RuntheDamnBall

You're asking a bunch of people who hang out on message boards why they identify with this guy?

Bulleted for yr pleasure: - This is the year Joe Burns finally gets cut. Keep Shaud in his stead. I see why you keep Burns as FB, though. I think that will shake out differently. - I will be very pleased if Greg Jerman is gone. - Not so pleased if Rashad Baker is gone. - Setta is going to catch on with somebody. Think the next Shayne Graham. Not that Lindell can't get it done for us. What a difference a year makes. - Keep Cieslak, dump Neufeld. - From our WR cuts, 1-2 will emerge on other NFL rosters. I'd love to see Wilson stay, if only to see him pat JP on the helmet a few more times. - I guess we keep 4 OGs, but not sure about Gibson. - Interesting you see Ellison holding on. I'll have to keep an eye on him. Ezekial probably does get cut at this point.

The healing hands of the Lord, of course.

That's truly unfortunate. It would be a shame if the Dems are setting up roadblocks to the Democratic process and if, regardless of what happens, Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum gets back into the Senate.

I don't know what all the Dems said about Roberts, but I think he's going to be a pretty sound judge. I've been working lately on a forthcoming PBS doc on the SCOTUS and he's interviewed in it. It seems like he makes/looks for a very reasoned basis in law for every decision he makes.

Not today, but I will be in September! My pops is going to the game and I expect a full report from him, though. total LAMP but I just ordered my wife a Moorman jersey to surprise her on opening day. It's pretty awesome having a lady who is as into the games as you are.

ESPN This guy has definitely screwed up.

AVP 2.0

You "miss the point" by insisting that we base policy on a caricature of the Muslim world at large, which is not getting us anywhere. Even the Bush administration, short-sighted as it is, makes no such mistake -- at least not publicly. You'd think a steadfast supporter of Israel would recognize the dangers of blanket statements. But nope. Power blinds most. Does that address it enough?

If you're right, and I don't think you are, why the case for the Iraq war based on democracy-building? If they hate us no matter what, why do we think we'll be "greeted as liberators?" I call bull sh--. It's a lot easier to hate someone if they're doing visible damage to your community, deposing your leaders, calling for democracy and then, unhappy with the results of democracy, de-stabilizing those leaders. And we've been doing that for decades, not the past few years. I'm not saying we're all wrong, but I am saying that we have power and we have a history of exercising it in ways that are strictly for our own gain and at the expense of others. That's why when we exercise it now, claiming good intentions, it's perceived as facetious at best. Read up on the history of Iran and tell me straight-faced that they just hate us because we drink Coke. I'll subsequently laugh. Give me a break. And if you take this as a blanket endorsement on my part of the cruelty of radical Islam, as often happens around this place, you are more lost than I give you credit for. I'm looking at the bigger picture, at a long history, and trying to understand why things are the way they are right now. Others would only look at the present and offer short-sighted "solutions," then later prove curious as to why things worked out the way they did.

Actually, to me the hilarious thing is how much communism (revenue sharing, salary cap, measures made to enforce fairness) we accept, dare I say want in our sports (along with all the "to-the-nth-degree" commercialism).

It's capitalism in a nutshell. There's money to be made and nobody's going to stop watching the NFL. They've got you by the balls, unless you're really going to stop. A few more Super Bowls like the last might actually do it for me, though.

Applebee's is also the home of the $7 stomach-ache. That place is the nadir of the chain restaurant industry, and that's saying something.

Those are good burgers, Walter.

Ask Kelly Holcomb (besides the first round pick part, but adding years in the pros).

Nice wrap, Simon. I'd like to see Price do better and make the team, but you're right, his performance this last time didn't bode well. I'd say he and possibly Davis are on thin ice. Obviously, three games left and time to turn things around. You'd figure Aiken has got to be a lock, though I don't know how things have been looking in practice.

Look up how long Rivers was a starter in college vs. Losman.

Why cite that the film is apolitical as one of its strong points and then bring politics into it?

C22: I like ya, but you post so much about your hatred for ESPN it's like you do care! Just divorce them and find another gal.

We'll start to see in September, won't we? If this isn't for fun, what's it for? I will definitely have fun if we can at least watch Losman grow into the role here. I will NOT have fun if it's musical QBs for some warped idea that the team must make the playoffs this year. If this team is run right, it will be challenging for the East crown in 07. We can catch the Pats on their way down and the Fins on their way to the courthouse.

You never know. Losman looked good running it in the Carolina game last year. Then they went away from it. The bigger problem is, while it's exciting for us fans, it's murder on the defense. I don't think we want them out there for a less balanced amount of time. And I see Jauron moving towards a TOP/ball control offense with the short passes and screens (!), runs, and a few good looks downfield.

I don't think I'd call him the best, but what I liked out of Gates was the effort. And I want to see more effort out of Willis. It's good to see your starters pushed.

Very excited about Kyle Williams. Very. He might put Tim Anderson out of a job.

Not so. Most objective reporters, JP fans or not, pointed out that he had his early struggles, then got into a rhythm. That there were some really good things, and some bad ones. The head coach said the same damn thing. He didn't say it was horrible, bad, or mediocre. He said "good and bad." And he is objectively evaluating the situation with ultimate say-so in it. OTOH, we haven't seen much outside of anti-Losman crusading from you, so when you volunteer that you didn't watch the damn thing and then pile on the criticism, without pointing out much of the good and JP's ability to sustain some drives in the game, well, again, it's justifiable to hammer you on it.

In preseason all you're looking for is who LOOKED the best. IT'S THE POINT OF THE FREAKING PRESEASON. And if this game were to go on the record, Losman still would have been the better QB for the team -- he could even have won it for them if that's what they were trying to do. But they were also trying to check out new plays, examine other personnel (god forbid you realize that there are other competitions going on and receivers and linemen might be responsible for some of the execution, or lack thereof). Yes, in preseason, it is all about how things "look." And you didn't look at anything besides an account of the game. You're getting justifiably hammered on it.