TigerJ

Ho hum. We all know there are articles like this out there. His struggles in his final season gives plenty of amunition for skeptics as his measurables and obvious intelligence gives the same to advocates. In the end, we just need to see how it plays out when he's on the field.

He played inside linebacker in college. I haven't looked at what he's done in his pro career, but his scouting report suggests he'd be better on the outside. Doesn't time that well in the 40, but is said to have good range and game speed. He had a quad injury last year and was on IR for most of the season, If recovered he sounds like a good depth signing. He has started in the past and performed well.

If Buffalo can execute well on offense, the lack of opportunity Baltimore faces is a serious obstacle to overcome. At the same time, Buffalo has three relatively inexperienced QBs and Baltimore will design some creative blitz packages to try and confuse them. The success or failure of the Bills in that game is likely to depend on how Buffalo's revamped offensive line and starting QB handle Baltimore's pressure. It's pretty much as simple as that.

Yeah, I'd be willing to accept a 7th round pick along with Malcom Mitchell to help NE ease their glut of players. I suppose they'd want something in return though. In that case - no deal.

That running back room makes me more nervous than sad. I think in another year it could be re-stocked with some youth without too much difficulty, but I could see a stable of guys that old going down like flies with a run of bad luck.

True, but there aren't very many ways that someone can prove he has learned from his mistakes until someone trusts him enough to give him another shot. I'm sure that the Bills interviewed Daboll in depth about his past experience as an OC, in part to learn if he's corrected his shortcomings. Presumably, he gave enough good answers to convince McDermott he ought to have that chance, but nobody can be certain. We'll see what happens.

Those who put Daboll down because of his past record as an OC should remember that Josh McDaniels was considered a hot candidate to be one of the new head coaches this offseason despite the fact that his previous stint as a head coach at Denver was a disaster, rife with questionable to downright stupid decisions. The rationale has been that he's had an opportunity to learn from his mistakes. Coaches sometimes do learn from their mistakes.

With Rex Ryan, it seems to be a personality thing. He's got a likable engaging personality, and he knows it. He figured that's all he needs to succeed in television, so he didn't do much homework. The problem is while his personality is likable and engaging initially, it wears on you after a while. Then you figure out there's nothing behind the personality. He's like a movie set. It looks like an old western town, but go behind it and you learn its a two dimensional picture propped up by two by fours.

I'm not sure what what Jimmy Garrapolo sees in Kiara Mia, but apparently he sees a lot of it.

They also had first round grades on the guys they drafted in the first and second rounds? Rudolph was drafted to be developed for the future and not to play right away, while the priority in the first couple rounds was to draft players who would contribute immediately? I don't know, but that's what I would speculate.

He was never the fastest of CBs. He was great because he was smart. His anticipation and technique were unsurpassed, but there comes a time in a player's career when anticipation and technique cannot compensate for decline=ing physical ability. In the end, Father Time gets us all.

I agree. However, my understanding of Erhardt-Perkins is that it is more of a system of organization of the offense and terminology than a specific collection of plays or a specific strategy/philosophy. NE runs Erhardt-Perkins. Sometimes they pass a lot to tight ends, sometimes to WRs, sometimes to RBs. Sometimes they pass long, sometimes they pass short. Sometimes they run the ball a lot. Sometimes they run a quick paced offense. Sometimes they run slow and deliberate. Sometimes they'll vacillate between fast paced and deliberate.Erhardt -Perkins allows for all that.

Maybe a little more detail here, but no real surprises. Essentally, my take from it is that Allen was not a finished product at Wyoming, but the biggest issue is footwork. Just about anything else they looked at was a plus. Some QBs in college have a better completion percentage, but a significant factor in that is the type of offense, that essentially lets a QB pad his stats with easy throws. There was little of that at Wyoming. He's showed improvement in footwork since the end of the college season. I'm just waiting to see him passing to receivers in Bills uniforms with DBs on the field that are wearing the uniform of the enemy.

His explanation for last season basically sounds like an excuse for his year ago miss. He's essentially saying, "I was right, but they got lucky." Let's hope he's making excuses next year at this time.

I'm sure she does. I don't mean to classify her as an opera singer. In musical theater, it works a little differently. In opera, you are very much typecast according to voice type. The female lead is almost always going to be a coloratura soprano. In musical theater, not so much. Yeah, roles are cast with voice range in mind, but casting directors would be less concerned about whether she is a lyric soprano or a dramatic soprano - only that she can sing the part, and her appearance and acting fit the role.

The key term (actually used in the description of the Colts) is established depth. Buffalo doesn't have it at a lot of skill positions. Of course, at QB they don't have an established starter either, and might not at RB if McCoy has to sit out for any length of time. It think they do have some depth now at TE with O'Leary developing nicely. At WR, there's Benjamin and Kerley who provide the only "established" talent at the position. Everybody else either remains unproven or is a journeyman type. That does not preclude some youngsters from stepping up and demonstrating they can be solid role players or better. They just haven't done it yet.

So "teams called" but Beane would rather cut him? "Sorry, we're not interested in any draft picks. We're just going to waive him at the end of training camp." Now that would be a brilliant move. He was used to play a lot of one technique last season after Marcel Dareus was traded. That's not his skill set. His best fit is depth behind Kyle Williams. The Bills signed Star Lotulelei to fill the hole left by Dareus' departure. Harrison Phillips, despite not being a real massive guy is a better fit at one technique, backing up Lotulelei. He's strong as an ox and his wrestling background is great for giving him an understanding of leverage and hand usage in one technique.

2 octaves is kind of an average vocal range. As I said, if your daughter is a classically trained lyric soprano, the bottom of her range will be somewhere close to C below middle C. Her top will be an E or higher above the C, 2 octaves above middle C. That's going to work out to about 3 octaves or a little better in range. Then you have some female singers that are freaks of nature who claim 4 octaves or better. I think Barbra Streisand was supposed to have that kind of freaky range. Mariah Carey too. It's rare, however. A lyric soprano is the lightest of the soprano voices (light in terms of vocal quality). As a lyric soprano she probably won't have a stellar career as an opera singer. It's the coloratura sopranos who are the real stars. They have a little more body to their voice, but retain the extremely high range. They combine that with incredible vocal agility. Your daughter would certainly be able to sing opera, however. A lyric voice is a beautiful sounding voice, but she might lack some of the depth and power of some other types of sopranos. As a lyric baritone, I had the same kinds of issues. Essentially, my voice sounded like a tenor's, but I lacked a little at the top of my range. I could sing an A above middle C in full voice, but a tenor needs to have a full octave above middle C. To sing opera, I really would have needed a little darker quality to my voice as a baritone.

His benching probably saved me from pulling out my hair.

If she is a lyric soprano, she will have a minimum vocal range of 2 1/2 octaves. There is a good chance she's got more than 3 octaves. It's true that the national anthem has a pretty demanding range for many, but my guess is that for a soprano trained in classical music/opera, finding a key she can handle is one of the least of her worries. (I was a lyric baritone and had about 2 1/2 octaves of practical range.) Ah, those were the days. LOL

Good luck. I had the chance to sing for a NY-Penn league Single A baseball game once. It was a real thrill. I studied vocal music in college before moving on (master of divinity degree in seminary). I'd be tempted to try out today except something has happened to my voice. I lost the upper end of my range and now have little power to my voice. Makes it frustrating to try and sing at all.

I don't fret too much over what was paid to draft Josh Allen. Trading up in the top half of round one is expensive, no ifs ands or buts, but if there is a player you need and feel can be an important difference maker to your team, you do it. Beane made a judgment call and I'm fine with that. In general, I like the moves he has made. However, the NFL is all about winning. If Josh Allen is a big time bust, and Buffalo doesn't have a quality starter on the roster at QB, it will make winning difficult. If the team is not winning, fans will be grumbling. Grumbling fans make for unhappy owners. Unhappy owners tend to make for a lack of job security. I'm not necessarily calling for Beane's head if Allen doesn't work out, but I think that would raise the tension around OBD considerably.

I thought that there was enough of a delay between the actual live conversation and the broadcast conversation just for such situations, where something is said that violates station standards. Obviously, somebody (the producer? wasn't doing his job when mention of "banging" made it on the air.

sometimes after losses I will avoid Bills message boards for a couple days. As you say, it takes a while for things to simmer down.

I have a shadberry tree growing in my back yard - for real. It goes by several names, but shad berry is one of them.