Dan

No... I really don't think we can. Hope is useless.

Thank you. It all sucks. We know. We ALL agree. But, there's limits to any amount of sucktitude and wishing the death of anyone is just .. wrong.

Very good point. I must say... if I had $20 mill in my pocket, no way I'm working next year. But, it'll almost certainly be his choice. He's perhaps one of the more respected coaches in the league, even talked about as being HOF caliber. He can literally have his pick of jobs. My brother in law is Broncos fan. For years all he's clung to is trust in Shanny. I haven't called him, but I imagine he'll feel about like I do right now.

The only way Shanny doesn't have a HC job tomorrow is he's still mulling over the offers.

There's so much wrong with those comments I don't even know where to start. Basically, our coach sucks, we all know it, but what the hey... who cares.

Ya know... I was thinking this during some of those press conferences. Kinda like Dick knew his job was safe, so he took the heat for his staff in some grand gesture. In the end, .. oh who the hell cares....

i'm officially depressed

Skooby, you should feel proud. You'll live in TSW lore for years to come.

I don't doubt that at all. But, according to some googling the attendance was 75,141. Pretty good, I'd say - about 17,000 more than at the SD/KC wildcard game. So, I'd say we should give Bills' fans some credit for showing up, despite the non-sellout.

You really should get rid of your life and spend more time around here.

Was the lack of a sellout in '93 due to a lack of interest by fans or an inability to sell to 80,000 fans? As I seem to remember the Bills routinely were among the league leaders in attendance, but quite often didn't sellout due to the size of Rich Stadium. Just curious.

friggin great.

I just want to know what kinda car you drive. How am I supposed to get any sort of gauge as to the credibility of your report otherwise?

Something we can both agree on.

I thought the "Bills" referred to all the bills Ralph pays or doesn't. Hence, the power being shut off this season.

You do realize that if they added 2 more teams this season that means the Pats* and Jets get in, in the AFC. In the NFC, Tampa and Dallas were 7 and 8, respectively. So, how exactly is that helping smaller markets? It makes the regular season games less important because you can, potentially, lose more games and still get in. By keeping the number of teams in the playoffs to 6, it's imperative to win every game.

You sayin he got a Colbert bump?

Ralph never said the Bengals have more talent. Just because at one point in his life he said the word "talent" doesn't mean you can add it to the end of any sentence and attribute those words to him. Oterwise we could play all sorts of games... in the words of Ralph Wilson all posters on TSW have no "talent".

Exactly. That mentality drives me nuts. That's what's wrong with just adding a few more teams for the heck of it (to comment on your reply, dog17487). It would water down the playoffs and make the regular season less important. This is a larger problem with our society - we all play so we should all get an award. It's, in a way, the same issue surrounding the over time. Everyone thinks they deserve a chance to score and win. No, you earn that, by playing defense and getting the ball back, if you lose the coin toss. If you can't play defense, your offense shouldn't just be handed the ball in scoring position. If you can't win your division, you shouldn't complain about not making the playoffs.

Wow. Every one that knows anything about anything can see the ineptitude of our coaching staff. We can only hope that the fellas at OBD, see it and do something about it.

Yes. They should change it so that every 3rd year that you're 7-9 you get in regardless. There's nothing wrong with an 11-5 team not getting in. The Pats* didn't get in because there was another 11-5 team in their division that beat them. Simple as that. They don't make the wildcard because one of them won 12 games and the other team also won 11 games but had a better conference record. All this talk about the an 8-8 team getting in is nonsense. They won their division. If the Pats* or any other 11 win team did that, then they wouldn't have to worry about changing the rules.

Not to mention, they spent upwards of $160million last off season (if I recall correctly) and are now in serious cap trouble next year. All that and what did they get for it? A lot of hype and hope. Yet, so many here want the Bills to do the same thing. Throw money at every name in the game, hype the team beyond belief. Then throw it all out and start all over again. As bad as the Bills are, they're spending this week just like the Jets, Cowboys, Redskins, Pats*, Broncos, Saints, and so many other supposedly good teams are - wondering what went wrong. Yeah we suck, but so do a lot of teams.

Decent read, but I disagree with much of it and, perhaps, most fans. Big Picture Priority #1: General Manage…DON’T Manage Generally I don't really buy into all this talk of we need a true General Manager. Several teams don't have a true General Manager any do quite well. What we do need, as the article points out, is a direction. If we don't have a strong GM/Parcells type, then we need a strong Head Coach. And that's where the problem is, we don't have either one. Bring in a solid HC that provides accountability and direction and have a true GM means quite a bit less. The primary responsibility of a GM is to assemble the players and coaching staff that can win. Isn't that what Brandon and company are doing or at least attempting to do? Perhaps you dislike Brandon et als. efforts. Fine. But, then advocate is dismissal. But, to continually complain about not having a true GM ignores the reality that is today's NFL and indicates you're just unwilling to accept a changing world. How many guys are out there that are qualified to oversee the spending of $100's of millions each year, evaluate players at all positions and levels, and manage every other aspect of a mega million dollare franchise? I'd suggest not many. Big Picture Priority #2: Out Coached? Coaches Out! I can't and won't argue this point. The Bills are out coached. It's painfully obvious week after week. Add in the FO's management structure and it's all the more reason to have a strong HC that provides the direction and identity of the team. Jauron simply isn't that person. We need a strong personality as our HC that knows what he's doing. Big Picture Priority #3: Tear the Roof off the Sucker As bad as the Toronto game was, we did not lose that game because it was in Toronto or because it was in a dome. We lost that game because the Bills flat out sucked. If playing outside was such a great advantage to this team, then why isn't our home record any better? Why do we lose the vast, vast majority of our games below 32 degrees? No, playing in a dome had little to do with our ineptitude that day. Could they, should they improve the fan experience of the game? Absolutely. Watching the game on TV it looked like a slightly over-hyped preseason game. However, lets be realistic. Has anyone watched the game in London? That game looks just about as bad. The fact is... most people outside the US are not as passionate about football as we are . So, unless they can somehow get more Buffalonians to attend, its going to be a lousy experience. If fans are so worried about losing a cold weather game, they could simply make next year's Toronto game a Sept. game. I would make it a non-divisiona game. But I suspect, Ralph chose Miami because he was hoping that would create the most interest and most likely guarantee a sellout. It appears he was wrong. Big Picture Priority #4: Stadium Arcane-ium Give this idea a rest. Do people really want their taxes raised so they can build a new stadium? Jerry Jones is finding it hard to fund his new stadium. But Ralph could easily do it here? The idea with the balloons and falling goalposts making the stadium look bad is ludicrous. When you have near hurricane force winds, structures get damaged and blown over. I don't care how new they are. Yes, it would be nice to have a new stadium. But, given the economy and reality of the current tax base, it's just wishful thinking. Big Picture Priority #5: Take our Ownership…Please This is perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves. Is the entire Bills fanbase becoming a group of 16 year old girls screaming they want everything for them at their sweet 16 party? Ralph has defied all business sense and kept this franchise in Buffalo for nearly 50 years. He's guaranteed as long as he's alive the Bills will remain in Buffalo. Yet, like spoiled little girls, we throw a tantrum and scream we want more, more, moooore. If anyone wants to guarantee the Bills stay here for 50 more years, I suggest they go into business, make a billion dollars and go buy the team. And then keep the team here despite the more lucrative deals you could get elsewhere. Because that's the only way this team is guaranteed to stay in Buffalo. All I can say is be careful what you wish for. One day the Bills will have a new owner, and there's absolutely no guarantee that owner remains as loyal to Buffalo as Ralph. Whether Ralph cherry picks the owner or the team is sold on Ebay, there's no guarantee. Not to mention all this talk of a new owner suddenly spending millions on coaches, players, a new stadium, etc. If someone has that kind of money , they're going to want a return on their investment - ala Jerry Jones. Can Buffalo sell the kind of luxury boxes and seat licenses that Dallas or Washington does? I doubt it. So, what would be the new owner's logical choice - yep, move the team. So, just keep wishing for a new owner. IMO, the big picture is simple: put a winning product on the field. If the Bills became a perennial winning team, playoff bound each year most of these problems go away. Driving to Toronto is less a hassle. The stadium doesn't look nearly as beat down. The management structure or titles given to people become irrelevant. All becomes right in the world. So how do you get a winning product on the field? That's the biggest question and the one most teams struggle with every year. I would suggest the Bills have enough talent, but what they really need is that strong leader to give them direction, an identity. In other words, a real HC.