MattF2000

Everyone seems to want to draft the same positions we just drafted in '06. I don't quite get it. Draft more DT's? We signed one in free agency, and used 25% of our draft on that position. Why don't we just throw darts at all the DT's this year and hope one is good.. Or let's see if McCargo and Williams can actually develop. If we lose Clements, I'd say draft one CB at some point, probably on Day 2. And we have got to see what Youboty can do before this year ends. So draft wise, I think OLine is a necesity. However, I am a huge fan of Calvin Johnson and if he is available we have to take him. Then some O Line help to finish up Day 1. Day 2 we go for a LB, CB, and TE maybe. What's up with Everett? 3rd round pick on a TE and doesn't seem to do anything.

I think you're selling the Bills a little short. In the 1990's we went 103 - 57 with a .643 win percentage. Plus I think the last year or two of the 80's we were pretty good too. I was only 6 or 7 then but I will always hate Boomer Esiason and the Bengals because that was my first real taste of the Bills. I'd challenge you to find teams that have had a better run over that period. Yes we never won the big one and that is disheartening but there's so many teams that have never had a run like the Bills have had. Yes the last 6 years has been difficult but if you're such a true fan you don't look back at the last 25 years and say the entire process was rebuilding and bash our history. In the grand scheme of things we've had it better than a lot of teams. It just seems like we get tortured with some tough losses (4 Superbowls, Music City, etc.) Regardless I'm still going to pull for the Bills. Although I think we're playing for draft picks at this point. I'd love to see Calvin Johnson in a Bills uniform.

I love the Bills to death but I think it's about time to pack it in. Calvin Johnson would look great in a Bills uniform. I dont think we'll be worse than Oakland but we got a shot at being up there in terms of bad. If he's still on the board I'd be thrilled. I see no reason to finish 5 - 11 or 6 - 10.. I'd rather be worse and get a better pick. Oakland, Houston, and Green Bay all won today. That's a step forward. 32. Oakland 31. Cleveland 30. Miami 29. Buffalo 28. Tennessee

Just to clarify something, Sal never said Marv was incompetent. He just said No when I asked if Marv was the answer. I think I used the word incompetent to describe what the media in general seems to think of Marv. (especially his draft).. As for the Eagles.. Funny you mention them. Sal donated a football autographed by Brian Dawkins that was put up for auction. He also said he was thankful he didn't have to talk about TO for one weekend.

Why don't we talk about the band wagon fans then. I bet there was 15,000 Bills fans at Foxboro in the early 90's because none of the Patriots fans went to the games because they were atrocious. This made it easy to get tickets. I think one of those years (91?) a Patriot teams was voted the worst NFL team ever. Now you don't see 15,000 Bills fans there because the patriots are actually good so it's much tougher to get tickets. Plus your ticket prices are the highest in the NFL. That sounds a lot more like Bandwagon fans than Bills fans who continually sell out even though we'eve been a bad team and we have one of the smallest markets. Your own statement proved what a bunch of bandwagon fans the Patriots have. I travelled all the way to Gillette for the season opener and was shocked at how quiet and calm the fans were. Talk about no intensity, no one being rowdy. I am sure Patriots fans hated the Bills in the early 90's just like the Bills hate the Pats now. Thats what happens when one team is on top for a period of time. Me personally, as much as I hate the Patriots because they've been good lately, I'll still always be a dolphin hater first because that was the first rivalry I grew up with as a Bills fan.

So I recently went back to my college for alumni weekend and we have this athletic dinner every year where some athletes get inducted into the college's hall of fame. Every year there is a guest speaker as well. I saw Jeremy Schaap two years ago, Jim Boeheim last year, and this year was Sal Paolantonio (his daughter goes to the school) So it was half way through the dinner, and Sal was getting ready to speak so I went up to him and said "Sal, so whats the deal with the Buffalo Bills? Are we going to be any good, is Marv the answer, what do you think of Losman?" So he responds quickly, and I think partially joking to bust my balls, but he says "They suck".. he said Marv's not the answer, and he said Losman is a young qb that is getting better. When I brought my friend over (who's a patriots fan) to have Sal tell him this about Losman, Sal then tells my friend Losman is terrible. Now throughout this we were laughing and Sal was definitely joking around with me and trying to get a rise out of me. But at the same time I'd say it's pretty apparent that he, and most of the media, still do not think the Bills are on the right track with Marv and Losman etc. From there on I became known as the Buffalo fan throughout the dinner. At the end he allowed people in the audience to ask some questions. One lady asked what the steelers need to do to win a game. Sal responded with "Play the Buffalo Bills" and then did his ESPN sign off. That got a rise out of the crowd again because at that point everyone had knew about the conversation Sal and I had. Overall though he was a great speaker, real cool guy, got to get a picture with him after and he told my friends and I to make sure we took a cab and not to drive. Thought some Bills fans would find that to be an interesting conversation. I think most of us know we're not a great team. I found it interesting that the consensus in the media still seems to think Marv is incompetent and we're headed no where over the next few years. I disagree with that.

I've taken one trip to Foxboro and it was this year for the season opener. I was very unimpressed by the enthusiasm of their fans. Boston fans in general suck. Some of my best friends from college are huge patriots and red sox fans.. They are so obnoxious. I'll never forget the day we beat the pats 31 - 0 in the season opener and a dozen pats fan were sitting in the room with me completely traumatized. That was awesome. GO BILLS

I started a thread about Calvin Johnson a few weeks ago. If he's on the board you have to take him. At 6'5" 235 and a 4.35 40, how can you possibly pass him up? We have no red zone threat AT all. Yes our OLine is bad, but if we had a top 10 or top 5 pick and someone like Johnson is available I see no reason why you would use that pick to shore up 20% of your line. Use picks 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 to address the OLine if need be but you do not pass up on a player like Johnson. The lack of a red zone threat has killed us. Evans is a solid #1 but he's an under sized receiver in the red zone. And let's be serious, do we really expect Neufeld to catch another touchdown pass? I'd rather use pick 1 on johnson, 2, 3 on Oline help, throw a linebacker in there and some dline help or a dback.

I would be very against a downtown stadium for the exact reasons you stated. I went to a Carolina Panthers game once and the tailgating was almost non existent. The little tailgating I did see, I'm not sure would even be considered tailgating because it was so pathetic. I dont really like to be surrounded by tall buildings and an urban environment before I go to a football game. How about putting a new stadium half way between Buffalo and Rochester. .. But in all seriousness, people that want to have a stadium downtown need to go to another NFL stadium that has a similar set up. I bet most would NOT like it at all.

I seem to remember a few times were Gandy got blatantly beat, or completely whiffed, or didnt even attempt to block the DE of Chicago and Losman got sacked or threw a pic as a result. And it doesn't matter how well the OLine does if no one gets open. From the looks of the box score Evans was the only WR to make any contributions whatsoever. The Bears have made some pretty good quarterbacks look atrocious.

Well then maybe some of you are happy to hear this.. "Starting cornerback Nate Clements' status is also uncertain after he hurt his right leg and left wrist against Chicago. Jauron said Clements is sore and the team won't know until Thursday whether he'll be able to play this weekend." I personally think he was atrocious as well. I don't know how you get hurt blatantly whiffing on arm tackles but I guess he found a way to do it. The only thing is fellas, what is our alternative? Thomas or Greer? Scary.

If we aren't going to make the playoffs we need to lose every game now so we can draft Calvin Johnson. He's is unbelieveable and we have no Red Zone threat whatsoever. We need a nice tall receiver.. Too bad this is all extreme wishful thinking.

Spikes is way better than Crowell. Crowell is an upgrade from Posey, yes. And he filled in admirably for Spikes last year. Ellison is filling in admirably for Spikes this year. But let's face it. Spikes Fletcher Crowell sounds way better than Crowell Fletcher Ellison. When Spikes is healthy enough to come back, everyone will be very impressed and very thankful. Until he's healthy, I'd rather have him on the sidelines.

Why would people think TKO is finished from a hamstring pull? This stuff happens all the time. He's 29 years old. Ya he is getting a little older but isn't Ray Lewis older? He was hurt one year and he's back now and although he may not be the DPOY, he's still pretty nasty. Muscle pulls take time to recover from. If you come back too soon you seriously risk setting yourself back even more time. He'll come back when he's ready and he'll make plays like he did in the opening game. I dont think there are many better OLB in the league than him. We need him back.

I started taking him seriously when he was caught with piles of cocaine and a bunch of strippers in a hotel room. Ok maybe not but the guy sure knows how to party.

I'm not saying the Bills are necessarily going to win this game. Altho I hope they do and I do think they have a chance. However, I think some people including many of the power rankings, have the Bears overrated. The Bears beat up on an atrocious Packers and Lions team, barely beat a Minnesota team that I felt Buffalo beat up on pretty good until the end (plus I thought the reffing was questionable), and then they spanked the Alexanderless Seahawks at home. I think the Bears are good but putting up 30+ points against the Packer and Lions doesnt not make them the best team in the NFL. And don't underestimate the loss of Alexander to the Seahawks, he's a huge part of their team. It'd be like the colts losing Manning or the Patriots losing Brady. With that being said, it will be a tough game but if we don't turn the ball over I think we can hang with them and maybe eek out a win in hostile territory.

Hmm, I will be in Saratoga this weekend for my alumni baseball game. Looks like I'll have to head to Peabody's or Stadium Cafe for the game.

Look at all the games without your bills glasses on. You say the bills were outplayed the last 24 minutes? Yes they were, but they also outplayed the Patriots for the first 36 minutes. Statistically you say the Pats killed the Bills in the stats war, well if stats determined the winner then I suppose we would have beat the Jets. The Vikings were a dropped ball away from everyone here saying the Bills collapsed at the end and were outplayed the last 15 minutes. I just don't think you can look at the games like that. Every team in the NFL is so close that there's going to be a few big plays that generally alter the game. Maybe I prefer to look at the positives such as no one would have ever envisioned us even being in the game in the 4th qtr @ New England, or that we were a couple botched blocks from beating the Jets. I suppose I'm just more optimistic but I do agree right now we're a middle of the pack team and yes we're better than most expected. Let's just hope the Bears have a serious let down this week.

I'm not saying the Bills are amazing, or even necessarily a playoff caliber team but I think you're shorting them big here. They almost beat the Pats on the road in the season opener, lost to a Jets team cuz of a few stupid mistakes, that same Jets team almost beat the Colts today, and the Bills went on the road and beat Miami and then today beat a Vikings team that has beaten Carolina AND Washington and barely lost to the Bears in Chicago. I think we're better than you give them credit for, significantly better than most people expected. You could say last weeks loss was because of two missed blitz pick ups, or the Pats loss was because of a stupid 4th and 1 call. Every game you can say a team almost won it or almost lost it. A wins a win, and it was a win against a pretty good team.

I must say i'm pretty impressed by the bears tonight. Their offense is better than I thought. Hopefully Seattle is just let down by not having Alexander. Although the Vikings played the Bears real tough in Chicago so who knows. I'd like to think our defense will fare better defending the pass than seattle has looked. Either way anything can happen, hopefully the bills are pumped up for jauron's return and the bears have a serious hang over. I thought for sure the Pats would get smoked in Cinci today and look what happened.

I still can't believe some people think we need to spend a first round pick on a quarterback. I'm not saying Losman is amazing but he has definitely held his own this year. I definitely do think we need some OLine help I suppose I am just weary of the first round pick on one. It looks like we won't be in a position to pick up Calvin cuz I think most of you are right he's a top 3 pick probably. Kiper has some OT's on his big board although i don't trust his word for anything. He was definitely bashing Marv over the Whitner pick. But even after today I still feel we need some red zone help, I suppose a solid big TE would be nice too. But OLine help I think is a must, we still seem to really struggle running the ball around the goal line. Finally got one in today!

If we don't make the playoffs, which we're not supposed to (Altho I am still hoping and in no way giving up on the season), we need to draft...... Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech. Now I know this is premature being it's only week 4 but I've been watching this guy play and he's exactly what our offense is lacking. 6'5" 235lbs WR that runs a 4.35 40 yard dash. It's apparent we have no red zone threat whatsoever and Evans is still learning to be a #1. This guy is exactly what we need. And everyone here seems to think risking a first round pick on an OLineman would be a big mistake (see MW), then I couldn't think of a better guy to hope we get next spring. Like I said I know this is way premature but I was watching more highlights of him today and had to post. Then again he'll probably be a top 5 pick if he opts for the draft (he's only a junior) but damn he'd fit so well in our offense.. well probably anyones offense.

I sit in 314 and theres some old ladies sitting on one side of me. I hope I am not too rowdy. I might be a little bit cuz I'm young but I think they think it's funny. And I don't fight anyone.. We don't have much of a problem there cuz it's all season ticket holders I think. However, I do always watch the swarms of security guards kick people out. Especially in the end zones. I will say the Ralph is way rowdier than the Patriots and the Panthers stadiums.. (Only two other places I've been). I went to the season opener in New England this yr and my friend and I made sure everyone in the section knew we were bills fans and we made sure they knew the score until the very end. No one gave us much of a problem. If I was a visiting fan at RWS I probably would not have been nearly as rowdy. It's definitely more subdued at both of those stadiums.

Just to play a little devils advocate, and everyone has been bashing McGahee's run blocking. But how about that block against Miami where he picked up 2 blitzers at once? Everyone seems to forget about that one real quick. Ya I think the missed block was the turning point in the game and I'm pissed about it but I'd take McGahee over half the other starting running backs in the league. Maybe even in the top 12? Not to mention our OLine has been nothing but terrible the last couple years and he has played on a team with no passing game as well. Put him in Seattle, San Diego, or Kansas City where the "top 3 backs" have played and I bet his numbers are significantly better. Does he need to improve his receiving and blocking? Absoloutely. But to bash him as bad as he is being bashed on here is pretty ridiculous. It's like that song.. Don't know what you've got til it's gone. All you McGahee haters will be upset if he leaves when his contract is up and there's not a decent replacement.

Maybe I've missed something in football the last few years but.. it seems most successful teams drafted their quarterbacks. Not all were necessarily super bowl winners but... of the great teams since maybe the early 90's.. Favre, Elway, Aikman, Kelly, Marino, Brady, hell the pats even went to the super bowl with Bledsoe.. and even today.. Peyton Manning.. Eli Manning is up and coming, Roethlesberger was drafted. Vick was drafted. Mcnabb. I can't think of a whole lot of free agent QB's that led their teams to much. Im sure there have been some but generally it seems like teams develop their QB's. Our last experience with signing Rob Johnson did not go overall.. and Bledsoe was marginal although I think the line had something to do with that cuz he did have his career year with us. And yes there are some draft busts as well.. But I'd rather gamble with developing a qb.