Whites Bay

You're right, SD-ster! They are some sort of astronomical anomaly - a living, breathing statement that black holes exist in Orchard Park. Because they suck, suck suck! [How'd I do? Was that inane enough, or did I blow it on the "sincerety" part?]

I hear you. I caught the requisite ration of fecal input in a conversation with a co-worker in Atlanta. I let him go on about the Falcons for awhile, and let him tell me about all their improvements, upgrades, blah, blah, blah. It was then that I asked him about the defense. "And how is your secondary?", I asked. "Oh, we got rid of a cornerback..um, I forgot his name...but a real cancer in the locker room. We're okay at CB, I guess", he replied. "Good", I said. "You're going to need it in December". Being a Bills fan, I'm not much of a braggart. But it felt good to say it, you know what I mean?

Yes, but was it intentional? Or did he just "mulligan" it? "Every Night" - Paul McCartney

"Giving him the business......."

Ever read "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing? You, Dan, probably have. I'd recommend it to anyone on this board that doesn't use the "Fingerpaint" option when they're posting on this forum. Every offseason becomes more Shackletonian than the last. But, in the words of Ernest Shackleton himself...."We've done it". We've endured another off-season. Let's see what these boys can do. "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" - Michael Jackson

Hello Eeyore, Let me be the first (a week early) to wish you a Happy 1-Year Anniversary! How did I know that you'd be the first to crap all over this post? Don't forget to wipe with emery cloth. Signed, Christopher Robin

Great news, Sven. This is a twofold godsend: 1) The Bills have needed a TE that can stretch the field for about 6 years. He'll be one-dimensional at first, but he'll scare the living daylights out of DCs just as a decoy, if nothing else. Especially after he breaks his first 15-yarder into a big one. 2) It's just so refreshing to log into TSW and see posts related to signings and, you know, like "football stuff", instead of posts like "What was your best Bills groin scratch EVER?!?!". Or something like that. I'm so glad the offseason is receding in the rearview mirror. Getting smaller every minute.

John, the downside outweighs the upside. Focus on the latter first. Would Vick - coming to Buffalo after 2 years of orange jumpsuits, "warm showers" and no practice - be a better fit for the Bills than would Edwards? I don't care if you're a Losman man or an Edwards man. Or a Flutie or Lamonica man. The question is whether Vick would be able to come into this offense THIS FRIGGIN' SATURDAY MORNING and be able to drive the Bills to the end zone better than would Trent Edwards. I would maintain "No", but I have this horrible logical view of the world that I find hard to shake. Focus on the former second. Let's play a comparison game. We in Upstate New York are basking in the midst of a "TO Totality". It's all about TO. Reality TV. Househunting. Even nude photos. Weird, I admit. But we're along for the ride, and we're grinning all the way. The media loves TO, and in a warped and f-ed up way, they're loving.....well, tolerating....Buffalo. You're not seeing a lot of "Jesus, what a schit hole Buffalo is" stories in the national press, are you? It's an oddball sort of place, but woo hoo that TO is some crazy dude up in Buffalo! Okay, let's hit the fast-forward button. National Media Headline - "90-year-old Ralph Wilson signs Michael Vick". Please let that headline bounce around your brain like a BB in a soup can. "90-year-old Ralph Wilson signs Michael Vick". I'd continue with the argument, but I simply don't have the strength. I live in a universe where 90-year-old men, who are original owners of the biggest brand of sport franchise, and are about to be inducted into said sport's Hall of Fame in 3 short weeks, do NOT.........repeat......NOT.....sign convicted animal abusers as their quarterback. A guy like Wilson doesn't sign Vick to be his svengali servant, much less his QB! Security would have to open up 3 of the stadium parking lots JUST FOR THE PETA PEOPLE WITH THE PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES. WHY WOULD RALPH WILSON DO THIS TO HIMSELF AS HE'S WALKING INTO CANTON???!!!!!?????!!!! I know I'm asking a LOT, but please think about MY universe before you post things like this.

No. It was Alfred E. Newman. God, kid, that was awful. I know I call out a lot of bad grammar and spelling on this board, but WOW. You're the future of our country? Wonder if there are still openings in Bermuda. I'll check the visa......

Oh, I hear you. Please, please, please, Jesus, get us to Saturday. Bring us the next level of inanity, but please deliver us from this one.

I agree. Graham's point was that the secondaries are pedestrian; nothing was mentioned about the pass rush. I don't think anyone's going to claim that Wilfork and Jenkins are pedestrian. My bone of contention relates more to the quality of the players in Buffalo's secondary, not the overall performance of the pass defense....which, frankly, sucks...because there IS no pass rush (to your point). Give the Bills a decent pass rush this year, and Buffalo will have a very STOUT pass defense. Because the Bills' secondary - the quality of the players manning those positions - is definitely NOT pedestrian. I maintain that Buffalo's secondary could be in the Top 5 in the league, certainly in the Top 10. To your point about Interior versus Exterior, I guess that's going to come down to Edwards' maturity. It takes some serious cojones to step up into the pocket when the world is collapsing around your ears. Assuming the interior of the line holds, I'm more comfortable if the Bills' tackles are middle-of-the-road....SO LONG AS Edwards has the confidence to snuggle up behind the guards and center. Not every quarterback is comfortable doing that. Either they lack the confidence in their linemen, or they're just not brave enough to hang in there, step up, and find shelter where shelter shouldn't logically exist.

Madden has an interesting take on "Who's Your Pick for the Super Bowl?". He always says that you have to pick the team that won it, until someone comes along and knocks them off. I'm not always one of Madden's biggest fans, but the logic does seem to hold in the early part of the season. If I use that logic, therefore, I'm picking the person that took the nickel spot coming out of camp last year. It's Yobouty's to lose. If that guy shows what he showed last summer, he'll be a lock for nickel. He simply played lights-out, and pushed everyone else aside. Cripes, there were discussions during last year's training camp where people were wondering if he was going to supplant Greer as the Number 2 sometime during the season. Then came the plantar fascitis. It depends on how he comes back from the surgery, but if he's back to where he was last August, you have to pick the guy who won the spot last year. And I'm sticking with it.

Tim Graham raises some good points in this article, and a lot of story angles to ponder. I have two minor disagreements: 1) "AFC East secondaries matching up with Drew Brees: The Saints' bombardier will go up against four generally pedestrian pass defenses. Each AFC East team will have at least one new starting cornerback this season and could have a new starting safety, too." Okay, Tim, you're technically correct in that the Bills' starting CBs were McGee and Greer in 2008, while this year they're likely to be McGee and McKelvin. But it's not as though McKelvin is a raw rookie, and didn't get plenty of playing time last year. The nickel will likely be Yobouty, whom many on this board were running out of town on a rail last year...only to watch him play his brains out in training camp to start at nickel. Whitner is solid, as is Scott. The only question is whether Byrd supplants Scott. My point? I don't consider the Bills to have a "generally pedestrian pass defense". I consider the Bills to have a generally pedestrian pass rush. I think you're going to be looking at one of the better secondaries in the entire league this season. 2) "The Bills' dynamic passing attack against NFC South secondaries: Teams can't double cover Lee Evans anymore; not with Terrell Owens on the opposite side of the field." Having just pumped up the home squad, let me temper the enthusiasm. Let's not go overboard. The Bills DON'T have a "dynamic passing attack" YET. As I've said 100 times already this off-season, it's going to come down to the interior of the offensive line. If that group holds, then, yes, the Bills COULD have a dynamic passing attack. I'm not ready to get my popcorn as I sit here in July. Maybe by October. I want to see it happen first. Overall, a good article. Having read Tim's Point #4 ("Brady against Carolina's pass rush), I'm bummed out that we won't see that matchup until Week 14. I'd like to see him face that action in Week 1, and put a little doubt in his mind.

This thread is a moot point. The Bills will scare the Pats* on MNF but lose. And my heart will be broken again. They will then go 3-0. Tampa? Get serious. New Orleans? Not so much on the road. Miami? Close, but the Wildcat isn't anyone's surprise anymore. Here's what will REALLY happen if the Bills go 1-3. This board will EAT ITSELF ALIVE. I plan NOT to be here when THAT happens. This place was intolerable last November. If I want suicidal tendencies, I can go to work every day. Sheesh. "But I Might Die Tonight" - Cat Stevens

You're dead-on with THAT comment. My brothers and I have twice had season tickets on the visitor's side, and it's AGGRESSIVE early in the season. Great for watching the "scenery", if you know what I mean. 92 degrees F has a way of forcing the layers off in a hurry.

Mine is not "expect to". Mine is "better have"... John McCargo, for both his sake, and for the sake of the Buffalo Bills. As for "his sake", this is it for his contract, or he's another JP Losman. As for "the sake of the Buffalo Bills", as for the interior of the D-Line, I'm not among the Kyle Williams love fest. The Bills need a real blue chipper alongside Stroud, or it's 16 weekends of pain.

Just starting. Your point is ceded, kind sir. The Antichrist was promoted from DC to HC, and he went 5-11 and was shown the gutter. I still have memories of His Pompousness being led to the sidelines after Kelly and Crew shredded them. But what's the point? Is the point the fact that a coach can go from DC to HC to Failure to Success, or is the point that a HC could go to DC (or OC) back to HC to Success? What counts in this league, other than Success? It must be the offseason. I see a lot of angels dancing on the heads of a lot of pins.

Ask Ocho Zero how it felt to be carried out on a stretcher......

Thanks, Lori and BillsVet. I'm not trying to be a "Richard" with these questions. I find it really helps when someone lays out the diagrams. Because of this, I find myself focusing more on positional players like a SS or WLB than simply watching the opposing ball carrier shredding through our line. I can then scream "You missed the gap, you inbred moron", and THEN throw something at the TV, rather than just being pissed off. "Why don't we get drunk and screw" - Jimmy Buffett

...and Belichick really sucked in Cleveland.... "Too Far Gone" - Todd Rundgren

Wow, SJBF!! Comparing Maybin to Kearse? I don't know one way or the other, but...wow. If we end up with as much as Son-Of-Kearse on the DL, I might start being an optimist about this bunch. Really? "Baby it's you" - The Shirelles

Responding in order to the last two posts: 1) Well, I believe that. Count me in your minority. 2) Per the post: "The SS position seems to be going the route of the FB. Teams need two safeties that can cover with the pass-happy offenses springing up all over the league. I would not be surprised to see both Whitner and Byrd on the field more frequently than some would imagine. A lot of the safety pairings has to do with opponents. Against the Jets, I could see Scott getting plenty of PT. Conversely, teams like NO, NE, and IND might mean more of Whitner/Byrd." Back to the "x" and "o" thing. Does that mean the Bills would be fielding (e.g.) 3 safeties and 2 CBs? Whitner, Byrd, and Scott in the box for the short pass? Is that what you're implying? "Crippled Inside" - John Lennon

I hear you. It's like my own personal Ground Hog Day. My guess is that we'll get to the "Whitner Sucks Dong-o" within the next five posts. Buffalo Blood, for what it's worth (not much, I guess), I just posted this identical piece about 10 days ago. The Whitner hate-fest ran for 4 days. Run while your legs will still carry you.

I agree with you regarding the castoffs and scrubs. I could Google it, but Tutan Reyes and Bennie Anderson come to mind. What a decade from hell. What did OBD do? They fired Donohoe, the architect of disaster. Mort may never forgive OBD, but it had to happen. As for the LT, the Peters saga is going to be one of the Bills' "Fish that got away" conundrums that will last for another couple of decades. Should OBD have kept a blue-chip LT, one of the most difficult positions to fill? Or should Peters have manned-up and started to play for the big contract KNOWING that OBD had a history of tearing up EXISTING contracts to award TEAM players? The knife cuts both ways, Spartacus. Either way, Peters is not here anymore, and howling about it is about as inane as the incessant "Should have drafted Ngata instead of Whitner" (I wanted Ngata. We got Whitner. The difference between me and the rest of the Ngata camp is that I've learned to let it go, because I can't do a fuggin' thing about it). What did OBD do? They moved Walker from RT to LT. I'm not thrilled about it, but Walker DID perform admirably against Seattle last year. I don't think I started exhaling until the middle of the second quarter, but Edwards looked like he had plenty of time. Am I ready to annoint Walker to Canton? Hell no. I can't wait until OBD gets his replacement. But to simply throw one's hands up and scream "We're doooooommmmeeeddd".....just not in my personality. Maybe yours, I guess. As for the amount of $$ they would have to spend on a new LT, my GUESS - and it's only a guess, is that the Bills are going to go 8-8. 9-7 at BEST. At 8-8. they'll be picking somewhere around 15 or 16, meaning they're going to get the 2nd- or 3rd-best LT still on the board. Will that person be as good as Peters in the year that he departerd? That's debatable. Peters was an underperforming oaf last year, and he knew it. Will the new person be as good as Peters was WHEN THE BILLS SIGNED HIM AS A FUGGIN' UDFA TE FROM ARKANSAS?????? My GUESS, and it's only a guess, is that the Bills will be getting a better LT with that #16 pick than either Peters was for his first 2 years, or than Walker is today. The odds are exceedingly high that they are able to sign this person for a LOT LOT less than they would have had to spend to sign Peters. My GUESS, and it's only a guess, is that they had a healthy, chunky offer on the table for Peters, but he didn't take it. My GUESS, and it's only a guess, is that they'll be able to sign their 16th overall LT to considerably less than that which they would have paid Peters. But I'm just playing the odds here. Easy for you and me to B word about player signings, but we don't write the checks. As for replacing every scout and talent evaluator on the payroll, that might be a BIT drastic. What did OBD do? Didn't they just bring in Buddy Nix? I think Buddy Nix was the guy who found Travis Henry. I don't care about Travis Henry's personal issues. He was a damn good ball player. Glad I don't have his life at the moment. The point is that the FO, believe it or not, IS making changes. I don't want to sound like an employee of the FO - trust me, they'd fire my sorry ass within a week of showing up there - but.......God, Spartacus, do you ever have a good day? "Headhunter" - Herbie Hancock

Keep things straight. Men are not here for procreation. They're here for recreation. Procreation will follow recreation nine times out of ten of its own accord, so you may as well enjoy it while you can. Mortgages and beagles come soon enough.