Punch

He did struggle for a bit around that time, seeming to miss kicks in important situations, but I recall him stating in the offseason that he adjusted his footwork--- I think he realized he was overstepping his plant foot?--- and then, suddenly, he was super consistent... and has been ever since.

1) I'm sure it's just because they were already signing off to the halftime show late due to the official timekeeper correctly stopping the clock with 1 second left and directing the players back onto the field. If he made it, then it would have a highlight worthy of replay. 2) Or maybe the media hates the Bills?

The photo clearly shows it is adorned with a Super Bowl XXV patch... there is no reason a white Giants jersey would have this patch as they wore their blue home jerseys during the game itself. A blue Ottis Anderson jersey, with the SB XXV patch, is also in the case. Not to mention, Simms did not play in the game and in fact did not even dress as he was still injured. Clearly, it is a Norwood jersey. Which is totally lame.

I thought we could only get better back in 2001. Little did I know...

For guys like Aaron Rodgers and such it's an aberration... For TE at this point, it's kind of a typical performance, isn't it?

That's funny, I could swear he started on Sunday against Miami...

I think it's definitely a fact that Trent is just the guy "for now", unless he really turns it around at some point this season which I doubt. He's auditioning for an extension--- this is his last year of his his rookie contract, after all. If Chan and Buddy truly felt at this point that Trent was the QB beyond this season they would have already extended him. You're dead on about the tackles in this year's draft--- Nix stated in the Buffalo News last week that they would've taken either Trent Williams or Russel Okung if they were available, but obviously they were both gone by the time the Bills picked at 9. No other tackle has shown much yet but that doesn't mean there won't be a sleeper from 2010 that turns into a stud.

I think after the past 10 years of fiendish mediocrity I am no longer able to realistically assess quality football.... or at least to what degree there is any quality present in Buffalo Bills football. Honest to god, I don't even know what I'm looking at whilst watching the Bills. Every year it seems that there is something to genuinely feel positive about that turns out to be a far reaching conspiracy at best. WTF? All I want is to know whether or not my football team is any good. How is it possible the 2010 edition appears to be vastly inferior to the 2009 version?

The Bills drafting for the better part of the past decade was absolutely awful, and this is no excuse, but just to show the kind of crap shoot the NFL draft is the Packers were allegedly upset that they missed out on Losman and picked Rodgers as a consolation prize. Our loss and their considerable gain.

The only explanation is that he had Trent on his fantasy team. Although that's pretty inexcusable in it's own right.

Roy Hobbs had a heck of an arm. I wonder if he could play QB? Heck, I'd settle for a 70 year old Robert Redford, at least he could step up in the pocket.

Urbik was cut by Pittsburgh not Miami. The Dolphins actually put a claim in to sign him but the Bills were higher on the waiver list. Not that our line doesn't suck.

They're one of the better teams in the NFL at getting off the field on 3rd down... on offense.

Although I like our crew of returners and our kickers I'm not sure our special teams are better than Miami's. After all, the returners don't really factor in as much if the blocking isn't there. The one positive note that is consistently made in regards to the 2010 Buffalo Bills are the special teams, but that's clearly just lazy reporting based on reputation. Like so many have said, let's wait until the true 2010 Bills reveal themselves before we give a lick about what the media types report as fact. Quite frankly, I think they'll be doing some Chan ball washing by mid season.

Spiller: 1,300 rush yards, 600 receiving yards, 18 total TDs (including kick returns if he does in fact return kicks) Jackson: 600 rush yards, 450 receiving yards, 4 total TDs Lynch: 450 rush yards, 150 receiving yards, 8 total TDs Probably wishful thinking, but I'm going with my gut... my beer filled gut.

Guffalo, are you aware of any other cartooning or illustration work of your father's? I'm always interested to learn more about cartoonists from the Buffalo area, and of course it's much cooler to have a Bills connection.

I follow you--- I think, somewhat in haste, my initial reading of your post sounded antithetical to my point when in fact we are in agreement. I just really don't understand the poster that wants to declare the current front office a disaster based on initially being interested in a couple of late round picks who they then decided did not fit in with the team's plans after multiple rounds of assessments and the addition of several undrafted rookies. If coaching staffs and front office personnel around the league could 100% accurately scout and assess players pre-draft then every team would have not only their QBs of the future but of the present, as well. They wouldn't even need to play the games at that point. But, it's impossible to tell how the Bills have done with the 2010 draft class in the first week of September. That's why reasonably patient fans are cautiously optimistic about the new "regime", if you will.

It was 35-31 and I remember it very clearly because I kept the Buffalo News from Monday morning. The stats were picture perfect offensively, and I was more or less obsessed with memorizing stats at age 12: Thurman had 165 yards rushing, 103 yards on 8 catches, and 2 total TDs; Andre Reed caught 11 passes for 154 yards including a 54 yarder for a TD; Lofton had 77 yards receiving; Butch Rolle had his characteristic 1 catch for 1 TD; and Jimbo was 29-39 for 381 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT (by Louis F@#$ing Oliver!). Of course, on the flip side, the Dolphins offense kind of passed and ran roughshod all over our D as they took a 14-0 lead early. Every year the Dolphins had a running back that was supposed to finally give them the backfield threat they always seemed to lack to support Marino, and this particular season it was Mark Higgs, who rushed for 146 yards and 1 TD in the game before quietly retiring to the heap of neverwas-es hyped to be the Miami version of Thurman Thomas. This was almost the prototypical Bills-Dolphins game--- the Dolphins looked good for portions of it and started celebrating early, then fell apart when it counted. I still hate the Dolphins for their attitude if nothing else all throughout that era. They carried themselves as if they were the 4 time AFC Champions rather than the bridesmaids of the AFC East. The '89 opener was awesome, of course, made all the more memorable for the fact that it was Oliver that Kelly ran over (and subsequently knocked out) on the GW TD dive. But the opener in '08 against the Seahawks turned into a kind of sour memory simply because Seattle turned out to be a straw man opponent and that season crumbled so dismally following the 5-1 start. And much the same for the '03 opener against the Pats* (although I LOVED it at the time). That single win against NE in the '00s was probably due in large part to Milloy's scouting assistance, and regardless, the Pats* dismantled us in the last game of the season long after that team proved to be another fluke. FWIW, I think the 2010 opener will be memorable for all the right reasons and I'm honestly as optimistic as I've ever been. Then again, I've always looked forward to Bills' game days regardless of the circumstances. Well, there it is! Suddenly I'm 12 years old again.

I remember the '92 game (the actual score was 41-14 not 35-7 where the Bills racked up 315 rushing yards) and somehow inserted the Phillips play there--- aside from that leg breaking tackle I honestly don't think I recall the game in '95, although I do remember the other games against the then NFC West opponents from that year. But now hearing the name Anthony Phillips it does sound familiar.

Oh, of course. The entire draft is truly a crap shoot, but in response to the poster that is blowing a gasket over the Bills' inability to draft a valuable player in the 7th round: the late rounds (particularly the last round) teams are even less likely to find someone of worth, even for the practice squad. 7th round picks are essentially akin to signing UDFAs early.

That's true of course due to the addition of 4 new franchise since that time. But the "apples to apples" comparison are late round picks, I think, not only 7th rounders. In other words, if the above list of players would have been 6th rounders in the 2010 draft doesn't that further prove the point that late round picks are a crap shoot? 7th round picks are not more likely to produce in the NFL than 6th round picks, after. Levi Brown and Kyle Calloway would've been taken in the 8th round or later in 1986-1993.

I do remember Jordan---- wasn't he the safety that intercepted Kelly (1992, a game the Bills won 35-7 or thereabouts) and then Kelly tackled him along the sideline, breaking his leg in the process?

As an historical example of how difficult it is to find a player taken in the 7th that will contribute significantly to an NFL roster: The Bills' 7th round draft picks during Bill Polian's tenure as GM, 1986-1993 1986 7 168 Bob Williams -- Penn State 7 178 Mark Pike DE Georgia Tech 7 180 Butch Rolle TE Michigan State 1987 7 171 Kerry Porter RB Washington State 1988 7 177 Tim Borcky -- Memphis 7 184 Bo Wright -- Alabama 1989 7 173 Brian Jordan DB Richmond 7 193 Chris Hale DB USC 1990 7 166 Brent Griffith G Minnesota-Duluth 7 170 Brent Collins -- Carson-Newman 7 181 Fred DeRiggi NT Syracuse 1991 7 194 Amir Rasul -- Florida A&M 1992 7 195 Kurt Schulz DB Eastern Washington 1993 7 195 Willie Harris WR Mississippi State ------------------------------------------------------------ Mark Pike and Kurt Schulz are probably the only valuable players on this list, but to be fair, there are several examples of good players picked in even later rounds than the 7th (Mark Maddox in the 9th in 1991, Marvcus Patton in the 8th and Mike Lodish in the 10th in 1990, Jeff Wright in the 8th and Carlton Bailey in the 9th in 1988, Keith McKellar in the 8th and Howard Ballard in the 11th (!!!) in 1987, etc). But by and large, players picked in the 5th round or later never contribute significantly and it seems to be a leaguewide phenomenon. Does anyone remember Willie Harris? Or what position Amir Rasul played? Even NFL.com isn't sure. FWIW, at one point prior to the 2010 draft NFL.com's Gil Brandt had graded Kyle Calloway as a potential late 1st round pick, which is pretty crazy. For whatever reason he dropped off big time dating back to before Bulaga took over for him at LT in college, but Calloway (and Levi Brown for that matter) pretty much define the type of player to take in the 7th round.

Rutles reference?

Not that I really think Edwards is currently in any position to rated higher, exactly, but Clayton's grading system has the appearance of thoughtful analysis and intelligent consideration but it's clearly just a load of cobbled together nonsense. Mark Sanchez has a 55% chance of being elite (according to Clayton's carefully delineated standards for elite QBs)? This assessment must have come from the Sid Gillman Laboratory at the Fermi Institute. But yeah, Edwards needs to prove himself first before he gets any deserved accolades.