Leonidas

Yeah, I'm just dripping with remorse over here. Woe is me...

That was apparent from your first post, contrary to your hopes of "staying out of it."

You can construe anything you'd like, JW.

You answered yourself on that one. I've actually never been to a Pizza Hut you !@#$ing dolt.

No, but if I went to Pizza Hut and the pizza sucked I would yell at the cashier or whomever was there. I wouldn't kindly ask for a phone number so I could call the main headquarters in Dallas and tell them their recipe blows. Or maybe I would and B word at them as well.

I'd like to think there's a difference between trying to get a writer to out his sources vs. venting a perfectly legitimate complaint about a website. I'll own what I said. But I wasn't in the wrong. Some people - including Mr. Graham - took it a little too personally for some reason. Funny when you see all the other **** written about him and ESPN in general, with so much of it based in fiction (some mystery bias) or just based in irrationality (hating him or ESPN for reasons x, y, and z), but I'm the bad guy. Eh. C'est la vie.

And to think a simple reply to that effect could have saved the board all the bandwidth taken up with this page...

Again, tongue-in-cheek. Have you ever had a 10-page thread dedicated to people calling you a douchebag? Probably not...

Wow. Where do I begin? There are so many people I have to thank. No, but in all seriousness... Now Tim, after someone asked you to out your source, you said you were done here. A few weeks (months?) later, you were back. Then after my last comment in your thread which you've taken personal offense to (which I'll get to in a minute), you said you were done again, but yet, here you are. Don't jump to conclusions and think I'm insulting you or that I want you to go. Quite the oppposite, actually; I prefer you stay. From a purely utilitarian perspective you contribute well more positive than negative. That can't be said for many people here. In the eyes of many, it probably can't even be said for me, despite my thoughts/wishes to the contrary. To address these issues about Mortensen, Sullivan, et al. Do you recognize that you're grouping all TSW posters in together on this issue? I've never said a thing about Mortensen or Sullivan or any sports writer having some sort of anti-Buffalo bias. I've never gone after John Wawrow (to be perfectly honest - and no offense intended here - I don't know who he is beyond being a sports writer from Buffalo. I'm not from Buffalo.). In fact, I think - and I've said so much - that it's an inferiority complex in its infant stages, akin to Boston in the 80's/early 90's when all their teams were getting beaten up on. It's unhealthy, and for many, it's unbecoming. The Mike Reiss issue is a different one. I'm stunned that you didn't understand the STFU comment was toungue-in-cheek. Really. You seem smarter than that. I understand that tone is tough to convey in a chat room, but still. Did you think I really wanted you to walk down the halls of ESPN (let's pretend for a minute you all work in the same building), go into his office (cubicle?) and say "hey Mike, this 'Leonidas' guy from some Buffalo Bills chat room wanted me to tell you to STFU, so...yeah. Do you mind shutting the !@#$ up?" That being said, it's a legitimate complaint. The Patriots having their own reporter is a little insulting to the rest of us. Having to read all the mundane transactions by their organization once you go to ESPN's NFL site (thanks for clarifying, Dan) is maddening. You say to click away from it, yet you can't choose to "click away" from my comments regarding how infuriating it is. I'll skip the pot/kettle argument here. Lori comes to your defense (per usual) and says to register it with ESPN, which of course I did. Your overreaction from there seems a bit unwarranted, but hey, it's your call. All this being said, there is a little unnecessary melodrama here. Not just in response to me, but in response to others. Someone recently asked you if an ESPN analyst could look at film on our three QB's - a far-fetched request, but a great one if somehow it could happen - and you seemed to take offense to it that we didn't ask you. I don't know if you were being sarcastic or you have a dry sense of humor or if you really thought that a sports writer was as qualified as a former player/coach to dissect film, but obviously the OP wasn't trying to offend you, yet it seems that he did. That's just the most recent of instances. It's quite amusing to me the reaction that you elicit here, Tim. You are just short of deified by some and completely **** on by others. Neither of which, I can explain, yet both viewpoints amuse me. As I said Tim, I think you're a net positive. There are other net positives on this board, and I treat you as such. The net negatives (DarthICE comes to mind), perhaps I don't treat as well. I understand you're a national sports writer and you don't have to be here, so I appreciate you being here. I'd prefer if you stayed. The board would continue, of course, if you didn't. Do what you must. But if you choose to be personally offended by a statement that clearly wasn't a personal attack, well, then I can't help that. You've got to 'roll with the punches' like anyone else. You have access to the "ignore" feature just like the rest of us. And if this is really what set you off, you might not want to be around when people have an axe to grind with you personally.

Oh I'm right here. Just taking it all in at the moment.

All this coming from a guy who said Brohm's college tape (from 2007, mind you) was more relevant than his pre-season ("it's just exhibition!") and regular season ("it was one game!") tape here in the pros. You'll excuse me if I don't quite regard your opinion so highly.

It's because there aren't any idiots on this board who are tying the franchise to Meredith. He hasn't been anointed and he hasn't failed miserably in every opportunity he's been given so far. That's why. That basically sums up your post. You could have gone without all the other paragraphs and saved us all the trouble and no one would have disagreed with you.

So is that a 'no' then on the Mike Reiss/STFU question? Maybe Mike Reiss is a 'fine' journalist. Maybe he just got stuck with a ****ty job. Or maybe it's considered a dream job for some since all he has to do is report on what the Patriots do, allowing him to tweet about an uninspiring signing and golf the rest of the day away. The weather in Massachusetts is nice this time of year, I should know. But I know I'm not the only one sick of the front page flooded with his crap. Look under the "FOLLOW THE NFL ON TWITTER" section sometime. I'll give you a quick rundown of an average day: @MikeReiss: Patriots sign kicker off the street. Belichick likes his work ethic. @MikeReiss: Welker unable to practice but reads playbook during physical therapy. @espncowboysblog: Dez Bryant's mother wasn't a prostitute. Who knew? @wingoz: <says something stupid, without fail> can't believe how much hot sauce they put on my hot dog! @NFLRumorCentral: <insert completely baseless rumor here> Favre to sign with Atlanta? It's possible. @Adam_Shefter: <insert real, but effectively irrelevant signing here> OG Roberto Garza to sign 1-year deal for league minimum with Cleveland @MikeReiss: Hoyer goes 15 for 20 in Brady's absence in mini-camp. Belichick looked impressed. @espncowboysblog: Jerry Jones apologizes to Bill Parcells...again. @NFLRumorCentral: T.O. to sign with St. Louis? It's possible. @MikeReiss: Moss says injury is all healed up and ready to go. @wingoz: I haven't worn a dress since high school! @espncowboysblog: Herm Edwards likes Dez Bryant. @MikeReiss: Patriots added more practice squad fodder. Stay tuned. @Adam_Shefter: WR David Tyree signs 1-year incentive-laden deal with Kansas City. @NFLRumorCentral: Jerry Rice to sign with Green Bay? It's possible. See where I'm going with this? ESPN has taken a stupid idea in Twitter and brought the stupidity into their sports world to compound the problem. But I wouldn't expect you to bash your employer. I guess the rest of us will just have to wait and hope that someday we'll see an ESPNMiami or an ESPNBuffalo or an ESPNBaltimore or an ESPNCincinatti or an ESPNCleveland or an ESPNPittsburgh or an ESPNHouston or an ESPNIndianapolis or an ESPNJacksonville or an ESPNNashville or an ESPNDenver or an ESPNKansasCity or an ESPNOakland or an ESPNSanDiego or an ESPNPhiladelphia or an ESPNWashington or an ESPNDetroit or an ESPNGreenBay or an ESPNMinneapolis or an ESPNAtlanta or an ESPNRaleigh or an ESPNNewOrleans or an ESPNTampaBay or an ESPNPhoenix or an ESPNSanFrancisco or an ESPNSt.Louis or an ESPNSeattle.

Tim, Can you please tell Mike Reiss to STFU? I'm so sick of hearing about the Patriots practice squad additions on the ESPN NFL main page. In fact, can we just get rid of the ESPNBostons and ESPNNewYorks already? I know it's not your call, but...still. Thanks.

Good question. Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't start. Depends on how well the young guns do I suppose.

That's how inferiority complexes are started. It's also bull **** (see Lurker's post). Most teams have gotten better. We're admittedly rebuilding and switching to a completely new defensive and offensive scheme. #28 sounds about right. Don't take offense just because they tell you something you don't want to hear.

You people are putting an awful lot of faith in a guy who hasn't once shown he belongs in this league, be it in pre-season or the regular season. The "I've heard of him" factor mixed in with quite a bit of understandable desperation is at an all time high. 2009 Preseason Games Passing Rushing Fumbles WK Game Date Opp Result G GS Comp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Sck SckY Rate Att Yds Avg TD FUM Lost 1 08/15 CLE W 17-0 1 0 3 10 30.0 18 1.8 0 2 1 3 0.0 2 -2 -1.0 0 -- -- 2 08/22 BUF W 31-21 1 0 12 19 63.2 83 4.4 0 1 0 0 51.0 2 4 2.0 0 -- -- 3 08/28 @ ARI W 44-37 1 0 4 5 80.0 45 9.0 0 0 2 18 104.2 1 -1 -1.0 0 -- -- 4 09/03 @ TEN L 13-27 1 0 20 28 71.4 154 5.5 0 0 2 8 84.5 1 5 5.0 0 -- -- TOTAL 4 0 39 62 62.9 300 4.8 0 3 5 29 54.5 6 6 1.0 0 0 0 16 12/27 @ ATL L 3-31 1 1 17 29 58.6 146 5.0 0 2 2 8 43.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- 2008 Preseason Games Passing Rushing Fumbles WK Game Date Opp Result G GS Comp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Sck SckY Rate Att Yds Avg TD FUM Lost 1 08/11 CIN L 17-20 1 0 8 17 47.1 70 4.1 0 1 0 0 33.9 -- -- -- -- -- -- 2 08/16 @ SF L 6-34 1 0 4 9 44.4 33 3.7 0 0 0 0 54.4 2 1 0.5 0 1 1 3 08/22 @ DEN W 27-24 1 0 0 4 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 39.6 -- -- -- -- -- -- 4 08/28 TEN L 21-23 1 0 7 12 58.3 52 4.3 0 0 4 33 68.8 1 0 0.0 0 3 1 TOTAL 4 0 19 42 45.2 155 3.7 0 1 4 33 45.2 3 1 0.3 0 4 2 Nine games played in combined, zero touchdowns, six interceptions thrown, eleven sacks taken. Settle down, people. Here are his professional "highlights": http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/bengals-...ISmEUQgujIhMzLw http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-tota...9000d5d81268a18 http://www.nfl.com/videos/atlanta-falcons/09000d5d8154c839

http://www.profootballfocus.com/by_player....mp;playerid=551 sub-par. took 13 penalties last year. makes Bell look like Walter Jones in that category.

Cornell Green gave up five sacks, was terrible in pass blocking, and took a load of penalties. Oakland was glad to see him leave. What are you talking about?

Dude...what is your avatar??

Hmmm...I'm not sure you really understand what "us" is all about. And I think, for once, I can speak for the entire TSW board when I say really, nobody gives a **** about you being able to attend games in San Diego. That being said, I'll wager my first born we won't go 1-15.

Come on, man. Really? It's comments like these that make me lose respect for people. 1) Brian Orakpo did not designate the scheme for the Redskins. I can promise you that much. 2) Haynesworth was a monster last year. Up until a certain point, IIRC, Washington either had the number two defense in the league. I believe the only hundred yard rusher last year against Washington was Michael Turner. Individually Haynesworth had four sacks in addition to crushing the run. I hate to pull a Thurman #1, but there's this too: http://www.profootballfocus.com/by_positio...&numgames=1. 3) They moved to the 3-4 because Shanahan is infatuated with it and he's fully aware how bad his defenses have been in the recent years. 4) In retrospect it was the right move. At the time it was the obvious move too. Just not for Jauron/Brandon, etc.

+1