BillsWatch - Buffalo Bills Backers of Northern VA

Web Links

Charities

Coy Wire Foundation

Drew Bledsoe Foundation

Quick Bites

Site Feedback

Bills News

Bills Chat

My Tailgate Plans

Previous Game	Next Game
Opener vs Jaguars	??

Bills Bars

My reviews
 Cheers and Jeers
DC Bills Bars Map
 Find closest place
Jimmy's
 Herndon, VA
Grevey's
 Falls Church, VA
Sonoma's
 Columbia, MD
McFadden's NEW
 Washington, DC
Bills Backers Forums
 TBD List

My Reading List

 Thurman Thomas - One of the NFL's greatest
 AFL Hall of Fame - Buffalo Bills

Tasker Pages

Steve signed my jersey!

Tributes

  My tribute to Steve
  Cindy's tribute
  Rockpile's tribute
  Dozer's tribute
  Drew's tribute
  Miller's tribute
  Chuck's tribute
  Send your tribute

Buffalo Pages

Buffalo Resources
  Hotels, maps and more
Classic Buffalo
  Welcome to the web port of Western New York
Shout song
 Words and music

Bills Backers Info

Ravens game tailgate plans

This year we are planning a trip to an away Ravens game on October 24. However Ravens are NOT selling tickets to groups this year and there are only three ways to get a ticket - become a Ravens season ticket holder, buy from a scalper/agency or buy a tailgate package from the Ravens. Jimmy has bought 30 person package from the Ravens but it costs $7500 for it so tickets cost over $200 each including a buffet lunch from Outback. Send me email if you want me to put you in touch with Jimmy.

Scalpers Suck and teams which are doing scalping are even worse!!

Membership cards ordered

Membership cards were ordered and will be available for regular members from Jimmy in the Fall and may be previewed. Ask Jimmy for one when you come to watch a game!

News and Opinions

Tailgate Time Again

It is Buffalo Bills game tailgate time again. Jay Rosen (a.k.a. Jåy Ró§eñ on the stadium wall) bought tickets for the home opener game for the StadiumWall crew. Opener tailgate was one of largest and was held at the Hammer's Lot for the fifth consecutive year. If you want to park in Hammer's Lot get there early for parking fills up quickly with new 9 AM opening rule for stadium lots!

The game was a loser but the tailgates were winners!

While you are in Buffalo

While you are in Buffalo I recommend checking out Park Avenue Coat Company on Route 5. I was able to pick up a few coats for my daughter at a real bargain but inspect items carefully. A good guide to Buffalo is Classic Buffalo and it is created by a former Steelton neighbor Rob Czyz. My 25th Frontier school reunion is coming up and I hope to be able to go to it but my plans are right now in flux.

The best part of a new season is meeting new and old friends

Preseason is a time to get ready

Hold off getting that hot new Losman jersey; Losman may not be playing until second half of season. Last year the Bills were pretty fortunate in training camp but this year we have lost 2 QBs for a good portion of the season, Lawyer Malloy has a broken arm, numerous injuries on OL and our workhorse bank Travis Henry has had his ribs injured again.

We "lost" in preseason not due to the score but due to the injuries; while you always like to win it is most important that the Bills be healthy for upcoming season. Injures will force to keep under performing players like Sullivan for depth and keep an extra QB, newly signed Matthews, on the roster. This is a very tough way to start for a new head coach.

Injuries are the toughest part of the game

2004 Draft - Bills make move again

Donahoe surprised people by taking a WR in the first round, Lee Evans, a WR who has had injuries but appeared to have completely recovered in 2003. This was a very similar pick to Thurman Thomas who was an outstanding college RB in college and returned to college after a severe injury in junior year.

Then Donahoe continued to surprise people surrendering picks to Dallass in order to draft California native and Louisiana QB Losman. JP Losman (Only him mother calls him Jonathon) was a two year starter at Tulane following in footsteps of Washington QB Ramsey. The last time the Bills selected a first year QB was when they used the second pick (again) to pick Hall of Famer Jim Kelly.

Remaining picks were less surprising other than waiting until last round to select an offense lineman. Third round pick appears to be an excellent TE to follow in head coach Mike Mularkey.

New picks for a new head coach

Schedule Released - Somebody does not like Ralph

The Bills have one national appearance and against the Patriots in their stadium on ESPN. Other teams such as Washington Redsucks, whose team sucked most of last year in a weak division, gets multiple national appearances on MNF and ESPN. Madden is a jerk and I hate watching MNF since he joined so I am not too disappointed with MNF loss but I hate seeing the league trying to help certain teams sell merchandise while others are neglected.

Bills have ONE September game due a bye in September and to the league's pushing of the schedule into later portion of the year in an attempt to aid networks during February sweeps week. The league decided to send to Buffalo on Halloween the team which has the absolutely worst appeal - the Arizona Cardinals. This game is guaranteed to not sell out.

The NFL cares about ratings first and the fans last which will come back to bite them I think. Last year they moved games to help ratings (Buffalo vs Redsucks game was moved to 4 PM) so fans now need to consider twice and thrice whether they wish to invest their money before going to games. If the league continues this, the only ones who will be willing to pay to go to games will be those with season tickets and those with money to burn; stating it that way makes me realize that may be their actual goal.

The Bills need to do best they can with a poorly dealt hand
Sometimes you can draw to an inside straight

Good bye former Bills - You will always be Bills in our hearts

Sammy Morris is now a Dolphin, Sam Gash is a Saint, Phillip Crosby is a Patriot, Polk is a Texan, Winfield is a Viking - free agency and Bills management have made it very difficult to want to buy a jersey for very quickly the laundry is updated. This means one of two things - either you cheer for the Bills and the players only when they are Bills or you cheer for those who used to play for you when they do not play the Bills. It will be a lot easier to cheer for Sam Gash since he is in another division but I still wish Sammy well with Dolphins even if I hope he has outstanding performances on a losing team.

Free Agency sucks but like Democracy it is best solution found

Slow Free Agency - more players going out than in

The Bills last year were the very first team on the clock signing LB Jeff Posy from Texans but this year they have been very slow in signing new free agents signing only one player and renewing contracts of two players - Guard 'Sulking' Sullivan who lost his position as starting OG in camp last year due to being unmotivated and OG Ross Tucker, a player who has previously for Redsucks and Cowpokes and who played well in 2003.

Losses include eight time Pro Bowl Ruben Brown who was cut along with free agents Sam Gash, Sammy Morris, DaShon Polk and others who Bills seem to have no interest in resigning. CB Winfield was also lost but his was a different case - Bills wanted to sign Winfield but not at the price he demanded and he appeared to get it from Minnesota Vikings due to a CB market which dried up due to many of the truly premiere CBs being franchised.

Free Agency started with a whimper and hopefully will end with a bang

Season ends on disappointing note then disappointing coaches let go

The Bills beat two losing NJ teams (Jets and Giants) and then goes on two game losing streak themselves losing to Miami and New England ending disappointing season with record of 6-10. The New England game was most disappointing where the Bills completely collapsed giving the Patriots a blowout game with a score (31-0) identical to that which the Bills imposed on Patriots in opener.

The good news is disappointing coach Gregg Williams's contract was not renewed and two of the replacement coaches he hired were fired as first action by the new head coach Mike Mularkey. Coach Mularkey replaced the fired Offensive Coordinator with Tom Clements, QB coach at Pittsburgh and replaced the fired Offensive Line Coach with Jim McNally who held a similar role with the Giants.

Next year is the mantra again

Tailgate Time Again

It is Buffalo Bills game planning time again. The Bills are planning their strategy for a new season. Jay Rosen (a.k.a. Jåy Ró§eñ on the stadium wall) bought tickets for the home opener game for the TBD crew. Tailgate was held at the Hammer's Lot for the fourth consecutive year.

This tailgate had a mix of the newcomers and previous attendees. A number of former regulars did not show up but we had lots of newcomers. The lot was filled early with people eating, drinking (at 9 AM in morning, you bet!) and talking Bills. Enthusiasm was high regarding all the new comers to the Bills and one tailgater already had a Lawyer Malloy jersey! Weather was almost perfect. Hammer had a band on his lot courtesy of WGR but after being far too loud in beginning it settled down.

The tailgate actually started the previous day at Danny's (photo #1, photo #2). That is the new Field Turf used by Bills courtesy of Hammer in 2nd picture. More photos of warm-up at Danny's courtesy of Jack in Syracuse, TwoBillsDrive's resident Blue Coat.

Earlier in the season Bills fans from MD, NJ, NY, PA and VA held a tailgate at Sliders in Baltimore before Ravens Game. We planned on 40-45 people showing up and there was easily twice that number filling upstairs room at Sliders and spilling out into downstairs room and patio.

Wy's Wings was the special and they were very, very good!

Tailgates don't get any better than this.