Ramius

123 out of 124 high school students recommend Aruba.

Actually, the inbred redneck trailer trash he was referring to typically votes republican.

Nah, that was Ryan Denney TD traded up for.

Its tough to differentiate the intellect of your average 8 year old and your average jacksonville adult. I'm sure you understand him however, because that's right at your level.

PK Sam showed some playmaking ability here at FSU a few years back, especially when he had Cro Thorpe lining up opposite him. I still stick by the fact that he should have stayed down here 1 more season and developed himself a bit further.

Half of their starting defense is comprised of free agents. I didn't start this thread with any agenda, i did so because i was looking up something on draft history and took a look at the titans draft, and was surprised at how many "against the grain" decisions they make with their top picks. Like 4 DBs in 7 years in round 1. They also have spent 2 seconds and a 1st on RBs in the past 3 years. Funny thing is, most of their DBs went bust, with griffin really being the only one to pan out. (the others were andre dyson, andre woolfork, and pacman jones) What i did notice however, is that the titans seem to find at least 1 really good player in the 2-3-4 rounds of the draft every year. IMO, that is what separates them from the Bills.

This is the NFL, you aren't paid based off of your exact position. You are paid based off the current rising salaries for that year plus consideration where you rank. Gross is one of the best LTs in the game. Any one of the top LTs in the game are all going to want to be the highest paid, and all would get the biggest contract when theirs are up. That's how the system works. It doesn't matter if he's the #2 or #5 LT, he'll want to be, and probably deservedly so, be the highest paid LT in the game. Until next season when the next really good LT needs to be paid. Then that guy will be the highest paid. Salaries do not fall strictly inline based off your player ranking. As for his ability, you are severley underestimating him. Gross is and has been an anchor. One of those 12-15 year "we don't need to worry about LT during that timespan" type of players. The guy has started and played in 95/96 possible games in his 6 year career. He's only 28 years old. Off hand, i could *maybe* think of 3 LTs better than gross. But he's definitely in the elite tier of LTs. And given his age and ability, if you put every single NFL player in a giant "fantasy draft" pool and had teams re-build from scratch, i guarantee he'd be taken in the 1st round.

The titans have drafted DBs in round 1 in '01, '03, '05, and '07. Seems to me that they are due to draft another DB this upcoming draft. Toss in a RB in '08, a QB in '06, and no 1st in '04, the last time they spent a first rounder on a non-skill position was 2002. However are they successful? Just something to chew on before everyone freaks out if the Bills don't draft position X in the first round in a couple of months. ***Disclaimer: This post does in no way, shape, or form advocate the Buffalo Bills football team drafting a DB in round 1 of the 2009 NFL draft***

Seems like TBD and PPP are a bright source of light that attracts lots of these types of insects. Which makes me think...since the insects are never all going to be done away with, perhaps we could find away to change TBD from a light to a bug zapper.

Thats the trick. They've gotten hot at the right time, but will it last? They seems to have hit on some really good football people in the FO and coaching, and have really improved in the draft. Unlike previous years, they seem to be a bit more willing to pay for talent (Edge's big contract, Fitz's big deal). Regardless of sunday's outcome, i want to see what they do this offseason with Dansby and Boldin. But, as you said, only time will tell if they stay competitive for the long haul, or if the GM and coach leave or are run off when they both want big $ extensions. I also want to see what they do at QB. Warner is 64 and could retire at any time. If he goes, they are left with Leinart and ? EDIT: watch whisenhunt closely to see if Bidwill really has changed his stripes. Whisenhunt signed a 4 year deal prior to the 07 season, and with only 2 years left on his deal and a super bowl appearance, we'll probably see a push for a big $ contract extension. Lets see if Bidwill pays up or lets Ken dangle in the wind to play out his relatively cheap (2.5 million) contract.

Great article, sphere. Unfortunately, the Bills have a problem with #1 (which directly prevents from fixing #4) and that isn't going to change until we have a new #1.

Congrats on your life's first major accomplishment since the aforementioned tee-ball game.

I thought the exact same thing when i read this crap.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3861079 Why not? The teams have proven they can hang with the big dogs. My guess is that this wont happen. It'll be the same as a 3rd party trying to make it in the US. The other 2 parties, and in this case 6 conferences, will band together to protect their precious little arrangement.

http://sports.popcrunch.com/wp-content/upl...ell-stewart.jpg

That seems inaccurate. Here's adam schefter's take on the situation and the contract. http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/12/11/saints-won...new-york-teams/ The Saints can re-sign Vilma after the start of free agency (and the new league year), not after the draft.

Great thread as always, with lots of interesting scenarios. I've got a couple of small points/questions... 1. Since the island moves through time and space, and takes anything within its sphere with it, is it possible that at some other time jump the island just appeared under the Black Rock (on one of the Rock's voyages)? That could be how it was shipwrecked so far inland. 2. Since Richard said that the next time he sees Locke, he won't know him, doesn't this mean that Richard knows, or at least has his finger on the pulse of when the island will be skipping to next? He's shown the uncanny ability to find locke a few times after the skips. So while he might not know exactly "when" the island is going to, perhaps he knows in which direction they are going (past or future), and possibly roughly how far they are headed. 3. I believe Faraday is one of the original inhabitants of the islands, like Richard. He doesn't seem to age at all, comparing the dharma initiative to his lab in the 90's to the island in 2004. I wonder if he was somehow sent off the island in order to further study "time travel" and to further understand how the island moves through time or how the time loop exists. This could help richard and his group to further understand exactly what the hell is going on with the island.

Regardless of who we draft, the question still remains, will dickie j allow him to see the field from day 1? Probably not. I have no problem with Raji, but dickie would stick him at 4th on the depth chart behind stroud, williams and johnson, regardless of how good he looked during training camp.

The Panthers and Gross seem to want to work out a long term deal, and have motivation to do it before the franchise tag deadline (the panthers either tag gross, or sign gross and tag peppers). Unless the Bills shock us all, this will have a major impact on any potential long term peters deal. Gross is reportedly wants to be the highest paid OT (worth it, imo), and schefter mentioned that it would probably take 20-25 million guaranteed to get done. Whatever Gross signs for, look for that to be the starting point for Peters in the coming months.

Not as bad as what they did with the books. Nothing like killing malcolm in the book Jurassic Park, only to reincarnate him for the cash-grab book, "The Lost World."

I hate Bill Simmons, but i feel for him. Its definitely a bit dusty in here too, especially since i have an almost 14 year old yellow lab back home in buffalo.

The Billd tied for 28th in the NFL with a paltry 24 sacks. Only 8 sacks came from DEs. Perhaps 8 sacks from 5 DEs is fine by you, but its not fine by 99% of people on here and everyone in the media. If you actually watched any of the games this season, you'd see that the Bills had lots of problems pressuring the QB, and pressure form the front 4 (DEs in particular) was non-existent. Sure none of us are coaches, but its painfully obvious that major upgrades are needed in the pass rush department, specifically at DE. http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1...59-b0933d0fa7e1

like all the other 250-265 lb DEs get "run over" in the league? Like Schobel gets "run over." Only a mouth breather would think that being "run over" at DE has more to do with a 20 lb weight differential and less to do with technique and ability. If the DE can beat his tackle, the a 220 lb RB isn't going to be running over any DE. Not to mention the basis of the Bills drafting a DE at 11 is because we need an improved pass rush.

Yes, the Bills should draft a 250 lb DE to play DE. Did you miss the premise of my first post where players of a wide range of weights can succeed as pass rushers? The Bills need help in the pass rushing department moreso than the run stopping. We got 0 pass rush production from our DEs Hence the reason to draft a pass rushing DE. And stop changing your argument every time you're caught with your pants down. First it was that "DEs under 280 can't rush the passer." Then it was, "Vernon Gholston sucks." Now your argument has changed to, "we need a run stopping DE." If you want to focus on run stopping, draft a friggin DT. Your development argument is asinine. Any player you draft (short of adrian peterson) is not going to tear it up from day 1. All players take some time to develop. Meanwhile, there's no where it says that a 250 lb DE cannot succeed and make a much needed impact on a pass rush. As for your laughably retarded argument about DE/OLBs, i dont give a rats ass where a player is "projected" to go. Stop being a mouth breather and assuming that because some 3-4 teams might draft them and move them to OLB means that they can't play DE. Those guys mentioned have had large amounts of success playing the DE in college. They know the position. Brown has showcased a wide variety of skills over his past 2.5 seasons at FSU. Either one would instantly improve our pass rush. Please link to me where and why Brown or Orakpo will NOT have any success as a DE at the NFL level. And try to do it without blubbering like a moron, "but...but...but...vernon gholston sucks!" btw - freeney was about 250 when he was drafted.

A DE that comes into the NFL weighing 250+ will have no problem moving into the 260 range with a year's worth of strength and conditioning at the NFL level. Not to mention that they could contribute right off the bat even weighing in the 250s. And a "project" is someone who is raw, which has nothing to do with weight. All of these DEs have proven themselves at the collegiate level. They aren't "projects." And where the hell did i ever mention maybin? Also, please explain how one player who attempted to play OLB at the NFL level and didn't see the field means we shouldn't draft a guy to play DE, just because he's a similar size. The Jets moved Gholston to OLB. The Bills would be drafting one of these guys to play DE. Things that are different aren't the same. Try making some sense before running your mouth.