UConn James

He had the opportunities. He declined to take them. Now he's 33. I'm not knocking the low key. I'm low-key myself. But I also know that this is not usually a character trait of successful QBs.

This team could do a lot worse than getting either Suh or Cody (actually, the current and past FOs have shown time and again that they absolutely can do worse). A proven DT who brings a big body to plug the middle along with Stroud. Then, we need to pick up a starting LB to supplant Ellison. LBs get hurt; it's the nature of the position. Unfortunately, it was the nature of Dick Jauron to man-love DB physiques and put them at all manner of positions. Mitchell and Poz are tolerable; DT doing more dirty work should free them up more. Add in better schemes (you know, like one that doesn't force LBs & DEs(!) to cover WRs) and you'd see a difference. We need to rebuild our LB depth and get a handle on roster management that Jauron totally screwed over with ST players as 'depth.' We need to get bigger on the lines and emphasize the point of attack. Getting killed in run defense, and that goes to LB but it also goes toward the DL getting some kind of initial contact. Not knocking KW. If Suh or Cody (prefer Cody) is picked, he would still play an important role in the rotation/change-up and mitigated drop-off should a starter go down.

+1. Volek turned down a very good chance to be a starter (for several teams, not just the Bills). Tells us all we need to know about him.

The past couple of holidays, it's been

The writing doesn't seem to suggest that planes will be forced to go back to the gate at T plus 3:00:00. It's that passengers must be given the option to disembark and return to the terminal. This could be done fairly easily with the portable stairs and shuttle transport for anyone who does want to do this when hearing a report of their specific situation. You would hope that if the problem was communicated to the passengers, e.g. that the part is being installed right now and we'll be ready for take-off in X minutes.... everyone would understand and be able to wait a bit longer. This would require good faith on both sides (something that the airline industry hasn't shown a good deal of in the past, tho...). Of course, some airlines might do exactly what you write if the flight will no longer be a net profit to them with the remaining passengers. I'm also fairly sure that this rule has been discussed with the airlines, and this is not willy-nilly.

Until it's you who literally gets trapped for 6-8 hours on a plane and cannot leave, yeah, I guess a few people probably won't understand the intent of this rule. Yeah, no ****, it is easier to strand passengers out on the runway so they're not all up in the hizzle. Hurrah for someone who can punch out and say, "Hey, I just work here!" or "Looks good from my house!" that argument is pretty weaselly. It may make for an inconvenience for airport workers, but this is for the rights of the passenger. If the plane isn't going anywhere soon, let people off so they can make alternate plans if they can/want, get a hotel room, etc. As I wrote, it's sad that this apparently needs to be codified because of situations that have happened. It's sad that companies actually treat paying customers like that. You would hope that in the application of this, the common sense would prevail. In your first scenario at least, the pilot would come on the intercom and tell his/her passengers that they will be taking off w/in 20 minutes and it would be cool. A lot of the situation's resolution would be proper communication. You'd hope this. A lot of times the world isn't like that. The rule seems more geared toward some employees who seem to think of passengers as cattle rather than humans, as was evinced in the article.

As much as I dislike a lot of what the past couple of administrations have done, I do try to make an effort to applaud certain of actions that are wholly good ideas, in the interest of not being a critic all the time. Among these for Bush was the creation of the coral reef preserves, whose size (IIRC) was more than the cumulative area of all the national parks combined. U.S. Limits Tarmac Waits for Passengers to Three Hours Buying a plane ticket and boarding should not mean airlines can literally hold you hostage when their equipment doesn't work. I more than understand that sometimes things happen, but three hours would seem a fair limit in the whole 'Sh-- or get off the pot' milieu. Sad that this has to be codified, but I guess that's the age we live in.

This is mine. People driving too close. You should be one car length behind for every 10 mph of speed. That means, on the highway, you should be about 7 lengths behind the car in front and try to maintain 7 lengths in back. But no. People have to ride everyone else's bumper. Ever notice on the highway that there are clusters of ~20 cars every few hundred yards? Then there's a few hundred yards with two or three cars, then another cluster. That's from people putting their snit in everyone else's snizzle. Then, emanating from this is the phenomenon of drivers who feel the need to thread the needle while changing lanes. A few weeks ago, a car about 200 yards in front of us did such a threading and forced a black VW Golf to swerve left, then right to avoid hitting, and the VW almost rolled. For my next car, I'll have to ask the salesman if a blivet gun is an available option. Seriously, people. Back the !@#$ off! This is not NASCAR!

Well, it is Cleveland. That may be the best they can attract with the state of their franchise. Like a house infested with termites, there's not too many people itching to go into this scenario. It's a !@#$ing mess. And, yes, the Bills are in a similar situation. Ralph can talk $10M all he wants, but I doubt anyone worth that will ever walk through the doors of OBD.

+1 Tea & Crumpets with Dick Jauron did not inspire any kind of fear in our opponents. Is this going to be a guy that the next coach can work with? Is he a Shanahan-type OL? You've gotta be a little crazy to play in the NFL. If the Bills can get him to tone it down even just marginally, this could be a heck of a pickup.

Hmm. Where has that happened since? EVERY SEASON IN BUFFALO. Jauron defenses are too small to compete/last over a 16-game season. Not to mention playoffs. [Jim Mora voice] Playoffs!!?!?!? Playoffs!?!?! You talkin' to me about playoffs?!!!? Playoffs?? Are you kiddin' me?? I just hope we can win one more game. Playoffs!!?!?! [/Jim Mora voice]. Good thing that Jauron offenses are enough to compensate. Oh. Wait.... When your scheme involves trying to play DBs at 7 defensive positions and lightweights at the other 4, there's something really wrong with your scheme. Not to mention, there's something wrong with Jauron's homoerotic man-love for secondary players. Generally, they just go after the coach or the QB. That's about as much as they understand about football. Dunno about him, but I was saying, "Run, run, pass, punt. Run, run, pass, punt. Run, run, pass, punt. Run, run, pass, punt."

That Sea The Gambler - Gregory Alan Isakov

Which is also why we'd get diddly in return for Lynch. Teams don't want a 3rd-4th year guy when the average RB's career in the NFL is just under 2 seasons. It's the nature of the position --- getting absolutely pummeled by 5-6 guys for 25-35 times per game --- that most guys don't last long. It's what makes Emmitt and Thurman's careers so remarkable. Not to mention the legal troubles and middling production.

Yeah. I've never seen this version of the DTOM flag. I could go in for one for the flagpole.

Reid sees the writing on the wall. The health care overhaul is going to be a final legacy for several US Senators. I believe Reid's polling at something close to 40% in Nevada, with an over 50% unfavorable rating. And that's about 10 points better than Dodd. Seems that a lot of Dems are willing to fall on their swords/take one for the team for the Kennedy boondoggle dream. If Lieberman is smart, he says 'Harry, I will not vote for public option no matter what you do,' bails now, and stays Independent until '10 shapes things up. Joe's said in the press that he won't vote for it. If he does now, he loses all credibility; I'd like to think that Joe has too much pride to cave, especially if this is going to be the impression that's created of what bought his vote. Reid is grasping at the last straw.

From that distance, I can't really tell if there's a small stripe divider between the names.... What is this flag called? It reads "DON'T TREAD ON ME" but it's not the Gadsden Flag. Nicer design and colors.

This is a game where coaches take calculated risks. Remember that punter for the Pats* who was also their #3 QB? It was an advantage for them, as it saved a roster spot for someone else at positions that get beat up a lot more than QB. It's not very often that a 3rd stringer is pressed into duty, and if your #1 goes down one week, you promote the the guy from the PS. They figured wrong that Brohm would stay if an offer was matched. Sometimes it happens. They have Rogers and while they did want to keep Brohm, in the larger scheme, it's not too big a loss. Actually, the Giants missed on Peters. They signed him from our PS for a few weeks, then released him, and then the Bills picked him back up. Some guys need work with coaches, time and experience to develop. No argument here that Brohm is a total flier of a pick-up. If he doesn't cut it in OTAs and camp, he's likely gone. The best part is that the Bills didn't invest much to lose. Cut Hamdan and are probably paying Brohm similar $. I just wrote that I liked Brohm's moxie, in that he could have stuck with the Packers for a while with the cachet of a recent #2 pick and a FO that wouldn't want to admit failure so soon. Whereas with the Bills, if he doesn't show anything next August, we write it off and he's yesterday's newspaper. Kid's taking a $ risk to come here, himself. Tho, I wouldn't say he's a "top prospect."

Well, Kansas is Big 12. And though the program hit the snide with fat-slob Mangino, it's not as podunk as you'd think. Reportedly, an offer would be $2.5M a season. As important a thing is for a college coach, Harbaugh arguably has better recruiting contacts in the midwest than in the traditional Pac-10 territory. While he was still playing in the NFL, he scouted & recruited for his father at W.Kentucky in Indiana, Illinois, and he played at Michigan. He may desire a switch in playing style. Kansas is also fairly close to his wife's family [Writer's Note on this point: DON'T DO IT, JIM!!!!! ].

Sorry, but this is very dissimilar to Nall. Nall was a 5th rounder, whom the Bills picked up in his 4th year in the league. Brohm was a pretty highly thought of rookie last year, 3rd QB taken behind Ryan and Flacco. There has been little to evaluate him on. I'm not going to say that he's the next Tom Brady, but I also wouldn't say he's a Drew Henson. It usually takes time for QBs to develop and get acclimated to the NFL. He's an unknown commodity beyond a gut assessment. I think his collegiate record demands that we give him practice time here on out, OTAs and a camp to get more of an idea about him. Really don't want him behind this OL as it is currently; that would be a totally unfair judgment.

I would not start any comparisons to Brees quite yet. Brees had actually started games for SD and had a good final season (pre-injury) before they let him go in favor of Rivers. Brohm has seen limited, scrub-time preseason action. As parallels go, it sounds more like a perpendicular. We have no idea how Brohm will measure up when things count... he is a blank slate. It'll be for the next regime to figure out where they want him. Picking a nit: GB didn't "give up on" Brohm. Looks like they were trying to essentially gain a roster spot by stashing Brohm on the PS (not a bad idea if you can do it). They tried to hang onto him by matching the 2-year offer. We essentially poached a 2nd-round pick from GB, who hasn't had much of a chance to show anything.

Went artificial last year, so I break it out about a week after Thanksgiving. Having an issue with some of the lights right now. Narrowed down the string... changed fuses, now it says to go one-by-one to check for any loose connections. *Sigh* I'll have to put some Captain in the eggnog to have the patience for this. Really disappointed that it's having these troubles already.

What I like most about Brohm is that he signed here of his own volition. He saw the situation and wants a chance to start. Some QBs in the NFL are comfortable being 2nd or 3rd string. They practice. They hang out with the guys and hold a clipboard. There's a pretty small chance they'll get action in more than 2 games per season. There's some comfort knowing they'll have a job for a few years before they're not good enough and the team finds out. Won't forget that offseason when Billy Volek, back-up in Tenn, was the top UFA and he chose to stay in Tenn behind McNair. Told me all I needed to know about what he thought of himself and what his life goals were. Brohm could've hid himself in GB behind Rogers for a while, as a 2nd round project QB. From what I read, he didn't play badly in preseason, it was just a warm-bodies issue in GB and they thought they could hide him on the PS. Coming to the Bills, if he ain't good enough for the NFL, he's at least halved his career. Sometimes people get off to a bad start, sometimes a situation just isn't right for an individual, sometimes you need to shake the peaches. It may or may not come to anything, but I love Brohm's attitude.

Link More token pressure on the NCAA, and again not having much teeth or chance of passage. The BCS system makes just enough of a select group of powerful institutions too much money for them to loosen their grasp.

The Bills and Chiefs might go bankrupt in that case, paying everyone $10,000 to have to watch them.

My assumption is that Tebow will be converted to TE / H-back. Whoever comes in will likely cut ties with Edwards (deservedly). Count me in as being intrigued by Pike.