Dr. Trooth

Whoa guys. Granted, I didn't expect an outpouring of love. But, don't you think you're taking this way down to another level? Most of us live in the USA where we all have a right to engage in lawful activity, have freedom of thought, make our own choices, and yes, freedom of speech. But, don't you think one crosses a line when free speech turns into pure hatred. So, what's with all the hatred and vindictiveness? Did I steal your wallet, did I kick your dog, vandalize your property, slap your kid, push or call your mother a bad name, or spill a beer on you? Did I ever once call you or the team losers, scumbags and some of the other adjectives used to describe me? Why? Because I left the church of the Buffalo Bills for another church, told you why, and wished you well? How dare I? Maybe I was wrong being a Bills fan all along if being one meant I'd have to stoop to the level you have. Is that what being a Bills fan is all about? If so, I made a good choice leaving the church. I didn't think being a Bills fan was like being in the KKK or gang. I actually thought there was civility. My bad. Being a fan of the Bills at one time didn't define me, entitle me to spew hatred and rage to anyone who was not a Bills fan, or whether one decided to step away from that or not. Nor did I ever feel being a Bills fan justified my existence. Perhaps that works for you. For me... just a pastime. It's a game, it's entertainment. It's not as important as being a good husband, a good father, doing the best on the job, being a good neighbor, citizen, and volunteer in my community. I can understand passion, but when you choose to morph passion into the vindictiveness, hatred, and the total lack of respect for a person's right to make and share a choice, which does not affect you one iota, it's time to take a good look at who you are and what you're about. Is that how you live your life everyday or does being a Bills fan rob you of decency?

Please, most of you need to stop behaving like jealous wives !!

First, no attempt here to disparage or launch an assault on you Bills fans or team in any way. Just my honest unbiased perception of the current state of the Bills. So, please, don't be offended. Some of it may be your own perception. After being a fan as a kid, going way back to the mid 60's, and even attending one of the Bills four Super Bowls, I'd become disgusted with the ambivalence of the Bills ownership and what I'd been seeing for several years, especially from 2010 forward. It just was not my Bills anymore. So, I'd had enough, looked at it as a good marriage gone bad and finally run it's course. I divorced and flipped from being a Bills fan to being a Steelers fan. I still very much enjoy football and follow a few teams, but I'm done with the emotional investment in the Bills. The Steelers are what I wished the Bills were or could become. I mean, come on, what Bills fan wouldn't enjoy, on average, a legitimate expectation of the Bills being in the playoffs 63% of the time and a 20% expectation that they will get to the Super Bowl each year... one every eight years (8 Super Bowl Appearances in 40 years). And, I believe the Steelers will either be in the playoffs again this year and have a meaningful game in week 17. You guys are dealing with considerable uncertainty in the Post Ralph era. The ownership, front office, coaching staff, and the potential for either relocation or a new stadium. It does make me a bit sad about any potential for relocation, but for you it's got to be gut wrenching as highly engaged Bills fan. I feel for you and I'm pulling for you to get the right owner and for the stadium thing to work out if that's what it takes. Even if a new owner takes over tomorrow, though, and is committed to Buffalo, there's likely to be another purge & rebuild, this time perhaps from top to bottom... which may not a bad thing long term, given their performance over the past umpteen seasons. I do hope you Bills fans get an owner that is committed to winning instead of continually pulling at your heart strings and picking your pockets. You're long overdue. If anyone deserves a winner it's you Bills fans. But, it's going to take some time for the new owner to right the ship... example... new NFL owners Khan and Haslam. How are Jacksonville and Cleveland progressing right now? As for the Bills team right now. Believe it or not, I actually do see some good things, which I hope new ownership spots as well. But, I also see some big question marks, namely... Brandon. Brandon has been a good soldier for Ralph, just like Littman. He's a good guy that did his best to operate within the confines of Ralph's parameters. The question is, if the new owner makes the "W" a top priority does Russ have what it takes to meet those expectations? After 17 years in Ralph mode (no win mode) does he really know what it takes to win? Whaley. Good football mind, great professional. Like Brandon, he too operated within Ralph's parameters. Except for the drafting of Manuel (some blame it on Buddy Nix) he appears to have done a pretty darn good job of drafting, but as far as bringing in good veteran free agents... Legursky, Chris Williams, Alan Branch, Moeki, Rivers... it seems like Ralph mode to me, although Spikes seems to be a good one. Mike Williams seems to be a good aquisition, but who was behind that, Marrone or Whaley? Whaley does have a track record with a winning organization (Steelers). If the drafting of Manuel doesn't define him though, it may be the fact that he thought Sammy Watkins was the answer instead of being hell bent on getting a real QB. Watkins may well be very good, but will the new owner hold Whaley accountable for not having a QB that can get him the ball? Roster... seems solid. Potential top 5 defense. If there are holes it would seem to be OLB and OG... but a huge one at QB. QB.... Manuel? The perception of Manuel around the league, media, and most fans of football is not good. The media consensus is that he's somewhere between 30-32 of starting QBs and there's a reason for that. I'd heard about his struggles, but I only caught a part of one preseason game and my impression is that he just does not have the QB gene or natural QB mental acuity. Does not have pocket presence. Sees the rush way too much instead of looking down field, which causes him to make a misstep in the pocket, allowing his protection to break down. Result, sack or errant throw. He also does not get the ball out on time, and has a huge accuracy problem. A QB must make their decision and get rid of the football within 1.8 -3.0 seconds from snap to release 90% of the time. Check the stopwatch on your cell phone the next time Manuel plays . Better yet, have that cell phone stopwatch handy the next time you see Brady, Brees, or Manning play. It's consistently under 2.5 sec. And, Marrone's recent public discontent with the backup QB situation? That was brought up in a conversation with a couple of friends, one a Steelers fan, the other a Patriots fan and it was like whoa, all three of us thought... wasn't that a veiled shot at the QB situation in general, including, and specifically, at Manuel? Was it publically and emphatically directed as much at Whaley? I mean, what coach bitches publically about his backups if he's got an established starter? Does John Fox voice displeasure over Osweiller when Manning is his starter? Is Sean Payton worried about not having a good backup for Drew Brees? If Matt Ryan or Phil Rivers were the Bills starting QB right now instead of Manuel, do you believe Marrone would have expressed his displeasure with the backup QB situation publically, like he did? If either Ryan or Rivers were the Bills starter going into the season, would you care if the Bills backup QB was Tuel? Isn't the backup's job for an established QB to take a knee and once in a while hold the fort down for a game or two if the #1 goes down? If you have to bring in competition at QB, you have a problem. Roethlisburger, Manning, Brees, Rodgers, Brady, Wilson, Rivers, Ryan, Stafford, Luck.... do any of those guys have competition? So, I get the vibe that Marrone doesn't believe in Manuel as a bonafide or established QB and was behind the aquisition of Kyle Orton, not so much to be a backup as to be a lifeline for the team when he pulls the plug on Manuel. Marrone. Is he a good HC, and more importantly the right HC for the Bills? Well, he was hired when the team was in Ralph mode, so it was only fitting, and true to form, that soon after he was hired, the Bills FO would proceed to emasculate him by getting rid of a vet QB that was serviceable (until a better option was available) then serving him up two vet QBs, one being a concussion or doormat away from ending his career (which happened) and another vet that never accomplished anything. If that wasn't enough, they draft EJ Manuel... a 4-12 year project, if ever. It's like out of the gate Marrone was set up to fail (that's about the time I'd had enough and bailed as a Bills fan). Will the new owner recognize what the FO served him up, or will Marrone take the fall because of the FO's ineptitude in handling the QB situation? I see Marrone as a HC that is in "win now mode". I can't say I see the same from the FO, or maybe they just don't know what it takes to win after being in Ralph mode for so long. In your eyes, has the FO demonstrated they know what it takes to win? I get the feeling that Marrone has a better feel for whether a guy can play at a high level than Whaley. Marrone seems to want high functioning players and Whaley seems to just want to plug holes. Is it just me, or do you see the same? Marrone wants a QB.... so give the guy a QB and then assess his ability as HC. Does Marv Levy go to the playoffs without Jim Kelly? What's the common denominator of every playoff team in the last several years? QB, and a few of those teams have great ones. It wouldn't surprise me if Marrone gets canned if the Bills don't make a quantum leap this year. Personally, and stating this as an ex Bills fan removed from the emotional attachment, I think that would be a big mistake, but hey... it's your team. If he does get canned I believe it will work out for Marrone. I can see him being the successor to Tom Coughlin as the next Giants HC in a year or two. Bills loss, Giants gain. Right, wrong or indifferent, but respectfully, that's my perception of the Bills team, without bias. I do wish you a successful season (please beat the snot out of the Patriots Dolphins and Jets). I may check in with you guys once during or after the season. Peace be with you. Go Steelers, but Go Bills too.

Hi all. The voice of reality 'weighin in'. I know, I haven't posted in a long time. To explain, about a year ago, after being a Bills fan for a bizillion years and going through the last 13 or so years of futility... the absolute worst stretch of football in Bills history, I came to the realization that it's likely not going to change for quite some time, if ever... at least probably not in my lifetime. So, I viewed my allegiance as a Bills fan as if it were a marriage gone sour and it was time to do something about it. Of course, no marriage is ever perfect. It has its ups & downs and bumps in the road. But, something satisfies or fulfills you emotionally attached enough to keep you in it, whether it's actually love, friendship, kids, money, sex, stability, yadayada. In a lot of marriages gone sour, it sometimes starts with a separation and then gradually you get used to it, begin to move forward and sometimes find another old lady before you're even actually divorced. That's where I'm at. I finally had enough and bailed on the Bills after last season. By summer, I found a new old lady... the Steelers. After the first 5 weeks of the season, I was thinking WTF? Am I cursed? Why does it seem that I follow teams that suck? Well, I decided to hang in there with the Steelers and was rewarded. In the end, although the Steelers didn't make the playoffs, they were relevant right up until late in week 17, and looking forward, their prognosis with the Rooney's in charge is much better than the Bills. But enough of that. I just decided to get away because there wasn't much evidence to convince me the Bills would pull it together and be competitive. You might not like it, respect it, or care that I flipped. I'm not disparaging Bills fans, and won't, or am I pitting Bills fans against Steelers fans or any other team. Just sharing how I dealt with the Bills suckage. So, now I'll get on the topic of the Bills. What's the problem? Trust me, it ain't Marrone or Hackett, or Crossman (what coach or OC is going to the playoffs with Manual, Tuel, and/or Lewis). As far as Marrone, I haven't seen a Bills coach shake up a roster during the season as much as he has, ever... maybe Saban. I actually think Marrone's continual in season shakeup is indicative of the true lack of talent that Buddy and Brandon tried to convince everyone that the Bills had. Marrone is doing the best he can with what he's been given (a lot of players that have never seen more than 7 NFL wins in a season and seem to be quite comfortable with that). He doesn't have much say in free agency or what they'll spend or how many draft picks they have, and maybe not a whole lot in who they draft. So, where I see the problem, looking at the past 14 or so years is twofold... it comes down to two common denominators... 1) the first common denominator is "Buffalo". The area has been in consistent economic decline since the mid sixties. There was a brief uptick in the mid to late 80's and then freefall. NFL teams aren't financially viable in that type of environment and free agents don't want to come there or want more money than their fair market value to do so. Most big cities in economic decline have turned it around... Pittsburg, St. Louis, Cincy, Cleveland, Baltimore were once in similar decline as Buffalo but found their way back. Buffalo is different. Turning Buffalo around would almost be akin to turning water into wine because it has to contend with Albany... the NYS political dysfunction and corruption machine. There are 19 million New Yorkers. 11 million of them live below the northern boundaries of Rockland and Putnam counties, roughly 400 miles from Buffalo. The other 8 million New Yorkers living north and west of that don't matter to the politicos and they don't give a ****. As long as they got NYS taxpayer money in their pocket, that's a cash cow for them. Sure, they might throw a bone or two or some candy to upstate once and a while, but absolutely no significant or long term measure to turn things around is ever going to happen. And, wait until the casino money starts rolling in if you don't think the corruption can get any worse. The NYS population is aging, retirees gradually moving out of upstate because they can't afford to live there, and the younger ones are moving out of state as well because there aren't any jobs... and loads of you transplanted WNYers on this board know exactly what I'm talking about. So, will the team move? Eventually, I believe it will. But, within the next 10 years, I don't see any venue that the Bills could move to and provide new ownership a significant ROI for what they'll need to have to pay for the team and make it competitive if the team is purchased in the next three to four years... and certainly not in LA where no one gives a rats a$$. You're looking at between $1.2 - $1.5 billion to buy this team... and then the expense of relocation at a time when taxpayers are fed up with opening their wallets to big profit centers that do nothing but continually suck money out of them? (PS. the $120M taxpayer money for the improvements at the Ralph was only political payback for the $5 billon Barclay Arena and Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn) 2) the second common denominator is Ralph Wilson and Russ Brandon. We all know Ralph's age, and, who knows if he'll be around in 3 or 4 years. God will make that call. And, Brandon is nothing but an extension of Ralph. This crap about Brandon having no restrictions to run the franchise is exactly that, crap. Ralph Wilson is still the owner and the Bills will, and do, operate within the parameters he sets forth. Only things within those parameters are in play. Kind of like a deck of cards, there are still only 52 cards. Not 53, 54, 55... etc. , play em. Brandon, in particular, is a mystery man to me. He's in his 40's and top dog of an NFL franchise with one of the worst W/L records during his time on the Bills payroll. And, he probably will still be Pres. for at least a couple more years. After Ralph passes, what is Brandon's future? I mean, his legacy is one of failure in terms of W/L record. That has to work against him in the NFL or any other winning sports organization. I can't imagine him working for the new owner, whomever that may be. What other team owner is going to give him a shot at a position like he has now if the expectation is W's or even a moderately competitive team? I mean... he hasn't demonstrated he's had "W" success anywhere that I know of. So, basically what I'm saying... 1_ as long as Ralph is the owner, W's are a mirage, and 2_as long as Brandon is in charge, ditto That is not to say that if Brandon bolts to take a high level executive position at Walmart or other corp. that the next Bills pres. will be any different. Ralph is still holding the same deck of cards, and they are stacked against anyone that has a passion for the "W"... And, Whaley? If he's any good, why is he wasting his time with the Bills? He's in a no win situation. I don't understand why he would he allow himself to be put in that position at his relatively young age and risk his reputation and football future. I don't get it. So, there ya have it, my take, for what it's worth. Now that I'm shacking with the Steelers I don't worry about the Bills, but just like 31 other teams, I keep an eye on em. However, I do feel bad for you guys. There's still a connection and I have nothing against you. I didn't flip because of you or anything you did. You definitely deserve a hell of a lot better, and, certainly the drafting of Manual must have been one hell of a roundhouse kick to your gut as a Bills fan. Unfortunately, you'll have to live with that pick for a couple of years before the next guy comes in. I wish you well, but for me, I'm looking forward to a big Steelers rebound in 2014.

Adam Schein giving Nassib some love. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000163269/article/2013-nfl-draft-nine-predictions-for-how-first-round-will-unfold

No. I'll say a blind squirrel finds nuts. But, if they're wrong, which they will be in this case, I'll say I told you so.

The media still has this paradigm that you have to take the BPA. They grade the players generically. Strictly on the measureables. You must draft an 89 before you draft an 88... the bible says so. If you don't, you don't get good value. Need seems to be secondary, if that. They also don't host a player for a day or interview him with a half dozen coaches,scouts, GMs in a room, so they miss an extremely important component right there. Most of them don't consider the scheme that a team will run and plug a guy in not even realizing if it is a good fit or not. Missing those components, that guy they thought was a 67 on their board is actually a 94 on the team's board. Come draft day the media gets a surprise when their 67 gets taken way higher than they say he was supposed to. So, now the team is incompetent, got terrible value, etc. But none of the media has ever had to deal with the consequences of drafting a player, so, they can keep on doing what they do.

If Nassib is the first QB off the board at #8, it is going to ignite one hell of a s#itstorm in terms of the rest of the first round. Trade ups/downs and a QB run.

Wow. I can't remember the last time I felt this enlightened.

This is the 2nd draft since the new CBA. Will the media ever get it that even if you muff a top ten pick now it won't bite a franchise's ass like it did before the new CBA? Teams can reach on a top tenner now and it won't cost them anywhere near what it used to. If the pick is muffed, it won't hold the franchise hostage like a Jamarcus Russell or Matt Leinart, or Mark Sanchez. So, you can actually say to hell with the BPA...let's draft at a position of need. The sports scribes are so old school... they just do not seem to realize the whole "draft board" dynamic has changed and they haven't caught up with that.

Man, education in this country has gone to hell.

It's OK to lie the month leading up to the draft, the Budster said so

"it's OK to lie in the month leading up to the draft". Buddy said so.

If Mallett is so good... 1) why would the Pats move him knowing their starter will be 36 before the 2013 season? Maybe because they know he sucks and couldn't take over for Brady? 2) why aren't any teams interested in rummaging through the Pats rubbish pile? Because Mallet sucks?

Bills have reached a deal with the Chiefs , acquiring the number one pick. I think Jerry Springer was the source