BillsVet

He got to this point (an NFL HC) by playing close to the vest and hoping the other team makes a mistake. His coordinators are still mediocre and unimaginative. HC's like DJ don't survive this long in the league. But in his case, I can't see him changing his stripes in his ninth season as a HC.

No, but the anti-Peters crowd sought any way to marginalize someone they hated ad nauseam. Nevermind they did not see the EZ angle, nor comprehend that 340# LT's don't normally block 190# CB's who run 4.5 40s. It's typical "I hate this guy because he left my team-itis." Define "highest paid player in franchise history." Russell's statement is one with plenty of wiggle-room. It could have been a 6yr 50M contract. Heck, it coulda been 50M and no guaranteed money. Fans forget that the contract terms don't equate to guaranteed dollars in the NFL. NC's deal in SF is widely talked about as being 8 yrs and 80M, when in reality it's a 7 yr 64M contract.

In all seriousness, what could possibly Plan B? If Walker struggles (and that's an "if" at this point) there is no other capable OT on the roster to handle the position. Bell being able to protect Edwards' blindside is a pipe dream for this season. Chambers didn't play LT when Peters held out. Butler has had injury concerns each of the two seasons he's started at G. There is no Plan B, unless of course they find a diamond in the rough among the street FA's. And there aren't many decent OT's acquired through UDFA or SFA.

I think he was a big vote in the inner-circle meeting about whether or not to retain DJ. Reportedly, Wilson directly negotiated the contract with the HC. Wellington Mara was a great owner, and after I read, "The GM" about Ernie Accorsi, only made me realize how much so. He should be in the HOF if you ask me. I think the NFL bubble could burst if there's a strike, and it'll take awhile for it to come back. Charging crazy money isn't a given for tickets.

Jones has serious issues selling those suites as well in the bad economy, much like the Yankees in their new home park. Just because someone charges big dollar doesn't mean they'll get it. JJ wanted to build a monument to himself and his team, but it hasn't been a slam dunk, and if no one's willing to pay those ridiculous prices, he'll be the one footing the bill. Things have a way of balancing out. Keep in mind, this is the same Dallas Cowboys team which hasn't won a playoff game since 96. A new stadium at those prices won't change that either.

Who is Matt Leinart? I thought it was Max Leinart that Marv decided against?

Don't stop Billieving...in the front office. I think time will show it wasn't a hot idea to enter the season with Walker, Butler, and Chambers as their top 3 OT's. Bell may be hyped, but I'm not sure he's ready to be on the gameday roster. Having another tackle may not be what they want to do, but it could become a more pressing issue. Depth has been an issue for many years with this team, particularly because they choose to be just above the league cap minimum. Aside from Posluszny and Mitchell, who else among those LB's is NFL caliber?

Two items, coaching and the OL, will determine the fate of this season. None of the skill players on offense mean anything without that OL pass or run blocking. Agree on the move of LW to LT. He's not physically gifted with the foot speed and agility to handle edge rushers, and there are several of them lining up across him. Hangartner did say at his intro that he plays at around 315, so I'll hold out hope that he can handle those big 3-4 NT's. On DJ: who can forget the MNF losses, the 2-8 finish and still believe he's capable of stepping up his coaching? I don't, but you'll be attacked. It was the same way last season, and the optimists were not rewarded for their optimsim on the HC. Only time will tell.

Is that you Reverend Wright?

Bell is too much of an unknown to even believe he'll be more than an observer from the bench this season. I know he's stronger today than draft day 2008, but when 250+# OLB's like Porter and Adalius Thomas get a 3-5 yard head start, an OT needs to anchor. I'm not sure Bell can do that. From Buffalo Rumblings yesterday: "For those of you who have been on Demetrius Bell Watch, waiting for the second-year pro to lock down a starting tackle job, you may have been surprised to hear that when Butler went down, it was Chambers who replaced him at right tackle. This is perspective, folks - as good as Bell has looked in camp thus far (and it's worth noting that he was beaten cleanly by Chris Ellis on one play today), he's nowhere near ready for significant playing time. Buffalo's coaches realize that, and we should too." He was a two year project, and it's half-way to that point.

Chambers didn't start at LT last season during the Peters saga. If they moved Walker for those first games, it tells me about the coaching staff's belief in Chambers at LT. Personally, he's a man without a solid position. They played him at OG, particularly the away NE game, and he had a rough go of it. There are only so many times an OT will get help from a TE. I remember being upset that Fairchild held a TE in on many downs two seasons ago, but with inferior OT's, it's a requirement. Not to mention, the depth at the position such as Bell, et al are young rookies. I'd like to see a veteran, but the pickings are slim. Perhaps Levi Jones hasn't been signed for injury reasons, I don't know. But if there was ever a time to find one, it's now. I don't see Butler holding up the entire season.

I think too much was made out of the comment. LW has played the majority of his career, all of the past three seasons at RT. And now he's being switched to the other side. The Bills will give him help, and yes I would have loved to see him drop some weight. But the team told him he was playing there, and I don't fault him if he was indeed frustrated. If the OL doesn't get off to a good start, it won't matter who's playing QB, RB, or WR.

Be careful with the bolded statement. The Bills OL is a work in progress after three seasons of rebuilding. People have been saying they'll get better for most of this decade. The objective when you rebuild is to not have to rebuild anymore. You don't trade established (and yes, even talented) veterans for draft picks and hope to field a good team. Younger, in most cases means not as good. Someone will go out and cite the Ryan Clady's, Matt Ryan's, and Joe Flacco's of the league, but they remain the exception. If the OL is bad or below average, it's going to be a long season.

IIRC, there were two dissenting votes within the inner circle against retaining DJ after the season finale. I'm guessing Modrak and Brandon wanted the guy gone, with the most important votes, RW and Littman, electing to keep the recently extended DJ. Brandon's been marketing this team for a decade and knew he couldn't attain the same season ticket levels without a drawing card. I still believe he was the impetus to signing TO, and pitched the idea to RW and Littman, who both concurred. It was a indeed a brilliant marketing move in the wake of a lousy (from a marketing perspective) start to the off-season. I still can't believe TO is here, and here's to hoping he keeps the fans excited in the regular season. Brandon deserves credit especially for finding someone who won't be the Kelsay/Royal/DJ soundbite that we've been hearing for three years running.

Record wise, Bills history shows there were some bad teams in the late sixties, seventies, and mid eighties. The difference is back then, I'm sure fans knew the teams weren't good going into the season. Now, we have teams with talent that somehow continue to ride the line of mediocrity with the same front office and HC. It's one thing to be bad and know it. But knowing there's talent there and still falling short of .500 remains maddening to me.

I've had season tickets since 2007, the first season after I got out of the Army. For the record, I'm not alleging that going to games makes one a bigger fan, but I do know that seeing them lose in person is hard to take. The DAL and CLE MNF games, the 2007 DEN Opener, the losses last year to SF, et al. have made it challenging as a Bills fan. I don't need a SB win each season, but I've seen more symbolism than substance in recent years. At some point the talk needs to end and the team needs to get into the playoffs. I've followed the team since '88, but I'm not going to rubber stamp all of their moves and buy into the hype this team has been selling for many years. There is no substitute for victory. I've only been around for 2.5 years now on TBD. And I'd agree the caliber of posters has gone steadily down hill in that time. At the same time, I've seen some solid posters depart and I have to assume it's the personal attacks. Resorting to name calling is unacceptable. Still, alleging someone is a troll because they don't blindly agree with everything the front office does is not enough. Accusations are serious enough and not having proof is wrong.

This is the heart of the issue for me. Teams with capable and savvy front office management like IND, PIT, NYG, and yes, even NE, always seem to be in the playoffs. Meanwhile, clubs such as BUF, OAK, CIN, and DET aren't. The Bills have not changed many of the same people who were around when TD was there-four seasons ago. And yet, a few players are added, a new coach comes in, and voila, we're led to believe change has taken place and success is imminent. In fact, it's still the same people calling the shots. Alas, the posters who don't go for this re-wrapping are attacked for not being positive enough. I'm one of them and I simply don't care. If the Bills had a track record of making the playoffs every other year or getting to a conference title game I wouldn't be as pessimistic. Then again, most fans aren't paying attention to how other clubs are run, and why they're successful. Nine years without a playoff appearance will make fans who demand accountability like that.

It's important to remember what was going on in early March. The Bills did very little that first week of UFA, and after Coles opted to sign with Cincinnati, it appeared they'd do nothing noteworthy. DJ was returning, the team added no one in UFA worthy of exciting fans, and Peters had not been traded yet. The idea many fans had here thinking the team would make a "splash" to show they were determined to improve from 08 was put to rest. Owens' release from Dallas occurred on 3/4 and he didn't sign with Buffalo until three days later. It was a great signing for the short term and undoubtedly will help the marketing of Buffalo. But I still don't think John Guy was behind this move. This thing happened at the highest level, probably Brandon who recognized marketing this team would remain a challenge with DJ back in the fold, not to mention continued failure on the field. That's speculation, but I think reasonable to assume.

It certainly wasn't predictbale that Buffalo would sign TO, but go back to late February/early March. The Bills were coming off another 7-9 season, retained DJ (while other teams axed coaches), and had just lost out on signing Laveranues Coles. Their lone UFA signings were a backup QB, former backup C, and a recently released DB. Needless to say, things weren't great in Bills land. The TO signing was great for both the team and marketing people. Time will tell how he does on the field, but he's given the franchise a shot in the arm. Buffalo had to do something in light of all the bad moments in the recent past.

This scenario is somewhat reminiscent of mid 2006 when Peters was moved from RT to LT. Now, the Bills are moving another former RT to LT and hoping it works. This time, the man forced to transition into the most difficult position on the OL doesn't have the strength or athleticism as his predecessor did.

Based on what? All those snaps he's getting in training camp? This is another situation where the fans and team are hoping that an untested player can contribute. Bell is being hyped as a guy with plenty of potential, but that just means he ain't done anything yet. When I look at the pass rushers coming from the right this year (Freeney, M. Williams, J. Porter 2x, Ad. Thomas 2x, Abraham, Peppers, et al) it should scare even the most casual uninformed fan. This is year four of a rebuild that is hopefully (there's that word again) close to getting this team to a playoff berth. And we're talking about the most important position on the OL relying on a guy who hasn't taken a NFL snap and another expected to change jobs after 7 seasons in the league. Wow.

But Schobel wasn't marginalized by the front office for demonstrating he was serious about sitting out.

I can't remember the last time a Bills team didn't play close to the vest type football. And it says a lot when a man (Schonert) who's been in the league for more than 20 years as a coach and player can't develop a counterpunch offensively. IMO, either Schonert is all bluster, or DJ's game-plan is overruling TS' offensive intent. Either way, the lack of trust in players, and the Bills have some on both sides at the skill positions, should not be as prevalent anymore. If only it could have been that way after that 5-1 start.

Schobel skipped mini-camp two years ago after Kelsay signed his 4yr 23M deal. Coincidentally, this came after a Pro Bowl season and he got his extension. Buffalo handles each player a little differently, although Schobel and Evans' extensions came after many months of negotiations.

Forget it with The Swimmer...he'll continue his anti-Peters crusade ad nauseam. Don't ever forget that the Peters' trade was in essence a salary dump. They take the cap hit for this season but don't pay the salary. It's music to RW's ears. Fans will learn in due time that hoping a Walker, Chambers, or Bell could play well at the position was a poor plan.