RuntheDamnBall

I think they should team up with JetBlue to advertise group rates and a shuttle to the stadium (the way they tried to do with trains in from out of town). I'm sure they could come up with a great package to take advantage of the thousands of NYC area fans, and do a 'Bills fans' flight or two. It pretty much ends up being that way anyway.

In that context, you've got a better argument.

And I called him a moron. Parents who would let their kid view Vick as a role model aren't much better, either.

Usually when you're quoted in a magazine, it's your words saying what you meant or you come right out disputing it. Usually when a press statement is released, it's damage control and it's not words you said. It may be close to what Willis means. But there likely is no way he could have said that. Almost all press statements are official and meant to massage public opinion. If you can't buy that, in the tense financial situation painted by the Bills and in a town that is always feeling vulnerable, its star RB mouthing off about moving to another city seems like a bad thing to most people -- well, I'm lost. But if he really wants to make amends and play his best for the Bills, I don't really care as long as it's not a distraction on the field or in the locker room next season.

In his situation, he's a moron, yes, but I'm not sure smoking pot makes him a douchebag. Unless you're saying he's one because he's selfish in a team sport, which, that I can buy.

And I don't get what you're saying. In an uncapped era if this happened we'd keep Reed AND bring in Rice. Enough balls from Kelly to go to both of those two. You're operating in some fantasy world where the best of all time happen upon us for peanuts, and then saying this means our stars are expendable. It's nonsense.

Which one?

What took so long!? Willis' 'statement'

Minor quibble, JDG -- but the Denney that we are sending to NFL Europe is Chris Denney, the small UDFA receiver from camp last year, not Ryan the five-year vet DE. He is certainly in the Bills' plans.

Link? Is he ranting on about it unprompted or is ESPN, NFLN et. al baiting him? I hope Peyton does one for LT and owns those dicks at home this weekend.

Washington's long intrigued me too. I was wondering why no one picked him up last offseason but obviously the 3rd rounder made the difference. Injury will be a big factor. But it seems like the Bills are hot on giving second chances to players who have been humbled. Washington would be worth inviting to our camp, and sooner than later -- like a helping hand with a lot of interest, first day of free agency, rather than waiting around for the best price. Sometimes that kind of interest when you've been in a team's doghouse can turn a career around.

When you talk about Evans being expendable, you are basically talking about 3-6 top-flight receivers coming 'knocking on our door' before that happens. That's a joke.

From a past issue... Tenny had recommended reading Michael Lewis' The Blind Side. Got it from my wife for Christmas and I can say it's a riveting read, as much so as Moneyball was. Like I said, more of a bump than a discussion post but anyone who wants to learn more about the origins of 'blind side' protection and evaluating talent for it should check out the book. Lewis writes a pretty good page-turner. And yes, I'd love to see this Oher kid get his shot and make good on it.

So now Mike and Mike are some kind of venerable authority? Chrissakes. I love it. The media say 'jump' and the world says 'how high.' It's perfect that they have the best player in the league to sh-- on because it gives them an instant out for not calling out the Pats for the jerks they were last week.

Agreed! What do you find unfriendly about tailgating at the Ralph? Do you think there are aspects of other stadiums that would work better for tailgating at a Buffalo stadium? WRT the knee-jerk reaction I think a lot of owners felt their hands were forced by the players and that the dawn of a cap-less era would be worse for teams than a bad collective bargaining agreement. It was knee-jerk but not completely baseless, and the idea of a work stoppage had to put some genuine fear in the hearts of the owners. The NFL is far too much of a cash cow, even at 'limited earnings' of $7M for the lesser franchises.

Ludicrous, man. Evans is not expendable, Schobel is not expendable, Losman is not expendable unless any of these are for a great value trade and deemed unsignable in the long term for the Bills. You don't trade away your future or your big producers unless they are on the decline. As for this, you do, to some extent. Otherwise your #2 QB wouldn't have to be any better than your #3. You do have to plan somewhat. Where you're right is in indicating that your backup plan is never going to be as good as your plan A. That's why it's a backup plan. If there's a better backup plan than Davis at a fatter contract or an Aiken who has only ever impressed on ST, I am all for it.

My bad, I don't know where I got the idea he was a 4th rounder.

I don't think any of us need to forget that a shrewd second-day pick in this draft could still make an awesome difference. Guys like Marques Colston and Anquan Boldin are seeming to pop up more than a Sinorice Moss succeeds.

I am not sure Moss is "just a head case." He's also never been anything but a #1 receiver. Think Moulds had a problem with that? Magnify that by about 50x and I think you have the kind of problems we'd have with Moss. The guy ran himself off a perennial playoff team and comes with baggage and has showed no signs of stepping up and being the mature one in any situation. I don't forsee Marv or this team bringing him in, whatever might be achieved with him on the field.

This is not a bad idea at all, and if other teams can get state money to build whole new stadiums, I would see no problem in requesting a much smaller sum of state funds to help protect NYS' only team. This money could be used to improve bathrooms, reduce seats and thereby increase some space/comfort, and better the gameday experience. I think also the idea of making the Bills a competitive ticket -- i.e. one that is more in demand due to less supply -- doesn't hurt one bit. A better product on the field, which appears to be on the horizon, also might help the case.

How about "Geico Stadium at Steve Stojan TwoBillsDrive Field." I'm sure somebody around here can pony up the Benjamins. Weird. You're obviously not a Blue Jays fan. I am one and their turf is dreadful. Hello, career-ending injuries for our beloved Bills. Everyone thinking this is certifiably nuts now that a passport is going to be required to cross the border. However, the duty-free business would be off the charts. They'd need to open up about 40 more lanes. No FU necessary. I think that the scenarios are this A. Bills stay right where they are b/c: 1) An owner who is content with the more limited range of business possibilities (inherently more limited than the Redskins, for example) comes up to bat, or 2) An owner like Golisano who is far more creative with regard to marketing and front-office comes up to bat, or 3) some combination and the NFL wises up wrt revenue sharing, knowing that it's because of the competition and the 32 individual teams and fanbases that this league works at all. It can't have it both ways. B. Bills to Toronto because, while not a lot of Bills fans would like it, it's close enough for many of them, Toronto's a great city, and the bitterness would be eclipsed by the need for football. About half the fanbase would desert and a good many would be gained for at least awhile, IMO. Big opportunity for a lot of Canadian fans to enter the picture. I don't really think the Niagara region or St. Catherines etc is a hot idea. NF NY is equally dead/dying, and it still usually takes a 'name city' to build enough recognition for a team. I wouldn't like it, but I wouldn't hate it. C. Bills to LA/Vegas etc, the worst of bad scenarios. I'd never watch NFL football again, that's a promise. Too many good college games and other sports, and too much commercialism in the NFL to continue on if the one thing I unconditionally loved about it was gone. I'm obviously hoping for an 'A' scenario.

I'll try not to make this too much of a LAMP. Fact is, after a few weeks in a country where ESPN only shows cricket and David Beckham news, I need some football analysis. I hope this hasn't been discussed too much already. We all knew losing Eric would mean certain things for our WR corps and our team in general. Certainly, his reliability as a possession target was missed to some degree. I do believe this was offset by the kind of bad presence he'd become in the locker room, a guy so sick of losing that he couldn't help the new guys grow. That said, our WR production wasn't adequate this year. Play-calling? Talent? Shackles on the young QB in a new system? I think it was some of all three. After watching this season here are my conclusions. 1. Evans has shown he's a certifiable #1 if not an all-around threat who can grab everything under the middle. He stays. 2. Reed just signed a new contract, and he showed in the second half of the season that he has guts and will give up his body to make plays. He also can make some nifty moves when he wants to. He can also block well. Does he get open enough? Probably not. But he's earned the right to stay on. 3. Parrish was either not used enough or not open enough. I didn't go to enough games to get the whole story. It seemed he was just dangerous when he actually touched the ball. And on the reverse he and no one else should get the ball every time, because it appears he can always take it 6 yards further than any other candidate. He is still learning the NFL game as evidenced by his boneheaded approach to a couple returns, but unlike McGahee's aimless 'dancing around,' Roscoe seems to move out of a belief in the possibility of huge yardage once that opening happens (like on the punt return TD). It doesn't always work but when it does it's awesome. He must get the ball more, 4-5 times a game, if he's to really be worth anything to this team. He stays. I think if he gets the ball more we see more of the kind of field awareness we saw in the catch against Jax. 4. This is where it gets murky. Peerless Price -- great catch and a season-changer in the Houston game. But season-long he was a disappointment. An inability to connect with Losman? A lost step? I'm not sure. To me, Reed and Parrish give us enough of what Peerless does and more, with age on their sides. We sort of scratched our heads at the PP signing and length of contract and I'm not sure he's worth the next three years. I would cut him. Maybe I'm wrong and with more 4WR sets he could yet work out. 5. Davis and Aiken. From fifth and sixth receivers you don't expect much, and these guys are special teams heroes, as the argument goes. And generally that's what you want from your depth guys. But Aiken has displayed preseason promise and not much more in the rest of the game, and Davis didn't show much when his number was called on offense. For instance, when Reed was out, I was not seeing the speed, separation, or hands I'd want from either for a guy who wants to move up in the rotation. In their spots, these two are fine. Davis had two catches on the season. Aiken zero. So that leaves us with the moves. To me, it appears Davis stayed because of his special teams value. He was on a one-year contract so he is now a FA again. George Wilson likely didn't prove enough ST value in camp, so that leaves question as to whether he would jump up to the club next year and fill Davis' spot (or Peerless' place, should he be cut). The real important thing to me is that I think that JP Losman's development would be aided immeasurably by the addition of a certifiable #2 target -- not a WR who's going to necessarily make a run at Evans' job, but a tall guy who can make some tough catches. This would leave a rotation of 1. Evans 2. ??????? 3. Reed 4. Parrish 5-6. choose 2 from Davis/Aiken/Wilson/late-round pick or value FA signing Is this #2 guy out there in the draft or FA? One could also make the argument that a better threat at receiving TE could make the difference. Royal showed some signs but he also showed a critical mental lapse in the Tennessee game. Cieslak looked like a tough MFer on his few opportunities. Everett is toast for all I care, looks like complete bust material, and Cieslak's emergence said to me that Neufeld is expendable, unless kept merely for ST. Don't know what the answer is here. Interested in good opinions and counter-arguments, and certainly in being proven wrong if someone has the good stats to back it up. I'm merely going on what I saw and my own impressions in watching on the idiot box this year. Cheers, Bills fans; it's good to be back and I'm looking forward to 2007. I wish the season started tomorrow!

You're not kidding. Favre gift-wraps INTs with regularity, and has to an extent for his career. Fact is, once you've been branded a winner once, it takes an awful lot for people to believe that you're otherwise. Favre also had a penchant for making up for his mistakes and keeping his team in it despite them. Hopefully we can see that kind of progress from JP. Certainly some improvements to his supporting cast wouldn't hurt.

You can certainly be concerned about that, and should probably be equally if not more concerned about those on the Christian right who are looking to restrict our freedoms in similar, if slightly less draconian ways. However, being concerned about Ellison's 'connection' to this group based on this sole article is more than a little wacky.

The most fitting response I can think of.