Last Guy on the Bench

What don't you get about the fact that there is no evidence that he battered his girlfriend at all? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Maybe he's a creep, maybe she was just angry and made something up. No way to know for sure. As for the "mentality" you are worried about, few NFL players are particularly swift, and I venture to say that people who grow up in difficult situations and succeed (which he has done so far) are more likely to continue that success than are people who have had everything handed to them in the 'burbs. Either way, though, generalizations are stupid (except for that one). I'm sure if the Bills are interested in him they'll work hard to get a good feel for who he is as an actual person, not a symbol or a category.

Exactly. I don't get all this character stuff. Everything I know about Lynch sounds positive. He generally avoids attention, deflects credit away from himself and toward his teammates, busts his ass on the field, plays through injuries. He grew up in a tough neighborhood in tough circumstances. Toward the end of last season he was slowly becoming more of a vocal team leader, but still staying out of the limelight in terms of the press. He spontaneously drove a golf cart around the field after a big win (he said he didn't know why exactly, except that "the keys were in it"). Oh my God, arrest him. Or, on the other hand, draft him. I'm not into first round running backs unless they are very special. I'd be happy with Okoye or Willis or Brown (unlikely now) and then Hunt or Pittman etc. in the 2nd. But I would pretty excited if Marv pulled the trigger on Lynch. And given his experience with Kelly/Thomas/Reed and that of his old pal in Indy with Manning/Harrison/Edge (then Addai), he's gotta be into triplets. (Of course, who isn't into triplets? )

2004 Avg. 8.8 YPC (on only 71 carries, however) 2005 Avg. 6.4 YPC 2006 Avg. 6.1 YPC (OK, that's not really all I need to know. But those are some crazy yards per carry. I don't know of any other workhorse running back in the draft averaging over 6 yards during two full seasons of work.)

The Steinbach numbers kicking around right now (rumors, to be sure) are pretty close. But you might be right. We'll see.

Based on rep or on your own observation? I haven't seen much of the Skins the past few years (they bored the crap out of me), so I don't know. I just think it's interesting that reading the tea leaves implies that the Bills like Dockery better than either of the other two, straight up. They weren't just "settling" for a second-tier, small-market type FA (at least in their own minds).

Everyone assumes that Steinbach and Dielman are the top two guards, but with the kind of money the Bills apparently threw at Dockery (i.e., essentially Steinbach/Dielman money), it's clear that they disagree. They are in the ballpark of what it would have taken to sign any of the FA guards (give or take a few million). Most of us (and the media) assumed that Dockery was a bit below Steinbach and Dielman in terms of talent (and therefore money) - a good 2nd-tier option for a team that couldn't compete with the big dollar boys. But maybe not. Steinbach might be a better pass blocker and Dielman might be a better run blocker, but looking at the $ and listening to the comments, I think the Bills like Dockery better overall for their offense than either of the other two. And who's to say they're wrong? Basically, for that kind of jack they could have been a player for any of the guards, and they chose to focus the Full Frontal Day One Free Agency Assault on Dockery. Hope they're right. Pretty exciting.

http://thebrushback.com/respect_full.htm Also, this little note on Budweiser's ad campaign: New Budweiser Ad Doesn’t Mention It Tastes Like Pee LOS ANGELES--A hilarious new Budweiser ad, which aired during the Super Bowl, depicts two men playing “rock-paper-scissors” for a bottle of Bud until one of then throws a rock at the other’s head, knocking him out cold. “I threw a rock,” the man notes. What he doesn’t note is that the beer he just assaulted his friend for tastes like pee. “Well that’s an interesting strategy,” said advertising executive Jim Hinkle. “They made a funny, engaging commercial, while at the same time avoiding mentioning that the product tastes like piss. Then again, they never mention that. It’s kind of the elephant in the room with them. I’m sure their focus-group research indicated that most people don’t like drinking piss, so they tailored their ad accordingly. They were going for the coveted ‘everybody in the world’ demographic.” Hinkle indicated that he, like the rest of the world, also drinks Budweiser, because it’s cheap and gets you just as f##ked up as any other beer.

I'm with you. I'll be totally happy if we draft DL or OL or even LB with the first pick (though I think the value is better in the 2nd round for LB). BUT I am really intrigued by Lynch. I love the way he runs, he's got the all around skills, and he's got a great presence on and off the field from what I've seen. (I'm no college football expert, though. I've only seen him a little bit, so if anyone who's watched him a lot has a different opinion, I'd be happy to hear it.) I actually like him a lot better than Peterson. I admit that Peterson is the better pure athlete, but I'm not a big fan of RBs who rely so heavily on superior athleticism (as opposed to moves, feel, etc.). I don't think the Herschel Walker/Bo Jackson types are as effective in the long run as the guys who really move like running backs. As soon as the athleticism starts to wane a bit, they're done. Whereas a Thurman/Smith/Payton, etc. can keep on rolling. McGahee is the in the superior athlete category to me, not the born RB category. He's got great balance and strength and decent speed. But he doesn't really run like a great runner, IMO. I'm biased toward the guys that are just fun to watch like LT, or even Barber at a lesser level. Lynch just looks like an RB to me. I haven't really liked any of the big name RBs in the draft for a few years now, but there's something about Lynch that I love. If Marv grabs him, I will be quite happy. If he doesn't, I hope he doesn't even look at RBs until the 4th round or so. Focus on the big boys in the trenches.

Nice. And if the Bengals give up more than 12 to the Colts (likely) we'll be 7th. Four rookies starting. Ridiculous run defense at times. But we aren't such an easy touch.

Cheers. Happy to be on such a distinguished page.

I agree. I don't think he'll be here next year. But I think that will be a big mistake. I definitely agree that a 1st round DB is not the way to go next year, with or without Nate. If he's gone, though, I do think they'll have to look at one in rounds 2-4. For me, though, round two is linebacker round - you can always get good-to-great LBs down there. I think next year round 1 for the Bills has to be OL or DT unless there is a TE or LB that you just can't pass on. My worst nightmare would be blowing a 1st rounder on a WR. I love Lee Evans, but I really don't like spending 1st round picks on WRs. They're too hit-and-miss, too slow to develop, and too available in later rounds. We got lucky with Lee.

I think Nate is worth it even if he doesn't match his great play of recent weeks. Pay him as if he's the best CB in the NFL (he's pretty damn close right now). Even if he drops off a bit, the contract won't be all that big in a couple of years time, since prices just go up and up. I also think it's possible that coaching is a big part of his recent upsurge. It seems to have coincided with Fewell's decision to stick him on the number one receiver for most of the game rather than keeping him on a particular side. That being said, while I myself would pretty much break the bank to keep him, I don't think the Bills (i.e., Ralph) will. I agree that Ralph can't fork out 15+ million dollar bonuses while he's busy crying poor. The only good thing about letting Nate go is that it increases the possibility we will take another DB relatively high in the draft thus ensuring a steady supply of apoplectic and entertaining posts from Bill in NYC. I always enjoy those. I just hope he doesn't spontaneously combust.

I thought the same thing. I was sure he was going to get popped at the five or ten yard line. He looked a few steps faster than I've ever seen him. Maybe the knee thing is still improving. I actually saw quite a bit of the Ravens/Steelers game as well, at the sports bar where I was watching the Bills, and I was also surprised by how fast Jamal Lewis looked. It was like we were back in 2000. For quite a while after his injury, Lewis looked like a tough, productive, but slightly lumbering running back (which is how Willis often looks), but there was no lumbering about him yesterday. Maybe the real recovery time on a knee injury like that is three or four years.

He does it ALL the time, and it drives me nuts. He'll do it the other way too (i.e., moving from the 20 to the 30 in your own half of the field and he'll say "down to the 30 yard line"). Very strange. I can't believe that no one in the organization has corrected this.

The class of 2004 looks like it might be something special (too soon to tell). But looking at those ratings (and watching games), you see Rivers, Manning, and JP in the top half of the league or so and with a bullet in their third year in the league. And Big Ben, of course, has stunk, but he's been sick, and he did win the SB last year. (I know some of you don't think much of Roethlisberger, but I think he's a real gamer. The QB of these 4 whom I feel the least confident about in terms of future stardom is Eli. But I think they'll all be pretty good, at least, for quite a while.)

Saw this link on the buffalobills.com message board and thought I'd pass it along. I've always had a soft spot for the Vikes, for some reason, and this thread just reinforces it: http://www.purplepride.org/index.php?optio...0&topic=27646.0 Denney in particular is getting clobbered. I think my favorite is the one with him and the poster's gym teacher, "Ms. Ducat."

Thanks, Tom. Maybe the wisest thing anyone has ever said on this board.

Even better, at the board on buffalobills.com, the thread header is: "Jim Leonhard resinged." Burned again?

He looked pretty puffy to me last night. Maybe he always looks like that, and I've just forgotten. Did anyone else think this, or is it just me. He's still a helluva receiver, unfortunately, though he did seem to disappear for big chunks of that game. (Could be MM.) Also, I couldn't believe how badly Ike Taylor played for Pitt. He has to be one of the worst tacklers in run support or coming up to nail the WR on a quick out that I've ever seen. And he was burned downfield a few times too. This from a guy who had like 24 pass breakups last year. (Edit: I see in other threads that opinion is divided on this one. I didn't see the first third of the game, so maybe his coverage was better then. But his tackling was just bad. He seemed to lose his footing every time with just the slightest half-juke from the receiver or RB.) Good times. There is nothing like quaffing a beer at the local pub and finding flaws in other AFC teams while the Bills are sitting at home, safe and snug in their Barcaloungers.

I thought Jarts was funny. But this might be my favorite post since 2004.

Jarts! Outstanding.

That was awesome. You can read Cowher's lips right before that. He yells (spits), "THAT WAS A GREAT F*CKING PLAY!" and then one of the toughest, meanest players in the NFL kisses him on the cheek. It was one of the great football moments I've ever seen. I'm actually starting to like this Steelers team, much to my own chagrin.

I love listening to Belichick's pregame press conferences every year. They're hilarious. feed://www.buffalobills.com/podcast/index.xml He makes it sound like the Pats barely have a chance against us. What's interesting though is not his exaggeration of the Bills' apparently unsurpassed talent. It's the specificity with which he talks about the Bills' roster. He always knows everyone's name, including backups; can list every great play they've ever made, particularly against New England, etc. This is a guy who knows his sh*t. I'll bet he can give you a full-blown scouting profile of every player on every team in the league. I'm never more optimistic than I am when Belichick describes our team . . . right before he kicks our ass on Sunday.

Um . . . not sure about the rest of your argument, but EVERY starting center in the history of the NFL had 0 previous starts at center the first time he started at center. You can't have experience before you have experience. Now whether it's better to ride the pine for 1, 2, 3 years, etc. before making your first start is another question altogether. I imagine you are right that, in general, center is one of the harder positions to step right into.

Great read. Thanks. As for tackle depth, have a look at Butler at RT in the second half and let us know what you think. I watched him pretty closely on a number of plays. I thought the combo of Butler and Preston looked pretty good, but I'm an OL ignoramus, so I don't put much stock in my own opinion. Also, I'm glad you like Fowler and Reyes, but the one play where I really noticed them was that third and short (I think it was in the 2nd quarter, but I'm not sure) when they both pulled around to the right, had two linebacker types in their sights making the play look like it was going to work great, and then both got completely blown up. One of them, I forget which one, pretty much just fell down when he tried to pick up the moving LB. That worried me. Anyway . . .