Lothar

I've read enough historical perspective to understand the impact on the relationship between the media and the presidency. I assume you meant to use the sarcasm smiley - but Watergate WAS a watershed moment in terms of that relationship. Young, yeah right

Great job Lori. The wild card in all this is that Losman will be playing a top notch veteran D on the road for the first time in his career. This is one game I think Malarkey plays it close to the vest on offense - even if we punt 5 straight times, I don't think he lets Losman freewheel, even as much as the Texan game. I like our chances against their offense, and as you mentioned, special teams may be our best opportunity to break off a big play.

Oh c'mon BiB - you of all people should know that had very little to do with discretion on the part of JFK. That's just the evolution of the media over the last half century. Hell, 70 years ago, the media was colluding to hide FDR's ailments. Kennedy's indiscretions were anything but discrete - just that the media at the time treated the presidency with more respect. Much of that mutual gladhanding, however, disappeared with the onset of Whitewater, and the bitter partisanship of the last 20 years.

scary part is there are facets of that investigation that are still going on 8+ years later ...

While interesting at the start, that thread is like most threads on our PPP board - some right wing wacko points out some fringe lefty whackjob doing something nutty and says "liberals are morons" followed by a slew of "hallelujah!s" from the faithful - closely followed by a radical response pointing out moral equivalence from some nut job on the right. Even if a discussion starts as insightful and thought-provoking, it usually digresses quickly as the militants on each side take over.

I agree - pound between the tackles and pop a couple deep ones - we can't dink and dunk on these guys. With regard to our D, the Pats do a good job of mixing things up against us - mostly becasue of Brady's quick outs and middle screens, but they take their chances down the field on us as well. In the Bledsoe era, they'd just wait for Drew and our offense to implode.

The Bucs "own" Michael Vick because of their team speed on D - this has to be a game we win by overpowering their line, cause JP won't outrun their backers. http://bbs.buccaneers.com/showthread.php?t=100056 A feast....Please have a look at Buffalo's defensive performance today before you cal next week's game a "feast". As already mentioned earlier, the Bills have a true powerhouse defense. Just have a look at their performance today. Granted, Houston isn't an offensive powerhouse, but Johnson + Davis isn't easy to cover. All Buffalo's defense did today: 120 total yards of offense, 6 sacks, and a whopping 7 forced turnovers. Not to mention Willis McGahee, Moulds and Evans. The Bills are a dauting task. But, after what (at least on paper) seemed like a great outing, I don't think its impossible. Take it for what you will, but here are my keys to winning next week. 1) The O-line held up extremely well (in all respects) against the best pass-rushing front 4 in the NFL, on paper. Now, the Bills don't have anyone in the middle capable of rushing the passer even remotely as well as Kevin Williams. However, Aaron Schrobel is a quality DE. Davis will have to hold up, and if today is any indication, he certain can. 2) Ditto goes for the running game. The key in my mind is to attack Ron Edwards, because Pat Williams was the staple of Buffalo's run defense last year. Buenning's gonna have to hold up, and I think we're gonna have to go strictly up the gut because Buffalo has the best 1-2 punch at LB with Spikes & Fletcher in the NFL. Both can fly to the ball, so if we do go with outside pitches, pulling the guards is a must. I think any outside plays should be run to the strong-side at Jeff Posey, the weakest point (if you can call it a weakness) of their LB core. 3) Spikes plays the WSLB in a very similar fashion to Brooks, with more athleticism but less experience. Lining up against Brooks in practice should help a lot, but Griese better be watching the middle VERY carefully. 4) The drops need to stop. Especially from Clayton, because he's the cornerstone of our passing game. there were 4 incomlete passes intended for Clayton, at least 2 of which I know he dropped. I know still came away with solid numbers, but he needs to hang onto those. I wouldn't be as worried if he didn't look slugging and had a comple of route issues and "dropsies" during the pre-season as well. Believe me, I'm not even close to insinuating that he's doomed, or a bust. He's still my Fav player in the NFL. But he's gotta step up again and be the top-10 receiver he was last year. 5) The running game, again. I know, young offensive line, the whole story. But, Williams has 17 yards of 3 yards or fewer, including 5 or no-gain or less. That needs to improve. In fact, other than the 71-yard dash, Caddy would have 26 carries for 77 yards; 2.67 ypc. And I'm not putting that on Caddy. We won't be facing Pat Williams again, but Sam Adams is just as big and can stuff that gap, and Buffalo's LB's are much better. Caddy... I got faith my man 6) Mr. Griese. We won't be able to come back against Buffalo if you have a similar first quarter. I won't say how to correct it because I've never played QB competitively and have no idea what they see. But whatever it is, Buffalo forces a LOT more turnovers, so we need to seriously cut down. 7) 13 penalties for 100 yars. Absolutely unacceptible. 8) The Offense we ran in the second half will not do. 0 points before the Caddy dash. Quite a lot to accomplish. I have 2 totally different score scenarios: 1) Buffalo 21 - Tampa Bay - 12 2) Tampa 16 - Buffalo 13 I can't decide between the two.

From the official site's message board ... Here are a couple of his comments: Carr said the Bills' defense "was the best defense I've played against." "That's as helpless as I've felt playing quarterback since I've been in the third grade," Carr said. Pretty damn impressive D we have.

I think most of these responses asking for "the good ole days" with Teddy or - who knows - Wade or others, are off-base. Gray and Williams have created an attacking turnover inducing defense - almost a polar opposite of the 2-deep zones and minimize error defenses of Ted and Co. Just watching Wade's passive defense against Bledsoe made me cringe. Now that I have a taste of this high-sack, high TO defense, I don't wanna go back to the solid, but lo-impact defenses of of years past. We WILL promote from within to preserve as much continuity as possible in case Grey gets hired away.

From the "what it's worth" department - Saints were one of the few teams last year that played better on the road than at home (5-3 vs. 3-5) last year - including winning at Carolina, TB, Dallas and Oakland.

I don't buy it T-log ... Matthews wont be making much more than the vet min ... having an untested player as the emergency QB behind a first year starter and a backup who has never played a full season isn't a luxury we can afford. If JP had a couple years under his belt, I'd have no problems with that possibility.

Considering our passing game AND Drew's QB rating were ranked among the 5 worst in the NFL last year, I think most reasonable people expect JP's floor is no worse than where Bledsoe is currently at - while his ceiling is considerably higher. JP may lose a couple games this year but he'll also win a couple - I'm willing to live with that. Plus Clements and Malarkey have a QB who can actually execute a larger playbook - and compensate for OL deficiencies with his mobility. As much as I hate to say this, not making the playoffs last year may have been the best thing for the future of this franchise.

And you share a birthday with our own OLB, Posey. Happy Birthday CL.

you must not be watching the offseason news ticker - they lost 2 starting pro-bowl quality guards - their line may be one of the worst in football right now ... and according to Dr. Z, competing with ours'.

Coming from an intelligent ape like yourself, that's an inane comment ... Blame the ACLU!

about as asinine as wondering how our trade relations would go if we exchanged nukes with China - I have no idea where you're going with this. India is the world's largest democracy. Don't you think the future of our uber-capitalist culture relies on tapping into the developing markets of China and India? I'm no fan of outsourcing, but instability in successful democracies is a far bigger concern to the big picture of preserving national security.

It's not often I find myself agreeing with any of Gavin's non-football posts, but Amen brother!

also - I've read in a couple places how Mueller and TD don't like each other (could explain why Mueller generally bashes the Bills when he talks about the team.) My fave analyst, Len Passthepotatoes - who is a fan of TD and Modrak and appears to get some scoops from the Bills FO - used to slam Mueller when he asked why people would consider Mueller before Modrak. Must be people skills ... either way, I'm glad TM is here with us.

102,800 feet is the record - Joe Kittinger did this from a balloon back in 1960. He was the first individual to freefall faster than the speed of sound. I believe several people in the ensuing years have tried to beat his record and died trying. Now that's a record! Joe Kittinger's jump

When I worked at NASA in the early nineties, the head of one of the branches studying earth science was an ex-astronaut in his 60's. His lifelong dream - mind you, this guy had been in space - was to climb Mt. Everest. He ended up training for 2 years and was given the opportunity to go on an expedition. He ended up suffering common maladies for us non-sherpas - fluid in the lungs and hypoxia. Tragically, he died during the climb - and fulfilling his wishes, was buried up there. I saw his last video to family and friends taped while his health above base camp was deteriorating - one of the more emotional things I've ever witnessed. I can definitely see the appeal of testing one's self on a climb of that magnitude. At this stage in my life, I'd rather read about those exploits. Some of the landscapes I've seen of the Himalayas - mostly recollections from my childhood - are spectacular. What's incredible are the feats already accomplished on that mountain. People climbing solo or without oxygen. Talk about amazing.

the smell of bacon is wafting in this thread

It's amazing what professional jealousy and excess hype will do - I'm amazed that Belichick and Pioli keep finding the perfect team players who gel in their system. If Borges and others in the NE media can't appreciate BB's skills, they need to bring back the mediocrity of Parcells and Meyer. Limiting the best offensive team in the NFL to 3 points 1 week, then lighting up the league's best defense the following week - in the playoffs no less, is proof of his genius.

Just some kudos to our front office for the UDFAs they signed. The Great Blue North Draft Report ranked all the UDFAs by position. Here's how our signees stacked up: George Gause - # 1 DE Jim Leonhard - #2 SS Liam Ezekial - #2 MLB Jon Goldsberry - #13 FB Geir Gudmundsen - #15 OT Sure, these are players that didn't get drafted but 3 of them (Gause, Leonhard and Ezekial) were ranked in the top 15 at their positions overall in the weeks leading up to the draft. Also, another UDFA signee, Rob Lee, was on the "cusp" of being drafted as a CB/FS according to DraftInsider: Northern Illinois' answer to Jason Sehorn, possess superior athletic ability and a fierce attitude. Had a very solid, yet unspectacular college career. Displayed his athletic ability at Pro Day, running a solid 4.48 40 at 6'1" and 200 pounds. He also did real well in other agility and athletic drills. This really put him on the NFL's radar. Will he be drafted? Maybe, but not as a cornerback. Teams, however, could give the athletic Lee a look in round 7, based on his size and speed. These days in the NFL, even the safeties need to possess top speed.

I remember a line from Marv Levy some 15 years ago when he was talking about what he expected from the young veterans on his team, the 2nd and 3rd year players. It was something to the effect of "by the 3rd year, we expect our youngsters to be pushing the starters - they've been acclimated to the pro game, they should have the playbook down and they really should be able to show us their talent." He implied that if you were stuck as a 3rd stringer - unless you showed incredible special team acumen a la Mark Pike - after that amount of time, you - and the team - might be better off parting ways. I tried to apply this reasoning to positions on our football team - and see how our first year players might impact the younger veterans on the roster. Roscoe Parrish: As a 2nd rounder and the highest draft pick, he's a shoo-in for the roster even if he decides to take the summer off and come in looking like Len Pasquarelli. The punt returner position is his to lose, despite our top-ranked special teams. It protects Clements from the risks of the job and allows Parrish a chance to grow into a slot WR role. Since he makes the roster, that leaves Reed, Aiken, Fast Freddie and any other rookies fighting for the remaining 2 or 3 slots. I was a huge Reed fan thru his LSU days but he hasn't shown me half the separation and hands he did in college, or even in pre-season. I think he may be done here. Kevin Everett: This selection seems close to a boom or bust type pick for the front office. Comments made by his coaches and pro scouts extol praises on his skills, but injuries and QB issues at the U seem to have hampered his growth. I think we see him as a special teamer and as a change-up TE - on the field maybe 20-30 percent of the time by the end of the season, especially as game situations require JP to throw. Assuming Campbell and Euhus recover fully, that leaves Trafford, Neufeld, Gomez and camp fodder fighting for a spot on the practice squad at best. Raymond Preston: Given he was drafted in front of higher ranked centers like Brown and Wilkerson, I have to think he did well enough in personal workouts to justify his on-field performance, giving up just 1 sack in 2 years and considered the best player on a bad team. I think "the Duke" has a 50-50 chance of winning the pivot position IF and only if Teague is moved out to LT. In nearly every scenario, I see Preston on the final roster barring serious injury. Tucker is a solid backup and Sobieski has yet to show the talent that had him as one of the top prep players. Smith, Gudmundsen, Gandy, Geisinger and Esposito are all also in the mix as backups to the interior OL positions. I'm guessing 3 of the above 5 are gone, with one one of those a candidate to the practice squad. Eric King: A solid performer in a tough conference, I think King has the smarts and toughness (likened to a poor man's Winfield) to overcome his size and compete with Greer and Thomas for the nickel role. King was a team leader and has good instincts - whether that compensates for his lack of size remains to be seen. The fact that Vincent has moved over to safety may allow all the above to stay on the roster. Justin Geisinger: A big tough working stiff, he'll compete with the Gandys and Smiths to get a backup role this year. His skills were adequate as a tackle in college but seem much more suited for guard in the pros. Being a later round selection, he also is more likely to be a Practice Squad candidate. Lionel Gates: At first I thought this was a throwaway pick but it makes sense if Henry does get traded in the pre-season. He's a big guy with enough quicks and good pass catching skills to spell Mcgahee from time to time. With Shaud Williams showing potential as an alterna-back to Willis' bruising style, I think Joe Burns, despite his ST contributions, may be the odd man out of this mix. Now we get to the UDFAs - I'm as excited about who we picked up in the days following the draft as those we got during the draft. Last year, 4 UDFAs made the team. Obviously, as the team improves, those numbers will be tough to duplicate. I'm going to list them in order of who I think has the best chance of sticking with the team. Jim Leonhard: Steve Tasker reborn as a safety - them's big shoes, but jeez, all you have to do is read comments about his play from his teammates, coaches and opponents to realize this kid's got all the intangibles along with great athletic skills. He's just too short too short too short! But Coy Wire shows us that athletic prowess without instincts are worthless in the NFL. This boy's got all the instincts, leading the country in interceptions over a 2 year peiod. At 5-8, he runs a 4.45, can dunk the basketball and was one of the top punt returners in the country. He's competing with Wire and Baker for the backup safety spots. Baker showed a world of potential last pre-season. I think Coy becomes the odd man out. Absolute worst case, Leonhard makes the PS but I don't think he stays there for long. Liam Ezekial: I was hoping we would draft him or the kid from UNLV in the middle rounds since our backup LBs have not done much more than play special teams. Ezekial's all passion, yet has the size and skills to stick in the NFL. The knocks on him are that he's not fast and hasn't played top competition. But he's fast enough, has a nose for the football and - based on reviews of his play - is a tougher, meaner version of John Holocek. I give him a 50-50 shot to make the roster since Crowell, Hagans and Stamer have not pushed our starters yet. That leaves him fighting Towns and Brantley for a PS position even if he doesn't make the team. I like his chances. George Gause: Projected to go as high as the 2nd round by some draft publications, Gause's inconsistencies overshadowed his obvious talents. At 6-5, 270, he has the size and strength to compete against Denney and Osunde for a backup role. He put up solid numbers in South Carolina. He's fast but not explosive. If Krumrie can light a fire under this kid - a big if - he may be the steal of this UDFA class. Jon Goldsberry: If this kid played defense, his nickname would have to be "Tackleberry". He was voted the top special teams "Demon" in the Big 10. Since we lost Luke Lawton, who i thought would challenge Shelton last year, I think this kid is a perfect backup who will upgrade our already great special teams. Fullback is such a throwaway position in the NFL that you wonder if the Bills even save him a spot on the PS. He has decent receiving skills so he may be worth stashing away even if his "special" skills don't get him a roster spot. Geir Gudmundsen: McNally took this kid out to dinner - and has been watching this kid's progress even at a small school like Albany. Obviously unpolished, his best shot comes on the PS but he'll have to fight Mcfarland and Pruce for that position. If McNally sees something in you, you have a fighting chance. There are other kids that obviously have a chance but 4 of the 5 UDFAs above have the intangibles to help the team now in some way as special teamers - and that's the quickest way to get a spot on the team. Just watch and see if these kids shine on the return and block teams in the preseason. A lot of the young vets who weren't on the bubble the last couple years need to step up or these kids jump right over them.

If I'm not mistaken - though I may very well be - the players' take of the league's monetary pie will grow by some 20+ percent based on new projected numbers (I've heard the jump will be up to around 110 mill). Does it make the likelihood of signing someone like Nate a better possibility next year - or if not - to franchise him since overblown cornerback numbers (higher even than QBs now) will be manageable for the foreseeable future? Or does it open a Pandora's box where GMs have an extra 25 mill to lavish on free agents? I've got to think that front offices are evaluating whether signing a burgeoning star to what seems like a ridiculous contract now might not be a bargain in 5 years. For example, that sick contract Peyton signed may actually be reasonable and allow the Colts a lot more options once the higher revenue TV contracts kick in.