silvermike

They do suggest that you don't compare ratings across positions, but still, not particularly promising.

http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/05/23/drop-percentage/ Bowe's got a definite drop problem: about one in six catchable balls thrown his way (excludes 2011). Still, that's not the only number that matters for a WR, and Bowe's ability to get open, get downfield, and make plays may be enough to accommodate for some bad drops, if we don't have other options. PFF ranks Stevie as 8th among UFA WRs, behind not just stars like Mike Wallace and Wes Welker but also Brandon Lloyd and Jerricho Cotchery.

http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/01/12/2012-free-agent-tracker/ This is a high quality list, as far as I can tell. We can obviously quibble with the ratings, but PFF's writers are thorough, and this is going to be a good starting place. Just to pull out top players at some potential need positions: QB: Drew Brees, Alex Smith, Matt Flynn WR: Wes Welker, Marques Colston, Dwayne Bowe OT: Demetrius Bell(!), Anthony Collins, Jared Gaither TE: Joel Dressen, Martellus Bennett, Jim Kleinsasser DE: John Abraham, Calais Campbell, Michael Bennett DT: Sione Pouha, Broderick Bunkley, Derek Landri OLB: Erin Henderson, Jarrett Johnson, Mario Williams MLB: Stephen Tulloch, London Fletcher, D'Qwell Jackson CB:Brent Grimes, Cortland Finnegan, Ladarius Webb.

I thought it would be a gimme, too, but this article is interesting: http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2012/1/17/2713166/scott-chandler-bills-craig-stevens-free-agency Essentially, there may be a bonkers market for tight ends this spring. The first real hint is the Titans' signing of Craig Stevens to a $4M/season deal. I hadn't heard of him, but he's this guy: http://www.nfl.com/player/craigstevens/1992/profile. He's primarily a blocker, but he's almost certainly going to set the floor for a Chandler deal. We could be looking at someone tossing Scott C. a $5M/season deal, or more. I think it might well still be worth it, but I can see why Nix at least measured his response there, especially since Chan seems to view the position as fairly expendible. I do think we really need a big, soft-handed red zone pass-catching threat. If we can find a WR who fits the bill, we can conserve on TE.

Speaking of TEs, how have the Patriots decided to use Aaron Hernandez as a running back? When was the last time a team's leading rusher was a TE?

Chandler's a UFA, and Nix has seemed ambivalent about retaining him. Let's not get our hopes up for Chandler 2012.

The bits of Thigpen that I saw last year were terrifying. I'd like a backup QB that could play for three series while Fitz walks off a minor injury without digging us a 21-point hole.

Reuben Brown too, as I remember. That team just starting running for the bus by November. That said, I think Mularkey had the potential to outgrow his early problems as a head coach. I don't htink he was going to do it in Buffalo if we extended him for five more seasons, but with some time under a good coach in Atlanta, he might have figured out how to manage the team. Of course, if we see Maurice Jones-Drew throwing passes late in the 4th quarter while protecting a small lead against the Titans, we'll know Meathead can never change.

Tony Dungy?

Thanks. What I don't know, though is if there's any way that a 15-yard penalty could be assessed against the receiving team, thus leading to a game-starting kickoff from midfield. That might make the percentages favor an onside kick, since you'd be betting a near-certain win against 20 yards of field position with a second shot at tying/winning. Most of those penalties come from late hits and the like after the touchdown, which wouldn't apply here. I don't know if a fight after the whistle would carry over into OT (my guess is that it wouldn't) A cheap shot during the return would be applied to the return, not the kick. Short of suckerpunching the ref while the coin is in the air, I'm not sure the situation would arise.

That'd end the game. Here's the relevant rule: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81d817d7/article/postseason-overtime-rules Each team must possess or have the opportunity to possess the ball unless the team that has the ball first scores a touchdown on its initial possession. » Opportunity to possess: The opportunity to possess occurs only during kicking plays. A kickoff is an opportunity to possess for the receiving team. If the kicking team legally recovers the kick, the receiving team is considered to have had its opportunity. A punt or a field goal that crosses the line of scrimmage and is muffed by the receiving team is considered to be an opportunity to possess for the receivers. Normal touching rules by the kicking team apply.

If it helps, Fewell's great game was exactly balanced by Mularkey's awful game on the other sideline.

Donahoe was aggressively negotiating a trade-up to grab Roethlisberger, but couldn't close a deal when Houston balked on any move.

Donahoe made a lot of great moves and balanced them with awful moves. Nix and Jauron/Marv make slightly above average moves and balance them with below average moves. The former was a lot more exciting, but not really any more successful. Although Donahoe gave us our only non-losing seasons of the post-Butler era.

I'm not sure where it's written that a new coaching staff means a four-year turnaround. It took Gregg Williams two years to get to 8-8; Mike Mularkey turned a 9-7 season out in his first year, and even Jauron came out of the gate at 7-9. Chan's got the worst two-year record of any of our previous rebuilds, which had to muddle through a season with JP Losman or Rob Johnson starting at QB. Of 2011's first year coaches, Chan started slower than all but Leslie Frazier; Mike Munchak, John Fox, Hue Jackson, Ron Rivera, and Jim Harbaugh came out of the gate quicker than 4-12, and Pat Shurmur matched that. This is a slow rebuild. Maybe our roster was in such poor shape that it's necessary to take the slow road. I'll be patient with Chan, because he has shown the right flashes. But I don't think we need to resign ourselves to the idea that changing coaches means three seasons in the gutter. You obviously don't want to fire Tom Landry after four seasons, as Schefter is arguing, but you also don't want to spend eight seasons waiting for a winning season from Bruce Coslett. I'd wager that the majority of coaches fired after three seasons never go on to anything, and you don't want to throw good money after bad because "constant turnover" isn't worse than inferior coaching.

That's because Marv Levy, Jim Kelly, and Ted Marchibroda knew when it was time to run the damn ball, as Thurman's eight straight 1000 yard seasons attest. Only Tomlinson, Barry Sanders, Curtis Martin, and Emmitt Smith have done it.

Polian's an ass. I've heard that in articles for a while now. When he wins, it's all hunky-dory, but when the ship seems to stall out, he becomes intolerable.

The question is whether or not Indy would rather have money or compensation for Manning. If they pay the bonus, Manning suddenly becomes easy to trade - the new team only has to manage a $8M base salary or so. That's cheap for a starting QB as we learned with the Fitz contract, much less for Peyton. So that might earn them a first round pick. The question is if a first round pick is worth $30M to the Irsays. Seems like a stretch, but I think it's the only way the Colts trade Peyton. Otherwise, he'll be kept or cut on their end. I think it's not impossible that Peyton just chooses to retire.

If anything, the Jets acquiring Peyton Manning forces the Bills into targeting a pass rusher even more than now. The way to stop the best QBs has always been to get in their face.

Hopefully, this will mean more access and better coverage on air.

Has anyone heard of this guy?

The Bills as a team gave up 27.1 points and scored 23.3. That doesn't solely track the offense and the defense. The Bills had six defensive touchdown and the McKelvin return. That's 49 points off the board for the offense, so knock off about three points of that offensive total: they ended up with barely over 20 points per game. Still an improvement, I suppose. The defense's 27.1 against should be moderated by the five touchdowns against on fumbles and pick-sixes. So that's more like 25 ppg against.

Meachem and Bennett would be a boon to the offense. I like it.

If the Bills fire Chan midseason in 2012 or 2013, yeah, Wanny's the likely interim coach. But that's not the kind of thing that brews discord in the coaches' meetings.

If Denver lost to us by four touchdowns, I don't like their chances against anybody. But the Steelers are looking vulnerable, especially given the near choke-job against the Browns. Still, I'll take Pittsburgh 16-7 with an abortive comeback attempted.