KnightRider

I appreciated his On the Lamb articles back in 1997... They were one of the things that got me hooked on this site... FFS/BB/DS/ (his Marv alias escapes me) has been a consistant poster... I always enjoyed Rockpile's This Day in Bills' History... Lori's posts are almost always on topic, and usually anti-Dolphin... LA/T-80 for being so entertaining... If I had to pick one, excluding SDS, it would have to be Bob Lamb...

You can only be rated based on the level of competition you play against, no matter what they claim... I thought I heard before the draft last year that the 2004 draft was one of the deepest in years, and that the 2005 draft was weak... No proof mind you just a cloudy memory... Regardless, given where we would have drafted (at 20), we wouldn't have been in the position to take either of the first two QB's anyway. Instead, we have a young QB who has been tutored by some very good coaches for a year. Will he work out? Who knows? However, I feel a lot better going into next fall with a guy who has a year in the system compared to a rookie or FA...

Actually, we took it out of the library! It was definately worth it! By the way, the Wilderness Cabins are Nice house trailors in the campground. We bought groceries on the way there and basically and ate breakfast and supper there... Nothing special, just stuff to tide you over. Plus, they were cheaper than even the economy rooms. We tried to make our lunch reservations at ~3:00PM. I think the lunch prices were significantly cheaper than the supper prices...

In Disney: A Wilderness Cabin Just outside: The Polynesian (Two Bedroom Suite) (not inside Disney) Both have kitchens...

Bryce Paup should have had at least an honorable mention... Didn't he leave for Jax never to be seen again a year or so after winning defensive MVP in '96 or so?

I was always more of fan of e...

AS EAS, Hudson Valley CC '95 BS ECE, UB '97 MS ECE, UMASS Amherst '00

Wow, I lived on Woodstock Rd. in East Berne 10 years ago... BTW, born in Dunkirk, grew up in Pembroke/Akron, a month short of 35, and live in Berlin, MA. I wouldn't mind returning to NY, but the taxes are even higher than Massachusetts.

He wouldn't have received that contract if he wasn't a top 5 pick. Rookie contracts aren't all that flexible, are they?

My guess is it will be JPL as soon as he throws a non garbage time INT... It's always the QB... (unless he is named Lonnie...)

What player in the 2002 draft should we have taken? The only other two that might be contributing more would be Roy Williams and Dwight Freeney. I'm not sure either one of them is worth 9.17 either. Just be glad we didn't take Harrington...

First of all, I did not assume that it was steroid related. But in the wake if Giambi's problems, it was what came to mind. He seems a decent guy. But I thought Giambi was, too. Secondly, a thought cannot be irresponsible in a free society. I think it is sad that I would have thought that, but the NFL has had its troubles with steroids, too. I don't remember much of a dropoff in performances when the drug testing was instituted. It must have been that almost no one was taking them. If I stood to lose millions of dollars either by being caught taking steroids or not taking them and underperforming, I'd do my best to find a way to hide my use of them. I am sure many have. Anyway, I do hope he gets better and can play football again...

That is the reason I brought it up in the first place. He was not drafted very high and wasn't spectacular the first few years. I know young people have strokes, and I do not mean to offend anyone. It was just the first thing that came to mind when I heard it. I just find the timing very odd. You'd think it would have happened on the field. I also think it is odd that Troy Brown, who was never a great WR, could play both ways as well as he did. But that is for another thread...

How does a 31 year old in excellent athletic condition have a stroke? To me, in the wake of the Giambi and Bonds fiasco, looks like a possible scandal...

That depends on the cost of living where you live. If I made the salary I make in Buffalo, I'd be very well off. Instead, I'm trying to figure out whether my wife can stay home and add a second bath to the house.

Nobody but a Pats fan understands. I was bombarded with them yesterday and how they regetted letting him go, but that he was really holding them back...

That would be my guess, too. A Frank Reich or AVP type... Very smart, but talent limited...

The defense folding is a bit of puzzler. If I were the grassy knoll type, I'd say it was the D saying, let the O win a game for a change. They ought to against 3rd stringers...

You are fun to have a discussion with. I suspect we might have taken Harrington if he had lasted and skipped Bledsoe entirely, and that would had been a disaster. Yes, 4th and later is more for backups, but some 4ths become starters, too. As for Denney, the point I am trying to make is that not every player has to be an all pro to be valuable, and you don't cut someone just because they have underachieved. I don't think there was that much drop-off from Kelsay to Denney to warrant cutting him. I think the Kelsay pick had to do with very little depth at the time. Chidi & Aaron were starters and Chidi was gone. Throw in the fact that that draft was rich in DL, and it makes sense. Now the DE crew is young, good, but not spectacular, and it should be a stable corp for the next 2-3 years. Who could we have had? Without Bledsoe, who knows where we would have picked in the 03 draft? It probably would have been a DE, but T would be possible if we hadn't taken MW on 02. Who would you have taken in 02? Freeney is the only one I think has performed better than his draft position...

The salary cap and age gutted the 2000 defense by Sept 2001. It was in shambles. Dead money in the cap does that to you.

You also might look at the Bledsoe deal from Ralph Wilson's standpoint. There is no question Drew Bledsoe put fannys in the seats, and while obviously that is not enough, I get the feeling RW want to make sure the Bills stay in WNY after he is gone. His marketing of the Bills has been masterful, and somewhat decoupled the level of interest in the Bills from the team's success. Ryan Denney is not a failed pick just because he does not start. He is a solid backup. No, TD has not drafted a dominant DE to make us forget BS. No, DB did not turn out to be JK. But he was better than AVP. No, TH is not TT. But he was better than AS, and WM might be as special as TT. MW was much improved by the end of the season. I would not be surprised to see him in the Pro Bowl next year.

Xerox and Kodak don't make steel, yet neither is very healthy. Neither does GE in Schenactady. Some of it is poor decision making by Xerox and Kodak, but not all of it. GE is healthy, but they've decided to do business in more business friendly localles like Greenvillle NC...

Sorry, I was wrong. It was after the 84 season. Anyone remember the commercial with Montana and Marino in it where Marino tells Montana he'll get him next year?

But Marino led them to a SB in his rookie year... Personally, I had enough of SB appearances...

Marino had the winningest coach in history. His coach went undefeated with a backup QB. Then he had a guy who won two SBs. The reason Marino is not a 10 ten QB is that he could never beat the Kelly and Levy's Bills went it mattered. That is why Kelly and Levy had to be HOFers. They owned Marino and Shula. As for Flutie, you have to remember that Kelly was not a Bill yet. If Flutie had been given a chance, he may have been a HOFer too. He was older than Kelly when he came here, and he tore up the league in 1998. People want to compare Bady to Montana, but I think another good comparison is to Flutie. Not great skills, but smart enough to make the best of them... I don't know that he was 1st overall pick, but, given the glaring need at QB at the time, he might have been a better choice than Reich in the 3rd round...