WhitewalkerInPhilly

Plead guilty without allocution and without admission of guilt, so Goodell has little to hang on him. Probation and a fine.

The cops pressed charges because two of their boys in blue got the worse end of it. From a political standpoint, there's no way they just let it go. The union would be calling for the chief's head and the mayor got to score some of the easiest political points of his career. Then then get to hand it off the the DA, say "good luck" and know that whatever outcome they get the glory if it suceeds and someone to blame if it doesn't. The DA, on the other hand, is not quite so lucky. And if after two weeks, no reliable witnesses are willing to come forward they'll either drop it or offer a shockingly reasonable plea.

Personally I doubt it, because if that happened, the off duty cops would not even get close to trying to press charges. At four bottles of champagne, with the way I hear the club prices it, that pushes it into Grand Larceny territory.Maybe they could file a charge, but it would screw them over harder.

Really apples and oranges. No one outside the team and fans give two sh*ts about a player being irresponsible in travel arrangements on coming back from his days off. Anything McCoy says to the public right now is evidence that could be used against him in a court of law.

And Shady's decision to change lawyers makes a ton of sense now.

Not a shock. It was brutal to watch Manning in the playoffs, and with the HGH and sexual harassment accusations looming this is the jumping off point.

I'll put it this way: 3-4 million is less than what Sammy cost his first year. Also, the way that veteran contracts are done typically have steadily increasing value. For example, Lawson's contract was $4M/year, but his cap hit season 1 waa $2.4. Also, Carpenter (master of missed PAT) and Urbik, our backup RG, each are coming in with cap savings of $1.75M. Considering all of the other holes (LB, RT, WR, S maybe) if we can plug in a decent vet to solidify the Dline, I'm for it. We can fill in backup G and K with third day picks or waver wire pickups.

There is not enough plusses I can put on this. That's exactly how I see this playing out. I don't care what they arraign him on, I highly doubt that there are zero irregularities in the official statement. A good lawyer should be able to cream the aggravated assault and assaulting a police officer charges. I've read up on the aggravated assault statute for PA, and the cop provision only applies if the officer is operating in a professional capacity. Unless someone puts a bottle in Shady's hand, there is no "deadly weapon". Shady might beat the whole thing, but that means smearing cops and missing all of 2016. And then he has to deal with a suspension from the league. His contract is worth more in 2017 so missing time this year cost less than next. Simple Assault in PA is a 2nd degree misdemeanor. For a first time offender I can see a fine, probation and/or suspended sentence for a fraction of the legal fees of a full trial. He'd get a suspension and come in with fresh legs.

That's why I said it would be drastic. I personally would prefer to just take the hit and carry as much cap space as possible, but if we need a few extra mill to get Incognito and Glenn back I have no issue with a partial conversion.

Basically, cutting Urbik and redoing Gilmore's contract to Bryan Maxwell money (who was absolutely overpaid), gets us under the cap. And that's even before we get into anything drastic like cutting Mario or converting some of Clay's roster bonus to a signing bonus.

Well, the off duty officers claim that they were working off four bottles of champagne. At 2:45, when last call is around 2. So yeah, solid bet.

Believe me, some Philly fans see it that way too. But seriously, if you believe that at 2:45 am, in a club, with three people on 4 bottles of champagne were absolutely minding their own business when a guy came up, robbed them of a champagne bottle, at which time they calmly and measuredly asked for its return and in no way making the other party believe violence was imminent, and then we're suddenly beset upon... Well, I'm here to offer you a real estate chance of a lifetime. A Nigerian prince has just willed me the Walt Whitman bridge, but due to tax reasons I am unable to keep ownership. I would happily sell it under the table for a discreet cash payment.

LB, DL and WR so far. Assuming that we keep Glenn and Incognito, I can see giving the O line one more year to gel, and even if we lose Shady for some games Karlos and Gillisfree should be able to hold down the fort until he gets back. But Bradham didn't look that good and we can't and should not outbid for him. Brown struggled last year too, so LB is likely at least one aquisition, if not two. I don't see the team keeping Mario after the comments he's made and how cap strapped they are. Even if they are moving Hughes to the 9 tech DE/JLB/LEO, they either need a true nose tackle, or a 2 gap 3-4 DE immediately, and likely KW's replacement within a year or two. WR, because Sammy really needs someone across the sideline to prevent those double teams and unless they bring Harvin back dirt cheap Woods is not cutting it.

Dang, I'll have to listen when I get home from work. Any highlights on how they plan to develop Tyrod?

I loved the game. I like defensive grinders. To me, the idea that a game can't be exciting unless two team put up 60+ points is at least partially responsible for the general decrease in overall quality play. I kept hearing about how mediocre 75% of the league looks. This is what we reap. It's cause and effect. Fans say they want more points, so the league adds protections to QBS and WRs and agressively calls DPI and roughing the passer. Points go up, and people have to win shoot outs. QB play is the biggest factor in shoot outs. As a result teams scramble to get the best QB possible and neglect other positions. Players are massively overdrafted in the hopes they'll be the franchise savior. Average QB'S get massive amounts of money thrown at them. That is how Ryan Tannehill gets $19.25 million a year. That is how Ryan Fitzpatrick and Sam Bradford become the hottest names in free agency.

Well, I think Brooks is up for free agency, and this helps solidify our CB depth and give us a PR other than McKelvin. Anybody but McKelvin.

@ScottLaw: Whaley said AW would have been ready for the playoffs, had we made them. Now, toss on another 6 months of physical therapy before training camp and there's good odds he's fine. That said, there are no guarantees. Kiko tore an ACL working out on his own and was a shell of himself this year. But how do you plan for which players magically pop a season ending injury? Yeah, the 4-3 under front is what Rex built in Baltimore. Hughes can play the 9 technique, which he's best at. Kyle can 3 tech. Dareus can play 1 tech, and play 1 or 2 gap as the situation calls. A solid 5 tech DE can come off someone like Carrington, or as a mid round pickup. I'm more worried about the LBs.

First, I'm thrilled to hear that Aaron Williams is coming back. That is a lot off my mind. I keep hearing the Dareus as a NT is a waste, but isn't that what Pettine had him doing well in 2013? I was under the impression that he was an offset one gapping NT. That said, if Rex wants to go more traditional 3-4 and put Dareus at the 5 technique I could see that. Kyle is perfect at 3 technique, I can see Hughes at Jack LB/LEO. But they really would need to draft a new ILB. With the money it's going to take to keep Glenn and Incognito I don't see them winning a budding war for Bradham. I can easily see them going 1-2 with a DT and ILB.

Honestly? I don't think we'd get him. I am sure someone desperate enough will try him as a starter. Toss in our salary cap, and we can't overpay for him. But if you are looking for a backup for Tyrod, someone who Roman can use for when Taylor misses a gane to injury... We've seen EJ cannot hack it. RGIII is not a starter right now, but I have more faith in him to pull something out than EJ or any street free agent QB we would pick up.

Honestly, after the Chip Kelly experiment, Coughlin would a good way to get things back on track.

If Jay Cutler and Alex Smith qualify as "franchise quarterbacks" Tyrod, in his first season as a starter, has numbers eerily close to both of them. Remember last offseason when a lot of pundits wanted the Bills to trade for Cutler or Bradford and take on their contracts?

That's the case for me. There aren't any college guys with a lot of buzz who look open to moving to the Pros. There don't seem to be a number of former head coaches who thrived in a different situation as a coordinator. The hottest coordinator on the market right now is Adam Gase, and his claim to fame right now is that he motivated Jay Cutler...to numbers that are worse than Tyrod's. I keep hearing how weak the coaching carousel is this year, so if the Titans aren't sold on anyone, why try to force someone in when they can tank again and take another shot next year? To me, this is the death knell of Chip Kelly in the pros. If he can't get back in after one 7-9 season, preceded by two 10-6 seasons, where the starting QB is the guy he tried to move heaven and earth to draft, I think that says a lot as to how he is perceived.

I'm a little shocked he hasn't been getting any calls for HC. He took a team that was bottom of the barrel on offense with no confirmed starter at QB and no 1st round draft pick to get one, eventually installed a 6th round pick who had never started an NFL game, and got to 1st in rushing and actually slightly above average offense. Which was what he hoped for, and could have been a playoff team if we just had the defense show up.

Boykin looks like, at the very least, a Chris Hogan kind of receiver. If he has the chemistry with Tyrod that made him Tyrod's most productive receiver he ought to be at the very least a safety valve so Tyrod doesnt keep slinging it to Sammy in double coverage.

A question for you Astro: Are the DE's Bills scouts are looking at more the classic 5 technique DE for a more traditional 3-4 (maybe moving Hughes to 9 tech DE or Leo/JLB) or someone to replace Mario as a 7 technique and get a Suggs like player?