ATBNG

It seems to me that these surgeries are getting better and better as time goes on. Palmer, Culpepper and Harrison all have seemingly come back from multi-CL tears in less than a year. I'd expect the same from Spikes.

I think team 6 is by far the worst. Bledsoe and Favre? They also have Dominick (done) Davis and half the team is injured.

I agree with your top 3; like 9 the best.

I like your thinking on all three games Buff. I like the Chiefs a lot more than the Lions, only because I don't like how the line has moved in Seattle's direction. Cincy is taking gobs of public money after Palmer's lights out national exhibition game; the Chiefs are a nice play Sunday. I think the Jets are underrated and are going to surprise a lot of people this season. It was unrealistic for them to do much winning last year with a third string quarterback. They have a pretty good defense, and I respect Tannenbaum's abilities as a GM. Pennington gets busted on for his arm strength but he's decent at managing the game. My biggest concern with them this week is that Mangini might eat the playbook before the game - he's put on 100 pounds in the last two years. Tennessee is a mess; their QB situation is truly bizarre and I don't see how Kerry Collins is going to waltz in and be effective. Their secondary has also been shaky to outright awful for a few years now. I think New York wins that game and I'll take the points.

I think the Pats might attempt to resign Davis if he gets cut. He's not great as a receiver, but he's a pretty good gunner and he's familiar with their system.

I think you'd have to give serious consideration to taking Peyton at #5 if Portis and the big three are gone. I know conventional fantasy wisdom says otherwise, but with the league weighted that much towards QB's, I think the smart play is to take the guy who is most likely to lead the whole league in scoring and who doesn't really ever get hurt. There's so much more risk with a Barber (400+ touches last year) or a Johnson (bad knee), and there's no worse position than being on a guess between four or five guys in a fantasy draft. You want to have conviction on your first roudn guy that he's a good value for the spot he's in; those guys just aren't going to do that for you and if you choose incorrectly, the league might be over for you real early because the guy at 24 isn't going to be incredible. You will be able to spot in a medium range RB later in round two, and all it takes is one hit on a late round RB flier and you'll be well positioned. The fact is that the #5 hole is a bad spot to be in the first place. The top three are in great shape; the 12-14 guys will have a chance to take an attractive middle of the pack running back and one of the WR studs. Manning's going to have weeks in this format where is outscores the other two RB; I'd just accept your position and take the proverbial money.

Exactly. Rent control raises rents for everyone that doesn't get hooked into a rent control unit. Manhattan is a perfect example of that. Can't imagine there are many places in the US (maybe Honolulu?) that have higher rents than Manhattan.

Chad Brown's stellar Pats career is over. Vrabel probably moves back outside to replace McGinest if Beisel can get his head out of his rear end, which isn't a sure thing. Vrabel is better than Crowell. I like Fletcher quite a bit, but I think Bruschi gets the nod for captaining the defense. Fletcher is almost certainly a better pure athlete. Obviously Seymour and Wilfork should be in New England's favor. You have nine on ten football scheduled; just like USA vs. Italy. Lindell vs. Gostkowski/Gramatica?? Good matchup!

It's no fun if they kill them offscreen, or if they do some cheesy thing where someone who resembles Meadow from behind gets shot in the back of the head.

The 2004 Patriots would be one example if you're not counting Graham.

Investing in an energy index mutual fund is also not a bad way to hedge your bets. Anyone who did so 18 months ago is most assuredly very pleased with that decision.

You need to include the two exhibition games and bump everything up 25% percent.

How is the final profit calculated Kelly? It doesn't seem close to right based on the numbers given. If the Pats charge an average of $91 for 10 games at 68K, it seems like they should be taking in around 62 million in a season. The Bills at 37 x 10 x 74K would be taking in around 28 million per year.

He only played one year under Parcells - his rookie season. Set the record for catches by a rookie that year. Belichick is the one who shut him down in 2001. TG didn't get a ring.

I think his versatility in being able to throw, run reverses/end arounds and return kicks, as well as his ability to see the whole field as a former college QB increases his value substantially beyond what his pure receiving stats will tell you.

He's not a potential replacement for Moulds - Davis isn't close to him in terms of ability. Like others have said, he's very good at running in straight lines as his two best skills were as a gunner and as a fly pattern WR. They gave him an end around opportunity in the playoffs and he had a nice highlight reel type run for a a first down. He seems like a great guy - comes to work, plays football, does what the team asks him to do. The two biggest concerns are going to be his health and integrating him usefully into the offense. He needs to improve in the middle of the field, and given his size, he really should be able to do more in the red area. He's not an impact player, but he's an NFL player that can contribute if he can avoid that pesky injury bug.

What do you think Moulds' value is for 2006 (capwise)? About 4 - 4.5 million on a one year deal? Or is he headed more towards the 2-3 million dollar range? I don't think it is really fair to question the guy's heart when it is a near certainty he'd accept his current contract if that were a viable option. The Bills are almost certainly going to cut him, and he'll have to move on. I don't think he's ever played with a QB that was in the top half of the league talent wise and it's not clear to me if he's past his prime or on the tail end of it. He could be really solid as a number two in a good offense, but what does Eric Moulds want at this stage in his career? Money or wins?

Collinsworth has very, very slowly earned my respect over the years as an analyst (while I still find his personality to be grating, he is candid and probably has a higher IQ than your average analyst), but NBC could not possibly have placed a billion dollar investment in his hands as a rookie unknown play by play guy. He and Costas might need someone to add a little levity to their booth - I think both guys take themselves awfully seriously. Theismann will have a better shot in this booth than the last. Tirico will get more out of him than Mike Patrick, who is too busy gushing over everyone and everything to consider how he might get the most out of his announcers. Z pretty much nailed it in his announcer column, but Madden and Michaels were very good this year in big games, and I'm glad they can continue to build on what they've started.

That was announced this week - Tirico, Theismann and Kornheiser are the ESPN crew with tafoya and Kolber on the sidelines. NBC really had no choice. They don't have remotely close to the top five guys in-house.

See, I have no problem with this sentiment. Politics and voting is the second most overblown thing in this country, besides "devotion to all things pop culture." You can vote in every primary and general election from now until you die, and you have to be at least a 100-1 favorite never to cast a deciding vote in an election. So, in all honesty, why bother engaging in such a trivial task? People will give you guilt trips, or say it is your obligation as an American, but I think that is tripe. What politicians do is really out of your control - and if you wish to make an impact with one, you send them $100 rather than voting for one. As noted above, the thing that makes our country stand apart is our economic freedom and diverse culture. History overemphasizes the right to vote and underemphasizes rights to property, income, freedom of religion, etc. If you had to choose between a country that had a 20% tax rate yet no right to vote versus a 50% tax rate where you were allowed to vote, sign me up immediately for the former. The 20% country is going to allow me to make more meaningful decisions every day on how I live my life; I can sacrifice particpating in an election where I only have a 100,000 to one shot to cast a meaningful vote in the first place.

My understanding is that they are doing a tribute to past Super Bowl MVP's, and that many of them will be on the field for the toss, but Brady will do the actual flipping of the coin. The Michigan angle is also part of this.

Steelers win in an old fashioned Super Bowl romp. Outlandish score - 41 - 19. Lots of big plays.

Agreed. Then he probably would have been 1-1 in the playoffs instead of 1-2.

Rod Rust was assuredly not good for business. That was also the year after the infamous Mowatt/Olsen/Kiam sexual harassment debacle in week 2, followed by a wonderful 14 game losing streak. The team looked very likely to move since the ownership situation was a total mess. 1990 was definitely the low point in New England Patriot history. The 1991 team, which was a little frisky and had a very likable coach in Dick MacPherson even if he was in over his head, saw a slight uptick in interest around here. Naturally, the arrival of Parcells, Bledsoe and Kraft was the turning point (in my opinion in that exact order).

Better chance of me finding a random $100 bill tomorrow, huh? In another thread, MBD claims Vrabel had a "subpar" year and declares Dean Pees to be a downgrade. Vrabel was probably the defensive MVP of the team since he played well all year, and seamlessly switched positions from outside to inside once Bruschi came back (opening up Colvin's spot). Certainly Seymour is the defense's best player, but I hope Vrabel has a bunch more "subpar" years like that one.