transient

It would be interesting to get a look at the boards he put together and see where some of these players were graded compared to where we took them, as well as see where he had other players that were not taken by the Bills. If his is not a prominent voice in the war room, then his biggest failing would seem to be not standing up and shouting like a man possessed when they were bypassing obvious talent. Given that Nix is a personnel man and Modrak is still here, it is telling. You also have to think Modrak is smarter than we give him credit for when he declined the opportunity to be GM after Donahoe was fired.

I've always thought this "cash to cap" philosophy was a result of teams carrying tons of dead cap space from signing bonuses of players that ultimately were bad signings. The Bills went to it after the end of the Butler era when they purged the team and couldn't use 1/3 of their cap because it was taken up by amoratized bonuses that had "come due" because the player was cut. When done right, it gives you the freedom to shape your roster year to year, as you point out with the Steelers and Colts. It is not a de facto way of doing things on the cheap, as so many believe. I read somewhere (can't remember where, so no link) that instead of a ton of upfront money that is spread out across the life of the contract, the Bills and other teams get around it by paying roster bonuses from year to year.

If the goal of my "project" was to make it to the playoffs or SB, and this new person helped me do it whereas the old person who's place he took didn't, then I guess my "project" was better off with the new person and I'd have to shut my mouth and deal with it, now wouldn't I. Unless of course I was the person who was kicked to the curb... then I should have played better in the first place.

Yeah... unless, of course, you thought that an upgrade at DE would have helped you win that one game last year that would have put you in the playoffs. Then you might not really give a **** if he was in training camp with you or not.

While I agree with what you're saying, the constant 3 and outs by the offense didn't help any. The defense had a tendency to fade toward the end of the third quarter because of it.

I didn't have any milk available to shoot out of my nose, so I had to make do with the apple I was eating.

LMAO. That horrid visual made me shoot a chunk of apple outta my nose.

IIRC, he made several of these comments in a recent Sanchez sucks thread, where he was doing a lot of Dirty Sanchez ball washing. Interesting. http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/118018-sanchez-is-so-bad/page__hl__sanchez__st__20

Die Hard, enjoyed your posts. Gotta say, though, the fact that you were a player is immaterial on a message board based on anonymity. If you are entering a fan site you have to expect that there will be discussion of everything Bills, including who sucks, who doesn't, who's overpaid, who's underpaid, etc. The fact is this message board, the local watering hole, the water cooler at work... it's all the court of public opinion. This board EXISTS to serve it, otherwise tell me what the point of it is. You don't have to agree with it, and if it offends you you needn't partake in it. To come here expecting that the topics you mentioned wouldn't be discussed is naive... it's what fans do. That's not to say that I agree with every cursing, head bashing, bad mouthing post, but others are entitled to their opinions just as I'm entitled to mine. Freedom of speech can be a B word sometimes. I'd also like to say that while some people are probably a little louder and a little more brash when hidden behind their keyboards, the world as a whole is not as nice a place as it used to be, it's not just this message board. Is it life imitating art, or art imitating life. The sense of entitlement on the planet is getting offensive. The fact that we live in a "me-first" and an "instant gratification" society is getting offensive. With each passing day it seems there is less civility in the world. The opinions on this board are but a microcosm of the world we live in. We can either work to change it or we can get used to it.

All but bit parts on her way to a starring role on Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew!

Certainly Bryan Cox was up there. I remember the double finger salute he gave to fans at the Ralph, obviously. If we're only going player during playing days (as opposed to, say, Marshall Faulk the douchebag commentator), I'd also have to say Marino, Romanowski, anyone on the 90 Giants, 91 Redskins, 92-93 Cowboys, especially Irvin, Barry Switzer doesn't count as a player, but you get the idea (hated that ass), Bruschi, Zach Thomas (damn four foot tall, no neck freak), Flutie's ego , that ass kicker from Indy (you're a kicker, you're replaceable, you don't have a voice) Vanderjagt; Jerramy Stevens, Vick, and any other degenerate felon (I'm all for second chances to a point, but come on)... wow... I've barely scratched the surface... kinda sad... I'm an angry, hate-filled man... if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go look into some anger management classes, now.

I feel cheated that fans didn't get to see what Sanders could do on a real team, though it would have been unfair to opposing defenses to have to worry about trying to stop him if he was ever on a legitimate offense.

Not having seen him for so long, you forget just how amazing Sanders's balance was. It wasn't just that he could run around defenders or change direction and make them miss, if they did get their hands on him, he was just as likely to bounce off of them, put one hand on the ground, and take off in a different direction at full speed. I don't think CJ's got quite the same balance.

Another way of looking at that is after Tom Donahoe lost the power struggle (lucky us), Cowher took them to 1 SB title, two other division championship games, and two other playoff seasons in 7 years. It happened to coincide with NE*'s dominance, taking away from the accomplishment, some. He and the front office left the team in a pretty good position after he left, as evidenced by the SB win the following year.

Haven't had the chance to see the Bengals game yet, but from what I've seen from him prior, it's not just that he's fast, it's that he knows just how to use it. Backs can run flat out from the start, and good defenders can get the angle on them, but if they understand that and have the field vision, they're deadly. He looks like someone who knows how to get defenders to commit before flashing that burst. Three games in and he's already setting up NFL defender for the big whiff. Kid is an ankle breaker that is going to make a lot of good defenders look foolish.

Spillsie... thought I was in the Aud Club on SabreSpace.

Actually, I'm not a huge TE supporter. I had to cut my last post short. I was also not thumping my chest about his stats saying they were good. But stats are stats, and they are better than Sanchez's from last year (as are TE's stats from LAST season in a MUCH worse situation). I don't know if TE will regain his confidence or not. RIGHT NOW, his head is his biggest problem. But, he started as a rookie and didn't look out of place in the league on a bad team. He looked like he could manage a game. I would argue based on Sanchez's play last season that the same cannot be said of him. In fact, I would argue that if Sanchez had been put in TE's situation, he would have been written off as a bust by now as well. As I re-read your post, I gotta say "What?". So despite the fact that TE's stats were better in his rookie season on a worse team, and by your own admission Sanchez sucked most of last season on a better team, Sanchez is the better QB based on... ? I guess that would have to be the ever elusive potential, cuz it can't be based on production. He may ultimately turn out better, but as of right now you can justifiably make that argument.

My original post was in reference to his rookie and second season, and I was trying to make the point that Sanchez did less last year with more around him in HIS rookie season. In 10 games TE was 151 of 269 for a 56.1% completion percentage for 1630 yards, 6.1 yards per completion, 7 TDs, 8 INTs for a 70.4 rating overall in 10 games. Sanchez last year with the leagues best running game and a better than average O-line was 196/364 for 53.8% completion percentage, 6.7 yards per completion, and 12 TDs with 20 INTs for a 63 rating overall in 18 games. In his second season TE was 245/374, 65.5%, 2699 yards, 11 TD, 10 INTs for an 85.4 rating overall. He was being gushed over by the media for much of the first two seasons. He put up those numbers with the Bills, who didn't have the first overall rushing attack or a comparable O-line.

It kills me when people crucify TE, who had an undoubtedly better rookie season (first 16 games he started, actually) in much worse circumstances, and yet they want to bring in someone who has shown less in more favorable circumstances to take his place. Rookie TE on last year's Jets would have flourished based on what he did here when Losman went down.

The "it" factor has become nothing more than a popular, lazy way of saying you have a gut feeling about someone with absolutely no tangible evidence to back it up, otherwise you'd be rattling off his tangibles, of which Sanchez has thus far shown none in the NFL. By your definition Ryan Leaf, Billy Jo Hobert, Todd Marinovich, etc also possessed the "it" factor... long on bravado, short on results. Kelly would have been the same player even without the mouth because he had the undeniable talent and drive to back it up. And don't tell me about the playoffs last year... a chimp could have handed the ball off with similar results... actually, likely with fewer picks, so possibly with better results.

No. It's preseason... by definition there is no significance to the victory last week, as the games don't count... as evidenced by the team's continued 0-0 record in games of significance for the 2010 season. You can't diminish something that doesn't exist.

The thing is, Schopp has been an evolutionary process. He's always tried to come off as erudite, and at the beginning of his radio days in Buffalo he was a bit different and out of place with regard to the topics he covered, but not mean spirited. He's definitely evolved to a demeaning joke that is contemptuous of the majority of his audience. I haven't heard him in years, but it sounds like that trend has continued in earnest. I feel like Sullivan has always written from a place of smugness and contempt, even during the '90s. I think that's what makes him so intolerable to me now... I almost feel like he is reveling in this decade. I would draw the analogy of late night television hosts and how much they loved having "W" in office because it was good for ratings, despite his effect on the nation as a whole. If the team turns things around, how is he going to point out obvious flaws so he can pound his chest and tell us how smart he is. His style is not the result of covering this long stretch of futility, rather the long stretch of futility is tailor made for this bell cryor of misery.

I don't know how to do the multiple quote thing. My responses are the bold ones.

I dunno, Jerry. Says here you got to town in 1989. http://corp.buffalonews.com/services/newsroom/sports.asp Is it odd referring to yourself in the third person?

I can forgive Howard Simon, Allen Wilson, and other credible personalities for their exasperation and showing some of the stress cracks of reporting on this team for the last 10 years. Sullivan using this as an excuse doesn't explain the fact that his schtick was the same prior to the last decade (I haven't lived in Buffalo in a while, and I despised his "work" well before I left). Sully is misery, and he loves company. Whether his column is fact based or pure opinion, it's never what he says, it's how he says it. He doesn't just tell you the **** smells, he wants to rub it on your face and put it in your mouth to try to prove the obvious. And when you tell him it's revolting, he tells you it's your fault. He dismisses people with valid points, usually by resorting to petulant name calling or other adolescent tactics, and the whole time he give the impression that he's his own biggest fan and he's certain he's the smartest guy in the room. I can't say I blame OBD for not granting him access... he come's off as the guy you'd invite into the house only to have him steal your silverware and brag about it to his buddies. Referring to him as average is being kind.