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Filed under: Bills Obsession | Tags: madden 10, ralph wilson stadium, we really aren't video game people, wii
As far as I know, the Dukes are not at all interested in playing Madden. Especially not on Wii (though I have one and it’s awesome for the most part, just not, you know, Madden). When I play video games, I want to do something that can’t be done in real life, and the Madden games got to the point where it was more simulation than fun – RBI Baseball, NBA Jam and TECMO Bowl were the sports game apex for me.
But for Madden 10, EA Sports is taking a slightly less realistic style in the Wii version – instead of being hyper realistic like on the PS3 or Xbox 360 versions, the less powerful Wii version will have a more cartoonish, stylized look.
To be perfectly honest, I could care less, though one image struck me – wouldn’t this stampeding buffalo scoreboard look BONKERS good at the Ralph?
Filed under: bitterness | Tags: Casablanca fit better than the Berlin Airlift, Favrian tears, Peter doing Bogart, Rex Ryan really should be the Nazi, SCREW BRETT FAVRE
EXT. HATTIESBURG AIRFIELD – NIGHT
A black Ford pickup truck with four doors, a lift kit, brush guard and giant tires wheels in front of a hangar. It is sparkling clean. PETER KING, REX RYAN, BRAD CHILDRESS and BRETT FAVRE emerge. MIKE FLORIO is standing at attention by a hangar door.
PETER: Rexy, have your men go with Mr. Childress and take care of his luggage.
REX: Certainly, Mr. King. [to FLORIO]Find Mr. Childress’ luggage and put it on the plane.
FLORIO: Yessir! [Exeunt]
PETER: [Hands REX official NFL release papers] If you don’t mind, you fill in the names, that’ll make it even more official.
REX: You think of everything, don’t you.
PETER: And the names are Mr. & Mr. Brett Favre.
BRETT: But, why my name, Peter?
PETER: Because you’re getting on that plane.
BRETT: But I don’t understand, what about. Hey, wait, did you say Mr. and Mr.?
PETER: Yes, but it’s not me – it’s Brad. I’m staying here with him until the plane gets safely away.
BRETT: No, Peter, no. I don’t know what’s happened to you but last night we said I wasn’t ga…
PETER: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I’ve done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you’re getting on that plane with Brad where you belong.
BRETT: No, Peter, no…
PETER: Now, you’ve got to listen to me! You have any idea what you’d have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we’d both wind up naked in the mud together and contract swine flu. Isn’t that true, Louie?
REX: I’m afraid Commissioner Goodell would insist.
BRETT: You’re saying this only to make me go.
PETER: I’m saying it because it’s true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Brad. You’re part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
BRETT: But what about us?
PETER: We’ll always have Montclair. We didn’t have, we, we lost it until you came to Hattiesburg. We got it back last night.
BRETT: When I said I would never unretire…
PETER: And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of. Brett, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of coffee beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that. Now, now… Here’s looking at you kid.
[BRETT and BRAD board the plane departing for Minneapolis.]
FLORIO: Well, Peter, it might be a good idea for you to get out of Hattiesburg for a while.
PETER: I could use a good trip.
FLORIO: I could arrange for you to go back up to Boston – fly into Washington, then take the Acela. Maybe you’d like to see about switching to Sprint, too.
PETER: And it doesn’t make a difference about our bet – you still owe me a cup of coffee.
FLORIO: And it won’t be any coffee flavored water!
PETER: Florio, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Ralph Wilson’s daughter, Linda Bogdan, died today after a bout with cancer. She was 61.
Ralph Wilson has lived a long life, but it’s always sad to outlive a child.
Bogdan was one of two Wilson daughters involved with the Buffalo Bills, though she was the only one involved in football operations – Bogdan was the NFL’s first female scout.
We Dukes are saddened by her passing, especially to see someone as unpretentious yet pioneering as Bogdan was.
Her sister Christy Wilson Hoffman is a merchandising consultant with the team, and she is also survived by her other sister, Edith.
Filed under: Bills Obsession, Buffalo Bills, Defence Mechanisms, Rookies, draft picks
Back when we were posting regularly, the Dukes profiled each some of the Bills 2008 draft picks. So we’re gonna give it another go. Up first: Cary Harris.
Cary Harris
Position: CB
Height: 6′0″
Weight: 180
College: USC
Hometown: Pacoima, CA
Why he’s awesome: Projected to go as early as the third round, the Cary Harris pick follows the ultimate fantasy draft rules: pick good players from good teams. And for a slight guy, he’s known as a big hitter with excellent coverage skills.
Why we like him: For a guy with a rep for poor ball skills, he’s come up in big moments for the Trojans, including that above pick in the Rose Bowl this year.
Why we don’t: He’s as durable as a rose petal and held together by strings. He’s missed time for a dislocated shoulder, ankle injuries, had a bad hamstring at the combine (which slowed him to a 4.57 40-time) and had arthroscopic surgery in both ankles prior to the 2008 season.
Tidbit about Pacoima, CA: Oft-battered in his movies Leonardo DiCaprio, tragically dead before his time Ritchie Valens, oft-injured outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. are all from Pacoima. As are the founders of passing fad Juicy Couture, which relates somehow.
Videos that should get you pumped about Harris, provided he holds up:
Filed under: Uncategorized
We’re pretty comfortable in our current blogroll, but we have to add the Ladies… because they are way more popular than us, and added a prominent new Buffalo-fan blogger. Buffalita’s first post is on the Mets’ new stadium (which looks nice, if only they can do something about the neighborhood). And with her bubbly prose and excellent taste in music, we can’t wait to have the Ladies turn some sunshine on the normally dank Buffalo sports scene.
Good stuff.
Filed under: Buffalo Sabres, NFL News, Rookies | Tags: Buffalo Bills Offensive Line, Demetrius Bell, Jason Peters, Karl Malone gave good genes only
We Dukes have been trying to figure out what Russ, Dick and Turk have in mind for filling Jason Peters’ spot since his trade to the Eagles. With the draft in the books, that picture is getting a bit clearer.
For 2009, we have Hangartner holding down center, Brad Butler/Andrew Levitre/Eric Wood at the guard positions in some order, Kirk Chambers/Seth McKinney at right tackle, and Langston Walker at the left tackle spot. (Sorry, Brian, but I don’t think two rookies start on either side of Hangartner this year).
That’s not an awful line, really – true, there aren’t any Pro Bowler’s on that lineup right now, but Wood & Levitre (or does Wood come after Levitre?) project as potential starters, Hangartner’s a good mentor, and Walker got the job done at left tackle to start the season last year. But at the same time, with so many linemen playing out of position, it might take some time to coalesce.
The real X-factor for a potential all-world Bills offensive line is our favorite spawn of Karl Malone: Demetrius Bell.
Last year’s 219th pick was a healthy scratch in all of last year’s games – he didn’t play a single down in a single game, yet the Bills kept him on the roster. And it might prove to be one of the shrewdest moves the Bills have done since converting Jason Peters – Bell is every bit the physical beast Peters was, albeit in a much more raw package.
But in his second year, Bell might be making the steps to become a big-time offensive lineman – at 6′5″, 300+, it won’t take much to make him simply serviceable, but he has the upside to grow into the lineman we always thought Peters would be (only less of a diva).
Filed under: Criminals, Excessive violence, Rookies, draft picks | Tags: Avon Barksdale, Better Know A Draft Pick, Ellis Lankster, NFL Draft, Stringer Bell
Back when we were posting regularly, the Dukes profiled each some of the Bills 2008 draft picks. So we’re gonna give it another go. Up first: Ellis Lankster.
Ellis Lankster
- Position: DB
- Height: 5′ 9″
- Weight: 191
- College: West Virginia
- Hometown: Whistler, AL
Why he’s awesome: He used to be fat, but he dropped the weight because he wanted the rock!
Why we like him: This late in the draft, no player is a guarantee, but we always have a soft spot for Bills’ picks from West Virginia.
Why we don’t: He’s got a rap sheet. We hope he’s matured since then, but…well.
Tidbit about Whistler, AL: For a small town, Whistler has a history of good athletes: Baseball Hall of Famer Billy Williams (not Billy Dee, unfortunately), Ravens tackle Willie Anderson….that’s it. But that’s like 15% of Whistler’s population.
Rumor about Lankster that started RIGHT HERE: That arrest mentioned above? Well we have it on no authority that Lankster is totally cool with being an extremely late round draft pick. The man is a business man, pure and simple – as if Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale were combined in one, compact package with mad ups. True, the Bills have a bunch of defensive backs, and true, you can never have too many. But the Bills aren’t looking for him to play too much – there’s bills to pay.
So there’s this rumor that Brady Quinn might be traded to San Francisco.
But it’s too perfect. I mean, Brady Quinn, in San Fra…….oh dammit, this is too easy.
…
…
…
…
Ah screw it:
Filed under: Bills Obsession, Buffalo Bills, Dukes of Awesome Field Trips, Miami Sucks, Uncategorized | Tags: 97 and humid is not comfortable, bills miami, dolphans suck, miami dolphins jingle
- Look real close, it’s there.
- THAT is dedication.
- does torquiose + orange = pink?
- Fan of the Game
- Bye, bye.
Filed under: Buffalo Bills, Defence Mechanisms, bitterness, draft picks, idiots, stupid sports traditions | Tags: Fred Jackson, marshawn lynch, nfl free agency, Running Backs, setting a bad example
So Freddie Jackson is another no-show to Bills voluntary workouts, along with Terrell Owens and Jason Peters.
With TO, you know you’re gonna get a top flight athlete who knows the game, regardless of his off-the-field shenanigans.
With Peters, it’s a situation that we knew about, with him holding out for a new contract or new team, whether he deserves it or not.
Now there’s Fred Jackson, a restricted free agent. The Bills do have the upper hand, owning his rights and the ability to match contracts with any other team. And with a glut of free agent veteran backs out there, there’s a very good chance the Bills won’t have to match one of those offers.
So at face value, the Bills are playing this smart, in line with their usual negotiating style. Eloquently titled “Fuck you negotiations” by realwiley – the Bills always play like they have the upper hand, even if they do not. And with the market and needs (lots of RBs, having a stud back in Lynch), this seems smart.
But the Bills would be smart to simply sign F-Jax to a reasonable contract and get his ass into the fold as quickly as possible:
- The looming suspension of Marshawn Lynch: The safe bet is the Bills will be without Marshawn Lynch for at least two games, but possibly as many as four. So it’s understandable that the Bills looked for a veteran backup – Fred Taylor and… Maurice Hicks? I guess if you’re getting a backup-backup, Hicks is a step up from Xavier Omon, but not much. Fred Jackson had almost twice the yards of Hicks’ best season (2005) last year. And F-Jax has been very effective both in support of and in place of Marshawn Lynch. And while there are more experienced replacements out there, they’re also more expensive.
- Public Relations to NFL Players: Right now, Buffalo has a reputation of being a team of last resort for many veteran players. All you have to do is look at our free agent signings and losses over the years – Marcus Stroud was considered damaged goods, and it took a lot of money to win his services. Terrell Owens was pretty much out of options. Jason Peters wants out, and so did Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield and more. Mainly because the Bills didn’t want to pony up for proven talent that they developed. Kawika Mitchell was a lone exception – the Bills were insanely lucky to get him (even if his impact has yet to be gauged). I know money plays into this, but being proactive in signing F-Jax – a reliable contributor – could have an impact in how Buffalo is perceived by players.
- There’s no one out there better: The current crop of NFL free agent RBs includes Ruben Droughns, Ahman Green, Rudi Johnson, Warrick Dunn and Dominic Rhodes, about the only back that would be intriguing for the Bills would be….I guess Dunn, really. Johnson wants to start full-time, and the others are either old or ineffective now. Dunn is old, but he can still play and probably would take a back seat to Lynch. But that would render F-Jax to 3rd back, when he’s much more than that, and being only 28, gives you more production at a chaper price.
So I just don’t get why the Bills are holding back on F-Jax – we can’t afford valuable contributors to be out of workouts with the regularity the Bills seem to maintain – it sets bad precedent for the current team and any other players we might hope to attract. And it certainly isn’t making Turk, Dick and Perry’s job any easier.
