CosmicBills

I miss the old, "go to the newest post" button. Is there one that I'm just missing it? It's kind of annoying to have to scroll through all the old posts trying to remember where you left off ... (I'm driving my own Waaaaaa-mbulance, don't worry) .

Yeah. Teams don't game plan, they play vanilla schemes on both sides of the ball. The players don't care about the games and are playing not to get hurt (the starters at least). I'm not saying I think Miami is going to be as good as the media thinks, but I'm just not willing to take anything that any team does in the preseason seriously.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Settle down. Let's not do anything rash like calling anything Roland Emmerich does "film". That's just unnecessary.

Pre. Season. = Meaningless.

Posanski is one of the best writers working today. And a star for SI. It's just not fair to compare Sullivan to him. That's like comparing the guy who writes dime store romance novels just to make rent to Kurt Vonnegut. Talk about high expectations. I finally understand what you're trying to do. It didn't make sense until this last post. But it's clear now. You're trying to pull a crayonz, but you sir are no crayonz. You keep bashing Sullivan for being a boring writer with stilted prose but man, your prose could cause an outbreak of narcolepsy in the middle of a Kieth Richards coke binge. If you're going to go for laughs here, you gotta step your game up. This helps:

1. That's what Sully does. It's a fact that this team has been miserable for a decade. It's a fact that the biggest culprit has been poor draft classes, poor management from the GM's office up to Ralph's. It's also a fact that the Bills' LB corps is one of the worst in the NFL. You just don't agree with these facts. That doesn't make Sully wrong. 2. Again, he's a columnist. He's paid for his opinion. He's not paid to be a reporter. And, using the facts at hand (a decade and counting playoff drought, poor management, questionable drafts and hires) to present his case that the Bills are a bad NFL team. He's not INVENTING these facts, they're FACTS. We as fans don't like to hear them because fans are supposed to support the team. He's under NO obligation as a columnist to support the Bills OR report just the facts. That's not how it works. I'm a writer myself and have never been a huge fan of Sully's stuff. But it doesn't mean he's wrong. But if you want to start a pissing contest with me, by all means. Go for it.

He's a columnist, meaning he writes his opinion. He's supposed to have an agenda, that's the point. As a writer, you should know the difference.

... And if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle. That's what BAD teams do. They find ways to lose a game they have no business losing. Mediocre teams WIN that New England game. Good teams win it in a walk. Bad teams? They find a way to lose it. And make no mistake, the 2009 Bills were a very bad team. The 2010 Bills team might be even worse. You asked how? Let me show you ... *Worse at WR *Worse at OT *Worse at LB *Worse at TE *Question Mark at Special Teams (too early to judge as their team isn't set) *Same at DL (New scheme = learning curve, could make it worse) *Same at QB (which amounts to being on the lower end of the NFL spectrum) *Same at C *Better at OG (though with much less depth this season) *Better at RB (a spot they were already pretty damn good at) *Better in the defensive secondary (again, a spot that was a strength last year) *Much more difficult schedule in '10 than in '09 Prepare yourself. It's going to be a long year. They'll win some games they shouldn't (like always) and lose a bunch that they should win (like always). End of the day, this team does not have the talent at the key positions to win consistently in this league.

Quit using logic. Sheesh.

Okay, in the spirit of fair play (not Johnny), tell you what. A shot of Crown for every half the Bills are either up or down. You take the up I'll take the down. How's that? And as for Spiller, I already am.

Well I don't want to BET on the Bills to lose ... I don't want to bet on them to win much this year either. I don't think they'll finish last in the league. I do think they'll finish right in the middle bottom. Not low enough to get the franchise QB they desperately need but not high enough to be considered a serious wild card contender. And to me, that kind of repeated finish (which is what it has been for a decade) is far worse than finishing 1-15. We're not even good enough at being bad to be relevant.

I can't believe I'm about to do this ... But ... has Sullivan been wrong in anything he's reporting on the Bills? This team has been below average for over a DECADE. A DECADE. We're fans, we don't know any better than to keep rooting for our team. Even when they're awful, which has been the case for the past decade. Want to know why people get upset at Sully? Because his articles hit close to home. The truth always hurts, especially when people don't want to admit that it IS the truth. This team has one of, if not the worst LB corps in the league. That's a fact. This team also has the league's worst WR corps (at the very least, the least experienced WR corps). We're also lacking any semblance of talent at OT, DE and QB. We also have a suspect GM, a meddling owner, and a recycled coach. So you can say that he's just saying things to be controversial or to be a hater. But that's just not true. If he was reporting that this team is on it's way up, THAT would be a lie. This team is rebuilding (for the 3rd time in 10 years) and has a long ways to go before they are a relevant NFL franchise again. Doesn't mean we as fans can't be optimistic, but to get upset at a journalist for reporting the current state of the franchise is just crazy.

Trent didn't do that bad? Let's see ... never finished a whole season healthy. More INTs than TDs. Averaged less than 2,000 yards per season. Yeah. He did great.

It's not a matter of opinion -- it's pretty plain to see to anyone willing to look beyond their homer glasses that this LB corps is one of, if not THE worst LB Corps in the league. They're either undersized "fast" guys (read: Ellison), playing out of position (read: Kelsay, Mitchell), green (read: Moats), on the downside of their career (read: Davis), or vastly overrated (read: Poz). Outside of OT and QB, LB is one of the shallowest, and most problematic units on the team.

I love freedom of speech. ... It makes it so much easier to identify the asssholes.

Even though there's no salary cap this season, this team is operating as if there is one. It's the small market, cash to cap philosophy. If they cut Maybin they'll still owe him 12 million (roughly ... 15 mill was guaranteed over 5 years). That has an impact on a club like Buffalo. There's ZERO chance Maybin is cut this season. ZERO.

That's just false. First, the "new regime" is still the "old" regime: Ralph Wilson. He's still at the top of the food chain calling the shots. Don't think otherwise. Second, the "new regime" is absolutely invested in the last regime's players -- at the very least the high draft picks because of the cap ramifications. For a small market, cost conscious team like Buffalo that's doubly true. It's the economics of small market teams. EDIT: I should say that I won't shed a tear if Maybin is cut, he was the wrong pick and is awful. But it won't happen. This year at least.

... and against the run.

I don't think there's any chance in hell of this team winning 9 games this year. But even so, I think Chan needs more than one year to prove himself ... expecting him to win 9 games with this roster is asking for a miracle. Would you really want him fired if they win 6?

That's how it always should be! eball knows me enough to know that I'm not pissing just to piss ... okay, that's a poor analogy. Let's see if I can rebound. Allow me to respond to a couple points -- but overall your points are on the money. * I think the O-Line is worse because I believe Green is worse than Butler. By a lot. And even worse than Walker. While Wood and Levitre got an extra year, Bell didn't because he was injured and hasn't shown the ability to stay on the field. The lack of depth along the line is worse than last year ... so add all that up and I'm not sold. But you think more of Green and the additions than I do and it's fair enough. It's all subjective at this point anyway. * I disagree that I am taking a pessimistic view of the WR corps -- look at the numbers. Outside of Lee, the other 9 WRs on the roster have a combined 136 NFL receptions. 100 of those are Roscoe. Take his out, and you're looking at 8 guys with 36 catches between them and no one has played more than 16 NFL games in their career. Roscoe MIGHT be able to finally be utilized in the slot -- great. But he's not Josh Reed. Steve Johnson, Hardy, and the rest have not proven themselves even when given (limited) opportunities. Could they produce? Absolutely. But there isn't an NFL team with LESS experience at the WR position today. Not a one. * The New scheme IS a great step in the right direction and I am excited about it. But, it's going to take more than one season to implement it. Could it click in one season? Absolutely. Is it likely? No. Factor in the lack of skills at QB, WR and OL and you're asking a lot for the offense to suddenly turn into a scoring machine, you know? * The QB position is not worse, you're right. It's at best the same. But either way, it's not good enough to win consistently. * The large percentage is probably an exaggeration, so well played. But the secondary is all learning a new scheme (if not out of position), Mitchell is playing inside, Poz is playing inside in a different scheme, Stroud, Maybin, Kelsay and company are all playing new positions. It's a big change going on on defense. But it's the RIGHT change. Still, it's going to take time. Some of these guys are vets that have played in the Tampa 2 (or some variation) their entire career. Shifting to the 3-4 is not easy.

What pluses outweigh the minuses? I'm not trying to be a dick, I'm just curious. The way I see it: Cons: -- New schemes on both sides of the ball, including a scheme that the defense does not have the proper personnel to play (yet) will at least require a half a season to adjust to, if not more. -- An offensive line that is worse than last year as far as talent and depth. Outside of our young guards, there's a collection of stiffs filling roles. Losing Butler will hurt more than people realize at the moment. -- A WR corps that does not have a bona fide number 2 WR. Instead they have 1 number 1 and a bunch of number 4 WRs. Not to mention half the young guys expected to make an impact are now dinged up. -- The worst QB situation in the league outside of Oakland. Fitz is a scrub, Edwards is damaged goods and Brown and Brohm are unknowns. -- A large percentage of the defense playing out of position or brand spanking new positions. -- The worst LB corps in the league (though this was true last year too). Outside of Poz (who himself is vastly overrated by fans but is still a competent LB), there aren't any LBs on the roster that strike fear in opponents. -- A tougher overall schedule. Pros: -- No Jauron. This can't be over stated. -- Brohm and Brown are unknowns and one could potentially be a diamond in the rough. -- One of the better defensive secondaries in the league. -- Very deep at HB with two pro-bowlers and a rookie with upside. ... That's it. That's all I can find for the pros. This team has a serious dearth in talent, alarmingly so at several key areas (OT, QB, WR, LB, DE, DT). That's not being pessimistic, that's being realistic. Could they surprise the hell out of me and everyone else? Absolutely, that's why they play the games on Sundays. But I'm not holding my breath.

That's insanely optimistic. Not impossible, but this team might be the worst team the Bills have put on the field since the 3-13 2001 team.

I feel like we jinxed him! Now technically I did say that "if he doesn't get hurt in camp ..." while making our bet. But, I'm not a welsher (sp?), so that's up to you.

We'll see in a couple weeks

I do like him in the booth -- but he's got one of those Hollywood egos. You know what I'm talking about since you've witnessed them. It's about the fame, not about the work with him. Which makes being a commentator perfect. But as a coach? Pass. If I had to listen to him in the meeting room every day ...