RuntheDamnBall

Training camps are so hands-off concerning QBs (JPs injury last camp notwithstanding) for a reason. They get beat the !@#$ up during the season. Could you imagine the fan outrage if this guy gets injured playing for the Scottish Claymores? Forget it, no more sellouts. It's a total anomaly for a round 1-4 QB to play in NFLE (a la Rohan Davey, who is firmly entrenched behind Tom Brady and may have been there to excite trading options). Not gonna happen, especially if he is in the plans for the (near) future for this team.

Furthermore, they should just stop having Clements return punts. It is foolish to have your #1 and #2 CBs get massacred, especially on punts, especially if you have plenty of other guys looking for a chance (like J/F? Smith). Smith couldn't fare worse in terms of mistakes than Clements did this year, and he is so eager to make an impact that I think he should get a shot. Mcgee is doing a great job. I second the notion that he is working with some great tutors that will make him a solid, if not great, #2 corner.

The headline was misleading, especially considering that the only RW quote is "It wasn't all Drew's fault." What's the context of that? How about the tone? Ahh, the shortcomings of the written word. I think Drew will be competing for his job next year. And that will be a good thing for the team and J.P., regardless of the outcome.

No, wait, I've got an even better plan: Let's build a TIME MACHINE and tell the Bills to lose one extra game in 2003 so they can draft Roethlisberger in '04. Super Bowl, here we come.

Why don't we strike while the iron's hot and trade for Roethlisberger?

I think their D was less than decent against the pass but they definitely did underachieve. I still don't know how that excuses Bledsoe for not rising to the occasion, but I know as well as we all do that a QB cannot get it done alone.

And how many ST and defensive points did this team score? Also checking.

It's not that simple this time of year. It's not like they get an equal share of snaps with the starters in practice every week. I believe J.P. needed, and still needs, to learn, on his own. But I think he oughta get a fair shake this summer. We paid a high price for him and he knows it. It's fair to expect some returns in the near future.

Vick is a ridiculous example. He still wins games for his team, he just does it with his feet more than his arm. Minnesota was looking pretty unstoppable before the Moss injury. Call these excuses if you want, I am just telling you I think these guys can win games for their teams. What Bledsoe can do is not lose them, when he is on his mark. The one game he truly won for us this year was the Miami one, and that's not saying much. I don't hate the guy, but I don't think he makes much of a positive difference for the football team.

In the first half of '02 Bledsoe was on fire. After that, it gets dicier. So we eliminate the 2002 stats, and he has one 300 yard game in the past 2 years. If we still had the Bledsoe of '02, we would have been fighting with NE for the division title.

He is nuts. But it'd be great to see them dump the vodka cooler on him when he kicks the game-winner.

Unfortunately that's our situation and that's the way these message boards work.

I think the point is that we expected to stop blaming Bledsoe for losses (deserved or not) and crediting him for wins by now. The no-300-yard-games in 30 games is a pretty crushing stat that shows that Bledsoe is not winning these games for us.

I thought Janikowski was the drunk kicker. We could do well to pick him up, he could live in Dunkirk and drink at the Kosczuisko club for free. Nice avatar, Steve.

True. I expect J.P., once he understands what's going on, to have a strong first campaign and a tougher second one once there is film on him.

The difference is Marino never had a rushing game, thank God, and wasn't always put into every position to succeed. He just did and could come up large to at least get his team to the playoffs. I hate his guts but comparing him and Bledsoe is like apples and oranges.

Whatever he thinks, he's right. We should do whatever it takes to make him a career Bill.

No, I do remember cringing every time Arians came up to bat. But at least he wasn't a highly touted free agent. And at least he wasn't coddled by the coaching staff to be kept out of any challenging situations. Graham was his replacement and he never got a full year with us. It might have been wise to see what he could have done. But hindsight is blah blah blah blah blah. The Hollis injury didn't help us though.

First off, your list is ridiculous. If I have you correct, with this team, we would be no better with Carr, Ramsey, or Manning. I don't believe it for a second. Quarterbacks are near impossible to rate on their individual merits. They have to have systems that work for them. The guys who have the football smarts and vision and confidence are the A-listers, and no one would really dispute the guys who you have on there. But they also have systems that make them look even smarter and better on the field. Take a look at your list. Who moves up and down based on this vs. last year? Is Drew Brees really in the top 15 QBs or is he just having a magical season? Last year he was a bust. Has Pennington maybe lost it? Is Plummer really right up there too, or is it just that his team makes the playoffs and ALWAYS has a good running game to help him out? He was no Hall of Famer in Arizona. I think you can begin to see where I'm going here...

Well, Lindell has had more time here than Jake Arians, Mike Hollis and Shayne Graham. And he sucks more than each of them. We're talking Jake Arians here, man.

Jennings doesn't want the attention he will get in the NYC market. First injury he gets they will give him hell. The Bears may be an OK place for Pat but really, how would it be better than this team? Another strong D with a weak O, without the promise of Willis McGahee. I think we keep Pat and he gives us the hometown discount.

Sure, but as fans who pay for the games and support the team, everyone is entitled to their opinion. We can only make judgements based on the evidence. Seeing Willis' injury was enough for some people to think that was a dumb decision. Naysayers were proven wrong and TD was right. But that doesn't make people stupid for questioning the decision, especially if they're paying money to see this team.

Well, he did break a long-standing TD record in a more balanced offense than Marino's while facing some stiff defensive competition. If you don't think that deserves accolades, you are entitled to that opinion. But I think his praise is deserved.

On an aside, anyone else think that Coy Wire and Josh Reed are very similar players? Both superb athletes who had good college careers and don't quite make it on the next level. Both falter in the face of (overly?) high expectations. Both got put into situations in which they were in over their heads. I think they have been jerked around and are not quite tough enough, mentally and physically, to have emerged from their respective situations. It reminds me of what the Yankees do with guys who would be #1a/#2 starters on other teams.

JP. Kid better put the XBox in the closet and be studying hard and working out all winter.