R. Rich

Okay.

Man, would Ngata's size and speed do a great job of complimenting the tenacity of Kelsay, Denney, and (when he's healthy) Schobel off the edge. Hey, I was wrong 'bout the kind of impact Ngata would have in the short term. But, his transition couldn't have been hampered too much by playing w/ guys like Trevor Pryce, Kelly Gregg, Terrell Suggs, Bart Scott, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed, now could it have? Ngata would help, but 'til our defense can have the kind of overall quality of a team like Baltimore, he wouldn't be quite the same player nor would he have quite the same impact.

Yeah, it would've been nice to snag Trueblood and Joseph. Then again, who's to say they'd be as good here in Buffalo? I can't explain it, but we've seen guys leave the Bills and become productive players (Glenn Parker, Mike Devlin, Tom Nutten). I'm not silly enough to believe in curses, but... Former Pro Bowl DE Charles Mann would tend to agree. Considering they had guys like Mann, Dexter Dumba**, Monte Coleman, and Hall of Famer Darrell Green on the defensive side of the ball, I'd hardly say they were feeding off the O line's table scraps. Like you, I don't know the ins and outs of running a football team, William. I do know that this team has, for quite some time, been running in place and gaining no ground through various GM, coaching, and personnel changes. I don't know what's needed to get this franchise on the mend, but I hope someone comes up w/ a plan and soon.

Again, it's all we can do, unfortunately: hope.

Not so... Even RICH Gannon made mention of the fact that while Evans did get slowed down, the pass wasn't even IN THE PICTURE when they showed the replay. It was badly overthrown. I'll stop short of suggesting some sort of evil master plan by Ralph ("Just get me the season ticket sales and to Hell w/ the rest. Mwah hahahaha!!!"). It's just very disappointing that it usually works out that way for us Bills fans.

As far as the playing in the frigid weather comment, don't the Bills practice indoors, and only play outside on game day? They don't even play like the Bills were known for in cold weather any more. They play like a warm weather team in cold weather now.

So, we're not officially done yet in terms of being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs? I dunno. If not, I guess we can say "it's only one game" and "we're still 6-7", huh? All is well. Yet another pathetic performance by the Bills' offense. Man, are they truly offensive! The O line didn't have a great game, but there were times when Losman had time to throw and nothing happened. Yeah, he held onto the ball too much (coulda hit Marshawn on the 3rd down play where Porter sacked him; was the main reason for the sacks on the Bills' final drive of the game), but he also didn't get a lot of help from his receivers. Due to the whole "receivers are open but nobody sees 'em" argument, I tried to focus on such situations. Here's a couple I noticed: 1. 4th and 2 play where Bills failed (surprise, surprise) to convert: Marshawn Lynch runs the fake and just stands there Lee Evans runs crossing route but does not get open Josh Reed was the only one who worked to get open to help out QB 2. 2nd and 10 play @ 11:13 of 3rd Quarter: 4 WRs, 2 (X receiver and TE) @ the top of screen run short routes and do nothing to get open; they stood in place while Losman looked for an open receiver; slot receiver on left side ran pattern (post) but did not get open; WR on bottom of screen did little to help Losman out-ran short route, did not adjust and ran to sideline as Losman was scrambling So, to sum it up, I guess we'd say the QB holds onto the ball far too long while the receivers could work harder to adjust and get open. It's not an either/or thing. Both things need correcting. Speaking of the QB, Losman has to do better recognizing things like how and when to throw the ball. Yeah, Evans got slowed up on the missed long bomb, but Losman still overthrew it. Unless Evans morphed into Usain Bolt, he had no chance of getting to that throw even if he didn't get slowed. Also, throwing a fade route to a smaller, undersized Evans? And throwing it INSIDE, where the D back has a shot @ coming up w/ a knockdown or, in this case, an INT??? These are errors I could see a rookie making (and not even some: see Flacco, Joe or Ryan, Matt), but he's been in the league long enough to know better. The defense tried hard to keep the Bills in the game. They were out on the field for a ridiculous amount of time yet still had guys going hard to try to make plays. Bryan Scott, Donte Whitner, Paul Posluszny, Ko Simpson, and Leodis McKelvin gave it their all and showed flashes w/ some nice open field tackling and great hustle effort. Still, it's the (lack of a consistent) pass rush that is holding back this unit. Sounds like a broken record? Tell me 'bout it. I get the awful feeling that this team has not progressed @ all since Jauron was hired. Yeah, yeah, they're young and all. So? Young players should be able to rely on coaching to better prepare them for the NFL. I don't know if that can be said of the Bills under Jauron. We see a ton of mistakes, poor judgment, poor clock management, poor use of challenges/timeouts, and lack of composure @ critical times in a game. Jauron's an experienced coach, which cannot be said of guys like Sparano and Mike Smith of Atlanta. Why is it that their guys don't seem to implode as often as ours? I think it's time for people to focus on the main problem: ownership. This team has had numerous coaches, numerous execs, and numerous players, but the same guy runs the show. The same kind of people get hired to make the same kind of mistakes. I'd love to see Ralph Wilson actually helping to formulate a plan to keep the Bills in Buffalo beyond his passing instead of just keeping the team and going through the motions over and over again. Then again, as much as I love the Bills, I wonder if there is any saving this franchise (as far as keeping them in Buffalo). I sure hope they can, but it's going to be very tough and nobody has stepped up to the plate just yet w/ an ironclad solution. Meanwhile, diehard and loyal fans of this team are the ones who are being screwed. We root for this team, we spend lots of money to go to games (some of us spend a whole lot just to travel to the games), and yet here we all are, watching another late season swoon and possibly another 7-9 season.....or worse. I really wish I had the answer, but I don't. 'Til someone gives us the answer, all we can do is hope things get better. I sure am tired of hoping all the time, but I guess we're stuck w/ this course of action 'til something better comes along. Good luck, Bills. I hope you figure it out and get things turned 'round. As tough as things are now, I will not quit you (dumb as I may be for not doing so).

He was probably afraid to run it, as poor as the Giants' power running game has been and all.

Bring it back to a civil level, will ya folks?

Congrats to the Bulls on a fantastic season and the MAC title. Getting UB season tickets was money well spent, even though it meant a LOT more driving for me this year. They were always entertaining and it was refreshing to watch a team not routinely rip your heart out of your chest. Turner Gill has done a wonderful job of turning the Bulls into a respectable college football program. Keep up the good work.

Every week (practicing INDOORS)....they do.

How exactly is this a fact, and what data is this based on?

Why do you have to be so........never mind.

I long for the days of a good O line, pass rush that can get after QBs, and an offense that can put more than a handful of points on the board.

Well, happy birthday there, youngster.

You need to drink a lot less. I can't say I disagree w/ any of it. Thing is, it's all just window dressing. The only thing I can focus on is 9 and counting.

Happy birthday to one of the greatest TBDers ever.

Just three more years and we'll be right back in the mix.

Looks like it's either Schottenheimer or Cowher as the Bills new coach. After Jim Kelly's group buys the team, that is. Here comes that 3-4 defense everyone wants.

You had us @ "Jim Kelly and Doug Flutie".

I played football, and I know far less than most of you.

There. I fixed it for ya.

Who's Mort?

...over?

But, we have to go all out.......for the sake of the children!!