Dan

A great player. A sad ending.

Don't worry dog... you can talk to me any time. Feel free to ask any questions you'd like.

Am I the only one that thinks its an insult to Hardy that everyone keeps using that photoshoped pic of Hardy with Owens' name on it? If I were Hardy, I'd be pretty pissed. You make one good play all season and it gets wiped out just like that.

But right there, you state the problem with the Bills and it's in a line that extends directly to the coaching staff. When was the last time you thought this team was properly prepared? Name a game that they've devised a game plan for a specific opponent to take advantage of weaknesses? How many times has this team come out of the locker room flat and uninspired? How many timeouts have been lost because the play didn't get called in from the sideline properly? Add to this, the 2 or 3 times a game that Jauron just makes the wrong in-game decision and it should be obvious that yes, indeed, our coaching sucks. I tried to give these guys the benefit of the doubt. I'm a very patient person. But, it's been 3 years. Can anyone honestly say that they've seen the game plans improve? seen the clock management improve? seen a winning attitude instilled in the players? We haven't. This last season it became horrendously apparent with a colossal failure in the second half of the season, culminating with the complete ineptitude of our final game against the Pats*, that this coaching staff is woefully lacking. Can they suddenly become competent with more talent (i.e TO)? We'll see. But I, for one, won't be expecting much. Seriously, after witnessing last year's debacle, who can possibly get excited if we start this season 1-0, 2-0, hell even 4-0? Sure, it'd be nice, but until I see the words "clinched playoff spot" beside the Bills' name in the standings, it'll be hard to get too excited. Sucks, I know. But, that's what keeping Jauron and the status quo has done for this fan. I have all the desire in the world to see this team win, but no hope whatsoever that it'll be this season. I was disheartened when Jauron was retained. And, despite a decent off season or trades and drafting, I fail to see how any of it matters when they come out uninspired and unprepared. My question is what will everyone say when TO is running end around fake reverses and WR screens with no blocking 3 or 4 times per game or deep sideline routes while Trent is checking down? Will we fail because TO is old, a problem, or because the coaches are doing what they've done for quite some time now - call all the wrong plays at all the wrong times?

Let's face it both of these guys are complete busts and just further proof that th FO is run by idiots. Neither Wood nor Levitre are starters, not to even mention they've done absolutely nothing to help the running game. Has Lynch or Jackson had one decent run behind them? No. Have they provided a key block for a touchdown? No. Look at Lynch's stats... he's done nothing since we picked both these guys. Facts are facts and you can't argue with figures. And the fact is neither of these guys have done anything worth getting on Sportscenter. I say trade them both now while we can still get a 5th rounder and a bag of chips for them. Busts. Called it first.

There's plenty of love for Fred Jackson on this board. In fact, I can't readily recall anyone that's down on the guy. However, to suggest that he's the best RB on the team is a little more than love, it's borderline infatuation. I would suggest you're making the same mistake in interpreting the stats that many people make when they conclude that the backup QB should replace the starter after 1 or 2 good games. There's a reason some players are backups and some are starters. It's not necessarily who's better. But, more of a case of players filling the role they're being asked to fill. I would say we're fortunate to have a backup as capable as Jackson.

Thanks for the kind remarks. I would agree on one point. Certainly, I think almost anyone should be considered for a trade, barring a franchise quarterback perhaps. However, if we trade Whitner for a high round pick and select a top flight nose tackle, aren't we just continuing the trend of trading one hole for anther. Why not keep Whitner, allowing him to solidify the safety position for years to come and select a high round NT next year as well? Granted, this year not withstanding, we don't have a good track record for picking linemen. But, if I had input that'd be what I would lobby for. With Whitner, McGee, McKelvin, the secondary should be set for the time being. Now it should be time to concentrate on the line (then LB). But not if we continue cutting/trading the DBs.

This thread has definitely gone down a bad path. But you gotta admit, its kinda fun to read. It's almost like looking at monkeys in the zoo, you just can't believe some of the stupid crap they do (or say, in this case). However, given the premise of the thread, I knew it was doomed from the first post. Seriously, there's no way you trade Whitner. I don't think anyone was glad we drafted him initially. To this day, I'd guess about 50% of the people here still wouldn't draft him. None the less, he has become a solid player that's a leader on the team. No, he's not one of the top 2 or 3 safeties in the league. But, by no means does that mean he should be traded either. I would say that Whitner's biggest problem (for some people) is that too many people play fantasy football. All they know are certain stats that get them points. Whitner doesn't average a couple of interceptions a game, so they never see his name pop up on their FF sheets, ergo he must suck. Put Whitner on a team with a decent pass rush and decent HC; and watch his FF numbers improve. The entire argument over Whitner s indicative of most Bills' fans short sightedness which probably stems from watching a team lose as much as we have over the last decade. But, everyone is always ready to trash everyone for the next big thing. The optimism around JP was huge. Why? He wasn't Bledsoe. I remember at the time, we would win 2-3 more games just because Bledsoe wasn't back there. Trent is great. Why? Because he isn't JP. I said it day one, my biggest worry over starting Trent 3 years ago was that it would set our team back 3 years. Well, here we are. Same with our new center. He's great. Why? Because he's not Fowler. And I could go on for almost every roster spot for years. But, the fact of the matter is this: not all the Bills players are bad or need to be cut just because they don't make the highlight reel. No team has a probowler at every position. It may be difficult to spot the nuances of each player's play, but educated observers do. And just because there may have been better or good players drafted after the Bills selected someone, that doesn't mean the player can't become good. I was equally shocked and dismayed at the selection of Whitner; however, it's nice to see that he's become a good, solid player that's a leader on the team. (This post is not entirely directed at you Bill, justs the first half)

Saving money is easy. Just don't buy stuff. Nuff said. And if you get a job, get one at a restaurant. Free food. With free food and not buying stuff, you'll have all the money you'll ever need.

Best of luck. I'm a little late, but just remember.. you know more about your research than any of your committee members do. Also, it's almost unheard of for them to let you walk into that room unless they're prepared to accept your dissertation. Honestly, look at the defense as more of a celebration. You're done. Nothing left but some good discussion about your work. Your committee gets one more chance to stick it to you before you join the club, and they will - just because they can. But, in the end, welcome...

More secure with regards to malware/spyware. Plus less buggy in general.

Disconnect from the internet - either unplug your ethernet cable or tell your wireless to disconnect. Then when you open Firefox, it should almost immediately go to a screen that says it can't connect to the server. Then you should be able to change whatever settings you want. Close FF, reconnect, then you should be good to go.

Well that sucks. I was hoping you'd say you were using IE 8.0. That way I could just bad mouth Microsoft. But, what you're suggesting is a real dilemma. Usually, people can't get neww tab to open, but to open - and just not properly load the link is strange. There have been some bugs associated with IE 8, that are similar to your suggestion; and it's possible that IE could change the way all your browsers are operating. (its happened to me in the pasts). I'll do a little research and see what I can determine. In the meantime. It might be worthwhile to go to your "Add/Remove Programs" Control Panel and remove Firefox, then do a clean install. My guess is that some setting has gotten corrupted. You could go into "about:config" and see them, but without knowing which specific one to change you could spend days. I respect Fezmid's opinion; however, I'd do 2 things before a complete wipe and re-install. First update your spyware/antivirus software and run it to see if anything is picked up. Second, if no other programs are misbehaving, let's give it a couple of days to see if there's something else going on. Again, I'm thinking you just have a setting (possibly registry entry) that's gotten changed for the bad. (Of course, a complete wipe/re-install would fix that as well.) I'll keep thinking and get back to you... (right now I have to leave for the airport) Edit: Found some ideas. Most of what I'm seeing has to do with IE 8. However, maybe there's some carry over from IE to Firefox and Opera. But, here's a few things to try: 1. I've read suggestions that AVG antivirus' Link Scanner can cause this symptom. So, if you're using AVG or a similar antivirus that's checks website links, try turning that off and see if the problem is resolved. 2. This site has an idea. No idea how it may work, but maybe worth a shot? 3. Most discussion seems to center around possible conflicts with add-ons. So, if you've gotten any add-ons installed, I'd try turning them all off and then turn them on one at a time to see if and when the problem comes back. Perhaps youo could pin it down to one problematic add-on. The problem with all these is that with intermittent problems, it may take you a few days to see if any of the "fixes" work. Also, the fact that it's wider spread than just IE, makes me think it could be something totally different. But also leads me to think that the antivirus could be the culprit.

I'd agree. I think Tim's comments were spot on. Right down to the suggestion that too many Bills' fan try to rationalize his departure. But, I suppose that's to be expected. It's tough to admit we just traded away our franchise LT. I guess it remains to be seen if Peters was all that. But, I will say that for all Peters greatness and talk of how bad Trent is going to get abused this year, it seems Trent got sacked quite a bit last year - with Peters on the line. Rationalization or not. I guess if we had some assurance that the 2009 Peters was going to play like the 2007 Peters, then maybe it'd be more of a concern. But, let's not forget that even in 2007, Peters didn't finish the season. So, at any rate... now I think I'm rationalizing. So I'll shut up.

This kinda sums it up. Bottom line was regardless of Peters' talent, he had a miserable attitude and sand bagged last season. Do you reward a player like that? You can't. You'd have every player on the team trying to hold the team hostage for new contracts in short time. The real question should be, should the Bills have made Peters the highest paid lineman after the 2007 season? IMO, no. You can't renegotiate every 2 years based on a players performance. The FO locked him up for 5 years at a great contract and everyone thought it was a great move. They had their franchise LT at a great price. Next thing you know the guy has a good year and wants to throw the contract out and now the FO is bad? I don't get it. Again, I think the FO had little options and Peters forced the situation. So, is he a great talent? Yes. Do you reward a player with your highest contract that tanks the entire off season and under performs during the regular season? No. Was the whole situation unfortunate? Yes. And I'd suggest that both sides had a hand in it. Either way, it was time to move on.

First thought is to try something easy on the desktop. Release and Renew your IP address. It's explained here. Sometimes it's that easy. If not, my next question would be how is your wireless router set up? Make sure you can have 3 or more machines online at one time. What browser are you using? Did this problem just start or has it always behaved like this? Did you just upgrade your browser?

I'd be upset if I wasn't laughing so much. Well played, sir.

Why?!?!? Serves me right for not thinking.

Just checked the mail and the Game tickets had arrived! My sister bought the Induction tickets, so hopefully she got them or gets them soon. Gonna be great fun.

No doubt. It really must be nice to have a job where you can just make up any old thing you want and call it done. I'll add... Adam Vinatieri. Didn't the Pats* get to their 1st Super Bowl on the leg of Vinatieri in the snowbowl game? Then he won the Super Bowl. Then another. One of the best clutch kickers of all time is over rated? Also, I wonder... do some of these "writers" jut put Bills players in the list because they know it'll piss us off and generate a lot of feedback? It does make me wonder to see so many Bills on that list. Not so much because those players were so good, but more so because who really had any of those players that highly rated to begin with (other than maybe Moulds)?

You forgot to mention... and build a world class, retractable roof stadium on the lake; revitalize the downtown; and make all our wildest dreams come true. Yes, if only a new ownership group could save us all....

I'll admit to only giving a cursory glance to a quote/article about Dallas. Point remains the same, however. If not King, someone thinks he's going to be good because he's finally decided to care.

So you're suggesting we win the coin toss, then punt on 1st down?

You, sir, are very correct. However, you're completely forgetting all the Dallas and TO hype talk. I fully expect half the TO highlights will split to Romo throwing the ball to TO. There will be half a dozen segways into TO and Romo's "feud". I also fully expect it'll be at least mid 2nd quarter before they actually acknowledge in some fashion that the Bills are playing the game. Because, as you say, any play good or bad that our defense makes will be discussed and replayed from Brady's perspective. Any play on offense will be followed by TOs reaction and a clip to how he reacted in Dallas. By mid 2nd quarter, I'll openly wonder why aren't the Bills playing this week. They have TO and Brady in one game, all they'll have to do is work in Favre - which I'm certain they'll do - and they'll have all they need for a great night of completely unrelated football talk.

I very much dislike the constant discussion of the Cowboys, Favre or Brady/Pats* when the Cowboys, Favre or Brady/Pats* aren't playing. I'd prefer the announcers just stick to the game at hand. Ya know the one that we're all actually watching. Not some other game last week or last year. I swear sometimes they make up stats just as an excuse to put a Favre graphic/clip on the screen.