AKC

You're welcome to all the admiration you can muster for the front office of the Chiefs, but for the balance of us who are honestly evaluating what the good teams in the league are doing on draft day, the Chiefs are hardly one of our models.

Don't try to explain it to the oxygen deprived- there are clearly three idiots on TSW don't understand the difference between a quality DT worthy of a first round pick (Tommy Harris, Haloti Ngata) versus a reach like McCargo. In fact the idiot who has perpetrated the myth that any poster ever suggested "any DT blah blah blah" has refused the opportunity to show that anyone but himself has ever made the claim. Because, of course, it's nothing more than an idiot's mantra to cover up an inability to grasp clear patterns and strategies of the league's best teams. Right WRamius? ;-)

Right now our best model for the above may be keeping the two FA DTs on the field together. It was very interesting to watch how the Redskins first unit schemed on passing downs. When it was Stroud/Williams, Williams drew two hats and the 'Skins elected to play Stroud straight up against Randy Thomas- their OG who is considered a much better run than pass blocker. When Stroud went out for SpencerJ, the 'Skins gave Thomas help. I should mention that Thomas was perfectly effective in the limited passing snaps he faced Stroud one on one. There was no sign of the good upfield steps Marcus showed back in the early part of the decade. If "the book" on Stroud is right, based upon how Washington protected their QB when he was in the game, we should expect to see Stroud giving us his contributions against the run and becoming a liability in the passing game since he won't be a threat nor drawing any extra help. We needed help against the run, and Marcus still has his low game- but if he doesn't improve over the course of the preseason in penetration we shouldn't expect him to improve our pass defense- at all. The good news on penetration might be that SpencerJ was given a lot of reps- and would have blown up a draw going away fom him if he hadn't been pulled to the ground by his jersey. I'd say if we're looking for a pleasant surprise along our DLine this season, Spencer would be the best bet. He's not the biggest guy on the field, but if Stroud gets pulled on passing downs and Spencer sees a lot of action, his instincts and athleticism might be a net gain for us in getting some push into opposing pockets.

McCargo looks like he'd rather play Will Linebacker than down in the trenches. On his first play McCargo lets Pete Kendall (who doesn't even have good footing when he pops McCargo) get under his pads and blow him off the ball. Then again, they say old habits die hard. This guy has never shown the ability to get low and play where good DTs makes their living. The second play is vintage 2007 McCargo- it's 2nd and 4 from the 5 yard line, a short yardage play with the goal line to his back. At the snap, McCargo abandons his gap- I'm guessing because when he did the same in a similar situation last year, some of the media applauded him for his lack of discipline because he got lucky and made a play. Yesterday, the odds won- Portis saw the abandoned gap and went right down to the 1 over the spot McCargo vacated. Another down later, you get to see every other Bill's DT on the ground as the whistle blows- but McCargo is up and spinning around like a top because he refuses to get down low and put his weight into the line surge. On a team that is desperate for help in the D interior, this guy who has every reason to be producing positively for us is building a resume that says something else. He just does not appear to have the appetite to fight the other big bodies along the line of scrimmage.

I won't dispute the premise on QB- in fact I'm of the belief that there isn't a more overrated (not to mention misunderstood) position in the game, at least at the Pro level. There are plenty of downright bad QBs who have hoisted a Lombardi in modern times- but not a single bad defense. In fact, the defenses of the Lombardi winner in recent years have always been among the best in the league with the exception of the Indy D two years ago who came into their own by the time they hit the playoffs. Many experts felt in the playoffs they were among the top league defenses. As to the trophies- the NFC gives out the Halas and the NFL gives out the Lombardi, same things for rings, and I believe but could be wrong that there are banners for both the NFC and Super Bowl champs?

If the trade is completed and Favre plays in the green uni, he'll get about a 5 game honeymoon before he begins to be consumed by the media in NY, a media who will have no respect for the trophies, rings and banners Favre earned as a member of the Green Bay Packers. I always liked watching the guy play- he's a good leader and fun on the field- but he's frequently on the wrong side of the risk equation and moving to the AFC East with the 2008 Jets is likely to turn into a disaster for his reputation, a rep he's already tarnished with his flip-flopping. Until the smoke clears I'll be a little skeptical about it coming to pass, but if it does it sure stinks of a "Be Careful What You Wish For" situation for a guy who could have otherwise enjoyed a lot of rounds of golf with premium endorsement income over the next dozen or so years.

Tommie Harris was sitting there another draft day when we picked a WR instead. The two players who would have had more impact on our W/L record over the past 3 seasons were passed over to fill in positions that have not had anywhere near the impact those premium interior line defenders would have. Smart teams and winning teams are not out looking for older veterans to "star" in their DLine interiors; they instead recognize the game today requires making an investment in young players inside. The best teams look to pick up vets at the WR position if FA while taking star DTs early in the draft- we've got the formula backwards.

Good point. Others among your vast body of shortcomings nearly led me to forget that you're a thief to boot.

Your little "solo" reach-around is quite entertaining. Don't let the vapor-free world to discourage you from continuing on your chosen trajectory.

Credibility

Exactly. This roster is a nice Bill of Goods we're being sold that gets some people excited. The likelihood is that if all things necessary aligned (and that is a substantial bag of wishes right there) and we were in position for some postseason action, that would come not as a result of having assembled a great team or coaching staff but by virtue of enjoying one of the easier schedules in the league in some time. Our reality is that we have virtually no chance of matching up against playoff quality rosters and that paints any 2008-9 postseason as a "short" run. We're two quality players from being competitive with the top of the league right now and there's virtually no chance both of those players will somehow land in our lap before the season begins. No matter the level of optimism Training Camp brings, we're not a team that will be honestly challenging for at least another off-season, and probably two.

It's nothing new for Parker- Here are some of his clients who have held out under him: Hines Ward Richard Seymour Cedric Benson Walter Jones Corey Simon Shawn Springs Peter Boulware Chris Perry And this blog suggests he's embraced the tactic in similar form for quite a while- Holdout Parker

It's all a matter of training. Specialty Canine Training

That Madison Hill route is normally "available", but I don't know if a bicycle would be the best choice of delivery method. On another note- back in the "old days", when the drinking age was 18 and the Unemployment Office had a sensible proximity in being located right next door to Better Days, a buddy walked into the bar one morning and took the seat next to me. He said he'd been given a lead at the unemployment office to do a big roofing job. He had a quick draft and then set off for the jobsite on Maple Ave. I got to thinking about where on Maple there might be a big roofing job, and the bar discussion went on for about 15 minutes about where it might be before my buddy returned and sat down to order a beer. I gave him a minute before asking "so they're doing the steeple on the Catholic Church?".

I don't think I've been to their site for a few months, but this is the first I've noticed the upgrade. Oakie's a good hometown boy who used to date my sister. IIRC he's got a good recipe for grey squirrel ;-) I don't know JAnderson- but to convince him to leave the TH for the WDR must have included the jump to News Editor.

Congratulations are in order for Oakie Duke, Editor of the WDR, for bringing digital publishing to my hometown on the banks of the Genny.

How about we set up a steamtable that includes Ramius gems like "There'll be lots of WRs taken in the first round of the 2008 draft" and we can sell the whole thing as a buffet!

Parker's name Googled with "holdout" includes everything from an "expected long holdout" for Saints #1 pick Sedrik Ellis to Hines Ward, Richard Seymour, Cedric Benson's rookie contract, Walter Jones, Corey Simon, Shawn Springs, Peter Boulware, Chris Perry, and the list goes on and on. One blog reports that between 1995 and 2005, Parker led all agents in 1st-round rookie contract holdouts with 13 (a tie with Tom Condon). I'd say if all those are accurate, there pattern is well established as Scribo suggests. You'll even find some tactical similarities here in the Benson Holdout if the author is to be believed-Eugene Parker: Agent Holdout

We'll have to wait and see if you're right about that- I guess it could be the bad news side to the above camp reports, but who cares? All that matters is offense! Don't forget that they're the guys with the ball- and it's very, very difficult to score without the ball!

No pressure of any kind on our starting QBs being reported, and not a single sack except the one Shana Nua got his with the third string running a stunt with Bowser. Sounds like our OLine has really improved in the offseason- at one point even holding off the vaunted surge from two of our newest D Free Agent signings playing side by side on the #1 DLine. And all this at a time of year when the "D is way ahead of the O"! Sure sounds like it could be an exciting year with this OLine juggernaut keeping pressure off our backfield; a real chance for us to see all that talent at WR we've been accruing in the draft.

Not a single mention of our newly "remodeled" DT rotation- I wonder if it's a sign that Melvin Fowler is going to have a huge year for us?

We get it. You don't mind lying about other posters here when they expose you for what you are. You should stick to your Football Know Nothing Club where post counts are the gold standard over content and context. I know in your mind that's probably the easy way to cover up your insistence about all the 1st round WRs we'd see in the past draft, and why we should burn the 11 pick on Limas Sweed.

If we had a QB, RB or WR play the season at Peter's level in 2007, make the Hawaii roster and miss day one of Training Camp over a contract issue, there would be scant posts on any other subject on TSW today, the mods wouldn't have any chance of keeping up with the duplicate subject posts, and the news around the league would lead off all day with the talk about the penny-wise and pound-foolish Ralph Wilson.

I'd guess that it would be dependent upon whether the state in which the "interim" team was located had any employment law restrictions on "non-compete" types of clauses. My understanding of the law here in California is that a clause that didn't allow Favre to be shopped to any other team would be invalid and his new "employer" would be free to send him where they wished. That wouldn't necessarily keep Green Bay from filing and possibly even winning a judgment against the CA team for violating the original deal, but all the same Green Bay would be able to do nothing to stop Favre from signing on in Minnesota.

The fellatio he performs on Robert Kraft* is even worse than the Jerry Jones lick-off. God forbid we had an owner like either of 'em. Kraft, Jones and any of 20 other owners would have packed us up and left Buff long ago.