RJ (not THAT RJ)

Current: none. I hate the rest of the NFL and anyone not wearing a Bills uniform with a hatred that burns with a hard, gemlike flame. All-Time: Terry Bradshaw Before he became a cartoon, he was the embodiment of a big-game QB. A close second here is Roger Staubach. They both played in an era (before E$PN) when the NFL was a sport, not an Entertainment Product.

Oh, right, because only negative, know-it-all smart A$$es are realistic.... Kool-Aid comes in many flavors, and it ain't no badge of honor to choose consistently to drink from the container of "Everything Sucks, Anyone Who disagrees with Me is a Stepford Tutti-Fruitti Punch." Oh Yeaaaahhhhh!

You are right that Randall had all the tools, but the fact that running around in the pros is a recipe for getting one's legs snapped is one of the biggest reasons (along with faster linebackers) why the college-type running QB does not work as a long-term option in the NFL. You are also right that Randall showed he could throw the ball quite well in 1998 when he was a bit older and stopped all that running around, something which further proves my original point.

We need to cut DeLuca some slack. The Sabres success this past year has robbed him of his chance to attack Tom Golisano, so he moved on to the next owner. He's just trying to keep in shape. Gotta respect that.

I don't want to get too deeply into conspiracy theories, but I do think the Vick case shows what happens when a team and a league decided to anoint someone as a star before he laces them up, then that guy has just enough success to keep people expecting that he will do more. So many people WANT Vick to be a big star that they hope saying it will make it so, when it might turn out that he will "just" be a solid, talented pro football player. Randall Cunningham comes to mind, though Randall was not hyped until after he got into the NFL. There is something amusing about all this. As far back as the late 1980s, (remember "Randall, the Ultimate Weapon"?), NFLers have been predicting that the future lay with college style running QBs, even as championships have been won either by nimble non-runners like Joe Montana or Tom Brady, and even statues such as Troy Aikman. Even when more running types have had success (Steve Young, to an extent Donovan McNabb) it has only happened when they learned that there were times when you needed to be able to stand in the pocket, plant your feet, and deliver an accurate throw. Kordell's inability to do that consistently held the Steelers back, and it shows the power of the image of "the QB of the future" that it took repeated playoff failures to convince the Steelers to move on... Even Flutie found out that a good defense with a spy would force him to make throws and expose his weaknesses (note his record against the Jests in 1998-99). Vick is just the latest in a line of QBs who have been hyped because they appeared to fit the mold of the future that is constantly predicted and never arises... One wonders whether anyone could actually live up to the expectations placed on Vick. It is part of the ESPNification of sports, which then leads people to forget how big the difference is between college football, where the talent differential between teams can be so enormous, and the pro game. Vince Young will be the next victim of the syndrome. He has so many talents that he will make plays, but I seriously doubt he will be Superman. (Though I am a historian, not a clairvoyant, and make no claims to predictive powers...) Ironically, to my mind, Leinart has it slightly easier. If he fails, people will shrug and say "arm not strong enough," but the pressure on teams not to give up on Vick or Young will be so great it will be harder for them to move on.

Thanks for proving my point.

Oh well, it sounded good for a while, anyway. Give my regards to Kendall Square!

Hmmm... a mathematical puzzle.... If RJ<RJ But also RJ=RJ Then... well, then we would have to ask someone from MIT to resolve it. OK, OK, enough LAMPing from me. I will now return to my shadowy lair.

I may have been carried away in all the excitement... My thanks again to the Senator for making me famous....

I felt a need to post in this thread, but have nothing of substance to add. Now I know how so many people feel in TSW.

Very true on the first three... though Bobby C, whom I idolized, was on the way out when the Bills traded him in 1980. McDole was a very special case... he was old on paper in 1971 when John "I am the first coming of Gregg Williams" Rauch decided he was washed up, but George Allen made him part of the "Over the Hill Gang" and he played several years past the time one would expect a DT to play in the NFL. I loved how McDole was one of the only linemen left who still wore a simple double-bar face mask, like a QB. He was a tough mofo....

Heyyyy.... that's not a spike...... Has Roscoe been here?

RR was the intended received on Holcomb's interception. Everett made a couple of catches from JP, including an important one on the TD drive, which was a good sign.

I'm with you there!

It may indeed... if you are Kelly Holcomb.

I stand corrected, and apologize for my assumption. Nice to know you are capable of being positive. Go Bills!!

Just to save Joe the effort, since I know he may be tired by now... Who wants to be the first one to say, after the Bills score again, that any good plays by the Bills now don't matter because it is against the scrubs?

I have tried to listen online when I was not home with my Sirius radio, and found out that for some copyright reasons Sirius is not allowed to stream live sports online.

Winfield's only problem was/is his hands of stone. He is a very good CB in so many ways, but can't make the game-turning INTs. Although he overdoes it with the "playmaker" schtick, Nate has shown the ability to make the INTs and take them to the house. It may not be fair, but that ability to change the game is what makes Nate eligible for the big payday.

That reminds me of listening to Super Bowl XXVIII while living in Germany... waiting for it to start at midnight, listening to it faintly on AFN.... Thurman fumbled at ca. 2 a.m..... I was up all by myself listening.... the emptiest feeling in the world.... God, I love being a Bills fan... So help me I do!

You are absolutely right. Bowman left MTL in a conflict with the GM, and the Knoxes offered him total control of the team. He took the team to the semi-finals his first season (79-80), then proceeded to use his power to play yo-yo with coaches and draft Jiri Dudacek from Czechoslovakia.... After the left BUF, no one gave him that sort of power again, he was able to concentrate on coaching, and won a few more cups.... Sigh. I see great parallels between Bowman and TD; both came in with high expectations, were given total control, and both shat the bed in Buffalo.

Thanks for the very sensible explanation. I can see why that would have its appeal, though for me, I can't really imagine caring at all about sports if not for the personal attachment to my abandoned home town... Without that connection, it's just a bunch of genetic freaks in halloween costumes. Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course. Have a great season, fellow Philly resident!

Amen, amen, amen! Keep hope alive! Go Bills!

Because you are a Bills fan, Roscoe, I know there is some good in you. That good obviously does not lie in either your interpersonal skills or in your talent analysis, but I find that easy to forgive. I will leave the further discussion of your straw man talent issue to others. As for the definition, I do not have that edition handy, but I can tell you that "dribble" is a verb, as can be "drivel," but when one wants to use the term to describe idiotic blabberings, the proper word to use is the noun, which is "drivel." I notice you ran up the white flag on "segue," which shows that you are capable of exercising good judgment Have a nice day, and Go Bills!

Your talent analysis is based on your presumption of suckiness. Your claim of objectivity is based on smoke and mirrors and gloom. Your estimation of me is as far off the mark as it could be. You have nothing worthwhile to add to any conversation. This conversation is over.