Albany,n.y.

If we get Shelton then the OL does not become immediate need & we still have Tucker to backup G/C. Gandy for backup G/T and McFarland/Bannan/Sobieski/Peters/Smith as backup depth. Only Teague & Bannan would be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. We would have added 3 linemen in the offseason prior to the draft. Meanwhile, both our starting CBs are in the final year of their contracts, Nate's unrestricted. We have to have a plan if one (or both with good compensation for McGee) leaves. CB has to be our biggest need going into the draft unless Nate is signed to an extension. Additionally, both starting caliber TEs are coming off knee surgery. TD said after the season that due to this TE would be addressed in offseason. If we move up it's for CB or TE, not OL. Also any dreams of Nugent are gone.

That was the 1st Bills road game I ever saw. I went with a group a Jets season ticket holders who were friends of a co-worker & had an extra seat. The Jets had gotten trounced by the Raiders 31-0 on opening day & I thought we had a legitimate chance of winning. When we went up 3-0 I was smelling victory. Next thing I knew the Jets kept scoring & everyone but a handful of people left the stadium. All the Jets fans around me went home & I was about the only one left in the section-all I wanted was the Bills to score a TD before the game ended. At least it was an easy ride home since by the end of the game the parking lot had already emptied out. My 1st Bills game was December 9, 1973, the Bills last home game of the year. They beat the Patriots 37-13, O.J. rushed for 219 yards and didn't murder anyone. The thing I remember most is the lousy weather. It was a very wet snow & even with the blanket I brought in we got totally soaked (the blanket was wet & steaming by the 4th quarter) & then had to drive back to Fredonia. I took all my clothes & the blanket & put them in the dryer as soon as we got back to the dorm.

$3 million dollar salary to play the Marcus Price role...NO!

The main problem with trading for Henry is you only have him under contract for 1 year, but...he's a cheap $1.25 million in salary and cap for 2005 if you trade for him. So, if you need a RB & are thinking about seeing how Travis fits in with your team at very little risk, then Travis is worth trading for. If you want to have a RB locked up for the next few seasons-don't trade for Travis. Shelton has value as well, since he plays a position where a guy of his talents is usually overpaid. Since Arizona gave him big upfront money & he has a few years left on his contract, you get him at a reduced price. In addition, he is low risk because he counts $3 million in salary & cap for 2005 & with his present contract, if he doesn't work out in 2005, you cut him with no cap ramifications in future seasons. Also, by trading for him instead of waiting for him to be released, you have him locked in, rather than getting into a bidding war where you'll have to pay him at least $3 million this year & could get hit with cap hits in future years if he doesn't work out. Both players are on 1 year trials with their new team, but I'd rather have the player who, if he works out in your system, you don't have to worry about losing in 1 year. Because of the contracts involved, I believe Shelton has more value than Henry. Both lost their jobs and neither team really wants them back in 2005. The trade helps both teams stay within cap constraints & fill a void in the lineup. If TD can get the switch of #2s thrown in, he's doing very good. He can then pick the top TE or CB left on the board in the 2nd round. Odds of finding a good one increases when moving up to Arizona's spot.

6th round, pick 150 in 1987 draft

All it means is, if it's something like what round a player was drafted or how many yards a player ran for in a given game if I'm not 100% sure I look it up to be sure I'm accurately stating something that happened. If I vaguely remember something but can't verify it I'll say something like "he fumbled in the double digits" as I did recently referring to Henry since his fumble stats weren't readily available. Since I have access to about 20 Bills media guides & draft orders publications since the merger, I prefer not to wing it when discussing absolute events. The post's origin really had nothing to do with ego. It was the result of viewing a lot of inaccurate statements over the offseason on a variety of boards that I visit & in the media. Unfortunately, Pac_Man's post was the one I specifically cited, although I didn't see his post as any different than other's which had me building up to my post. (Sorry for singling you out Pac_Man) The frustrations of an offseason of people saying things a lot worse than Pac_Man got me to the point that I had to say something. The members of the national media are among the biggest offenders & I'd had enough. There was nothing I feel that was egotistical about demanding an attempt at accuracy when someone makes a statement. Most things stated on this board are opinions, and anyone is entitled to think & post whatever they want (Although if someone says we're going to trade the team to SF to draft a QB they should expect a lot of negative feedback). But when you are stating historical facts, you should be more careful. If you're stating an absolute but can't verify it just say "I think" before the statement & that tells others you recall to the best of your abilities but didn't verify it.

He's on the outs with Denny Green. Green came to Arizona & didn't like his OL. Why I don't know (other than Shelton reported to camp overweight), but the 1st thing he did was bounce Pete Kendall, who had a solid year with the Jets in 2004. Shelton for Henry is low risk because Henry is in the final year of his contract, while Shelton's $3 million salary is reasonable for a starting LT. As long as TD doesn't do something stupid, like restructuring Shelton (like he did with Bledsoe), if Shelton bombs we can cut him with no cap hit in future years since Arizona is taking the full hit on his bonus. With Shelton it's an upgrade over moving Teague or going with an untested LT.

I was with you until you put Peters in there. Peters will be a ST player & not see the field at all at TE as he attempts to learn the T position. I still don't get the board's love of a guy who is really nothing more than (potentially) the Mark Pike of the 21st century. He's not a good enough TE & he's too raw at OL-ST are his ticket to the 2005 roster. He'd have no chance of making the team without his special teams play.

That's why I limited my statements to NFL/Bills. You can find anything in print to support a political view, be it totally true or totally false, but if a guy was drafted in the 1st round or rushed for 100 yards on a given Sunday, you can't revise history-call him a 2nd day pick or say he rushed for 40 yards and find anything to support your statement.

No, I don't agree that you should blame the media. What has happened is that political parties have moved away from center, coveting the lunatic fringes of the right & left as their hard core supporters. As a result each party has about 20-30% of the vote that will never vote for a candidate from any other political party but their own. These people tend to make more noise than the centrists and therefore get more media coverage, resulting in the perception of a divided America when it is not nearly as divided as is perceived by some.

A disturbing trend I've noticed is a lot of posters wing it on their memories and post totally erroneous information as facts in their posts when discussing NFL drafts/games/stats/history. The latest example today is a post which names 3 out of the 5 players who were 1st day selections by TD in Pittsburgh as 2nd day selections. My question is: how many of you don't give a rat's @ss what the truth is & will post anything to increase your # of posts & how many feel some sense of responsibility to get it right when you post "facts" This obviously does not apply to opinions, only stuff you can look up somewhere. I feel posters should have a sense of responsibilty. Whenever I'm posting facts, I try to look it up if I have any questions as to the accuracy of my statements about the Bills/NFL. If I can't find the answer in one of my publications, I'll say something that clearly gives the reader the information I'm not 100% sure of my statement about history. We need to be a little more diligent when giving out information.

Rod Woodson 1st round Dermontti Dawson-2nd round Greg Lloyd-6th round Barry Foster-5th in a 12 round draft Bam Morris-3rd round Your statement about 2nd day players is an astonishing 60% wrong. Next time look things up before making unfounded statements

Here's the whole list http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=19781

Is LP available? Can't be any worse than Green, unless he's in jail somewhere. Dayne & Green? I'd rather have Shaud Williams & Joe Burns. Why is it that no matter how bad a player is, the minute he's available, or becomes unavailable people on this board believe we can turn another team's trash into our treasure

Scott a woman beater, Anwar gay, and they voted my girl Jessica off. Let's just get to the final 3: Carrie, Vonzelle & Bo

I thought his best line when asked about Henry "I've heard every threat..." (during his time in the league)

Damn! Why didn't Wade make Rob watch Patton every morning.

Although I haven't put my draft board together yet, If Denny shares some of my beliefs on this QB class, the best guys won't turn out to be the top 2. Maybe not even the 1st day guys. So, it's not a no brainer to draft one of the 2 juniors, since either one could be considered a system or coach made college QB, if you have your eye on someone you think fits your system better and will be available in round 2, 4 or even 6. Guys I'm thinking of who might fit that description are Frye, Walter -who is from Arizona state, Orton, McPherson (may be one of the most talented but carries baggage) and Lefors, who in the right situation might be a star, but could end up like Flutie, Theisman & Garcia and have to serve time in Canada. Rumors are they're thinking CB

My bottom 3 are in worst to better order Anthony -I think he's going Scott- Wouldn't be a surprise Anwar-He's got 3 weeks at best left since he'll have to get back ahead of Nikko to last that long. Best 3: Vonzelle Carrie Jessica

Maybe its a sign Sage Rosenfels will be their starting QB.

Thanks Bill. I got a phone call in the middle of typing it & I kind of lost my roll, so I summed it up instead of putting everything bad about Travis into it. I saw the article at work and couldn't wait to respond, but because I was at work & I type at a snails pace, I had to wait until I got home-but I was thinking about it all afternoon.

OJ was praying for him, he might still be alive if OJ hadn't. Can you imagine how PO'd the Big Guy gets when OJ prays? Simpson said he last saw Cochran at an L.A. Lakers basketball game a few months ago and found the flamboyant lawyer to be in good spirits. "We were praying for him then, and I still am," Simpson said. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/29/cochran.obit/index.html

Michael Schiavo refused to let Jesse Jackson go into the room where Terri Schiavo is.

Here's how you fire a priest: Nick: "Did you pray for the Dolphins to win before every game in 2004" Priest: "Yes Coach, I prayed my heart out, but once Ricky left, even God couldn't get the team any points on the scoreboard" Nick: "You obviously didn't pray hard enough, how dare you blame God for the loses, You're Fired!"