beausox

As an unreconstructed Roman Catholic I marvel at the beauty of the pageantry and how important it is to me. Protestantism has much to be proud but it's intrinsic defect is that it persists that if it is mildly ritualistic it must be wrong= Roman Catholic. If todays procession is prologue the world is in for a treat. Indeed Catholicism, if it does anything well it is put on a funeral. The haunting Litany of the Saints . Panis Angelicus, and the reassurance and even joy of the occasion are transparent. It is not time for the bland Protestant funeral to stand in contrast. I believe that once a Catholic always a Catholic. Oh, you may protest in Joycean fashion but it never rises above protest, sound and fury signifying everything. You can jump from New Age to well where?

Abortion did not free women; it did free men. Women get to shoulder a life time of guilt; men are freed from responsibility. After all, it is women who choose. Women should have been more careful. It is unmanly to not seduce. I cannot believe that the women who chose abortion- some 40 million clumps of fibrotics- are not in deep depression but it remains politically incorrect to admit to this choice. Thus the question: if it is a good choice why do the aborter not rejoice, celebrate and commenorate the date of the abortion?

No but posts like this are as big a waste

If there are 50 quetions with 4 choices each then a chimpanzee would score 12-13! If the test was constructed by a classroom teacher then choosing all b', all c's or a comboination of b's and c's would be wise for the taker because teachers are prejudiced against a's because no elimination would occur and d's are the proof that the teacher has run out of energy and creativity and further because a,b,c is the answer. So the classroom teacher who writes his own objective tests would encourage such uneducated guessing. Thus my advice to high schoolers is to answer those q's you are reasonably certain and then go through the rest choosing blindly between b and c or better choosing the more likely between b and c only. Beware Regents exams ( and SATs), e.g. Global Studies typically have 48 q,s with four choices each and never, never have more than 14 and less than 11 of any one choice. There is no disposition to a,b,c or d. It is virtually impossible to get a 65 (passing grade) with only 14 right on the objective. In my 35 years of teaching I have found that the % scored in objective part rarely deviates from essay score. The Wonderlic is professionally prepared so if one is really illiterate answering c every time will keep one in double figures

Point well taken. I still believe Shelton will come free after he is cut or Green will swap 2nd rounders and if free we are free to offload TH for a 1st day pick. As for need I think MLB, safety- both Millioy and Vincent are aging-, and CB.

Because Pace and Ogden are overpriced and we are maxed out with superstar salaries. Do you want to allow JP, Evans, or Willis to be squeezed out. Get used to below the radar signings of the Gandy and Anderson type.

Clements is a very good corner. His value to some other team exceeds his value to the Bills. Welcome to reality football. Now I see the wisdom of bargain basement o-line moves lately. With the 55th pick the Buffalo Bills choose- insert best corner available.

Isn't it all in the way it goes down? Shelton will be dealt because he must be dealt at 3 mil as a backup! TH is under a 1.5 mil and would not profit by sulking his way through next year. We do not have to trade TH. There are other things, other players, draft needs, and just be patient because not pulling the trigger- say WM gets hurt- may be rewarded.

In the long run you and points are right but the system is inherently rigid. I don't know, nor particularly motivated to exactly know, what the point value of Tom Brady, Joe Montana or Thurman Thomas was to their team as a draftee. Of course it does not require quantitative analysis because the quality/ long term value of each ripped asunder points analysis. If JP is a quality QB who leads the Bills to the promise land how do bean counters account for that? If JP exceeds Rivers and Manning in longevity and proven talent years hence how does a quantitative analyst explain? And if JP is arguably equal to Roethlisberger in his body of work will the relative cost differential ever be explainable quantitatively? Roeth.. was "much cheaper" than JP but only a fool would argue that because Roeth... was cheaper and as a result that Jp was not worth the deal GIVEN that Roeth.. was no longer available?! Whatever you think of dearly departed Drew Bledsoe his choice over Mirer was a draft day no brainer. Consider: Draft analysis should be judged after three years when qualitative and quantitative data can be more accurately assessed. .

Sam Aiken because he has to be it- 35- 40 receptions are enough

Ditto.

It seems TD is collecting interchangeble o-linemen. I believe - because it has been his draft day modus operandi- that TD will continue to place form over function. He drafts athletes. NE Pats employ Vrable, Troy Brown( past tense), Seymour et al in situational roles very effectively. Naturally Shelton's status and McNally's faith in Bannon or Peter's are info we do not know that is critical to the decision of the course of the draft.

Unless the power plants were intended to occupy the true intention.......

What you read is the educated guesses of observers. Fact: Denney did play some TE last season. Fact: both TE's from last year are under injury watch. Fact: TD and MM wisely collect athletes who provide options. That it has not appeared in Bills Digest is not proof it has not been contemplated. This is a thought experiment topic and is not presented as Gospel.

Clump, I admire your knowledge of the cap but evidently your valuable expertise does not extend to talent analysis. Denney may very well move to tight end. Even if that does not occur his value as a swing lineman ( as a pass rushing tackle on third and passing downs as well as a defensive end who can drop in coverage in zone blitz situations) is great. TD and MM highly value versatility and two-fer players. Of course your choice of Denney as a surprise cut may only have cap-related value.

Yes. Very interesting as to just what is TD's next move. In truth he probably does not know but releases such as Hamilton and Hand from Giants today herald a number of possibilities. Whether either of these two have value to Bills is open to question. What strikes me is that our cuts- Prioleau et al- are being done as the FA and draft possibilities become more clear. Who knows perhaps Ty Law? or it could be that we follow the Pats model and have some value signings? Ralph is not getting any younger. He may pressure for a different course.

1) Wyche and Clements will devise a scheme in which JP will thrive. It will look somewhat akin to the Jets use of Curtis Martin and Pennington fakes and rollouts. 2) Power running game of Willis who this year will display more speed. It is scary to think that last year he relied on power and seemed to lack a burst of speed! Many believe last season WM was at 85%. In addition WM rarely ran a downfield pattern. He will this year and pity the overmatched LB. Every defense must account for a RB of Willis' ability which makes the rollout deadly. 3) Moulds and Evans will stretch the field. A third receiver has not arisen but that is a relatively easy position to fill. Either Fast Freddy or ........? 4)McNally will coordinate the o-line which requires the utmost in synchronization. The best few o-lines will out perform the all-pro line at the Pro Bowl every time even if none of those teams have any Pro Bowlers! Next years line will be very good. In addition "the statue" has been replaced by" the mobile". 5)The Defense is solid, among the best. It will provide field position and probably allow but 17-21 pts per game against the best offenses. IMHO we did a very poor job offensively after getting good field position because too often we went 3 and out and did not get the three 1st downs necessary to kick FG's. 6)Special Teams. Arguably the best in NFL. Punt returns and kick off return men are superior. Moorman is the best punter in or out but especially in the Ralph. 7) Are we better than the Pats? I do not know but we are better than most. Would you trade the Colts lineup for ours? I would not. Overall we are better.

Agreed The answer is in the draft. If we draft a corner early 2nd or 3rd or if we take a safety early. Vincent can still play either. I think it shows we are in the process of interchangeable parts ( the offensive line in FA is collecting multi-position players). Only we agonize over next years FA coming and goings. Nate is good, very good but not like Willis or Evans or Takeo. Add, hopefully, JP to that list. That is four which in my opinion is all the superstars one team can accomodate given the NFL cap

Cookie Gilchrist. the Man-Child of the sixties. You had to love his ability. For those youngsters who marvel at Jason Peters potential remember Cookie was actuality. A man who was a man as a boy arrived in Buffalo amidst social change. As the bus from North Buffalo bars (Brunners) rolled up Jefferson that evidenced the seething rage of Black neighborhoods complete with burned, that is, torched buildings. He and Kemp mobilized the players threatening a boycott of AFL All Star game. He is a deeply misunderstood man whose era served him poorly. I saw Takeo in a restaurant and it was like a flash back. Cookie could have played every position on the field except perhaps corner and qb but maybe the latter is the result of repressed residual racism. Ralph before you die right this wrong.

Thank you TD for not even getting into the bidding. The NFL is getting more like collection of cards/silver/china in that there is someone out there who either has too mch money to spend or, and at least this is rational, has a particular need for that missing piece. In a perfect market JJ is not worth anywhere near 5 million/ year with 12 up front!! Dont panic the sane rule in the long run.

Agree completely. Is it me or have you noticed an uptick in trades and trade discussions. Could it be that the cap-restraints are chastening teams. For example Pat Wiliams floated 5 mil/per talk and took c. 4mil in a hurry. Randy Moss!!!!! Randy Moss- a player I would despise intensely up to the day he signed with the Bills was traded. The times they are a changin'

Another variable we dont know and hopefully TD & co do is how many teams need a guard and what is the value of a guard relative to their other needs. This gives us an idea of when to strike. It is all about the cap. The entire NFL is all about the cap. It doesnt take a genius to rate talent about players with 3 year track record in the NFL. Gee do you think Randy Moss is any good? Was Takeo worth it? Or that Mahle, assuming no injury, can play guard? (even Terrel Buckley is a known commodity to all ) Did all teams have even any interest in any of these three examples? No. Teams have different needs in a sport that limits choices via cap.

JJ is not a great loss. The o-line will improve if only because the opponents d-line will not rely upon an immobile statue being back there. Teague to LT Tucker to center Draft a RG or center and leave Tucker at center.

That is where draft and or ( emphasis and ) a modest free agent signing comes in. Again, I trust in McNally to know how to mix and match. I believe that there is a workable solution without a major FA signing. Also consider that next years FA posible losses to Bills is great. Will some of this years cap money be used to offset future year charges? You cannot carry over cap but you can front load some contracts and defray future charges. Again we do not know anything other than TD has a grip on the cap which in tandem with talent assessment is paramount.

then keep him The price will go up as the trade deadline (6th game?) approaches and pretender/ contenders lose RB's