Shanahan's Horseshoe

Where did ya play?

The whole Donte thing is so obvious. The Bills thought they were getting a more physical safety and that is not the case. He can't play in the box because he is constantly washed out of the LOS and as a blitzer, he is a "crumbler". The one thing that bothers me more than anything though is that he doesn't play half as fast as his 40. He was a 4.4 guy, )this should go to show you what that really means) but he has been beatin more than a few times in a foot race. This gets me back to my point, the Bills know that Donte is limited so they are going to get him away from the LOS and let him play center. My only problem with that is he has shown ZERO ball skills. Regardless of pass rush, instincts and anticipation in the 3 step passing game should get your hand on the ball but in DW's case, it hasn't. I think DW is a decent player who should own his own PR company when he is done. He is great with the fans and his teammates and that has bought him a lot of patience. However, responding to his detractors on his Facebook page is bad form. But if Donte stopped talking sh*t he would be the most obscure player on the field.

The comparisons betwen Sapp and Raji stop at the weed. Sapp was a great college player. He was AA/All Big East multiple times and won every college award a DL can get including Big East D player of the year. Raji put together a nice senior year but he wasn't even the best player on his defense. He is not Sapp, they are two completely different players.

Who cares about Cutlers disposition. Did any of his teammates come out and bash during this process? How about former college teammates or coaches? No, so the fact that Mark Schlereth says that he is a baby means nothing at all to me (I'm sure that douche isn't biased at all, the fact that he is even allowed to comment just goes to show you how much of a joke ESPN actually is). It is well known that Troy Aikman was not liked by his teammates but he won the Super Bowl a couple of times. When comparing Trent to Cutler, you have to first ask, "What has Trent done?" The answer is not much. You can say that he flashed potential or that he throws an accurate and catchable ball. But you can also say that he is injury prone, has melted down and that he doesn't play well in the cold. Now ask, "What has Cutler done? 45 TD's, 32 int's, 8000+ yds. and 63% com. in his first two years of starting. You'd be hard-pressed to find to many QB's who have done that in the history of the NFL. He also has started 30+ straight games. I like Trent and I think he COULD turn out to be good. But this isn't even an argument. Cutler is WAY BETTER and even if Trent turns out alright, he won't even come close to Cutler's league.

Leif Larson anyone? When you get to the this level, strength is hardly a concern because evey player has been in a D1 lifting program for 5 years and if ya ain't strong by then, you won't be playing very much. Functional strength is what counts. The days of throwin 4 plates on each side of the bar are over and functional strength is whats most important. The Kicker from USC outbenched more than half of the lineman in this draft so what does that say? I like Raji, but he can't line up on the edge and that is what we need.

The biggest hole on the Bills is the pass rush. Sure Raji will help colapse the pocket but that is only effective when you have some speed off of the edge. We MUST get a pass rush from the outside in order to make this defense work. You can't hang Mitchell and Poz in the 1 and 2 gaps to create pressure every play. I like Raji but he is no Warren Spap and DT's, are very slow to adapt to the NFL because the lineman are so much biger/stronger/faster. I can't think of the last rookie DT to make an impact. Rookie edge rushers routinely get 10 sacks and that is what we need from that 11th pick.

I guess Vilma's cousin kept it real.

I thought putting Smith in the same category as those guys was completely unfair. These guys have all been charged serious crimes and covicted of crimes. They are lucky they have great lawyers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odell_Thurman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._Nicholson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Henry_(wide_receiver) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frostee_Rucker

He was suspended for contact with an agent. It is no excuse but players get suspended all of the time for bowl games. 23 players were suspened from FSU for this years bowl game. I think that you would agree that talking to an agent hardly puts him in the category with the calendar of criminals from the Bengals.

I agree. But, he had to be somewhat motivated to be 3 time AA/SEC and an Outland trophy winner before his 22nd birthday. He played in the SEC, where he faces guys like Dunlap, Jackson, Hardy, Sapp and Bowers(Clemson) and still dominated. He may not be an Adonis but what lineman are? Lets get Peters and Walkers shirts off and let them run a 40. I say, if he is there, you take a chance on a guy with a 3 year track record of dominance.

You are seriously going to put Andre Smith in the same class with those losers? Lets see which one of these don't belong: Thurman- Drugs, alcohol, assault, multiple suspensions. Henry-Drugs, alcohol, assault, multiple suspensions. Nicholson-grand theft, dwi, drugs, weapons. Rucker-sexual assault, spousal abuse. Brooks-punching a woman is the face. Andre Smith- unprepared for the combine, boobies To compare Smith to these guys is absurd. The guys that you mentioned all got into serious trouble early on in college and none of them came close to putting together a college career even close to Smith's.

I'm glad that you formed such a strong opinion from "glimpses". Lets see, Bama was on TV about 8 times this year and you caught glimpses? The TBD "scout" posts are so tires at this point. You said, "I know, watch the film." So should the film be discounted because you caught a glimpse of his "bad feet"? The guy is the most accomplished lineman to come out in years and even after a couple of bad decisions (not drugs, assault or DWI) , he will be picked in the top 10. Somehow scouts will overlook this but Beerball from TBD says he has cement shoes. New Rule! You cannot start a post about a prospect unless you've actually watched him play a full game.

Barbarism that has been passed down throughout generations is no excuse for what vick did. Otherwise, OJ would have pleaded barbarism.

Great call! To TO, Buffalo is like that chick that you are having "romantic relations" with but you don't want your buddies to see her.

No one in the NFL is using the electric chair or Tazors in their spare time so what does this have to do with this argument. Try to stay on topic! This is about what MIKE VICK DID. Not what happened at Guantonamo. Or what the Romans did. Or what Leonard Little did. They are all obviosly horrible but they hold zero relevance here. By bringing them up you are simply justifying what that loser did by saying, "Look at what this person did." That is not a defense. Next time you go into court for a traffic ticket, tell the judge that you didn't speed as bad as the guy in front of you or say, "At least I wasn't drinking and driving!" There is no smart guy or a holier than thou attitude on my part. It is very clear that what he did was horrific. My stance on that loser is this, I don't believe in forgiveness for those who only seek forgiveness once they are caught. He doesn't deserve a second chance. He was not forced to commit these crimes out of poverty or desperation. He would not have stopped these crimes. He inflicted irreversible damage upon the dogs. He funded an operation that was created simply for the torture of animals. I would expect a suspension coming up by Goodell and hopefully by the time he serves that he will probably get himself into more trouble. His rapsheet is very long and I don't think he will ever learn.

No, your argument was funny. Comparing gladiators to dogfighting is silly. It is 2009, UFC is regulated, there are rules. Fighters are not left untreated after a fight. We dont raise babies to be human punching bags. Mercy rules apply. No one is electrocuted. There is no torture if you don't win. No rape stands. Dude! I seriously might be having a conversation with a slow adult or a child. I apologize for that.

So next time you have something to say, know the facts. You spoke about something that you THOUGHT you knew about. Good point, I get it now. At least you admit your ignorance. Agree to disagree at this point, but if you get some spare time in the next couple of days, go watch a dog fighting documentary or a YouTube clip on this "sport". Go read, not just about vick, but what people who partake in this subhuman activity do to these dogs. Then tell me, does mike vick deserve to score another TD in the NFL? Does he deserve a second chance when he's had about a hundred already? He will never learn and that is why he failed a drug test in the midst of this situation. Heres to hoping he fails in spectacular fashion.

Here is the deal. The argument is not hunting versus dog fighting. Because most hunters, do it nobly. They respect the animals an if they are wounded they do the humane thing and end their life quickly and in a humane manor. Hunters use it for food as well. You may not think so but my Uncle and his friends live in the Southern Tier and Venison is a major part of their diets. I think sport hunters and hunters who do not follow the codes are losers too. Shooting animals from a helicoptor or trips over to Africa makes no sense and YES it is bad, but I doubt they are intentionally torturing animals. That being said, comparing hunting to dog fighting makes me think that you know nothing about either. Go watch a video on dog fighting and see the torture that these losers put the dogs through. How about raising a dog just so you have a practice dog for your "prize" fighters. They keep them alive until until they can't spar anymore and then, well I'm guessing Mike Vick dunks their head in a 5 gallon bucket until there is no struggle. These dogs are torn apart with open wounds and left untreated and riddled with infection until their next fight. So again, save the whole look what other people are doing because we are talking about vick. And the Gladiators thing is just funny because if you noticed we have lightbulbs and we are not driving around in chariots...in other words, things evolve. Please, go online and look at videos of what he did. Try to watch this torture for more than a minute because I bet you can't.

I love excuses. The whole everyone else does it defense are the words of a dummy. Again, your arguments are flawed. The goverment does things to people who they suspect are trying to kill people. Comparing SUSPECTED terrorists to defenseless dogs again proves you are an idiot. You chose to read only a few short sentences in the article and then spoke as if you were fully informed. You are actually illinformed, which makes you ignorant. If you want to call being passionate about a subject like this "misplaced anger" then life has passed you by when you were on 7th hour of PS3. If you think he has paid his debt to society then that is your opinion, good luck with your logic.

I don't believe in forgiveness for those who only seek forgiveness once they are caught. Remember when this whole thing was going down he was being interviewed while he was walking and he said that "My fans are always going to love Mike Vick."? That was before he was caught and it hardly souned contrite to me. Trivializing what he did to over 60 dogs is on you. He didn't even have the compassion to put the dogs down in a humane manor. You don't value life when you put heads in 5 gallon buckets or hang something with nylon chords in order to kill it. Dogfighting is subhuman to begin with but he decided that he wanted to kick it up a notch!

Still waiting Leonidis.Mcelvin....

I don't know if he is elite. Elite to me is Brady, Peppers, Manning, Peterson, Fitzgerald and Peters doesn't belong in that category. He is very good but he wants to be paid like an elite player. This discussion is completely moot at this point anyway because: 1- THE BILLS WILL NOT PAY HIM WHAT HE WANTS 2- THEREFORE HE WILL NOT BE A BILL IN '09 DISCUSSION IS OVER. NOW LETS GO GET CUTLER!!!!!

Obviously you were very selective on keeping yourself up on the vick tortures. Why don't you try reading the very next paragraph, "However, the report says Vick took back that statement when he failed a polygraph test. "Vick failed the examination as it related to the killing of the dogs in April 2007. Ultimately, Vick recanted his previous statement wherein he said he was not actually involved in the killing of six to eight dogs. ... Vick admitted taking part in the actual hanging of the dogs." Hmmm...so he hung 6-8 dogs with nylon chord but he only assisted in the drowning and electrocution. Did he hold down the females when they were on the "rapestands"? Did he help raise the puppies that were used as "beater" dogs so his prize fighters could repeatedly rip them apart? Dude, you can come on this board with opinions and I can't tell you that you're wrong. But facts are facts and you got yours all screwed up. Why don't you try watching what these sub-humans do to these dogs and ask yourself, DO I WANT TO WATCH THIS GUY SCORE A TD EVER AGAIN? I'm not a PETA fan nor am I an animal rights activists, but I can't believe anyone would be able to root for this loser ever again! If he gets another chance and scores a TD, they should play the highlights of him drowning a dog in a 5 gallon bucket or hanging dogs with FRIGGEN NYLON CHORD!

There is no need to throw him under the bus. Just watch the Jets, Pats, Browns games, he was basically playing underneath buses in those games.

You sound incredibly dumb. "Mofo", "Wit", "He want to"..you sound like someone who's opinion I want to take seriously. Comparing hunting to dogfighting is the pinnacle ignorance. Good luck "wit dat" gangsta!