Sisyphean Bills

Not only that, but he should be back in the talk about Coach of the Year honors. Lots of guys on IR and it's tough to win in the NFL.

Isn't sports talk where anybody with the ability to hit keys on a phone can call in and say something? Not exactly a high bar there.

Unfortunately, being a great guy isn't all there is to it. Few men that come out of boot camp would say that their drill sgt was a great guy, someone they just loved to death, and a guy that made coming to work an immense joy. But, a drill sgt's job isn't to be every recruits' best friend. His job is to rip away egos and forge a team in the most competitive job there is -- losing is literal death. The NFL is not life and death and I am not comparing football to the military. The point I am making is that successfully coaching football is about building a team, sacrifice, and unwavering focus on the ultimate mission. Crushing young men's dreams of playing in the NFL or, more precisely, playing on an NFL champion team is a heartless and ruthless job, and not something one can be particularly "nice" about.

Here's something to puff out a Bills fan's chest. The Bills are in the vanguard of playing hardball. Only team to lose the #1 overall pick to the CFL. I mean they went out of their way to piss Cousineau off. And, then there was Jim Kelly. Course, we forget that because he eventually came to town and when new front office leadership took the reins.

That is exactly why having a first-class scouting department, one that understands the value of a player in the system they are in and how/if it can translate to your own systems, are so damn valuable. That way, one isn't simply wearing a blindfold and tossing darts at a wall.

Anybody that thinks Bill Parcells is looking at Chad Pennington as anything more than a stop-gap caretaker for his offense while he continues to rebuild the Dolphins for a real Super Bowl run is self-deluded. Parcells isn't going to sit on South Beach, watching the bikinis, and assuming his job is over after a good run this season. I'm sure he understands that this year the AFC East caught a big break and played a big-time patsy schedule. Funny if Cassel ends up a Dolphin, eh?

Not disagreeing with any of this, but I'd add that on the way to victory, I'd like to see a QB that "comes of age" show that he has complete mastery of his offense and that the opponent, with a good solid defense, is held absolutely helpless to do much of anything to stop him. That would be "coming of age". Eeking out a miracle win with less than a half of effective offensive football is not even "getting it done", let alone coming of age and establishing oneself as an elite NFL QB.

Thanks for the clarification. Of course, the Steelers don't draft in the top of the order much regardless of who's in their front office. Odd thing about successful franchises, that.

This doesn't actually jive with the data. Here are the number of first day draft choices by position for the Steelers while Donahoe was part of the action there. 8 WR 7 OL 6 DL 5 LB 3 DB 2 RB 2 TE 2 QB The WR position was hit regularly, but the Steelers had a significant number of busts there. Jeff Graham, Andre Hastings, Charles Johnson, Will Blackwell, and Troy Edwards. Other than WR, the Steelers focused on the OL and defensive front seven and hit very good to superior talent regularly.

definition: Coming of age A wide open Brandon Stokley slipping in the back of the endzone and falling on his face as the ball sails harmlessly over his sprawling body.

Wrong. The divisional format is to maintain and foster rivalries, which are seen as a key marketing component of the league's general success.

I don't get it. The only commonality between these two disparate points is that Sullivan happens to be one of Wilson's critics. Sullivan isn't the living embodiment of criticism of Wilson, so "sticking to the real topic" as you put it, "the quality of Sullivan as a columnist," is a red herring for anyone that is leveling criticism at Wilson and about his management of the Bills. It is entirely consistent to be both highly critical of Sullivan's columns and Wilson's unsuccessful direction of the Buffalo Bills. (To be clear, by unsuccessful, I mean that Wilson has never brought an NFL championship to Buffalo. It's difficult to say if just having an NFL team outweighs that the team is commonly seen as a doormat, non-contender to the average Joe Plumber on the street.) As far as Wilson's response to Sullivan's personal comments, the old gentleman still has some spunk and wit.

Oh, c'mon! We won today without him. He sucks. Just cut the bum!

Because, ... ahem ..., he's doddering?

He must mean 11 wins over 2 successive seasons.

Sometimes it suffices to be lucky.

Lynch had 34 yards. "Nobody" wins! (That has an ironic ring to it. )

Well, Shawn Michaels, I said the Bills would finish 7-9 back in August. Glad that Dick (possibly) bailed me out on that prediction.

If the Donkeys finish 8-8 then they are not a winning team!

7-8! YES!

He's had 20 starts. That's plenty!

Having a #1 receiver is a nice thing for an NFL offense.

I remember him running some fly route bombs at Wisconsin. He had great straight line speed. What ever happened to that kid anyway? Did he decide to play baseball?

Do they really put WRs that are completely invisible in most games in the Pro Bowl?!?

Ralph? That you?