Punch

I don't think it was the Bills' choice--- he wanted to be in Pittsburgh.

The defense will be a work in progress for the first few weeks. As many positives as we have seen thus far, things don't gel completely overnight--- or even over training camp with a new D coordinator and 3-4 new starters. I expect there to be several flashes of brilliance and a few speed bumps along the way so I'm not overly concerned with that drive, as ugly as it was. From my vantage point in Section 129 I can't speak to how often the starting D-line were out there, although they clearly came out when the Steelers reached the 15 after being out for several plays. Regardless, the front four rotation is another issue that needs to be ironed out. And yes, All Hail Kyle Williams! He should continue to be the biggest beneficiary of the Mario signing.

True enough. The real issue with that play was that Roethlisberger had as much time as he needed to allow the play to develop and deliver the ball precisely. I don't expect that to be a regular occurrence.

You shouldn't get blasted for the suggestion, because it was a perfectly reasonable assessment. This post is very likely accurate as well.

Hopefully the postgame presser sheds some light--- if the front four were gassed then I'm not sure why the DBs and LBs were the regular group. Nice--- my seats were in the opposite corner so it was difficult to tell how much space he was giving up--- then again, I just read a summary of the play and it was apparently Jonathan Dwyer, not Rainey. He's more of bruiser and not a shifty scatback which probably explains the excellent coverage.

That was Chris Rainey that beat Barnett down the sideline, right? It's a tough assignment for any LB--- that kid is slick, shifty and blazing fast. No excuses of course but it is a bit of a mismatch. I was at the game and it looked to me that the backup D-line--- Dwan Edwards, Spencer Johnson and Kyle Moore--- were in for most of that last long TD drive until the Steelers got down to the Bills 15 or so and then Mario, Kyle and company rotated in. I understand these guys are going to be rotated but is it really possible they'd stick the 2nd group out there in such a crucial situation or were they just being evaluated? That drive was embarrassing after an impressive start for the D.

What you're suggesting is almost certainly the literal definition of cheating. Whether or not it is commonplace in pro sports doesn't make the practice ethical.

That's a damn good question. He must have hidden Ralph's sugar free wafers back in the 70s. There's a case to be made that he belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, to be honest.

How many posters in this thread think any pro sport is free of PEDs or other forms of fraud? Many wish that to be the case but I'd guess very few think it to be literally true

However, I find this to be problematic. If your son (or anyone) needs to take PEDs of any kind to "go pro" then he is simply not good enough to play professional sports. Taking the opportunity away from a better athlete is not ethical--- it's kind of ****ty. On one hand, I feel that there must be a level playing field, so if they were theoretically legalized, it would be theoretically acceptable. But on the other hand, I really like the concept of regular human beings born with a certain degree of natural athletic ability training themselves as close to the peak of perfection in their given sport and competing against one another is a beautiful thing. Things like stealing signs, or using spit to make a fastball jump are in the acceptable category in one sense, but chemically altering your body's makeup to unfairly stack yourself against another athlete is like watching the X-Men fight a group of firemen. They're both "heroes" but the firemen have a competitive disadvantage from the word go.

I haven't read every post in this thread so your point is taken--- it's possible there is some trolling going on that I'm unaware of.

How is this any different? Referring to posters that disagree with you as "crusaders" is still unflattering and insulting.

You want honest answers yet you paint those that disagree with you in this unflattering light? Nice.

I think the OP beat you to your suggestion

He wasn't just considered the BPA at the Bills pick--- in fact, Spiller was considered by many pundits and scouts to be the best player in the entire draft. I've always liked the "Jests" moniker--- I'm calling it now, if the Bills win the division, then NE officially becomes the Past. It's our time.

Every draft can't be a home run--- the only consolation with the 2010 draft is that it is the odd man out of our recent draft history: 2009, 2011 and 2012 have produced numerous starters and/or valuable contributers. The track record has improved dramatically from where it was in the previous 6 years or so. And has been said, many of those defensive players that haven't panned could be considered 'tweeners that were too small for the 4-3 and ultimately not good enough for the failed 3-4 shift. If Easley makes the team and Troup returns healthy in 2013 and replaces Dwan Edwards or Spencer Johnson (both of their contracts are up) then it improves somewhat. But it's failure is still the outlier over the past 4 seasons.

Darrelle Revis is probably the Jets 3rd best wide receiver.

Interesting--- it's amazing that Matthew Stafford is likely the best QB in the history of the Lions franchise since Layne. Surely that's the longest drought of inconsistent QB play of any team. After rereading the OP I realized the media aspect was really just the 3rd part of the question.

Also with Graham, Paul Brown very much structured his offensive system around Graham's talents which screams franchise QB. Looking at Baugh's bio, he was a 1st rd draft pick (6th overall in 1937) and starred for 16 seasons, setting several NFL passing records and won a Championship. Certainly, that's a franchise QB background. I think the question is really about media perception as much as anything else, though. When did the almost "cult of personality" identity of the franchise QB become a regular talking point? I think the reality of great "franchise" QBs is separate from the media creation that has led to (as PTR referenced) guys like Sanchez and Bradford being drafted high and labeled as such without earning it.

If true that Hagan is an exceptional ST gunner would that then make Martin expendable, though, as Hagan has potentially better offensive upside? Obviously, they can keep them both for punt coverage, but if they want actual receivers then perhaps Martin loses out to Roosevelt or Easley. Just a thought--- I've assumed Martin makes the team all along for his ST work.

I might say the same--- in fact, I'd suggest Unitas might be the first modern pro football QB. After Unitas it can be argued that Joe Namath was a franchise QB because of the money invested in him by the Jets. The game was very different in the 40s and 50s but something must be said about the likes of Sammy Baugh, Otto Graham and Bobby Layne. At least in the case of Graham, who I think is probably pretty close to being a franchise QB taking into consideration his incredible record for the first 10 or so years of the Browns franchise.

I say Merriman is the biggest longshot, especially considering he was released today.

Doesn't this likely have as much to do with Pears' injury as it does with Glenn's play? He's looked very good but Hairston has to start at RT if Pears isn't ready.

I only wish Thigpen looked like Steve Grogan when throwing the football.

With the lack of offensive talent, an aging defense & mediocre pass rush and all the circus media hype personnel distractions I honestly believe that if Rex Ryan gets this team to 10 wins he deserves to be named coach of the year--- I'm not saying this to be funny or condescending either, I truly believe he'll have earned that recognition. I don't know what this team's identity is supposed to be on either offense or defense. It's too close to the start of the season for the ship to still be rudderless.