hondo in seattle

Terry Miller. Gained over 1,000 yards in his rookie season as a Bill at 4.5 yards per pop. He seemed poised to be the next great Bills running back. Bills fans were yelling, "It's Miller Time!" Then, as I recall, he developed problems with his peripheral vision and his career faded away to nothing.

Just to play devil's advocate, Foles had a 69.0 QB rating last year. EJ had a 78.5 rating. Foles did not look sharp in the 11 games he played last year for the Rams.

Foles has had a funny career. A 27-2 TD-INT ratio, 9.1 ypa, and Pro Bowl nod in 2013. That season he looked like the next great QB. But he was ineffective and twice benched in favor of the mighty Case Keenum in 2015.

There's another version of the Pats story in which Cookie says to the Pats defensive huddle, "Which one of you f*ckers is next?" I never saw Cookie play other than the meager highlights available online but was impressed when Larry Felser said: "Any time. Any place. Any brand of football. Cookie was, pound for pound, the greatest all-around player I ever saw. He would be a superstar in today's football."

What's the name of the dvd? Cookie was an odd guy. Complete warrior at times, prima donna other times. If he played with that warrior spirit all the time, he'd be in the HOF. Here are some quotes from Lou Saban... "Play football, have some fun, knock the sh*t out of people!" "My daughter can do better!" "They're killing me, Whitey, they're killing me!"

"I'm going to tell you something. If we don't win this game, I'm going to beat the sh*t out of everybody in this locker room! And I'm going to start with you, Coach. I'm going to kick your ass first!" ~ Cookie Gilchrist (in a fit of anger at halftime - the coach was Lou Saban). "Your next, mother f*cker!" ~ Cookie Gilchrist to a Pats DE after Cookie knocked a Pats safety out of the game. "We've got to get him out of there. He's going to kill somebody!" ~ Jack Kemp to a coach after Cookie started laying Pats defenders out "If I really hit him, he wouldn't be here." ~ Cookie denying charges he hit a police officer. "I want to teach them a lesson. If I run over ’em, they won’t come up anymore." ~ Cookie on why he runs over LBs, CBs and safeties instead of trying to sidestep them.

With all our young backs, why do we want an old vet?

I liked Rex a lot more after reading Collision Low Crossers. I liked him a lot less after seeing what he did with our D last season. I suspect he's an average football coach with the bravado of a megalomaniac. The bravado doesn't bother me - the mediocrity does. But there's enough good stuff in his resume - his years as DC with Baltimore, his defensive accomplishments his first couple years with the Jets - that I remain open-minded.

Thanks, as always, Erik. I often complained during Fred's best years that he had to get yards on his own. Some of our current backs nowadays have huge holes to run through, thanks to Roman's play design and the execution of the line.

Crap! I used to live in San Ramon in the East Bay. I wish someone was doing stuff like this when I lived there.

I'm not sure how that relates to Wayne Fontes and Rex, but I agree.

If I was building an all-time Buffalo Bills all-star team my backs would be: HB: OJ, Thurman, Freddie FB: Cookie This would be just awesome!

I'm with you. Fred had the misfortune of playing behind bad lines on bad teams. In his prime, he was one of the league leaders in yards after contact. His stats would look so much better if he actually got yards BEFORE contact. Good-to-great runner, blocker, pass receiver, leader... and a high effort, high character guy. I'm all in favor of putting Fred on the WOF.

I'm feeling a lot of uncertainty this season. I'm hoping TT emerges as a franchise QB, Roman continues to work his magic and improves the O, and Rex learns from last year's mistakes and get the D back into the top 10. I'm fearing that injuries plague us (we have several key players with injury histories), Roman doesn't find a way to improve the O, and Rex gets exposed as a has-been.

Multiple contract offers? After all the negotiation, I'm surprised they feel the need to offer Fitz a smorgasbord of options. Isn't clear yet what Fitz wants? It seems the Jets would either give Fitz what he wants or the closest approximation that they can live with. One offer.

Chan was asked to make a gourmet meal with ground chuck... Fitz at QB, poor OL (despite what the stats showed), and not a great roster overall.

Fun thread. The OP's starting lineup, while perhaps, perfect would be formidable. And sadly, it would probably take a 2000s all-star team for the Bills to win the Super Bowl.

"When a pickpocket walks down the street, all he sees are pockets." When a KoolAid drinking fan writes an article, all he sees are reasons to be optimistic. There's nothing wrong with the list per se, but obviously it doesn't cover any of the reasons why Tyrod might not have a great year. A more balanced article would cover both and then weigh the pros against the cons. But I really hope TT overcomes any & all obstacles and does have a great year.

Shady's not my favorite Bill but he's not one of the NFL's bad boys. As far as we know he's not hitting women, loading up his trunk with dope, or brandishing guns at people. We've certainly had far worse characters take the field in a Bills uni.

True, but it's the other 10% that's interesting. Astro's camp notes belong in the other 10%.

As Rice says, if it was about talent, he'd get tryouts and then not get signed. He's only 29 but nobody looks at the guy because of the PR ramifications. From USA Today: A permanent indent at the top of Rice’s left quadriceps is evidence of what he says was the primary reason he averaged a career-low 3.1 yards on 214 carries in 2013: a Grade 3 muscle tear. Now healthy, Rice says his mind is clear and his body more explosive than ever – if only someone would give him a chance to show it. “Put it like this: I don’t know when the years of ranking where I was a top-15 NFL player, but you don’t fall off that fast,” Rice says. “If I’m that bad, bring me in for a tryout. That’s the way to go about it. Bring me in for a tryout and then let the rest of the chips fall where they belong, because we know the simple fact that I can’t get a tryout – it’s a different deal.” http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2016/07/22/ray-rice-comeback-domestic-violence/87410486/?hootPostID=1afac7504c6914b4126f8825deea9e28

Good question! Like most people, I like to define myself by the best I've done, not the worst. He did something bad in the area of domestic violence. Now he wants to do something good. I'm all for it... though as has been said before, I'd prefer it happen somewhere besides Buffalo.

A poorly written article by a guy who was poorly treated. Joyful stuff. Btw, how long was Dunne here? Did he start looking for another job the moment his plane touched down at Buffalo Niagara Intl Airport?

With an entire off-season of film study, reflection, and listening to advice, I've got to believe - as a fan - that Rex will make fewer and less costly mistakes this year than last. And then there's this: I think Rex is happier with this year's roster and this year's coaching staff. They're both more suited to Rex's needs and more supportive of his approach. And, finally, I'm expecting we won't be as hard bitten by the injury bug this year. So I'm expecting an improvement, if not a dominant D. I don't think we'll be top 5, but I really can't imagine bottom 10.

I'm on TBD almost every day which suggest I enjoy it or I'm a glutton for punishment. My wife doesn't get it but puts up with me. In any case, major, thanks for the appreciative, positive post.