Mickey

I never could figure why they let him go. He was somewhat similar to Peters. He was kind of a nobody that worked his butt off to get on the field and then was a playmaker once he made it there. We got a real bargain with Greer but then time finally came for him to cash in on all that hard work and we let him go. He didn't hold out. He didn't complain. Yeah, he wanted some serious coin but good players cost money, that is simply the way it is. I like our secondary but there are draft picks we wouldn't have needed to spend if we kept some of these guys and if we did, maybe we wouldn't be so short on talent everywhere else.

Is he really still the best punt returner in the NFL? He think he just isn't all that good. I have long thought that he had suspect hands and that is why he was not getting the time you would think he should get at WR. Not really a good thing for a punt returner. He is exciting but at this point, a liability. I wouldn't complain if Jauron played him and I am not complaining because he isn't. He is a mixed bag and lately, more of a problem than a benefit.

I think with a great offensive line, Trent could be average to decent. But with a great line, Freddie could be play QB so that isn't saying much. I think the new coach's first decision is going to be whether to go QB or OT with the first pick. Unfortunately, we are probably going to have to try and get one more year out of Schobel and hope that Maybin just needs some experience.

Well, given the stellar offseason we had, who could have seen this coming? Let us review. Trade the pain in the ass all pro LT who, despite all was still your best lineman. Start a guy at LT who, in a long NFL career no coach ever thought could play LT. Cut said LT. Sign a third tier FA to play center who never managed to win a starting job with his prior team. Move a guard to RT who you already decided when you drafted him was a guard, not a tackle. Start two rookies on the line, neither at the positions they played in college. Install new, no-huddle offense. Fire architect of said new offense 10 days before the season. I'm shocked I tell you, shocked, shocked, shocked that this flawless plan didn't work. On the bright side, we have two young guards who are showing some promise and we didn't see enough of Butler to call that idea a failure so there is still a teensy chance that will work. Losing Peters should at least give us plenty of cap room.

Hmmm....jerking around with a good player to save some coin, overplaying the hand and losing the player...hmmm....now why doesn that sound familiar???

I have a better plan. We take skin scrapings and hair samples from Byrd and head straight to the cloning lab. We use some toxic goo to accelerate the aging process and in a few weeks time we have 50 or 60 Byrd clones ready to hit the field. Crazy you say? No crazier than expecting Jauron and Brandon to ever build a winner. Send your petri dishes to: The Byrd Project PO BOX Mickey is Pissed Weesuck, NY 7-9

"...heroic run to 7-9..." Gotta admit, love him or hate him, that's good writing.

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. Bleeeech. Draft Locker. Or Clausen.

I think that Levitre and Wood will be solid starters in the future but the other three spots are in the air. Hangartner has been terrible and the tackle positions are a disaster. Bell has some promise and we never did get to see Butler much at tackle. I think next year I'd like to see Wood at center with Butler and Levitre at guard. They will need to draft a tackle, at least one. Right now, at best, I think we have 2/5's of an offensive line. That's only if Wood and Levitre continue to improve. This offense is one of the absolute worst in the league and though you can't blame it all on Wood and Levitre, they are not free of blame either.

They are both doing okay for rookies, about what we expected I think. The lack of any success running the ball though shows that they have a loooooong way to go yet. Its a big step going from "not a disaster" to "effective". Neither has taken that step yet. Some guys never do. Ryan Denney and Kelsay are good examples of that. They showed early on in their careers that they could hold down the fort on most occasions but never took that next step to being guys who regularly make big plays and very few mistakes. Its interesting to watch them develop, painful at times though.

I like Locker, its always a crap shoot but he is the best bet. He has a strong arm, improving accuracy and touch and more than anything, the right attitude. Fearless, with a short memory. Big and can run. I could live with Clausen too but overall, I'd give Locker the edge over him. I think Tebow, Bradford and the Texas guys are all likely busts. Weak-armed guys who look better than they are because they play for powerhouse programs. I swear, if we draft one of those three guys, one of us needs to protest Viet Nam monk-style, set themselves on fire infront of the team office. I volunteer the Senator...

Not surprised, he isn't a starter and was buried on the depth chart until very recently. It will take time for him to be noticed, more than two games anyway.

I am going to try and bring this saga to a merciful end. There are some people, good, normal, rational people, who think it was a bad idea to lose Peters. There are some people, good, normal, rational people, who regret losing Peters but feel the team had no choice. There are some people, good, normal, rational people, who don't think much of Peters and are glad he is gone. There are some people, not so good, not so normal, clearly irrational, who think anyone who disagrees with them when it comes to Peters should be visciously attacked without so much as a nod to manners, civility or decency. I imagine most of them are either between the ages of 11 and 17 or have self esteem so astonishingly low that besting a stranger in an insult fight in an obscure web forum is the highlight of their day. I agree with some of the people in the first three categories, disagree with others and certainly enjoy the discussion. The people in the last category should simply be ignored which I know can be difficult when someone is throwing verbal bombs at you but apathy is really the best policy, one I am trying to get hold of myself. At this point, I don't think there are many people left discussing Peters that aren't either in the last category or fighting with those that are. Lets just all walk away.

I think if we can rely on getting 9 picks, horrific winds, multiple missed field goals from short range and crucial special teams turnovers by the other side we really could be on to something good. To me, the last two games were typical of what you see when two average-to-bad teams tee it up. These wins remind me of the ones we had early last year. That having been said, I hope they continue to take advantage of what breaks there are on the schedule and there is plenty to watch in terms of seeing young guys develop into the heart of the roster.

I had the tine to look at the first game play by play at nfl.com. There were 5 balls they called deep but one of those was only 19 yards. That one and another were on the last "drive" when we were behind with only one time out. One of those was the last play, the attempted fumblerooski. There were only 3 deep balls and one of those was for only 21 yards. I know that Ryan appears to be less quick to the checkdown, so far anyway, but neither has played particularly well and our offense has been pretty lame all year with the exception of the first two games.

i don't think that is "identical", wetre the announcers the same for all those games? i think if you go to the nfl.com play by play they show the distance to the catch and the rac.

No we are not. We won two games and lost four. That is a fact.

My expectations could hardly have been lower. Still, I was hoping to see some good things from a few players so as to limit what new personnel we were going to have to bring in over the next couple years to turn it around. Trent for one, I was hoping would show us enough that we wouldn't have to consider a QB in the draft. I was looking forward to seeing McKelvin come in to his own. I had some hope that Poz would become the player I thought we drafted. I didn't expect much from Maybin but I didn't think he would be this much of a non-factor. Of course, I am hoping to some flashes from all the young guys on the line, enough to show us we have the beginnings of a solid line. I am pretty disappointed as to all of that. Not so much the OL as I think Wood, and Levitre to a lesser extent, are showing those flashes. As a whole the line has sucked and even those two are closer to being barely adequate than they are to being dominant but given their inexperience, I think they have actually exceeded my expectations. Trent has been just awful. Every doubt I had about him has come to the fore. My hope for him is not dead but it is on life support. McKlevin cost us a game and then go hurt, so much for that. Same with Poz. Maybin might as well still be holding out. There have been some positives, some unexpectedly pleasant surprises. Byrd looks to have the best hands I have seen in our secondary since Tony Greene. Freddie is a quality back. Behind a good line and with a decent passing game, he'd be even better. Nelson I think is showing flashes of eventually being a very, very good TE. So its not all bad and there are a lot more games to play. Anything can happen.

I think that was the assumption but I think it was also assumed that we would be hovering around .500 for most of the season. There is a point where the team could be so bad that I wouldn't be surprised if Ralph dumped him before the end of the season. That would depend more on who he can hire and whether they would be willing to jump in and take over with 5 or 6 left to play. Its unlikley but Ralph is a bit on the crotchety side, he has been known to lose his temper and tip over the apple cart on occasion.

I think the bad weather was actually a plus for us. It kept it a low scoring game, the kind of game where all it takes is one break to win the game. Our offense couldn't really get any worse. Theirs could and did.

The Great Kazoo!

I think they should use a helmeting system where essentially there is a bubble attached to the shoulder pads with the head in the bubble but not attached to it. All the force of blows to the head would be transferred to the shoulders. Of course, it woudl turn each player in to a guided missile essentially.

I think Kyle is an all or nothing kind of player. He is pretty quick for a DT and relentless when he is trying to get off his blocker on the pass rush. When he is quick enough to squeeze through his gap, he is able to make big plays in the backfield. But when he doesn't, I don't think he is able to hold his ground. He certainly is an easy guy to cheer for given the obvious effort he gives. As much as I like him though, I don't think he is the kind of train wrecker I'd like to see at DT. Kind of reminds me of Jeff Wright and that is meant as a compliment.

I heard that too, that was interesting. Lee is probably the must underutilized weapon in the league. Its easy to foget just how good he is given how poorly this offense has played. Imagine what he would be doing in New Orleans or Indianapolis.

That is how low we have sunk, simply not having a penalty called agaisnt a guy is now the equivalent of high praise. We barely managed a win in a game where we had 6 interceptions. SIX. Meredith wasn't a total disaster and that is a good start at least but the offense was still just about as putrid as it has been all year. At this point though, we are pretty desperate for anyone who can play so I'll take it.