dave mcbride

Yup; good catch. As I mentioned, the postseason numbers are mind-boggling, and it's not a small sample size.

Eli gets in not just for the 2 SB victories. He gets in because of who his team beat as well. See above re Davis. Seriously, check out the postseason numbers. They're arguably the greatest in NFL history.

Terrell Davis rushed for 1140 yards and 12 TDs in 8 playoff games. Prorated, that's a 2280-yard, 24 rushing TD regular season. The numbers are staggeringly great, and postseason production should absolutely be rewarded. They're the most important games! He's a grade A hall of famer in my book. In those 8 games, he ran for over 100 yards in all of them except one, and in that game he had 91 yards on 14 carries.

I know a small handful who have moved back. The vast majority of Buffalonians I know who moved to NYC have stayed here (including me). There are a lot of Buffalonians here. Moving back does happen, however.

Yates stinks.

Isn't he in the ... pros now? That college stuff truly doesn't matter anymore, and Lawson most decidedly did not look good last season. If it did matter, Vernon Gholston would be a multi-time all-pro. Badol's point is that we shouldn't be aiming to get DEs with the upside of a Robert Ayers in the first round. I'm willing to give the guy a mulligan for last season, but not this one.

In celebration of Brady's 40th, I propose joining the disgusting lovefest here -- http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20222434/tom-brady-40th-birthday-stories-never-heard-nfl-2017-new-england-patriots -- and offering our own creative additions to this compendium of fawning reminiscences of Tommy. Here's mine: “I remember a September game in Miami – I think it was in 2011 -- and it was really, really hot. Tom being Tom, he wanted to win at all costs – you know the type of competitor he is. But since this is Miami and their guys control the facility, we have to be extra careful. Anyway, a few minutes before the game I go into the bathroom with the bag of balls and ask myself, how am I going to pull this off? Given the heat, the weather wasn't going to cooperate. But right then I note that the plunger is propped up against the wall near the sink and think, well that’s strange. I then take a little bit closer of a look, and I say to myself, Damn, it’s a disguised pump with a needle! I get to work quickly and deflate the balls in no time. Tom has a typically great game, and afterwards says to me, How’d you like taking the plunge? We both laughed for a while. To top it off, I get a box with a new pair of Kicks in it later that week. That story tells you everything you need to know about the type of guy he is. The greatest.”—John Jastremski, Team equipment assistant, 2005-2014.

Good write-up by Benoit. Thanks for posting!! Who knows re the talent on this team. Objectively, they didn't add much this offseason on the talent front, although Hyde is a good football player. They lost more than they gained with regard to talent. I think that's inarguable. They didn't draft any studs, after all. The guys they took may turn out to be good players, but no one thinks they're blue chippers.

I respectfully - and completely - disagree. https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-seahawks-de-michael-bennett-is-still-underrated

Michael Bennett is not too high. He is one of the best players in the league. Just my opinion, of course. Hughes was terrible in the second half of last season (he had a strong start).

More importantly, Kirby, what are some good sites for hat shopping for me?

yup.

The level of denial in this thread is embarrassing. Why can't people simply admit that they like following a sport that is obviously hazardous to human health?? I admit it. It ain't pretty, but it's the truth. As I've long maintained, I would have likely been a gladiator fight fan in ancient Rome, but I like to think that I would have been holdimg my thumb down (symbolizing swords down) when the Editor asked the crowd for a vote on the fate of the loser. But at least I admit that I probably woild have been a gladiatorial combat fan. Please explain your point with evidence. I suggest reading this if you get a chance, btw -- https://www.amazon.com/Death-Expertise-Campaign-Established-Knowledge/dp/0190469412 . Whatever mistakes scientists may make, they're far more reliable than skeptics of science (because - get this - scientists aren't correct 100 percent of the time!) on the internet who basically don't have a clue about what they're talking about. I could go on.

Da Nile -- it ain't just a river in Egypt. Wtf? This is gibberish.

No offense dude, but step up your game. This is cr*ptastic arguing. Seriously.

Don't hold your breath. There is no evidence.

NFL players' biggest failing over the years has been their inability to follow through on a strike. This Business Insider piece and graph tells you all you need to know, pretty much. Forget the NBA; look at Indian cricket, MLB, and the NHL: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/nfl-mlb-nba-nhl-average-sports-salaries-2016-11 The fact that the NFL spends more is mostly irrelevant given that they make a lot more than every other league (nearly 40 percent more than MLB, which is in second). How many games players play is irrelevant w/regard to the money situation, btw.

Agreed. For a couple of seasons, hugh green was absolutely dominant. I guess it depends on how much you value longevity.

Bennett is arguably the most underrated player of the past decade. He is one of the primary reasons why Seattle's defense is so great, pro bowl appearances or no. I personally like Andre Reed a lot as a player, but I also think that Bills fans overrate him greatly. He was a very good but not great player.

Excellent post re the ex-Pats. Richard Seymour played pretty well for a terrible Raiders team too (2 pro bowl selections), and Lawyer Milloy had a bunch of good seasons (including for the Bills!).

None of this is laissez faire capitalism. The appeles to apples comparisons are to mlb and the nba, not some mythical free market. Yet it is a far bigger business. I don't disagree with your take, btw; most of the guys in the nfl would play in the nba if given a choice. But football, both college and pro, is a much bigger business. It's what people actually like to watch (people like porn too!). Incidentally, this piece about mlb players' declining share of revenue over time is worth your time and relevant to the discussion: http://deadspin.com/mlb-has-a-big-money-problem-1742117953 .

Couple of observations after reading this thread: 26CB and Kirby are doing the lord's work here, and my god are people suscepitible to misinterpreting a Watkins comment (which was totally right, btw) because they're invested in sports as some sort of morality play, with Joe Sixpack making $45k a year invoked as a foil to all the overpaid athletes out there. Do people get this worked up about Led Zeppelin's or Leonardo Di Caprio's earnings? It's all entertainment in the end, and in entertaimment, the stars get paid.

No it wasn't -- the reason i hadn't seen it was because it was buried on p. 2. It has no commentary either -- just one quick and non-substantive response. Thread nazis are the worst (not that 26cb is one).

Agreed. And at least the Bills didn't overspend. I also thought the passage on Julio Jones was interesting given the Sammy situation.

What did you think of it? You didn't opine.