JohnC

In the McCoy case it is the judicial system pushing back the police not only for those involved (off duty cops) but for those who pushed the case in the department. It was the DA's office that put a halt to the dash of filing for an arrest warrant. There was unseemly clamoring coming from the mayor's office that has now gone silent. The union has made a lot of bombastic statements (no surprise) that have been ignored by the DA's office that is reviewing the case. In this case the facts that are known and the facts that are not known will determine what the DA's office decides to do. Belligerent outbursts and unsubstantiated claims will have little influence in this case. Or another way of putting it is that the system is working mostly because the DA's office is properly doing its job. This certainly is a high profile case because of the people involved. But the reality is in this type of brawl situation where claims and counter claims are made it is difficult to unravel the facts from conflicting statements coming from the people who witnessed the same chaotic event. Don't be so sure that the Police Department, especially the upper rank, wants this case to continue. They are very embarrassed (including a large segment of the rank and file) over the publicity this case has garnered much of it about the boorish conduct of the police involved. You are painting with a very wide brush in your depiction of good guys and bad guys. As is usually the case the truth is in the middle.

Pace is really getting up there in years. The NT, Harrison, who I don't much about may be a useful addition to fit Rex's scheme.

Rex and Rob. A brain trust that will illuminate the field. They may not out think the opposition but they will certainly out weigh the opposition.

What are the odds that Rex brings in a number of former Jets? I don't want to rehash my thoughts on Rex because whenever I think about him I want to burst. However, Mario was wrong in the manner in which he responded to what Rex wanted him to do. Rex took a talent and ended up handcuffing him, and others. The HC has made it abundantly clear that he is committed to implementing his scheme. If that is the case then there is no point in keeping Mario under any circumstances, including a major salary reduction. So just save the cap money and dedicate it to keeping your other free agents. When you have no choice you have no choice.

The view on qbs can quickly change. Based on his limited playing time before the season began many people were declaring Cousins a bust. His arm strength and durability were both questioned. But after given more playing time and with the added experience he demonstrated that he can be a good starter in this league. Will Osweiler become a legitimate starter? It's hard to say. The Broncos have to make a judgment on Osweiler and so do other teams if Osweiler decides to test the market. There are occasions when Osweiler makes some impressive throws and there are times when he seems befuddled. I am an advocate for Tyrod Taylor. But I can't confidently say that he will become a good starter in this league. He showed me that he had abilities but he also showed that he is far from being a developed qb. I strongly believe that after this season we should be able to make a reasonably good judgment on him. Sometimes the light doesn't come on until very late in a career. Rich Gannon is a good example of being a late bloomer. He was a pedestrian backup for a number of teams before he ended up with the Raiders and played at a very efficient level. Garcia is another qb who falls in the category of having a long lag time before a team can get a return on a player. Last year before he got hurt Dalton was one of the better qbs in the league. Most people considered him to be an average to a less than average starter qb. In the games I saw him last year I found him to be quite impressive. Sometimes (more rarely) the opposite dynamic occurs. RGIII was a rookie sensation. But due to injuries and a lack of developing his all around game he fell by the wayside. I would love to see him go to another team and become what he is capable of becoming. Much is made of his running ability but he is also a dynamic passer. His problem is staying healthy and being able to read defenses, a task that he has so far been dismal at. A lot of people have written Bradford off. There were a few occasions last year with the Eagles when he was in a groove that he was impressive. But the average spells far outnumbered his good spells. Maybe if he can stay healthy the switch will turn on. My point is that qbs that you think are on the brink of ascending end up descending. And sometimes the qbs that you think should be written off turn out to be very good or at least credible qbs in this league.

I have heard Whaley speak on more than one occasion that he desperately wanted to make the playoffs and use it as a stepping board for bigger things. Last year on the radio show he wasn't afraid to publicly say that he felt that the team that was about to start the season was a playoff caliber team. He had to be disappointed how the defense performed under Rex, especially when he put so much effort in upgrading the offense with the acquisition of Clay, Incongito and by luck Taylor. He also used a third round pick for another lineman in Miller. The point that I'm making is that the brain trust believes that it is close to getting over the playoff drought hump and is in a position to qualify for the playoffs, even as a wildcard team. I just don't see Whaley using either of his first two picks for a qb.

Brandon announces that the organization is here to serve our loyal fans. A new condom vending machine for those fans who want to get it on before the game and fire extinguishers strategically located for our rabid fans who want to set fire to themselves.

Your Morreale link is very informative. What I take out of the interview is that the Sabres are going to be in a good position to come away with a good prospect.

I agree with your view on us not drafting a qb in the first or second round. The pressure is on Rex and to a lesser degree on Whaley to win this season. Last year was a major disappointment for the defense. That is going to be the primary focus of the top of the draft for us. When our draft turn comes up the top two qb prospects will probably be off the board. If we took the third rated qb, assuming he was still on the board, he would still be unlikely to unseat TT. What happened last year had a profound affect to this year's approach to the offseason. If the defense had lived up to its expectations last year Whaley would have a lot more flexibility in addressing other critical needs such as RT, second receiver and safety positions with high draft picks.. He would also be in a better position to draft a qb with a high pick if he felt that there was one who appealed to him. You only have so many fingers to plug holes that you didn't expect to exist. If you also consider that our cap situation is tight (but still manageable) I highly doubt that the Bills would take a qb in the first or second round to sit behind the veteran starter.

I'm a little more positive about Cook than you are. His receivers last year were collectively mediocre. Am I sure about him? No. What intrigues me is that I saw him make some nice pro throws. There are throws that you either have the ability to make or you don't. Losman is a qb that I had high hopes for when we selected. However, he is the embodiment that having physical tools isn't a guarantee of having success in the pro ranks. You either have the vision or you don't. You can improve that critical attribute with work up to a point.

Conner Cook????

I didn't intend on making a pun but I'll take credit for it. Sometimes good accidents do happen. I'm never reluctant to take credit even when I am not worthy of it. It balances out the criticisms that I sometimes don't deserve.

One of the most fascinating things to watch this upcoming season is Taylor's development. I believe that we should know for sure this year whether he is going to be a legitimate franchise qb or not. The coaching staffed handled him smartly last year. They were cautious and conservative with him. Not only was that the right thing to do for the offense but it was the right thing to do for his development. I do have a slightly different take with you on selecting development type qbs. My view is that if you feel your qb position is inadequately staffed then be proactive and draft the best qb you can instead of waiting at a lower round to select your more long shot developmental type qb. For the most part higher drafted qbs do better than lower drafted qbs. Not always, but I would rather have favorable odds than lower odds.

There is a frightening volatility about him even evident when he was on the sidelines. The Cowboys are one of the most receptive teams for bad boys who have talent. They no longer want to have an association with him. I'm much more sympathetic towards Randy Gregory who has some serious emotional/psychological/addiction/demons issues to wrestle with. I find Hardy to be a menacing presence. I don't get the sense that he is capable of having the self-awareness and understanding that his conduct is at times aberrant. I don't want to get too carried away but I consider him to be in a small sense a sociopath. It's my opinion that any franchise willing to take a risk on him is being foolhardy.

I'm not doubting that you had a good relationship with him and that he could be a pleasant fellow. But he does have a history of abusing women. This is a fellow who doesn't seem to have any remorse or understanding that his behavior was inappropriate toward women. I would not want the Bills to add him to the roster no matter how good of a player he is. He is trouble not worth taking a risk on. I have watched Cowboy games where even on the sidelines he loses his composure to the extent that he has to be restrained. I said it in another posting that I consider him to be a potential menace to society. I wasn't trying to be funny. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article9121826.html

Although Manuel did have physical tools he never should have been picked in the first round. That was the indirect point that the scout was making when referencing Manuel's draft year and the qbs in that draft. The same point is made about Hack. He does have tools and in his freshman year he exhibited potential. But overall he isn't a first round value. I am not anti-Manuel. He has been given opportunities to play probably before he was ready to play. But the limitations attributed to him by many scouts such as his erratic accuracy and his ability to read the defenses have so far proved to be true. Would I take a chance on Hack in the first two rounds? I would say no. But I wouldn't be adverse to do so in the third round. Just my opinion.

Brandon announces that he wants the team to become the crazy Al Davis Raiders of the East. He announces the slogan for the year is "A Killer Attitude". He then introduces Greg Hardy as a new Bill. The media members don't ask him any questions because they are afraid of the snarling player who is packing a gun. When Brandon was asked if it was appropriate for a player to be openly carrying an automatic gun to an introduction he said it was legal in Texas so he assumed it was legal in NY. The trembling media members one by one discreetly leave the room.

Hardy is more than a locker room problem; he is a societal menace. He is a scary dude who will probably spend a good portion of his life living behind some barb wired topped walls. Roger Goodell would never call him in for a disciplinary meeting because he would be afraid to be in the room with this pyscho!

The below link is a WGR link with Howard Simon talking to Steve Mench about the draft. It is about a 10 minute link discussing this year's draft. In the last two minutes he was asked to compare Hackenberg to the qbs drafted in the year Manuel was drafted, including Barkley and Nassib. Mench made the point that it was an awful qb year. He felt that Hackenberg with all his question marks would have been rated at the top of that draft. The takeaway was the Manuel selection in the first round was not a smart selection. The obvious moral of the story is reaching for a need rarely works out. Draft for talent and not for positions. Teams that stick to their board usually draft better. http://media.wgr550.com/a/113517039/steve-mench-of-scouts-inc-talks-combine.htm

You are right that we don't have all the facts and might never have the full story. But that is the point in this type of case for the prosecution to consider. Each side's position can be easily challenged in certain respects. That is a major factor why the DA's office would be reluctant to take this case to court. The textbook says that the case could be prosecuted if the DA believes that the facts of the case rise to that level of beyond a reasonable doubt. But the DA also has to factor in that he as to whether he can unanimously convince a jury to side with the prosecutors side. That will be difficult to do when not only the facts are in dispute the the behavior of the police were in question. Without a doubt this is a high profile case and the emotions are running high on both sides. When the DA's staff sit in a room and discuss this case they are going ask themselves how would they respond if this case didn't involve off duty police and didn't involve a high profile pro athlete? There are in my opinion too many unanswered questions (at this point) for them to decide to pursue the case at this juncture. If the police can bring in more supporting evidence that would factor in their decision-making. Make no mistake that the issue of process is as important a consideration as are the facts. If the police make a drug arrest and the chain of custody of the evidence is contaminated then the case will be thrown out (guilt or not).

Although what actually happened in the club is muddled and may never be completely sorted out what isn't muddled is that the pummeled cops did so many things out of line with their obligations as on or off duty cops that their credibility is easily challenged. Another interesting fact that I wasn't aware of (if true) was that McCoy was not thrown out of the club. He may have regrouped with his friends who were thrown out but according to the reporter he wasn't asked to leave. Supposedly these cops were drinking prior to the event at another club. There is the DWI issues related to them (if they were driving an unmarked police vehicle/s and drinking there are compounding issues) and there is the issue of going to a hospital that (I'm not sure) may not have been in the city or far enough from the scene that the hospital staff wouldn't have reported the injuries to the police. It wouldn't be surprising that the injured cops didn't tell the hospital staff that they were police because they didn't want the incident to be reported and they wanted more time to sober up. It's reported that the police are pressuring the DA to file charges. But what is going to happen is that the DA is going to challenge the police to find out how much drinking was going on before and after the event and find out if the injured cops identified themselves to the treating medical staff as cops and what was the explanation they gave the doctors as to how they got hurt. In a case like this is the police are known by their own peers and by the people who frequent the same drinking and club establishments that they socialize in. So the manner in which they generally conduct themselves will come out. If they have a history of being loud, boisterous and over-indulging with the booze it will come out. From a legal standpoint the biggest issue for the police isn't acting like drunken fools (if that is the case). It happens. And it isn't necessarily not reporting or belatedly reporting the incident although that is a big issue. The legal issue that hangs over their head is filing a false report (if that is the case) in a criminal case, even as complainants. You not only sign the paperwork you also swear to it. If half of what the reporter reported is true then this case is not going to prosecuted. The DA is going to tell the police department clean up your own shiiit before you bring crap to this office. The Internal Affairs office in the Philly Police department is going to be very busy. If you are a cop and are carrying a firearm and you drink in excess there is no justification for that. There may be a rare undercover situation where excessive drinking may called for to maintain one's cover but carrying a weapon and drinking excessively in a social situation is unjustifiable.

You are out of touch. You think you are giving them an autograph but in reality you are signing to pay their bills. Your reputation is gaining steam that you are an easy touch. You need to bring a support team when you go out in public because it is known that you are an easy prey. The police have gotten hold of some new footage of a phone video that should give some clarity to what actually happened at the club. http://www.aol.com/article/2016/02/22/skate-maloley-chaos-venue-security-webster-hall/21316711/?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl12%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D-592015554

Brandon commented at a press conference that the franchise had made improvements in the offseason. When asked what were they he responded that the the locker room had been freshly pointed and new carpets added, and out of deference to the new coaching addition, Rex's sloppy looking brother, more desserts will be added to the training table. It was also pointed out that because a higher level of conditioning will be required that Dareus will not be allowed to eat the high caloric desserts until he passes a conditioning test.

Yes. In high school he had weed troubles. In junior college he had weed troubles. In college he had weed troubles. In the pro ranks he had weed troubles. Even when he knew he was under scrutiny he couldn't be discreet enough to maneuver around tests that were easy to maneuver around. Because of his football talents he was in an environment where there was constant monitoring and counseling. He continued to be consumed by the mellowing product. Especially with marijuana it isn't appropriate to generalize regarding the addictive nature of the product and also the utility of the drug as a pain remedy. But with Gregory it is not too difficult to come to the conclusion that he is addicted. They underlying problem that compels him to smoke may be psychological/medical/emotional. Based on his repeated history of usage in the face of repeated sanctions in the field of endeavor he has chosen I would say that he is addicted to weed.

Brandon introduced the new promotion motto for the year. It is : This year is going to be different. When asked by a media member what is going to be different about this year? Brandon responded: the year will be different. Rex was asked at the promotion event what is the best thing about coaching the Bills. He said having a rich guaranteed five year contract. He was also asked if the Bills were going to make any big additions this year. He said yes, his weighty brother. The followup question was what attribute is he going to bring to the table. Rex said 300 sloppy lbs and a gargantuan appetite to the table. Brandon also brought up the point that he is going to do everything in his means to turn it around. When asked of an example of what he was doing he pointed out that he made a formal complaint to Goodell that he doesn't want Spero Dedes and Solomon Wilcots to announce anymore of their games. When asked why he said they were jinxing us! Brandon also announced that their secondary marketing motto for the upcoming season was going to be : Trust us, we will arrive at the destination this year. When Jerry Sullivan stood up and asked what the hell does that mean, he was immediately thrown out of the gathering for asking such an impertinent question. Brandon was asked by a member of the media why the Bills' facilities smelled differently from other franchise facilities. He said it was due to the lingering long term stench of wretched mediocrity.