HankBulloughMellencamp

No wonder he responded so well to Marvcus Levy's coaching. Actually, Patton went on to have a decent career with the Washington football team after his time in Buffalo.

Wait a sec ... a few minutes ago, I wrote: "I don’t wish #13 any ill will, I liked the guy. His time here is simply over." ... are you Rick Reilly?

In both cases, they were inherited guys that the staff saw some things in, enough that they got on the field. When a new regime takes over, they have to undertake the process of mining through what is already there. Ex: they saw zilch in LB Kelvin Sheppard, and got Hughes for him. I’d rather highlight the fact that once they realized these guys just couldn’t cut it, it was not long before they were out of here… in Colin Brown’s case, right after week 4 or whatever. Same goes for the punter Powell. Anyway, this year’s "team that Whaley built" is the result of two drafts and two offseasons, so these are his guys. I like what has been developed everywhere except QB. I have to believe they sign a vet in favor of Tuel or Lewis.

I've been to camp twice, it is hardly happy talk. He's been right in the middle on the wrap-ups for a lot of run plays I saw. The guy is build like a tank, and reminds me of Marvcus Patton quite a bit. Plus, although his mother may not have also played football, he did produce as a top tackler/leader of a defense in college.

Just so I can point out what I hope is obvious to most Bills fans: · there is a fair chance Stevie gets cut from the 49ers · there is a 0% chance the Bills will bring Stevie in if this happens. He was consciously removed from the team to open things up for Watkins, Williams, Woods and Goodwin, all of whom are better for us moving forward. And I can’t imagine Marrone would feel he was someone we’d need to bring back around for leadership purposes or special teams play. And with all due respect, it’s not like you’d want them to insert him into the game at crunchtime or anything, would you? He lost me at the end of the year (and surely some of his teammates) with his complete lack of accountability for his fumble vs. Atlanta in Toronto. Chandler made the exact same mistake, but owned it like a man… like you should after a tough loss. I don’t wish #13 any ill will, I liked the guy. His time here is simply over.

Hilariously great point. Anything pre-Nix can not be tagged on the current regime whatsoever. And so what if Cyrus is struggling? He may not be ready for game action yet, but will likely develop into their swing tackle at worst in the next year or so.

Great post, pretty much nails it in my mind. I know some guys were miffed about the Sat/Sun practices after a preseason road win. I was at the Saturday practice, and it was quite a light approaching-walk-through affair in terms of intensity. But I have to get this off my chest … and let me first state that Fred is one of my favorite Bills ever. I don’t really remember him making many, if any, bonehead mistakes or negative plays. The few fumbles he has coughed up were on plays where he was literally concussed, to my best recollection. Surely I am not the only one who raised an eyebrow at his almost Stevie-like comments that actually came from the polar opposite of #13 (in terms of a team spokesman & lead-by-example type). So I am only trying to understand what was implied by Fred’s comments, as they seemed perhaps a bit out of character for #22. We all know him as the team leader, an underrated guy from day one, heart and soul of the team, division III, etc. I heard a rumor a few months back that Fred has had some difficulties dealing with the concussions he has suffered in his career, and that it was all being kept hushed by the Bills FO and team press. It swirled about in the pre-draft timeframe, and then Whaley went out and made the trade for Bryce Brown during the draft after supposedly considering Carlos Hyde in the 2nd. So at the time, the grapevine talk supported what I had heard. After Fred’s comments this week, maybe he really is in a type of self-preservation mode. It seems as if he is mainly thinking of how the practices will translate into potentially additional head blows for him as guys try to make their respective teams. I can’t imagine it is easy to ignore the possibility of more collisions that may have already begun to turn your brain/cognitive skills to mush when you have several youngsters crawling all over you once you are home.

I really like your thoughts in this post, and I loved the presser. This is the kind of coach I have been waiting for … someone who will step up and change the “acceptance of mediocrity” culture we seem to have witnessed getting perfected around here for 14 years. Of course Marrone knows he has to win more than 6 games, starting right now, to stick around for next season. And of course he knows he has a roster chock full of talent everywhere except quarterback, which has three sizeable question marks, none larger than EJ. But this was also his somewhat Belichick-esque (and perhaps a bit patronizing) way of setting the tempo with the media for the coming season. I don’t think we need to have a pity party for the poor media, who caught some guff from the mean football coach who has a much taller order in front of him than just writing conventional wisdom about the last game/practice. exactly.

Yep, agree on the QBs, Vince Ferragamo, Joe Dufek, Matt Kofler, Bruce Mathison, etc were all bums. Willie Totten was a decent scab, along with Todd Schlopy at K. They beat the LT-led Giants, 6-3 I think. Wow, LT needed cash flow that badly, huh?

Showing my age, but here is a quick list of names that were either All-Preseason and/or just never fulfilled that promising future we hoped they’d have: WR = Bucky Brooks QB = Brian McClure RB = Jacques Robinson, Rene Ingoglia G = Mark Traynowicz C = Leonard Burton T = Robert Hicks TE = Lonnie Johnson MLB = Dan Brandenberg OLB = Monty Brown DE = Chidi Ahanotu DT = Reggie Rogers S = John Hagy CB = Filmel Johnson KR = Errol Tucker

Brian Moorman. Not really a huge surprise, but he clearly outperformed Moorman at the camp practice I saw. Dombrowski kicks absolute bombs with great hang time and has a very quick get-off. If he spends more and more time as the placekick holder, that will be a telltale sign Moorman is done.

Woodman, I am right on your wavelength. And out of great respect for your affinity for redheads and/or high school girls, I will have to give this one a try.

Great thread, many great mentions, so I’ll offer my 2 cents: Pilsners/Lagers: Just say OV – and usually for a great price. Blue and Blue Light are as solid as they come. IPAs: Lots of great options like Ithaca Flower Power IPA and Dogfish Head 60-90-120 etc, but for my money, Victory’s HopDevil never disappoints and will have you well on your way after two. Brown Ales: I love Rusty Chain from Flying Bison, but ultimately there is nothing that gets me going like a few Newcastle Brown Ales – truly the one and only. Porters/Stouts: Guinness Extra Stout, obviously. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald is quite splendid, and being a Gordon Lightfoot fan is just icing on the cake for me. Summer Beers: Sierra Nevada Summerfest is highly enjoyable, and I recommend giving Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat a try. “In it for the long haul”: Hard to argue with the superior drinkability of Bud Light, but if your money is right, Heineken is time tested & has always been good to me the next day. I always hear people complain about it’s skunkiness, but I can’t say I have ever run into a problem with it. Oh, and I like everything I have tried from Southern Tier Brewing.

Lebron going back to Cleveland might be the best thing that could have happened to young Johnny Manziel. If Johnny Stinkfinger approaches his pro career with a similar focus & work ethic that Lebron has, the Browns will be quite a factor in the coming years.

I could not agree more with this. Robey was a great find, and made some spectacular plays, but a legit NFL corner is a legit NFL corner, and McKelvin has become that. The contract he signed before last year (that seemingly 90% of this board was upset with) now seems like a relative pittance for what he offers. Most teams overpay for experienced corners, and as Buddy liked to say, you can never have enough of ‘em. I don’t hate Joe B … he works very hard at his job, and surely loves what he does. If anything, I am envious of him. But when he is a guest on WGR, he constantly talks in generalities, and hedges his bet on almost everything. He pretends to know the nuances of line play, and he doesn’t. I am not saying I know more, but I am in total agreement with PTR ... it’s as if he is trying to BS his way through tough interview questioning.

Hilarious – thanks for sharing. Loved seeing Fred “posterize” Marrone & seeing/hearing all the players go crazy in response. That whole ‘someone sneaks up and holds up a basketball backboard behind an unsuspecting victim and someone else comes in strong to the rack for the dunk’ thing is a creation that could only have been created and/or popularized at a Ralph Wilson Stadium tailgate. It is so funny to see the victim struggle to try to understand what is going on – some even have the keen basketball awareness to try to get out of the way of impending posterization. I only wish I had originally seen this phenomenon in person while tailgating myself.

Me too, man. For my money, his current Sirius show is as good now as anything he has ever done. Sure I miss the days of Jackie, Artie and even the WOR days like a lot of people, but his guests are his muse, and those that come on the show all seem to have a ton of fun with Howard and the gang as he pushes the envelope during the interviews. Howard has such an entertaining way of interacting with people, and his questions cut right to the heart of the matter. This is probably not unlike what his psychologist surely does with him in his oft-referred-to psychotherapy sessions that he is such a proponent of. Howard’s recent interviews with Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Donovan, Chelsea Handler, and others all made for spectacularly entertaining listening. And his storytellers-like thing he did Billy Joel was quite cool. He is truly the King of all media.

Relax, guys, he is probably just trying to pay down Kim and the girls’ 0% credit cards before the higher rates kick in.

Back in 2012, the way Reilly strong-arms Stuart Scott into saying Reilly was “first on twitter” with the report on Roethlisberger’s injury was quite awkward and the true mark of a douchebag. Watch Steve Young’s reaction – it is priceless. http://deadspin.com/...tag=rick-reilly

It's an instantaneous source of news and information. You have to follow the right accounts, and from what I have seen, most people follow far too few accounts. My best advice is to follow your interests, and get your follows up over 500 minimum. If an account is generating nonsense into your feed, just unfollow them. Twitter also has a high comedic value, especially during awards shows and live sporting events. Quick example: during last night’s NBA finals game, someone tweeted something to the effect of “I bet Popovich eats room temperature canned soup for dinner every night.” I absolutely <3 twitter.

Vote has been cast – good luck! And as someone who barely survived the Dawg pound (wearing Bills garb) for the shootout in the Cleveland wild card game, I have the utmost respect for & confidence in someone who watched Christie’s clutch kick and then had to suffer through Wycheck’s forward lateral in person. It must have been brutal exiting that stadium.

I mostly stuck with the NFLN feed during the draft. But since you mentioned Ray Ray, after I reviewed the DVR for the ESPN 1st round coverage, I have to say I was mildly surprised to see Lewis stationed on the set with Mel, Gruden, and Boomer. There is no doubt #52 is one of the all-time greats at his (or any) position. But when ESPN hired him, I probably had some of the same preconceived notions of his TV prospects as many of you – undeserving, murder accomplice, etc. I came away very impressed with what Lewis had to offer to the broadcast & what his thoughts were on each player. He thoroughly explained his convictions – ok sorry, poor choice of words there – on top guys like Watkins and Mack. All in all, he was far more informative and insightful than Gruden, who basically only offered a “Gee, I think they should take Johnny Football” as each selection came due. And back to the topic of this thread, if you are at all optimistic about the direction of the Bills unde the Dougs, the interview with Chris Simms is a must-listen. I am now a fan of his broadcast work, and will hunt him down on twitter.

C'mon Russ, this is merchandising 101... No one in Buffalo owns a Brad Smith jersey, so no worries about "name patch only" sales. These will all be fresh purchases, man!

Great thread. I had already checked the Bills website a few times before seeing this, so thanks for the legwork. And I agree with most of your guesses & logic; Preston Brown will be looking solid in 52. I am especially hoping you are right and Watkins goes with 16. 2 to the 4th power is 16, and it’s a beautiful looking even number. Brandon better get on the stick, they could already be selling hundreds of these. Also, 16 was my old # back in the day. Dwight Gooden, Joe Montana, it even looked good on Jay Riemersma when he was at Michigan. My sons will be sporting Watkins gear either way, but especially if 16 is the choice.

great post They got more for Stevie than I thought they'd be able to at this point. With the possible exception of going all-in on EJ, I can't think of a move Whaley has made that didn't make sense to me. I wish Stevie well, but am glad we did not waste one minicamp rep on him at the expense of Watkins, Williams, Woods or Goodwin.