gobillsinytown

I think it's going to depend on how well his body holds up through the rest of the year. Running backs start to get very sore and dinged up in December. But I agree, as of right now he's the MVP. And I really like typing that because it means I don't have to very reluctantly type that Brady is the runaway MVP.

I had them at 8-8 or 9-7. They seem right on track.

Lots of interesting viewpoints here. I'll throw in one that's a little off-center: If the Panthers were 5-2 or 6-1 instead of 2-5, would Cam be complaining as much? Or at all?

This is slightly off topic but since it's Halloween: I was in an old, foreboding and abandoned patch of forest where no birds ever sing and no animals ever live. Why was I there? I was looking for the contract between Brady and The Evil One. Sadly I was chased out of the forest by a sub demon because I ran out of holy water and missed the chance to break the bond of evil. Therefore Patriots 41 Bills 25. I'm sorry I failed you! But I'm not giving up.

You can't make a valid comparison between when you played vs. today's NFL. I don't think the players today are any less tough than "back in the day". Today's NFL is completely different. They play 16 games. Today's players are bigger, stronger, faster. There's also a lot more money involved. I think the team is smart to be a little cautious, especially with McCoy. Playing on a strained hamstring is risky for a running back, because if it gets aggravated then he's going to be out for a lot longer. It's not a minor problem for a running back. We also don't know the exact nature of these injuries because the players have the right to keep it private. So for example, we don't know the nature of Sammy's foot injury. Unless you see the x-rays or are in the room when the doctor/surgeon examines it, you just don't have enough information. Imagine how the fans would react if he played with the foot problem, re injured it, and then was out for a year....or longer? Same with Shady. If he blew out his hamstring and the fans found out he didn't rest it for a game, the city would be set on fire. IMO teams can't win on this issue.

I love Fitzy, so I'm a little sad to see things go this way for him, even though I expected it. He would be the perfect QB: By all accounts a good guy. A true professional who will never call out his teammates. Blames himself for his poor play. Generous with his teammates and very smart. A family man. But he just doesn't have the field presence, accuracy and sixth sense that a franchise QB needs. I watched a good chunk of the game last night and some of those INTs were brutal. When the pressure is on he definitely tends to press things too much. He just can't carry a team on his back when it counts. I hope he gets out of the game without any major injuries and goes on to have a great life with his family.

I live in Youngstown, OH, about an hour away from Cleveland. I met Josh on work related stuff about two years ago, and on the surface he seems to be a friendly, professional guy. But if the Browns are giving up on him then there's definitely a serious problem. They desperately need any talent that they can get their hands on, so if they're moving on then I don't think he's worth the risk. Too much risk for a remote upside IMO.

Sunday was my first game since 1999, and I stood almost the entire game, since most of the people in my section did. I definitely noticed the difference in my stamina from 1999 vs. 2016! So I can understand why people who aren't physically capable of standing for almost four hours would have a problem. But when 60,000 plus people come together in one place, with alcohol, not everyone is going to be courteous to each other. Enter security. There were no problems at all in my section, but I did notice that security was a little more active in the end zones. Compared to the 90's though, things looked well controlled and pretty tame.

The Bills won because I came to my first game since 1999. I left Buffalo and moved to Youngstown, Ohio in 1989 but kept my season tickets until 1996, so I made the six hour round trip eight times a year from '89 to '96, which I believe was instrumental to their Super Bowl runs. I also believe that they didn't win any of those Super Bowls because I couldn't go to any of them. So if anyone wants to pay for my expenses this year, I'll be happy to come to the rest of them! lol BTW - The team has done a great job of keeping the stadium up to date. I don't see any reason to build a new one. And still LOUD as ever!

I listened to the whole thing. He makes some valid points, but they're buried in talk show bluster. I thought his take on the Pegulas was largely correct in that they're new to the NFL and so are prone to making mistakes. It didn't seem like he blasted them necessarily. He mentioned that they were a "hard working couple", which isn't exactly trashing them. He also said that Rex can be very charming and that he interviewed extremely well, so it makes sense that the Pegulas as new owners might have put too much weight on the interview, since their practical football knowledge wouldn't be a lot. That being said, I thought his comment that the Pegulas made a bonehead move in having a players only meeting was off base. Other experienced owners have done that in the past, although not at the beginning of the season. In the long run, it all comes down to winning, whether the owner has had the team for one year or 30 years. Even if the Bills were 2-0 right now, but went on to finish 7-9 or 8-8 I think Rex would be gone. The one thing that Freancesa was right about was Rex hiring his brother. I thought it was a bad move.

You're right in that statistically there is a very low chance of anyone being killed by the police. But unfortunately statistics and reason don't always overcome emotion. I live in Youngstown, OH which statistically has one of the highest crime rates in Ohio and is regularly trashed by the national media. So as an example: I moved here from Buffalo in 1989 and have not seen one violent crime in that entire time. Actually I haven't experienced any crime, and I don't exactly live in a gated community. So my experience of this area and the perception of this area (so far) have been entirely different. So in that same vein I think that some police departments have a "bunker" mentality. Sometimes perception can drive emotion, especially when someone close to them has died. I think the reality is that most people in the US are non violent and relatively tolerant people, but as usual in any society, there are a minority of people (regardless of skin color) who drive the debate. Let's hope that the track record of most police departments stays as good as it has been.

I think this is a very accurate description of the current state of mind in law enforcement, but I would add in a feeling of paranoia to go along with this aggressiveness. Police officers know how many firearms there are in our country just as we do. The conservative estimate for the number of firearms available for use is over 150 million. So I think there is a "bunker" mentality in law enforcement, where the feeling is that all the criminals are armed and out to kill them. Add poor training into this mix and it's not surprising that the first thing a cop is going to do is pull his weapon. And you're absolutely right.........aggression only leads to escalation, and we see the results almost every day.

Freedom is a two way street. If we believe that this country stands for freedom and therefore freedom of expression, then we have to respect the expressions of people who aren't in alignment with ours. Personally, I really don't care if Colin doesn't stand up for the National Anthem. What I would object to is if Colin were to face prison time in expressing his beliefs, which he won't. That being said, he will face the consequences of negative public opinion for this action. In other words.........other citizens of this country who don't agree with his stance and are expressing their feelings. If I were to put myself in Colin's shoes, I might rethink my strategy. There are far more effective ways of supporting his cause than sitting down for the National Anthem. For example: Financially supporting organizations that believe as he does. Since he's quite wealthy, he can afford to do so.

I see both sides of this issue but I have to say that I'm getting a little tired of Godell. I understand that the NFLPA reached an agreement during the last labor deal that gave him a lot of power, so they have to accept the consequences. I honestly don't think that Godell realized how much of his time and effort it was going to take to police the entire league by himself. So as a result, there doesn't seem to be any rational plan or thought behind how he's approaching it. I don't know if this is the right word for it, but it seems like he's "grasping". But while the labor deal is in force, both sides have to adhere to it. Godell ought to take a cue from the other leagues and spread the workload out, so that he's not having to deal with every single one. I think it's reached the point where it's starting to be a serious distraction.

I think you're going to see more of this as time goes by and as our society continues to debate whether pot is going to be legal. A lot of NFL players use pot as a pain reliever and stress reducer. They also claim that using pot for these issues is better than the potentially addictive pain killers that team doctors prescribe. That being said, it's still against league rules, which were negotiated and accepted by the NFLPA. He knew the risks of using and did it anyway, so he gets to pay the price.

So then if they said that he tore his ACL............I"m so confused!

I think he's going to lose four games, but it may not be this year. I also think I got into the wrong business: Can you imagine being one of his lawyers? He's got plenty of money and doesn't seem to spare any expense. I bet some of the people on his legal team are going to get their normal year's salary on just this one case!

I like pudding. Especially vanilla pudding.

People do recover from addiction. My brother in law was an addict for over 20 years. He's been sober for the last five and now runs two addiction counseling centers. He's dedicated the rest of his life to helping people avoid making the same mistakes he did. When he graduated from college he had it all. Several job offers, a handsome guy who had no trouble getting dates, etc. Then he was at an office party one night and tried some crack, and the slide began. But he survived it and came out a stronger, wiser person. Manziel's story is a fairly common one. All his family can do at this point is hope that when he hits bottom, he'll still be alive to start recovering. I never got the impression that Johnny was a stupid guy, so let's hope he'll wake up before it's too late.

How can you tell the difference between a Bills' message board and any other NFL team's message board? The fans aren't just fans. They're also grilling masters through years of tailgate trial and effort.

I love Two Bills Drive and will always be a member. I often find the fans here to be very bright and very well informed. Unfortunately this thread isn't a great example. While its true that Whaley put his foot in his mouth, I don't think he's stupid and he will learn his lesson. I would also expect that the new media policy will be adjusted.

So in other words, injuries are common in pro football, even to draft picks? No, only to the Bills's draft picks. Everybody on the team from the GM on down to the trainer interns should be fired.

I just did a long web search. Can't find anything as to the nature of the surgery or what type of injury. The only clue I got was that the shoulder would have an increasing risk of "popping out" over time, which indicates either a dislocated shoulder or separated shoulder. Based on what I've read so far, the more that the shoulder "pops out", the more risk of permanent weakness. So I would guess that there is a procedure to correct that. I doubt that we'll find out the exact procedure used unless Shaq or the Bills decide to disclose it. Schefter might know but won't disclose it to respect Shaq's privacy.

You're right. Historically, the league hasn't exactly been overflowing with top QB play, but the last four years or so has been brutal for some teams. The quality of QB play seemed to be uniformly better when teams were focusing on letting a young guy watch from the sidelines for a while before putting him in. I also think that defenses on average are getting better every year, or at least stronger and faster. This is why I don't necessarily like running quarterbacks, because they usually end up getting hurt unless they can keep down their instinct to run at the first sign of trouble. I like Tyrod but sometimes he makes me nervous. I understand that he wants to win and is willing to take risks, but he's got to keep working on staying in the pocket. Throw it out of bounds, run out of bounds if he as to, but I cringe a little when he lowers his head to get extra yardage. If he can stay healthy for 16 games I think we can make the playoffs.