silvermike

The value of a top-5 pick shot up with the new rookie caps. When Luck becomes a $25M risk instead of a $90M risk, I think teams are going to be much more eager to pay up to move up.

Let's see - I think Aaron Schobel deserves mention. He was all the pass rush we've had since Bruce retired, and he never got credit for it. London Fletcher was a very good middle linebacker who was let go for Poz. Rian Lindell has been very reliable for a long time now. For older players, there's always Kenny Davis, who kept Thurman fresh without letting us down, either blocking or running, and of course, big Ted Washington, who is well regarded but is really the only player of his kind we've ever had.

Thus ends the Bill Parcells legacy. He got some lucky breaks in a good season with veteran QB who avoided injury, and then the whole thing collapsed again.

This is the second time in 53 weeks that Jerome Harrison has been traded to the Eagles.

You got one to spare?

Chris Chambers had a decent half-season in San Diego after leaving Miami in 2007. 35 catches for 555 yards and 4 TDs in 10 games. If we could get that from Brandon Lloyd, I'd be happy, it's better than replacing Roscoe straight up and is probably more than we'd get out of Kamar Aiken. But it's not gamebreaking. Last year, Deion Branch went 48/706/5 in New England, in 11 games, but he had a long history already with Tom Brady, so it's hard to figure we could compare it directly. It's not a crazy idea.

I've gotta believe that the preseason benching was just a headgame or punishment from Gailey. Maybe Levitre slept through a team meeting or something. Nothing talent-based.

Based on how Buddy finds star WRs, it seems like we should be reconsidering the Michael Jasper pick.

You're not good at jokes, are you?

We'll never be able to replace Lee Evans production with the likes of David Nelson.

Obviously, I'm pulling these numbers out of my ass, but to put it out there, I'd say you've got a 90% chance of converting on that play, and then I'll give Vick a 80% chance of a touchdown drive to follow. I'd say that's too generous to Vick and too narrow for Fitz, but it's a starting point. That Vick TD only ties the game, so we'll say OT is 50-50. That all gives you a 96% chance of winning the game by going for it. If you punt, I think Vick still has about a 20% chance of a game-tying drive, and then a coin flip for OT. That's only 90% overall. You go for it. Again these numbers are very, very rough, so I'd be happy to hear if someone thinks they're different.

I don't see any point in keeping Kyle Orton in the lineup. They're 1-4, and not going to seriously contest the division any more. You might as well give Tebow a full 11 games, and see what happens. I'm skeptical, but he could be an exciting player and has shown flashes.

A QB sneak on 4th and inches is one of the highest percentage plays in the game. It's successful what, 90% of the time? More? When that's all you have to do to win the game, you do it. Literally: the easiest play in the game guarantees a victory. Go for it.

Everything since has convinced me to give Buddy Nix a mulligan on the 2010 draft. It didn't go well, but it's over, we've compensated, we're getting some value from it, and hopefully, we won't have to dwell on it as later acquisitions excel on the field.

Yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this, but we'll miss Chris Kelsay this week. He's a fairly natural linebacker, but not a well trained one up to this point, I suppose, and maybe Wannestedt is helping him? That's my best guess.

Millions of dollars that would immediately evaporate if the games were fixed. Games in every sport, at every level are poorly officiated. To some extent, it's just that there are going to be a lot of close calls and officiating it difficult work. More often, the refs are underskilled or undertrained to make the right calls - they don't always even know the rules. It doesn't mean that every blown call is a sign that the fix was in.

Reverse vampires?

There is no conspiracy between the league, the Patriots, and the referees to screw the Bills out of a win against the Bengals.

""The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl."" --1918 textile trade publication. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink#In_gender

The QB's intent doesn't matter - which is stupid, but it's the rule. Here's the language: ^ NFL Rule 3, Section 22, Article 2, Note 2: "When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his hand starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble." It's just flatly stated that it's still an incomplete pass even if he's tucking the ball. When you complete the tuck, then you can fumble again. But the rule makes no sense, and I don't know why the NFL has kept it for 10 years when every application is rejected by fans, coaches, and players.

I think the point of the tuck rule is that a referee can't make a judgment call on when the QB switches from passing to tucking. Makes no sense to me, but that's what it's there for.

We had some other guy playing in front of him for a few years. I forget his name, but I remember he had an active twitter account.

I mean, really, the problem is that the NFL screws players whose careers start in other leagues. Most ERFAs are 23 or 24, and two years out of college. Freddie hit that level at 28, and was really stuck. It's not a position many players find themselves in, so nobody cares to change the system.

I'm only interested in Tebow if Brad Smith suffers a career-ending injury. As far as I can tell, they play the same position, except Smith is faster and has better hands.

I'm not going to get too pissed off when a media figure does not name our player as "the best in the league."