thebandit27

The Bills NEED a new stadium, and as a 28-year season ticket holder I have zero issues with a doubling or tripling of ticket prices

Right. I was responding to PTR's comment about the message that would be sent by doing a deal for Tyrod now

For one, they can afford them both; whether they want to give Gilmore what he wants is another issue altogether. For another, the deals are mutually exclusive. You don't pay Taylor now be he's still an unproven commodity; there's no codependency on Gilmore's deal being done.

That we'll reward a guy after 14 games of decent play when asked to execute a limited playbook, but not a guy with 4 seasons of very good play after being asked to play in his most challenging role to date? That's some message right there Of the players listed, only Glenn, Dareus, and Gilmore are making "premium" money.

I don't know about every week, as it can be difficult to sneak a real sit down dinner in the schedule with twin 3-year olds, but I'm happy to provide these occasionally if folks really want to read my drivel I just don't want to pretend like I'm some food genius or come off as one of those pretentious food critic people. Thanks for the kind words.

The stars: 1) Sammy 2) Dareus The givens: 3) Gilmore 4) Darby 5) Shady The near consensus tier: 6) Hughes 7) Glenn The opinion-separates-us tier: 8) Incognito 9) Clay 10) Taylor Guys who barely missed the cut: Wood Kyle

His playbook is pretty balanced as far as volume goes...on most 1st/2nd down fronts, he's got the linemen 2-gapping about 60% of the time from what I've seen in the book. In his 4-man fronts and pressure looks, they 2-gap about 40% of the time. Those are just eyeball estimates based on a few detailed readings of the playbook that was posted a few months back.

Factory farming.

I don't think it's got anything to do with Fitz; I think they're simply doing the smart thing. They don't want to end up in a situation like SF did with Kaepernick's contract, where he hasn't come close to living up to it, and now they're on the hook for a $16M cap hit this season and he's not even going to start. It's not a slight against Tyrod; it's simply smart business. Bad business would be doing what Houston did: giving a guy with 8 starts $18M/year. If Tyrod doesn't get his pay day, it's going to be because he doesn't earn it with his play this year.

My favorite steak that I've ever had was at Keen's in Manhattan...14-oz bone-in filet they had on special.

As I've said before, my choices for FA forwards are (in order of preference): 1) Stamkos, 2) Loui Eriksson, 3) Kyle Okposo

Oh sweet...well then yeah, put M&T back on the list. Mea culpa, Yolo

Doesn't M&T already sponsor Baltimore's football stadium? If that's correct, then I believe we can take them off the list. I'll add: Paychex Labatt Blue (if they'll let an alcohol company do it) Kaleida Tops

Yes Yolo, need. Again, I bought my house because it's 2 blocks from the Tonawanda location. I have an issue. Maybe I'm just going to Paula's at the wrong time--I haven't ever noticed that. There does always seem to be, without fail, that one table of dudes in their 70's that are all halfway through their coffee.

All Spot locations have them--fortunately, I bought a house two blocks from Paula's (yes, this was on purpose), so I can get them fresh when I am in need

Just for reference, Erik Turner, citing PFF, had Kyle in coverage 9 times in 2014: http://www.cover1.net/2016/02/20161212015-bills-defensive-study-defensive-line/ Nevertheless, he was most definitely not playing a coverage assignment on the Cutler pick

Absolutely.

I like Chef's, but it's definitely overrated as far as Italian food goes. If you're looking for homestyle Italian, Romeo & Juliet's, Mulberry's, and Carmine's (which I'm told will re-open next year) are all pretty solid. For upscale Italian, you can't beat Lombardo or Trattoria Aroma, unless you're wanting pasta--Sinatra's has the best pasta in the area. Then there are the places that deftly combine solid Italian food and incredible drinks--Cecilia's and Vera Pizzaeria. Cecilia's is the go-to for Martini lovers, whereas Vera is a must if your'e a craft cocktail guy.

In fact, I'm fairly certain that he was carrying the seam on 6 of Gronk's 7 catches in week 2, wasn't he?

Aro Tapas review on OTW: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/187005-aro-tapas-review/

A few folks on the main board asked me to post a review after I visited Aro Tapas last weekend, so here we go... I went with a group of 12, including my twin 3-year-old boys. We had a reservation and were seated quickly. At the urging of my cousin, I ordered one of their Gintonics--the Hibisco (gin/hibiscus bitters/plenty of other aromatics). The presentation was very cool with the dry ice, and it was nice and refreshing. I wouldn't say that it was worth the $15 price tag, but I'm pretty uninhibited when it comes to spending money at restaurants, so I would probably encourage an avid cocktail person to get one. We were told that it typically takes 4-5 plates per person to fill up, so I planned on going that route. Since 11 out of 12 of us had never been there, we decided to start with two 6-cheese platters and two orders of the world's greatest ham (we divided the bill up in two groups of 6, so each group had one of these). The cheeses ranged from 1-year aged manchego to creamy goat style to pungent bleu; they were excellent. The ham was tasty as well. Overall, I'd strongly recommend a cheese platter, but I'd step it down to 3 cheeses ($20 instead of $30 for 6) since they serve it with toasted baguette slices and honey anyway. The ham, while tasty, is a luxury item that I don't think added anything to our dining experience--at $18, I'd leave it out. Moving on to large plates, my kids really want to split a hamburger, so we got them the Hamburguesa de Hangover. At $12, this was easily one of the best values on the menu. It was a good portion (looked like 8 oz.) perfectly cooked, included a fried egg, and the harissa that dressed it was just spicy enough for the kiddos. They also got the Patatas Bravas--crispy fingerlings with a garlic aioli. A bit salty for me, but still a solid choice--an $8 serving was a good enough side for them--and they eat a LOT. They also wanted to try the asparagus because it came with bacon; not bad, but it needed the brown butter aioli that accompanied it to make it anything noteworthy--I'd probably pass on that one. Mrs. Bandit got the Arroz con Pollo, the chicken confit was nicely cooked; the rice/peas side was nothing special. I think this one was overrated at $17, and I'd steer away from it, though the saffron aioli was unique. The cauliflower side she ordered, however, was both delicious and hugely portioned. Nice touch with including crispy chicken skin. Side note: when my son saw that come out, he literally leapt out of his chair and ran over to her asking to have some; it was hilarious. I'd strongly recommend this one. I treated myself to the Albondigas, meatballs made from a pork/beef mixture and served with a spicy sauce. It was a decent portion for $10, but the taste was excellent. Rich flavor from the pork, good texture from the beef and breadcrumbs, and the sauce was a nice complement. My side dish, the Zanahorias con harissa, was fantastic. The carrots were were nicely cooked to retain their crispness, and the harissa was reminiscent of a proper Inidan curry, but balanced with a citrusy flavor. Solid combination. For dessert my kids each had a scoop of ice cream, which was a good deal for $3 apiece. Mrs. Bandit wanted something with a more Latin flavor, so she got the churros, which were decent enough on their own--nicely fried and seasoned, light, airy, crispy. The real highlight for that dish were the sauces: liberal helpings of salted caramel and dark chocolate served on the side for dipping. Good stuff. I ordered the Ojo de Buffalo, which was basically a chocolate brownie surrounded by chocolate mousse and topped with bits of sponge candy. It was excellent. Each of the desserts were $10, which I felt was overpriced, but again, I'm fairly comfortable spending whatever when I go out to eat. In general, if I'm grading on a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best), here's my marks: Food Taste - 4 Menu Variety - 5 Service - 4 Food prices - 3 Drink Quality - 4 Drink Prices - 2 I will definitely go back, but I think I'll take a different approach next time. I'll probably get the smaller cheese platter, no ham, and go with two large plates and one vegetable plate. Toss in a Gintonic and you're probably looking at $75/head including tip.

Nice work...very glad they found a way to sneak Paula's in there, because their donuts are a must for any area visitor.

Yeah, I've been meaning to pick it up...once I get through the steady stream of books I'm behind on (I've done well for the most part--tomorrow I'll finish my 12th so far this calendar year). I'd love to learn more about the details, since I think he's onto one of the few real sustainable models for earth restoration and feeding large populations at the same time.

You can't afford to pay 2 corners huge money, but that's not really a concern. The guaranteed money in a new deal for Gilmore--provided it were signed this offseason, would mostly be covered in the first 3 years of the deal--2016, 2017, and 2018. Darby does not become an UFA until after the 2018 season, so if you sign him to an extension prior to 2018--one that kicks in after the 2018 season, you can then let Gilmore go right as he's on the cusp of turning 30 and only be paying one premium CB salary. The 3 years in between offer plenty of time to groom another starter.

I do think that Tyrod is handling his business properly, but let's face it, he can't really hold out unless he wants to force a trade. He isn't going to get a new deal anytime soon because of the current cap situation, and the team isn't going to trade him. He's going to have to play this year under his current deal and prove he's not a one-year wonder, and then he'll get his pay day--either here or elsewhere. As to the Bills, they are doing the right thing; they're waiting to make sure that he can (a) duplicate what he did well in 2015, (b) improve upon what he didn't do well, and © stay ahead of opposing DCs that have an entire season of film with which to game plan against him.