TPS

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?

I said it was going to be a dog fight, and thought we could very well lose. However, they are right where I expected them to be at this point, 3-1.

Great, if they lose this week it's your friggin' fault, and your name will forever be Captain Buttsight.

Fabio! Perfect for Buffalo...

Cool. Since they released Coleman, I believe that left Batten as the only back up to Merriman. That will be an interesting battle: Batten vs Moats. Moats was th D2 player of the year, and Batten runner up.

Oh Man! What colors are you wearing? Good luck, and let's hope UB can stay with them.

I think the great transformation for the O-line was moving Wood to center and replacing his guard position with a bull. I thought the O-line would be better this year because of the improvement in the middle--the Bills did not play well against physical D-lines last year. Based on that, I believed the running game would be much better. While I thought the mix of Fitz and Gailey's O would mask deficiencies, I certainly never thought the pass pro would be this good so far.

Maybe, but his job is to be the provoker (bad cop), while Gaughan is the "serious" football writer (good cop).

When he's not trying to be the bad cop, he can actually put out something decent. I even chuckled at his last line... Link is on TBD front page.

I see a dog fight too. The Bills picked up a win I didn't expect, so maybe it's time for a loss I didn't expect, and they end up 3-1, as I did expect. This one comes down to the O-line. They have to give Fitz the time to attack, as they have so far. Ok, it says here they sneak away with yet another win, and a 4-oh start!

I have to admit I got a little misty-eyed myself after Lindell made the kick. Nice piece.

I got a kick out of the title--"breaking news" Sheesh!

That was funny! Hopefully Noone goes back to the hole he crawled out from...

Look in the mirror. I am criticizing the belief that what Bernanke has done will cause significant inflation and making the $ like monopoly money. You at least are starting to understand the process, as opposed to your wrongheaded beliefs from 2-3 years ago...

The one thing the Jets and Ryan did was to show everyone how to beat the Pats--build a more physical team, and then beat them up. The Raiders will do their usual run it down their throats on O, which will keep Brady off the field more. We'll see if their D can get after Brady? Let's just say I won't be surprised by a Raider win.

I look for the Raiders to do exactly what they did to the Jets, and win this game.

Yep, that convinced me too John. I had the Jets game as the litmus test for this team, because they have out-muscled us for the past couple of years--embarrassingly. We will beat the Jets at home, and possibly twice this year!

It helps when you know your receivers better too. How does one know whether the ball was thrown poorly or the receiver made a mistake? Don't discount the fact that Fitz hosted the WRs for his mini camps, and they are all in the second year of Gailey's system.

Thanks. Always enjoy reading those kinds of stories.