vincec

I'm trying to consolidate how Ragland, Lawson and Washington can be awesome while Whaley is a piece of crap. There is some serious dissonance on this board.

Probably an over statement. Heck if just Tyrod has an all pro season I would pencil them into the playoffs. If all four do then you are talking about a championship contender. The chances are so unlikely though...

I guess I'll be the only one to agree with you. Public funded football only stadiums are a total scam and not the slightest bit in the public interest. They cost a fortune, are rarely ever utilized outside of the few football dates per year, take up a ton of valuable real estate (or if they're built in the boonies cost a ton in infrastructure improvements) and generate minimal jobs and income for the area. If politicians cared at all about the regular tax payer they would put it to a referendum, except that they have noticed that those don't go so well so they don't Here in Charlotte, they had a referendum on a new downtown arena. Lost. And then build the stadium anyway using a different (but still public) funding stream. That's how much they care about what the tax payers want.

You know this all sounds good but it really doesn't mean anything until they show that it leads to success on the football field. Chan Gailey sounded good too with his "tough game for tough people" and "getting bigger" talk and Greg Williams was as detail oriented as McDermott is. Neither one of them were able to win though. Flaws were revealed once the games started. Still, it's nice that they have a plan.

He was producing pretty well last season. So much so that many on this board were calling for him to start at LT and Glenn to be moved to RT. Now that he is released he sucks, per the usual.

As opposed to lazy, dark skinned, drug addicted thugs? ... or are these just racist stereotypes?

This is where I stand too. He's going into his 7th season. What was he doing up until now? Was no one coaching him properly? I doubt it.

I don't see how a non-surgically ankle injury that didn't heal fully in an entire offseason is going to get better or even last once the season starts. Sounds like it might be a chronic thing he has to deal with for the foreseeable future.

It's a pretty old backfield in RB terms.

Would be great if it turned out they were the best 3, but either Jones or Peterman will be released most likely. Don't just assume it will be Jones either. He showed good intangibles last season to go along with his arm strength and size.

Could be. I hope so. All will be revealed in time.

Ragland doesn't have the classic range required to play MLB or WLB in a 4-3 at the pro level. Lawson is a small 4-3 DE or a slow 4-3 SLB. Not saying these guys can't make the transition. If they turn out to be elite players then they can play in any system. But they were drafted as "fits" for a completely different system than the one they are now being asked to play in.

Because he's not a strong interior run defender as a DT, or at least wasn't in college and in his limited time in the NFL, and not a great edge rusher.

No.

Plus they drafted Bruce Smith as a result.

He didn't fabricate the whole story. He admitted to exaggerating the facts but what happened was pretty screwed up by all sides, IMO.

Darby, Ragland, Shaq, Washington, ... pretty much everyone drafted while Rex was here is now a square peg in a round hole. Part of the fun of switching defenses every two years. That being said, Darby is probably the least affected. If you can cover then you can cover.

Yeah, I'm sure Whaley and Rex Ryan would smoke them.

I agree 100% about the LBs. They are below average as a group and there is no depth behind the starters to boot. I do think Alexander will do well (if he isn't injured), but Ragland and Brown are a long way from quality starters at this point.

Team website lists Vernon as 275- 10 pounds heavier than Shaq. But size isn't everything. Robert Mathis played DE for the Colts at 250 or less. He was very, very quick though. Heck, Jerry Hughes is only listed at 254.

Do you disagree that having to start rookies is not as good as having veterans? Or do you just not like how it might apply to the Bills this season if true?

Strange, I don't remember him adding that caveat... Is that the Promo extension?

Well there you go. I knew the day would eventually come when I made a mistake. Agree.

How does this new fact explain that there hasn't been a rookie starting for a super bowl champion in 10+ years?

No. The same.Build through the draft. Use FA to address needs. Draft best available players and develop them. It's what everyone tries to do. The trick is doing it well.