Buftex

There has to be a female character for everyone to hate!

Hope you are right mrags... I am a little worried about 2 knee injuries (one on each knee?) in two months...even before he was hurt Thursday night, I was telling my buddy that I didn't think EJ looked comfortable running the ball...he is much more of a "lumberer" than I realized. Will admit, I saw very little of him in college, but I was under the impression he was a little more fleet footed than he appears to be. Do the Titans need a safety? Just got a "fantasy football update" saying that the Titans are looking for another QB in case Fitz falters...going to kick the tires on JaMarcus Russell...just goes to show you how bad the QB market is. I don't know a hell of a lot about Pat White, other than that he seems to get cut by an NFL team every pre-season...but I also remember, just this last August, the prevailing feeling from NFL people was that Terrell Pryor had "no future" in the NFL, and he was being compared to Russell...I know it is early, but he has looked pretty damn good in the 2 and half games (writing this at half time of the Chargers/Raiders game) I have seen him play this year. Really good...

Short term, perhaps. ESPN (I think it was Clayton) had a story in the off-season about guys in Byrds situation...they get a healthy one year salary if they are franchised...if they are traded or leave for another team, they will sign a huge deal, and more often than not, their new team has buyers remorse, either restructuring their deal, or releasing them outright...not saying these guys are going hungry, but when they sign a monster deal with a new team, they rarely see it through.

Nucci, that is silly. You don't think it is possible they liked Nassib, but liked Manuel more? They don't have an unlimited number of picks in the draft, you realize. Let me ask you this: if Nassib had gone undrafted, and was a street FA after the draft, like Jeff Tuel, you don't think the Bills would have signed (or tried to sign) him?

I like Cousins a lot, but in all honesty, that would be a tricky situation, even if they could get him (I don't think so)...they don't want to bring in a guy to create a QB cotroversy...you know that would happen with Cousins.... Nucci, that is silly. They wanted EJ more....but suppose Nassib had been an undrafted FA, like Tuel. You don't think the Bills would have signed, or tried, to sign him?

Yup...been suggesting this since EJ went down during the summer. Their starting safety went down around the same time, they were scrambling for somebody. We could get Nassib, and another hiigher draft pick (2nd or 3rd) maybe for Byrd...though the Giants may be thinking it is too late for that now. Their season is on life-support.

You people....

Glad you are still watching Jim. I think it has been great too...the whole Nucky/Rothstein card game was great..."you never know a man until you play cards with him" says AR...not realizing he is exposing his weaknesses to Nucky. It will be interesting to see how far into the Myer Lansky story they go....have to do some study on this... can't tell what is going to happen with Van Alden. Ah, you know your crime history...I used to, but have forgotten so much. On the DVD set for season two there is an excellent documentary about all the guy that these characters are based on...the Capone/O'Bannion rivalry was pretty bloody. Do you know if Gyp Rosetti was based on a real person?

Respectfully disagree. Maybe Freeman doesn't come in and lead them to 4-0 record, but sticking with Tuel, or some scrub journeymen sends the absolute wrong message to guys who have been here a few years, who still have the desire to win..."we are changing the GM, changing the coach, ownership will have minimal involvement in day to day decisions...but, losing isn't so bad...just get used to it, its' what we do...close is good enough" Did you see the way that defense played on Thursday night? There is still a way to go, but that unit is ready to make a difference...but you send out a miserable offense week after week, the intensity drops...the malaise of losing sets in, again...this team has a small modicum of momentum, keep it rolling...that is changing the culture... again, unless there is some smoking gun out there, that shows Freeman is a bad guy, or a Dexter-like serial killer I just don't see the downside of signing a guy who was a starter in the NFL for 4 full seasons, and the first three weeks of this season. If he is a rotten guy, or is such a horrible influence on Manuel (I think you are being silly on that) the coaches can cut him as quickly as they signed him. Good, solid football analysis. Part of changing the culture of losing, is to start winning...simply put. Tuel is a project, back-up QB at best.

You make it sound as if Manuel is a total dope. One of the reasons EJ's draft stock rose so highly, after NFL execs got to study him and meet him, was that he was extremely mature, confiden and exuded the qualities of "leadership" that they are looking for. You really think having a stop gap back-up to help, possibly, salvage a season is going to have that much of an impact on him? And, we have yet to establish what the issues with Freeman are, other than he overslept for a team photo, takes riddilin, and had an ongoing bad relationship with his head coach...a guy who seems to have a lot of personality conflicts. He was considered one of the young up and coming stars in the league, until Schiano showed up.

I realize, coming from a Bills fan, this may sound idiotic, but why (other than money) would any player want to go to Oakland, particularly if they are a QB? I realize, since Al Davis has passed, they are trying to change the culture there, but they seem as dysfunctional as ever. They seem to have no patience with QB's... it seems like Oakland has been a graveyard for vetran NFLers for years.

I agree with you. I think Buffalo would be a great opportunity for Freeman to start right away...even if he just signed for the rest of this season. Or, he could try to land in a spot like Minnesota, where he likely would, eventually, win the starting spot. Cleveland is already said not be interested in him, so Buffalo really is his best spot to refurbish his image, week 5, 2013.

Yes....the defense still has some issues, but man, are they so much better than they have been the last few years? I had very low expectations for the Bills this season, and I am comfortable with this being a re-build season, as long as I feel like we are seeing progress. I think we are seeing progress in very substantial ways. I know, another rough night for the secondary last night...but this was a little different. This wasn't just one deep pass after another to guys that are wide open...the Bills had decent coverage on most plays, but it was simply a case of their WR beating our DB one on one...in good position...they were fighting for the ball, not just playing a game of "pickle in the middle", as we are accustomed to. Loved seeing the rushing stunts, we are getting production out of guys that we are paying a ton of money too...Mario has 7 sacks already? Dareus has looked like a much more consistent factor... Manny Lawson has been a great addition...Hughes had a decent game last night...so, we are finally starting to see some progress on defense...and Kiko Alonso is a budding superstar...already. To me, even if it ultimately doesn't lead to a bunch more wins, I think it is important that the Bills fo make a great effort to finding a QB to play the 4-8 weeks that EJ is out. It just sends the wrong message to sign another journeymen (Trent Edwards anyone?)...this team is so close to making the leap, it would be a step back to stick with Tuel. They need to start experiencing some success, or risk slipping back into the malaise that losing week after week tends to bring. I am not saying Tuel can not play better than he showed last night (that was pitiful), but it is clear he is a project back-up QB. Unless they find out that there is a lot more behind the scenes stuff than we know, I really hope they sign Freeman. Or, next option, trade Byrd to the Giants (they really need a safety) for Nassib and a 2nd/3rd round pick. Nassib may not be a lot better than Tuel, but i think he would be a slight upgrade....is in football shape already...and knows the offense.

Sabres picking up right where they left off last season....shaky on defense...bad power play puck movement...outmatched by the Red Wings...defensemen standing around watching Ryan Miller make saves from point blank range...Tyler Myers having a particularly bad game...it must be hockey season!

Funny...people were po'd when they didn't get to see Tony Soprano killed, then they see Walter White die, and they want to imagine that he didn't! I think, everything I read/heard from Vince Gilligan, that it was important for him for the show to have a very difinitive ending. If it was "all in Walts' mind", don't you think it might have turned out a little different?

Why? Why does he (and many others I guess) think this? I am guilty of reading too much into things sometimes, I admit, but what is the basis for this "theory"?

Remember, when Walt "drops in" on Lydia & Todds' meeting, he says he knew she would be there, because it has "always Tuesday moring at 10am" when she has her meetings? She is a creature of habit, and Walt knows those habits...so I would assume, Walt went to the coffee shop early, took all the Stivia packets from her normal table...all except one, which he had rigged with the ricin. As he knows her habits, he knew she would take that Stivia packet.

Looking forward to the Saul Goodman spin-off series...rumour has it that it will explore the Gustavo Fring, Goodman relationship...that would be cool....Uncle Jack may be a bad-ass..but Gus was a great villan.

Yeah, that is not good, but of those 10 fumbles, only 4 lost. During the Monday night game last night, the mentioend that Tannehill already had 6 fumbles on the year...the only fumbles for the Dolphins are all on their QB. Growing pains...at least EJ didn't try any Harlem Globetrotters moves like Geno the other day!

Hey, for all you casual (or broke) Sabres fans, just a heads up, there is a free Center Ice preview on Time Warner (and most likely all other cable & Satallite providers) through October 19th. Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek named team captains today, with Christian Ehrhoff as the alternate...who knows what to expect this year...the could be great... or awful.... The first game of the season (Wed 10/2) is on the NBC Sports channel (formerly Versus) at 8pm eastern...vs the Red Wings! The first 10 games of the season, free! All times eastern. Wed, Oct 2nd - 8pm @DETROIT (NBC) Fri. Oct 4th- 7pm Ottawa Sat. Oct 5th- 7pm @PITTSBURGH Tues. Oct. 8-7:30pm Tampa Bay (NBC) Thur Oct 10- 7pm Columbus Sat Oct 12- 8pm @CHICAGO Mon. Oct 14- 7:30pm Minnesota (NBC) Tues Oct 15- 7pm @NY ISLANDERS Thur Oct 17- 7pm Vancouver Sat Oct 19-7pm Colorado

I haven't had time to re-watch Sundays game....but in real time, didn't it almost look like Kikos' last pick could have been overturned. It was an amazing effort by him, don't get me wrong, but it almost looked like the tip of that ball hit the ground before Kiko had possession. Glad as hell it went our way (nothing else did that game, as far as "judgement calls" go), but it almost seem like we, at last, caught a break there. I don't think there is a conspriacy of any kind, but I do think that the refs, being human and all, in pretty much every sport, tend to give the benefit of a doubt, or "miss" things when scrutinizing the more talented teams and players. And sometimes, it seems, they see things that aren't really there. Often we see calls made by officials who are not in the best spot to even see clearly, what they are calling.

Yeah, lunatic aside, he was a great record producer...

Funny, don't know if you caught the talk show on AMC afterwards. Vince Gilligan was a guest. They asked him about the watch thing...he said it didn't have any real meaning at the time, but was only done for continuity sake. He said the scene at the diner (where Walt plays with is birthday bacon) was filmed over a year ago, and after watching it, he realized, Walt wasn't wearing the watch in that scene. Knowing what sticklers the fans are, he had him remove it in that scene. It was only after that, the he said he came up with an "arty-farty" reason for Walt removing the watch...it was a gift from Jesse for his previous birthday, and Walt taking it off, and leaving it, signified him leaving Jesse, and anyone he ever cared about, behind. They also asked Gilligan if there was anything in the final script that they couldn't film, because of time restrictions. VG said that after Walt gets off the phone, in that watch scene, there was a part in the script where he turns, and sees some young man staring at him. Walt realizes he recognizes the man as one of his former students...and he also relaizes that the young man recognizes him as not only his former teacher, but as Heizenberg. Walt approaches the kid, and says something like "you know who I am... let me ask you, was I a good teacher?" The kid just sort of nods "yes", kind of stunned...and Walt asks him "what do you remember from what I taught you"....the kid just replies something to the effect of "all the burning beakers, and the different colers of the flames". Not as obvious as the use of "Crystal Blue Persuasion" last season, but a great closing song non-theless...any time Badfinger gets some recognition, the world is a little better!

Phil Spector belongs on his own page... I like ELO, but man, I despise the production work that Lynn does with other artists. It seems like, "hey, lets make a Jeff Lynn record, you can sing...."

Pretty much what I was saying Gungy...but it is May and Taylor who want to "tell" the Freddie Mercury story, through their clouded lenses. If they just want to tell the story of the rise of Queen, that is one thing...but if they want to tell the Freddie Mercury story, they can't really do their friend any justice by not telling his story accurately. Being closeted is likely what killed him. It almost sounds like they just want to sell their story, and sell more of their records...is there a band that has more cinematic anthems than Queen? Their motives, at least to me, sound disingenous. If they don't want to tell his story, than by all means, let him rest in peace.