Ramius

I think FSU is appropriately ranked. IF anything, their past reputation let them be ranked slightly higher than they should be. That being said, based on our schedule, i think 9-3 is a realistic expectation for us. As usual, Clemson is overrated. They'll start 5-0 or 6-1, and choke down the stretch finishing 9-3 or 8-4.

Great photos. I think i found Bill in NYC's favorites. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedi...content.17.html http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedi...content.19.html

I'm with you in that i agree with the 3 year rule. But, as an above poster said, when Mike Williams declared for the NFL draft, technically, he was eligible to do so, so he wasnt breaking any rules.

Actually, the only thing that site doesnt list for future years that Texas does is conference games. That list is mroe for the big time out of conference matchups. Its funny to see that most SEC teams (tennessee aside) continue to have candy ass schedules OOC, so they can whine about "waaaahh, our conference schedule is soooo tough"

Since the season is almost upon us, heres a helpful link to the list of future schedules for all the D-1 teams. While it doesn't list entire schedules, it will list the big game agreements that universities have agreed upon. http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/future_schedules/

Actually, the blame is on both the NFL and the NCAA. When Mike Williams declared for the draft, technically at that point in time, he was allowed to. The Maurice Clarett decision allowed sophmores to declare for the draft, and williams did. The NFL then reversed its decision, and Williams got screwed over when technically, he should have been "grandfathered in." Then, the NCAA could have done the right thing and allowed him to go back to school, but we all know that the NCAA doesnt really give a sh-- about the student-athletes. There's not a single more corrupt, low-moral, scumbag organization than the NCAA, whose sole goal is to exploit the "student-athlete" for their own gain.

I never said he was great. I've been of the stance that he played well, considering the fact that he was a 4th round rookie who was forced into the starting lineup. All things considered, we could have done much worse at FS in 2006. Also, as you stated, i'd rather have someone like Simpson in the lineup learning (or Greer as you said) than worthless piles of crap like kiwaukee Thomas or Jason Webster. I have tempered expectations for Ko this year. I dont expect him to be a world beater, but i DO expect him to show some improvement and start playing like a decent NFL safety. Your post came across as if you didn't think or feel that he was ever going to improve.

Careful GG, Bill is getting turned on.

Agreed. When my dad was at roswell park undergoing treatment, moorman was there visiting with some kids. A nurse from my dad's floor was with them and mentioned how big a Bills fan my dad was. Moorman came up when he was done and chatted with my dad for a while, and the signed photo he gave him is hanging on my wall now.

I still think one of the more underrated tackles in the league is Jordan Gross.

Just a fair warning...since i got my whitner last october, numerous people has told me that at first glance they thought it was travis henry...

When faced with this decision last year (after we traded both spikes and McShitbag), i went with the Whitner.

Good post Rich. I was going to point out Joe Thomas as well as one of the young up and coming LT's in the league. While we are at a changing of the guard there are still some young guys that are looking like they are the real deal. Along with Peters and Thomas, i'll toss in Marcus McNeill's name as well.

I've told you before, that on draft day i was perplexed by the corner selection. However, its entirely possible that the Bills didnt have any OL rated as 4th round talent. We picked corner at 114. 3 OL went in the 4 picks before us. The next OL wasnt taken until pick 130. There's no point on reaching for an OL pick just so you can say that you picked an OL. As for centers, yes we need an upgrade, but there were none available in this years draft that could have stepped in and made a difference in year 1 or 2. As for as the 7th round goes, its a crapshoot, and 7th rounders are the same as street FAs. Would it have made you feel better had we drafted felton and brought cox in as a UDFA instead of vice versa? theres no difference. As for Ko vs preston...one of them can barely crack the team as a backup, and the other is the starting FS. So no matter what you think (which is inherently biased, because you have a very low opinion of all DBs on this team), the coaching staff believes that Ko is starter material, and good enough where they didnt need to bring in any competition.

you need good players, regardless of position. Consider some recent 4th rounders we've taken. Would you rather have Ko Simpson or Duke Preston? Also, you never answered this: "After all, they have Peters (hopefully) anchoring LT, Walker doing decent at RT, Dockery is solid at G, and you are very very impressed with Edwards at QB. So what really makes the Colts' situation different?"

So why hasnt their drafting of lots of DBs doomed them to failure? You are very fond of stating that the Bills drafting DBs is what causes to miss the playoffs year in and out, so why hasnt this affected the Colts?

Whitner, McCargo, McKelvin, and Clements were not under contract with the team at the time of their holdouts. Once they had contracts signed, they were in camp. Peters holds 0 leverage, because he has 3 years left on his deal, plus 1 or 2 years with the franchise tag. He can come out and say tomorrow that he'll never re-sign with the Bills, but if we were to flash him a 60 million, 25 million guaranteed contract, he'd sign in half a second. No one is going to pass up that much and risk injury over 2+ seasons.

As Lori said, Schobel skipped voluntary OTAs. That hardly qualifies as pouting, particularly for a vested 6 year veteran who has more than proven his worth to this team. When push came to shove, and the mandatory OTAs rolled around, schobel was present. When training camp rolled around, Schobel was present. When it all came down to it, even though schobel wanted a new deal and more money, he nutted up like a professional does, showed up at his job, and got down to work. Peters skipped all OTAs, inculding the mandatory ones. He's also skipped training camp. The guy looks to be an elite up and coming LT, but he's not there yet. The Bills could have let him play for his ERFA tender a couple of years back and he would have made like 300K. Instead, they recognized his potential, and rewarded him with a contract that paid him 10 times what he would have gotten. Now, after 1.5 good seasons, he wants more money. But the difference is that peters isnt being professional. He's decided to not show up for anything, clearly pointing out that the team is second to him, and he's not willing to put 100% effort to making this team better. In the words of DC Tom, things that are different are not the same.

Gasp! a 4th round rookie who was thrust into the starting role during his rookie season was victimized by opposing NFL coaches? Cut Ko now!

I'll give peters his due and say 2. And i totally agree with you that he does need to be paid, however, it doesnt need to be before this season. Getting Lee locked up is more important. With 3 years left on the deal, the Bills can sign peters next offseason. Next february he can get his 60 million with 25 guaranteed contract. Or maybe it would be nice of him to show up to camp and show he's committed to the team.

Ummm, not sure what you are getting at? The people borrowed the money against their own house. So when they cant pay it back, the bank takes the house, as they did, and will sell the house at auction, re-couping at least some, if not all of the money. How exactly is is this causing the bank to fail?

Go back and check your facts. Schobel signed his new deal on August 24th. That's hardly "as camp opened." While he skipped OTAs, Schobel was there all throughout camp busting his ass getting prepared for a season. He wasnt whining and staying home like Peters is. Also, i have yet to see proof that Schobel was dissatisfied with his old deal. He simply got paid in line with what other top DEs are making. Another difference is that Schobel had proven his worth over 5-6 seasons, not 1.

Its the inverse talent "fan" theory (ITFT). All players of your team suck, and all players of other teams are simply that much better. Unless your team acquires said player, then that player is garbage. But if another team had acquired the same player, they'd be greater than ever. In this specific case, Tipster makes the point that merling hammered wikky. Using the ITFT, tipster assumes that Ricky williams is so great that he's going to drastically change the dolphins. The mere fact that Merling hammered such a great RB means that Merling is simply even greater than Ricky. On the next play, Merling probably got blocked by Jake Long, meaning that Jake Long is an even greater talent than Merling. To simplify, on a scale of 1-10, we'll use the ITFT and assume that ricky williams has a talent of 9. This means that Merling's talent level is around 11, and Jake Long's is roughly 15. Now, using the ITFT, we'l address Bills camp. The constant is that the Bills suck. So when Butler blocks McCargo on a given play, since butler sucks, McCargo sucks even worse. And when McCago makes a play or tackle, it is only because the offensive player sucks even worse that Johnny McC. Thus, you have the inverse talent "fan" theory. I live 450 miles from fins canp, so i suppose i am out of range to make astute observations.

I guess we can throw Kelsay out as a data point, because he was a week away from UFA when he was re-signed. So whats the difference between him and Dockery? And why did the Bills extend Peters 2 years ago? He seemed to be as black as he is now back then.