RJ (not THAT RJ)

Scott, I understand the point you are making, but don't you think it is a bit disingenuous? I mean, those who want to complain about when players are chosen, if they are not criticizing the ability of the players, are getting caught up in a highly abstract debate over values that themselves have no concrete meaning. If I did not want to avoid getting all Lacanian on the discussion, I would say that the "draft value" discussion is a textbook example of reification--treating an abstract thing as a concrete thing. Thus, if the people who are complaining are only upset because of when players were chosen, rather than because of the ability of the players chosen, they are actually upset about something that is nothing at all... IF that is so, then those people should not have anything to complain about, unless they have doubts about the actual ability of the players chosen. Well, I guess I did get a little Lacanian there... or was it Foucauldian? Go Bills!

I'll leave the predictions to others. I'm a historian. But, when that blessed day comes, I hope to have a chance to share the celebration with you and other Philly-area Bills fans.

First, the team has signed three OL free agents. and they drafted an OT. Is that "not addressing?" No. Does it satisfy you? That is your prerogative, but it is silly to make definite pronouncements focused on one part of the overall team-building process. Why oh why do so many people want to proclaim the war over after First Mansassas? That is the epitome of dumbassitude. All that aside, I do hope that all Bills fans, dumbasses, geniuses, and JSP, will have much to celebrate soon. Go Bills!

Oh please. You write a semi-coherent (and not terribly original) rant and you call me a dumbass? Get a sense of humor, then call me back.

A word that sums up the high intellectual quality of his overall post....

Dave, You make a good point, though your message reminded me of the general problem with all of our O-line discussions here. Where exactly do good O-lines come from? They do not drop from heaven; they do not come solely from first-round draft choices; nor do they come from a mindless fixation on huge bodies. They come from a combination of draftees, street free agents, high profile UFAs, RFAs, and other teams' castoffs, mixed in with good coaching and good luck. That has always been true, and yet, again and again in the conversations here (not aimed at you specifically), people speak as though there is one golden path to a good O-line that the Bills have been either too stupid or too evil to choose. It drives me nuts. The Bills O-line has been a team weakness for years, yes. One can say that it has been on the decline since 1993, the time at which the particular combination of cast-offs, low-level and high level draft picks, and free agents that had played well together for several years began to leave. But that does not mean that nothing has been done since then. All it means is that what has been done (which has included, yes, signing free agents, making draft picks, scouring the unemployment line, etc.) has not yet worked. Reyes and Fowler and the 2006 draft class might not work either. There is no magic potion. I'm glad they signed Reyes, and will be curious to see if he works out. If he does not, I will be disappointed with the rest of TSW, but I hope the future discussions of the question will be more grounded in actual experience.... Go Bills!

Looks like prodding the bear was a great idea....

1. Fine, but I would still like to think that Bills fans or Sabres fans will not allow success to turn them into gloating idiots. 2. I know, we have determined that you are from Ohio, a Browns fan as a matter of fact. What I said about Buffalo and Philly can also apply to Cleveland, but you can think and do whatever you like... which brings to mind another Forrest Gump line. Just kidding. Go Sabres!

Two things: 1. I think that counting chickens (or playoff wins) before they hatch is the Mortal Sin of sports fandom, second only to excessive gloating, the kind of thing that gets Cowboy, Yankees, and Pats fans consigned to Bolgia 8. This is, alas, the sin that too many Sawks fans have committed since 2004, thus sacrificing the grace they had gained from suffering at the hands of Yanks fans.. But I digress. To quote one of the great philosophers of TSW, DO NOT PROD THE BEAR. 2. I am from WNY (Niagara Falls, to be precise), and now live in Philly, and I think the idea of anyone from Buffalo hatin' on Philly is wrong on many counts. The cities share many characteristics (not least of which is an enormous inferiority complex vis-a-vis the other big cities of the East), and should actually understand each other quite well. Classless goons are everywhere, but that should not tar an entire city. Go Bills! Go Sabres!

I have always interpreted Marv's 1987 references to the choice between Conlan and Bryan Bosworth.... or am I even more confused than usual this morning? I ask a question in the vain hope to see one of my responses responded to. In te, domine, speravi....

What's a drft? Just kidding; I also think this will be a key moment for the new regime... Alas, the grades will be incomplete until sometime around 2008....

I am with you on this one.... Tags is getting all the praise for "saving the league" with the latest agreement, but upon closer examination we see that the high-revenue teams, whom Tags has never been willing or able to control, were actually playing chicken all along, until at the last minute they forced the small-market teams to accept the revenue sharing and CBA plans they preferred. Ralph wandered off the reservation by having the temerity to question why such an agreement had to be rammed through at the last minute, and received nothing but sarcasm and worse from the national media. Clayton's article, though it contained some good arguments, was clearly a smackdown that ESPN had to administer to the troublesome Ralph in order to curry favor with the NFL. Ralph deserves credit for sticking with it, and I think that the details will be worked out better as a result. Would they have worked out all right anyway? Maybe, but I doubt it. What bothers me about the whole debate is how quickly even Bills fans got hung up on attacking Ralph for crying poor, or accused him of having a hidden agenda, without seeing that the NFL was on the verge of sticking it to the small markets. All's well... for now. Go Bills!

Well, there's always running... and passing. But please, don't let me get in the way of the masturbatory gloom.

Ah, but he did... in Jack's last season and OJ's first... 1969. Go Bills!

Amen, brother! There is no evidence. Even this "Yahoo" article is based on the flimsiest of evidence. You will note, if you read it to the end, that it quotes "a league source" on the Bills not drafting Ngata, when we all know that the "source" is Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News, whose article was itself semi-informed speculation. There is very little here except pot-stirring and wishful thinking. Now, I will defer to Levy/Jauron on this, but it appears to me as a reasonably detached observer that it is extremely unlikely that the Bills will dump Losman before this season. It makes no sense, when the team has other holes as well, to tear one in the team by giving up on JP. If anything, all the talk about competition is probably designed to give JP a push to see if he elevates his game, and is more a sign of his staying than his going. My guess is that it is more likely that the Bills will drag things out before deciding to dump him if they do, so it will be next year at the earliest. Anyone who thinks the Bills are going to give up on Losman is living in a dream land. Not coincidentally the same dreamland that is populated by people who think Vince Young will ever be a successful QB in the NFL. Go Bills!

Isn't it astonishing how people quote KFFL summaries of Buffalo New articles that are already available on TBD as if they are news? This is not a criticism of the posters so much as a comment on how often KFFL seems to do nothing but summarize articles from other papers, and treat the speculative opinions of the newspaper writers as if they represent an opinion from the team. Am I the only one confused by this?

*Pausing for a moment... about to protest... then snatching quickly at the crumb of recognition, clutching it to my chest... then running back into my darkened corner of the TSW universe.... muttering to self.... "I do exist... I do exist...."*

Well, this one bleeds red, white and blue....

Would that make me a Scab Ghost?

Jeez.... doesn't anyone read to the end of the thread.... I guess I'll go back to being invisible.

No, it was Krieg.... and that game summed up the awful 1994 Bills D. Unable to stop the Lions early, the Bills fell behind 14-0 and could not quite come back. Kelly was 29-35, but threw a couple of INTs, including a final pick in the last moments that Wille Clay returned for a touchdown and sealed a 35-21 defeat..... Sigh.

Live and learn.... I certainly endorse the drafting of players with memorable names... so I will join the Taitusi bandwagon....

Is there really a person in the world named "Taitusi Lutui," or are you making that up? I really think we need to draft his brother Watusi Lutui, or their cousin Kamane Lemmeblockyah... Go Bills!

Glad you found another punch bowl!

"Evolve and learn"? Do you even listen to yourself? I know you are a fan, and respect that, but in the end I really do not see where one can possibly get any enjoyment out of being gloomy all the time about a voluntary activity. I have an even harder time imagining how encouraging people to be that way has anything to do with either learning or evolution. It has nothing to do with faith or ignorance; I just don't get it. I come to TBD to see what is happening, and can form my own opinions about individual developments without the help of those who seem to enjoy running around looking for punch bowls to crap in. I also know that I can simply ignore posts that I don't want to read, but sometimes I just feel the need to contribute to the discussion. At the very least, I do appreciate your response to my comment. All that being said, I do hope we will all celebrate many Bills wins in the future....