Brown Ahead of Brohm Already?

Just read on billsgab.com that Tim Graham of ESPN thinks Brown has already climbed ahead of Brohm on the depth chart. This goes right along with the roster prediction BG posted a couple days ago where the omission of Brohm seemed a questionable call to many (myself included). Too early to know for certain whether or not this will be the case come September, but the fact that ESPN is reporting this can only be bad for Brohm's already dismal reputation.

There's no source quoted in this post so if anyone knows, please link to it because I want to see where this is coming from. Lots going on at Bills camp already.

Pack Your Sleeping Bag, It's Camp Time!

Training camp is up and going as of this morning and the only faces yet to report are Aaron Schobel and C.J. "Lightning" Spiller. Right now, I think the bigger story between the two is Schobel's supposèd change of heart.

Myriad sources are reporting Schobel's interest in returning to the Bills and I figured now would be a good time to post the figures from a poll I put up on buffalo rumblings.

The question asked was, "When is it too late to bring Schobel back to Buffalo?" Keep in mind the poll closed the 27th and was posted the 15th.

Here are the responses:

1) "Already too late" (43 votes/ 21%)
2) "Too late if he's a no-show at 1st week of training camp" (55 votes/ 27%)
3) "By the 1st preseason game" (40 votes/ 20%)
4) "By the 1st regular season game" (15 votes/ 7%)
5) "Never too late" (46 votes/ 23%)

Total votes: 199

According to these numbers, if he doesn't fulfill his hopes to make up his mind about returning within the 10-day window which was talked about on Tuesday (effectively missing the first week of camp) then about half of Bills fans believe it would be too late to bring him back to try to learn a new position and adapt to the 3-4 defense. I can't blame those that would make the argument that it would be too difficult for him to do that, but looking at the roster I would rather have Schobel starting at OLB than Chris Kelsay. In my opinion, the potential return of Schobel to the Bills D is great news and I hope he does ultimately come back. Even if it takes time for him to acclimate to the position and the staff leaves him on the bench for a few games until he is ready to start he will nonetheless make this team better. He's tenured, mature, a leader on and off the field, and a heck of a playmaker. I can only hope that translates to his play as a linebacker as well. Let's keep our eyes peeled as this story develops.

As for Spiller, nothing to say other than I hope the contract gets done soon so we can see how he does at NFL speed in pads. He'll be at camp, it's only a matter of when. Luckily the man taken one pick before Spiller has reportedly signed a deal, so that should grease the wheels of this process.

I'm looking forward to seeing who is first in rotations with the 1st unit at QB. I know Gailey says not to put much stock in who gets 1st team reps at the start of camp, but c'mon! We're dieing to know what's gonna happen at QB this season and this will be our first real indication. As an aside, wouldn't it be interesting if Chan threw whoever he sees as the #2 candidate in to take first team reps first? I don't think it would be a bad tactic because it would really light a fire and get the competition flooring. I think if Fitz or Brohm are taking snaps with the 1st team today that's what he's doing because, of the QB quartet, it's hard not to see Edwards as the leader at this point. It could be a good motivating tactic.

How about those RBs Jackson and Lynch? Let's see how they end up being used in the offense. I'm an outspoken Lynch advocate and I hope he gets as many reps as Jackson. Who knows? This is a new regime and a new offense; maybe they'll see him as the probowl running back he was in 2008 and give him a shot at redemption.

Last few notes:
Good to know that Bell is good to practice in pads and won't be on the sidelines. We need all the O-line help we can get.

Not good to hear that Poz will be limited (though I have no doubts that he will have a monster season) because it'd be best for the D if he were as well prepared as he can be for the start of the season. Wish he would've had whatever surgery he had done sooner, but I'm sure he and the doctors were trying to assess the severity as he rested after OTAs. Hopefully this ensures his health throughout the season. Silver lining is that Mitchell will now have a better chance to improve and compete for the other ILB position vs. Davis, so we can be relatively certain that our ILBs will be dope this season.

Eight 2-a-day practices? Yeah, this will be a great training camp and should whip this squad into shape much better than the day spa Jauron seemed to be running. I've read predictions ranging from the Bills finishing 2-14 and last in the NFL to finishing 7-9 and 3rd in the AFC East (I'm not gonna count one report that I read predicting 8-8 based on Madden '11 but here's the link). I haven't gone so far as predicting to an exact figure what they'll finish (maybe if I get the time I'll go through their schedule and really take a look at how they match up to their opponents to try and make an informed prediction) but I pray it's not so low as two wins.

At this point nobody really knows what this team is, but starting today we'll start to get a good idea. Keep your eyes peeled for coverage. The pads are on, the team's taking the field, friggin' can't wait for the season to start, been too long. Go Bills!

To Circle the Wagons

The other day I was bored at work. Stop the presses, someone was bored at their job? Oh yeah, it happened. Whilst counting the innumerable seconds til my departure, I started thinking of Chris Berman's famous quote, "Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills." Any Bills fan knows this by heart just as they know their ABC's, but I wanted to see what this phrase actually means and whether or not it is in fact a true statement. So, here's what I turned up.



Definition of "To Circle the Wagons", according to dictionary.com:

—Idiom
23.
circle the wagons,
a.
(in the early U.S. West) to form the wagons of a covered-wagon train into a circle for defensive purposes, as against Indian attack.
b.
Slang . to prepare for an all-out, unaided defensive fight: The company has circled the wagons since its market share began to decline.

We all kind of know it has to do with the old West and bringing covered wagons into a circular, defensive formation. Taken at that alone, that would basically mean to stop an attack, not necessarily to strike back. We Bills fans, however, are well aware that when used in reference to our beloved Bills it means to make a comeback or to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds for a victory (or a return trip to a Superbowl...several times).

No Bills fan worth a damn is unaware of the 1992 AFC Wild Card game vs. the late Houston Oilers when the Bills overcame a 32-point deficit built even into the second half to beat the Oilers and eventually advance to the franchise's third straight Superbowl. Any die-hard NFL fan knows this as "The Greatest Comeback in NFL History", and in fact it's recognized as such at the Hall of Fame in Canton, OH.


Other points of note about this game which make it even more miraculous and worthy of a wagon-circling distinction is the fact that a week prior to that game the Bills had lost to the Oilers and had lost Jim Kelly, their starting QB who you can also find enshrined in Canton, for what would be the remainder of their Superbowl run. Frank Reich and Andre Reed are no strangers to wagon-circling themselves.

Do yourself a favor and take another quick look at that very same link. We all know Buffalo, kings of the comeback, circled the wagons against the Oilers in the playoffs, but two spots down from that you might notice they make the list of the NFL's greatest comebacks again. However, this time it's during the regular season and a half-dozen years later behind none other than...Todd Collins? Yep, that's right, Todd Collins, a quarterback who sticks out in my mind as just about as good as Rob Johnson; not good. Antowain Smith playing in his prime that day was also a good help in that, the third greatest comeback in NFL history (2nd greatest in the regular season and 2nd greatest Buffalo Bills comeback).

Let's throw in a few more little bits of info here. How about the fact that the Bills, after losing Superbowl after Superbowl, continued to battle back (even from a wild card position) to make it back to the Big Dance. Circle the wagons much?

One more from recent history, let's look at the beginning of the 2008 season when the Bills won 4 straight games, 2 of which were consecutive 4th quarter comeback wins. Given, you could also make the argument that the wagon circle broke after that point in the season and that nobody chokes like the Buffalo Bills but I'll save that argument for Bills-hating fans to laugh about while screaming "J-E-T-S", losing 15 games in a season, or playing dress-up and firing cap-guns at the start of a game (It's cute how their boots match their purses isn't it?). My point is the Bills have even circled the wagons in recent memory.

It's been a long while since we Bills fans have had anything nearly as exciting as the historic comebacks of the 1990's Buffalo Bills to cheer about, but those comebacks remain NFL legend and the Bills, though decidedly less capable of executing on a consistent basis and in the midst of another rebuilding season, have proven worthy of Berman's famous quote.

Conclusion: the statement remains true. Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills. Now I want to see the Buffalo Bills circle the wagons like the Buffalo Bills because if not, I can see that quote changing too something along the lines of, "Nobody circled the wagons like the 1990's Buffalo Bills." I don't like how that sounds, so this season, just as seasons passed, I will hold my breath in the 4th quarter and hope to see some of the wagon-circling I used to see.

Now for something REALLY important...

WHO HAS THE BEST LOOKING CHEERLEADERS IN THE AFC EAST?!

NEW ENGLAND

MIAMI

BUFFALO

NY JETS

If the Bills moved...

What if the Bills moved to Toronto? Where would your allegiances lie? Would they travel north of the border to Canada with the red helmet and charging buffalo? What if they changed the nickname? The Toronto Bills doesn't exactly roll of the tongue. Maybe they would just stick a maple leaf on the charging buffalo... the Toronto Buffaloes? What if that just didn't work for you? If you live in NY state there isn't another NFL team within the state borders to root for. Geographically the Cleveland Browns are the next closest franchise to the Buffalo area. Wait a minute, that isn't exactly an upgrade... the Browns are just as hard luck as the Bills (but one could relate). Would you root for the team with the closest training camp? Rochester, NY for the Bills, Cortland, NY for the Jets, Albany, NY for the Giants. You could look south to the Steelers and automatically have multiple Super Bowl victories to brag about-- talk about the ultimate bandwagoner. What about rooting for the team with the most players from your favorite college football team? Would you join your partner (wife, girlfriend or whatever) and root for their team? How about rooting for the nearest Canadian Football League team since they'd be taking over your team? The Hamilton Tiger Cats are looking good this year. Or maybe we can get the Toronto Argos to move to Buffalo... the Buffalo Argonauts??? Well, there are many options....... Which way would YOU go?

Countdown to Camp

Less than a week left until training camp for us Bills fans. The pads are going on and position battles are going to become just that, battles. I'm looking at the current state of the team and I've come up with a few things to look out for when Buffalo moves to Pittsford on the 29th.

Where's our #1 pick? That goes for our last four #1 draft picks. Rumor has it that Spiller might holdout (according to this article there is no reason to be concerned but as a Bills fan how can you not be?). We've moved Maybin to OLB and there's no guarantee he'll be a starter as he's pitted against veteran LB Reggie Torbor and might see more situational play. As for McKelvin, once he's 100% healthy he should be a starting DB but will he be at full speed come training camp? Last but not least, Beast Mode, where is he going to end up on the depth chart and is there still the possibility of a trade?

All of these comments come with the disclaimer that I'm not worried about any of the aforementioned players being ready to play. Spiller will get signed with plenty of time to practice in pads. Maybin is ready to go right now as a weak side LB, he just has to win the right to start. McKelvin is a lock to start opposite McGee, and barring any kind of trade, Lynch should be ready wreak havoc especially in goal-line situations but has the capacity to win back some of the reps he lost last year if he keeps his head on straight.

My favorite battle, the #2 wideout spot, is about to heat up and my prediction is still that Johnson wins out over Hardy and Easley. What I like here is that the competition is so close that no matter what, these three wideouts will come out of camp as viable threats in the passing attack. My dark horse candidate for this spot is Chad Jackson, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up 5th on the depth chart or even on the practice squad. He'll really have to make a showing to earn some time on the field outside of spread offense situations.

You can't say enough about the QB competition. Everything I've read says that it will either be Edwards or Brohm starting come September and right now it's Edwards' job to lose. That said, it's not unlikely that he's bumped down to #2 on the depth chart sometime this season if he fails to produce early. I'm sure the staff, though new to the organization, is well aware of how painfully dismal Edwards' production has been for long stretches of time and I'm certain they'll pull the trigger a lot faster than Jauron did. My prediction come September is Edwards, Brohm, Fitz in that order, and any or all of these three QBs could see significant playing time this coming season.

Injured players on the offensive line seem to be rehabbing well and should return. My concern about the O-line is not only the obvious lack of proven talent but the lack of depth. If Cornell Green ends up starting more than one game this season then we are in serious trouble as a team. He did not do well in Oakland and is no better than a temporary backup even amidst the Bills' Frankenline. I think both Bell and Meredith need to be starting at Tackle spots come the regular season and we should have Green, Chambers, and Gaddis backing up for any injuries.

Defensively, I'm not worried. We have the talent on that side of the ball to execute and to execute well, it's all a matter of learning the system. Our defensive backfield has the capacity to be #1 in the league and with the addition of veteran talent to help teach the system, I'm confident our players can learn how to play line and linebacker in the 3-4. I love both Carrington and Troup (who will be signed before training camp starts, mark my words) as I think they both have the size and skills to fit into the system and make an impact. I have high hopes for our defense this year and I hope they are met.

Lastly, every Bills fan should be celebrating in some fashion because of our running back corps. I, for one, have chosen to tattoo a three-headed dragon on my chest, each head a bust of Jackson, Spiller or Lynch. This is an obvious, conservative way to show my excitement for the Bills' backfield and I suggest every Bills' fan do something similar if not more extreme to show theirs. It is the year of the Running Back in Buffalo and we should see some big things out of these three backs.

As always, with a week left before training camp there are myriad questions to be answered. This year especially, we Bills fans have many more questions to-be-answered than questions answered. We're all praying to see the next month-and-a-half's developments at Bills training camp give us at least most of the answers we seek. Who's our quarterback? Who's our number 2 receiver? Will the defensive switch help stop the run? Will the offensive line be effective? Did I leave my keys on the kitchen table or in my pants from yesterday? What is our running back depth chart going to look like? Most importantly, can we expect to see more wins this year than last?

Unfortunately, in our division I can't see the Bills making that big a turnaround and racking up wins like coins in Super Mario. That said, I do remember a Dolphins team that recently had a one win season only to win the division the next year. I'm not saying the Bills will do anything similar this season, I'm only saying that crazier things have happened in the AFC East. Let's hope for something a little crazy this year Bills fans.

3 mistakes on the lake

Let's look at the staus of NFL football on Lake Erie... yes I'm talking about 3 of perhaps the most dismal NFL franchises currently out there... the Detroit Lions, the Cleveland Browns, and the Buffalo Bills.

First, the Detroit Lions. I can't even remember when they had a decent team. Oh wait, Barry Sanders... I think they made the playoffs with him a long time ago. We are reminded every Thanksgiving they still exist in the NFL. They've added a little black and a more aggressive looking Lion on their helmets... watch out NFC Central- not.

Ok, now the Browns. After "The Drive" by Elway, and "The Fumble" by Ernest Byner against the same Elway Broncos in back to back AFC Championship games (86-87) this once great franchise (Jim Brown days) was moved to Baltimore in the 90's. Those newly named Ravens would have a Super Bowl title just years later. Since Cleveland got its team back in the mid 90's, they've been mostly very sub par.

And of course the Buffalo Bills. After the 4 AFC Championships leading to 4 debacles (including 3 humiliations) in the Super Bowl- and the depatures of Hall of Famers Kelly, Thomas, and Smith- the franchise has been pretty poor since with the exception of one or two Flutie years. Making the playoffs has seemed mission impossible for years now.

So who has the most miserable NFL franchise on Lake Erie currently? Who's most likely to make their first playoff appearance in for what seems like forever? Who is closest to, dare I even say it..... win a Super Bowl? Right now they are 0 for 44 combined. Now that is erie!

On Kelly and Edwards

So this response is a little bit belated but still pertinent. Training camp begins in about a week and a half, and officially the Bills have yet to name a starting quarterback as the position is still up for grabs. One well respected Bill and Hall of Fame Quarterback, Jim Kelly, weighed in with his endorsement of Trent Edwards.



I think the media made a lot more out of these comments than there really is. I've read headlines saying Kelly "wants" or "is pulling for" Edwards to start for the Bills, but his comments say nothing that any Bills fan wouldn't say. Kelly "hopes" it's Trent Edwards who ends up being named the starter and I am behind Kelly on this one. I hope Edwards ends up starting as well and here are MY reasons why.

1) Experience: Edwards is the most experienced of any of our QBs

2) Accuracy: Edwards has a much more accurate arm than Fitz, though I can't speak much about Brohm until I see some preseason ball played.

3) Leadership: Edwards APPEARS poised to step up, he's talking the talk. Again, in preseason I want to see him walk the walk, but as of now he's saying and doing all the right things.

4) Work ethic: Offseason training à la superbowl-winning QB Brees, with whom Edwards is often compared, cannot be a detriment in my mind. Edwards has been strength and endurance training using the same methods as Brees.

5) Most importantly, he is at this moment the #1 QB for the Bills.

I can't speak for Kelly, but my hope for Edwards winning the starting role is anchored in him being presently perceived as the forerunner in the three man race. Assuming that all three QBs improve throughout the rest of the offseason, it can only be a positive thing to have the leader (Edwards) continue to stay in the lead. Right now Edwards has a slight edge on Fitz and Brohm, and if he can show the coaching staff that he outright deserves the starting role, that says to me he has improved above and beyond expectations and at a faster pace than Fitz and Brohm. So, I hear ya Jim Kelly. Edwards has so far shown us he deserves to be #1 on the depth chart coming into training camp (even if just by a nose); I am rooting for him just like you. I want him to perform as a starter come training camp, preseason, and even better, come the regular season.

Do we want Schobel back?

My quick answer is yes of course I do. The man has been a workhorse and a franchise player who never turned his back on the Bills even at the worst of times, basically his entire career. He's never been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, and despite a few injuries, has continued to produce season after season. In my opinion, he's been the best defensive end the Bills have seen since Bruce Smith and I'm certain I'm not the only one who thinks that.



However, considering he would need to make a positional switch after a great career at DE, would need to do so in a new system, has missed all team activities to this point and so has not yet begun the difficult task of learning his new position, does it really make sense to have him come back and give him the reps at a position other team members have been working at for months now?

Open question, do you want to see Schobel back on the field at training camp? If no, why not? If yes, at what point does it no longer make sense to keep him on the roster?

To start off, I want to see him at training camp because I think he'd have enough time to learn OLB well enough to be a threat on the field and would be able to adjust throughout preseason. That said, he'd only have 2 weeks before the first preseason game and I think you have to move along if he does not show up for that first preseason game.

I put a poll on Buffalo Rumblings, if you see this post you should go there and vote.

2 years in Boston, 2 polar-opposite QB's

7/12/2008: A historic day for mankind. The day I moved behind enemy lines to establish myself in Boston, MA. It's been a long two years to be a Bills fan, especially when constantly hearing so much about the Patriots. So two years in Boston and one thing that sticks out to me is the quarterback struggles each team has had and how the fans have dealt with them.

Tom Brady and Trent Edwards are two completely incomparable quarterbacks who have headlined the show for these two divisional opponents and have squared off now twice in my two years in Boston, Tom Brady and the Patriots besting the Bills without a problem in both contests. Two more times it was Matt Cassel at the helm for the Pats who pounded the Bills and who gained himself quite a following. I almost don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many games it's been since the Bills last beat the Patriots (I'm pretty sure the last time was in 2003 behind Drew Bledsoe). From the reaction I saw in Boston to Tom Brady's injury two years ago you would've thought the man would never walk again, yet he put up the second best numbers in his career the year he came back and was still labeled a failure for not winning every game of the season (Oh, and he had a broken rib or two for some of that time).

Edwards, on the other hand, has suffered two minor concussions in that same time-frame and has put up numbers astronomical enough to earn him the nickname "Captain Checkdown", or "Checkwards" as he's more commonly called in Boston. At some points I think many Bills fans would've labeled Edwards a success if he were able to find a receiver past the line of scrimmage and could get him the ball before the defensive end could find a nice empty patch of turf beneath which to bury him.

Quite a juxtaposition to witness and I've heard both camps be equally as derisive toward their respective quaterbacks: one who lead his team to the division title, and the other who lead his to the completion of a decade-long playoff drought. To any Pats fan who sees this post, look at Brady's numbers from last year, compare them to Trent Edwards', the Bills' probable starter this coming season, and ask yourself who you'd rather have running the show. It doesn't take a genius to know you'd rather have Brady with his still stellar numbers winning double-digit games per year than Edwards, a QB who showed much promise in his first season in the NFL and is still struggling to regain the confidence he once had.

A year removed from Brady's rebound season, I think most Pats fans realize that they likely won't ever see any team have a perfect season again and that Brady did an amazing thing last season: he won games. Bills fans are still praying for Edwards' breakout year and are not too optimistic about there ever being one. Regardless, as it stands now these two teams are as evenly matched as they have been in my two years in Boston and I am still hoping to see that one upset all Bills fans have been waiting for. Here's one Bills fan who will be watching his 3rd NFL season in Boston and hoping to see a second drought end, one that is much more likely to end this season: the Bills' winless streak vs. the Pats. Who knows if it will happen this year, but I'll be yelling like a mofo when it does and cheering on those wagon-circlers as I always do.

Let's Go Buffalo

Growing up a Bills Fan in the Southern Tier (NY)

Let's start at the beginning. My parents took me to Sears department store in Big Flats, NY around the year of 1980 for a winter coat for school. I can't recall the selection (of team jackets) they had back then but I'm pretty sure it was very limited (maybe 1 or 2 teams). I returned home with a Pittsburgh Steelers coat and winter hat (the old school kind with the gold puffy ball at the top and the logo sewn on the folded up bottom). And I was a Pittsburg Steelers fan. After all they had just won like 4 Super Bowls in the 70's. I was a product of my time you could say. I went to my first Bills game around 1981 actually rooting against the Bills because they were playing the Steelers in a pre-season game. I dislike the Bills even more because some loud mouth a row back kept shouting "LET'S GO BUFFALO!" over and over again! At any rate at a young age football didn't keep my attention very long and I didn't really start following sports until I was about 9 or 10 which brings us to 1984. I would emerge a Bills and Giants fan because that's who they televised locally and I would root for the Bills in the AFC and the Giants in the NFC. I lived about 2 1/2 hrs from Buffalo and 4 hrs from NYC area and still do today (Elmira, NY).

You say what about the Jets? Come on, really, the Jets in the 80's. So I would see the transition from Joe Furgeson and Joe Cribbs to players like Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Bruce Smith for the Bills. For the Giants I loved Phil Simms, Joe Morris and Lawrence Taylor and enjoyed their Super Bowl win over the Broncos in the '86 season. I was always able to attend Buffalo games (usually once or twice a year) throughout the mid to late 80's because my Uncle had season tickets, but never went to a Giants game. The Bills transformed from cellar dwellers (84-85) to best in the AFC (89-93). It was exhilirating seeing a team that won 2 games all year develop into an explosive offense in the K-Gun no huddle offense. Of course, in late January of 1991 the 2 teams from separate conferences I pulled for met in Super Bowl XXV. I had a decision to make. A big one. But, there was really no thought behind it and here are a few of the reasons why: 1) having attended Bills games for years 2) living in upstate NY 3) the Giants are really a NJ team (and had already won a Super Bowl) 4) having obnoxious friends who were Giant fans 4) Jeff Hostetler had taken over QB for the Giants over Phil Simms 5) Bill Parcells is a dick. So I was Bills all the way in that game. After that game, I broke any ties ever pulling for the Giants again due to the heart-breaking fashion the game ended and the ribbing I endured amongst my Giant fan friends. After 3 more Super Bowl losses and even more ribbing for being a Bills fan I had the complex. The Buffalo Bills fan chip on the shoulder "you can't win the big one" with 4 straight Super Bowl losses. Instead of being a fan of a very successful team (which I was), I was seen as a fan of a loser. After mediocre teams in the late 90's, the Bills returned to playoff form under Doug Flutie in 2000-01. What a great little player defying all the odds. A winner in every sense. And after a great season led by Flutie at QB, they turn the reigns over to Rob F-in Johnson when the playoffs started. Which leads us to Buffalo's last playoff appearance. That's right, the Music City Miracle game vs Tennessee. The rest of the decade was very supbar. AND NOW, a new decade, the present 2010, and a renewed hope for this upstate Central Southern Tier New York fan. "LET'S GO BUFFALO!".

More on Lynch

Lynch's #1 fan here blogging again and just want to post some support for the man. This year will be interesting in Buffalo with the talent we have in the backfield, but if Lynch keeps on improving his image by giving interviews that put him in a positive light like this one by Tim Graham on NFL.com then maybe he can gain a little bit more of his following back after last year's struggles and subsequent perpetual obloquy. It's worth the quick read that it is and shows that Lynch is getting along with the other backs on the team. Click the link above to check it out.

While I'm at it, just a little update about the page. I'll be scouring the internet to bring all the best Bills feeds from across the nation to this blog so keep your eyes peeled as I'll be adding more and more feeds and links to the sidebar and at the bottom of the page. I'll be reading through them and giving my take as I go and with a link to whatever precipitated the post, but keep yourself informed too and check 'em out yourself.

That's all for now Bills nation, I'll leave you with this historic independence day speech:

"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. "Mankind." That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!" - President Whitmore