Apologies for the silence around these parts, folks. A few non-blog related things (a/k/a "life") have prevented me from dispersing my usual inane and illogical ramblings the last few days. The beautiful thing about my absence, however, has been how so many members of our virtual community have picked up the slack by posting and/or commenting on any number of awesome FanPosts. Don't ever be shy about waxing philosophical via the FanPosts; that's what they're there for. Fact is, I'd rather read what you guys have to say. I know what I think, and it's generally fairly boring. So thanks for taking it upon yourselves to provide original content and discussion the last few days; that's what makes BRB such a great place to hang out.

Lest I shirk any more of my wholly voluntary duties, thus allowing MDC to give birth to anymore "(Fill In The Number) Days Between Posts? What Are We, BRB?" tags over at DGDB&D, let's have some rapid thoughts on a few things that have happened and/or been percolating in my cranium:

I am not crushed by the departure as the Bills' defensive line has not over-achieved by any means, but what bugs me a little is this: if they are willing to let him go, why not get rid of him yourself earlier and maybe take a shot at Marinelli. Seems typical of Dick Jauron - reactive instead of proactive.

I've also e-mailed Brian, the big cheese over there, for his thoughts; as soon as I hear back, I'll pass his take on. My initial reaction is that I'm glad to see that Kubes and/or Frank Bush went with experience on the hire, but Kollar doesn't exactly get me fired up. Priority one for Coach Kollar? Amobi Okoye. Priority two? Amobi Okoye.

2. Even though Chris and TransientTexan beat me to the punch on Julius Peppers, I feel the need to briefly address the possibility of him becoming a Texan. As tempting as it is to imagine a freakish DE combo of Peppers and Super Mario, I think it's untenable. First and foremost, Carolina isn't going to give him away; whether he wants to be there or not, you have to believe that Peppers is getting franchised if a deal can't be worked out. And if we know anything about Smithiak, it's that they put a premium on draft picks. The days of Phillip Buchanon riding into town are over. Therefore, I can't see your Houston Texans giving up the assets it'd take to acquire Julius Peppers.

Secondly, Peppers is going to want Jared Allen money. Are you good with giving Peppers more than $30,000,000.00 in guaranteed money? Knowing that you need to pay Dunta Robinson, DeMeco Ryans, Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter, and/or Steve Slaton within the next year or so? I'm not. And that's not even addressing what should be a surefire maneuver in short order: Giving Super Mario the Andre Johnson treatment. If the Texans are going to find a bookend for their defensive line, it's coming via the draft.

3. Now that we know the names of all the underclassmen who are eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft, who's your guy at No. 15? If an opportunity to trade down like last April presents itself, it's a no-brainer; you do it if you're Smithiak. What if that doesn't materialize? Who do you like? It's becoming increasingly possible that there may not be a DE worth that selection by the time the Texans go on the clock; Orakpo, Brown, and the like could be long gone. So do you go DT? CB? FS? Best defensive player available? Best player available, even if it's offense? I'm guessing it'd be best defensive player available, regardless of position. Picking up another stud linebacker would be far from the worst thing the Texans could do.