TimGraham

We've had some spirited discussions on this board -- usually in regard to whether Jason Peters was any good last year -- about the validity of "sacks allowed" as a stat. I saw this blog from the Boston Globe's Mike Reiss and wanted to share it. To see the sack Tom Brady endured against Cincy, you would say it was right tackle Nick Kaczur's fault all the way. Totally obvious, 100 percent. No other Patriot was remotely close to Robert Geathers, who ran around Kaczur and bolted in cleanly ... http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patr...siting_the.html This is a reminder that unless you're in the huddle, you can't say for sure.

Chafie Fields is the agent of record. But Chafie and Joel are partners on this one. Joel is the much more established agent and is known within the football world as the guy who called the shots on Maybin's contract.

I'm in the dark a little on this one. I had a source who was keeping me apprised, but he has gone silent on me. But I'm working on it.

Media guides and updated pregame notes handed out by the teams. But we Google a lot, too.

If you're a Sabres fan, you should love this signing. Mike Grier's value is in his leadership in the dressing room and the example he sets. Based on what I've heard from the players I've stayed in touch with since I stopped covering the team, this is the exact type of player the Sabres have needed. As for the roster, I'll refrain from breaking it down. When I covered the team, I could go down the line and tell you who was and was not making the team based on their contracts. It's pretty easy to determine with the rules set forth in the CBA. You just looked at the guaranteed money, how many years were left, who didn't need to clear waivers and who was on a two-way contract and it was simple. But after two years away from the team, I don't know the contracts like I used to.

Sal Paolantonio's response when Peters pushed Pryor into McNabb: "Who the hell is this Pryor guy?"

The difference, though, is that Evans in that case still would be the No. 2 receiver. Welker is a slot receiver. The Bills' version of Welker would be Josh Reed/Roscoe Parrish.

Awful. He got beat twice -- badly -- by Tully Banta-Cain and Myron Pryor.

The Patriots camp practices I saw, Butler and Springs were used as first-teamers only on nickel and dime packages. The starters have been Leigh Bodden and Terrence Wheatley. Plus, Jonathan Wilhite has been banged up and might have a shot at it.

Saban established his credentials with the Bills. He didn't arrive with much of a resume: two losing seasons with the Boston Patriots (7-12 and fired in midseason of his second year) and a journeyman college coach. I don't know if you can count a guy coming back to where he had his best success after five straight losing seasons (and fired again) with the Denver Broncos as a coup of a signing.

Yes, I'm replying to myself ... Another member sent me a note to remind me of Chuck Knox. He does qualify as a head coach with a fine track record before coming to Buffalo.

All I can say is the next time the Bills invest a lot of money in a big-name head coach will be the first time. That might be more shocking than signing T.O. for one year.

I woke up this morning, so that's good. I figure I'm enjoying bonus time.

Great photo, wnyjazz. My personal favorite is Don Maynard, with the muttonchops visible. As for the 8-8 scenario billsfan89 poses, a gimmick to keep fans interested isn't a new concept at One Bills Drive. Using Doug Flutie, for example. Tom Donahoe made splashes such as Drew Bledsoe and the Willis McGahee pick. Of course, none of those were as big as T.O. But I think if the Bills go 8-8, you still could justify Jauron's return as long as they remain competitive and don't fall out of the playoff hunt by November. In fact, they could go 7-9 and be a much better team than they've been in years.

That was a fun story to write, and it came to be in a weird way. I actually wrote it a year ago for the Palm Beach Post, but it never ran because they waited for a good spot to run it last summer and then I left for ESPN. The paper became uncomfortable about printing a story by a writer who was employed somewhere else, so they returned it to me to use as I wished. I'd forgotten about it until recently and was inspired by the Hall of Fame. So I updated it with a call to Scott Player (I'd been unable to reach him when I wrote it the first time) and another call to the NFL for an official ruling on the helmet. I rewrote the first third of it to include the Hall of Fame scene, but this probably should be considered the last story I ever wrote for a newspaper. This is a reminder that I was a much better writer then ...

Also not apt comparisons. Big difference between not being drafted and not being good enough to make a training camp. Romo, Warner, Delhomme and Kitna were signed to a camp as undrafted rookies. Jeff Garcia, maybe. He needed five years to get to the NFL. Would you like the Bills to invest that kind of time in developing him, or would you rather wait and see how he does in the CFL?

Sorry, but I don't know. He did take it, though, since he went to the combine.

I don't know about King's report. I'd be surprised based on Russ Brandon's public statement of a couple weeks ago and a club source telling me the same thing in April -- that the Bills aren't interested. But all it takes is one call from Ralph Wilson to change everybody's minds in the front office. And, no, you don't have my permission. Withhold judgment until the second-to-last preseason game.

I agree that Trent Edwards might be operating without a net this year. As much as I liked the signing, Fitzpatrick hasn't impressed me at all when I've seen him. As for Graham Harrell, he's simply not an NFL prospect. There's a reason he's not in any of the 32 camps right now. Believe me, he has been looked at by every team at some point. There's all sorts of game film and he attended the combine. Being a Heisman candidate means nothing. Eric Crouch won the thing.

I would assume so, although I don't know for sure. NFL Network is known for rebroadcasting its own shows frequently, especially in the following week.

You and I have different recollections of how ESPN covered Spygate, then. I wasn't at ESPN then. I still was at the Palm Beach Post, but I remember it being every bit as talked about as Michael Vick or Brett Favre has been this offseason. ESPN's and the New York Times' original stories are what prompted the Boston Herald to run its infamous account. Spygate was the No. 2 angle for ESPN at the Super Bowl right behind the Patriots' quest to go undefeated. Some would argue Spygate eclipsed the perfection angle. Any day Roger Goodell made an announcement on Spygate, ESPN tore up its schedule to produce a studio show dedicated only to Spygate. Click on this link and then take a look at the right-hand margin. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...&id=3394586 That's a small portion of what ESPN.com did. ESPN networks and ESPN Radio were almost nonstop with it. What more would you want? ESPN to dedicate an entire channel to it?

The only ones worth sharing ... I cannot share.

Then please explain to me how ESPN being at the forefront of Spygate coverage benefited its broadcast relationship with the NFL.

I have plenty of ammo against Scotty. We used to run together in Vegas. But I have an employer who'd be none too pleased with that kind of banter.

You're being a little myopic. Marshall's reduction was the exception to the rule, not Lynch's suspension being upheld. Goodell isn't "taking it out solely on" Lynch. Goodell realized he shouldn't have given Marshall the reduction. Now he's back to a more unwavering stance. There seems to be a running theme here that Lynch was entitled to a reduction. A sense of entitlement is a major reason why Lynch is in the trouble he's in.