Fan in Chicago

Miami's pass protection is very good. I thought Culpepper made some pretty bad throws in the first half.

Open with a 3 WR, 1 TE, empty backfield set followed by this bomb. That will be sweet ! Couldn't care less who catches it as long as it is a TD.

Ya, I know it is that time of the year when it the first game is almost here but it seems longer than the months of wait since last season ended. So, have at it guys - let us see what you think. I think it will be PP

I don't understand the GW bashing in this thread. He was incompetent as a HC but has done well as DC prior to and after his Bills stint. He also was a gentleman and there is no real reason for us to attack him. Heck, we looked like world-beaters when we opened the season thrashing NE 38-0 a couple of years back but look what happened to our season. Several teams have utterly bafflingly pathetic performances. I am actually happy that NE won so handily as it gives them more reason to be over-confident going into the regular season and more opportunity for us to beat them.

"You hate to drop balls, but you're going to drop them," Reed said. "You don't want to, but it's going to happen and it's all about how you respond." I disliked this statement from JR. This is not the attitude you should have. Not only does he accept that he has a problem catching but also implying it will be an on going problem. In the current regime, this statement should indicate he is not the 'character' player and he should be cut. I am a firm believer in accepting your short comings but that should be associated with a corresponding effort to get better. This statement by Fairchild may be an indication of that happening should someone else show they can consistently catch the ball: "He has had drops in both games, and you've got to make those plays," said Fairchild.

Given the decent performance of Gates this pre-season, how about we trade them A-train for a 'good' draft pick ? A-train is more than a short yardage player

He is our rookie 5th round draft pick. Sweet ain't it ?

I feel the same way. No team should cut a # 2 depth chart player for fear of there being a mutiny. It is a job of the coaches to keep the rank anf file in order and marching to the same tune. Somehow, I feel the combination of Jauron and Levy have more backbone than their predecessors.

Was Romo annointed the starter or was there a competition in camp before Parcells decided to start Romo ?

What about pro football busts such as Mike Williams, Ryan Leaf .. ??

Thanx, clumpy. In addition to Nate, it will be nice to lock up McGahee and (if he plays well) Losman.

wer eyou just caught driving drunk ? Never mind, I missed the missing sarcasm smiley

I did not suggest that - re-read what you quoted

Okay, the deal is done and will be announced at 5:07 pm today. DW is having trouble packing his dorm room and getting a ticket to reach Buffalo. He did not expect to reach an agreement so soon and was playing games on his inactive cell phones. {SOPRANO mode off} Seriously guys, I have two issues. One - paying so much guaranteed money to rookies is really crazy with them having proven nothing. It is like paying a Harvard Management grad guaranteed retirement . However, this is the trend and management has to trust the scouting department, get with the program and pony up the going rate. I do not agree but it cannot be helped. Secondly, we have chosen him where we did. Reach or not, his value is that of a #8. For the $600K or so, it sounds ridiculous to not get the deal done (from either side).

Methinks that with our fast DBs, only a QB with a strong arm will win this three way competition in camp. That is why I think our QB will be Nall or JP. Not sure it means that KH will be cut.

Well if the basic premise of the post - that we would have won a few more games with tight coaching - then still having Meathead would not be a bad thing. But that means TD would be here too {I have contributed nothing to this thread}

For a change a national sportswriter presents a balanced view of the team and projections for the upcoming year. And we still find reasons to nit pick and blast him ? Apart from the Bennie Anderson gaffe, I could not find any other objectionable points in his article. We complain about the media not giving us enough respect. Given our performance in recent seasons and the question marks around several of the moves we have made, this article is flattering.

Agreed. It has been a while since we had a legitimate threat of a pass catching TE. Everett panning out gives us the best long-term option but I would be happy if Royal steps it up as a pass-catcher too.

Put them all in a 'safe house' and drop another 500 pounder ? More seriously, I was initially disappointed that he died right away and did not suffer. The video of Daniel Pearl's beheading is branded in my brain, possibly for life. Reading now that he was alive for a while gives me morbid happiness that he did not die instantly without sharing some of the physical pain he imparted others.

Not his business ? If it is related to NFL and players, it IS his business. Even if technically Ricky is not an NFL player now. Again, in what way is he way over the top ? We all want the 'don't hurt his sentiments' kind of reporting don't we ? Enough being pu$$ies - call a spade a spade and as long as he doesn't cross the line of decency in his reports, any strong language is fine. After all it is his opinion.

Whether he is a blowhard or not is not the point, is it ? Though that seems to be the way this thread is progressing. Which part of the article, quoted in the original post, do you disagree with ?

Is that a comment on your math skills or your laziness ?

As this thread has been hijacked big time, I might as well go with the flow. The outsourcing boom is not actually a terrible thing. Most of the work that gets done there would not be done by the US companies AT ALL if they were priced with local US labor. I think our day-to-day life is much better off as our companies are getting a lot more done with less resources. So you are more likely to get a human voice quicker when you dial a customer service number; your websites will be upgraded and featured faster etc. Conceivably, several years from now, wages in these countries will catch up those in Western countries and work will begin to get done locally again. It may take a while but it is very likely to happen. Second point is that in oil and gas construction companies in the US, there are engineering, drafting, estimating etc. positions going unfilled as there is a shortage of qualified people here in the US !!! Where did they all go ? They retired early or were downsized and left the profession in the mid to late 90s. So the current shortage is the fault of both employers who were quick to axe and of the student advisors who advised prospective students to not enter the technical (read: engineering) profession. A large outflow and reduced inflow resulted in a shrinking engineering labor pool. So if you want to not fall short of electricity in summer of 2007, how will the construction company build a power plant ? Get engineering design done in India/China and build it in time to avoid problems. Bottomline, everybody reaps what they sow. Hope I did not make this confusing.

I don't understand the vitriol directed at JT, especially in implicit support of Ricky. Just because there are other disgraceful players in the league does not make Ricky any less of a disgrace. Maybe at one level, you can say he is human and his decision to not play football is acceptable. But he just did not handle it correctly. He should have decided earlier in the (off) season that he was calling it quits to allow his team to plan adequately for his departure. He made it worse by later returning and 'wanting to play' when he obviously was doing it to simply relieve himself of the financial obligations. Secondly, if he did not want to play, what is he doing with the Argos ? He should have simply vanished into oblivion under the cover of his pot haze and nobody would have cared or criticized him. Lastly, I agree with Thiesman (sp?). I don't know his own personal history but unless he indulged in such behavior, I think he has earned to right to call out a player when he believes they are wrong. So there, I said it.

I am too lazy to look up the context of his statement. But just that statement is not insightful at all. How does he define 'stud' in the context of football ? A heavy person, a strong person, a multi-gap tackle ... ? It has been stated numerous times over this board that this defense is not designed for a Ted Washington type heavy player.