zonabb

They'll have made the playoffs twice before the 2020 season. The Pegulas delay a new stadium, instead staying in OP given its easy money and no debt. The still won't have a franchise QB. TT or some facsimile will be good enough to keep them competitive for two playoff berths but too competitive to get a top flight QB and they won't get lucky with a late round pick who "turns out"

That's exactly it. Being an **** toward secretaries and other support staff makes you a first ballet **** hall of fame inductee. You can't be a mean, vindictive, condescending, arrogant prick to your team, in football or the office. You need to treat your team with respect BUT hold them accountable, and do it with some level of professionalism. It's not Marine boot camp. I hated working for guys like this and no longer do nor ever would. They don't inspire. And in this guy's case, who would accept that attitude given he was an unaccomplished college coach? Seriously, do you think Marrone earned one ounce of respect from those players if what everyone has said it true? If you come in from Syracuse with a halfwit OC, a ragtag staff, and a 25-25 record, does that gain instant credibility and respect? I doubt it. So he had to earn it and it doesn't seem like he did. And when you quit and these rumors start circulating, you're done, as it should be. What team needs that given his less than stellar track record. The answer is none. I will say that you can be a prick to outsiders who have no impact on your team or organization. Look at Belichek. He's a total prick to the media and everyone assumes he's that way with his players but by accounts he's not. He holds them accountable and responsible and doesn't need to be a prick. And the only ones who care about his persona are outside the organization and the cavalcade of haters here. I think he's created this "us vs them" mentality in the lockerroom and the prick in the media works well with players who see him as their leader and voice in the media. Obviously.

Nope. Spread works in college due to the ability to get mismatches all over the field due to superior athletes on offense taking advantage of weaknesses on the defense. In the NFL, a filter whereby only the best college players make it, the ability to get mismatches consistently is nearly nonexistent. This is why BRAINS matter in the NFL because you can't simply rely on athleticism. I heard on the radio last night that the guy from GB who made the hail mary catch is one of these players GB fans constantly complain doesn't play enough. The host as speaking with a GB reporter who gets asked all the time why this guy doesn't see the field given his supposed great athletic abilities. His response, without calling the guy an idiot, was that they coaches can't be confident he runs the right routes since he makes so many mistakes in practice. So he's one of two things: lazy and doesn't study enough or practice well enough or dumb. Its why so many WR wash out. They simply run by players in college despite sloppy technique and poor route running. In the NFL, you need work ethic, brains, and athleticism. Look at any draft bust list and it's littered with the two key positions: QB and WR. Mostly great athletes who couldn't hack the NFL likely because of combination of laziness and less than stellar smarts.

I've worked in a lot of area that deal with development in WNY, public and private. I've followed and continue to ask about this. Personally know some highly placed non-Bills people who are and would be engaged in this. Right now, talk is dead. The belief is a downtown stadium would be the preference BUT what people should consider is that a new stadium is not an imperative. Remember, the stadium committee was seated I believe within a few days of RWS death and before the Pegulas bought the team. All their legwork was done based on assumptions about ownership, the need to possibly entice an owner with a new stadium plan. That sort of died out when Pegula bought the team because of the lease and from what I understand, the Pegula's recognition that a new stadium was not a priority. I still don't think it is for them because as I've said before here, this team does well at the gate even when they suck, which is most of the time. The stadium is basically debt-free for Pegula (not sure if he pays any token fees or anything but it'd be minimal) and so he makes money on the gate hand over fist. A new stadium would require some level of debt service on his part, reducing his profitability to some extent, although higher ticket prices and luxury boxes and suites might bring in more money but is the net greater for him? Here's the bigger issue with a downtown stadium, space and the law. Of the three sites, each has lot and lots of owners that would have to sell. Now, Pegula with his wealth could buy and overpay for each parcel. If not, eminent domain would be his only approach and he'd need the city to do his bidding there. That is a politically touch position to put the city in, to take land from one private entity and give it to another. The Supreme Court ruled eminent domain legal for economic development in Kelo v New London but NYS, I believe, may be one of the states that put restrictions on it. The state and local govts throwing money at a new stadium would call it economic development and there is arguments for an against that. My point about where this is and where it's headed is related to the land issue predominantly. Buying all these properties will take time. Eminent domain would take even more as it would be wrapped up in the legal system. So if you want to keep tabs on it, start following the real estate transactions published in the News on I believe Sundays (used to be). You can see who is buying what. Now, Pegula wouldn't by them as Terrance Pegula but under some corporate entity. NYS corporate ownership is available through a NYS website. Sometimes the owner is listed, sometime a lawyer's office. So you can track who is buying land on those sites. Also, the NFTA is going to extend the metro a few hundred yards to behind the arena. I don't think that's an indication of a new stadium but more so an extension of investment into Canalside and the waterfront. And in any case, it wouldn't get close to any other site than Cobblestone. Lastly, and the most complicated issue is traffic and infrastructure. Absent public transportation, an urban stadium needs to get people there somehow. And one metro line won't be enough even if it dropped fans off at the gate. Lots of parking would be necessary. If you look at the three sites, you'll be hard pressed to find the acreage needed for the stadium and the parking. Think about how far you can walk for a Sabres gam which is served by metro. Now add 50,000 more fans. If I had to guess given the time remaining on the lease, they're in no hurry. They could get by with a couple one or two year extensions on the lease while they try to acquire property, address parking and transportation, deal with funding, etc.

Love the continual jealous rage and perverted fascination with all things Patriots. Stealing from Patrick Roy, I don't think Belichek hears what anyone says with those those super rings stuffed in his ears. I was a devote member of the Patriots Haters Club until a few years ago when I accepted how awesome that franchise is, from the QB to the coach to the drafting and player philosophy. Draft smart players; cut them when they don't conform to the team first mentality or can't learn; and let them leave in free agency when other teams are willing to overpay them for declining production. And the coaching is flat out the best in all sports leagues. This is a team, if you watch, week in and week out, that adapts to personnel and opponents. Just when you think they're ready to shrivel up and die because they lost a player here or there, they adapt to it and find a way to win. Their run under Brady is unquestionable the greatest run in the history of American pro sports. No NFL team had had one QB over this long of a time period with this length of time between championships. Many good teams have a short shelf life (the Greatest Show on Turf for example) but this one doesn't. I'm not saying I like Brady or Belicheck as human beings because, frankly, I don't care about what happens outside of the football operation (games, coaching, drafting). Is Belichek a crank and prick? Clearly. Is Brady a globetrotting pretty boy? Yep. The only football gripe I have with Brady is the whining to the refs. But I attribute that to the expectation creating by the refs that some players have special rules. Ask Cam Newton. I'd like to see Arizona win this thing but if they don't, I hope its the Pats. Partially so you all can keep your Kleenex subscriptions.

Well you obviously don't run a business or manage people because that's the biggest line if self supporting malarkey ever. As someone with extensive experience with college kids, I'll take the high gpa kid over the mediocre "college experience" (see: immature, lazy) kid every time if we're talking entry level. Once you build a career and resume, gpa means nothing more than an indicator of potential drive, motivation, and intelligence.

NFL sucks and Kreonke is a scumbag pure and simple. Imagine a hometown owner worth $6B moving the Bills after years of subsidizing his operations and profit because they refused. This is a guy who could have built 5 stadiums and him, the NFL and now Pegula feel like its the community's obligation to take on the investment necessary for an NFL team to maximize its profits without sharing it. The state of corporate welfare in the country is an embarrassment. Pegula can F off. He basically just confirmed he's going belly up to the corporate welfare trough she the current lease it. Rethinking me season tickets for next year,might be time to walk away. And I hate the Jills but fightng thier lawsuit makes them look like aholes. The shine has worn off the Pegulas, we're seeing the true owners, actions speak louder than words. And one more thing, this whole process is drivn by greed. Imagine if every policy or law your local politicians voted for put more money in their pockets. How could you expect the decisions to be based on what's best for all? That's these owners, voting on a move that comes with potential $550m relocation fee. Who would vote no when they stand to make $40+ million by simply saying yes. It's disgusting and embarrassing that Terry Paygula voted for this. He's o longer a savior, he's just another investor.

More ammo for my "brains matter" argument I've made here for years. Smart players are teachable and that can overcome less than freakish talent (See many Patriots players) and some players like Hughes will never get it, they lack the emotional and intellectual intelligence. And as was evident with Burfict and Jones last night, they're team killers.

Hindsight is for people who have regrets. Spending too much time on it is the reason you can't move forward. If you do this with every successful mid and late round pick evr you'll find that not only have our GMs missed on players but all have, time and time again. I would have passed on a guy with character flaws and intelligence questions, every time. See: Burfict, Vontaz; Jones, Adam. See my continual posts about intelligence over stupid, immature gifted players. Cinci just lost a game because of those players and you tend to lose with rosters full of them. You seem to fail to recall this guy being called out by his QB this week and had 50 catches this season (3 more than Woods albeit with 200more yards). He's not exactly a consistent player. Ask any Steeler fan.

Man the gloves these guys wear make some awesome catches.

Proof positive for my continual argument that you don't win with stupid players. Two questionable characters with maturity issues cost the Bengals that game, unquestionably. They had to play smart, up with less than 30 seconds to go with the Steelers with no timeouts and they need 40 yards to get in range and oh by the way Roethlisberger didn't appear to be able to go down field. Morons. The only person happy about that was the RB who fumbled and escaped being the goat. Basically, Burfict is Hughes and I could totally see him doing that same thing. They'd both walk back to NE if that was Belichek but he doesn't waste time with out of control players anyway.

Garbage article like 99.9% of the media today. But here's the different between Kroenke and Pegula, one is a commuity-focused, obvious family man, and diehard sports fan. One is an investor. This entire NFL model is built on investment and greed, Pegula I think doesn't give two sh!ts about squeezing every last nickel from local government and the fans whereas this joke in St. Louis is taking his proverbial football home because rather than fund the stadium himself with his $6B fortune, he wants taxpayers to pay for it and pay to enter it. I'm not saying Pegula won't ask, I'm saying the point is clearly one about maximizing profit rather than any semblance or care for the place you;ve extracted parts of your fortune from. This writer misses the point here. Pegula appears to be old school, more interested in the sport and the community than in how much it'll make him. And let's be honest, what it comes down to is how much profit it enough? Pegula is making profit hand over fist annually, not including the increased value of the asset. So he is not ever losing money. One thing that can cut into his profit? Debt service on a new stadium. I still suspect that he may consider staying in OP in the county stadium beyond the end of the lease. Kroenke on the other hand, is making money hand over fist (all NFL teams are profitable) but he's taken the tact (greed) that taxpayers should invest in his stadium so he can make more. We've come, disgustingly, to accept socialized debt for privatized profit. He's basically made it clear that he doesn't care about the community or the taxpayers or the lack of credibility he has as an owner and only cares about money. And because the NFL cares about money more than the integrity of the game or the integrity of the shield, they see nothing wrong with playing communities against each other for taxpayer dollars nor do they see any problem with acting like hookers, ostensibly taking payment and then leaving when the wallet is empty. So owners of marginal yet highly profitable (but not profitable enough it seems) teams in small markets have mobility. But at the same time, the large market teams that would never move play the same game. Lizard Face got how many millions from Dallas-area govts? The problem arises now when owners see NFL teams as pure investments, that is their own asset, rather than commuity assets. The only community asset they care about are the handouts they get. (Kroenke is clearly one, Haslam and Khan appear to as well. The bigger question for the NFL is going to be what happens when they have two teams in LA and the one shut out team plus others like Jacksonville can't pry money from the the local government and there are limited if any places looking to do the same to lure them? I think the NFL's revenue sharing structure is the problem. The disparity between the large markets and small markets is so great that the small markets struggle to keep up AND the large markets hammer on them to try. How many owners have told WNY we need a new stadium? Why? Because they benefit right, because ticket prices will go up and each team gets a larger share of the gate without investing a single penny. So of course Bob Kraft is going to tell us we need to finance a new stadium, he'd get more money every year from our gate by doing nothing. Pretty nice set up huh? But realistically, there will always be small market teams. The 30th largest region is tiny compared to NYC or LA. The league doesn't just need these teams, they're stuck with them, unless they move all 32 teams to NYC, Chicago, LA. Damn I hate the business side of the NFL (and as every day passes the players and the product).

Injuries are no excuse. Right , but they are an explanation. If second stringers were equal to starters, there'd be controversy at every position. Declining play is expected when back ups play.

I'd cough up my seasons if they built a dome. If I'm going to watch a game indoors, in a t shirt, I'll do it on my couch with a nice six pack I can get for the price of a warm beer at the stadium and a cheaper seat with a better view! I don't think they care about fans like me, they care about wealthier fans who wants everything to be easy and clean and warm and carefree so they can chat, surf the web, and socialize. It'll turn into a Sabres game.. woman dressed up for a fashion shoe and an atmosphere more like the theater than a stadium. The reputation as a diehard fan base will take a hit. It'll take a hit anyway as prices will go up and push many out. But it'll be decidedly more conservative and boring.

Second time in two days I'll say it here... stop reading the BN. How anyone thinks any of the hacks there have a shred of credibility is beyond me. Their opinions just don't matter and their reporting is lower tier, same with WGR. We're a medium sized market, we get mediocre talent. This new guy, Dunne I think, he made the massive jump from Green Bay to Buffalo, whoa big timer. If they were good, they wouldn't be here. The days of Felser and Kelley are long gone, the replacement honks now are merely chasing any piece of info they can, hiding behind deep throated sources in the name of timeliness over accuracy. In the 24 hour news cycle, the print media has resorted to nonstop anonymous sourcing and tweeting to try and remain relevant. They just aren't. I come here a few times a day for any good treads or possibly news and that's it. I was a diehard newspaper guy for years, I don't waste my time. It offers zero value. Take the same approach, you'll find yourself happier.

STOP READING SULLIVAN. Trust me, your life will be happier if you stop reading the BN. I'm not saying that flippantly, it's true. Yeah a good human interest story here and there might be worth your time but a game report or editorial/column is just full of annoying snide, curmudgeon-ry, and general crankiness over a game. Seriously, enjoy the games from 1-4:30 and come here occasionally for your fix but for the sake of your happiness, put that garbage down.

Man what a sad life you and Yucky Gleason live, whining about people having fun. No harm no foul. If you need to live your life as a reflection of how others act and behave, that's truly a sad, sad life. I am not a reflection of anyone else. I am a diehard fan who went, sat through dreary weather and enjoyed the win. What these kids do doesn't reflect on ME as a Bills fan no more than what you do reflects on me as a Bills fan. You and Yucky should meet up at Hortons and commiserate over how pathetic it is for people to go and have fun. How dare they. What do you want? Everyone to show up at 11:30 and in an orderly fashion walk single file into the game, buy a hot cocoa, and sit quietly and watch a game? This isn't the parking lot of the Supreme Court, where some level of decorum is necessary and the proceedings are serious. We're talking about a game here. A game. Take a breather and enjoy life. And I am not saying it's all well and good across the board. One thing that does drive me crazy is the condition they leave the lots in. Have some respect and keep it clean, you look worse as a slob than you do acting a fool. Enjoy your miserable life.

If they get up early, the effort might continue. Psychologically (human nature), if they get down early, say by 10, the weather and the meaningless nature of the game will result in the proverbial run for the bus. I suspect the Jets to win by 20.

Yeah, just look at the defensive failure and not the massive jump from I think 28 to 13 for the offense. Polian was on WGR last night, made an excellent case for why the defense struggled and why that should have been somewhat expected. He also stated that typically the break in for a new scheme is a season and they did show better in the second half but the injuries killed the ability to show it. He also stated, I think intentionally, that now having buy in from some players will a hurt a new scheme. He sort of likened it to getting new job descriptions and that you have to buy in. There is no leadership on this team, which I think is a bigger problem. When your second year WR is the voice of reason, that's a problem. They need a leader in the locker room, a bona fide guy players respect and will listen to and I think on defense they need to go find that player in FA. Dareus seems like an introvert, albeit well liked, and not capable. M. Williams got his money and has always been quiet. Hughes is a punk and I wouldn't listen to a guy who can't keep his head. Gilmore seems to be quiet too. The only one who seems promising there has been out most of the year and that's A. Williams. But who knows with him. Taylor has to come in this offseason like he owns the joint. He's got take ownership and hold players accountable, at least on the offensive side. You can't rely on a WR on offense. But hey, if you want to blame Rex, that's cool. Firing coaches every few years seems to work better. I'm sure the Donald has your vote.

I'll go with none. Here's a few reasons why. 1. College coaches get to hand pick every single player on their roster to fit their scheme. They have what is it, 80, scholarships to dole out to players they want. The find the right players for their system and team culture. The so-called college genius are, shockingly, all at major schools whose historic past and reputation help in recruiting. Saban bombed in the NFL, but he's a great college coach right? Kelly was great in college but sucked in the NFL, I'd argue he made his team worse over this three seasons. In the NFL, you get a roster handed to you and you don't get to go out and use the Alabama name, great facilities, and scholarships to recruit the best free agents. You get a small amount of free agent money to go plug a few holes. 2. As Kelly has proven and others like Marrone did too, you can't treat pros like college kids. A millionaire is a professional, and treating them as a true underling doesn't work. Many of these coaches just don't know how to treat a man like a man when they can't control them like a 19 year old sophomore on scholarship. 3. NFL coaching experience matters. I'd never ever hire a college coach. Give me a coordinator or former coach who has been around NFL players, locker room, front offices, and the entire culture. 4. Scheme, mainly offensive. These college coaches with great teams have great athletic talent all the skill positions. They simply out play the defensive talent with speed. But many of these outstanding college skill players suck in the NFL, because of my main point about a lot of NFL players... they're not intelligent enough, they've gotten by their whole lives on pure skill. That works in college where things are simpler and talent matchups can be lopsided. In the NFL, not so much because the NFL is a filter... the talent and brains are at every position. When you used to be a WR who just ran by everyone, now you need to be a WR who runs precise routes and you simply can't learn it because you're too dumb or don't have the work ethic. Where's all the Kevin Sumlin talk this year. He was supposed to be great NFL candidate and now he's rumored to be on thin ice. Would he have lasted had he been hired after Manziel's last season? Nope, just another college coach who should stay there,

Great coaches have great QBs, they don't create great QBs. Great QBs are born with exceptional mental skill and physical ability wrapped into a leader's mindset. Name a great coach and they'll have a great QB. Does Rex have some warts, sure. Lots do if you watch enough. No one is perfect when the play clock is running. What masks lots of bad coaching is excellent QB play. Ask yourself this.... is this a playoff team if the only thing you changed was you replaced TT with Tom Brady? If don't think Brady wins 3-4 more games even with this defense, you're delusional because that's exactly what he's done for years is win high scoring games with a bad defense. Why? Not because the offense is special because outside of Gronk, he's made his bones with some average WRs, RBs and often shoddy lines. but because he's a great QB. Belichek is a good coach, no doubt, but again, if the only thing this team changed was Belichek for Rex, how many wins would that get you? Sure as hell not 3-4 more with TT at QB. No QB, no consistent winning. Doesn't matter who the coach is. Period.

You mean like the Patriot Act, that undercut constitution rights under the guise of protection from terrorists? I guess everyone is OK with giving up their rights out of fear but be damned if we're going to give up our right's to be racists. The term "redskin" was used by the white majority as an intentionally pejorative term to describe Native Americans. It therefore was and is deemed by most Native Americans as offensive. The idea that this is so-called PC is merely another attempt to minimize and therefore continue the use of the term by ignorant white Americans who are slowly seeing their power slip away as the county becomes less white and more ethnically diverse. If there is one thing we need in this country is a national conversation about the applicability of a document written by racist slave owners in the late 18th century when the most common modes of transportation were your feet or a horse and only the most highly trained soldiers could squeeze off four rounds a minute using a weapon with an effective range of 100 yards.

More support for my constant refrain for drafting players with brains over sheer brawn and athleticism. Yes physical tools matter but often players drafted high with great physical talent lack the mental and emotional intelligence to be more than average players. McKelvin is a classic example of this type of player. Physically gifted but mentally lacking. He doesn't seem to be able to be taught to play, instead relies on his speed and gets burned often because he lacks technique that comes from learning the game. Looks at the Pats, who seem to draft smarts all the time. You all hate them but look at how many guys they draft that don't seem to be physically imposing but who are ballets. Why? Because they can learn the system and buy in.

An earlier post mentioned these guys as great executives or coaches or something to that point. All this complaining about Rex and Whaley and the Pegulas and Wilson as garbage or some form of fecal matter ignores the only key issue.... you don't win as a GM, Owner, or Coach without a franchise QB. If you get lucky and find one (and a lot of it is circumstances and luck, let's be honest) you win and look like a genius, you don't find one, you're a failure. You can fire Whaley and Rex, or any coach every single year and without a QB this will continue unabated. A GM doesn't produce quality college QBs and get sole rights to them. They have to be available in the draft and fall to you. I've stated a lot in recent posts that the demand far outstrips the supply and it results in those demanding a QB to overbuy, selecting QBs with marginal talent in the hopes that they can be "fixed." Doesn't happen. So the best best is find a good talent evaluator (Whaley is that guy I think, yes there are misses but all GMs have lots of misses) and commit to a coaching staff for the longrun that keeps some continuity of schemes. We're seeing now what happens when you constantly change, your players don't align with the ever changing schemes. So now what? Go backwards, fire Rex after a draft where he took players to fit his schemes and find a new coach that does what exactly? Firing everyone never works, look at the last generation of Bills team. Bottom line, No QB, no winning. Period. End. Of. Story. Polian - Kelly Wolf - Favre Holmgren - Favre Policy - Montana, Young

This is what happens when you build a new stadium, drive up prices, require PSLs, and kick out the diehard supporters for wealthy, casual fans and very often corporate seats. Welcome to the NFL where fans with disposable income and limited interest stay home because not going isn't like they've lost anythihg. That being said, I'm skipping the last two games myself. I'm worn out.