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Nice post Dave. The key is something that does not get stressed enough - CB is de-valued in the Cover 2 system. I think it may be done for a very important reason; namely, it is a way to avoid having to pay top corners so much money that it drains the coffers for OL and DL. It is a way to reorient the salary structure of a team to stress fundamentals of team play. DL is simply more important in any scheme in the NFL, and the C2 allows teams to get players up and running faster. I look at it as the same philosophy used for OL. Teams cannot pay top money to everyone on the OL, so they put their money into the more demanding and rare talents at tackle. The guards are easier and cheaper to acquire. The team, therefore, is much better positioned for success then if they left too little money looking for an OT. Same thing happened at LB and RB. Don't get me wrong, CB is widely known as one of the positions teams earmark for big bucks. The others are QB, OT, WR, and DE. Its clear that DT has had a huge increase in recent years too, but you get my point. Now what happens if you can remove one of the MUST-HAVE, MUST GIVE HUGE $$$ TO positions? More money for the rest of the team. The reliance on the S position in C2 supports this, since Ss are universally cheaper then CBs. (Unless you draft them at #8.) This is why IND seems to let their LBs go every year, and let a CB like Harper walk. They have huge bucks at QB, WR, probably OT, and Freeney is going to back the truck up this off-season. You as GM put your money into the rarest of skill position talents and make due with the rest - where the talent is not as rare or hard to acquire.

Ya know, I was not down on TD like many others here. I really enjoyed his wheeling and dealing on draft day, and he was as slick as they come when it came to getting value for players we could not keep. In each of these things he will always be better then Marv. BUT I will simply never forgive TD for robbing the Bills of our team identity. Moving Jones aside. Getting Mr knowitall Greg W who took a top notch defense and striped it of guys like Ted and Pat. At every turn getting rid of guys that bleed RW&B for 'name' FAs like DB. And on and on. If Marv proves one thing in his tenure as GM, it will be that TEAM is far greater then the sum of its parts. Actually, given our reaction to last years team, he probably already has.

Dude, you have no idea..... When I was a kid my mom owned an antique shop in Clarence. She ended up keeping some of the very old dolls that came through the store, and for years after. They had worn porcelain skin - cracked. No hair. Dead eyes. They looked like something out of a creepy horror movie . You know, the one the main character goes up to the attic where the former (evil) tenants kept their stuff. Those dolls. But my little story isn't done yet. As a kid I was very afraid of the dark, and often had horrible nightmares. My mom stationed her 3 evil, dead-eyed dolls about the small dinning room on antique highchairs. And of course I had to walk through the dinning room, at night, to get to my bedroom. Not a walk, really, more like a sprint. Going to bed at night, or getting up for any reason, was comparable to walking through a cemetery at dusk. Just at the moment when the dark spirit world would take notice....

By not acknowledging the extraordinary feat of going to 4 straight. Damned by faint praise.

Terrific idea! I will go one further. I remember many times during the SB years how we came out of the gate pretty fast only to get out asses handed to us in week 3 or 4. I always felt those loses early in the season helped the team stay a bit more humble and a lot more focused. Time will tell, but the growth of a team, especially a young one like this, is often every bit as much about the loses as the wins.

Reading this thread was a depressing experience. There is so much irrational expectation and hate for JP one would think they were listening to the national media. The guy throws 22/38 for 328 yards, runs in a TD, gets killed on the blitz because the media darling McGahee doesnt understand what that is, and you all think he is a bum? It has been said a few times already, but I will throw my twist on it. With fans like this who needs enemies...

TW is trying to get Fans to pressure the NFL to make the cable company even more money. Very disingenuous.

Saw them at Red Rocks (Colorado) a few weeks back. Great show and yes, Young played the skin off his guitar. But I was very disappointed in one thing. His writting aint what it used to be, and no way does his new stuff (last 15-20 years) make up for the almost complete lack of the old. The songs just can't compare to a set of Cinnimon Girl, Old Man etc. Still, me and the wife had a great time.

I agree Bill. The perp in this story must have been one bad ass to pull it on an NFL linebacker. A regular sized guy would have had his throat removed.

Another old timer will chime in. To give you 'youngins' perspective on OJ and his era. Consider this year's draft sensation, Reggie Bush. He is regarded, perhaps rightfully, as a once in a generation RB talent. Quite possibly the next Barry Sanders. Really take it all in. The Bush hype is over the top. He can do it all like no one has in a long time. Now consider OJ: 1. He had Bush/Sanders moves. Actually, they were more impressive. These guys dart like water bugs. OJ just moved his head slightly to the left or right and the defender's jock strap had to be retrieved after the play. The term 'fluid' can only begin to describe him. He was physical artistry. 2. He had the size of even the larger current starting tailbacks. He could and would go inside or out. Was it Joe Ferguson who said that OJ never got enough credit for his toughness? He could make positive yards on a stacked line, unlike guys like Sanders (and probably Bush.) 3. If OJ was racing Reggie Bush and all the other top RBs of this era, they would all come in 2nd place or worst. He had legit, World Class speed. Not a 40s only number. A guy who helped set collegiate 100 records. 4. TT deserved to get a 1st ballot into the HOF. Kelly did. OJ was waaay beyond Kelly as a recognized 1st balloter. No contest. IMO, the guys who talk of OJ as a top 5 all time back do him a disservice. The only guy I could argue is better them him was Brown. And I only say that because I give deference to the guys who saw him play. In short, for you to understand the OJ of his era you would have to take Bo Jackson with his amazing size / speed combination, and then add the moves of a Sanders or Bush - at full speed. Then you can understand why us guys who watched him roll our eyes when OJ gets dropped to 'top 10' all time rankings because of his double murder, or when the next batch of young football watchers dare to suggest the GREAT Thurman is better. Or, for me, even the guys who talk in whispered tones of the legend of Barry Sanders. Don't even wast my time mentioning a guy like Emmit Smith.

Can't hate on KH, but I must admit the thought of his 1 yard bomb to Moulds on 4th and whatever is a memory that will not die easily.

I think you mean - one of the best 'fantasy football' QBs in the league.

This whole thing may have been valid if you had included Steve Tasker on the original list.

That's called dehydration, not actual weight loss. Truth be told, he should have lost weight working out in the cold - just by trying to stay warm. Now he'll be doing the humidity-crawl with the rest of the South.

I consider that a good thing.

Right on. And Buftex, very well said. Someday I would like to hear the real reason for the demise of this team. I always felt that it was the DF/RJ fued. Wade really never recovered from it after DFs benching. And I always felt that was about our little egomaniac who put himself before the team. Lots of RJ jokes over the years, but when it comes to class, DF could have learned a few things from him.

To the contrary, OJ was a big booster of Buffalo, and was always seen supporting the Bills in his national media role.

I think the reason that many of us are not excited about WM, aside from those who don't think he is very good, is that his words and actions suggest that he would rather be somewhere else. We're Bills fans in part or whole (for most) because of Buffalo. Willis would rather hang in the Miami hood. What could be worst from a Bills fan's perspective? I would venture to suggest that if Marv was the GM 3 years ago, Travis would have been signed to a long term deal. And Willis would only have visited once every few years.

Have to throw my hat in. There is enough evidence and speculation to suggest Marv knew what was going on. While I too hoped for a trade down, I am now convinced that Buffalo had a great draft in terms of getting high quality, high character football players for this team. I miss TDs mastery of the draft board, but have a feeling that Marv has made moves to put together a real team.

Seriously.

We overpaid for RJ, but the price went up with the other teams competing for him. With JP the deal was about right on. You always lose value trading future picks (ie, a 2nd is worth a 1st next year.) If everyone can just hold on for a couple years, JP may look like the steal - for us.

Comp sounds about right, but I would like to see some creative dealing from Marv. Especially after getting a lousy 5th for Moulds. How about getting STLs 2nd, and kicking back our 4th or 5th? It would be nice to hang onto both 3rd and get the 2nd. With the 2 3rds Im just not 'feelin' the third one.

That is some seriously sissyfied fighting technique going on there. Too funny.

I think you miss the point dawgg. That TD swung for the fences, that he "went for it" wasn't just about a popularity contest. The guy was a first rate wheeler and dealer. One of the best the NFL has had in awhile. TD is no longer here because a) the team didn't win, and b) he pissed off Ralph with the sign business at the end of last year. He is not NOT here because he was bad at his job. Dare I say, if he was still here the Moulds 5th would be a 3rd. People like to trash his drafts, but when we picked MW it was in a weak draft with plenty of other busts. He was hamstrung by the slot. Look back to the Henry draft. Sheer brilliance. The WM wasn't so bad either, eh? But once people make up their mind about something at TSW, you are either too good to be human, or actual human excrement. This is not the mecca of balanced thinking. It is the home of the dog-pile.

Something just occured to me. Not only did he make it more interesting for us. It seemed that we were pretty much front and center in the off season as a team on the move. He was a mover and a shaker that garned national attention. It really is a shame he had to blow himself up. But I like how ajzepp put it: "The guy took his shots, and I dig that." That sums it up pretty nicely, doesn't it? Something we should all strive for, I dare say. Maybe this understanding can help the guy writing the next "he would take the high motor white guy" post. Maybe that guy will say "forgetaboutit" and leave it in the eithers of cyber space. Where it belongs...