Lori

With temperatures soaring into the 90s again yesterday, the 75+ people in attendance were grateful for the industrial-strength air conditioning inside the Paul Maguire Club... BBBC President Sharon Jackson opened the meeting, then turned the podium over to Bills marketing coordinator Aaron Schmidt. (sp? - he's not in the '04 media guide.) He gave a short presentation about Bills Backers Weekend, slated for the Miami game this year (October 9th). He also mentioned the relaunch of the redesigned Backers website, and encouraged people to register. (Various perks, including the chance to win autographed stuff, "Inside the Herd" Q-and-A access to players and coaches, etc.) And for those of you still looking for single-game seats - if you register at the Backers website before July 9th, you'll receive the password for a special two-hour advance sale the morning individual sales open (7:00-9:00 AM July 16th). He was followed at the microphone by Paul Peck (WIVB-TV), the featured media guest, who spoke briefly about the upcoming season. The way he sees it, "There's a lot to like about this team", and the measure of uncertainty created by some of the offseason roster moves only adds to his anticipation for the day the 2005 Bills actually take the field. More notes from Peck: J.P. is doing and saying all the right things, but of course he'll still be a question mark until we see him start a few regular-season games. Kelly Holcombe and Shane Matthews are the perfect QBs to help groom Losman, and if anything should happen to J.P., he'd feel very comfortable about Holcombe playing. He thinks Willis is ready for a breakout season, and he says Lee Evans has looked fantastic in the workouts. (He mentioned Evans two or three times, in fact. Very impressed with his progression.) Peck then introduced Bills DT Tim Anderson. Instead of just handing him the mic and leaving him to fend for himself, though, PP conducted a short Q-and-A session with Tim. Great idea - Peck is a solid interviewer, and I think the move put Anderson more at ease before he stepped up to the podium... Anderson lives here year-round, although he might be rethinking the idea of staying here for the entire winter. (The temperature change from Ohio to here isn't that bad, he said, but the snow is a different story.) He's been a frequent visitor to the fieldhouse during the offseason, and has added about 10 pounds of muscle - he's at 315lb now. Tim said it was tough to deal with not getting much playing time last season (after being a three-year starter at Ohio State), but he recognized the fact that the Bills had two Pro Bowl-caliber tackles who didn't want to come off the field. (He told us about one particular play in the Oakland game, when the coaches put him in to give Sam Adams a break. He said when he got out to the huddle, Adams just glared at him and sent him right back to the sideline...) He used last season as a chance to watch and learn the pro game, and with the departure of Pat Williams, Tim is looking forward to the opportunity to prove he belongs in the starting rotation. With that, he started taking audience questions: -Asked to describe his playing style, Anderson said he's a "blue-collar, whistle-to-whistle" guy; at OSU, he was asked to take on the double-team, freeing up the LBs. "I might not have the most God-given talent - everything I have is because I worked for it." -As a senior in high school, he was the Ohio state heavyweight wrestling champion. Looking back, he's glad he decided to wrestle - he believes it really helped his football skills, especially his foot speed and handfighting. -Impressions of his position coach, Tim Krumrie: "I never really got to see him play, but he's a player's coach - you know he's been there, he knows what he's talking about. I enjoy playing for him." He described the handfighting drill TK put him through at Ohio State's pro day like this, after checking to make sure there were no small children in the audience: "He lines up across from you and basically beats the ^$&! out of you. It was the worst minute and a half of my entire life." -Since he's been working against them in the OTAs, I asked him for his first impression of new Bills linemen Bennie Anderson and Mike Gandy. He said that while they don't do any serious hitting until they put on the pads in training camp, both players are intelligent, seem to have picked up the offense quickly, and show good technique. Someone mentioned, "That Anderson's a pretty big fella;" Tim chuckled, agreed, and said that's why he wants to add a few more pounds himself - it seems like the OGs just keep getting bigger... Bills Director of Archives Denny Lynch was the final featured speaker of the evening. He gave a short update on Joe Ferguson (roughly the same info available on Fergy's website), and mentioned Marv Levy is recovering from shoulder surgery. Most of the players are taking advantage of the time off before camp begins; JP, Tim, and Mark Campbell were the only three players he saw working out yesterday. (Yes, J.P. is still here...) Denny also informed those in attendance about "It All Started in East Aurora", a Bills Archives exhibit opening on July 28th at the Toytown Museum in East Aurora. There will be displays featuring the AFL and AFC championship teams, Ralph Wilson, the '12th Man', and Bills-related toys. Admission is free (but donations are gratefully accepted), and the installation will run through at least Super Bowl weekend. Also in attendance was Henry DeOca of the Bills Backers of Brandon (FL); he introduced himself, spoke about the club, and invited us all to Florida.

As KD and Rubes already said, Reed is the only possibility out of those three for 2006 - Hansen may make it up there someday, but certainly not before Bruce/Reed/Tasker/Bennett. You might be interested in this thread: Poll: Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame (May 15th, 2005)

He did... but he wore #11 first. He's listed with both numbers in the all-time roster.

Probably not in the case of your relatives, who are doing what I consider white-collar jobs. As long as nobody goes postal at their workplaces, there isn't much in the way of occupational hazard there. Where I work, on the other hand... well, let's start with the several hundred tons of molten glass in our furnaces and go from there. A couple of years ago, a worker in one of our other factories was killed on the job. Decapitated, by part of a two-story-tall machine. And without our union threatening to deep-six the entire contract over it, we'd be pulling mandatory double-shifts in and around said machinery. (I know this to be fact, because a couple of years ago - before the contract language was changed to prohibit them - one too many of those mandatory doubles ended up costing me two months of therapy trying to rehab a fried rotator cuff. The head therapist at the hospital told me they get a LOT of business from us...) Not all unions are good, and there's a lot I don't like about the way they operate. But not all unions are bad, either... and there ARE still places where they're needed.

Bastage..... Happy Birthday, Bill... and way to go Nirv, for ratting him out. Look forward to seeing y'all in October!

No CFL for me; my sports-on-TV selections this evening are Wimbledon, the NBA Draft, and BestDamn. Gawd, how I miss Empire...

Seeing as how most of this thread is about drug issues..... I want some of whatever he's on. On second thought, no, I don't.

Yup. But Mike Mercer wore #7. Complete list for the dreaded #5: Lusteg, George Jakowenko, Carson Long, Nick Mike-Mayer, Fred Steinfort, Ferragamo, Rick Partridge, Kerry Brady, Brad Daluiso, Ford, Travis Brown. I see Brown is still wearing #5 in Indy. Maybe it'll work better for him out there....

Aw, I thought you guys were coming up for Squish-the-Fish week. Oh well, Jets it is... and Chad Pennington is 0-2 in Ralph Wilson Stadium....

You and your blessed obsession with the OL. You do make a valid argument for #58, although I'd still lean towards the Keg. Next time I see Chris, I imagine the first question I'll be asking will be how that elbow's doing. At work last night, someone asked me my thoughts on the upcoming season. Like most, he was focused on how JP will do, and seemed somewhat surprised when I told him I'd be spending most of my time at training camp watching the OL and DL.... just like last year.... and the year before that... etc. ... etc. ...

A dark-horse nominee for this honor, with three good reasons for inclusion: #5. Reason #1 - Booth Lusteg, K, 1966. Once missed three of four FGs in a game against the Chargers (including a potential game-winning 23-yarder with 6 seconds left), then was beaten up by irate fans while walking home from the game. Career stats (from four teams in four seasons): 35-75 FGs (46.7%), 97-101 XP. Reason #2 - Vince Ferragamo, QB, 1985. My nominee for all-time worst season by a Bills QB - 51.9% completion rate, 5 TD passes, 17 INT, 50.8 QB rating. They didn't even wait until the end of the season to cut him. Reason #3 - Cole Ford, K, 1998. The former Raider (and Bills kickoff specialist, for one forgettable game in 1998), Ford was arrested after a drive-by shooting at Sigfried and Roy's house. He's since been found incompetent to stand trial, and is undergoing treatment at a mental health facility in Nevada. Joe Rheem, the kicker from K-State, is currently listed with #5. Nothing personal, Joe - but please change your number before it's too late.....

There's a bad joke in there somewhere about how losing PWilliams makes us "thin" at that position.... but there is much truth to what you say. There was a great thread on here last offseason, asking which player the Bills could least afford to lose for any length of time. IIRC, thanks to some really hideous play by the offense while he was sidelined, Eric Moulds topped the list. This year, Adams might just be the answer to that question.

Have media guide, will travel.....

That, and "offsides, #76 defense". They should've taped the stadium announcer saying those two phrases, and just replayed the tape whenever necessary - would've saved some wear and tear on the guy's voice....

Wow. I gotta read this post again, to see if it says what I think it's trying to say. Upon further review...... Wow.

The deal for me is, split your sleep times. (I've worked a rotating shift for upwards of 15 years now, which makes things even more fun...) When I'm on midnights (as I am now), I get home just shy of 8 AM. Stay up just long enough to read the morning sports sections and listen to a little bit of Simon, then sack out around 8:30-9 AM. Back up around 2 or 3 PM, then grab another nap from 8-10:30 or so at night. Doing it that way gives me more scheduling flexibility, too - something going on in the evening? Just sleep later into the afternoon. Midnight shifts do have their advantages - especially where I work, when an 85-degree day means it's 100-120 inside the factory for most of the 4-12 shift....

The complete list of #11s, beginning with their very first draft choice/QB bust: Richie Lucas, Spike Jones, Fred Besana, Dan Manucci, Joe Dufek, Scott Norwood, Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe, Roscoe Parrish. Run away, Roscoe, run away..... Other numbers? Mark Campbell is trying his best to dispel the Curse of Friggin' Lonnie hanging over the #84 jersey. And a few years back, OT Ken Jones actually changed numbers because he believed the refs were targeting his #72 for holding calls...

For those of you asking how the defense could be better this season, here's something to consider. Think back to last year: Izell Reese and Coy Wire were the safeties on opening day 2004. Wire lasted less than three games before being pulled off the field in the middle of a New England drive. That gave Pierson Prioleau his shot to start at SS against the Jets, and we all remember how well that worked. As for Reese, the coaches were so enthralled with his level of play that they turned to UDFA rookie Rashad Baker for the St. Louis game... Back to the present. Barring injury, Troy Vincent and Lawyer Milloy will be the Bills' starting safeties in September. Vincent/Milloy > Reese/Wire/Prioleau/Baker, wouldn't you say?

Have one for us! (And define "one" however you'd like... )

That's why we're in the parking lot at 9am - better discussion than you can find on TV. (Plus ample supplies of tailgate food/drink, of course..... )

Case-by-case, it will depend on who gets to define "fair market value", no?

Or Graves' Disease eyes - exophthalmos, to use the fancy medical terminology. (Think Marty Feldman.) And erratic behavior can also be a symptom of untreated hyperthyroidism. Hmmm. I wonder.....

How about the # of touchdowns given up on drives of five plays or more? They count too, AND they keep Buffalo's offense off the field. (Related topic: Pittsburgh's 15- and 14-play FG drives in the January 2 game, the latter one burning off almost nine minutes of the fourth quarter...)

Do we HAVE one? Oh yeah, Bannan and Sape are both still here (although I expect that to change for at least one of them by the end of August). I'm curious about the UDFA from Oklahoma State, LaWaylon Brown. I don't watch much Big12 ball; what's your take on him?

"Martinez was borrowing a point from Sen. Joe Biden — which is always a dangerous gambit because you never know who said it originally." When Biden talks about running for Prez in 2008, does he honestly think we've forgotten about his last try? (waitaminute... "honestly" might not fit with this subject...)