silvermike

I'm amazed the NFLPA hasn't made a bigger stink about not having guaranteed contracts, considering the NHL, NBA, and MLB all have them. Still, though it seems like the league is the side looking for concessions here, not the players: they want to scale back the raise the players got in the last CBA (from 57% to 60% of total revenue). Maybe they'll find some compromise on guaranteed contracts - rather then getting cut and earning $0 of remaining salary, players will have to be bought out for 25% or something.

The Bills problem isn't that $3M. It's the players they spend their money on. Robert Royal made about $3M/season as a Bill, right? We need better players making $^M, or $7M per season than the Dockerys and Kelsays we've shown those bucks to, not upgrading postitions marginally.

Nothing will ever say "The Buffalo Bills" more to me than this look: http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia...s/jim-kelly.jpg Jim Kelly, looking disappointed, in the Super Bowl era jersey.

Until analyzing our last playoff game doesn't include the Flutie-Johnson debate, it's going to rage on and on. The Titans have managed to move on by, you know, having more playoff appearances.

What's key about the basic 3-4 is you assign the six gaps: both sides of the center, outside both guards, outside both tackles, to just three players. Basically, you want your three down linemen to stop the run and occupy the offensive line, and let everybody else make plays. And to do that, you don't just need big guys who are strong enough to withstand a double team, you need guys with enough smarts to read plays and enough footspeed to actually get there in time. There's a reason why Bill Parcells came up with the planet theory: there are only so many guys on the planet with the speed, strength, size, and smarts to play defensive line in a 3-4, so take one every time you have a chance. When it's run well, with great linemen, you have eight guys making plays all over the place, and thus the sacks, picks, and stuffs start adding up. Linebackers do help stop the run, but if you rely on LBs to make the majority of your running stuffs, your 3-4 is going to suffer. The 4-e spreads that responsibility around 4 guys, leaving a lot more options.

I don't know what happened that made light beers of all kinds the most advertised and consumed in this country. Do the companies push them because they're half beer and half water, and therefore half the cost at the same price?

For what it's worth, while the Patriots often play a base 3-4, they play plenty of 4-3 and try to throw just about every look imaginable at the offense. They run the ultimate hybrid defense, and that flexibility destroys offensive game planning. It's the secret to their success; but nobody else seems to be able to pull it off.

Yeah, the league just needs to formalize its suspension policy, because as it stands now, it can seem kind of arbitrary. Goodell has be using his authority wisely and fairly, so far, but if there's a commissioner that doesn't do that down the road, or Goodell changes his tune, the players should have some form of recourse.

Trent Edwards sucks! He doesn't have the speed to run back to the back of the endzone from midfield without being sacked, and even if he did, he doesn't have the arm strength to throw a 110-yard TD pass!

This I'd like to hear an explanation for. How do you blame the victim for getting in front of a car driven by a drunk driver?

He's off the block. Nobody will want to pay that money, especially knowing that he'll likely be available in another year as a UFA (how much does the franchise tag go up? 20%?)

That's not a rumor. That's an idea. A suggestion. A rumor requires some hint or information that something is actually in the works.

I think that good teams defer the kickoff to the second half: rely on your defense to get you the ball back early, and play the first half with an extra possession in your pocket. Of course, since the Bills haven't been a good team we might as well take the ball early, and at least inspire some hope, before reality comes crushing down.

I thought the Bills' problem was that we had given up on character by bringing in Owens and keeping Lynch. Are we back to needed convicts to compete?

And that both have identical personalities.

Can we sneak in Thurman Thomas because he was in the AFC East in 2000? Or should the list actually only count the achievements by each player, in the AFC East, in the 2000s? Or, I think, most interesting, for a single year: QB: Tom Brady '07 (NWE) RB: Curtis Martin '04 (NYJ) FB: Larry Centers '01 (BUF) WR: Randy Moss '07 (NWE) WR: Eric Moulds '02 (BUF) TE: Daniel Graham '03 (NWE) It's harder to pick out a year for the non-skill position players...

The key for me is the sun coming out from behind a cloud. There's a part of me that sincerely believes that if the Bills were to win a Super Bowl, it'd never snow again in Buffalo except on Christmas.

Yeah, that'd be a drag. But if we had a QB that could win a Super Bowl with a great defense, we've got the good running game and a solid team of wide receivers. We'd just need that defense to come around.

I have no idea what happened to Marvin Lewis, but his defenses fell off a cliff in Cincy. By yardage, last year was his best season, and the team ranked 12th in the league, which is solid. The previous three years they were 27, 30, and 28. That's roughly on par with us.

It really, really gets what Bills fandom is all about. Sadly.

I'm not sure they're ranked, just listed.

I think even seven is unlikely. Most teams keep six, and five isn't unprecedented. Sam has never caught a pass in the NFL, according to NFL.com. He also hasn't recorded any special teams tackles. Unfortunately, I think his best hope is the UFL next year.

Generally speaking, week 1 probably is more random and less predictable than the middle of the season. So since random luck is our best shot at beating the Pats, I'd say yeah, we've got an edge this time that we won't have for the rematch.

Those three'll do it.

If only Jauron weren't so influential on player personnel, I'd say you had a point.