BetweenThePipes00

Funny I can't ever remember arguing with you ... but then I am getting old ...

I am sorry I missed that one, I should have come back as soon as Darcy was let go ... especially given all the time I could have spent posting while sitting at the rink while my son was on the ice. He has become quite the rink rat. I suspect I would have sided with the defense as well, I think Pegula has just been an owner ... not with the results we wanted yet but nothing insane. Granted, I have no inside details of the LaFontaine departure, but if Murray is the right guy, then LaFontaine did a good job and I thank him for his work. See this is the kind of insight I came back for. Can't get this just anywhere, folks. I've looked.

It is an important year. While Shrader is of course right, we shouldn't crucify or cannonize him too soon, what he does this offseason could very well make the difference between getting it right like the Blackhawks/Pens/Avs or dragging this out like the Thrashers/Oliers/Panthers.

Yup ... and I am cautiously optimisitc that we have someone now who will pick the right guys ... or trade for the right guys ... or whatever it takes. I was always a defender of Lindy but much less so of Darcy. I feel pretty good about Murray. I am not sold on Nolan as the coach for when they (hopefully) are contenders again, but we'll see who he brings in on the staff and cross that bridge when we come to it.

First post since 2011 ... nothing much has happened, right? Looking around I still see many familiar names, which is great. I have been meaning to come back since Murray came on board but haven't had much of a chance ... rest assured I've watched every aghonizing minute on the ice ... So where do we stand? X., eleven, Tom Webster, Ink, Taro, Spndnchz, d4rksabre ... Is AudSmell still around? I am looking at you ... talk to me. Optimistic? Same old, same old? (Forgot shrader ... how did I forget shrader?) Have to update that avatar ...

If they could do that and essentially swap Evans for Wayne that would be nice but I would be stunned.

NFL players have longer memories than I thought. I guess if he could play more than half the defensive snaps he'd be seventh or eighth then ... <_<

I think it might anger the football gods if I used the power for evil and it could backfire. I've considered this many times because a friend of mine has a far worse jersey curse ... he ended the careers of both Bo Jackson and Napolean McCallum and takes some of the blame for the Oilers moving from Houston. He also bought a Reggie Lewis Celtics jersey for someone. Reggie Lewis DIED. I am not messing with that.

I am tempted but also very very very gun-shy about getting a current player Bills jersey. I got a nice old white Thurman Thomas on eBay sometime in the offseason and they are 3-0 ... so for one thing, I don't want to change the luck. But more importantly, the last two times I got current guys I was a horrible jinx. I got a Bledsoe before the 2004 opener and they lost on the last play my first game wearing it ... and missed the playoffs a result. Then I got a Losman throwback before the 2007 opener (coming off a decent 2006 for him and the throwbacks were new) and again they lost on the last play to Denver and Losman tanked. I do not want it on my conscience is Fitz comes back to Earth. I will, however, be getting my 3-year old the Fred Jackson jersey he wants.

I believe the Bills made a REGIONAL cover ... so the Lions may be in the same boat in their region ...

It'z a good point, although the way the preseqson is going he'd be making videos 20 hours a day. I guess it is not practical to expect this for every possible borderline hit, but at least he is showing he is accountable and willing to explain.

I'll tell you what, Shanahan will certainly never make everyone happy with his rulings, especially since they involve big changes ... but I think it is OUTSTANDING (and unbelievable, frankly) that he is doing these videos and telling exactly why he ruled a certain way. No more secrets, no more mystery, no more guessing why one guy got more than another. Again, I am sure there will be times we disagree with him, but it's already a major improvement.

That game was definitely NOT on TV in Buffalo ... I remember being huddled around the radio listening to it. Week 2 vs. the Jets was also blacked out ... in fact several games later that season were still blacked out even though they were going good ... I know the Raiders and Steelers games sold out in time to be on TV, and maybe the Pats (not sure because I was at that one), but I remember the same drill of hanging on Van Miller's every word on the radio for the Falcons and Rams games. Such a different time back then ... to see a home game on TV was a MAJOR story, now it is a major thing if you CAN'T see it.

"You're the best ... around ... nothin's gonna ever keep ya down!" (if you need a youtube clip to sing along, well, you're not going to get the joke anyway.)

Hey McKelvin can suck equally against healthy or depleted reseiving corps ;)

With the talk of suicide, autism and such on this thread, this really barely registers as a complaint ... but it is what it is ... I am a pretty lucky guy. We are scheduled to get the whole-house DVR thing from DirecTV on Monday ... which is great, but I also have to pull all the stuff recorded on the current DVRs and put what we want to save on DVDs ... also no big deal on the surface. However ... my 3-year old son LOVES him some Handy Manny ... I have already filled SEVEN four-hour DVDs and just started on the eighth, which will also be just about full by the time I am done. For those scoring at home, yes, that means by this afternoon I will have spent 32 hours of my life working with Handy Manny in the background over the last couple weeks. And the ridiculous thing is that I know there is no way he will ever watch them all, because he only watches it for like a half hour a night after his bath and before bed. I suppose they will come in handy (ugh, no pun intended, I am losing it) if we ever go on a long car trip ...

Yes, really. Do you think Jacksonville was thinking playoffs when they cut Garrard, or do you think they were trying to save cash? What's the difference? Again, I am not defending Evans as some sort of superstar, I acknowledge he was overpaid. But if you take the money out of it, which is what you are doing if you say it was a "football decision," he was the best deep threat they had and can still be a valuable weapon on a good offense. Obviously Baltimore's braintrust thinks so, and their track record is better than Buffalo's at this point.

All that is probably true, Evans is a bit of a one-trick pony. But 2/3 of the guys on this team are NO trick ponies ... they do NOTHING as well as Lee Evans beats DBs deep. At least Evans did SOMETHING well. IMO, it's up to the coach to take advantage of it. I'm not saying they need to keep him around forever, but i would kill for Demetrius Bell to be one-dimensional. He's not even that and he still has a job. Kelsay is pretty much the defensive Lee Evans, true pro who doesn't fit the scheme ... why is he still around? Baltimore took Evans because good teams find a way to use guys who do something well. If the rest of the team was decent and they had a shot at the playoffs, the Bills do not move Evans, they use him for what he does well. But they know they suck, so why pay him? No matter how you slice it, it was to save money.

I don't think the Bills we be quite bad enough to get the first pick ... the guys who are on the team, mediocre as they may be, still seem to care and play hard for Gailey, and the schedule doesn't look as bad as last season at this point. They can win 4 or 5 again. But if they did get the first pick, the issue with Luck would not be money ... San Diego was willing to pay Eli Manning. The issue will be if he wants to take on the role of savior in Buffalo or if he would force them to trade him, probably to San Francisco so he can play for Harbaugh.

Ok, you need to make up your mind. Do you mean like maybe the flexibility to sign a FIVE-TIME PRO BOWL offensive lineman who was just cut? Something like that? Because yesterday you suggested I was just being blinded by a big name and "guys who can still play at a high level rarely get cut loose." So which is it? Are they dumping salary to be flexible and maybe improve? Or, as you stated yesterday, would that be dumb because guys who get cut can't play anyway? Either one is a fine argument, but you can't have both. I am all for saving money here and there if they are going to use to it get better when a veteran pops loose like you are saying today. But just yesterday, you told me that was not smart. So i am confused.

I agree, but the guy was in the Pro Bowl last year and was released because they could not agree on a re-worked deal to give them cap relief. Sorry, but I think he is better than Craig Urbik, who who has shown nothing to suggest he falls into the "tomorrows' pro bowlers" category. And he's certainly better than Hangartner as the backup to both the center and guard positions. I am not suggesting they sign him long-term like they did Merriman, but if he's better than what you have and maybe can show Eric Wood a thing or two about playing center, it's a good thing. Read the stories about his release ... the Cowboys players and O-line coach LOVE the guy.

On a serious Bills note, the Cowboys cut their Pro Bowl center Andre Gurode for cap reasons ... he has also played right guard ... even at 32 he would be a huge upgrade at RG or at least make the line better at center and Wood moving back to RG. Never happen, but they SHOULD be looking into it.

They need to pay Scott for the naming rights ...

Yeah well ... I doubt anything is that set in stone also, but you go back to 1995 and substitute "Cleveland" and/or "Browns" for "Buffalo" and "Bills" in your post and see what happens. Just sayin' ...

Actually Jones and Devlin were still the tackles in Wolford's rookie year of 1986, it was Wolford who played guard for one year ... then moved to LT in 1987. Devlin stayed at RT until Ballard moved him inside in 1989. Amazing how easy it is to remember when 40 of the 45 guys on the team were the same before free agency ...