Dan

And I thought I was the only person in the country to NOT put their tree up the day after Thanksgiving. I'm going to get mine this afternoon and we'll decorate tomorrow. Lights will go up on the house tomorrow as well (if weatherr permits).

Anyone watching this mess? What happened to the Steelers? They look like the Bills out there - can't tackle, Big Ben has been sacked 5 times already, just poor football all around.

I see what you're saying. But, that's wy I'm not as sold on switching to a 3-4 defense. Do we really want to switch to a defense that needs 4 LBs when we barely have 2 good ones? Plus we need a new NT and RDE? Seems like we could see much better improvement just by tweeking the 4-3 we currently play for a year by dropping all this soft zone, everyone run away from the LOS defense. And, are we really hoping to start multiple rookies on the Oline again? Again, I don't think we're that bad on the Oline. Keep Butler healthy, Levitre, Wood (provided he comes back) and we've got three good guys, with an average center in Hangnail. Draft a stud LT and suddenly the Line may not be nearly as bad as many people think. Put 2 rookies on the line, shift wood to center, Butler back to guard... and jeeze we're back to square one... rookies and everyone in new positions. I guess it comes down to how bad the new HC/FO thinks our current players are and how much they want to completely overhaul everything. Again, I don't think it needs that much. Our current defense isn't awful it just lacks a few players and thte proper attitude and game planning. Our offense could be worlds better with 1 or 2 linemen and a better QB.

I could live with that and it's kinda how I see it. I have no problem giving Brohm a shot and drafting a top teir LT first. However, I would suggest getting the best LB with the #2 pick. Have you seen out LBers? Of course, it all depends on who's available as a FA and who the new HC is and what he wants to do. I really just hope someone doesn't come in thinking they have to completely blow up the team and start from scratch. IMO, there's more talent on this team than most people give them cedit for.

Usually, I go back to my room and work - email, proposals, reports, etc. Then, of course, I gotta get my daily TBD fix in. Although, depending upon where I am and who I'm there seeing, we may go out drinking till all hours of the morning. So, not alot of walking after dinner. But, in my defense, my job has me out walking and moving around pretty good on most days during the summer months. I will admit, though, I'm not your average traveler or eater. One good friend of mine joked once that I'm the oddest person she knows because nothing about my life is normal. I think I stay relatively slim and eat well while traveling, I'm just saying I understand how difficult it can be. And in all fairness, a few years ago, I added some weight due to the travel - hence some of my recent travel/eating habits to keep my weight down (it sucks getting old).

Actually, all that makes me like Brohm even more. I like the fact that he opted to play his senior year, he had decent numbers while in college, he's not been shell-shocked behind a bad OLine or OC, and he looks like a QB (ok I just threw thisone in for fun). But, yeah, maybe he's got a lot more to offer than we currently realize.

Yes, there are plenty of places like that. But, try to find a place like that in Hanford, CA or Ontario, OR. My point being, that some of us travel to nice places like Chicago and Columbus. But, equally so, or even more so, I'm in places that no one has heard of and have almost nothing outside of Denny's, fast food, and a mexican place (it's amazing how every town in this country has a cheap mexican place!). So, yeah, there are sometimes options, but not always. As stated, I often do. And often you get some good recommendations. But, certainly not always. So, its a crap shoot really. And if you're in the middle of no where and you're tired and hungry, sometimes you just go with easy (i.e. the first place you see). An excellent suggestion. This is actually one of the tricks, I was alluding to earlier. If I know I'm in town for a few days, I've started going grocery shopping. It's usually cheaper and you can almost always eat better. However, you do have to consider the hotel - not all have refrigerators, some don't even have a microwave (although those hotels are extremely rare now a days). I've gotten pretty good at hotel cooking. So, it helps. But again, if you're there for a night, maybe 2. It's often not practical to go grocery shopping, especially if you're going out at least one of those nights with "customers"/friends. Also, most hotels have the free breakfast. I say stay away from the tasteless, processed egg product thing and just eat a bowl of cereal and some fruit. True. A lot of the time they send you to crap. So, it's iffy. Salad is ok. But, as other's have said, eating salad every day get's boring. Plus, you really expect someone that travels 4-5 days a week to eat primarily salad with water and a lemon wedge? If that was my only option, just shoot me now. That's not eating - that's sad. Excellent point, as well. I've often done that and suggested that to plenty of people I work with. The key to all of this, IMO, is to eat proper portions. Almost any restaurant you go to gives you way too much food. So, quite honestly, I don't worry so much about what I eat as much as I worry about how much I eat. And how many people get the salad, just to load it down with bacon bits and a half a gallon of creamy ranch dressing (same with baked potatoes - I wonder sometimes if there's any potatoe even under there). Personally, I don't eat salad dressing at all - not because of a health issue, I just like the taste of tomoatoes. But, none the less, regardless of what you're eating, or drinking, I think proper portions are the key. A coke isn't so bad (IMO), it's the 32oz super size you have, only to have another drink an hour later. Who really needs that much of any liquid with a meal? The second suggestion... don't eat according to the clock. Just because it's noon, why do you have to eat lunch? But, don't get me started on lunch. If you could talk to the people I work with they'd tell you how I feel about lunch. Back to the topic at hand, though, a coke isn't so bad (IMO), it's the 32oz super size you have, only to have another drink an hour later. Who really needs that much of any liquid with a meal?

They do, but again, I don't drink water. The problem is finding the good food. First of all, unless you get an Extended Stay (or similar type hotel), it's difficult to cook in your room. Although, you can microwave some soup (or do I dare say... popcorn ) pretty easily. I've found a hotel in Columbus that has an outdoor grill and patio for guests - that's pretty cool. But, I digress. So, on the road, you're eating out for the most part. And the problem is, if you're in unfamiliar areas, it's difficult to find the good places to eat whether due to lack of time or lack of knowledge of the area. I agree, you don't have to eat fast food. I rarely do. However, when walking into a small, unknown restaurant, you have no idea if the food is good or bad. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes, not so much. I often ask the front desk or whomever for good places to eat, but again, it's hit or miss. Bottom line is when traveling you have much less control over what you eat. Here at my house, I can steam some green beans, make some pasta and add a fresh basil and tomato sauce. Quick, easy and relatively healthy with no preservatives, no sugar, proper portions, etc. On the road... there's no guarantee at all you can find that and more often than not, you won't. And the problem is compunded when eating on a limited travel budget. A nice restaurant will generally make much healthier meals. But, find me a $10-$15 dinner that's healthy and something other than salad and water. It's difficult. I'm not saying travel always wrecks your diet. I travel as much as (or more than) anyone, yet stay slim. But, you have to really work at it and know quite a few tricks. Still, I almost always gain a few pounds on the road - unless I'm out for multiple weeks or a month or so. Then I just eat a alot less because it gets tiring and I really dislike the fast food.

For me, at least, its not so much an optimism as it is an interest. Why did we sign Brohm, paying him more money than Hamdan, just to sit on the bench like Hamdan? Again, knowing that you're going to have a new HC and possibly entire FO as well? It makes no sense. Either someone, somewhere has expressed an interest in getting him here or the FO is so beyond screwed up they're literally throwing darts at a board to decide what to do each week. Someone suggested the move was made in an attempt to make the Bills look better to possible coaching candidates because we would then have a young QB with potential on the roster. That has merit, perhaps. But, it still seems like an expensive "ploy". To the point about the Packers, if my memory serves correct, they actually counter offerred in an attempt to keep Brohm. They wanted him to stay a Packer. Brohm, however, chose the Bills because he saw it as a better opportunity to play. So, they, obviously, saw something the liked - just not enough to make him the number 2 guy this year.

I would completely agree with you on the artificial flavorings. Hence, my preference for tea. When traveling, I look for the snapple that has no artificial flavorings and no corn syrup, either. (A friend of mine has schooled me on the great corn conspiracy, so I notice corn syrup in m drinks as well.) Lipton has an "all natural" tea, as well (I think). Usually, if possible, I get several of those for the hotel along with beer. But it's really hard, when you travel, to get drinks and food that are even remotely decent for you. I just like to think that we have evolved as a species beyond the use of water as our primary means of liquid hydration with things like wine, beer, tea, vodka, coffee, orange juice, and milk out there.

Reading this thread got me thinking about my sugar intake, via drinks. First of all, why drink water when there's perfectly good tea bags out there looking for a home? It makes no sense to me. And adding lemon to water? I can't see how adding something as sour as lemon juice somehow magically makes water taste good. So, no. OK. So, I drink very little coke/soda. Usually when I go to restaurants I will, because I've worked in restaurants and have seen first hand how poorly minimum wage people can make tea. When possible, I try to get something like a snapple over coke. OK, so I make my sweet iced tea with 3/4 cup of sugar per gallon of tea, which people have always told me is alot of sugar. What can I say, I like my tea like I like my women... sweet and cold (but I digeress for humor). According to google, a 12oz can of coke has 40.5 grams of sugar. So, doing the math, I determined that a 12oz glass of my tea has 14 grams of sugar. That's 65.4% less sugar than a can of coke. So, I feel pretty good about myself. Of course, that's not all the sugar I take in. There's the coffee and cake and all the other sweet stuff. But, for the purposes of this thread, I'm happy. And, for the record, if I ever have to drink plain water with a splash of lemon, I go thirsty. To summise, I say, if you want to cut the amount of sugar in your drinks, make them yourself. Tea, Kool-aid, Crystal light, etc. are all decent drinks and allow you to adjust the amount of sugar. And even if you like to make them sweet, its still going to be alot less sugar than most things you buy.

Footage of the event.

Excellent. That makes sense. Thanks.

Good points, but does he cruise message boards from all the bad teams in the league for vague Packer references? Or are we just special? Seriously, 3irty1, I'm curious.

Just curious, here... but, you're a Packer fan lurking on a Bills message board for refernces to the Packers? Seriously, what's up? I find it hard to read this board lately as a Bills fan. How can a non-Bills fan stomach it?

Given our inadequate coaching staff and improperly designed offensive and defensive schemes, how can anyone draw any definitive conclusions about half the players, especially a rookie in his first year?

Good points. I know next to nothing about college players, as I don't watch much college ball. So, I'm just trying to wrap my brain around who might be the best fit. Although, I do find the Brohm situation interesting. Not knowing much about him either, but he was relatively highly drafted and sat behind a good QB in GB. Does he have anything to show in the NFL? Why did we sign (and pay for) the guy just to ride the bench for the remainder of a season on a team that's about to get a new HC/GM? It really doesn't make much sense to me at all. It's hard to believe that someone didn't have some motive for signing the guy.

It looks like a show about middle-aged guys sitting around talking about how they're getting old and their priorities change and crap like that. If it is... it'll bomb. Guys, of any age, don't want to watch a show about other guys sitting around talking about their life. That's what chicks do. Guys want: action, sex, or comedy. It's pretty simple. So if no one's getting shot at or hookin up with hot babes regualry or a straight up comedy, its over before it began.

There was a thread a little while back about Parcells' QB requirements. I'm not sure I can recall them all, but wasn't one of them - he had to graduate college (along with 30ish starts, winning record). Now, I'm not one to say Parcells is always right, but he has been associated with a few decent QBs over the years. So, maybe he knows a little more than me. With that in mind, should that lower Clausen's stock at all? Seeing as how QB is the most important position on the team and we've been looking for one for 15 years, it seems like we'd want to do al we could to draft a "sure thing". Does anyone know of any guys that declared early and then turned into great QBs? Just curious.

Yes, because good coaches only go to teams that make the playoffs. If only we could have finished the season 10-6, we'd have our pick of top coaches.

They did. They deserved to lose. Skins had the ball, running the clock to under the 2 minute warning. Ball on the 10 yard line (more or less)..under 2 minutes, ahead by 7. Skins kicker shanks the kick, no points. Brees gets the ball scores a touchdown in less than a minute to tie the game. Skins make that easy FG and the game is over, borrowing a succesful Saints onside kick.

Agreed. IMO, our needs and priorities are clear - OT, QB, LB, DT, in that order. However, what position gets drafted first and second, I think, depends upon what they do in free agency.

Funny thing is... I woke up Friday morning wondering if the Bills were going to play this week.

Precisely. Goodell is going to go down as the Commissioner that oversaw the decline of the NFL. Losing this money, in and of itself, doesn't make the Bills (for ex) less competitive; but it's another nail in the small market team's collective coffin. It's already hard enough to compete for top name FAs and coaches. Now, you're taking money away from the small market teams. While pushing for more games/teams overseas. While pushing for a team in LA, as though we need 4 teams in CA. While making new billion dollar stadiums the norm. While steadily increasing the salary cap. While trying to extend the season, which means more players which means more salaries. The path the NFL is heading down is not good for small market teams and the competitive nature of the game. And, I didn't even mention the subjective nature of the refs of recent years.

What's the story on this McElroy guy? He's looking pretty good to me.