Lori

If the 'Playmaker' is covering Moulds, we're in deep, deep trouble, because putting McGee on the 6-3 Andre Johnson (who is, after all, LEADING THE LEAGUE in catches and behind only Colston in yardage) cannot be a good idea.

Don't know them personally. Their names are Shane and Natasha; they first met at the infamous Pinto tailgate, so that's where she decided she wanted to get married. (Crazy Canadians, anyhoo...) BUFFALOBART took the pix but didn't have a way to put 'em online, I had some 'free' webspace I wasn't using, so he e-mailed them to me and I slapped those pages together. Thanks for reminding me -- I'm about to dump the dial-up account that's hosting them, so I should probably do something about moving them if I want to save them...

Yup, he sure did ... My seats are behind the visiting bench. Last time Vinny's T was in town with the Jets, I thought about wearing my old Shane Conlan Penn State jersey and spending the whole game yelling "Hey Vinny, throw it to me!!!" He probably wouldn't have thought it was funny, though...

Third round at best, perhaps, but they blew a first-rounder to get him because they panicked after they dumped Hoss and Simms faded out. The point is valid. Young didn't have a chance to draft Elway; Baltimore's 0-8-1 record locked up the #1 pick. Accorsi DID draft Elway for Baltimore, then walked away from the Colts when Irsay traded him to Denver. Young had nothing to do with it.

It wouldn't be overly difficult for them to keep track of someone whose seasons had been pulled, if that person was dumb enough to try sitting in/near his regular seats. But a one-time visit, from a guy who (hypothetically, of course) got tossed from a game ten or more years ago? Unless they all of a sudden start checking photo IDs against a watch-list at the stadium gates, I think you... err, I meant said hypothetical person... are good to go.

The decision to fire Polian was made before the new CBA went into effect. Thanks for stopping by, though, Jeff...

We all know you're right, but here's further proof: The recap from the official Bills website lists Reich as the starter. Oh, and here's Reich's biography, including the following passage:

...says the man who won a Super Bowl with third-rounder Jeff Hostetler at QB, then let him walk and subsequently wasted their 1993 first-round pick by drafting Dave Brown in the 1992 supplemental draft...

Except that Addai is currently averaging 4.8 yards/attempt. Carry on...

Agreed. Think about some of the great dynasties of the past, most with multiple Hall-of-Fame-caliber players who spent their entire careers with one team, and then imagine trying to fit all those salaries under a hard cap. No coincidence that the two dominant teams of the early 90s, the Bills and Cowboys, started to decline around the time the first 'capped' year was instituted in 1994. (Hard to imagine now, but the '94 salary cap was set at $24 million. That would buy you what, four or maybe five marquee players today?) Oh, but he does. In fact, he's not only still the treasurer, he's Ralph's representative on the revenue-sharing panel. Sorry to ruin your morning...

Following a nine-year career that saw him finish in the all-time top 20 in rushing yards and included a trip to the Super Bowl.

More depth on Polian/Littman (sorry for the threadjack, AD)... Many of you will remember Doug Young from his days on WGR, but he was also writing for Shout! during that period. Here's his column lamenting Polian's departure; reading it now, thirteen years later, he was dead on:

You would be correct. Belichick benched Bernie Kosar in favor of Testes Verde, and also coached in the Meadowswamp while Interceptaverde was wearing Jet green... Where's Gifto when you need him?

Back then, the friction between Polian and Jeff Littman (treasurer of Wilson Industries) was no secret. As the story goes: Wolford's contract expired following the 1992 season. Polian was prepared to re-sign Wolford to an extension during the prior off-season, even though the pricetag was going to be substantial. Littman refused to okay the deal, Ralph (as usual) sided with Littman, and Polian went thermonuclear. As mentioned in Marv's biography, the decision to part company was actually made before that season, but kept quiet until after the Super Bowl. So instead of keeping an already-signed WW in Buffalo, brand-new GM John Butler was faced with the decision of either naming him a 'franchise' player, a 'right-of-first-refusal' player, or letting him walk as an unrestricted FA. With contract talks for Thurman and Bruuuce looming in the near future, he used the first-refusal option instead of the franchise tag on Wolford, and it came back to bite us when the Colts devised their poison-pill escalator clause. Thanks, Jeff -- you cost us Wolford AND Polian.

And each of those guys got here in a different way: Ritcher was a #1 pick by a previous GM, Hull was a 'street' FA (who probably would've been drafted if he hadn't signed with the USFL right out of school), House Ballard was an 11th-rounder, and the other starter on the Super Bowl squads, John Davis, was a Plan B free agent (and also an 11th-round pick by his original team). So perhaps there's an addition/correction due the Polian method: make sure you find a Grade A left tackle if you don't already have one, hold onto him by whatever means necessary, and then fill in around him. (Not being allowed to re-sign Wolford was what doomed the Polian-RCWjr. relationship, IMO.)

You're right -- we'd be FAR better off (Ryan Leaf) spending our Top Ten pick (Akili Smith) on a QB (Rick Mirer), because Top Ten QBs (Heath Shuler) are never busts (Tim Couch). In other news: now that he's on I.R., former #1 overall pick Orlando Pace will have plenty of free time to polish his Super Bowl ring...

K-gun was awesome. Then again, we had future Hall of Famers at QB, RB, and both WR spots before Marchibroda tossed Kelly the car keys... I'd settle for boring, IF it comes with positive results.

If that's the case, based on this season's performance, we (PSU) are in BIG trouble....

Polian was still in Carolina -- and using their #1 on Rae Carruth -- when Glenn and Meadows were drafted. (Yes, that Rae Carruth.) In his three-year run with the Panthers, Polian drafted a grand total of one OL on the first day of the draft. (Blake Brockermeyer, #1-1995.) He also picked a QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, and 2 DBs. Still, I'll give you Glenn: with him on the roster, Polian has had no reason to spend a high pick on another LT. That's one out of five starting spots. Meadows started most of the Colts' games from 1997-2002; Indy's cumulative regular-season record in those years was 45-51. He was in and out of the lineup with various injuries in '03, and out of football after that season (before attempting a comeback with Denver this year). Polian replaced him with 2001 fourth-round pick Ryan Diem. Dylan Gandy, this year's starting LG, was also drafted in the fourth round; Jake Scott was a fifth-rounder, Jeff Saturday and Ryan Lilja UDFAs. Some other recent Colts OL starters: Steve Sciullo and Steve McKinney (both 4th), Rick DeMulling and Tupe Peko (both 7th), Larry Moore (UDFA). Just for giggles: Polian was the Buffalo GM for seven seasons, John Butler eight, Tom Donahoe five. Let's break down the OL draft history for each, through the first seven rounds: #1 picks: BP 2 (Wolford 1986, Fina 1992); JB 1 (R. Brown 1995), TD 1 (M. Williams 2002). Rounds 2-3: BP 2 (Leonard Burton #3-1986, Glenn Parker #3-1990) JB 2 (Corey Louchiey #3-1994, Robert Hicks #3-1998) TD 1 (Jonas Jennings #3-2001) Rounds 4-7: BP 2 (Tim Borcky #7-1988, Brent Griffith #7-1990) JB 7 (Mike Devlin #5-1993, Corbin Lacina #6-1993, Tom Nutten #7-1995, Dusty Zeigler #6-1996, Jamie Nails #4-1997, Marcus Spriggs #6-1997, Victor Allotey #7-1998) TD 6 (Marques Sullivan #5-2001, Mike Pucillo #7-2002, Ben Sobieski #5-2003, Dylan McFarland #7-2004, Duke Preston #4-2005, Justin Geisinger #6-2005) Looking at Polian's history, the five-time NFL Executive of the Year's gameplan is obvious: spend high picks on 'skill' players, fill in the 'big uglies' later... almost the exact opposite of the Belichick/Pioli blueprint, which has seen them use no fewer than SEVEN #1 or #2 picks on the OL/DL since 2000. Interesting to compare/contrast their methods...

Okay, I can buy that. Except for Erik Flowers. (Sorry, Rich.) No amount of polishing was going to make that pick look good...

Deserves to be repeated. As I noted in the Colts preview: "Indianapolis provides the counterpoint to the New England model in the “draft linemen or skill players?” debate. Since Bill Polian arrived in town in 1998, the team has used #1 picks on: QB (Manning), two RBs (Edgerrin James, Addai), a WR (Wayne), a TE (Clark), a DB (Jackson), a LB (Morris), and a DE (Freeney). Those nine drafts have added up to exactly one first-day pick on the offensive line: 1999 third-rounder Brandon Burlsworth (Arkansas), who tragically lost his life in a car accident less than two weeks after he was drafted. As in Buffalo and Carolina, Polian has filled out the roster with lower-round picks and free-agent signings on the lines. Obviously, that’s worked out better on offense than defense for Indy… but overall, well enough to earn the NFL’s best regular-season record (85-35) since 1999." Likewise. Stunning concept; surprised nobody's tried that. That said... AD, you can't deny Buffalo's recent track record re: drafting linemen is a tad underwhelming, can you?

J.D. Williams, anyone? More recently: Ahmad Carroll, Phillip Buchanon, Jamar Fletcher, Willie Middlebrooks. Except for the corners on the last two Super Bowl champions. Interesting coincidence. Steelers: Ike Taylor, Deshea Townsend (both 4th rd) Pats: Randall Gay (UDFA), Asante Samuel (4th) This analysis from drafthistory.com - one of BfNYC's favorite websites, if you hadn't guessed - would seem to differ with that conclusion.

For that to happen, there has to BE a pocket, doesn't there? Just sayin'...

heeheehee. Then again, can't say I was shocked by the byline -- Borges, who's never exactly been a Belichick fan to begin with. Remember, too, how BB did the Jets when he walked out on them to go to New England. There was bad blood there long before Mangini took the Jersey/B job. From Jets (and former Pats) LB Matt Chatham's postgame quotes: