GaryPinC

So sorry to hear about your tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. As a parent, it would be a horrible scenario to deal with, please try and stay strong. Your son was obviously a fighter and any parent would be proud of that.

Being a Penn state fan, Hackenberg doesn't have the intelligence to be an NFL QB. I'd be utterly shocked if he did, considering how obvious it was at PSU. We are far better off finding a franchise guy in Cardale. I have a lot of doubts about Watson's football IQ too. He has a ton of athletic ability but stares down his target almost every time. Not a lot of decision making there, very scripted by the OC until the play breaks down. Mahomes is a gamer but man, his footwork is awful and throws some real EJ-style stinkers at times. Out of the three, Trubisky has the weakest arm and needs some better footwork at times. But he throws a good ball and definitely reads the field including progressions. Not the best QB draft year but out of the 3 he'd be my choice second round.

Hey, but c'mon. She is probably the "most qualified candidate ever" to run a government pay-for-play scheme. Your average Haitian is still wondering exactly where all their humanitarian donations went.

For me, I consider Matt Cassel, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Jacoby Brissett. I consider how their aerial attack revolves around a big TE and a bunch of quick, smart white guys. How New England rarely drafts big name skill position players. Yet they maintain success. They don't always have dominant running backs or #1 receivers but when they do, they take advantage. You look at all their success, beyond Brady, has it been a good number of supremely talented players on both sides of the ball like most dynasty franchises? I would say no and that's the mark of a great coach. The system and discipline he coaches are supreme. His cheating truly diminishes his legacy but I think he's still the best of all time.

How many examples of this have you ever heard of? What agents actually say "Hey, you got benched on the eve of getting a huge payday. Even though you will be able to get an opportunity with another team next year, go ahead and reach out to the new coach and head up to Buffalo to meet him." Would agents feel this helps his negotiating position with the Bills? I would think it's more of a negative. TT has consistently shown to be a leader and classy person of high character. He came here for the opportunity at the expense of at least one higher offer. He took a team friendly contract and bet on himself. He signed a second initial team friendly contract and the Bills stupidly assumed he would complete his development in its first year. Anthony Lynn talked about having him another offseason to work on his deficits. It implies to me that was not done properly by Lee. Get a QB coach who should be able to help TT. Renegotiate his contract to pay him well for what he is right now plus incentives. Work out terms of a new contract that will provide for him being rewarded as a franchise QB without hamstringing us should he fail. Tyrod has never shown the ego of a bloated sense of worth. To the contrary he has seemed very open to earning his way up the salary ladder. Bring him back because in a worst case scenario we desperately need a transition QB that can keep this team together and improving. He's still the key to the next level, up or down.

Being articulate is one form or facet of intelligence. There is a huge diversity in the label of "intelligence". It's breadth can also be very narrow or wide. For Pegula to have built where he is now, I feel most people would agree takes intelligence. Many people can take risks, work hard and have unwavering persistence. To do that unintelligently will not build you a fortune.

Great discussion, thanks. What to do about TT?: We rank near the bottom of the league in YAC both in 2016 and 2015, according to: https://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-yards-after-catch-statistics/2016/ In 2015 our YAC was 4.40, 2016 it is 4.26. So as an offense our passing has regressed a bit this year. I look at YAC, because in my mind the lack of YAC are largely due to QB choice of where and when to throw the ball. Check downs and late/inaccurate delivery. Also, according to PFF TT's completion % is down by 2 this year: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TaylTy00.htm Great job David Lee! Reminiscent of your work with Fitzy! From the article, look at this video and Sammy Watkins at the bottom of the screen: https://videos.files.wordpress.com/zNNRe3jK/ttvid4_dvd.mp4 Do you think Brady makes the same choice as TT or does he key on and hit Sammy in stride the moment he gets a step on the DB? I was at the Browns game and saw this same play, watched Sammy get open but TT never saw/looked at him, as in this Miami instance. But is this TT's fault? He does make decisions and try to see the field, but his abilities have not developed this year IMO. The big issue could be coaching, and I thought Anthony Lynn saying that he hopes he gets TT for an offseason is very telling. I think he's intimating Lee et all have failed to address TT's issues. That is not surprising because my impression of Lee is that of a technique expert, not a decision-making coach like TT would need. To bring it home, I think TT's development will take more time and if he quickens his decision-making, especially pre-snap reads, he could be a good starting quarterback. We should restructure his contract to give him a reasonable raise next year but push most of the guaranteed money back a year and maybe throw in a bit more since we were stupid enough to assume he would develop into a starting QB this year. Obviously we keep our flexibility if he doesn't develop after another year.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sammy-watkins-bills-culture-coaches-190839616.html Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins talked to the media after the firing of head coach Rex Ryan. "Whatever needs to be addressed on field, off field....just being a professional....coaches have to be hard on us. Not scared of us." This says it all to me. Rex the "players coach".

You are right but most of us already know this. In fact, many of us have probably spent far more time reflecting on it as Bills fans then you because it's groundhog day again for us! I do believe Pegula at his word that he intends to allow his head coach at least 3 years to maintain stability. I do think he wants to build a stable front office like the Steelers and Pats. I agree with others that Rex's defense is lacking, despite being his specialty, having a large coaching staff, and having brought his brother to help out. I also think Rex's blowhard style runs counter to Pegula's philosophy, and the amount of gameday disorganization (timely playcalling, wrong # of players on field, repeated stupid penalties) really built Rex's premature coffin. Then the decision to stick with TT was a final nail. Prior to the Miami game, I was in favor of Rex being given another year, but all the disorganization and resulting basic football mistakes leave me ok with Pegula's decision.

I like that the truth came out. It actually enhances our democracy because the of the opportunity to vote based on honest information. The DNC, primaries included, was trying to subvert our democracy by pushing Hillary at all costs over Bernie and in the general election. How can you not see that? You think that's an ok democratic process? Plus they were pushing one of the most corrupt politicians I've ever seen. What the hell is wrong with your sense of democracy? Is hacking a crime? Yea. Every advanced nation on earth attempts it though. I realize it doesn't make it right, but what's the greater wrong here? If the Russians hack our securities and execute fraudulent trades, that's fraud. If they hack, sell and compromise credit card or medical data that's a couple of crimes. That's very different from simply publishing actual emails online and letting us decide how it affects our vote. And that's assuming they are actually behind it!

Sure, but they've got it nailed this time, right? Seth Rich had nothing to do with it.

So intelligence has no real proof, just feel strongly that they played a role based on similarities and patterns. I can accept that. Do you really think we don't attempt to do the same thing to them? Was this false information they were spreading? I feel strongly that it wasn't. The DNC and HRC got busted big time and they had no defense. It lost them the election because it was the truth. But let's also not forget about Seth Rich. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/wikileaks-offers-reward-in-killing-of-dnc-staffer-in-washington/2016/08/09/f84fcbf4-5e5b-11e6-8e45-477372e89d78_story.html?utm_term=.fe41466edc76 Assange refused to confirm him as a leak but singled him out and Wikileaks is offering a reward for his killer's capture. To me, that's a pretty strong pattern that he played some role in all this. Was he a Russian spy? Or is this more complex than just "the Russians did it"?

Thank God for Wikileaks to confirm what many of us already knew. As 4merper4mer alludes to, Podesta and the Dems would have gone to extraordinary lengths to deny and disprove the emails to save Hilary's campaign. Instead they gave us crickets. Wasserman-Schulz resigned. It's not really, really, bad if it's factual. It's the truth, no matter how or where it came out. It's a lesson in cybersecurity that didn't compromise national security. If these were false propagandas then I agree with you. The bigger issue for me right now is the false news stories spread over social media. That needs action the most.

Ah, my apologies, probably should have just sent you to that E. 4th St. area. That's a good area too and much closer to the Q. I've lived here since the mid-nineties, not a ton of unique things but a good town with good people and interesting bars and food. Same types of folks you'd find in Buffalo (good and bad but mostly good!). Glad you had a good time. Much like Buffalo, Cleveland gets an undeserved bad rap.

It's your glasses. The wildcat traces its roots back to the single wing offense. Snapping the ball to players other than the "quarterback" is nothing new, just has fallen out of favor with the modern NFL. NFL rules stipulate 7 men on the line of scrimmage, only 2 are eligible receivers. Ineligible receivers must wear numbers 50-79 and 90-99. Only exception is if a tackle declares himself eligible for 1 play. What Belichick did was declare an eligible (numbered) receiver ineligible, line him up in the slot receiving position then take an eligible receiver and line him up in a normally ineligible (tackle) position. Both players wore eligible numbers. Then have Brady snap the ball quickly. Baltimore was trying to figure out where the eligible guy was lining up. Technically, you could line your eligible receiver at any of the O-line positions to hide him because there wasn't a rule against it at the time. Considering the NFL passed a rule forbidding it that offseason, the rest of the league considered it a subversion of the rules and not how the game is meant to be played. Anyone with any appreciation of the game of football knows it too. I respect Bill Belichick's coaching accomplishments, but him twisting the game because the rulebook is not specific enough is as cowardly and low class as it gets. Besides spygate that is.

I tell ya, with Dareus saying he just had "a little malfunction" this makes the most sense to me.

I agree that giving the refs the power to make that judgement would be scary but this would keep coaches honest instead of seeking out petty little loopholes that taint the game and complicate the rulebook. Harbaugh and his team weren't good enough to get a first down, let them take a safety and/or punt the ball and take their chances like the game was meant to be played. This is not the sign of a good or smart coach. This is a sign of desperation and insecurity to temporarily subvert the rules of the game and diminish the victory. It is unfortunate that good coaches such as Harbaugh and Belicheck choose to spend their time doing this. Stay classy, you jackasses.

Those three are joined by Joe Manchin, Bob Casey and Sherrod Brown, all of whom have some ideas about a legislative agenda which could line up nicely with the GOP’s priorities. And Chuck Schumer isn’t doing anything to tamp them down either. Have you already guessed what they all have in common? For one very good hint, just take a look at this map of 2018 Senate seats which are up for grabs. More at the link: Thanks, this is exactly what I was hoping for when I voted for Trump. Everyone hated him, wasn't fit to be President, well what're ya gonna do now? At least some in congress are starting to get the message. Here's to finding a functional government again.

Sounds like you had fun (other than the final score of the game!). Did you check out that Ohio City area and was it ok for you?

Thanks, looking up and watching the video helped too (link in this article had video removed). The best way to close loopholes is to allow the refs to flag and assess a penalty for "disrespecting the game". That would eliminate the need to make up new loophole closing rules when crap like this happens. It's just poor sportsmanship what Harbaugh did, yep it's smart in that it isn't disallowed in the rulebook but it's cowardly and is not how football should be played. You give power to the refs in this situation to throw a flag for disrespecting the game, half the distance to the goal line, Cincinnati ball with 11 seconds back on the clock and see how many coaches try to pull this kind of crap in the future.

Someone help me out, why couldn't the Bengals decline the Ravens' holding penalty on 4th down and take over the ball?

Yea, it's only about a mile and a half to the Q from there. Just have to walk across the Lorain/Carnegie bridge which will be fun with the temps, wind, and possible rain, but very doable. There's also an RTA station right there so you could hop a bus to tower city which would take about 15 minutes. Best place to park in Ohio city is the West Side market lot on the east side of the market. It may still be free but they redid it with plans to start charging. This link does well to show it: http://westsidemarket.org/location-and-directions/parkinganddirections/ Btw, the art museum is a good 20 minute drive away. Cod is a little over a mile away.

As a Clevelander, my vote is for the art museum, USS cod (submarine) and hang out in Ohio City to eat/drink (W 25th and Lorain). Great Lakes Brewery, Bar Cento (great pizza), Bier Market and a number of others are easy walking distance. The west side market (farmer's market) is also at the corner of 25th and Lorain. http://westsidemarket.org/ Lots to see and do in here with specialty produce and some decent food too. Noodlecats has some good soups there unless you go to the Souper Market just around the corner. http://www.thesoupermarket.com/#welcome-to-soupermarket Town Hall is one of my favorites right down there as it has a lot of beers, tasty and unique menu and good crowd. Highly recommend the prosciutto-wrapped dates appetizer. http://www.townhallohiocity.com/food-drink/ Lots of bars and stuff to pick from down there and it's all good. Enjoy!

Nice, now do you have the per capita crime rate to really bring it home?

I live in Cleveland. I feel far better about the direction and effort of the Bills. Our ownership is vastly superior and the rest will take care of itself. Haslam is almost completely incompetent as an owner. It's pretty ignorant to think the two situations similar.