Dr. K

Buddy Nix screwed up again.

I'd hate to see you give up, though I would understand you doing so given the volume of splenetic fantasy that gets posted here. Realize that there are a lot of us who do not post so often who appreciate the information you pass along but aren't noisy. Peace.

"We 'gots' grammer to mangle."

I don't know for a fact, but I can't imagine there's been an NFL team in the last 40 years that ran the ball 70% of the time. You are definitely exaggerating. They may run more than half the time, but I think people will be surprised at how often the Bills pass. They will not just tuck their heads down and run. That one dimensional a plan would guarantee a 3-win season.

I think Brown ends up third string and either Brohm or Fitz gets cut. Unless an injury or extraordinary game performance scrambles the mix.

This strikes me as a case of competitive fire (with some frustration behind it, perhaps) but not any proof that Maybin is a jerk, or Wood is a jerk (or hero). There's a tendency on the board right now to make Maybin the anti-christ and Wood the saviour. I suggest that they are both, contrary to that, football players. I think Wood the the better player, and most likely to continue to be so, and I like him. But I think the hating on Maybin is getting out of control.

Quote from the article: "He's sharp book-wise." He freakin' ought to be.

Someone say something new.

I'm worried about that some, too. I was never one who objected strongly to the "less-contact" theories of Levy and Jauron for this very reason. On the other hand, I think Gailey and Nix are trying to instill a new attitude and general culture of the team after ten years of little success. The chance that some players will be injured in camp is one of the risks that they are willing to take. It's a trade-off, a gamble, like most decisions. I really liked the Nix interview with the D&C that's posted on the front page today. The reporter asks, "What's your timetable in terms of turning this thing around and seeing progress?" Nix answers "Miami." (the opener). That bespeaks the new attitude. They expect improvement immediately. They are putting high expectations on both themselves and the players.

I thought Nix's answer was great. You may or may not agree with him, but it's clear he has a sense of what he's doing and it's not arbitrary or crazy.

Thurman Thomas Bob Chandler Steve Christie Andre Reed Pat Williams Joe Fergusson Daryl Talley Sam Cowart Tom Day Mike Stratton Harry Jacobs

I'd actually like to see somebody pick the Bills for dead last, behind the poor old Rams. It's kind of insulting to be thought the next-to-worst team in the league. As if they are even mediocre at being bad. I think they are far from being the worst team in the league, but nobody will think so until the start winning some games. And if they do, it would be more fun if every expert had picked them for dead last.

the murderer

We're talking about the LATE-90s Wade Phillips coached defenses, not the EARLY-90s Walt Corey defenses. Wade's defenses were much better than the Bills D during the Super Bowl years. If those Super Bowl teams had had the Wade Phillips defense, with Ted Washington at NT instead of Jeff Wright, they would have won a couple of those Super Bowls. The '99 Bills D did not get run over by anybody.

They are?

Pile it on, guys. 31 out of 32 teams? Great. A drop of 7 spots from the end of last season? I like it. None of this will matter when the games begin. It will be a pleasure to see the Bills surprise some teams and their fans. Assuming they can.

Or FDR, or Harding or Buffalo's finest, Grover Cleveland (though he did his fooling around before he was elected). The idea that fooling around in the White House started with Clinton is based on a short attention span. A certain percentage of men in positions of power have always taken advantage of the sexual favors that such power--and opportunity--have allowed them.

Makes a strong case that this will be a bad season.

He and his family deserve our sympathies. Some things are much more important than football.

Okay, fine. You are no longer giving them the benefit of the doubt. You have made your judgment about them, and that judgment is that they screwed up. I have no problem with that, as long as you don't claim, as Thurman#1 did, that he was still giving them the benefit of the doubt. I assume (it's been obvious from your posts for a long time already) that you won't be convinced they know what they are doing until the team starts winning, and does it consistently for a long time. That's a reasonable position. You go into the season expecting 3 or 4 wins or something like that. Enjoy yourself.

Where did I say you had to give them unconditional support? Where did I say that you had to say they would make the playoffs? In my understanding, giving someone the benefit of the doubt means that, in cases where there is ambiguity about which course of action or decision was the right one, you reserve judgment and let events sort out who was right. In general I have respected your posts because you make reasonable arguments, and I still believe you could easily be right. But in this case you are creating a straw man version of me to knock down. Enough. More than enough.

Sure. Call yourself a realist. You may be right. Just don't claim you are giving Nix and Gailey the benefit of the doubt, because you are not. That's all I'm saying. Peace.

They way we have been chasing our tails on various topics here, arguing with each other about Trent Edwards/Brian Brohm (how many thousands of words have been spent on this?) the left tackle situation whether the Bills should have drafted Claussen, Nix and Gailey's other decisions, and a half-dozen other repetitive threads had reached critical mass. It's like we're all trapped in a cabin by a avalanche with three graham crackers and a bottle of Dr. Pepper and a deck of 51 cards. In about three more days I expect the first case of cannibalism. Can you stay away from the board for two weeks until there's actually some semblance of something to discuss? I'm not sure i can, but I'm going to try.

I am old and tired.

I don't agree with you that the Bills passing on Claussen was a mistake. I'm just pointing out that you are trying to gin up your difference of opinion into some revelation of Nix and Gailey's incompetence based on that you THINK will be true in five years.