sullim4

I think they would have been better off playing at Sam Boyd Field than sticking around the Bay Area. Lame duck seasons rarely go well - the AFC West games (sans the Chargers) will sell out with opposing fans occupying most seats. Their home schedule is brutal this year - games against Detroit, Cincinnati, and Jacksonville will sell terribly. Add the Chargers to the mix too. Even the great Russ Brandon wouldn't be able to sell tickets to those games. For whatever reason, I didn't realize that the Raiders will be hosting Buffalo in Vegas in 2020.

Scott Berchtold looks like a kid out of college at that presser...

I see them sharing the Cardinals' facility in Glendale. After what's been happening with the Chargers I just don't see the NFL putting them in an undersized stadium. StubHub Center has been a disaster. It'd give the Chiefs and Broncos two away games that are essentially home games.

I agree, Chan is a good guy. I think he did a good job considering the talent level he had to work with. The defenses were awful but the offense was equally devoid of talent and was at least competent. He got the most out of Fitz that he could. Gailey is one of those guys that adapts his playbook to the personnel he has on the roster. That makes him a lot more flexible than the "system" guys that get run out of the league once defensive coordinators figure their playcalling out. I'd hire him as an OC, but not as a HC.

This is a good point. Would someone like Gruden trade a bunch of firsts for Wentz? I could see that.

Don't forget about Tolbert.

I agree, this kind of pickup would have BB written all over it. He wouldn't be as successful as Brady but look at what he did with Cassel.

I think I am with the majority here. If the guy is a good hire, then that's great. I would be curious to know, though, how many players, coaches, and front officer personnel we've picked up directly from the Carolina Panthers. Not just have ever been connected with the franchise, but how many were working for Carolina, that ended up directly in Buffalo.

FWIW, rumor has it that this guy is getting the Super Bowl assignment.

I'm with you... that would be a terrific Super Bowl. No one wants to see Brady, Belichick, Brees, and Payton again outside of the fans of those teams.

I was eight years old at the time - this is my earliest Bills memory as a kid. We were listening to the game and my dad and I decided to go to the car wash at halftime to get our minds off the game. Then it happened...

I have no horse in this race, I only watch college football games a handful of times each year. I went to a D-III school that had D-I mens hockey, that's it. The main thing preventing me from watching more college football is the lack of parity between the top programs and everybody else. That's largely driven by recruiting and the cult of personality surrounding a small handful of coaches. Saban, Meyer, Swinney, etc. Bowden was certainly one of these guys in the 90s. Since there is no draft (because, of course, these players are picking the school for academic reasons, not the football team...), the top flight players flock to these programs. They are stocked with talent that makes any other team pale in comparison. Add that to the out-of-conference cupcake games that these teams inevitably schedule and you get maybe 1 or 2 competitive games on any of these top teams' schedules before the bowl season. These coaches end up being the highest paid public employee in their state, and this inevitably leads to a culture where this guy has a ridiculous amount of power and sway over their university. Unfortunately, look no further than State College to see how that can corrupt a university, going all the way to the top. I mean, outside of Alabama and Clemson fans, who actually wants to go see this game for the fourth consecutive year?

No, the issue is that there are 2 or 3 teams that whip the living daylights out of every other program. Alabama's dominance over college football isn't good for the game.

Classic Raiders move. "The Foolish Club" indeed.

Watch Chris Brown's twitter feed over the next few days. Usually you can read the tea leaves - if he tirelessly defends someone, and then all of a sudden goes silent, or throws someone under the bus, then the end is near.

Taking the racial question out of it, that first assertion around playing football making you a good coach is interesting to explore. If there's really something to CTE and cognitive capability, then one could easily argue that long, sustained playing careers make you a terrible candidate to be a head coach. A ton of backup journeyman quarterbacks (Garrett, Reich, Pederson), and lots of careers that topped out in college before they could take a licking (Belichick, Tomlin, McVay). Vrabel is the only person I can think of that had a somewhat lengthy, successful career as a starter in the NFL and is currently a head coach.

It's funny you mention this. Bowles is the only head coach I've ever seen that says almost nothing on the sidelines. Every time the camera is on him, he is just standing there, emotionless, saying nothing. Say what you want about McDermott, I think the clapping thing is stupid, but at least the guy shows some emotion on the sidelines. Bowles looks like he's watching an opera. Maybe it's similar to Ralph's reasoning about Wade and his headset... but Bowles behavior makes him look disengaged on game days.

Bingo. I think the expectations were higher in Arizona after drafting Rosen. The Bidwell family also doesn't have a sterling reputation as being great NFL owners, either.

It is hard to argue that Todd Bowles, Hue Jackson, and Marvin Lewis didn't get fair chances at being head coaches. They were each retained for longer than they should have been, white or black.

I don't have a problem with this. I'd rather they carry 3 QBs given the way Allen throws his body out on the field, and I don't think they are going to do much better than Derek Anderson as a QB3. Usually that slot goes to a very raw, late round QB (like Cardale Jones), or a journeyman vet like Barkley. They already have Barkley, and they have no need to draft a developmental QB. The only downside here is if you wanted to carry 2 QBs and use the roster spot on a different position. I don't think that's wise in the first place.

I'd really like to know who the person was behind the carousel at punter this year... was it "Always looking to get better" Beane, Crossman, or McD? In their quest to get better, they got significantly worse at this position. I don't think Bojorquez is the answer... with 10 draft picks I would like to see them spend a 7th rounder on a competent college punter.

I don't know that there are any tips... just go and enjoy the game. I will say that if you tend to be the obnoxious, boisterous type, that this behavior isn't tolerated and there's no warning before ejection. I don't know where Buffalo's club seats get a reputation for elitism on this board. I generally find the crowd to be on the older side; there are many retirees and life long Bills fans that sit there. Very few corporate types actually - most of them are in the M&T Club or in individual suites. The club audience is well out of the "go to the game to get drunk" phase and they just want to enjoy the game. Just because they don't scream and yell and drink a six pack of Genny before the game doesn't mean they aren't fans or know nothing about football. Quite the opposite, actually. After having a few less than ideal experiences in the 300's... I wouldn't ever go to a game and not sit in the outdoor clubs.

Two Thousand Eighteen Began with a playoff game Ends with a whimper.

The question that runs through my mind when I read this - what if this were McDermott, Frasier, or Daboll? How would TBD react? Tomlin is going to have a fun conversation with him I'm sure... although if I were Pittsburgh ownership, I'd be wondering what the hell Tomlin does during the week if his coordinators are this misinformed.

This game means nothing. Glorified preseason game. Nine months 'til Week 1!