gobillsinytown

It depends on whether that coaching style works or not. If it worked all the time, then every team in the league would have a bad a*s disciplinarian as the HC. The two teams in this year's superbowl have coaches that can be disciplinarians.....when the situation calls for it. But they can also be friendly with their players....when the situation calls for it. Today's NFL players may be whiny little b*tches, but they're also very wealthy little b*tches who have a lot of influence. The "Art Donovan" days are gone. So the key is getting the players to buy into the coaching philosophy. It seems to me that today's successful head coaches have to be pretty good at psychology and motivation. The two SB coaches are young, not much older than their players. They're also backed up by good solid GM's and assistant coaches.

I was at all of the playoff and championship games that were in Buffalo during those years. The Bills looked like a juggernaut during those times, but their achilles heel was the defense. The D had some great players, but wasn't solid enough all around to be SB winners. Doesn't really matter for me though. I know I got to watch some of the best players, and best football, ever played.

One of my all time favorite Bills players was Frank Reich, who is a devout christian. But Frank didn't feel the need to proclaim his faith every time someone put a microphone in front of him. He took into consideration that the people who might be listening might not agree with him. He also understood that he was playing a game. I think it's a lot classier to approach it that way.

I think he's a great player, but bringing religion into it just takes something away from it for me. But he definitely belongs in the Hall. He's got all the prerequisites. SB win, lots of yards, longevity. But the religion thing will have an impact on the decision for the people who vote. But then again he may not care whether he makes the Hall.

Hopefully somebody in the Cards' organization has a talk with him before Superbowl hype week kicks in.

Exactly. As if God or Jesus is all that concerned about a game. It's beyond pretentious. Frank Reich is a devout christian, but you didn't hear him proclaiming it to everyone, whether they wanted to hear aobut it or not. And besides, what is he going to say if he loses? "Jesus made me throw that interception" ?

The current economic downturn is going to prevent any movement in the NFL for the immediate future. The financing and the tax money just isn't going to be there. Even Toronto is feeling the pinch. Even with the NFL being pretty much the dominant sport in North America, this recession/depression is severe enough that no financial bet is a sure thing.

I'm a "defense" guy. I think ultimately the team with the best defense in the playoffs wins. I have to admit that AZ's defense has been on fire lately, but PIT's and BAL's defenses are better. And there's just something about Kurt Warner. I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something about him that I don't like. Part of it might be the whole "I'm doing this for the glory of Jesus" thing. I get a little tired of multimillion dollar athletes thinking that Jesus or God or whatever doesn't have better things to do than care about who wins a football game.

Juaron's already on a short leash, even with Gruden and other coaches being fired. I haven't seen anything from the Bills front office or Ralph to indicate otherwise. Nothing Ralph has said or written was any kind of ringing endorsement. In my opinion, Jauron's gone if the Bills don't make the playoffs.

Here's another bit from PFT: "But Gruden’s availability could trigger a domino effect, with a previously on-the-fence team opting to make a move, and to make a run at Gruden. Possibilities (in our view) include Buffalo, Houston, Jacksonville, San Diego, Dallas, Chicago, and Carolina." PFT isn't always known for it's accuracy, but why are they mentioning Buffalo? I know it's "in our view", but it seems weird that they would even mention the Bills.

There's one other problem and it's the big, giant elephant: The econoomy. The state of California is delaying their tax refunds, student aid and social services for at least 30 days. Why? The state is out of money. With all the tax breaks that NFL teams want from the cities and the states that their teams reside in, what state can afford it right now? The NFL is not going to be moving any teams for a while. Even if Ralph were to die tomorrow, there won't be any immediate movement. In December, the NFL itself laid off 1000 people. The economy is just too crappy right now for any state or city to entertain costs of an NFL franchise.

I haven't been to a Bills game in quite some time, so I'll defer to those who have been recently. I had season tickets from 1987 to 1996. My impression of the Ralph was always that it was a pretty well kept, basic stadium. It lacks the amenities of other stadiums, but I personally don't go to a football game to entertained by music, fireworks or light shows. I'm ther to watch football, so the so-called "amenities" of other stadiums around the league actually detract from the game, IMO. Some of the comments I've seen on this thread make it seem like the Ralph is dumpy, but a lot of that has more to do with fan behavior than the actual stadium itself. A few thousand morons can make any stadium look crappy in a hurry. I've been to games in Cleveland and Pittsburgh (both pre and post new stadiums), Detroit and Minnesota. The new stadiums in Cleveland and Pittsburgh are pretty nice. I was unimpressed with Detroit and Minnesota, but that was mostly due to the domes. It's like watching a game in a big warehouse or something. The worst stadium in the world, ever, was Cleveland Municipal Stadium. I had the unfortunate experience to watch two games there from the dog pound. The dog pound was constructed of wooden benches (more like two-by-fours) that allowed the frigid, moist air coming off of Lake Erie to go right down the field, under the benches and right up into my backside. All day long. It didn't matter if you stood up or sat down. Just a frigid blast of air on my rear the whole game. And dog pound fans gave new meaning to the term "moron".

If the Bills throw millions at me, I'll be in Buffalo tomorrow! I'd get blown up on every play, but I most definitely would be trying very, very hard. Good post. Although I think Kelsay would be a great situational backup or platoon guy.

. The world famous, Mike Gandy. You see, I always hear about how an offense relies so heavily on their line, but having first hand knowledge of the lack of talent that Gandy brings to the table...I'm starting to see things differently. Apparently you can have an effective offense with a horrid starting left tackle. So I need some help. Has Gandy had some miraculous turn around? Or am I right to think that the league's current perspective of Peters is too high for us to ignore? Will someone please explain to me how you don't put Peters on the table, see what offers float around, before having to commit to what could be a costly and unnecessary contract? And yes, I'm using my Mike Gandy revelation entirely to base my questioning. The explanation is chemistry and teamwork. While talent certainly has to be a big part of the O-Line, chemistry between the players (and backups) on the line and how well they work together is even more important. It may be that Gandy has found the right players to play with. They understand his strengths and weaknesses, and he understands theirs. This is especially true with the O-line and the kinds of sophisticated blitzing packages that defenses are throwing at them. They have to get the protection calls and blitz pick ups right pretty much every time, or the QB is going to get sacked. That takes teamwork, and as of now it looks like the Cardinals have it on their O-Line.

Kurt Warner is the best QB in football.............so long as he's got at least 5 seconds to make his reads and throw. Besides DelHomme throwing four gift interceptioins yesterday, the Pathers didn't seem to be capable of generating anything resembling a pass rush. It seems almost like they abandoned the pass rush in favor of flooding the backfield with defensive backs. That's a bad mistake against an experienced QB like Warner. He had all day to pick them apart. The next team he will play is capable of generating a strong rush with 5 to 6 guys. If they make it to the Superbowl and play either the Ravens or the Steelers, he'll be playing against teams that can rush the passer with 4 to 5 guys. Plus he'll be going up against Ed Reed or Troy Palomalu. If they start knocking him around early, he's going to start pressing. That equals picks.

Thank you.

Sorry, but this makes no sense. There are a couple of flaws in your statement. How did you determine fan interest? The thosands of fans who go to the games and follow the team do so for many different reasons. Not all of the teams's fans think the way you do. Also, your statement that he should "sell the team to someone that will keep them in Buffalo" is a lot easier said than done. The current estimated value of the franchise stands at about 800 million dollars. The moment the team is sold, there is an additional federal tax, roughly 200 million. That's one billion dollars. How many ultra successful Western New York businessmen do you know that can come up with that kind of money? There's a very short list, and whomever is on that list is going to think long and hard before they commit that kind of money to an area that is this economically depressed. And it's guaranteed that the "committment to winning" is going to be extracted from the fans as well, with that kind of debt load. The cost of tickets, parking, concessions, luxury boxes, etc is going to go way up. How many fans in Buffalo are going to be able to afford those kinds of price increases? That's not a slight to the people of Buffalo, just reality. A typical game right now costs the average fan about 200 dollars. What's going to happen when that goes to 300 or 400 dollars? Here are some other teams with worse records than Buffalo: Cleveland Detroit Seattle St. Louis Oakland Kansas City By your reasoning, these teams aren't committed to winning either. I'm not sure what you're smoking, but I'm smoking a nice big dose of reality. There's an old saying: "You don't know what you got, until it's gone" So once the team leaves after Ralph dies, what will you smoke then?

There are more than two "jokes" in the league, like: Oakland Kansas City St. Louis Seattle Cleveland As much as Bills fans like to whine, the above jokes are worse.

It might be a team game, but the QB is critical. The picks he was throwing were absolute gifts. Can't keep trotting the defense out on the field against Pro Bowl WR's all day long and expect to win.

I actually like it. I don't miss the "dynasties" at all. Anything can happen. If the fish can go from 1-15 to 11-5, and the Cardinals can make it to the NFC championship game, then the Bills could have a good season next year. I know it doesn't seem that way now, but you never know in the free agency era!

Man, this thread is unbelievable. The only reason the Bills are still in Buffalo is becasue of one man: Ralph Wilson. He's had plenty of opportunities to move this team and make a lot more money. He didn't. And not because he loves everyone in Buffalo (He definitely wouldn't after reading the posts of some of the geniuses in this thread). He hasn't moved the team becasue he still believes in the original concept of the league: That an NFL team can play anywhere, even in economically depressed cities, as long as the league maintains the core concept of a self supporting organization, dedicated more to the sport of football than to enormous profits. His actions back up his beliefs. Unfortunately, the league is changing. The "greed is good" element of NFL owners have gained a strong foothold. I don't criticize the right to make a profit, but when profit becomes an obsession, the rest of the league, and the sport, is going to suffer. Don't believe it? The minute Ralph dies, the future of the team in Buffalo is up in the air. I'm glad guys like Kelly are making a concerted effort, but there's no guarantee once the money starts flying around. Those of you who think Ralph is a doddering old man better hope he stays around for a while, and hope that he's done everything he can to ensure the future of the team in Buffalo once he's gone.

If I remember correctly, Pac Man also has some sort of medical condition with his neck, which was revealed during an MRI this season when he had a lot of stiffness that wasn't getting better. I think it had to do with one of the vertabrae being pinched. If that's the case, then that's the real reason he got cut. The Cowboys probably didn't want to take a chance with a medical condition like that. Here's to hoping he'll just fade away now. Even though he's a punk, I hope he grows up and matures..........in retirement.

Excellent post. But I think there might be a little too much going into the whole "scheme" issue. No defense plays a 4-3, 3-4 or C2 all the time. It depends on down and distance. You make a great point that a defense needs the right players, in the right combination, with the right coaching, to be champoinship caliber. I think the specific scheme is important, but maybe not so much as we think. There are really only two critical elements that a successful defense has to have: Stop the run. Rush the passer. Not necessarily sack the quarterback on every pass play, but rather consistently bring pressure and clog up the passing lanes and timing routes. Last year's Giants defense is a great example. They didn't sack Brady on every pass play, but they did put enough pressure on him to disrupt his timing routes, which he relied on all season. So if a defense can dictate what's going to happen at the line of scrimmage, it goes a long way.

Whomever wrote that one on the Jeopardy staff was definitely a Giants fan! "Hissy fit" describes it perfectly.

It's impossible to determine who is/was the "best" DE in history. Pro football is so complicated, and individual situations so different, that I don't think it can be done. I was lucky enough to have season tickets throughout the entire "Bruce" era, and he was definitely one of the greatest in history. I used to focus on him with binoculars during a defensive series, and opposing teams were sometimes sliding two O-linemen and a back to try and stop him. It was amazing to watch someone that big twist, spin, slide, jump, whatever, by three people. His "body lean" was incredible. I don't think I ever saw him get straightened up on a pass rush. He always had his body leaning forward as constant leverage. He was also great at film study to find weaknesses. If a lineman had one, he'd find it. Boselli was the only guy who had any real success stopping him, but he always had help.