silvermike

I'll get annoyed if we start missing games. If we're playing football when we're supposed to, I'll forget about how ugly the spring was. If we miss games, I'll get pissed. But for now - it's not like we were going to be big UFA players anyway. Watch the Sabres' playoff run and wait for the leaves to turn before investing too much energy in the NFL's mess.

Yeah, this is somewhere between sarcasm and a joke. Favre's not selling and nobody's buying anyway.

Yup. And how much have the Patriots and Raiders invested in Seymour so far? $15M per season now.

The Dareus writeup is hilarious. He claims that Dareus reminds him of the NFL sack leader, and whines that no matter how great a 3-4 DE is, you might as well invest in a long snapper anyway. I can only imagine what he'd say to a team drafting a left tackle.

McKinnie was supposed to be better, but Williams was no slouch - at the very least, he should have been better than Jonas Jennings.

Ha. Though of course, does anyone really remember Reggie White as the lead plaintiff in the last round?

That is a good point.

Think of it - we could have been treated to discussions about whether or not Rob Johnson was the worst QB ever to win a Super Bowl instead of the worst QB ever to play the game.

Mike Williams was distinctly Donahoe's call. He was telegraphing that one all over town. As for Maybin, it sure seems like Jauron's prints are on that one.

Erik Pears? Isn't he on our roster?

Hey, Walker and Barber played against each other in 1997. That's not a great sign for Tiki.

If you'd like to see how RBs 36 and older do in the NFL, here's the full list: http://pfref.com/tiny/fZaoF

Seems about right. Though I'm sorry to see any chance to cost the Patriots millions go away.

If Felser's going to go off on work ethic, you'd think he'd at least proofread his own article. Vince Young was not the 2nd pick in 2006; he was the third. Mario Williams, Reggie Bush, Vince Young. Also, the buzz on Newton has never been about a poor work ethic - Newton is a very hard worker. He's got plenty of other question marks, but that's really just not one of them. You read a lot of quotes like this: He might not be the guy - he's raw as a passer, he might not be able to adapt to the big leagues, etc. But let's not just make **** up about him.

That's correct - there will be no drug testing of any kind during the lockout. I don't know enough about PEDs to say whether or not you can use them for a few months, and keep the benefits but lose the evidence afterwards, but if it's possible, it's going to happen. And of course, there will be an awful lot of marijuana smoked the day the lockout is announced.

Of cousre, we also lost Jim Kelly for several years to the Houston Gamblers.

Gallery is a good guard - certainly better than Urbik/whoever it is we plan to start there. If he'd come for somewhere in the $3-$4/per range, I'd say do it. But considering that was only enough for Cornell Green, I'd say it's a long shot.

This does confirm that the Bills will be adding a QB this offseason - no way they go into the season with just Fitzy and Brown. Of course, it doesn't mean that QB #3 isn't going to be a journeyman vet like David Carr or Curtis Painter.

High rookie deals up *some* veterans' contracts - Peyton Manning can look at Sam Bradford's deal as a floor. Ryan Fitzpatrick can't. I don't think that high rookie deals increase the total amount paid to players by the owners - most of them spend to the cap, or to their own budget ceiling, regardless. But it moves money around a lot. Top-10 rookies get paid in busloads of money. Marquee players use that as leverage to zoom upward. Solid players, veterans, and other roleplayers get squeezed out in the middle - cut in favor of UDFAs and other marginal players. As to the ruling - anything that makes a lockout less comfortable for either side is going to incentivize getting a deal done. At least in the short term, that's a good thing for fans. The extent to which the future success of the Bills requires a certain CBA result that favors the owners, well, that's a different question.

Jenkins is 31, Woody is 33. Anyone interested in signing either? They're at key need positions.

You can sign cuts, just not expiring contracts. Also, note that Stroud surely will make much, MUCH, less money in New England. $2.5M Stroud is not $8M Stroud.

He could certainly start on the right side for us. Here's a link: http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/rap_sheet/index.php/2011/02/27/why-offensive-lineman-nick-kaczur-has-likely-played-his-last-down-for-the-patriots/

QB talent dies off after the first round. Essentially, you start picking among backups hoping for a break. First round QBs are risky, no doubt about it, but there really isn't any other way of having a realistic shot at a first round QB.

Overall, according to statistics from the Heritage Foundation, the United States takes in 28% of its GDP in taxes. That's not just federal taxes, that state, local, county, whatever. That's somewhere towards the low end of normal among wealthy countries: it's slightly more than Japan and South Korea, but less than Western Europe and Canada. Historically, that's relatively low over the course of the past 50 years. The issue, really, is who is paying those taxes, and who isn't. Corporate tax rates are high, but compliance is low and manipulation is very easy. But corporate tax rates are slightly more complex still, because corporations pay tax on their income, and then their shareholders pay tax on dividends and capital gains. Given the ease with which large corporations can move money out of the US, my hunch is that we're never going to devise a coherent enforcement scheme that captures corporate income, and instead we should focus on shareholders' income. Dividends and capital gains are currently taxed at a deep discount over income from salary or wages. I think it would make sense to let large corporations operate without significant taxation, but capture that income when it's distributed to shareholders, or when shareholders sell stock. Everyone pays based on the money they earn, rather than how they earn it.

Given the three-day draft this year, it might be fun to go on the 2nd or 3rd day. I'm sure the first round will be a mess for fans, but after the rest fade away, it might be fun.