LongLiveRalph

I agree, I thought Leo had a great game. This coming one week after he looked absolutely lost against Chicago, it was nice to see. To your point about the 4th quarter, it's truly amazing...Watch the NFL Red Zone channel and it's incredible how just about every game is within one score in the 2nd half. Typically there is one blowout, and all others are 8 points or less. It comes down to making winning plays in the 4th quarter.

I believe the Pats actually have eight picks in the first 4 rounds- two each in rounds 1 thru 4. I hate them with a passion but damn they have a forward-thinking front office.

I made one reply previously to your thread that was titled something like "Christian Ponder- Opinions". Your original post requested opinions on Ponder and wanted considerations on his chances of winning the 2010 Heisman trophy. I responded with a post that he wasn't a Heisman candidate in my mind, and that he was lacking in several areas. I don't claim Ponder "sucks" but I know that he has played poorly in the games I've seen. And I only point to the fact that they have been quite successful when he has been out of the lineup, so obviously the team is not horrible. Their only loss in five games over the previous two seasons with Ponder out of the lineup was to #1 ranked Florida. Anybody with two eyes can see that UW is a bad team even with Locker, but without him they'd struggle to beat a high school team. I mentioned his victories over USC because you asked for enlightenment on the "winning plays" that Locker has made. How about 24-40, 310 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT, and 12 rush for 110 yds...Including a 54-yard run on the final drive to kick a last second FG to win 32-31 at the Los Angeles Coliseum over USC. Is that making "b.s. winning plays"? There can be different ways of viewing it, of course. I'm sure you blame the FSU WR for dropping the pass in the end zone against Miami in 2009, and absolve Ponder for throwing a garbage pass 4 inches off the grass to a wide open receiver. Throwing a strike to the guy's hands would've been "making a winning play" just as the WR catching a low ball would've been "making a winning play" because, you see, they would've WON rather than LOST. I know there are 1,000 other events in each game that lead up to that moment. But when that moment comes, as you know, the best make it happen. My opinion is strictly that...An opinion. Apparently it's wrong because it disagrees with yours and your desire for FSU to be relevant. Stop pretending that football is this incredibly difficult game to analyze, and that nobody could possibly have the understanding that you have.

FSU was 4-5 with Ponder racking up ACC-leading passing stats last year. He got injured and they finished 3-1, including a bowl game victory. This season, they've just lost two in a row to the powerhouse NC schools, then Ponder sits and they beat Clemson this week. FSU fans better enjoy these last few games of the Ponder Era...They might not see QB talent like that again for another year or two! I once compared Ponder to Mark Bulger, and I think the comparison fits. He passes the eye test and looks the part of QB. He will have his nice statistical lines and win some games, but nobody confuses him with a winner. Jake Locker has beaten USC two years in a row, including when they were #5 in the nation last season. What's Ponder's signature win? BYU???

I've seen 3 FSU games this year and parts of a 4th. He throws nothing but slants and dumpoffs. Like I mentioned, I realize that can be a function of the offense. His red zone abilities and decision making appear sub-par, which is especially worrisome for a senior QB. He can pick up a few 1st downs in between the 20's but he doesn't make winning plays. Mallett and Luck do. Not that winning is everything in college, as I'd gladly take Locker and his .043 winning percentage over Ponder. Ponder plays with no edge and his field presence is underwhelming. As for your "discussion" here, I'm happy to help, seeing as apparently I'm the only one who has replied. Feel free to continue on with your highbrow, thoughtful, oustanding insight! I will refrain from adding my lowbrow BS opinion, and just join the rest of the board in not caring. Carry on with your "discussion."

The games I've seen, he's been absolutely terrible. Far, far below the top QB prospects that I've watched. All rinky-dink passes (a function of the offense I realize) but certainly not EVERY play is called to be a 3-yard pass. He hasn't made any "wow" plays or even any winning plays in the games I've seen. So...I fully expect the Bills to draft him in '11. Probably with a few traded picks from '12 to get him.

It's always funny when fans of any team get mad at the player for being a bust. What's the player supposed to do when he gets drafted, say "No thanks, I shouldn't be picked until next round"? Don't blame Losman for his failures as Bills QB. Blame the group who drafted him, and didn't secure a better option. Blame the group who managed to find the only bust in one of the best QB drafts in 25 years. Losman set the franchise back a decade??? Losman traded those '05 draft picks??? Certainly the Williams/McGahee/Whitner/McCargo/Lynch/Maybin picks had nothing to do with the poor decade. At this point in his career, JP will have to earn anything that comes his way, and I hope he catches on somewhere. Either way, keep playing ball JP. UFL, arena, whatever. You're not missing anything with the rest of us stiffs in front of a computer screen. I hope he makes it happen. WR Mike Williams in Seattle has shown that being out of the league and swallowing a little pride can be a good thing.

It's not illegal to have an escort in your room, unless money has been transacted. It's not illegal to be drunk. If you trash your hotel room, you're going to get billed for it, which is no problem for him. What free pass is he getting? He was taken to the hospital, not to the cop shop. Pretending that their aren't double standards doesn't contribute to the conversation. Sheen is the highest paid star on one of the highest rated television shows. If you produce, you get 2nd (and 3rd and 4th and 5th) chances. All people have a right to work, his line of work doesn't require that you aren't a screwup. In fact, it almost seems a prerequisite.

Clearly, by his tweet BEFORE practice where he mentioned "Gusts of wind up to 60mph well today will be fun at work...Guess I've lived long enough" it was obvious that he knew there was a danger. However, he also seems to know that he is in a very replaceable position, and would likely get fired for refusing to do his job. What a difference 10 years makes. At 20, I'm sure I would've been poor enough to need that $8.50/hour and dumb enough to get up on that lift. At 30, I would've told the coach, AD, and anyone else to go stick that camera up their ass. Can anybody familiar with college football coaching tell me if these practice videotapes are even worth the trouble, and if anybody other than the lowest-level assistant coaches actually watch them? A scrimmage, I can see, record it. New offensive plays, 11-v-11, I can see why you'd record it. Offensive line drills and backup QB's throwing to redshirt WR's? What's the point?

I sincerely hope the coaching staff is held responsible for this poor kid's death. Declan Sullivan, RIP. The storm in the midwest produced the lowest barometric pressures ever recorded in the continental US. The day before, Notre Dame practiced indoors, which Coach Kelly absolutely despises. Yesterday, he wanted to practice outdoors in 50-60mph wind gusts. Anybody in the midwest yesterday knows it was unsafe to even walk outdoors, much less go up on a scissor lift. The manufacturer states that wind gusts over 25mph are unsafe conditions to be on the lift. Predictably (unless you work at ND) the scissor lift was blown over, smashed through a fence that surrounds the practice field, and crashed into the street. The 20-year old ND student was rushed to the hospital, where he later died. Even more haunting is Declan Sullivan's two tweets, one before practice and one during practice. Check the deadspin link: http://deadspin.com/5675694/prelude-to-a-tragedy-how-a-notre-dame-student-died-and-why-he-shouldnt-have Very sad, very irresponsible by the university and the coaching staff. The coaches should be watching tape of the Navy game, not of their backup redshirt QB throwing in a practice drill in 50mph winds. Completely unnecessary death, and easy to prevent. Shame on Brian Kelly, and ND athletics.

Losman seemed like a better option than an aging, tentative Bledsoe. Edwards seemed like a better option than Losman. Fiztpatrick seems like a better option than Edwards. It doesn't mean that any of them are any good. They only appear good when compared with the crappy guy before them, not when compared with the rest of the league. Draft the QB. It's no guarantee that he'll be the "main man" and successful, but it's practically guaranteed that the team will be unsuccessful without the main man. You have to try to get him.

Wow...I didn't know that. I just checked it out...1st and 2nd rounder in 2010 and 1st rounder in 2011...Ridiculous!!! Some are higher on Kessel than I am, but I was doubting he's worth one 1st-rounder (especially #2 overall) much less two 1st-round picks and a 2nd. Awful move by Burke, in my opinion. IMPOSSIBLE for the B's to pass that up. Not sure about that. Satan was a street free agent without a team, and was signed by Boston in January to help a team that struggled with goalscoring since the Kessel trade. I guess my point was, Kessel fell out of favor with the organization and the fans due to his soft play and his lack of defensive intensity. Then you sign Miro Satan, basically the same player. Didn't make much sense at the time, but Satan certainly helped in the playoffs. Here's a NESN article, which pretty much states that Miro was taking Kessel's role: http://www.nesn.com/2010/01/bruins-deal-with-miroslav-satan-a-nolose-situation.html Over the years, Satan has developed a reputation as a one-dimensional player, only exerting himself in the offensive zone. But the Bruins believe that just as they've dealt with similar players -- most recently, current Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel -- they can work with Satan to get the best out of what he brings to the rink each game. Satan, by the way, will wear Kessel's former No. 81 with the Bruins. "There's no problem," Julien told the media of Satan's focus on offense. "I'll give the example of Phil Kessel. He was more offense than defense and he fit in well with our team. That buildup of issues [with Kessel], there were no issues from our end. We take what we can from players like that, and [as a coach] you have to understand that their strength is offense. "You can help them out along the way defensively. We liked Phil on our team last year. He scored some big goals, and ‘Miro' is that type of player. We need that type of player."

It's been quite prevalent for a few years in the NBA. Often times, they report trades naming the player's contract more than the player himself. "The Sacramento Kings trade guard Tyreke Evans to the Dallas Mavericks for Jason Terry's expiring contract." In the NBA, trades are only approved if the dollar amount of the players' contracts are close to equal. Therefore, a contending team (Dallas) will get a solid player, while a have-not team (Sacramento) will get a player who is only valuable to them because his contract will be off the books after the season, which will open cap space and allow them to sign their #1 draft pick and/or recruit free agents. I always laugh to hear trades announced that way. There are certain over-priced players who aren't very good at basketball, but are EXTREMELY desireable at trade time for this reason alone.

I did mention that they "traded up a few slots in the 2nd round with the Lions." But yes, your point remains. The thing I noticed when looking back at that draft was that the Bills used their #1 pick to replace McGahee, whom they drafted with a #1 pick to replace Henry. They drafted Poz to replace London Fletcher. They ran off players who were solid contributors (or more) and just created unnecessary holes. Here they are, three years later, doing the exact same thing by drafting Spiller and shipping Lynch. That's why, while I don't think Poz is a long-term answer (or not a "cornerstone" to keep with the theme of the thread) I agree with others who have stated that it wouldn't be wise to just run him out of town. Try to sign Poz to a fair deal (the Kelsay signing has made this much more difficult) and keep building the roster. Otherwise, we'll just be chasing our tail until it's time to draft Spiller's replacement in 2013!!

I agree Ralphy should read this. As for the Sabres, I have disagreed with Darcy Regier countless times, but you do have to give him credit for the organization's preparedness coming out of the lockout. He really did study and scout every single NHL and AHL player during the off-year. The Sabres were possibly the most prepared team in the NHL to handle not only the salary cap, but also the new rule enforcements. However, it does seem that Darcy takes the "get nothing in return but cap space for the player" to an extreme. I like Burke a lot and I like the way his teams play. He puts a premium on toughness and doesn't shy away from a bold front office move. However, I agree with Dante that he could do better than Ron Wilson. And I think he may have made a major error in trading a 1st round pick to Boston for Phil Kessel. Kessel is a nice player but seems to have approached his ceiling and has been accused of the dangerous hockey term- "floater." And Boston ended up with the #2 overall pick from Toronto, and drafted Tyler Seguin, who by all accounts is an exciting player and fantastic talent. Time will tell, obviously, but Boston had no problem trading Kessel within the division, so that may tell you something. And when an organization trades a player who "lacks toughness" and then signs Miro Satan to replace him, that may tell you something also. Burke may be able to light a fire under Kessel and get the most out of him, and we'll have to see in three years how Seguin progresses. Cool article Dante, thanks for posting.

I thought Poz was a pretty solid pickup in the 2nd round, after the Bills missed Patrick Willis by one pick. The Bills drafted Lynch with the next 1st round selection, and then traded up a few slots with the Lions in the 2nd round to get Poz. On the surface it looked like a solid move, as middle LB was a definite need position (necessitated by the Bills determining- like they did with Pat Williams- that London Fletcher was "done". A few Pro Bowl seasons later...) After having watched Poz play for several seasons, he is nothing special. He makes tackles, just as every team's middle LB does. When Poz missed the almost the entire season in '07, his replacement Jon Digiorgio led the Bills in tackles. So the statistics don't always tell the story. Nobody would call Digiorgio a cornerstone player. The eye test tells me Poz just isn't an impact player. It's incredible what 23 slots in the NFL Draft differentiates. Willis went #11 overall, while Poz went #34. Surround Willis with any players you want, including Buffalo's defensive roster, and he would be an impact player. No question about it, he proved it his rookie year in SF. Poz's speed is lacking, it's rare that he lays a big hit or makes a game-changing play, and he is absolutely awful in pass coverage. For the record, here are the other LB's surrounding Poz in the draft: #11- Patrick Willis (SF) #15- Lawrence Timmons (Pit) #25- Jon Beason (Car) #34- Poz (Buf) #47- David Harris (NYJ) #48- Justin Durant (Jax) #68- Quincy Black (Tam) #69- Buster Davis (Ariz)

If you are looking for logic, the NHL discipline office is the wrong place to find it. I think the suspension is fair. He essentially missed 75% of the game he was ejected from, plus two more, seems about right based on previous suspensions. I think it's clear to most that it wasn't intentionally dirty, but was definitely careless and a suspendable hit. As far as him being back for the Buffalo game, the NHL has to use whatever crazy system they use to determine these penalties, but they CANNOT look at the schedule. If they determine he deserves a two game suspension, that's what they have to dole out, regardless of which games he misses and which games he returns for. Once you start looking at the schedule, you're basing suspensions on factors other than the matter at hand.

It has long been a dream of mine to own a bar, just so I could put up a sign that says, "WE SERVE MINERS"

I have two close friends who have told me some stories, and as such, none of this article surprises me. Excellent read, and good for the guy to come forward. My friends' experiences: One friend is currently a licensed NFLPA agent. I went to college with him. He is far from the Rosenhaus/Steinberg level of agent, but represents roughly 8 or so current NFL players, and a few baseball players. No big-name players. He has candidly told me about many, many, east coast college football players that he has provided with payments and benefits. Countless amounts. He says the same things that were mentioned in the article. "If they don't take my money, they're just going to take someone elses." "CODB- Cost of doing buisness." He is also a practicing attorney. He loves college sports but hates the organization of the NCAA and thinks they are committing robbery in plain daylight. The other friend played O-line at a middle-of-the-road ACC school. He was a good player, an all-conference player, got drafted in the 3rd round of the NFL draft, and had an unremarkable but decent 7-year NFL career. When he was at college, he became a starter his sophomore year and showed NFL potential. In the summer between his junior and senior year, he had a new Land Rover and his parents had a new Land Rover. His family was middle class and his parents had a Honda Accord before the Land Rover. He NEVER admitted (to me at least) that the cars were gifts from an agent, or boosters, or whomever. It was just kind of understood. He said it without saying it. I know for a fact his family did not have the finances to buy the vehicles themselves. But what really struck me was that he was an O-lineman for an unranked, non-historic football program. It really made me wonder what benefits the stars of a big-time school received.

that Baltimore game was at the Meadowlands fella. Jets are a nice team but their schedule has been very helpful thus far.

You certainly could do that...I think it just seems like a foreign concept to most. It's hard to imagine you could derive any true joy out of randomly "picking" some team and declaring them your favorite, even if they did win a championship. If you were a supporter of the Cleveland Indians for 20+ years, could you REALLY be excited about the Phillies winning the World Series just because you said to yourself, "I'm a Phillies fan now." ??? Even if you said you were excited, could it even come close to replicating the joy of the Indians winning a title? It seems like a very diminished sports experience and defies the whole point of having a "favorite" team. I can certainly understand "following" another team, especially if you have moved away from the city of your favorite team. I could see a baseball fan from Cleveland who now lives in Philadelphia adopting the Phillies as his hometown team, just because the games are on TV, he probably attends a few at the stadium, and that's what the people and news are talking about. But to just abandon your previous favorite? Perhaps some could...I could not.

I didn't feel it was stupid at all. I think most defenseman are coached to pinch in from the blue line in an attempt to keep the puck in the offenseive zone, especially when the opposing winger doesn't appear to have many options to move the puck. And if you can bury him into the boards while you're at it, all the better. His mistake was getting to Pommer before the puck did, and catching the back of Pommer's shoulder blade. If he took one more stride, he likely would've been on-time with the puck and also been able to send Pommer into the boards with a clean shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Certainly over-agressive, perhaps careless, but not cheap or stupid.

Don't forget that the Jets were a laughing stock just four years ago. Then they used two first round picks on LT Ferguson and C Mangold, establishing the core of one of the best O-lines in the NFL. Then the next year, drafted the best CB in the draft. Then the next year, drafted a big, athletic tight end. Then hired a dynamic head coach with a definitive philsophy and a track record of successful results. Then traded up to get their franchise QB at #5 overall. Then added some free agents at key defensive spots. Then traded for two Pro Bowl-type WRs. This did not happen in one season. It's been a work in progress. But it's proof that it can work, and is not impossible for any other team to build in the same way. Other than attracting the Bart Scott-type free agents, which Buffalo has trouble doing, the Bills could've done everything that the Jets did.

Pommer was defenseless and unaware. But the hit- while certainly a penalty and misconduct- was not completely awful. There has been hundreds worse in the NHL, and will be hits that are more of a "cheap shot" than that, probably this week alone. The Chicago player has no history of playing dirty, and I think he was legitimately trying to get shoulder-to-shoulder, he just didn't quite get to the side and caught part of Pommer's back. Additionally, while the puck was coming to Pommer, he didn't have it yet, which added another element of illegality to the hit. The Sabres decided to honor Pominville by playing just like him for the rest of the game- soft and uninspired. Very glad to hear that Pommer was up, moving, and talking in the locker room. I think the apparent "seizures" on the ice were just more of deep, heavy breathing that occurs occasionally when you get your head rocked and the wind knocked out of you. At least that's how it looked to me.

It's admirable that the Jets know what they do well, and they do it without second-guessing themselves. They pride themselves on being an attacking defense, and they send the mega-blitz with abandon. I like that they have defined their defensive identity and don't waver. However, in the two games I've really watched (vs. Balt and vs. Min) they have called the house blitz in scenarios that seemed extremely unwarranted, leaving their CB's in 1-v-1 coverage in difficult situations. Against Baltimore in the opener, Mason was tearing up Cromartie and Ryan continued to leave him exposed by blitzing safeties. There were countless pass interference penalties and easy catches. The Jets rookie CB had a rough game also, and was exposed when left 1-v-1. Last night, the Vikings had nothing going, had a 3rd & long, and Ryan sent everybody. The blitz didn't get to Favre, and he lobbed a TD pass to Moss (even though the 1-v-1 coverage was excellent) to help jumpstart the Vikings offense. Against good teams with capable protection schemes and intelligent QB, this moxy could burn them. However, like I said, I don't fault them for it. They do what they do and won't change, and to me, that's admirable. I think they would be better served in certain situations to leave some additional protection over the top of a dynamic receiver, but obviously, Rex Ryan knows a lot more about football when I do. I think most fans would prefer their team to lose attacking rather than in the prevent. I just want the Jets to lose, I don't care how they do it.