CarwellGardner

Let me just say this... consider my comments for a moment before replying and then please respond accordingly... It seems to me, not knowing you personally or regularly following your posts on this board, that you, my friend, have fallen victim to the illness that plagues many of our beloved fanbase. You have contracted the dreaded disease commonly referred to in the Buffalo area as "Chronic Buffalonian Pessimism"... It's a horrible condition that is believed to have originated in the Orchard Park area of the city through the late 90's and early 2000's. If this is the case, regretfully, the prognosis for you is not good... but it is curable. The first step is admitting that there is a problem - not with the team (we already all know that...) the problem lies within you... Just to be certain, please respond to the following questions: - do you sleep well on nights before Bills games? - do you currently or have previously owned an animal that was named after a Bills player or other personnel? - have you, on multiple occasions, drafted a Bill in a fantasy league only to have said player underperform and corrupt the morale of your otherwise legitimate squad? - have you ever dated a woman that owns a Bills jersey and can drink most men under the table... and her name ends in a vowel? - do you own more than 4 versions of John Madden NFL football (regardless of gaming system)? - do you regularly re-watch Bills losses on NFL Rewind just so you can come back to this board and play GM and fire at least one player per week? - when is the last time you laughed while watching a Bills game - not one of those "OMG that guy is horrrrrriiiiibbbbblllleee" laughs but a "gosh, I'm so happy" laughs? - LeBatts Blue or Molson if you had to pick one to drink... on a deserted island... for the next 2 years... with your only friend a banged-up volleyball you affectionately named "Ralph Wilson"?? Once you've completed the above exam please take a moment to reflect upon your place in life, the role that sports and specifically Buffalo Bills football plays in it and ask yourself this one question... "Am I fulfilled?" It is only then that the clouds the follow you may lift, the skies open, the chirping of birds be heard by your naked ears - perhaps for the first time and you realize.... "you know, I don't have it so bad... these guys play hard on Sunday... sure their play at times leaves me frustrated... are they overpaid, sure...but you know what - how damn lucky am I to have a professional football franchise represent my city, my home, my family & friends? I get to share this with so many people of similar ties & values - many I'll never meet in person. Damn it, I LOVE THE BILLS for what they do for me... and you know what?!?!? I LOVE BUFFALO, NEW YORK. I LOVE THE BILLS. Screw the Patriots, Dolphins & Jets - screw them and their scumball fans. Screw em all!!!! They're all slime on the bottom of your shoe!!! We are going to beat the Saints on Sunday. We may or may not make the playoffs again soon. But there is no denying the character of the guys on this team or their coach. I BELIEVE IN THE BILLS. I BELIEVE IN THE BILLS. I BELIEVE IN THE BILLS. Now, get up, stick your chest out, grab the nearest woman of legal age, dip her like Rhett Butler did Scarlet in Gone with the Wind, and kiss that lass open mouth!! Then head but your boss. Twice. You're going to be ok now. Carry on. You are a warrior. (please forward this message to any one else you care about that you feel may also suffer from this treacherous condition) -Carwell

Although I rarely post I so enjoyed this that I had to comment - this is perhaps the greatest post I've ever read on this board.... thank you very much for posting it... Awesome

My point was either/any of these guys gets killed behind this o-line and you end up wasting a lot of money (the most possible by position for a 1st round pick) and dig yourself into an even deeper hole. Just want a player that has a chance to make a difference and isnt handicapped immediately because of the lack of talent around him. No other position is more reliant on supporting cast than the QB. Period.

Saw this kid's bowl game performance this year and have to tell you - he is ALREADY better than anyone on our roster at this position currently. Although I wouldn't be surprised if the word spreads on him quickly - he's not secret now. Once he gets into the combine work and interviews w teams IMO that he'll be the 2-3 QB off the board... No way he's there by late 2nd round.

Couldn't agree more... look at it this way - which team left in the playoffs DOESN'T have an overproductive o-line???

Drafting a rookie QB (especially Clausen) and putting him behind this line would be an even larger mistake than the Maybin pick... when you have an o-line like the Jets (hate to say it) you can afford to invest a high pick in one of those guys, if you don't you're never going to see his potential bc he's going to get the #$& beat out of him before he can learn anything. Further as tight as Wilson is can you really tell me he's going to stroke a check for a high 1st round QB?!? No way. We HAVE to address both o-tackle spots (Butler, Bell & Scott?!?) and we don't even know what's going to happen w Wood (met him at a Louisville bball game a couple of weeks ago and spoke with him - it's obvious, even he's very unsure as to when he'll be ready to play football again; love this kid!) In so far as the "look at Clausen's #s talk" - IMO you can throw out any #s a Charlie Weiss QB puts up (ie Brady Quinn) much as you would with the Texas Tech QBs! They run a gimmick non-pro style offense that we don't even have the personnel to run anyway.... want an example? Exhibit A: the KC Chiefs Let's hope we just use the pick on someone who can make a difference NOW! We have sooooo many difficiencies (LB, DT, OT, QB, DE) at key spots on both sides - we are not one pick or even two away from being a playoff football team again. I'm not dogging our guys hustle and effort (maybe their ability to stay healthy a little...) but many of the players that you saw in the last 1/4 of the season wont be on this team next year - they were signed to fill spots. How we handle free agency this off season, to me, is a larger factor than the draft. Where we end up blowing close games is because of our lack of quality DEPTH. Now in defense of this year - NO TEAM IN THE LEAGUE could possibly prepare for 21 guys on IR - still can't believe that number! How does that happen - still can't figure it out! I do believe we will be better this year but it does concern me that the notion of a rookie QB should be our first fix. We should take the best player available - that's not a DB - and try to build depth w some veteran FAs. Check this site out for a bdown of players projected to be available: http://www.footballsfuture.com/2010/fa/ol.html GO BILLS! COACH EM UP CHAN! THEY ARE STARVING FOR IT!!

Completely agree.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&seasonType=REG&d-447263-o=2&conference=null&statisticCategory=SACKS&d-447263-s=DEFENSIVE_COMBINE_TACKLES&experience=0&d-447263-n=1&season=2009&Submit=Go&qualified=true&tabSeq=0&d-447263-p=2 THE MAN HAS 2 MORE TACKLES YTD THAN GLEN COFFEE, THE ROOKIE RB FOR THE 49ERS?!?!?!? Are you kidding me?!? Being undersized and not getting around OTs that outweigh him by 60+ lbs is one thing; the guy is never around the ball! He's played in 8 games for Christ sake!!! Football is football - especially on defense - especially on the defensive line! That's the one position you usually see rookies that have had success in college experience succeed the earliest because of the lack of reads and now situational substitutions for passing downs! He's only got 2 ASSISTS for crying out loud!!! Get in on some plays son!!! Special teams??? Some of you guys want to give him credit for "hustle" - if you've ever played any team sport you've heard coaches talk about "false hustle" or hustle after the whistle... That's what I see when I watch him play. That's good in Pop Warner - it is meaningless and a con in the NFL. Now I will say, some of the blame for his lack of productivity should fall on the coaching staff and, yes, Fewell. Only way this guy gets any better is with live rounds in games. Maybe Perry sees this and knows it too and just doesn't feel he can count on him?? We'll see how this plays out?? But do yourself a favor before you respond and just look at the list I linked above and read some of the guys in front of him and see what they HELD OUT FOR and where they went in the draft. It's early but this man has the strong resemblance of a bust and a horrible pick and allocation of funds by Modrak and our brass. (Not completely dogging them mind you - really think the other picks this year have been solid and will be strong players for several years. God, please watch over Eric Wood and help him along!) GO BILLS! SMACK THE JETS! C'mon Freddy!!!

"Holy Savior" (if that handle is your real name I apologize for the sarcasm) - to you I solute you I think we can ALL agree on one thing - whether your an optimist or pessimistic about the upcoming Bills season...The Bills are a community team. They were built as such and remain a team supported by the dollars and love of the working people of W NY and beyond. If you want to suggest people should try to have a more open, healthy and positive outlook on football/life that's one thing but how can you not expect to find frustration on the message boards of a Buffalo Bills website?!? That's being unrealistic! If this was high school sports I'd see your point. They're professionals - paid by the incoming dollars and shared revenue stream of the fanbase. Their no different than politicians paid by the working taxpayer. You - the fan - are ultimately also the client of the team and the league. Are you suggesting that a PAYING CLIENT does not reserve the right to say that this product is not satisfactory and SUBPAR compared to others?!? As far as suggesting we should "just find another team" that is not an option any one wants to consider!!! This has been and should always be WESTERN NY's TEAM. So if you guys want to B word - B word away!!! If you don't want to hear/read it you should strongly revisit why you are currently participating in a board of BILLS FANS considering the underperformance and mismanagment of this team since Bill Polian left! (one possibly exception of the Shoeless Rob Johnson year - Homerun Throwback? (ouch)) We all love them - everyone here - it's rather obvious since we're posting in the middle of the freakin' work day instead of doing our jobs! LOL! Go Bills!

Terrific take.

Great take - agree with you on most all of your points. Except this - the o-line has not shown the ability to push the line yet in a single series. And before you say it - I know it's only preseason... I'm not saying they wont be that by the middle/end of the year but they are all still learning to play together. I'm not giving up on them or saying will be worse or better than last year - simply suggesting that based upon what we've seen so far we're going to be in a lot of 3rd and longs this year - not TE's specialty or strength. Thanks dude.

couldn't agree more on the Butler call! RIP

Thanks for that story Dog! He was/is a very good man. Hated him in high school - he and his brother, Donny, used to dominate my high school every year - men amongst boys. Great career as a Cardinal and always in good graces and out of trouble! Really respect him. Our current squad could really use his attitude in the run game...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Polian Unbelievable what that man did! With all due respect to Marv, it was his fingerprints that were all over those 4 AFC Champ trophies. You can have Lombardi as your head coach but if you cant find and keep talent you cant win. We haven't been able to do that since he left. Russ Brandon is still cutting his teeth.

"junior operator's license" - Hilarious Do you think Bill Polian coming back is out of the question?