Fan in Chicago

I agree with (1). We tried to rationalize his departure but it is hurting us more than we bargained for. I am guessing PW isn't helping Minn much which means both teams ended up poorer. Don't agree with (2). I think JP will be fine once he finds his bearings like Carson Palmer (as others have already pointed out). I never expected him to have a Ben R season especially with this OL I would add that our OL is also changed from last year and needs time to gel. I think Duke will be starting pretty soon, probably at Center. We just need to finish the first half at 4-4.

Isn't that the truth ? He was supposed not to gift games away which he is doing (1 INT, don't mention the 'almost interceptions). D was supposed to bail him out and score with some turnovers which they are not doing. ST was supposed to help the D which is not happening. Yes they are competent, RL has kicked better but no punt/kickoff returns for TDs, no consistent punting. IN summary, we expected him to struggle and the other facets were supposed to cover for that.

Simon, sir, I think I have a new person to respect on this board after Lori. Your preview was very good and this sanity inducing post made me sit up and put things in perspective. Only things I would add are that compared to last year at this time: -ve: we now have a few injured players on defense +ve: Rian Lindell appears more reliable -ve: ST play has dropped off +ve: We will get Parrish into the line up in a couple of weeks +ve: While JP's accuracy is off, he is not making bone headed decisions Let us see how the season plays out. At the beginning of the season, I had said that if we go 4-4, we will then go 6-2 and squeak into the playoffs. Yes, I know the second half of the season is really tough but I believe if we start hitting our stride that this stretch will show us how ready we are for the playoffs.

Does that mean he will have a slump in the next game ? Something about this 'needing motivation' just does not feel right.

I wish that being a starter on an NFL team is motivation enough for a player. Why does it take a public flogging to play like a star when he should be playing hard every game ? This is not directed at WM but every player that goes out with 'something to prove'.

Actually I am getting a bit tired more by people repeating the same assertions no matter how many times people (me) post evidence to the contrary. But, seriously, if it appears that I am on a crusade and it is getting obnoxious, I will back off.

Egads - that was my post # 666. Maybe I am helping the devil after all with posts like this that support the oil industry

Pipelines carrying products out of the gulf states started shutting down on Wednesday, largest refinery shut down Thursday morning. Also, it is possible people are panic buying causing a sudden spike in demand prior to the actual supply crunch.

In economics, that is called elasticity of demand - percent change in demand per percent change in price. Gasoline and cigarettes are extremely price inelastic which is why it takes a lot of price change to reduce demand of gasoline and also why cigs get taxed like crazy.

I am sure JP will lose his marbles if he read this board. Talk about messing with a young QB's head! He will swing from considering himself the second coming of Favre to Ryan Leaf in two clicks.

Hey cool, we can lose the next one too then !

Let me try an analogy - a tad weak but let us see if it works. Say you are one of three network admins hired in the early 90s by a company in the middle of Iceland, where no computer jock wants to go work. Over the years, the company did very well and kept increasing the size and complexity of the network. Software got upgraded and you three did well to keep up. In the late 90s, one of the three left and you two were left to handle duties but it was okay as your productivity increased. Come 2004, Microsoft started major upgrades to their systems and you two started working 14-16 hours a day compared to 12 hours before. You are taxed, start falling sick but keep working hard anyway. Come 2005, company gets a huge new contract and network traffic continued to increase along with demands on your time. Now in summer, the other programmer gets cancer and goes on a 3 month treatment while also using all the vacation he never took. You are the only one left. You go to your boss and ask to be paid twice as much. he has to pay you as he has no other option. in a nutshell that is what is happening. Network = gasoline demand, network administrators = refineries, cancer = katrina/rita (sorry), you = oil company It is supply/demand dude. Please don't equate it to gouging as the reason you ask for the double pay is to compensate for the 16 hours you are putting in and the fact that the boss does not have a choice.

I don't particularly care if any one person has a monster game as long as we win. I am nervous to say the least. Blow-out or squeaker, a Win is all that we need.

Just for kicks, I pulled up Brett Favre's initial career stats as JP is considered as having similar potential to him. PASSING Year Team G GS Att Comp Pct Yards YPA Lg TD Int Tkld 20+ 40+ Rate 1991 Atlanta Falcons 2 0 4 0 0.0 0 0.00 0 0 2 1/11 0 0 0.0 1992 Green Bay Packers 15 13 471 302 64.1 3227 6.85 76 18 13 34/208 30 9 85.3 1993 Green Bay Packers 16 16 522 318 60.9 3303 6.33 66 19 24 30/199 37 5 72.2 1994 Green Bay Packers 16 16 582 363 62.4 3882 6.67 49 33 14 31/188 44 4 90.7 http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/1028 He did very well in his first season with the Packers and took off after his third. I do not count his year with Atlanta. So, the first year with the Pack would be a safe yardstick to measure JP with. It goes without saying that if JP comes even 75% of what favre achieved, we will be fine as Favre did not have much of a defense to support him (no stats to support this, but just memory). favre actually suffered a slump in 1993 as he fell from TD-INt-rating of 18-13-85.3 to 19-24-72.2. Not sure where I am going with this, but it is useful to put JP's performance this year in perspective. Not every QB will be a Ben R.

That may save you a few bucks this week, but the combined effect of Katrina and Rita will continue to cause supply disruptions through the end of the year.

Apart from the human and property destruction that this Cat 5 hurricane may cause, let me pre-warn everyone here about another disastrous effect. Most people are already worried that gas prices may be affected if the hurricane really hits the Houston area. But I don't know if anyone understands the magnitude. Katrina hit an area where about 10-15% of crude oil is processed into gasoline etc. The Gulf coast capacity is about 40% of the national total !!! Imagine if refineries get hit there. I would venture $4-$5 gasoline if the worst happens. Also, there are oil and gas platforms there in the sea which, if idled, will severely damage the crude and natural gas supply for months. Ofcourse if the refineries are down also, you won't need that much crude oil. But, in summary, be warned of an impending calamity for transportation fuels for much of this year.

Being politically correct I see ?

Interesting observations. JP - part of his growing up will be off the field and how much he lets things like other peoples opinions affect his play. I want Wyche to coach him about these aspects also. Much as I hate the media, this is something he has to live with. MM - I also like the way he is handling issues. We are not privy to his internal dealings with players. But part of being a coach has to be a part-time psychologist. During the Chicago Bulls' run in the 90s, the coach Phil Jackson was known to use these techniques to keep his players motivated and sharp. I sure hope he is using such techniques with WM and JP. WM - I do not sense this discontent though I have not seen the pouting after Peters touchdown. In any case, discontent is not bad unless it translates to his quality on the field. Time will tell, but maybe having TH around may have been motivation for him and now he knows MM cannot replace him with anyone this season. I surely hope that issue, if any, gets resolved soon.

Pick any thread discussing QBs over the last 5 years ....

And don't worry - there is hope. I have said many a moronic thing over the past few years and have not been banned. It is when you get insulting, disparaging and down right repulsive on a regular basis that SDS lays down the law. Membership to this board is by the users choice and it is hir/her prerogative to decide if the boundaries are too tight or not - leave if they don't conform to your norms. And I am fine with that. This board is excellent and as someone else mentioned there must be some S&M fetish in all of us that we get bashed yet come back drooling for more.

To quote you : "JPL can't lead a bunch of virgins to P***y at a strip club.". Does this mean you are not out of first grade yet ? OT: No name calling here and I am not sure if you are of Indian origin, but the word 'harami' literally means bast*rd. Or maybe you are of Indian origin and know that already ?

Oh right, he has nailed every prediction with his knowledge of the Bills that surpasses everyone else's. I was so engrossed in that other thread that I forgot.

Look, you were not countering the posts with any logic or hard evidence. So the only way to humor you and keep this post going was to try and shut you up with name calling. Guess that is not working either. You just keep coming back for more punishment.

So that is why you are so POed at JPL.