RuntheDamnBall

I heard a bunch of it on NPR and didn't even know it was Isbell. Sounded great. To be honest, some of his solo stuff has sounded a bit too polished / MOR for me, so I was excited to hear that this material had a bit more depth. Back on the 'Mats, I haven't waded too deeply through the thread, but there is a great WTF episode with Tommy Stinson on it from last week. He seems like a pretty gracious guy. http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_395_-_tommy_stinson

I would never pay CJ $10MM a year.

Agreed. It's where the comparisons to Peters should end abruptly. The guy is not going to come back to the team making demands in a year or two. He is going to work once he gets a deal.

Also, look at it this way. In the past, the team has rewarded "hard-working" guys who are not as good like Chris Kelsay and even Terrence McGee. At some point, you need to balance this out by also rewarding players based on actual on-field merits. And as I've said, you're not likely to risk overpaying as the prices inflate over the next couple of years. In the meantime, the Bills would have bought out the prime years of a very good player at market rate, and would not have to worry about the position. If for some reason the Plan B guys excel, you have a trade chip on your hands or a way for a creative D-coordinator to get more good players on the field.

I really like the Truckers, jw, and they are also a great live band. The most under-rated band I can think of is Centro-matic. Great hooks, sneaky harmonies, Americana with an edge. I also think Wilco are carving out a pretty great legacy in their third act. I didn't really care for Wilco ( The Album) but have found something to enjoy in all the rest. And Nels Cline is an insanely good guitar player being used the right way. DMB is like the hippie Kenny G. Meant to not be offensive, technically sound playing, but really bland... wallpaper for dormitories. Oh, and Vampire Weekend have to be the most overrated band going at the moment.

Well, not only that... there is only so far you can go if your good players are getting suspended, investigated, and possibly worse. You're investing in guys who need to stay with the team to merit the investment. Now, Hernandez was only a 4th rounder, but he did get a 12.5 million dollar signing bonus last year. Any time he is not on the field for them is going to hurt the team because it's invested a lot in him.

Xavi Mendoza vs. Sergei Turgenev. Unforgettable bout. 46 rounds of pain.

Send him a playbook, Ray: Step 1: Beat murder rap Step 2: Become more loved and adored and hyper-mediated Step 3: Endorsement deal with God

I'll dial it back a little bit and admit it's in extremely, probably unacceptably poor taste... I've just also found it in extremely poor taste how much Clapton capitalized off of this situation with one of his biggest hits. Some people love Clapton, I find him to be a cultural imperalist parading himself around as steward of the blues. As a parent of a small child, I I wouldn't wish losing a child on anybody, though, and I take back what I said earlier. I'm going to delete it because it was stupid to say. I'll blame a lack of sleep and coffee and an occasional propensity to be an **** when I don't mean to. Anyway, someone's holding a grudge, I see (given that I'm really leading the charge in the Redskins thread, having not posted there in months). Anton Newcombe is kind of a classic rock and roll **** and says these kind of things a la a Johnny Rotten or Keith Richards. This was a dick thing to say to anybody and there are more creative ways to blast Clapton.

I suppose, but I was weighing actual results vs. fan opinions of / investment in the player. Mario may have had some underwhelming games, but he put together a statistically respectable season on a defense that flat-out sucked. Easley has been the Great Pumpkin of Bills receivers. Year after year many fans think that he's finally going to arrive, with nothing but their deflated hopes to show for it. I've seen this guy called a starter, a potential star, etc, while he has produced less than James Hardy. As far being as overrated by the rest of the league, I just don't think I have enough info to make a case...

Wait, we're talking about coffee. Right?

I've got my popcorn ready.

Marcus Easley.

Who is this year's Brian McClure?

Hey, first off, thanks. And believe me when I say that your fears are well-founded. My friends and I have made it a verb in our lives, to "Buffalo Bill" something - i.e. to f--- it up. That said, if Pettine is any good, I think that Byrd could be quite good in this system. He's shown that when he's partnered with a coach that really knows how to use him (Jauron, though I hate to admit it), he can really excel. I wouldn't say the sky is the limit, but I think Pettine would very much like to have him in camp as another weapon to strategize with. I hate saying stuff like this because it's hard to quantify, but I think opportunism is something that can't be coached. So even if it is that, it has to be weighed in. How many times have we seen a game-clinching INT dropped? It's good to have guys with a nose for the ball on the roster, and if they have a pretty complete game with just a few deficiencies, all the better.

Sure, it's all or nothing, all the time. It sure makes it easier to shoot down an argument. 17 pages of back and forth, mostly with each side characterizing the other's position in the extreme. I'm sure Byrd would love to be top paid at his position, and he even could end up there for a short time. Overpaying is undesirable. But you seem insistent on asking this question if the Bills can afford to have the top paid player at every position. Yet. that's a scenario that no one is suggesting! As others have said, the optics of drafting great players and letting them go are bad. And it means you create a hole where you had elite talent. Is that really worth it, to take a stand? They let it happen with Levitre and it was wise, even if they are a better team with Levitre. But they are not competing with anyone but themselves right now. Maybe Byrd is drawing a hard line at $9MM a year average, or maybe the guaranteed amounts Parker is seeking are too high. I find it hard to believe that they can't come to an agreement, and that he isn't worth an $8MM / year average on a contract that 1) another player will eclipse sometime in the next year or two, and 2) he likely won't see the end of anyway. Now, is there a chance that there is someone on the roster that will step up and play capably? Yes. Is there is a chance that someone will play as well as Byrd in 2013? Very unlikely. The Duke Williams and Aaron Williams supporters here are the ones in fantasy-land - we haven't seen either guy play a down in the NFL at safety. It's like those that pinned their hopes on Marcus Easley. You can't expect anything from someone who has shown you nothing. Potential is great, but Byrd has highlights and accolades and time already served. K-9 makes a point that maybe free safety isn't as important as other positions, but you're arguing that a light-of-frame (but very, very good) RB is, or that an oft-injured (but very good) C is. I wouldn't feel comfortable making either of those guys the top-paid. I am more comfortable making a guy that Pettine could probably use very effectively among the top paid for awhile. Overall, I'm suggesting that this straw-man argument of making all the guys top-paid began its course as useless, and is really just getting tired. We can stop rushing to the defense of the Bills organization at every turn until they actually start producing the results of a model franchise. They have been a failure as a franchise, and I think Russ Brandon admits as much, at least as much as a spin-conscious marketing dude can. Hopefully the measures they have been taking will begin to put them in a different category.

This is just me - and I will admit to having crossed the line - but the number one rule of the Internet and all media should be that you don't say anything about somebody that you couldn't say to their face.

Witness the many Super Bowl titles to prove this. He had more than most Bills QBs since Kelly, but he is a rare case in Buffalo where we overrate our own, IMO. Anyway, isn't this about Tebow? Who also has "it," but can't throw a football to the right person more than 50% of the time? Let's get back to that.

It kind of matters as regards your apples and styrofoam comparison of the person with butt-implants with Gleason.

[/thread] The ONLY way this kind of joke works is if Gleason himself is in on it. But you know what, instead of getting paid to hatch elaborate and stupid jokes, he is spending his time making other peoples' lives better despite extremely debilitating circumstances and a likely early expiration date on a great life. Kind of says it all right there.

This. If you read that article and don't come away thinking what a lucky person you are simply to not have been dealt his hand, you're a very dim person. If you read it and decide it's an opportunity to poke fun at someone's misfortune for easy laughs, you're an **** pure and simple. As an aside, the first person who calls this a "PC police" situation is also an ****. You are free to say just about whatever you want, legally and constitutionally speaking. If you work for a professional organization that thinks you're representing them poorly, they are also free to fire you.

This was terrific and humbling.

To add to that: It should tell you something that the Bills, led by George Edwards and Dave Wannstedt on defense, knew how to destroy Tebow. I think it's the difference between a little credit and demi-god status that makes people swing (irrationally) in the other direction. Flutie definitely knew how to command an offense and to keep drives alive - where Johnson had the measurables but killed drives by not knowing when to quit or to improvise. It's sad that the relationship was so contentious, because if Johnson studied a little harder and learned from Flutie while he was watching him (and if Flutie had been a more willing mentor), it could have turned out far differently.

uh, Soviets? In 2005?

And Parker would agree to this why, exactly?