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Posts posted by dollars 2 donuts
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My take on this is that what ever may happen, either Peterson, Willis, Hall or Lynch will be there at the 12th position....
I think Russell, Quinn, Thomas, Johnson, Gaines and Landry are definitely in the top 10.
That leaves 5 more choices before the bills make their pick. We need just 2 other picks to come in between those 6 and our pick for us to get a shot at one of these guys. I hope it is Patrick Willis. The key to our draft is Detroit. If Detroit picks Brady Quinn at #2, then Peterson is gone. If Detroit trades down, say with Atlanta (and Atlanta will pick Peterson) then Patrick Willis will be gone to the Lions. The Lions run the same Tampa Cover 2 scheme that we run and would need a similar type of LB. I hope pray that Detroit stays at #2 and picks up Brady Quinn, giving us hopefully Patrick Willis.
I like your thinking, ganesh. Great post.
Also, great thread, Tipster19.
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it's going to be a while until bush has the strength back in his one leg. is he even going to be able to contribute this year if we draft him ?
Bush thinks July (it was in an IGN article) but I don't know whether he was just being optimistic.
Additionally, tennesseeboy makes a great point which I've previously endorsed, but which I sometimes forget; we should stay away at speculative picks at this stage. I do like Bush but we probably should not draft him.
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Just saw Kiper talking about RBs on ESPN and he now has Bush going in the 4th round area, maybe late 3rd. He won't be ready to go (broken leg) until later in the summer, but he might be worth a shot in the 4th, esp. with our two 3rd round picks.
I agree with you, Kuile.
Look, I'm not holding my breathe, but this is a guy I think has a chance of being special somewhere down the road. As opposed to other positions, I think it is worth taking a gamble on him even if we get a RB in R 2.
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Todd McShay of Scouts Inc. -- the other draft pundit that you often see on ESPN has a new mock out today. He predicts the following selections by the Bills:
1. Patrick Willis (LB Ole Miss -- APete to the Browns at 3)
2. Antonio Pittman (RB OSU)
3a. Tim Shaw (LB PSU)
3b. Tarell Brown (CB Texas)
4. Kareem Brown (DE Miami)
6. Le'Ron McClain (FB Alabama)
7a. David Ball (WR New Hampshire)
7b. Anthony Pudewell (TE Nevada)
A nice haul for the Bills, although I would be somewhat surprised if we went for a DE/DT in the 4th.
For what it's worth, he has Hughes going to the Steelers at pick number 77.
Interesting, Bagel, and we are obviously starting to see a trend here in the first and second round. However, I'm wondering if we are actually seeing what these guys truly believe or really just the "trend" as we get closer to the draft?
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In today's four round mock draft Mel has the Bills selecting:
1. Patrick Willis (LB Ole Miss -- APete gone to the Vikings at 7)
2. Antonio Pittman (RB OSU -- third RB selected)
3a. Jonathan Wade (CB TN)
3b. James Marten (OT Boston College -- curious pick in my opinion)
4. Rhema McKnight (WR ND)
I thought one of the surprising predictions was Daymeion Hughes going to Indy at pick 136. I know that his 40 times are lousy, but I watched him at Cal -- he's a playmaker at CB.
Thank you Bagel,
I agree with your questioning of the Marten pick, especially considering the bodies we already have in place at that position. I believe whether our day one picks are filling in starting holes or not that these picks should be in positions where they could start shortly. For example, with the personnel on this team I doubt that a third round DT or OL is going to see much action or even run the risk of seeing much action. However, another LB or potentially a RB that dropped (Bush) could show something early, even if they are not penned in as starters. If given my druthers, and considering the state of our lines, I would rather look for a back-up OL or big DT in the later rounds, depending on availability, of course.
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The Sporting News article on the home page says that Marv is looking for High Character and Self Motivated players.
One may think the two charachteristics can't exist without one another but its not necessarily so..by all accounts Alan Branch is well-spoken; mature; a high character guy but the knock on him is that he does not do the extra study or physical work to make himself a great player....Leon Hall however, Patrick Willis, Poz appear to be gym rats in addition to high character guys...we want gym rats...
This not a surprising revelation by any stretch..but it eliminates a lot of guys who were great players in college based on their natural talent alone but show signs of not doing the work to be a great pro once they get paid. I think that Marv and crew would have stayed away from Mike Williams for example who by all accounts is a tremendous person but not willing to do the work. This is something we as fans will never see in the evaluation process...we can only speculate but the self motivated part is probably the largest differentiator in every round for the current management team at OBD. I guess the lesson here is don't get so caught up in why the Bills picked a certain player when others are available--unless there are great character flaws or arrests or other public knowledge that show great character flaws-- we as fans only get half the story. Something to think about before we overload the servers on draft day criticizing picks...
Great post, JoeF.
Additionally, although some may question certain things character-wise in the personal life of Eric Moulds, I think he exemplified what you stated.
When he was drafted in the first round he was a great talent but did not make a dent for the first couple of years. I remember reading an article in the paper wherein either Eric realized or Andre Reed prodded him about the fact that it is not enough in the NFL to be a great athlete, but it is the extra time you put in, above and beyond, that makes you successful in this League and puts you in that next category.
As you state JoeF, Mike Williams is a great example of the contrary; jeez, he had all the tools in the world to become great, he just seemingly did not want to work at it.
Additionally, does anyone here old enough remember a pudgy, first overall draft pick by the name of Bruce Smith? A guy who was having an OK career in his first two years, who then decided that he was much, much more than what he was showing early in his career, and was willing to put the time and effort into being great as opposed to just being good. He did not just rely on the fact that he was the first overall pick, more so he relied on his own success being the engine that kept pushing him forward.
Again, nicely done, JoeF.
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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...raft/index.html
1. If what he's reporting is accurate -- that there is a rough consensus that there are only 18 players with first round grades -- then trading back into the late first would be a decidedly bad move. The Bills need a blue chip player, not a couple of decent players for a team that has too many decent/pretty good players.
2. There is no way, no how, that Adrian Peterson lasts beyond the seventh pick. In any event, Minnesota is stuck with the very pedestrian Chester Taylor, and they'd be fools to pass up on a talent like Peterson. So, Bills fans, banish the thought of drafting Peterson from your minds -- it's good for your mental health.
Again, if true, then I could not agree with you more. Nice info and good post, DM.
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Sure.
I simply see no reason looking objectively at his stats and history, and feel there is no rational reason looking subjectively about how I feel about his game why anyone can reasonably doubt that there is reasonably a possibility (and IMHO actually a good possibility) that he can play MLB the way we want it played.
A look at his stats and his history provides no guarantee that he can get the job done (there is really never a guarantee because we cannot know the future). However, there is objective evidence that indicates this may be a good bet.
1. First, the big wildcard to me is the question of injury (the major reason why the future is so uncertain in the NFL). However, the tea-leaves look very good on this front as Crowell and the Bills have already declared him at 100%. Typically coming off an injury that put a player on IR, in the off-season one can generally feel good about reports of a player "expected' to be at 100% when the pre-season starts, but already their are positive pronouncements being given about his recovery and unless the Bills and he are blowing smoke to fool the opponents(no indications of that) I think we can assume the injury issue is merely at the risk level a player always has. Given that in his relatively short career Crowell has played 15 and then all 16 games in his third year there are not any ongoing repetitive signs of injury issues and demographically he is hitting the peak of his career and a full recovery should be hoped for and expected.
2. The major issue for the MLB in our hybrid Cover 2 is that the player is required to tackle like a DT (he specifically fills the gap up the middle as our DTs are required to commit to penetration and pass rushing in our scheme) on running plays but also to cover like a safety on passing plays as he divides the deep cover responsibility into thirds with the safeties.
Play reads are critical for this player as if he reads pass and either simply holds his ground or leans backward at the snap, if in fact the opposing OC has called a draw or delayed draw so the RB zips by the rushing DTs, then an MLB heading backward may well be knocked back or even danced around by an RB with full forward momentum.
Even worse, our LBs are going to be asked to be even more aggressive at the LOS and if the MLB reads run and in fact it is a pass, the MLB may be left flat-footed as a speedi WR zips by him running a post pattern up the middle. Just as on the play against MN which almost cost us the game, when McGee failed to read that he should have stayed with WR Koren Robinson when he ran a fly pattern up the sideline and Whitner was in no position to get over in time unless McGee at least slowed down the WR with a good chuck, we only survived because Brad Johnson overthrew Robinson. So too unless the MLB makes a good read we are going to be left hoping for a miscue on the pass.
Nevertheless, there are good reasons to hope and assume Crowell can do the job:
3. He has seen NFL plays called and develop for four years and has done this as the back-up MLB for two years behind London Fletcher. While it is true that nothing replaces playing as a teacher, this does not also mean that watching the game from the sidelines is worthless. Particularly if the task is learning play calling and adjustments, while sitting on the sideline is not the same things as playing the game physically, this role likely provided Crowell with a meaningful and useful mental exercise as it allowed him to watch each play develop for a couple of years and ask himself the question in realtime what would he call in terms of adjustments to various formations.
He not only had these judgments tested in realtime as the plays developed, but he then could sit down post game and review the videotapes with D team captain and consistently quick thinker, London F-B (folks complained he was physically light in the pants but no one questioned he has a great football mind as he routinely seemed to be the one quickly dickering with the refs over some dispute and he was the MLB on some very successful Ds when LeBeau and Gray had the D cooking with gas).
The complaint stated on TSW that Crowell just like the rookie Willis has never played MLB in a Cover 2 is simply a spurious argument. Even if true it argues how problematic non-play as an MLB in a Cover 2 is for Willis and Crowell, but this view simply ignore the fact that Crowell is a vet with a year of play in the Cover 2 while Willis is not. Add to this difference that Crowell, though not an MLB in a Cover 2 obviously has seen hundreds of NFL plays both on the field and on the sideline and there is little reasonable comparison of what a rookie brings to the table for this part of the game and what a vet brings.
4. Crowell has demonstrated that as a player (and likely fortified by his pro MLB duties) that he has translated that knowledge into understanding of the Bills D and the game into being the best back-up LB we had. When TKO went down last year, Haggan was next on the depth chart at WLB, yet we went to Crowell to fill-in for him as he had demonstrated he was the best back-up LB we had and also that even though he had not been at that position specifically on the depth chart he was obviously the best choice.
This proved to be the case in terms of on-field production as Crowell did struggle in his first game or so to the awesome task of replacing a back-to-back Pro Bowler like TKO, but his play improved to the point that though overall the Bills run D sucked, the wails of pain from the fans and the whines of folks like Jerry Sullivan did not focus on the loss of TKO to Crowell being highlighted as a big drop-off (in fact poor DT play by Anderson and Sam Adams taking some plays off and F-B being seen as making initial hits too deep in the D were the target of criticism for the most part rather than picking on Crowell's play which was not up to TKO levels but simply was pretty good and the stats indicate that with him being credited with 125 tackles in less than a full season and him registering INTs and some sacks as well.
He was good enough that when the 06 season started that it was TKO who made the switch to SLB and Crowell remained at WLB. The new braintrust of Jauron/Fewell voted with the reality of the depth chart that they were comfortable that F-B, TKO and Crowell were the best three LBs on the roster. This point was further underlined when TKO went down to injury (again) and Crowell's flexibility and understanding of all the LB positions (and actually the whole new D as the reserve signal caller behind F-B) allowed Crowell the first choice to flip again out of position and he made the start at SLB.
Crowell, like it or not, has answered the call at all three LB positions.
5. Even better, his stat line in a season cut short by injury indicates a diversity of play which is exactly what we want from an MLB in our hybrid Cover 2.
A. He was credited with 2 INTs (not shabby at all considering F-B led all LB in the NFL with 4 and Crowell got his two while only starting 12 games. In particular his INT against Culpepper which stopped a Fish drive when they seemed to get untracked to end the first half was a key to that game.
B. Despite the shortened season he ended up 3rd on the D in total tackles he was credited with. His ratio of unassisted tackles to assisted tackles ran over 2:1 and does not show signs he usually needed help in bringing down a runner. Complaints about him taking bad angles on tackles or such may make the poster sound like they know what they are doing or watching closely, but these observations are rendered down to be mere observations or even whines without some objective showing that he had a tackling problem (such as the stats showing an inordinate amount to assisted tackles rather solo work or specific plays referenced with specific games and times within the games where Crowell either was beaten by a runner he was trying to tackle for a big gain (such as the "shifty" Chad Pennington faking Robinson out of his jock strap with a mere stutter step, or Crowell being dragged down the field for extra yards because this alleged bad angle caused him to try to arm tackle an opponent, or even him barely shoe-stringing a tackle(. These observations are simply left unsupported. The facts simply are that while this team was demonstrably bad, that even with injury Crowell posted numbers which indicate he is one of the better tacklers on the team.
C. In his truncated season he equaled F-B for the team lead among LBs in sacks. To me this is an indicator that our scheme did not aggressively attack the QB. The fact that Crowell equaled F-B's small total may well be too small a sample for drawing a reasonable conclusion, but the fact he equalled him playing 4 less games to me is an indicator that he can be aggressive as we want and need.
In total, I think Crowell definitely has shown performance for the Bills over his brief career which indicates notable play in a number of different roles. This is a strong indication that he has mastered the D and the play calling duties and the numbers though not a strong indication that he will be a success in these diverse roles provide a good indication that he is the best the Bills got and from some nice highlight moments (like the INT against the Fish) that it is not outrageous at all to at least hope he can do the job well.
On the other hand, regarding Willis, it is simply quite unlikely that a rookie who is thought by his most ardent supporters to be worth trading into the bottom of the top 10 to take and for those most unimpressed he conceivably is worth a late 1st or even early 2nd round pick. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle and he likely is worth a pick in teens.
Given the Bills multiple needs, the idea of trading down into the teens and picking Willis if he is there (certainly a reasonable possibility even though SF may be so hot for him they pick him at 11) but even if he is not the Bills really can use multiple picks and their are a couple of other probable 1st round worth OLBs in the draft if one trades down.
I define an elite player in this draft as someone who merits a choice in the top 10 (as in the real world there is a strong bias to players who actually can start immediately being top 10 choices). By this definition it is quite doubtful that Willis is an elite player and I think the Bills can produce more in 07 by trading down and getting additional second and third rounders.
You had me at "Sure."
Even if he can, we're still going to go high with a LB, albeit it opens up our options.
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He was only a WR by name. Do you really thing they had him here for his receiving skills or his Special Teams skills. I think the answer is apparent. This guy will never touch the ball as a WR for more than a play or 2 during the season. BTW, Pittsman goes in the second round, how about a bet?
Not to get touchy here, but yes, when they first brought him in (I believe post Moulds, pre-Price) they were DEFINITELY hoping that he would contribute to the WR position. Secondly, It would be nice if they could get a receiver in here that could do both (what was that guys name, Tasker something).
Thirdly, to be kind, your logic to letting Davis go as a precursor or omen to us getting Pittman (not saying it won't happen) is tenuous, at best.
Jeepers, we need this draft to happen soon.
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The Bills decided not to retain the services of their 5th wide receiver which clearly indicates they are interested in a 3rd round rookie RB. How could I have missed this?
Sorry helmet hair, but I have to agree with "Laces Out!" on this one. I know the Bills and Marv covet ST'ers as good as Davis but he does not come cheap, is getting older and the Bills may want to take a shot at adding depth at WR in the draft.
I love our guys, but we do have a lot of veterans at WR that aren't necessarily as good as what we are paying them.
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I have to call shenanignas on the whole "Ralph is looking to sell propaganda."
I am no genius by far but...I am a salesman. In attempting to sell my customers widget x, I try to convince them that they need it and it is superior
to any other widget out there...
How is it that Mort & co reasoned that Ralph is giving away everything of value the team has and purposely running it in to the ground as a prelude to a sale ???
I mean, wouldnt he want to make it look better than it is ala Rosenhous Maghee Draft day as a pre-sale Mcguillicutty ????
Im suprised ESPN didnt run an April fools day joke that the Bills were moving to Toronto..
Either way, a winning season would do wonders to shut them up...too bad they will just jump on the bandwagon instead.
Well said, TGS; that was just plain dumb and it shows you that he is either incredibly ignorant or has a huge axe to grind.
I think it's a little of both, but more so that this guy is a huggggggggeee ignoramus!
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Tony Romo has already been voted as the Starter for the 2008 pro bowl
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Due process applies to state and federal governmental actors. The NFL is neither.
He might make some other (dubious) claim but never a violation of due process.
This is no offense to some well thought out posts that followed, but the above is true and the debate on the subject really does start and finish with Quaker's comments.
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Why not Michael Bush? The guy has played QB, LB, DB, WR, DE and now RB since high school. He has the ideal size to play HB and would eliminate our need at RB. Could you imagine him and A-Train lined up in the backfield?! Or better yet, put Bush at the line of scrimmage. Jauron would have alot of versatility with a player like Bush.
I truly think that in his 2nd or 3rd season this guy is going to be something special.
Man, even if we get a RB earlier I would hope we get this kid in the 3rd round with our second pick. I know it is being greedy but I seriously think he is worth it, just not necessarily for the 2007 season.
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I have a serious question.
Is it legal to send my poop through the US Postal Service?
I mean, if I print out the article from ESPN that talks about Mort, Woodson and Kipers comments. And then I take a dump on top of the paper the article is printed on, and then place it in a box and mail it to ESPN to the attention of these ass clowns.
Can I get in trouble for that? Is it legal? Or would I end up locked in a cage in Guantanamo?
If I won't get into trouble,...I think I might hold it for two days and "drop a coil" to let the good people at ESPN know what I think of their recent rant on the Bills.
Post of the Day.
OMG, "drop a coil," are you kidding me? Tremendous.
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There are so many good posts in this thread that i don't want to rehash things people have already said.
Please just assume that I "quoted" 95% of everything written here.
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My Turner Trade- Bills get Turner and the Chargers 2007 5th - the Bills give up Anthony Thomas 2007 3rd, 2008 2nd and 3rd
Hell, if we are going this far why don't we throw in Losman, just in case SD wants him to compete with Rivers, and, I don't know, let's say a 3rd rounder in 2009.
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Did anyone else watch the 'on the clock' feature?
I really dont care what the national media thinks but its a sunday morning and
im bored so what hell?
These guys went on and on about the loss of mcgahee after revealing the bills were near the
bottom of the NFL in rushing last season.
These guys went on and on about the loss of fletcher and clements after revealing
how badly the bills ranked on defense last season.
Funny how all of these guys are Donahoe's.
Saying they were going in the wrong direction and not mentioning the aquisition of darwin on the D line and barely acknowledging
john dockery. Mort still has wet dreams about donahoe and shouldn't be allowed to talk about the Bills because of how biased he is.
BTW .. did anyone catch that nugget where mort said an AFC East coach would love to trade rosters with the bills?
I wonder who that is.
And don't get me wrong here. I think Donahoe does deserve a lot of credit for the talent on the Bills roster today.
But he deserved to get fired because he didn't know how to manage any other aspect of his job.
Mort really needs to let this go and move on.
Happy Easter everybody
I did see that. It is one thing to say that you disagree with the Bills' moves, speak poorly of them and then say they were headed in the wrong direction...However, this was more than that. This was a bludgeoning of the team and the organization, equipped with conspiracy theories (thanks Morty!) and outright lies (since when does being 8-9 million under the cap equal out to - paraphrase - "unwilling to spend any money").
Even though my other comments on this board concerning this subject made me a little sensitive to the a national attacks on the Bills, I was accepting of what some here said when you suggested, "the heck with them, what do they know," but come on, guys, this was ridiculous yesterday.
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What a tool....1 year he uses K-State...sad
Sorry, I have to disagree. I've heard before it was his dream job. Even before the events at the 'Nati he would have left the Bearcats in an instant to take the WV job if it had been offered, even given how much he enjoyed Cincinnati.
I feel bad for the players, but when your dream job is finally dangled out there for you, you don't pass it up.
None of us would.
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I'm starting to lean so heavily in Willis' favor lately that I will be very disappointed if we don't get him at #12.
That being said, it partially assumes that AP is not their at 12. However, if AP is their at 12, regardless of the talent pool for RB being better than the talent pool for LB for the remainder of the draft (personal opinion), I just can't imagine passing up on a kid as talented as Peterson when he falls into your lap.
This coming from a guy who sort of considers RBs to be a dime a dozen. If it were Lynch / Willis, no brainer - Willis.
I think Willis is outstanding.
However, I am among those that think that AP is such a special talent that all other considerations, even desperate need positions, go right out the window when the opportunity arises to get him.
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Pittman is one of the guys I want.
If we can't get Patrick Willis, I'd rather trade down and pick up another #2 to ensure we get a guy like Pittman in round #2
I hear ya and agree with you 95% on this one, Dan. Although I would consider Lynch if he were still there. However, I am leaning more and more towards hoping and praying that Willis will be there...
...which means he won't be there.
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1- Willis, Patrick MLB <if allready taken> Posluszny, Paul OLB ...both would be monsters on our line for along time to come
2- Pittman, Antonio RB ....I think this guy has more potential than anyone else available after lynch and peterson are gone
3a- Hughes, Daymeion CB ...ball hawk and fast solid CB for tampa2 defense
3b- Alexander, Rufus OLB ...another great Lb perfect for tampa2 defense
4-McClain, Le'Ron FB ...monster Blocker and can catch and get yards after the catch
6,7a,7b - all depth at wherever
If we don't get Turner then i absolutely love the above. Nice job Horus.
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well i did say 2nd or 3rd round but if you really must have a 3rd how about Siler from Flo or Alexander from Okl or Davis from Flo St.?
DB-94, from what you know of these guys do you think or feel they are ready to start?
I think that is a fair question b/c i believe there was a feeling last year that Simpson was going to be able to see the field early in his first year at safety, where as they knew Youboty, although highly touted, was going to need a little time.
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I think We are going to get Turner so keep in mind this post is after we filled the RB position.
When I look at this Team the greatest need is at WR. The collection of Price, Reed, or whoever else they have scares no one and D's can key on Evans. Especially when there is no threat at the TE position. We lost some Line backers but we have good young players that are going to step up in Crowell and Ellison and we can get one with a second or third round pick.
-So our first round pick should be The Best WR on the Board
I disagree with you that our other young LBs can step up with Crowell and Ellison.
However, I'll go along with you as long as you can give me the name of a potential LB in the 3rd round who could start for us.
Willis a fin?
in The Stadium Wall Archives
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Tremendous and then LABillzFan fan slams NBC, Awesome!