Lori

Have you really seen any of our backup LBs play enough to decide whether or not they'd be able to hold down a starting job in a 3-4? I haven't.

Lost in all this is the fact that we return 10 of 11 starters from last year's #2-ranked defense. Yeah, #2, even using a 4-3. So do you switch to a 3-4 because you like the scheme, or do you stick with what has proven to be pretty darn good?

Suh-weeet. At least you managed to get through. I'm getting a "try back later" message on the website, and a busy signal from the 877-BB-TICKS number. As if that isn't amusing enough, I'm working midnights. In other words, instead of going to bed like I should have two hours ago, I stayed up for the sole purpose of calling in my order. I'm running out of patience.

Sorry, I missed this the first time through. The Hall of Fame defines the "Modern Era" as post-1946, but I'm going to chop that a little finer - IMO, there's no objective way to compare the current NFL passing game to the '50s and '60s. (Even the early '70s may be a stretch, before the pass interference rules were changed to benefit WRs.) Here's the complete list of HOF WRs who played at least half of their careers after the AFL-NFL merger in 1970: Fred Biletnikoff 1965-78; Class of 1988 (10 yrs. after retirement) 14 seasons; 589 catches-8,974 yds, 76 TDs Six AFL All-Star/Pro Bowl selections; 2 Super Bowls, 1 ring; Super Bowl XI MVP Charlie Joiner 1969-86; Class of 1996 (10 yrs. after retirement) 18 seasons; 750 catches-12,146 yds, 65 TDs; three Pro Bowls Steve Largent 1976-89; Class of 1995 (6 yrs. after retirement) 14 seasons; 819 catches-13,089 yds-100 TDs; 7 Pro Bowls. Largent was also the career catches-yardage-TD record holder when he retired. James Lofton 1978-93; Class of 2003 (10 yrs. after retirement) 16 seasons; 764 catches-14,004 yds-75 TDs; 8 Pro Bowls; 3 Super Bowls Lofton held the league yardage record when he retired. John Stallworth 1974-87; Class of 2002 (15 yrs. after retirement) 14 seasons; 537 catches-8,723 yds-63 TDs; 4 Pro Bowls; 4 Super Bowls, 4 rings Lynn Swann 1974-82; Class of 2001 (19 yrs. after retirement) 8 seasons; 336 catches-5,462 yds-51 TDs; 3 Pro Bowls; 4 Super Bowls, 4 rings, Super Bowl X MVP Charley Taylor 1964-75,77; Class of 1984 (7 yrs. after retirement) 13 seasons; 649 catches-9,110 yds, 79 TDs; eight Pro Bowls; 1 Super Bowl As with Largent, Taylor held all the receiving records when he retired. Paul Warfield 1964-77; Class of 1983 (6 yrs. after retirement) 14 seasons; 427 catches-8,565 yds, 85 TDs; eight Pro Bowls 3 Super Bowls, 2 rings, plus one NFL championship with Cleveland (1964) Now, do the same for Andre: 16 seasons; 941 catches-13,095 yds-86 TDs; seven Pro Bowls; 4 Super Bowls Obviously, Reed's numbers DO compete. But I'll repeat what I said last September: It'll only get tougher, as guys like Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison keep raising the bar for all modern-era WRs to get in. If you don't have good numbers combined with a Super Bowl ring or four - IMHO, Lynn Swann doesn't make it without the Super Bowl X MVP award AND the national TV gig - then your stats have to be un-friggin'-believable.

Well, if you keep your season tickets for another year or two after this one, you'll be able to - no chance they'll wait any longer than that to add Bruuuuuuce to the Wall. I'm guessing Andre goes first, just because he retired first and is already Hall of Fame-eligible, but I could be wrong.....

Ouch.

Amen. And if only he'd managed to stay healthy.... *sigh* .....we may well have been talking about him in the HOF thread.

Oh, I absolutely agree with your theory; in fact, I tell the Stillers fans around here that Swann wasn't even the best receiver on his team. But true as that may be, he's got the hardware and the name recognition that goes with it. Just like Irvin, who made the top 15 in his first year of eligibility.... hmm, he's also got multiple rings and a TV job. Andre, I'm serious. You need some airtime. (Think you can help him out, K?)

That may be a tough sell, KTD - until he came to Buffalo, Lofton had neither a HOF receiver across from him nor a HOF QB pitching the ball to him..... and that 18.3 yds-per-catch isn't too shabby, either.

Four Super Bowl rings, one SB MVP award... and oh yeah, a national TV gig. Andre, your agent needs to get busy with NBC. They'll be looking for on-air talent for next season, right?

Sayonara, Dante....

Guy by the name of Lofton had a couple of pretty good years across from Reed, as well. This quote sums it up better than I can.... "Sadly, what works most against Andre is the failure of the national media to appreciate his numbers. He's perceived as a good receiver on a great team, rather than an outstanding player who helped make his team great." Not to my knowledge.

That's why Thurman's going on the Wall this fall - the committee wants to make sure he's honored in Buffalo before his election to the HOF. Thurm is 11th all-time in rushing; of the ten RBs ahead of him, seven are already in the Hall and the other three aren't eligible yet. As for Reed - I've asked a few writers about said attitude, and they've all told me that never really had an impact outside the local market.

Bingo. Counting this year's class, in the "modern" (post-World War II) era, there are 24 RBs, 21 QBs, and 17 WRs enshrined. Get this, though - James Lofton is the youngest WR in the Hall, and there have only been 5 WRs inducted in the last 15 years. Let's dig a thread from the archives - the original question was about EMoulds' HOF chances, but some of the replies discuss Monk and Reed: from last September - "Moulds and the HOF"

He's entitled to his opinion. Doesn't mean he's correct.

Debatable - Adams might have higher milage, but Williams is slightly older.... You and todd make a valid point, though. I'll repeat todd's quote: True enough. That works both ways, though - if Pat had re-signed here, he wouldn't be trashing TD, either. Just like Drew's comment about getting his kids Cowboys jerseys and dumping the stuff from 'the other team' - well hell, what did we expect him to say?

lacrosse.org was just repeating what a blurb on the cover of the April 25th Sports Illustrated said... SI.com - Get On The Stick

That may change by the end of this season.

Lori One spot General (but preferably within cooler-dragging distance )

Easy there, Simonizer - that's the first play that came to mind, but it ain't necessarily the only one. The punt drop in the Stiller game was a big play, and not the only one he lost last season. (At least he got his turnover back in that game, unlike #11....) Overall, though -- the more I think about it, the closer I move to yours and harami's take. Much as I loved Antoine, Clements (and Odomes) are better... and TD has some serious deal-making to do with NC's agent.

FF-S, don't forget that Clements also picked Maddox for a TD in that Pittsburgh game. Even though he can drive us all nuts at times (yeah, fourth-and-fourteen comes quickly to mind), he may well be closer to an 'elite' CB than many of us -- myself included -- give him credit for. Factoid: Clements has now led the Bills in INTs in each of his four seasons in Buffalo. Mark Kelso and Charles Romes are the only other players in team history to do that three seasons in a row....

Hahahahaa. I bought one of those 'sampler' 12packs for a tailgate a few seasons ago. We quickly killed off the regular Sam and the Winter Lager, then started looking at the "special" brews they included - two of which were the Cranberry Iambic. Nobody would take a full bottle, but a few people were brave enough to try a small sample, so I opened a bottle and divided it between five or six styrofoam cups. We all agreed it didn't deserve to be in the same box with anything labeled "beer". The second bottle came back with me, then sat in the fridge for two years, until I poured it down the drain so I could recycle the bottle and make room for real beer in there.... Lesson learned: avoid Sam Adams 'sampler packs', and just buy a full 12pk or case of the brew you like.

Saved me some typing, pastaman. The Bills are the only one of the teams I root for that hasn't won a championship during my lifetime. Do those SB losses sting? Sure they do... but that team gave us some unbelievable memories along the way. I rank 51-3 and the Comeback game ahead of the Reds' World Series wins, and right up there with watching the Habs skate the Cup... and yeah, even the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, my freshman year at PSU. Soylent (great movie BTW), you'll have your answer on the afternoon of June 4th. Tune into the NFL Network at 1PM that day, and watch the Bills fans treat the players from that '90s team like rock stars.

In my opinion? Probably not. By the time they work their way through the bigger stars down to Big Red and Frank (and I'd add House Ballard, Christie, and Odomes to your two), guys like Ted Washington, Eric Moulds, and Ruben Brown will most likely be in the mix, too. Metzelaars and Reich had their moments in the spotlight -- heck, we'll love Frank forever for the Comeback game -- but they were complementary players at best. And when compared to some of the earlier players still waiting to be honored, I can't realistically see putting either Frank or Pete on the Wall. I fully expect both to receive the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Distinguished Service Award at some point, though.

I know he was invited to Alumni Day last season (when the '64 team was honored), so I'm assuming he'll also get an invitation to the festivities next month. Doubt he'll show. I'd like to see that happen, too, clay -- but quitting the team TWO DAYS before a regular-season game, as he did in October 1976? Can't blame Ralph for holding onto that grudge.