Offside Number 76

Shaw, Smerlas, and Haslett are the locks from this group. Especially Smerlas--absolutely no one has emerged at that position to take his spot. I like to make fun of the guy (as if my screenname didn't give that away), but we haven't had a better DT since he left. Sestak will probably stick around, too, unless they want 4 LBs (not a bad idea).

Johnson and Losman aren't even candidates. A few other posters have mentioned Defect Dufek, Mathison, and Ferragamo. Considering only folks who had shots to be starters (thus immunizing Matt Kofler and Bill Munson), these guys were the worst possible. Between 1983 and 1985, this troika of misery terrorized our community, and I really hope that you're too young to have seen the horrors that scar some of our memories to this day. Of the three, Ferragamo (who had started a Super Bowl for the Rams before coming here) came with the highest expectations. But I think Mathison was the worst of the three. Dan Darragh's stats aren't too good, either, but I'm not quite that old. Never saw him play. And I'm not sure he was intended to start--did he start games b/c of injuries?

Without commenting on your particular logo, I love where this topic is headed.

Not surprised at the stupidity...just surprised that these ideas came through the Buffalo News, and not on a certain message board somewhere.

Has it occurred to anyone that the reason the Culver City police didn't publicize this* was because someone there realized that there might not have been any good reason for the search to begin with? Has it occurred to anyone that the same PD may have charged everyone in the car with "possession" of the same weapon, which was in the trunk? More importantly, and I direct this to the Americans on this board, which should be the majority (non-Americans, you may well have a very different standard where you live), what the hell happened to the God-given right of reasonable freedom from police intrusion? Has anyone given any decent explanation for why this car was pulled over? What happened to the gun nuts (I did see a very well-articulated comment earlier in the thread about how gun freedom is protected if you're white) who should be screaming about Lynch's right to bear arms? What happened to the presumption of innocence? Some of the comments I've read suggest that there's a fair amount of self-examination due for some of our so-called "patriots" on this board. The absolute worst came from a poster who suggested that Lynch "was trouble" the moment he was drafted. The press on Lynch after the draft was all about how he bought a suburban WNY house for his mother and brother, to get them out of the rougher area in which he grew up, and to keep them close to him. He was lauded for his family commitment and his desire to see his little brother succeed. There was no mention of any trouble when Lynch was drafted, and of course, when I challenged said poster to come forward with something, anything, well, there was nothing. A lot of what I'm reading early this morning (on Presidents' Day, of course) is bigoted or ignorant at best, anti-American at worst, and completely not helpful at all. Despite what Lynch did last year on Chippewa Street (and I believe that he did what he is purported to have done), there's no reason to some of what I've read here. Even if the facts eventually prove those posters to be correct, there's no reason to those posts, at this point. * I saw Tim Graham's earlier comment on this board, and in this thread, about how the media wouldn't necessarily have picked up on this quickly, because they may not have known that the man arrested was an NFL player, because, in turn, the police may not have known. With due respect, I think that's unlikely. At the station, Question 2 should have been, "So, what do you do for a living, Mr. Lynch?" (Right after Question 1, "What brings you to Culver City?") I understand, but do not believe, that Lynch may not have answered the questions. It's become normal for PDs across the country to publicize celebrity arrests before any determination of whether prosecution is proper, unfortunately, and I think it's no accident that this arrest was buried. But it was nice of Mr. Graham to post.

Really? How so? Or are you just pissed that he has a better car?

There's an earlier thread on this site. That thread linked to a couple of other bills fansites, and one of those linked back to the Cal fansite I posted above.

By the way, for those curious to see where this "broke" first, here's a link to the Cal Bears message board that has been discussing this for a couple of days: http://bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10162 That discussion mentions LA station KABC; I searched the KABC website and turned up nothing.

Huh? Are you sure you're not confusing the "11" from the arrest date?

There is nothing illegal about looking at a public record, and there is nothing illegal about disseminating information contained in a public record. Like everyone else here, I'm curious as to whether this is true or a prank (maybe the sheriff's dept. was training a new employee on how to use the online system & the employee hates the Bears or something--this news did first "break" on a Cal Bears message board, right?); I'd be very surprised if it turned out to be a different individual with the same name.

Damn. I was just about to post my Mock Hair. Kiper was first.

I think that was his point. Everyone saw the 1999 Rams as a one-dimensional, offense-only team. Everyone was wrong.

Aren't you in Atlanta?

We get a bunch of folks who live away, in places like Texas, who expect us to subsidize a football team for them to watch on TV.

Are they kidding? A balloon hitting an electric tower before the Chargers game nearly resulted in fans being trampled at the gates.

That Arizona defense has looked good exactly three times, from what I've seen: two times in the playoffs, and, of course, once against the Bills. Damn, they can turn it on when they want to (apparently); the questions are, (1) why did they have to wait until now, and (2) why, in the regular season, did they have to do their N-Test against the Bills?! That D is for real. We might have to suffer a Balto-Zona Super Bowl. Sleepy.

--lots of new construction downtown in the last five years --people returning to the area, and people who've never lived here moving to the area, rather than people leaving --economic stability compared to the rest of the country There always will be something wrong in this city and in every other city. But for once, I really think we're doing okay. Never felt this way until about a year ago.

Buffalo, and the area around it, is doing better right now than at any other point in the last thirty years. It's going to be fine.

Are you a stripper? (ON EDIT: I'm sorry; I meant, "dancer.")

They are almost the same age.

First off, thanks for posting something that doesn't consider Jauron. On QB: I like Edwards, he'll be ok, and I think JP will get a backup shot somewhere, or perhaps a starting job in Hamilton, but certainly, Johnson led a remarkable 4th quarter comeback against a certain Titans team, only to have the special teams coach screw it all up by not kicking out of bounds on a day when the Bills defense was amazing. RB: Forget Omon. Nothing to see there. Hope we can get Jackson back. Lynch showed something during the second half of the year, when he wasn't leaving games due to mysterious stomach problems. He's going to be a good back. WR: I don't know what happened to Reed, but you're right: he's not "Mr. Drop" anymore, he's more like "Mr. Clutch." Lee Evans has the skills, but just didn't show as much desire this year as I would have liked. Steve Johnson may or may not become something special, we don't know yet, and it's way too early to write off Hardy. OL: Run blocking started off ok, and just got better from there. Still too many penalties and too much cluelessness. The pass protection is ok for Trent, horrible for JP, and probably not so good overall. DL: A D+ is way too generous. LB: Wow. Just not a great unit. I'm a fan of the 3-4 defense, but there's no way the Bills could pull that off in the next three years. As bad as the D-line is, the Bills need 4 up there to make up for the weaknesses at linebacker. DB: Your remarks are right on. ST: Returning and coverage are solid, and Moorman is the team MVP for about the fifth year in a row. I'm still too upset over the Lindell miss in the Cleveland game to discuss the placekicking situation. One spot that wasn't mentioned--TE: F, or F-, or maybe even G or H. Royal just can't freaking catch, and he's nothing better than an adequate blocker. Schouman and Fine weren't used enough at all, although they appear to be better. I realize that the Bills were counting on Kevin Everett as the future starter at the position, but that excuse doesn't work for me after the end of 2007. There are teams that win without good tight ends, but they are few and far between. The Bills might not need an instant all-pro at the position, but they certainly need a guy who can catch a football.

1. New England (by letting Miami win twice). 2. Denver (by beating them last week). Devilishly clever planning. I can see where it's headed. Next year, eliminate 4 teams. The year after, 8. Then 16. In four more years, the Bills will eliminate everyone--even themselves.

He's every bit as good as Cooley, and the only reason he's not a Gonzalez, Gates, or Whitten is because he hasn't started for as long. Boss is kickass. Damn, I miss Metzelaars. Actually, right now, I even miss Butch Rolle.

Tell you what: if for some reason the Pats go deep in the playoffs, maybe make the Super Bowl or something, I can see the Cheat choosing Cassel instead of Brady. He's made that type of move before (Milloy, Bledsoe, Vinatieri, for three quick examples), and he's been successful, so he won't be shy about doing it again (whether or not it ultimately proves to be a good move). Plus, the Cheat will have information about Brady's health that no one else will have. Without a deep playoff run, forget it. Brady will return.

A few weeks ago, I put up a post about how most QBs take a little time to develop...guys like Aikman (winless his first year), Eli, etc. I'm not going to find it; it's there. And it echos what you said. But it's the Edwards-bashers that it was meant for; whether JP got a fair chance here or not (he didn't, IMO), is now irrelevant. He was ruined (cf. Leaf) and now is done. Let's hope that people give Edwards a little more of a chance. (ON EDIT: there's a current thread about how Edwards "isn't a bust yet" here; are these people completely ignorant of how new he is to the league?) He shows signs of being a very good QB at times, and he still is developing.