sven233

Channel 2 news at 11 just said that although Time Warner will be pulling the Network at midnight, the NFL Network isn't giving up yet. They have issued a "Temporary Injunction" that is trying to get them to hold off for a little longer. The NFL Network does not believe it is fair that Time Warner wants to force people to pay more just for their network. This probably doesn't mean much, but at least there is an effort being made of some sort. I just think we all need to call and complain as much as possible as soon as the NFL Network goes off the air tonight. I urge everyone who is still awake to call and complain as much as possible!!!!!!! Please help! LET'S SAVE OUR NETWORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are all very welcome. I love football and love talking about football. I am not sure how many more practices I will be able to get to though. I live about an hour and 40 minutes away and it is long drive for a 2 hour practice. If there would have been more 2-a-days, I would head to those, but it looks as though those are over. I will be reporting on preseason games and will have a season preview when the preseason closes. So, you will be hearing more from me in the future! Again, thanks for reading!

Hey there. Well, I mentioned Everett in my original post. While initially I thought he may challenge for the starting roll, it doesn't appear he will be able to overtake Royal. I would, at this point, rate him as the 2nd best TE on the team. He showed some great athletic ability today, but dropped a pass that hit him in the hands that would have gone for a big gain. But, he did make a couple pretty nice grabs today that I think solidified him as #2, at least for now. Cieslak, I thought, had a poor day overall. He dropped a few balls today in drills and just didn't seem to have 'IT' today. He has been stronger in the past and I look for him to rebound. He and Everett will challenge each other for the backup TE spot. Neufeld did nothing of note. As for Kelsay, he is in MUCH better shape than last year. He was slim and looked to be quicker. He and Schobel actually paired off on individual drills and worked together. They looked like twins! Let me tell you something.......Schobel is IN SHAPE and looks ready to go. But, as a note here, it was Denney getting a lot of 1st team reps as well. But, those are your top 3 DEs without a doubt. Posey has not worked out at DE and probably won't according to Jauron. Hope this helps!

I went back an forth about taking the camera today. But, I decided in the end that I wanted to watch the practices as closely as possible. I have found that in the past when I have the camera, I end up watching most of the practice through the lcd screen and I miss a lot of details. I thought the in depth report would be better. Maybe next time! I do appreciate the support and I am glad that you enjoyed the report. I do my best to bring the best information and opinions about the Bills to everyone as best I can. I may not be the best writer, but I do know what I am talking about (most of the time anyways.....) when it comes to the Bills. Stay tuned for my complete season preview which I will post as soon as the preseason concludes and opening week is upon us!

Hey guys, well, I just got back from camp and am here to file my report. I expected to have a lot more to say, but they worked without pads today so it is hard to judge the progress of certain positions. But anays, here we go! When I arrived and headed to the practice field slightly after 8 AM, TKO was already on the field!!! That was great to see! He was catching balls from the jugs machine. By my count, and what I overheard his assistant tell him is that he went through about 50 balls. He looked sharp cathing passes from several different angles. Also, later in the practices, he did participate in some individual drills and some 7 on 7. He didn't have a heavy workload, but he looked good from what I saw. Practice got started about 8:30 or so. To be honest with you, there were not too many things that stood out to me, but here are some highlights: QB Competition: None of the 3 really stood out from the others, but in the morning session, I would say overall, JP was the strongest (Nall was a close 2nd). JP threw 2 pretty bad balls, one which was picked off by Greer who got a fantastic jump on an out.(GREER WAS ONE STANDOUT PLAYER TODAY.......HE MADE PLAYS ALL DAY AND ENDED UP WITH 2 INTS ON THE DAY). If there was a noticible difference between the QBs today, it was definately in arm strength. JP just seems to have a lot more zip on his passes than both Holcomb and Nall (especially in a breezy afternoon practice....not that that should surprise anyone). His passes just get there on a line and in a hurry. Nall didn't have a bad arm either, but I would say he was the most inconsistant out of the bunch. Her would make 2-3 good throws and then just throw up a couple of stinkers. However, there was one other thing that really stood out, especially in the morning. In the 7 on 7 and 11 on 11 drills, you could tell that JP and Nall were just letting it go down the field trying to make the big play. But, surprise, surprise, I saw Holcomb check down to either the RBs or TEs on 3 occasions in a row at one point. Now, don't get me wrong, he did throw a couple nice balls down the field, but you can tell he just doesn't want to take that big chance. Also, all the QBs had some bad reads. Losman and Holcomb were both picked off twice, I believe, between the morning and afternoon sessions. But, I will say this.....Holcomb threw 2-3 more balls that were dropped by the defense that I think should have been picked. Nall had a couple as well that should have been picked (or at least he should not have thrown them). Also, as everyone knows by now, Nall left with a tweaked hamstring almost at the very end of practice. He did walk all the way back to the lockerroom under his own power though and it doesn't look to be serious. We'll have to see how this affects the reps come the next practice. All and all, none of the QBs really stood out, but based on potential, arm strength, and physical ability, if all things are equal between the QBs, you have to give JP the starting nod. To me, what I saw today did not do anything to change that opinion for me. JP is the best option at this point. WR: Again, nothing too much stood out to me. Nance had 2-3 very nice receptions from JP for long gains during 7 on 7 and 11 on 11 drills. Peerless looked pretty good to me as well. Just to note, it was Evans and Reed as the first pair up today in the morning and Evans and PP as the first pair in the afternoon. Reed did have a couple nice grabs (on a positive note, he did not drop 1 ball that I saw today). However, 1 receiver who I did think struggled was Andre Davis. I believe it was JP who threw him a ball on the sidelines and hit him in the hands in stride which would have gone for a huge play, but he dropped it. I saw him drop at least 2 balls today. Also, keep an eye on Roscoe Parrish (I said this last year right before he got hurt, but the guy is a playmaker and if he gets into the open field, watch out......he could score from anywhere. I will say it again.....it will be like 7-11....JP to Parrish is always open). If you want to watch something fantastic and fun, just watch Roscoe run routes. I don't know if I have ever seen a quicker player. All the other WR were average today.....Aiken had a couple nice grabs and looks like he always does at camp.....great practice player. Let's just see if it translates into a game. RB: I don't have much to say on this other than I did get the chance to speak briefly with McGahee after the first practice. he told me he was "gonna give it to them" this year and he looks primed and ready to go. It was hard to tell if he was any slimmer than last year because of the jersey he was wearing, but when I spoke to him after practice, he took the jersey off and was just in an underarmour shirt......let me tell you....the guys is RIPPED. His arms were huge and he just had a SOLID upper boddy. The guy definately looked in shape. As for his performance, he ran a couple sweeps to the outside and showed some good speed. Again, it is tough to tell what is happening completely when they are just running around in shorts and no pads. But he looked shifty in the drills and moved with ease. I just hope this is a good sign. I will be very interested to see him in live competition, even if it is just the preseason. As for the other backs, well, I think that other than the QB competition, the backup RB battle is the next most interesting on offense. A-Train looked SLIM. Looks like he is 25lbs lighter than I remember him with the Bears. Also, Shaud Williams might be the shiftiest back on the team. He had a couple pretty nice runs. I know it is early, but don't be surpried if Joe Burns is the odd man out there if they don't go with 4 RBs. He didn't get too much work that I saw. Also, as a closing note, Willis probably caught 4-5 balls out of the backfield today and there were a number of screen plays (3 maybe??). It looks as though they would like to get the RBs out in space a little bit more this year and I hope Willis catches 30 balls this year. I really think he has the ability to make things happen if he can get out in space. Overall, the backs looked good and the backup RB position will be highly contested. Gates had a solid day as well with some good runs. I would really like to see this guys get more of a chance this year. TE: Going into camp, I really thought Everett would eventually become the #1 guy, but after watch Royal today, I don't think that will happen. Royal might be a great pickup for us this year. He is a big guy that has good technique in the blocking scheme. What we all wondered going into this year is whether he could catch. While, he answered that for me today. He had probably 4-5 nice catches in traffic. He showed better hands than I thought he had and I really think he will be a weapon for us. As for the other guys, Everett did have a couple really nice grabs. However, he a a key drop right up the seem that would have gone for big yardage. You could tell he was upset with that one. But, overall, I actually think we might get some production out to the TE position this year. OL: I was really looking forward to watching this group, but I don't have a lot to report because there were no pads today. The starters were the same today as expected.......Gandy, Reyes, Fowler, CV, and Peters. Again, without pads, I couldn't really draw any conclusions, but there was one breakdown in the morning that stood out. It was aon a sweep to the left and Crowell just pusted through and popped the RB pretty good. If he didn't have to pull up and it was in a live game, he would have killed the back and it would have been about a 5-7 yard loss. Other than that, though, there really wasn't too much to observe without the pads. DEFENSE: I am going to do this as a group becuase there really wasn't anyone (except Greer that was mentioned above) that stood out to me. The defense made several strong plays during the course of the day, but there was one thing that STOOD OUT. THIS TEAM IS GOING AFTER EVERY LOOSE BALL. Whether it was an incomplete pass, or whatever, any ball that hit the ground, our D-coordinator PF was yelling at them EVERY time to get the ball and every loose ball was returned to the endzone. I LOVED THIS. This team is going to get after the ball. This defense is definately FAST and will play that way. Again, with no pads on it was hard to grade out certain guys, but the group made some nice plays in the running game and did get some pressure in 7 on 7 and 11 on 11 drills. OVERALL: Well, the team is a work in progress. I saw some really good things from some guys and saw a couple things I really didn't like. To be honest with you, with all the attention that the QB competition is getting, I think the success or failure of this team lies with the O-Line. But then again, if you have followed my philosophy before, that is no surprise. No matter who the QB is, if they get time to throw, I am confident that these guys can get the job done. If the O-Line can run block MUCH better than they did last year, that will allow McGahee to have the breakout season that I am expecting from him and help the QBs out even more. The defense looks faster and I love the fact that Crowell is starting and I LOVE how they get after the ball EVERY play. I know some may think I am crazy, but I really can't wait for the preseason to start. I can't wait to see this team in live action to see where this team may be headed. This traing camp under Jauron is organized and disciplined. There might be some reason to BILLEVE in this season afterall! Thanks for reading!

I'll be out there tomorrow to get my first look at the 2006 Bills. I hope the weather is a little better than today so that we can get a full, no excuses practice in. I really want to see how these guys look tomorrow and seeing how it is the last of the 2-a-days, I just hope the weather does not hinder their schedule or any players that might have their practice time hindered by the weather (Spikes). But, I will be out there for both practices and wil provide a full report when I get back! Hope to see some of you out there!

I just got the same email. I called the number and it said I had NFL Network in my area already. I guess that number won't be any good until Tuesday. I am really PI**ED off right now. They are showing all the preseason games and all the training camp stuff is starting! Here, I have been subject to repeat after repeat, NE lovefest after NE lovefest all summer long, and now that they are actually going to start showing something remotely good, they are taking the Network off the lineup??????? And I don't have any alternatives???? This is terrible. I would give anything to switch to DirecTV right now, but unfortunately I am in an apartment complex and on the wrong side of the building to add a dish. All that I can say is that Time Warner better get this figured out and figured out NOW!

While I hope this campain helps, I am not holding my breath. But, really.......this is a conversation we shouldn't even have to be having. Football is the biggest sport in America and just about EVERY other cable provider is offering it. And now I am finding out that the 2nd largest Cable provider in the US doesn't carry it? How dumb is that? I guess I will just have to hope for the best here and pray they don't take away my football.

I just got it in the mail yesterday. Who knows, maybe TW won't be taking over all areas, but I got the notice they are moving in here. Guess we will just have to wait and see how this all shakes out!

Yes......they said in the same letter that it will gradually change to Roadrunner Service. They did say that we shouldn't have to do anyhting with that though.......should change automatically. Just hope it is good.

I appreciate the information guys. But, it sounds as though I am going to be screwed in all of this, though. I would love to get DirecTV and even though I understand it is legal in some circumstances, all of my apartment is facing NORTH!!! There is no way I can get a view of the southern sky like DirecTV needs. So, that is out. Also, on the letter I was sent from Time Warner about the switch, it says that although most programming will remain the same, some stations may have to be moved or removed based on agreements, or lack there of, of current networks. So, to me, this means that once Time Warner takes over, there goes my LIVE FOOTBALL GAMES ON NFL NETWORK! I know the station is repetative and is not the best overall, but they will have LIVE football this year and exclusive games! I just don't want to lose that and I think it will be crap if I can't get to see them because of something I have no control or choice over. Plain crap.

Well, first off, let me say that this is not my choice. In fact, I wish I didn't have to have either of these and could get DirecTV. However, I am in an apartment complex and all I could get was Adelphia. We have had it for the last 2 years or so. However, I got a notice in the mail today that Time Warner is taking over Adelphia in Western, NY. I am sure I won't be the only one affected by the change. But, the real reason I am writing is that I have heard many people not only on his board, but others as well, complain about Time Warner and its programming. Obviously this worries me a great deal as I really don't have a choice in this matter. Out of curiosity, I checked out the Time Warner channel listing for Rochester and although I noticed that most channels are still the same, I noticed 1 BIG channel missing...........THE NFL NETWORK!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope this is not true and we will be getting this station!!! I mean, live games are going to be on this network this year and I don't want to miss them!!!!!! Can somebody please help me out here? Is NFL Network on Time Warner? If not, will it be there by football season???? I don't mean to seem like I am going crazy here, but they better not be taking away my football! Can someone please help me with this?

Thanks for the support.......I am no writer, but I do know the Bills. Doing this exercise will save me a lot of time when it comes to my season preview and prdeiction at the end of the preseason. I'll basically be doing it in sections and in a slightly different format, but the ideas will be the same. I guess we'll see where this all takes us.

QB - OVERALL POSITION RATING: 5 In what is perhaps the most wide open, watched, and disected position battles in several years, the Buffalo Bills are looking for their 'future' to shine. Although last year's starter is back in the fold (Kelly Holcomb), and with the addition of Crain Nall (GB), it is strongly believed that they may be rooting for their young, mobile, strong-armed QB (J.P. Losman) to finally live up to the vast potential that made him a former first round selection. With just 8 starts in his NFL Career, there are still just as many questions surrounding him as there were when he entered the league. During the early part of last season, there were several bright spots and flashes in the young career of Losman, however, they quickly were overshadowed by some indecisiveness and poor throws. Despite being benched in favor of the 10 year vet, Holcomb, there was still some reason to believe that Losman is still indeed the future. With a new outlook this year, some NFL game experience under his belt, and a brand new offense designed to stretch the field, this will play more to the strenghts of Losman's game rather than Holcomb. Also, Losman will benefit by gaining more trust and respect from his teammates by actually competing for, and winning the starting position that he was simply handed last year. And, while the competition may be very close, in the end you have to go with youth and potential over experience. It is time for the Buffalo Bills to find out if Losman is their long-term answer at QB. As for Nall, while an interesting prospect, he will most likely not be considered in the final decision. And while Losman may never prove to be the next Jim Kelly, it is time to see what the future holds for this promising young man. POSITION WINNER: LOSMAN

Sounds like a good idea. Let me know if I can help.

Yest it is! One of my all time favorite hits!

I really don't think it is too much to want McGahee to be as good as he can be. Nobody is ragging on him for what he has done. He has been solid despite all of the crap around him. But, that doesn't mean he couldn't be better. That doesn't mean he, being a good player, couldn't become a great player or a superstar! I am sure he may be the first to admit he can be better. And, all this topic is about is how he may become better. Unfortunately, McGahee doesn't have any control over who is on our O-Line. If he did, I am sure we would have stars at every position to make his job easier. But, he does have control over himself and is able to put himself in the best position for him to succeed. And, if tha means him losing a little weight (which he himself WANTS to do.....remember, this thread was started because of what HE said in an interview......HE WAS THE ONE WHO SAID HE WANTED TO LOSE THE WEIGHT.....not us). We who have posted in this thread are just agreeing with him for the most part because we believe too that if he does come in lighter this year, that will make him a better player. We are just agreeing with what he said in the interview......we didn't just start this topic to ride cGahee into the ground. We, LIKE HIMSELF, just want him to be the player we know he can be...........A SUPERSTAR!

Funny! But, seriously, I know what he meant by the dancing comment......That did happen at times last year, but to be honest, I think the reason for this is that he was so used to there not being a hole, or there being defenders in his face in the backfield, that it became natural for him to have happy feet before he got to the line. That is a big reason I wanted him to drop some weight this year, because he could make guys miss then and outrun some people to the corner. You have to remember what type of back McGahee is supposed to be. He is not supposed to be the big and bulky power type of back. What made him so successful in college was his blazing speed and lightning quick cuts. I'm sorry, but he has not been that type of back in the NFL yet and I think that is what he needs to do to take it to the next level. So, regardless of whether you think the actual number in terms of lbs is important, we all know he was too big to be the type of back that made him successful. If he were to get back to his weight in college and gain back some of that explosiveness, it will make him a better back. You have to remember, the guy is still 6'1" and even at 225lbs, would still be a big back. But, it would give him that great package of speed, power and explosiveness he had in college. That would make him the differencemaker and gamebreaker that made him the best back in college football. That would help him become a gamebreaker on the NFL level and the back we all know he can be.

That would be great if that is what is going on......just not sure that it is. He looked good in the interview (very solid), so it is possible. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens on the field.

I ordered 4 tickets from Stub Hub for the Minnesota game and they arrived today. I don't know if they are season tickets or not, but they look as though they might be. They have a bright silver Buffalo logo in the corner and are not ticketmaster tickets or whatever. So, I don't know what this might mean. Not sure why Stub Hub would have tickets early. But, then again, I have never bought tickets from Stub Hub before.

My thoughts exactly when I heard him say that. I was really hoping hime to be 225lbs or less this year......hopefully he is going to get there. He is not the same back without that speed he had in college. I don't need him to run a 4.29, but I would like him to be in the 4.4 range. He was not there last year. He didn't have that shiftiness that he had in college either. I know the injury played a part and so did the bad O-Line and terrible coaching, but he wasn't making guys miss last year (I know......hard to make guys miss when he is getting hit 3 yeard behind the line of scrimmage almost every play). Even the GREAT stiff-arm was not there last year. Now, the last game against the Jets I thought, was BY FAR his best game. He was making some great moves and had shades of what he was and could be again, but we need to see that consistantly this year. I am a huge McGahee fan.....been watching him since his first college game (I am a Canes fan as a lot of you know) and I was going crazy when we drafted him. Nobody wants him to succeed more than I do. I do think he is going to have a breakout year this year. I really do. He needs to have a great year for us to have any type of season this year. I know I may be in the minority here, but I really think this team is A LOT better than that 5-11 team we saw last year......I will not make my season prediction here (I will wait until the preseason is over when I do my season preview), but don't be surprised if this team is 3+ wins better this year. And I believe this will happen because I think the O-Line is better (still not great) and I believe thi this coaching staff. Also, I believe in McGahee and I truly believe that he is going to step up this year and do something special.

What I meant by the "make-or-break year" for him was more for contract purposes with this football team. He has 2 years left on his deal. If he has a great year this year, I truly believe you will see this team make an attempt next year to re-sign him before next season. If he has another year like last year (just above average), I don't think there will be that desperation. They may make some move to try to get him signed, but chances are they will let him play out next year and see what happens. If it gets to that, and he does become a FA, I just don't have the feeling he would be back here. Not sure why I feel that way, but it is just a hunch. As for his performence last year, if you read what I wrote, you would see that I did not lay the blame on him. In fact, I really didn't blame him at all. However, with that being said, he was NOT fast last year. He has even admitted this. He WAS 'overweight' (about 15-20lbs over his true playing weight) and not the RB he should or could be. But, it is very true that he did not have any help last year. The O-Line was TERRIBLE, the playcalling was DREADFUL, and the coaching staff was even worse. Those are the reasons he didn't reach his full potential, but with him coming in lighter and faster, he would only be helping himself.

Don't know how many of you caught the interview tonight on the NFL network, but we finally got an answer from McGahee about his weight. TD did the interview, and although they really didn't get into a lot, TD did ask him about his weight. McGahee said he is currently at 235lbs and wants to get to 227lbs for the season. I actually thought he might want to be a little lighter than that. Last year I would guess he played around 240lbs and, from all accounts, he was supposed to be 15-20lbs lighter this year. I guess he is on his way, but still a ways to go. I'd like to see him get to about 220lbs, but I guess 225-227lbs will do. That would get him in the range of 13lbs lighter than last year. I have been a big supporter of McGahee since he was drafted, but to be honest, he hasn't lived up to my expectations. This may be a make-or-break year for him and I want to see more from him. Now, I actually believe that he hasn't been given the chance to be the RB that he can be. He has been limited by a terrible O-Line and inept coaching staffs. If he is used right this year (giving him the ball until he can't stand anymore, not taking him out of the game on 3rd downs, and actually throwing him the ball), I expect a huge year from him. I really expect 1500+ from him this year and, if he is used right, 2000+ total yards. I just hope this coaching staff realizes that they have potentially a gamebraker here and just use him properly. A great runnng game will make any QB look better. We will get a lot better, much faster, if McGahee is THE GUY in this offense!

5 year extention!!!!!!!! Big contract!

Two words: GOOD MOVE