JohnC

Frank Reich has done a masterful job in handling Luck and calling plays that protect him. A large portion of his passes are quick release passes that keeps the pressure away from him.. This regime smartly dedicated the offseason to upgrading the line and providing better protection for him. The old rule of thumb that you shouldn't draft guards with a high pick certainly didn't apply in this situation when the franchise qb was constantly under siege. Nelson is going to be an all pro and if remains healthy when his career is over will be considered a HOF candidate. He's going to be the Steve Hutchinson of this era.

Rivers is going to be a serious candidate for the HOF. My bet is that he will be inducted in Canton with half of the seats at the ceremony filled by his kids. If Rivers was a horse he would be working as stud in Kentucky producing offspring.

Is the variable pricing factored in for season ticket pricing or is it a set seating price multiplied by the number of games?

Is there a significant discount for season ticket prices compared to individual tickets? I agree with you that there is still a residual distaste from all the bad and boring seasons. In time the interest will catch up with the good play and more entertaining play.

As you noted it's apparent that Housley believes that Tage has more offensive potential than Rodrigues. Does it hurt the team? Probably a little in the short run. But if the organization believes that in the not too distant future that he will be a better player then I am fine with it. From what Paul Hamilton has said on WGR the staff works with the tall, lanky player during practice and after practice to accelerate his development. They could have sent him to Rochester to get more playing time but felt working with him with the big club in games and in practice will be the best way to develop him. When you watch him play you see the skating and shooting talent. What he lacks right now is the grit and physical play to deserve more playing time. Tall and lanky players take more time to develop then shorter and more muscular players. I'm certainly not comparing him to Chara but it took him years before this tall and talented player physically matured and became a significant player. In time when Thompson fills out there is a good chance that he is going to be a contributing player for us. With Tage it's really not about the now as it is the future.

When I was discussing the rule I was discussing it beyond the individual player and the purpose behind it. Apparently you didn't understand the point that I was making.

There are more than enough jackets for the players. And if there aren't then go get them to adequately supply the team. There is a purpose for the no jacket rule for injured players. It separates them from the active players. That's what I find so offensive about the rule. It creates a climate where the injured players feels pressure to get on the field before one feels ready. It is a pernicious rule that can result in player coming back too soon and risking a more serious injury. Especially with a concussion injury where a player looks healthy to others but still doesn't feel right this exerted pressure to get back on the field is not a healthy and safe environment for the players. My political posts have nothing to do with my response. That response makes no sense and has no relevancy to the topic. Saying I am being sympathetic to anarchy is simply a stupid reactionary response.

Do you know from your perch what his actual physical status is? You are making an assumption that because he appears to be moving around well prior to the game that his injured knee (he did suffer a knee injury in the Navy game) is still not sore and should not be exposed to full game contact. As I said to WEO and others the no jacket rule is a pernicious rule ostracizing injured players from the active roster. That is the issue that I find most problematic in this story. The rule is to create an environment where the injured player might come back sooner than he should because he feels that he is not part of the team while in his injured status. That's a dangerous environment that is fraught with risk to the well-being of a side-lined player. That pressure to play. especially for a concussion injury, where the player even more than the medical staff knows exactly how he feels. That's the core issue that has me bothered the most here. This tough guy coach could have dealt with this issue in the privacy of the locker-room. Instead he made a public spectacle by jerking the jacket off of the player. He's the coach and he is the adult. He created the scene because of the way he handled his stupid rule.

We disagree on what the important issues are in this case. Both of us are belaboring the same points. The one point that you and many others are missing is that the no jacket rule for injured players is a pernicious rule that ostracizes injured players from the active players. Its purpose is to create an environment where an injured player feels pressure to get back on the field when he doesn't feel ready. Mike Leach, the current coach at Washington State, was forced out of Texas Tech because of his ostracizing policies toward injured players. That is a reckless and dangerous approach.It certainly is not in the interest and well-being of the players he is supposed to be responsible for. I do agree with you that it would be wise for Oliver to leave the program and get away from this fraudulent tough guy coach for the sake of his future. Playing for a fool can be jeopardizing to one's health and career.

Are you aware that the coach that you are sneering at got his stripped down non-playoff team into the playoffs for the first time in a generation in his first rebuilding year? Are you aware that the coach and front office that you denigrate was able to draft a qb who has a good chance at being a franchise qb in their second draft? Prior to that the Bills hadn't had a legitimate franchise qb for nearly a quarter century. We are entering the next offseason with a restructured cap situation that should allow us plenty of flexibility to bring in players from the market. And we are entering the next draft with a full complement of draft picks. If you don't consider those accomplishments to be positive and have little bearing on improving the roster then I don't understand the basis for your pessimism. What you are doing is lumping in this relatively new regime with the failed regimes of the past. How is that fair? What did you expect from this new staff that took over with the intention of not only rebuilding the roster but also the organization? Instant magic? Let's get serious here. There certainly are no guarantees in this highly competitive business. But what this organization set out to do is being implemented. You just may be too cynical and jaded as a Buffalo Bills fan but in the real world making big changes usually takes time. Has this regime made mistakes in its short tenure? Of course it has just like every other franchise. But overall I see this team moving in the right direction.

We are not going to agree on this issue. I would recommend to the player to leave the program and protect himself from this stupid coach. Not allowing players to wear jackets or whatever clothing to separate /ostracize them from the active players is a dumb and pernicious rule. On the one hand you agree that the player should make the final determination as to whether he should play or not. Then when he makes a determination you disagree with you then say he is not being honest with his assessment about his condition to play.

After giving her the boots did you tell her that since she is now bettered outfitted to deal with the snow than you are that she should shovel the sidewalk and driveway?

If you glue his mouth to shut him up he will then be speaking out of his arse and saying more shiiitty stuff.

That's the point! The player decides whether he is healthy enough or not to play. You are assuming that he is faking it. I am not. If the exam is subjective then it is subjective. The player makes the determination to play. How else are you going to do it from a medical decision? The player felt that he couldn't play and the fraudulent soldier coach felt otherwise. So he made a public spectacle because he wanted to embarrass the player. I don't care if Saban or Sweeney or Vince Lombardi or Belichick or Parcells or Harbaugh or Urban Meyer had a no coat rule for injured players. It is a stupid and pernicious rule made to ostracize injured players in order to pressure them to return to action. That's wrong! The coach came off looking like a fool because he is a fool.

I must be naive. I thought that was an attractive girl.

You are making the assumption that his knee isn't sore and not completely healed. This is not a made up injury. He was hurt in a game. Should the player be concerned of his future earning power at the next level? Unless he is an unmitigated moron of course he should consider it if he is placing his future in the pros in jeopardy. He and the two bit dictator coach certainly know that the player is considered a top of the draft prospect with life altering earning implications. As I stated in a prior post there is an overriding issue that goes beyond this particular incident. It deals with the issue of ostracizing injured players with rules that are deliberately created to separate injured players from the rest of the team. That purpose is to put pressure on an injured player to return to the active lineup sooner than that player might actually feel is appropriate. This is a pernicious and mean-spirit rule that is fraught with danger, especially with concussion type injuries where only the injured party knows how he actually feels. My recommendation for this player is to quit the program and get away from this fool coach who is more concerned with his interest at the expense of the player's interest. On that point I can agree with you.

Is that a picture of Kirby going out to a Mardi Gras event? Rumor is that some of those off the pathway late night New Orlean bars can get very freaky.

NYC Bill has just blown a gasket. He is working on the paperwork to have you committed for a psychiatric evaluation. If people with white jackets holding a straitjacket knock on your door you can be confident that Gotham Bill made the call. When all is said and done regardless of the position if you draft a talented player and he is a contributor you made a successful pick. A selection in the first round is only one pick. You can still add talent from the other rounds, free agency and trades. Milano was a fifth round pick who plays like a second round pick. Where you draft a player does not always reflect how he will play. Building a roster with talent is better than building a roster by addressing needs with less talented players. Now that Zay Jones is coming around the two year drafting record for this regime is solid. If this quality of selections continue we should be optimistic about the future. Of course what tips the balance is hos Josh Allen develops.

You may be very smart but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are perspicacious. Your reactionary impulse got in the way of your astuteness. However, you were not alone with your bleak reaction. After the first game I was in a state of gloom and doom with the thought of undergoing another year of watching repeated ugly exhibitions of futility. As the wins mount I have been revitalized. What has been lost in Dahlin's scintillating performance is that Jack got two more assists in this game. The points are mounting for him.

Stupid rules for small-minded autocrat. Having a rule for coats is moronic. If he had something to say to the player he could have addressed the issue in private in the locker room. As you stated the coats are for players. He is a member of the team who is hurt. How hurt? I can't say for sure and neither can you. I agree with you this issue isn't very mysterious. An assses is an assse especially when acting in public.

Dahlin is a joy to watch. Although he's already good now it seems that he gets better every game. He's already moved up to the he second pairing with Bogo. But the underpinning for this early success is the goal tending by our two goalies. In our wins against Vancouver, Tampa, Winnipeg and Minnesota it's not unreasonable to say that all these teams had the edge in play. Yet we won all these games against upper echelon teams. The difference was our goal tending.

Dahlin was paired with Bogo. He shined. The coached put Pomminstein on the Jack line and he scored the winning goal. Housely is not reluctant to make moves. And many of them worked out. Ullmark played a terrific game. And Dahlin continues to emerge. I thought for a good portion of the game the Sabres were chasing the Wild. In the third they were chasing us. This was a gritty performance after playing a tough extended game the previous night. Five games in a row. Tremendous!

I caught the last quarter of the game. It was an exciting game. What I observed is that it seems that Urban seems very stressed on the sidelines. He really doesn't look too healthy.

Whether there was s an incident or not the top end prospects are going to receive intense scrutiny. When one makes a major investment $$$$$ one does their due diligence.

So a spectator observes a player in a pregame workout and sees a player moving around. The spectator declares him to be healthy because to his naked eye from the bleacher seats he looks like he is healthy. The spectator knows nothing about his actual condition but based on his opinion the player is faking his injury. In essence that is the basis of your opinion. It makes no sense.