Dan

My take... Terry and Kim are busy people running a $4billion empire. The only way you do that is you have a CEO type overseeing each separate entity. In this case, call him a football czar. But, I doubt seriously pegs has the time or knowledge to oversee all the operations of an NFL team. Hence, hire someone that does.

I haven't had time to read all of this, but the jist of it seems to be... That Brady got his team mates behind closed doors and told them he likes to handle supple balls. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/deflate-gate-report--11-of-patriots--12-game-footballs-were-under-inflated-043620937.html

All sounds completely reasonable.... And why there's a rule against under inflating the ball. There's a range that is permitted; hence, there's zero problem with anyone checking and making sure the balls at the high end of the range are deflated to the low end. That makes sense, and is allowed. But, clearly, the league decided that you couldn't do what ever you want in the name of fairness. Nothing you quoted here indicates that Rodgers or any other QB cheats and gains that unfair advantage. He's just stating that QBs would like flatter balls because it gives them an edge. Some players/team, however, disregard the rules and do what the want apparently.

I get that... Like real "champagne" is only from France. But, if they got the cows and continue to breed and raise them according to that tradition, are we splitting hairs a little? And I'm asking because I've heard this beef is the next best thing. And I've eaten it in steakhouses, it's pretty darn tasty. So, I'm genuinely curious what the resident cow czar has to say about it.

What about Snake River Farms, in ID? Pretty good stuff.

In football, you can score on offense, defense, and special teams. In baseball, the defensive team can not score. The comparison is ridiculous. If Seattle kicks off, GB fumbles the runback and Seattle scores. Should they have to give GB another chance? Because, ya know, it wasn't fair that Rodgers didn't get his chance. When does it end? What if you play a full (or reduced time) OT period, but the coin toss winner goes on an epic 14 minute drive? Should we extend play, so the other team gets a fair chance?

We currently have one QB on the roster, plus Tuel. Does anyone expect Rex to say anything differently? of course, they're going to look at all possible avenues to bring in at least 1 or 2 more QBs. And until Rex sees who that is and how EJ plays in practice, there's no way he says who the starter is.

Sorry, thought my sarcasm was more noticeable. I was mocking the notion that the coin toss is what lost the game for GB. I agree with you, GB lost the game because their defense gave up a TD drive, not because of the coin toss.

There's a league investigation in which any incriminating evidence is destroyed and league favorites get a slap on the wrist fine, all while some PR person stands around waving his hands saying "move along, nothing more to see here. you can all go home now."

I think we need a way to make the coin toss fair. How many teams lose because of the coin toss? I bet in almost every game, some team is losing after the coin is tossed! It's totally unfair, when you think about it. Maybe they should just take turns ... No that's unfair - who gets the first turn?.. Put both offenses on the opposing 25yd line at the same time all game. Whoever scores the most for 60minutes, wins.

If its so insignificant, why is there a rule forbidding it? Why would one team risk exposure by doing it? There's obviously an advantage. And it's clearly a violation of league rules. There's no gray area here. IMO, a lifetime ban is justified, not for this act, but for the multitude of acts. He has been caught cheating in the past, with minor fines. And it's not effectively deterred him one bit. So, now when you go to Foxboro you have to worry about your game plan... And the headsets, your calls being read, your walk through being watched, obscure rules about line formations, even something as insignificant as how much air is in the ball! The league needs to put a stop this once and for all.

No they don't. They just changed the rules to make them more fair. Now they're still not fair?? The Packers Defense failed, not the rules of the game.

First of all, in a multibillion dollar sport, why does the league still act like its 1920 and make teams bring their own balls? The league should provide the balls and both teams play with the same ones, the chance for something like this immediately evaporates if they did. Second, along the same vein, get rid rid of part time, seasonal staff making critical calls that affect every game. The Refs should be full time, dedicated professionals that spend all their time improving their performance. Third, if they allegations are correct, Bellicheck should get a life time ban. Enough already. He and this team have a history of bending the rules to suit their needs. It hurts the integrity of the game far more than a drunk player or a coach paying players to hit hard.

Couple plays earlier, he got his arm hit by his own player. looked to me like he hyper extended his elbow. He's been holding his arm like that since. Looks like Wilson has to catch the ball too! How many balls have his receivers dropped or tipped to the defense?

Move the stadium out of OP! Pegula pays for restoration/IndianNative American memorial/dedication park type thing. Have Flutie with golden shovel at new stadium ground breaking ceremony. Curse is lifted. Build architectural rockpile landscape feature thingy at entrance to new stadium. Championship!

For me, at least, I try to look at what they've done over the course of the last few seasons combined with the team/situation they were in. I like to see that a coach has a track record of consistently getting good production out of average players. For me, to call Gase a great OC when he's working with Manning carries less weight than looking at what Chan did with Fitz, just as one example. But, I think everyone should realize that the dynamics of every hire change with the scenery. Nothing is guaranteed. Sure, a coach that had consistently gotten his players to play hard and produce should be expected to do well. Conversely, a coach that's had down years can often blossom in a new environment. Hence, I tend to withhold all judgement until the assistants start coming in. Currently, I have a mixed feeling for Rex. I'm not a big fan of him bringing his entire Jets staff in, but most coaches like to do that. I like the Roman hire for what he's done with Kap. So, like some, I'm a little on the fence for the time being until I see what they do on the field. At that point, I want to see them field a team that looks prepared, makes adjustments, plays hard and generally play above their perceived talent levels. And ultimately make progress in those areas and the win column. That was my biggest problem this past year, and why I was glad to see Marrone go. You could see the defense improve throughout the season. Yeah, they made mistakes and weren't perfect (hello 3rd and 22), but you could see noticeable improvement throughout the season and guys like Rambo step in and immediately look like they know what they're doing. Offensively, we were stuck in the mud. They seemed to regress in many areas and committed the same mistakes over and over. So, in the end, I'm not sure Rex et al. will get us over the hump and turn this team into a perennial playoff contender, but I think the staff they're assembling has a proven track record and should be able to with our current players (assuming we generate a QB from somewhere). Now we just have to see what they do from here and if they can consistently field a winner, week in and week out, year after year.

I've talked to 2 friends.. One Bronco fan, one Dolphin fan. Both said the same thing... Rex, meh. But you should have kept Schwartz to keep the defense in tact. And none of it matters until you get a QB. They both also agreed that our offense was horrible and Hackett and Marrone had to go.

That's what I took away from it too. Rex has seen at least 2 other team facilities, maybe more. But, he genuinely seemed impressed by what the Bills had going on. That's kinda nice to see and have affirmed.

I would say that there's nothing wrong with that. Unless.... You publicly stated your problems and trashed the board on your way out the door. Take it back to the Bills... Schwartz just quit because he and Rex don't see eye to eye. But, he didn't trash any one, create a negative situation, he just said I'd like to move on. And no one thinks he behaved poorly. Because, he didn't. He was professional to the end.

Precisely. As everyone should know.... You can never trust what is formally presented to the public in a news conference. No person or organization ever wants to air their laundry and real opinions about an issue. That's why any firm's facebook page and blog crap is always run by a PR person. They're not spouting lies, necessarily. Just spinning it and stating things in a way that are legally, politically, and marketing wise going to advance everyone in a positive light. That's why Russ will never say what he really feels about Marrone, for example. It's just not smart to do it. I don't read those 4 words as internally disagree, externally lie about it. I see it more as... Internally we disagree and debate. But, then whomever has the final say, makes a call, and the final decision gets made. At that point, get on board and externally support it, because that's where we're going and it does no one any good to show public dissent. What it sounds like to me is someone, formerly with the Bills' organization, was a bit immature and thought it should all be his way and didn't have a problem with people knowing he disagreed. And that attitude causes problems throughout the organization. Essentially, its never good to let the kids see mom and dad fight.

My two cents... I find JWs articles to be the most fact-filled, accurate, and unbiased. If his name is on it... You know its a good read. In fact, I've fallen into a habit of ignoring most other articles and just reading his stuff.

The players might just suck... Or their performance may have been the result of poor coaching/scheming/fish for dinner. I don't really know, and I would suggest Whaley can't be certain either. So, do you stand firm and risk losing another season hoping last year's draft grades were right? If I'm running the show I bring in 2-3 new guys either through FA or draft and let the cream rise to the top. ...same with the TE position.

Seriously... Turn the tv off.

The game sucks... Turn it off.

Fixed it to account for grammar and historical accuracy. You can thank me later.