Nostradamus

Marv Levy, either intentionally or unintentionally, sabotaged this franchise. Lynch, Poz, Royal, Dockery, Whitner... He has put them so far behind the eight ball with his incompetence, that no coach, GM or anyone will be able to resurrect this franchise.

On a serious note, Poz=John Holecek, and Whitner=Travares Tillman

Think I'll bump this post

Why is Whitner in the game and who is he replacing??

Aaron 'Has-Bin' is, in fact, an overachiever. He somehow cobbled together an excellent college season and parlayed it into riches beyond most of our imaginations. He somehow duped the Bills, and some NFL minds, into thinking he was going to be the next Dwight Freeney, even tough his measurables were not even close to the elite pass rushers that he was compared to. For this, he should be credited, not criticized. I don't think you could compare Maybin to another Bills bust, Mike Williams. Williams had all the physical tools, just not the desire to be successful in the league. Maybin, on the other hand, just does not have an NFL skill set. He already HAS reached the pinnacle of his career, which was his lucrative contract. However, I am confident that he will never be a player in the league. His 'legendary' first step seems about as quick as Chris Kelseys. Watching him on Sundays, I'm not sure what any scouts could have seen in him to make him a first round pick.

I thought Poz was awful. Those are plays that David Harris makes in his sleep. Poz probably couldn't start on any other NFL team.

Before people post the inevitable "trade Lynch for a 1st" please ask yourself this question. What team would ever consider trading a 1st for Lynch? Running backs are a dime a dozen. Lynch is at this point a dime a dozen back. He could do some things well, (run for power) some things average (receiving) and some things poorly (blocking, breaking long ones, etc). That, and the fact that he is about one joint away from a one year suspension makes Lynch a tremendous liability. Maybe some team would take on that risk and trade a third for him. Maybe. Stroud? A 1st? Really??? Maybe you could get a third for him. Maybe. Whitner? He can't stay healthy, can't make plays... he's worth a mid rounder at this point. Our quarterbacks and Roscoe?? Seriously One thing you have to realize is that first round picks generally yield good to great players. Teams won't give them up unless they get great players in return. If the above players were good, or great, we wouldn't be the laughingstock of a team that we are.

It's certainly good to see that Maybin could generate pressure on a quarterback when NOBODY's blocking him. (sarcasm off)

On the contrary, I think that will make things decidedly Uninteresting in the East. The Pats will have the top spot locked up by Thanksgiving.

Happy B-Day Ralph! You have our hopes in your hands.

Don't have time to respond to everything right now, much as I would like to. Suffice it to say that I know there is no way to prove my story is true... but it is. I would be happy to provide more details in a smaller forum. However, I wouldn't feel comfortable sprinking someone's name over a message board when the conversation itself was in a much more private setting. Maybe my posts regarding the state of journalism were unduly harsh; I may have been overly defensive given the amount of ridicule directed at me in this thread. Call it the righteous indination of the unjustly accused. Anyway, I do stand by my statement that in regards to Jim's coalition, as you put it, there does seem to be more room for exploration. Jimbo is a public enough figure that, unless he is completely full of hot air, someone has to know something about his proposed ownership group.

Link? He hasn't told anyone else? Friends? Family? Other people in the organization? I don't know, and it doesn't seem as if any of our esteemed journalists have worked very hard to find out. What about the Kelly ownership group? Again, I find it hard to believe that with the right amount of digging, a diligent reporter couldn't come up with some answers as to who Jimbo has in mind for buying the team. You are assuming that the only way to find out what Ralph is thinking has to come from Ralph himself. Clearly, that is a flawed assumption. But hey, maybe Buffalo writers know their audience. If they know that readers such as yourself will be happy reading the same cookie cutter reporting, why would they want to write something with a little more meat to it??

I don't know, but it'd be nice if Buffalo had the kind of reporters that could investigate these kinds of stories as opposed to writing simple press releases, columns that lack any real insight, and game stories all the time. It's amazing how little any of us know about the long term prospects of the franchise. For example, despite the fact that Jim Kelly has been not so-subtly hinting at having an ownership group in place to purchase the Bills upon Ralph's demise, NOT one reporter has been able to shed some light on who these deep pockets are. So, to answer your question, these speculative posts on the internet are merely the byproduct of the lack of quality reporting from the mainstream media.

In terms of me not knowing about the efforts of the City of Industry, you're precisely right. I found out after the fact about the legitimate efforts of the City to build the stadium, and the Bills being named as one of the primary suitors. When I first wrote the post, I was simply reiterating a conversation that I had with someone purporting to have some insider knowledge. Based on the original source, I considered the information valid, and not mere speculation. Hence, I posted it. It was only after, due to the efforts and links provided by other posters in regards to the City of Industry, that the information seemed to take on a clearer shape and solidify. In short, the conversation I had seems to fit very well into the context of the info regarding LA that more knowledgeable posters, particularly the California based posters, have written in this topic. And while I hope I'm wrong, I am distinctly getting the feeling that something strange is going on at One Bills Drive in relation to the franchise and the direction its heading.

How quickly we forget. In 2006-2007, all Wilson could talk about seemingly was the difficulty the Bills had competing in today's NFL given the disparity in the marketplace. He used it as an excuse then, and his seeming resignation to the franchise's failures makes me think he believes it even more now.

Link?? Again, I think Wilson has convinced himself that the reason for his teams ineptitude is the marketplace. That is a much more convenient excuse for him than facing his own blunders and shortcomings. Games like this will be games Wilson cites as proof that Buffalo can no longer compete in the landscape of todays NFL.

Buddy, I feel like this will be a wasted effort trying to explain this but here goes... Just because something is hearsay does not mean it is inherently unreliable. Rather, it just means it is being passed on third hand. For example, when you watch the news reports tonight about the drunk driver who hit people coming out of the parking lot at the stadium, that is hearsay. The reason being, I guarantee no reporter actually saw the events happen. They are just basing the story on other people's accounts and maybe some confirmation from policemen and medical personnel. In fact, by the time you hear the story, there may well be multiple layers of hearsay. But when you watch the news, are you going to discount the entire story because it is hearsay?? As for my original post, I posted it because I found the story credible. I honestly wouldn't have posted it otherwise. While it's highly likely that there is more to the story than the little bit I heard, I think there is definitely at least some truth to the report that I heard. I base this upon my belief that the person who told me the story was honest and not one to repeat idle gossip. Further, 10 years of bad football as well as the owner's own doubts about the teams long term viability in Buffalo seem to lend credence to the idea that Wilson no longer thinks the Bills can compete in a small market. While I certainly think it is Wilsons OWN mismanagement that explains our current status, Wilson probably doesn't see it that way because of his own hubris. It is much easier from his standpoint to look at the last 10 years as an inevitable fate due to a large shift in sports and economics than due to his own failures in management. Of course, time will tell. But anyone who thinks that there isn't a serious chance that the Bills are gone, SOON, is kidding themselves.

Right... so I would know who the "non-entities" like the Brinkworths are, but not Paladino who I then reference independently in a post 10 minutes after my original post. Do you even think this stuff through?? But then again, I don't have 20,000 posts to my credit so it's clear that my sole objective is to fabricate a story so that I can get the attention of an internet sage such as yourself and then receive insults from such sages.

1) I really don't profess to know anything about the Brinkworths. Even if they are non-entities, they could still have a personal relationship with Golisano. If I were going to fabricate a story, I could easily have said Carl Paladino or someone else? 2) Link???? I have been concerned about the Bills moving for a while, like many Bills fans. I have NEVER professed to have any inside knowledge or heard anything that hasn't been said on WGR or other news outlets until now. That is for the simple reason that yesterday was the first time I have come across any information like this. 3) For the simple reason I thought this was worthy of its own thread. If I feel inclined, then I will post it in the Tim Graham thread as well.

Judging from your insightful, well thought out posts, it is clear you are a biochemical engineer (not an attorney).

Does anyone else see the irony in this statement??

Then I can't help you.

For one, what is to prevent the buyer from assuming the tax upon sale? For two, even if the team was left to a trustee upon Wilson's death, they would NOT have to sell to the highest bidder. Merely, the trustee would only have to act within the best interest of the estate. Courts have construed that meaning liberally. Meaning, even if an LA buyer underbid Golisano, so long as the trustee could demonstrate that the Bills would be more profitable long term in LA, OR that moving the team to LA could be in the best interests of the estate, the move would be lawful. There is absolutely NO requirement that the team must go to the highest bidder. This appears to be the group that was being referenced. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry,_California After reading Wilkepedia, my question is why are they starting to build a stadium in LA unless they know a football team will be coming to play there?

Try reading again... the frightening part is that Wilson supposedly shut Golisano out of the bidding entirely... as if the writing is already on the wall.

You're reading comprehension skills are impeccable... except there's no Susie, Jimmy, noone was drunk, and the conversation didn't take place at a bar.