richNjoisy

Is it a live draft? When is your draft?

This post, everyone, is somewhat "sight unseen" but I caught part of a pretty long discussion on the 2005 Bills on NFL Playbook last night. I tivoed it to watch in its entirety when I get home tonight. It might be replayed sometime again which is why I am sending this out - look for it folks. For those that watched the scrimmage, an expression that Sterling Sharpe kept using (which I really enjoyed) was how the Bills were "running downhill" to make their tackles. Sharpe stated in the show that it was TKO who told Sharpe to say that when talking about the Bills defense. TKO explained to Sharpe that the Bills were so fast and coordinated in their defensive attack that it was just like they "were running downhill while their opponents were on a flat surface". The group of four analysts broke down the Bills defense and how they coordinated their attacks to make it very difficult for offenses to get their receivers open before they were mauled by the Bills front line or blitzers. They said no other team defense can do this. They raved about Gray too. Moving onto the offense, they actually were split on JP (at first) but then they all agreed he would "do fine and get better with time". Sharpe commented on how JP needed to avoid the mental vs physical mistakes. He noted how JP made the expected physical mistakes (low throws and running when he should have stopped and thrown the ball) -Sharpe said JP would gradullay reduce these type of mistakes as he matured and grew more comfortable. The mental mistakes, he said, are the focus of the Bills coaching staff. Sharpe commented JP made those too in the scrimmage and he was certain the staff would drill it into JP to teach him to read the defenses, react under pressure in a "safe" manuever rather than throwing blindly where INTS are likely. They all were very impressed with Parrish too. There was more but the discussion was lively to say the least. This discussion got me more pumped than I have been at any point this offseason. (Just to give you some idea as to how good it was ) -RichNJoisy

Oh. I like Reed but he has been a disappointment. He practices well but drops passes in real games or doesn't get open. Still, I will be comfortable with him getting one more year to step up his game on the field. But, if a trade is worked out for Simon involving Reed, I am fine with that as well. I think he's better than the Philly WR's except for the TO - The Total O-hole

down on Moulds? Have I missed something? I wouldn't trade Moulds to the Eagles at any price.

AP Report: 08-09-05 The New York Giants' first preseason game is at Cleveland this weekend, but after last Saturday's brawl with the New York Jets they may be looking ahead to the teams' preseason game on Aug. 26 at Giants Stadium to settle some grievances. "There's going to be a lot of animosity, you can count on that," Giants linebacker Barrett Green said Monday. "In the preseason game, there's no question about the rules, there's no question about hitting people. They're going to get hit, hard." ************************************************** Yeh! Way to go Giants! Revenge! Hit 'em! Hit 'em Hard! (Hit 'em Late! Hit 'em Dirty! ) And don't forget to hit Chad. And then hit him again. Right shoulder. Bullseye. Go Giants! (heh heh heh heh heh)

I agree Buftex - is there smoke here? The fact , however, that the only source is the Trenton Times (all other news source reports attribute THEIR source to the TT) makes me doubt the veracity. In fact, ironically, the TT cited THREE sources in one of their articles. THREE? When the other major news reporters have NONE? Maybe the TT has put a bug on the three cockroaches living under the Philly GM's desk. oops, makes that THREE bugs.

-- Simon & the Bills Cap -- Mon Aug 8, 2005 --from FFMastermind.com * The Trenton Times reports in an update to the DT Cory Simon -to-Buffalo story, a source close to the situation says the Bills are looking into how Simon would fit under the salary cap. ***************** Both GM's say nothing is going on. So who the heck is the writer talking to?

I agree that this is a huge risk - Tons of money for a player that hasn't been on the field for a long time. This also must put a huge wrench in the Abraham negotiations. I am glad the Jets did this - it may pay off but I wouldn't have been happy if the Bills risked this much on one player of questionable health (and age). We shall see ! Go Bills!! -RnJ

good post John What I want to see is steady improvement. The fun part of this is, IMO, JP is already doing better than I expected he would. Last yr, vs Denver, and in his VERY few appearances, he was able to move the team (not every time but BETTER than every other time). Friday, he had way more good moments than bad and was able to turn several 3rd downs into 1st downs with his arm. Next up: The colts. Steady improvement JP, Steady. -RnJ

qb's were allowed to run - in fact JP did run once BUt , and I see this as a very good sign , JP is obviously thinking PASS first and RUN second. For a young QB (with good speed), this is not easy to get inside the noggin. The fact that he chose to skip the easy 7 and was still looking downfield is something to congratulate and encourage. BTW: When the games count, he'll run...a lot. -RnJ

Hey Fez - Have you viewed the tape of the scrimmage yet? I think your view of JP's play will rise quite dramatically after you do. It seems to me based on what I saw and what you said you saw (Plus the pro-GB company you were with) that your view was somewhat clouded JP played well but made a few mistakes especially in the last set of plays. All in all, though, I was extremely encouraged and - if he improves - there is every reason to be hopeful he can perform at Drew-ish level quckly and then...beyond a view from Central Joisy BTW - I watched Gandy pretty closely and he seemed to do well early on. I will be dubbing the game later today and will be able to better evaluate this. I was, like most everyone else, focused entirely on JP last night! -RnJ

Throwing for the third consecutive day for the first time since undergoing surgery Feb. 8 to repair his torn right rotator cuff, Jets quarterback Chad Pennington's arm is clearly weak. And, for the first time, coach Herman Edwards admitted Pennington had "big-time" surgery. In the past, the Jets have tried to downplay the extent of Pennington's surgery, saying he had only a slight tear and he'll be ready for the opener, no problem. -- Newark Star-Ledger Is that a Bullseye I see on his right shoulder? TKO? Can you see it? TKO?

Thanks CP and thanks for clarifying the Nate possibility It will be practically unprecendented if the Bills resign their own CB to a high salary Long term contract Hopefully that WILL be the case since , IMO, Nate is a solid, shutdown, probowl CB worth the extra bucks.

Cindy - your check from RichNJoisy and RevNJoisy went in the mail this morning. Should arrive by Thursday.

Great job Rocky - as per usual stay cool, my friend. Now: requests! Please report on 1) screens 2) Gandy, Peters 3)Anderson vs Edwards 4) My Hurricanes "connection" tells me Parrish has fumblitus. Please watch him for any signs of this. tanx

Hey BGM - your report was excellent. I passed it along to my CNJBBB members. You da man -RnJ O.K. Rockpile - Top that!

For those of you at TSW: I was screaming for screens for years. I finally gave up last year: Drew couldn't do it. Period. I noted right away last year that JP could do them while in the preseason games. He threw a great one in the Tennessee game as I recall. BTW, no, Kelly was not the last QB with this ability. Doug threw a nice screen and so, for that matter, could Alex. RJ couldn't. Everytime a player got to within 15 ft of him he'd scream and run away. I am looking forward to screens being "Back on the Menu Boys!" (as the Orcs ate the Goblins in The Two Towers). -RnJ

One can only hope

FYI: KFFL.com has a report from the jets that Law is not visiting with them and no visit is scheduled.

Hi Nick you confused me too with some of your wording. You said you "moved to a job internally on a temporary basis". By temporary do you mean YOU thought it was temporary or that you and the woman who brought you in agreed it was temporary? If the latter, then I don't understand the problem - the job was temporary and you are merely preparing yourself for the change to a more permanent position. Gratitude only goes so far when a person's livelihood (and family?) is at stake. This scenario SUGGESTS there was some "grayness" in your agreeing to take this position. Can you be more specific? If the former, then you are saying you always felt the move was temporary but did not make this clear to the woman who brought you on board. THAT is another matter and there is no clean way to smooth this out. It would mean you misled her from the get-go. I am not judging you if it is the latter but I AM telling you that that ship has already sailed if that is the case. get it?

Add me to the list to say "Thanks for the honor but I simply can't afford it." Any rational and true friend will understand

Hey Bill - I started this mess didn't I ? I agree with you that to be concerned (your word was skeptical which is a bit more negative than I am at this point) over Gandy's skill level is absolutely valid. It IS intersting that there are some other FA OT's out there STILL (RT Scott Craig and RT Chris Terry for example to my knowledge). The Bills also failed to sign Shelton even when he could be had for vet min. This certainly suggests the Bills LIKE Gandy. As per usual, I will admit I am not the expert and that McNally is. Might he be wrong? Sure, but I still would urge you to raise your emote/think level from "skeptical" to "concerned". On the Verba front, it has been suggested the Bills were simply "checking in" with his agent. Maybe, but one would think that they would only do that if they were truly interested (for the right price of course) in the guy since he could be signed at any moment by someone else (or not!). As to the continuing condemnation of Verba for his actions in Vegas - if they are true, then he won't be signed (o.k. , maybe Miami or oakland will sign him ) If they are unfounded (WHICH THEY MAY WELL BE FOLKS)), then someone sure doesn't like the guy, do they? These reports are pretty condemning of his view towards women (if true, ie Abusive behavior and teenage-like "call girl" stuff practically) -RnJ

Well yeh but you make a day of it right? And one would think it is a special occasion (or else you are really rich and this is your typical occasion!) What do you spend on a special event? Lodging? $150 or more is not an insane price to pay for a great hotel plus additional fees may jack that up. then a nice dinner that same day = $50-100 easy . What if you want to DO something too (like go to a show or see the "sights"). Can you see yourself paying $25-$50 more? Anyway, it starts to climb to $250 per person or more. so $350 or so for an entire day of Bills partying? Expensive? yeh but not so bad for a special occasion. (After saying all that, I prefer $40 seats and a tailgate plus YOU HAVE to sit in the elements otherwise why not sit at home?) RnJ

First off folks, do YOU always believe every word posted in every newspaper? What the hell IS the Review Journal ? The story may indeed be true but I have looked around and it is the only source for this story. Secondly, TD and co. will get to the bottom of this and I would think it would weigh in any decision they make. That was my point - if they deem him a step up from our existing player package and can sign him for no more than what they think he is worth, then I will be happy they signed him Let's just see how this goes - if he is signed, then let him answer these questions about his character directly. Don't condemn him based on this one story from one small town paper. as to him not be signed quickly and being greedy - the supposed story is that he agreed to a paycut last year with a verbal agreement to compensate him for the remaining years of his contract.. When the browns fired the headcoach and his staff, that deal was no longer honored. He ws upset. Wouldn't you be? Was he stupid to agree to the cut in the first place? Maybe, but he was told they would use the money saved in 2004 to help the team. Was this stupid, greedy, or honorable? -RnJ

This is another one of those situations where I, personally, don't know jack and I am ....shall we say...dubious of the pronouncements of the "experts" here at TBD on Verba's talent, comings and goings. So, I simply HOPE that the Bills sign him having determined he represents an improvement to our current O-Line status AND that he can be had for a reasonable price. The best comparison I have for this was the signing of Big Sam. Sam talked up a storm about getting paid a ton but then after receiving nothing but "insulting" offers came to Buffalo for a very reasonable price with incentives (such as keeping himself in shape!). Sam has been an asset to say the least and the rest of the league, IMO, screwed up by allowing Sam to come here at the price we paid. So now we have Ross verba - "underpaid" and unhappy and "unappreciated". His position? Left Tackle! Gulp. Thus, I wil be enthused if TD brings him aboard. Verba or Gandy? Hmmmmmmmmmmm