Debbie Downers Empowered By WGR550 Afternoon Drive

[ngbills]

I treat the team like I did my teammates, friends or family. 

 

I will defend them at all cost against the opposition, attack or whatever.

 

But internally we keep it real. Your not pulling your weight I will let you know. Make a bad decision you will be on notice. If a change needs to be made we better get on board. 

 

Thats how I enjoy being a fan. On game day I am always rooting for my team. In the offseason I am hoping the can sign or trade for guys that help the team. But I dont just go along blindly. If I dont like a move the team make I enjoy discussing and debating it. That doesn't mean I am not a fan of the team anymore. Others rather just completely cheer for everything. Every coach or player on the team now is the greatest, every coach ore player that left is the worst. Not my style. 

[stony]

3 hours ago, RyanC883 said:

not sure that karma will catch the Pats***, but Ed Oliver will catch Brady and end the dynasty as Brady gets happy feet and throws too many INT's to Milano covering slow Gronk.  

 

Meanwhile, Allen puts up a all-pro year. 

 

I don't live in Buffalo, so I can't listen to this show, but WTF.  Of course Allen could have a worse season.  That happens, then Barkely plays.  More likely is that he has a better season.  And how on earth do we have a worse WR group this year???   Do they drink/do drugs while doing this show???

No.  But the callers?  Highly probable.  

[SoTier]

On 3/17/2019 at 12:23 PM, theRalph said:

For all it's faults, the NFL has certainly made the offseason nearly as exciting as fall Sundays. We now have superb awareness of the machinations of the league in March and April. And most Bills' fans are, I believe, very impressed with the free agent class. Many, like me, have already developed a confidence and trust in the McBeane braintrust. Can't wait for the draft!

 

But the Debbie Downer Syndrome (DDS...which, like the dental reference, causes fear and pain) is still rampant with a group of fans, as well as with the afternoon drive personalities fielded by WGR550. If I hear once more that Josh Allen could be horrible next season, or that the wide receiver group is worse than last season, or that we really haven't improved the line.....

 

I attribute this negative way of thinking about the team, in part, to the hangover of drought effects. I mean c'mon....even the national media is warming to the Bills' offseason. But when you are a radio personality and feel the need to constantly cover your ass because the team has disappointed in past years, I turn you off. And when you DDS sufferers post here...you will get slammed, like the one thread I just read. The OP had to turn off the comments lol.

 

Take heart Bills Nation. It's OK, I promise, to have great hopes for the season.  The Patriots are done. The end of the dynasty has arrived...not because Brady or Belicheat are retiring, not because of natural timing/cycles, or not even because of a sinkhole developing under Gillette Stadium. It because KARMA will throttle this team after their disgusting, bordering on sub-human owner got caught with his pants down enabling human trafficking. He will spin in the wind and you may join me in pointing and laughing. At him, and then his team.

 

Out.

 

-theRalph

 

 

 

Sorry, dude, but it's NOT the media's job to be a cheerleader for any sports franchise, although in the Buffalo market, some media outlets have embraced cheerleading and dispensed with honesty.  The incompetence of the Bills organization in this century is what has made many fans and media commentators into skeptics.  The reality is that the Bills have only had 3 winning seasons -- 2004, 2014, and 2017 -- and 13 losing seasons in the past 19.  They have not won 10 or more games in a single season since they went 11-5 in 1999.  They have only made the playoffs once since 1999, too, and they have not won a playoff game since 1995 (23 seasons).   You can put as much lipstick as you want on that pig but it doesn't make it any prettier.

 

As for "ending" the drought, while that's technically true -- and I'm happy for the players like Kyle Williams and Eric Wood who had an opportunity to play in a playoff game at least once in their careers -- there's no indication that the Bills are any closer to building a team that makes the playoffs more than once every twenty years than they were when they went 9-7 in 2004 or 2014.  The reality is that they snuck into the playoffs by winning an OT game in a snowstorm and getting lucky when Andy Dalton made a miracle play on 4th down, and, true to form, they then returned to their losing ways  in 2018. 

 

At present, all Bills fans have is hope that maybe this Bills will be different from its predecessors, but we've been down this road again and again -- including drafting QBs in the first round and making what look like quality FA signings on paper -- over the last quarter century.  You can buy into the latest hype from OBD and tell yourself things are looking up if you want, but knock off the whining about the media and other fans being skeptical.

 

Edited March 18, 2019 by SoTier

[Chandler#81]

On 3/17/2019 at 2:03 PM, thenorthremembers said:

I've always hated this argument.  At want point does "playing the sport" qualify your opinion as worthy?  Lots of guys are here talking about sports they didn't play professionally.  Where does it start and end?  Do you have to play in college or high school for your opinion to count?  Is middle school enough?  It's baseless.  If you want to use that argument some one needs to quantify what it means so we know who we should or should not be listening to.

 

Fair enough, and of course you’re right.

But..

 when you read ever-sniping editorials or columns by Jerry Sullivan eg., then see his scrawnyazz on tv, if you’re 1st reaction isn’t to laugh and think ‘he was obviously the last kid taken in every pick up game his youth neighborhood played who now makes a career at the typewriter crushing the jocks’, you’re not being honest with yourself. It’s as old as sports itself.

[BADOLBILZ]

19 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

Sorry, dude, but it's NOT the media's job to be a cheerleader for any sports franchise, although in the Buffalo market, some media outlets have embraced cheerleading and dispensed with honesty.  The incompetence of the Bills organization in this century is what has made many fans and media commentators into skeptics.  The reality is that the Bills have only had 3 winning seasons -- 2004, 2014, and 2017 -- and 13 losing seasons in the past 19.  They have not won 10 or more games in a single season since they went 11-5 in 1999.  They have only made the playoffs once since 1999, too, and they have not won a playoff game since 1995 (23 seasons).   You can put as much lipstick as you want on that pig but it doesn't make it any prettier.

 

As for "ending" the drought, while that's technically true -- and I'm happy for the players like Kyle Williams and Eric Wood who had an opportunity to play in a playoff game at least once in their careers -- there's no indication that the Bills are any closer to building a team that makes the playoffs more than once every twenty years than they were when they went 9-7 in 2004 or 2014.  The reality is that they snuck into the playoffs by winning an OT game in a snowstorm and getting lucky when Andy Dalton made a miracle play on 4th down, and, true to form, they then returned to their losing ways  in 2018. 

 

At present, all Bills fans have is hope that maybe this Bills will be different from its predecessors, but we've been down this road again and again -- including drafting QBs in the first round and making what look like quality FA signings on paper -- over the last quarter century.  You can buy into the latest hype from OBD and tell yourself things are looking up if you want, but knock off the whining about the media and other fans being skeptical.

 

 

 

I agree with everything except I think the effort made to acquire Josh Allen is unique in Bills history.

 

Yes.........they've drafted QB's in round one..........but they haven't been "all-in" on a QB on draft day EVER until they were with Allen.

 

That includes Jim Kelly........whom they chose with their second first round pick in 1983.   Decades later Norm Pollom claimed their choice was going to be either Kelly or Marino so they decided they could wait a pick and take whoever was left if one was gone......how convenient!   The Billsy reality is that the choice was probably Kelly 1A and Tony Eason 1B and they were just hoping someone would jump ahead and make the decision for them.

 

Josh Allen is the guy that makes it feel like they might be able to string some success together.

 

Whether that happens.........and whether McDermott and Beane are the beneficiaries or just become the Pollom and Kay Stephenson of the equation remains to be seen.

 

You are spot on though.........the organization has earned the skepticism.    The burden of proof is on them.    

 

It starts with ownership and ownership is on their 3rd HC already.   Criticism of HC/GM is really less about a couple individual employees who will disappear without even saying goodbye if they are fired and more about us letting the ownership know what we think about the direction of the organization.  

 

[LSHMEAB]

22 hours ago, Albany,n.y. said:

Following you logic, Beane will never be a great GM like John Elway is.  

This is absolutely spot on.

 

I've actually never listened to the show as I've never lived in Buffalo, but the notion that athletes are better analysts is a lazy take. There are NUMEROUS non athletes that provide better analysis than the average athlete. 

 

This is to say nothing about WGR. Just that particular take.

[ngbills]

44 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

Sorry, dude, but it's NOT the media's job to be a cheerleader for any sports franchise, although in the Buffalo market, some media outlets have embraced cheerleading and dispensed with honesty.  The incompetence of the Bills organization in this century is what has made many fans and media commentators into skeptics.  The reality is that the Bills have only had 3 winning seasons -- 2004, 2014, and 2017 -- and 13 losing seasons in the past 19.  They have not won 10 or more games in a single season since they went 11-5 in 1999.  They have only made the playoffs once since 1999, too, and they have not won a playoff game since 1995 (23 seasons).   You can put as much lipstick as you want on that pig but it doesn't make it any prettier.

 

As for "ending" the drought, while that's technically true -- and I'm happy for the players like Kyle Williams and Eric Wood who had an opportunity to play in a playoff game at least once in their careers -- there's no indication that the Bills are any closer to building a team that makes the playoffs more than once every twenty years than they were when they went 9-7 in 2004 or 2014.  The reality is that they snuck into the playoffs by winning an OT game in a snowstorm and getting lucky when Andy Dalton made a miracle play on 4th down, and, true to form, they then returned to their losing ways  in 2018. 

 

At present, all Bills fans have is hope that maybe this Bills will be different from its predecessors, but we've been down this road again and again -- including drafting QBs in the first round and making what look like quality FA signings on paper -- over the last quarter century.  You can buy into the latest hype from OBD and tell yourself things are looking up if you want, but knock off the whining about the media and other fans being skeptical.

 

Fact in point - the year after making the playoffs the roster was further blown up and the team was not even close to a playoff contender. If Allen pans out and the roster shores up around him maybe they are a perennial playoff team. But reality at this point is until further evidence it is the same boat as many other years. If only Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe, JP Losman, Trent Edwards, Fitz, EJ, Tyrod and now Allen. Truth is there was "hope" with all of those guys at some point. The Bills traded a 1st for Bloedsoe. They traded a first for Johnson. Both Fitz and Tyrod were both given big contract extensions. JP and EJ were drafted to be the guy like Allen was. 

[GunnerBill]

I tend to place less weight on the views of fans who see every move as a positive or every move as a negative and we have some of each here. 

 

Saying "that move sucks because the Bills made it and I know the Bills suck" is no better than saying "I love this move because the Bills made it and I am a Bills fan." 

 

The most interesting posters are always the ones that have produced reasoned and nuanced thought in regards to a move or a collection of moves - even if they end up having had the wrong take on them. What makes the debate interesting is the people who have thought their opinion through before forming it. 

 

Luckily we have more regular posters on this board in that final category than either of the two former categories. 

[ngbills]

15 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I agree with everything except I think the effort made to acquire Josh Allen is unique in Bills history.

 

Yes.........they've drafted QB's in round one..........but they haven't been "all-in" on a QB on draft day EVER until they were with Allen.

 

That includes Jim Kelly........whom they chose with their second first round pick in 1983.   Decades later Norm Pollom claimed their choice was going to be either Kelly or Marino so they decided they could wait a pick and take whoever was left if one was gone......how convenient!   The Billsy reality is that the choice was probably Kelly 1A and Tony Eason 1B and they were just hoping someone would jump ahead and make the decision for them.

 

Josh Allen is the guy that makes it feel like they might be able to string some success together.

 

Whether that happens.........and whether McDermott and Beane are the beneficiaries or just become the Pollom and Kay Stephenson of the equation remains to be seen.

 

You are spot on though.........the organization has earned the skepticism.    The burden of proof is on them.    

 

It starts with ownership and ownership is on their 3rd HC already.   Criticism of HC/GM is really less about a couple individual employees who will disappear without even saying goodbye if they are fired and more about us letting the ownership know what we think about the direction of the organization.  

 

How is Allen "all in" unlike others? I would say that if he was the first QB taken in the draft...which EJ actually was. 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, SoTier said:

 

Sorry, dude, but it's NOT the media's job to be a cheerleader for any sports franchise

 

 

And yet there's the Patriots.

[stony]

2 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

And yet there's the Patriots.

I think it's been so long we forget the most prominent ESPN NFL personality of the last 25 years used to accept invitations on-air to party at Jim's house after games.  

[PromoTheRobot]

4 minutes ago, stony said:

I think it's been so long we forget the most prominent ESPN NFL personality of the last 25 years used to accept invitations on-air to party at Jim's house after games.  

 

True.

[SoTier]

21 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

And yet there's the Patriots.

 

15 minutes ago, stony said:

I think it's been so long we forget the most prominent ESPN NFL personality of the last 25 years used to accept invitations on-air to party at Jim's house after games.  

 

That some individuals or organizations in the media take on cheerleader roles for specific teams doesn't mean that that's what they're supposed to do.

[oldmanfan]

It is not the job of commentators to be cheerleaders for the team in their town.  It is also not their job to be reflexively negative about every single thing the team does.  I listen on line to the morning guys on WGR and they certainly tend towards the latter.  And I listened a couple times to the afternoon guys and gave up when they kept hanging up on callers instead of engaging in dialog.

[Albany,n.y.]

15 hours ago, K-GunJimKelly12 said:

Sorry for insulting your son Mrs. White.  Last I recall John Elway has a Super Bowl as an executive and while I am a Beane fan, he has done pretty much nothing in the NFL, so this comparison makes you look foolish. 

 

You obviously missed the point though.  You can be a very good/great athlete without playing in the pros.  I can pretty much guarantee you that guys like White, Simon and Schopp, were never better than average (and that is stretching it) at any sport at any level.  They are stats nerds that don't understand the nuances of the games they talk about.  There is nothing wrong with that unless you act like you know more than everyone else, which they do.

 

Jeremy White for example was on Twitter 3 months ago trying to pick fights Sabres fans by rubbing it on their faces how right he was about the tank.  How'd that turn out?

 

The knowledgeable fans on this board and the knowledgeable fans at hockey's future, are far more informed and knowledgeable about football and hockey than the guys at WGR save Sal.  It is not close.  

I get your point, Al Bundy.  It was stupid the 1st time you tried it out & your defense is just as stupid.  You think because you scored the winning TD at Polk High you have a lifetime pass that says you know more about sports than the people who weren't once star athletes.  Now go throw the ball around in your back yard after you get home from the shoe store.  

[stony]

16 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

 

That some individuals or organizations in the media take on cheerleader roles for specific teams doesn't mean that that's what they're supposed to do.

Yeah, but it was freaking awesome when Jim asked Boomer to party.  

[SoTier]

2 hours ago, ngbills said:

I treat the team like I did my teammates, friends or family. 

 

I will defend them at all cost against the opposition, attack or whatever.

 

But internally we keep it real. Your not pulling your weight I will let you know. Make a bad decision you will be on notice. If a change needs to be made we better get on board. 

 

Thats how I enjoy being a fan. On game day I am always rooting for my team. In the offseason I am hoping the can sign or trade for guys that help the team. But I dont just go along blindly. If I dont like a move the team make I enjoy discussing and debating it. That doesn't mean I am not a fan of the team anymore. Others rather just completely cheer for everything. Every coach or player on the team now is the greatest, every coach ore player that left is the worst. Not my style. 

 

This is exactly how I feel.  I haven't said too much about the new FA signings because while they look good on paper, we won't know if they're duds or studs until probably October or November.  They should be an upgrade simply because last year's offense was so lacking in talent but we won't know until the games are played.

 

I criticize the moves that I think the Bills made that are wrong-headed or short-sighted BECAUSE I am a fan who cares about the team.

 

1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said:

 

Fair enough, and of course you’re right.

But..

 when you read ever-sniping editorials or columns by Jerry Sullivan eg., then see his scrawnyazz on tv, if you’re 1st reaction isn’t to laugh and think ‘he was obviously the last kid taken in every pick up game his youth neighborhood played who now makes a career at the typewriter crushing the jocks’, you’re not being honest with yourself. It’s as old as sports itself.

 

When I was a still true believer I used to get angry at what he wrote but as the Bills' losing years turned into losing decades, I found that his criticisms were justified far more than my perpetual optimism about Bills moves.

[Guest K-GunJimKelly12]

3 minutes ago, Albany,n.y. said:

I get your point, Al Bundy.  It was stupid the 1st time you tried it out & your defense is just as stupid.  You think because you scored the winning TD at Polk High you have a lifetime pass that says you know more about sports than the people who weren't once star athletes.  Now go throw the ball around in your back yard after you get home from the shoe store.  

Not only was it the winning TD, it was four 4 TD's in a single game.  Believe whatever you want, imo most of the guys at WGR offer no more insight then than the average fan.  There are several people on this board who I find far more enlightening and help me understand the game better then anyone on WGR.  They are condescending to callers and act like they know more than everyone else because they think reading the advance stats box (which are somewhat subjective) are all encompassing. 

[Albany,n.y.]

2 minutes ago, K-GunJimKelly12 said:

Not only was it the winning TD, it was four 4 TD's in a single game.  Believe whatever you want, imo most of the guys at WGR offer no more insight then than the average fan.  There are several people on this board who I find far more enlightening and help me understand the game better then anyone on WGR.  They are condescending to callers and act like they know more than everyone else because they think reading the advance stats box (which are somewhat subjective) are all encompassing. 

I have my share of criticism for the WGR guys, but I doubt it has anything to do with their athletic background.  More likely, it's the fact that they can't get into a bigger media market due to their limited abilities in their current profession so we're not getting the best of the best.  Just the other day, Chris Brown was taking Tasker's place on One Bills Live and said something that showed he didn't understand the rules of a restricted free agent tender.  Even Murphy didn't correct him.  The bottom line is these guys aren't very good.  It gets worse on Saturdays and the post-post game shows where guys who are barely making above minimum wage are WGR's on air personalities.  You get what you pay for, and except for the headliners, I'm sure WGR isn't paying much.  It reminds me of the backup weather people on TV in Albany.  Most of them give up and move on to other professions because they can't afford to support themselves and/or their families on a backup weather person's salary.  One time I was in a real estate class and a former TV weatherman was in there having moved on to the real estate profession. 

[mcdamit]

joe b filled in for Tasker today and he was much better then anything else on the station 

Edited March 19, 2019 by mcdamit