BillsVet

9 years without the playoffs and we still have this from fans who love moral victories. 7-9 is good enough for far too many wimpy fans.

Boy you're one funny guy.

It was a matter of a young player trying to do too much at the wrong time. We'll never get the full story on this one.

Is there any orange juice in that vodka you're drinking Flagged for multiple penalties and pushed around At least RW saved some big bucks on trading Peters

there is nothing else to say... the Bills find ways to lose and it won't end anytime soon

Name the other 20

Demetrius Bell or Jason Peters well, at least RW saved some money

snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

This board will always argue about whether or not the Bills should have retained NC, but keeping him would have freed up some future draft picks. The Bills have had a tendency to replace departed free agents or released bust UFA's (EDIT: with high draft picks). Buffalo never had a strategy in place when NC was up for UFA in early 06. They took the easy route out and franchised him without any intention of re-signing him. Yes he was expensive, but it would not have been 7/64M bad in early 06. The key is not letting future FA's get into their contract year. The reason Tennessee could afford to let Haynesworth go was their depth on the DL. The same cannot be said of Buffalo's secondary in 2007.

Apparently PK doesn't realize Buffalo fans buy tickets because they fear the team will move if they don't. And it's worked two seasons running.

For the 1,000th time: NC's deal is essentially 7 years and 64M. The final year is basically just paper and will not be realized. The Bills have been trying to replace him since they drafted Youboty. I think McKelvin will be excellent, but they would not have had to take another first round CB if they'd extended NC in early 2006. So many fans insisted that having Dockery and Walker was better than having NC. Those people are not so vocal in making this comparison anymore. At least NC is still with the team that he signed with.

Amazing what a pass rush can do, right? Justin Smith and company pressured Warner frequently and the secondary benefited. DJ and company chose to build their secondary first, jettisoned NC, and watched their ranking against the pass fall to the bottom third of the NFL. NC is still a solid cover corned who plays the run quite well. That Buffalo did not have a long term plan for him before franchising him in 06 was a travesty.

Mike Tomlin has two seasons in this league, yet he combines intelligence with intensity. When he talked about violence, I think most Bills fans watching instantly thought of their unemotional and distant HC. DJ is a nice guy, but he strains in press conferences and guards what he says. Even though he went to Yale, I'm don't think his football IQ is that high. Tomlin also shows that you don't need to spend big money on a HC who can get results. He definitely inherited a good team, but he also didn't tell Dick LeBeau to run a T2. Whomever searched for a HC in the wake of Cowher's departure got it correct. Front offices are the ones finding the coaches and players. If they're not good, it's a wing and a prayer to have a successful franchise.

Everything from the past six months seems to indicate the team is slicing payroll. Peters was dealt for picks. Dockery, Walker, and Rhodes were cut. Aside from a one year contract to TO, the Bills haven't signed a big UFA in a couple years. I cannot see RW at 90 making a commitment to someone like Shanahan or Cowher. Don't get me wrong, I want RW to live many more years but the likelihood that he's poised to spend big on a HC (and by virtue a GM) is not realistic. TD was RW's final shot and resurrecting the franchise but now, they're just riding out the string. Mark Gaughan's article in the BN this week shows the team is at the bottom of total contract values, even as the franchise increases in value and profits are rising. RW's priorities are as a businessman/family man first with football success distantly following.

Your opinion is that you usually guess correctly? The line was originally built to be a power run team in 07-08. Biggest in the NFL we were told early and often. Contrast this with teams that use a zone blocking scheme, which is what Buffalo said they weren't. Of course they weren't, they had too much size to move. Rarely do you see the Bills run between the tackles, although some of this may be a RB decision. Lynch's strength lies in running between the tackles. I think Wood will be capable of handling most DT's and will only improve. Levitre may not hold up at the point of attack. And I see them running behind Wood more than any other lineman.

Isn't Belichick still the HC in New England? Because unless the Bills have something like the wild cat cooked up for MNF, I can't imagine BB being surprised by anything. If anything, DJ is deathly afraid of BB and what NE has in mind for 3 rookie OL, and a QB with confidence issues.

The last two opening days at RWS have been somewhat overcast with rain. Vs Denver in 07 and Seattle last season. Here's to having some good weather to beat down the Yuckaneers.

2009 Buffalo Bills: Because we know our fans love being dicked over. 2009 Buffalo Bills: At least we we've been to the playoffs more recently than Detroit.

The simplest way to make the playoffs is by winning the division now that there are 2 WC's instead of 3. And routinely the Bills have drafted skill positions as opposed to OL and DL. That is, until this year. And as Bill in NYC points out, their offense and defensive philosophies do not mesh with what a cold weather team should run. That was evident against CLE in 2007. Compare that with a guy like Mike Tomlin who was adept running the T2 in Tampa and Minnesota, yet deferred to Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh. It also doesn't help that NE and MIA have invested heavily in finding talent evaluators and locating good coaches. I'm not sure about NYJ yet, but it's no coincidence that the team has had the same people in the front office since the early part of this decade.

America will never be the same. Freedom isn't free.

Even though RW has made some poor decisions, he's usually had one to make up for the previous bad one. This time around, I don't see one coming. Chuck Knox left, to be followed up about three seasons later with Polian as GM. But ever since Butler/Smith departed, RW hasn't followed it up with anything substantive in the front office. It's no coincidence the team is looking at 10 years running without a playoff appearance. RW is running the team, and he does not have the football savvy to find good people. Or he doesn't want to go outside the organization. JMO.

Brad Butler: 0 NFL starts at OT Jon Runyan: 192 starts at OT Granted, JR is older and coming off microfracutre surgery. But he's been cleared to play. This is precisely the sort of move the Bills make to avert all the negative discussion going on right now, so long as the guy will come cheap. He's a name player, but the Bills seem more interested in winning the PR battle than the one on the field.

If he's healthy, I'm all for him. They need some experience at RT, and certainly on the OL.

Ralph spends on players consistent with other teams in the league. Mark Gaughan had a story the other day that showed Buffalo's total contracts (which are not guaranteed) are near the bottom. I'm not going to skewer RW on that. However, he chooses to keep the same poor managers, and as a result the product on the field suffers. RW need not spend like Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder to win, he simply needs to find better executives versed in football personnel. But alas, he chooses not to. It is the 800 pound gorilla in the room that there is no succession plan. And if the Bills are making 40M per season with a team value of 900M plus, I don't see a motivator for this heirs to keep the team. Labor struggles have commenced, the owner is 90, and the WNY economy is not improving. I am not surprised the lease hasn't been extended, nor is there any talk of it. It seems hard to imagine the Bills remaining in Buffalo beyond Mr. Wilson's passing.

Tim Graham has a note about DJ admitting the Bills overvalued Walker twice this off-season. Graham: DJ admits Walker overvalued He must have regressed an awful lot from April to August to get cut, or they wanted more time for Bell. Either way, their solution to trading Peters was insufficient. One has to wonder who is making the decisions at OBD. I'm sure DJ wouldn't mind having Peters right now.