Dan

So, if Vick didn't do any jail time, but decided to take a year off and tour Europe, does that still count as suspension? The league has repeatedly said they don't have to comment on any possible suspension for Vick because he's in jail and it's a mute point. If the jail time was part of his suspension, why didn't they say he's currently serving a 2 year suspension? Fact is, Goodell dodged the issue for 2+ years and now hands down a "slap on the wrist" punishment.

Yes. IMO, Vick's crimes are quite a bit more serious than being caught with some weed or starting fights in strip joints. To put his suspension in that same ball park is to trivialize what he did.

Agreed. How can you possibly say you're being fair and instilling discipline to the league if a convicted felon, engaged in racketeering only gets a 4 game suspension? I really don't see how a year wouldn't be the minimum. Pacman's gotta be thinking WTF right about now. I was going to post it in the other thread, but thought it absurd, then someone mentioned it here; I can only imagine the Pats*, Skins, or Cowboys must be interested in signing him. Wow is all I can say. Wow.

That's my question. Let's just say, for the sake of the argument, Trent has a great 1st half to the season. TO is on his way to 10+ TDs, so is Lee. Our record is 5-3ish, and Trent is largely responsible for those wins (ie the offense is clicking pretty good). What would be an appropriate price for Trent? Cassell money? Eli money, whatever that is? Honestly, I haven't given it a second's thought other than to post the question here. So I have no idea. Doesn't he have another year on his contract? If so, would it be wiser to see how he does over the course of a full season?

Yeah, that's why I was thinking non-contact type participation. I guess they could still get hurt standing on the sideline or something. And certainly, there's only so much meeting room/book learning they could do. I was just wonder aloud if anyone's ever thought of it before.

Here's an idea.... Could the rookies without contracts show up but not participate in contact drills? So they're making a "good faith" effort to be there, learn and get/stay in shape, but not risking injury that would hurt their contract/career.

Just watched the video about it on bb.com. They show clips of the OTAs and guys running around with colored, stocking, hat things over their helmets. Never saw that before; anyone know what that's all about? I assume some way for people to learn positioning or assignments?

It's for this exact reason that I find it hard to understand the immense dislike for JP around here. Yes, he was drafted high. Yes, he didn't work out as a QB for the Bills. But, that's all not entirely his fault. He's always tried to do and say the right things. He embraced the City and the team. And here, he could easily take a shot at the organization. Yet, he takes the high road and says all the right stuff. By all accounts, he gave everything he could to try and succeed as the Bills' QB. I thank him for the good times, hope to forget the bad times, and wish him health and great success in his future.

Why you gotta be bringin the King into it? The King crosses all time and space to eclipse the sun itself. No need to hate.

Thanks.

Excellent read. Thanks.

True. What I found most interesting about the link to the Tampa forum was that Skoobs initial post and those 2 posts were identical. I'd guess... he googled, got that link, and pasted with no further evidence to support the opinion. Hence, right (or so it appears) but for the wrong reason (i.e. he really didn't know; just copied the first thing he saw). To insert a little logic into the thought process, I would suggest that the article where TO stating he was clocked at 4.6 was during his college career. So, through workouts and training, I'd say we can assume he clocked a little better at the combine. However, being 35(?) he's probably slowed down. So, I guess 4.6ish is about as good as you could expect; although, its entirely possible that he's slower. For whatever it's all worth. Actually, I see 40 times as kinda like GPA. When you're coming out of college, employers will often consider your GPA as a means to measure your ability. However, once you've been in the workforce for 10+ years, does it really matter that much any more? It's far more important to look at the past year or 2 and see what you've done.

Seeing as I as bored and googling anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot... the general consensus seems to be about a 4.6 for TO. Nothing too solid though (its a shame there's not some kind of NFL Combine archive). However, TO did state that he ran 4.6 while at UTC. TO didn't exactly take Chattanooga by storm at first, catching just six passes as a freshman. "We had to do our 40s [40-yard dashes], and guys were clocked at 4.4 and 4.5 [seconds]," recalls Owens. "I got clocked at 4.6, and I knew that was slow. So I just kept lifting weights." Link. Another interesting find while I was looking... Post #2 (first line) and #3 look rather familiar. Looks like ya may have been right but for the wrong reasons, Skoobs.

I'm sorry, but you keep stating this. I try not to read all the stuff about the potential sale of the Bills, so its very likely I missed it; but is your statement based on personal knowledge of Ralph's will or was it published in the Buffalo News or something? Just really curious.

Well, first you generalized the 3rd down conversion rate to 40% to claim that we couldn't stop people on 3rd down. Then when pointed out the actual numbers, you disregard these facts and hold fast to your opinion. Then you contradict yourself by stating you don't generalize, which is exactly what you initially did. And ultimately resort to name calling rather than find alternative facts to defend your position in an effort to cause general disruption as opposed to intelligent conversation.

hmmm... from this thread alone, just a few contradictory, factless statements clearly meant to cause disruption.

Hence the plethora of contradictory, factless statements clearly meant to cause disruption.

Facts really suck when you're trying to make crap up. Excellent post.

Didn't PacMan get a year's suspension and he wasn't convicted; no jail time. IMO, there's no way you can have a player convicted of a felony, do jail time, and not suspend him for at least a year (if not longer). Anything less definitely points to different sets of rules for different players. The league has already set the precedent that suspension is not dependent upon jail time served. So, to say he's already served his debt; therefore, no suspension, is unfounded. Also, I think you can largely remove the type of crime from the scenario. IMO, Goodell has an easy decision. Were you convicted of a felony? Yes. OK, then you get 2 year suspension. Next. Although, I must ask, does anyone know of any recent players that have been convicted of, or plead guilty to, felony charges and was not convicted? It'd be a worthwhile comparison, assuming there's a modicum of consistency in Goodell's decisions.

Yes, in July, it's apparent that the LT in particular is the only missing piece on our team. Get it done.

CHECK IT. I'm calling it now. Nelson is a bust because he hasn't started a single game. Obviously the coaches don't like what tey see from him. Hardy, too, because he hasn't caught a single touchdown since he got injured - LAST YEAR.

Yes, I agree. All that gaze upon the Chroise in action will smile in amazement at the wonder of records falling with each pass.

Excellent work! Thanks. Man, I love watching Lynch and Jackson run.

No love for Midnight Rambler? Most anything on Exile - perhaps one of the top 3 albums of all time. For my tastes, which lean more bluesy, the Stones are the beginning and end of rock bands.

I think Walker's success, as well as that of the entire line, comes down to one person. Trent Edwards. On any given pass play, he'll have Evans, TO, Reed/Parish/Johnson, and a RB/TE as dumpoff. Someone will be open. The key, however, is recognizing the coverage and/or blitz package pre-snap and making the throw quick. How did Warner survive last season with the horrible Gandy at LT? How did Manning survive 2 years ago with a rookie LT? They did it by making good pre-snap reads and getting the ball out quick. If Trent is dropping back and scanning the field for an open receiver, we're screwed regardless of who's at LT. I would love to hear that in camp someone has a clock on him... 1, 2, 3, throw. It should be that quick. I'd like to give an honorable mention to Shonert. If he can call a decent game, develop a few plays that aren't diagrammed in the first 5 pages of Football for Dummies, maybe we can actually keep a defense guessing a little. Thereby, giving our line a slight edge because defenders can't just stack the line knowing exactly where the run is going.