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Message: [QUOTE="OrangeFoo, post: 2228357, member: 210"] I feel like both franchises seem cursed... statistically speaking, just out sheer dumb luck both franchises should have been more relevant since their glory days of the 90s as defined by playoff appearances by the Bills and top 25 rankings for Syracuse. I think both franchises suffered the same problem for the last two decades that have led to where we are today: a lack of financial investment and the lack of a clear vision or system to enable success. With the Bills it's because Ralph was cheap, not sure if he was cheap but he didn't spend heavily on coaching and front office talent either which led to constant coaching turnover which led to constant strategy turnover which led to constant roster turnover which led to losing. With Syracuse its because the admin never really invested in the program from an infrastructure or coaching talent perspective. I like the latest moves by both franchises. You could say this last offseason, Pegula finally got rid of the last vestiges of the Ralph era by hiring a new coach and a GM who is perceived as an up and comer. I have no idea if/when these moves will lead to results on the field but Pegula spent a LOT of money to get these guys so he is definitely changing the direction of the franchise. Now the Bills just need to stick w/ McDermott for the next 5 years and see where things go. For Syracuse I love the Babers hire and I am glad to see that practice center was built. SU is definitely upping the financial investment but in college football at least the gap between Syracuse and the trues power is so great that I'm not sure it can ever be made up. For the Bills the goals are easy... playoffs consistently and Super Bowl contender and actually make the game twice a decade or so. For Syracuse I'm not sure what the goal is, I'd say 8-4 and a decent bowl game but I suspect that the bowl games are going to go the way of the dodo bird given that players entering the draft are going to start pulling out of the game making it pretty much a meaningless exercise with about as much value as the spring scrimmage. I think we as fans are going to figure out what success means. If I was making predictions I think the Bills have bottomed out and are a solid Buy based on the front office reorg even if it will take a couple of years for the results to translate on the field. The talent at the skill positions seems to be at its lowest point in a very very long time and team depth just seems lacking across the board. I've never heard of 75% of the roster and I'm pretty sure the QB of the future is on the roster. My hope is that this year the D starts to gel so we can trade both 1st round picks for one of the QBs who would seem to be in the draft next year. The most important reason I'm bullish on the Bills is because they went from having one of the "poorest" owners in the league to having one of the "richest" and money can cure a lot of ills. I am still a Weak Hold or Sell for Syracuse. I question whether SU can hold onto Babers... the seeming disappearance of any chatter about a dome refurb is ominous to me. I'm not one who thinks the dome needs to be rebuilt, I think doing whatever it takes to draw more fans is a better investment and focusing on investing in player amenities. The KPI I will look at with regard to investment is what is the total salary pool for coaches and how many coaches as that seems to be the new arms race. I think we have something for the next few years with Babers but I question whether its sustainable or whether its a last flicker in the night before the lights go out. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?