Tell me about it...

The Buffalo Bills gave him a chance in the preseason.
He couldn't win the backup job over Tyler Thigpen.

Think about that for a moment...

Reports from around here are that he wasn't willing to put in the work to learn the playbook. That he was depending on 'natural talent' to carry him through...

Buffalo DOES have a long history of different waves of immigrants coming to Buffalo to make their homes. You can find food of ANY variety here. The "Taste of Buffalo" festival really does have to be experienced to be believed...

Not to mention the Olmstead Parks system, a variety of fine museums, a large number of architecturally stunning buildings, etc...

Just because Buffalo is an old city that has its best days behind it doesn't mean its filth encrusted rathole either. (Althought I will admit - there are sections of town that are approaching that. Then again - ANY metropolitan area has those kinds of neighborhoods.) There are plenty of nice places to live in Buffalo and WNY.

And as far as weather goes? Snow? Meh - we deal with it.
Sure we get an occasional lake effect doozy, but depending on where you live in WNY- you can go for weeks without having to worry about anything serious. I fired up the snowblower exactly twice this past winter, and most years its rare that I must snowblow more than about a dozen times a winter. And I KNOW that New England gets about that many significant snowfalls a year, so its not like they have an advantage over Buffalo there...

And no one ever seems the remember the positive of lake effect - Buffalo has some truly gloriously mild summers....

Look, every area has its hazards. Frankly, you couldn't pay me enough to want to deal with Boston traffic. There's a reason why t-shirt vendors sell "I survived Boston traffic" shirts there.

Having been given the choice - I chose to deal with a little snow occasionally than Boston traffic every day...

Actually -the way the Fitzptarick contract was built - it is actually fairly painless for the Bills to get out of it - should they choose. The problem is - it's not like there are any BETTER QBs wnating to go to Buffalo as a FA - and drafting a QB has always been a lottery (and the Bills seem to lose regularly)

10 million of it was a signing bonus applie to THIS year's cap. Think of it as a "Here's some money to get up closer to 'starting quarterback' salary for the past 2 years" payout.

There is very little guaranteed money except for injury guarantees. In fact - if they decide to cut him before March 7 - the Bills don't owe him squat...

~~~~~~~
The OTHER reason that RFP's performance fell off a cliff after he got his contract was that injuries mauled what little real talent the Bills had. The O line has been made from Jello since we lost Eric Wood. Left tackle has been a revolving door - never good. The concurrent weakening of protection changed game planning - forcing the Bills to a quick pass plan that made RFP's already rare deep ball practically nonexistant.

And frankly - the Bill's recieving corps simply isn't as good as it needs to be. Stevie Johnson is a very good WR - but is NOT a #1 WR - he drops too many balls in clutch situations. The bodies we THOUGHT we had to back him up got hammered onto IR - forcing us to lower and lower quality WRs - making it harder to get solid pass plays off.

And the Bills defense couldn't stop a cold. The pass rush is non- existant - making even medicocre QBs look like Pro bowlers... And the Run defense is worse. Other teams have pretty much been able to score onthe Bills - if not at will - at least fairly easily.

Which puts the Bills in incredibly bad position of having to try to make up points quickly - forcing them to the passing game.

Frankly - I don't think RFP is as terrible as most other people do. I happen to think he's a slightly above average NFL QB overall. He's smart, relatively athletic, and somewhat fearless - whcih is generally got. Sure he does have a limited arm - no doubt about it. But other NFL starters do too.

Persoanlly - I'd prefer if the Bills continued to improve their defense and picked up a SOLID receiver in the draft. RFP with a good defense could be a very dangerous combination.
(I'd also prefer if RFP took some of that 10 mill he got and hired a very good QB trainer to work on his throwing form and technique - to try to improve his long range in the offseason. But that's just me.. )

As a Bills fan, I can only say this...

If i were in L.A. - I wouldn't be getting my hopes up to get the Bills. Ralph Wilson may put a mediocre to crap product out on the field - but he is also one of the few owners who seems to think ahead when it comes to business. (note his objections to the old CBA, etc)

There's a fair number of whispers regarding a succession plan upon his demise. I would not at all be surprised to discover that upon his death - a plan unfolds that puts the team under a new owner with an agreement that it can't be moved for "x" number of years. Either that or it goes to Toronto as a "regional" team.

(I think the REAL reason there's no NFL team in Toronto yet is that so many NFL players would have legal problems at the border... Canada wouldn't let them in...)

Couple of things to remember.

1) Miami ALWAYS has a tough time in Buffalo. September, November - don't matter. Look at their record.

2) Buffalo usually has a strong opening game - even when they lose - it's almost always a hard fought game...

3) Chan Gailey (new head coach) is 2-0 on season openers. And if you don't think he's a HUGE improvement over Dick Jauron as far as offensive coaching is concerned...

4) There were preseason hints that Buffalo isn't nearly as bad as "everyone" thinks, and that the Dolphins aren't as good as "everyone" thinks.

5) *EVERYONE* has been down on the Bills this season. You think that's NOT going to fire up the team to leave it ALL out on the field? I'm certain that there is a bulletin board in Ralph Wilson Stadium that is covered with all the preseason predictions this year...

Now- am I saying the Bills are going to go to the Superbowl this year? No - I strongly doubt it. They've got a ways to go for that. But the Dolphins are defintely beatable - and I honestly think the Bills will do it.

(I have this amusing mental image. The Bills at the top of the AFC East for one glorious week. Bills beat Dolphins (doable). Bengals beat the Patriots (also doable). Ravens beat Jets (very doable, perhaps even likely). :D )

Really? For Heaven's sake - the season hasn't even started yet!

NOBODY knows how things are going to play out on the field yet.
Some teams are going to be worse than expected. Some are going to be better.

It's part of the whole "On any given Sunday" thing...

Let's at least wait to see how the first week plays out before saying any team is going to be 0-16, ok?

Jeesh...

I thought the rule is "Never drink Genesee Cream Ale - period!"...

Though my own personal rule is: never drink beer made from river water you've pissed in.

(My original home town is further south along the river - spent many an afternoon fishing near the Mt. morris Dam...)

Says the man who's team had a worse record last year...

Yep - mediocre is the proper term for the Bills all right - consistently lower middle of the pack...

I wouldn't go saying that the Redskins are THAT much better than Bills though, not by the records the last few years.

2008: 8-8 is not that much better than 7-9
2009: 4-12 is not better at ALL than 6-10

Sure, the Redskins won the preseason gamebetween the two teams... But preseason games are utterly useless to tell the real value of the team. (I mean - do you really think the Bills could realistically beat the Colts in a game that the Colts were *trying* to win... LOL)

*Snort* Yeah right - "Worst fans in football" my %$...

Small fact check - Buffalo's unemployment rate has been BELOW the national average the past couple years.

(How else are we going to afford the alcohol that acts as anti-freeze and keeps us entertained in the cold, cold December games of pointlessness?) ;-D

Oh, come on! The Bills are not THAT bad...

The Bills were down 4 TDs in the fourth quarter exactly two games last year - Falcons (Week 16) and Dolphins (Week 4) . Many of their games they were in there swinging until the final couple minutes when they collapsed in the fourth quarter because the defense had spent such a long time on the field.

The Bills probably aren't going to be winning the AFC East this year unless a miracle or a disaaster happens - that I'll fully acknowledge.

But do realize that injuries have been the main force working against the Bills these last few years. When you lead the league in injuries for 2 seasons in a row - (and 3 out of 4) when you have seven! different offensive lines in one season (which means the quarterback is spending more time flat on his back or scrambling for his life than reading the opponent's defense) - Yeah - you're gonna have a tough season and a bad record.

(Of course - Injuries look like their already having a impact this season. What the heck are the strength and conditioning staff doing over there, anyways?)

Heck - when the Bills are actually winning (rare - I know... ) you can feel the ground shaking several blocks away.

I actually have a little hope for the season. Buffalo is a team that is often underestimated - but it generally has decent talent in a lot of positions. (plenty of teams would maim to have guys like Fred Jackson, and Jarius Byrd) (yeah I know - both injured right now)

Injuries have really murdered us the past few seasons and I'm hoping that this year - maybe they won't...