hondo in seattle

If I was invited, I probably would have gone. And, then I suppose, someone would ask "Who the hell does he think he is?" And I wouldn't care as long as I had fun.

The way Buddy and Chan have talked since drafting Glenn, I expect him to start at LT. Obviously, they say it's a competition. What else would they say? And I'm sure it actually is. I just think both Buddy and Chan expect Glenn to win that competition.

+1

This reminds me of the late 80s when good things were starting to happen and many fans had that feeling we were heading in the right direction. I like this coaching staff. I like the FO. We're assembling a lot of talented players who leave it all on the field. I don't think we're quite ready for Super Bowl run yet but the playoffs seem realistic for the first time in geologic eras.

I deleted the Jim Kelly story. By all accounts Jim is a devoted & good father and husband these days. But, by his own admission, Jim liked the ladies when he first came to Buffalo. Who can blame him? Personally, I think stories about misspent youth often can be amusing when we've grown and matured since then as Jim obviously have. However, some people were apparently offended when my story reminded them of Jim's youthful follies. So the little Kelly tidbit is gone. I have no desire to offend any Bill fan anywhere. And, yeah, I know the original post was not very meaty. But it's the offseason and I don't often meet people with personal, inside knowledge of the Bills or anyone on the Bills team/staff so I thought I'd share. It was nice to hear so many good things about Pete from someone who knows him. I hope hPete helps make our TEs more productive this year.

I had dinner tonight with someone who's known Pete Metzelaars since Wabash. Says Pete was recruited to play football at bigger schools (Bo Schembechler tried to get him to Michigan) but Pete wanted to play both football and basketball and so went to Wabash. Pete's nickname, at least on the basketball team, was "The Red Headed Woodpecker." The gentleman from Wabash says that, unlike a lot of other athletes who made a lot of money in sports, Pete stayed humble and down-to-earth. Says Pete's a solid human being.

I never knew we used Buffalo Bill as an icon for our Bills. These are cool program covers with flair and character. Your dad was a talented artist and I'm sure a worthy man in many other ways as well. Condolences to you and your family.

Personally, I HATED North Dallas Forty. I'm old enough that I saw that one in the theaters and quickly regretted wasting my money. I have no problems with the rest of your list. Brian's Song wasn't a great big Hollywood movie but I'll confess my eyes watered when first seeing it (the original) on TV. Rudy wasn't fascinating every minute but the ending was very moving and inspirational.

"Most of the holes" were filled. But this roster had so many problems, they couldn't fill all of them. The Bills are hardly the only team really hoping their starting QB doesn't get hurt. I'd rather praise the FO for what they did accomplish than criticize them for what they didn't. Not all draft picks or FA signing will work out. I hope VY does work out as a second-stringer. When you look at his physical skills and his 'resume,' there's some reason to believe he can be a good back-up, maybe more. But every signing is a gamble and perhaps we'll lose this one. I'm still really pleased with the FO and the offseason they just completed.

Good nicknames like "The Purple People Eaters" and "The Steel Curtain" have some specificity. There had been a song about "purple people eaters" but who else in the NFL at the time could have adopted that nickname? Only the Vikes. "Steel Curtain" is cool because curtains are usually soft but this one is made of steel. Only the Steelers could use this nickname. Some of the suggestions here for the Bills D Line (Boom & Doom, Beef Curtain) are too generic. My faves so far are Bill Collectors and Buffalo Stampede. The former is more clever, I think, but the latter is more dynamic and thus my #1 pick so far.

How Fitz can be better? Getting no broken/bruised ribs! Not trying to force the ball into tight windows when we're down (i.e. better decision making). Better accuracy on long balls (maybe Lee helps here).

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do you like about Andrew Dees???

I shave with a Braun electric razor. Since Braun is a German company, I'm guessing that at least one Braun employee went to a Berlin Thunder game. The Thunder helped launched the career of David Akers who at least once kicked a FG against the Bills. That's it! I'm not using my Braun razor anymore!

I admit that I also felt we should have run more late last year. BUT one of the reasons Spiller averaged 5.2 yards was because of the way Chan used him. Chan's pass-first play-calling had teams on their heels, or at least, not stacking the box. If we ran Spiller the way the Browns ran Brown or the Lions ran Sanders, I doubt very seriously if he would have averaged 5.2 ypc. I think those kinds of comparisons are invalid.

Easley can run the 40 in 3.9???? OJ was an Olympian sprinter and couldn't run 3.9. Wow, I really want to see this guy on the field!!!

Yeah.... gotta to love the optimism but a lot of this goes too far for me. I also wouldn't classify Byrd-Wilson elite though it will be interesting to see what they do with a better pass rush. Glenn may be a superstar someday but right now he's unproven as a NFL LT, and as a rookie will make rookie mistakes. The remarks about our WR corps says we only have one legitimate starter but lots of good backups. That isn't ideal. Brad Smith and VY being in the same backfield a deadly combination? I doubt we'll see that very much. But overall I have to agree, the Bills improved on many fronts.

I like Jaws because he's a Lackawanna boy and besides (1) he obviously knows football, especially the QB position, and (2) he does more film study than most of analysts on TV. But, like anyone, he has flaws. Film study isn't the same as being with the guy in the huddle. Jaws used to like TE because he saw on film that Edwards had good mechanics and good accuracy. What he didn't see was that TE wasn't executing the game plan, wasn't throwing to the primary because he was afraid or whatever, and wasn't inspiring his fellow players. His rating of Fitz is fair based on what the tape will tell him. I doubt if he's factoring in Fitz's guts and leadership. And I wonder if he's considering the broken ribs. Painful ribs will play havoc with mechanics, though of course, Fitz's mechanics were flawed before then. All in all, I think #24 is fair based on past performance. My expectation for this year, though, is much higher. I'm really hoping, especially with Coach Lee here and lots of guys getting healthy, for Fitz to have a career year in 2012.

Power rankings never make me excited. Wins do. BUT... I do enjoy having my optimism affirmed by NFL experts.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited this season. Here's one more - in the words of Ryan Fitzpatrick: "C.J. is a completely changed man. It's been apparent from day one of this off-season. I think the biggest thing with what he did at the end of the year last year, was he got his confidence. You just see how comfortable he is in this system now. He's telling guys, receivers that they're lined up wrong and letting them know... there's just so many things. He's directing people on the field and out of the huddle. I think he's ready to make a big jump. I think mentally he's made a big jump in the last year. With his confidence level where it is right now, we expect big things out of him this year. He really showed last year what he can do."

The battle for the #2 WR spot should be interesting. There are several players who could potentially emerge. I'm kind of thinking it's between Hagan and Jones but Easley is a wildcard. And then there's TJ which hardly anyone is mentioning even though the brain trust apparently thinks highly of him. Doesn't anyone believe he could win the #2 spot - if not by opening day then by the end of the season?

Yeah, it makes me excited to hear the players get excited about each other! It's been a loooong time since I sensed this much enthusiasm from the players or the fans.

Stevie Johnson talks about Mario Williams on NFL.com: "A beast, man. He's huge," Johnson said, adding that "the dude's like freaking Hercules out there. He just leans on you and gets a sack. He's looking real strong out there. Our whole defense is looking dominant." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d829d95ac/article/mario-williams-is-freaking-hercules-says-bills-wr Link includes the 32 in 32 video segment.

Keith Sims: "As a former offensive lineman, that would keep me awake at night having to face the Bills twice a year."

Kelly, of course, has said there are things going on behind the scenes that the public doesn't know about. Now Kilgore is saying the same thing and specifying that his source is not Kelly. Two independent sources - not that I distrusted Kelly - convince me that there's a lot we don't know. As I've opined elsewhere... If Ralph wants the team to stay in Buffalo, I would guess that his family feels the same way, or at least will respect his wishes to keep the Bills here. I don't think the Bills are traveling anywhere when Ralph heads to the Great Beyond.

There are a lot of ways to skin the cat. Estate taxes are not an insurmountable obstacle to keeping the Bills in the Wilson family - or in Buffalo. They say Ralph wants the Bills to remain in Buffalo. I'm guessing his family feels the same way. Or, at the least, will respect his wishes. My guess is that the Bills will remain in Buffalo upon his passing.