RJ (not THAT RJ)

Amen to that, apuz. No magic formulae exist. Ask the three "bottom feeders" the Bills have beaten, each of whom has drafted at least one "franchise QB" in the past decade....

TWO TEAMS ENTER, ONE TEAM LEAVES! EDIT: Sorry EZC, I did not read to the end before I posted.

Very well played, Dan. The Phish certainly got better after 2007 but the success in 2008 had a goodly element of luck (such as a brief career resurrection for Chad Pennington). Maintaining that level has been hard, and Bill Parcells, true to form, has already lost interest.

I second the motion. That metaphor is going to stay with me a long, long time.

Oh, I got that point, Monkey... though as others have said, Nix has done enough things right in this past year to make one reserve some judgment. And heck, if we know the draft is going to suck, then what difference does it make where they draft?

Hey Jerry, what do the three "bottom feeders" have in common? Each of them fell so far they were able to draft a "can't miss franchise QB" at least once in the past decade. (The Lions and Browns have done it twice!) An insightful analyst might notice that, and consider whether it is necessarily such a good thing to prefer losing in order to draft higher.

Excellent catch... though he is even earlier than Plunkett. Roger won in 1963, Plunkett in 1970.

Imagine that, huh?

My initial thought is that Heisman QBs rarely pan out, though more research might be necessary. It is true that there was a long gap between Pat Sullivan and the next QB to win a Heisman. Outside of Jim Plunkett, though, I am having a hard time thinking of NFL champion QBs who won the Heisman..... If that indeed turns out to be the case, it raises some fascinating questions about the differences between success in college and success in the NFL.

Holy Cow!

The flameout of Mr. Palmer, of course, should raise further questions about the belief that a great college QB will automatically succeed in the NFL...

Do the adjustments after the first drive reduce some of the calls for the DC's head?

That kind of honesty around here is as refreshing as it is rare....

Good for Mead, and good for you, Thoner. I hope you all get to go home happy today!

Would I be to cynical if I suggested that ownership may be dragging its heels on maintenance in order to improve the case for a new stadium, and this was the unplanned but not necessarily undforeseeable result?

WEO, I often disagree with you, but you totally nailed this one. Well done!

Luck had actually better hope Cincinnati does not draft him. That is where first-round QB careers go to die.

As a second round pick? I rather doubt it.

Being an idiot? Far from it. Recognizing a fella who insists on wallowing in negativity relating to the team he allegedly follows is more like it. It (the wallowing, that is) is a form of ritual self-abuse that many folks around here seem to think makes them look smart.

The self-hate is strong with this fan....

Wrong game. He did that against the Eagles in 2003. Ye Ole might be losin' his memry.

As long as you promise to choose the hemlock!

Bills have had bad luck with whistles since Baltimore...

Contrary to the all-or-nothing positions often taken in discussions like this, all of these statements can be true: 1. Cam Newton is an excellent football player with enormous potential 2. Whether his amazing skills will translate to the NFL is an open question, since plenty of great college QBs (black and white) fail to make the transition And: 1. His family clearly broke NCAA and SEC rules by soliciting money from Southern Miss 2. The NCAA is far from morally pure when it comes to athletes and money How it all plays out, on both scores, remains to be seen.

You beat me to it, Senator. Though one could argue that the evidence suggests that Lou Saban, who traded away James Harris, was opposed to black QBs. Marlon Briscoe, whom Saban ran out of Denver and then traded away from Buffalo as well, certainly thought so. That, however, is a different historical argument.