JohnC

Gruden ordered an abrupt teardown. I don't see him using one of his high picks for a player who will be sitting out the season. With respect to Cleveland now that they have their franchise qb there is an urgency to immediately start winning.. There is even more urgency with Pittsburgh going through their internal combustion and with Baltimore starting a young unconventional qb. The time to win is now. Using a high pick to shelve a player for future use makes little sense for them.

I have a recommendation for your: Wear a hat!

Blokes, You and I are sitting on opposite ends of the teeter totter. What you find appealing about his mullet is what I find disqualifying. To me, it is a goofy look. I'm old school and I'm proud. Get off my lawn youngster before I pull out my flip phone and call the police.

You recently bought a house and now you are on a journey to domestication. If you admit to wearing an apron when prancing around in the kitchen you will be declared an irredeemable.

Your linguistic knowledge is deep while I swim in very shallow waters. The advantage of where I swim is that there is less risk in drowning.

Bloke, Be mindful of the natives. In some societies speaking in tongue is considered uncivil. After your translation I am less baffled and befuddled.

Bloke, What coded language are you speaking? What does IZ/OZ mean? Is this what is called Outback linguistics?

It's apparent that Gruden isn't enamored with Carr and Carr enamored with Gruden. If Gruden was going to seek a qb from this draft it would be interesting to see what offers he would get for Carr. One team that I suspect will be interested in dealing for Carr is Jacksonville.

We are not in disagreement. We basically agree with you adding more examples how Murray failed as a GM. The draft picks and players he moved were for the most part second and third line players. The area in which this team has a glaring deficit is on the second and third lines where the production doesn't rise to being close to complementary. We have a quality first line with Jack-Skinner and Reinhart. We have little scoring punch to support the top line. You are right that the players that he dealt for and gave up future assets and picks eventually were dealt. That magnified his bad decisions because the end game calculation is that he gave up assets for nothing. And as you noted he overpaid in the trades and then the return eventually was lost. That's not exhibiting wise stewardship. Compare what was given up for Skinner and the most recent acquisition in Montour. Those deals were substantially better calculated deals than what Murray made.

Attached is a link from a WGR column written by Joe DiBiase. It catalogues Tim Murray's decisions that have come to haunt this franchise. The mistake was to make expedient short term decisions that mortgaged the future. It's really upsetting how this franchise has been run. I'm more confident in our current GM. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/opinion/sabres-still-paying-sins-tim-murray

I have said for a long time that the heart of the team's ills relates to the talent level. On the other hand I'm more upbeat in the near future than you are. I agree with you that as this season has advanced this team has regressed. But I also believe that this team is much better than last year's team. (That's not an achievement to crow about.) Last year's product was unwatchable. This year's team is more competitive even when it falls short. What I'm counting on is for our GM to make some smart moves comparable to the Skinner acquisition and more recently the Monsour pickup. It wouldn't be surprising if Risto, who has value on the market, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder to address some gaping holes on this roster, especially the building of an authentic second-line. Although this was never going to be a quick-fix the process is more advanced than you might believe. At least that is how I see it.

The team doesn't have to tell Saffold to test the market because he is going to do it on his own to see what his worth is. He's been in the business long enough to understand how the system works. What he is going to find out is his worth and the difference between what he can get from another franchise and what his current team can offer. Sometimes the offer isn't as great as one's expectations. Saffold isn't an old player but he certainly not on the upside of his career. If the Bills were at a stage in their development where he was one of the few missing pieces on a highly competitive team then I would have no reluctance to overpay for his services. That's not the case with the home team. My point is that he might be able to garner a grand contract on the market but I wouldn't bet that Buffalo would be the place where he got it. As it stands he is in a good situation in LA. I wouldn't be surprised if he stays.

There are numerous issues that collectively add up and factor in why this team has struggled. Not being attentive to one's defensive responsibility all the way through the lines and defenders certainly is a persistent problem. If a player is deficient from a mental standpoint, regardless of the physical talent, then that player is simply deficient. There is just too much of that clueless losing sight of the player you should be responsible for. Risto is in a different category than Scandella. Risto is the first defender on a top pairing that includes the most ice time. Scandella is a third pairing backer who can easily be rotated out or given very limited minutes. You shouldn't have to do that with your first pairing defender who repeatedly has lapses. I don't want to get fixated on one player because there are so many players and issues that need to be addressed. Okposo is a high character player whose salary is dramatically higher than his contribution. We can go on and on. This season still has some time on it but it is not a major leap to believe that this roster is going to be significantly altered next year.

He mentions it plenty of times. And the name he mentions the most with respect to defensive lapses is Risto.

I'm a little more hesitant than you are. If I'm going to overspend I would rather do it for a younger player. As it stands he is in a good situation in LA from location, team and coaching standpoint. Obviously, we can pay more but I think he will stay in tinsel town.

Craig Rivet spoke in the first hour of the WGR Instigator Show and hit it on the head with his analysis why the Sabres were faltering: The issue is the talent level. As it stands we don't have a credible second line. I'm a Mittelstadt fan and believe in time he can be a genuine second line center. The playing time he is getting this year will in the future serve him well. But the reality is that our second line he currently centers wouldn't even be considered a credible third line on most hockey teams. And the same low assessment would apply to our third line. It is fair to say that our checking line in Larsson-Gergs and whoever do a solid job in playing hard and usually neutralizing the line they are working against. But from an offensive standpoint they offer zilch. You can't have such impotency from the second, third and checking line and be able to reasonably compete. In my estimation that is the biggest weakness on this team. That is not to say that collectively our defensemen have issues. But Dahlin is go to be better next year and Pilut should be a better player next year. What I believe is going to happen is that Risto will be traded in the offseason for one or two second-line players. A first round pick from us could be included in such a deal. There was talk that Tampa was exploring a trade for him but decided to stand pat. As it stands their roster is loaded with high end talent in the minors ready to make the jump. To state the obvious we need more talent. We have some trade chips and they need to be used.

We have a number of people who are knowledgeable about prospects. You have been posting your mock drafts for a long time. I consider you to be one of the best mock drafters on this board, and I'm including those who I have a high regard for. Your picks always seem to fall where their talent level would lead them to be. Your player selections usually fall within the intertwined boundaries of talent and need. You do an excellent job with the mocks. You should be saluted. ?

If a player is ready to come up I wouldn't be shy in making a deal if the caliber of the prospect was a high end player. But that wasn't the point of my post. The point I was making is that a team such as Tampa (and some other teams) have an excess of talent without the room to place them on the roster then there are opportunities to deal. On the other side of that equation if a player in their system is ready to move up then there could be opportunities to deal for an already established young player who can be pushed out. I agree with you that if you are going to trade an established player such as Risto then you need to get back players that you know are ready to immediately play. But that doesn't foreclose wanting one of those high end and ready to play prospects thrown into the mix. I don't see this as an either or when it can be a combo type deal.

We may have watched the same segment on the NHL Network when they were discussing Tampa and their consideration of Risto. What stood out is when a commentator (I believe it was Lawson?} stated that Tampa has five prospects who are ready to move up to the NHL. Because they are so loaded it wouldn't be inconceivable that the Risto trade talk will again arise in the offseason because they there is an abundance of talent in their system and big club with little room for additions.

I'm counting on the GM to take advantage of the situation he has positioned this franchise to bolster the roster next year. I have stated before that I believe that this franchise is two years away from being a serious team. That is not to say that next year this team won't be better and continue to move up the ranks. I have never believed in the quick-fix because our talent base was too low when this new regime took over. One of my friendly nemesis believes that the cupboard was more full than I did. A number of people have characterized my position as succumbing to accepting mediocrity and lowering my expectation for this team. That is gross misinterpretation of what I have been saying. My position is that this team is not a complete team especially when compared to the top tier teams. The core of the problem in my estimation has little to do with the HC and the GM's management of this team.. It's simply evident to me that although we have some emerging talent there are still glaring deficiencies that have encumbered this team. That is a reality that some critics refuse to acknowledge at least to the degree that I do. They place more of the blame on the coach than I do. What is encouraging is that when the Sabres play good teams such as Tampa, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto they are able to compete with them. But usually they fall short because they simple can't match the talent. I expect this offseason that Botts, who I have a high regard for, will bring in enough talent to create a credible second line and take some of the scoring load from the top line. Stating the obvious we don't have enough secondary scoring. That to me is our biggest flaw. I'm not so much hung up on making the playoffs this year. Of course I would love for the Sabres to qualify. My bigger focus is on the younger players with the Sabres and with Rochester getting better. I'm optimistic about the near future while some of my witty combatants are less so. That is the usual source of the friendly dueling. In general, I like the direction this franchise is going in and am more willing to let it play out.

There is another issue about Shady that has nothing to do about him as a person as it does his style of running. Is this team better served by a primary back who is more suited as a tough, heavy duty and inside the tackles type runner? That's certainly not his style of running. Next year, I foresee him being used more in the passing game than in the running game. He still is very productive when he has space to maneuver. When it gets tight and there is a need to quickly hit the hole he has a tendency to dance around. It just seems to me that at this stage in his career less touches would be better for him and the offense.

I am not an ardent fan of analytics because the numbers don't always reflect the proper role for the player. In my view Risto is more of a second pairing caliber defenseman. In that role he would get less playing time and face less accomplished second-line forwards which would result in better numbers for him. My feeling is that other than Jack, Skinner and Dahlin and maybe Reinhart every player is worth considering as a trade chip. The next priority for the GM is for him to build a credible second line that would take some of the scoring pressure off of the first line. I expect some trade action to happen after the season.

I'm hoping your assessment is right but it shouldn't be forgotten that he had a minor incident where because he was upset over some issue he was late for a meeting. The HC symbolically didn't start him to make him accountable for his minor infraction. To his credit he owned up for his misdeed and everyone moved on.

Does a thousand lakes equate to qualifying as an ocean? If you see Panarin start to wear Cowboy hats I will then make a bold prediction that he will sign with Dallas.

I'm not saying that you are wrong in your assessment/hope that Shady takes up the mantle of leadership that Kyle left. This is my opinion and I'm not making a declarative judgment on McCoy but I don't think that he will be the type of person who handles a diminished role as a player without making an issue out of it. I would love to be wrong. To his credit he was respected in the locker room. Foster credits him for setting him straight when he was acting as if he was entitled. But being a player on the downside and with a diminished role very often erodes one's voice on the team. Again, I hope that I am wrong on how I think things will play out with him.