Lt. Dan's Revenge

Exactly how I've been feeling lately, Baumer! I have a feeling this entire city is going to be feeling that way by September 8th, and that should make for quite the time in Orchard Park. The first pre-season game, hell the first scrimmage on Monday, can't come soon enough.

I sure do! Don't let my avatar fool ya!

Well said, Nanker. Elections most certainly do have consequences, and for the next 3+ years we are going to continue to see the consequences of the uneducated and misguided deciding Presidential elections. Lets just hope the GOP takes back the Senate in 2014 so we can be sure he doesn't do more damage than he already has. I think there's a chance of that happening. Arkansas just turned red with the announcement that Tom Cotton is seeking the Senate seat. He will not lose that election.

Me too. I think we learn a lot from it. Let's hope the encouraging steps continue! It is, and I for one am 100% on the side of the coaches. Some, not all, of the members of the local media are a complete joke and should be stripped of their credentials.

Although I agree that any complete overhaul of a coaching staff or front office naturally brings a culture change, I don't know that very many people would say that they felt it was an overwhelmingly positive one during the Jauron or Gailey eras when they were new guys in town. Marrone and his staff seem to go about their business in a very different way than anything we've grown accustomed to around these parts. It's quite refreshing.

Yes it is. Hearing him being compared to Randy Moss on the Pat Kirwan broadcast yesterday makes ya wonder....

The Congressman appreciates my fresh takes on all things sports and politics. Not to say that any of this is on government time . It's good to be back. I missed some of you.

Who would be vilifying you for that? Surely no reasonable person. You were clearly not going to get a response on the topic. As big a deal as MW is for the reasons you mentioned, it's not like we are talking about a potential season-ending injury that Marrone is avoiding answering questions about. So, sure, hit us with a Crezdon Butler update. At least it is guaranteed to get a much more eloquent response from the Coach, and therefore provide insight on something. More productive then turning the 3rd presser of training camp into a pissing contest that you can't win. I bet the producers and editors of every media outlet in the world would beg to differ.

To me, and I'm not trying to be critical, the bottom line with this story is that if the Coach had nothing to say about the Mario issue, move on to one of the 30 other story lines going on at camp. That would have been more constructive for everyone involved. It's really that simple. You knew you weren't getting anything out of Marrone on that particular topic, so reel the line back in and ask other legitimate questions that will be graced with an answer.

Not that I've been off the bandwagon, but this place isn't exactly a fun place to be during tough times. You don't need to read message board posts to realize that the team sucked, nor to prove your loyalty to said ****ty team. However when the franchise is exciting, it's nice to talk about them a little more.

It feels like years, close enough, a couple Labbats make it feel like it's been longer.

We're back, deal with it America! Let me start off with a quick explanation as to why Lt. Dan went dark for the past couple of years - Chan Gailey, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ralph Wilson being involved in personnel moves. Simple enough, but those three things left me without much of a heart to post on this site or any other about my beloved Bills. It was a sad thing to think about, so why write about it? Well, a lot has changed in the past year, and here are my observations - First and foremost, the culture has changed. If you don't see that, then you've been asleep at the wheel of this franchise for the past decade. Whaley, and Marrone in particular, have brought in a staff and attitude that is matches both the intensity of the game and the 21st century version of that game. The philosophies on both sides of the ball, and the way they are being taught, is a complete 180 on recent years. We finally seem to be committing to modern, complex schemes on both sides of the ball, and I can't wait to see the difference when it counts. From the banners hanging in the field house to the way Marrone, Hackett, Pettine and Co. seem to be out there teaching, the change is tangible already. Second would be EJ Manuel. If you cant get excited even simply listening to this young man speak, then I don't know what to tell ya. Let alone the fact that he's an incredible athlete who has the ability to make every throw and get himself out of trouble with his legs. He's the picture of the modern NFL quarterback. But the real point is that he seems like a bright, humble kid and a leader of men. And he's only been around these men for a couple of months. The youth as a whole on this team is very exciting. EJ, Woods, Alonso, Goodwin and Rogers all seem as though they at least have the potential to have a very bright future in this league. Not to mention Gilmore, who in my eyes is already a shutdown corner, and Cordy Glenn who did nothing but impress following his injury last year. And there's that CJ Spiller guy. The bottom line is that the young talent on this team, combined with the completely overhauled leadership in the coaching staff and front office, has definitely raised my spirits. Everyone's should be risen. This team is on the upswing, maybe fast, and it is looking like the next few years are going to be a fun, fun ride at the very least. We're back America, deal with it!

Moorman hasn't been very good since about 2006/2007. Anyone who is upset about this probably thought that Ruben Brown deserved to go to Honolulu 9 times.

You need to have a top-10 quarterback to be successful in this league. The days of guys like Trent Dilfer leading teams to championship are over. Fitzpatrick is nowhere near that. Here's a list of guys in the league that I would put ahead of him. Feel free to disagree: Brady Schaub Manning Rivers Palmer (Gulp) Flacco Roethlisberger Dalton Vick E. Manning Romo Freeman Brees Newton Ryan Bradford Rodgers Cutler Stafford That is 19 ladies and gentlemen. The only one that is even a question on that list is Carson Palmer, but I really believe that he is a bit better than Fitzpatrick. Whether it's Barkley, Luck somehow, Griffin III, or someone else, we need to draft a quarterback in the first round or this team is going to be stuck in futility for another 5 years.

Proud big brother of the quarterback here! Let me be the first to say, I have no idea where he got his wheels from and can't even pretend to take credit for it....

I haven't posted in quite some time due to an incredibly busy summer, but when I saw this I had no choice because each and every time I see Rachel Nichols pop up on the screen I want to punch her in the face. Not only would it improve her mug, you wouldn't have to hear her terrible monotone voice for a while. Down with Nichols!

I am so damn happy right now. That is all.

There are a lot of other options like the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament and the National Lacrosse League Playoffs if that's really what you'd prefer. I'll stick with baseball myself.

I am going to New York City in a couple of weeks and am just hearing about the Beatles tribute show on Broadway called Rain that is supposed to be incredible. My girlfriend and I are both Beatles fans and it seems like something that would be pretty cool to get seats for, I just don't know all that much about it. Anyone saw it and have any opinions on it? Any other broadway opinions (ie. Wicked) out there? Any help would be great, I know nothing about this theatre stuff.

I completely agree about the experience aspect, that is the one and only drawback to the Pack this weekend. However, as far as quality of opponents goes, I think that points Green Bay's way heavily. Including the playoffs, the Pack have played and beaten the Eagles twice on the road, the Bears twice (once on the road in the playoffs), the Giants, the Jets on the road, and the Falcons on the road in the playoffs. That's a pretty impressive list, especially the road playoff victories. IMO, the only quality teams that the Steelers have beat this season are the Jets once at home, the Falcons in week 1, @ the Bucs in week 3 before Tampa became a good football team, and finally a vastly overrated Ravens team twice. And they had no business winning the one regular season game that they did against them. I really think that the Packers are truly much more battle-tested than the Steelers THIS SEASON coming into the Super Bowl.

Wow. Like I said, I haven't been following NCAA action as closely this year than in years past, but its tough to imagine a 21 point spread in an ACC game like that unless its a Duke home game. Pretty crazy stuff. By the way, its beginning to look like the Cavs are the NBA version of your take on Butler. Can't give them enough points...

Yeah the Clips came up big in the 4th a couple nights ago for us. I thought Maggette was going to single-handidly cost the cover but that was a NICE run to end the game. And don't listen to this Wooderson guy, he knows who's making the money betting in this group of friends haha....If you have any college insight I'll always take a free winner in return...

Good luck to both of us then

I did a pretty good deal of college ball betting in the past, but the past two years I have been much more focused on the NBA. I have a lot easier time capping the NBA the past couple of seasons, rather than college ball, so I wouldn't want to give bad NCAA advice. For the NBA I'm on the Clippers laying the 4 tonight at home against the Bucks. The Clips haven't lost a home game in a month, and the Bucks aren't a great road team and are playing their 3rd game in 4 nights with the off day traveling from Milwaukee to LA. The Bucks also needed OT to beat the Raptors (Who are a disaster right now) in Toronto two games ago, and Brandon Jennings is still not healthy.

The only thing that worries me is the fact that the Steelers and most importantly Roethlisberger have been there twice before. That being said, I think the Packers have responded to every challenge that has been thrown their way this year, overcoming A TON of key injuries all season and beating a ton of very good teams along the way. 3 road playoff games in very difficult places to play against quality teams shows that Rodgers is just fine with playing in big games in tough atmospheres. Obviously there is no home field advantage for them to deal with this time around, and I think the fast track of Texas Stadium plays into Green Bays hands big time. I think they will spread them out all game long and kill the Steelers secondary. It just feels like it is Rodgers time right now. By the way, the line has moved to 3 in a number of places, and I think that will continue, so get it at 2.5 if you still can. I already have done so.