In-A-Gadda-Levitre

you're absolutely right, Mangini stuck it to him. I don't know all the dirt, but I remember clearly at the end of their first series, Belicheat won the game 38-14 and barely shook hands with Mangini, like a stuck up distard. Maybe that set Mangini off, but it was obvious Mr Social Skills was miffed about something. I'm also surprised Mangini didn't slip Belicheat false signals to confuse him.

was that right after he was told that JP was going to be the starter going into the 2005 season?

you're right, but the saints pick 10th. They could swap 1sts and give the eagles their 2nd. or next years 2nd, something like that. For this years draft, they have more leverage than the bills or bucs.

The Tampa Tribune is reporting that the Saints have entered the Lito Shuffle damn, the Saints pick right before the Bills

check out my post from another thread. I have no proof, but I think what is happening is that the rule as stated in the NFL manual is ambiguous and in September 2007, the NFL's Executive VP of Football Operations sent out a memo referencing the rule, clearly stating that taping signals on the sidelines was illegal. So, they're giving Belicheat the benefit of the doubt prior to last year and hanging him on the fact that he got caught cheating after the memo came out clarifying the rule.

strongly agree

The NFL press releases indicated that the rule stated "no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game" and that all video shooting locations for club coaching purposes "must be enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead." So the word is that Belicheat interpreted this as you could video tape in the category of for club coaching purposes in certain locations during the game and they could video tape in other places as long as it wasn't for use during the game. Then Ray Anderson (the NFL exec VP of Football Ops) sent a memo at the beginning of the season that, “videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent’s offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches’ booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game.” This could be interpreted as they can videotape another team's signals but they can't do it from these locations, or anywhere else that is "accessible during the game." Yeah, it makes zero sense that his guy could standing there taping Jet's defensive signals and not be in violation of the rule, but that's their story.

this is really the Bills war room during the TD (Moe) era, then Marv came in and hosed down Curly (John Guy) and Larry (Modrak), now they all play nice.

he has two years left on his current contract, but the last year is voidable. yet another reason why he is in no hurry.

ok, I'll buy that, but why by this weekend? How does that benefit Lee Evans or the Buffalo Bills? Why not wait and see who they draft and/or trade for, training camp, etc. Other than 1 less thing to worry about, I have not seen a single reason why this is urgent, other than that some fans can breathe easier.

I like his analysis, but unless I'm reading it wrong, he says in the 1st round we will either draft a WR (Sweed), or a CB (Jenkins, DCR, Talib, or Cason) or a DE (Merling or Harvey). Talk about covering your bases! I can't argue with the reasoning, but I wish he'd be a little more specific.

what nucci and I are trying to say is that it's in Evan's best interest to wait and see; not only what he should be asking for, but whether he wants to stay in Buffalo, and at what price. It's a pivotal decision in his career, and he's not a Nate Clements kinda guy, that's why.

what he said

I think this is based on the infamous interpretation of the rules that Belicheat has hid behind. The rule has been on the books for a long time, so there's the pretense for 'since 2000'. It's hard to say if he actually believed in his interpretation or is that simply double talk to protect his butt. While it's only a legal blogger's opinion, here's some law professor speak about hoodie man's interpretation. Of course the comments have the most entertainment value...

thanks for this link, the comments were real interesting, a couple of highlights: and deja vu?

you got it dude. it's hilarious that fans think it should have happened by now and what the hell is taking so long? The Bills haven't signed a #2 receiver yet, the draft hasn't happened, he doesn't know what the offense will actually look like, TE is a still a mystery, Trent's 2nd season hasn't started, and a myriad of other things.

no, the article is legit, it was published the same week Brandon made his remarks, here's the link on the Bills page. The way this is worded leaves me to believe that the 3rd or 4th pick is not necessarily what the source said and more like conjecture on the part of the reporter, because they would have credited whomever he/she heard that from. This is should be a d'oh. Of course they will entertain serious offers and trade him if they can get what they think he's worth AND can get a reasonable backup QB as well. If they don't, he's here for 2008 and then he walks. This was always the case and not big news. Now let's argue over keeping him as a backup at his current salary, him knowing the offense (as much that carries over from last year) and getting nothing as he becomes an UFA next season, or is he worth a 3rd, 4th or less, and then trying to find a veteran backup to replace him?

It's possible that Walsh did act on his own just to improve his own standing in the organization. Based on what I've read about him, he's overstated his responsibility at times and definitely could've seen this as an opportunity to win points with the staff. So they turn him down and he's miffed. He sits on the tapes and comes forward to have his revenge when reporters start calling. The problem with this scenario is why didn't the Cheatriots say that? Yeah, he did this terrible thing, tried to get us to use it and we refused because we're so honest. Maybe they were afraid that there would be too risky, like cheating is rife in the organization and that would be to much exposure on the details of what really goes on. Stay tuned, it's gonna get real interesting

Bills FO: hey, how about $55M? that's our final offer! Nate's Agent: nice try, now lets get real, we want $70M Bills FO: nfw, we're losing our shirts here. Ok, we really like your client on our defense, our new final offer is $62M Nate's agent: you're on drugs, we can get $74M in free agency, we're giving you the hometown discount, it's $69M or we're walking Bill's FO: sorry, this franchise is hemorrhaging money, we can't go above $62.3M, and that's our final, final offer Nate's agent: hey Nate, they're offering $62.3M, I'm real confident we can get you much more in FA, but it's your call Nate: show me the money, I'm sooo outa here...

Promo was responding to a blanket statement by BillsVet that if we signed Sheppard after letting Clements go, that the FO is biased against players that we (probably meaning TD) drafted, which is hilarious. There's no argument that Stroud was a good deal and in all likelihood will anchor the interior of our DL for a few years.

ummm, he signed in 2004 for $26M through 2011. I wasn't a math whiz, but that's 4 years before Asante Samuels donned an Eagles jersey and things have changed a bit since then. Yes, he's pissed and maybe he has a right to be, I'm not debating that. Please explain to me why Lito Sheppard would be willing to sign for less in Buffalo than he would get in Philly?

maybe you're right, but there's no chance in hell the Bills are going to switch to a 3-4 this season or soon by the way, that Spell Check thing works.

yes, but... we aren't talking $80M for Sheppard and it's all based on perceived value vs market rates. Would the Bills pay (something like) $50M for a 5 yr deal? We simply don't know... BTW, here's the specifics of his current deal from an eagles fan: Sheppard signed an 8 year, $26,314,000 deal during the 2004 season that included an 8.7 mil signing bonus prorated over 6 years. As part of his rookie deal, he received a 3.4 mil signing bonus prorated over 5 years. His cap numbers are as follows: 2004: $2,610,750 (480.75K base salary+680K proration+1.45 mil proration) 2005: $2,661,000 (531K basae salary+680K proration+1.45 mil proration; $8,610,000 dead money if cut) 2006: $2,742,250 (612,250 base+680K pro.+1.45 mil proration; $6,480,000 dead money if cut) 2007: $2,450,000 (1 mil base salary+1.45 mil proration; $4,350,000 dead money if cut) 2008: $3,450,000 (2 mil base salary+1.45 mil proration; $2,900,000 dead money if cut) 2009: $4,450,000 (3 mil base salary+1.45 mil proration; $1,450,000 dead money if cut) 2010: $3,700,000 (base salary) 2011: $4,250,000 (base salary)

Absolutely, but the issue is his contract, he wants megabucks. Can we or would we afford it? Ask the FO.

here are some good laughs from the Cheatriots' Fans In Denial read the comments, that's the real entertainment... This is actually what I think will happen. Walsh shows a tape of something like the Rams walk through, and the Kraftonites scream he was acting on his own; that they didn't see it or use it. Unless Walsh gets someone else to testify that they used it, the whole thing might be watered down in court.