hondo in seattle

$40 million profit per year on a $1.4 billion investment is emphatically not a good return. You could make much more money with your billion dollars in a number of other businesses. The idea of moving a club to increase its value is purely hypothetical. The owners who make money on the NFL, make their big money when they sell the club, not through annual operating revenues. So far, the value of clubs has been appreciating nicely over the years. Some think the whole concussion problem - combined with increased competition from other sports - could slow the appreciation down.

Thurman played behind a good line on a good offense. He had a HOF QB and a HOF WR (sometimes two) drawing attention away from him. And as you know, the TE was pretty good too. Fred played behind a crap line on a talent-poor offense. In both 2009, and 2010, PFF ranked him Freddy of the top 4 most elusive backs in the NFL because he broke tackles and got his yards on his own. In fact, 76% of the yards Fred got in 2009 running outside the tackles came after contact (#1 in the NFL - in comparison, Adrian Peterson earned 64% of his yards after contact). Fred's 2,516 combined yards in 2010 is 5th most in NFL history. Thurman averaged 4.2 yards per carry over his career, playing on good teams. In his best year, he averaged 4.9. Freddy average 4.4 yards per carry over his career, playing on bad teams. In his best year, he averaged 5.5. Both Fred and TT were good out of the backfield. Fred was probably better at blitz pickup. If Fred played in the early 90s instead of Thurman - and stayed healthy - he'd be in the HOF too. https://www.profootballfocus.com/the-elusive-rating/ https://www.profootballfocus.com/elusive-rating-2010/ https://www.profootballfocus.com/between-the-tackles-part-2/

I think most of the people who want to put Rex on a 2 year leash are the same people who didn't want Rex to be hired in the first place. They've already determined that Rex will never be a good NFL head coach. And they may be right. I just think two year leashes are too short. I think NFL coaches need more time to get their staffs and systems right. But I also want Buffalo to be the place that every coach wants to work. When you listen to coaches talk about their careers, their two biggest gripes are (1) hours away from family, and (2) the constant moving. No one can fix #1 but the Pegulas can do something about #2. They can develop the reputation of being good, patient owners who give their coaches a fair chance to succeed. First impressions are lasting impressions, as they say, and I don't think firing Rex after two years gives the right first impression to the NFL coaching community. Unless, of course, the Bills are so abysmally bad this year that it's obvious to everyone Rex needs to go.

My thesis is that some good coaches need more than 2 years to build a winning program. And it is true. Bill Belichick left Cleveland with a 36-44 record (5-11 in his last season). I bet Brown fans now wish they had been a little more patient. Marv Levy accomplished little in nearly 5 years with KC (he was fired after a 3-6 start to the '82 season). He later turned his career around. Pete Carroll was horrible with the Jets. And he delivered progressively worse W-L records during his 3 years with NE. (10-6, 9-7, 8-8). Tom Landry didn't achieve a winning record until his 7th year as a head coach. Chuck Noll has his first winning season in his 4th year. Hand Stram, in his second go around as head coach, didn't achieve a winning season till his 4th season with KC. Bill Parcels, in his second go around as head coach, finished 6-10 in this third year with the Pats (definitely not on the upswing!). The next year, he took the team to the Super Bowl. Revisiting Parcells, he went 10-6 his first year with Dallas and then 6-10 his next year. He finished with winning records the next two years. Mike McCarthy went 8-8 his first season, and 6-8 his third season. He later turned it around. Sean Payton when 10-6 his first season and 7-9 his second season. He later turned it around. All these great head coaches needed more than 2 years. I bet their fans are happy their owners didn't put these guys on 2 year leashes. And, no, I'm not claiming Rex is as a good a coach as these guys. But most of these guys didn't prove themselves as good coaches until after their second year. Sometimes, not until their second team. It takes a while for a coach to implement their schemes with the players and really get execution and buy-in where they want. And it takes a couple years, typically, for a head coach to build his staff. Virtually no head coach has the staff he wants in his first year. Most of the coaches he respects are already employed so his first year he makes do with what's available.

I've got to agree with this. When OJ was in the game, you couldn't take your eyes off him. Fans in the stands would leap to their feet when he received a handoff. He seemed to be a threat to score on every play. He was at another level. Freddy - what a great guy and a very good player in his prime. Honorable mention... Bobby Chandler because I viewed myself as a WR with good hands. Roland Hooks for rising out of obscurity from time to time to deliver crucial plays. Cookie for his fire.

When I was much younger and had a cast iron stomach, I used to enjoy Mighty Taco's original location on Hertel. It was a dumpy little place and it seemed like greasy hair and acne were requirements to work there. The sketchy neighborhood, the dirty kitchen, the drunken clientele - it took a bit of courage for a shy teen like me to eat at Mighty in those early days. But the food so tasty that it overcame my fears. Now they've gone all generic and my strong stomach has been weakened by years of abuse.

Really? Maybe things are changing but I've always thought the pizza in WNY blows the doors off of pizza on the West Coast, for example. Or most international pizza. I used to rave about Mighty Taco. It was awesome when it was new. Now, it's just another non-authentic Mexican-inspired fast food joint.

Yeah, that's the weird thing about NFL franchises. The small market teams don't actually make a lot of money. But you can turn a tidy profit when you sell the club - especially if you move it to a better market.

Just to put this in perspective: In the restaurant business, a local restaurant will typically sell for about 2 - 3 times it's cash flow. In other words, it will take you about 2 or 3 years to earn your investment back. If the restaurant is part of an established regional or national chain, the cost will be higher: between 4 and 8 times EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization). In these cases, it will take you roughly 4 to 8 years to earn your purchase price back. The Pegulas paid $1.4 billion dollars to buy a business that profits only $44 million per year. It'll take Terry & Kim approximately 32 years to make their money back.

DJ was a OC and QB away from being a good head coach. Chan Gailey was a DC and QB away from being a good head coach. Fred Jackson, in his prime, was about as good as Thurman Thomas. Eric Moulds, in his prime, was about as good as Andre Reed. Rex is neither a genius nor a buffoon but is an above average defensive coach and will have the Bills D in the top 10 this year.

I tend to agree with this, despite the source: James Walker, Miami Dolphins reporter: It's interesting that Rich Cimini, Mike Rodak and I have experience covering Ryan over the years. I covered Ryan at two different stops -- first as defensive coordinator of theBaltimore Ravens while reporting on the AFC North and later as head coach of the Jets while reporting on the AFC East. He has always been the same person -- a confident, outgoing coach. That won't change, and I don't view that as an issue. The problem is Ryan, for one year at least, lost his knack for getting the most out of his defensive talent. This was (and is) his biggest strength. I watched Ryan turn average players into solid players (Jim Leonhard), solid players into great players (Antonio Cromartie, Bart Scott) and star players into future Hall of Famers (Darrelle Revis, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis). Which Bills defensive player got significantly better last season under Ryan's tutelage? Maybe Ronald Darby, who was a rookie? Ryan knows he must get back to that. He is still a great defensive coach, and I view last season as a one-year exception. http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/24938/afc-east-qa-is-it-time-to-question-rex-ryans-coaching-style

Given what he inherited, Rex performed disastrously last year on D. But I thought the offense performed well under the circumstances. You got to give Rex credit for recruiting Roman and probably having a hand in the recruitment of TT. Rex doesn't have a history of running poor D's. A lot of reasons have been given for the failures of 2015 and I'm willing to allow Rex some benefit of the doubt. Generally, I think head coaches need three years or more. But if Rex regresses again this year, I could be in favor of a 2 trial for him. For me, I think the threshold is 7-9. Anything worse and he should be fired.

I'm with you,brother. They're making me hungry.

Whatever the reason, who's ever to blame, Marcel is more comfortable in the defense this year than he was last year. That can only be a good thing. As far as 2 gap versus 1 gap is concerned... I wonder what the ratios are? How often does Rex ask his linemen to 2 gap versus 1 gap? How does this compare to the rest of the NFL? I have a pretty balanced view of Rex. I think he screwed up last year but I don't think he's a moron or buffoon. Neither do I think he's a defensive genius. I do think he's reasonably bright, has some talent to work with on this roster, and is moving beyond some of his mistakes of last year. My guess is we'll see the Bills D ranking somewhere between #5 and #10 this season.

I hope KW doesn't visit this site. There's one thread about steaks and steakhouses. Then another top thread offers up the "Restaurant Guide to Buffalo for Visitors." Don't want to KW to get hungry.

There's a Ruth Chris in Bellevue, WA, not far from where I live. I've been there exactly once in 7 years and that was for a company event. While my meal was fine, it wasn't quite good enough to justify the price. I tend to prefer ethnic food over steak-and-potato places and locally owned restaurants to national chains. When I am in a mood for a good steak here in Seattle, I go to Jak's, John Howie's, Daniel's Broiler or El Gaucho. The best steak I've eaten in Seattle was at El Gaucho. The best anywhere was at Tom Colicchio's at the Mirage in Vegas.

Thanks for this! I actually printed it to save for my next trip to Buffalo. I've eaten at virtually none of the restaurants mentioned.

Maybe I'm misreading the transcript but it doesn't seem to me Terry's excited about a new downtown stadium. On the one hand, he acknowledges the current stadium is old. But he adds that Buffalo is not LA, it's a different market. In other words, we don't have the resources for a shiny, new $1-2 billion dollar stadium.

I've had better meals than the ones I've had at Ruth Chris. My first experience was, in fact, "meh." But my last visit was very good. Different location? Different steak? Positive changes in the company? Not sure.

Being patient with Jauron and Gailey didn't get us far because neither had adequate talent on their rosters. Call me crazy but sometimes I think Jauron was a QB & OC away from being a successful coach. And I think Gailey might have been a QB & DC away from being a successful coach. We'll never know. Playoffs or bust is a silly standard. Only 12 of 32 teams make the playoffs. Generally speaking - with some exceptions - those 12 teams will have franchise QBs and established coaches. To give Rex just two years to join that elite group when he has a new QB, new offensive coaching staff and scheme, and a new defensive coaching staff and scheme is too demanding in my opinion. I say this even though I agree with many of C.Biscuit's points. Rex didn't use his defensive roster to their full potential last year. The D should have been better. Rex is not off to a good start. But I think he needs an opportunity to right the ship. And I think the Pegulas need to become like the Rooneys. If a coaching opportunity comes up in Pittsburgh, every coach and their brother wants the job because the Rooneys are patient, wise owners who give their coaches a fair chance to succeed. We don't want the Pegulas to be like Al Davis: trigger happy, meddling, impetuous. The Pegulas are new and forming their reputations now - for the future of the Bills it's important they create a coach-friendly reputation. Buffalo needs to be a place where coaches most want to coach because here they receive the full support of the owners and entire organization.

Even Barnwell seems to acknowledge the silliness of this exercise: "There's no obvious trio of positions to approach like there are with offensive triplets, so one team's group could include three defensive linemen, while another organization might send out three defensive backs. Comparing those groups is inherently more difficult." [and more subjectively stupid].

Why did we cut him, anyway? I remember he was a quick long snapper and was disappointed we let him go. He must have been a lot of fun in the locker room.

These are all good points C.Biscuit. But the Pegualas made Rex their first HC hire - only to fire him after his second season? I don't think that makes the Pegulas attractive owners for future coaches. HCs, OCs, and DCs want time to build their squads and implement their schemes. Furthermore, Head Coaches are continually refining their coaching staffs. Maybe some of the guys they wanted weren't available their first year. But they'll have trouble hiring anybody their second or third years if the Pegulas become known for short leashes. I'm with ScottLaw: unless the Bills collapse, Rex gets another year. I think the Pegulas need to send the message: we believe in giving coaches a fair chance to succeed. First impressions are lasting impressions and the NFL coaching community needs to like what they see of Terry and Kim right now.

Misery loves company, as they say. But maybe C.Biscuit is right. Maybe this is something to celebrate and brag about. "Don't whine to me, I'm a Bills a fan after all and we've suffered the longest!"

I remember stories about him doing magic tricks in the Bills locker room years ago. I also remember 30+ years ago taking a pretty young blonde to dinner at the Forks Hotel on the corner of Broadway and Union in Cheektowaga where some very talented magicians would rotate from table to table doing some pretty fantastic things.