Pimlach

Dempsey played briefly for the Bills, at the beginning of the Chuck Knox era. I was at what I think was the last home loss to the Dolphins in the 70’s. Dempsey missed a 37’ish yard FG in the final seconds, it would have ended the streak. It was a rainy but warm game, I came home soaked and dejected. Thanks a lot Dempsey. The Bills ended that streak in 1980, and the goslposts at Rich Stadium came down. Bills fans were always rabid and crazy.

Another Bills win. Tough game, Miami had their season on the line and they needed it. Tua had no rust. I knew this game was going to be close. The Bills answered the bell like good teams do. The Bill are better, they are the more composed and better coached team of the two. I ALWAYS love beating Miami, I survived the Bills going “Oh for the ‘70’s” to that team. I am enjoying the win. Listening to McDermott’s post game interview, they mentioned his reluctance to play rookies very much. He made it clear that you earn your way on the roster and in the games. You have to beat out a vet, and McD has to be able to look that vet in the eye if the rookie takes his spot. He said numerous times “you earn your time on the field” and he makes that clear to everyone. He also has a knack for having his backups ready to go when injuries occur. He gets a lot of second guessing, so I’m pointing out a clear strength that he has. Contrast that to what Sabres coaches have to deal with no significant veteran base on the roster and young players given ice time by design, or because that’s all we have. I hope Adams heard what McD said. Adam’s roster building style really makes it hard on coaches, and for young players to develop properly. No wonder so many leave and thrive.

OK Bills. Be ready to play a desperate and possibly fired up opponent. Go Bills!!

I wish they would have showed up against the Isles, the fans are not going to come out for much longer. Home games have not been an advantage for about 15 years or more.

Shhhh. The Cap Space is reserved for signing his next prospects and for select players that want to be here.

Ruff is no GM. He might be a good FO advisor, like Dudley has been doing for a long time (but Terry has no interest in paying for that). Karmanos would be a candidate, and he is more qualified than Adams was when Adams was handed the job. How would he feel about being the guy that deals with Terry? Is this really a change? Does Karmanos have a better relationship around the league to help facilitate trades more effectively?

Yes indeed. I am seeing that our talent is not as good as thought, or probably just poorly developed. We rushed our kids and now we are upset that they leveled out and their growth is slowing or stunted or even regressed at this point in time. Cozens and Quinn are suffering from it right now. They will just have to play through it and get support from the rest of the lineup, but they were expected to be the 2nd line and help pull a losing team into playoffs. It appears that Adams thinks a 19 year old Benson would finish the second line? No pressure guys, go do it! Then there is Dahlin. 12 games. 1g, 7 pts, +2. That is 31st in the league for defensemen in scoring. It’s early, but we need his play to carry us. He slumps, we can’t score, and we sit with the bottom dwellers.

Fire him now for who? Do you think Terry has a new leader ready to sign up? That is laughable. He doesn’t know NHL people. He doesn’t fit.

Look at them at the end of this month. That will tell us a lot about playoffs. Right now they need to string 4-5 wins to get back into the race.

The Core will get better once they get traded and meld into better hockey organizations. See Zadorov, Compher, McNabb, ROR, Eichel, Reinhart, Ullmark, Montour, Rodrigues …

How did you bowl?

I’m starting to think the talent of Adams Core is overrated or maybe incorrectly developed. The PP (top 6 players) and PK (bottom 6) would be better if the talent was better. The are both terrible Examples of forwards lack of talent, leading to incorrect slotting: 1. Cozens is a 3rd line winger, not a 2C at this time in his career. 2. Tuch is an excellent 3rd line player on a cup challenger, a very good 2nd line player on most teams, an inconsistent 1st line forward 3. Quinn - 3rd line scoring contributions without the needed defensive play to stick in the lineup. Should be on the bench, he brings nothing. 4. Benson - 19 years old and rushed onto a bad team and into the top 6 but scores and fits more like a middle 6. 5. Zucker - at the end of his career as a solid middle 6 and he looks like the best winger on this team right now. Think about that. 6. Greenway - a 3rd or 4th line guy on a good team, on Buffalo he gets asked to move to 2nd line, even 1st line at times. 7. McLeod - good 3rd line center on a strong team, now asked to take on 2C role on a poor team. 8. Krebs - all of a sudden he is a 3C because of failures in top 6. He is spare forward at best on a good team. I still question Tage as a true 1C. He is a first liner, but the PP needs a puck carrying setup guy. Tage is a guy you feed. Dahlin is not on the scoresheet anymore. I think we have to re-think the talent, especially the top 6 and the top defensive pairings. Defense Dahlin, Power, Byram. - what are they bringing to the PP or the PK? How much diversity in skill do these guys bring? Why did we trade for Byram and then re-sign Joker? That is 4 similar skill sets. Muel - was his signing and the commitment to him a good move? Is the A on the jersey making him a consistent player and a team leader? I think he could be solid and strong back there but he does not step up.

Cozens is a 3rd line winger right now with a second line ceiling. Adam’s thoughts that he is 2C over Mitts was one of many blunders. The Mitts for Byram trade did not improve the team at all. They needed, and still need, a defensive player that is big and strong in front of our net.

Is a good power play driven more by offensive talent or scheme? Is a good PK driven more by defensive talent or scheme? Is the Sabres talent over rated? I think there are major pieces missing. Some of the core are starting to look very overrated too.

I went to one once. The wife and daughters friend. Didn’t like it. No scotch or bourbon served. No substantial food served.

Everyone says Pegula is handcuffing Adams, but I doubt Pegula ran out and said “let’s give Cozens $7M”. We know that Adam’s sucks as a GM. He didn’t bring in enough good players with all the capital he acquired from gutting the team post Krueger. He botched the goaltending, giving a rebuilding team no chance and costing a young Core a Playoff birth Adams thought all his draft picks would quickly develop into stars. They haven’t yet. He never understood the timeline. He failed at finding high quality coaches, and he let one go to the Rangers. Still waiting for Kevyn to do something truly positive with this team.

The man pulling the strings is failing. He can’t find and trust anyone that can do a good job.

I would have not guessed this. We are so used to sucking.

… and the PK?

You are a loyal fan. I feel for you. I’m in the same boat. I want that Cup.

Bryson needed a game, and he was not a liability tonight. But the decision to sit Clifton hurt the PK. Muel was the most worthy of sitting. Still is.

So what do you think?

Don’t forget they gave up two on the PK. Consider this for a minute. If our PP and our PK are each performing at levels ranking in the bottom of the league, do you think we have enough good players?