Yoho

Excellent point. That is useful. But earlier this month, we had some information that turned out to be accurate that a lot of posters lambasted just because someone claimed to have "insider info". The reason that I am sensitive about this is that I know someone inside One Bills Drive. Not about to ever divulge who it is, but I am sure to get all this crap whenever I ever share any insights. Let the stupid responses begin.

It is really a shame that the attitude of making fun of whoever claims they have insider information has become prevalent on this board. Sometimes, people just may have some good contacts. They have no desire to blow their cover by announcing who the contacts are. So, tell me, why you sarcastic jerks feel the need to lampoon whoever posts an insider claim. Is it jealousy that someone may know more than you? Is it the "Jim Rome Syndrome" that requires you to make fun of everyone that is not part of the "jungle"? Help me here, because one of the real values of a message board like this is the off-chance that you will really get some insider stuff. But if you make fun and insult everyone who posts here, it will turn off potential posters of such info. Of course, some poster will claim they know somebody and put up some outrageous crap. Go check their past posts and determine if they have any credibility. That is the value of this board. Frankly, I don't care what happened on Extreme Makeover last night.

I was in Lake Placid that day and had tickets to the Czech/Canada game directly before the US/USSR match. We tried to stay in the arena but got booted. I knew a guy that was working Security and he invited us to the American Legion for 25 cent beers to watch the game. It was on live from the Canadian feed. After the game, the streets were wild with chants of USA, USA and just generally partying and carrying on. Quite a night.

I want to get a backup quarterback that has a history of continual success. I want one that does not want a lot of money. I want one who does not "suck", "blow" or is physically unattractive. I want one who will be happy to be a backup and until, we here at the Stadium Wall decide that JP sucks, blows and is ugly and that it is time for him to be a starter. At that time, I want this backup to be assertive and if necessary to ignore the stupid offensive coordinators calls and take the game into his own hands. Any suggestions?

That is why I made the point about being replaced by an inexperienced guy with a B.A. degree. Say, you work for a company in sales, over the 2nd half of last year, the team you were in charge of had an exceptional sales record. The last month was disappointing but your company was in the trade press as an up and coming team. One day your boss calls you and says we are replacing with you this hot kid out of college. While you led the team, we really think it was the rest of the team that carried you. Do you say, oh geesh, I guess you are right, I was the weak link, or do you say, wait a second, I did what you asked, I let the rest of the team lead the way and now you are canning me. What I liked about Drew's comments is that he could have easily taken shots at Bills management, fans and team. He did not do any of the above.

And your point is.......?

After reading the Bledsoe transcript on the Bills site, I retain a great deal of respect for Bledsoe's character (not necessarily his quarterbacking ability). He was surprised, disappointed and disagreed with the decision but in the end he did it with nothing but class. I remember a few instances here where people got let go from their job and there was usually quite a bit of carping and whining involved. I am sure if you had a job for 10 years and were replaced by some kid with a bachelors degree and no experience you would find fault with the decision. So, thank you Drew for trying hard and being loyal to the Bills. Sorry it did not work out and thanks for acting like a classy veteran right to the end. If only some of the posters here could show 10% of such class, the board would be a better place. I especially appreciate the fact that he will be rooting for the Bills to win a Super Bowl. He did not need to say that. We could all learn a little from his reaction.

I remember the same excitement and the same buzz about Todd Collins and Rob Johnson. Excuse me, if I wait to actually see the guy play a real game before I get excited.

I think "professional" would indicate that he is getting paid for his inane ramblings. I have the feeling these articles are done on a volunteer basis. Let's put it this way, if he were a quarterback with the same skills as he has a writer, he would likely be a JV quaterback, maybe a back up. Yet, he has the balls to trash a class guy like Bledsoe. I can just imagine the little nerd at his computer.

Because "we have a kid under center". An unproven, untested kid. Sorry, but I need to actually see Losman play before I am certain that he is better than Bledsoe. Man, the most popular player in town is always the back up quarterback before anybody gets to see him play.

And you are upset for what reason???? Sounds like a pretty stupidly timed ad.

Wow, that is an amazing post. According to this post, all free agent signings work out because players have succeeded in the past. I could probably list 10 all-pro players that turned out to be complete busts as free agents, but I guess that doesn't really happen. Notably, Donohoe has not signed a single one of them. There may be some legitimate criticisms of Donohoe but let's not just be silly.

For those of us old enough to remember the putdowns of the AFL by the NFL, the thought of the Boston Patriots beating the Philadelphia Eagles brings a smile to my face. I just hope Babe Parilli can outplay Sonny Jurgenson.

Buffalo is closer to Morgantown, West Virginia than New York City.

Let me ask one simple question. If Tom Brady and Peyton Manning switched teams, how many Super Bowls would the Patriots have won? I have a lot of respect for Brady (who looks too much like Donnie Osmond for my comfort level). But Manning is the best quarterback playing today. Brady has a better team (especially defense) and a better coach. Put Manning in his place and I can't believe that the Patsies would not be just as good or better.

so, if bledsoe had a gun and losman was anti-gun, would you guys want shane matthews to start?

What gets me about that one is that if the ref decides the players was indeed out of bounds, the timeout gets nullifed and they go on like the player never did call a time out. The correct call would be player was out of bounds when he called time out, opposition ball and by the way, you just got a time out.

The one thing that seems to be totally ignored about this season is the weather conditions we played in. I never remember a season with so many miserable days for games, especially the wind. From the Miami game to the Arizona game, the Cleveland game and even the Pittsburgh game, it was cold and blustery and just tough to throw or kick the football for both teams. I have been meaning to do an analysis of how opposing kickers did against us and compare it to Lindell. I am fairly confident that the QB rating of opposing quarterbacks at the Ralph would be at or below Drew's. I would be happy to have someone prove me wrong. But for anyone who sat through the Arizona game to criticize any QB's passing must have passed out in the parking lot before the game. It was miserable and totally uncondusive to passing. Amazingly, in Miami, in lovely weather, our offense was very good and our defense was not so dominant. I am no lover of Drew, but let's at least be fair and not compare him to QB's throwing in no-climate situations like the dome quarterbacks. Even Jim Kelly would have had trouble this year in some of the condidtions and I have been going to games since 1962, I never remember more games with tough conditions.

I have this bad habit of always rooting for the underdog. I think it comes from being a Bills fan. Maybe it is from growing up in Buffalo. Either way, I can't make myself like a sport where the big-city, big-money teams have an inherent advantage. It reminds me too much of the evil NFL (1960's) against the all that is good AFL. Pete Gogolak was the first player to switch leagues. And whoever, does not understand the significance of that will probably not understand my diatribe against major league baseball. So, enjoy your Yanks and all the power that is inherent in them, my best friend from Williamsville was a Yankee fan and after 40 years I still like him. YOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO

Now young grasshopper, you must learn the true meaning of Yoho. Only the oldest and most loyal of Bills fan know what this means. You must not make fun of the name or it will bring bad karma to all Bills kickers.

Thanks and by the way you confuse a "baseball system hater" with a "Yankee hater". If you read this long painful string, you will see I am railing against baseball's system that allows big market teams to dominate not the Yanks who are just playing the cards they have been dealt. Now, as for Kitna, let's play out Losman in training camp, have Bledsoe in reserve (no one will trade for him) and sign the next Shane Mathews vet backup. I would like Kitna but not at the cost of a draft pick.

Interesting conclusion. It is the first time I have posted on this subject (baseball) in about a year. You must have ESP or even ESPN.

I will admit I labelled you. but you accused me of labelling everyone else. That confused me. I think the Yanks may have overpaid for someone who may break down real soon. At the very least, it is very risky. Thanks for the debate.

First, there were always at least 16 teams in the major leagues since 1900. Second, of course, there were poorly run organizations that dont compete at any time. Compare the Steelers and 49'ers. But it is not because there is a systematic bias against one teams success but because one organization is run better than the other given the same resource pool to work with. Third, who else have I ever lablelled? Where did that come from?

Take off your Yankee goggles and read what I have been going on about. There are only 8 -10 teams that have a chance to win the World Series unless a small market team is willing to lose money. Some of the 8 - 10 teams are so poorly run, that despite their economic advantage they wont compete either. Therefore the well run teams, Yankees, Red Sox, Braves are almost always in the playoffs.