gobillsinytown

Reid is definitely gone IMO. I was able to watch most of their game against the Cowboys and despite all the hype, it wasn't close. Football is offense, defense and special teams.....the Cowboys pretty much thumped them in all phases. The media is saying he won't be out of work for long, but I'm not so sure. The guy has been through a lot over the last few years, and it wouldn't suprise me if he retires for a while. His family situation is a mess, he just lost a son, and I could see him hanging it up.

The rift between Polian and the Bills happened over a number of issues. Polian and Jeff Littman (Ralph's CFO) began arguing on a regular basis over contracts and other spending issues. After a period of time, the issues became unsolvable. Polian has his own way of doing things and deosn't tolerate input or interference well. It seems that it's pretty much his way or the highway, and in the long run that stubborness seems to do him in over the long term. In the short term, as long as the team is winning, everything's great. But once the team's performance begins to slip (like in Indy), other people in the organization begin to push for more input. Polian doesn't seem to tolerate this well. This pattern started in Buffalo, repeated itself with Carolina, and also in Indy. So I guess the question would be: How much is an owner willing to take the bad with the good? Polian coming back seems to fit Ralph's preferences for older more experienced guys. I think that if changes are coming, it will depend on the team's performance over the next month. NFL = Not For Long if you're losing.

"The fact that a portion of the fan base cares so much about the finances of this team is truly irrational. Is Ralph gonna help you pay your bills? But hey, what do I know, it's your money. I mean Ralph's money. One last thing. It appears that the fair market value of many season tickets at the Ralph is far below the face value. People resell their tickets at massive discounts. Why be the moron that pays face value to be surrounded by fans that paid half price?" .....yes, ultimately, it comes down to money. But at the same time, I don't think that NFL franchise owners are completely heartless, nor are their fans complete suckers. I think most fans know that in the end, football for them is entertainment. If the entertainment is no longer available in their area, then they will find other forms of entertainment to keep them happy. I also think that as fans we forget that there are significant numbers of people in any NFL city that have no interest in football whatsoever. My wife is a Cowboys fan. Why? Because her and her friend watched them a few times growing up and they really liked Roger Staubach. That's it. And she has only the most casual interest in them now. So while some fans may be angry about the team, I think most fans can put it into the proper perspective.

Nice discussion going on here. The only thing that I would like to chip into the discussion is that these types of transactions are very complex. There will be private as well as public entities involved in what the franchise transitions into once Ralph passes, all of whom will be trying to protect and enhance their own interests. Because of this reality, any plans that Ralph my have are going to be kept completely confidential. The other parties involved, like Jim Kelly, Thurman, Golisano, Pegula, etc. are all going to say the "right things", but ultimately any real information they have will be kept to themselves. They know that Buffalo has a very passionate fan base and so aren't going to say anything beyond the most vague statements. Remember also that this is an ongoing process, so I personally doubt that anything has been finalized. I've also noticed that some people seem to think that Ralph is the "sole decider". I don't believe this to be entirely true. While he certainly will have the final call, there will be many factors involved. Any asset sale of this size will almost certainly involve debt financing. So whomever gets the winning bid will have to incur some rather large leverage to complete the sale. I think this will determine whether the teams stays in Buffalo. IMO, the larger the debt, the more the new owner will be forced to look at larger markets to generate more revenue streams. Some folks have also stated that an owner Ralph's age can't own a football team. On the contrary, many NFL owners have lived into their 80's and 90's in the past and still had successful teams. Unfortunately for us, Ralph hasn't been one of them, at least since 1999. Is it time for a change? Probably. But I will say this about Ralph: He's been very loyal to the city. There have been many opportunites for him to relocate the team and he has declined to do so. This may be because he's old fashioned, or because he has his own private reasons. For me, it's about the devil you know versus the one you don't. I think that once Ralph dies, there is going to be a lot of uncertainty over the future of this franchise. There are no guarantees that the team will stay.

Your post is quite accurate. It's a little bit more emotional than it should be, but the facts are correct. Your reasoning in this post also points to a larger issue.......sure-fire, franchise QBs are extremely difficult to find. The last time the Bills were relevant was when? When Jim Kelly was the starting quarterback. Every elite team in the league right now has one thing in common: A franchise quarterback. Even Alex Smith could be considered a "franchise" QB in the sense that he was drafted in the first round, even though the team doesn't seem to be entirely convinced that they can win a superbowl with him. As we've seen over the last few drafts, teams won't blink in over reaching for a quarterback in the first round. Last year, there were really only two QBs that were considered "sure thing" picks, and they both went in the top five. So as much as we all might be angry over the play of Fitz and how the team's management has been unable to find a franchise QB, bringing in a free agent QB won't solve the problem. Personally, i really wish Fitz was the answer, but he doesn't have the consistency in his decision making that's necessary, nor the arm strength to make the tight intermediate throws that have to be made. At the same time, there is no one else on the roster to replace him. The only logical next step for the team is to draft a QB, but that's next year. As of right now, the AFC east seems to be up for grabs, so the team is going to have to go with what they have.

It's amazing the people you can meet when you're not harassing them because they're fans of the other team. In the 90's, my friends and I stopped some Bears fans from being hassled by other Bills fans in the parking lot after the Bills beat them. We ended up hanging out with these guys for about two hours after the game, and we had a blast. They had their trunk stocked with Heineken, and we traded burgers for beers. Two really good guys who drove in from Chicago with a lot of great stories about the city and the team. NFL games are a great way to meet people from all over the country.

Achilles injuries are very tough for LB's to come back from. Some have done it, a lot haven't. Sam Cowart had his career cut short by it. I would think that at this point, Shawn's role would be to provide some rush off the edge. If they can get him to do that, it'll be worth it. If not, time to let him go. Obviously there's a personal connection between the coaching staff there, but in the long run it will come down to whether or not he can produce.

You're wasting your time my friend........you can be rational all you want, but they didn't win the game, so some fans are going to say the team is no good. Even though it was the first preseason game, even though there was no game plan, even though they didn't implement any of their regular season looks, even though they didn't mix the run and the pass............they still lost, so there will be much complaining.

Great post. Although it's not unusual for the more casual fans to over react to preseason games, sometimes the preseason posts on this board are really funny. Preseason is important, but mainly to determine depth. Most NFL teams know who their starters are going to be before preseason begins. There are always a few training camp and preseason battles for starting jobs, but most positions are already settled. Preseason is not important for determining how the team is going to play during the regular season. Teams deliberately don't show most of their playbook during the preseason. The closest a team might get to showing their regular season looks is during the 3rd game, and that's only for the first half. I'll quote from Fitzy from the first game: "We didn't have a gameplan." This means that they were basically playing pitch and catch, and trying to get some work in for the no huddle offense. So, there is no reason to panic at all, because we didn't see anything remotely like what the team will look like in the first game.

I think Mario Williams is going to be Brady's new wife this year. Mario will be visiting Marcia in the backfield quite often and there will be a lot of intimate contact. After which Giselle will file for divorce.

I live in Youngstown, about an hour away from Cleveland. Moved here from Buffalo in 1989, and was here for the first move. It was a public relations disaster for the NFL, and I believe that it had a fairly significant impact on the NFL financially, because not only did fans withdraw their support, but also regional and some national advertisers boycotted the NFL for a while afterwards. I doubt that it had any serious financial impact, but I think the NFL learned a lesson from it. None of the media here are bringing up the possibility of a move. Most of the talk is about potential new owner(s), but that the team will stay in Cleveland. Most of the Browns fans here in Ytown are still pretty negative about the team, although they liked this years' draft. The bloom has definitely worn off on Holmgren, and most fans think the coaches and GM are incompetent. Of course, that will change if they manage to win a significant amount of games. If they were to go like 7-9, the fans would be back again.

".......so Eli....how much you wanna bet this ends up on a message board somewhere?"

Everybody losing their minds yet?

I love stuff like this. "Well, I heard that there's a lot of heat for a trade" "Oh really? Who from?" "Well......me"

My experience has been that most of them are decent guys. It's the "Sapps" that stand out. We just don't hear about the decent guys because they're not out doing stuff that gets attention. After all, what's more "interesting"? A guy who saved his money after football, started a business, donates to charity and takes care of his kids, or a guy who has 12 kids, owes 14 million in child support and won't sign an autograph?

I think this has the beginnings of a Pro Bowl caliber defense. Now, to put it over the top, all you would need is rolling farm wagons to put the cement blocks on. Instant mobile blocking sleds!

Ochocinco? Sounds like he was pulling names off the top of his head. Revis likes to see himself quoted, so I take anything he says with a grain of salt.

Bob's too busy making sure The Dreamboat and Welker are getting enough counseling after their crushing Super Bowl loss.

They could if they went max protect. Fine by me.....that means fewer receivers to cover, and also allows the defense to dictate what the offense can run.

Sorry I got off on a tangent a little....the point being that whether a team is running a 43 or 34 is almost becoming immaterial. And while college defenses do make adjustments, it's not to the same level that NFL defenses do. NFL defenses adjust not only based on the offense on the field, but also on down and distance. And NFL defenses are much more sophisticated in terms of disguising coverages, pre snap movement, blitzing, etc. So related to the topic at hand, linebackers are no longer static in terms of where they play on the field, especially with elite athletes. So if the Bills' were to draft one of the top linebackers in this draft, they're likely to move him around to try to exploit his athleticism. For example, the Broncos put Vonn Miller all over the field last year, because his athleticism and smart play enabled them to move him around to exploit weaknesses. This draft is going to be very interesting, because signing Mario gives the team a whole new look at their draft board.

Great article on the the base 43, but rememnber that college and pro is night and day. There's a lot more situational substitution going on in the pros, and also players are expected to do a lot more. So each player has a lot more responsibility in general. I believe that Buddy said the D was in a 4 DL alignment about 46 percent of the time last year. So it seems like they've been transitioning from the 34 to the 43 anyway. Those alignments don't have as much meaning in the pros, since pro defenses change alignments based on down and distance, and based on the personnel of the offense they're playing against. In the AFC East, defenses play a lot of nickel, since the Patriots dictate that alignment and the NFL is pretty much become a passing league. That's why Buddy says "you can never have enough corners". That being said, a great DL in the traditional 43 stacks up very well, because a great DL can bring pressure on the QB by itself. All in all, having a player like Mario, who forces teams to account for him, makes a big difference.

IMO the pressure will now increase on the players around Mario, Marcel and Kyle, for the reason that they will now be singled up more often. So now they will have the opportunity to show what they can do if "The Big Three" are taken out of a play. The 4th DL and the LBs will now have to put up or shut up, becasue they areen't going to be double teamed nearly as much. If Kyle can stay healthy, he should have a great season. I also can't wait to see Mario drawing a bead on Brady! We'll see how much of a rhythm the dreamboat gets into with just our front four crawling up his dress.......

Honestly, I'm kind of bummed out about the fish, becasue back in the day the Bills-Fish rivalry was one of the best in the league. Regular season games between the two were like playoff games. A good rivalry is good for the teams and the division. The AFC East really doesn't have a top notch rivalry right now. I'm actually hoping the Bills-Fish rivalry comes back, but right now it looks more empty seats in Miami.

"5. He's not nasty enough. All the great DEs have criminal records or personal demons. Alonzo Spellman. Lawrence Taylor. Leonard Little. Ray Lewis. Even Bruce Smith struggled a little with the bottle. Apparently, Mario has no run-ins with the law or any vices. Sorry, I want a barbarian rushing Tom Brady, not a teetotaling choir boy." -Actually the rumor was that Bruce was struggling with coke. So basically all we as Bills Fans have to do is to introduce Mario to homicidal maniacs, drug dealers, and maybe a pimp or two. Now that I think about it though, we should just probably hook him up with Taylor. Mario would learn everything he needed to know in one night. Who's got Taylor's cell phone number?

The Redskins? They have a lot more than 1-2 holes to fill. This will be the third "reboot" by Snyder. Starting in one direction for a year or two, then hitting the "reboot" button when they don't win. The most consistently successful teams are the ones that have the most continuity and stability. Snyder changes front office staff and coaches like some people change shoes. Go back and read the pre-draft hype about Jamarcus Russell. He was going to save the Raiders. I'm not saying RGIII is Russell, but three first rounders is too much for an unproven player. Snyder thinks football is like "Madden". Just plug in some names, make a dream team and pop the chamagne. Doesn't work that way in real football, see the 2011 Eagles.