a big difference between a World Gym or a Gold's Gym (or else there used to be- things are slowly changing for the worse) and a Bally's, or a BAC. Now, someone not familiar with training might just be sitting there in his pizza stained T-shirt, scratching his butt and thinking "it's all just weights, ain't it?" Perhaps the 1 word I can share that might bring this into perspective for you is Attitude. Some gyms are glorified spas. Bally's used to remind me of this. You have the nice designer workout gear, shiny new weights, actual gym policies that frown or even prohibit true building exercises like deadlifts or power cleans, and oh...what a social club it is. No one's sweating. People reading the freakin' newspaper while supposedly lifting weights. You don't go there to lift, you go there to talk and meet others. But some gyms are dungeons. Nothing shiny here. Sweat, grime, grunting, and pumping are the order of the day. Encouragement, hard work, pushing past limits rule the day. You can save the social stuff for the singles web sites, thank you very much. That's why I always loved the Fitness Factory in Kenmore. Now, which one do you suppose is going to produce the best results? Hard work and hustle, or a bunch of posers going through the motions? The attitude in a gym can make or break you. Heck, don't listen to me. Listen to the current Governor of California when he talks about choosing the right gym: "In the last 14 years I've found some gymnasiums I've felt incredibly good in- where I immediately got good vibrations and a sudden flow of energy because of the way they looked- and other gymnasiums that depressed me as soon as I walked through the door. I especially don't like the kind of gym that gives a sense of relaxation." (emphasis mine)- Arnold The Education of a Bodybuilder For the Buffalo Bills, Chan Gailey has it right in today's article. The TV's were a distraction. A weight room needs to be about work. If you want to win and achieve your goals, it takes sweat, hustle, and plenty of grit. If the weight room is somewhere nice that you go to "hang out"...then it is not set up for the right purpose. And if the other teams in the league are busting their rumps to get better, and you are using the weight room as a glorified resort, I can now understand where some of these injuries came from for the past few years.

I can't agree with that. In terms of value, I believe the Bills got much more value for trading Peters than they could have by keeping him. First off, they traded a former undrafted TE out of Arkansas and turned him into a Pro Bowl LT. Then, when Peters thought 'team' was spelled with a big 'I', they traded said undrafted college free agent for a 1st round pick and an additional one. Clearly, in terms of value for the player (hmmm...starting to sound like Darcy Regier, here), the Bills got much more bang for the buck than than what they initially paid. To get a 1st rounder for an undrafted player is a HUGE return on investment. NOW, in terms of detriment to the team that is the only place where I will side with you- but it must be stated with the caveat that it was poor planning and management that they did not seek out a replacement either in the draft or in free agency either before or after he was traded. Levi Jones did a pretty respectable job down here in DC. Oher- though a RT by trade- proved to be a stud for Baltimore. So, the guys were there. But that again is not to say that the Bills got the bad end of the stick on this deal by trading Peters. Where they DID screw up, was in not having an alternative plan ready to go when he did depart.

I don't think any QB this year is worth #1 billing. We should draft LT with #9 overall, and then quickly go NT at #41.

This is actually a good point. I don't know who his QB was at Indiana, but that was some excellent arm strength, accuracy, and elusiveness. One must also think about the level of competition at the college level as compared to the pros. Another thing to consider is that Hardy has been too damn injured to count on since he caught that TD pass against the Jags a couple of seasons ago. So QB, rookie/ development, and injuries have hampered his play. With Nix and Gailey sounding like they are going to go with Hardy and Johnson this year, we will see if they can develop.

Dude is a good dog killer. Dude has not the proper character to lead a boy scout troop, let alone a team of professional football players. Dude could run in Atlanta, but Dude could not pass himself to wins as his position would indicate (QB). Dude is done. We can do better.

That's ok. Trading a 2nd round pick for a 33 year old declining QB is not my preference, either.

Or they're not interested in Teblow....

And as I stated, where the Bills really screwed up was in not having a replacement. They were able to pay the equivalent of pennies on the dollar to develop Peters into a Pro Bowl LT. They then are able to trade that undrafted college free agent for a 1st round starting RG. The Bills got the best they could out of Peters, and then got great value in return. Find a replacement, and Peters is forgotten.

I like the idea, but Philly does not have the bargaining power here. As indicated in an article about this, they locked up Vick and think Kolb is the future. They will need to unload McNabb because he is going to want to be paid. A 2nd is way too high for a 33 year old QB- even of McNabb's stature. The highest I would go is a 4th. If that can't be done, then just hang tight because Philly is not going to keep 3 QB's on its roster of their caliber. If there are no takers, McNabb will be waived.

Considering that he went from an undrafted college tight end and was developed into a Pro Bowl LT and we got a 1st rounder plus an additional pick for him I think, IMHO, that the Bills got good value for him. As others have mentioned, we did select Wood, and I sincerely hope that he is fully recovered to play this season for what I pray will be a long and successful career with the Bills. What everyone seems to be forgetting is that this is a player, much like McGahee, that forgot who gave them their shot in the first place. I would argue that if not for the Bills investing the time and coaching into Peters to turn him into a LT, then any other team that would have given him a chance would have done so as a blocking TE, and he would probably have washed out of the league by now. I do understand the business side of it all, but both McGahee and Peters gave the Bills a raw deal for what Buffalo invested in these 2 players. Wood, barring injury, is an adequate trade for Peters (and apparently a better attitude). The team is greater than the individual. Peters held the Bills hostage for 2 consecutive seasons and was too interested in the self that he became a liability. His contract squabbling was not worth his talent. I still agree with the decision. What I do NOT agree with, is the lack of foresight to have found his replacement either through the draft of free agency that after he was jettisoned there was (and still is) a gaping hole at the position. Oher- though a RT by trade- may have been a good pick instead of Maybin. Levi Jones was serviceable in DC last season. There were options available. So, for me, it was not the trade itself as Peters IMO balked himself out of Buffalo (perhaps by design). It was the extreme idiocy in not having Plan B that still stings for me.

You know what I'd love to see? An interactive, online, Madden-type of game that would allow you to plug into the NFL, and get updated with trades, drafts, etc as they happen in "real time". A game that would allow you to go online with a bunch of friends, It would have a GM feature to it, where you could handle all of the trades, drafts, etc...and then could switch to the playing side of it and play the game as usual. It would be a big deal, total immersion type of game. You would control all aspects of your team.

Don't be silly. It's just a difference of opinion.

Again, it makes no sense to post an article that implies Nix is somehow asleep at the wheel if that is ALSO not the point you are trying to make. The original post made no effort to separate the two, claimed Graham to be a hack writer, or anything like that. If your point is to not agree with the original article, then say the same. If anyone is guilty of dropping a bomb and then running, its the original poster who made no attempt to explain his position. I don't have any problem with what Nix said. I applaud us for not following the Redskin free agency playbook and reaching and overspending on somebody else's garbage (read: Royal, Walker, and Dockery) on the 1st day of free agency. FINALLY, this puts the emphasis on the Bills to draft well, and develop their own talent instead of being an NFL farm team for the bigger teams in the league to strip away our best players every year or so. But if you don't agree with the article that you post as your thread, then atleast spend some time to explain your position. IMO anyone who bashes the new Bills front office about this before they even get started is being way to ridiculous in their expectations on how to actually BUILD a winning franchise. Granted, we have been starved of a winning football team for a good 10+ years. But Nix, Whaley, Gailey, etc have not even had a mini-camp yet. The draft is still practically a month away. It's way to early to be casting judgements about the performance of the front office.

On a positive note, I think what can be said is that Chan, Buddy, Whaley and crew have assessed the roster and have determined that Simmons and McKinney are expendable. Not worth retaining.

Why would you even start a thread about Nix being asleep when the rest of the league is "wheeling and dealing"? You are attempting to imply, that when the rest of the NFL is supposedly burning the midnight oil and competing to sign every free agent available, that somehow the new GM of the Bills (Nix) is too old, or too stupid to be doing the same thing as the other teams in the league and instead preferred to sleep. IF that is not your point, then creating a thread posting that article makes absolutely no sense.

And? 2 key statements: 1.) "We don't get excited about the first week or being up there at midnight and 12:01, signing somebody. We let it play itself out and make sure that the guys we get fit what we need and fill a need." and 2.) "We're looking to build something solid so we can win consistently," Nix said. "We're not just trying to do it this year and then start over every year. Winning consistently is our goal." You, and all of the other knee-jerk idiots out there must be total baffoons. You honestly don't think that Nix, Whaley, and crew don't know who the free agents are at every position? How were the Chargers built? I don't recall them making huge moves in free agency during the past decade, either. Funny, but the Colts don't seem to be active in free agency ever, either. Both of those teams build through the draft, and hold onto their own because they know what they have. This is a stupid post that tries to imply that the Bills are missing something. If I recall the NFL pro's about free agency this year, it has been said that this is a weak year for free agency and a strong one for the draft. So please, stop with the knee-jerk reactions and let's judge the offseason by the 2010 win-loss record and signs of improvement on the field.

You are right about that. Those were the days when the calls and the bounces went the way of the Bills. Once the greats retired, both the calls and the bounces went with them.

I can remember watching that kick sail wide right and sitting there, in our family's living room, stunned to silence like I was after watching Schindler's List in the theatre. After battling so hard, I just could not believe that had just happened.

Absolutely! One of the best summaries I have read to date. Orakpo is the real deal. Maybin, thus far, is a poser. I too remember the Schobel quote. I'd love to see Schobel have a "players only" meeting with Maybin, giving him swirlies and atomic wedgies until Maybin either cried or complied that he needed to be more accountable given his draft position. I sure hope Maybin does not go the road of Mike Williams.

Culpepper's days are behind him. It would be a terrible decision to sign someone like this.

YES! LT at #9, and either trade up again into the late 1st or pick the best NT available at pick #41.