Bob in STL
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Posts posted by Bob in STL
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I think we could find a very good DT later on in the draft if Ngata is not the option in the first. I wouldn't mind seeing Gabe Watson, Babatunde Oshinowo, Jesse Mahelona, or John McCargo being drafted by the Bills. Too bad we don't play a 3-4, as a guy like Rodrique Wright would be a great fit as a DE in a 3-4. I wouldn't want him as a 4-3 DT, though.
All I know is that it is extremely rare for a rookie DT to step in and quickly make a postive impact.
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Check it out for yourself
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor...john&id=2403502
I think that Clayton makes a few good points, it really is time for Ralph to focus on working within the system and finding ways to keep the team competitive. It appears that Ralph is losing hard earned credibility on the national level by using the press to fight this battle.
However, Clayton totally loses credibility by bringing up Norwood. That comment has nothing to do with the subject at hand. Clayton is an amatuer.
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Oh gimmie a break. Marv is a cool signing ONLY because we all liked him as our best coach ever. Stability maybe. Legitimacy, not a chance. What the hell has Marv ever done that would legitimize him being our NFL GM.....nothing. Doens't mean he won't succeed, but legitimize that spot, hell no. Right now, all his "solid plan" has done is to stock our team with a bunch of backup QB's, #2 and #3 WR's and backup TE's. Where is the help on the lines? Give him a chance? Sure. Support him blindly.....no. So far, he's done nothing to sell tickets.
To say we didn't light up the Free Agent Market is an understatement. I love how everyone says they are glad we didn't go out and get these big name guys. Just love that. We could have had two or three young big name FA's AND still have been able to afford the guys we signed. That's what pisses me off.
That's the problem with most of you......you are OK with "sit back and prepare for another rebuilding year". And if this plan of Marv's doesn't work out, then what? Sit back and wait another 5 years?
God, the Bills standards are low nowadays. Pathetic.
I guess his HOF carreer means nothing? What a stupid question. He also has front offfice experience, look it up.
Who would you have picked for GM that was a more legitmate candidate? Oh, don't tell me, Bill Polian, or Tom Modrak?
The OL and DL need to be addressed and they will be, the draft is coming, hold on.
Get this thought into your head. We had NO CHANCE at BENTLEY or HUTCH ... NONE, NADA, ZIP. We tried to get Pickett and missed. Unless you want to pay seriously overpay we have no chance ... get over it.
The problem with you is that you think you know more you do.
Think about all the holes we have and the timing and resources required to fill the holes. So, using tyour logic we pay huge salaries for 2 players today, and by the time our young players develop todays players will be too expensive, on the downside,or both. So we are cutting them and filling more holes. You want to folow the Danny Synder approach and we don't have the resources to do that.
NE built through the draft and with mid-level free agents. Mostly through the draft. Once they started winning they were able to get veterans to play for the market value or less.
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With all the crying of fiancial hardship the Bills are doing? I have no doubt they do not intend to pay the price the 8th pick overall will demand.
It would fit right into what teh Bills have been doing (or not doing) this off season. They went out and got the cheapest GM and Coach (two guys just happy to have jobs) they could find. Their free agent signings have been small ticket players who had little if no interest from other teams.
Time to face the facts Bills fans. The Bills plan to put out the cheapest team they can put together. They are doing a great job at it.
You have no doubt? Wow, impressive.
I think Marv was the right signing at the right time for this franchise. He will bring stability, legitimacy and a solid plan to work from. I think you and lots of others will be surprised and impressed by Juaron. Let's give him a chance.
As for our free agents, while we didn't light it up with big names we did add some talent. I think players like Royal and Tripplett were coveted by other teams, including the ones they left. The RFAs that Marv made offers to must have been good players, both teams matched the offers. Too bad we did get them.
I for one am happy that we did not spend big money on the few big name players that were available. We have at least a dozen starting positions up for grabs on this team. We are not close enough talent wise to invest big dollars on a few players ... if you think we are then you need to get off of the Donahoe Cool Aid.
Maybe we pick a player at 8, maybe we trade down, maybe we even trade out of the first round like you "have no doubt" that we will. Either way, sit back and prepare for yet another rebuilding year.
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Here to stopping the Mularkey wishbone reverse, flea-flicker option, center eligible crossbuck, gadget play, on 3rd and 1, from our own 2 yard line with 10 seconds to play. We win 26-20.
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I guarantee that the Vikings will be trading up in this draft...and we are the perfect partners.
We give up the #8 pick so they can take Young or Cutler (one or both will still be there)
They give up #17 and #48 overall.
Our Draft Pick Value = 1400
Minnesota Draft Pick Value = 1370
If you REALLY want to get closer, we could get their 5th rounder too so it would be 1400 (us) to their 1401 value.
Pretty damn close if you ask me...I'd make that trade in a heart beat...and I think once the Draft begins, panic will take over Minnesota when they realize they have no shot at the top 3 QBs unless they trade up.
I like the idea of extra picks but moving down to 17 may not be a great idea?
If we stay at 8 we have a shot at players can start for us right now DT (Ngata or Bunkley), OT (Justice), SS (Huff), TE (Davis). We could (not saying should) grab the top CB or the top OG in the draft too.
Who are the possible players to take at 17 that could make an impact at DT or OT?
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No. Why delay the development progress of this years rookie for an unknown pick next year?
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Playoff race? We were never in a playoff race in 2005. As far as Eric complaining the offensive gamplan; we ALL have cried about that for the last decade! Every other year it is some new philosohpy with the only constant being ERIC MOULDS! As far as his complaints about JP; while I prefer we stuck with JP, he had every right for last year was suppose to be make or break year for us after a strong finish in 2004. If he felt that Holcomb was better suited to get us on a winning track, there were plenty that agree with him (Not me I might add!)
As far as the statement: "Great players elevate others around them". Who ever said that he was great or a Hall of Famer? All most have said is that he is a good WR who may have been considered great if he played in better offensive schemes with better QB's; key word may. But if you have followed the Bills since 1996 then you know our biggest issues have been lack of offensive identity and inconsistent QB play. If you don't think that this can't affect the numbers a WR puts up then its obvious that you are not open minded to this topic and want to label him whatever. All I can say is that while he wasn't the greatest, he played admirably and put up good numbers while wearing our uniform and I wish him well. Don't treat him like he was a TO or Keyshawn Johnson type!
Yes - we still had a chance at a playoff spot at the time of the Miami debacle.
Using words like "we all" and "most of us" makes it sound like I am disagreeing with most of the posts here, I'm not.
You think Moulds had "every right to complain". Fair enough. I don't. I expect more from a veteran leader. I especially did not like the time and place where Moulds chose his battle.
I agree. He is a very good player, not a great player capable of elevating the play of other around him.
I do not consider him a TO or a Keyshawn type ... I never even mentioned those guys ... YOU DID.
Final word from me: He was a very good player, who played under some unfortunate circumstances. His frustration got the best of him and led him to make poor decisions last year. We will miss him this year, we have no one else even close as the #2 receiver. Yes, right, he was the #2 reciever.
Best wishes to Eric. And yes, I will ALWAYS remember he quit against Miami.
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Come on that was ONE game that meant nothing in a season that meant nothing and we really don't know what happened to get him upset. See its those who want to find something to hold against him will dwell on that game and the amount of kids and baby mamas he has. But let me get this straight: after 10 years of laying it all on the field you are going to dwell on one incident that you ASSUME to know what he was upset about? And after that game and the suspension he came back and put up his best numbers of the season. There has been a lot of things wrong with the Bills for the past few years but Moulds hasn't been one of them as he has been one of the few consistent player we have had over the past 7 years playing with average to subpar QBs.
ONE game that we needed to win to stay in the PLAYOFF race. ONE GAME? ALL games are important. Right or wrong, careers are often defined by a season, a game, or a play. I saw A LOT of half-hearted efforts from Moulds last year, more than ONE GAME.
I don't want to find problems with Moulds. I don't care how many kids or women he has. I know how good he was. I do not assume I know what he was upset about. It is no secret he did not want to play with JP and that he didn't like the offensive game plan. Too BAD Eric, look at the scoreboard!! So he came back and played well for Kelly Holcomb and himself. Big deal, we were out of the running by then. The team lacked veteran leadership last year and for whatever reason Moulds was a huge disappointment.
He was a great talent but I will not glorify him. He was paid well for his services. I do get tired of hearing about how he played with many crappy QBs in his careeer. That may be true but great players elevate others around them. It is not like Moulds never dropped a ball, fumbled at a crucial time, or never failed to make a big play.
Enough of the good bye Eric - we will miss you crap. He has a nice $5M bonus coming, maybe that will eleviate the pain of last season for him.
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Here we go again: a player leaves and most bash him! Either he was overated, wouldn't be missed or sold out. Remeber last year with all the Fat Pat Williams post? Or even farther back with all those crybaby Andre Reed and money hungry Bruce Smith? Face it: it is a GAME not a marriage. Back to Moulds; to say he quit on the Bills; that is ludicrous! In the era of free agency he stood with the Bills for 10 seasons thru all our losing. In his breakout years when he became a free agent he could have jumped ship for more money and went to a contender with a consistent QB but yet he stuck with an organization where the fans had repeatedly called him a bust because he had underperformed his first 2 years while barely seeing the field. He has played with the all types of QB's from midgets to big slow sloths to pretty boy surfers and yet still managed to put up decent numbers. While I hope we turn it around and finally start winning with the right combination of coach, QB, and GM, why would Eric think it would be any different? I can see the quitter acussations if this was year 4 and we had just come off a succesfull season and he jumped ship; most of us Bills faitful don't even expect much from the team this year. And I'm sure Eric would love Houston, being closer to home way better than Buffalo. SO why not have afresh start?
I agree in principle, the game has changed and long term relationships are very rare.
Now, did he quit? Most of us get emotional about that Miami game. Take a look at the film. He quit and he was a big part of a huge collapse to our arch rivals. He didn't like being the decoy, he didn't like Losman, he didn't like Mularkey ... I wonder how that game would have turned out if Moulds would have just kept playing hard. Would the Dolphins rotate the double team to Evans, leaving Eric open in the second half? We will never know.
Eric was a great player but he acted out his frustration in a very bad way.
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(shouting intended) ALWAYS, ALWAYS TAKE THE BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE!!! EVERY PICK FOR NEED IS A REACH IF THAT PLAYER ISN'T ALSO THE BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE AT THE TIME!
Teams need FOOTBALL PLAYERS! It's that simple. If Davis is the best player there, take him. If it's Hawk, take him. If it's Huff, take him. And so on. Regardless if the current position on the team is held by an All Pro.
Lets act like we've been there before people.
GO BILLS!!!
Oh, that's why Detriot keeps drafting wide receievers.
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It really is fascinating to watch RWS and the Bills financially wheel and deal with NYS and within the context of the CBA.
As best as I can tell, Ralph is selling the impression that he and the poor little Bills are getting raped by the stupid new CBA deal which is so bad for smaller market franchises like the Bills it is simply a question as to whether we can be a viable economic concern here in WNY.
This message seems pretty clearly reflected in quotes such as this one from the Bills own website:
" The high cost of the new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players represents a substantial burden to small market teams."
This is cool as this is how negotiating is done in our US system under the pseudo-free market within which the team owners with their growing partnership with the players restrain trade (in a fairly un-American way) and have created the next best thing to a printing press for making money at a very low risk.
I'd really feel almost sorry for Ralphie if I was not laughing so hard at the false economic impression he and the Bills seem to be selling and how much the media looks at this picture with zero real inquistiveness and how much elected officials seem to lap up this economic tripe.
Make no mistake about it, there is a real and present RELATIVE economic risk that the Bills might fly the coop from Buffalo and instead head off to other economic markets where an even richer vein of nickels can be tapped.
However, the false impression they are giving and allowing folks to buy into which is based in what I think is pretty much a flat out false impression or lie they are using to describe the Bills economic situation is that there is some ABSOLUTE or REAL economic viability threat to the Bills franchise.
The actual situation regarding moving or not moving the franchise is that:
On One Hand-
The team would operate as a franchise with a contractually guranteed revenue stream which far exceeds a contractually almost completely guaranteed set of liabilities where the income pool far exceeds the liabiity pool.
Or On the Other Hand-
The team could move and the guaranteed income stream would be supplemented by additional contractual guarantees and easily accessible opportunities to rake in even more cash.
The bottomline is that while day-to-day business is certainly tougher for a Ralph Wilson than it is for Dan Snyder, in the real world this means that it is an incredibly low-risk method of making tons and goo-gahs of money for Snyder while it is merely an incredibly low-risk method of making tons and a mere one goo (rather than multiple goo-gahs) of money on Ralph's part.
Quite frankly I wouldn't mind at all that Ralph is sounding the alarm bells and extorting more corporate welfar from the state government instead of just my county government. WNY gets the benefit while the costs are spread across the entire state.
However, it does get a bit tiring and silly to see him and the Bills doing this by leaving the impression of poverty because they "struggle" along in a small market and it is simply incorrect. wrong, and false for him to blame his poverty on being taken advantage of by an unfair CBA.
Look you poor old fool. I think that you (Ralph) fully recognize that the new CBA merely replaces a small group of NFL team owners taking every nickel they could bet out of the NFL that they could for 40 years or so while paying the lowest wages you could to the players.
When the NFL team owners over played their hand and so badly kicked the butts of the players in the mid-80s that the NFLPA was so weakened they actually threatened the owners with the nuclear option of closing down the NFLPA and thus force the owners to negotiate with individual players in a true free market.
Rather than actually compete with each other, the team owners instead agreed to a CBA with the NFLPA where the two parties formed a partnership to restrain trade through activities like the NFL draft and activities such as the lawsuit against Maurice Clarett which restrained Americans below the age of 18 from entering the free market and instead forced them to go to college to be trained to play in the BNFL (a beat economic play actually because almost all other major sports must pay for a minor league system. Bt restraining trade amongst college age players, the NFL has shiftd this cost to the colleges and taxpayers.
At any rate, what Ralph appears to be doing here is several things:
1. He is setting up NYS to pay the lionshare of the costs to build a new stadium for the Bills. These costs will be borne in a manner similar that which was propsoed for the failed effort to build a new stadium in Manhattan for the Jets.
2. He is setting this up for a bidding war to be waged during the nest governors race. Both Spitzer and whomever wins the GOP nominatuion will be required to make commitments to pay for a new Bills stadium if they want WNY votes for governor.
As a Bills fan I am quite supportive of Ralph sticking NYS up for the cost of a stadium he will make outrageous profits from. However, I do find it a bit annoying with his poverty act when he is raking in money hand over fist (and his new bid is to also be supported in raking it in with his feet also) as a justiciation for this.
Really the amounts of money which will paid out for the Bills as corporate welfare are really small cost to NYS taxpayers compared to real costs like the inefficient manner with which we do health care spending compared to the almgamation of costs and fairly broad health consumer satisfaction of single payer systems like the Canadian program. Even better, this region gets the benefit of this corporate welfare to the Bills with our team, and also intelligent folks like Byron Brown do seem to recognize the game being played here and likely will push to see this corporate welfare payment be used to benefit the City of Buffalo.
However, the poor act being pulled off by Ralph seems pretty disingenious to anyone thinking this through economically.
He is pretending to be a Alzheimer's fuddy duddy (if he is, then this pliable fool is being directed by some smart folks), but overall he seems to be setting things up nicely to stick up NYS taxpayers.
Wow, lots of sentences. I'll be brief.
1. Ralph is going to end up right. He is not crying wolf.
2. How do you know what kind of deal Ralph was talking about with Pataki?
3. In the later years of this CBA we will struggle to be competitve.
4. The Bills need a plan to survive in Buffalo in the future. Financial aid is part of the plan, as is finding the appropriate buyer for the team.
5. No matter who buys the team after Ralph, they will insist on a new stadium, one that brings in more revenue to the team.
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Good for Marv. But it took long enough for him to release this statement that skeptics will say Losman DID get shopped around but nobody was biting. The most likely explanation for the delay, though, is that Marv probably doesn't have enough time to surf internet message boards, which is where this rumor really was fueled. He probably didn't realize how rampant the rumor had gotten until just recently.
Come on now. Is he supposed to react to every rumor? This was spinning out of control and probably was not good for JP. Marv's timing was fine and it shows another example of why players trust him and will play for him.
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I know there was a lot of debate around the Bills status as being competitive in the NFL. With the talk on Losman, the departure of Moulds etal, is it safe to call the Bills rebuilding and a legit shot at another top 5 pick next year?
I do not think they are in a 5 year mind-set like San Fran or Dallas was, (because they are in a healthy cap state), however, they need a good draft this year and next and a really good free agent crop next year to hope to be competitive...
We are definitely rebuilding. This team has maybe 9 starting positions locked up (Peters, Evans, McGahee, Shoebel, Triplett, Spikes, Fletcher, Clements, McGee) plus Moorman/Lindall. Barring injury, there will be a dog fight for 13 or 14 starting positons plus key backup postions that are open (running back, 3rd wideout, short yardage, DT rotation, nickel and dime backs). We have no starting QB and a new coaching staff.
I would call that rebuilding. Expect some surprising cuts as Marv purges the roster. If we win 6 games this year I would be happy. We are 2-3 years away from competing for the playoffs.
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This press release was needed. Thank you Marv.
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"I have 46 years of my life invested in this franchise and in Western New York. There are those who don't care about us, our passionate fans or our hard-working taxpayers. Well, I do! I am not going to sugar coat this and I am not going down without a fight. The people who have supported us for these 46 years deserve more than that."
Is this the same guy that got flamed from some of our "fans"? Mr. Wilson's resolve is the faceplate of like so many of the blue collar, hardworking, LOYAL fans of this community. I'm proud to be a Buffalo Bill fan and to have our team owned by someone like Mr. Wilson.
Back in the Super Bowl era, I met a young man at a sports bar watching the Bills with the local Bills Backers. The young man grew up in LA, graduated from Notre Dame and was living in St. Louis at the time. His favorite team was the Bills. I asked him why and he said "Ralph Wilson". He heard Ralph speak at one of his business classes and he said that ever since he has admired the man, his ethics and values, and how he runs a business. He told me some things about Ralph that I never knew. He is a great man from a generation that gave us many great men.
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I'd like to stray from the topic of draft picks and "what we need" and go in to "what we have." I'd like you to share your cruel criticism and not-so-cruel crit, since I know some of you will toss in two cents to humiliate and destroy self-esteem (coughHolcombsArmcough)
I'll start with the Defense as of 04/04, since it seems to be our only hope with a quarterback-less offense.
Defensive Tackle - Larry Triplett, Benny Anderson, Lauvale Sape.
---I find Larry Triplett to be a huge addition to the D-Line (literally). We all seem to want a rookie to magically come in and fix the D-line, but with the addition of a 4-year vet in Triplett, I think he'll anchor nicely. Benny needs improvement, which is where I find the draft choice to come in to play. If we can solidify a nice, big DT, then we should have at least a slight advantage over last years debochle called "run stopping". I won't really talk about Lauvale Sape because... well... he's Lauvale Sape.
Defensive End - Aaron Schobel, Ryan Denney, Chris Kelsay
---Aaron Schobel is a PB calibur player. He's got speed and strength. His 12 sacks were huge last year, and he is a great pass rusher. His 71 tackles also help a little... I think we're sealed with him and he's got years left in him. The merry-go-round of Kelsay/Denney at LE is a slight problem. Kelsay is the starter, but I seemed to see 92 on the field a lot last year. Kelsay was ok with his 45 tackles lasy year, the fluke interception, and 2.5 sacks, but it just proves his strength as a run-stopper rather than an all around D-end (Schobel). Denney's stats were mediocre, but I find his slight height advantage a plus for a backup, giving him a heads up in passing situations. His 35 tackles with the 4 sacks help him out, and with this Cover 2 scheme coming in then he may become the upper hand with his versatility.
Linebackers - Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher, Jeff Posey, Josh Stamer, Angelo Crowell, Mario Haggan, Liam Ezekial.
---Solid. We are solid at Linebacker in my opinion. Three vets that work well together, and a healthy TKO = dangerous. London always puts up the numbers (no matter if they are 8 yards downfield) and Posey is, although not PB material, a solid LB. Good backups in Crowell and Haggan are good, as proven by last years fill ins for TKO. No problems here, except that we'll need new ones in a few years.
Cornerback - Nate Clements, Terrence McGee, Eric King, Jabari Greer.
--- Terrence McGee has proven himself to be a worthy CB2. Our CB1, however, didn't prove himself last year. Nate needs to step up the play, he made a mockery of himself in the Chargers game but we know he has the potential. Very weak backups. Very, very weak backups (Jabari Greer, I only remember burn marks)
Safety - Troy Vincent, Matt Bowen, Coy Wire (shudder), Rashad Baker.
--- Dear lord help us all. An upside with veteran Troy, he's got the skill to be an asset this year, but with his age we know the gas tank is getting smaller. The tragedy that is the Coy Wire/Matt Bowen spot is scary. We need solid SS's, and Special Teams Stud and the new guy just don't have what it takes IMO. I think we should pick up a good SS in the draft, I have a feeling these two aren't worth 2 cents.
Time constraints are choking me here, so I'll post my Offensive analysis shortly.
Again, this is my analysis, from a long time, obsessed Bills fan. Criticism is greatly appreciated.
I think your analysis is missing a lot, it may be better to do this after free agency and the draft. What we have now is not the whole story. A few comments:
1. Bennie Anderson is a Guard, Tim is the DT.
2. Give Sape some due, you forgot Jason Jefferson on DT.
3. Disagree with comments on the "Denney/Kelsay merry go round". Denney is a good rotational player,. It is way to early to give up on Kelsay, he may emerge this year.
4. At LB the big issue is whether Spikes is recovered ...
5. CB - Nate is a big time player who had a so-so year. Good thing we tagged him. I think you are wrong on the backups too. King is promising.
6. Safety - true we need more talent here. Baker could emerge as a good safety in the cover 2. Let's give Bowen a chance to play a down.
Nothing on the offense yet?
Special teams -- they were ok, right?
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Ok, I'm not a football coach or a GM so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt.
Why I beleive Haloti Ngata should not be ruled out by the Bills even though we are going to be going to a cover 2 D:
1. Haloti Ngata is rated by many to be the best DT in the draft. He would plug a hole on the Bills wish list with his huge 325lb frame. (Running up the gut just got a lot harder with him on our team)
2. In a perfect Cover 2 The Qb get preasure on the from the D line... SO conventional wisdom means that we sould overlook Haloti Ngata because he is not quick enough to sack a QB... This is the myth!!! There is no such thing a perfect cover 2 D. Most teams run a hybrid of the cover 2 and get pressure from a blitzing linebacker example New England.
3. Haloti Ngata can do what no other DL can do in this year's draft. And that is be responsible for cloggin up the middle of the line so our undersized middle linebacker can make tackles at the line of scrimage instead of 4- 8 yards down field.
TD always said that you can't believe ANYTHING that is leaked about a teams needs or wants before the draft... Marv has been in more than his share of War rooms and he smart enough to create the necessary smoke to hide what he wants to do, which is draft the best lineman availible at number 8 be it Haloti Ngata or Winston Justice we will have to see.
Agree totally. Ngata could be an impact player and the force in the middle that you build your scheme around. In round 1 especially, I'll take players who get their rep on the field playing the game before any of the workout warriors.
I can wait until round 2 to draft an OT and there should be some quality available at that point.
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Most of the people I talk to seem to favor Losman taking over the reins as the starting QB. I say most , not all , some are questioning his leadership abilities.
Almost everyone I talk to does agree on one thing, losman should not have been pulled last year in favor of Holcomb. It did nothing for losman, and it did nothing for the team.
Although, lol, given the shape of our offensive line it did keep the kid nice and healthy sitting on the bench as a bench warmer half the year.
In my opinion you have to earn your role as a leader, its not given to you because your the starting QB. That takes time, experience and confidence. Something now, thanks to last years blunder, the kid has very little of.
I have noticed Losman supporters are laying low. The kid needs all the fan support he can get . So maybe we can atleast help him in the confidence department.
Well then .. its all settled. Call Marv and Jauron and give them the good news!
Various Topics To Cover
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted
Living in St. Louis I saw the Rams every week. Fairchilds game is NOT to pass to set up the run, that was Martz. Martz called the plays until he went down. Fairchild brought balance. When Martz went down Fairchild ran the ball and featured Jackson. He also wanted to keep Bulger alive because the Rams line, even with Pace, was just as bad the ours.