Q1

The NFL draft was held this past Thursday at its annual location of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. And although my draft board didn’t make it past the fourth pick, there is much to be recapped and analyzed from a Bills fans perspective on this particular draft. This was the third draft of the Gailey Nix era, and in my opinion was their most effective, however only time will validate this opinion. Here I will break down rounds 1, and explain why I think that the Bills future just got a whole lot brighter.

                Stephon Gilmore was drafted by the team with the 10^th overall pick, and I love it. Although I was hoping for Boston College LB Luke Kuechly to fall to them, he didn’t and that may prove to be a blessing in disguise over time, as I think the team got a future stud in Gilmore. First and foremost the Bills addressed the teams glaring need for depth in the defensive backfield. You can never have enough good defensive backs in the NFL, especially when you have to play the New England Patriots twice a year. The thing that is unique about Gilmore is that he is unusually taller than the average NFL defensive back, measuring in at 6 foot one. This will go a long way in the Bills efforts to slow down the two headed monster of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski in New England.  Another aspect of his game that myself and Bills fans alike can appreciate is that he’s a banger. He plays the run exceptionally well and loves to hit people, which will make him an immediate fan favorite. Some areas of his game that need improvement are his man to man coverage and his recovery speed.  He is most effective when playing a zone defense and has a knack for positioning himself in that zone, but is known for getting beat off that ball and not being able to recover, as he does not have the blazing speed that most corners have.  At the end of the day I see Gilmore as a shoe in for a spot on the opening day starting roster.  The kid will come into camp eager to earn his teammates and coaches respect, and will flourish

Q5

The NFL draft was held this past Thursday at its annual location of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. And although my draft board didn’t make it past the fourth pick, there is much to be recapped and analyzed from a Bills fans perspective on this particular draft. This was the third draft of the Gailey Nix era, and in my opinion was their most effective, however only time will validate this opinion. Here I will break down rounds 1, and explain why I think that the Bills future just got a whole lot brighter.

                Stephon Gilmore was drafted by the team with the 10^th overall pick, and I love it. Although I was hoping for Boston College LB Luke Kuechly to fall to them, he didn’t and that may prove to be a blessing in disguise over time, as I think the team got a future stud in Gilmore. First and foremost the Bills addressed the teams glaring need for depth in the defensive backfield. You can never have enough good defensive backs in the NFL, especially when you have to play the New England Patriots twice a year. The thing that is unique about Gilmore is that he is unusually taller than the average NFL defensive back, measuring in at 6 foot one. This will go a long way in the Bills efforts to slow down the two headed monster of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski in New England.  Another aspect of his game that myself and Bills fans alike can appreciate is that he’s a banger. He plays the run exceptionally well and loves to hit people, which will make him an immediate fan favorite. Some areas of his game that need improvement are his man to man coverage and his recovery speed.  He is most effective when playing a zone defense and has a knack for positioning himself in that zone, but is known for getting beat off that ball and not being able to recover, as he does not have the blazing speed that most corners have.  At the end of the day I see Gilmore as a shoe in for a spot on the opening day starting roster.  The kid will come into camp eager to earn his teammates and coaches respect, and will flourish

P3

In my opinion, there are a majority of factors that should be taken into consideration when determining the effectiveness of a teacher. I think one of the best indicators of a good teacher is her student’s participation in class. Regardless of the subject, I think that a truly effective teacher can make any subject interesting and engaging with a little enthusiasm and effort.  Coming from personal experience, I think that when teachers apply the curriculum to real life is when I get the most out of it. Otherwise it is all just a bunch of useless information that I am forced to memorize and not actually understand. Which leads me to my next point. As long as the teacher is doing their part, the rest of the work is up to each individual student. For example, you could have a great teacher who makes every effort to get you to pass your exam, but at the end of the day, it is up to you as the student to get it done. And without an effort from the student, nothing will be accomplished.  And although I do realize that this can be detrimental to teacher’s ratings if their students don’t put forth the effort, I think that this is a problem that every teacher has to deal with, regardless of who they are teaching.  No matter what, every teacher is going to get their share of kids who don’t make an effort academically; therefore teachers cannot use this as a valid argument when defending their low ratings at the end of the school year.  I do believe that the situation regarding Nicole Weingard was completely unjust, and that that is not the correct way of determining a teachers rating. The way that I think it should go is each year the average from the past 5 years in any given subject should be calculated, and then the scores should be compared to that number, rather than looking at yearly increases.

P1

                I usually watch most of my television on the weekends or in the evenings on weeknights. Although I should probably try and get outside or do something more productive, the television is always there and available at all times, which makes it hard to not use.  The majority of television that I watch is somehow sports related. Whether it is a live competition, a documentary, or the sports segment on the evening news, the majority of television that I watch is about sports. HBO is also big in the Steffan household, with shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Game of Thrones a common sight in our living room.  Although I am a bit ashamed to admit it, I am a frequent viewer of programming on the morbidly obese on channels like TLC and Discovery.  Why I enjoy these shows so much, I have no idea, but for whatever reason I just do.  There are currently 4 televisions in my home. One for the living room, one in my parent’s room, one in my sister’s room, and one in mine.  The only time I use my TV is before I go to bed at night for about twenty minutes or so.  I think that there is clearly a longer list of negatives associated with television than there are positives, simply because of what people view on it. In general, most of what we watch is senseless programming, which does us no good. And although we don’t want to admit it; most of us do fall into this category. What people view on television can also strongly influence how they choose to dress, act, and appear. And with people like Snooki, and the Kardashian sisters ruling television sets all across America, that is a true shame.  I think that people should make an honest effort not to let these sort of figures influence them outside of the half hour that they view them on television each night.

P4

For this choice blog, I am going to break down what direction I think that the Bills will go with their 10^th overall pick in this year’s draft. With picks 1-2 already solidified with Stanford quarterback going to the Colts, and RG3 to the Redskins, much is still up in the air from 3 to 10 where the bills pick. Coming into this offseason the Bills had one major hole that they needed to fill if they were looking to be a competitive team in the cutthroat division that is the AFC east. The addition of Mario Williams and Mark Anderson instantly upgrades defensive line to one of the team’s strong points. However, although many fans think that simply adding two pieces to the puzzle will completely solve it, they are sadly mistaken.  Holes in the secondary, at wide receiver, left tackle, and linebacker will need to be filled by the start of the season, most of which will be done through the draft.  Although I don’t think the Bills will get this year’s top wide receiver Justin Blackmon at 10^th overall, I think they’ll have a shot at a close second in Malcom Floyd if they want him. Personally, I would like, and expect, the Bills to look at linebacker and secondary with their tenth pick, and focus more on wide receiver in the second and third rounds, as this year’s wide receiver class has immense depth. So without any further ado,  here is my mock draft for 1-10 in this years NFL draft.

1.       Colts-  Andrew Luck QB

2.       Redskins-  Robert Griffin 3 QB

3.       Vikings- Matt Kalil OT

4.       Browns- Justin Blackmon WR

5.       Buccaneers-  Trent Richardson RB

6.       Rams- Fletcher Cox  DT

7.       Jaguars-  Morris Claiborne CB

8.       Dolphins- Ryan Tannehill QB

9.       Panthers-   Luke Kuechly ILB

10.   Bills-  Michael Floyd WR

Although I want Kuechly from Boston College, I don’t think he will fall to tenth. However if he is available, the bills should snag him. Otherwise, Malcom Floyd is their best option. I’ll take anyone but Mark Barron from Alabama. You can say whatever you want, but as a long time Bills fan, I’m just a bit leery of taking a safety this high in the draft, “cough cough, DONTE WHITNER”

P1

                I usually watch most of my television on the weekends or in the evenings on weeknights. Although I should probably try and get outside or do something more productive, the television is always there and available at all times, which makes it hard to not use.  The majority of television that I watch is somehow sports related. Whether it is a live competition, a documentary, or the sports segment on the evening news, the majority of television that I watch is about sports. HBO is also big in the Steffan household, with shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Game of Thrones a common sight in our living room.  Although I am a bit ashamed to admit it, I am a frequent viewer of programming on the morbidly obese on channels like TLC and Discovery.  Why I enjoy these shows so much, I have no idea, but for whatever reason I just do.  There are currently 4 televisions in my home. One for the living room, one in my parent’s room, one in my sister’s room, and one in mine.  The only time I use my TV is before I go to bed at night for about twenty minutes or so.  I think that there is clearly a longer list of negatives associated with television than there are positives, simply because of what people view on it. In general, most of what we watch is senseless programming, which does us no good. And although we don’t want to admit it; most of us do fall into this category. What people view on television can also strongly influence how they choose to dress, act, and appear. And with people like Snooki, and the Kardashian sisters ruling television sets all across America, that is a true shame.  I think that people should make an honest effort not to let these sort of figures influence them outside of the half hour that they view them on television each night.

N1

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/18620242/mara-suggests-kickoffs-will-go-away-heres-why-theyre-here-to-stay

In this article, the main issue being discussed is the prevention of head related injuries in professional football. I agree with the author of this article, that the only way that will significantly diminish this statistic would be to switch the game to two hand touch. The way I see it, is football is a game based around men colliding with one another, and kickoffs are certainly no exception. Eliminating an entire facet of the game in an effort to reduce a problem that is going to happen regardless, to me is insensible.  This author also said that he doesn’t think anyone will strongly pursue this idea, because of the increased number of touchbacks since just last season due to the kickoffs being moved up 5 yards. It is believed that teams will be looking to acquire and develop more big leg kickers like Sebastian Janikowski and Olindo Mare, to sort of nullify, but certainly not eliminate the injury results of the kickoff. And although kickoff return totals were at some of their lowest figures in NFL history this past season, there certainly is no denying that the kickoff is amongst the most exciting plays the game has to offer. There aren’t too many other times in the game where you are always given a chance to travel from end zone to end one on one single play. And although as a Buffalo Bills fan the bitterness of that infamous “Music City Miracle” play will always bother me, there is certainly no denying that aside from Buffalo, it was really something to behold for the rest of the league.  Also when you look at current game changing players such as Devin Hester and Josh Cribbs, who make a living off returning kicks, it would really be a shame to take the excitement that they bring to the game with their style of play away from the game completely. I think that the NFL damaged the kickoff enough by moving it up five yards, and that eliminating it all together would be a crime.