R. Rich

I doubt anyone saw it, poorly broadcast as it was.

It's beyond a mistake. It's a class A screw-up that alters the course of a game. If it's a player who whacks a QB 'cause he cannot stop his momentum in time, they're not gonna just say, "Oh. Sorry," and leave it @ that. There's going to be fines and possible suspension, and there's no problem w/ that. Now, w/ the officials, they mess up, it's a simple "My bad. Oops," and it's over. No fines, suspensions, nothing. Well, maybe a slap 'cross the wrists from Parrera (can't wait to hear his spin on this), but not much more than that. Like players and coaches (who cannot even comment on an officials' performance w/out being fined), officials should be held more accountable than they are. Period.

Well, he'll sure know it now.

That's it. I'm telling Fox News on you.

More than that, they need to look into the "lack of accountability for the officials" rule. That one really sucks.

It's all 'bout where your QB puts the ball. I don't know why Garrard didn't throw the ball up high for Matt Jones to go after it. Instead, he throws it waist level, where Greer can (and does) easily knock it down.

Actually, it's exactly like I was not there.

Well, "that school" brought a very good class, for sure, but having seen the 'Bama freshmen for myself, I'd say their class is the best. Clausen? I'll just say I'm not impressed so far. We'll see what happens over the course of the season. They certainly have more talent than last year's squad, so based on that fact and the toughness of their schedule, they should get 8 or 9 wins @ the least. More would be better.

They're working toward that. I didn't see a whole lot of rookie Sam Baker (he got hurt during the game), but he impressed me in the few instances I saw him play. He absolutely abused Gaines Adams (who was pretty solid himself) on one play, getting his hands on him and nearly throwing him toward the center of the field. Nasty.

Man, the way that team in Tampa hazed that heralded rookie was something! I watched the Atlanta-Tampa Bay game to try to get a read on Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, and the Falcons. I wanted to see if they were for real or not after their opening weekend thumping of Detroit. All kidding aside, Ryan stunk up the joint in the first half of the Atlanta-Tampa Bay game (0-9 w/ 2 picks to start out), but I have to say I admire the way he stuck w/ it and came out strong in the second half. I don't know if he's the messiah some try to portray him as (Greg Cosell, a guy whose opinion I respect a GREAT deal, said he's the best college QB prospect to come out since Carson Palmer), but I do think he'll be a good NFL player. Problem was, they couldn't punch it in from the red zone. The Burner needed to have the pilot light checked, as the Bucs illustrated the fact that they're not Detroit all day against him. His running 'tween the tackles left a lot to be desired. Tampa helped the cause by starting Brian Griese, who was his usual adequate self. If Chucky believes he'll win w/ Griese, he'd better hope to have their scheduled revised to play the Falcons and the Lions in alternating weeks. One guy I was impressed w/ watching that game was Jeremy Trueblood. Actually, both tackles looked pretty solid for Tampa. Donald Penn gave up a late sack by John Abraham, but he really looked solid for the most part. I also think the Bucs have a potential Pro Bowler in safety Tanard Jackson, the ex Syracuse star. They played him close to the line of scrimmage to help stop Turner, and he was all over the place. Very impressive.

Laugh all you want, but "that school" has some talent. They are certainly on their way. Another solid class or two and they'll be back in the mix. That said, Clausen still doesn't look like 'the one' to me. He's not awful, but he's not going to revolutionize college football, either.

I recorded the game (went up to Buffalo to watch the UB-Temple thriller!!), but I haven't watched it yet. I plan on doing so this evening.

Well, they were missing Wells and all, but they did appear to be overmatched regardless. Hey, I was the one who put them atop my preseason rankings. Ugh.

So....who won?

You gotta love the way the Bills gutted one out on the road, something they're not noted for. That's a sign that they're heading in the right direction. The tackling was pathetic though. Way too many misses and too many guys being lazy and reaching up high instead of taking 'em down low w/ good solid form tackles (again, too many guys trying to "hit people down"). I think the pursuit is fine, but once they get there, they need to do a way better job of finishing. That 8 yard scramble by Garrard was a joke; he broke outta 'bout 3 sacks on that play. Shore that up quickly. Jason Peters was quite rusty. The sack given up was bad, but I thought the way Paul Spicer just shoved him into Marshawn Lynch on a play that lost 'bout 4 yards was worse. Nothing a few more weeks of work won't fix, I think (hope?). Trent Edwards is really improving. He was as accurate yesterday as he was inaccurate to start the game last week. He made some nice reads and some impressive throws (the 37 yarder to Evans was outstanding). You guys ready to stop raking Josh Reed over the coals yet? He's not Terrell Owens, and he'll probably never be @ that level, but he is a capable possession receiver who has been fairly reliable over the past couple seasons. We're not doing too bad w/ this Lindell guy, huh? He's no Mike Nugent, but... I hope that the light has finally been turned on for Mr Youboty, 'cause if it has and yesterday's game was just the start of some good things to come, WOW! Great open field tackling (that makes one player who did), and he really brought the kind of tenacity that you normally see out of the Jags. The defense did keep Jones Drew and Taylor from taking over the game, but they also did allow some gains to the inside. Something for the guys to work on, I guess. Still looking for better run support from the ends, though it wasn't as bad yesterday as it was on opening weekend. Overall, like I said, you gotta love seeing the Bills go on the road and beat a quality opponent. Things aren't quite set yet, but I honestly believe they are FINALLY on track to get into the playoffs.

You sure you're in the right place?

They know their place. Last week was their week, this week is for the "See, I told you I was right" crowd. They'll be back.

Way to go, Coach Jauron. The TBD faithful were behind you(r firing) all the way!

Like you'd buy a movie 'bout a guy all hyped up on some secret steroids who lives in the hood. What do you think this is, the NFL?

Not that there's anything wrong w/ that...

Most of the regulars that will attend the Monday night game will probably be over @ Lot 1, Pole 5. It's just to the right of the Fieldhouse (as you're standing in front of the fieldhouse).

You are so mean.

Yes. Why not?

I was referring to all the work Raquel has had to make her look more like a feline than a human, but those aren't bad photos of Newman @ all. All that's missing is Burt Ward running in @ the last minute to do some major league ****blocking, as he did every time Adam West and Newmar had a scene together.

Maybe they could just paint Will Smith white, kinda like the old days of the western, when they'd paint white guys to look like Indians.