thebandit27

I agree to an extent--it's a "beauty in the eye of the beholder" situation. I do think, however, that NJ got the better of the deal, vis-a-vis Hall will make them better to a higher degree than Larsson will make Edmonton better.

You may want to accept that a new stadium means the end of tailgating as we know it...the new breed of tailgating would be at local establishments. I realize that will upset many fans, but that's just the way it is with new stadia. As to the NFTA, well, when our firm designed an $18M building that ran across NFTA property, it was merely an issue of money. Sure, it's a very large scale design that will involve years of work, but I can assure you that it can be done. I would imagine that AECOM could pump out a construction-level design in under 30 months; the big issues will be site/civil, geotechnical, permitting, and landscape architecture (including stormwater management). Some of that stuff can be handled concurrent to the stadium design, but some will require another 6-12 months of coordination after the actual design is in place. It's probably a 24-month construction at minimum, so for a stadium to open in 2022, it would need to be under preliminary design by next summer. Regarding Kirby, my friendly advice is to listen to what he has to say on this topic. As far as I know, he's the only one on this board that has dealt with this exact issue from the business side. You don't need to agree with him, but the man knows what he's talking about.

Good stuff Rob. I made the Shaq-Suggs comparison myself during the draft leadup, but I feel that Suggs' first step is a bit quicker. I do think, however, that Shaq might be a bit more fluid as an athlete. I'm excited to see what he brings to the table when he finally gets on the field.

Agreed guys. I remember a time where I definitely didn't deserve a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th chance as the case was); my family (and friends) graced me with it anyway, and my life has never been the same.

I never said he's off to a good start. I've said repeatedly that he needs to do a better job this year with the defense. As to Marrone, of course that Cowboys game was silliness; my point is that we're not talking about a major regression from the team that couldn't beat the 2-12 (at the time) Raiders when their playoff lives were on the line, but then magically beat a half-strength NE team on the road the following week. Aside from finishing in the top 8 in yards/game in 5 out of 6 seasons? Let's see, the team finished 20th, 20th, 19th, and 24th in PPG allowed in Rex's final 4 seasons. Question: would that possibly have anything to do with an offense that never finished higher than 25th in YPG for 3 consecutive seasons, and then made a jump up to 22nd in his final year there? Come on WEO, you know there's more to points allowed than simple numbers. For example, did you know that in 2011-2014, the Jets finished 5th, 7th, 9th, and 13th in yards/play allowed? Yards/play differential is a key measuring stick in determining if a team's points allowed are a symptom of a bad defense, or a defense that was left in lousy positions by their offense, and in that same time frame, the Jets' offense ranked 28th, 31st, 27th, and 30th in yards/play gained. That's a pretty fair indicator that they weren't exactly getting abused out there. Remember, I'm not a huge Rex guy here; I'm merely putting things in context.

I'm not sure you read what I wrote. Every coach inherits someone else's players; this isn't up for debate. He did an excellent job of improving the defensive performance of the unit he inherited with the Jets; again, not up for debate. I happen to know quite well who he had versus who he brought in--they acquired their 2nd leading tackler, a starting corner, their starting SS, and their starting RDE that offseason. I'd say a turnover of nearly 40% of a unit's starters makes a significant difference. As to whether or not those guys were key performers, is there any doubt that having guys like Bart Scott, Jim Leonhard, and Marques Douglas--who knew Rex's system better than any of the incumbents, was a major factor in the unit's performance? Compare that to year 1 with Buffalo, when Rex had all of zero guys that had any starting experience in his system. So despite your arguing to the contrary, yes, who Rex brings in makes a big difference, considering that he now has a far greater number of players with experience in his system than he did in year 1. The idea that we shouldn't expect it when 9 of 11 starters are guys with experience in this very system (compared to zero last year) is the one that doesn't makes sense IMO.

Updated

Maybe, but to my recollection he hadn't shown much even in camp. Shame too--I met him and he was a good kid.

I thought Kevin Everett was going to be a beast at TE

Um, every coach inherits someone else's team. Ryan took Mangini's team that hadn't finished in the top half of the league in total defense and immediately produced the league's #1 defense. He did that with a rookie QB and 4 new starters on defense, so it's a bit of a stretch to say he took someone else's leftovers and got out of their way. Look, I'm not a Rex guy, but some folks are trying way too hard to criticize him. It's quite simple: his approach to the defense for 2015 was an abject failure, and he needs to get it corrected if this team hopes to make the playoffs.

Corbin Bryant and Manny Lawson. Bryant is a solid run defender that plays a lot of snaps. Lawson is underrated both against the run and in coverage.

Buffalo Bill - Billy Shaw NFL - Anthony Munoz

I have no idea what Sabres' fans you've been exposed to; the mantra for the last 3 years has been "tank tank tank". 2015 was a year to show some improvement and let the young core gel--I don't know anyone that had delusions of grandeur regarding the playoffs. As to Marrone and records, think about this for a second (and I'll leave it at that, because I don't want to browbeat you with my opinion): the difference between his record and Rex's is a win against a NE team that held out 4 offensive starters, removed 3 more in the 2nd half, and still managed to surrender less than 300 yards in a one-score loss. I don't see a marked difference.

I don't really have marriage advice, but here's what works for Mrs. Bandit and I: it's not a 50/50 deal; literally everything is my responsibility. That goes for both of us...if something isn't going well, then it's my responsibility to address it, not hers. She feels the same way, thankfully. As to the wedding, well, I ran weddings for 6+ years, and here's the advice I always gave: once you get to the day of, just relax. All the work is done, and it's time to enjoy yourselves.

That's the game where we got the ball with ~4:00 left down 7, moved briskly into their territory, the genius play call by Mularkey was to call a naked bootleg QB keeper for Bledsoe, right?

I remember trying to watch video of Jonathan Bullard last year, and having Brantley keep drawing my attention. He's an animal. It's funny--I wasn't a huge Decker guy, but I really like McDermott. I think he may be a slightly better athlete, and I also think he does a better job getting his hands onto his target quicker. I think if he can stay healthy he's got a shot to be a top-15 guy

So I'm correct in reading that the Bills' week 17 win against NE in a meaningless game matters because of Tom Brady's 1st half stats? Is it your opinion that the same team that perennially lights up Buffalo's D in the 2nd half (as they did in the first meeting that season after being held in check in the first half) would have been unable to do so had the starters stayed in the game? I see no reason to suspect that given how well they performed against Seattle's defense (a better unit) in the Super Bowl, though if love to hear your justification. What we basically have here is a situation where you need to reach to make that meaningless win matter, otherwise your argument about the record getting worse falls flat (spoiler alert: it does anyway for a team that went 4-2 in the division and likely would've been 9-7 had they not played without 5 offensive starters against Jacksonville). Regarding the Sabres: yes, generally when a team improves from historically bad to 0.500 in less than one season's time, adds a cup-winning coach, and has one of (if not THE) highest under-25 talent bases in the league, they're looking at competing for a playoff spot. If you don't agree on the talent base, then let's hear why (I won't hold my breath).

That '85 Bears D...special RIP Buddy

Actually hondo, I disliked the Rex hire from day 1, but I think it's patently absurd to give a HC one year to produce results. IMO, unless there are obvious signs of collapse, he gets 3 years.

Ok, so a meaningless win against backups now counts as a meaningful win because of the stats the opposing QB put up in a meaningless half? That's, well, silly to be frank. As to the Sabres, when will they start winning? How about the second half of last season, when they went from all-time bad to a 0.500 team? Does that spell doom to you? Because it'd be really odd if the win against New England's backups is somehow meaningful while the last 40 games of the Sabres' '15-16 schedule weren't in your eyes. Better yet: why does the Jacksonville game count? Answer: it's convenient to the current position

The 9-7 record from 2014 included a win in week 17 against a NE team that rested their starters, so it's hardly a major regression from a record stantpoint--it's basically a wash. Rex is still the coach because Terry Pegula doesn't have knee-jerk reactions; he hires people and lets them do their job(s). He isn't going to fire Rex after one season, and he's probably not going to fire him after two seasons unless there's a collapse of epic proportion. When he acquired the Sabres, he did everything but crown Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff the greatest duo since Batman and Robin, and when it became clear they weren't getting results, he gave them a full season-and-a-half to right the ship before he finally had to let them go.

Haven't been to Luger's, so I can't really comment. I'm a victim of having been to Keen's once, and never having any desire to go elsewhere (not a great habit if you're visiting NYC, I admit). It was on cable yesterday

1% of the world's football knowledge just left us...RIP Mr. Adams

Took the wife and twins there Saturday...really enjoyed it. The tortillas are absolutely perfect, and the fact that the food is in your hands in less than 5 minutes is a major win for a couple trying to keep two 3-year-olds occupied. I will most definitely be back.

Chorizo and eggs