JohnC

Trust me, my thought process is dramatically different from yours. With respect to the OJ verdict: How is that relevant to the McCoy situation? My position on McCoy's innocence or guilt is at this time I simply I don't know. I'm willing to wait for more evidence in this case before making a judgment. If you want to make assumptions and a quick judgment that is your business.

You think what you want to think. I'll wait for more of the facts to come in. Someone making accusations doesn't automatically make those accusations factual. Again, I'll wait for more facts to come in before making a conclusive judgment.

You have an odd and perverse notion of fairness and justice. To say that he should be assumed guilty because of an accusation is ludicrous. I don't know if he is guilty or not. There is nothing wrong with not knowing at this stage of the investigation. With respect to your question on whether I believe OJ killed two people? I would say yes. However, I can base my judgment on the overwhelming evidence presented in that case. That doesn't come close to this McCoy situation.

As you noted hiring an attorney in a legal matter whether you are innocent or guilty of anything is the smart thing to do. People are naive if they believe that the police or criminal justice authorities deal with people the same when they are represented or not by counsel. That is not the case. Sometimes people believe that they don't need an attorney and act on their own behalf. Then they realize that they have unwittingly placed themselves in jeopardy. They then belatedly get an attorney. When you act belatedly you may have placed yourself in jeopardy and made your situation more complicated.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=captain+and+tinel+love+will+keep+us+together&form=EDGHPT&qs=PF&cvid=8a022b50c6fd4d5aa02e0b433acd6d6d&cc=US&setlang=en-US&PC=HCTS

He needs to meet with his client and get as much information from him and find out as much about the case as he can before taking action. His attorney is one of the best criminal attorneys in the country. One of the reasons why he is good is that he thinks before talking. In this very serious matter that has life altering implications for his client substance is more important than bombast. This highly regarded attorney has been involved in many high profile and high stake cases. He gets paid the big bucks because he knows what he is doing. He needs to be allowed to do his job as he sees fit.

Good crisis management 101 advice for him is to not make any public statements. He has one of the best criminal attorneys in the region, if not the country, working on his behalf. The basic advice he has for his client is to not say anything and place himself in greater legal jeopardy.

I understand the sentiment you are conveying about being discriminating about whom you associate with. But on a football team, or even in the business/work world, you as an individual are going to be in the midst of a wide array of people with different personalities and personal ethics. I agree with McDermott's attempt at considering character and personality traits when selecting players. But in the real world you are not going to insulate yourself from all the characters who deviate from the responsible norm. You just do your best to build up a critical mass of people who create a culture/environment where responsible behavior prevails with the recognition that you will still have to contend with the foibles of humans, sometime spilling over into very bad situations. I haven't specifically commented on the McCoy situation in Atlanta. I just don't have enough information to make a fair judgment. But what I can say is that McCoy is the type of person who when drawn into a problematic situation is not the type of sober thinking person who can defuse the situation with mature thinking and behavior. There is a volatility about him that only inflames a challenging situation. Sometimes traits that make you a special player on the football field can get you into serious trouble when you are functioning in the civilian world. Without jumping to a conclusion in this situation that doesn't mean that I am not troubled and suspicious about it.

You are an instigator and provocateur!

I respectfully disagree that many people believed that the Bills were not going to move up in the draft and dedicate this season to rebuild with the added picks. (Maybe a few people did but you are always going to have contrary voices.) The Bills strategy of aggressively moving up the board to select one of the top three or four qbs was widely known. The judgment that it was going to take moving up from our lower first round picks was the prevailing view in the league and by the fans. The Bills gave up Cordy Glenn for virtually nothing other than moving up the board to the twelve or thirteen spot. That set up the stage to move up again. This was all done in the open. As I have stated in prior posts the Bills for more than a year were very transparent about what their strategy was to get a qb. The emphasis was on the draft to get one of the top tier prospects. When all was said and done this organization was masterful in accomplishing their mission without mortgaging the future. The Bills ended up with nearly a full complement of picks this year and still have all their picks for next year. It's also apparent that although Peterman and McCarron will have a fair opportunity to compete for the starting job this year (or part of this year) Allen is the qb in which this franchise is invested in as their franchise qb. The timetable for him is predicated on what he can handle and what is best for him from a developmental standpoint.

Cousins was going for the best situation for him and also the big money. Buffalo would have been willing to offer him the big money but didn't necessarily present the best situation for him. Cousins joined a team that is already a serious SB contender. And being with a team that offers him the most favorable immediate opportunity for success it also puts him in a good situation when his next contract comes up. Cousins and his agent devised a strategy to put him on the market. After scanning the market they did their due diligence and made the best decision for him from a football and business standpoint. How can you criticize their judgment which was done within the boundaries of the rules which usually favored the teams over the players? Cousins had a well thought out plan which essentially allowed him to bet on himself. It succeeded and allowed him to hit the jackpot. All done within the rules of the business. As the Cousins situation played out with Buffalo missing out on his services it worked out just fine for Buffalo. The Bills adjusted by drafting a highly touted prospect who will be dramatically cheaper for a number of years. With the added cap space the organization can use its resources to build a fuller roster. When option A doesn't materialize then you go to option B. You don't commiserate with your plight-----you move on and make the best of your situation.

McDermott is very explicit in the type of player/person that he wants on his roster. There is no way that he would have used a lower first round pick on an immature player/person like Foster. That is not to say that he wouldn't have used a lower pick on him but it is unlikely that he would have used a first round pick on him. I'm not categorizing Foster as a bad person. That's not how he has been described by most posters on this topic, although that is how you are describing it. But if you look at McDermott's drafts, especially the higher rounds, the type of people he has drafted in his first two years don't fall in the immature category who require tight supervision. Without a doubt Zay Jones has been a disappointment both on and off the field. But from what was known about him entering the draft he didn't have any indications of trouble where with Foster his history was more problematic.

Cousins wasn't disrespected. He got whatever he wanted. In hindsight, the franchise made a mistake in low balling him in contract negotiations when they could have secured his services. Cousins and his agent leveraged that mistake of not locking him up when it had the opportunity to do so. Playing hardball for a few million $$$$ ended up costing the organization and their ability to retain him. So Cousins and his agent devised a strategy that forced the organization to franchise him in order to keep him off the market. They were forced to do it two consecutive times. So Cousins ended up with premium franchise money and still had the ability to seek the market in the not too distant future. Cousins may be a saintly person but from a business standpoint he was a cold blooded killer. He was going to leverage his contract status to the max without considering any hometown discount. For him that shipped had sailed. In the end he played the system like a maestro. His contract in Minnesota is guaranteed and the length is short enough where he will have an another opportunity to hit the free agent market again when he is still in his prime. When all is said and done he legally worked the system to his maximum advantage. The issue of respect or not was irrelevant in this case. It was all about business and maximizing the situation to your benefit.

When Cousins was leaving Michigan State to begin his pro career he personally wrote a thank you note to all of the athletic staff. Most of the recipients were the support staff that included the secretaries and grunts in the department. He's very religious and doesn't just talk about it but lives it. He can come off a bit sanctimonious but I'll always give the benefit of the doubt to those who practice what they preach. I always believed that Buddy Nix was going to draft either Cousins or Wilson in that draft year but he waited too long. My inclination was that the country GM was eyeing Cousins and was going to select him with his next round pick. Shanahan surprised Buddy by taking Cousins in the fourth round after he already drafted RG III in a blockbuster deal in the first round. Shanahan never wanted to give up assets to draft RG III. It was the owner who ordered the selection. It was no secret in Washington that Shanahan favored Cousins over Griffin. That certainly was a factor why Griffin was so reluctant to let Cousins come in to replace him even when he was hurt. Shanahan's son coached the qbs and was involved with the offense. He loved Cousins and was openly contemptuous of RG III. Another reason why Griffin was not trustful of the coaching staff. I strongly believe that if Cousins would have been drafted by Buffalo it would have dramatically altered the direction of this franchise. Not so much because Cousins is great but because it would have solidified the qb position and given us the opportunity to build around a legitimate franchise qb. I also believe that with Cousins Marrone would have stayed and Rex would not have had an opportunity to eviscerate the team. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/17/sports/ncaafootball/michigan-states-cousins-finds-right-delivery-on-and-off-field.html

This is just one link addressing his obsessive behavior when preparing. As a player and person he is all in. https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/29/kirk-cousins-washington-redskins-quarterback

I live in the DC/Md area. Based on the never ending coverage of the Cousins saga relating to his future destination it was very obvious that Cousins had little interest in going to Buffalo. That is not to say that Buffalo didn't have a serious interest in him. The reality was that the free agent qb had nearly zilch interest in Buffalo. And the Bills very early on recognized that also. . I agree with you that early on in their tenure both Beane and McDermott came to the conclusion that Taylor was not the answer at qb. Whaley came to that decision the previous year but at the time he lost his authority to McDermott who wasn't ready to make a final determination on the qb issue at the time. The only issue for them was how best to parlay their asset. Getting a third round pick from Cleveland for a qb that they didn't want worked out unexpectedly well for us while also addressing a short term need for Cleveland. As you seem to allude to McBeane made a decision to accumulate draft picks and use those added assets to move up in the draft to get their future franchise qb. That's exactly what they did. This regime mapped out a strategy on addressing the qb issue. When all was said and done they terrifically executed their plan. On this issue they were tactically and strategically deft. Kudos to them.

You bring up a terrific point about the importance of properly constructing a team. It's simply not just about collecting talent (although there was a dearth of it) but more importantly adding talent that meshes together. So far the Sabres have not been able to construct a line where Jack's line mates can keep up and mesh with him. It seems that Botterill has brought in some speed skaters who can better keep pace with him. It is evident that Botterill was determined to reshape the roster and alter the chemistry. Last year, he was in an assessment mode. This year he was in the action mode of transforming a sluggish roster into a more energetic and passionate roster.

You don't adapt to inadequate players. You replace them.

In current time compared to the not too distant past the relationship between sex and drinking has changed. Where there used to be more leeway between drinking and sex that has changed where even when both parties are drinking and there is a belief that there is an assumption of consent (usually by the man) that is either no longer the case or less the case. The ground rules have changed to the point where both parties need to be more explicit about where each party is going and what the limits are for the participants. The rules of the game can be murky. And the consequences can be disastrous if too much is assumed prior to the engagement.

There is another aspect to the drafting of Goodwin that hasn't been mentioned. In college he was a two sport participant, track and football. In college during the spring he was involved with the track team while the football players were practicing in the spring session and totally consumed with training for football. So it is not surprising from a football standpoint he was behind where he could have been if he only concentrated on football. So it shouldn't be surprising that his development as a receiver in the pros was lagging because of that lack of full commitment in college. I understand why Goodwin was let go. I have no problem with that decision. On the other hand I'm happy that he is doing well and turning out to be a good player. What happened here with Goodwin happens all the time in this league. Players struggle in one setting and thrive in other settings. Players don't always get a full opportunity in one setting but then move on and get a better opportunity to exhibit their talents. Poyer and Hyde certainly worked out well for us after they left their respective teams. As a Bills fan the frustration with the Goodwin scenario is that the team currently has a need for a speed receiver. This cycle of filling a hole and then creating a hole can be exasperating. But the reality is that the churning of talent is an inescapable part of the landscape. You have no alternative other than to just have to deal with it as best you can.

Goodwin was very open prior to the draft about his desire to participate in the Olympics. There was no secret about his love of track. It wasn't surprising that the pre-draft consideration about was whether he was mostly a track athlete who played football or a football player who also participated in track. From what I remember the consensus was that he was more of a track athlete whose elite speed talent could be used as a specialty on the football field. I do agree with you that in order to make himself more attractive as a draft prospect he misrepresented his desire to play football at the expense of a track career. That Olympic dream was a flame that was still burning very hot when he was drafted. I won't go so far as to say that he lied but I am comfortable in saying that he wasn't candid about what he wanted to do relative to his track interests. I do agree with you when he first entered the pros that his training that focused on track hindered his development on the football field. As you noted the training for each sport is very different and to an extent counterproductive. Without question his lack of durability was attributable to not fully dedicating himself to train for football.

What makes less sense is his decision to be involved with a crazy woman. That is another example of his less than judicious decision-making. He also has the distinction of being the only person sent home from the combine because he got in a dispute with a hospital staff member. And he is going to be sidelined the first two games of the season for an accumulation of questionable behavior. No question there are people who have biases against Alabama and the south. Yet you fail to realize that very often biases go in a number of directions, both north and south. And what you fail to acknowledge is that even though a person is biased that doesn't mean that every position taken is wrong. Biased or not taking the position that Foster is immature is far from being a radical thought when applied to this individual who is constantly embroiled in a turmoil of his own making.

For some people the Civil War never ended. The trench war stage may be over with but not the perpetual guerrilla war.

Alabama has made tremendous strides in upgrading the university and making it a signature state school with some national and world recognized programs in the medical and science field. The recognition that they are getting in the academic world is well deserved. I have read where some students who have garnered scholarships from Harvard and other Ivy League schools have declined offers and instead decided to pursue their studies at Bama. No question that the University academic profile is on the rise, and deservedly so. However, too often when a Bama player is criticized the reflexive response from some Crimson Tide fans is that it is an assault on the integrity of the school and the south. That isn't the case for me and others who are discussing the Foster issue. There is simply too much defensiveness and tribalism when an Alabama player is under scrutiny. Or another way of looking at it is that by stereotyping the critics as biased toward the school and region it is a way of skirting the issue that is under discussion.

If you widen your horizons and expand your definition of beauty you will be amazed. Sometimes those women that you find to be unattractive and unappealing can turn out to be exotic and result in your loins being ablaze. Don't you find her manlynose to be sexy? I do! How can you not be turned on by her masculine feminism?