dbringer

I can not believe I fell for your "Alt-F4" thing. But I did. That was embarrasing.

Chuck Knox

I actually had the Cardinals winning outright and the over. Doesn't it figure, though, that they got such a huge lead that they sat on the ball in the 2nd half, and I just missed getting the over. Of course, this was for entertainment purposes only. I've picked the Cardinals to win it all this year. They remind me of the 1st Super Bowl Bills team, but the two big differences to me are their Defense seems to be playing well at the right time, and of course I think the coaching is better on the Cardinals (Marv/Ted should have adjusted sooner to the two down linemen scheme the Giants had)

That had to be the most annoying part of all to me - a key drive early in the game, with the down and distance properly stated on the TV screen, but the announcers couldn't get it right. There should have been a producer yelling into his ear that he's wrong. When it was 3rd and goal at the 1, he said it was 4th and goal, along with the usual "this is a huge play" hype before the snap. I was thinking that maybe the guy was relying on the sideline down and distance marker to tell him what down it is, but how can someone who's getting paid to watch the game not even keep track of that? Oh wait - Dick Jauron, clock management, etc. Never mind...

I remember that game - at least I think it's the same one I remember. I went to a Raiders game in the early 80's, toward the end of Joe Ferguson's tenure. He was knocked out with a concussion and Matt Kofler came in and led a great comeback to send it in overtime. The Raiders won in OT. To add salt to the wound, our car was towed, so it took me forever to get home.

Was that some sort of a Freudian slip? "Descent" is a very appropriate word to describe thie 2008 Bills under Dick Jauron's watchful eyes (he was watching, wasn't he?)

It's hard to believe Bobby April will be satisfied with the status quo. I'd love to see him act as some sort of a bench coach - the type of guy who would whisper to Dick during the game that he might want to consider running on this play (or passing on that play). Even watching him coach during training camp - I've always been impressed with his command of an audience.

I have always been a big fan of Emerson. I thought he was at his best when he teamed up with Lake & Palmer.

I thought you said "I give up"?

Yeah, a lot of people with short memories around here don't realize that Buffalo had trouble selling out a lot of playoff games. I remember one game, I think it was an Oakland playoff game (no, not the 51-3 blowout), where it was something like zero degrees, and it only sold out after the NFL extended the deadline. Then, the day of the game it was a real mess because most of the tickets were sold very late, so they had to be picked up at will call. It caused a huge mess, and a lot of people missed the beginning of the game. We also struggled selling out a playoff game against Joe freaking Montana! I remember that game for the "Deal With It" sign in the end zone. That created a national catch phrase, and Tonya Harding even used it. Great - now I'm comparing Bills playoff games to Tonya Harding.

To get over another mind-numbing loss last night, I read some more of "Boys Will Be Boys". I'm at the part of the book where the Cowboys won the first Super Bowl over the Bills, and the Bills just beat them in week 2 of the following season (when Emmitt Smith was holding out). I was dreading the time when I would get to this point in the book, but I found that it brought me back to the glory days when the Bills were actually a decent team. I remember that win over Dallas in week 2 - those were the types of wins I don't see Dick Jaur-yawn ever being able to inspire. Oh well...

Here's my prediction of what will happen: the Bills will somehow eek out a win against the Dolphins to go 7-6. That will keep them showing up in any ESPN playoff scenarios as one of the teams "in the hunt". I wouldn't even be surprised if they win the next week and go 8-6. Everyone will get all excited, just like before the Cleveland game last year. What will happen next is what always happens: they'll lose the last two games of the year and they will finish 8-8. Sometime during the playoffs, it will be quietly announced that Dick Jauron has signed a contract extension, and management will cite Dick's improvement in the overall record. Improvement from 7-9 to 8-8 - yep that's what I predict.

Yes, Dick Jauron is one of the most unemotional coaches I've ever seen on the sidelines. He makes Chuck Noll look like the football equivalent of Jim Valvano. However, I think the way he wears his headset doesn't help either. Do you ever notice that his mouthpiece is set up high, so it covers the spot between his mouth and nose? With it set up that high, it's difficult to see any facial expressions. Even watching Tony Dungy on Sunday night, who also is known as stoic, you could see when he was getting excited at the end of the game. Personally, I like it when Wade Phillips didn't wear a headset - at least he was being honest with us.

The Move

In general, I don't mind Schopp. Yes, he's arrogant, pompous and all of that stuff. But we know that going in. This year, though, it seems like he has decided that his theme will be that the Bills are really good, once and for all. So no matter what happens during the week, it will always be framed with "they are really good". When they win, we can't criticize any particular play or player, because they just won the game, and after all they are really good. When they lose, the answer seems to be "these things happen to all of the teams". So I wince whenever someone tried to point out a flaw on the Bills. I do like the fact that Jerry Sullivan is positive this year on the team. That's refreshing. As for Bulldog - I don't think I have ever heard him offer any insight. He just repeats what his partner had just said. Nice work if you can get it.

That guy from Bare Naked Ladies - either that or a young Jerry Markbreit