Damian

Good one!

All of these schools in trouble should just form their own league, get a TV contract and pay their players. They would have OSU, Miami, USC, UNC, UConn, Auburn, Florida State, etc.

The Bills just need to let Jasper "accidentally" fall on Brady...

I think it sucks too because we have some really good KO returners (McKelvin, McGee, Parrish, Spiller, White). The other new rule about hitting the receivers while in the act of catching is another one I am unhappy about.

But we have Jammie Kirlew! (first time I have seen his name is that above list)

How are the Jets going to afford him?

Watch a whole bunch of offensive records get broken this year (if we have a season)since you can't the QB as he throws or hit the receiver as he is catching the ball.

I can't find how he was "tricked", but Dareus had to know free airline tickets and hotel for a party were not ok with the NCAA.

As most of you know, UNC lost most of their star defensive plaers (Quinn, Austin, etc.) for all of last season because they attended an agent-sponsored party in Florida. What you might not know is that Marcell Dareus was also at the same party. All he received was a 2-game suspension and had to pay back some money: NCAA Dareus Ruling Why the uneven punishments? Quinn said he received $5600 worth of improper benefits (airfare, food, hotel, jewelry), while Dareus had to pay back $1700 worth of improper benefits. I guess about $4000 is the difference between missing the whole season or sitting out 2 games. Lucky for us that the NCAA was so uneven in the punishments, or Dareus would have missed all of last season and probably dropped off the Bills radar for the #3 pick of the draft and we would all be discusssing how Blaine Gabbert is going to take us to the Super Bowl...

I called DirecTV yesterday to complain about the NFL Sunday Ticket pricing and they gave me a $30/month credit for the next 6 months. The best part is I get the credit even if there is no NFL season! The first person I talked to wouldn't do anything, so I said I was going to cancel my Sunday Ticket, so she transferred me to the cancellation department and the guy in the cancellation department gave me the credit as a reward for being a loyal customer and told me to do it again next year.

The Mormons have a better deal than the 72 virgins, if you're a good Mormon you get to rule a whole planet of your own in Heaven. But nothing tops being a Pastafarian, you get beer volcanoes and stripper factories in Heaven...

I say we go with Mike Williams, he's a surefire HOF'er!

#1 - Panthers - Newton - QB #2 - Broncos - Miller - LB #3 - Bills - Dareus - DE #4 - Bengals - Green - WR #5 - Cardinals - Peterson - CB If we get Dareus and then grab Bowers in rd 2, I will be amazed. It seems like yesterday that Bowers was a surefire top 5 pick... <edited>

The main difference between baseball and football is that baseball has an extensive minor league system to sort out which draft picks are good enough to play in the big league. Rarely does a draft pick go right to starting in the majors.

Even Fizpatrick said it wasn't until he started getting more starts that everything started to come together and his game improved. If we draft a QB, why we wouldn't we want him to get as much experience as possible? It's not like next year the Bills are Super Bowl bound if we keep Fitz as the starter (and it is the last year of Fitz's contract).

Yes, there will be growing pains as the rookie QB adapts to the NFL, but wouldn't you want him to have those pains while we are still in rebuild mode? What would they learn standing on the sideline with a clipboard in their hand that they wouldn't learn tenfold taking the snap under center? The #3 pick of the draft is not a project QB that you hope can eventually learn the system, they are the new face of your franchise.

I keep seeing posts where the Bills draft a QB at the #3 pick and then have him sit for the whole year. My question is why have them ride the bench? If you look at the recent 1st round QB picks, you see alot that started as rookies: Big Ben, Bradford, Flacco, Ryan, Stafford, Sanchez, etc. IMO, if you think the guy you drafted is your new franchise QB, you might as well let him start getting the experience that only playing the game can give. The Steelers won a SB with Big Ben being a rookie, the Ravens made it to the AFC conference championship with Flacco as a rookie, so its not like you would be throwing your season away by starting a rookie QB.

The salary cap goes up every year because it is tied to revenues. If revenues were going down, the cap would go down too. The cap started in '94 at $34.6 million, in 2009 it was $128 million. This tells me that the NFL has become increasingly profitable every year (at least since '94).

Say we have the draft and the Bills pick whomever you thought was the best choice, but the court battle gets ugly and the season is cancelled/severely delayed. My worry is that the CFL (or some new startup league) pulls a Tom Cousineau, and swoops in on the top picks of the draft and starts offering contracts. The draftees would find it hard to say no to the money now versus money a year later (with a rookie wage cap looking likely). Imagine the outcry if the the top 10-15 picks go to the CFL. Teams would be demanding a redo of the draft or compensatory picks for the next year. On a side note, did the Bills receive any compensation from the NFL for Tom Cousineau bolting to the CFL in '79 or Jim Kelly going to the USFL?

But do the draftees have to honor the NFL wishes with no CBA? Can a draftee decide he wants to play for a team other than the one that picked him and just say "there is no CBA, I can go where I want"?

Didn't the Bills use to have a kicker who only did kickoffs? I think it was when we had Christie doing FG kicking.

The NFL is not exempt from anti-trust laws, only MLB is. The last ruling on it was back in May, 2010: American Needle vs NFL I believe the NFLPA is suing them under the anti-trust laws, so this is going to get ugly and take some time to wend its way through the courts.

And would they even have to play for the team that drafted them? Some strange things that when on during the 1987 strike: 1987 Strike

A #4 pick is easily messed up (Mike Williams) There's no way they can mess up a #3 pick...

This topic is not about OJ. If the CBA does expire, I am assuming that means no more random drug screening for NFL players. With no monitoring to stop them (or at least keep them on lower, more easily hid steroid juicing cycles), I am thinking a a good percentage of players will be hitting the steroids hard. Watch for players who come into camp, after the new CBA is agreed upon, whose muscle weight has jumped significantly compared to last years playing weight. This will really benefit the players rehabbing after a injury/surgery, they will be able to rebuild their strength much more quickly. Think of our long list of players on IR or players that have had serious injuries (Wood, Merriman)and maybe a little juice will benefit the Bills.