hondo in seattle

In other words, we have the longest playoff drought of any major sports team, not just NFL teams? Thanks CBF for making my morning so much brighter!

2 years is not enough for any HC. To be fair to Rex and Roman, they need at least 3 years to build their coaching staffs and fully implement their programs. And Whaley needs at least three years to build a roster that fits their schemes. Coaches often - though not always - get better when given a chance to build something. Belichick coached the Browns for five years. I bet they wish they had given him more time. Both the Jets and Pats fired Pete Carroll before he found success with the Seahawks. Even Vince Lombardi didn't win a playoff game till his third year with the Packers. Coaches know it takes time to build a winner which is why they don't want to coach for teams that pull the trigger too fast. Let's not be one of those teams.

He's had the two longest jumps so far this year. Can you imagine being the best in the world at something? And having the chance to win gold at the Olympics? That's got to be super exciting for an athlete! As a football player, he's an oft-injured 2nd teamer. No wonder he like track & field more. I can't blame the guy for trying to do both. As much as I love football, if I was in his shoes, I'd want to compete in the Olympics too. And, yeah, Goodwin gets a lot of mileage on Bills fan sites. Why not? How many Olympic athletes play for the Bills? He's not the best Bill, but he is a hardworking young man trying to do something good with his life. I see no problems here.

Awesome choice. I saw two of the three live. Unfortunately, I was deployed to the middle of the Arabian Desert in 1990-91 and missed the Raider 51-3 game. Despite the statistical achievements, I don't recall the 2003 game as one of OJ's most exciting. Besides the obvious choice of The Comeback, I think the No Punt game was the most exciting Bills game I've ever watched.

I don't know if he'll ever be a good investment for the Bills. But I wish the young man well in the Olympics and beyond.

Congrats to you. Hope you get to see more of your favorite teams win championships (especially the Bills!).

I think Kromer can make preliminary judgments. He's worked with these guys before and knows how they hit/block. He can see what shape their in and knows their medical challenges. But, yeah, it's all preliminary.

I know there are some out there who worry about our receiving corps. Some same Sammy isn't elite and Woods isn't worthy of being a #2. After these two, the worriers see a wasteland of nobodies. Yet, especially considering we're a running team, I'm actually pretty happy with our receiving options. Sammy came on strong in the 2nd half of last year. Woods played with a groin injury in 2015 but observers say he's healthy and shining in camp. And whether it's Dez or another of our 23,000 camp receivers, someone will step up to capably fill the #3 role. With TT surely maturing as a starter, and Roman working overtime figuring out how to get Clay better involved, I'm expecting our passing attack to be (far?) more productive in 2016 than 2015.

I currently pay for Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu mostly to keep the family happy. I pay for NFL Sunday Ticket to make me happy. I'm vaguely aware I have ESPN tho' pretty much never watch it - so I can't speak to the quality of their broadcasts though obviously they're not offering anything I really want.

An elite talent doesn't necessarily produce elite stats. WR stats are a function of health, scheme, QB play, OL play, targets, other viable receiving options stretching the coverage, etc. Talking about a different position, OJ wouldn't be considered elite his first three years in the NFL by your standard. He had the talent, but worked for a coach who misused him. Then Lou Saban came to town and for the next 5 years OJ looked like one of the greatest players to play the game. A good gun is still a good gun when it's not being fired.

Here's a comparison: The Cavs broke the drought and so will the Bills. 2016 is the Year of Lake Erie, the year of Rust Belt Redemption.

Thurman may be invisible to PTR, but I bet he's not invisible to the players. And, as someone else referenced, Rex is the de facto DC. It's Thurman's job to run the practices per Rex's instructions and execute Rex's defensive plan. How much do we really want to see Thurman in the media when Rex is the man? I do think Rex is - as he's indicated - a leader who likes feedback and collaboration. I'm sure Thurman is very involved this year just like last year... but with Rob here, there's one more voice in the meetings now.

Every NFL club claims to have the best fans, but it's a hard thing to quantify. Attendance has a lot to do with ticket prices, the local economy, stadium size, market size, and of course W-L record of the team, as well as other factors besides fan loyalty. Ranking merchandise sales has similar problems. Here in Seattle, they like to brag about how loud their stadium gets. But I remind them that's all about acoustics. I've seen a couple articles where Bills tailgating was ranked #1 in the NFL which is cool. It would be good to add 'most local media coverage' to the proofs of the proposition: "The Bills have the best fans in the NFL." But Vic seems to be spitting out undocumented stuff again.

Rex says... "Everybody knows he’s a first-ballot Hall of Fame player, but it’s how he is with the other guys. He’s more like the pied piper, people follow him... When I had him with the Jets, he took that whole group and they’d follow him.” Last year, not enough guys were following the coaches - not whole-heartedly. There are other reasons to want to Ed Reed on your coaching staff, but in the Bills case he's a specific medicine for a specific disease.

Yep, I think Madden would get this team deep into the playoffs. How can maddenboy disagree? I think all your choices are also great - I think you have to say Lombardi was the best of all time and Hoodie is the best in the game today. . The problem with Hoodie is that his career has been tainted by cheating scandals. Madden is more likable than Belichick and - I'm guessing - a better Xs-and-Os guy than Lombardi (football is more complex now). Of coaches still coaching, I think Pete Carroll would be awesome on the Bills sideline. I know he wears on some people but I like his enthusiasm - as do his players - and he's really bright at defensive scheming and the in's and out's of preparing a team to win.

I'm not sure Reed will be a great NFL coach but I am confident it's great for us to have him as an assistant this year. Player's clearly didn't fully buy-into Rex's D last year. After the disappointing results, creating buy-in this year could be even more challenging. Reed, a HOF calibre player, understands - and believes in - Rex's defensive philosophy. He's going to sell it to the secondary. They're going to buy-in this year.

Does the Buffalo News really cover the Bills in more depth than any other paper covers its own home team??? "In case you haven't noticed, The Buffalo News, digitally and in print form, devotes a heaping amount of space to the Bills, easily more than any other media outlet in Western New York and any other newspaper in the country gives its NFL team. I challenge you to find another sports section with five stories from one day of minicamp."

I think Thurman is in the public eye as much as he wants to be. I think the media, and posters to this board, talk about Rob more often because he's more interesting. Rob's got a bigger personality, he's Rex's brother (with shades of nepotism creeping into the picture), he's got a poorly defined job, and he's new to Buffalo. Thurman has been very clear: he's got the same role this year that he had last year and I believe him. Rob's a special projects guy. And from the Ryan family perspective, this may make a lot of sense. Rob's probably hoping to be a DC somewhere else next year. So it would be disruptive to take DC responsibilities away from Thurman this year only to give them back last year. It's better to put Rob into a special projects role where he won't be missed if he gets a DC offer.

Forget Gugny, I can't wait to be the fan of a winning team!

John Wooden is one of the greatest coaches of all time in any sport. We should remember, though, that it took him something like 16 years before he won his first NCAA championship. Then he made it a habit of winning championships. It can take a while before a coach hits his peak and gets his program where he really wants it. Vince Lombardi may be the best NFL coach of all time. He deserves to have his name on the Lombardi trophy. But I have to go with John Madden. Vince was more about good leadership and execution than he was about X's and O's. I suspect Madden has a better grasp of the complexities of the modern game than Lombardi would have if still alive. And Madden was no slouch as a coach: 763 win percentage over a 10 year HC career - higher than Lombardi or Belichick. Only Guy Chamberlain from the 1920s won a higher percentage of games as a NFL head coach.

Chilly, great post! I love when posters support their arguments with actual facts!

I've advocated for undocumented aliens and rational immigration reform. But I've never illegally crossed any borders myself.

He's got some skills. He certainly has commitment. He's got good coaches. Let's hope that all adds up to a great year. "A long-ball guy. I can’t throw across the middle..." Clearly he's utterly unaware of what we're writing about him.

Now that you've made fun of fat people, are there any other groups you want to malign? I just don't get why some people need to make personal attacks.

Let's for the sake of argument assume that Rex is an intelligent man. As such, I'm sure he observed problems with his D last year and identified some changes he needed to make. So... * with DW's cooperation, he made some modifications to the defensive roster; * he made some changes to the coaching staff; * he's making some schematic changes; * he's probably making some other changes to how he approaches the season. I don't think Rex is an idiot and I don't think any of these changes are whimsical. Whether he's assessed the actual ailments and the right cures remains to be seen but I doubt if there's anything haphazard about what Rex is doing. I suspect Ed Reed was brought in for more than his positional expertise. My guess is that Rex hopes Reed helps with earning credibility for the whole defensive coaching staff, gaining player buy-in, improving player communication and effort, etc.