Dan

I got no problems with Tim, either. But, I do hope he's wrong on this one. Hopefully, what he witnessed were just some of the early camp "jitters" that will be ironed out over the next month. I do find his comments interesting. I assume he visits each of the AFC East camps; therefore, what he's writing is, in part, based on coclusions of what he's seeing elsewhere. Which, if so, currently doesn't bode well for us.

I don't think you should. And if people are thinking that you used Smerlas as some part of an agenda; they're idiots. So, scew that. I agree with your earlier post about Smerlas' comments not being that different from many other Bills' fans this winter (heck even now). It's funny though, people don't like Smerlas, so anything he says will get ridiculed. The same way Lynch is in so many people's doghouse and nothing, nothing he can do or say right now will stop them from wanting to trade him for a pack of smokes. It's not rational, but neither are people's perception of reality. Had you had used the exact same quotes, but they were attributed to Talley; I think you'd see a completely different response to the article. Quite simply, because Talley rocks. Keep on keepin on, JW. The article was good, fair assesment of the team. I only hope they give you the opportunity to write something more positive in the months to come.

Holy cow... if half of what he wrote about is true and remains true, we truly are dooooomed this season. Talk about a depressing, nothing good happening article.

#9; #8. You know what I mean. Dislexia gets us all sooner or later. Same argument, though. So why do we have to wait on Mathews? Maybe Mathews is waiting on Spiller to set his value? Someone has to give, that's all I'm saying. And given how bad we supposedly needed this play maker, what's a few million over the next 5 years?

Here's what I don't get... Spiller can't sign because the #9 guy isn't signed; therefore, we don't know the precise ballpark of his negatiations. But how can Alualu sign when he doesn't know the #8 guy's contract? Are fans sitting on a Jag's board saying the same thing about why their first round pick isn't signed? I guess my point is that someone just needs to give a little and get the deal done - whether it be the FO or Spiller. There's no need to drag this thing out more than a couple of more days. The slotting is all but set; just get it done. If Spiller isn't in camp by Wed. one or both parties is just being an ass.

I'd demand to be the highest paid player, period. Then I'd try and convince all my buddies on the team to stand with me in a walk out until the owner/GM gave in. To heck with the season. It's all about principle. But, hey, I'm a crazy guy. I'll do things like that. Let's hope Revis is a man too and stands up for himself.

That, IMO, will be the key to our season. Trent may have a quick release, but he completely negates that by taking a few seconds longer to decide to throw the ball. If you watch any decent QB or team, you'll see that most plays require about 3 seconds (some even less) for the QB to throw the ball. Watching Trent, it seems he takes closer to 5 seconds to throw. Those few seconds are all the time that's needed for a lineman to get beaten or a CB to jump the route. What I want to see more than anything from our QB is quick passes. 1,2,3 throw the ball. All of these standing around looking around, pat, pat, throws is going to result in problems when the games start.

Sorry, I try to just let the idiots roll on by, but every now and then I break down and have to comment when they so purposefully try to derail a perfectly decent concept.

If I were the Jets' GM, I'd tell him to bite it and make him ride the bench all season. Then I'd ask all the players a simple question: Do you like Revis? If anyone answered yes, I'd make them ride the bench with him all season. Then I'd look at how some of them wrote No, if it wasn't forcefull handwriting, I'd bench them too. I don't care if the whole team was on the sideline and we had to cancel every game. I'd make my stand. No one plays that likes Revis! That's what I would do as Jets' GM.

You do realize that everything is not always about you, right? I doubt it. I'll try to spell it out a little bit... the problem that many posters have with your posting is simple. This is a thread with a simple premise: to post positive quotes about the Bills from the Bills. It helps some of us feel better, feel optimistic, feel like maybe this season won't be a waste. It doesn't matter what reality may be come December. It's about trying to have hope and optimism for a new season - now. You come in, on the 5th post, and your contribution? Negative quotes from a known Bills' basher. This is typical trollish posting that you seem to thrive on. You think the Bills are going to suck. You have no optimism for the upcoming season. Fine, we all get it. But, don't post in everyone's threads your negative comments and inuendo and expect people to like you. There are plenty of posters that don't like the events of this off season. But they aren't ridiculed every day. Why? Because they aren't trolls posting negative comment after negative comment. They post their negative thoughts when it's appropriate and leave threads like this alone. Why? Because they have a little class and self respect. But, in the end, I suspect you know exactly what you're doing. You're achieving just the right amount of "look at me, I'm starving for attention" responses that you crave. So, carry on. I suppose revel in your own brand of self-grandizing look at me's and give your life meaning. We all need that in some way or another.

Just had my windshield replaced. Apparently if the crack is longer than a dollar bill, they can't repair it?? Gotta love that standard. From my understanding, a small ding can easily be repaired for a whole lot less than replacement and it's just as good. But, do it soon because a bump or two can cause it to start cracking further and make the repair option not possible.

You rock. But, I still don't believe you. Best thing I've read in quite some time. I often wondered about the bolded sentence in the past. Just watching the "highlight" videos on bb.com it always seemed like camp was more about strolling around, talking to your buddies, and finding animals in the clouds. Everything just seemed so leisurely nonchalant. I don't play organized football, never have; never been to any team's camp or practice. So, what do I know? But, it just seemed like such a relaxed environment. Nice to see them actually working for a change! Maybe we'll finally have a somewhat tough team for a change.

edited for accuracy

Fair? yes. Depressingly fair. Personally, I think it would have been a better read had it ended with a little more optimism regarding the new team. Of course, I have no idea how you could have done that without some seriously "creative" journalism.

Yep. The rains, now followed by the hot weather are ideal for WNV and mosquitoes in general. The stuff their putting in the sewers is almost certainly Altosid XR bricks (unless they're doing someting completely wrong).

Agree Lori NEEDS to be back here. Her insight is greatly missed. Tim, also, should have a thicker skin, but he also shouldn't have received the badgering he was getting. Yes, he was a poster just like us all, but being a member of the press he has different considerations than most of us. I could easily see his employer (or JW's for that matter) taking an interest in their online postings -whether they be posting "scoops" or just talking smack with posters. People get fired for quite a bit less, it seems. So maybe he has/had more pressure from his employer?

That sucks. It works great for me. I couldn't imagine a summer without it. Never heard of trying osage oranges. I prefer a good treatment of deltmethrin for my dark, shady regions. Your bigger worry for this summer, at least, is the WNV. There's quite a bit popping up out there in many of the chicagoland areas. We've found some in Chicago as well, but just this last week alone they found it in Glenview, Palos Hills, Palos Heights, Chicago Ridge, Oaklawn, and Alsip. All a little north of Park Forest, but certainly in the area. Wear your repellent!

Amen to that! And exactly the 2 I was alluding to in my post. If only....

Ticks and spiders can be very serious, especially Brown Recluses. Although, living in the Chicagoland area, brown recluses should be very rare given their establish distribution in the US. Alot of people think they see brown recluses, but most of the time it's some type of wolf spider. Not that I'd want to get bitten by either one! Brown Recluses like warm, dry areas. So, you most often see them in attics or garages (especially in more southern areas). You'll have more of problem with black widdows in your area. They like dark, sheltered places though. ...and don't even get me started on ticks!

Most excellent point that I forgot. You can definitely transfer the oil from tool to tool for quite some time. I'm not sure how long the oil can pesist and still cause the rash, but I'd wager its a considerable length of time. I've seen the same thing as well, if you have work pants; you can transfer it from day to day if you don't wash your pants daily or just toss them into the laundry with your normal clothes. You can get it later, when you do laundry. Good point, as well, late summer and fall is when the plant is excreting the most oil. So, it can be quite serious. Again, different people have different levels of reaction. So knowing how serious your reaction is, should determine how serious you need to be about avoiding exposure. (I write all this with several fire ant bites on my ankles and legs and poisong ivy rash on my right forearm - and the smell of caladryl lotion in the room. It was a fun week.)

And post one moronic post after the next driving the collective intelligence and civilty of the board down a spiraling path of self implosion resulting in the loss of insightful participants and comments in the process.

I think the high salaries and, subsequent, high ticket prices are here to stay regardless. There are most certainly a few sticking points in any new CBA discussion. If you limit rookie salaries, how do you guarantee that the money saved goes to the veterans? So, essentially, the player salary pool stays the same; they just shift it away from rookies and more toward veterans. What would be the length of rookie contracts? 6-7 years is a little much for most all players, I'd imagine. For the bulk of players that would mean one contract. I'd guess 4 years is more appropriate, but the players would probably prefer 3 years. How does this all affect free agency? Are rookies RFA or UFA after their initial contract? If all rookies have a 3-4 year contract at relatively low prices and then they become UFA; small market teams could very well become the farm teams of the NFL. Imagine all these great draft picks emgerging and in 3 years getting to go to the highest bidder. Dallas and Washington would hoard talent like no one else. So, it seems you have to add some sort of RFA clause to each rookie contract. Of course, you need to cap/limit the signing bonuses. As well as add some sort of guarantee into each contract. You can't have players or owners backing out of contracts/demanding more money just because they played really well or had a season ending injury in year one. Lots of sticking points. And I'm sure I've barely hit the tip of the iceberg.

Just saw this thread and read through it... sounds like you did the right thing. Poison Ivy can cause some pretty serious allergic reactions. In some people it can be life threatening. In more severe cases (like it sounds like you had/have), prednisone is almost always the remedy. I'd be hesitant to go to the doctor every time though, because taking steriods all the time is not that good of an idea. Some people are more allergic to it than others; hence, the varied amount of "cures" working on some people and not on others. In the future, when outside doing work, if you think poison ivy is around, wear pants, long-sleeved shirt and gloves. Yes, it's hot. But, get the oil on your cloths and you can remove them and wash them (not with all your regular clothes). That's better than getting it on your skin. When clearing brush and such, sometimes you can actually inhale the oil and then its really bad. For that reason, if burning brush where PI is present; never stand in the smoke. What I've found that works best, from bug bites to ivy, is Caladryl Lotion. Don't get the clear stuff, not only is it for sissies, but it doesn't work as well. I work outside all summer doing field work and get all sorts of rashes and bug bites and Caladryl has always worked the best. I even travel with it. Again, though, if you're highly allergic - like it sounds you are - you'll need to take extra precautions. Trust me long-sleeved shirts and pants are your best friend in the summer if you're out and about.

How bad is it when we're all surprised to see play action passes? It's been a loooong few years. If you have any pull at those camps... tell them to try some slants next. If I see slant patterns in your future reports, I won't know whether to erect a shrine to you or scoff in disbelief!

welcome back.