jad1

The problem comes when you try to retain those players. That's when they go to arbitration and say 'The Rangers are paying Jimmy Focktard $6 million a year, and my stats are way better than his." So the Lightning let him go and the Rangers sign him, and the Rangers still miss the playoffs. Meanwhile, fan interest in small markets decline, because the perception is that the team is not interested in signing star players. The system is now based on what the stupidist teams in the league are willing to overpay players. It needs to change. This whole issue is simple to solve. If the owners and NHLPA had half a brain between them, they'd copy the NFL's revenue sharing/salary cap structure. They'd adopt the NFL idea that offense sells and modify the rules to preserve scoring. They'd become partners, rather than adversaries, and work together to grow the game. But as they have proven time and time again, they're nohwere near that smart. They're still stuck in the big market/small market/player union feuds that almost destroyed baseball. The NFL is the light and the way in sports buisness management. They've shown that if the sides are willing to curb their greed a little, amazing growth is possible. Emulating their model on a smaller scale would satisfy the majority of owners and players in the NHL, and give the fans a much improved product.

Coaching trees are pretty rare in the NFL. Paul Brown and Walsh had them, but guys like Lombardi, Noll, and Gibbs didn't. A coach needs to pioneer a system to have a coaching tree. Levy, and the guys mentioned above, relied more on the abilites of their coaches and players to be successful. Johnson wasn't an innovator, he did help the transition to speedier players, but that's not really on par with the invention of the west coast offense. He did a good job evaluating talent in Dallas, mostly because he was evaluating alot of those guys a second time after coaching the Hurricanes. So it's not suprising that his tree is withering. These guys weren't coaching a 'Jimmy Johnson' system. They were left to their own abilities, which turned out to be mediocre by NFL standards.

And every QB the Bears and Bengals drafted in the first round (before Palmer).

I did read. I'll sum it up for you, since you're too slow to understand the stats that you, yourself post. --Fat said that there are good QBs who sat their first year, citing Pennington and Brady. --YOU ignored Brady and used Pennington as the whipping boy to make your argument (i.e. How many playoff games did Pennington win? How many SBs did Pennington win). --I pointed out your distortion of Fatty's point, ignoring Brady, who sat his first year and won the SB MVP his second. --I asked the question, why can't Losman do the same, proving that I was not advocating sitting Losman his second year. --You claimed that Brady did start his rookie year, even though the stats you posted proved otherwise, for which I called you a dumbass. --You then claimed the argument isn't about sitting one year, it's sitting two, claiming I should read the messages I responded too. You're pulling stuff out of your ass so fast, even you can't keep track of it.

Hey dumbass, get your facts straight. Brady was a rookie in 2000, not 2001. From your own stats, he threw THREE PASSES his rookie year. So by this account, Losman is ahead of Brady's ROOKIE pace.

Yeah, after he SAT on the BENCH for a year, he DEVELOPED into a SB MVP. And SITTING on the BENCH did play a role in his development. No matter how much you write and crusade, you can't dispute that fact, unless you are really stupid enough to believe Brady spent a year retaining nothing. WHY CAN'T LOSMAN AND THE BILLS DO THE SAME THING?!?!?!? And just to clarify before you attack me, I believe there are several ways to become a good QB in the league. There are successful QBs in the league who started right away, and some who sat for a year a two, and some jumped from team to team before breaking through. What it comes down to is if the coaches who are charge of developing the QB know what they're doing. I've seen enough from Mularkey to trust he's doing the right thing.

He also mentioned Brady as a guy who sat his first year. How many playoff games has he won? How many Super Bowls?

Good point, especially since Mularkey and his staff got the better of two SB coaches the past two weeks.

Think Cleveland has their eye on Crennel or Weiss? It's about time that the Pats coaching staff suffered some attrition.

Dammit!

Cincy's D isn't that good against the run and I like the Bills D against Palmer in a December pressure game. Buffalos' run defense will be key in each of these games. If it holds up, Feeley, Stouffer, Palmer, Rattay, and Roethlisberger will have to beat the Bills. I like those odds. Bills match up well against 4 of the 5 remaining teams they play. And if they win their next 4, I like the matchup against Pittsburgh at home.

Yes, and I picked the Colts over the Lions, the Cowboys over the Bears, and the Bills over the Hawks. Bills by 17.

I think it's a game played at county fairs similar to musical chairs. People donate cakes, put them on a table. Other people pay to enter the walk, and then the music starts and they walk around the table. When the music stops, you get the cake you're standing in front of. However, most of my knowlege about this comes from an episode of That 70's Show, so I could be wrong.

Miami's injuries and defections have them on the ropes. If the Bills effort is anywhere near what it has been the last two weeks, they win this one in a cake walk. Considering their poor offensive line and Feely's health, he'll be lucky to make it out of the 2nd quarter.

I believe that the FCC allows the showing of only one boob at a time. Two boobs=Mega Fine. Of course, this doesn't explain how Maguire and Thiesmann are allowed to appear on television at the same time.

More importantly, did she show her boob when she said this?

Well the Cards aren't out of the playoffs. If the Rams lose tonight, they're 1 game back. So they are challenging for a playoff spot, whether they like it or not. Second, getting ready for 2005 with Shaun King? Who prepares for 2005 with Shaun King? Third, Green had a shot at Roethlisberger and Rivers in the draft this year, he took Larry Fitzgerald instead, which meant that he had confidence in McCown. Less than 10 games later, McCown is benched? It makes Green look bad. Fourth, Arizona has an NFL team?!?! Since when?

Amazing how good drafting can make up for the fact that you have no first round pick.

I freakin' hate Drew. Two shows on ABC are two more than he deserved. C'mon, the guy's responsible for annoying Wayne Brady and Ryan Stiles. Not to mention that clown Mimi and that english store manager dude. I hate Drew!

Because he was responsible for two quality comedy shows on ABC at one time. Without him, we'd have no Wayne Brady or Ryan Stiles, not to mention unforgettable characters like Mimi and that English store manager dude. That's why I love Drew.

You know your football. Although when the guy you're drafting scored 28 TDs on a national championship caliber college team, and he's cleared by your doctors, it's not that difficult a decision. Peter King didn't like it at the time, though. I'm sure he was the only one.

Imagine that. Drafting a guy with #1-pick-overall talent at #23 is a GOOD MOVE. Who woulda thought? Now what am I supposed to do with my Donahoe-is-a-Moron crusade?

Let's take a poll to find out.

I would rather rely on the 75 points the Bills have scored over the last couple of games, and the 45 yards they allowed on the ground to build my opinion that they are a vastly improved team. According to some around here, though, I'm a moron to trust my own eyes. Oh well.

Yeah, this is ICE's board, and optimism is not allowed here! Why the hell you guys want to ENJOY an NFL seaon is beyond me (and ICE!). The NFL is nasty, brutish, and short, and should be approached like a stay in the guoolag. Now enough with this crappola. Get in line with ICE and start praying for Bledsoe to be injured, so that we can have our own Eli Manning experience right here in Buffalo.