TPS

AS I posted in another thread, this is the key matchup of the game. If the Bills can't stop the run, they don't win.

Which is why you find so much corruption associated with healthcare/Medicare, the military-industrial complex/defense spending, and the congressional whores who get wealthy as the middlemen--with that kind of money up for grabs, it's "only natural...."

This game is going to be all about the trenches. The Jets pounded the Bills into submission last year, and they have returned to that style of play, as their O-line is their strength. As I said in my pre-season prediction, this is THE game that will determine the Bills post-season chances. This is also the game where the Bills will once and for all show they are physical enough to compete with AND BEAT ANY team. On O: we haven't seen it much lately, but I think this could be a game where Spiller and Jackson are both lined up in the backfield. If the edge is a JETs weakness as JETS said, then mixing things up with Fred and Spiller would be a good option. By that I mean, sometimes keeping both back, sometimes spreading Spiller, and sometimes spreading Jackson. On D: This is where the game will be won--stopping the run. Despite the 9 sacks Sunday, it was the run D that was most impressive to me. The front 3, and sometimes 4, were really active and aggressive. The Jets will try to dominate the LOS, and the Bills have something to prove. I might tape the game just to watch this part of the game again. This IS West(ern) Side (of NY) Story--the Jets vs the Sharks (err...Bills). Let's get ready to RRRRUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMBBBBBLLLLLLLLLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's not just speed, he shows good power too. I hope this opportunity helps make it permanent.

Gailey usually addresses this in his Monday Press conference which will be posted on BB.com later this evening.

That was the biggest win of the season, but not the biggest game of the season. If you were looking at the schedule at the start, which game would you put as the most important, and why? I had the Bills losing that game and being 2-1 at that point. I picked the first Jets game as the biggest for reasons stated in the previous post.

Boy, this is certainly a straw man if I've ever seen one....Why not just say it's government? Unfortunately too many ideologues will focus on "liberal" government, when it's government that enables an industry because that industry pays government to keep their coffers filled. Both sides of the aisle are captive to vested interests. In what may surprise many, I agree with the overall sentiment that government enables this to happen, but they do so to support an industry, not for the benevolence of those who use the programs. 1. Student Loans. Since the majority are financed through the private sector and guaranteed by the government--who wins? It's just like housing. If students default, the government will come in and bailout the banks. More to the question on root cause. Two things have changed dramatically: states have reduced support for higher ed (HE) dramatically; and higher ed has drifted away from its core business. The state subsidy has decreased and those costs have been pushed on to students; and HE administrators pay themselves like private sector managers and funnel money to pet projects (Ever wonder why Jack Quinn was appointed president of ECC?). The dramatic increase in student loan debt perpetuates the inefficiencies, pads the profits of banks, and creates implicit liabilities for the government (the guarantees). So who's to blame? No one and everyone. As is typical, we've created a system where all parties benefit (except for the graduate). Btw, this isn't just in public HE, as private colleges receive government subsidies too. I won't offer a list of solutions here (I do have some), but I do want to respond to something Rob said. A strong liberal arts education IS valuable because it creates broader, critical-thinking individuals. And Businesses DO want people with applied skills who can think critically and communicate. You hire an accountant from Bryant & Stratton, you hire a manager from a HE institution that includes a strong liberal arts background along with an accounting degree (a solution is to make sure students get both applied and liberal arts skills). 2. Healthcare. Do you think the health industry wants to change things? It's the same process. Government provides a spending stream that goes right into private sector coffers. Rising medical costs are supported by a system that continues to shell out to meet those costs. Is it a liberal democrat issue? Who the Hell increased Medicare--Bushjr!! I've said this often, but not recently: government is a redistribution mechanism that influences a flow of $5 trillion/year--it's a BIG BUSINESS, which is why big business pays to influence that flow. Which brings up that question about wealth creation: does anyone get rich without sucking off the government's teat? Every business wants a piece of that action. Cheers.

Cross Wilson off, as he signed an extension this year. I think it was just before free agency and signalled buh-bye to Donte.

I'll preface this with, Beck at QB and injuries on the Skins OL, but I thought this was a coming out party for the guys picked in the last 2 years. Moats, Dareus, Batten, Carrington, Shep, and even Troup made an appearance. The Ralph is going to rumble next week!

I've had the Jets game as the Bills' Litmus test this year. The Jets physically manhandled the Bills last year, and this was the game I thought would tell us if they are for real or not. My perspective hasn't changed. I think this is the game that determines whether the Bills are a playoff team or not.

Yep, he should get credit for causing a few of the sacks that others got. I also thought Carrington played well too. I think he played a lot inside today too, if I'm not mistaken.

While the Green Bay model is no longer allowed, I don't know why you can't give municipalities a minority equity stake for their "investment"? If the team moves or sells, the city gets its investment back with hopefully a little "capital gain" added in.

Let's not say clueless, let's just say private sector finance can hire the financial engineers who keep a step or three ahead of regulators. The publics raise tuition when state support gets cut. That said, you've touched on a sore point... The trend in higher ed for the past 30 years has been to reduce full-time faculty and hire part-timers, then use the money on pet admin projects and salaries for themselves. The "instructional budget" % has steadily declined. Administrators claim they must be paid private sector salaries to be competitive--what crap! Higher Ed is not immune to market forces, and the crunch is coming....evolve or die!

Really? Is there anyone here who tries to support fraud if "their side does it"? Let me know if you can find a poster who supports corruption. While Darin and I have disagreed on most things, one thing we have always agreed on is that both parties are corrupt.

Was that before or after 750 were arrested? I've been reading the stories about Wall Street lawyers fighting Volcker, yes, just as they always have, but they ARE on the defensive. It's too bad that 12% buffer wasn't in place 10 years ago.. It won't matter, the FED will buy the loans anyway...so the banks are made 100% whole. The old "well they did it too argument." The extent of the relationship and influence is cyclical. The excesses of the 1920s brought Roosevelt and regulation, and stability for 30 years after the war. The breakdown of those safeguards over the next 30 years lead to this crisis and the current populist backlash from both the right and left. I'd say they are more like the Populists of the 1890s. Here's a list of "demands" someone posted on the OWS site, I don't see the student loans stuff there...In fact, there's not much I'd disagree with in that list. OWS

Which is why I'm surprised you don't support it? I think I've agreed with you on this all along as well. It's not a left-right thing; it's a take back democracy issue. And the corporate media will twist this to turn people against those who threaten the system. "It's smelly hippies who want the government to give them a job and bail out." That's just Bull ****. People are fed up with a system that rewards the politicians who reward their big funding constituents. I'll support someone like Ron Paul, despite many disagreements with his policies, because he is a threat to the system, which needs to be taken down. As for K street G, they ARE in the right place: it's better to threaten the puppet masters than the puppets...

Seems there's a good joke in there about putting him in the "missionary position...."

And who exactly does this government entity work for? The poor who don't pay income taxes and don't vote? The middle class that's disappearing? The point which you apparently don't get is that so-called government represents those who fund campaigns, and the biggest contributors over the past 15 years have been unions, Wall STreet, Healthcare, and every other industry dominated by big firms. Laws are made to protect or promote those interests. And where do those politicos go after their work is done? They get well-paid jobs with the industries they rewarded. Who do you think benefits the most from the $5 trillion that government circulates into the economy? Do you think the health system wants to end Medicare? It's a gold mine. Banks, which are given a government license to create money, don't want regulations constraining their ability to create more and more paper, and they pay their government whores protection money. While you can find or cherry pick people to say something that fits fox snews spin, the majority are focused on democracy and fairness--defined as a level playing field. The system's f-ed up, and people know it.

The (bold) is where you are wrong. If you are assuming this based on "10 years of absolute futility," than you are not being rational. As for reason, Tampa Bay always had a good offense, and they now have a defensive minded coach, and are a very good team. I will wager you any amount of money (ok, within reason)that the Sabres will make the playoffs. As for the Bills, my two "IF" scenarios for a 10-6 season are gone--my projection was based on a healthy Merriman and Bell. However, all is not lost. Both Bell and Hairston will return, so I'm not too worried there. On D, it's very likely that my man Moats plays better than the gimpy Merriman. In addition, as Gaughan wrote about last week, the Offenses of the teams that the Bills play over the next 7-8 games rank 16 or worse (if I remember correctly). The road to the playoffs is tougher for the Bills, but certainly doable. Now go beat your dog.

Interesting. Probably took out government-backed student loans, got their education degrees at a public institution, and now both have high-paying government jobs as members of the teachers' union...Go 53%!!!

To quote my favorite band: "I change by not changing at all...."

My preseason prediction was 10-6, but I hope I'm wrong and you're right!

My response was a pun. If they draft 32nd, I'm going to get drunk, aka pissed.

I'm going to get pissed if we draft 32nd....

I'll keep harping on this too: this is exactly where I had them in my guess of 10-6 for the year. Two reversals happened: we beat the Pats and lost to Bengals; we beat Philly and lost to Giants--at least for my predictions. Here's the positive I take at this point in the season--I had us losing both games to the Jets, and now I know we'll win at least one. 10-6 is still the most likely outcome I see, and 11 wins is a good possibility still. Go Bills!