hondo in seattle

HERE ARE THE REAL X- FACTORS 1. Al Davis will disrupt the game plan by calling in deep passing plays in from his geriatric psych ward in California. The problem is that the Raiders locker room looks like a M.A.S.H. unit. There are no healthy receivers on the roster. None. The one or two reserves without physical ailments have mental ones. 2. Fitz and Freddy will tear the Raiders apart, teaching you to remember their correct names. 3. The Raiders are poorly coached and undisciplined. The Refs will get tennis elbow from throwing flags on cheater Raider penalties. At least one TD will be called back. And that will be the only time a Raider sees the endzone. 4. The Bills revamped front seven will stop the Raider run game and the Raiders can't pass. Campbell will suck like he did last year, with or without pressure. Dink and dunk with 4 yards per attempt won't get it done in "The Ralph."

Franks is the right hot sauce for wings. But if you want something with a real kick, get some Ghost Pepper sauce online.

Chronic & Bump, it's been good having you guys share your Raider fantasies with us. But gloating is half the fun of football banter. I hope you guys are man enough to return here Sunday afternoon so we can have a little fun at your expense. Personally, I have a bet with a friend of mine from San Leandro. If the Bills lose, I have to buy a Raider jersey and wear it to work one day. After that, he gets the jersey If (when) the Bills win, it's the reverse.

Actually, I was serious. I remember eating big wings as a young man in Buffalo. On 10 cent wing night, a bucket of 50 wings was a lot of meat. The wings I've eaten in California were never as big. Never thought about the hormones/steroids angle. You might be right. Pizzas, btw, are smaller on the West Coast too.

Good report Chronic. I'll understand tomorrow's game a little better thanks to you. Here's a quick summary of the Bills... The Bills are better than their 2010 4-12 record. They played 9 teams with 10 wins. The took three playoff teams to OT. Also, 2010 was the first year with a new OC and DC both implementing new systems. Anyway, it's 2011 now. Bills Offense QB. Fitz is better than his reputation. Has thrown a TD in something like 15 consecutive games. Smart. Reads defenses well. Usually makes good, quick decisions. Good leader. Has some zip on short passes but not particularly strong-armed. His accuracy drops as the passes get longer. A bit of a gambler and willing to make risky throws - allowing receivers to make plays. RB. Underrated Freddy Jackson has averaged 4.5 ypc over his career. He's the unsung hero of the Bills offense. Not especially fast or nifty, he finds creases and fights for every yard. Back-up CJ Spiller is fast, athletic and capable of the home-run but isn't patient, doesn't often break arm-tackles and has yet to live up to his 1st round draft status. WR/TE. The Bills no-name receivers aren't bad. Stevie Johnson had a breakout year last year with 1,000 receiving yards but also tied the NFL lead for drops. Not fast, he has a knack for getting open. You'll see the Bills use a lot of four receiver sets and anyone one of these nameless receivers needs to be accounted for. They all have some talent. Roscoe Parrish is tiny but can be dangerous in the open field with the ball. 6'7" TE Chandler had two TDs last week despite his sloth-like speed. OL. This group is a bit of a mystery. All five of these guys were on the Bills squad last year when the Bills couldn't run block at all and were only so-so at pass protection. Yet they did a credible job against KC. Center Wood, Guard Levitre and Tackle Bell are all young and hopefully stepping up their game this year. We Bills fans want to see if last week's game was a fluke or if these guys can really play. The offensive line makes most Bills fan nervous, probably especially LT Bell who did play well last week. Bills Defense Front Seven. The Bills Run D was worst in the NFL last year but this year's squad is different. The Bills sometimes run a 4-3 and other times a 3-4. DT Kyle Williams is smallish but a Pro Bowling stud. End Dareus was the 3rd player taken overall in this past draft and a beast. LB Shawn Merriman is healthy for the first time in years and hopefully back in form. KC fell behind early and didn't run much so it's too early to say the Bills run D is better. We'll find out against the Raiders. The Bills last year also had trouble pressuring the QB. It remains to be seen if this years club is any better but there were signs of hope in preseason. Secondary. We lost Safety Whitner in the offseason and our best CB, McGee, is hurt. Statistically, the Bills secondary looked good last year, but this was partly because teams preferred to get easy yards running against us. Overall, the Bills secondary is okay. No horribly weak links but no superstars either. Maybe I should mention that Safety Byrd led the NFL in Ints two years ago in limited action though only snagged one pick last year. National media types aren't sure what to make of the Bills. Some have put the Bills around #30 in their preseason power rankings. A couple (Peter King of SI and Mike Florio of PFT, for example) have said they wouldn't be surprised to see the Bills in the playoff hunt this year. Good luck, Chronic. Hope the Raiders go 15-1 after the Bills destroy them tomorrow.

Naked with Frank's Hot Sauce is the original and genuine recipe.

Thanks. Most of the West Coast is getting the Bills game. But I guess I'm watching online again.

I don't think I would ever confuse video of Thurman with video of Freddy. But there are some superficial similarities. Both were versatile - able to run, catch and block. Both lacked OJ's athletic moves and track speed. And both were very good at finding a little crease and making the best of it.

Chronic, Buffalo Wings in Oakland are really small for some reason. That's always puzzled me. Why would chickens have smaller wings in Oakland? Rumor has it that a part of the human male anatomy is smaller in Oakland too... or maybe the rumor was only about Oakland coaches & players. Not really sure. True story: I used to live & work in the East Bay and an employee of mine from Oakland was late one day. He often had lame excuses for being tardy and on this particular day he said that he had been involved in a drive by shooting. I didn't believe him until he showed me the bullet holes in his car and the broken side window. Apparently he drove thru the crossfire of an Oakland gang battle. Oakland is a lovely city! I hope the Bills win in a rout but no players get hurt from either side and that the Raiders have a good season otherwise. My best friend has been a Raiders fan since the Lamonica/Blanda/Snake days. Campbell doesn't belong in the same paragraph as those legends but I'm putting him here anyway. He'll be the reason the Bills win - Fitz will outplay him. Go Bills!

Some complimentary words from Howie Long in a video at the end of the article.

Don Banks of SI is calling the Bills maybe this year's surprise team. Feel the love: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/09/15/bills.turnaround/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Simulations are based on tons of assumptions. Those assumptions are just someone's opinions and evaluations. This is no more scientific in the end than John Clayton making a forecast based his instincts. Meaningless.

Considering the Raiders were 8-8 last year, it feels good to be considered on par with them by the oddsmakers. It also seems like a fairly even matchup to me. I'm not sure yet how much confidence I have in our O Line or our Run D. This game will be a good test for both. Can't remember the last time Sully predicted a win. Is he cautiously jumping on the Nix/Gailey bandwagon?

"Will the Bills be able to continue the success of last week's win at Kansas City? The Oakland Raiders bring their punishing running game to town Sunday. News Sports Reporters Rodney McKissic, Mark Gaughan and Jerry Sullivan take a look at the matchup." http://blogs.buffalonews.com/billboard/2011/09/week-two-video-preview-raiders-at-bills.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fbuffalonews%2Fbillboard+%28BillBoard%29

I suppose it's just my warped brain but "Fitzgibbons" reminds me of Edward Gibbons who wrote the classic "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" which in turn makes me think of "The Decline and Fall of the Bills Empire" and all the misery we suffered since the SB years. So I don't like "Fitzgibbons."

I kind of like "Fitzbeardy" amongst us. But if you want to brand the guy with something that might play to a larger audience, I think you need to go with "The Amish Rifle."

Bills 24 Raiders 17

Remember only 12 teams make the playoffs. That's about 38%. Roughly 8 of the 16 teams that started 1-0 will make the playoffs (50%) Roughly 4 of the 16 teams starting 0-1 will make the playoffs (25%). The Bills started the season with a 38% chance of making the playoffs. We've now increased it to roughly 50%. That's progress!

Welcome aboard! And avoid any Peter Pan links!

love the enthusiasm! you could play for my team!

I'm still nervous about the Raiders rushing attack. Charles averaged 5.6 yards per carry against the Bills. The KC rushing total was low because they just didn't run much against us, partly because Haley is too clever for his own good and partly because the score forced them to throw. If I see McFadden and Bush getting stuffed at/near the LOS early in the game, I will start to feel confident about the final score.

The Pats in Orchard Park with the Bills sitting at 2-0? Yeah, that would be the most exciting kickoff at the Ralph in a long time. Let's hope!

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/are-bills-that-good-and-chiefs-that-bad/ Some reasons for optimism from the New York Times

You have a point, I suppose. But Jerry just seems negative about everything. We've had some wins over the years, some good coaches and good players... It's not as if there has been NOTHING good to talk about this past decade. But Jerry's focus is almost universally on the bad, which he often exaggerates.

PTR, I agree with you. Both Peter King and Mike Florio (national writers) opined before the season that they wouldn't be surprised to see the Bills make a playoff run. They, at least, were aware of the work Nix/Gailey were getting done with our Bills. Yet our own local writers mostly predicted another year of futility, seemingly oblivious to the important changes to the team. It shameful that national writers have a better hand on the pulse of the Bills than our own local ones.