LongLiveRalph

I understand what you're saying, fair points all. Certainly, you always wish all players under contract would be in camp. Unfortunately, this is occasionally the way these things work. I'm certain Peters' agent has contacted the Bills on some level. The Bills have a PR machine, Peters doesn't. That's why, often times, media as well as the fans sides to a certain extent with the organization in contract issues. The media, while preaching unbias, also knows where they receive access to their information- from the club. Most times, in holdouts, the company line is the only line. All the fans can hope is that Peters is in the gym, working hard, and that something happens soon. I understand you're point about it being bad business to restructure existing deals. And it's hard to feel bad for millionaire players. But we all know that pie is plenty big, and Peters views himself as being entitled to a bigger piece. I don't disagree. And while in many cases it might be a bad decision in any business to re-do a contract, as a professional football organization trying to win games, it's also bad business to not show the money to your money players. Everyone has seen Peters play. We have seen his freak athleticism block punts, catch TD passes, sprint 60 yards covering a kickoff, and now more recently, play left tackle at a Pro Bowl level, while locking down some of the game's best DE's. I don't listen as much to the ESPN hype as I do to the respect garnered on him by teammates, and especially opponents. Some posts here about Peters "having to prove himself" seem a little strange. He has gone from undrafted tight end to one of the top players in the league at a franchise position. How is that not proving himself? I'm going to have trouble understanding how NOT paying him is a good business decision. You did mention the possibility of throwing money away. But if that happens, it will only be because of injury. We have all watched this kid his entire career, and he's been around long enough that the Bills have a good grasp of his character and work ethic. He seems like he is going to continue to get better, and most importantly, WANTS to do so. I don't think there's a risk that the Bills would be throwing away money because of sudden poor performance. In the sport of football, there's always an injury risk, on both sides. Peters is just trying to insure himself against that possibility as well. If the salary guarantees were set up differently, I might feel differently. And obviously every different player's situation with every different team is completely its own entity. In this case, with this player and team, I completely see where he's coming from and don't blame him.

If contracts were guaranteed I'd be on the organization's side. Contracts are not guaranteed and therefore you must strike when the iron is hot, so I'm on Peters' side. The clowns in this thread with the "honor your contract and get to camp" garbage is hysterical, considering EVERY team is looking for your replacement the second you arrive, and they'll "honor" that contract by ripping it up and kicking you to the waiver wire. Peters has franchise potential at a franchise position. If I was him and had to block Kyle Williams in practice, who is now making more money than Peters, I wouldn't show up either.

Yes. And with experience and trust SHOULD come more confidence in the downfield reads. My beef with Trent last year wasn't the dinky passes, it was the way he seemed almost predetermined to dump off as he dropped back, not giving a chance for the routes to open up downfield. And good point about Roscoe...Brady and Moss got the publicity last year, but time and again it was Welker who was Brady's main man. He consistently turned 3-yard slants into 15-yard gains. JP's problems seem more cerebral in nature and he hasn't shown much progress. It still feels like training camp 2005 with him. Regardless of who's playing QB, the telling stat will again be red zone offense. The Bills have been among the bottom of the league for 5 years when it comes to TD's. A reliable kicker is great, but 7 instead of 3 makes a world of difference. The good teams punch it in after a 60-yard drive. The mediocre teams kick.

Hey, why the F not? Williams is making more than Jason Peters at the moment.

I'd vote yes for Zubaz on casual Friday too, but you're right, it will be tough to push through.

Hester and Booker are will likely going be the Bears #1 and #1A receivers this year. He scores (what seems like) about 70% of their TD's. I would think he's entitled to a raise above what he was originally paid to be their nickel CB and returner.

On the Troy schedule in 2007 (including their national ranking at the time Troy played them): @ (21) Arkansas @ (4) Florida vs. Oklahoma State @ (10) Georgia 2006: @ (9) Florida State @ Georgia Tech @ (23) Nebraska To his point though, DeMarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora REALLY seemed to struggle with the upgrade in competition upon entering the NFL out of Troy. And the 2nd corner taken, Rogers-Cromartie, was also a mid-level collegian, playing in the Ohio Valley Conference for Tennessee State.

Artie Lange from the Howard Stern Show and Dave Attell (formerly host of Comedy Central's "Insomniac") went to Afghanistan to do a comedy show for soldiers as part of the USO tour. I heard the Stern show when Artie came back, and he was telling about the experience. He said before their comedy show, the USO rep gave them some guidelines of topics that were off limits. They included the President, politics, homosexuality, and a few other things...And strangely enough, masturbation was also on the list of banned topics. So Artie is telling the story of Dave Attell coming out to do his comedy set, and he says to the troops: "Well, they've told me that discussing masturbation is off limits. So let me tell you about the time I !@#$ a gym sock filled with shampoo."

I was unaware that premarital sex is NOT ok?? Please explain this new law.

Hmmmm interesting...I suppose it was. My first sexual experience was with a woman, and it's been women ever since...Seems to work for me!

Actually, the way things are going over there lately, I wouldn't be surprised if BFPN (Brett Favre Programming Network) picks Green Bay.

Agreed. The channel has changed immediately whenever they break into this crap. I am waiting for the "Conference Title" Town series to start so hopefully Buffalo can get a mention.

I see that point. Ralph said himself they could get barely $1M-$2M per season, which is far below what naming rights cost on other stadiums. However, like you said, it's hard to cry poverty when you're not exhausting all possible revenue streams first. And if it's only $1M from Sahlen's to name it Hot Dog Stadium, well, that's $1M they didn't have before. How many luxury suite season tickets must be sold to reach $1M? Also, probably more importantly, it removes the point of contention from the argument when Ralph's naysayers speak up that Ralph is vain, and is turning down potential revenue to keep his name on the stadium. Isn't the new stadium in Cincy called Paul Brown Stadium? Interesting the two owners who voted against the last CBA both have their names on their stadiums.

What's this legit gripe?? Japanese baseball doesn't seem too pissed when MLB plays regular season games in the Tokyo Dome. Would the Italian basketball league gripe if the Spurs played the Cavs in a regular season game in Rome? Ted Rogers owns the Skydome (Rogers Centre) and has every right to bring in whatever type of entertainment he wishes, regardless of what the owners think. I realize that in the US, the sporting leagues typically attract the best talent in the world. But take soccer, for example. Toronto FC plays in the MLS. Do you think their owners, and the owners of the other MLS franchises, would gripe if Manchester United and Arsenal wanted to play a game in Toronto???

All time? Hard to say. Desmond Howard was something else at Michigan. Fred Taylor was a beast and underrated at UF (somewhat similar to his pro career.) Lavar Arrington at PSU was unreal. My father worked with former UCLA WR JJ Stokes' mom, so I always kept an eye on him. It never got old watching Adrian Peterson run...Not an OU fan at all but it's easy to appreciate a guy with that much talent and speed, who runs SO HARD. I'm pretty excited to see what that kid McKnight can do at USC this year. He went there with serious hype, and it looked like he was trying to figure out the college game for the majority of the season, and the coaches were trying to figure out what to do with him. Then, when they had a month to prepare for the Rose Bowl, they came out with some plays and packages that showed how explosive he could be. I assume they've been doing more of the same this offseason. McKnight vs. Laurenitas in early September should be wild. I like Percy Harvin from UF also. Travis Beckum from Wisconsin. Deunta Williams, safety from UNC, is a man child and a joy to watch. Guess I didn't do too good with the "if you could only pick one" part, huh?

This quote is the bottom line. He's been bad in coverage since he was in college. They drafted him knowing his strengths and weaknesses. Thus far in his career, his strengths have been enough to make him a Pro Bowl-caliber player. He is never going to magically get better at defending the pass, so the Cowboys need to decide if his hitting and tackling as an "extra LB" is worth the risk of exposure to the pass. Like Cincy said, they will likely remove him from their nickel package, which isn't all that dumb. I realize the financials come into play, but it seems hard to believe there isn't a place for a player like Roy Williams on the roster. The Cowboys' recent playoff failures have been more a result of a faltering offense as opposed to a weak pass defense.

The rankings are just arbitrary and used for fun. There's no science to it. Roy Williams, if taken for what he is, is a very good safety. He protects the middle of the field and stuffs the run, and will make receivers think twice about coasting through the slot. So many people prefer to look at what he isn't, just like many do here with Whitner.

Classic. Intruding on the sanctity that is the Canadian Football League. Like Jonathan Brown wouldn't JUMP at the chance to be a member of the Detroit Lions practice squad. I guarantee Doug Flutie wasn't in his dorm room at BC dreaming about CFL success and Grey Cup titles. Actually, now that I think about it, the Bills should create a trophy claimed by the team that wins the Toronto game each year, and call it the Gray Cup.

Why is the Bills playing a game in Toronto now a point of contention with this "anonymous" owner? Did this guy get pissed off when the Packers used to play a game or two a year an hour away in Milwaukee? The Cowboys in Mexico and the Pats in Montreal are extreme examples, but wouldn't it be somewhat smart for the Seahawks to explore a similar arrangement with Vancouver? Hell, the Dolphins already attact 60% Cubans to their games in Miami, they might want to look at Havana for a home game! An NFL owner getting pissed off about a money grab....Oh that's priceless...

The worst phrase ever is any phrase that is uttered with a Boston accent. It all sounds wicked retaahded

I selected other Chocolate cake is a kilo of coke you get from a black guy

Why him?

The guy is a horse, no doubt about it. If steroids were still legal he'd be my pick to hit 75.

Huh? Are you seriously asking why anyone would want to own music???

At the risk of comparing Edwards to a former Super Bowl MVP, I don't think it's out of the question to hope for a Phil Simms-like career. Simms never REALLY lit it up, but was fairly steady. He completed about 58% of his passes (in Phil's era that was decent, now that might be a little low,) he threw for 199 TD's and 157 INT's, had a passer rating around 79, was a two-time Pro Bowler, and most importantly, got it done in the big game. If Trent's career followed the same path, he might not end up in Canton, but he would be the King of Buffalo.