BuffaloWings

Kind of agree here....if you cancel your tickets, the only people that really need to know why is the people at One Bills Drive.

I don't think we could afford to give up that much. I'd rather have the draft picks than getting too many first rounders who would want "first-round money". Right now, it seems like 1 is plenty.

Nobody held a gun to the heads of potential Enron employees and look where they are now. Either way, that's not the point here. To me, it all depends on whether or not the players had the option to start saving for their retirement. If they had the option and didn't take it, then I don't see what the NFLPA can do right now. If it's being dropped because of a re-negotiated CBA, then that's a completely different story.

It's not so mind-boggling if you believe your last statement. Think about it....it's no secret that AJ Smith & Marty weren't the best of friends. As his assistants are getting jobs elsewhere, Smith figures the time is now to bring in his guy....who he must have ready pretty quickly, if not someone in mind. The fact that no other HC jobs are open is just a coincidence and the most dysfunctional part of it all is that Spanos gave Marty a vote of confidence after the playoff loss (that just tells me Spanos and Smith aren't quite on the same page). All AJ needs to do now is get a coach with experience. This isn't the place for a guy looking for his first HC gig - they have the talent in place and can easily win right now, so there's no point in wasting it on a guy learning to be a HC. There's no way Pete Carroll should take the job - he's got it good at USC and would be deemed a failure if he didn't get to the Superbowl. Guys like Cowher & Parcells shouldn't take the job....they'd want too much power and AJ Smith isn't willing to give it up. I think the best guy for this is Jim Fassel. Despite his off-field issues (whatever they are), he's a good offensive coach, a very stand-up guy that takes accountability and responsibility for his actions, and doesn't demand too much involvement. He'd be taking over an offense with a ton of weapons and leave the defense to a coordinator he can help hand-pick. While he had two disappointing playoff losses with the Giants, he did bring a team to the Superbowl and handled the media of New York City. San Diego would be a cakewalk compared to that. The only downside would be the expectations to win right away.

I had the same reaction. It's just a spin....we know Wade made the worst decisions in the history of mankind before and after that game, but the Dallas supporters are trying to talk it up as a positive. The only way that decision came close to paying *any* dividends was that it took a fluke play to beat the Bills that day.

Agreed....they spend the bulk of their time on the teams that most of the country cares about. Unfortunately, the Bills don't fall into that category. The only way they will is if they start winning consistently, and only *maybe* then will we see more ESPN "experts" who care.

I actually think the QB controversy was the greatest failing, but it's hard to argue firing a great ST coach and hiring a buddy with no experience to take his place.

I'll say it again....Wade may be a nice guy and a great DC, but he's not a good head coach. Good for him that he (apparently) gets another job, but good luck to Dallas. If he couldn't handle the Flutie/Johnson QB controversy very well, how is he expected to handle TO? I don't mean to be a scrooge here, but I just can't see him doing very well in Big D.

Don't forget that these experts were asked to pick the surprise team of 2007. If none of these teams do well, these guys have nothing on the line. That said, I was honestly hoping one of those guys picked the Bills....and I'm glad it wasn't Irvin.

Wow....a lot of you are young. The first I remember that I watched was SB XIV, Steelers & Rams. The first that I remember watching from the opening kickoff and rooting for a particular team was the next one...SB XV, Eagles & Raiders. I rooted for the Eagles, apparently a sign of things to come for me.

At least he didn't wait until April to tell everyone.

And we thought Jack Bauer had some bad days.....

It has (sadly) become a corporate/money-driven world. These people will stop at nothing to get their name out there in any way possible. I'm afraid for the day when Yankee Stadium becomes "Nextel Field".

That's hard to answer since Romo only played about half of a season. JP was bad, then better. To be honest, I don't think either JP or Romo earned a spot on their rosters....yet.

True, but I don't think JP was close to Pro Bowl material. He definitely improved over the course of the season and we all became more comfortable with him, but McNair & Pennington would be more worthy.

I think with a lot of us it's more of a hope that they fade, but there are definitely some signs that they aren't what they used to be. Bruschi, Vrabel, and Dillon are slowing down, they'll probably lose Asante Samuel, and their DL isn't getting any younger. Their run is not very different than that of the Yankees in the late 90s/early 2000s - they're not the favorites anymore to win every game and seem to be pulling some out of their arse. I think some teams exposed them early in 2006. They were the better team against the Jets in the playoffs, but only beat SD because of mistakes made by the Chargers. That said, I don't see any reason to believe they won't win the AFC East next year, but it's very possible that the Bills and Jets could make things closer than usual.

Given the amount of respect Wade is getting on this thread, it seems not many of you actually remember how the 2000 season went for the Bills. Remember...Wade succeeded Dan Reeves as head coach in Denver and failed almost immediately. He was lucky with the Bills because they ran a GREAT defense and Flutie masked the problems with the OL. Yes, the Bills reached the playoffs in '98 and '99 under Wade, but his decisions on the field were questionable (Flutie vs Johnson says it all, but there were others). He seemed inept with regards to everything going on around him, fired one of the best ST coaches in Bills history to mask a huge mistake that Wade himself made, hired a replacement that had no coaching experience whatsoever (but he was friends with!), mis-handled a QB controversy that tore apart the locker room, then refused to let go his buddy when it was painfully obvious that the Bills ST were the most putrid in history. Wade is an excellent DC, but a mediocre HC.

Yet they ranked several teams that lost the Superbowl ahead of the #43 Bills.

I wouldn't be surprised one bit if this is what Jones is doing....just getting someone for a year as a filler before they can convince Bill Cowher to show up in Big D. And all the Dallas fans love Garrett the way we love Frank Reich. Garrett didn't lead them to a playoff win, but he was the solid backup that did well each time he got a chance to play. His biggest claim to fame (I think) was the comeback win against Green Bay on Thanksgiving Day several years ago (either during their Superbowl years or right after, I believe).

Because many people genuinely believe that Cowher is taking time off and won't be coaching this year. If Jerry Jones somehow convinced him to coach Dallas, they'd have to give the Steelers some compensation. He might be the only person on the planet that can do so.

With all due respect, I think you contradicted yourself. You're correct in that teams change uniforms to sell merchandise and make money, but if you want to use the Sabres as an example, they changed at the perfect time - the season after they started winning and captured the hearts of the fans. I don't know how long this change was in the works, but the timing (marketing wise) couldn't have been better. And if the Bills started winning, I don't think the town would ignore them just because the Sabres are winning, too. Right now would actually be a very, very, good time for the Bills to change. Compared to a year ago, they're much more improved and there's actually some promise in the team for next year. Coming out with a new jersey design right now that people actually like would very likely generate a lot of sales....forget about making them look more like an NFL team and not a USFL team.

I pay no attention to Kiper's "Big Board". Teams draft players based on what they need...not on what Mel Kiper thinks they should do.

There has actually been talk that he is considering retirement. Given his health situation, I wouldn't be surprised if he did. In fact, I would almost encourage it...he's won 3 rings and is one of the more respected players in the game. He has nothing left to prove, in my opinion. I think this goes to the coaching. Belichick aside, they kept losing their assistants (Weis, Crennel, Mangini) and losing players because those assistants are gone. I wonder how much the coordinators were a buffer between the players and BB - if the players are now interacting directly with Belichick more than in the past (and we know what a sunny disposition he has), there could be some more tension in the locker room than we're lead to believe. I have no evidence to back this up, but it's just a thought.