Bill from NYC

CBF, I didn't have complete faith in the Tide this year because they lost just so many great players on defense. But they are a totally different team this year. This offense is MUCH better than they were last year. I'm not kidding, they have 6 excellent running backs, great receivers, very good blocking and the best #2 quarterback in America. And of course, the best coach in the history of college football. I'm still not fully convinced about this team but Saban teams get better as seasons progress. And obviously, the Clemson loss was huge. I'm happy tonight. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO CUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was simply wonderful to watch!!!!!

I miss Whaley too. I also miss dental surgery.

The Bills are playing twice as well as I expected them to, and this includes Tyrod, especially under the circumstances (poor receivers). My guess would still be no playoffs. Their offense looks to be shot and there is no reason not to expect defensive injuries. I don't expect them to be deep enough to weather a storm. Still, it is more fun to watch them than it has been in years. I knew Rex was horrible. I knew he was the worst coach in the league. Whaley was another disaster and it is now clear to me that they were doing WAY more damage than even I thought. Is there anybody here who does not think that McDermott is a complete upgrade over what we had? For the first time in TOO many years, I think that the Bills will soon be a playoff team. Not necessarily this season but soon. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John, sorry if I came on too strong. Did you? I'll leave this for you to decide. As far as Stanford is concerned, they are a top 10 academic university year after year, right there with the Ivies. Now, do you think their football team is held to these standards? Really? I strongly doubt if they are fielding a squad of 80 or so Ryan Fitzpatricks. Is this what you think is happening at Stanford? I got annoyed because I felt that you singled out The Tide. Bama may not have the same academic system in place for football players as does Harvard, but neither does Stanford. 10 years ago when my oldest daughter was in undergrad, Delaware was the school that hundreds of downstate students would go to when they either couldn't get into or couldn't afford the Ivies. Now, many of them are applying to and attending Alabama. Because of the money football brings in, tuition is reasonable and the school (including their law school and other grad schools) have moved up in the rankings. They are not doing things much differently than other universities, they are just doing it much better than most.

As I said, it's like clockwork. One close game and out crawl the jealous, the extremely bitter, and the haters . I am however surprised to see it from you John. Since his arrival, Saban has been responsible for bringing in hundreds of millions to the school, the majority used for academic programs. Their academic rating has climbed and their tuition is affordable. Many extremely poor kids of all colors and ethnicities have turned their lives around by attending the University of Alabama, hatred and jealousy notwithstanding.

The Bills are much better this year than I ever thought they would be. Actually, it isn't so painful watching games this season. What is THE worst thing that can happen wrt the Bills? That they suck? Obviously they would get a better draft pick. If they are good and make the playoffs? This would be an obvious delight. We even have other teams to root for and against in terms of our draft selections. The Bills are in position to build a good football team if they don't shoot themselves in the foot.

It was like clockwork. The game was a little close at the end and out come the jealous and the haters. :) It's all good.

Unbelievable. Simply unreal.

Is my view of him tainted because I knew for a fact that drafting him at #10 was a stupid mistake that would cost us? Good chance. Where I disagree with you is your characterization of him as "very good." He certainly wasn't bad but imo, BB gave him FAR more than he was worth. And please correct me if I am wrong, but didn't NE have an unusually large amount of cap space? From where I sit, Gilmore didn't go all out for us. I also can't remember him winning many games for us. Do you agree? You see, there might be some common ground here.

Wait, this is impossible...... He is a "shut down corner." Also, if Belichick gave him the big bucks, those who don't think Gilmore isn't s superstar don't know what they are talking about. Remember?

I'm not certain what you mean by "absolutely loaded." I am not saying that you are wrong, but do you think they are THAT great? I remember reading how good they were last year before Bama beat them 56-7. A few haters on Sirius called this a "fluke," but from where I sat it was a brutal beat down. Have they improved THAT much? Are they better than say.....Wisconsin? Again, I am asking, not making a statement.

I would like to join in with the thanks. If this was a Patriots board it would mean less. The Bills need great drafts in order to compete. This forum is good and I think will get much better because we have posters on the site who I consider draft experts (not referring to myself at all). So thanks SDS and Roll Tide!!!

I think that tackling Tolbert hurts defenses. Defenders are smaller and faster these days. There are good players today that might not have made a roster 20 years ago. I like what I have seen of Tolbert. When the weather gets colder and the winds howl, I have a feeling that Tolbert will be appreciated even more as he grinds out first downs and physically punishes opponents.

I think that they were actually better last year and were injured on defense down the stretch. The thing is, Saban coached teams really don't get worse. This team needs more pass rush but it looks like some of the LBs are coming back, and they seem to be sending in defensive backs on blitzes. Saban has been able to give some freshmen playing time already and they look very deep but we shall see.

Belichick and Saban are friends. They coached together on the Browns, and they both happen to be Croatian. Coach Saban would respond to Marcel in a second if he reached out. He did quite a bit to help Upshaw, and I'm sure many others. I once heard Marcel on a video after he was on the Bills. He said that Coach Saban controlled "every minute of your life" and would have to lighten up if he returned to the pros. When he was at Bama, I heard no stories of him challenging Coach Saban or acting out. I don't sense that he is a bad kid. I just hope he isn't content to have all that money in his pocket but I am not all that confident.

My father was born in Alabama and I have been a fan for 50 years. I was around, albeit just a kid, for The Bear, Namath and The Snake. I have watched virtually every play of every game for many years. Now I can tape them and watch them multiple times. Coach Saban didn't only transform the football team. The University is now ranked high academically and admission is highly sought by students from all over the country. He is the greatest coach in the history of college football and it isn't close. As far as the pros, he wanted Brees and was given (and promptly cut) Dante Culpepper. With Brees he would have won a super bowl, maybe a few. You and others can find reasons galore to hate Coach Saban. I'm used to it. Hate and jealousy are ugly and being an Auburn Fan is nothing to be ashamed of. Me? I'll just continue to support the Bills and the Tide. Quite the contrast but it's all good and I truly do wish you well. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You've got to get better at spotting haters. Even closet haters. ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree 100% with the bolded. If they think that one of these kids will be a better than average qb they absolutely must draft him. As far as White, imo its too early to say, but I think that the draft was mishandled. As for "good" players being "good" picks, I disagree in part. Donte Whitner was "good," but he was one of the all time worst draft Bills selections (quite the accomplishment indeed) because of who Levy passed up to draft him. The same can be said for McKelvin. The way I see it, good draft picks are the players that win you football games. Jmo John and I am sure we will reach a consensus of sorts. We usually do.

Well, they also drafted Darby with their first selection in a draft. And even with the stats you listed, it places them well into the upper half of teams selecting first round dbs. Furthermore, look at the total team history if you will. Since the 90's, I doubt if any team drafted more. And what you said about "drafting bad players" doesn't really apply to this conversation imo. Mike Williams and Aaron Maybin were bad players. McKelvin, Gilmore and Whitner were not especially bad. In fact, Whitner collected approx. 36 million in salary from the Bills. These guys were fairly good but we lost football games. For decades the Bills drafted dbs in lieu of blockers and pass rushers, let alone quarterbacks. I am hopeful that this may change but the first round of the 2017 draft was disturbing to me.

Brother, it's not killing me, it's killing our Bills. And which of our first round dbs received a second contract? McKelvin? That matters to, no? And of course we made the same mistake many times at RB.

How about a defensive back top 10 when you have quarterback issues?

Today was supposed to be a challenge and it could have been. Coming into this game, Vanderbilt had the leading defense in the SEC and had allowed approx. 200 yds. per game. They are also a well coached team. Coach Mason and one of the Vandy linemen were talking smack before the game. That was a mistake but imo Coach Mason will learn from this and grow as a football coach. I think that his future is bright. Listen, it's early. Bama is stacked on offense but anything can happen. I am NOT saying that they will definitely win another title this year. What I AM saying is ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, Whaley had the worst contracts AND the worst draft day trades. Now, to really be fair he was surrounded by idiots above him (Brandon) and below him (Rex). Still, there is no accounting for his mistakes and it was a great day for Bills Fans when they dumped him. I seriously doubt that McBeane can be AS bad as Whaley but time will tell. Yes, of course. Are you suggesting that the Bills cut one of their only good players (and take a cap hit for doing so) because he was hurt? We are talking about Glenn, not a guy who gets in trouble, right?