GaryPinC

I would like to see more of Tashard on the field. I like both Freddy and CJ but both have similar running styles and Tashard is much more of a hard hitting slasher. Good change of pace back. Tough situation with so much talent back there though. And I think both CJ and Fred are secretly unhappy about splitting carries. These men are warriors and competitors who want the rock. I think they respect each other and are making the best of the situation.

Is this really a surprise? Put his house on the market at least a couple months ago. I don't want the guy in Buffalo. He's a jerk, really didn't do much for Cleveland. Colt McCoy was his baby, and I truly believe he made a mistake not giving Mangini one more year. Heckert is bringing the talent in, once Joe Banner of the Eagles gets installed things should really look up for the Browns (unless they sack Shurmer).

Had to laugh about a quote from the PD article from today: "He (Juaron) can explain complex schemes and provide insightful answers during his weekly 15-minute segment with the media." http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/09/quiet_leader_dick_jauron_makin.html (I'm not a fan of writer Bill Livingston, he's kind of a passive-aggressive version of Sullivan) Every time I see Jauron quoted here in Cleveland it's worth a nostalgic laugh. He is doing a great job with the Browns' defense, though. Just not a head coach-type.

Sometimes its better on TV but usually the camera focus is too tight to really see the entire play unfold. Not too hard to focus on a defensive end from the stands.

I can tell you from being at the game that Mario also did a great job of crashing down inside to stop the runner on multiple plays. He definitely reminded me of Bruce on those plays. He's very good and the sacks will come.

Thanks for the great summaries, I was at the game today and came away with these impressions: I think Fitz's footwork coaching was all good in preseason but suspect it's messed up his confidence and style. Mentally he didn't look like the same quarterback. Doesn't seem to go through all his progressions, definitely stares down receivers more than in the past and seems to lack that attitude of seeing all his receivers looking to make a play. He's always had the accuracy problems, now he seems like he's just trying to execute the offense. Perhaps he's thinking about his footwork too much. Love how set the Bills are at running back. Spiller is fantastic, love Tashard's straight-ahead slasher style. Complements CJ and Fred. Can't wait for Fred back. Kudos to offensive coaching staff for great game plan. Mix of wildcat was effective and not overdone. 'Bout time the run game took center stage! Young CB's just need some playing time to get better. A lot of KC completions were a case of young DB not turning around to see the ball in time but having good position. It'll improve. We are still so vulnerable to the seam pass up the middle. I was perplexed that Wilson or Byrd never stepped up to help cover the route. Anybody know why this is? A couple plays Barnett was covering until ~20 yds downfield but had no safety help. They really need to fix this. Mario did a great job stopping the run and definitely had 2 or 3 guys blocking him at time.

Did it say when the $3 mil becomes guaranteed? A lot of times (and when this was signed everyone knew his injury problem) it won't become guaranteed until the regular season starts.

One thing we don't have is access to trainers and medical reports. He sat out a practice recently, I too wonder if he's hurt enough to slow him down the last couple of weeks. It could be same old thing. Last year I remember Merriman saying he was healed and feeling great during the preseason.

Watched Wilson play a few times while at Wisconsin and he is a real talent. Two things about him which probably won't show up in the preseason against vanilla defenses: He's 5'-11" and will he be able to read full-speed NFL defenses? Just a gut feeling that he'll have problems in the regular season but we'll have to wait to see. Should be at minimum a good backup QB.

Great point and he would be reunited with Browns' gm Tom Heckert. First thing I thought when I saw the sale announcement is what happens to Holmgren? Figuring he will be gone. Lerner is a fan of the Browns. Not sure what has changed with him but last year he got a house in the Cleve area and planned for his son to go to school there. He was never comfortable with the spotlight though and may have tired of it. Feel bad for this franchise, in many ways they're repeating our path with all the front office turnover. Almost certainly they won't have a good team this year but I've liked Heckert's draft picks and there is some decent talent on the team. Never been impressed with Holmgren with the Browns. Haven't heard much good about him as a person, and really disagreed with his decision to fire Mangini before last year. Mangini was a rigid coach and more than one player didn't like that but I felt he had a strong team one decent draft away from the playoffs. I think if Holmgren had borrowed a page from Accorsi's dealings with Coughlin things would be very positively different in Cleveland right now.

Agree. I would rather have Nelson let the cat out of the bag about Fitz's ribs than Fitz use it as an excuse. Obviously Fitz wasn't going to do that but certainly the injury affected Fitz's performance and I feel it's unfair to him to keep it a complete secret. Most of the NFL today is about marketing. Living in Cleveland, the players say the same exact thing about the town and quality of fans, best fans in the NFL, as they do in Buffalo. Locker room's great, etc. For me, it's completely refreshing when players/coaches will address the past honestly even if generically so us long term fans gain an understanding of what was going on with those bad teams. So far I think Nelson's been pretty savvy about when and what he'll say. Hopefully he stays that way so it doesn't create a problem on the current team. Though Evans always seemed a classy guy, his efforts on the field, his injection into the Losman/Edwards debate, and Chan's comments before letting him go make me think he was much less classy behind closed doors.

Good perspective piece on Stevie. Interesting quote from Mark Anderson about halfway down. Always love an open and honest player like Stevie. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--bills-wr-stevie-johnson-will-continue-to-celebrate-tds-despite-late-benching-in--11.html

If you go on the Bills' website and look in their twitter section to the right the code is there. Agree about the quality of the interface but I got upper deck tickets to the Chiefs opener so I'm pumped!

The Giants' plan was simply to bleed the clock and slow down Buffalo's offense. Considering the overall time of possession and the fact that the Bills lost the game missing the field goal at expiration, can you really blame Kelly and the offense? To me Buffalo lost this game on the defensive side. Walt Corey bragged about all the talent he had on defense and how he mostly just let them play without a lot of intricate schemes or adjustments. The result of that was a talented but undisiplined defense that could usually make just enough plays late in the game to pull most close ones out. But the superbowl is not just a "usual" type of game. How Corey never got fired after that superbowl I'll never know. It was utterly embarrassing from a defensive standpoint.

From West Seneca to Pittsburgh to Mansfield, OH to far east side of Cleveland. Bills/Sabres will always be #1, won't try and convert the kids because 1. standing by hometown team is so important to me. 2. I would like my kids to be overall positive people. Trying to swap one cursed sports franchise for another and watching hope die from their eyes would be too wrong and too much negativity for impressionable young minds.

I like Eric Wood a lot but have to agree with others that he shouldn't be re-signed if his season gets cut short by serious injury again. Here's another player whose injuries were considered "bad luck" when he left Cleveland: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2805059 One of his Cleveland coaches said Courtney tried so hard to make the play that he often put his body in bad/awkward positions that made him vulnerable to injury. Let's hope that isn't true about Eric and he has a productive, full season. Also, at least we know what the health issue is/was with Kyle and Merriman. It's either fixed or it isn't but at least the FO, doctors, and training staff know what the problem is if a decision needs to be made. How long do you pay a guy who incurs unrelated, season-ending injuries every year or two? Especially a starter.

Yea, no matter how you slice it, it's a good day for us.

Rotoworld claims 3 year (assuming 2012 is included) 11.105 million with additional 1.7 possible in incentives Beside Fred's picture click on "view contract details" http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/4506/fred-jackson

You're way too kind. Not worth a rent unless kids were dying to see it like mine were. D-

That is the primary rule upon which almost all the rest follow, it does not mean they SHOULD all be loaded.

Wow, nice gun to have. I agree with you that the lack of kids helps, and certainly you've been responsible in putting thought into the potential risks, but you can't guarantee that no one besides yourself will ever have access to that loaded gun. A couple posts ago, you asked me "why would I not leave it loaded?" Besides the unknown risks for an unforseen accident, always living with a loaded gun in the house builds up a comfort level with you. This comfort compromises mental diligence in avoiding handling mistakes and opens you up to distractions also. Obviously you feel you have complete control of your gun, leaving it loaded and unsecured can allow that to change quickly, maybe instantaneously. For these reasons my mentality would be (regardless of kids): Is there a tangible reason to leave it loaded all the time? If so, no problem. If not, I hope you consider unloading it.

Yea, I'm losing respect for Holmgren. I thought he made a mistake getting rid of Mangini's regime and now this. I'm not that sold on McCoy, (noodle arm) but Colt had to learn the West Coast offense last year with no offseason to do it. Colt had a real promising rookie year under Mangini and last year's turmoil put him at a big disadvantage. Why not give him the chance and let Weeden earn it? IMO Holmgren risks screwing up the locker room over this, Colt's a nice guy and a leader. Colt added a lot of muscle in the offseason and is/was ready to give it his all this year. I feel sorry for this franchise as instability has been a hallmark since they put the team back in Cleve and now they're on the cusp of falling right back into that. It all starts with stability in your FO, at least Ralph's finally got that one right.

Don't get me wrong, if you live in a bad neighborhood, there's been an increase in criminal activity, or you have a conflict with someone that you fear may escalate then I fully understand the reasoning for having the loaded gun easily accessible. But to routinely leave a loaded, easily accessable gun lying around means you get casual about it and your chances of mistakenly leaving the safety off or having an accident with it are much greater than actually having to shoot a criminal. Between clips, trigger locks and lock boxes you can easily set it up that you can have that gun ready to go within 10 seconds if needed. If that still seems too long to you then keep a baseball bat nearby. If that still doesn't work than I think you're being overly paranoid and neurotic about your sense of security.

I believe #1 and #5 are the crux of this issue. My guns have all been long unloaded before I go to clean them (and I always double check). This is common sense and was taught adamantly to me in my gun safety course. It should be required that anyone buying a gun would receive quick hands-on training how to disassemble and clean it from the seller than be required to successfully demonstrate before taking possession of the gun. As far as the uber-paranoid "gun always loaded" neurotics, I'm not sure what can be done about them and it is truly disconcerting that many instructors subscribe to this philosophy.

Certainly I agree that the bike lane can present problems, but that doesn't absolve a bicyclist's responsibility of yielding to turning traffic (as Pete blithely seems to believe). A bike lane does not mean a biker can ignore yielding to pedestrians at a red light intersection or a designated cross-walk either. As for your right turn across 4 lanes example, I fail to see how a reckless op type of illegal turn is really relevant to executing a legal right turn on a road with a bike lane. Certainly the car has a responsibility to yield to a biker occupying the space where the car is trying to go but the biker still has a responsibility to yield to traffic in front of him.