hondo in seattle

Thanks for this. I don't think my mom's family suffered as much as your grandfather's. Imagine - that village and all it's residents with all their loves, hopes, and dreams would have been forgotten if not for your donations. Fantastic work. 20th century France had some crap strategists and politicians who embarrassed the country, but there were good and brave people in the population, too. My mom was a humble, selfless lady who rarely talked about the war. But when I prodded her, some of the stories were heart-wrenching and/or hair-raising. One that stands out for me, because she was at the heart of it, was the time when she was 14 or 15 and escorted two young Jewish boys to a safe house when the Resistance had learned the Jewish family's home was about to be raided. She was stopped by a couple of German soldiers (Gestapo?) at a metro station who instructed French gendarmes to inspect the kids' belongings. The kids looked Jewish while my mom, pretending to be their older sister, had blond hair and blue eyes. The police found Yarmulkes in their bags but pretended not to see them and reported to the Germans that there was nothing amiss. I asked my mom what would have happened if the Germans had seen the Yarmulkes. She shrugged, "I suppose we would all have been arrested and shot." But she poo-pooed any talk of heroism. Lots of people took risks to help others during the war, she explained. Many did much more. The street she grew up is now named "Rue Jacques Jorissen" after the boy across the street who joined the Resistance and was soon thereafter shot by the Germans. When I was 14, I played street or sandlot football nearly everyday, fantasizing I was Bobby Chandler. I didn't appreciate how coddled I was compared to some 15 year olds back in my mom's day or even today.

Just so you know... My grandfather was French. He won a Croix de Guerre in WWI for single-handedly holding off a German company with a heavy machine gun. When the Germans invaded France again in 1940, he went to a local police station - along with some other WWI vets - and demanded weapons to fight the Germans as a civilian. He didn't wave a white flag in WWII either. My late mom, just a teen at the time, and her family helped the Resistance move Jews around Paris to avoid arrest and deporation (to extirmination camps) by the Nazis. Several of my mom's cousins, aunts, and uncles died fighting or otherwise serving their country in the two world wars (with about 2 million other non-flag waving French casualties). I'm half-French, proudly led American soldiers into combat, and the only white flags I ever saw were being waved by our enemies. No one in my family will get your joke about French Army Knives.

Agreed. Beane has built a good roster. He has yet to build a Super Bowl caliber roster. There hasn't been a season under Beane yet when I felt like we had the best roster in the AFC. The Von Miller contract, on the whole, was a mistake. Imagine the players we could have signed with Von's money. And this year we're paying a WR $31 million to play for someone else. Beane's been hit-or-miss in the draft; hit or miss in free agency; hit-or-miss with cap management. Under his reign, the Bills have been a team with a lot of depth but few bonafide stars. For years, I was puzzled why Beane drafted a franchise QB but didn't bother to put together a front-five bodyguard to protect his health and optimize his talent. It seems like that would be an obvious priority. I'm also puzzled that so many want to fire McD and so few want to send Beane packing. I don't want to fire either, actually, but I fault Beane (and bad injury luck) for the empty trophy case more than I blame McD.

23 countries, 46 states... I agree.

Can anyone find photos? I could have sworn I've seen pics of this but can't find them online. An urban myth???

I expected to see some attempt at running a 'play.' But virtually all (not quit all) the blocking is straight ahead, man on man.

Good question. Let's see how much Brady uses 12 and how effective he is with it. The Pats were once pretty dynamic with Gronk and Hernandez.

I remember when I would struggle to name the starting lineup. Now I'm on a message board where folks intelligently discuss opposing opinions on who our TE#3 ought to be. Gotta love OBD. And the offseason!

When I was in Desert Storm many years ago, I was instructed to give unfettered access to a NYT reporter who wanted to talk privately to a group of enlisted soldiers. So I did. The soldiers told me this story... The reporter began by explaining some big picture stuff and then talked about how President Bush was in Kennebunkport fishing instead of trying to resolve the conflict and get the soldiers home. He then asked something like, "Aren't you guys pissed that your Commander in Chief is vacationing while you guys are stuck in these hostile conditions in the middle of the Arabian Desert far away from your families?" But most soldiers don't really give a crap about politics. Just tell us where to go, and what to do, and we'll be there. Met mostly with apathy, the reporter turned to the one soldier who nodded just a little about being pissed. "Would it be fair for me to quote you..." And then he provided an incendiary quote that he probably wrote on the airplane about Bush needing go get off his arse, out of his fishing boat, and back to DC - something like that. Well, the soldier said he would NOT acquiesce to having those words put into his mouth. But another private said, "You can quote me." And thus one of my privates became famous while I eventually got an arse-chewing for one of my guys bad-mouthing the President of the United States to the New York Times. I've never trusted reporters since. I wouldn't be surprised if the anonymous exec didn't exist or didn't say the exact words quoted in the article.

I actually appreciate his dry personality. I can't imagine he's much fun at parties but I like the way he responds to stupid questions from reporters with emotionless two-word responses. And then every now and then, someone will ask a question about something like special teams, for example, and he'll give a 10 minute master class on its history. And while the tone is still lifeless, the time and detail he devotes to the answer suggest the underlying passion. Anyway, if I want to learn about breaking down film, I don't want the guys who think yelling and silly jokes make for good football commentary. I want a real expert.

This actually sounds awesome. As much as I hate all the losses he handed us, I can't think of anyone I'd rather watch break down film.

I agree with the OP. He was a very good signing initially - a hard, gutsy player. Unfortunately, he'll be remembered by many for the KC game.

I was inclined to blame Dorsey's scheme and playcalling... but the light didn't turn on for either when Brady took over.

I think @Malazan is exactly right. You can't spend a lot of money on all positions. So I think, as part of Beane's cap management strategy, he's decided to economize at RB since (1) we're a passing team, and (2) RBs don't age well anyway. We'll have a revolving door of RBs on rookie contracts (sometimes augmented by cheap FAs) as long as Beane is the GM. Beane doesn't care about how many touches/wear-and-tear these guys have. He cares about cost. I seriously doubt that Cook gets a second contract with the Bills. Or Davis.

Shame on me. I hate to admit this because it won't help my credibility but I thought Harty was a better version of Lil' Dirty and Sherfield was going to take some playing time away from Gabe, who I was losing faith in. We're supposed to get wiser as we get older but that was one of my worst offseason takes ever. Homerism is an awful disease.

I was in the army for a while and my least favorite job was when I became the XO (Executive Officer/second in command) of a cavalry troop. There were 3 other lieutenants in the troop who were all my friends. We played football and drank beer together. I didn't outrank them (we were all first lieutenants) but positionally, when I became the XO, I did have some authority over them. When the Commanding Officer (CO) made an unpopular decision, he'd often let me tell the other lieutenants. They'd respond with something like, "C'mon, Hondo, you know that's bullcrap. We're not doing that!" And they'd argue with me as their friend, not their boss, instead of saying "Roger that," and getting at it. In the end, I would require them to carry out the orders as given while they grumbled. Until I solved that problem, life wasn't fun. It can be challenging being an equal to your friends but positionally in a leadership position at the same time. I think that's what Josh faced with Diggs. They were best friend for a while. But sometimes Diggs would run a lazy route, cop an attitude, or do something else that needed to be corrected. And Josh would find it difficult to play the role of leader because of their past friendship. There may have been some personal drama involved too, as Gunner and others have speculated, that made it even more difficult. And if Josh wasn't holding Diggs accountable, he couldn't hold the other players accountable. In short, I think you're right. I think Diggs' departure will be good for Josh. The receivers we have now see Josh as their QB and team captain, not as their old gaming buddy who may or may not have slept with their girl. I hope he takes this opportunity to become a more vocal leader.

Yeah. I was fairly confident a month or two ago that we'd end up keeping Samuel, Shakir, Coleman, MVS, Claypool, and Hollins. But I'm starting to wonder if Shavers is going to knock MVS or Claypool off the 53. Based on the camp buzz, I'm also starting to wonder if Hollins will have a bigger role on offense than I originally envisioned. For me, this is the most interesting position group on the Bills right now. I'm really curious to see how the roster shakes out and if Brady can get good production from this motley crew and their diverse skill sets. I'm assuming Shakir, Samuel and Keon will be the starters but Brady will have some of the other guys in on certain packages.

I think "caring" and "finding it interesting" are two different things. I don't care about Deshaun Watson and his story. It makes no difference in my life. It is interesting, though, that a team gave a guy like him a $230,000,000 contract and fully guaranteed it. To make the story even more interesting, the best QB play they've had since then was with QBs other than Deshaun Watson. Weird and unique things are always interesting and this is a weird, unique situation.

Based on camp reports, the WR battle is more interesting than I thought it would be. Then again, camp reports are just camp reports. Last year, we heard a lot of good stuff about Sherfield during camp and he was a non-factor during the season.

This makes me feel better about some of our bad contracts. (For example, paying Diggs $31 million to play for another team this season).

Here are my hopeful, homerish thoughts about Poyer & Hyde. First of all, the 2023 edition of Poyer & Hyde wasn't as good as previous versions. Replacing what they did together last season shouldn't be too hard. Secondly, Poyer & Hyde weren't stars when we signed them. They became one of the best safety tandems in the league when they came to the Bills and worked with McD. When opposing coaches talked admiringly about Hyde & Poyer, they didn't talk about their cheetah-like speed, super hero strength, or insane athleticism. Instead, they talked about their smarts, teamwork, communication, and ability to disguise coverage. It seems like these are all traits that McD can coach into their successors.

I know Brady has said he doesn't make players fit his scheme; he schemes to make use of his players' talents. And I know that there aren't an infinite number of wideouts available in free agency and the draft and sometimes you have to make do with table scraps. But I also think Brady gave McD and Beane an idea of what kind of receivers we'd ideally acquire in the offseason - like maybe a speedster (MVS), and a swiss-army type, multipurpose guy (Samuel), and another guy who's big and can make contested catches (Coleman), and so on. Every time we signed a wideout, I saw it as another puzzle piece. Maybe not the best puzzle piece we could hope for, but still one that would allow Brady to put together a coherent picture. I still have lingering doubts and fears. But I'm feeling some hope, too.

Leadership is not innate. It's a learned skill. The military trains it. So do many large corporations. It's not about transforming someone into something they're not. And it doesn't require you to learn to lose your youthful enthusiasm. It's about learning effective practices that help you positively impact the people you lead.

He makes a fair point. Some people have a perception that the best Tackles are Left Tackles. And Right Tackles are the 2nd best Tackle on the team. So the best Right Tackle in the NFL may be the 33rd best Tackle overall. It's like saying a wideout is the best #2 in the league. Faint praise, indeed. No wonder these guys don't get into the Hall.

Great question. Again, this is pure speculation. But based on what I've heard from Josh and his teammates, I think he can be a better leader. I'll use the Army's "11 Principles of Leadership" as a framework: Know yourself and seek self-improvement. Allen is pretty lackadaisical during the offseason. For example, he said he didn't work out for a couple of months after last season ended (though he did work on his mechanics). Some QBs use the offseason to work on their bodies and master their craft (hitting the gym, reading books, refining their nutrition plan, studying film, picking the brains of OCs and QBs, etc.). Be technically and tactically proficient. Allen knows our scheme inside and out. But he's said that he's not a film junkie nor does he closely read the reports on opponents produced by the analytics department. He's not as smart about opponents as some QBs. Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates. I don't think Josh sees this as his job. I get the impression that he believes it's up to the coaches to get guys to show up to practice, practice hard, study the playbook, and execute at a high level on game day. I hate to say this, but Tom Brady took this part of his job seriously. Josh is more "Aw, shucks," and buddy-buddy, as Graham wrote. Make sound and timely decisions. It's not exactly what the army is talking about, but Josh does not always make sound and timely decisions with the ball. As Kurt Warner has said more than once, Josh will be more effective when he gets in the habit of throwing the ball "on schedule." Set an example. Josh leads by example on game day. That's his leadership forte. He puts his body on the line for his team and I love him for it. But I'd like him to lead by example off the field as well by being a gym rat and film junkie. Know your people and look out for their welfare. Maybe - no idea. He does seem to be good at offsite team-building and bonding stuff. Keep your people informed. Maybe - no idea. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. Josh absolutely takes responsibility for his actions. But does he seek responsibility for the entire offense? Brees, Brady, P. Manning were described as mini OCs who were more than just the guy who threw the ball. They saw themselves as the leaders of their offenses and did whatever they could to get it to execute at a higher level. I'm not confident that Josh plays that role as robustly as some other QBs. Ensure assigned tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished. I saw some sloppy route running last season and wondered: Is the OC doing anything to fix this? The position coach? Josh? Again, I don't think Josh saw this as his responsibility. Josh needs to be on the details. If a tackle lines up 4 inches too wide on a play, I want the QB to make sure it doesn't happen again. Train your people as a team. Diggs was a great player. But was he a great team player? I don't think so. And I'm guessing Josh didn't do anything to fix that. A good leader gets each player to set aside their personal crap, put the team first, and give the team their all. I don't think Josh provides a lot of that kind of leadership. If it's happening, I'm not hearing about it. Use the full capabilities of your organization. This is far more a Brady thing than a Josh thing and has to do with putting all your skills and weapons to use to secure victory. I won't fault Josh here. Maybe with Diggs gone, and Josh being another year older and more experienced, he'll play a bigger leadership role this year. And look, this assessment is just guesswork. Like Virgil said, players would run through a wall for Josh. There's far more good in Josh than bad. But I think there's still room for improvement.