AKC

OUCH!- In answer to your second question, I would never ally myself with a mercenary organization who has not only screwed one but two fan bases. On the first one, it's from a buddy of mine who will be competing with me this weekend for the future display rights to our local Bills/Raiders Trophy called The D Cup.

There must be some logical explanation for how Lori can compile a must-read primer for our upcoming game and apparently hundreds of users here don't take the time to read it.

Raider's Fan Perspective: What an excellent post from the Bills Board. I only disagree with one thing. As with most writers, the consensus is that Adam Treu is not much of a drop off from Jake Grove, since Treu was previously the starter. While Treu is certainly capable, he doesn't generate the push that Grove does. True tends to be content to stand his man up, while Grove creates some running room. Langston Walker's play thus far has been poor, his one bright spot is that he blocks many kicks. Also, keep your eye on return man Chris Carr. He was very impressive in the pre-season, and but for a couple of shoestring tackles, he would have gone all the way several times this season. In my opinion, Oakland's biggest soft spot has been our pass protection. Against San Diego, Collins was repeatedly on his rump, even on short to medium routes with three step drops and only 4 men rushing. Bring on the "D" cup, and let the zebras stay the hell out and let the players decide the game!

Definitely the use- or misuse- of talent on the roster. Neufeld getting so many run down reps instead of ANYONE else on the roster. Our best running back sitting on 3rd downs while we were converting 1/3rd of our 3rd down plays. Edwards out of his skill set playing the run instead of the pass D sets. Insisting on passing the ball in the early games- clearly the weakness of the lines blocking skills- while our OLine has been one of the top 7 or 8 run blocking lines all year long, currently #6 in rushing yardage. To be fair, the team has adjusted three of the problems and the 4th unfortunately has adjusted itself.

It's not the way it used to be around here. We had well-mannered contributors from other teams who came in and shared in the knowledge pool. The poor element we've attracted of late, the kind who come in with monikers taking shots at our team, etc., have for the most part discouraged the great fans of the past who were regulars and earned the respect of those of us interested in the game.

I like your optimism but the only ball so far he took a downfield shot on had WAY less than it should have. Didn't seem to bother the guy who picked it off though. I don't see KH comfortable making 35 and 40 yard passes, but let's hope you're right and he surprises me on the sloppy ass Oakland turf we should expect Sunday.

I struggle with Bradshaw's legacy the same way I do with Brett Favre, although their levels of success are widely varied. The press during Bradshaw's day did him no favors in painting him as something less than the leader of the team and he always seemd to be making seat-of-his-pants throws when I watched him, much like Favre who I've seen far more of due to broadcast saturation. I have a difficult time geting him in the same company as the "Greatest" even though he has the hardware that suggests he deserves it.

Kind of like a Flea Flicker following 4 straight 8 yard runs inside the tackles? Mularkey has shown a lot of support favoring the element of surprise over sound coaching decisions- if we win in Oakland with KH and he makes a change to start the NE game he will have confirmed my worst fears about his selection as a head coach.

I always had a preconception about Cox that was vanquished when I met he and his wife. Speaking only in the short term, I have to say I thought he was very cool and very gracious, especially since I immediately qualified myself as a Bill's fan. We talked about "events" at RWS and he seemed to be very level-headed about his experiences there.

No one can argue that Young didn’t have the whole toolbox, but something Montana did better was read the field- he had the most innate sense of where bodies were and the instincts to tell which way defenders could and couldn’t move. You so rarely saw Joe get a receiver popped hard. At the same time the nod of better QB probably goes to Young since his skills allowed the 9ers to open the West Coast offense for more play action deep throws to complement his ability to go downfield, making him more of a threat than his predecessor. If you wanted to measure the best short passing QB of all time, it’s hard to imagine anyone picking against Montana for the simple reason that contemporarily to be as good as Joe you’d have to be a far better than Joe was. The fact is he was playing in a nearly theoretical system that forced him to relearn the QB position, and the only film he had of a QB playing in it was Virgil Carter. Somehow I get the idea that film wasn't of much value. The Walsh system reversed all the receiver progressions and Joe was really the grasshopper for Walsh- since he had such great success it seems only fair that to eclipse him you’d have to seriously surpass his accomplishments.

I see- you were the one in Boston during that time with the Grogan jersey ;-)

Enough with the feeble whining- finding a Pat's fan in L.A. 6 years ago took a very good Private Eye and plenty of cash. I hear from my friends in Boston it was exactly the same way. Oh, the Sox fans were still around but a Pat's fan sighting was akin to dining with a Yeti. Spare us your ill-advise, uninformed and unwelcome lecturing.

I thought you were writing a review of former League MVP Rich Gannon when his line was giving him time! It's amazing how much better even some of the worst QBs in the league look at the above skills when they have time in the pocket. I've seen guys I thought were absolutely stationary juke the best rushers in the league when they were put in situations their lines were giving them time on most downs and they were only being asked to make minor foot adjustments instead of fight off a bull rush on passing downs. I've seen career journeymen who spent full seasons locking onto their primary read and blowing off progressions turn into league MVPs with their field vision when they got into an offense favorable to them and they had a reliable line in front of them. Time makes all QBs better, and when you have time the small elements like moving a step to one side or the other now and then IMO become hundreds of times easier. It's facing major pressure that turns almost everyone into garbage, and the few times I've seen the Patsy line break down in recent years Brady has looked just as bad as Rick Mirer.

I had a similar opinion about Jordan when he landed on the Raider's roster, figuring the Raiders made another error to compound their recent personnel gaffes. But I will say that I saw some of his play this season and he is less one-dimensional as a runner than I thought. It appears to some degree that the switch to full-time for him has brought him a "renewed vigor" when he's running, and he's been more difficult to get two hands on than in the past.

My position is consistent- I believe Brady to be substantially overhyped due to his clear limitations as an athlete and the few times I've seen Brady under the type of pressure others face weekly and his dreadful play under those circumstances. You don't have to like my opinion, you don't have to agree with it, but don't assume you have any license to misrepresent it. I can't help you follow clear logic and facts since you choose to ignore them. Time should tell whether I'm right- the league has always found ways to catch up to the "genius" coach of any time period. History says Belichick's window is either closing now or will very soon. Brady might bounce around some West Coast offenses since that's the oinly thing suited for his arm, and if we do get to see him put in the position of being forced to carry a team we'll have a far better standard to rate him on than simply after a period in which he's had the benefit of one of the top contemporary defenses, a line blocking scheme that has offered him FAR greater protection than virtually any QB in the league on most Sundays and the "genius" coaching staff of the moment, not to mention a "Best Ever" kicker who has bailed him out of losing the biggest games in EVERY season he's had success. I believe, as others have suggested in this thread, that there are 5 or 6 QBs in the game right now who would have had similar success under the same circumstances. That's not taking away from what Mudslide has done, it's simply what I think is an objective, media-hype free view of all the circumstances and benefits he's had in his career to date. Now feel free to go back to the altar and worship your autographed Brady thong.

Are you daft? That's exactly the point of not only the original poster but also the Trolls you're teat feeding.

Not being a big fan of one-upmanship, I'll bet you 1 TRILLION dollars that Brady is a .500 QB today, his first season without a dominating Defense to bail him out of trouble. A wire transfer will do nicely Mr. .500 ;-) PUT UP OR SHUT UP INDEED

I actually like sour grapes so once again you've made an unsupported an incorrect assumption. You also assume that once Brady is exposed by your fading D as nothing more than a system QB that history will ignore this fact? I'm thinking Brady is less likely to be historically thought of in a class with names like Unitas, Elway, Young and Favre and will much more likely to be considered a peer of Warner and Dilfer. But you go on writing your history early, you're the type who will be in a Bengals jersey in 3 years anyway!

Mark Bulger has scored far more frequently than Mudslide yet he has a far worse defense. Might I assume, based upon the observations you deem germane, that Mark Bulger is the "Best Ever" to play QB?

You are involved in a discussion of whether Brady is the "Best Ever" and you're citing Jeff George as a measure?

It appears you've skipped the medication once again for your Pseudobulbar Affect- Actual objective fans of the sport wouldn't even suggest that the "Best Ever" tag be applied to someone who tanked to .500 the moment his defense began to fall back to earth. But think of all the possibilities: The Memorial Day Brady .500 Brady Dairy Half/N/Half TV Series: The Adventures of Winsome and Losesome Brady Yes, the list could go on forever!

I think the numbers fall if you begin to trace it: I think it was Joe Phillips, a NT for the Chargers who got beat up real good by a couple guys leaving a bar in San Diego. A buddy of mine chased Ray Bentley out of a bar back home, and Joey didn't have Ray by more than 25 or 30 pounds. Then again Joey doesn't look like he has much to lose in a fight ;-) When you compile things the odds are probably well in favor of the athletes, but I'd think more along the lines of 25 or 30 to 1.

I have to give major credit to to the line scheme in NE and how incredibly effective they's been giving Brady 2 and 3 more pocket seconds than the average QB gets league-wide, especially up the middle. At the same time it would be foolish to ignore that when their scheme breaks down Brady looks like Zeke Bratokowski. I recall when Miami got a little heat on him in week 15 last year he pissed away a 180 yard rushing performance by his backs by tossing 4 picks in a loss.

You need to get out a little more. Playbook on NFL Network and 10 other shows give you additonal film angles plus on long balls you almost always get views that give up the defensive positions. You can watch what happens, or you can see what you want to see. Bradiots choose the latter, try the former if you'd like to learn something.

That's right, you're too busy watching the QB to notice nobody gives safety help on top when Mudslide is playing.