Lori

Truth be told, while I never wanted Bruuuuce to leave, in the late '80s, there were plenty of folks who did. Indeed, when Denver signed him to the offer sheet, Ed Kilgore went on record saying that Smith was becoming too much of a headache and the Bills would be better off if they didn't match the contract.

Key phrases bolded. Maybin probably wouldn't hold up as a stereotypical 4-3 end, but neither the Colts nor Bills play a standard 4-3 ...

Yes. I have an AAFC pennant with that logo. Check other '40s-era logos at sportslogos.net, and you'll see that it's not really out of line with the rest of them. Note especially the original "Brownie" logo from the Bills' AAFC brethren in Cleveland. As I understand it, Ferguson made the crack that because of the high crown in the middle of the Rich Stadium field, when he was near one sideline and diminutive WR Lou Piccone was running down the other one, No. 89's helmet was the only thing he could see. Piccone retorted that changing the helmet color might finally get Fergy to stop throwing the ball to the other team. I think they were kidding ...

Two Bills Drive Terms of Service:

Even if the players from the two Super Bowl teams aren't there? You think players duck the Pro Bowl now, just wait until a.) it's no longer in Hawaii, and b.) there's a danger of getting hurt in a meaningless game and missing a chance to play in the Super Bowl. Should be a barrel of fun next year in Miami.

Did you know that Jax was missing 3/5 of their starting offensive line for a good chunk of the season? As long as you're running stats, take a look at MJD's 2008 numbers. Career-low yards per attempt, check. Yards per game, .3 above last year's career low, and on 30 more rushing attempts. And I'd already heard about the reports of Taylor visiting the Pats and Bills, because Tim Graham picked up Shalise's story in the ProJo before either Rotoworld or SI did. Now tell me why, all other things being equal, Buffalo wouldn't have to top -- not just match -- any other team's offer to get a lifelong Florida resident to come to a team that hasn't made the playoffs in nine years (and counting). Honestly? Considering Lynch's uncertain status, I'd love to have Taylor on this team. I'm not the least bit convinced it's going to happen, and I'll be pleasantly surprised if it does, but we do agree on one thing: there are higher priorities than signing a 33-year-old running back who is hanging around merely to move up a couple of spots on the all-time rushing yardage list.

Good stuff from Tyler. The benching on top of any league-imposed suspension isn't going to happen, though. And when someone figures out what could possibly entice Taylor to choose the Bills, please do us a favor and share it with the front office. They're going to need all the help they can get with that problem, because looking at it from his point of view, Buffalo would probably be near the bottom of any list of potential landing places.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/billsnfl/story/408245.html

Precisely. Take our man Graham at ESPN. Sure, he knows football, and he knows how to work a pro beat with the best of them ... but was he an "expert" on the NFL two years ago, when he was still covering the Sabres for the BuffNews? Or did he start becoming one when he got the Dolphins gig at the PBP? Whether it's preps or pros, if you want to do a good job, you learn everything you can about your beat. Mayock's been at NFLN since what, 2005? And as I said earlier, watching college games and analyzing the draft have been his full-time job since then. Whether or not I agree with his analysis of any given player, I'd be inclined to accept those credentials as evidence of "expert" status. As always, your results may vary ...

Oooh, you won't like what Chuck wrote for today, then. It's not online yet, but here's the lede: If/when it goes on the OTH website, you'll find it under the hed, "Bills' Lynch comes off as a street punk." And just a wild guess here, but I don't think Mr. Pollock gives a rat's patoot about "generating controversy." He's just telling you what he thinks, and polite, flowery language has never been his style.

There is ZERO chance that a guy who spent the last month of the season counting down the days until he could "get out of this f^&$ing place" is re-signing in Buffalo.

Or by, you know, breaking down and analyzing game films for more than a decade. Or do you think he just shows up on the set and reads a TelePrompter script someone else has written? Wait, I think I already know your answer to that question. Never mind ...

Bingo. The unintentional comedy value in the LTE section is usually pretty good ...

For real? Guy called college games for over 10 years before hiring on at NFLN, and the draft is his full-time job. Oh, wait. I see what you did there. He doesn't have KIPER'S background, so he obviously can't be legit. Breaking: there's more than one way to become an "expert" at something.

Or the fact that he actually played in the NFL for three years ...

"That's Tim Graham speed." Awesome.

Considering that the fan-voting thing for the 50th anniversary team was supposed to go live on Feb. 9 -- the Wall of Fame committee compiled the list of nominees last month -- all I can say is, it's about friggin' time.

To give you yet another reason not to listen?

http://www.star-telegram.com/cowboys/nfl/story/1216203.html And there was much rejoicing ...

Tim Graham, in a conversation on the Brad Riter Radio Network: "I think Roger Goodell is going to take a very dim look at this." He pointed out that Goodell is not bound by the courts, and "can take a very broad look at things," including considering the hit-and-run as a prior offense. Not worth banishment from the league, obviously, but it could be anything from a fine to a suspension of anywhere from 1-to-4 games ... and Marshawn had better hope that Goodell doesn't wake up in a rotten mood on the day he makes his decision.

A birthday, and with access to the Riverwalk. This might not end well, but it should be fun.

Wrong. Even without an arrest, Goodell could still invoke the personal conduct policy. And once he's reminded of his comments regarding Lynch last summer, the commish is not likely to be in a good mood. I have mixed feelings about this. One one hand, I don't think it's a huge deal -- if anything, Ko's deal showed worse judgment. But on the other, would a ruler across the knuckles make Lynch think twice about continuing to put himself in questionable situations? I wonder ...

And anyone who reads the first page of that thread will know why I have absolutely no tolerance for jokes about Mitch's death. Tread carefully.

No, because none of that information is publicized until a player has already been disciplined (and, by default, advanced to Stage 2). Remember hearing about Bruce Smith failing any drug tests before his four-game suspension was announced in Sept. 1988? Me neither, because nothing was made public until the NFL announced the suspension. In fact, there's a pretty strict confidentiality section -- with fines of up to $500,000 for anyone who violates the privacy of a player in the treatment program -- on Pages 4-6 of the league's substance abuse policy. Here's some of the boilerplate. At this point, with no formal drug charges against Lynch, I believe it would be left to Commissioner Goodell's discretion as to whether his "behavior" raises enough red flags to trigger Stage 1. This, of course, assumes there aren't any other skeletons lurking in his closet. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on that ... for now. Oh, and one more thing. Leinart's situation doesn't apply, because alcohol isn't on the list of banned substances:

Doesn't matter. Testing positive isn't the only way to end up in Stage 1.