Drunken Pygmy Goat

I don't like commenting on issues where very few details are given, but it seems like he could have handled the situation differently, and possibly avoided being arrested. Probably best to wait for all the details before being judgemental.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the defense was 2nd in DVOA in 2014... further proving your theory.

I think Dareus is the key on defense this year. He's one of the best in the league at his position, and can have a bigger overall impact on games than a LB. The entire defensive line can help to mask some deficiencies on the back end if they can create havoc, and getting good play from Dareus makes everyone else's job a bit easier. Hopefully he stays healthy, and hungry. Coach Waufle seems like he's coming to the Bills at just the right time. I'm excited to see the team, and new coaches, and see where they take us, but I realize that there's probably going to be some growing pains early on. Several new players, new staff and schemes; there's a ton of uncertainty right now.

All time great game. I'll never forget seeing the looks on the players' faces on the Houston sideline, especially Bruce Matthews, as the game slipped away from them. I saw those same looks on the Bills sideline in Oakland last year, under similar circumstances. That was when I really started to wonder if Rex was losing the locker room.

I agree with this. Regarding the defensive line, I agree that I think they'll perform much better than they did under Ryan, but there may be some issues gelling earlier on in the season. The main factor is Dareus potentially playing a full season, barring injury. Lawson will be better utilized, but will may have some learning curve to deal with. Williams and Hughes will do just fine in the defense, and should look more like they did a couple years ago on the field and on the stat sheet. The big question will be the performance of the LBs, IMO, since that where there seems to be the most uncertainty. Hopefully Ragland becomes the type of player we were seeing glimpses of in camp last year, and we don't know who will play the majority of snaps at MLB. Maybe Alexander doesn't fit as well in this scheme as he did under Rex????? Secondary is probably a bit weak as well on paper, which is why the D-line needs to have a good year. Hopefully the front 7 has enough of an impact in games to mask whatever deficiencies our DBs may have. If they can, I think a top 10 defense, or close to it, is likely. With that being said, we'll just have to wait and see how it goes. Hopefully they can avoid the injury bug, and consistently stop the run as wilcoam alluded to.

These are awesome. I'm 33, but I love watching vintage videos, especially when it comes to football and the Bills. Thanks for posting!

Anyone can get the DirecTV Now package, but that does not include ST.

First of all, thanks for posting this thread and the data. Obviously not the "end all, be all" on Taylor and/or the offense, but interesting to say the least. It's obviously not news to anyone that Taylor's speed and elusiveness has helped extend drives and makes the offense much more difficult for defenses to contain. But this last post perfectly elaborates on a common theme I see from several people that love to hate on the QB alone. "He's not good enough to beat xxxxxx". In some cases, that may be true, but these people seem to conveniently forget to mention the fact that football is a team sport, and half of the game being played is out of his, and the offense's hands entirely. Andrew Luck was mentioned in the stats in the OP, and he has a similar problem as Taylor. His offense puts up plenty of points, but his defense gives up plenty as well, often times, more. So I guess by using their logic, Andrew Luck "isn't good enough to beat .500 teams" as well...I think most people would disagree with that idea. His team hasn't been good enough to beat .500 teams, but he's certainly done his part more often than he's given credit for. Everyone knows our defense has been mediocre these last two years, but when it comes to criticizing Taylor, people like to mention the lack of success as a team as an indictment of the QB, but that's not fair. He's a piece of the puzzle. A big piece, but the defense as a whole is just as big.

Considering they sued the team, I'm guessing no.

Im pretty sure this is only possible if you reside outside of the US (EDIT: if you live in an apartment complex in the US, and are unable to have Directv, you qualify) But you can do like I did last year and use a VPN, download the apk version of NFL Gamepass, and stream the games in the US. I paid the full amount, however ($200). Gamepass is Chromecast compatible, so I watched live streams on the big screen. Only issue is the sound is slight distorted with the live stream, as opposed to a direct satellite feed.

Andy Provin is a good follow. Always posts classic NFL games, most of them completely random, with no "historical" importance or element to them. This game, however, important in Bills history. Unfortunately, the NFL has the rights, and will likely remove this video in the near future.

Are you saying he has enough property in that vicinity to facilitate a pro football stadium as well as sufficient parking? Honest question... I know he's made several purcahses around that area, but I don't know exactly how much. Maybe his latest purchase is a small piece of a larger plan (stadium), but I'm not going to automatically assume that's the case after buying one small building here and there.

Yeah, it's pretty foolish to associate Pegula buying a small building near the arena, with a new stadium there. Let me know when (if) he buys the Perry projects.

Gold

You sound surprised I agree ratings....

I wouldn't say that we undervalue McCoy at all. There might be some that don't see his full potential within this new offense. Whether or not his role leads to winning the rushing title is debatable, and is probably wishful thinking, given his age and unknown quality of defense, but I wouldn't be shocked if he did, or all-purpose yards at least (provided the defense is improved, and the offense isn't playing catch-up too often).

Yeah, but isn't that apples to oranges? The NFL is entirely different. The Harbor Center (to my knowledge) had nothing to do with the NHL, other than being located near the arena. And I don't know the fine details of that, but I don't think the state provided funding, but I could be wrong. That was all Pegula, I think; I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about with that. As far as a new stadium goes, adding things in the vicinity of the stadium isn't necessarily mutually exclusive to the stadium itself. Robert Kraft did something like that around Gillette, I believe, but there was state contribution with infrastructure. Kraft had a plan that would maximize his potential profit, and it worked masterfully. Pegula could do something similar, and probably will, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll receive "extra" funding from the state to do so, other than infrastructure improvements. A potential stadium deal would likely be exclusive to the stadium only, and surrounding infrastructure. Location is unknown, but if the Perry Projects is the plan, that's pretty much the same area as the Harbor Center improvements anyways. If at the current location, I'm not sure what would be done. Let me just say that I have no real preference here. I live outside of NY state, and week 3 will be my first home game attended. If they move downtown, or stay in OP, it doesn't affect me personally. But I have done a ton of research on the topic, including other stadium projects and their funding, so I just try to give some insight on things. Many people have posted on the topic without doing any kind of research (not necessarily in this thread only, but in the past also).

If the Bills do on fact build a new stadium in the near future, I highly doubt it will include all, or most of the amenities that you find in many of these other new stadiums. Cities like Atlanta, Minneapolis, San Francisco (area), Dallas, all have much larger metropolitan areas than Buffalo, and many more large corporations. Average income there is much different. More people there can afford to spend their money on those amenities than the people in WNY. It's not going to be a straight forward, "build it and they will come" approach. As many here have stated, we don't care to attend a football game to enjoy a night club, or caviar dinners. We care about the game, and tailgating. The people in charge know this. The stadium committee takes several factors into account, including the local economy, fan interest, income, etc., when planning. I'm sure there will be some "updated" amenities, but no where near to the extent of these other buildings. Tickets will cost a bit more, I'm sure, and there will be some PSLs, but all things considered, I'm sure the Pegulas and those in charge will build a stadium that caters to the specific interests of the fan base. It may not be cheap, but I doubt it will be more than $900 million. They can avoid added costs by eliminating or minimizing certain things, like marble floors and granite countertops. Depending on the project, infrastructure may be a larger issue, but if and when the time comes, they'll do it right.

I guess you glossed right over my post then...

Great examples, Promo. Smaller scale in comparison, but matches the region. With all the tax money that funnels downstate, I'm sure NY can funnel some back into WNY when the time comes for the Bills. WNYers have contributed tax money, to some extent, for projects like the new Yankee Stadium, renovations to MSG, building and renovation of the Javits Convention Center, etc., yet most WNYers have little to no interest or usage of any of those projects in NYC. Obviously, people in NYC have no care for the Bills (other than WNY transplants), but you would think that the state understands this, and they obviously understand the tax money that the Bills being the only team in the state provides, so hopefully they chip in considerably. They may have helped with the renovations to the Ralph, but that doesn't compare to the tax money that WNYers have paid to help fund NYC projects. 9% tax is ridiculous for WNYers. The Buffalo Billion is still pretty new, and while I don't know all the details, it was a good thing for WNY, so maybe the state will have some objections if the Bills ask for too much.

Hey man! Not tough to decifer, you must be moorman. Good to see you're here. Your stance on long term economic growth (or lack thereof) when it comes to new stadiums was clear, and accurate. That said, I think if the Bills do it right, there could be a bit more positive impact in the area than other projects have yielded. The Pegulas certainly have invested a lot of resources into Buffalo over the last several years, and I believe it's all part of a bigger plan. But in general, by the time a new stadium is paid off, it will likely be 30-40 years, and time to pump more money into the place. But I'm with you, in that I prefer to keep the Bills in the current building, or maybe even build a new one next door.

There are so many different variables that come into play when discussing a new stadium/funding than I care to dive into at the moment. I made a thread on the old Bills board about a year ago on the matter, with tons of info from several aspects, but I can't access that and bring it here, so maybe I will when I have the time. But to touch in a few key points: Each project is different, based on local economy, infrastructure, etc., so using previous examples should only be used as a guideline. For the Bills, Indy and Detroit (domed) are the best to compare to. For an open stadium, Baltimore, although the cost was a bit different when theirs was built. From a fans' POV, we Bills fans don't need all the bells and whistles that you find at Jerry World. We enjoy the game day experience much more than the lavish bonuses that those type of places provide. But the league wants increased shared revenue, and the Bills are at the bottom in that department, so you could expect at least some hike in ticket cost. Suite profit is for the team only, and isn't shared, so PSLs will likely be a factor as well, even if they're much cheaper that at other facilities. But a big Chuck of the cost of some of these new, grand facilities comes from the little details, like granite countertops in suites, or "closed" concourses with elaborate walls. Things like that can be avoided for the most part, since Bills fans generally don't care for them. Minimizing the lavish little details like that, among others, could save millions of dollars towards the total cost if the building. The NFL has the G4 program (for now, at least. It will have to be negotiated into the CBA after the current CBA expires in a couple years). It is designed to assist in funding for a new stadium, or an upgrade to a current stadiums. It can provide up to $200 million, IIRC. One of the stipulations is that the team ownership must match those contributions. Another stipulation is that it requires some public funding. Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, for example, was a total cost of around $750 million (again, I don't have the exact figures on hand without looking it up). There was public funding involved. They enacted small sales taxes to hotels, car rentals, restaurant taxes to the surrounding counties, and even a license plate tax. The Bills should use a similar model. Most WNYers won't need a hotel, or car rental, when attending games. Those taxes will be the burden of people who visit from out of town generally, like me. So while there will be some public taxation to locals when dining out (in this example), much of the burden will come from out of towners. Tickets will probably cost a bit more, and PSLs will take up several seats (which drives up the demand for the remaining seats and their prices), but overall, the local residents attending games may not necessarily see the tax burden that many presume. The state will probably provide some funding, as the Bills are the only NFL in the state of NY, and the state receives tax money annually as a result. Erie county will probably assist as well, although on a much smaller scale compared to the state. ***Just a few things to think about. The topic of public funding for a tax free entity like the NFL is an argument for another thread, but I'm sure most of us tax payers agree that it's not right. But it's the way it is, and having a pro football team in your backyard is a luxury, especially for Buffalo, even with the team's history. Obviously, the league has the leverage, and we are getting bent over, but there are ways to alleviate the issue.

So a "reporter" that needs to meet his quota during the slow news season puts out a "story" about an injured rookie possibly "falling behind"...shocking!!! Oh wow...I bet you've already been roasted for this, and rightfully so. Especially if teef is around.

We'll just have to wait and see. Ragland certainly isn't a "perfect" fit at SLB, but he could be at least adequate there for the time being. The Bills really don't have any true fits for the position, so they'll have to make do with what they have until an upgrade is brought in.

Same here, although I will give him some credit for the ranking, since he was just a rookie. But that figure is based off of only about 25% of total defensive plays last year. Give him more snaps, and that figure could, and likely will, change. Maybe not drastically, but probably at least a little bit worse. Also, his height and length don't exactly fit the mold of a McDermott defense corner. Not saying he'll be a poor fit, but maybe he becomes a bit more of a liability.