UConn James

One other thing to keep in mind when thinking about the value we're going to get from #11... WRT Raji, our DTs play in heavy rotation, meaning that he'd be on the field for just more or less than half of the plays. I just think it's something of a waste to pick a guy so high who'll be on the sidelines that much. What's the drop-off in waiting until round 2 or 3 for a DT... in a deep draft... at a position that's been called one of the easiest transitions into the NFL. I mean, we can all have the delusions of grandeur of Raji and Stroud in the middle of the DL. But real-world, how this team/these coaches use the players, that's not going to be happening nearly as often as you'd like. I wouldn't be disappointed if we were to finally get a very good TE to give the QB --- and this goes especially for Edwards --- a safety valve. I'm tired of having TEs who are either great blockers or good receivers, but not any kind of combination of both. Derek Fine raised my eyebrows a few times this season in the limited time he had, but we need another TE anyway. But that gets me to C. Doesn't do much good to have a TE when the middle of the line caves in on most plays. We need a guy who can handle the AFCEast NTs --- you know --- the ones who've given Edwards and our offense fits. It's convoluted to me to think that a QB who operates smoothly and looks good against 4-3s suddenly looks like sh-- against 3-4s. More likely it is someone in front of him who can't do their job against the changed variable of the behemoth NT. In my mind, all the indicators point to Mack as the guy who can solve this problem. He is a big boy who's shown he can hold his own physically and maybe more important, the dude is intelligent. Giving the QB more time will let him use the skill players we already have. The center is not on rotation shift; he's out there for every offensive play. When I think value, when I think impact, I think here. It may not be as sexy as a shiny new DE, but we need to get the best center in this draft who can handle all kinds of DTs and NTs. Now if that's Mack (which seems to be the consensus, tho lots is yet to see) and some people are saying that he can be had late-first, then fine. Wait until the dust settles and trade down into a spot where we can be certain to get him, and pick up some more picks in what's been called a deep draft. Great, so much the better. He could just as easily shoot up the board. The pike is a long drive from here to April and we'll see how it all plays out.

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Well, given the givens, the D didn't do too badly last year, even w/o Schoebel for most of the season. As you write, it's the Offense that has "been stagnant" for awhile... and I don't think that has everything to do w/ the skill players that are on the roster. Scoring points is something we should be doing.

Not to mention that one drive where Duke Preston was flagged twice for false start. False start on the center! On the first one, the announcers were saying how rare that is. And then a minute later he does it again. WTF, he should know exactly when a play begins --- he snaps the ball! Make no mistake, people. Center is 1A; DE is 1B.

Lines like this is why Letterman > Leno. Leno's just too nice and campy to say anything like that to someone's face. Letterman called it like he saw it. Remember kids --- look at Uncle Joquain --- drugs won't hurt you! . I hope he gets it back on track.

OK, from Charlotte saying that she remembers Faraday from when she was a girl, it would appear that the time travel interactions did happen the first time around. B/c Faraday hasn't done it yet... yet it happened. Also, with Charlotte having left as a girl and told the island never happened, I think we can safely assume that she was Annie, the girl who gave Ben the statue. Goes a little deeper into his psyche of the women in his life leaving him/the island and the complex that caused in his personality.... He feels he needs to scheme everyone into doing what he wants, and he needs to be the Guy, otherwise, everyone will leave him. Saw a glimpse of it when he shouted at Juliet, "You're MINE!" when she asked to leave. I'm absolutely sure we're going to be revisiting Young Charlotte and Young Ben again. Danielle, over the course of 16 years, likely came to believe that Jin had been an Other infiltrator. And you know how memory is --- it gets shifted and resorted in your brain, things are added, subtracted, sometimes you remember things that never happened and forget details of what did. I don't remember if she had direct contact with Jin in 2004 that might've jogged her memory... but then again, by that time she's also gone batsh-- crazy on top of it. Here's a screenshot of the Temple wall hieroglyphics. Not much to be gleaned there.

It seems that Rousseau's crew was... possessed by the smoke monster. We've seen before how it downloads memories, so it's not too far toward implanting some or even taking complete control. That structure appears to be "The Temple" --- where Ben told the Others to go to when the Lostaways were going to the radio tower and later said that this place was only for the Others, not for small-o others. The monster protects the Temple, but we still don't know what is there or what happens there. Anyone get a look at the hieroglyphics, or a link to what they said? The theme of sacrifice came up strong again tonight, and if you go back and read early on in this thread where I posted about Christian Shepard and how I think he was aware of his fate coming up (kind of like a slow-burn version of Michael's off-island experience) that led him to drink and basically give up trying.... I don't know if I specifically posted this, but I think that his 'sacrifice' was dying off-island so that Jack would have to go to Sydney, etc. That was the part Christian was always moving toward/waiting for. You either have a big part (how Jack has often been called a 'great man' and other stuff of this category) and how other people have smaller --- yet integral --- parts in the story. See Michael being told he "can go now" Widmore telling Desmond that the only great thing he'll ever do is push that button, etc. The thing I question is whether people make that sacrifice out of free will or if it's guided / soft- or hard-determined for them to make it. I don't know if the above statement is why Christian couldn't help Locke up --- that it had to be entirely Locke's doing... his choice... to 'sacrifice' himself, but my guess would be that he physically couldn't. (On edit: Wait. Christian picked up Aaron in the woods. Nix that "physically couldn't"). The Eloise Hawking speculation is now confirmed. Funny how Ben pulled over the van as Jack was going to reveal just how low Ben would go to get everyone back. Following what Christian said, it seems that Ben wants to be The Guy so badly that he messes everything up and causes a lot of pain along the way. Ben even screwed up turning the wheel by slipping it off its axle, which seems to have caused all or most of the 'temporal displacement' problems for the group. I just love that concept of the wheel... it's so cool. What else...? Daniel having shown up when Charlotte was a girl on the island... a 'creepy old man' (is "old" relative in this sense?) that told her that coming back to the island would mean death. Can we suppose that this is connected with the opening scene in the premiere? And also, I guess it showed that creating new pasts during the flashes doesn't affect what eventually happens on the island --- the effects seem to be real-time implanted memories that don't bear fruit b/c e.g. by the time Charlotte 'remembers' it in near real-time, it's too late to do anything about her being on the island. There goes Daniel trying to screw time. But it also explains Daniel's first appearance on the show... where he's crying before the Widmore crew was assembled and he doesn't know why he's sad. Well, now we know, tho it may not be the end. Also... sorry... about 'sacrifice' I just want to reiterate Jack's position. He was so hell-bent to get off the island and when Ben told him a few episodes ago that he wouldn't ever be returning to the 'real world' Jack says, "Good." Just.... Wow. And we still don't know what Ben had in that box. Let me also say that this is without a doubt the best teevee show I've ever seen. The quality of this at every level is just awesome. When this is over, I'm going to have nothing left to watch....

The situation with Peters was much of his own doing, then he didn't help things by coming in and dogging it 75 percent of the time. You could almost read the 'The Bills don't care 'bout me, I don't care 'bout them!' on his lips at times. That said, I think his thing may be rectifiable, if the FO pays him enough. And, that said, I hate having a guy with that mindset on this team... but what's done is done. Butler may well have been the team's best OL last year. When he was hurt, Jim Kelly was dead right when he said that hurt big-time. Butler is big, nasty and dedicated and if we had 5 guys who play football like him across the line, it would be lights out. But, hark! Some schlubs on these message boards blame BB for all our problems... wait... it's Chris Kelsay (well, he is a problem, but not the problem)... wait. Now they blame Lindell.... OFF WITH HIS HEAD! Our center situation last year was totally fubar. I can't say it much plainer than "Duke friggin' Preston was the best this team could front." To me, Center is A1, and I'd rather see it filled in high in the draft. Find out who the best guy is and get him and finally solve this problem of being blown back into the QB's face every play. I don't care how. Just friggin' do it, Linda. And if she's too much of a c--- to take a good chance when it looks her in the face, I hope Tom Modrak uses his new inner circle status to tell Ralph what's what, even if he doesn't want to hear the truth about his daughter.

Just that day in that ICU room? I guess that is what you call a "perfect stroke"....

This only proves that the perpetual FO shunning of the OL is about on par with fans' thinking. Success requires investment. Getting OL via UFA is uber-expensive to the point of neglecting other areas, and signing retreads means you'll have a crap line which means you'll have a crap offense w/o being able to tell if your skill players were any good. So, those choices both being the 'Building an OL for Dummies' method.... that leaves actually giving a crap about your lines when you're drafting. And maybe if you finally have a complete OL, the skills players the Bills already have --- and most here are clammoring to cut all their heads off --- will be able to do their jobs and have some time rather than reacting to shouts of 'Busted play!' etc. Then again, Linda Bogdan, Ralph's daughter, is the chief OL scout. Let's make it easier on her and just not draft OL besides the 6th or 7th, ever. Don't wanna put her on the hot seat. We'll just make up for her inability to spot a good player/take pretty good odds on someone like Mack, and instead spend $100M on two schlubs in UFA and have John Guy eat the sh-- sandwich. As ever, the way Ralph runs this team is its biggest problem.

Non Sequitur - 10 February

If anything like that were to be done with a new owner (e.g. Jim Kelly's group) at most, you'd get something like the LA Angels did. "The Buffalo Bills of Niagra." Then, the stadium naming could get sponsored by everyone's favorite little blue pill and become Niagra Viagra Stadium.

I would also say it should be b/c the rules have been bent over backwards in favor of offenses. Already 15 yards for breathing on a QB. If defenses get too good, the Rules Committee just makes a new rule to increase scoring. Meaning, investing in defense is diminishing returns. So, naturally, Ralph's UFA and the draft will be all defense, all the time.

Count your nose, your ears, and then open your fly.

That's the inverse of what everyone said a couple of years ago... that our overpaid DEs would make our weak DTs look better. In order to get production, the whole shebang needs to be improved. The piecemeal solution does not work; it's always going to be one or the other using this excuse. As I see it, the OL is much closer to completion (for starters) than the DL. We should get that squared away first --- actually finish a unit before moving on --- and then deal with DL. We need a C... Lord knows we need a C, have needed one since Kent retired and have signed a bunch of castoffs that get pushed back into the QB, pockets break down and an entire half of the team performance is f--ked in large measure b/c of one position. If a REAL C is signed on UFA (rather not go this route again and put even more $ into the OL) or Mack / Unger is guaranteed to be there in round 2, fine. But I don't think they last. But for !@#$'s sake, we need to stop ignoring OL and OL depth and the mindset that productive OL will be found in round 7. Ralph's daughter, the head OL scout, needs to stop riding on daddy's coattails and pull her head out. As ever, Ralph's tentacles in every crevice of how the team is run creates a problem.

Righ' ch'ere.

Don't believe the words on the box. This is a fairly good comparison test site. You'll notice that all of the indoor models listed are toward the bottom of dB gain. Amplification they use to boost the number on the box to make anyone go oooohhh and aahhh is a sham. If your signal has noise, then it amplifies the noise and gives you a spotty signal. You want a good initial gain at the antenna --- that's what's important. Always remember that in this world you get exactly what you pay for ...tho sometimes you get less. But you'll never get more than you pay for. I don't know exactly how far away you are from the farm (Chicago, yes?) but you might actually try a 2-bay, outdoor-rated but is small enough to be used indoors (you'll have to manufacture a hanging hook or a stand). Channel Master or the Antennas Direct 2-bay are both decent models. It's in about the same price-range as your Philips, too, but you'd have to order online --- one of the things about in-store antenna selection is that they don't stock for sh-- so many people never see better choices. This is the best I saw in a quick search. Are you having trouble with WBBM 2.1? Right now that's on real-channel 3 --- post-switch it'll be on 12 and the signal will double to a whopping 8kW (Whew! Don't spend it all in one place, WBBM! ), and the so-called UHF-only antennas do have VHF-high (7-13) performance. Too late to take the Philips back? If so, it's your choice if you put any more $ into tv at work. Albany, I'm sorry, I just don't have any experience in the recording stuff, tho I want to eventually get a DVR when there's better selection out there. You might get your model numbers and check on avsforums.com

50 dB gain? Surely not. I have an 8-bay that's one of the highest-gain antennas out there, and it's a little over 15dB gain. An indoor antenna is certainly much less, even amplified. If you're only 10 miles from the farm, you don't want something too powerful either.

As far as antennas go, generally: Bigger is better Higher is better Outside is better If it bothers you enough, maybe try an amplified indoor antenna. Or you might try picking up an in-line amp or a 1-to-1 distribution amp at Lowe's/HD. If it doesn't help, bring it back.

Kent Hull was probably the most important part of the SB teams. You need someone smart, big, and tough. The wilderness years for us have all included centers being manhandled and pushed backwards off the ball. Sets the tone for the rest of the line. Duke freaking Preston was subbed in for Fowler this season. Would be great to trade down to ~ 20 to pick Mack, use whatever we pick up and the rest of Day 1 for DE, TE, and DT. Day 2 should mostly be OL depth to eventually replace the aging, expensive/overpaid/under-performing (Dockery), and unmotivated/dogging/sulking (Peters). Then again, Ralph runs the franchise with his Old Man Syndrome and DJ finishes the job by coaching it into the ground.

Chimney emissions are pretty corrosive to metal (esp. aluminum which antennas are generally made of since it's lightweight), for those with chimney mounts (not recommended for the life of an antenna and, more important, for the structure of the chimney)... and general oxidation for other parts that hurt reception. Salt water air for those living near the ocean --- that stevestojan destroys everything, not just antenna/electronics stuff. I've read people who have to replace outdoor coaxial cable every couple of years, while normal life is ~10-15. People on AVSforum recommend replacing an antenna about the same, every 10-15 years for peak reception. I think that'll especially be the case for newer models with circuit boards and direct F-connectors instead of baluns. Old antennas will still work... they just won't work as well. I've done conversions for several people out here using both existing and new and it does make a difference. And, as I say, borrowing a little from Ben Linus on Lost, "[Digital] is a finicky B word!"

Not very "green" and for damn sure, not very economical. Especially now. There's over 1,500 stations in the country. Can cost ~ 20K-30K per month just for electricity for an analog transmitter. Add up the low end and that's $30 MILLION per month in power. Many stations have decided to go all-digital on 17 Feb. as planned. Vast majority of (if not all) stations that planned to switch their channel allotment are going to "flash-cut" to all-digital at midnight. Several stations just in my area have had a "catastrophic failure" of their analog transmitter --- read: it broke , and we're not putting any more money into it. As a woman who has a column dedicated to the switch writes, "Analog broadcasting which was scheduled to go out with a bang on Feb. 17, will now go out with a wimper on June 12. How many more 'catastrophic transmitter failures' do yo think will occur in the next few weeks?" The new bill doesn't require that broadcasters have to maintain the analog signal, just that they can continue if they want to and need to inform the FCC if they're ending, whereas the previous legislation would've forced them off the air. Some areas just aren't ready yet --- as I noted above about some sections of rural Iowa where over 20 percent aren't ready. Some areas are having a very difficult time with signal radii for digital using VHF-high and UHF --- there are spots in Maine, for example, where people have been told by officialdom that if they want TV, they need to get cable or sat, and other areas of the country where terrain and distance is a real problem. Having a digital converter box is sometimes only half the problem; a lot of people would do well to upgrade their antennas and/or pre-amplifiers, especially people at long distances from the towers. All in all, I wouldn't be so fast to make that generalization about rural preparedness vs. urban malaise. And then, urban residents can be digital-ready in about 45 minutes. Rural folk (like myself) might find themselves SOL if they haven't prepared and don't have an adequate existing antenna (old ones will still work, but performance does degrade over time) and February is no time to be up on the roof.

This is one of the quirks in the absurdo reductum that we humans have created about time. AP style writes to use "noon" or "midnight." I go with that. Anything more you try to add is either unnecessary or creates confusion. "Simplify. Simplify." --- Thoreau

I just thought that was really weird. As a soft rule, I thought 'they' didn't air commercials that featured stars of the show, during that show. Hinders the 'suspension of disbelief' thingy. Then again, money speaks loudly. Anybody in show business care to comment on this phenomenon?

Then again, Ben told Jack to pack any thing he wanted on the island b/c he wasn't ever coming back. I'm not sure things could be completely reversed. "Course correction" and all that.... But... do you imagine that the time skipping is what might be allowing the dead characters to appear to the Oceanic 6? I also have yet to see comment on the computer woman at Oxford being the same woman at the 815 gate. Ginny, the one who let Hurley on? That was her, yes? Then, forgot to mention at the time a couple of weeks ago, but did you guys see the kid who plays Walt in the commercial that ran during Lost? I think it was Tostinos or HotPockets or some crap like that. Thought that was a little odd.