AKC

I won't argue with you on that. If you'd actually gone to the study and read it, you wouldn't have found yourself swimming in the Ramius lie about "any DT", and you would have seen that the honest reviewers suggested expansions, but the methodology (which was all included) was acceptable and ended up showing that there are measurable positional drafting tendencies, and the Bills tendencies in some cases are out of whack with good NFL teams, and very specifically in the areas of DL/TE.

Oh my God- there're a dozen idiots on TSW? Say it ain't so!

Ramius- Apr 24th, 2008= 2 days before NO WR were taken in the first round Just because there is no clear cut #1 does NOT mean that the draft is WR weak. There are quite a handful of WRs that will go in the 1st Does the head of that pin hurt your feet?

What's laughable is his trying to sell that the Bills 4-3 scheme DL investment is comparable to the Steelers in a 3-4! Yeah, their roster should look just like ours from a positional allotment, wink wink.

I enjoy you making a compete ass of yourself. OC IN PHilly says he'd have expanded the study to include more teams. Good for him. Game. Set. Match. That's right, it's as stupid in this context as it was when you put it in the above string. You apparently haven't recovered from being exposed for your statements about "all the first round WRs in 2008" that turned out to show you to be a draft know-nothing. All your spam isn't going to change your inability to understand the draft strategies of the best teams.

Where do you come up with that BS? The Colts? Are you kidding me? You need to go back and read the study- you don't have a clue what you're talking about. The Colts used DLine equity at a rate virtually 50% greater than the Bills over the study period. Let me fill you in on a little secret about the Steelers- they play in a 3-4. That scheme requires a greater investment in LBs than a team in a 4-3, and a lesser investment in DL. Act as surprised as you want at the Steelers equity numbers and suggest that the Bills having similar numbers is somehow "equal"- but let the intellectually honest and curious discuss the trends. Lions Bills? BS once again. The study showed that like the Lions, the Bills spend a higher draft equity at the top of the draft on their offenses versus their defenses, while the best teams use high draft equity on defenses. KC? The Jets? The Texans? Spare me the Chicken Little arguments- Ramius is already in the thread. As I said in the study- I couldn't care less what mistakes bad teams make- i wanted to see how the Bills stacked up to the best teams. I only included the Lions info because of the Ramius insistence that we'd see a run on WRs in the first round of the 2008 draft.

Only if you are stupid anough to believe a lie perpetrated by Ramius. Now on the other hand, if you're smart enough to actually go to my posts, and the study in particular, you'll see that I used the first two rounds and quantified each pick/position for 7 drafts. The Giants used more equity over that time frame than the Bills by a substantial percentage. And that was the finding I offered- that more top draft equity was used by the best teams than by the Bills. Now I understand why all the "we have to draft a WR at #1" people couldn't accept that good teams in 2008 weren't looking at WRs in the first. The results I got showed that the best teams put a lot less equity in WRs. The fact we still have the same numbskulls writhing over it tells me more about human nature than it does about our fan base.

That's BS. The data showed that we used less top of the draft equity on DL over the past 7 drafts than the best teams over the same span. There was a lot of "if I'd done it I'd have included.." or "I'd have gone 10 years" nonsense, but the data shows what it shows. You may have a theory, I instead have evidence. What the value of that evidence is can surely be argued, but it does show that we're closer to Detroit in our first two round drafting strategies by position than we are to NE* and others.

The Giants are a great example of a team that uses regular equity at the top of the draft (first 2 rounds) on the DLines, and at a higher rate than the Bills. If you look at teams like the Pats/Giants/Eagles/Colts/Bears, they put a much higher emphasis on it than teams like Buffalo and Detroit, who have been spending more of that early equity on the offensive side of the ball and more specifically on WRs. There is enough a split in the way the worst versus the best do it that for my money, there's enough evidence in the form of watching us pass on players like Tommie Harris and Haloti Ngata and arguably even Vince Wilfork to support a conclusion that the Buffalo Bills place the importance of DTs below where the position is valued by the best clubs. It's become disheartening to watch our team piss away the opportunity to get better in a hurry in drafts where difference makers inside are available and we let them go to the competition, ending up with guys like McCargo who is never going to be a complete DT, and might not even become much a a pass-rushing DT if he continues down his current path.

The record is there for anyone honest to see- what I've said is that the best team's use a higher amounts of their early draft equity on DTs than the Bills and the Lions. Your tactic when you can't grasp something (and something fairly simple in this case) is to regurgitate another 400 posts telling a lie (any DT taken in the first...) that you hope somehow is adopted by others as simple as yourself. Congratulations on finding three other idiots on TSW with similar difficulties in truth-telling.

You're welcome to all the admiration you can muster for the front office of the Chiefs, but for the balance of us who are honestly evaluating what the good teams in the league are doing on draft day, the Chiefs are hardly one of our models.

Don't try to explain it to the oxygen deprived- there are clearly three idiots on TSW don't understand the difference between a quality DT worthy of a first round pick (Tommy Harris, Haloti Ngata) versus a reach like McCargo. In fact the idiot who has perpetrated the myth that any poster ever suggested "any DT blah blah blah" has refused the opportunity to show that anyone but himself has ever made the claim. Because, of course, it's nothing more than an idiot's mantra to cover up an inability to grasp clear patterns and strategies of the league's best teams. Right WRamius? ;-)

Right now our best model for the above may be keeping the two FA DTs on the field together. It was very interesting to watch how the Redskins first unit schemed on passing downs. When it was Stroud/Williams, Williams drew two hats and the 'Skins elected to play Stroud straight up against Randy Thomas- their OG who is considered a much better run than pass blocker. When Stroud went out for SpencerJ, the 'Skins gave Thomas help. I should mention that Thomas was perfectly effective in the limited passing snaps he faced Stroud one on one. There was no sign of the good upfield steps Marcus showed back in the early part of the decade. If "the book" on Stroud is right, based upon how Washington protected their QB when he was in the game, we should expect to see Stroud giving us his contributions against the run and becoming a liability in the passing game since he won't be a threat nor drawing any extra help. We needed help against the run, and Marcus still has his low game- but if he doesn't improve over the course of the preseason in penetration we shouldn't expect him to improve our pass defense- at all. The good news on penetration might be that SpencerJ was given a lot of reps- and would have blown up a draw going away fom him if he hadn't been pulled to the ground by his jersey. I'd say if we're looking for a pleasant surprise along our DLine this season, Spencer would be the best bet. He's not the biggest guy on the field, but if Stroud gets pulled on passing downs and Spencer sees a lot of action, his instincts and athleticism might be a net gain for us in getting some push into opposing pockets.

McCargo looks like he'd rather play Will Linebacker than down in the trenches. On his first play McCargo lets Pete Kendall (who doesn't even have good footing when he pops McCargo) get under his pads and blow him off the ball. Then again, they say old habits die hard. This guy has never shown the ability to get low and play where good DTs makes their living. The second play is vintage 2007 McCargo- it's 2nd and 4 from the 5 yard line, a short yardage play with the goal line to his back. At the snap, McCargo abandons his gap- I'm guessing because when he did the same in a similar situation last year, some of the media applauded him for his lack of discipline because he got lucky and made a play. Yesterday, the odds won- Portis saw the abandoned gap and went right down to the 1 over the spot McCargo vacated. Another down later, you get to see every other Bill's DT on the ground as the whistle blows- but McCargo is up and spinning around like a top because he refuses to get down low and put his weight into the line surge. On a team that is desperate for help in the D interior, this guy who has every reason to be producing positively for us is building a resume that says something else. He just does not appear to have the appetite to fight the other big bodies along the line of scrimmage.

I won't dispute the premise on QB- in fact I'm of the belief that there isn't a more overrated (not to mention misunderstood) position in the game, at least at the Pro level. There are plenty of downright bad QBs who have hoisted a Lombardi in modern times- but not a single bad defense. In fact, the defenses of the Lombardi winner in recent years have always been among the best in the league with the exception of the Indy D two years ago who came into their own by the time they hit the playoffs. Many experts felt in the playoffs they were among the top league defenses. As to the trophies- the NFC gives out the Halas and the NFL gives out the Lombardi, same things for rings, and I believe but could be wrong that there are banners for both the NFC and Super Bowl champs?

If the trade is completed and Favre plays in the green uni, he'll get about a 5 game honeymoon before he begins to be consumed by the media in NY, a media who will have no respect for the trophies, rings and banners Favre earned as a member of the Green Bay Packers. I always liked watching the guy play- he's a good leader and fun on the field- but he's frequently on the wrong side of the risk equation and moving to the AFC East with the 2008 Jets is likely to turn into a disaster for his reputation, a rep he's already tarnished with his flip-flopping. Until the smoke clears I'll be a little skeptical about it coming to pass, but if it does it sure stinks of a "Be Careful What You Wish For" situation for a guy who could have otherwise enjoyed a lot of rounds of golf with premium endorsement income over the next dozen or so years.

Tommie Harris was sitting there another draft day when we picked a WR instead. The two players who would have had more impact on our W/L record over the past 3 seasons were passed over to fill in positions that have not had anywhere near the impact those premium interior line defenders would have. Smart teams and winning teams are not out looking for older veterans to "star" in their DLine interiors; they instead recognize the game today requires making an investment in young players inside. The best teams look to pick up vets at the WR position if FA while taking star DTs early in the draft- we've got the formula backwards.

Good point. Others among your vast body of shortcomings nearly led me to forget that you're a thief to boot.

Your little "solo" reach-around is quite entertaining. Don't let the vapor-free world to discourage you from continuing on your chosen trajectory.

Credibility

Exactly. This roster is a nice Bill of Goods we're being sold that gets some people excited. The likelihood is that if all things necessary aligned (and that is a substantial bag of wishes right there) and we were in position for some postseason action, that would come not as a result of having assembled a great team or coaching staff but by virtue of enjoying one of the easier schedules in the league in some time. Our reality is that we have virtually no chance of matching up against playoff quality rosters and that paints any 2008-9 postseason as a "short" run. We're two quality players from being competitive with the top of the league right now and there's virtually no chance both of those players will somehow land in our lap before the season begins. No matter the level of optimism Training Camp brings, we're not a team that will be honestly challenging for at least another off-season, and probably two.

It's nothing new for Parker- Here are some of his clients who have held out under him: Hines Ward Richard Seymour Cedric Benson Walter Jones Corey Simon Shawn Springs Peter Boulware Chris Perry And this blog suggests he's embraced the tactic in similar form for quite a while- Holdout Parker

It's all a matter of training. Specialty Canine Training

That Madison Hill route is normally "available", but I don't know if a bicycle would be the best choice of delivery method. On another note- back in the "old days", when the drinking age was 18 and the Unemployment Office had a sensible proximity in being located right next door to Better Days, a buddy walked into the bar one morning and took the seat next to me. He said he'd been given a lead at the unemployment office to do a big roofing job. He had a quick draft and then set off for the jobsite on Maple Ave. I got to thinking about where on Maple there might be a big roofing job, and the bar discussion went on for about 15 minutes about where it might be before my buddy returned and sat down to order a beer. I gave him a minute before asking "so they're doing the steeple on the Catholic Church?".

I don't think I've been to their site for a few months, but this is the first I've noticed the upgrade. Oakie's a good hometown boy who used to date my sister. IIRC he's got a good recipe for grey squirrel ;-) I don't know JAnderson- but to convince him to leave the TH for the WDR must have included the jump to News Editor.