The Dean

I don't recall Flacco being this inaccurate. He's stinking up the joint right now.

They don't feel the same. Or smell the same.] Plus, I like the lights on.

First of all "pick up 10 yards" when you are pinned at your goal line is a bit more complex than picking up 10 or 15 or maybe even 20 at midfield. Also, you missed all the other things that can happen, if you opt for the safety and free kick. You can recover the kick, as you mentioned. The other team can fumble the return. They can fumble the subsequent snaps or handoffs, throw an INT, etc. They can fumble their punt snap, or shank the punt putting you in better field position. You can return their punt for an INT, or into great field position. It's no wonder it seems clear to you when you leave out so many of the possibilities. I should have added: You can block their subsequent punt.

Very nice. The red plastic cups have to go, though.

I'm normally against giving up the safety. This was a no-brainer, though. It was the ONLY rational decision, IMO. I was surprised, and happy, to see Chan just went and did it. Didn't waste a TO. Didn't take a delay penalty (not that it would have hurt). Just made the, correct, decision.

Not with your dick, Slash.

Well, there is no magic bullet for fixing everything, but an occasional break to enjoy a buzz might help one slog through. It has worked for me in the past, when properly administered.

The ground can't cause a fumble (actually it can*) but it certainly cause an incompletion. In this case he has control when his two feet hit, when he turns, when his but hits the ground AND when the ball hits the ground. He is in control of the ball when it is on the ground...then he lets it go, willingly. He was never out of control of the ball the entire sequence. This is an example of the rule the way it is meant to be interpreted, IMO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnBS8tTsnWE Here, the WR loses possession of the ball as it hits the ground. He doesn't place it on the ground, and then let go...it bounces from his hand. He was NOT in control. Pretty crappy rule, either way, but there is a big distinction here, I think. *Everyone says "the ground can't cause a fumble" but that is incorrect. If the ball carrier falls w/o being contacted by an opponent, and the ball is forced out of his hand when he hits the ground, it IS a fumble. The ground CAN cause a fumble.

By the time he let go, it was over. He had control when the ball was on the ground...then he let it go. Is there some sort of standard number of seconds he needs to hold the ball on the ground? There is no question he was in control of the ball, is there?

The call on the field was horrendous. He clearly had control all the way to the ground. The reply officials botched it pretty bad, too.

According to his profile here, he was active today: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/user/3700-stuckincincy/ That's a relief.

Ditto that. I wasn't happy with all the calls, but you can't confuse yesterday's play calling with those of Jauron's OCs. Hell, they even made some adjustments yesterday.

I don't think ANYONE thinks he is Singletary. I think the main criticism of him (other than his injury record, which is legit) is that he isn't Singletary. No, right now he isn't an elite LB, but he is very good. Very good is something that is a positive on this team, and we shouldn't dismiss "very good" because it isn't "great". I also think Poz will continue to get better. I don't think he will ever be the best LB in the league. But I think he could play for most any team in the league, and start for a good number.

OK, I just got my answer: http://www.footballnewsnow.com/2010/severity-of-bills-lb-paul-poslusznys-knee-injury-unknown/ Agreed. But many of these guys are the same ones that thought London Fletcher was no good.

In the limited time he has played, he has proven to be an above average LB with potential to be much more, IMO. I wouldn't dismiss that as easily as you seem to want to do. He is already one of the more talented players on a team that needs talented players. The injury thing is a B word, though. I'll give you that. What is his status now, anyway? I didn't see anything on the OBD home page.

Sounds like things are pretty rough there, froggy. I'm not going to tell you that they can only get better, because that's a crock (or a croak?). Things can always get worse. Remember that. OK, now where to begin. Let's start with Unemployment, since that's the easiest to fix. You can dispute the finding, and unless you have really misrepresented what happened, you will likely win. I also was denied UI once and won the appeal. I believe there are some others here who have had the same experience. You MAY want to hire a lawyer with experience in this field (it will cost a couple of hundred dollars, but might be worth it to ensure victory) but you don't NEED a lawyer. Just be concise and honest and make sure you show up. Showing up is half the battle in these things. In the meantime, don't stop looking for work (you claim to have a lot of experience) and don't wallow in your pity. Things may be bad for you now, but wallowing/self pity is likely to make things worse. Do stuff. It will help your self esteem and help keep your mind off things. Now to the harder issues. The way you describe the time w/o a girlfriend ("months of lonely nights") suggests you aren't really happy being by yourself. Everybody is different, so I'm not saying I have your answer, but I would try to work on being happy with myself before getting into a relationship with someone else. Try to look on this time out of a relationship as a dose of freedom. It may be tougher to enjoy this freedom with money issues, but it can be done. If you can meet and defeat that challenge, then you have something that will be valuable to you for the rest of your life, IMO: the ability to be happy by/with yourself, with little money and few material possessions. I think that mindset will display itself in your confidence and you will be more attractive to others (women, friends and employers) when you once again become employed, successful with relationships/job/etc. It will also help you from becoming an intolerable asswipe if/when you become wildly successful with women and business, some day!

I'd say it was an abysmal performance by the Bills and leave it at that. Certainly the Bills D didn't perform as poorly as SF's or Philly's or Oakland's, etc. As for the offense, well they really sucked. I still say I'd take 10 offensive points and minimal yardage over 6 points (SF) or 7 points (Dallas) etc with a more impressive Total Yards stat.

Of course. But I would have been happier with a WIN had the Bills pulled off a victory (something they were in a position to do late in the 4th quarter) than I would with a loss and some nice stats. Many of the teams with WAY better stats than the Bills had no chance to win their games in the 4th Q. Anyway you look at it, it's one game and the first of sixteen.

Actually, when they tally up Ws and Ls, there really isn't a difference at all, especially if your opponent isn't scoring either.

Sounds like a great weekend. Particluarly the ing part. Glad you enjoyed the Black Butte.

Overall you are correct. There were a couple of opportunities I noticed when I thought Trent could have bought another second or two by making slight adjustments in the pocket, but for the most part there wasn't much of a pocket. I liked that he finally figured out he is allowed to move, and not necessarily to run, and he was buying himself some time as the game progressed. The problem with that is, Trent simply is not good throwing on the move. I'm not sure he will ever develop that skill and that could be an issue during the year. I know it really isn't fair to pick one bad play, especially one that happened while Trent was throwing out of the end zone, but... The near INT he threw when the Bills were pinned at their own goal line was the perfect example of Trent not throwing the ball when he is supposed to. He lets that pass go when he should, it is a completion (assuming on target and caught) and the WR is moving and has one man to beat to pick up a nice chunk of yardage. Instead, Trent waits, and the defender has plenty of time to adjust and jump the route. That really pissed me off.

Yardage is interesting, but not really the bottom line. How about looking at points scored: Dallas 7 SF 6 (against Seattle?) Atlanta 9 Bart Favre 9 (admittedly against the reigning champs) Or maybe, points against is more up your alley: SF allowed 31 points (to Seattle?) Oakland allowed 38 points Denver allowed 24 points to freakin' Jacksonville Colts allowed 34 points Cincy allowed 38 points (admittedly to high scoring NE Cheats) I don't think anyone should be saying the Bills were good. They stunk. But I think I'll hold off on the "worst team in football"/doomed talk for a while.

I'm with you. I actually saw a few things (in an otherwise totally horrid performance) that gave me some hope. Chan isn't the kind of guy to do the same failed thing over-and-over. There will be changes, I think. I don't see them beating GB, but I think they will do better as the year progresses.

Well, the question certainly isn't illegal. But if you are really looking for a trial, there is a Photoshopt c35 Extended "Try" link right on this page: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshopextended/

It's The Dean, con Carney: