TC in St. Louis

I have a friend who is a Browns fan who told me that when Hoodie was in Cleveland the team hated him. He said that Kosar had Hoodie in a headlock and people had to pull him off the guy. Now he's in New England. With Tom Brady. The team is well-coached, and they seem to have the home field advantage even on the road. But without Tom Brady they would be in deep trouble. Plus, they cheat. Anybody remember the game in November 02? They ran about 16 screen plays, and every one went for at least 15 yards. It was as if they knew our defense calls. Turns out they did. They cheated. How fun is it to cheat?

I am not thrilled with this either. But we sure gave up a ton of big returns this year. Special teams is an attitude. Maybe Marrone's attitude will trickle down to all levels. Whether you're well-coached or not, if you don't have the right attitude you will be mediocre.

I'd say Chuck Bullough and Kay Stephenson were pretty bad, not to mention John Rauch. Without Rauch, OJ probably would have had another 2000 yards in his career before killing those two people.

I wish I lived there. I'd be a season ticket holder. This is a new approach, and I like it. Hire young smart guys who are geared to win. Go ahead and criticize Syracuse for being 25-25, but Greg Robinson, and NFL type guy, had a horrible run there in Orange country. I'm all for this. I'm in 100%

I'm stoked. Usually it takes me till April go get false illusions like this. Love the concept of a coach/gm/staff with an average age under 75. Lovie, in my opinion, was never that great as a coach. I'm ready.

Yowsa. Well, things are certainly looking up. I feel the senseless optimism a lot earlier than usual. Can't wait till whatever.

Long live the Chin. At least when he's done he can get a job folding sheets.

This is what I was told by a friend. Haslett's agent told him that he was trying to get an interview with the Bills. He told me that Saturday before they announced the hiring of the new coach. He said Haslett was leaving Washington no matter what, that Shanahan was "a handful." Actually, his text reads that he has arranged an interview with Haslett in Buffalo. I asked him if it was for DC, he said probably. He is leaving Washington no matter what. That's a legit source, but who knows?

I heard he is not returning to the Redskins. He and Firemarshall don't play well together. Any takers?

I don't think he's a good pick till the 4th round. Drafttek doesn't have him being chosen in the first 5 rounds. Too early to speculate on him. I did see him beat Missouri at Missouri this year, and he looked tough.

He was horrible in Denver, and even worse as OC in St. Louis. He's another in a long line of people who are hired based upon success in New England. How many of those have absolutely failed at their new jobs? Crennel, Josh, Pioli, Weiss, the QB from KC....they all are missing one element. Tom Brady.

Because of Chan's poor decision making this past year, snatching at least 3 losses from the jaws of victory, we were able to finish 6-10. Not 9-7. A 9-7 record would have surely bought him and Nix another year. Thanks, man.

Anybody see the hit, right after the refs called a first down on a ball that was clearly short of the marker? I think Clowney's hit is comparable to Stratton's hit on Keith Lincoln. Anybody see that?

Let's remember that we could easily have won 2 more games, if not 3. Easily. And if we had, Chan would still be coach and things would not seem so bad. But they are bad. The defense may have been the biggest disappointment in all of sports this past year. Most people thought they would be dominant. Had they been just average, we might have won a dozen games. But they were rancid, so we finished 6-10. Add Chan's mysterious playcalling, and we have the elements in place to turn this around rather quickly. A good coach, a new quarterback, a solid draft. I'm still believing in this. Thank you Chan, for coaching like an idiot. And special thanks to Wanny for having the worst defense we've ever had, with some pretty good talent.

This discussion is living proof why anybody would want to be a coach of the Bills. Where else would you find fans who have not given up on a team after 13 straight seasons without being in the playoffs? It's New Years Day, there's a lot of football on tv, and here we have 30 plus pages of passion about our team. One sentence in the WGR story that hit me was that they've heard from 20 people interested in coaching. That's good news. If Ralph authorized 100 million on Mario, they'll spend what it takes to get a great coach. They should just invite all the fans to fill the stadium when the coach comes to town. We'll get somebody good. Nix is being given the courtesy of a graceful exit. They will allow him to stay and provide input into the draft. That doesn't mean they'll do what he says....but the possibility exists that he might have something positive to add to the discussion. This is the guy who traded up to get TJ last year. Great job opportunity in WNY. Coaching in front of the most passionate fans in sports. We just don't give up.

Nix is a 72 year old good southern guy who likes to smirk and be coy and whatnot. He's made a lot of miscalculations in the draft. Drafting Aaron Williams last year was viewed as smart by the media at the time. Troup was an idiotic choice. I think TJ Graham was a stupid choice too. If the guy was very good, he'd have had a bunch more catches this year, especially considering all the injuries. You can waste your time and trace my pre-draft posts, but I was pushing for Russell Wilson to be taken in the 2nd round. I'd watched him play a bunch for Wisconsin, and thought he would be a perfect pick. Turns out I know more than Buddy!! He's got to go. He has not improved this team in 3 years. They only won 6 games. Granted, they EASILY could have won 9 games, and Chan would still have a job. Chan's incompetent coaching cost him his job. And Nix's suppport of Chan should get him the heave-ho. Happy New Year.

Spit take. Thank you.

OK. Not Wade. I just threw it out because I think he's a great defensive coach. With the exception of the linebackers, we've got great talent over there on defense. We need somebody who's gonna get them playing like their hair's on fire.

Would you guys think Wade might be considered? Granted, he got canned because he wouldn't fire the special teams coach. I think that Music City Miracle did everybody in. He knows defense, and he has done a good job as a head coach. Takers?

Bob, Normally I would agree with that. However, because of their tendency to pick the wrong player (Dareus, Maybin, Williams, TROUPE!!), I believe this nullifies any advantage they would gain by choosing early. Therefore, they will lose because winning would hurt them more than losing will help. TC

They have shown a tendency to pick the wrong athletes in the draft. Whether or not Gailey stays, you gotta wonder about taking Troup in front of Gronkowski, and Aaron Williams in front of Andy Dalton. And somehow he was able to choose the underachiever in the 2011 draft with Marcel Dareus surrounded by 4 Pro Bowlers on either side of his pick. Nix is a good ole boy, and his high-pitched twang and self-knowing nods and winks should go.

Yes, this has the potential to be a classic like the 8-0 game v. Cleveland, or a 3-2 game. And I will be there with the St. Louis Bills Backers, watching the game and getting ready for another offseason full of hope and dismay.

Every time we play these guys, our players look like tackling dummies that have been placed directly in front of the Jets' blockers. Our corners bite on every move, and the quarterback has a month to graze and eventually lob the ball into the lap of the no-name wideout. On offense, our guys forget how to block, and we struggle. Fitzpatrick finds their corners at least 3 times a game. Frankly, we look like Trott Vocational vs. Kenmore West. I see no other possible outcome than a smoke-job. Bet the house on the Jets, take the money and have a nice vacation somewhere. Seriously. The last several times we've played these guys (except one close game) they kicked our butts like we're little Nancies and they are big Sluggo.

I've watched pretty much every press conference with Chan Gailey. He says the same stuff every week. I really like the guy. I just think he's not a head coach. He may be very smart at designing plays. He's had a lot of success creating plays capitalizing on the strengths of his players. Problem is, we don't have enough good players. Fitz is not an NFL calibre qb. On another team he would probably have been cut in preseason. The reason he's still on our team is because he is smart enough to understand Chan's plan. He just doesn't have the physical tools to get this job done. How many deep throws has he completed all season? 5? Plus, a head coach cannot be the playcaller. When since Bill Walsh has that worked? Plus, Walsh had Montana at QB. Chan has to go. I'd consider keeping him as OC, but as head coach, he is history.

Why do we always get the Browns and the Chiefs?