scribo

A thread about football is just what I NEED. As for Stroud, I am very much looking forward to seeing what he can do for us. I wrote: I didn't mention anything about Evans, but his play may be a big storyline for the team this season. I think he'll have a new contract soon, so the question will be whether he was worth the big money he is going to get. I really hope so, and I thnk Hardy is going to help ensure it is.

Peter's get a new deal just before training camp starts. Lee gets his deal next week. And Lynch gets this all put behind him without any league action, presuming he stays out of trouble the next few years, at least.

There is a lot to be excited about in the coming season, to be sure. Who or what are you most excited about pertaining to the 2008 Bills’ season? I cannot wait to see how Poz does in his return, how Edwards progresses in his second NFL year, what “Beast Mode” is like with a fullback and season under his belt, how Stroud will play in his new setting, just how fast Ellis is, what the new DT rotation will do for Aaron, how Mitchell will punish Brady, and how a tall WR will help the offense in the red zone. I want to see if Fast Freddy can keep it going, if Moorman can return to Pro Bowl form and how our offensive line will do after a full year together. I am really looking forward to seeing Turk’s new offensive schemes, and even how the Toronto experiment works out. But I am most excited about our secondary. I think the Bills have a set of defensive backs that can be really special. I am among those who thought Greer and McGee had a very good 2007 campaign considerin the dire lack of a pass rush. I think Greer is vastly underrated, capable of covering any receiver one-on-one in the league, save maybe Moss. I have watched clips and read about each of the corners drafted, and there is a ton of potential there. Throw in the signing of Will James, which is a much bigger deal, in my humble opinion, than the media as a whole or even us fans seem to think, and we might have the deepest lineup of cornerbacks in the league. Then comes the safeties, where I think the heart of the team resides now. Whitner, as young as he is, has stepped up to become the biggest leader on the entire team. This is the year he pulls away from most other safeties in the league, hopefully earning a trip to Hawaii. With quality nickel and dime backs this season, Whitner is going to be able fly around, instilling fear all over the field. But the most important thing is that he is going to keep the defense focused, calm and mean. I was very high on Ko Simpson after his rookie season. Hoping he stays healthy, I am really excited about his comeback. And Wilson and Wendling provide decent depth at safety.

I cannot wait for the first game of the Bills' preseason, which of course will be against the Skins at FedEx Field. I was wondering if anyone was planning anything exciting? I would be willing to help out.

We have Viti. Next.

My wife thinks I am insane and sadistic, sometimes I think she is right. My wife started a Bills fan group on her mom site. There was another mom that is a Bills fan and she just had a baby. She had this to say "i feel kinda guilty every day for producing another bills fan....he's got a tough road ahead and he doesnt even know it yet...." I feel the same way about my new son, but a true fan is a fan for life. I think this will teach him a lot about life. You have to take the good with the bad and when you make a commitment you stick by it through thick and thin. When I wear my Bills hat out I hope that people notice that charging buffalo.

I "had a friend" who pretty much did just that in San Diego a few years back. We came out of pub after several Irish Car Bombs in the Gas Lamp Quarter. He was looking at me talking when he stepped off the sidewalk against the light at a crosswalk and right into the rear fender of a moving car. He fell down, but, alas, the car did stop, mostly to check his car for damage. Word among those tracking the WNY news cycle is that today is the day the DA is hoping to announce a first step into putting this to rest, as far as criminal matters go.

I want the stinkin' fish in the AFC finals!

The "why" I was asking, was why were the Jags' and Raiders' mascots thrown out of the contest? I am not complaining; just asking.

Billy is in the AFC Championship game. But why...

If those making this decision really care about what he would want, I cannot imagine they'd have it anywhere but in Buffalo. The national attention it would put on Buffalo would be a lasting, parting gift to the city that I just have to Billieve he would want to give.

What?

Free LSI!

I would think seeing a divot is a bit harder than seeing a 350-pound lineman, who I hope to see Lynch juking. Woods says in the commercials that before the surgery the ball on the tee would be fuzzy without glasses or contacts. He says now he can read the words on the ball while it is on the tee and he is standing.

Here in D.C., I hear a fairly famous athlete in radio commericials talking about how much he owes to this procedure. He is Tiger Woods.

Does Buffalo and the surrounding area need to go dry? Damn.

Outstanding advice and point.

Well, creditablity just might be something police and defense lawyers might be questioning of those downtown at 3 a.m. Not sure how dark it is where this occured, but one would have to wonder how well someone would be able to see into a moving Benz SUV in the middle of the night. And exactly how sober were these "witnessess" at 3 a.m.?

Didn't Baltimore lose to the stinkin' fish last season? As a matter of a fact, aren't the Ravens the only team that lost to the stinkin' fish last year? How exactly did they get so much better that they can go from losing to the worse of the worst to making the post-season? Because their schedule is easier than the Browns and Steelers? I don't think that is enough.

Sure the longer this is stretched out the more irritated we may become. But actually, the longer he puts this off the harder it will be for the police to do anything about it. As time goes by, memories get fuzzy, tempers calm and evidence diminishes. Now that he and his legal counsel have waited this long, the trick is waiting long enough now.

Well, we're about to see just how good he is -- he has a young, talented roster with a bit of experience now. But there are off the field issues sprouting up left and right along with increased national media attention. Can Jauron keep the Bills focused enough to make the playoffs? This is his chance. Here's to hoping and praying he can show everyone that he is good. So next year, he won't be underrated -- just highly rated.

Too true. I have traveled this world over a few times, and seems like I run into a Western New Yorker at every stop, and those worth remembering are all Bills fans.

Sure, that sounds great. But, why aren't the Jags interested in him any more? It sounds like he simply isn't playing like a multi-million-dollar receiver. This is the paradox of the NFL. There is no doubt he belongs in the NFL, but apparently the Jags are overpaying him. But it is unheard of for them to simply make him take a pay-cut and stay on the team. If the team decides he has to be working for less, they are pretty much obliged to cut him all together, throwing away money already paid and the talent that he is. Then another team gets to give him that pay cut and take the Jag's talent. It's great.

I think Brandon's marketing expertise has to have something to do with it, for sure, but I think the Toronto games are alluring to netwroks such as ESPN, too. Don't forget that Toronto is the fifth-most populous municipality in North America and is without a doubt one of the top financial cities in the world. Not to mention, sooner or later a huge part of Canada is going to be reading about and watching the Bills every Sunday. This is the real deal. I think way too many longtime Bills fans are under-estimating what this means to the franchise. This does not have to be seen as a negative. As for the theory that this new exposure is a direct link to the fact that many are picking the Bills to "surprise" the league, I think this matters little to networks concerned with the bottom-line. Like it or not, just about everything you watch or read in the main-stream media is driven by the not-so-mighty dollar.

Freddy breaks out. Lee's leaping. Gibbs gaffe.