starrymessenger

Get over it. Marshawn is a mystery and Fred is 30 years old. I look forward to reading your posts when CJ lights it up, which I have no doubt he will do.

Funny, I always compared him to Oher, who the Bills could/should have picked ahead of Orapko or Maybin. Bills pass rush/pressures were not that bad last year without Maybin. LT was a disaster.

Their ability to play football actually has nothing to do with where they are from. It has to do with the opportunities they had to pass through at least a college program. By the time they reach the NFL they are trained football players, not rugby or track & field guys. Even Christian Okoye played college ball, and certainly Ngata, the rugby player, did. Bob Hayes was a star football player at Florida A&M (which Usaim Bolt was not). Every now and then somebody gets the bright idea that accessing a good gene pool (or a great individual athlete) gets you what you want. Jamaicans are known to be great athletes so why not enter a Jamaican bobsled team in the winter olympics! They made it down the course in record time, but upside down under their sled. Conversely, if there are not many Afro-American players in the NHL it is not for want of athletic ability. P.K.Subban is loaded with talent and has a chance to become a great player. But his father had him on skates when he was 2 years old and he grew up in the hockey hotbed of southern Ontario. Its as much about exposure and opportiunity than it is about athletic ability, and all are prerequisites (not to mention mental toughness and fearlessness Trent). I strongly doubt that this rugby player will ever see the NFL from field level.

Roth is an absolute beast against the run. Just what we need.

Where Michael Johnson was (3rd) and for all of the same or similar reasons - a talented project player.

Probably the most sensible post I have read on this often discussed subject. Or maybe I'm just getting old too.

...and he beat her up?????

You're right. They both suck (especially Brohm).

He He. Thread just went from wurst to furst.

You mean the Ty Cobb who once lept into the stands to beat up a parapelegic fan who had been heckling him? The same Ty Cobb who would lay down a bunt forcing the pitcher to cover first and then slide in and spike him? Or the Ty Cobb who in his old age would down a 40 ouncer of Johhny Walker a day and walk around town with a luger in one hand and carrying a brown bag containing 1 million dollars of negotiable securities in the other? Ah, the lives of the great. I think Ty had a lot more of an edge to him than Ben does. Sort of like comparing Ronnie Lott tough with Donte tough.

You mean the same Bill Walsh who annointed Rick Mirer as "the second coming of Joe Montana".

Unfortunately you are probably right. Elsewhere on this thread somebody claimed that Brohm had played in a pro style offence at Louisville. Somebody else pointed out that the offence there, at least while B. Petrino was drawing it up, was two thirds spread, on third power 1 .e. not "pro" style. More importantly, under both Petrino and Scott Linehan, it was a "one read" scheme for the QB. In other words Brohm pretty well knew where he was going with the ball on every snap on a passing down, whether he was under centre or in the shotgun. That is a long way from the kind of preparation you need to know how to go through progressions to contend with what NFL defenses will throw at you in the way of speed and complexity. Not surprising to me that he has had trouble adjusting.

Not the long term answer at RT but given the youth on the line the Bills definitely needed a guy like this. Good signing.

There is a difference between what Washington did (that will apparently not be forgiven) and the other perhaps more reprehensible things that others do (and that are forgiven). Whether it be DUI, vehicular homocide, manslaughter, even perhaps murder, the thought often comes to mind "There, but for the grace of God, go I". This permits us to empathize with the offender and explains our readiness to forgive. In a sense we are forgiving ourselves, which is easier to do than to forgive others for things that we would never have done. When it comes to Washington, fewer of us would be able to empathize with the offender because we know we would never go there.

Correction: "Washington" not "Robinson".

Incest, and more specifically inbreeding, has been an accepted, even institutionalized, aspect of certain cultures considered civilized in many ways. But that is not our culture. The NFL is now image conscious to a fault and the values that are projected (or professed) are basically very conservative. Perhaps not surprising since the majority of football fans and indeed the public at large are also relatively conservative in their moral outlook, politics etc... Quite possible that the NFL would be tolerant/forgiving of incidents that might very well be worse than what Robinson did. And as a philosophical matter I'm sure many people subscribe to confession and remission of sin, forgiveness, rehabilitation - whatever you chose to call it. Doesn't alter the fact that his blemish is a colossal cultural taboo that will inevitably provoke in the public feelings of disgust and contempt. The NFL seems not even to have come to grips with sexual behavior that is lawful i.e. homosexuality, because clearly it remains viscerally distasteful to a majority of people and doesn'y jive with our image a football, football players and football fans. It may be wrong or unfortunate but I wouldn't be surprised if this guy never makes it on a NFL roster. Who needs the grief. Its hard enough to win in the NFL. Last thing we need is a distraction like this in our lockerroom.

Ravens would/should accept a third rounder in next years draft. Problem is Nix and Gailey avoid players with bad attitude re work ethic like the plague (unless they are already stuck with them-ML). The only team with a more dogmatic approach on attitude and locker room atmosphere is Denver. Gaither should wind up a cowboy.

clausen is (was) better. You will see.

Poor man's Demaryius Thomas (who I think the Bills were targeting & trying to move up for).

His contract is up next year and Ozzie knows he maybe cannot lock him in. Insurance.

What I've noticed, and that I like, is that former players, like Barry Saunders, Marshall Faulf, Herm Edwards all give the Bills high marks for taking CJ. They all love the guy. Those who are down on the pick seem always just to have been talking heads.

Probably they don't like him very much if they were looking to trade picks & move up yesterday to pick someone else. Well, I still like him anyway.

or by Tebow's agent.

Not saying that he should suit up as a Bill, and not commenting on the alleged rape incident (because I don't have the info to judge or express an opinion) but if what we are talking about is Ben the QB, then yes I think you should buy it. Ben is a genuine gamechanger. In any sport, the great players are the ones who have the physical ability and the will to take control of the game, especially in clutch situations. Those two perfectly placed passes to Holmes in the superbowl (the first to the left corner being incomplete, the second to the right corner a game winning touchdown) are the epitome of repeat clutch performance. Like him or not Ben is a great quarterback.

Don't know how many years Robbins has left in the tank. The wisdom today is that the Rams will pick Bradford but to my mind this is a hugely risky proposition for them. They are the worst team in football and they have a record of drafting as poorly as to the result as the Lions did when Matt Millen was in the saddle. Can the Rams afford to write an 80 million dollar contract for a quarterback who is far from a guaranteed franchise guy? Don't get me wrong, I like Bradford but in spite of his 236 lbs he looks frail to me, like a skinny kid. He was very well protected in Oklahoma, which would not be the case in St Louis and I cringe to think what will happen when the big nasties get after him with a mind to do to him what Colonel Saunders does to a chicken. He goes down and maybe so does the franchise. Could be a blow from which they never recover. Compare that with drafting a sure fire multiple pro bowler at a position of need for them who will likely start for the next 12 years. They will probably do it, but I really wonder if, all things considered, they can afford to draft the quarterback. If they do, they will all be holding their breath whenever he takes a snap. At least SJ will be there to help him (if no one else can).