Red

There's still a lot of football left, and I could see our Bills winning 2 more games. Certainly the Bengals are right there for the taking. Even so, if we end up dropping to 3rd or 4th overall, and those top QB's are gone...I say go pass rush, baby! We desperately need the next Bruce Smith as much as we need the next Jim Kelly. That will not be a wasted pick (as long as Modrak is not doing the scouting), if we go for the best pass rusher/ d lineman available. Man, that does suck. It would be atleast 3 years before we could even have a shot at him- assuming that he performs as good on the college stage as he has in high school. 3 years from now I don't see the Bills being in the basement (atleast I freakin' hope not!), and will probably be starting to round that corner into respectability. That would probably put us right in the middle of the pack/ Top 20 teams. Darn.

Good article. Though I do understand the movement away from Owens, he was productive for us and made Evans look pedestrian. For such an outspoken and opinionated @$$ as T.O. has proven during his career, this was a pretty classy piece. He could have easily torn the City a new one, but didn't. That's a surprise. But I have to say that I love the Edwards bashing from a professional.

Where's the flaming turd avatar? I'd like to find it and drop it on Heitz's head. Then stomp on it!!

The helmet is actually pretty cool. The rest of it, however, sucks.

FINALLY! They have been playing really solid for the past 3 weeks, so they could easily be 4-5. Improvement started right after the bye week, and that hard fought OT battle against Baltimore. KC was a solid effort, as was the game against the Bears. I'm glad we finally we able to put one away. Thanks to Chan, Buddy, and the new powers that be (not you, Modrak) for this one. GO BILLS!

Phew! It was this thing again. For a moment there, I thought they were going to inherit the thankfully discarded Sabres 'Slug' logo or something.

I must concur. I'm not waiting another year to conclude that Maybin is a bigger bust than anything Dolly Parton is toting around these days. Shame. It would be nice if Modrak could actually scout something that came to fruition sometime this decade (oh, wait...he's already had a decade). They say the draft is a crap shoot. With Modrak at the helm of scouting, its been just plain crap for over 10 years now.

Wow! Talk about terrible! And I thought his Fro-hawk was bad. Now this?!!?!? Sheesh.... The thing about Maybin, is that Aaron "Mayhem" Maybin is actually a pretty cool name...IF HE EVEN PLAYED A SMIDGEON CLOSE TO HIS DRAFT STATUS!!!!! I want to believe so badly that this is not just another terribly scouted job by Modrak and Co., but as time rolls on I can't help but think that Maybin is a colossal joke. Worse than Mike Williams. As in: B-A-D bad.

I love Steve Young, man. It was always between him and Kelly, IMO. If we did not have Kelly, I thought Young was an awesome QB. There was a game played in the USFL between these 2 greats (like that 34-30 Bills win over San Fran in '91?), and it was back-and-forth. I don't think he should be fired. The ones who should be canned are the entire CBS Sunday pre-game "show". Marino is a pansy, Esiason is a dork, Cowher mumbles and spits too much, and Sharpe is the biggest clown currently working for the NFL. A terribly boring, ridiculous crew. I feel sorry for James Brown. He's got nothing to work with. Have you seen the ESPN 30 for 30? That series is pretty cool. 60 minutes for sports geeks...love it!

Yeah, I'd have to agree with Johnson on this one. Schopp is a bonehead who somehow stays employed. He adds nothing to the dialogue or drama; unless brainless banter rates high on the scale for ratings. When you are a second rate hack, grasping and clawing to create your own drama and acting under the guise of "informed opinion", you are prone to say stupid things like that and think you speak Gospel. Not that I'd know that for sure... Nice language. Way to lead by example. How is he not an impact player for the Bills? how's that #1 pick out of Wisconsin performing this year compared to Johnson? Who has more touchdowns? Of the two, which one is making more money? Not an impact player. Please. Put down the 6 pack, take a cold shower, and wake up. Johnson is emerging into a pleasant surprise for a 7th round pick.

That was a cool interview. I always liked Moulds too, and thought he should have gotten more from the Bills than a couple of playoff games. Man, the QB's he had to play with...Kelly, Collins, Van Pelt, Flutie, Johnson, Holcomb, Bledsoe, Losman... He was an iron man. Towards the end of his career it was obvious that he was just not fast enough to separate from defenders. He became an excellent possession receiver. We could have kept him for another season or two at a lesser role. But I just do not understand the Flutie benching coming from "higher up". As a coach, that would tick me off to no avail. Before a playoff game? To gain what, exactly? You dance with the girl that went with you. Period. Dropping your ticket when you get to where you wanted to go is not only classless, its stupid. I'd love to find out who these "higher ups" are. I'd be willing to bet that they are the same ones that keep Modrak employed, allowed Winfield, Williams, and Fletcher to walk, selected Maybin instead of Orakpo or Oher, Whitner instead of Ngata, and on, and on, and on.

Watching highlights, and looking at your list, I would rate them as: 1.) Marcell Dareus- monster. 2.) Nick Fairley- A Kyle Williams clone. Scary. Penetrating interior D-lineman. 3.) Adrian Clayborn- solid, point-of-attack type of DE. 4.) Da'Quan Bowers- so-so. 5.) Akeem Ayers- This guy spends as much time standing up as he does in a 3 point stance. Seems a bit light, too. More OLB than DE. But if NC's Quinn is available in Round 2, I'd certainly take him there.

I LIKEY!! Any word on where this guy is projected to go? I would say that he reminds me more of Reggie White or Dwight Freeney more so than the great B. Smith. Bruce beat players with that incredible 1st step and counter moves. Reggie and Dwight are awesome using angles and the other player to obtain a release and get into the backfield. Quinn does not seem to have that Bruce Smith cat-like 1st step. Which is not a knock by any means. He gets there! I would love it if we could get a guy like this in the 2nd, after getting maybe a Luck in the 1st. Or not. As long as he came to town and performed like that, I say just get him!

Interesting. Does anybody know if this guy is any good? Any upside?

This is a quality depth and special teams signing. As Nix has said, this team will be slowly improving. We're getting rid of the bottom rung players, and replacing them with more talented ones. Sure, the names might not mean anything- and I am not indicating we have Pro Bowl talent now- but I think we are no longer sitting still in terms of personnel. If it's not working, we're moving on. I like the turnover. That and the much-inspired play of the past 3 weeks has me happy with the direction of the team again.

Indeed. This would satisfy our two biggest needs of franchise QB and pass rusher.

I think that you may be reading a bit too much into the offense we have right now. I think Gailey is simply looking for something that we do well; something that works. From there we can build. I don't think that we will continue this approach 2 years from now. Or even next season (if there is one). But we need to put the best product on the field that is possible. If that is passing 75% of the time, then so be it. Strategically speaking, I agree with you...we can't keep this up forever. But for right now, with what we have, its working. Atleast in scoring and moving the chains. They are getting it done. And I think that you can't dismiss the spirit these guys are showing since returning from the bye week. This is a different team. They are no longer being pushed around by anyone. We have our shortcomings, sure (no pass rush, no run game, can't stop the run very well). But we are improving. Merriman should help. Getting a solid draft in April should too. We're on the right track. GO BILLS!

I agree. Baltimore and KC were supposed to destroy us. Both games went to OT. This one today almost did, too. Gailey is establishing an identity. Gone are those distractions of Edwards (his star faded), Lynch (might as well get something for him), Hardy (sucked from Day 1), Mitchell (anyone even remember this guy) and a whole host of Tier 2 players that never hurt us, but never helped us win either. What we have now is a solid bunch of players, who are leaving it on the field. Kyle Williams is really emerging as a stalwart. The bane of my Bills fandom- Kelsay- even showed an uncanny hustle to the ball that he has not shown in maybe his entire career. Howard is doing a solid job at RT. Bell is emerging at LT. Fitz is getting it done. Does anyone else seem to realize that we are finally converting on 3rd down AND scoring TD's (something that was always lacking under Mauron)? Not only that, but we're finally stopping opposing teams on a regular basis from converting on their 3rd and longs. Sure, we need a lot of help both in running the ball and stopping the run. We need somebody who can consistently get to the passer. Better run blockers. But this team is not lying down like I expected them to. They are fighting. And fighting well. Yes, I think the culture of losing is changing. Even though the record does not show it.

I don't know. This is a better team than anything Jauron put together. The record certainly does not indicate it, but we are finding an identity. Through hard work. Today was a 3rd consecutive week of taking it down to the wire. Much better than earlier in the season. The only 2 items I am bummed about is the lack of any kind of a consistent pass rush and no running game to speak of. But Bell seems to be doing much better at LT. Cordaro Howard seems to be another one of those free agent finds. The culture is changing, boys. The record may not indicate it, but this team is starting to build a foundation.

Reminds me of that time in the movie, The Program, when the steroid-ed out defensive lineman is off the juice, and can't compete anymore. He then goes back on the gear, and regains that edge...but at the cost of his soul.

Well said. The only other CFL player that I can think of that came to the NFL and had a terrific career is Warren Moon. Flutie was pretty good in both, too. But you are right, there is not a huge degree of success in that transition. Maybe a handful in the past decade? Who knows what went into Wake's brain when he was making his decision. I can remember reading this, and thinking why are the Bills always coming up short on these guys? Like the interview with Gregg Williams last year about almost drafting Drew Brees. How do we consistently miss on these? Or like has been mentioned here: Whitner over Ngata. Maybin over Orakpo or Oher. Letting Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, and London Fletcher leave via free agency. It's a series of horrible decisions, strung together over time, that tells the tale for this franchise and our current plight. Signing Merriman, IMO, if nothing else, is a sign that the people in charge of football operations get it. We need players. Even if he is a shell of his former self- his former self was pretty good- steroid-induced or not. I wonder what happens to Kelsay in all of this? Ultimately, this is my conclusion as well. It's just boneheaded. With Wake, you did not know what you were getting and if he would transition well to the Pro game. Well, as mentioned here hindsight is 20/20. However, when you need something like a pass rusher you don't let your division rival of all places to get that player. Now, Wake had a side in all of this too. And thinking of the bikini's and beaches in Miami probably had something to do with it. All I am saying is that I would have made it really difficult for him to choose Miami over the Bills. Millions more difficult. You also mention Cornell Green and Kelsay. These are but 2 examples of the terrible decisions being made at OBD on personnel for the past decade. You'll throw money after Robert Royal, Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, Darwin Walker, Larry Triplett, Aaron Maybin...but let proven, solid, Pro Bowl vets like Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, and London Fletcher walk right out of town without so much as an offer. I know Modrak is bad, and Guy was terrible, but these kinds of decisions are what has hurt this franchise. Winning franchises don't let studs like Williams, Winfield, and Fletcher walk away...they BUILD around them. All 3 of them are still contributing. Still stalwarts. And those were a good 5 years of production that we lost out on so that we could keep Kelsay, Dockery, Royal, Walker, etc.... We have struck out on decisions way too much this decade. I'm hoping that the Merriman signing helps to reestablish some sort of attitude and success on the field the way the old Bills built via Plan B. Leonard Smith, Mark Kelso, Kenneth Davis, Art Still. These Plan B finds eventually led the way for even better players. I hope that we are starting to turn the corner.

Hey Sean, I too wrote this D-bag, and apparently he just carbon copies his response. I will include my email and his response as well: "Paul: Thank you very much for taking the time to write. Hugely appreciated. The column was written tongue in cheek. I very much like Buffalo. Nice city, great people. Most people seemed to get the sarcasm. I apologize if I offended. Not my intent. Best, and thanks for writing in. It is appreciated. Jeff jeffpearlman.com Dear Mr. Pearlman, Ah, nothing like bringing out the proverbial weather-bashing of Buffalo gag (like that hasn't been pummeled to death, buried, then dug back up and run over by a bus for the past 3 decades). What's the matter: running a tad low on substantive material? Reading re-tread garbage like this, I have begun to wonder why nobody every complains about Canada. Toronto is one of the top 5 largest cities in North America; yet we here no grumbling about the weather North of the border. Granted, there are alot more things to do and see in a City that size, but what about Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and Edmonton (sorry, my knowledge of Canadian cities is limited to teams in the NHL- places where hockey belongs- contrary to cites such as Phoenix, Carolina, Tampa, etc)? It would seem to me, that the people of those regions make the best of their situations, and live life. Heck, I don't know why I'm looking so far North...I can't imagine downtown Green Bay, WI having anything of a Willis McGahee-style nightlife. Chicago sure is large and bustling with Progressive hacks and criminals in their government, but it didn't get the name of the Windy City for nothing. Minnesota is notably colder (note the dome where they play football), and Cleveland and its crazily famous reason tourists just flood the area every year (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) (yeah, right) are right on par with Buffalo. I lived in Los Angeles, CA for several years, and have to say that it can be beautiful. San Diego- heaven on earth. Well, except for the ever-present possibility of earth quakes, wild fires, mud slides (all it does in January is rain), and the constant run of illegal aliens one has to wonder what is not to love. Home is where you make it. Every place has its problems. And one other thing....Bruce Mathison, who?"

Reading re-tread garbage like this, I have begun to wonder why nobody every complains about Canada. Toronto is one of the top 5 largest cities in North America, yet we here no grumbling about the weather North of the border. Granted, there are alot more things to do and see in a City that size, but what about Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and Edmonton (sorry, my knowledge of Canadian cities is limited to teams in the NHL)? It would seem to me, that the people of those regions make the best of their situations, and live life. Heck, I don't know why I'm looking so far North...I can't imagine downtown Green Bay, WI having anything of a Willis McGahee-style nightlife. Chicago sure is large and bustling with Progressive hacks and criminals in their government, but it didn't get the name of the Windy City for nothing. Minnesota is notably colder (note the dome where they play football), and Cleveland and its crazily famous reason tourists just flood the area every year (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) (yeah, right) are right on par with Buffalo. I lived in Los Angeles, CA for several years, and have to say that it can be beautiful. San Diego- heaven on earth. Well, except for the ever-present possibility of earth quakes, wild fires, mud slides (all it does in January is rain), and the constant run of illegal aliens one has to wonder what is not to love. Home is where you make it. Every place has its problems.

I love Maybin's "luggage" walk whenever he's on the field. He looks absolutely ridiculous doing it, but you all have seen it. Of course the steroid monsters have it, but I especially laugh at the twiggies that lift a weight then walk around like they are gargantuan. Maybin is one of those latter kind of posers. Arms far out to the sides like he's something. Let's face it...Maybin has been a colossal bust of yet another Modrak scouting job and 1st round pick, and he will never amount to anything. Oh, what'd I give for Orakpo or Oher right about now... Waitammiinit....2 negatives cancel themselves out... I say Maybin coming around the right side, Merriman is coming around the left (nobody bothers to block either one of them because its a draw play up the middle), and low-and-behold our lone stud on the D-line Mr. Williams stacks up the RB behind the line of scrimmage, and as he proceeds to grind him to the ground Maybin and Merriman jump on. Afterwards, they individually start to celebrate like they blew up the play, then they both pause, look one another over, and casually walk away to their respective sides of the field. Maybin...ofcourse...does the "luggage" walk....

And I agree with you. The collective funk this Bills team has been in (Dallas Monday nighter where the Dallas kicker boots some 50+ yarder to win) only adds Lindell into it too. We expect defeat. But watching him nail that 50 yarder under the circumstances he was under, truly spoke to the game that they played. This was refreshing. I tell ya, if the officials did not blow the Nelson "fumble", we would have won.