apuszczalowski

This is the only thing that I don't like about it. Fitz is not Brady, Manning, or Brees. This team does not have the luxury at ANY position to say they don't need to find an upgrade and the starters job is safe. Fitz is a big boy, if he can't handle a little competition for his job, he is not the guy you want on your team. I wouldn't have minded seeing what a highly drafted guy who may just need a change of scenery like Alex Smith could do with Gailey, but Thigpen is just as good for the backup spot right now

i just heard Buddy talking on the radio, and he said again, don't expect them to make a huge splash in FA (He also said they think they have their LT already). He is going to be out there signing guys, but not big name/money guys that he says hardly ever work out (I doon't know how he can say that, seeing the success Washington has had) The plan is they are not looking at rushing into making this team successful for a couple years, they want to build the team to be successful for a long time, and their method is similar to Pittsburgh and Green Bay. Draft well, build from within, top off with the occasional FA when the team is ready to compete. The current coaching and front office is sticking with this, even though the fans want to win now and blame them for previous failure beyond their control. Its a slower process but can yeild much greater rewards then the quicker instant gratification that the fans want just because they haven't been satisfied for a while. He isn't saying they won't be going out to get good players, just that they won't be going out and getting into bidding wars and over paying for the top name guy available just because the fans think he will help out this year

Why? When you sit back and really look at what the Sabres just did, have they really done much to make them contenders? Getting Regher was a good move, Erhoff may be a good move, but talking to Canucks fans, many weren't sad to see him go and feel that he isn't worth the money being spent on him, and then theirs Leino who is being viewed as an answer to the C position converting him from a winger and giving him big money after one great year in the playoffs? Did the Sabres spend alot of money and get value out of it, or is it going to end up being money spent for the sake of spending money? I personally would rather see money spent wisely, then money spent just for the sake of spending money.

If you thought ralph was cheap, you wouldn't want Golisano as the owner. He is all about the Bottom line first, team second. The Sabres did pretty good financially with him, but they very rarely were able to spend the extra money to build on what they had. He made many cutbacks to the team to make sure they didn't lose money. its not a bad thing, cause this will be needed by a new owner to ensure the bills stay in Buffalo, but not good for those who think they need to spend more and not be cheap.

And if the season gets canceled, do they get to keep the money from those advanced season ticket sales? Weren't the Dolphins one of the first teams to start cutting costs and staff this offseason? How many other places of employment are you still going to get paid while the company is on strike or shut down? I think I have heard more crying from apparent "fans" around here about coaches and staff having their pay cut then from the coaches and staff themselves. I bet the Patriots are giving all of their coaches and staff raises while the lockout goes on

Wasn't it Erie County, the owners of the Stadium, that named it after Ralph as a way to honor the only reason why the Bills are still in Buffalo using their stadium?

This is the dumbest idea that people have, looking for someone who is more then happy to just accept being Fitz's backup. I DON'T WANT ANYONE ON THIS TEAM THAT IS JUST HAPPY BEING A BACKUP! Players should be striving to be starters or else they should be even playing in the pros. Even Brady and Mannings backups should be coming to work every day trying to take over the starting job from them. i also don't want anyone that is just happy to be a backup to Fitzpatrick. He had a good year last year and has played well as a backup in the past, but what has Fitz ever done to deserve to not have to compete for the starting job anymore? I don't think he has ever even played in the playoffs before yet everyone is acting like this guy lead us to almost winning a Super Bowl. This is and has been a mediocre, middle of the pact team at best this last decade, no players position should be safe and be guaranteed the starting job

hes a 4 year veteran, and could fill in as the backup to Fitz for this year and could spend this year learing the offence better and learning from Fitz to eventually take over

He has been hated since day one, and the only thing that would have changed that is if Ngata had been a total Bust, and Whitner had been a Pro Bowler from Day 1. Even if he was a "good player, he still would not be accepted because he isn't an "elite player" and he wasn't who everyone else thought the bills should take at that point. Quick Stat Comparrison from NFL.com Bryan Scott - 55 Games, 12 PDef, 1 INT's, 162 Tackles, 0 TD, 6.0 Sck's (Stats since becoming a Bill) George Wilson - 63 Games, 14 PDef, 8 INT's, 148 Tackles, 1 TD, 3.5 Sck's Donte Whitner - 69 Games, 18 PDef, 5 INT's, 323 Tackles, 1 TD, 1.5 Sck's Looking at those numbers, how can anyone sit there and say that Whitner isn't atleast a good player, and yet say that Scott or Wilson are much better?

Why would this determine him being the starter? He was a draft pick of the former regime and the current one had no ties to taking him in the draft.

What, no love for Jacksonville and the cash flowing through that team? If theres one team that should be right at the top of the list of weak franchises to fold, its them. The only reason Buffalo is considered "unstable" at this point is because the owner is in his 90's and the plan after he is gone is to sell the team to the highest bidder. Otherwise they may be the most stable franchise with an owner who owns his team 100%, and a stadium (albeit old and could use replacing or a MAJOR renovation to bring in more revenue) thats paid for

well we can't do anything that would hurt the Bills chances to stay mediocre by not wanting to hurt Fitzpatricks feelings and bring in someone who might be able to improve the position and beat him out If Palmer wants out as seriously as he says, he will go somewhere that will give him the chance to start, or atleast compete for the chance to start, or he may just retire. If he is healthy and comes at a fair price, I would love to see them get him and give him a chance to beat out Fitzpatrick at the starting job. If this hurts Fitz's feelings, then I say let him go, I want guys here that are good and can play, not guys who will get their feelings hurt cause of some competition. He goes into camp as the #1 guy to beat, he shouldn't just be handed the job and have the team pass on getting better, just because he lead the team to the #3 overall pick in the draft

it doesn't matter what he does, he will always be run out of Buffalo for one simple reason, HE IS NOT HALOTI NGATA! He could volunteer to play for the league minimum, then intercept every pass that comes his way, single handidly stop every running attempt behind the line of scrimmage, and become the next franchise QB here, all while walking on water and finding the cure for Aids and Cancer, but fans will still find every excuse available not to like the guy and run him out of town because he was taken #8 instead of Ngata People here have a grudge against him for that reason from the second the Bills called his name and that won't ever change

I agree, Torontonians have that big city attitude and don't like haveing to share with a smaller city. If a team was put there that was Toronto's Team, they would support it, as long as they were successful, and tickets weren't astronomical like the Leafs. They will support whats theres

Want to know how to build a consistent 8-8 team? Worry about hurting the feelings of mid level players and elimenating all competition from around them because "They earned the right by leading a team to 4-12". ALL POSITIONS SHOULD BE UP FOR GRABS, EVEN IF YOU ARE A PRO BOWLER. That is how you build a winning team, by ALWAYS looking to improve

we already have a developmental QB on the Roster (Levi Brown)

Nix actually said that it was one of the scouts that convinced them on Jasper, he found him and followed him closely. 7th rounders may not have the best chance to work out, but they aren't just camp fodder. Usually they are guys that have some of the tools necessary and need some work. theres nothing wrong taking a chance on a guy of this size, and it doesn't mean they are down on Troupe

I would give him atleast 5 more years of solid play

Why is everyone lookins at this as the Bills having to get just a #2 QB? The team should be looking to improve what they have and should be striving to find a guy who can eventually overtake/replace Fitzpatrick, not just someone satisfied with sitting behind him, thats how you stay mediocre. No one is saying Clausen is a sure thing, but out of guys that may be available, he may have the best chance in FA/trade market to find a QB who can lead this team for the next decade. In limited playing time he struggled to light it up on the leagues worst team? I'm shocked!

I would disagree, I think it may be just as good as it is bad for him going to NE. The good, he gets to sit behind and learn from a future HOFer and will probably get a SB ring before he even starts a game. The Bad, he will probably spend his entire first NFL contract sitting on the bench holding a clipboard and playing clean-up in garbage time for them, which isn't going to help him get a great second contract when his first ones up.

Maybe they didn't draft him cause they thought they were better off seeing what they had in Edwards/Fitzpatrick/Brohm while using the pick on another position.

that entire roster in Carolina was a mess last year, and I wouldn't base a guys ability & career off of part of his first season I have no problem seeing Buffalo give up a 4th or lower, (maybe a 3rd) for Clausen and see what Chan can do with him letting him play behind Fitzpatrick for the year. At best, the Bills may get their franchise QB, at worse, they gave up a mid draft pick that probably would end up being a depth/fringe player anyways

You contradict yourself pretty badly here. You are saying that the picking of Stafford didn't help the Lions because they drafted again #1 the next year, yet the Rams picked OL and DL for multiple years and they ended up #1 overall to pick their franchise QB. The Rams had just lost a very good QB (Bulger) before they went out and drafted Bradford, so they already had someone in place when drafting those linemen. What this all proves is that theres no right or wrong way to draft, and its all about getting the best players. And Stafford didn't just get injured cause of a bad line, he has had history of injuries

What has he ever said on Twitter that has been all that bad? Because he guaranteed playoffs once before the season started? I wish more players had that attitude. He has always been supportive of the team and the area, but the fans have despised him ever since the Bills announced his name and will always view him as sucking because he isn't in the Pro bowl. He could go out and singlehandidly carry the Bills into the SB, and almost everyone here would still bad mouth him because the wanted Ngata. If you were to replace Fred Jacksons name with Whitners on Twitter, everyone would be running in to join the lovefest for him. Buffalo fans for some reason just always have to want something else and run good players out of town because they aren't great.

With Wang and Wood, The Bills HAVE to go out and get Willie Colon, and Bushrod for the o-line