Orton's Arm

I have a lot more respect for Bruschi than for the typical pro athlete. I'd love it if every player on the Bills was just like him; instead of offering their opinions about who the best RB in football is or how having gone to Miami makes you the best.

That had to be one of the least competent and most political juries in this country's history. The whole trial was a circus, from the judge, to the prosecution, to the defense attorneys, to the jury, to the defendant himself. OJ later said (not an exact quote). "I didn't do it, and I want you to understand that before I go any further. But I want you to know that if I did do it, it was because I loved her too much."

How can we forgive OJ when we are not his victims? Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown are his victims. If he wants forgiveness, he needs to obtain it from them. How can he be forgiven by people who are dead? He should have thought of that before murdering them.

The heart of this lawsuit is whether it's legal for the NFL to require people to undergo pat-downs before entering a stadium. I'm not sure whether the effectiveness of pat-downs should enter into this. In general, you don't want a court deciding what a business can or can't do based on the court's determination of what is or isn't effective. The argument that the terrorist who would have blown up people at an NFL game will just blow them up someplace else instead is weak. It's not the NFL's job to protect our busses or schools or subways. It's its job to protect stadiums. In general, I feel the owner of a piece of property should have very strong rights to decide what goes on. If I want to form a private club where everyone is required to wear pink dresses and orange turbans, I should be able to. If people don't like it, they don't have to come to my club. What makes this issue different is the NFL's monopoly on professional football. Allowing the owner of a private club to set random or arbitrary rules is fine because there are other competing clubs for people to choose from. This is not the case with football. Nor is it the case if I want to hear a particular song, watch a particular movie, or use a certain piece of software. Any time you have a monopoly on something, you can no longer use the "If you don't like the rules, don't go" argument. Let's face it: if there was a close substitute for Bills football, why would we continue to watch the agony that is this team? Because the NFL enjoys near-monopoly status with respect to professional football, it should not be allowed to impose rules or restrictions which would be considered rights violations if done by a public agency. (For the same reason, a company that holds a monopoly--that is a copyright--on a certain movie or song or piece of software shouldn't be allowed to impose technology that interferes with copying or sharing allowed under fair use provisions.) So the only question that remains is this: do people have the right to not be patted down?

People get killed in car accidents every day. Does this mean that married men should never drive a vehicle? I agree that when you get married your safety becomes more important. But there are limits.

If your a masochistic Bills fan, there's nothing better than being in the same division as Bill Belichick. He will serve up pain and agony for your team in an almost unparalleled number of ways. And then, just when you think you've seen all the ways your team can be, not just beaten, but shamed and humiliated, he will come up with yet another way to drag your team through the mud. Since I'm not a masochist, I hate this. I hate the fact that Belichick is so much smarter than TD. I hate the fact that Brady is a better QB than this organization has seen since Kelly--if indeed Kelly was Brady's equal. I hate the fact that even the Patriots' grounds crew is probably better in some way than the Bills' equivalent. And I hate the fact that the only three certainties in this world are death, taxes, and Belichick owning the Bills. For Sunday's game, Belichick has excellent options for when his team is on offense. Jerry Gray hasn't been able to stop the Patriots' passing attack back when he had Pat Williams and Takeo Spikes; and he won't be able to stop it now those players are gone. Alternatively, Belichick may decide it's time to take advantage of the Bills' porous run defense. I personally expect to see the Patriots use the pass early to move the chains and tire out the Bills' defense, then run the ball later to continue to move the chains and protect the lead.

This was a great move by TD!

A lot of family men make far more dangerous career decisions than Bruschi has. By no means am I a Patriots fan, but I understand Bruschi's need to achieve his life's dreams. If playing pro football was your dream, and you had the chance to do it, and if the doctors told you it was safe, what would you do?

While both players have the same number of Super Bowl rings, Aikman was surrounded by far better overall talent than Brady. The Cowboys had probably the deepest and best defense in football (at the time, not all-time), the best offensive line in football, and Pro-Bowlers at practically every offensive skill position. They had the NFL's all-time rushing yardage leader in Emmitt Smith. In contrast, Brady won a Super Bowl ring when his starting running back was Antowain Smith. Brady's advantage over Aikman is that he makes decisions faster and gets rid of the ball quicker.

Between them, Joe Montana and Tom Brady have dinked and dunked their way to seven Super Bowl rings. It always helps if your team has a defense and an offensive line.

I strongly agree with this post. Consider everything invested in Losman--2nd and 5th rounders for 2004, a 1st round pick for 2005. Had we simply thrown those picks at the offensive and defensive lines, while going with a QB who took his lumps at some other team's expense, things could have been a lot different this year.

Thanks for the compliment. As for McNally, I remember that when we had other offensive line coaches, you'd see an offensive lineman do poorly in Buffalo only to later find success elsewhere. I haven't heard of an offensive lineman playing poorly for McNally only to later do well.

What we're seeing this season is that problems that went unsolved in the past are now haunting us. Under Wade Phillips, our defensive coaching effort was outstanding; our offensive and special teams coaching efforts were atrocious. So what is the first thing TD does? His final four candidates were all defensive coordinators. Guys who were perfect solutions in search of a problem. However, there was no defensive coaching problem in Buffalo under Wade Phillips. Granted, one of those candidates was Marvin Lewis; who has since had success with the Bengals. But Lewis was able to head over to the Bengals, and in essence say, "I see your offensive system and coaching efforts are all fine. If any of you offense guys needs me, I'll be over here working on defense." Jon Gruden did the same thing in Tampa; fixing the team's offensive coaching problems while leaving everything on defense to the incumbent Monty Kiffin. Clearly, TD should have begun his tenure here in Buffalo by bringing in an offensive-oriented head coach. This guy could have fixed the offense's coaching problems while leaving Ted Cottrell and the defense alone. By hiring Gregg Williams, TD caused a downgrade in the quality of the defensive coaching while doing nothing to solve Buffalo's offensive coaching woes. Mike Mularkey inherited not only Jerry Gray, but a defense consisting of players who were familiar with the scheme, and who had been selected based on how well they fit that particular scheme. Given the pressure put on head coaches to produce quickly, Mularkey decided to stick with Gray instead of suffering the short-term disruption that a switch to a guy like Dave McGinnis would have entailed. The results of not having a Ted Cottrell or a McGinnis over on the sidelines were evident this past week against the Raiders. Going into the draft two years ago, Ralph Wilson summarized the main needs of the Buffalo Bills. (Not an exact quote.) "Our problem is on the offensive line--both lines, really." He was right. What, in the last two years, has TD done to address the lines? Other than the Chris Kelsay pick and signing a few second-tier free agents, Donahoe has invested very little in the lines these last two years. (The Aaron Schoebel extension doesn't count as adding something new to the defense, because he was already there.) In theory, Jim McNally is supposed to be able to turn lead into gold; but even McNally needs some player talent/heart in order to produce results. His last year with the Giants showed that. TD's era has lacked focus and direction. I would respect his tenure more if I could see a clear plan; and then see where something unexpected caused it not to work out. But many of the problems he now faces should have been anticipated and avoided.

I'm just afraid that in 3 - 5 years, Wilson will be dead. Also, Phil Simms pointed out that even when a rookie QB struggles, he typically shows flashes of future brilliance if his career is going to go anywhere. Losman hasn't shown that. While I haven't given up on him completely, I'm less confident than I was at the beginning of the season.

Maybe quotes like this are why you didn't get that position as a kindergarten teacher. (Just kidding)

Lori, I wish I could disagree with your post. But with the possible return of Richard Seymour and Tedy Bruschi, I'm afraid the Patriots' worst defensive woes may already be behind them. I also expect another week in which weapons like Lee Evans are wasted because of the offensive line's inability to give them time to get open deep.

With our offensive line (or lack thereof), that's about all any QB can do. Would you rather they bring back a Rob Johnson or Drew Bledsoe to try to get the deep passing game going?

Something tells me that with this defense, we'll be giving credit an awful lot.

Hey, I heard that!

For a guy who talks tough about playing a physical style of football, TD has certainly neglected the line of scrimmage. This far into TD's rebuilding program, offensive linemen should be brought in a full year before they are expected to start. Duke Preston is a good example of the way things should be; free agents like Anderson and Gandy are not. Not that I have a problem with Gandy's play, I just don't like the lack of continuity this line has had.

That's like asking whether you would prefer to be eaten alive by ants or piranhas.

After LeBeau lost his head coaching job, he was brought to Buffalo for a year as an assistant/mentor for Jerry Gray. Gregg Williams could have, but did not, offer LeBeau the defensive coordinator position. The next year, LeBeau was Mularkey's first choice for defensive coordinator; but LeBeau chose to be Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator instead. LeBeau has a home and family in Pittsburgh, and a strong working relationship with Bill Cowher. Mularkey went with his second choice for defensive coordinator in Jerry Gray.

They need to do both.

If I was on the Bills, I'd take that personally the next time I faced the Raiders.

@Left: I agree you about Jerry Gray, and about how the Pat Williams void is hurting this defense.