Dibs

I was in the same boat....no way would my cats sit still for a pill. Wrap them in a towel & they just rip it to bits. I have however recently discovered a pill-giving device. It's awesome! No more hassles. It's just like a big plastic syringe with soft rubber at the tip. Pill into tip....tip into cats mouth(towards back)....depress syringe....job done. The stupid thing was my vet never told me about the device. It was when I went back to the vet voicing how much trouble I was having giving the pills, the secretary showed me it.

There are far more stupid owners than there are stupid pets who cannot be trained. It's like aggressive dogs....sure there are some that are bred to be aggressive but usually it is the needle-dick owner with an inferiority complex teaching it to be nasty or the 'stupid' simpleton who cannot figure how to discipline the animal. Re: your cats on the bench....when they jump up, quickly & quietly grab them & lock them in the laundry or 'naughty' room for a half hour or so. (Same principle as the 'time out'). They will soon learn that jumping up on the bench means going to a place they don't like & find boring.

Hills Science is the one we use too. Now that my cats are on it, they seem to be doing great...it was only when they were on the **** stuff that they really had problems. Yes we did have to pay to have the teeth removed & the existing ones(& gums) scraped but it didn't cost no $400....& I thought Vets were costly over here. One thing about Vets(& Dentists) which a lot of people don't realize is you can pretty much get quotes on a proceedure so what may be $300-$400 at one Vet might be $150-$250 at another. Shop around.

It always cracks me up when a player leaves his club for the better money(not that I think there is anything at all wrong with that, it's his choice)...and they say "I've got to look after my family". With that sort of money, they and their family are set for life. Why can't they just be honest about it?

Gum disease is a common occurrence in cats, especially the oriental breeds. I have two Burmese & get them checked once a year. My little girl lost 6 teeth due to bad gingivitis. As far as I'm aware it is largely due to the food we feed them. Usually it is either the mushy tin junk or the super crunchy dried stuff. Neither clean the cats teeth & allow for build-up of plaque, tarter etc, leading to gum diseases. I buy special(slightly moist) dry food designed to clean the animals teeth....It's sort of like how our teeth get a good clean when we eat apples. With my Burmese I could tell that something was bothering them when they got severe gum disease. It can't be nice having your mouth hurt when you chew.

Gee, I was being facetious.

Not neccessarily....DC more than likely won't be ready for the start of the season & if he doesn't regain full mobility, that could drastically effect his play. That's a bit of a leap of faith to say Harrington is better than Frerotte. Last year QBRs...JH=72......GF=71.9 Carreer QBRs.....JH=68.1...GF=75.3 At this point JH has not shown he can even be a decent back-up. I suppose the point ByTor2112 was making is that Miami has huge ??? at the QB position & if DC does not come back to top form, they could perform worse than last year.

I think the thing to remember is rookies like Bush are still very young. Not many people throughout their entire lives have to make decisions of such magnitude let alone at such a young age. With rookies especially, it is a rare occasion where I do not totally blame the agent. The difference between club & player are most likely going to be at most 15%. If you add onto that the automatic huge endorsements the player will get, it becomes even less. The amounts either way are retire-for-life type levels. A good agent....one who looks after his client...IMO, will see that set-for-life deal secured rather than encourage his charge to go for every cent he can. Too many times the player loses out through slow production due to a hold-out. One day, an unsigned star(i.e. Bush) will have some sort of freak accident while holding out and end up with nothing.

What? They own an ilk? And it's got the same wonderlic score as them? ilk Golly.

They don't make predictions like I do.(& many other fans of any NFL team) It's amazing how the experts predictions on every team has them pretty much the same records (+/- 2) as the previous season. I'm sure(just like actual fans) the 'experts' also feel certain teams will thrive or plummet but they are constrained by the fear of getting it wrong & are therefore are too gutless to make their true predictions. Give me a well thought out amateur prediction over a professional's any day.(unless the prediction is on the amateur's own club.)

He sure did... 2002 pro bowl roster Gee, that's unusual....an NFL player getting into the probowl based on past years performances......& weren't we all so hyper about picking him up at the start of '03? Why didn't we know he was well past his prime & no longer top shelf? I guess TD forgot to tell us.

I've got no idea....I use it when I want to imply I'm scared & don't want to show my face. Also when I want people to think I might be a ninja.

Is it just me or is there something odd about their top 10 containing 6 white guys? I'm not casting any aspersions here.....well....maybe I am.

Nobody told me you lose an inch or two with age. I don't have that many inches to spare.

Too old.....his last probowl was 2002 with the Pats. I only put him on the list (at the last minute)because of his past probowls, maybe I should have left him off.

What else is sad is.... Whitner.............5'10.5" Below are the NFLs top strong safeties & their heights Bold is last years pro-bowlers. Asterix is previous recent pro-bowlers. Bob Sanders.....5'8" Troy Polamalu...5'10" Mike Brown.......5'10" *Ed Reed*........5'11" Chris Hope........5"11" Tony Parrish......5'11" *L.Milloy*...........6'0" *Roy Williams*...6'0" B.Dawkins........6'0" Archuleta..........6'0" *R.Harrison*.....6'1" D.Darius...........6'1" *C.Chavous*....6'1" Sean Taylor......6'2" M.Boulware.......6'3" A.Wilson...........6'3" What this list shows is so obvious, I don't even have to comment.

How could you leave off Tasker????? The best player at his position in the history of the NFL let alone the last 15 years in Buffalo. *Harrumph* Going on the kicking teams aces, Mark Pike should also be counted. FB Larry Centers WR Lofton over Evans(his 1991 pro-bowl year at this point is better than anything Evans has produced) ILB Conlan over Cowart FS Kelso I would have liked to add a 3rd DE, OLB & CB.(should have 3 CBs to cover your 3 WRs) Then you could have Hansen, Paup & Clements(who else is there?)

--QUARTERBACKS-- Rating: 3 It has been over a generation since the Bills have been in such turmoil at the quarterback position. Last years starters Kelly Holcomb and JP Losman are joined by little known Green Bay backup Craig Nall, all battling it out in camp for the starters position. Former 2004 1st round draft pick JP Losman has a strong arm and great overall athletic ability but has shown he greatly needs to improve his discission making, blitz recognition and game management skills. Holcomb does not have a very strong arm and is not a very mobile quarterback but brings to the table veteran stability to the position. Nall is the wild card in the equation. He has decent tools and has produced in the few opportunities he has been given in his 4 years of NFL experience. He also comes from a system which is becoming known for producing quarterbacks (Brett Favre, Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck). Marv Levy has a history of success with ex-Packer players and will be hoping that he has struck gold with Nall just as he did with Bryce Paup, James Lofton(via Raiders) and Kenneth Davis. Due to his obvious potential, it is generally believed JP Losman will be given every opportunity this season. Unless he has a total meltdown during camp he should be starting come the season opener in New England. If not, and Nall does not prove to be Levy’s diamond in the rough, Holcomb should be capable enough to stave off total embarrassment. But if the Bills end up with Holcomb as the starter as they did last season, they will be basically treading water until the 2007 draft. POSITION WINNER: LOSMAN

Since this is your main problem, I'll address it first. As I understand it, the argument goes...Safeties are traditionally rarely taken in the top ten of the draft because the position is intrinsically of a lower impact on the game than virtually every other position. Therefore if you end up with an all-pro S he is less valuable to the team than an all-pro QB or OT etc. Let me put forward that the S position has drastically changed in recent times. In the PFW preview 2006 magazine there is a good article(by Trent Modglin) on the changes in the league(I've mentioned this on another thread before). It starts(& this should give you the basics of it).... This, clearly, is not your grandfather's NFL. Nor, for that matter, does it all that closely resemble your father's NFL, either. Certainly not with the way safeties are acting all crazy, running from place to place before the snap, blitzing the quarterback, covering wide receivers, intercepting passes and dragging big, bruising running backs to the turf like a leopard on a deer. Things have changed.... Does this concept(assuming it's truth) elevate the importance of Safety into the same level as most other positions? Let's have a look at the first 3 rounds of this years draft. I'm basing this on ESPNs big board....they are one of the biggest 'value' picks proponents so... #7 Huff(I don't use him in the argument since he is projected at CB) #8 Whittner(BUF).....projected at #20.....UP 12 #16 Allen(MIA).........projected at #27.....UP 11 #40 Bullocks(DET)....projected at #53.....UP 13 #42 Manning(CHI)....projected at #69.....UP 27 #43 Harper(NO).......projected at #108....UP 65 #54 Pollard(KC).......projected at #95......UP 41 #83 A.Smith(PIT).....projected at #86......UP 3 #97 E.Smith(NYJ).....projected at NOT EVEN RATED FYI Whittner, Allen & Bullocks were the top 3 projected safeties. As you can see, the safety position was clearly viewed as more desirable by the NFL clubs than by ESPN analysis. If the S position has been traditionally downgraded on draft day due to it's lack of importance & now it's importance is higher, it makes sense that they are taken higher than in previous years. Whittner was considered to be one of the most ready to play draftees in the draft. Sure, you might be able to find someone better in later rounds(as you can with any position..e.g. Brady) but obviously if it were that easy, there would not be any busts at all. 50% of all 1st rounders are busts(including top 10)...give or take. From the looks of it, the odds on Whittner seem to be much better than 50% on whether he will make it as a pro. Given 50% failure in the first round & the fact that super-stars can be found in later rounds & the concept that the Safety position is more important than it was...with Whittner looking good to become minimally a good starter, I'd say I've done enough to...if not convince you that Whittner was a good pick....to allow you to give the benefit of the doubt at this time & see how he pans out without thinking Marv & Co. are stupid. Sorry about the length but sometimes it takes time to make reasoned points.

Do you think Marv will be able to work his way back up to the top if he applies himself & bides his time? Maybe in a few years or so, ieatcrayonz will get hired by Miami & Marv will get another crack at the GM job when he is 90ish.

You may well be correct. Since I'm sitting here on a Saturday trying to will time forward so the season can start....I thought I'd run the +/- for the AFC over the last 4 years. TEAM 05 04 03 02 NE -4 -- +5 -2 NYJ -6 +4 -3 -1 MIA +5 -6 +1 -2 BUF -4 +3 -2 +5 CIN +3 -- +6 -4 PIT -4 +9 -4 -3 BAL -3 -1 +3 -3 CLE +2 -1 -4 +2 IND +2 -- +2 +4 JAX +3 +4 -1 -- HOU -5 +2 +1 TEN -1 -7 +1 +4 SD -3 +8 -4 +3 DEN +3 -- +1 +1 KC +3 -6 +5 +2 OAK -2 +1 -7 +1 01-02...8 changes of +/- 2 or less (15 teams) 02-03...7 changes of +/- 2 or less 03-04...8 changes of +/- 2 or less 04-05...4 changes of +/- 2 or less I think it is safe to assume that at least 50% of teams will change win/loss record from one season to the next by over 2 games in todays FA NFL. Also...on average three teams in the conference each year changed by 5 games or more. You may be right & we revert back to minor changes but I think the trend is upwards rather than downwards. What gets to me is the magazines & networks who pay actual money to people to inform us that each team will do pretty much the same as last year....what brilliant analysis they do. My predictions....big changes BALT.....12 wins +6 IND.......9 wins -5 MIA.......5 wins -4 SD........3 wins -6 BUF.......9 wins +4 Why not? Big changes seem to happen every year now, why not to us? I won't go into the NFC(who cares about them? )

Honestly, I was expecting something a bit more gutsy. It was just like one of the many magazines one can buy. Every team is plus/minus 1 or 2 from last year except for Colts -3 & Cards +4. Every season now we see large swings in teams performances & abilities. For instance 04-05 NE -4, NYJ -6, MIA +5, BUF -4 CIN +3, PIT -4, BALT -3, CLE +2 IND +2, JAX +3, HOU -5, TEN -1 SC -3, DEN +3, KC +3, OAK -2 As you can see, in the AFC alone from 04-05 there were 12 teams to vary by 3 win/losses or more and only one changed by 1.

It's not how quick you get it up CT, it's how long it stays up.

I think all those crayonz you've eaten have gone to your brain.