BullBuchanan

Was he responsible for the greatest pass rusher in NFL history and the 2nd greatest quarterback in NFL history being available to him with the 1rst overall pick? When Peyton got injured, a perennial Superbowl contender immediately became the worst team in the league and they stayed that way until they "Lucked" into another immediate franchise QB. He was in the right place at the right time, that's all.

Yes. He was an average drafter at best, did not appear to be able to manage a salary cap correctly and for all the talent that was graced upon him, he got 1 super bowl out of the whole thing. Overrated doesn't mean he was terrible. He had next to nothing to do with the 97 panthers success who would follow up that fluke NFC Championship appearance with 7 seasons before they posted another winning record. As evidenced by what happened as soon as Manning was injured, it because clear that the entire franchise was a joke without him. They were a glass cannon built around a single player.

"The weight of opinion in the NFL now says that Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning is the clear choice, ahead of Leaf, as the No. 1 pick in the draft, which will be held on April 18 and 19. In the wake of a meteoric Rose Bowl season that sent his pro stock soaring, Leaf became a sort of joint entry with Manning. Discussion of one player rarely passed without mention of the other. There was little doubt that Manning and Leaf would be the top two draft picks; the issue was which would be selected by the Indianapolis Colts, who will choose first, and which would end up with the San Diego Chargers, who have the second selection. But in the view of a six-man blue-ribbon panel that analyzed game tapes of the players for SI, Leaf doesn't rank as high as Manning. Each expert was asked: If you had to pick one of these players, whom would you take? With different degrees of conviction, each said Manning. Three said they would be shocked if the Colts didn't select him." https://vault.si.com/vault/1998/04/13/the-chairmen-peyton-manning-and-ryan-leaf-are-the-class-of-the-nfl-draft-but-experts-say-one-of-them-stands-head-and-shoulder-pads-above-the-other

Travis Henry was clearly more talented and he burned hotter, I don't think that can be debated. Fred Jackson is maybe my favorite Bill of all time, but he really wasn't a very elite athlete. I think that Fred Jackson had two elite traits that allowed him to have a successful NFL career: vision and balance. It seems like he was constantly finding ways to stay on his feet where other backs would back down - I see a lot of that in Singletary. He also had a knack for finding and slipping into open spaces that made up for underwhelming athleticism. He reminded me of Stevie Johnson in that regard. It seemed to me like Fred Jackson was always the most prepared guy on the team, because he had to be. I would absolutely cut more talented players to find a role for him on any football team. Travis Henry on the other hand had the physical gifts to run around or through anybody, and he was as tough an SOB as has played the game. Unfortunately, he was an idiot, as so many hyper talented guys seem to be.

Because I think he was at best average at drafting, not just in Buffalo, but Indy too. The best 2 players he ever drafted were consensus #1 overalls in Bruce and Manning. Give him credit for Getting Andre Reed in the 4th round. He built those teams in a pre-salarycap era largely by paying Jim Kelly the highest salary ever for an NFL player. Essentially, I think a lot of Polian's success was luck of getting franchise QB's and elite talent at the top of drafts. And the fact that neither the Bills nor the Colts won anywhere near as much as they should have is the result of his weaknesses. He had a ton of mid round picks that never even ended up playing a game. Granted, there was a lot more rounds in those days , but if he didn't need the picks he should have done something more valuable with them. Edit: I think the fact that he didn't build the Bills on a salary cap in Buffalo, and that he was unable to build a balanced team in Indy under a cap is further indictment.

Bill Polian is drastically overrated in Buffalo Doug Whaley was a much better GM than most in Buffalo think. If he hit on QB, his whole story is different.

I'm really looking forward to Ryan Fitzpatrick's "A Football Life"

7th

I mostly got burnt out from years of disappointing seasons where I felt it kinda took my whole Sunday to get down there and get home with all the traffic, especially after late Saturday nights. This past year was obviously a lot better, and I thought about heading down to see some of the games, but never pulled the trigger. Once things settle down though, I might get back in the swing. I'm long overdue for some wings at Casino el Camino - also WNY ties.

I used to be a regular at Rattle Inn when the bills backers met there, but I stopped going when they shifted to Parlor and Yard Josh's rookie year.

Yup. I'm for sure guilty of it as a kid, though times have changed. I would completely expect this to be the kind of thing someone would get caught saying when they didn't know they were being recorded in a private conversation and for it to be a scandal that may get someone fired if they're a public personality or perhaps blown off with an apology. However, this dude said it into the microphone, at his job, in the most unenthusiastic and mundane manner possible that it's just mind blowing to consider why he did it. It's all just so bizarre.

I know of Blaze, though I haven't gotten too deep into his material. I do know this track, however. I'm a big fan of Guy Clark/Townes and a bit of Steve Earl. I'm in Austin too.

How the hell are you in this business for decades and just do something like that? When would that ever be ok? Also, **** Him for dragging his "faith" into his apology.

One of the greatest songwriters of all time that, sadly, far too few people have heard of. Townes is becoming quite popular among filmmakers and TV showrunners lately though

Mark Gress, founder and owner of Nine-eleven tavern, considered by many (myself included) to have the best wings in Buffalo (or anywhere) passed away this week. Just a few weeks ago he announced he was stepping down from his role in the kitchen and partnering with his daughter. Truly the end of an era and a sad day.

Are we this far along and people still don't understand how the virus works? I still have to empty my waterbottle at the airport because 3000 people died 20 years ago, and you don't understand why some folks aren't keen on packing stadiums with tens of thousands of people when we have an active pandemic that's claimed 171,000 lives and maimed an unknown amount above that? Not believing in facts doesn't invalidate them. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

I don't care about me. I care about you killing my neighbor or creating tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills for the girl who works at the supermarket at poverty wages.

Man, that's such an awful way to go. RIP.

Except it isn't about you or your choice, and it never has been. There are things that every person has to do. You have to get groceries by some mechanism, even if that means having someone drop them of on your doorstep or put them in your trunk at curbside. These are not zero risk activities. Both situations present an opportunity for either person to spread disease. People have to go to the doctor, need to have professional services in order to get cars repaired or homes repaired, etc. 20,000 - 80,000 people filling a stadium and sharing disease with each other and then going out into the world and going to grocery store, or the hardware store or the doctor is not them exercising "their choice"; It's them forcing a choice on all the people at the store without their knowledge or consent. It's selfish, bordering on amoral. The more is spreads, the longer it stays viable and the longer this pandemic roils on. Clearly...

Ben, Rivers. From that point on it doesn't really matter and is subject to drastically change.

Do you mean that if not for politics, this would likely be over or at least close to over?

As someone that HATED Allen as a prospect, I thought he would be an utter dumpster fire with his big arm, sandlot style and lack of real success at any level. Happily, he hasn't been anything close to that. So far, he's been a big unknown, with some really solid play, but maybe only a couple really great games to his name (Vikings/Cowboys) - there may be more. A Tannehill/Dalton and maybe even Rivers situation can kill a franchise. Guys that aren't good enough to get you to the show, but are too good to easily dump are the types of players that keep teams mired in mediocrity. If Allen is ever going to be a great QB, he better show a lot of indicators of it this season, or else I expect them to look for those qualities in the 2021 draft class. I'd like to see Josh come in and drop 300 yards on a good team for the first time in a decade of Bills football. Hell, I'd like to see 400 yards and watch him embarrass a team that most folks had as a coinflip. More importantly I'd love to see him capable of throwing the team on his back when the rest of them start to fold. That, to me, is what makes someone a "franchise" QB.

In fairness to the kid, he was drafted into an awful situation and they quit on him after a single year with a dumpster fire of a team. Doing well there would've taken a herculean effort, and I can't ever recall something like that happening to a first round QB after his first season. The situation in which he found himself in Miami was no better, and arguably worse given the presence of Fitzpatrick. He'll probably need to hang around the league for quite a while now if he's ever going to get another real shot.

If he isn't able to take a positive step forward, he'll join a long line of Bills QBs over the last 25 years. This is a tough business and every year there's a new crop of potential first ballot Hall of Famers. If Josh isn't the guy, they shouldn't pass on the next Mahomes a 2nd time.

Careful.