Dibs

Actually the word farther and further are both correct. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/farther?s=t Now leave your badge and gun on my desk.......take this dictionary......and look up the word irony. Then get out of my office.

I think that this view is not correct. I am not a psychologist, but I'm sure there is a lot of nurture(upbringing, experiences, education) and nature(genetics) that would effect how people react to things. With some people it might be a bit like saying that they chose to be unhappy(if they suffer from depression). Even a bad headache can get me being quite ornery and negative.....and trust me, it isn't a choice. Perhaps if you run under the assumption that it generally isn't a choice by other people......you might be a little less irritated when you encounter it.

Jude Law? Whatever floats one's boat I guess.

I think it pertinent to consider why the OP is asking the question in the first place. You may not get this reference but it seems to me that someone saying "The guy has been a hot mess this off-season, so are the players supporting him & his play ??".....is somewhat similar to asking "What have the Romans ever done for us?" I am big on giving the benefit of doubt, but I think in this case there is no doubt to give benefit on. Had the OP said something like "I want EJ to be better than he appears. Have any players made statements of public support for him?" ......benefit of doubt would be all his. (Notice only one "?"in my sentence.......two "?"s really does imply he is asking what the Romans have ever done for us.)

How do you figure that? Fitz was on a $10M/year contract. His dead money hit was $10M. After the 2013 season it became a wash(save $10M for salary, spend $10M for dead money). Entering the 2014 season we become $5M better off(save $10M for salary, spend $5M for Orton). Assuming we retain Orton in the future for $5M/year into 2015 & 2016.......that means a further saving of $5M/year. Now that the NFL usess cap rollover rules, it literally means that we will have $15M more cap room in 2016(includes having Orton) than had we kept Fitz. The reality is the opposite of what you proposed.

There is a big difference between implying that somebody is rude(what I did) and implying the somebody is stupid(what you did). Of course, me having to spell that out implies something about stupidity.....but whatever.

That video has to be a fake. I'm sure that people were telling me a few days ago that Sammy's rib injury was serious. There's no way that could be him catching that ball. Maybe Woods was wearing his jersey and a mop on his head.

As a general rule I find it best not to subtly call the person I am talking to stupid.....particularly if I am voicing an opinion that is generally considered to be that of a minority opinion.....but maybe that's just me.

I've got to say The_Dude that I am pretty impressed. You've been given a pretty hard time in this thread(by myself and others), and it seems you have not only maintained civility and composure, but have come to understand the root of the problems, and adapted to it. Changing from a "EJ will never be good!" stance to one of "I don't believe EJ will ever be good, but I hope I'm wrong" really makes a hell of a difference to cordial discussions. I know it's a bit belated but.....welcome to the board.

In retrospect, I see that I was too fixated on my point......and wasn't as flexible as I should have been in my thinking. This excerpt from your link gives a good representation that they will do both(move and not move) depending on the situation: “Ninety percent of the time it’s not two-way action,” Hilton Las Vegas sportsbook manager Jay Kornegay said with little prying on my part. “We’ve got to make decisions on those games.” By decisions, Kornegay means whether to move the line or stay put. He has to decide whether he feels like his book is on the right side of an unbalanced handle. In other words, does he think his book will win the game or will the bettors take him to the cleaners? I think my point still holds though as I would be pretty certain that the initial lines not only reflect the game situation, but would be influenced by analytic data of expected betting patterns. On a side note......I find it interesting you mention the gold Coast above. Not sure exactly where they are referring to(article says Coast Casino), but my knowledge(or supposed knowledge as the case may be) came from people whom I used to work with who had previously had high positions in both the Australian Gold Cost Casino(Jupiters) and Crown Casino Melbourne. I'm figuring the one in the article is a US casino though.

Well said.

Nah, all good. I wasn't making(or at least meaning to make) comment on whether Vegas lines are a better predictor than the average fan's prediction(or vice versa). I was saying that the Vegas lines can't be taken as firm representations of the reality as Vegas changes the lines dependent on the betting involved.

Both of those items are irrelevant to the issue being discussed. (And for the record, it has been widely confirmed that the Bills were trying to sign Orton many weeks back) (And also.....really? I would never have guessed your thoughts on EJ) Just because you had thoughts does not mean they are correct. There is no logical reason to think that Marrone had those thoughts at all. You hit the nail on the head above with "and so if that's the case". You keep assuming that it is the case....even though you stated yourself "if"....meaning it might not be the case. How can you state something with such conviction.....yet you acknowledge it is based upon an unknown.....an "if"? Who knows though? You might be correct.....but a vast majority(media & the board) saw Lewis & Tuel being in the "not good enough to be a backup" level.....which was well behind EJ(not saying EJ is good.....but even below serviceable is well ahead of how Lewis & Tuel looked). Your entire thought progression hinges on the unfounded concept that you believe Marrone is extremely worried about EJ......and some strange belief that Orton can be some sort of savoir. What makes you think that Whaley/Marrone think the same as yourself?(repeating myself.....but I don't care). I don't see things exactly the same way that you do.....what makes you think that the GM & HC see things as you see things? You don't strike me as somebody who might typically display such hubris.....but who knows? In my initial response to you I clearly showed a logical explanation regarding Orton. You seem so convinced in your own views that you have projected them not only onto the Bills FO(with nothing to back up that assumption)....but insist on them despite certain elements of reality. Hey....you might be right though. Stranger things have happened.

What is the payout nowadays? 1.9? If there is $10M bet on a game(or record).....and it is exactly 50/50 betting(even for both sides)....the House will make $0.5M profit. That is a $0.5M profit regardless of which side of the line wins. If they don't adjust the betting and there is a small favour in the betting of just 5%, it becomes 55/45....and if the 55 side wins the House loses $0.45M. You might be right in that the Casino will play the odds on whether the teams that are heavily backed don't regularly win.....but I doubt it. Casinos are in the business of making money, not gambling money(that is for their customers to do). As to your point about generating action....it seems to me that adjusting the odds purely for this purpose would be fraught with potential loss for the Casino. More likely those action generating moves are due to higher betting on one side & the action generated by the move is the byproduct. The old expression "The house never loses" is exactly right. In this case, getting the betting on any line to be close to 50/50 means the House always wins money.

That was my first thought too. As mind altering substances can cause the onset of psychosis(or similar), I think this could be quite likely. I think the OP did the right thing however. Family comes first. Though Johnny H might have been able to offer proper help to Showerboy(beyond that of simply allowing the use of the shower), in my mind he had no choice but to turn the poor soul away. The resposibilty of ensuring of the safety for his family trumps the perceived social responibilities to help one's fellow man.

It seems that you have misunderstood the point that I was making......or perhaps I don't understand what you are saying here(possibly both). I was making the point that the Vegas line is determined by the amounts of bets placed on either side of the line. There were no other points that I was making......hence being unsure of what you meant by your response......particularly "...and you can see how stupid this argument is." I wasn't stating anything for argument based on opinion. What I stated is a fact.

Hahaha......it's like you just caught a big fish and you didn't even bait your hook. :lol:

Geez....I don't know about that. When I was 19, dumb and completely ignorant about any finer points of football, my friends(also ignorant) would bet on the games each week. Hell, I consider myself well grounded, unbiased, intelligent and knowledgeable now and I have no idea how well the Bills are going to play this year.....let alone the other 31 teams.

I don't think the point is that they are saying EJ is impressive(they clearly aren't).....it is that they are saying that the entire offense played so poorly, that when analyzed, EJ does not appear to have played as badly as initial viewing might suggest.....and in fact better than many of his fellow offensive players. Not everything is polarized. Saying EJ wasn't horrendeous does not mean that one is saying that he is good.

Betting odds are determined by the number of people betting.....particularly with line betting. The book maker endeavors to get the same number of people betting on each side of the line. If the numbers blow out on any particular side they may make a loss(which is not their aim). When the number of people betting is lobsided(to the line), the odds will be adjusted accordingly. In short, the line is determined by the mass gambling populous' perception of expectations.

Well said. Very convincing argument. I can't give you too much kudos though.....when something is as obvious as EJ's ineptitude, it is easy to make a convincing argument. Keep up the good work.

Perhaps not so different to the many posters who use "then" rather than "than"......in that it seems some people spell phonetically in accordance to their accent. (Still pretty funny though .)

Sorry to inform you that there is a Mrs. Dibs(and I'm not the sort of guy to ignore my vows)....so no Dibs babies for you. Thanks for the offer though!

I don't think that the people who strongly complain about EJ's performance want to read an analytical breakdown of the game. They saw it all with their own eyes and saw EJ not performing......why bother reading about it? Good breakdown btw......nice find.