cwater10

This post caused Da'Rick to experience a glaucoma flare up and seek treatment. </Relevance>

Have you ever noticed that Tea has a very bitter after taste.... a little like astro turf...

Thank them and seek help for your annoying case of ODS...

They are horrific as journalists. As entertainers, they are much worse. I like to listen to sports talk when I drive, so I hold my nose and listen. I must say, the stench is growing out of control. BTW... what is the deal with that station and Lee Evans. To hear them tell it, The Bills just traded Jerry Rice for a roll of ankle tape. Evans was a stand up guy, but let's face it, he is not much of a receiver by 2011 NFL standards. Results are what matter in the NFL and his are not the stuff to build around. Good grief, let it go guys....

What you said... I think you just caused a mass panic in some meeting room at WGR550. Can you imagine the horror if people start to suspect the Bills are not in the midst of a massive exodus conspiracy... Oh no! Take it back!

Some guy named Tasker did OK after being waived by the Oilers...

The Reading Department has developed an on-line tutorial to help you prepare for the Reading portion of the test. In the Reading Comprehension section of the test, there are two types of questions that are designed to measure your ability to understand what you read. The PRACTICE TEST consists of twenty questions that will test the same reading skills as the Accuplacer using the same types of questions. After choosing an answer, you will be shown the correct answer as well as explanations as to why each answer is either correect or incorrect. The tutorial also has links to websites that will provide additonal practices to strengthen both your vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Links to study skills sites are also given to provide you with time management, test-taking and various other study strategies. The menu on the left provides links to all of these sites. Good Luck!

Vanek is lazy...

You are missing the point jw... Do you remember the movie, Major League? Do you remember when Charlie Sheen's character changed his look and lost his effectiveness? Do you remember the fans in the movie going nuts when "Wild Thing" came out of the bull pen rocking the look from the days when he was dominant? They sensed the return of good days. We are those fans... and we are ecstatic over anything that even hints at recapturing a bit of those glory days. That... and the reality that the current uniforms are horrific. It is difficult to root for a team that looks like a troup of clowns... Apparently, we won't have to any longer.

Sorry, but none of us can know that. It is just as likely that such anticipation is what drives him to make plays. Human nature is unpredictable. What drives one man to success or distraction is neither uniform in nature nor unversally applicable. It's too easy to overthink this stuff... Let Stevie be Stevie. "Ignore what a man desires and you ignore the very source of his power" -- Walter Lippmann

I read this thread and find myself wondering if I have just been awakened from some kind of Rip Van Winkle nap. When did celebrating and showing personality on the field become such a "terrible thing"? This is not the US Senate. This is professional sports. We pay good money to watch plyers compete and to be entertained. Professional athletes have always celebrated on field. I remember Bruce Smith and Darryl Talley's sideline routine about "What time is it? Showtime?" making us all 'smile. I remember Bobby Chandler celebrating touchdowns by spiking the football off of the giant Buffalo mascot that used to roam the end zone back in the mid 70's. Thurman Thomas had the habit of performing the first down gesture to get the crowd going. Fred Smerlas and Jim Haslett led a "Chorus Line" dance at midfield after a victory over LA in 1980. It was great. We were Talkin' Proud, not bitching about it. Cornelius Bennet invented the move of standing over a quarterback with arms folded after a sack. Bruce would sometimes flop around wildly and pound the turf after a sack. Billy "White Shoes" Johnson did one hell of a TD dance and was loved for it. Harold Carmichael used to roll the football in the endzone like a pair of dice. Joe Namath guaranteed things. Muhhamad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard endeared themsleves to the world with their clowning and antics in the ring. Earl "The Pearl" Monroe would make defenders look like fools, just because it was fun. Mark "The Bird" Fidrych talked to the baseball between pitches. We loved them all and we missed them when they left the game. Hell, Babe Ruth famously called his shot... Its sports... They are competitors... It's what they do... It always has been this way and it always will be. Please, people... lighten up. As Stevie would say: Why so serious?

Good grief! Or maybe the year hanging around one of the top receivers of all time hepled him emerge as one of the top receivers in the league. You want "been there before guy"? You already got him. He wears #83. Good luck with that. I'll take the guy who plays with passion and isn't afraid to have some fun with it.

OK, so every so often... perhaps once a year, Charles Manson goes before the parole board and does his very best to pass himself off as sane, if only for the day. Unfortunately for Charles, the parole board knows his history and has the advantage of viewing his behavior over a period of many years. Invariably, in unison, the board rolls their eyes and declare their unanimous conclusion that although the effort is appreciated, one day of appearing rational does make you fit to rejoin our society. We need to see much, much more of this over a much longer period of time, before we will even begin consider your request. Disclaimer for the analogy impaired: I am not comparing poor journalism with the atrocities put forward by a psychotic mass murderer... </outrage>

JohnC, I don't believe that anyone is missing that facet of your post. It is neither abstract nor difficult to digest. Yes, it is clear that there are currently teams that appear to have a leg up on the Bills moving forward. They do appear on the surface to be both organizationally superior and talent rick beyond the current offerings down in Orchard Park. Fortunately for The Bills, their fans and the NFL as a whole, future success in this league is dynamic and neither success nor failure are assured by current trends, appearances or results. Seriously... think back to when Ralph Wilson made those remarks. Only six weeks ago, very few of us would have believed that even the limited success The Bills have achieved in that time was possible. The notion of Ryan Fitzpatrick as a QB to build around could not have been even pondered. Now, at the very least, it is a debate worth taking on. The notion of rival teams having superior organizations is similar. Yes, New England has enjoyed a tremendous decade of success, as did the Buffalo Bills of the 1990's. This too shall pass... Who would have believed that the vaunted Bill Belichick defense would EVER find itselft ranked 32 out of 32? Did Tom Brady's exploding knee of 2008 not illustrate how quickly opportunities for success can come and go in this league? The NY Jets are humming along nicely in November 2010. No doubt... But a roster built on All Pro free agents can quickly be torn about by internal strife, aging stars, injuries and quirks of fate. That is a team built for the NOW, not the later. The 2007 Miami Dolphins needed to go to OT to pull out their only win en route to a 1 - 15 season. But they had the fortitude to move forward with a positive attitude and a bit of wildcat creativity for 2008. In doing so, they were prepared to answer when opportunity knocked. There is nothing it that scenario that screams "not available at One Bills Drive". There will be an unexpected opportunity in 2011 for some AFC team to step forward and be counted. Will it be Buffalo? If they continue on thier current path, there is no reason it cannot be.

Yep, differing points of view are fine. They make boards like this worthwhile. For what it is worth, Ralph Wilson made certain statements about the quarterback and the developement of the team, back in early October when the team was 0 - 5 and coming off embarrasing home losses to Jacksonville and NY Jets. If you are going to offer those statements to support your opinion, please acknowledgethat those statements were made prior to current events which have shown dramatic improvement in on the field performance by the entire team, a couple of wins sandwiched between 4 close calls against playoff caliber competion, and the emergence of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Stevie Johnson as viable offensive weapons. Yes, they are a work in progress. But the progress is visible and tangible for any willing to look honestly and acknowledge the developement of this team, despite the unexpected nature of that progress. I certainly don't speak for Mr. Wilson, but I suspect that his opinions have shifted since he made those remarks.

Tell the 2009/2010 Cowboys, Vikings and Buccaneers about this logic. I think they all missed the lesson...

I still believe that I saw John Y. Brown, Phyllis George, Paul Snyder, Bird Averitt and Elmore Smith all dancing on stage during a 1978 Grateful Dead performance of "Shakedown Street". So what? It is not the accuracy of the belief , but the capacity to believe that holds the power. I think Van Miller and/or some guy named Rick Jeanneret may have suggested something similar once or twice. For what it is worth, as a newcomer, I have to say this has been a fun thread in an introspective and historical way. I didn't see that coming and thanks to the OP for the opportunity to look both forward as well as back. I am in the process of returning to Buffalo permanently after many years spent in what are supposedly more attractive and/or glamorous locales. I can't wait to get back to the people and places that time has revealed to me, to be my true home. For whatever reason, this thread has triggered an opportunity to revisit some very fond memories and I look forward to throwing many new ones on to the pile upon returning there later this fall. You guys are great! Keep doing what you do and keep having fun!

I paid money to watch Perry Tuttle play football. I called Ralph Wilson "cheap" for his hesitation to do the same...

-- Once, at a Bills game, I hugged my wife... and together we dared to dream that our son would grow up to be just like O.J. Simpson

To date I have been content to accept this as a football fan site. After digesting this thread, taking a good honest look in the mirror and subsequently executing a scathing and fearless assessment of my own relative moral inventory, I must come clean. Much like the whispered sounds of contrition are met with an initial reluctance, the requisite keystrokes for this, my personal day of reckoning, come with considerable internal strife. But, I can no longer live this lie. Please forgive me oh great pure and righteous OP, but I have taken part in the frivolous liberties associated with free thought. It is true... I have sinned. As recently as Thursday of the week just passed, I entertained an impure thought inclusive of a linebacking corps sans Kawika Mitchell. I only request that my penance be carried out in a swift and forceful manner, lest I forget this lesson of accountability. Act now and spare me from that inevitable downward spiral where I always seem to tumble back through Alice's (tramp) looking glass, and into a tawdry place where accountability is a silly word that is seldom applied to whimsical pursuits. Do it now...