R. Rich

T minus..... 4 days and counting!!!! Gettin' psyched!! Last work day for me, so @ 5:30pm, vacation begins! Psycho Ward 86 and I will be on our way to WNY by this time tomorrow. YES!!!!!

Marshall?

I wish I could.

Yes, it is finally here: football season!!! Gotta love this time of year! And, man, what a start to the season! I was just in awe of what the Bills were able to do. I watched the game @ home w/ a good friend and fellow Bills fan who (stupidly) moved to Baltihell and knew I had the Ticket, so we made our own Bills Central. We were both thinking: is this a dream? If so, I hope it continues for another few months. Well, let's get into it, shall we? Here we go... I'll start by sayin' that Ryan Fitzpatrick had a very solid outing in his first opener as the Bills' starter. Sure, he had a few miscues (poor throw on quick slant to Stevie Johnson @ the 6:54 mark of the second quarter, threw to a heavily covered Donald Jones @ the 5:47 mark of the second quarter when Brandon Flowers had good coverage down the sideline and they had safety help over top), but those plays were far outweighed by all the good things he did. Here's a few: 1. His 35 yard completion to David Nelson @ the 1:50 mark of the first quarter was sweet! 2. His 27 yard TD to Johnson @ the 1:02 mark of the first quarter was also nice; put it high where Stevie could grab it but to the outside shoulder where the DB had no play on it w/out interfering based on Johnson's body positioning. 3. His 13 yard quick strike to Johnson @ the 0:57 mark of the second quarter to beat the blitz was very nice as well. 4. His 17 yard toss to David Nelson on the first play of the third quarter was very good. Right over the shoulder, and the receiver caught it in stride. 5. One of my favorite throws of the day: his 4 yard bullet to Jones for the TD @ the 0:19 mark of the third quarter. He put great zip on it, as he had to for that kind of quick route in the end zone. It was a hint (JUST a hint!) of Favre, Elway kinda touch. What a game for Fred Jackson! He had some truly insipring runs in that game. Looks like someone was makin' a statement to management 'bout his true worth to the team!! He does owe his offensive line major props (we will address this later), but he had plenty of times where his effort was the difference in the play, too. He had a beauty of a cutback run on the first drive (14:16 mark of the first quarter) and exploded through a nice hole made by a great block by guard Kraig Urbik (10:28 mark of the first quarter). The second half was his time to shine, as he had a great 14 yard run early in the third quarter (14:30 mark) and had perhaps his second best run of the day in my (meaningless) opinion @ the 10:11 mark of the third quarter on a play that featured a series of excellent blocks (more later). Why the second best, you say? Well, I say that 'cause I believe his best run was late in the second quarter, @ the 0:48 mark. W/ the Bills needin' one yard, Jackson got hit two yards deep in the backfield by Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson, but he recovered, shook off another tackle attempt, and then carried Flowers on his back in order to get the yard needed for the first down. It reminded me of the effort Marshawn Lynch made to get a couple yards in the home opener vs Denver a few years ago. It was sweet to watch! In addition to Jackson's efforts, there were some good plays by rookie Jonny White (nice run for 13 yards @ the 9:30 mark of the fourth quarter) and FB Corey McIntire (forced the fumble on the opening kickoff, had a beautiful chip block on Chiefs LB Tamba Hali on Fitzpatrick's TD pass to Johnson @ the 1:02 mark of the first quarter). The receivers made some stellar plays in this one, too. Johnson's leaping TD catch, Nelson's previously mentioned 35 yard completion, and Jones' 4 yard TD catch all were nice plays by this young and talented unit, but by far the biggest surprise and best showing came from TE Scott Chandler! What a game! A Bills TE w/ not only catches, but a 13 yard per catch average AND a pair of TDs??? Wow!! His catch @ the 11:46 mark of the second quarter showed he has soft hands and good body control. He also showed his prowess as a blocker, making some solid blocks highlighted by a lead block on S Jon McGraw on Jackson's 24 yard run in the third quarter (10:11 mark). I hope this was just the beginning of Chandler's contributions to the offense. Now on to our unsung heroes of the day: the offensive line. A much beleaguered line, for sure. These guys have been bagged on by many (myself included) and have seen little love on TBD. Well, they get plenty of love for their effort in this one. Overall, this was a very good performance by the line. It wasn't perfect, but we'll take it. I will point out that I wasn't overly thrilled by the game RT Erik Pears had. He wasn't awful, but he had some gaffes. For example, he did get driven back 'bout 4 yards by Chiefs DE Tyson Jackson @ the 10:28 mark of the first quarter (***BUT*** Jackson was able to get yards due to a great block by Urbik) and he had a play in the second quarter (11:01 mark) where he actually whiffed on not one, not two, but THREE blocks! Here's how it went down: First, he missed a double team block w/ Urbik on DE Allen Bailey, then he went after Johnson and totally missed 'em, and finally, he went for a crackback block on S Sabby Piscatelli, missed 'em, and allowed Piscatelli to make the tackle. Seriously. Of course, he also gave up the sack to Hali @ the 12:20 mark of the third quarter. Now, that said, Pears wasn't w/out his successes, too. On the very next play after the triple whiff (10:20 mark of second quarter), he made a nice kickout block of LB Cameron Sheffield and he also stopped Jackson cold on Fitzpatrick's 16 yard throw to Chandler @ the 7:29 mark of the third quarter. How 'bout his counterpart on the other side, the very much beleaguered LT Demetrius Bell? I saw plenty of good stuff from 'em. Start off w/ the fact that he pretty much held Hali, who had 14.5 sacks last season and destroyed the Bills on Halloween, in check. From there, he showed some impressive stuff in RUN blocking too! For instance, he threw a great kickout block on a 2nd and goal play @ the 13:04 mark of the first quarter. A few plays before that (14:16 mark of first quarter), he took DE Glenn Dorsey out to allow a nice 7 yard cutback run by Jackson. On the Bills' first play (14:50 mark of first quarter), Bell threw a great kickout block on Hali that, combined w/ Andy Levitre's blocking, created a hole big enough for Jackson to pick up 9 yards on. Great stuff. I hope Bell continues to improve in this area. Speaking of Levitre, what a game he had! Here's a few highlight plays he had: 1. He had a play @ the 14:30 mark of the third quarter where he took out Dorsey and Johnson, clearing a path for Jackson to run for 14 yards. It was very impressive. 2. He walled off Dorsey (@ the 10:11 mark of the third quarter) while Bell kicked out Johnson, Urbik pulled to take out Hali, and Chandler pulled to throw the nice lead block on McGraw. 3. He pulled to make a great lead block on Piscatelli (9:39 mark of third quarter) as Jackson gained another 9 yards. Besides Levitre, Urbik also made some nice plays. He had the one mentioned earlier, but also did well in pass protection like the rest of 'em. Wood seemed to be settled in @ center and held his own. He and Levitre cleared a nice path for a 4 yard gain on 2nd and goal @ the 13:04 mark of the first quarter. He did get beat by Johnson @ the 2:35 mark of the first quarter on a play that forced WR Brad Smith to reverse field on a Wildcat running play that was stuffed. Still, a very good overall performance by this entire unit. The defensive line? Outstanding as well! I think the difference was the play of rookie DL Marcell Dareus. Man, did he look very good out there! Here's a few of his highlights: 1. He actually was double teamed early on in the game. It was @ the 11:13 mark of the first quarter where I saw Chiefs C Casey Wiegmann actually come off his guy to help out and double team Dareus. The guy he was blocking? Kyle Williams! That was ridiculous. 2. Just one play later, @ the 11:08 mark of the first quarter, Dareus pressured Chiefs QB Matt Cassel and forced 'em into a sack. 3. He made a brilliant stop @ the 13:52 mark of the second quarter on a play that gained just one yard. 4. He shed his blocker and dropped RB Jamaal Charles for just a 2 yard gain on a play @ the 5:28 mark of the second quarter. 5. He blew into the backfield @ the 10:44 mark of the third quarter and forced Cassel to get rid of the ball on a quick throw to TE Leonard Pope that lost 2 yards. He did have the one gaffe in the fourth quarter (14:25 mark) that cost the team a stop on third down, but other than that, it was a standout debut by the big guy. Kyle Williams was able to pressure the QB for most of the game and they also got good inside pressure from Spencer Johnson. Johnson and Williams teamed up to come up w/ a sack @ the 12:16 mark of the second quarter and put the Chiefs in long FG range (Ryan Succop missed) after they nearly got a TD from Pope that was overturned on review. Alex Carrington did have a few bad plays on running downs, as he seemed to have trouble settin' the edge. He got sucked inside twice on plays that went for big yards: the first one @ the 0:55 mark of the first quarter on a 22 yard Charles run and the second one was @ the 3:56 mark of the second quarter on a 23 yard run by Dexter McCluster. He did provide the pressure that led to Cassel throwing the pick to Drayton Florence @ the 14:12 mark of the fourth quarter though. If there was a unit that you could say had a "decent" showing, it would be the linebackers. Not that they didn't contribute anything to this one, but overall as a unit, they weren't quite as solid as the DL or DBs. Nick Barnett was the guy the cameras caught chasin' Charles on the 22 yard run (0:55 mark of the first quarter), but he was comin' from the hash mark, as the only person on that edge was Carrington. Barnett got chipped, which allowed Charles to slip past 'em. Where was the OLB on that one? Barnett did get beat on a 3rd and 4 play @ the 14:23 mark of the second quarter when Chiefs TE Jake O'Connell slipped into the middle after Barnett got caught peekin' into the backfield. O'Connell gained 15 yards on that play. There weren't many embarrASSing plays by this unit, but there also weren't many eye catchin' "Wow!" plays, either. Chris Kelsay was better than I expected, especially against the run. No examples come to mind, but he wasn't a liability and actually held his ground well. It seemed the only few times the Chiefs had success runnin' @ the Bills was when the Bills had their "rush lineup" in, where Batten and Merriman were down linemen w/ Johnson and Carrington as rush linemen (this is where Carrington was sucked inside w/ no help outside). The play of the secondary can be summed up by the fact that the Chiefs passing game was no factor in this one. Also, the big surprise was the marked improvement in tackling by this unit! In particular, safety Jairus Byrd, who was a glaring liability in run support last year. Not in this game, he wasn't! Byrd had a great open field tackle @ the 7:43 mark of the first quarter, stopping a play for 6 yards that could've easily been 36. He had another one @ the 2:55 mark of the second quarter after Charles beat Spencer Johnson on a cutback run. Bryan Scott also had some nice open field tackles, one @ the 4:27 mark of the second quarter to limit the run to 4 yards and an impressive one @ the 3:55 mark of the third quarter for a one yard loss. George Wilson did have a bad missed tackle on Pope's 18 yard catch @ the 12:09 mark of the first quarter, but he did have that forced fumble on a big hit @ the 6:37 mark of the second quarter and had a play where he got pressure and knocked the Cassel pass back to Cassel for a 4 yard loss @ the 11:16 mark of the third quarter. Leodis McKelvin was a busy man, as he had to keep Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe from becoming a factor. Well, mission accomplished! He had a play @ the 5:31 mark of the first quarter where he made a great open field tackle on Bowe, limiting the catch to a gain of 2 yards. He nearly made a nice catch for a pick @ the 5:32 mark of the second quarter w/ an excellent break on the ball. Florence had the nice pick @ the 14:12 mark of the fourth quarter and nearly had a pick while blanketin' Chiefs WR Jerheme Urban on a deep route @ the 0:02 mark of the third quarter. Rookie Aaron Williams got caught gamblin' on the Charles TD @ the 1:51 mark of the second quarter. Gotta either go full out to get there to make the pick/break up the pass or get ready to knock Charles silly to get that ball out. It'll come, rook. Brian Moorman was boomin' his punts again. His first went for 63 yards and he added a 59 yarder later on. Hopefully, this means he's back to form and not anglin' kicks which cost him and the Bills dearly last season. Rian Lindell wasn't called upon often, but when he was, he nailed the kicks. The coverage units were very good, coming up w/ the turnover on the opening kickoff and generally keepin' the Chiefs in poor field position all game. The return game had some hits and misses. Roscoe Parrish had a nice return in the third quarter where he just fielded the punt and made people miss on the fly. This is what made guys like Mel Gray and Vai Sikahema great return guys in their day. Keep it up, Roscoe. Coaching wise, you gotta give props to Chan Gailey and whoever else decided to use Scott Chandler in the passing game. Man, has it been ages since we've seen a Bills tight end be a factor in a game. Lovin' it! Also, George Edwards can take a bow as well. The defense played w/ attitude and, more importantly, w/ better fundamentals. There were so many great open field tackles and so many times where guys were just in their corect position. It was refreshing to see. I do kinda take 'em to task for the decision to shut it down @ the end of the first half, right after Jackson made such a brilliant play to get the first down and w/ the Bills havin' a pair of time outs to use. Oh, and that's another thing: the Bills didn't squander timeouts??????? Okay, so it's on to the Home Opener!!! The Raidahs can run, so it will be a stern test for the Bills defensive front. Keep doin' what you did on Sunday and we'll see similar results. I am excited for the future of Bills football. Looks like these guys are pointed in the right direction. I know it can get derailed w/ a heartbreaking loss in the opener, followed by a beatdown by the Pats, so no need to go on that tangent. Let's just enjoy what we saw: a game where the Bills excelled in nearly every facet of the game and gave their fans hope. Only 5 more days, folks. I'll see you @ "Home"!

Scott's initial post has been updated to include all responses.

T minus..... 6 days and counting!!!! Another short week of work (Monday-Wednesday; I could get used to this), and then it's off to WNY for the long weekend! Man, am I lookin' forward to this. Even more so after what we just witnessed yesterday.

T minus..... 8 days and counting!!!!

An interesting opening week, for sure. Just another addition to their, "What else do we have to do?" file. Just like w/ Va Tech, they go into a hostile environment (one THOUSANDS of miles away from the blue turf!) and take care of business. It's such a shame that they still have to prove their worth to the higher ups (tards) in the NCAA. I did get to watch the last 4.5 minutes of that game (in 'tween the FSU-La. Monroe game and the big prime time LSU-Oregon game). Just in time to see a complete Rebel meltdown. Houston Nutt's clock management was atrocious, and the decision making of the players (Stoudt threw some horrendous passes into coverage; WR ran a shallow route and came down IN BOUNDS late in game as time was tickin' away) was just as putrid. Give BYU credit for not goin' away, but man did the Rebs blow that one. Hard to gauge either team based on the comp, but @ least they did what they were expected to do....crush an inferior opponent. PENN STATE looked okay vs Indiana State (liked how committed they were to runnin' the ball), but faded late as usual. Neither the Bucks or the Huskers did. Not quite Ap State-ish, but it was commendable. I love the games where the "patsy" either puts a beatdown on the team that is supposed to win or where the team that is supposed to win blows it. I can't stand to see the 67-12 wins by major schools vs So and So Tech. That is the poll system @ work; gotta beat the crap outta our opponent so we don't drop in the polls. Goin' against that grain is what cost PENN STATE a national title (when they throttled down vs Indiana years ago, let 'em make it close, and then flip flopped w/ then #2 Nebraska as both teams won out). I will be very interested to see what the Wolves do on Saturday. Yeah, that school lost, but USF isn't an easy mark. FSU was very impressive on the defensive side in their win last week, but their offense found Louisiana Monroe's defense to be just as quick and made things a bit difficult. While they did end up scoring well, they weren't able to just march up and down the field on 'em and Manuel didn't tear things up nearly as much as I thought he would. OU-FSU could be the best big game of the early part of the season. We'll see. I agree w/ you: this is a great time of year for football!

T minus..... 10 days and counting!!!! And so the final countdown begins. One week from today, Psycho Ward 86 and I will be on our way to WNY! Lookin' forward to seein' all of our good friends once again.

I have scheduled our online draft for tomorrow evening beginning @ 7pm. Please designate your keepers before then, so that I can set up the draft room and we'll be set to go on time.

T minus..... 15 days and counting!!!!

Great drama (if not great defense) to kick off the season from the TCU-Baylor game last night. What an upset win for the Bears! Yeah baby…..college football is back! We’re getting’ close to game time for the early ones today, so here goes my take on a few matchups from opening week. Here's a few games I'll be watching/tivo'ing/VCR recording this week: GAME #1: Indiana State @ PENN STATE Why this game?: Duh. It's the opening game for my beloved Nittany Lions! I think they could surprise some folks this season, but they are still not a finished product. Player(s) To Watch Out For: While neither guy is getting’ the All-America hype, DE Jack Crwaford and DT Devon Still are players who can make a difference for the Nittany Lions. LB Michael Mauti gets plenty of props as the next “great PSU ‘backer”. We’ll see if he can live up to such high praise. I am curious to see what sophomore RB Silas Redd can do. WR Derek Moye has been a good playmaker, but we’ll see what happens w/ the QB shuffle PSU seems to be set to use w/ Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin. Prediction: The Lions need to get off to a great start. They have to show they can run well, play good defense, and settle their QB issue. They had better get it together quickly. PENN STATE 30 – Indiana State 14 GAME #2: Louisiana-Monroe @ Florida State Why this game?: It's a chance to see one of the nation's top teams, the 'Noles, in their debut. I actually believe they could finish, if there are no stumbles along the way, higher than many of the polls and predictions I've read. What helps is that the ACC won't be nearly as treacherous to navigate for FSU as the SEC will be for LSU, 'Bama, Florida, and the like. Player(s) To Watch Out For: ‘Noles QB EJ Manuel can run it and throw it. Who will catch it? Well, that’s another story. The ‘Noles return 8 offensive starters, but will miss WR Willie Haulstead, who is out for this game w/ a concussion. Look for Rodney Smith and speed Bert Reed to step it up. On the defensive side, the ‘Noles have two of the better players in the nation in CB Xavier Rhodes and LB Nigel Bradham, but also have a couple of solid linemen in DE Brandon Jenkins and DT Jacobbi McDaniel plus the returning Everett Dawkins, who missed last year due to injury. Prediction: Louisiana-Monroe could be in for a long day. The ‘Noles bring back a wealth of talent and appear to be the class of the ACC and a legitimate BCS contender this year. Manuel could have a monster debut. Florida State 44 – Louisiana-Monroe 13 GAME #3: Oregon @ LSU Why this game?: Two of the top rated teams in the nation mixin’ it up @ the Jerrydome. Ducks have plenty of talent. Enough to slow down the Bayou Bengals? We shall see. Both teams are hurt by losses: the Ducks lose all conference defensive back/return man Cliff Harris, while LSU will be w/out QB Jordan Jefferson and, perhaps more substantial, WR Rusell Shepard. All three were suspended due to off the field infractions. Player(s) To Watch Out For: For the Ducks, it starts w/ their dynamite tandem of QB Darron Thomas and RB LeMichael James, a Hypeman finalist last season. Both players have game breaking ability and are threats to break off the big play. TE David Paulson is also a solid weapon for the O. The line, anchored by G Carson York, lost 3 starters, so we’ll see how they adjust. LSU will be led by backup signal caller Jarrett Lee, who has lost ‘bout 20 lbs this offseason and appears to be committed to gettin’ the job done. This is his chance. He’ll get help from the defense, led by CB Morris Claiborne and LB Ryan Baker. Prediction: The Bayou Bengals will certainly miss havin’ Shepard out there. They’re gonna have to get more out of guys like Lee, RB Spencer Ware, and WR Reuben Randle in order to keep up w/ the Ducks. What should help ‘em is their defense, in particular their front seven. I’ll give ‘em a slight edge since I’m old school and, as they say, defense wins championships. LSU 21 – Oregon 17 Enjoy the games, folks!

T minus..... 20 days and counting!!!!

25 days and counting!!!!

Yes. Please go.

The online draft will be next Sunday, August 28 @ 2:00pm EST. Yahoo! ID#: 469146 Password: IDAREUSYOUTOPLAY! Good luck to all.

30 days and counting!!!!

I actually thought they had the talent and depth to run the table last season. And then a funny thing happened on the way to an undefeated title run. That was a reminder that you can never know what is going to happen in the early stages. That's one of the things that makes college football such a superior overall game than professional football.

37 days and counting!!!!

Yep. I'll be posting something 'bout it shortly.

Game time!! Those who are in either the R. Rich's Buffalo Bills League or the TBD2 league, you have been sent email invites to renew for this year. Settings will be the same as they've always been and all the details 'bout the draft should be included in the invite. I will put the league info up here after the returning owners have had a chance to either renew or decline.

Yeah, maybe the NFL archives do, but true NFL history doesn't begin 'til the advent of ESPN. You know this, Kenneth.

Some guy who would make a decent tight end in today's NFL. Maybe.

While I appreciate the love for Sterling Sharpe (would've been a Hall of Famer no question had he not had the neck injury), I'm wondering if you were saying he was one of the 3 best of his era or all time? If it's his era, then maybe. Tim Brown and Cris Carter have to be in the discussion also. But if it's all time and we're disregarding Don Hutson and many other legends, well that's........justnzane.

No.