ThurmasThoman

great thread. to me, the positives are that we started 0-8 last year, and finished 4-4. the last 3 games of our 0-8 stretch, we lost by 3 points each. we were clearly a team on the rise last year, and to me, it's exciting that the front office is getting rid of players on this team that have contributed to a DECADE of losing. i don't think anyone here could say with confidence they like the way the bills have been playing in the last decade, so how they could turn around and complain that we need to keep evans, or poz, or fred jackson, or ANYONE for that matter, is beyond me. i think, gailey and nix have a vision. big football players in the trenches, athletic playmakers on the wings and in the backfield. to get to where they want to be is going to take time. a football roster isn't a basketball roster - its 53 positions that need to be turned over. 3-4-5 years of rebuilding is fine with me, as long as we continue to see progress. for me, i saw A LOT of progress from week 1 to week 17 last year, and im optimistic it's going to happen again. furthermore, when you look at our schedule, there's really only 3 games (2 new england, 1 philly) that i look at as it would be a miracle if we win. i mean, theres a full THIRTEEN games on this schedule, that when i sit down in front of the tv, with a beer in hand, i'm going to be dissapointed if we lose. this is a really good schedule for us this year. everyone is jumping ship because we lost a SCRIMMAGE in which our coach basically said were not blitzing, were not helping on the o-line, im just going to analyze position by position who can do what in space without help. ITS THE PRESEASON. IT. DOES. NOT. MATTER. and if it does matter, 3 of our first 4 games in the regular season are against teams that are, you guessed it, 0-2 this preseason. it's going to be the best year following the bills since 04. im confident of it.

i couldn't respectfully disagree with you more. not just because "its called FOOTball for a reason" or some other similar reason, but the kicking aspect of football is what makes it so much more of a chess match/thinking man's game. a great game, to me, is back and forth battling for field position, get out with a field goal if you're lucky, a touchdown is a game breaker, final score, 13-9. i hate that goodell, in the name of "player safety" is basically doing everything in his power to marginalize the field position battle. it's what the game is all about, being won and lost in the trenches. i don't want to see the league turn into a 49-42 affair every weekend like the nhl is going for. give me the single digit points in single digit weather baby! that's why it would be an encouraging step in the right direction to have extra points kicked 20 yards back, so they did become more meaningfull. maybe you could elect to kick from the 20 for 1 point, or from the 35 for 2 points?

this seems to come up every preseason. the main problem, of course, is that if you move the line of scrimage back for the PAT, then you take away the ability for the offense to fake a kick and run a 2 point conversion play. beliceck, (as much as i hate to say it) is certainly right though. the 1 point kick is absolutely meaningless, and any misses can be attributed to a fluke/bad luck/etc., rather than a lack of skill by any position player. when the margin for error is +/- 1%, the need to have the play is completely meaningless. and the nfl certainly knows this and would have addressed it by now, if not for the fact of the 2 point conversions needing to be run from very close to the goal line, to make them worth the gamble. none of the proposed solutions have seemed clean and logical (to me) thus far, which i assume is why the kick is still in existence.

+1. i absolutely couldn't agree with you more. an ideal scrimmage for the buffalo bills, in my mind, would be them leaving everything on the field on saturday nights this summer. it's disgusting that a player like, merriman, for instance, would take the night off. for what? scared of getting injured? it's absolutely ridiculous and is symbolic of the struggles of this organization for the last decade. i mean, in all honesty, what's the worse that could happen if merriman played "lights out" defense for 60 minutes? a torn acl or achilles? ill say this once - WHO CARES! the preseason is about setting the tone for the season, not about anything else. if injuries to major players happen - so be it. all in the name of a win baby. and don't even get me started on the offense! pathetic. i can't even believe fitz would say something along the lines of "the goal of these games is to get out without injury." who's goal is that? a losing organizations, thats who's. the goal should always be to JUST WIN BABY. ideally, i would want to see fitz kicking and screaming about getting pulled from the game. he should WANT to get injured on that field in denver. a seperated shoulder, concussion, or blown ligament should be par for the course in the second scrimmage of the summer, and DEFINITELY against a conference opponent that we could be battling for a wild card. the whole offense in general showed what babies they are by letting gailey not play them for 4 quarters. i am disgusted all around by the lack of effort, heart and emotion the bills showed in this last scrimmage. if you think ralph wilson is going to see a PENNY from me this season - think again. i want these rejects playing these scrimmages like its the super bowl - set the tone for the season. if they don't win this saturday against jacksonville, ill see you at the draft, because this season will be OVER.

can't wait for the season. our week 1 opponent is also 0-2, and has looked like garbage so far. our week 2 opponent is also 0-2, and has looked like worse than garbage so far. but please, let's all continue on about how we're not as good as the patriots. i'm worried about the middle of the pack in the afc, and getting a wild card berth. it's well within reach. sorry that a bad showing last night in a meaningless scrimage has everyone ready to run their cars in the garage with the door closed this morning, but im PUMPED. 2-0 is in play!

it's preseason. i mean, honest to god - it's preseason. the reason the pats have scored 80 points thus far, is because every year, beliceck loads up the "we're on a mission" bus, and starts the "it's us against the world" tour. then runs up the score against the tampa bays and jacksonvilles of the world. but they haven't won anything since they video taped their opponents and knew what defensive schemes they would be facing on sunday. gailey has a brand new defense, and we haven't even cut down our roster yet! anyone worried about these games probably watches trent edwards highlights from last pre-season to relive the glory days. remember how great we looked last year?

oh man, were putting a drive together! were going to the playoffs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

such a tough call for me, being out of market. i know that both games against the patriots are going to be on local tv, so thats 14 games for 340, or 25$ a sunday. i usually go out, get a few beers and a pizza with my wife and watch the game at a bar, which is probably more expensive. but then again, they are usually out of contention by week 8, and i probably only watch 3 or 4 out of the last 8 games. decisions, decisions.

lol, man. this is some backwards ass logic. let's let goodell take away all our future first round draft picks, because buffalo has proven in the past decade it can't develop talent, and it would be better for the league if those players could go to a philly, or a dallas, or a nyg, where they can truly shine! in fact, maybe we could just move dareus there now, so he has a chance to really shine. here's the thing. anyone who watched vick come into the league knew the kid was special. i would have given an arm and a leg to have him here. he instantly would have been the best PLAYER we have had since kelly, forget qb. and that attracts free agents. look at all the movement to philly this year. so to really get mad about this, just imagine a past where a vick led bills team finished 10-6, snagged a wild-card, cower wanted to come coach here, free agents wanted to sign here, and we were discussing a super bowl run this year. as a bills fan, you have every right to demand rogers head on a spike. this is tampering x10000.

hmmmmm? their starting, all-pro, all-world, current nfl mvp quarterback was a 6th round pick, and pioli (the originator) and beliceck both play by the philosophy of stockpiling draft picks whenever possible. patriots traded moss to the vikings for a 3rd round pick. if you're confident in your ability to draft, and believe in the system you have in place to implement young talent, it makes sense to jettison aging vets.

pats will not only make the playoffs, they could very well push that 16-0 needle again. they are a juggernaut. any reason you have to be optimistic about buffalo this year, multiply it by 100 for them. a young team with an added year of chemistry, and some solid free agent pickups, and the greatest qb in the game, coming off a 14-2 season? they won't miss the playoffs. a kansas city or indy not making the playoffs scenario has a 0% impact on our playoff chances. SOMEONE has to come out of the south and the west. let's hope its baltimore and the jets that stumble. i've said it before though, and ill keep saying it til they go 6-10 this year: the jets are not a great football team, despite playing in back to back title games. sanchez isn't a good qb, and their receiving corps is garbage now. defense wins chmapionships, but offense gets you to the playoffs.

god i really hope we don't tear down goal posts if we beat new england. i live in the new england area. the patriots are a team that win championships, regardless of the means they employ to achieve that end, recently they have 3 rings, and a 16-0 season under their belt. if us, the 4-12 bills tear down the goal posts after beating them, it would look like if the kansas city royals threw a parade after beating the yanks in a regular season game. simply embarrassing.

ha, look man, i love fitz. everything from wearing his wedding band on the field, going to harvard, his nasty ass beard, his long ball, his ability to lead, his offseason workouts in arizona, his ability to finally, finally bring some excitement to the offensive attack of the buffalo bills. but calling him a top 15 qb in the league... shows why he isn't and shouldn't be our long term answer at quarterback. not even 15 teams make the playoffs! now, with that being said, in no way whatsoever should thigpen, or any other qb who isn't the designated "chosen one" take over the reigns from him. he should hold on to the starters job because a) he's a leader, and b) the more offensive continuity, the better. also, i'm prepared to eat everything negative i've ever said/typed about him not being a great qb if he excells this season, which is a very real possibility. an improved defense will do wonders for our offense. shorter fields to work with, playing with a lead, more time on the field to grind down opposing defenses. gonna be a great year baby!

my man... it's "granted" that you're trying to use.

the only thing more disheartening than the constant pessimism of bills fans, is our apparent eternal optimism for the jets franchise. they suck. i dont care if they've been to 2 straight conference title games. the class of the afc is the steelers, patriots, and ravens. other than that, it's wide open. it's unfortunate that the ravens and steelers are in the same division, but when you put us up against the other teams that will be fighting for the final wild card spot, you gotta like our odds. i think the jets have a better chance of finishing 4-12 than the bills, tbh.

im out of market. any youtube links to live action shots?

can't wait. CAN'T WAIT. lot's of winnable games on the schedule this year. it's the beginning of august. in all honesty, if you don't have optimism looking forward to the season, go post on a luekemia forum or something. why even follow the team if they bring you so much misery that, with a healthy roster, new additions, a nice schedule, and coming off a season where we were actually competitive in some of our losses, you don't think, but KNOW, we're going to be terrible. MAN im fired up for week 1. i love football, i love the bills, and anything is possible.

this x100. anyone who can claim to know everything about every team in the league is reaching. obviously the bills are getting better, and trending up. no way we finish dead last. can't predict our win total, but i would assume closer to .500 than 4-12.

got a good feeling about this D...

must be time to re-post this classic: http://www.woosk.com/2010/05/ethan-albrights-letter-to-john-madden-about-being-the-lowest-rated-player-in-madden-football.html

Agreed. And for 8 weeks in september/october of 08, he provided me the most fun as a bills fan since the late fall of 04. 5 wins in 6 games? yes!

right. we can psychoanalyze his/my comment to death along these lines, but let's not ignore the gist of it - essentially either an athlete is going to sign somewhere if the money is right, or he's not. Even though Lebron's "decision" was aired nationwide, and picked apart for the entire season, that process is essentially the same for every free agent. No amount of money Cleveland paid him was going to keep him there. He wanted to be in Miami, with his friends. Football players have friends too. They are also allowed to want to play in Florida with no income tax (Poz.) Just don't forget that while constructing your dream offensive line for the Buffalo Bills, it's a fair bet that our front office has also heard of these players that you want. The difference being that a 2 minute call to any of their agents might let them know that "player A is either going to dallas or miami, sorry." Doesn't mean Ralph is cheap, or Buddy is old. It means that the Buffalo Bills play in Buffalo New York.

Now, it's been over a year since Pat Moran made Buffalo Bills message board history claiming to have inside sources telling us, in no uncertain terms, that Bill Cowher was going to be a Buffalo Bill within a short time frame. Obviously, that didn't come to pass. I can claim no such "inside source" as Mr. Moran, bring no news that can equal the earth-shattering potential of those predictions, and my claim to fame is surely bettered by 75% of you living in the Buffalo area - but hear me out. I live in a town that was home to a minor league affiliate of the Sabres, Portland Maine. Two autumns ago, between traveling and pursuing my career, I found myself working as a bellman/valet/shuttle bus driver for a Holiday Inn in our downtown area. Nothing exceptional about the job, other than spending entire days driving between the airport and the hotel, bringing patrons one way or another. One day, on a job bringing someone from the airport to the hotel, I happened to pick up the goalie coach for the Buffalo Sabres. Now, I am a life-long, die-hard Bills fan, but in all honesty, could care less about the Sabres. My family is from Buffalo, so we made small talk about the area, and I told him several times I wish I knew more about the Sabres, or that he could be a quarterbacks coach for the Bills, and we both shared the awkward laughs that can only come from being a shuttle bus driver tasked with driving someone 30 minutes to their destination. However, my knowledge of the Sabres, although superficial, was enough to ask him, point blank, how we lost Drury and Briere. What he told me was eye-opening then, and comes to mind every single time I read a thread about -who the Bills should sign -Ralph Wilson being cheap -Buddy Nix being a bad GM etc. In no uncertain terms, this gentleman told me that there are 2 types of athletes, and in Buffalo in particular, there are those that - Want to make as much money as possible, and could care less about where they play, and their signings are motivated by the most bland, ho-hum, average joe reasons (kids in kindergarden not wanting to switch schools, wives in books clubs, mistresses that have a downtown apartment paid for, etc. etc.) and - Those that want out of small markets as quick as possible to play for the New York Rangers/Philadelphia Flyers of the world, that you would need to pay 3x, 4x their market value to keep. He said that from the moment those 2 showed up in Buffalo, they knew they were leaving, and there was nothing the Sabres could do to keep them. He said (and at this point, I'm paraphrasing, because it's been a few years) that the business of keeping players, signing players, and releasing players is perceived by the public to be one big game of fantasy hockey (football/baseball/whatever,) but the actual reality of it is, these are human beings, and (to completely make up an example) a free agent signing could hinge on nothing more or less than a girl that a certain athlete has been talking to online living in Cincinnati instead of Philadelphia. Now I'm not saying you need a coach associated with the Sabres organization to make this clear to you, but those of you that are losing sleep over the fear that Buddy Nix is literally sleeping on the job - remember. The perfect Bills roster that you construct from home has no doubt been constructed by Nix and Gailey a hundred times over. The difference? They know the phone numbers of the agents for the players in question. Just realize, that 95% of the time, when that call is made, unless the Bills are offering above and beyond, and then above a little bit more, what that players market value is, odds are said player has his mind made up on where he's going, and is just using the Bills (and every other team he won't sign with) as leverage. Nothing ground breaking here, just some food for thought.

I guess I'm curious as to what the purpose of this thread is. The Jets, regardless of the fact that we happen to be in their division, and in spite of anyone's opinions regarding Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez et. al., finished as a runner-up in the conference championship game last winter, AND the winter before that. They are, sadly, a great team. A great team, with home-grown talent, that may be adding another piece. We finished 4-12. Are we going to catch the Jets next season? Probably not. Let's start focusing on the middle tier of AFC talent - the Colts, the Chiefs, the Chargers, the Jaguars. We're not going to win the division and get a bye this year... probably. What can we do to go 10-6 and snatch a wild-card away from one of the aforementioned teams. Personally? I'm psyched. This is a team that showed a lot of heart in the middle of last season, upgraded their D-Line, brought in Wanny as an assistant coach, have Fitz as a starter all year, and have a year playing together under their belt. I'd be pumped with 6-8 wins, and I hope we get it, and continue building towards the future. This is twobillsdrive.com though, so let's spin this into an analysis about how buddy nix took a nap and missed the opportunity to bring ralph wilson to the negotiating table with roger goodell to buy the bills a playoff spot, which ralph wouldn't have attended anyways, (because he's too cheap,) but really, nix's nap was due to the fact that ralph had slipped him a sedative in his earl grey, because ralph has a handshake agreement with both roger gooddell and the city of los angeles to move the bills there.

No idea if this "quote" is true or not - link? If it is though - Not going to read through 4 pages of "let's nail Ralph to the cross immediately," to see if it's been posted, but 32 teams in the league, if each team resigned their top 2 free agents (for us, Poz and Florence) that would be the top 64 already. Then it's time to start playing ball. Maybe the thinking behind the "quote" that has us all up in arms, is that Nix doesn't want to get in a bidding war with the Snyders and the Jones for a top 5 player in the NFL, and spend all of our cap, and thus hasn't spent the entire offseason researching the top tier free agents... When he feels that the value will be in acquiring 5 players in the midrange, that he has researched extensively.