The Dean

That sounds about right. I think Anderson would make the roster of maybe half to two-thirds of the teams in the NFL. According to a report on the NFL Network today (Total Access) this is the Golden Age of NFL QBs. The level of play has never been higher. They even used Trent Edwards as an example. (For the record, I'm not sure I buy it.)

The notion that Jacksonville is a hopping town with a myriad of things to do, is laughable, IMO. Yes, you can go to the beach, or sit in the sun. But you can do that most any time. When did hot weather become synonymous with cultural vibrancy? NYC, SF, LA, Chicago are places with many things to do. You can probably add a few more cities to the list (Seattle, Dallas, Miami, etc.). But Jacksonville? Please. Jacksonville is a hell-hole. It is one of the worst, and most boring cities in the country. The truth is, Jacksonville is a hick town, with a lot of violent crime. They don't go to the football games because they don't really like NFL football, and their team is completely devoid of any charisma.

You think that's a plus?

Not sure what the point is here. Archie Manning was a terrific NFL QB who happened to play on some of the worst teams ever. I would point to the Browns picking Tim Couch, who couldn't make the transition. But the Jags may have to take the risk. Certainly Tebow seems to be a low risk, as far as character and work ethic. He is a great athlete, who should be able to help a team in some capacity, even if he doesn't turn out to be an NFL caliber QB.

You got that right. My favorite is the Waldo Tunnel (AKA the Rainbow Tunnel) on US 101 in Marin County. If you are traveling from SF going north, you can often enter the tunnel in total fog/windy/cold and come out the other side where it is sunny and warm. The thing is, the tunnel is very short. This is pretty much it: http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/i...exit_443_04.jpg http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/i...exit_443_05.jpg Of course, on the way back to the city, traveling south, the experience is just the opposite.

I thought it was a great play by Roscoe, but I was also impressed with Trent's hustle and speed. He wouldn't have caught him, but just the same, he really motored down field in pursuit.

Well, if you REALLY believe he is better than Pennington, Collins, Favre, Romo, etc, he should have won the Cleveland job with ease. Truth is, Anderson probably wouldn't start on ANY of those teams. He might, just might, be a #2 for those teams.

In this case, Schefter went on a little bit about Anderson, so I think he meant it more than in the usual clichéd way. But you make a good point, RJ.

Not that we should care about power ratings (particularly at this time of the year), but the Bills actually slipped from #21 to #23 after Sunday's victory, in The Sporting News rankings. Dunno if this link will work, but it is on page 7 of today's (9/22/09) Sporting News Daily: http://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnews...dff57d780d4d169

On SportCenter, this morning, Adam Schefter asserted Derek Anderson is good enough to start at QB for most NFL teams. Really? Anyone agree with this? [Let's take care of some well known responses in advance. Who's Adam Schefter/Derek Anderson? Just a couple of guys Who cares what Schefter says? Not me, really. Just thought it was absurd enough to share and discuss. He did have a good year in 2007, but hasn't shown anything before or since, IMO. ESPN sucks! Fine. Whatever.]

Perhaps I should have been clearer. Chad was not the issue tonight. He put a pass directly into Ginn's hands in the end zone, for the potential go-ahead score. He was quite good most of the night, actually. I think Chad limits what a team can do, to be sure. But I really don't think they win more games with Henne.

Chad's not the issue here, IMO.

I'm down by 14 (to a guy with Drew Brees and Frank Gore) and I have Reggie Wayne tonight. It doesn't look good for me. (I left a lot of points on the bench this week. Shame on me.)

Gerbil finds an acorn. ...or does he?

They certainly did against the Bucs. There was no-hurry in the no-huddle on Sunday, from what I saw. What's nice about the no-huddle, is the Bills control the pace.

Walker did nothing to burn his bridge with the Bills. He simply is regressing in ability and is probably too large to handle the no-huddle.

Nice tackle, Gerbil.

Other than the paint job, that Scion is awesome!

I liked it when it first came out. It looked like an old-time milk truck, or something. Now the roads are littered with them, and the appeal is gone, at least for me.

When Scott played last year, he was the SS. And, if you don't believe me... http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1...84-e80398a4043c Excerpt: You can dispute Chris Brown's objectivity when it comes to his assessment of Donte's (or any Bills') skills, but he knows what positions they guys are playing. I also think Whitner knows what position he is playing. I'm not much of an expert on line play, but I'm a pretty good observer and judge of DB play, I think. Whitner had only one year where he played a true SS for the entire year, and that was his rookie season (when Ko was a fairly serviceable FS). He had over 100 tackles and 5 passes defended that season. I don't know that Whitner will ever become an Ed Reed at FS or a Troy Polamalu at SS. But I don't think either of them is asked to take on as many different responsibilities in a season, or a game, as Donte has. Bob Sanders is a safety who has been asked to play at both FS and SS and has done both at a very high level. But he rarely has specific primary coverage responsibility, the way Whitner has had with the Bills D.

Indeed. He came into the league with the ability to play three spots in the defensive backfield. That versatility has been his undoing (according to some) so far in the NFL. It's also what keeps him on the field for almost every defensive play. But he would likely be more of a "stud SS" (or FS) if his skills limited him to play only one position.

I tell you what. I was not one of those who predicted the Bills O would stink, based on their preseason performance. I understand the preseason is a pretty weak predictor. But I can't say I wasn't pretty concerned. The Bills offense has looked better than I expected it would, this early in the season. There is a lot of room for improvement, to be sure, but I like a lot of what I see, so far. We can attribute the improvement to several things, including the strengthening of the OL interior, the addition of TO as another weapon and the continuing development of Trent. But I think the biggest factor may be the play calling. Many here have questioned the impact of good coaching. And, while it is far too early to anoint Van Pelt as a great OC, the differences between the game plan from Turk to Alex (considering they used the same playbook) is astounding. Still, it's been two games, one against a fairly bad team. Cautious optimism is the way I look at it, so far.

I don't think so. Not the ENTIRE game. But for the bulk of it, he was playing FS.

Donte's issue hasn't been him playing SS instead of FS. If you recall he was a very good SS in his rookie season, when he played it exclusively. The reason Whitner hasn't lived up to the expectations of many fans is, he has been constantly moved from SS-to-FS-to-CB on a game by game, and play by play, basis. Whitner is the guy Fewell uses to fill the gap caused by injuries in the defensive backfield. He has never had the freedom to do what most NFL safeties get to do. The past two years he has been a Swiss-Army DB. Donte will be just fine at FS (or even SS) if he is allowed to play the position on a regular basis, and plays behind a defensive line that gets some pressure on the QB.

Bingo! It was great to see the Bills go long on occasion, today. Trent will need to to this a few more times in order to lose his check-down rep. He may have been more precise last week, but the Bills will win more games if Trent plays the way he did today, more often.