cale

My guess is they want to get up close and personal with the QBs on the squad and the rookie. Truth be told the offensive scheme and staff were so damn dysfunctional, there was no real way to evaluate anybody on offense except maybe Freddy and the rookie OLs. The other lone exception probably is Edwards. They probably think what he is on paper has not translated to what showed up on the field. He is either on the squad at the end of camp or he is shown the door. Once they go thru a season with these guys they'll have an idea. I'm sure part of the reason was money. They didn't want to tie up too much money with yet another unknown quantity in camp. If the QBs don't distinguish themselves, they'll probably target someone higher in next year's draft. Hopefully, the OLine will have solidified for the better by then. And they'll have a stud RB (Spiller) the kid can hand off to as well. C

That's what a Vanderbilt education does for you, my friends

I like him as right tackle. I think we drafted Brad Butler - again.

Yeah, our scouts...they've been money the last few drafts

Amen, brother.

What he said. The guy has been suspended 6 gms by the league executive. A stand up franchise wants to trade him away and he's one strike away. We're already in a sh*t hole, you wanna dig even deeper? C

Yes She would be definitely guilty of bad taste and bad judgment. I'd ream her out for that. But an invite to sexual assault? How da leap? Again, see above. She demonstrated lack of judgment and taste. Please explain how that justifies BR's actions? Are you saying it was OK for BR not to stop because she was wearing said pendant. Or better yet just because she was in the VIP area by her own choice, it was OK for her to be isolated and for BR to force himself on her in her impaired state? You should put that up on a public web site: "By decree, if you enter the private party area of a famous athlete with lots of cash and is buying you free drinks in spite of the fact that you're underaged, and hereto, wear a pendant that says DTF and explain what that means to the famous athlete, you hereby have invited the athlete to expose himself to you and force his sexual desire upon yourself. Even if you are impaired and are unable to fend for yourself in an isolated area of the venue." This is an extension of the whole, "if a woman dresses provocatively, she is "asking for it."" Welcome to the 21st century. C ps. the cops all involved in this incident either as bodyguards or first responders, are now no longer associated with their respective departments, So much for their integrity. There are good cops and bad cops, and in between. I'm not ready to say they're bad. But obviously they weren't saints here either.

Look what part of the report don't some of you understand? 1) Girl was obviously intoxicated. 2) Girl tried to get way. 3) BR pursued and cornered/contained her leaving her no exit. 4) Girl said "No." 5) BR had his way and walked away. He is damned lucky a) she wasn't underaged(for legal consent), b) that no neutral party account exists and c) she doesn't want to pursue this (no doubt feeling stupid and already vulnerable). All the while there were people facilitating this travesty to occur. This might not be "rape" to the letter of the law, but in some states this might be sexual assault or a felony molestation case. What kind of man continues to take advantage of a girl that's drunk and has said "No?" I don't get it. The guy bought himself out of trouble. As simple as that. Regardless of what the DA says BR's high profile has made the DA extremely cautious in prosecuting. There are others who have gone to jail for less and even when the "victim" agreed it was consensual. In some other reports it was noted that the jury took about 20 mins to throw the case out. But because she was under aged (He just turned 18), mandatory stat rape laws went into effect. Ironically he would have been better off being found guilty on the rape charge. The boy's name is Marcus Dixon. He was supposed to go to Vanderbilt before all this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Dixon http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/jan/23/usa.garyyounge Anybody who thinks wealth & position didn't play a part in this, is just super naive. BR might not have been charged with rape, but there probably are other legal instruments (esp. in the state of GA) that could have been used to pursue this case. Difficult case? Sure. But the DA took a look at who BR was and what kind of resources he would have access to and decided not to hock the resources of the state of GA to go after BR. The girl should have exercised better judgment certainly. But she was literally, legally and figuratively screwed. C ps Having a DTF pendant on yourself should not make you a sexual target. WTF?

Lost my cousin to a bike drag race in the city. If my girl gets a mbike or she starts dating someone with a mbike, I'm gonna have to call some people who know some people.

There would have been nothing wrong with Tebow saying a prayer by himself quietly. The whole grandstanding thing asking for a public show of religious piety is the issue. Now, I do think the other dude's response was totally inappropriate. I would have said something like, "Go into your inner room." or better yet just say,"Matthew 6:6, rookie." Tebow's initial ask was just unnecessary. C

At 4.4 mil over 2 years, this signing is a steal if he plays to even half his potential.

+1

Good solid signings. Love the Davis pickup. Edwards pickup is worth it just for the Baltimore D 'tude. Still don't see him as anything but a rotational player - but solid signing nevertheless. C

Naw, Nix and Gailey so much more. Not Holmgren. A guy who says this, is a total nut: ""My own belief is this team needs an aging veteran," Holmgren said. "They need a guy that is going to grab everybody by the throat and say, 'Follow me through that door.' I don't look at him as an aging veteran, I look at him as the leader I wanted."" http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4998541 C

Hmm...Interesting thoughts. And I think I agree with most with the exception of one big caveat. I'd argue that the Browns have probably made more bad moves than us these past few years. The difference is that the owner goes out and hires someone with serious credibility. Swoosh - FAs and players suddenly believe. I don't doubt that Nix and Gailey have some skill sets. But whether they have enough juice and credibility to inspire and convince folks that things will turn around is an entirely different matter. We can sit around here and say well they just need to draft well and win games and everything will be OK. But the truth is people inside *and* outside the franchise need to believe we'll turn it around. That doesn't happen by hiring marginally successful guys and inserting them into leadership roles and hoping/believing they will succeed. It happens by hiring an inspiring leader and giving him the tools to succeed. Cleveland is making some moves that if Nix/Gailey made them we'd be questioning their sanity. But because it's Holmgren he is being given the benefit of the doubt. It's called credibility. Right now we as a franchise just don't have it. Sure it will come by winning. But I'll wager a beer that no one currently outside of the two of them believe it will happen. That's the problem. They need to target some solid, inspiring veterans to bring a different culture into the locker room. You can't coach that. You need guys to show the present Bills how that's done. There's only a couple right now that I think are legit leaders on the team. Problem is they haven't won anything. More than ability, this team needs inspiration. Guys who can rally the troops and give the fans a reason to believe. And yes, that will cost more than a roll of tape and cleats. C

You mean kinda like now?

yep

Personally I'd love for Keith Bulluck to be in a Buf uni. With the caveat his knee checks out. He would be a great leader in the locker room and on the field. Dude, is a beast. C

Look I'm not a professional talent evaluator. But even a blind beaver can see that this guy is not an upgrade over what we do or don't have. The idea isn't to "just do something". The point is to do something that will make us better as a team. Instead we pay this guy $3M to make up numbers at the position when it's pretty apparent we can get the same production from someone off the street. I'd take my chances with a rookie and whatever we get closer to training camp. C

I wasn't very clear. Sorry. I'm indifferent to Incognito not being re-signed. Though he did have a nice nasty streak. My main concern is if we are really "improving" the OL with this signing, why are we picking someone who has an even worse track record on false start penalties (though no where as many yards) and not much success? Shouldn't we be looking to sign better talent? C

The guy had more penalties/less yards that Incognito last year. How exactly have we improved with this signing? http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/i...ssues-on-o-line We paid 3M for him. Holy smokes. Someones smoking the good stuff in our FO. C

But, but, the guy had more penalties/less yards that Incognito last year. How exactly have we improved with this signing? http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/i...ssues-on-o-line We paid 3M for him. Holy smokes. Someones smoking the good stuff in our FO. C

I'm all for signing/looking at 2nd tier players. Hell, even 3rd tier dudes. But right now we're dredging pits. If this is how much our "scouting" has improved, it doesn't bode well. C

I don't know. It is what it is. I think Ralph is just being the (senile) business man. He's afraid that things are gonna blow up all to hell in 2011 and is tightening the purse strings worse than usual. As for the moves, I think some of the offensive staff hires are real head scratchers. But again, I think with the exception of Whaley (who was hungry to make his own mark in the league), the backroom rep of the franchise as it currently stands has hurt the hiring potential per staff. In all the hires that we got, the overriding factor was the desire of the coaches to work with Gailey. I don't think it's any accident that they're mostly from the college ranks. If we get an above average to good showing from our offense with average talent, he'll become the coach du jour again to work for. And maybe that will bode well for the rep of the franchise. C

John I love your posts. This is also a keeper. The NFL is a pretty tight fraternity. Players and FO personnel must know more than what they are not telling. All this makes me think, we haven't hit rock bottom yet. I think the beginning of the dark ages at OBD wasn't the MCM, but how Ralph went after Wade for his contract money. I think the perception was that Wilson then checked into Al Davis territory. It's one thing to be an undesirable location geographically speaking and it's one thing to be cheap. But to be both, I think just killed us. Plus we also seemed to work really hard at getting clubhouse leaders kicked to the curb and bringing in "Yes" men. Perception is reality. But that can change in the blink of an eye. Just ask the Saints. The difference was that they hired a GM with vision and a smart Coach with b*lls. I just hope our GM/Coach combo will come close. C