msw2112

I have both Tua and Herbert as QBs on my fantasy team. Tua had a good day from a fantasy perspective. To be successful in Fantasy (or any kind of football betting), you have to check your Bills allegiance at the door - for betting purposes only. The way I see it, I would have liked to see Tua stack up a bunch of points, but lose the game, so I'm disappointed in the outcome. I don't think he'll survive the season, hence having both him and Herbert on the team. Of course, I would have taken Allen over both of them, but he was not available at the time I picked a QB. I did, however pick up Diggs and will be thrilled when he both 1) puts up a lot of fantasy points and 2) wins the game against the Jests. As a side note, if I ever have to choose between the Bills losing or my fantasy team losing, it's no contest. Fantasy football is of little consequence if the Bills win. Many things in life are of little consequence if the Bills win!

I have not read through this entire thread, but you hit the nail on the head. It is a major weakness and certainly showed as such during the game. Dropped passes were the difference in the game. It killed numerous drives for the Chiefs.

I don't know if this statistic is good without comparing it to other teams' numbers. Subjectively, I think that Beane is an excellent GM overall and maybe average to slightly-above-average when it comes to drafting players. There are other aspects to the GM job that he's very good with. Cap management, pro personnel/free agency, media management, culture-setting, etc.

I guess the QB money went to Bosa, while Purdy is on a 7th round draft pick's rookie contract.

My wife, who doesn't know much about Bills history told me last night that Mike Williams died. I asked her, the 1st round offensive tackle from Texas? She said yes. So I was thinking it was him until I got to this thread this morning. It's terribly sad when any former Bills player or any person passes this young. RIP Mike and condolences to your family.

I agree. Len and Nick were the best. I can't recall exactly how it all transpired, but I think it jumped the shark when Collinsworth joined the cast. Later iterations with Collinsworth, Phil Simms and others were just OK, and the additions of Ray Lewis and Brandon Marshall (especially Brandon Marshall) made it truly unwatchable. I'll check out the new show, but my expectations are not high.

Your mom is awesome, and I mean that in the most respectful way. If you are a Buffalo sports fan that lives outside of WNY, then the streaming app gets you 70+ Sabres games. I'll be signing up for ESPN+ for the first time in October. Otherwise, you're right, not a ton of point to subscribing to ESPN+.

Hopefully, he's just getting used to the brace and working out the final kinks/soreness from the injury. He's got 11 or 12 more days to get right.

I agree that there's always an unknown WR or 2 that flashes in the preseason that gets the fans on this board excited, then they're never heard from again. It happens on other teams too. I don't know why, but I suspect that it's just easy to get open against 3rd and 4th string DB in preseason games and make a lot of catches, but not so easy against 1st and 2s. That said, this situation is slightly different. Isabella was a high draft pick, has played in the league for a few years, and has exceptional speed. Most of the preseason darling WRs are unknown UDFAs.

I'm with you 100% on this. The guy kept both of our beloved franchises in town and has even invested in the city itself. He's spent freely on both teams (absent one tough offseason with the Sabres, which in hindsight, looks like it was the right move) and made many moves (both bad and good) to try and improve the teams. And I'm no fan of fracking, but again, Terry gets a pass with me.

I'm listening. But please, respectfully, don't tell me what I am or am not imagining. It's condescending and inappropriate. There is no question that the Pegulas had no experience when they bought the Sabres. It's my opinion that through trial and error, and sure, some luck, they have learned from their mistakes and have a better idea of what they are looking for in GM and coaching hires. They appear to now prefer hires who are thoughtful and measured in their approach, who do their homework, have a plan, and stick to it. Beane, McDermott, Adams and Granato all fit this profile. It's a major contrast to the likes of Rex Ryan, Russ Brandon, Tim Murray, Ralph Kreuger and others who are more impetuous, marketing-focused, headline-seeking types that they've hired in the past. While there are college degrees in sports management, I would agree with you that most team owners don't have one (although some front office people probably do). I know someone who has such a degree and he's worked for an NBA franchise and now works for a major college sports program. He's not going to own a team anytime soon. But I still think that many people learn from their experience and that some owners who have been in the sports business have a better feel for hiring good people to run their teams due to that experience. That doesn't mean that there's no luck involved in professional sports success or that every sports team owner with past experience has benefitted from their experience, but to say that it's an imaginary concept is incorrect.

You are entitled to your opinion, but I think you are reading way too deeply into my comments. All I said was that the Pegulas lacked pro sports experience when they bought the teams and that's a fact. I think they have improved with experience, and that's not a fact, but an opinion. My opinion is based on where the Bills are today versus when the Pegulas bought the team and where the Sabres are today versus when the Pegulas bought that team. I also believe that in some cases, having experience can be helpful, but I agree with you that it's no guaranteed predictor of success. Some owners have no experience and win in their first season. Others own teams for decades and are mired in continual futility. All this said, I enjoy a good debate as much as the next guy, but I do have a full-time job and have to get back to it. Go Bills, Go Sabres, and F Stan Kronke.

There are numerous examples. I cited two, Kronke (who I'm no fan of, but was simply making the point that he had pro sports experience when he bought some of his teams), and Magic Johnson (a minority owner in first the Lakers, and later, the Dodgers). Jeremy Jacobs once owned the NBA franchise that is now the Sacramento Kings and now own the Boston Bruins. Jerry Reinsdorf owned the Chicago White Sox and later bought the Bulls (and still owns both). Ted Turner owned the Atlanta Braves, Hawks and Thrashers. Ted Leonis owns the Washington Capitals and Wizards. Paul Allen owns the Portland Trailblazers and Seattle Seahawks. Wayne Huzienga owned the Florida Marlins and Miami Dolphins. Tom Hicks owned the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. So, no, I am not making his point. There are clearly many more examples than "one owner out of 32." Not all of these owners have had success with each team, but many have. Kronke has titles in the NFL, NHL, and NBA. The patient rebuild of the Avalanche was similar to the rebuild the Sabres are doing now. Kronke may be a selfish prick and a money monger, but he did a good job being patient and letting his hockey people build a great team. He also let his GM blow up the cap to bring in Matthew Stafford, OBJ, Jalen Ramsey and other big names (the complete opposite approach to the Avalanche rebuild) and got a Super Bowl for the Rams. The Nuggets were something in the middle, but more similar to the Avalanche, building around Jokic and Murray with some strong role players and a great coach. Magic has titles with the Lakers and Dodgers. Jacobs has a title with the Bruins. Reinsdorf has titles with the Bulls (6) and White Sox (1). Turner has a title with the Braves, Leonis has one with the Capitals, Allen has one with the Seahawks, and it pains me to say it, but Hicks has one with the Stars (despite the obvious fact that Hull's skate was in the crease).

It depends on what you mean by "example." He has won titles in the NFL, NHL, and NBA, so sure, I'd sign up for some of that. He's had some successful GMs, coaches and players on his rosters. Personally, I think the guy is a scumbag. He screwed the city of St. Louis to make a buck that he certainly didn't need. His new stadium in LA was a big factor in luring the Chargers out of San Diego, screwing that fanbase too. I've been on this board long enough that I should know better, but the only point I was trying to make is that the Pegulas were novices in the sports industry when they bought the Buffalo teams and they struggled out of the gate. After gaining more experience, they have improved the quality of their hires and the quality of their teams. The Sabres took a lot more trial and error than the Bills and it has been a long and painful ride for Sabres fans, but they seem to have figured it out. I simply cited the example of Kronke as a guy with pro sports experience when he bought some of his teams. How does that translate to me being a fan of Kronke or wanting someone like him for Buffalo?

That's not true. For example, Rams owner Stan Kroenke owns the Denver Nuggets, LA Rams, and Colorado Avalanche, the MLS Colorado Rapids and some Euro soccer teams. He did not acquire all of these teams at the same time. He's won championships with the Rams, Nuggets, and Avalanche, so I suspect that he has a good feel for putting good people in place when running a professional sports franchise. Many other professional sports owners either own multiple teams, like Kroenke, or often sell one team (or their interest in it) and buy into others. Sometimes it's majority owners and sometimes minority owners like Magic Johnson, who owned a small piece of the LA Lakers and later bought a minority share of the LA Dodgers. I agree that most pro sports owners don't make their initial fortune in sports (it's usually real estate, oil, capital management, etc.), but some owners have experience in professional sports when they buy a team. The Pegulas did not have any such experience.

The Pegulas had no background in sports management and it showed in their early years with both teams. The Rex Ryan hire and reliance on Russ Brandon with the Bills were terrible moves. Fortunately, they learned their lesson fairly quickly and now have good people in place with Beane and McDermott. Sure, we can get into 13 seconds and other coaching decisions on the field, but for the most part, the Bills management team is competent, smart, and stable. With the Sabres, it took MUCH longer and several rounds of front office and coaching hires to achieve the necessary stability. With Kevin Adams in place, it appears that they have finally gotten there with the Sabres too. Again, we could quibble about Adams not doing enough about the goaltending situation, or the team needing a new assistant coach for the penalty kill, but overall, the franchise appears to be stable on and off the ice, with an upward trajectory. I personally would like to see the Pegula family retain ownership of both teams. They've had more than their share of growing pains and taken their lumps, but now that they've gotten over the hump and have stable management in place and quality teams on the field/ice, I think they will be excellent owners. Despite their mis-steps, they have always been committed to the Buffalo region and they have always been willing to spend whatever it takes to be successful. While it's true that they tightened their belts with the Sabres a couple of years ago, that was the house cleaning that was needed to allow the Adams administration to come in, restructure, and get back on track. They have since added quality talent to the front office (such as Karamanos) and are paying players that deserve it (Thompson, Cozens, Samuelsson, etc.) Thus, I hope the rumors of the Sabres prepping for sale are untrue.

The kid does look like a good player. Great find for the Bears.

I have zero inside information, but I doubt that Pegula is selling the Sabres. There are many reasons, many of which have been stated above in this thread: he loves hockey and the team after several years of failure, the team has turned the corner and is poised for a nice long run of success which will be fun and enjoyable for him as the owner which will likely be highly profitable for him as the owner he has several children who can take over the family business when he gets too old (it looks like Kim's health may already have her out of the mix, sadly) he currently has good management in place on the sports side, both with the Bills and Sabres, so he can focus more on the business side he has others in place to help with the day to day work on the business side, so some of his "President" title may simply be as a figurehead; he can be as heavily or little involved as he wants to be he doesn't need the money, so he's not in a position where he'd be forced to sell

Impressive ranking for Rosenman. He's earned it. Two Super Bowl appearances in the last 6 years with one win (and a very close loss) with two different head coaches and two different starting QBs. That's not easy to do. Also agree on Schneider and Veitch being up there. Seattle has a couple of Super Bowl appearances, and a win, in the Schneider era and they just got a rebuilding team back into the playoffs. This quote from the internet sums up Vietch's tenure: "During Veach's six seasons as general manager, the club has won the AFC West every year, hosted an NFL record five-straight AFC Championship Games, en route to three Super Bowl appearances in four years, and has hoisted the Lombardi Trophy twice (LIV, LVII)." I'm a Beane fan and am glad to see him getting some recognition. The Bills have been very good during his time as GM. They need to get to the Super Bowl and win one in order for him to break into the top tier like these other 3 guys.

As some had posted above, Lance would be fine as a 3rd QB and/or Practice Squad development type of player, but, right now, he would not help the Bills more than Barkley or Kyle Allen. He is more physically talented than those guys, but the Bills backup needs to be a guy that can learn a new playbook that is said to be complex, and step onto the field in an emergency situation and run the offense with some level of confidence and competence. In his opportunities in SF, Lance has not demonstrated any of that. He's not even good enough (at this point in his career) to be the backup QB on a team he's been with for 3 seasons and thus presumably already knows the playbook, which I believe is a fairly simple one (other backups in SF have picked it up). How would he suddenly be able to come in and contribute to the Bills - a brand new playbook? So, sure, if you can get him for a 7th round pick, or as a released player/street FA, bring him in to kick the tires and see if you have a developmental guy, but don't bring him in to play anytime soon.

I used to be a huge ESPN fan. Loved the old SportsCenter. The personalities were great. Berman, Dan Patrick, etc. These days, the writing and personalities on SportsCenter are pretty grating. I can't stand the talking heads, but I can't stand the talking heads on any network (CNN, Fox News, etc.). I still love the channel for two things: 1) Live sports coverage; and 2) 30 for 30. I think those documentaries are excellent and I really enjoy them. I admit that I still put on SportsCenter frequently to fall asleep to at night or to run in the background when I'm doing other things, but I don't sit down to watch it like I once did. As to the live sports, I like College Gameday and consider it an "extension" of live sports (it's live coverage of the "event"), but I think their studio production for NBA and NHL is very poor, especially in contrast to Turner (TNT/TBS) which does a much better job at the same thing.

I am intrigued by Isabella's speed and he's looked good so far as a WR. Something that has not been pointed out yet, but that I have observed, is that although he's participating in the return game, I don't see that he's shown any particular talent there. Has he broken any returns in practice? I didn't see much to get excited about in the preseason game. I suppose he hung onto the ball, so there's that.

I'm one of those folks who negotiated hard with Directv in the past and got Sunday Ticket for free in many years, or at a highly reduced rate in others. I also negotiated discounts on my regular DTV service too. That said, even after all of the discounts, YouTubeTV is still $30-$40 per month cheaper than my DTV monthly service and it's a whole lot more flexible. As long as I have a device and an internet connection, I can watch anything from my account. DTV's technology to try and do this was terrible and more or less useless. So I cut the cord and moved over to YTV. It's been great. My first test was this past Sunday where I went to the gym with my tablet. I was able to access YTV (gym has strong WiFi), and play the Bills preseason game that was recorded on my DVR (aka "Library" on YTV) while I spent an hour on an elliptical machine. I could not have made that happen with DTV....The only downside is that I couldn't find a place to put my beer.😁 Sunday Ticket was more expensive for me this year (not free), but I got the $100 discount for being a YTV subscriber and the additional $100 for signing up early (before June 6). If I do the math over 12 months, I'm ahead of the game. I also think that I could probably do some splitting/sharing of YTV and Sunday Ticket through the Family Group thing, but I decided to just buy it all outright (as did my brother who is one state over). We'll figure out how it all works this year, and perhaps consolidate next year after we have a good grasp on how it works. I admit to perhaps jumping the gun in order to get the additional $100 discount, but I can live with myself.

1. No injuries 2. Some separation in the key positional battles: MLB, CB2, Guard, WR3-6 (or 7)(which probably includes KR/PR), Swing Tackle, DE, DT I realize that the list in #2 doesn't leave too many positions out...

I grew up in the Northtowns and have never spent any significant time in East Aurora. I might have played some high school sports there against East Aurora High. I had a friend who lived there and went to his house a few times (which was a very nice house), but it was in a pretty remote, almost wooded area. My understanding of it is that it's a quaint suburban area. While you could walk from place to place there, do people really do that? I'd think people drive in that area. For folks coming in from out of state that want to be in a truly walkable area, the Buffalo metro area is pretty limited. I'd recommend something in the City of Buffalo, in the Elmwood Village area. There are several blocks of bars, restaurants, coffee houses, and shops there. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, parts of Delaware Park, and the Buff State campus are all within walking distance. It's a very nice area, with several blocks of beautiful old mansions to look at, although the area along Elmwood is urban, so it has some grit to it (in a good way, in my opinion). It's probably one of the few areas in the Buffalo Metro Area where people really DO walk from place to place. The one advantage to East Aurora would be that it's close to the stadium, but if staying in town for several days, I wouldn't make that a determining factor.