Fake-Fat Sunny

Buffalo is simply a great place to live from my point of view. My wfe is from here and loves being close to her Dad who still lives in the house they lived in when she was born, three blocks from her brother who lives with his family there and a 5 minute drive from her other brother and family near Richmond Avenue. We have really fun friends that we share the Bills and other stuff with. Her Dad is a deacon in the church she is a member of (Westminster Presbyterian) and where we got married. The politicians and the organized business community which influences them most heavily are in it for themselves and provide lousy leadership for the region. However, there activities as bad as they are are insignificant compared to family. friends and church. I think the same thing is true most anyplace we would live. One can mae a go of it and live a good life quite easily in Buffalo. It depends on your priorities and life might be easier for some in the sunbelt or in more go=go economic development communities. However, I know I am quite comfortable here and many people are and can be if they are self-reliant and lucky enough to pull it off, Life in Iraq is tough. Life here (and in much of America) is pretty easy.

Because no one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills (I think Berman's comments really embodied Bills fans at their best and one of our finest hours). I support him because he is the starting QB on my team. I want him to do well because I want the team to do well. Its hard for me to imagine wanting anything else if I want the team to do well. Perhaps, there is some world where I judge that ultimately the team would be better off if a particular player did badly and we got rid of him. However, I'm not that clever or smart to do this kind of thinking and taking this attitude seems like one from the Bizarro world to me. Though I support Bledsoe this certainly does not mean blind support. Though I root for him to do well, I did and still openly say that I disagreed with the TD choice to resign him as I thought our team would be better off bidding him a fond farewell after his played sucked last year and we shopped for some other alternative. I don't think support for a player (rooting for him to play well) and blind support (claiming the player is good when he is not) are the same thing. I would love nothing better than to be all wrong about Bledsoe and to have him prove me wrong by miraculously leading us into the playoffs. I can certainly understand and feel fondness for folks who claim that Bledsoe is thegreatest QB since sliced bread was invented, because I think the motivation for the foolishness is from love of the Bills. I can think of few better reasons to be foolish. Further, because we are simply fans of this form of entertainment there is no harm in this foolsihness. The foolhardiness I do not understand is the vehement hatred of Bledsoe some seem to have. This hatred actually seems to blind many to reality as they insist on claims like the one that Bledsoe has never won anywhere he has gone when this directly contravenes reality as he QB's ed a team to an SB under the strong hand of Parcells and played QB in the majority of a must win game for NE in their first SB winning year, Sounds like winning to me. I also do not think the fact correspond with the idea that trading for Bledsoe did nothing for the Bills as his first season even if your ignore the reality of the business and judge only on field performance saw him set a number of single season throwing records and merit his selection as a Pro Bowl reserve (fine if you disagree but ifyou wish to do so rationally who are the other QBs who missed the Pro Bowl that year that you think deserved it more). Further, the concept that NE raped the Bills that year with this trade seems outlandish to me because even considering the gift of twwo NE victories from BB knowing Bledsoe's weaknesses the team still missed the playoffs that year as they suffered under the accelerated cap hit for trading Bledsoe. True, in the longer run, the Pats clearly kept the better younger QB, but even this means a wash as we have one very good year for Bledsoe and one very bad year. TD's mistake was not trading for him but it was resigning him. At any rate, I Support Drew Bledsoe and want him to do extraordinarily well (though as a realistic optimist I doubt this will happen this year. I think claiming he is perfect is acceptable foolishness, but it is foolishness nonetheless. I think claiming he is nothing or wishing bad performance on him is foolishness for a Bills fan as well and even worse their is nothing very acceptable about this at all from a Bills fan. I support Bledsoe but I also say start JP but not until he is ready, not a moment sooner (and because I suspect that it will be 2005 or even our very remote playoff hopes will be gone very late this season} and not a moment later than when he is ready..

NE traded Bledsoe because they had a much better QB in Brady and with the extension they wanted and needed to give this SB winning 6th round draft pick QB, their salary cap simply did not allow them the luxury of hanging on to Bledsoe's lifetime contract. It is an interesting question as to whether if the Bills hadn't dropped a future 1st rounder on him would they have cut him or let him go. Actually, his trade value might have dropped to a Corey Dillonesqu second rounder over time, but the Bills badly needed to replace RJ and AVP so this deal for a future 1st was a good one for us. Certainly, the first year results where the Bills scored a near record improvement from 3-13 to 8-8 and Bledsoe and others on the O made the Pro Bowl had this being a great deal initially for the Bills. The rape of NE intially became complete when even the chance to smoke Bledsoe twice in head to head games was not enough to even get BB team into the playoffs that year. However, the fortunes of life turned completely next year with Bledso's horrid play last yearand NE recovered from the accelerated cap hit from trading Bledsoe to sign FA Harrison and get better reserves as injury forced them to did deep. I'm virtually certain NE wuld not have even made the playoffs, much less win the SB in the 2001 season if Bledsoe had not gotten hurt, and the team became a TEAM pulling together for Brady. However, make no mistake, Bledsoe did come in for a majority of the championship game for an injured Brady and played a key role in helping them win a must-win game. Further, rather falling back on the old NFL saw that a player does not lose his job to injury, Bledsoe proved to be a team player in gracefully stepping aside for the more effective QB and they won it all. I think they ditched Bledsoe because they had to but not because they wanted to. I think that TD made a big mistake by sticking with Bledsoe and not looking elsewhere for a QB in the off-season, but make no mistake about it, with the best in HC work from Parcells and BB, a team can make and win the SB with Bledsoe playing a big role. The Bills strike me as a dollar short and a day late investing in him with a rookie HC, but he has the SB and AFC Championship rings (unlike virtually all other pros) and deserves 'em from my view.

Sure I care. For me, I'm rooting for a team and not for particular individuals. I hope Reed comes back and plays well, not because I like any of these too rich individuals whom I don't kno anyway, but because when he plays well he provides competition that forces Aiken, Evans or whomever to play better or to also have a a seat. Its hard for me to see how any Bills fans can feel like we are deep enough at any positions and given that injuries happen so much in the modern NFL that they can not care for a particular player or even root for him to mess up and also root for the team to do well. We simply are not good enough for us to discard or need all players to play well.

It apparently will be a gameday decision whether he is the #2 or not. A lot may be going on here to keep JP working hard on getting ready. One theory (and it is all theories in terms of development of JP, is that he was given the mop-up suicide mission in the dregs of the NE game to forceably give him the Billy Joe Hobert lesson that a player must be prepared to play anytime he puts the uniform on. I hope this was not a necessary message for him to receive and that he has put his "time-off" to injury to good use and gone up into the booth and learned NFL offenses and defenses better and that Sam Wyche was his constant companion as he soaked in that knowledge. ICE and others are simply wrong that playing is the ONLY way for JP to get better. He needs to both play and to learn the NFL way and to iron out any mechanical issues that would interfere with him developing good chemistry with Evans and others. JP must play, but not until he is ready. He gave the message after the NE debacle when he said stated now he will take things seriously that he had a few things to learn before he is ready to play well, contribute and learn.

The real irony is here that Bledsoe's QB rating is so high at home when the weather for a couple of those games was horrendous due to the winds at the Ralph and marginal at least for another game. He really makes thows that few others can make under some conditions but just simply is unproductive in other circumstances such as when elicheck gets in his head.

This issue always runs into a fundamental contradiction which causes final plans to founder. This is that building the best river crossing for products-based economics outcome and building the best river crossing for a service-based economic crossing are two different things. If one is transporting products, the important things are Point A and Point Z. A is where it is manufactured and Z is where it is sold. To the extent that anything involving Points B through Y are anything more than speed bumps you have slowed the process and the transfer of products is less efficient. On the other hand, a service-based crossing is based on getting people moved around so they can stop and go to hotels, eat at restaurants, go to cultural locations etcetera. The Peace Bridge issue simply founders as Buffalo and Fort Erie are looking to build a crossing which enhances it as a gateway and allows and attracts shoppers, tourists and folks to come to this gateway and have a great time and spend their nickels. On the other hand, the powers that be which control the Peace Bridge Authority want to build something which attracts good manufactered using cheaper labor in Canada to get to US markets in Boston, NYC, DC, Pittburght etcetera and also goods manufactered by the enormous US economic engine to get to markets in Toronto. The PBA wants to continue to be the troll which collects the tolls for this inter-country commerce. I think the real problem here is that the goods-based expansion of the Peace Bridge crossing is continually sold as an economic engine for the region when it simply is not. Sure tons of money will be skimmed off the cross-border transfer of goods, but it actually will go to payback the bonds issued by the PBA to captialize the expansion of the crossing and those bondholders may live in WNY, but if these capital holders judge it to be a more remunerative investment than some other investment they can live in NYC, Jakarta, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia or wherever. I once taught a class at UB which had the students as a project analyze and describe an economic development project. Like any good students they were much bigger on factoids than context, but hey that is why they are taking the class. The students presented a litany which was not biased in terms of outcomes of what crossing should be selected because the 3 had fairly diverse political views and background. Thy proceeded to lay out why the PBA proposal was not the most cost-efficient method considering a variety of issues such as building materials (ex. a concrete span would be cheaper and more easily maintained than the proposed metal twinning of the current bridge), uncalculated costs (ex. pollution eminating from the truck would likely add large costs borne by the community through hospital costs and welfare payments which were not considered since they were not part of the PBA bridge-building costs), and poor understanding of the economic benefits (ex. the economic benefits were illusory and would not go to residents of the region since a truck driver if he is profitable does not stay at local hotels, go to the opera or eat more than Slim-Jims from the gas station). At any rate, they finished theior presentation and one of the other bright students asked the $64 question. Why would this region even want to build a bridge? Being a reasonable professor I did not provide an answer but instead guided a discussion. We came to the complicated and complex conclusion: You want to build a bridge to get to the other side. Speaking as an American Canada is a neat place. When I drive visitors to Niagara Falls we cross the Peace Bridge and drive up the semi-scenic River Road at 30 miles an hour rather than drive up the concrete US-190 highway at 55-60 mph. My father-in-law ha a summer cottage in Canada which you cross the Peace Bridge to get to. The best Chinese Food east of San Francisco can be found at Ming Teh in Fort Erie. I use and depend on the Peace brdige to help me spend tourist dollars at the Falls, vacation dollars at the cottage, and restaurant dollars. The truck traffic is actually a pain and as it has grown I actually (and my wife who really gets ticked as a type-A sitting in truck traffic) am going less to Canada. Individuals within, beholden to, or who influence or control the PBA stand to make a lot of money as trolls with the tolls, but the benefits for the region are illusory (estimates which I have seen estimate about 3000 new jobs from expanded truck traffic and even these rosy estimates must be somewhat in doubt after 9/11 and this region is looking to replace the 40,000 good-paying jobs lost when the steelmill industry changed and plants closed. In general, I think the Peace Bridge is not be redesigned, approved and built by this region because it actually does little from the designs being chosen to benefit this region economically.

I'd say the #1 difference is in hiring competent co-ordinators. Even to the extent one says the jury is still out on Clements (which i don't think is the case as I think the inherited personnel issue of poor performance by Bledsoe and an OL getting better but still needing improvement is the reason for bad performances and he has shown some nice play calling in terms of use of items like the flea-flicker to Aiken and the move of Bannan to solve the redzone issues) he compares so favorably to the fired Sheppard and the hapless Kevin Killdrive it ain't even funny. Likewise on ST where even if you want to give GW;s guy credit for being the best of his sorry performing lot, Bobby April has simply run a unit which is performing much better. On defense it is the same guy so personnel wise it is a wash, however, one has to wonder to what extent defensive guru GW was actually somewhat responsible for "facilitating" Gray using the GW system and now that Gray has gotten the chance to do things on his own his game has flourished. I think the willingness to bench players may have as much to do with having a better deeper roster so now benching players is more realistic than for the rebuilding Bills.

Manning is at 2 and counting in the most important category for measuring a player and his career which is that in his seven years of play he has won 2 playoffs games (he finally sprinted ahead of Ryan Leaf's delivery for the team which drafted him with his two wins last year. Manning is one of (if not the) best passer ever, but deeming him a great QB (like in Marino's case) awaits him equaling the record of a Elway, Montana (and even a Tom Brady) in winning (or even getting to) the big one.

Like i said, the Aikman selection by Dallas in 1989 was the last one to payoff for the team which drafted this QB in the first with and SB victory and one of the reasons why folks continually seem to go the Harrington, Leaf, Manning (who has delivered the team which drafted him the exact same number of SB apearances as Leaf and just surpassed him last year even in playoff wins for Indy) is the record of the QB class of 1983 with Kelly. Yet, even though it is not your Mother's NFL anymore, and 1st round drafted QBs have no record of success winning the SB for the team which drafted him, folks still seem to want to pursue this same method of building a winner. I think Kelly and Aikman were great. However, as i said in the post deeming Manning the greatest QB ever. Maybe he will be that IF he ever wins (like Aikman) or comes close a number of times to winning (like Kelly), but for now like Marino is is one of (if not the) greatest passer ever, but if you ask me to pick pick a QB to win one game for me, I take Montana, Farve, and yes even Jim Kelly over Marino and Manning in a heartbeat.

I think you more than others would advocate that a leader at QB can and is best found in the methods which produced a Brady, Johnson, Dilfer, Warner, etctera rather than advocating that the key for a team is to follow the draft 'em in the 1st Bledsoe model of building a winner. The comparison I set up is somewhat unfair as it compares the field (all other options besides drafting your QB in the 1st round) to this one method. Ecept drafting your QB in the first has an unbroken record for the team which drafted a player of not having him deliver an SB win to the team since Dallas selected Aikman in the later 80s or even an SB appearance since McNair took TN there in 1999. The Harrington model is fine except it simply has not worked. Should Manning or McNabb deliver an SB win (or even a berth) to the team which picked them it will be the first time in a long time and the exception which proves the rule.

I also feel more loyalty to a drafted player who was always (and if he is good and we get lucky) was and will be a Bill. However, the experience of every SB winner since Dallas drafted Aikman and every SB appearer since TN with McNair is that you build a team (particularly at QB) around some method other than drafting a QB in the 1st round. I think the NE example of 2 SB wins sandwiched around the cap acceleration hit of trading Bledsoe is that one can find a QB capable of leading you to the SB with a late round draft pick or in trade for a reject like Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer. QBs like Kurt Warner were found at Wal-mart. The primary challenge with JP is that there is not good (in fact quite bad if appearing in the SB is your goal) in terms of building a winning team.

I think Detroit is blowing it because they have over-focused on the import of the QB to their rebuilding strategy. Not only did they spend a big pick on Harrington instead of on running and stopping the run (even here you need to be good as folks are correctly disappointed in MW who has not produced under the guidance of Vinklarek who had no OL coaching experience prior to the Bills or his replacement Ruel who had one year before he was rejected by Harrington's team), but they have gone back to the well to try to get Harrington the receiving targets any passer needs only to see injury invalidate these choices. Bench Harrington, keep Harrington. This choice will make little difference for the prospects of a team which has been fairly Bledsoe-like in the pass-happiness of their rebuilding focus. The key instead for NE was to invest their hopes at QB (due to the force of injury) into a 6th round draft pick. Even after the good fortune of buildinga team around him which forced them to eat the cap acceleration of the Bledsoe contract, they actually missed the playoffs in the year the acceleration hit them, but once again won the SB the next year when the team built on FA pick-ups like Harrison and marginally better back-ups who stepped up for injured players delivered them an SB. Like the Bills, the key is to worry less about developing a QB and worry more about developing a team.

The key number in assessing Manning is not the 41 and counting number which measures whether he will surpass fellow non-SB winner Marino for the record, but the 2 and counting number which measures the playoff wins he has brought to the team that drafted him (he finally surpassed Ryan Leaf in terms of playoff victory delivery last year. This IS NOT to claim that SB wins are the only measure of greatness. I think SB appearances are a truer measure of greatness. It means that the QB has won a series of must-win playoff appearances. It speaks to Jim Kelly's greatness as one of the best there ever was. Still making the playoffs and winning in the playoffs is why players do what they do and it certainly can not be discounted completely only to focus on gaudy stat numbers. I think Dan Marino is a far better passer than Jim Kelly. but if you gave me a choice of QBs for my tem there would be no question in my mind which one to take. I'd certainly vote for Manning if by greatest QB you mean greatest passer, but if by greatest QB you mean what i think of as greatest QB, just win baby is what this is about.

This a good example of why teams should not ivest their salary cap limited money in a first round selected QB. The accepted thinking in the league (both unfortunately and fortunately) is that if you have two starting QBs you do not have a starting QB. The way these players are developed and the premium salary they command simply makes them a real tough investment to make. It might be different if these 1st round QB choices actually produced SB wins or even SB berths from drafting them. However, the facts are simply the facts. The last QB selected in the 1st round who delivered an SB win for the team which chose him was Dallas in 1989 who rode Aikman (and Irvin, and Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders and a host of back-ups gifted to them by MN for another 1st round overreach( to an SB win. In fact, the last 1st round QB pick to even lead his team to an SB berth was McNair back in 1999 for TN. As ga-ga as anyone wants to get over 1st round QB selections in the draft I challenge anyone to point to even one example more recent than this retired example of Aikman of a 1st round pick delivering an SB win to the team which picked him. I know I am repetitive in this rant, but the facts remain uncontroverted and there are an even more repetitive wails from Bills fans that advocate draft Harrington or start JP now when there is simply little or no recent record of this method producing an SB win or berth. Posters instead somewhat feebly try to rebut the facts of 1st rpund QB delivery for the team which drafted them by pointing to former 1st round or highly drafted QBs who did win SBs, However, this argument misses the point which is do not draft a QB in the first round if you want to win. In fact, 1st round talent QBs like Dilfer or John Elway or reject QBs capable of winningthe SB like Brad Johnson, Brett Favre or Steve Young can be had on the market through trade. These trades are all the more important now under the cap as it allows a team to acquire a 1st round level talent who has been run out of his draft town and saddle the team that drafted him with his bonus while you manage the cap and build a winner. The Elway example and others are reasons why you do not draft a QB in the first. Look, the cadillac of QBs in this league is Peyton Manning, but yet just until last season he had delivered exactly the same number of playoff wins for the team that drafted him as bust Ryan Leaf had for SD which was none. The key Peyton number is not 41 and counting (the phenomenal number of TD passes has so far this year a he chases fellow non SB-winner Dan Marino's record). The key number for him is 2 and couting which is the number of playoff wins he has delivered for his team in his 7 years. He is a great QB with a pathetic record in the main number which counts for something in this league. Its funny but I finally expected last year to FINALLY be the one where the sorry record of highly touted QBs would be broken as 1st round selectees Manning or McNabb would deliver at least an SB berth or likely a win for the team which drafted them. Instead, they both failed (AGAIN) to secure even an SB berth and if they pull it off this year (which thanks to the aid of Terrell Owens, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison it looks like they might) it will actually be the exception in the last 15 years or 20+ years since the vaunted QB draft of 1983, that proves the rules that drafting a QB in the first is almost certainly a fool's gold approach. The Losman pick may work for us if we develop him with the same care and conservatism which allowed us to develop the unique pick of McGahee. Yet, there are loud advocates on TSW that we instead use the Todd Collins development program of rushing JP to start before he is ready. RoboQB looks great right now for Pitts, and maybe he will be the exception that proves the rule (though past experience says he will not). Once again it appears that folks are going to be fooled into the same type of thinking which caused us to overinvest in the shared QBs Flutie/RJ.

The official injury report will be released by the league today but i have heard nothing from any other source regarding a Teague injury. Even if he is sore (not unlikely 2/3 of the way into the NFL season and with him already having missed a few games) there are not the usual signs that he would not be able to play like him being reported to be spending time in the trainers room rather than meeting or practicing yesterday. It seems pretty clear to me what the best Bills OL is after an effective performance Sunday and even a not as bad as the rest of the crew performance in the debacle in Boston. Namely. MW at RT, Villareal at RG, Teague at C, Tucker/Smith at LG and Jenning as LT. As far as the present, I feel pretty comfortable with Price backing up both tackle spots, Smith backing up both guard spots and Tucker backing up Teague. Smith's redzone play has been his big problem but the use of Bannan in a limited role here has proved effective. As far as the future, the key thing is first things first and the next game is the focus rather than the future. In that context, Jennings is likely to be gone, but the Bills have a number of internal replacement options and need to look at the FA wire for a bargain and not break the bank to replace him. Villareal looks set at RG, one of the two choices will need to step up at LG, MW shows great development from his horrible off-season now that he has a real coach and Teague has improved his play a lot from the days of last season when he ended up on his back too often and shotgun snaps were an adventure. Sure everyone can get better, but for now the development and production is simply good and while pointing our their flaws us easy, there seem to be few realistic suggestions for how to improve our play right now (for example, moving MW to guard is probably not the thing to do in the long run and it ain't gonna happen no way no how right now)being offered anywhere besides buckle down and do the work.

This is how teams have won with Bledsoe at QB in the past with Parcells yelling at him constantly in practice to throw the damn ball whenever he held onto it in practice locking in on his favorite receiver and running an offense powereed down for Brady in a must-win game for NE during their first SB run. This post is not advocating sitting Bledsoe because he can't win, on the contrary, in real life Bledsoe was the QB all season on a Pats team which made the SB under Parcells, was the QB for the majority of a must win game under BB and has racked up numerous passing and O records as a Pat and as a Bill. Bledsoe will never win the Joe Montana derby for QB brains nor the John Elway derby for QB mobility. So what! The goal is to win football games and to win championships. MM/TC have used tools like their alarm clock to do the Parcells personality job and have instituted the WM run game to play the role of the Brady offense. It does give the Bills a fighting chance in Seattle and continues our snowball's chance of making the playoff, Its unfortunate that it has been made too little too late by the answering of Jax prayers in our first game and some admitted by the league bad ref calls in Oak, but ironically, i think that MM and TC have been shown to be more right than wrong in their theory of how to win this year. Unfortunately there is that pesky thing called reality which has cost the Bills a couple of games they woulda, coulda, shoulda won.

For Bills fans this is interesting because it shows how folks became so dead set against MW because he was so unprofessional going into the doldrums this summer or because they so much wanted to indict TD's drafting that some on this board were proclaiming McKinnie an obviously better choice. The Vikes don't seem to be joining them in declaring TD having passed on a great player. Neither MW or McKinnie is done yet. If you ant to fault TD for something related to this pick it is not that TD is a bad drafter it is that he hired a not-ready-for-primetime HC who had his buddy Vinky and Ruel do nothing for MW developing and learning the game. Given the improvement in MW's play which one can see from the depths where he was this summer when JMac came on board to his recent gameball winning play at RT in several sackless games by the OL, it merely pisses me off to think where he might be if he had competent guidance right from the start.

The crunch time will likely come at some point this season where even though the coaches have no confidence in Lindell beyond 45 yards we will need a Scott Norwoodesque 47 yarder to win the game. When Norwood lined up I felt it was far but he had a good shot at making it. When and if Lindell is in this situation I will have my doubts on any kick beyond 4o yards and hope and depend on good luck even if its 30-40 yards. Field position is great, but points on the board are better. I would think our D is good enough that we should be comfortable that even if he misses a long kick that 63 yards (assuming that he missed a 46 yarder is still a lomg enough field for the opponent in the field position battle.

Exactly

Doubtful as even though Bledsoe is on his way out to retire at some point not far off he is seen as in JPs way, You want a QB controversy picking up Brees will do this for you. In addition, regardless of whether he stays or goes we have a cap commitment to Bledsoe next year and probaly the year after. I doubt if the cap is big enough for us to pay Bledsoe, JP and the many offers Brees is likely to get. Now picking up whomever Brees knocks out when he gets signed as an FA as our plan B or plan C back-up is a real possibility.

I also have done some rethinking about MW. The thing which got me down ion him was the unprofessional manner with which he dealt with a death of someone close to him this past spring. It was certainly understandable that this hit him hard. However, life simply isn't fair. While it may not be reasonable for anyone to say simply say suck it up to someone who is facing such a tragedy, it is reasonable for folks to expect someone who is compensated an enormous amount to represent a region and be a good teammate to not let down folks who he has entered a compact with to depend upon each other. However, my initial fears that his training camp injury after he was told in no uncertain terms by his employers and his teaamates to step up and show some professionalism was more malingering, in fact seemed to come from him working to hard to try to lose some weight and rebound. MW seemed to be trying hard in early games and I actually took note when he drew an undisciplined false start penalty that cost us a shot at a TD in a 2nd and goal situation that it wa actually his first and only penalty this season. He has had some trouble with the game his first two years, howver, I think his agility is often falsely attacked on TSW. His problem has not been dealing with speed rushers around the end, his problem has been making the correct reads and picking up stunts. Whe he has been beaten his befuddled look has come not from having the agility to take on the rusher, but because a read was missed and he didn't block anyone. As best as I can tell the concern being expressed about his agility comes from a demographic assessment because he is a big boy rather than many specific examples being pointed to of him being beaten physically. If we lose Jennings there has been some talk of him moving to LT. My sense is that I think the Bills will do better with other options which we have so I do not expect this to happen. However, if JMac wants to try it is a much better bet because I think MWs difficulties have come not from his size or athleticism but from his head as he has never received pro coaching until this year and he did not respond well to life this summer. It will be a problem to lose Jennings but he looks like he is gone come FA and I think his injury issues are such we should not pay through the nose for him and a good FA LT will cost too much. However between: 1. MW potentially though not likely making the move, 2. Teague is improving as a center but actually attracted out attention due to his LT play with Denver. 3. There are internal development possibilities as Tucker has played tackle before as a Pro. the braintrust sees something in McFarland and because the Bills seem high on Peters as a tackle (a surprise since blocking ability was the issue that ended up putting him on the PS. 4. I like Price giving us great flexibility by backing up both positions but maybe he can step up as well. At any rate, keep Jennings if the price is right but it probably won't be and even if he foes I feel pretty good about out tackle prospects.

I think the sad fact is that development time and method simply varies significiantly from player to player. A few contribute right friom the start (for QBs read that as next to none as RoboQB's accomplishments are pretty unheard of since the Marino days). Even the very few QBs who do contribute right away do include the Shaun King's of the world who start out like gangbustas but have non-careers from there on out. Far more prevalent are the QBs who sit the total or the vast amount of their rookie years and then take their team to the playoffs their second year. Many of them are unique enough talents that one would not choose this as THE method, but the real world occurences for the Pennington's, the Vicks and the Bradys show it as a myth that a player MUST start in order to contribute. I hope and think the Bills do not subscribe to any "rule" that unless their 1st round pick produces on the field his first year or is devoted playing time he has not earned with his play then he was a waste and a bad choice. Teams seem to routinely sit QBs who they spent a 1st round choice on and sometimes they are Carson Palmer and sometimes they are Chad Pennington. Drew has not played well enough to merit his money or the starting role, but the deal here in my view is start JP when he is ready to start and not a moment sooner because developing him as our QB of the future is far more important than sarisfying those who hate Bledsoe so much they are willing to risk sounddevelopment of JP to see someone else. and not a moment later because when he can produce we need wins.

Cliffnotes begin: Sorry, I'll try to meet brevity needs to the extent it does not interfere with me thinking in print. Cliff notes end. Sorry about that. As I've said before I appreciate the insights I have gotten from TSW responses and because of that I do try to remember to stick "cliff notes" on posts which summarize them (particularly on topics I generate and less so on replies). However, in general I usually hatch these long diatribes to think things through myself and the replies (particularly those which disagree with my take are a wonderful benefit but are unrequired on my part to make this a fun exercise. I have several Bills buddies and family whom I discuss things with and the writing process allows me to think out loud and actually makes these conversations more enjoyable and efficient. The complaints that folks for some reason feel a need to post (taking the time to complain my posts take up too much time seems amusingly contradictory to say the least) are mostly amusing and fall on deaf keyboards. Yet, i will try to be responsive through cliff-noting missives such as yours which nicely fine some value in my rants. Generally, if i'm looking for a response I'll say si fairly directly or post a poll.

There is but one formula for making it into the playoffs and that is One game at a time.