ajzepp

I used to be a huge Brett Favre fan....he was always my favorite non-Bills player. Interesting to contrast the way he's handled his wife's cancer with how Spielman handled his. Spielman focuses on doing everything he can for her and to raise money for the cause, while Brett is out sending penis pics to women half his age. Still can't believe he did that...what a dbag.

Well said

Funny you should ask... I'm a Catholic, but not a very good one...I haven't been to church in years. But one of the coolest things I ever learned (from a buddy of mine, no less) was about some of the Catholic prayers. There are times such as when the Rosary is said, or when a Catholic is given their penance following confession, where the prayers are very repetitive. Of course, as a child it always felt like a chore. But a friend of mine who is a very devout Catholic gave me another perspective. He explained that the idea was to know the prayer well enough where you can repeat it over and over almost like a mantra in Buddhism. You get to the point where you are not having to think about the words, you just know them. At that point you can sort of enter into a meditative/reflective state and really get down to business. I do this from time to time in addition to my regular prayer life, and I find it very effective.

Yep, I had to put my headphones on for that...it's funny, cause this is the one show I don't want to miss a single detail, so the point you make about the little things is spot on. I just have so much respect for Gilligan...I can't wait to see what his next project will be. I almost feel like I owe the guy for something...the level of entertainment he's provided is just through the roof.

Chris Spielman is a Man...capital "M". Some of my best memories as a Bills fan were when he and Damien Covington were in the middle of our 3-4. Like you guys, I'm proud that he played part of his career in our red, white and blue. It's a cliche, but they really did break the mold with that dude.

I wish I could feel that way, man...I just can't. I've seen apathy and indifference increase substantially over the last 20 years. I would love to have the same confidence you do, cause now that I'm in my 40s I think about what it will be like 20 or 30 years from now when I'm a senior citizen and most likely relying on others for some degree of support. I can structure my life any way I want to right now, but the idea of having to be reliant on anyone else for my well being scares the bejeezus out of me.

I'm in a crap mood, so I'll try to be as diplomatic as possible, but I have had a problem with Damonds posts for quite a while now...and I can count on one hand how many people I've had a problem with in the decade + that I've been an active mbr of this community. First of all, anyone's opinion on whether someone should or shouldn't be posting on the site is moot...Scott and his mods have that responsibility and they do a great job at it. As for my thoughts... LAMP "look at me, I'm leaving!" posts are lame. If you have ever broken any bit of Bills news, which is dubious to say the least, then it sure as hell wasn't 'two days before" anyone else. That doesn't happen. Over the past year or longer, I've probably read over 100 posts from people telling you that it's nearly impossible to take your "articles" seriously because they are written with the grammar of a third grader. I've never been a mbr of the grammar police, but if you can't be bothered to present an article that you care enough about to have someone else proof read, then why should anyone else care? People have told you time and time again that it looks bad, and there's a reason for that. On a forum like this, who cares....but if you're going to tell me that you're some legit sports writer, especially if it's Bills related, then I'm sorry but I won't make it through the first paragraph looking the way your stuff does. It's as simple as asking a friend with stronger skills than yourself to read something before you present it. I could probably find twenty people by the end of the day just here on TBD who would do that for me if I asked them. Hell, even the article you posted today has someone talking about how lousy it is in terms of the grammar. As for posting here, I have never once seen you here in either the shoutbox or the threads where it wasn't associated with some new link you were peddling. As others have said, it's disingenuous to say that you're not here to increase your site and/or twitter traffic. There are posters here who have far more interesting professional associations and endeavors and who post links to their work...and nobody minds one bit. In fact, many of us look forward to it. I'll use the example of Astrobot, but there are several others, as well. You know what the difference is? They are here first and foremost as a mbr of the TBD community and are interested in participating with the rest of us. Anything to do with the work they do outside of here that they share with is is welcomed, because it doesn't come off as if they are attempting to take advantage of an established community without actually having anything to do with building it up or maintaining it. You've been here over a year, and your post count is like 300 or whatever...I'm too lazy to look back. That probably works out to like 30 links to poorly written "articles", and about 10 posts from you trying to drum up activity for each one.

That's probably part of it, yeah...I just have always found her ("her" = the character, not the actress) to be a self-absorbed drama queen. Both she and Marie are a couple of loonies.

Makes me sick to my stomach... When I think about how much this country has deteriorated over the last 20 years, I'm scared to death thinking about the next 20.

I can't get past it either....therefore, I must regretfully label her...a butterface.

None of that matters a damn if he can't hold onto the football.

It's funny, cause I often wonder if others felt that way...I sometimes get really aggravated with myself, cause instead of just fully enjoying my last evening off of the week, I'll sit there and dread having to return to work the next day. Doesn't happen nearly as much now as it did when I worked in the hospital, but it's funny hearing you say it that way.

Loved seeing Bill Burr...great job by him and his fellow goon. Definitely agree with Buftex that Anna Gunn is very talented, but this is the first season/half season where I haven't been annoyed with the character. The way Todd was written for this episode was damn near perfect. I loved the contrast between his cold-hearted side having all sorts of dead guys laying among him, and his efforts to protect poor, fragile Lydia from the reality of the carnage as he "throws his jacket over the puddle" and guides her like a perfect gentleman. I got a kick out of having the FBI guys back to interrogate Jesse...those guys have a great schtick going. Loved the conversation between Walt and Skylar in the scene where he's waking up on the floor of the bathroom. Cranston is ridiculous.

LOL...now that was funny.

Speaking of catching, I think he should convert to TE. I just have a feeling he could make that transition for some reason. He's clearly a fail in terms of playing D at the NFL level...

I just chalk it up as part of your charm Besides, the haters in the soccer threads have been AWOL lately...it's good to have someone picking up the slack. Welcome to TBD.

I just finished rewatching the game this morning. EJ hasn't even showed what he can really do yet, so it's just incredibly aggravating that he's out for the rest of the preseason. I'm hoping it ends up being a non-issue moving forward and he's back asap. One thing that I love about what I'm seeing is that he's constantly resetting his feet and he's actively scanning the field QUICKLY. Anyone who saw the sports science testing they did on him knows that he scored off the charts in terms of read and recognition, and it seems like he's doing a great job of translating this skill to practical football. He just gives the impression that he's not only being coached well, but he's paying attention to what he's being taught. I truly believe we got it right with this kid. I loved when they put up a stat later in the game that of the first 11 defensive plays of the 3rd quarter, Pettine blitzed our boys 8 of those. Just reminds me of all the years where we "never had the right personnel to run the 46 correctly"...or how "blitzing just puts too much pressure on the secondary"...blah blah blah. When you blitz SMART, it can be a valuable tool. Pettine is smart. I like Frank Summers receiving skills, but there were a few plays where he just got HAMMERED by a LB. Greenway just blew his asss up on one running play to the right early in the game....it was embarrassing. Agree with you guys about FredEx...he's not the same back. I love that Brown and Gaskins are bulkier backs who are showing some flashes, and TC had a few nice runs, as well. I think Da'Rick really may be looking at being cut... Tuel may not have a cannon, but he puts a nice zip on the shorter and intermediate passes and he's good about leading his receiver. I'm starting to miss Moorman.

No way, man....the Chef rules. That is all.

Amen to that!

lol@Maybinizing And yep, there was a play last night that was a perfect example of what you said about how the QB reacts when they have no escape lanes. I dont' remember who else we had on the play, but I recall our #91 (Im too lazy to look it up lol) lined up on the left, and as he pulled up on that side and assessed the play, you could see Ponder all of a sudden looking frantic. It was so refreshing to see that. I can't even remember the outcome of the play, but I know it was in our favor. As excited as I am about EJ's progress and the season that Spiller is likely to have, I can't wait to watch this defense. I've always just felt - like many of us - that it's just not right when the Bills don't have a stout, playmaking defense. Something about a cold weather team, it just feels right when we're solid on that side of the ball.

One thing I loved seeing last night was when our LDE would sometimes pull up a bit just as he was coming level with the pocket. If I had a dime for how many times Kelsay used to just go flying by on the outside, completely taking himself out of the play and creating a huge hole for the offense to exploit, I'd be rich. Pettine has these guys using their brains and we're pressuring far more intelligently even after only two preseason games. The pocket is being disrupted, we're containing their backs, and so far except for that one TY Hilton play where he had Brooks beat by a few steps, we're not seeing TEs or anyone else just running free through our defensive backfield. It's a beautiful thing, and to know that we're not even scheming yet is exciting as hell.

If memory serves, there was another team who was itching to take Ponder a little earlier than he should have gone...

No doubt...just thinking about that guy still gets me riled up. I know we all have been in the same boat over the past decade, but last year was really the first time I couldn't give a flying fart what happened to this team the rest of the season. I still remember John Murphy trying to convince people not to give up hope since we were technically mathmatically alive for the playoffs up until a certain point, but it just was like a perpetual kick to the nuts to watch this team play. If it wasn't for the RedZone channel, I dont' know what I would have done. So yeah, upgrading our QB position x3 and having so much more confidence in our coaching has completely rejuvenated me. Nothing against Chan, but something tells me I won't have to worry about Hackett calling a Brad Smith lob into the endzone when we're driving in the 4th quarter to put the game away like he did last year against Arizona. Or have a superstar-in-the-making at RB only getting half the number of carries that he should have. So sick of coaches who outsmart themselves...it really feels like coaching is a strength for us now and that feels great.

How good does it feel to know that we have thinkers on both sides of the ball now? Hackett may be young, but I heard the same thing about Jon Gruden when I was living in Philly in the late 90s and he was the OC there. Not saying our boy is the next Gruden, but clearly Hackett has far more functioning neurons than we're accustomed to. Same thing with Pettine. Friggin Wannstedt....the minute I heard him say he was here as a favor to Chan, I just couldn't get past it. I hated every minute he was on our sideline after that and I was thrilled when we cleaned house and kicked his complacent arse out the door. Pettine is legit, and you're exactly right that we're going to be able to engage very capably in some chess matches this year.