RuntheDamnBall

The Good: The Packers The Bad: The Bills The Ugly: The Packers' LBs and linemen. But they're still a really good football team.

There was a good game on and I wasted my time with this one? Sheeeeeeeeit.

Whupty-sh--, WEO. THIS. Team game, and this guy is a big beneficiary. He is like a poor man's version of Roethlisberger's Super Bowl year v1.0, except for he hasn't won anything and he's a prettyboy. He may turn out to be decent someday, but he is a product of the NYC / national sports media hype machine, and he hasn't done much to earn it. He plays like Eli Manning his first few years, and IIRC Eli was roasted on a regular basis, while Sanchez has moxie and poise and all sorts of intangible BS attributed to him.

I'll have lots of whatever this dude is having.

Looks like Trent read your letter.

Yes, he is so bad that opposing QBs check out of their play to attack Kelsay's side, and 90% of those tackles seem to come after a healthy gain. He was a serviceable depth DE in the 4-3 who was noted for his overpursuit and lack of athleticism in pass defense. In the 3-4, he is a horrorshow, and I mean this not in the Nadsat sense.

I don't understand why Nix won't make trades either. My trades always work in Madden.

On the plus side, player contracts aren't guaranteed, so they could give him the three extra years and cut him after he continues to suck. What a laugh it would be to have to eat more of Jauron's contract than a starting QB's.

People seem to be railing against Nix for not magically assembling all the parts for the next four-year Super Bowl run in 2010, but let me ask you all this: Is San Diego a failure even though they've made the playoffs five of the last six years? Were they a failure prior to that? Maybe fans felt that way at the time, but I would take 5-11, 8-8, and 4-12 if it meant never having a losing season after that. There are really major upgrades to be made here, but it seems like all it really takes, at least on offense, is the right dynamic playmakers and enough blocking to make it happen for them. Once Brees started to turn it around (coinciding with the acquisition and development of enough protection), the team turned it around and started believing it could win. They've even done so with Norv Turner - never thought of as any great shakes in the HC realm. The Bills have never been bad enough in the past few years to 'earn' a #1 overall pick, which means they're not THAT bad. I think seeing what Nix does with the picks that are there in the next few years will give us the full measure of what he's capable of - and the direction of this team. If he misses on someone or doesn't make a move that's obvious (and possible), I'm with the naysayers. Edwards doesn't look good right now, but none of the alternatives on the market looked great for the window we're looking at. The right QB might come next year, as Brees and then Rivers did after LT was drafted. In the meantime it seems like a lot of people are disparaging Nix for trades not made. Given the daily poker game of dealing with other GMs, you're never going to hear the true story on these. Most likely if a trade didn't happen, it's for a good reason - like not having a willing partner. If Nix goes for a Maybin over an Orakpo, he should be strung up. Maybe Clausen will be all world and we'll be regretting a second or third round pick. But none of this has happened yet, so let's let it unfold and give the man some time.

I loved what Thurman did on the field, and I could give a rat's a$$ about his political positions. He's as much of an authority on government as Paris Hilton or Simon Cowell. He was blessed with the opportunity for a very high-earning job via his physical talents and he went for it, and now he's apparently set. That's great for him. He earned his money on the field. But I don't think that gives him any grip on reality for Americans who don't have football skills. I have to second whomever mentioned his Twitter feed being unbearable. He's welcome to share his positions, but as a Bills fan that's just not what I'm looking for from him. I suppose those in the choir feel differently and that's OK.

Wouldn't "managing the game well" involve doing something more than throwing 4-8 yard passes that don't lead the receiver with 29 seconds left? Wouldn't it, perhaps, involve recognizing a blitz when two star LBs outnumber you on the left, and sending protection over to that side? Not to mention he tried his level best to throw a pick-six twice, but he used his Stanford mind-control powers to psych out the defender as he dropped the ball. In that case, you're right, he "doesn't turn over the ball." If he was trying to manage to lose the game, I guess he found a measure of success there. I've seen no evidence that this guy can "manage the game" against a 3-4 defense, but that's just me.

McNeil seems like a far likelier option given history with the Chargers and the fact that he plays tackle. I'd be working overtime to get him in Buffalo.

Been there.

I'll repost my piece on this from yesterday: He was a disaster.

2006 is statistically one of the better seasons from a Bills QB in the past ten years. That's not good news, but it's true.

No.

Doesn't make me feel better, Joe. I wish Trent were the one but I've never been on board with him. I think two things are really clear right now, though: 1) good-to-great RBs are really a dime a dozen. Look at how many good days were had on the ground today, none of them by Bills 2) good-to-great QBs are hard to find. The Bills don't have one right now and we might never know given our OTs.

The Dolphins knew Chris Kelsay was a liability for the Bills, because they were attacking him all day. I started watching him every play from the middle of the first quarter and it was just amazing how often he would be in good position and then cut in to take a bad angle, removing himself from the play. He is just not a good athlete by NFL OLB standards. I couldn't tell if he was worse dropping back in coverage or in the "pass rush" - quotes used to emphasize distance from the actual act of "pass rushing." He was neutralized and abused all day. Maybin and Ellis might make more mistakes as the starters but they would certainly make more plays than this bozo (note: I'm sure he has a family and is a great person, I just don't want him as a captain or starting OLB for my football team).

I fully admit to not seeing anything the way someone at the game could, but I strongly feel that the tackles were outclassed in a way that wasn't going to allow any QB to succeed today. As usual: where were the slants / screens / anything to keep the D off-balance? This stuff just always has a habit of disappearing no matter who the coach is. Surprise, surprise that the Dolphins employed these elements to success. What an underwhelming opener.

No arguments from me there. Both ridiculously good bands. I love the old Eno quote about VU, something to the effect of "not many people heard their record, but everyone who did started a band..."

My personal favorite (with incredulity): "McCARGO MAKES A PLAY!"

I wouldn't say nobody cares about them anymore - they can still sell out the Garden and they still put on a great show. The comment about Stipe's being gay is a little off the mark; he came out a while ago. A little self-righteous sometimes - sure, but being a frontman like that sort of forces your hand. Perhaps their early catalog is a bit overrated, but I think they tried things that a lot of bands weren't doing before them, and wedded a lot of influences together that set the tone for a whole genre of music. Being in part responsible for that, and shepherding and supporting a lot of good bands as they did, won them a lot of praise. It's also comforting to see a band that was not, at least in a working arrangement, about individual egos. They shared their publishing rights equally, and their writing is really a partnership of all members. More underrated: Replacements, and in that lineage, Big Star. Mission of Burma.

Is our children learning?

The owners keep making their best effort to kill the golden goose. One day it's going to happen. It's hilarious that the anointed Super Bowl Champions of 2010 think so highly of themselves that they can't even get people to come watch them in an metropolitan region of 19 million people. I can't wait to see Sanchez and co. go down in flames.

Some reports claimed that it was that other players the Steelers kept were more versatile than Urbik in their ability to play both tackle and interior positions.