Toledo Bill

Sports Illustrated has a nice piece on Bledsoe's good year. They quote Tom Donahoe as saying... "He is playing against primarily NFC opponents that have not seen him in a while. Wait until the second time around". I know I do not have the quote verbatim, but it is close. I can't wait to see how this year plays out. Either: 1. Bledsoe plays great all year, Donahoe' s major mistake is revealed and his comments reflect his own failure. 2. Bledsoe falls on his face in the second half and Tom is a genius. Initially, I took his comments as sour grapes and that he felt that he could not have been wrong, but now I am interested in seeing how the year plays out. He also mentioned that part of Drew's success was due to good pass protection. That comment left me scratching my head. We have all been crying for improvements in the offensive line for quite some time and now he attributes part of Drew's good year to good pass protection. Where was that thinking while Drew was here?

My complaint regarding that publication is that they shy away from criticizing the coach and his staff. Mularkey writes an article each issue and perhaps that is why they do this. When they give out grades, they do not even grade the coaches. I would prefer less biased reporting and if he picks the opposing team to win... so be it.

but when Sam Adams "comes to play" he has amazing quickness off the ball for a man of his size and age. He almost seems to know the snap count. When he is motivated, he is a lot of fun to watch.

but does anyone else feel that Randy Cross and his broadcasting partner were almost rooting for the Dolphins?

RJ = The blankety-blank (1972?) undefeated Dolphins coming out of the woodwork each year a team is undefeated after the sixth game of the season

We will never get a coach like Saban as long as we have a "control freak" of a President/GM.

make a statement in Preseason that if we didn't make the playoffs that he would not consider the season a failure? What a set-up. Every year he has a different scapegoat and is never held accountable. To make a statement like that before the season just shows that he is under very little pressure to produce a winner. I agree with the posters that he is judged only by how many seats are filled. If these performances continue... there will be a lot of empty seats. I am tired of his double talk but mostly by one thing... his bottom line as a football man stinks.

Are you kidding? Ol' Whitey would try some grandstanding trade to get more publicity for himself. He has built a shame of an organization.

What do you think opposing defensive coaches can do? Prior to Losman's long pass attempt that was intercepted, Criqui mentioned twice that they were due to "go long". Not that it matters, Losman couldn't hit a receiver on a deep pattern with no coverage at all.

Lack of discipline. Many stupid penalties. One of the signs of a poorly coached team. We do not have a good football team.

Bottom line...Pittsburgh has done quite well since they booted him. How have we done?

Yeah... Didn't we get rid of Rusty for another "Pittsburgh Buddy". Also, did you notice that Mularky's new "t shirt look" is mirroring the Pittsburgh coaches? It's amazing how the Steelers continue to produce a good product minus "Ol' Whitey" while we appear to be in shambles.

We must have been watching a different game. I don't remember seeing much of Shelton either and felt that this was part of the problem.

would run out of steam and start getting run over when their offense continually goes three and out in heat and humidity like today. I don't feel like they quit like they did against New England last year. I was really disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm today, but felt that it was a natural "downer" for the entire team regarding how the offense was looking. Terrible performance, yes. Poor overall effort, yes. I think, however, that we shouldn't write off the season. Once, it was obvious what was happening (or not happening) with our offense, everything was in place for a poor game. I'll reserve judgement for a few weeks.

Another vote for Reid's. For a change-up, try their white hots.

In the early 70's WBUF was the the big "head" station. I remember the Program Director getting arrested for barricading himself in the station or something crazy like that.

Agreed... Although for one of the few times that I can remember, I thought Berman's performance was sub par, also (maybe I just hold him to a higher standard).

I would question this move. If he was touted as being awesome running after the catch, it would have been primarily against defensive backs. As a running back he would be facing more linebackers and lineman. I still have faint hopes that he'll pan out as our 3rd reciever, but not much hope as a running back. Nice to see a different, innovative thought, though... thanks.

No flame here... excellent point. I grew up in that environment and cherish the memories. "More for the benefit of adults"... great comment.

Good for you! I have coached my son's baseball and football teams for several years. One thing I do is send out a memo to all the parents prior to the season staing my philosophy and guidelines. I describe exactly what I expect and how I will address situations. I also state that if a parent has an issue to discuss it with me privately and that we will try to resolve. You did the right thing. I have lost "star" players in the past and have still had very successful seasons ( by successful I mean the kids are all having fun while learning about sportsmanship, respect and a TEAM concept). It's funny, these teams also end up with very good won/lost records... with or without "star" players. Good luck to you... again, I have coached for many years and in my opinion you did the right thing!

Perfect. Just like all the 400 pound bench pressers you talk to that must be "having a bad day" struggling with 225.

If you are indeed the hitter you claim to be... congratulations. I retired from playing ball 12 years ago and it always used to amuse me how everyone that played softball claimed to be a 400 ft power hitter that just missed the majors. I saw one individual in 20 years of playing that hit nothing but line drives (that also occassionaly carried out). If you are truly in that class, you are an asset to any team. Most of the claims I heard, however, turned out to be so overblown it was ridiculous. Not doubting you, but the stories I used to hear would grate me. I always found that the new guy I wanted on my team would be the one that said... "just give me a tryout and you be the judge".

That's Custodial Engineer, thank you...

VP Operations/Quality for an large wholesale hardware distributor. The documentation, appraisal and as mentioned before "treat others as you wish to be treated" training have helped my career immensely.