Tipster19

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/24/lovie-smith-our-quarterback-is-a-tough-guy/ Regardless of what you think about Cutler his teammates were united in their opinions of him and that's good enough for me. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/23/brian-urlacher-dont-question-jay-cutlers-toughness/ http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/24/chris-harris-bears-pissed-off-at-criticism-of-jay-cutler/ I actually think that Cutler is getting a raw deal. If there is any truth to these reports then the decision wasn't even his. What was he suppose to do? http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/23/cutler-they-made-the-decision/

It kind of disappoints me that there were only 5 responses to this thread and now 6, 2 of them being mine but it was never about what I wrote or thought but more importantly what inspired me. Let me once just post the link that started this whole thing. Please just read it, I think that you'll enjoy it and then you can draw your own conclusions on what makes greatness. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/2011/01/17/2011-01-17_rex_ryan_has_nothing_but_good_things_to_say_about_mike_tomlin_and_steelers.html#ixzz1BOdBPrge. Btw, in no way am I credited Mike Tomlin or any one individual for what I believe is a collective effort for excellency. I do believe that it all started with a great man and that man is Art Rooney Sr. This franchise to this day drips with an element that you just can't buy or manufacture. This will be the last that I post about this or bump this thread. Please disregard what I personally posted and try to see or read into something that is truly remarkable. Please, draw your own conclusions. There is nothing that can compare to the human spirit and I believe over the course of time that the Steelers' organization has exemplify it. After I posted this thread I decided to pull up a little history on the Steelers. Some of it I already knew and some of it I found refreshingly new. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. http://www.steelergridiron.com/history/artrooney.html I can't remember if I heard or read that at one time Mr. Rooney would at times even deliver game/season tickets personally to the door if need be. That's passion.

Thanks for trying to help me out, I appreciate it. My main point in all of this is is the amazing and interesting aspect is that a coach would send out his player to man up. In my book that's accountability to the utmost degree. THAT'S what makes them great. I hope that's what we immulate the most.

I'd like to talk about the second half of the Steeler-Raven's game this past weekend. First off let me state that I am by no means a Steeler fan or any other team other than the Bills. I haven't had any time to discuss this second half and I haven't really seen anyone else talk about it to any great length but what I saw was some of the best hardnose defensive football that I haven't seen in maybe a couple of decades. I work with several too many Steeler fans and I begrudgingly have to admit that they have some kind of franchise. Year in, year out this franchise either wins their division, conference or just flat out has winning seasons. In the last 20 years I can only remember a handful of disappointing seasons and I ask myself why. I'm not posting right now trying to be some kind of "football expert" or trying someone who thinks that he's original. I'm just an average guy who just really digs NFL football and who REALLY just flat out loves the Bills but I have to say, when a team displays what I witnessed in the second half of that game then I can man up and give credit where credit is due. I've asked myself many a times, "How do these Steelers keep their no quit, no surrender mentality defensively?". At first it was easy to credit Bill Cowher. There were years during his tenure I could minimize it with that there was a lack of talent in their division. I don't think that I'm totally wrong about that, even to this day but now I believe that I'm not totally right neither. Then came along Tomlin, especially last year when he sounded like he wanted to get away from the power football that so traditionally made this franchise so successful thru these last couple of decades. He insinuated that he wanted to emmulate the type of team/offense that the Patriots always seem to employ. I felt then, and still do, that he was making a big err in judgement. Then came this season and earlier in the season, and especially against the Ravens in this last game, I saw what makes the Steelers so formidable season after season. I'll take this opportunity to give our beloved Bills the credit that I believe that they so deservedly earned but didn't get nationally when they took this team to the brink and then just let them off the hook. Kudos to you Chan Gailey & Co, you really showed me something in that game! Thanks, you helped restore some of my optimism for the future with our fledgling franchise. Anyways, back to the Steelers' defense. Then there was the obvious common denominator in that Dick Lebeau is not only the architect of this defense, and he is, but he also has been the consistent constant with them. No doubt, he IS the reason that this team is so defensively tough. The defense tradionally is rarely weak. The defense is what is ALWAYS the reason that this franchise competes, wins, and dominates year after year. I will also feel compelled to mention also that the years that they did actually win the championships it was when their offense did actually step up and make the diffence in winning it all. At the same time I do have to admit to my Steeler co-workers that their team has a mentality on the defensive side of the ball that I haven't witness in any other team/franchise so consistently season after season. It kills me to admit that. Not only to myself but especially to THEM but it is true. I might have taken the long way around to get to my realization but I wanted to try and elaborate and explain what I have been thinking about the Steelers for such a long time and all the while I scratch my head wondering why my team can't be more like them and then I finally had an insight that I just recently read that I would like to share with many of you. It was an article about Rex Ryan the other day and he gave an inside look into the real world of football and it's mentality that the average fan isn't aware or privy to. This is what the real men of football percieve, not us the fan perceptions, but the real coaches and the fraternity that truly makes up the NFL. I'm going to provide a link to the article and I hope that you all read it before any of you respond to this post, if any of you respond at all that is. If you have read this far then I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and opinion, I hope that you've enjoyed it. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/2011/01/17/2011-01-17_rex_ryan_has_nothing_but_good_things_to_say_about_mike_tomlin_and_steelers.html#ixzz1BOdBPrge You see, it all starts with a team's leader and I sure hope that Gailey is that guy. So far he has struck me as a hardnose football guy and I can only hope that I'm accurate in my perception of him and that his players/team emmulate him. One other thing, I hope that the Bills' brass also watched that second half and that they have come to the realization that it starts with defense when it comes for us to draft this year.

Please do, I'd be very interested in knowing more about him. Thanks.

No, I don't get to follow college football much due to my job, Saturdays are taboo but I think that I'll pull up some videos and articles on him. Thanks for the tip Bill.

I absolutely LOVE Cutler's abilities and really wished that Buffalo was the team that traded for him but in hindsight I think with his attitude it would have been a complete disaster. That's too bad, the guy has a rocket launcher for an arm. Matter of fact I think that I haven't seen a QB with an arm like his since the days of Elway and a young Brett Farve.

Very intelligent observation. I take no offense to him believing in himself. I'm also not going to fault him for giving everything he had to this organization. Matter of fact I'm grateful that he did and I give him a ton of credit for it. Look how so many of us has whined for the last 10+ years, imagine being a player for most of that time with this "organization", and I do use that word loosely. He never complained thru these years that I'm aware of, only when it came to contract time and he felt compelled to defend himself. Shouldn't we have done that for him? I'm not suggesting to overpay him, just not over critisize him, that's all. The guy tried to take on a leadership role for us and we badmouth him??!!! C'mon people, let's be better fans than that. I wish Donte nothing but the best, regardless if he's a Bill next year or not. Unfortunately we seem to constantly have to readdress positions that we have all thought were fulfilled. I say we need to stop this right now under this current administration and keep our current players who have dedicated themselves to this franchise and we should start with Donte. Matter of fact I believe that it would make a statement to the other players who have patiently endured the kaos that this organization has displayed in the last several years. Sorry to say that there seems to be a minority of a few bad apples that gets most of the attention, or should I say platform. It corralates with the theory that negative publicity/advertising is 7 times more powerful than the positive. Sad, isn't it?

Dallas is expected to have him take a paycut. If he becomes available I'd love to see the Bills make a run at him.

The Dallas Cowboys are ALL about Jones' ego. He couldn't be satisfied with having a Super Bowl dynasty with the team that Jimmy Johnson built, he had to meddle. Forcing Terrell Owens down Parcells' throat and running the Tuna out is just another prime example of Jones interferring with the football operations. Being rich and being able to purchase a franchise does NOT qualify someone as being competent in running a football team. Having a good GM, coach etc is what it takes to run an operation effectively and Jones won't allow it. He totally dominates his drafts and the daily football operations and then he wonders why his teams are ALWAYS underacheiving. His November 1st press conference takes the cake. He apologizes for the state of his team. He should look in the mirror, that's where the real problem lies. I apologize if I offended you, it was never my intention. The word idiot does have a meaning and a definition and I feel that Jones deserves the label but if it was too harsh then I'll remove it to keep the peace on the message board. Sorry, I'm not able to edit the original post, this is the best I can do.

Asomugha wants to play for a contender and as of right now Dallas doesn't fit that bill especially in the division that they play, at best they are the 3rd best team in the NFC East. Speaking of the NFC East, there's murmurs that the Eagles have Asomugha at the top of their priority list. Philadelphia not only has the need for a top CB to pair with Asante Samuel but they also have the money to spend on a top level recruit. Although Peterson is a better return man, Amukamara is a better pure cover guy. Here's an idea to chew on. Dallas' TE Martellus Bennett is rumored to be on the trade block. Jones loves Bennett's talent but realizes that he's being wasting sitting behind Jason Witten. If Buffalo were to trade down then I would love to see them get the Cowboy's 1st and 2nd rd picks packaged with Bennett. Who knows, maybe we could get them to throw in their 2012's 5th rd pick also, that of course if they wanted to trade up for "The Prince".

with all due respect to the OP I really feel that once again we didn't improve this team in the areas that are needed. It's long overdue in addressing the defense. The perpetual carousel that this franchise has been displaying the last several years, drafting players at positions that have adequate talent (RBs and WRs) has run it's course. We are never are going to make progress by replacing our starters, we need to have new defensive players, primarily the front 7. Having a blue chip WR is great if you already have a great QB and OL in place but unfortunately we don't. When you build a team in baseball, defensively you start by building up the middle. We need to employ this philosophy because this is we are the weakest. Build the front 7 and watch how our secondary will be able to take over a game.

Oh please, I hope none of this accurate, I can't stand that bootlicker Wannstedt. He's done nothing in the NFL as far as I'm concerned. Furthermore the guy looks like a '70s ex porn star. Tell Dirk Diggler to beat it! http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__LJv4LyMFAc/Rop8Bed653I/AAAAAAAACBE/rKKTl8prejw/s400/Dave_Wannstedt-Port.jpg

No sir, I was thinking that Dallas would like to trade up from the #9 spot for Nebraska's CB Prince Amukamara.

First let me start off with saying that the Bills should not trade down in the draft and they should take the best blue chip player available to them at the #3 spot. We need the best impact players who will make a difference for us on and off the field. We had a sense of excitement to this team last season and I would like to see us build off of that. Having impact players can and will attract other potential players to this organization. It's not like impact players can't be discovered later in the draft but how many times has Buffalo been able to draft this high? The answer is not many. I would like to see them stand their ground and take a game changer. There's a reason why the players are ranked. The higher the ranking the higher the percentages go up of selecting a quality player who can lend success to our quest. I say utilize it BUT if our braintrust felt differently about the quality of players at the top of the draftboard then I could understand why they might consider trading out of the #3 spot. When I look at the pick value and who could be willing to trade up then this idiot Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys stands out. His meddling ways and his ego will not allow him to stand idle during this or any other draft. Have you ever watched him and his son Stephen in the war room during the draft? They look like they belonged in my last year's fantasy football draft. I can't stand this guy but he is like a craftier Daniel Snyder, he just has to outsmart everybody. Well, if Buffalo wants to trade down then let Jerry Jones "pull a fast one" over on them. Jones will pay and he will pay handsomely. Take a look at the WR Roy Williams' trade, Jones couldn't pay enough for the guy and Detroit was the clearcut winner in that scenario. The Cowboys' secondary blows and they need a big time CB. Dalls' CB Terence Newman will be 33 years old by the start of next season and the Cowboys are needing his replacement. I'm sure Jones, with his huge ego, doesn't expect to be picking this high again in the draft for quite sometime. Here he will have the opportunity to pick up a blue chip CB in Nebraska's Prince Amukamara. If Jerry wants to meddle again, and I'm sure that he does, then I say make him pay, make him pay dearly.

Each year he seems to put on adequate weight. The latest reports has him up 270 lbs on a 6'5'' frame with great speed. This guy is a true pass rusher and he could be like a Jevon Kearse type DL for us. Even though Quinn may be playing against an inferior OL in the video clip I provided the thing that struck me was his open field prowlness and how fast he would get to the QB, you can't teach speed. Imagine having him disrupting a backfield with our secondary, we'd be getting a ton of picks and turnovers. Fairley plays in a great system with plenty of help around him and I don't believe that he will be there when we pick anyways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNoYxbvKxXE I expect the Bills to take him at the #3 spot.

R.I.P. Cookie. I'm sorry that I never got to see him play, he sounds like the type of RB that I love to watch. It's a sad day for Bills' fans, we lost a brethren today.

Apologizing?? I'm not apologizing about anything. I think that it's ridiculous that an organization supposedly expressed interest in one of our players that we wanted to trade and that people think that we couldn't be bothered to explore the compensation. I'm not sure if I should be flattered that you think that I have some sort of connection to someone in power. Why would you even say that?

If a FO should be criticized then it should be the Saints'. If you have a considerable amount of interest in a commodity then the buyer should be the one who pursues it, not the seller. It's ironic that Lynch landed up putting the final nail in the Saints' play-off coffin. How appropiate was that??!!! LOL! I question the timing of this purported newsflash.

Let's keep this one run in perspection. It was a great run and an awesome effort but once the box was stacked and BeastMode broke thru it the results are not all that surprising, especially that the Saints' run defense is their Achilles' heel. I think what was really incredible in this game was the 'Hawks' defense, especially the way that they hanged in there after being in a early hole against one of the league's best QB. One other thing, Lynch had to go. He had too many strikes against him and this fragile franchise could not afford to lose such a high draft pick to a lengthy suspension. It was best for us to get a decent compensation before we landed up with nothing. As far as Nix/Gailey goes and the Spiller pick, it was as equally important for them to establish their own thumbprint on the direction of this team that they inherited from the previous administration/coaching staff and Spiller was the best player available for us at our draft slot, regardless of our need. If I'm not mistaken, Nix was with the Chargers when they took LT, Sproles and Turner and I don't think that anyone would mind too much if we had any one of them 3 RBs on our team but I'm not able to validate that claim due to the fact that I'm posting this response from my IPhone.

I'm giving this post a bump because it deserves. Maybe I put the wrong title on it but the videos are classic and describes this young team to a tee.

Tell me that this isn't Chan Gailey and his young no-name Buffalo Bills on game day!!! Look out Belichick, we ain't coming to marvel at your Super Bowl rings, we want to play some football! Go Bills!

I just ran across this little tidbit. Apparently someone taped a meeting between Mike Tomlin, Tony Sparano, Marvin Lewis, John Harbaugh and Todd Haley. They came to the conclusion that they better pass this along to Belichick before it's too late and we all know how much Belichick appreciates hidden video on his opponents. If that's not bad enough even his girlfriend chimed in and added her two cents. I think that this should be shipped off to Goodell and see if issuing a bounty violates any league conduct policies. Check it out for yourselves and see what you think. * check out the credits at the end, I think that it was Fitzgibbons that filmed it!

Who are these no namers, these Buffalo Bills??! I just got done watching all of the past press conferences from this past week and I want to know who do they think they are?! They have no business being in games, let alone winning some them! This Fitzpatrick sure has got some nerve, throwing that football all over the place, thru windows the size of portholes. And that Chan Gailey, hmmph, if I didn't know any better I'd swear that we have our own version of Gene Hackman leading a team of a bunch of underdog "Hoosiers". Talk about grit, this guy drips it and it shows on the field. He's got these kids playing no quit, no surrender football! Man, how refreshing! We all heard about character for years but now we're seeing it. How easy would it have been to just have packed it in earlier in the year? The answer is VERY but they didn't. Now these cast-offs and "nobodies" has the rest of the league scratching their heads and doing their best impersonation of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid in asking, "Who are these guys??!!!". Here we got a leathernecked good old boy coach taking the field with a young journeyman QB who looks like a junior Kris Kringle but plays like Grizzly Adams, leading a bunch of youngster WRs, who I don't even know who the heck they are, against several play-off teams and either taking them down to the wire and then letting them off of the hook or actually beating them!!! GET OUT OF HERE!, they got no business pulling this kind of crap! How about that RB, what's his name?, Fred ?, Fred ?, or yeah, Fred Jackson! Where in the world did we get this guy from??!!! Wasn't it some kind of powder puff league or something? Man, he sure has some balls thinking that he can play or that he actually belongs in this league! Well, after watching him these last couple of years I got one thing to say. We need more Fred Jacksons! And another thing that pisses me off, it's that George Wilson! Who does he think he is, converting from a nothing WR to a Safety that does nothing but strap it up each and every time we turn towards him. Remember that MNF game against Dallas? Isn't this offensive line suppose to suck? Matter of fact I think that some of them do but I'll tell you thing that they have to a man and that is HEART! Can't find that in a playbook, can ya. This Eric Wood is a foundation and I'm thankful that we got 'em because not only is he a real football player but more so, he's a leader! I watch these press conferences with David Nelson and Arthur Moats and I see something. I see these fresh faced, bright eyed kids, their faces beaming with excitement and enthuisiasm and it makes me feel vibrant again. Thank you! I look back and I've been around longer than I'd like to realize. I was a young man, full of piss and vinegar, during those glory years of Kelly and Thurman but with the spiraling down of this once proud organization and franchise so did my body and mind with age. I got one more thing to say. This team of a bunch of no-namers and cast-offs has got this old dog feeling like a pup again! Thanks. I suddenly find myself Talkin' Proud and these youngsters has gotten me to want to Shout! once again.