Sound_n_Fury

Hey, maybe he's betting on TV putting another big hurt on JP in training camp! http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/8253862 "Holcomb is a good fit, with experience as both a backup and starter. Bauer said he's already informed the Bills that Holcomb would have no problem playing behind Losman. Holcomb's deal includes incentives based on playing time and if he should take over as starter for any reason."

Gandy was a restricted FA last year and was tendered a one-year contract at $1.368 million. I'm betting he signed for similar, or even less money with the Bills. That's not bad if he wins the starting LG job. http://www.myfootballnews.com/members/4694...ad/FATL0413.pdf "...should be a guard, but has filled in at LT the past two seasons with mixed results, at best. Could be a solid starter at guard."

This is interesting. The late Joel Bushsbaum (the dean of non-NFL scouting wonks) had the Bills picking Gandy at #46 in his 2001 mock draft. I'll bet TD and TM have had their eye on this guy for some time and would have liked to draft him, if things had worked out differently: http://archive.profootballweekly.com/conte...raft_dp2001.asp

It's called parity!

It's all about "what have you done for me lately" but Gandy was highly regarded during his draft year, with most analysts projecting him to go in the second round: 2000 NFL Draft Pick 68: Chicago Bears OG Mike Gandy, Notre Dame Pro Football Weekly: http://archive.profootballweekly.com/conte...tday_picks3.asp Buchsbaum says: Good football player who leaves you feeling he should be even better than he is. With better workouts, he could have gone high in the second round. Mel Kiper: http://espn.go.com/melkiper/s/2001/0404/1167501.html Late-developing standout, really coming into his own over the last two seasons in South Bend. Remember, at the prep level in Texas, he operated at TE and DE. When you combine his solid senior year with his impressive showing at the Senior Bowl practices, it shouldn't surprise anyone if Gandy ends up in the second round of the draft like I'm expecting.

Funny, but it's all the "garage league" teams that are throwing big money around. But then again, the "difference makers" they're signing will put them over the top (wink, wink!).

FA is a suckers bet. The draft is how teams are built and this is where TD and TM find "superior talent at budget prices."

WGR's following the sports talk radio playbook too closely, having a 2-man "good cop/bad cop" format for the sake of generating controversy (or filling dead air time!). Howard's strong enough to handle his time slot solo and should be given the freedom to go back to being himself, rather than being forced to fit into the WGR mold (are you listening Gregg Reid??). Same goes for Chris Parker.

That's a pretty uninspiring list of names. This year's FA crop seems a lot weaker than ususal.

More like the Steelers. TD never let "this guy's indispensible" talk affect his decisions there and it looks the same with JJ and PW this year.

I can't believe your ID hadn't been taken yet! It sure seems popular around here lately.

CV signed a reasonable 4-year, $12 million deal. That's a whole lot better than dropping a double-figure signing bonus on an above average O-lineman just so we can get on SportsCenter in week one of FA.

I'm saying that he was just another guy. He didn't help the Chiefs, let alone the Bills. These guys come and go every year. Last year it was Bober, this year it's Shelton. Unless they're in the Pace/Jones category, the gap between #3 and #30 in talent isn't that large and has more to do with schemes and surrounding talent than actual player ability. Bottom line: I'd like to snag another guy like Chris Vilarial a few weeks into the FA period at a reasonable price than overpay just to pull the trigger quickly.

Bober only started 2 games for the Chiefs last year, due to injuries. http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/192928

Hey, don't let a good memory get in the way of this year's "facts!"

Amen, 'bro. Why is it the teams that do the biggest, splashiest deals right out of the FA gate seldom end up in the big dance? Yet we get all of these "experts" saying we're doomed since we didn't spend $18 million on signing bonuses for two slightly above average linemen.

Exactly. Too many people talking out of both sides of their mouth this week...busting on teams like the 'Skins for overspending wildly, yet crying the blues over TD not shelling out similar bucks for PW and JJ.

Bupkis. If it's "disrespectful" to not throw money around like Daniel Snyder or Jerry Jones, then too bad PW and JJ. Other than Jeff Posey, who has TD ever signed within minutes of the FA period beginning?

LOL! Now we know how Peter King got the DB coin flip story. Seriously, this skank makes Brittney Spears look talented. How is it that her 15 minutes haven't expired yet??

http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/rumorcentral?sport=nfl New Dolphins coach Nick Saban doesn't plan to make wholesale changes to improve the team's offensive line, the Miami Herald reports. "We feel like with maybe the addition of one player, and continue to develop the players we have, that we can actually have a very good offensive line. Saban previously identified left tackle as a need, and Buffalo's Jonas Jennings is considered a top free-agent option. " It goes without saying that most folks would hate to see JJ in a 'Fins uni. With Miami's cap problems, it might be had to pull off. But the Bills better have a good "plan B" if they don't resign JJ and the Dolphins do.

In a sports-crazy town like Boston, TB's post-football future is assured. He's way more media-savy than old-school guys like Mean Joe. Just think, if Fred Smerlas can parlay his career into becoming a Boston radio/media hit, what could Bruschi do? From what I've read, I don't think Bruschi's stroke has been characterized as being so disabling that he's going to be some drooling fool. Bradshaw might get a new partner sooner than he/we think.

Even if Bruschi never plays a game again, his long-term earnings potential in Boston is set for life. He'll be a legend, earning a good salary as a color guy on the radio, sportscasting, via endorsements, books, etc. for the next 20-30 years. Lawyer's gravey train has about two more years to run, after which he'll be just another ex-player with limited earnings potential. Unless he's invested really wisely, the big bonus bucks he got from the Bills will eventually run out and he'll have to find a way to feed his family the old fashioned way. There's some "truth" in both guy's positions. Still, over the long haul, I think TB made the better choice.

Who said anything about lying? Who knows what the truth is? My point is that a story like this could only be planted to make DB look bad and take heat off of the Bills "brain trust." I suspect it probably has some truth to it, as DB could easily deny it and make Peter King look like the fool he is. Still, is this a story the world needed to know ("what's said in the room stays in the room"). I don't like the media manipulation-angle, that's all.

Nah, Lenny P only writes stories about how TD's shi_ don't stink. This is just a payback to DB by someone in the Bills hiearchy. I can't see MM pulling something like this, but TD......if it walks like a duck... Since the game in question was DB's last as a Bill, it refutes the inmates angle. Whoever the "source" was, it's a planted story. One way or another, it's just a way to "play" us.

Let the revisionist history begin. How in the world does King get a story like that?? TD's fingerprints are all over this. He let's King do the dirty work of tearing down DB while Teflon Tommy takes the high road, saying all the nice things about wanting to keep Drew as a backup. Pure BS. Peter King is just a big nob who get's played by his sources to paint whatever picture they want the public to see. Didn't the whole NHL/NHLPA media circus give us enough of this crap over the past week? I'm glad DB's gone and excited to see what JP can do. But it's stories like this (or anything written by Jerry Sullivan for that matter) really are starting to sour me on sports "journalism."