Bleed Bills Blue Posted August 28, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 How would Chuck Norris respond to a kick in the face? How would Stalone respond to a kick in the face? How would Arnold respond to a kick in the face? How would Michael Phelps respond to a kick in the face? How would Trent Edwards respond to a kick in the face? How would Batman respond to a kick in the face? How would an Olympic taekwondo referee respond to a kick in the face? http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,409525,00.html
BillsVet Posted August 28, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 There are few things working against the bills: 1) Ralph won't spend $$ at the levels other teams will, which prevents the assembling of the top top talent, to some extent players but especially coaches and front office people that other teams have 2) the Bills now have a reputation as low payers, plus the area has a so so rep with many players and coaches therefore many players and coaches will go elsewhere everything else being equal .... therefore, the Bills need to be built mainly through the draft and by being diligent in grabbing every decent free agent or coach they can afford 3) the bills play in AFC East, which is normally loaded, having franchises not burdened by 1 and 2 above. Players and coaches love NE, Miami and NYC... The greatest difference between good and bad franchises is a front office. Good teams are built by good front offices that draft, use FA effectively, and hire the right HC. After that, deciding which players to retain (not all can be) is a crucial requirement to keeping a team out of cap problems. I think right now in no particular order, Pioli, AJ Smith, and Polian are the three best GM types in the league. They've all maintained a high level of play for their franchises over the last 5 or more seasons. I really wish the Bills had hired a true GM, but realize Ralph wanted someone he could trust to keep costs down and deliver a team that could be moderately competitive. I think he's been scarred by the Donahoe experience, and rightly so. Thus, the Bills will maintain the front office in its current form unless the team is terrible, which I don't think it will be this year.
eball Posted August 28, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 The greatest difference between good and bad franchises is a front office. Good teams are built by good front offices that draft, use FA effectively, and hire the right HC. After that, deciding which players to retain (not all can be) is a crucial requirement to keeping a team out of cap problems. I think right now in no particular order, Pioli, AJ Smith, and Polian are the three best GM types in the league. They've all maintained a high level of play for their franchises over the last 5 or more seasons. I really wish the Bills had hired a true GM, but realize Ralph wanted someone he could trust to keep costs down and deliver a team that could be moderately competitive. I think he's been scarred by the Donahoe experience, and rightly so. Thus, the Bills will maintain the front office in its current form unless the team is terrible, which I don't think it will be this year. Why is it that some of you seem to think you know exactly what is in Ralph's head? This is a competitive, driven SOB -- you think his goal for the Bills is to be "moderately competitive?" Have you seen him in the press box on gamedays? The man played competitive tennis into his 80s, for crissake. Ridiculousness. Nobody knows whether or not the Bills' strategy of sharing responsibilities, rather than hiring one "true" GM, will be successful. I'd say they've started out pretty well in their first year. Key acquisitions through FA and a trade, all draft picks signed, sealed, and delivered -- the only negative is the Peters situation (which most believe is not their fault).
Sisyphean Bills Posted August 28, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 Have you ever listen to Wilson talk- he never talks about Superbowls or even playoffs he just hopes the team can be competitive - which I read as just good enough to keep fannies in the seats- Buffalo caught lightning in a bottle with Bill Polian for a while but the overall history of the Bills 341-373 -8 is a little under .500 It's cold and hard, but it's also true.
jimmy griffin Posted August 28, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 indeed the bills have added players and more fiber. their top picks have panned out and they have depth. their FA guys have also panned out (royal, walker, dockery). they still dont have as much talent as NE. and i think the jets will surprise peoople. miami's defense will be active adn fast and their offense steady with chad pennington adn ricky williams and ted ginn. they also have good special teams. we still can't compete with the best. the dallas game last season proved that. we are not much better than that this year. Leonis will not start -- he is a better returner than corner (he looks lost most of the time and seems to have trouble tackling and reading plays). wittner is undersized and was drafted to high (jacobs of the NYG ran past him and danote was scared to try to tackle him -- at home, that was pathetic). all in all, lynch and edwards and the OL seems imporved. the peters loss hurts. the loss stands out b/k he and morman are the only pro bowlers the club has had in 10 yrs. dallas had about 13 pro bowlers. on paper, slightly better. 9-7 record IMO. What RJ said. Seriously, though, how a Bills' fan could not be at least somewhat optimistic about this season, looking at the roster compared to what the Bills trotted out a mere three years ago, is beyond me. There are the makings of three very solid units, with a decent amount of depth. When I survey the AFC, I don't see the three top teams from a year ago getting "better" -- the Pats* and Colts seem down defensively, while the Chargers have some injury issues (and I'm still not sold on Rivers). Throw the rest of the teams into a bag and shake them up -- there's no reason Buffalo can't emerge as a playoff team, given their schedule and improved roster. No other AFC team, on paper, looks that much better than the Bills when comparing all three units. This is THE time of year to be optimistic.
Guest dog14787 Posted August 28, 2008 Posted August 28, 2008 Maybe it's that my wellbutrin hasn't fully kicked in, but I just can't help feel bummed out about yet another football season. I used to look forward to it. The past decade has been kick in the face after kick in the face. I know teams go through cycles and you can't win all the time, but it just seems like this team is content to be about 6-10 to 8-8 every year. Just good enough to fill the stands. Somebody convince me that if not this year at least SOME year. You must have listened to Wiley last night huh? forget what the media is saying. Sit back and enjoy this year, everything is going to be just fine. Tom Brady? Brett Favre? The Patriot's domination will soon be over and Favre is ancient, so stop worrying already, geeesh
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