TPS

Since I picked the Bills to be 4-2 at the bye, and we beat Philly, which I didn't expect, I won't be surprised by a loss here. I agree with the post that the Gints will be looking to rebound after the loss to the Seahawks. I don't see them losing two in a row at home. This is a 50-50 game though. It will probably come down to whoever gets lucky, or a ref's call, again. Haunting memories....NYG 20 NYBills 19.

It's a classic 3 stooges line. Moe (to Curly or was it Larry?): "How long you had a weak back?" Curly: "Oh, I don't know, about a week back."

When I saw the Barnett TD on video, I was surprised a bit by Shep's size compared to Barnett. I thought Shep was a D-lineman. He and Barnett will make a dynamic inside due. Moats opposite of Merriman should raise the intensity of the pass rush. This D will get better and better as the season wears on.

My preseason prediction was 10-6, and 4-2 at the bye, which is now the worst they can do. I had us losing to the Jets twice, so those are both now in play. With some luck, 11 or 12 wins is possible now. However, I expect to see some fairly significant changes going forward: I don't see the Bills keeping up the scoring pace on O, but I also see the D getting better, so the ppg against will also fall. I see the biggest change happening on defense. I think the defense will tighten up, especially once McGee and Williams are back. I really liked what I saw from some of the young'uns Sunday--Carrington, Moats, and Shep. I think Merriman is actually playing really well. And Barnett...what can you say? Once the CBs get some reinforcements, the D will start to shut things down more consistently. One of the reasons I Billieved the Bills could be a turn-around team was that they would have a swing of 7-8 points per game this year; that is, the O would score more (18 avg last year), and the D would give up less (27 last year). The O is scoring 15 more/ppg (33) and the D is giving up 3ppg less (24). I think we'll see both of those #s come down, which still translates into wins. If we are 4-2 at the bye, then I think they end up 11-5; otherwise, 12-4 with a victory Sunday.

Funny, I was thinking about this today, that it won't be long (or at least I hope it won't) until we have the following 3-4: Dareus - Williams - Carrington Moats - Shep - Barnett - Merriman

Love that Hop Devil, though when I'm drinking more than 2 pints, I prefer Sierra Nevada or Southern Tier.

How you doin' Reggie?

When I was putting a post together earlier today about the road to the playoffs, I noticed they ranked in the middle wrt points allowed. Last year the Bills scored 18 ppg, and they are now at 33ppg. They gave up 27 last year and are at 24 this year--the spread went from from -9 to positive 9. That's a big swing. I think what we'll see the rest of the way is the D getting better and the O tailing off a bit, as teams have more film on the Bills, combined with injuries at WR. So it's imperative the D improves and reduces the pppg to 20 or less (IMHO).

The prediction in quotes below is from my "Bills will be a turn-around team" thread; so right now I am guaranteed of that outcome, and there is a very good chance that the Bills will be 5-1. Here's my best guess going forward... While I think the Bills can beat NYG, we may see the "flip" that happened with the Pats-Bengals outcomes--I expected the Bills to lose to Philly and beat the Gints. For the rest of the games, the biggest change from my perspective is that both Jets games are now in play. There will of course be unexpected losses (and wins), but this change now makes the chances of making the playoffs more likely. The biggest worry I have at this point is the WR position. The Bills lack a deep threat and teams will crowd the box and take away Stevie. I think the offense will move to a more power-oriented running game like this last game. I don't think we have a choice. On the bright side, the Bills have 3 weeks to get Jones healthy before the Skins game. I see the biggest change happening on defense. I think the defense will tighten up, especially once McGee and Williams are back. I really liked what I saw from some of the young'uns yesterday--Carrington, Moats, and Shep. I think Merriman is actually playing really well. And Barnett...what can you say? Once the CBs get some reinforcements, the D will start to shut things down. One of the reasons I Billieved they could be a turn-around team was that they would have a swing of 7-8 points per game this year; that is, the O would score more (18 avg last year), and the D would give up less (27 last year). The O is scoring 15 more/game (33) and the D is giving up 3 less (24). I think we'll see both of those #s come down, which still translates into wins. I think 11 wins is now very doable, but the D will have to transform from depending on the TOs to stop teams, to just plain stopping teams. I think they have the personnel to do this. Go Bills!

Someone asked Chan in his presser if he would've run the ball, and he said, "I'll nevcr tell." It got a good chuckle from the media.

Why change the subject to Obama? The Wall Street protests in general focus on Wall Street's influence which spans both parties. Did someone other than a loony righty here say this was a pro-Obama movement? You're the one who tried to pinpoint a particular president/party. lybob focused on the period since 1980. You do realize there were some republicans and democrats along the way, yes?

Average real growth was higher in the 30 years prior to 1980 than in the 30 years after 1980. Carter didn't implement the policies that were in place for 40 years prior to his election. Though he did start the deregulation process...

1. Casablanca 2. The Quiet Man 3. African Queen 4. Lawrence of Arabia 5. Treasure of the Sierra Madre 6. It's a Wonderful Life 7. One Flew over the cuckoo's nest 8. North by Northwest 9. Lord Jim 10. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 11. Duck Soup 12. Robin Hood (w\ Errol Flynn) 13. Tarzan (Johnny Weismuller) 14. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World 15. Lord of the Rings (the two towers) (The Big Lebowski is runner up...) This is what I answered on a Facebook pick 15 movies a few years back. .

Just listened to Chan's presser, and Gaughan asks him about balance, stating the league average is 41% runs, so "what is balance"? Based on your numbers, the Bills are right on the NFL average. What is balanced? Should the Bills run more?

Carrington is still learning and growing. He will be a very good player. He has been burned a few times on draws and screens, so the O has attacked his aggressiveness. He will get better at recognizing those. I think people place unrealistic expectations on young players. For non first-round picks, it often takes a few years before they reach their NFL potential. Hell, it often takes awhile for first rounders to develop. Last year everyone wanted to go after Soliai of Miami. He rarely played until his 3rd year, and didn't get significant playing time until his 4th year (last year). Overall I think Carrington's potential level is higher than Troup's. Troup will be a good cog in the middle; i think Carrington can be a game-changer. But that might not happen for another year or so...

I hope so Jimmy. Good luck. But I'm taking the Pats in my Yahoo pool...

The Treasury is capable of doing what the Fed does, only it would be directly responsible to voters (every 4 years). It's not 19th c finance; in fact, it's modern finance. The FED model has outlived itself. As for reserve currency status, as you should know, since you read my paper, that role has been in decline for about 10 years now. You assume that pulling the plug on DoD means no increase elsewhere. Also, global markets will calm down once growth becomes a priority.

Playing out that scenario... Stocks might initially react down, but would then rise, as the focus turned to creating jobs. Jobs and spending mean higher profits for corps. As for bonds (and the FED), it looks like they'd (the Paul-Nader ticket!!) return the ability to issue currency back to the Treasury, where it originated. The bond market (domestic investors) needs the government to issue securities (providing a risk-free asset) more than the government needs the bond market. Read Abba Lerner's ideas on functional finance.

So, it looks like the left and right are starting to run with it... Paul and Nader

Last time he stopped in, it was a love fest over Maybin. Something about, "what good coaching can do..." Maybe the grass isn't so (gang)green on the other side of the fence?

Is it too complicated for you to understand that there are similar motivating forces for the left and right--people are fed up with our political system. Because it's the left, dumbasses on the right want to caricature them. Too bad. If enough people get fed up, maybe we can elect people who will represent their constituents, not those who donate the most.

I don't think this is all that different from the Tea Party movement, only these are left-leaning folk, for the most part. The bigger picture is that people are fed up with what's essentially a one-party system that caters to whoever buys the most lobbying power. While the media is portraying it as a disfunctional group, I think it's pretty clear that people are expressing their frustrations about a system that caters to the monied hands that feed the congressional trough.

Some random points. - I think we also have to acknowledge some really good play-calling by some of the O-coordinators--at least from what I've seen. The Bills, so far, have been very susceptible to draws, screens and reverses. - I think Merriman has played ok. He hasn't been spectacular, which means the Bills still don't have that stud pass rusher. - McKelvin is a liability which means the Bills have to give more safety help to his side. That really weakens the overall D, since it takes Byrd out. - I only noticed Moats in on one play--it might have been Gresham's TD, but it was a pass in the endzone left, and Moats knocked Dalton down on the play, just a tad late. - The Bills are getting more turnovers, so they must be getting a little better pressure than last year. They just don't have a stud teams have to double. - I certainly would reserve making any concrete conclusions until the half-way mark. Go Bills!

Your premise is just completely wrong--"suddenly a good team." They became a competitive team last year. They ARE a better team this year. Just because a bunch of bandwagoners thought 3-0 made them suddenly good, doesn't make it so. They are capable of beating any team on any given Sunday. I predicted they could be a turn-around team this year based on their improvements on both sides of the ball. That does not make them invincible. I think you are the one being unrealistic. I pegged them at 3-1 at this point, so it's exactly what I expected. In today's NFL teams will win some and lost some that you don't expect. In the prediction thread for Cincinatti, I said it would be a dog fight, and the Bills could very well lose it. I actually said they would sneak out a victory--they should have. I have the Bills at 4-2 at the Bye. I think they can win a shoot out with Philly at home. As for my 10-6 prediction overall, I think it's still realistic. Some teams are a little tougher than I expected, but some are worse. I expected the Bills to lose two to the Pats and Jets each. I think they can win 3 of 4 now. Tennessee and Washington are tougher than I thought. We'll see. As for your Raiders and Bengals comment, maybe you aren't a very good evaluator of teams? They are both very tough, physical teams. The Bills are better able to stand up to those types of teams now. I think they were mentally prepared for the Raiders toughness, but not for the Bengals. Despite attempts to not get over confident, it's natural.

Maybe he only counts tackles or carries?