Dawgg

Any plans on Sunday for those attending the game in terms of heading to the stadium, pre-partying, tailgating or all-of-the-above?

Yawn. Ralph is always happy to make donations to causes that bear his name (including the stadium).

The Whiter-McCargo combination was the worst first round in Buffalo Bills history, particularly because the 2005 draft was one of the deepest in years. Where are all the homers who for years claimed that Whitner is a "good" player? Classifying Whitner as good is a stretch by any means. Here is a breakdown of Donte's gaffe on Sunday, though I think the other safety should share the blame. http://www.ninersnation.com/2011/9/19/2434835/49ers-cowboys-recap-tony-romo-jesse-holley-overtime

Right. ... because if Fred Jackson was in there instead of CJ Spiller, would the Raiders have reacted differently? It was a well-designed play that cleared the defenders to the sideline opening up the middle of the field. That said, CJ Spiller played great.

Please stop this nonsense and immediately pay homage to Simon's irrefutable point that Lee Evans is such a high-impact player that he has fundamentally altered the PIT-BAL matchup, one of the NFL's fiercest ongoing division rivalries, by his mere presence on the field. This is a fact and if you dare to believe otherwise, you know little about football.

Lee Evans, by his mere presence, has single-handedly changed the entire dynamic of the divisional rivalry that exists in the AFC North.

Typical stupid Bills' front office move. Why not wait until the end of the season? They extended Jauron for 3 years after the team got off to a hot start. Bad investment. They extended Lee Evans mid-season after the team got off to a hot start. Bad investment. If the front office were smart, it would allow Fitz to perform for an entire season and evaluate the entire body of work. If only...

A pretty dramatic statement to make after one game. Lee is a huge addition and will certainly flourish in Baltimore. That said, there were other factors that contributed more to last week's win than the decoy that was Lee Evans. 1. Vonta Leach – huge upgrade over last year's fullback Le’Ron McClain. He paved the way and made critical blocks for Rice. I never realized how good he was until I watched yesterday's game. Ray Rice owners will be very happy this year in FF. 2. Joe Flacco - he simply gets better and better each year.

Roscoe is one of the best punt returners in the league and is just coming into his own as a receiver. Extending him is a prudent move. Letting him walk would be a pretty stupid move.

I strongly believe that the Bills should wait until after the season to make a decision on Fitz. The Bills right now are in a perfect situation with regards to Fitz. He is entering his first year ever as a full-time starter in a contract year, making him highly motivated to succeed. There's little benefit to extending him now. As a previous poster said, no need to act prematurely, as the team did with Jauron.

That has more to do with Kyle Williams than it does Overdorf. The vast majority of players in Williams' situation would drive a harder bargain. Chris Johnson's doing it now, with 2 years left on his deal. Overdorf also tried to extend Clements with two years left on his deal and Clements refused to budge, knowing that he'd get much more on the open market. Bottom line is that Kyle Williams isn't driven by money and he feels a deep sense of loyalty to the Bills. He should be commended for that, not Jim Overdorf.

Agreed.

Nor does it matter to the homers on this board to spend their kids' college funds on season tickets and Bills' gear.

What homers and apologists fail to comprehend is this: It is possible to simultaneously (a) hope for the best and (b) be grounded enough to realize that the talent level on the team is sub-standard. 90% of this board is incapable of (b).

This is not a good deal for Williams when compared to what he's worth on the open market. It's admirable that Williams took less to stay with the Bills but his agent definitely had a case for a far more lucrative deal. He got less guaranteed money than Derrick Dockery! Hey I'm happy from the team's standpoint but if I were Williams, I'd fire my agent.

Definitely a good signing for the Bills. Kyle left a good amount of coin on the table, no doubt about it.

Unlike most Overdorf contracts, this contract is a bargain for the Bills.

I fundamentally disagree with this logic and think you're misguided. The appropriate question is this: Was Cam Newton worth taking a risk on at the top of the draft? Just because the Bills were high on him doesn't mean they think he's a slam dunk. Taking a QB high is always a risk. It simply means that the Bills deemed the risk-reward tradeoff was worth it. I certainly think it was, given his athletic ability and collegiate performance. The Panthers seemingly agreed. The previous regime stared Jay Cutler in the face and took Donte Whitner. The previous regime stared Nick Mangold in the face and took John McCargo. I don't think it's fair to compare this regime to the prior one. The only concerning thing about this current regime is the continued reluctance to draft offensive linemen in the top 3 rounds, a trend that has been in place for numerous Bills' regimes.

I actually agree that Evans will flourish in Baltimore, lining up opposite Anquan Boldin. But he's not a true #1 receiver and it's time to see if Stevie J is. With regards to Peters, the Bills were stupid on so many levels. Not only did they fail to pay him, they added insult to injury by signing below-average linemen (Dockery and Walker) to big-money deals. Hard to expect anyone to stay motivated and happy in that type of situation (though homers will disagree).

I don't buy it. First off, TO's little project was James Hardy and look where he is today. Stevie showed a ton of promise his rookie year and was ready to turn the corner. Did taking a seat and watching TO help him? Perhaps, but let's be real here... the best thing for Stevie Johnson was live game action. The moment TO came into the fold, he barely played let alone dressed for games. Evans is a vestige of the past. He's a one-dimensional player (albeit a good one) that has trouble with underneath routes. The Bills have plenty of speed at the position, diminishing the value of Lee's core strength. Time to say goodbye.

Absolutely correct. Just as TO delayed the development of Stevie Johnson, the presence of Lee Evans is going to unnecessarily delay the development of such players as Donald Jones, Namaan Roosevelt and David Nelson. This is a move that simply had to be made. Granted a 4th round pick is relatively paltry compensation for a player of Lee's caliber, this team needs to rid itself of Evans, who is a one-dimensional receiver past his prime. He'll flourish in Baltimore working across Anquan Boldin, but his best days in Buffalo were certainly behind him.

Tony Gonzalez

Oh the topic has gotten old? It wasn't old when folks like you staunchly defended Whitner for years in the face of a questionable draft choice and subpar play. According to you, he's a "good" player. The free market comprised of 32 NFL teams suggests otherwise. In any case, you're right. I should find a new topic to post about.

Funny post coming from you, who lauded the Whitner pick for years as a stroke of genius. Guess you were pretty downright wrong, huh?

Sure was. That's what these guys reported after the supposed Bengals deal. Nonetheless, tight ends and running backs in the NFC West are rejoicing with the news.