JohnC

Where I have a slightly different view with you is that I want players on Jack's line who can convert his brilliant passes. Kane playing with Jack makes more sense to me. In addition, when there are rushes Evander is one of the few players who can keep up with him in an end to end rush. I understand your preference for Foligno to be a protector. I'm fine with that role for him now but I still think that a more proficient scorer will serve Jack better. I like Okposo with O'Reilly. They seemed to be in sync and play at a similar pace.

I have no problem with Kraft giving a discount to Brady and his business for rental space at his mall. Brady has added value to the franchise and increased revenue and profits for the owner. Is this a backdoor payment? Maybe or maybe not. If it is a loophole in the system then it is permissible. Winners win and losers make excuses. Being creative and enterprising is better than being unimaginative. That's why they win and we lose.

You bring up an interesting scenario. I don't believe that TT has that type of leverage because of the caliber of qb he is. His primary concern is to make the roster. But the scenario that you bring up does exist in New England. Brady is willing to accept an under-valued contract with the understanding that the money he is foregoing is spread around to improve the roster. Because of his financial status and his household's status it makes more sense to not demand the maximum deal as long as it is used to maintain a SB contending team. Compare the New England situation with Brady and the Indianapolis situation with Peyton? Because Peyton demanded a maximum deal it stripped away the resources needed to build a more talented roster. I'm not criticizing anyone for pursuing their individual interest in this comparison. But by Brady's willingness to be more flexible with his contract demands it has enabled his team to win more often.

Foligno, Carrier, Bailey and Fashing are all good big straight line skaters and hitters who should not be top two line forwards. I see an excess of these type of players from which can be traded for another young and upside defenseman. Right now we have too many old and slow wheeled defensemen who can't keep up. Some young legs would be very much appreciated to bolster this over-matched unit.

http://www.wgr550.com/articles/news/sabres-sign-defenseman Assuming he signs with us I have no idea how good he is or what other teams are vying for him. What it indicates is that Murray is determined to rework the back end. I don't think he is going to trade away one of our prime assets to get a good defenseman. I think next year, in addition to Guhle, he is going to add a couple of solid players to the mix. The above link is from WGR that indicates that he might be signed. Not much elaboration as to the type of player he is. Because of his smallish size I suspect he is more of a skater than a hitter.

Not only are you a sly fellow but you are also a provocateur! If you want to improve your chances on getting a franchise qb odds are more with you if you select one of the higher rated qbs than a lower rated qb who would be available in the third round. The Bills have not had a franchise qb for over twenty years. The timidity that you subscribe to makes it more probable that the ignominious distinction of not being in the playoffs for more than a generation will continue to haunt this staid organization. Dithering is a pathetic strategy to take when that cowardly mentality of passivity has only gotten the players on this flaccid franchise to the couch when the post season has started. Fear not eball, fear not. What have you got to lose? Singing the same losing song is a tune I find unappealing. I'm not buying it.

What's apparent with the reworked deal is if TT refused to restructure the deal substantially downward he would have been cut. And what is also very clear is that the argument that many made that he had good contract and playing options elsewhere were not a reflection of the market. The Bills are in a good position to draft a good qb prospect this year. If they don't seize that opportunity they will again allow other teams to take what we miss. Whaley has a history of over-valuing his players. I get the impression that he is intrigued by Cardale more than most are. I'm hoping that this isn't another EJ infatuation situation that turns into bypassing good qb prospects because of over-valuing what you already have. In general I like Whaley. When it comes to evaluating qbs I have little trust in his judgment. I'm hoping that this new coaching staff can provide better evaluation and judgment on that position.

This is a good deal for everyone. TT checked the market and saw what the offers were. He is a bridge qb for us and a bridge qb for any team that was interested in him. So he stayed with the team he was acquainted with and a team where at least in the first year he is almost guaranteed of starting. Many people wrongly made the argument that TT had leverage over the organization from a contract and playing standpoint. Because the market wasn't as receptive to him as many made it out to be he wisely decided to stay where the football situation was the best for him. Whaley and the organization played this negotiation right and so did TT.

The doctor has the authority to put his finger up your pie hole. He should be able to receiver remuneration for such a ****ty task.

Was your employment at the record retailer at the time when radio promoters were getting payola for playing records? When I was growing up Hutch Tech was a top notch school. Is it still an elite school?

Big Apple Bill, The Bills are not going to use a high pick for a qb. I'm so confident that I would bet your life on that and sleep comfortably with that bet. It's what we do. I have a different twist on the qb position. Instead of adding playmakers to help the qb how about adding the caliber of qb who can properly utilize the talents of the skill players. My ambitions are a little higher than most Bills' fans who have a low standard. I'm not satisfied at simply squeaking into a wild-card spot with no chance to go further. Go back and review most of the teams who have a chance of not necessarily winning a SB but being a legitimate SB contender. Almost all have the qb position secured. If you think that TT is the answer then ask yourself why Whaley wasn't so enamored with him, and required him to adjust his contract to remain with the team? Even the new HC who wanted to keep him didn't describe him in glowing terms. TT is a bridge qb---that's what he is. He is better than what we have had in a long time. But that isn't saying much and it isn't much of a compliment either.

Gotham Bill, Your suspicions about my estimation off TT are wrong. I'm not down on him, far from it. I'm glad he is staying. When discussing TT you have to view him in the realm of what are your goals? He's the type of qb who will allow your team to be respectable. What he is not going to do is elevate your team and make it a contending team. I challenge you to watch good qbs play and the type of offenses they run. Our passing offense in comparison is primitive because of his limitations. Being the best rushing offense is a stat that translates into being at best an 8-8 caliber team in the modern NFL. TT is the perfect bridge qb. When you have that caliber of qb that is the most propitious time to get a more upside qb prospect on board because you have the time to develop him. For a long time this organization has acted as if it is oblivious to the imperative of having a legitimate franchise qb. Every year their stunted approach to building a roster results in the same outcome. Other teams such as Oakland get their qb and pass us by. We stubbornly cling to the outdated approach to the game with the same results. This timidity to seriously address the qb position is simply stupid. Enough is enough.

I was watching a Florida game a while back and the TV announcers were talking about Jagr and when he changed his mentality toward the game. They said when he left the NHL and played in (I believe) the KHL he changed his mind-set and became dedicated to preparing for hockey and appreciating being able to play the game.

All the teams you mentioned except for Denver secured their qb position. Last year, Denver maneuvered back into the first round to draft Lynch, a qb. The Bills have not had a franchise qb for more than twenty years. The Bills are in a good position to select a very good qb prospect in this draft. Also by having an adequate bridge qb on the roster it will allow time for development. Dithering in pursuit of a franchise qb is a strategy this organization has maintained for a long time. Where has it gotten us? Taking a patch work mentality to building a roster is a strategy that has allowed us to continue to be irrelevant. When are the Bills going to learn? The Bills drafted both Clement and Gilmore in the first round. Gilmore was taken with a very high first round pick. When their contracts came up the organization allowed them to walk because of cost. So drafting to replace what you had is not a strategy to move forward---it is a strategy to maintain the status quo. Once you have secured your franchise qb you will have more flexibility in how the draft is approached. Until you do that you are just spinning your wheels stuck in the muck of mediocrity. When are you going to learn that the Jauron/Levy approach to football is not only archaic but excruciatingly boring?

Jagr is a good comparison. He is now at his age a physical phenomina. As Jagr got older he became serious about his conditioning and training regimen. As great as he was as a younger player if he had the same serious approach to conditioning as he now does back then his numbers would be even greater. The comparison between Lemieux and Boston Jack strike me when they are skating from one zone to another. Both are more than fast straight line skaters. Each is great at weaving around and blowing past the defenders while holding on to the puck and then reacting. Evan Rodrigues was an excellent college free agent signing for us.

When Seattle drafted Russel Wilson he said that it had to be understood that they drafted him as a backup because that's what he would be in this league. Bill Polian was on the Murph show not too long ago at the draft. He was talking about his days with the Bills. I was very impressed when he was talking about their scouting approach regarding physical parameters and their psychological testing by outside phychologists. He laughingly described his approach as an analytical approach before it became a mainstay evaluation tool. He may now be a considered an "old timer" but when he was with Buffalo he was a man ahead of the time. His stint with the Bills were certainly a golden era that hasn't existed since. When Ralph fired Polian it was the point of demarcation when this team's fortunes went south. Sadly, more than a generation has passed by and little has changed. I'm hoping with the hiring of McDermott and a more experienced and chastened ownership that the direction will be upwards.

I wasn't aware that we had any standards to be disqualified from? I am flummoxed!

Perpetual instability is a form of stability.

He reminds me of Mario Lemieux. He is big, strong, can skate, shoot and pass. Both are strong and skilled players. Each of them is a striding and accelerating skater that is a beauty to behold. I'm just hoping that the GM can add enough talent to the point where Jack will get the attention that he deserves by playing on a team that is worth following by hockey fans in general.

The first star of the game was Lehner. He made some sparkling stops. The one at the end of the game as time was running out was remarkable. Performances like this in his substitution role erodes (somewhat) the position that the GM made a bad deal for him. I still believe he overpaid for him. Jack can pass as well as he can skate and shoot. You need a player such as Kane that can convert his beautiful passes. Fans can look back on this season and bring out their well worn "what if" arguments. But the reality is a lack of talent is the underlying reason this season can be considered a disappointment. A couple of solid to good defensmen added to the mix with the addition of Guhle should help out a lot on the blue line. The differences between the bunched up teams vying for playoff positions are negligible. One player I have come to appreciate is Gorges. He is a shell of what he used to be as a player. What no one can say about him is that he doesn't always give you everything he has. He may be a battered and bruised fading player but no one can say that he isn't a maximum effort and a prideful player. He represents the notion of old school hockey in its very best sense.

With respect to the highlighted area whether the Pats trade Garapolo for a boatload of picks or not is another illustration of how smart and forward thinking they are. There are good reasons to keep him. But if they do trade him they have a qb in Jacoby Brissett as an insurance policy. How good is he? Who knows? The drafting of Brissett when they already had Garap as a backup covered themselves to a degree if they had to deal Garap before he entered free agency. The same type of thinking happened when they traded Jamie Collins, a superb LB. during the season in their SB run. They had little intention of signing him after the season so they traded him to Cleveland for a pick, had good young players behind him ready to replace him and end up with more cap space. While the Bills make personnel decisions as if they are doing patch work New England has a strategic approach to roster building that involves multi-layered thinking. The Pats are working with chess pieces while the Bills are working with bottle caps. There is a stark difference between living in the ghetto and residing in a gated community.

Every year the Pats rework their roster to not only make it better but also different. Sometimes they enter the season with a bulked up offense and in other years they use the offseason to upgrade the defense. They are the most intriguing team to follow because they are one of the most innovative teams in the league. They don't follow--- they set the trend. How they manage the cap and contracts is so much different from other teams. They analytically and in an unsentimental fashion make personnel decisions. Their cook book is a book that they follow but other teams aren't sophisticated enough to replicate what they do. During the season their game plans on offense and defense varies from game to game. In addition, within the games they adjust when they need to adjust. In the SB bringing in the third string back changed the dynamic of that game. The Pats win of course because they have Brady. But more importantly they win because they are a smarter organization than most. While we play checkers they play chess like they are masters. You got to admire what they have accomplished and how they have run their operation.

Do what eball did. Wear a hot pink thong with no pants so we can easily identify you. As a favor to the rest of the customers you should shave your legs so you will be less offensive to look at.

You can believe what you want. If you can't figure out what happened here then so be it.

I'm not disagreeing with your point that the Toronto and Canadian market are on a different level that drive the sport. It's similar to the European market compared to the American market in soccer.