Utah John

First Shell, now Kirksey. Who knows what's behind this. Could be both those guys were just tired of the physical punishment and the challenges of staying in shape. Could be they didn't want to back up someone, they wanted to play. Maybe it was their wives, who were tired of moving and were not looking forward to seeing just how interesting a Buffalo winter might be. I don't blame Beane for this unless he had inside info that we don't, that whispered that either or both were likely to retire. There does seem to be a dearth of OTs and MLBs for whatever reason.

Not one of those QBs or any other QBs played defense. I think we put too much emphasis on a QB's personal WL record. The Chargers have allowed 63 points in two games, the worst mark in the AFC. But they've scored 58, and only Miami with 60 has scored more (in the AFC). So now they're 0-2 and I think that indicates the problems are more with coaching and the defense than with the offense. You know, the side Herbert plays on. All that said, I'm not convinced at all that he's at the same level as Mahomes or Allen. He plays in the LA market so he'll have lots of people supporting him -- until maybe the day comes when he's got a lot of people wanting him gone. He's more of a game manager with a great arm, than a determined leader who finds ways to win.

I remember the Lee Jeans commercial where the waist button of a guy's jeans goes shooting off, ricocheting around the room. Back in 1992, the obesity epidemic that's afflicting America now hadn't kicked in. I think Lee Jeans was just ahead of its time.

I just wonder what your wife plans to do with that recording. Play it at parties? Maybe she's thinking ahead and knows she'll want to be able to guilt your kid about something in 13 years.

Trubisky started out very well but regressed, so this early comparison doesn't due Fields justice. But geez Fields looks bad, a lot. I was thinking Jim McMahon (85 Bears) must have had at least 30. Nope. He had 15! And 2392 yards with a QB rating of 82.6. They were a great team, maybe the best ever, but it wasn't from great QB play. Of course that was 38 years ago and the game has changed, so passing stats are hard to compare. But only 15 TDs. Wow.

I sure hope you're wrong. He was never even close to being the best QB during his playing years.

Edmunds and Frazier went together. Frazier built a D that counted on tall and long and fast Edmunds eating up space in the middle, and statistically it worked. It just didn't work in the playoffs. I've always suspected the reason Frazier left was that he knew the Bills wouldn't be able to keep Edmunds, which meant all his plans would go out the window, and he didn't want to start over. Edmunds is a rather unique player. He's good at things other players can't do, but he's pretty bad at things a lot of other players do well. On a strong Bills D, his strengths were more important than his weaknesses. On a lousy Bears D, with no one to compensate for his shortcomings, the honeymoon will be over soon, and the divorce lawyers will be lining up in the hallway.

1. Close your drapes. 2. Or clean it up. Global warming isn't going to make it too warm for snow, or make winters not cold anymore. But what climate change is going to do, is make a lot of places not have enough fresh water. And THAT is going to push a lot of people to the vicinity of the Great Lakes.

I'd say Spencer Brown had a better game against Maxx Crosby than Jones did against Watt. But then again Watt >> Crosby.

Well, who would want to take the chance that Jim Kelly would stand up and tell them to behave? Of course that's a great section to sit in.

Don't look now, but a football game has broken out where the clown show had been going on. I finished typing that and then Levi Wallace let an INT go through his hands, and Watson grabs a facemask. Unreal.

It looks like Pickens is the only good player Pittsburgh has on offense. The Browns should double him and keep rushing the passer.

I didn't see the play, but you're correct about moving backwards and not getting thej clock stopped. But that rule is quite often not enforced.

Just like the coach drew it up...

What's the over/under on lousy plays?

Certain games stick in your memory. This one will endure.

Thanks for your discretion.

I agree completely. Both Mahomes and Allen have rocket arms for long throws downfield, but what makes them really dangerous like no others is their ability to create plays.

Pressure is great, but sacks are better. Instead of second and 10, it's second and 17. And usually that means a punt on fourth down. This is exactly why the Bills went out and got Von Miller -- as a finisher. I just hope Miller is still Miller after his injury and recuperation.

The pass rush has made opposing QBs uncomfortable but seldom gets them on the ground. Zero sacks yesterday. Still, I think success is coming. Milano is a GREAT player and his interception was amazing. But on the NFL's website, it doesn't show up on the must-see list of plays -- even though a lot of routine Miami TDs are included. Same lack of attention from Sports Center. I think the powers that be are turning their PR machine away from the Bills, and it's up to the Bills to force the attention back.

Most of us can remember many years when the Bills would lose a game like the Jets game, win nicely the next time, and then stumble along to another 9-7 record. The past few years, the Bills might lose a game, but then they'll reel off 6 or 8 straight wins. Overcoming a loss is due to the strong roster and to the players and coaches taking honest looks at what went wrong and then fixing things. We haven't been on a rollercoaster for years. The schedule is particularly tough this year so we might not win 13 games again, but I'm very encouraged by what we saw yesterday. The Bills imposed their will on a Raiders team that came in thinking they were pretty darn good because they were 1-0 (beating the lousy Broncos by a point). Most games won't be as easy but the Bills regularly win tough games.

We should be grateful that Benford has turned out so great, not concerned that Elam hasn't. Elam is still a great athlete and if he can learn how to play zone defense, he'll be a valuable member of the Bills.

The Patriots also stayed in a shell D for a long time in yesterday's game against the Dolphins. And Tua carved them up with a long series of short passes to wide open receivers. And yet at the end the Pats were almost in a position to win, with only an interception on a great play by a Miami DB taking away a scoring opportunity. That shell D is what a lot of teams are going to use when faced with a talented offense like Buffalo's or Miami's. It's the old bend but don't break philosophy -- let the other guys move down the field, then stop them in the red zone. Actually I hardly glanced at the boards last week. The anger and negativity were repulsive.

I don't think Cook ever had the level of criticism that Allen faced. He gradually got better last year as the year went along, and no one was calling him a bust or saying he couldn't play. He was Singletary's backup and that was the plan. Now he's the Man.

The most outrageous thing I heard criticizing the Bills came from someone who showed up on Sports Center -- not the usual bald guy host, but a visiting bald guy expert. He went on and on about how Josh Allen is still reckless -- with a couple of his trademark bullet passes into the end zone for TDs as examples. And he said the Bills were not good at running the ball, so Allen has to do it. I guess if you're an expert appearing on Sports Center you can spout all these widespread myths and get paid for doing it. Well, we can see better. What Allen can do is things that most QBs can't do, so when he does it it's not being reckless, it's being effective. And as far as not being able to run the ball, I think the bald guy expert didn't see what Cook cooked up, as well as how Murray and Harris gashed the Raiders up the middle. Cook's speed and ability to stretch the field sideways is exactly what the Bills have lacked and needed to open up the middle of the field for Diggs and Kincaid. If the O line can hold up and maybe even continue to improve, the offense will be deadly.