BillsPhan

Cleveland had 46 years as an NFL team and Modell strolled out of town to Baltimore without the NFL making a peep. Only Randy Lerner, and his money, allowed the Browns' "rabid" fan base to rally and force Modell's hand by making him agree to abandon the Browns name, colors and history. And lest you forget, Cleveland tax payers had to ante up to pay for their new stadium, and the season ticket owners are now forced to pay PSL's for seats equal or even worse sight-line wise to seats they had in the old stadium. What a great deal for them - and on top of all that, they had to be without a team for 3 years while all of this took place! Let me ask you, does it sound like the NFL cared about losing the traditional Cleveland market to you?? Did they offer to pay for any part of the new stadium, or force Randy Lerner not to charge his PSL's to those "loyal" season ticket holders? Of course not. The "NFL" as you refer to it, is not some separate "fair-minded" entity, whose only cause for existing is to "guard the tradition and loyalty of all of it's fans in all of it's cities." The NFL is a money-making machine, and the commissioner answers to all 32 owners. If enough of them vote to approve of the ownership group that wins the eventual sale of the Buffalo Bills, regardless of where that group plans on taking the franchise to play, that is what will be. And I don't imagine any of those other 31 owners will be taking Buffalo's great market for the next "new pro football league" into consideration, when they make their vote!

1) If Ralph Wilson is alive and functioning coherently if they play next year, or if they re-start in 2012, this will not be the last year of Buffalo Bills football. 2) If Ralph goes into a coma, goes senile or dies during or after this season or before the next one starts up again in 2011 or 2012, and an ownership group with local ties rises up to out-bid other groups to keep the team here, this will not be the last year of Buffalo (or Niagara??) Bills football. 3) If Ralph goes into a coma, goes senile or dies during or after this season or before the next one starts up again in 2011 or 2012, and an ownership group from out of town buys them and moves the franchise to another city (and/or country, if Toronto wins), but keeps the name Bills, this will not be the last season of Bills football. That's all I got.

Sure, very classy for Nix to do. As far as Schoebel goes, where is his class in all of this? The guy is only 33, and he obviously isn't serious about "retiring." Maybe he still will hang 'em up as a Buffalo Bill. (After he signs the obligatory "one day contract" of course, since Nix did "classily" cut him today). But my humble opinion is, he will sign with the Texans for peanuts just to be able to continue playing football. By the way, am I the only one out here that thinks blaming his "young school aged kids" for not wanting to continue playing in Buffalo an insulting B.S. reason? What, aren't our schools good enough for the poor young Schoebel kids? I can't understand what happened to Schoebel, after all these years of being a tough minded Pro Bowl player for the Buffalo Bills, why he suddenly had all of these "doubts" about moving his family up here full time and placing them in our schools. And if not that, why not just continue playing football for the Bills that have been paying him so well these past 9 seasons, and simply tell the kids Dad will see them as much as possible during the football season but as long as they and Mom don't want to move up to Buffalo, Dad will have to live there during the season.??!! I suppose I'm being too hard on the guy, given the years he did give to the Bills as their number 2 all time sacker. But the only way Nix and Gailey have any chance of turning this team into winners before Ralph leaves our world, is for every single player with any talent left to give 110% for them. Watching Schoebel walk away from Buffalo for nothing in return while he still has talent left to offer, despite the fact he's never played OLB before, is not something I'm thrilled about.

Outstanding takes. I agree that we both share a strong Faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and that is of course the most important thing to agree on out here! As far as Jimbo goes, he is my all time favorite Buffalo Bill and I've been a die hard Bills fan since I went to my first game at War Memorial Stadium (the real "rock pile") in 1968, at 9 years old. I missed Sabans' first two AFL championship teams in '64 and '65, but shortly after that, I've watched every other great player perform for the Bills up to today, and Jim Kelly has my vote as the best of all of them I watched. Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, "Murderer" Simpson, Thurman Thomas, Jerry Butler....those guys may have been more naturally talented. But the leadership qualities, the amazing toughness, and the way he ran that peerless no huddle offense, are the reasons I rate Kelly above them all. So it's wonderful he's come to the Lord, don't get me wrong on that point. But I am disappointed that he was such a lousy husband to Jill all those years, especially in light of the tragic situation with Hunter they both had to endure.

Great point. Funny how fast I forgot that T.O. was even here last season. You got me on that one.

Wrong. Buddy never "assumed" Schoebel was coming back. How could he? Schoebel never even spoke to him. Let's face it, Nix knows he cannot fill every single hole on this team in one offseason and one draft, so he drafted other positions then pass rushing OLB's. Who cares? He did draft a big tackle and a big DE in rounds 2 and 3, and you know we need those two guys too! Spiller? You cannot lose by drafting a dynamic back like him if you have the chance. Once his idiot agent and he finally come to a contract agreement and he gets to practice , nobody, in my humble opinion, will regret Nix drafting this guy first in 2010. The only "mistake" I think Nix is making regarding ingrate Schoebel, is to release him at all. He should make him sit out this entire season without pay, while he "decides to play of not"!

Perry Fewell was a lousy DC in his 3 1/2 years at that position in Buffalo. Just like Gregg Williams was a lousy HC in his 3 seasons in Buffalo. I have more respect at this point for Williams then Fewell. Nobody has given ol' "Double G" another chance at HC but he has gone back to his roots as DC and helped the Saints upset the Colts in the SB last season. Fewell was a D-Backs coach with Dick in Chicago before being promoted to DC here in Buffalo. What exactly did the Giants see that we Bills fans did not?? Fewell's defenses sucked. Although he brought along some fine DB's (there's a shock, since he was a DB coach before coming to Buffalo), the Bills were annually one of the worst teams in total yardage allowed, and one of the very worst teams against the run all three years he was here. And he inherited a team that was excellent against the run in 2003-2004, although they did slip some during Mularkey's lousy 2005 season. Still, the pieces were there in place to immediately build it back up again, but Dick and Perry had to bring in their infamous "COVER-ZERO....11 GAP" defense with them from Chicagoland. So despite the fact Perry runs around excitedly at Giants' practice, they had better hope he doesn't try to run the same schemes he did in Buffalo, or the Giants had better hope that they have 200% more talent then the Bills defenders did under Fewell for them to succeed.

And I understand your point. But in my humble opinion, too many born again Christians don't even ask me if I want to hear their personal testimony, they just start right in, as though it is a badge of honor. Why can't they simply start a normal conversation with me or anyone they are speaking with, instead of always forging ahead with a statement such as; "I was this horrible person or that horrible person and then I found the Lord". Of course I'm not perfect, but I find myself being much less of a horrible person then so many of these good hearted well meaning people, that I simply get turned off my their "testimonies." Wow, have we ever turned off the Bills blog highway here, huh???

"I'm get my rocky on wit sumbody"??? Well, I don't twitter, so I can only hope that sentence is "twitter-speak." If not, I just can't wait to hear this kid interviewed.

+1

Great point! The thing I like most about Buddy and Chan is that they both seem to be straight shooters, and don't hold back very much when asked direct questions. I too liked the comment by Nix that he will "have something to announce if Spiller is not signed in a few days or so." Hopefully he won't become too "old school" and threaten to get into a three point stance and take on Spillers' agent, as Bill Polian did back in the glory days (man, I miss Polians' temper, the guy was passionate, wasn't he?) But as you say, whatever Buddy ends up saying, it will be fun to listen to!

I hate to say this, but this is all about being a pro team in Buffalo in 2010. Look at the pathetic decision the Sabres made to cut a hometown kid with grit and guts, because the arbitrators ruled in his favor by a measely 200 grand. Sure Wilson spends money every now and then, but since his buddy Marv bowed out of this circus after two years, tell me one big money splash Ralph has made with Russ Brandon, and now Buddy Nix in charge? Both Golisano and Wilson have decided to bunker down and save as much money as they can moving forward, due to the overall nationwide recession, and of course the horrible economic situation in WNY. It seems that Golisano has basically given up on his hockey team, and Ralph Wilson is facing a lock out next year that will kill his bottom line if it happens. Thus, we have the Sabres spending more money to dump Tim Kennedy and "buy out" his contract for $333,333.33 as opposed to just paying him an extra $200,000.00 above their offer and receive his best efforts this season. And, we have the Bills taking longer to figure out how much to pay the Number 9 overall pick then other teams took to pay the number 1 through 5, and number 7 and 8 picks. The only other first round draft pick not to sign is the number 6 pick - Okung for Seattle. Just gotta love being Bills - Sabres fans, huh?? Oh by the way, I know Reiger turned around and signed a 27 year old proven defensemen UFA from the Caps. Morrissonn. He is widely considered a very good player, and we should applaud Darcy for bringing him in. But even with that positive move, they inexplicably only signed him for two years. At that age with his talent, how on earth do you not lock him up for 4 years, and not have to start worrying about tading him before the freakin' deadline just two years from now??????

Sadly, you are right. And although I'm the last fan out here to justify any reason for the Bills to take so long to sign their number one draft picks almost every year, I have a feeling Spiller and his agent are using that exact "bull crap" reason for holding out this long, even after all the picks around them have signed.....that he is in fact the first RB chosen, and somehow that's supposed to mean he deserves more. I have no facts to prove that, just my own humble opinion.

The Bills have not "cut" Schobel, and I hope they never do this year. And for once, I applaud the Bills for taking a stance that may not be the smartest move based on the lack of talent they now have at OLB. Sure, we all hope Maybin fits into his new OLB role like a leather glove, and gets 13 sacks this season. But I don't think the Bills made the decision to refuse to allow Schobel to play this year because of their new found confidence that Maybin may actually break out. I think Buddy just got pissed off at Schobel's b.s., and I don't blame him one bit. For all the times I slam the Bills for being too cheap to go after the very best FA's, here's a player they have always overpaid, who turns his back on a 2 Million dollar roster bonus, because he's just "not sure" if he really wants to play for the only team he's ever been on anymore. Boo hoo, poor baby. After the Bills have only dumped 33 million dollars into his bank account, this is how he "repays" them. No, I hope Nix absolutely does not cut Schobel, allowing him to mosey onto any other team he feels like joining, at any point this season. Just leave him on that "Reserve/Did Not Report" list right through February, and make him "come back" next season, (if there is a 2011 season that is) at 34 years old. The only reason he is "contemplating retirement" in my humble opinion, is that he just doesn't want to play for the Bills anymore. He would have been better off honestly walking into Buddy Nix's office the first or second day Nix was on the job, and respectfully asked to be traded. If Nix was unable to make a fair trade, then he was obligated to report for at least the mandatory mini-camps, and training camp, and play for the Bills this season. He would have earned another 6 million dollars of undeserved pay, and as long as he remained healthy and had a decent season, would have put himself in a better position to get traded next season.

Practice....you talkin' about practice?....Not a game, not game....practice!

Well said, and I agree 100%. Anyone remember "Club Marv"? Seems to me those teams of his were pretty damn tough, and were never considered "injury prone." Levy, the cerebral coach who used to run pretty darn easy training camp practices, screamed out his favorite saying before just about every game, or at least every big game....."When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us!" Besides, I tend to believe Gailey's theory about the players being more protected in training camp practices while wearing pads.

You are 100% correct - it was more then a little odd, and way too arrogant, to present my opinion in that matter. I am frustrated that the Bills are once again one of the last teams to get their number one pick into camp, and I got carried away.....and quite full of myself. I certainly deserve the flaming that has begun, and won't be "bragging" about my opinions anymore. I just hope C.J. gets his talented butt into camp asap, so Gailey can start running the offense he has been planning since they rated him so highly on their draft board weeks or even months before the draft!!!

Actually, although I did come off more arrogant then I meant, (and obviously I'm paying for it as the flaming has begun in earnest), I really meant for the post to illustrate my frustration with the Bills and how they choose their free agents and pay their top draft picks. Frankly, after 40 years of rooting for the Buffalo Bills, it gets tiring to watch them pass on the best players available in free agency, and play hard ball with their first round draft picks most of the time, because they are so worried about every last dollar. In fact, I really did not want to watch the Bills once again take longer then almost every team to sign their first round draft choice, and I don't take any "satisfaction" in the fact they have now done it two straight seasons. At the time of that original post I replied to, most of the fans were defending the Bills, and blaming the "system", and some were predicting that Spiller would not hold out at all. I just thought I would remind those fans of the reality of the Buffalo Bills. Sorry to offend you so much, but nobody's perfect, right??

You think I'm so lonely and bored that you had to post it twice?

Great question. I don't think Gailey would have chosen to keep both Jackson and Lynch if completely his choice. Buddy Nix is nothing if not a smarter football man then Russ Brandon was. Nix really had no choice other then to tell Chan he was stuck with Lynch for at least this next season, since his trade value was zero due to Marshawns' off field stupidity. Given that fact, Chan is doing exactly what he would have been doing if Lynch was gone. He is giving all of his RB's the reps they deserve based on performance, and he will run his offense the way he thinks will work best, without caring in the least about their "feelings", or our perception of what we think the "requisite number of touches they need" is. Before they drafted Spiller when their turn came up back in April, you know Gailey had a plan for exactly how he would use him this season. Sure Nix told us that Spiller was "the highest rated player on their board" when their turn came up. But Gailey had to have a plan for him, or Nix would not have had him rated that highly. So Spiller won't be the starting RB, in my humble opinion, but he will be used all over the place on offense and on kick returns. If both Jackson and Lynch stay healthy all season, one will be Chan's "workhorse" and the other will be the change of pace / back up, getting less reps. If they both stay healthy, Gailey could have the luxury of switching their roles up as starters from game to game, keeping them both extremely motivated all year. But based on, as you put it, Gailey's past success with using one starting RB the most during the game, I just don't see him changing towards 2 back sets and equal reps during the game.

On June 23rd, I wrote the post below responding to the thread: "Spiller Contract Negotiations": "Of course he'll hold out, if the number 8 pick and the number 10 pick don't sign before he does. The Bills never have and never will, as long as Ralph is alive and well, be salary setters. They would never make a good enough offer, in my humble opinion, to either of their top two picks, that would prompt them to sign before the other rookies picked just before or just after them, uncapped year or not. For Spiller, who cares? He's been learning the offense, and running back is the easiest position to learn as a rookie anyway. But I'm hoping Troup gets in from day one. He should, being a 2nd round pick, but it all depends on the guys drafted right around them, even in the second round. Once you get to the third round, I would be shocked if Carrington isn't in camp on time." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well here we sit the morning of August 3rd, and every draft pick around Mr. Spiller has signed his contract, and in fact, 28 of the 32 first round picks have signed their contracts, and Spiller still has not. What a shock, huh? Someone even disputed my post above by mentioning that Bruce Smith was signed right away. They had to go back 25 years to find that one...nice job. I'm happy that the Bills did an excellent job getting Troup in on time, however. That was a pleasant surprise to me, since very few 2nd round picks had signed before him. Troup has been doing great from day one, and in my humble opinion, has the more important learning job coming in as the number 2 nose tackle as a rookie from a small college. Spiller should be signing any day now, and despite the fact the Bills still are not "salary setters", he won't be holding out anywhere near idiot Maybin did last year!

Yeah right. Gotta love those two "Hall of Fame" receivers...Swann and Stallworth: Here are their career stats: Stallworth: 537 receptions for 8,723 yards and 63 TDs Swann: 336 receptions for 5,462 yards and 51 TDs. ______________________________________________ Combined: 873 receptions for 14,185 yards and 114 TDs. Here's Andre Reeds' stats, the former Bills' wider receiver who isn't "good enough" yet to qualify for the Hall of Fame: Reed: 952 receptions for 13,198 yards and 87 TDs. You don't suppose the Hall of Fame voters were biased towards Swann and Stallworth because their Steelers' teams went 4-0 in the Super Bowl, and against Reed because his Bills went 0-4 in the Super Bowl, huh? What absolute hypocritical crap. The HOF voters claim the only thing that matters to them is the individual players' entire career. In reality, it seems playoff and SB performance means way more then individual yearly regular season performance. First Irvin got in with less catches and yards then Reed, and then Stallworth got voted in with barely more half the numbers Reed put up, both after Reed was eligible and before he has gotten his call. Andre Reed will make the HOF, his numbers demand it. But what kind of message are the voters sending to the fans when they make him wait longer then other WR'ers that finished their careers with less receiving stats overall then he??

No, you are not wrong here. I agree 100% with your point about leaving the ups and downs of marriage private. But Jill has been a Born Again Christian for years, and now Jimbo has joined her more recently. I am a proud Christian, don't get me wrong, I love Jesus as much as anyone else says they do. But the biggest thing I've noticed about Christians that leave their conventional church (such as Catholic) to become born again, is that they absolutely love to tell the world how terrible they were before they found the Lord. I suppose they think they need to "cleanse themselves" of all their "bad behavior" to anyone that will listen. ..."Jim writes in the book that his wayward activities with other women almost killed his marriage -- and that only his confession and rebirth in Jesus Christ saved him." I love the part about him being reborn in Jesus Christ. But I've never been fond of Christians telling the world how terrible they were before. To me, it should simply be kept between Kelly and Jesus, and the rest of us really didn't need to know any of it. It's not like finding out he cheated on Jill would shock us us, anyway!