Dibs

It makes sense to me that any truly aggressive home invader.....either with gun or without.......would usually(often?) illicit 'shots being fired' from the home owner if face to face confrontation occurred. I would want to see statistics of numbers who ran off after actually seeing the home owners gun.....against those that were threatened with the warning of "I've got a gun." A large number of home invasions are simple burglaries by smack heads or youngsters who just want to grab some stuff to sell. Any confrontation usually sees them run off.....whether there is a gun or isn't. Impossible to say but you'd want to account for the MILLIONS of occasions where the bad guy simply ran off when confronted period. Most(all?) other modern countries have a lower rate of burglaries committed......and they aren't chasing away their burglars with guns. In order for the theory to be backed that 'having a gun will help reduce the number of successful burglaries', one would have to look at the "attempted burglaries" and compare that to the "successful burglaries" in many modern countries....and then compare it to the gun statistics. I'm just guessing here but I'd say that there would be no perceivable difference between those countries with very few guns.....and those with many guns.

Last year we saw a new OC & new OL coach. This would have meant that there would have been entirely new systems, plays, play calls etc, etc, etc to learn. As everyone keeps pointing out, JP is not the sharpest tool in the shed. This means he might physically have been able to jump directly back in at a top level......but mentally.....having missed all of pre-season....it would have been an entirely different story. The hold out ended up being nothing like an injury in this instance. I'd imagine that if he does hold out to a similar point this year as he did last year he will come into the games far better prepared as he already has experience with the offense from last seasons play.

I am fairly certain(though I can't back it up) that statistically there is more chance that a loved one or innocent gets hurt or killed by a gun used for home protection than there is for a home invader. There are numerous stories of the teenage child who sneaks in through the window after being out when they shouldn't.....and is shot by protective Dad. Countless stories of young child(teen) who decides to play with the exciting gun. And on the flip side.....many stories where things would most likely be relatively 'safe' which have escalated due to the presence of a firearm.....or where said firearm is kept nice and safe and isn't able to be accessed quickly enough when the occasion is called for.

I don't understand what I've done. Was The Big Cat just trying to toy with my emotions.....simply to crush them in the end. Oh those fickle cats.

I'm flattered and all......but I don't swing that way.

I'd have certainly put Bennie & Brian Blades on that list ahead of some of the others. Both made a probowl & had long productive careers.

And if Stafford does happen to drop to the #10 spot......Niners take him in a heartbeat.

That not only will the lunatics dominate TSW.....but that I might start agreeing with them.

Let's see.....big busts(IMO).....#1 to #7 pick.....up to 2005. #1s DT Steve Emtman RB Ki-Jana Carter QB Tim Couch DE Courtney Brown QB David Carr QB Alex Smith #2s OT Tony Mandarich RB Blair Thomas QB Rick Mirer QB Ryan Leaf WR Charles Rogers #3s DB Bruce Pickens QB Heath Shuler DE Andre Wadsworth QB Akili Smith QB Joey Harrington #4s WR Desmond Howard WR Michael Westbrook WR Peter Warrick OT Mike Williams RB Cedric Benson #5s LB Trev Alberts DE Cedric Jones DB Bryant Westbrook RB Curtis Enis RB Cadillac Williams #6s QB David Klingler DE Eric Curry RB Lawrence Phillips DT Ryan Sims DT Johnathan Sullivan DB Pacman Jones #7s RB Tim Worley QB Andre Ware OT Charles McRae QB Byron Leftwich WR Troy Williamson

You are dead right. I'm a nerd & I don't get sarcasm at all. Come to think of it.....I don't see where the sarcasm is in your initial post. Why pay the worst LT in the league? I say screw him... keep him on the team for the next 2-3 years as a backup. He can't do a thing about it I guess us nerds don't get sarcasm.

I'm still baffled that NFL teams in general don't seem to consider 'bust' rate when they determine their draft boards. Interior OLmen selected in the 1st round have virtually had a zero bust rate over the last 18+ years(from memory). In my mind this says that talent evaluation for interior OLmen is much better than other positions.....therefore teams should be placing a much higher value on interior OLmen in the draft(i.e. they should be selected higher than what they traditionally have been). I'd rather 'reach' for a player who has a massively high chance of becoming minimally a solid NFL starter than select 'the best talent available' who has a 50% chance of totally busting out.

Yeah......but not as old as Galloway......and Galloway is a speed guy(which is hard to maintain through age). Seau was 35......and only started 2 games for them last year (37 years) Harrison was 30 Moss was 30 Who else was there?..... Vrabel & Colvin were young. Sammy Morris 29 Antowain Smith 29 I'm sure there are others.....of which I'd be certain that they were nowhere near 38.

Hmmmm....I'd say it was due to Irvin that Harper ended up looking good. But that's irrelevant. Harper was aged 24-26 in the three years he was productive in Dallas. Galloway will turn 38!!!!.....and is recovering from hamstring injuries. It's certainly possible that he may be productive......but I wouldn't be expecting it myself.

According to the contracts.....LINK TO=6.5 Hangartner=1.9 Fitz=1.8 Florence=(6.6 over 2 years), say 3.3 Thomas=bugger all.....1.5 tops After the Dockery cutting(which saved $400K in cap) we had over $25mil. Doing the math.....those signings would be around $15mil This does indeed leave us with $10mil under the cap. It's looking doubtful that we will be getting more than one more mid level FA in unless certain contracts are re-structured. BTW.....according to Clumpy's page.....cutting Kelsay would only gain us $3.6mil. Uggg......and all this without paying $$$$ to the QB position.

Actually Harper was only really a starter for 6 seasons.....but His 4 with the Cowboys were progressively productive.....ending with a 33-821-8 season. Then over to the Bucs he didn't fair so well(surprisingly enough).....with a 46-633-2 season followed by a 19-289-1 season. After that he only caught 2 balls. Harper really isn't a good comparison. IMO, Galloway is most likely going to be useless. He is turning 38 this year. Last season in 9 games(4 starts) he managed 13-138-0......injured on & off all season. I really can't see him contributing much to the Pats offense.

The worst! He's being over-paid as it is then. The Worst!?! We'd be better off just cutting him I guess.

That's the same thing you said about that chick you picked up at a bar who had big hands and an adam's apple.

I enjoy your posts D&C and appreciate how much thought you put into them.....and usually agree with you on what you have to say. But in regards to this situation I tend to largely disagree..... I agree that the end result looks pretty good for Peters. He most likely will become one of, if not the highest paid OLman in the league. To give props to his agent however, implies that the direction he took was the wisest course of action(or at least wasn't a bad choice). When playing poker, if somebody assumes you are bluffing & therefore calls you.....and then gets lucky on the river.....you don't give them props for their play. This to me is a similar situation. Peters was lucky to make his second pro bowl. He didn't have anywhere near as good a year as 2007 & even though he finished the year closer to that form his overall performance for the year would never have netted him a probowl nod throughout the previous decade. Without that second probowl appearance his 'worth' and 'bargaining power' would have been significantly reduced. The other more important aspect is 'the hold out'. As you mentioned.....he stuck to his guns and held out. What was the purpose of doing that? He was looking to get himself a massive new extension last season. The hold out was to try and force the Bills into action. This didn't work. Interestingly, had the holdout worked he would have been looking at an overall money level quite a bit less than what he is looking at now(was probably asking for around $9-$10mil/year). What would likely have happened if he didn't hold out? He could have made it clear that they expect a new deal in 2009(which I'm certain the Bills were already on board with). Assuming it was his holdout that caused his regression in 2008......he would have played at true all-pro level. This would have not only increased his bargaining power but most likely would have set him up for even more money than he is looking for now.....and I'm sure the negotiations would be quicker and smoother as the Bills would have gotten 2 full seasons to become 'sure' with their purchase. Basically the plan of his agent was to 'get more money now'......which didn't work.....and hindered the chance of even greater money in the following year. He is in a good position now despite the holdout.....not because of it.

The best poker song of all time.....I know it word for word & play it at every Poker Tournament I run(20/week).

Thanks for that sirebors, much appreciated. It's refreshing to see a new poster who actually thinks not only about the relevance of his new thread but provides interesting info & links......hell....it's refreshing to see a new poster here who can think period. Welcome aboard.

Geez....you're not wrong there.

Thanks for that Steely. I don't know if you are aware but I really like Texas Hold'em Poker. My #3 rule in poker is "You can't bluff a donkey." Unfortunately I occasionally break that rule.....which leads to frustrating results. Funnily enough my #3 rule in life is "You can't argue with a moron." Unfortunately I occasionally break that rule as well.....which leads to frustrating results.

What a good idea.....I think that would have gone a very long way. Imagine......"Sorry Jason, you have 3 years left on your current contract so we are not going to re-work it till next season.....but come mid year we will give you a $1mil bonus as we appreciate all you are doing...." Me thinks things might have panned out a bit differently had that happened.

Very true......but apart from the CB position, is there any positions on the Bills that we could afford to lose even a decent starter? Hehe....and now that Greer is gone the CB position isn't rich enough to let a starter go.

At the time, there were plenty Bills fans excited over his improvement. Not many are saying that the QB play has been good enough from TE......in fact similar things are being said about him as were said about JPL at a similar stage of his career.....and that is he needs time to develop before we know if he will/won't become a good QB. I'm personally not sold on Cutler.....and wonder why, if he is soooo good, that the Broncos were even considering getting rid of him. To spend draft picks & commit to Cutler via a massive contract is not what I want to see the Bills do. Knowing the Bills luck, if we made a trade, Cutler would end up looking like JPL & TE would improve over in Denver and end up looking like a Manning.