Mike in Syracuse

In listening/reading the discussion about Seau's death and the death's of others I'm wondering if the head injuries are actually the cause or just a contributing factor. I'm not trying to minimize or mitigate the damage that a few hundred thousand high force collisions may have had but I can't help but wonder if there aren't other forces at work. Professional athletes are in many ways, modern day gladiators. Their entire lives have been spent getting ready for and competing at the highest levels. Some have long careers, others have their careers cut short due to injuries ect. They live lives of fame, testosterone and adrenaline. Then one inevitable day it's all gone. Sure some of the fame is still there but they're not running onto a field surrounded by 70k fans or skating onto the ice with 40k screaming hockey fans. The emotional dropoff alone has to be a massive burden. I wonder, are there biochemical or neurological changes that a professional athlete undergoes when they retire?

Actually, it's worse if they say that because the majority of stuff on YouTube is "highlight" stuff. There's not a whole lot of "hey watch me drop this pass, get blown up in pass protection or miss this tackle" video available.

Even Vick's not that stupid.

Dwight Adams

He didn't completely go off the deep end but he was heaping praise on the Bills for their offseason and draft. He said with the exception of Detroit, the Bills might have the best tackle combo in the league. He also had a very interesting point about Mario Williams. He did everything he could to adapt to playing LB in a 3-4 but he'll be even better in a 4-3. He said Buffalo will be a "surprise" team this year.

McKelvin will get cut, picked up by the Jets and have a stellar year. He'll probably turn into a shutdown corner, have 8 picks and a couple of kick returns for TD's.

I have bad news for the Patriots, the Bills new DL might be better than the Giants. They still have to prove it but they certainly have the potential. If Merriman is in fact healthy, the Bills will have the best DL in the NFL. Ya, I said it!

The Patriots continue to ignore the hidden key to their success, the offensive line. Brady is an amazing QB, due in part to fact that they've had tackles like Matt Light who give Brady 8 seconds to throw the ball. Matt Light just retired, Logan Mankins is having ACL surgery and will miss camp and potentially the opener. They'll likely move Soldner over to Light's spot and I don't know if he's every played LT. The Patriots demise will be due to their OL not being able to keep Brady upright.

As with most teams, the QB gets more praise than he deserves and shoulders more blame than deserved. I have absolutely NO problem with Fitz being a game manager. If Fitz can keep the chains moving by throwing 9 yards passes I don't care if he ever throws a 60 yard pass. If your QB needs to throw for 300 yards every game to win then you probably have a really ****ty defense. There are only a few QB's in the NFL capable of doing that. The Ravens won a SB with Dilfer at QB and he was the quintessential game manager. All Billick asked him to do was NOT make mistakes. That's the key area where Fitz needs to improve, he's got to throw less picks. On the other side of the coin, the Bills defense was absolutely dreadful last year. They couldn't stop the run and they couldn't put any pressure on the QB. Buddy said at the end of the season "we made average QB's look like Dan Marino. The mantra for the Bills this year should be "ONE LESS PICK, ONE MORE STOP". If Fitz throws one less pick and the Bills defense manages to give up one less TD in five games last year they go from a dismal 6-10 finish to an 11-5 season with a playoff appearance. The numbers from last year are clear on what the Bills need to do to make the playoffs. "One less pick, one more stop"

I have an Aquabot that we bought from BJ's for around $800. Other than replacing the drive belts from normal wear it has performed flawlessly. Plug it in, throw it in the pool and walk away. It climbs the vertical laws so well it looks like it's going to climb out of the pool! I will say though, it's not ideal for opening though if your pool is exceptionally dirty. The bag tends to fill up quickly but it still works!

What T.J. Graham brings to the table is options. Options that benefit the offense because he's an instant deep threat and will keep opposing secondaries from cheating up. If you re-watch any of the film from the second half of last year, secondaries had absolutely no respect for us deep and they cheated up like crazy. This left precious little room and it part of the reason that Fitz threw so many picks. The Bills have legitimate threats at RB and they should be an even better running team this year. They certianly have the size necessary to absolutely maul opposing D lines. I'd anticipate you'll see Graham and Stevie in on a fair amount of bubble screens but where he'll make his money is on play action. The slightest hesitation or pause by a DB due to play action and Graham is going to have 5 steps on them. Whether or not Fitz can actually hit him is another story........

I don't agree with the comparison's to the Cowboy's hall of famers but I will say this, Wanny is going to have a MASSIVE impact on this defense. He's not some journeyman DC who's trying to make a name for himself. He's a SB winning DC who knows what it takes both in terms of players and scheme. He's also going to be focused just on defense where he excels. He's an average HC but much like Wade Phillips, he's an outstanding DC.

What impresses me most about this group is that they're taking players that fit their system. They're not like the prior goofballs that drafted guys because they thought they were good, the Bills have measurables that they've defined as being important and that's how they're building their draft board. I'm impressed with the work the entire organization put in.

Yeah but she's got HUGE feet!

Didn't they just re-sign Pears for decent money? I think the Bills like Hairston at LT but might sign Martin to compete. Either way, we'd have some depth if Pears or Hairston went down. We can't do the Levitre to tackle experiment again.

A lot of people aren't seeing it but Nix is quickly building a defense that will rival any in the NFL. Our biggest hurdle is beating the Patriots. So how do you stop Welker and Gronkowski? 1. You force them to stay in and block. 2. You jam them off their routes at the line 3. You have a kick ass nickel defense. By my count, we're doing just fine.

considering the high percentage of first round busts, giving away three picks to move 1 spot ala Cleveland is just stupid. If you have a great scouting department you can stack your team with depth. I think we're fine.

This, this, this, a thousand times this. New England used to be a team that lived on their defense. Last year they were the worst in the league and at best they stayed even. Let's not forget their sack leader is now playing for us and there's NO WAY Jones has 10 sacks. Their team is built around one guy, Tom Brady. If they don't keep him healthy their season is over. There's no Cassell riding a defense to an 11-5 season. If they don't put up 30 a game they're going to lose more than they win. They've got one freaking midget for a RB. Now Brady's best OT just retired and their other tackle is going to miss camp and potentially the season opener because of ACL surgery. I hope the Patriots use all of their pics on defense!

Easley is an unrelated issue unless you're talking about passing on Floyd I don't think there's any need to justify anything. We've got one CB that's going to be a FA, another that can't stay healthy. What exactly about the Gilmore pick is not a need? That's a very uninformed assessment IMO

I'm sorry, unless i read this on twitter I don't believe it

We don't need him

And Ruvell Martin!!

I say, there is a HIGH probability that Ralph is in fact, asleep. Buddy might be cheap, he does seem like the kind of guy that would pick up a check though............ Really? Two words: wrong GM

OMG I FORGOT CLOWNEY. How could I forgot the Clownster?

My world is upside down. Damn, start this draft already!!!