dollars 2 donuts

Sorry, Marv, I didn't see your post before I wrote mine. I could have just saved my fingers the work.

Thanks, GW, and I like your plan, but where is the money coming from? I am not at all trying to be sarcastic. When we fixed the stadium more than a decade ago we had to beg, BEG the State for money just to try and save our franchise and they weren't real eager for it; and those when in slightly better economic times. We all know that when it comes to allocating money for upstate NY, Albany gets real, real anxious and clutches their purse strings tighter and tighter. Would we have an Erie County tax? We love our Bills, but in our economy, again, not a really favorable option. Please let me state again, I do really like your plan. I like the look and I like the vibe...I just hate the reality of our situation and the way we are viewed by the rest of the State.

This thread is full of some win and a much, much, much needed 50 CCs injection of optimism we as Bills fans badly needed.

I'll agree with Thirty Year Fan: Great post. ...and a great thread. Additionally, I am very much looking forward to stories along the lines of, "I woke last night to the sound of thunder only to realize that it was just Nix, Gailey and Whaley arguing the next football move to make the Bills tougher." or "Chuck Norris bows to no men...but bows to Nix, Gailey and Whaley because it's just what you do out of respect when you're in the same club."

On a tangent here; I met Reeves randomly while in Georgia a few years ago at this well known steak place that I can't remember for the life of me. I was surprised, dare I say stunned, at what an affable and great guy he was. Honestly, just warm, considerate, thoughtful and would you believe, funny.

SJBF, in the recent past we've gone anywhere from 9 to 11, sometimes depending upon whether one of them is a long snapper. ...so no, I think we have room.

The Saving Grace to all us Buffalo sports fans but these long road trips (7 games in 14 days) are brutal on any team.

5-11...there. There it is. Now, are we going to be happy that we won more than 2 games or pissed that we didn't get to 8-8? Either way, its wash-rinse and repeat as it has been for the last decade. I envy you, b/c I utterly long for the days when this team got me excited.

Tru-dat, Adam. Word!! Hey, look, I'm still hip at 40!

I was 30 when the bills last made the playoffs. I am 40 now. Holy crap, I really could be freaking dead before they ever get to the playoffs again.

This. So very, very this.

We weren't Lenigmusx. ...Honest to God, we weren't.

I hear completely, CodeMonkey, but normally when I hear this come up I smell baseball purists, maybe b/c a few years ago I used to hear them bring it up on tv or radio. Additionally, I am personally not going to be hard on football due to the extreme physical nature of the game. I think 11 minutes of 300lb men running 4.5 forties bashing people in the head is more than enough time.

This stuff always comes up every few years. Fine. However, can someone do me a favor whenever they bring this up about football? Please time how long the ball is in play in baseball, and i mean in play, not the pitcher's wind-up, but anytime the ball is moving around. Thank you.

Although I disagree with you a little bit, Fitz is under contract for one more year and I think he is at least good to have on the roster in case everything blows-up or they don't want to start a rookie right away.

That's a great answer (as was STLBills15's that followed) and I am laughing quite a bit right now. However, we do suck, and if we could get him later in the draft and he is a Flutie type spark that can just win, I say sure. Hey, I know I'm dreaming but hope springs eternal.

Honestly, I'm thinking "Why the hell not with Tebow?"

A point I made, ISNOCH, to Depressed Bills Fan earlier today; there are some great QBs in this league, but besides Philly and perhaps Arizona (Leinhart looked great in some preseason games) there are not many teams that have a quality back up to take over in the future. ...Note: I like Volek and Kitna, but they are not "take over" guys in SD and Dallas.

Ungodly brilliant!!

I hate to be the guy that always brings this up; but is anyone the least bit bothered or give it a moments thought that Ronnie Harmon, the same guy rumored to have thrown the 1986 Rose Bowl game (4 fumbs, 1 MAJOR drop) as alluded to in a report on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel...is also the same guy that in my opinion (and others, obviously) short armed a critical pass against the Browns in the playoffs? Sorry, just sayin.

Look, we suffered. We have suffered hard for a long time and probably will continue to do so for a little while longer, but I have hope.. Why I make the statement above is because regardless of some droning on about the watered down nature of the NFL, I think there many great moments and fun to be had if you are a fan of the game. ...as opposed to the opinion of some of those in the local media, radio and print. I got a little tired of the, "there are 7 or 8 good teams in the NFL, and everyone else is mediocre" line being rolled out. Sorry, but if that is true, I think it applies to every sport. Somebody tell me of that 9th, 10th, or 12th best baseball or basketball team that just set their leagues on fire and you just couldn't miss? For the first time I wasn't a season ticket holder for the Bills, but I caught all their games...albeit later on through the DVR, b/c there were just a lot of great things to see in the NFL. Like the Bengals finally rebounding (even amidst tragedy for coach and players alike) to where there should have been a few years ago before Palmer's injury. And by the way, hats off to Wade Phillips; the guy who was always imminently going to be fired in Dallas, but has 3 straight winning seasons, two division titles and a 33-15 record as Cowboys head coach. Is it possible to be envious over 3 and 4 win teams? Yes. Freeman for TB pulled out a couple of great games for them this year and I loved watching them play their hearts out and beat the Saints. Additionally, even though we beat them, KC seemed to play EVERYBODY tough, besides us. Let me throw in Cleveland and Harris' game against KC(?) where he ran for I believe, the 3rd highest total in NFL history. I can't believe I am saying this, but hats off also to Miami who started slow, had a rash of injuries but was really in it right to the end. They should have beat NO, they got robbed against the Titans, and what the hell were they doing against us? Two games fall their way and they are in the playoffs. Even one rips on Denver for their collapse. I'll be honest with you; before the season I thought they were going to be one of the worst teams in the league in the neighborhood of 3-13. Early on, even Mario Haggen looked great for them. Everybody has their opinion and I would never deny anyone theirs, but I just think that beyond the above, regardless of how disappointing our team was, the NFL product is still very enjoyable, with a lot of great moments and it is about to get better with what I believe is going to be a great post season. Clear your weekend schedules, everybody, and enjoy, b/c its about to get really good.

I'll say this though if they wanted to own the team; financing 270 million dollars over a period of time is a whole hell of lot cheaper than someone from the outside laying down 820 million, part cash part-financing, to buy the team AND keep them in Buffalo. The Bills are very profitable for Ralph b/c he is not paying on any loans for the team and has no mortgage for a stadium. ...its the next guy who is going to get hit hard with those things unless he has money to burn. Oh, and really, really just my opinion, but if someone buys them and they stay in Buffalo for more than 10 years, sooner or later, i think the NFL is going to start to lean on them about a new stadium. I love the Ralph, but what is it now, the 3rd or 4th oldest stadium in the League?

I'm not defending him but didn't he get hurt just before the game? He was going to be pulled somewhere during it, but the leg/knee injury didn't help.

I saw that stat, too, during the game. I thought I couldn't be surprised anymore by this team...until that stat. Just horrible.

Oh, please do, ML, we have 8 months to kill before the season opener anyways!