cody

Didn't Ralph sign the coach to a fairly long contract only 2-3 months ago? Doesn't that mean he created a contract that this mythical new owner has to buy-out or be stuck with. As far as the new owner's finances are concerned, DJ's extention is the same as hiring someone else. It's still a guy that will get paid for the next few years.

The Bills have problems with numbers 1, 4 and 5. 3 & 7 could be just as bad. Who knows about 8 & 9. They have had many chances to deal with number 6, and have taken the easy way out every time. It's Buffalo, so you know #10 is out of the question. Let's face it, our only real hope is that Trent gets injured and the no-name QB that goes in to replace him turns out to be the next Brady or Romo.

That worked great with Fairchild

M. Lynch should do the Celino & Barnes commercials.

Not that I have any reason not to believe you, but I have yet to see this from a credible source. (Only posts on various message boards). I know the NFL allows teams to amortize signing bonuses, but I have not seen a rule that forces teams to amortize the bonuses. I am by no means an expert in the CBA, but I did not think the signing bonus language forced teams into amortization. Roster bonuses are not amortized. A team could sign a player on April 1 and give a roster bonus of 6 mil on April 2. If a team was using cash-to-the-cap to avoid amortization, they could use roster bonuses rather than signing bonuses (if signing bonuses must be amortized).

The Bills use cash-to-the-cap. Instead of amortizing the bonus, they took the hit for the entire 6 mil last year. No penalty if he is released. That is the one major competative benefit to cash-to-the-cap, no dead cap space.

I think the FO and staff should put more emphasis on the O & D. What the Bills do now with ST personel is okay. It is good to make sure your back-ups are good specialteamers. I have herd that the Bills spend 1/3 of their practice time on ST. That is way to much. ST units need to practice, but the O & D make up 75-80% of the game, and practice/film time should be allocated accordingly. Fix the O & D, but do not break ST in the process.

Hopefully he goes to the Jets and ends up not being as good of a HC as his father Bum Phillips > Wade Phillips Jim Mora > Jim Mora jr. Buddy Ryan > Rex Ryan

Madden should allow you to use cash-to-the-cap. Doesn't that sound like a fun game. Gamers could make thier own amortization schedules for signing bonuses. I'm sure it would double sales.

That's right. We should be able to cut any player signed or re-signed in the last 3 years with no cap hit.

If I could ask DJ one question, I'd ask: If it is so hard to win in the NFL, why do 1/2 the teams do it every week?

If I were Leftwhich's agent, Buffalo would be high on my list. The Bills back-up QB will probably start 4 games in '09.

That's why he's in the AFL hall of fame. The Hunts did more for the AFL than Ralph. I think the standard should be higher for an owner, than a player. Ralph has been a pro football team owner for almost 50 years, and has only one major accomplishment. That's like saying Desmond Howard should be in the hall because he was a superbowl MVP.

The average would be 50%. The Bills have had a winning record in 21 seasons. They finished below .500 25 times, and went 8-8, 3 times.

Ralph has owned the team for 49 years. How many winning seasons have the Bills had?

Ralph did some very importiant things for the AFL. That is why he is in the AFL hall of fame. I do not think many owners should be in the pro football hall of fame. If an AFL owner needs to be in the pro football hall of fame, it should be Hunt and/or Davis. With Ralph's overall winning %, and no Super Bowls wins, I do not think he deserves to be in the pro football hall of fame. But Ralph is a Buffalo Bill, therefore I voted that I would like to see him in the pro football hall of fame.

It's really to bad that politics is not fair. If NY State provided as much money to WNY as they did to NYC for a new stadium, one could probably be built. BTW, didn't NYS put up all of that $ for a stadium to attract the olympics? How is that going? As far as a retractable roof goes, doesn't the NFL have rules on when the roof must be closed? i.e. if the temperature is below 40 degrees or there is a 75% chance of rain.

I hear a lot of reporters talking about how 'together' the Bills are. How much they stick together, like eachother etc. If cohesion is the goal, doesn't that mean this is as good as it gets?

One of Jauron's problems is one of the same problems Mularkey had. Jauron thinks football is this complicated hard trial. To him, the only way to win is to out-think the other team. That's why the Bills do so many things that make us scratch our heads. The other team doesn't expect them either. Had Jackson caught NE by surprise by running up the middle and scored, DJ would have looked smart. Had JP caught the Jets by surpirse and thrown for a 1st down, DJ would have looked smart. The thing is, crap like that backfires more often than it works. Esspecially when a team doesn't seem capable of doing the simple things well. Mularkey didn't employ many tricks this year and had success. Maybe he learned his lesson or maybe he finally has players that he thinks can beat the other teams straight-up. As long as DJ thinks he needs to outsmart the other team, he will continue to cost the Bills wins.

Interesting concept. How long does it take a good team to complete this process? Training camp, a full season, 3 years? If a team fails to have any success in the 'forming' and 'storming' phases, can they really be expected to enter the 'norming' phase?

Why does everyone belive that without Ralph, the Bills would be gone? There are other NFL teams that have stayed in small markets for almost 50 years. If Ralph really wanted to ensure the Bills to stay in Buffalo, he'd sell the team now. If Ralph ever had legitimate opportunities to move the team, I'd bet there are dozens of reasons he decided against it. And his love for the city of Buffalo (where he never lived) was not one of them.

I do not think Ralph gets into the hall. Letters or no letters. His one major accomplishment was loaning $400,000 to the Raiders in order to keep the AFL going. He is already in the AFL hall of fame (according to wikipedia, I never knew there was such a thing) Other than that, he's owned a team that has been bad to average for 40 of its 50 years in existence. The IOU Ralph got from Al Davis should be in the hall. Ralph should be mentioned on displays and exhibits where appropriate. Ralph does not deserve a bust and a yellow sport coat. I do not think there are many owners who should be in the HOF

I know they get playoff checks. Are they paid by the NFL?

I have a better idea, let's hope the team goes 10-6. Makes it to the playoffs as a wildcard and go to the Superbowl. Then Ralph will have to pay playoff checks for 4 weeks and not have a home game to help cover the costs. That would really teach him.

Don't be so down. There are a few good things to take into '09. 1) you already know the Bills will go 7-9, so you do not need to be let down when they miss the play-offs. 2) There is nothing better to do on Sundays at 1pm than watch football. It's still fun to watch, and reffering to #1 will make '09 less stressful when the Bills screw up. 3) Going to a Bills game, win or lose, is still one of the most enjoyable experinces in sports. It's also very reasonably priced, compaired to other sporting events. 4) It will get better. Ralph will not own the team forever. When Adelphia went under, everyone thought the Sabers were gone. Galisano came in and the 4 years he's owned the team, they have made it to the conference finals twice. 5) It is the NFL and the phrase any given Sunday does apply. Trent could figure out how to beat the 3-4 and become a pro-bowler. Or Trent could get injured and the Bills could find that their late round/undrafted back-up QB is the next Tony Romo/Tom Brady.