***PetrinoInAlbany***

So I'm in Bridgeport, and I'm traveling south on North Avenue on the way to a collision shop on Sage. Anyway, I'm on one of the busiest stretches and all of a sudden an entire neighborhood is marked off with yellow tape. And a detour ... which is where the story starts. So I didn't realize that the detour had just spilled me back on to North Avenue, so I was lost because I was working from memorized directions. So I wind up in this heavily guarded and confined little path, and a shoulder, and four Bridgeport cops on the outer perimeter of a six block by four block area. And I get out and figured it's like 82 out (this happened today) why make these poor guys walk over in body armour? So I walk up and see they're SWAT-type armed and here's this idiot asking for directions. But they were good guys and local and the one cop gave great directions. So as we're finishing I say "By the way, I was stuck in St. Vincent's Hospital for like 48 hours..." (It's related to the need to be heading to the collision shop on Sage Street...) "I just went past a CNN dish, and there's FBI and ATF and Homeland Security guys everywhere. May I ask what's going on?" And he says, "the guy that left the bomb in Times Square? They're searching his garage." Now I'm watching CNN feeds looking for a blue Hyundai. With a handsome but bald driver. Who's Mom is doing very well on chemo. (Thank-you, Mother Mary, for the assist.) Very sorry I've been so scarce since before the Draft...

Hey, Thurman ... It's rare when just seeing the TITLE of a post makes me laugh, but I loved this one... "How do the Bills screw up the draft every year??" You took years of frustration and summed it up in one sentence, man. Nice one.

Gotta disagree. For the second consecutive year, a rookie QB will be starting in a Conference Championship Game. (Flacco did it last year.) Actually, while once unheard of, it's happened five times since 1984. In my opinion, what's important isn't whether or not you draft a quarterback, it's whether or not you draft the RIGHT quarterback. - Dan Marino, Bernie Kosar, Shaun King, Joey Flacco, and Mark Sanchez... five rooks who started in a Conference Championship Game. Also, there are OTHER ways of protecting a QB without having All-Pros up front. Kurt Warner was among the least-sacked QB's in the NFL this year, yet you won't find one Cardinal O-lineman on the Pro Bowl roster. The Chargers' Kris Dielman will be the only Charger in the game, as a sub no less, yet Phillip Rivers' jersey stayed clean for most of 2009. You can scheme, you can play as a team (zone block), and still protect a QB without five first-rounders up front. - I know, I know ... But I still believe a first round QB is our best bet to rebuild quickly. Aikman only made the Cowboys wait a year before paying huge dividends, and Jimbo had us knocking on the door in two years ('88) ... Just don't draft a Tulane guy who transfered-out from the Pac 10 ...

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/931950.html I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Peters as a kid. Yeah, I'm 51 now, but I'm still going to call him "Mr. Peters" out of respect, just as I would if he were standing right here next to me now. He and his family lived in the house behind ours .. we shared a fence along our back yards. He'd stand at the fence with my Dad , and as I grew up with me, and talk about the three Buffalo sports teams with an insight and familiarity you could only get covering them for the local morning (at the time) paper. - I was his paper boy, and for my Christmas tip he'd give me "floor" seats to Braves games... so close you could hear the visiting coaches swearing at their players. I don't know if anyone here remembers the "whites" ... the seats at the Braves games that they would bolt to the floor behind the Braves and visitors' bench? They were mostly press and league seats. Loved it ... you can't imagine what it was like to be that young and that close. I was there the night Jack Ramsey called time out, ran onto the court, and literally pulled (by his jersey) Ernie D out of the Knicks game. (Ernie had started the game by taking 35+ foot 'bombs away' shots on the first three Braves possessions, missing all three. Ramsey turned a shade of red I've never seen a human face reach before or since.) That was also the night I met Van Miller for the first time. - My memory of Mr. Peters was that he was never too busy to stop and talk Buffalo sports with anyone. As the years passed and I grew up, I came to realize that he was a gifted writer as well. He was a very nice person. He not only realized how lucky he was to do what he did for a living, but he seemed eager to share that joy with anyone who wanted to "stop by the fence" and talk about it.

If his source is right on, and if they indeed do bring in a football guy to head up football operations, then I guarantee it would put a speedy end to all this Vick nonsense, too ...

Apparently that "nine o'clock press conference" was a rumor. The current coach is facing the media at noon today. Should be intersting, if non-eventful.

Let's all say a prayer for three human beings who obviously didn't deserve what happened to them today.

I lost my Dad in 2002 to cancer. Same as yours, OLD school Bills fan from the Rockpile days. If the poor man had seen today's game, it would've killed him. And if the game was on in Heaven and he watched, it would've saddened him. The good news ... this game wasn't on in Heaven. I checked the NFL TV distribution maps to be sure, and this thing was on in a different market ... much, MUCH further south than Heaven. Much hotter than Heaven, different viewer demographic. I understand Stalin enjoyed it, but Hitler hated it. He was always a little more aggressive on offense ...

As ironic as this may appear at first blush ... I would like to see T.O. and maybe another vet or two call them out. Do it in the locker room, or at practice, whatever ... Just have an NFL VETERAN yell at these guys. Have someone like Owens point out to them that he's played on winning teams and maybe point out that whatever it is these guys THINK they're doing, it isn't cutting it. I'm trying to picture how various past Eagles/Cowboys/49'ers coaches would've responded to this effort. The image I'm getting? It ain't pretty ...

I'm telling you, this was a strike game. No, worse. Why? At least watching the strike games, you'd point at the offensive right tackle and say "Do you realize that guy will probably be stocking boxes at WalMart next week?!" But today, you look at the right offensive tackle and realize ... "My GOD! He's going to be playing for the BILLS again next week!!!"

This was a frickin' STRIKE GAME. I'm down. I'm really down. Even if the front office (new OR old) gets it right, we STILL have to look forward to two more "rebuilding" seasons. We've been rebuilding since 1995. Kill me. I can't take any more rebuilding...

If KEEPING Jauron is the answer, then I don't even want to think about the question... (*sigh*) This is bad, This is really bad. It's almost like the sports movie cliche where the owner WANTS the team to be abysmal because he's trying to move them to another city. Next thing you know we'll be bringing in a washed-up coach and signing an aging prima donna wide-receiver. Oh, wait ... never mind!

I wish to apologize to the party or parties that purchased seats 14 and 15 in Section 219, my season ticket seats, for the Bills ~ Browns game earlier today. Unable to attend due to family commitments in Connecticut, I placed the tickets on TicketExchange, a common practice among season ticket holders who cannot attend a specific game. This is done with the team's knowledge and consent. You paid $150.00 for two seats to this game. - I am sorry. I am truly, TRULY sorry. I honestly thought I was selling seats to an NFL game. I had no way of knowing there would be nine total points scored. I had no idea that Derek Anderson would set an NFL record (post-merger) by completing 11% of his passes in a win. I had no idea that the Bills offensive line would have a strike-game-like nine false start penalties. - I did not do this on purpose. I am a genuinely decent person, and I would never knowingly subject another human being - friend or foe - to torture. I only hope that, where ever you may be, and if you read this - you can find somewhere in your heart the capacity to forgive me. And while I certainly (in retrospect) deserve it, I humbly ask that you at least consider not reporting me to any international body that may pursue prosecution for a human rights violation.

We gave up 472 yards rushing in our last two games. Let that sink in for a second. 472 yards ... in two games. Good God, even O.J. never got 472 in two games. And he got 2,003 in 14 games. I'm still in shock. I've seen a lot of things in 40 years following this team, but that has GOT to be some kind of record for defensive ineptitude. I better calm down because I have to get up in about three hours and go to work. But 472 yards in two frickin' games? Where do you even START to address that?

I had the pleasure once of arguing politics with an NFL cheerleader in an online forum. Based on that experience .... ummm, how can I put this delicately? Let's just say that if your 18 year old son or daughter is applying at Johns Hopkins, Yale or Columbia, he or she doesn't have to worry too much about this chick grabbing their spot. If this incident hadn't gotten young Caitlin fired, then it was only a matter of time before she locked herself in her car without the keys and missed a game anyways.

What the rule actually says is "any part of the player's body OTHER THAN his feet or his hands. Give me a few minutes and I'll find it & paste it.

- Making a foolish decision is not proof of one's "stones." I have "stones," yet I refrain from having sex with HIV-positive Haitan heroin-users... And I look before crossing the street. - Here's the article I was looking for. You'll have to copy-paste the link (below) to your browser... I never have any luck posting links. Anyway, the fellow is a statistician who did a statistical analysis for Football Outsider and - surprisingly - his analysis strongly supports going for it in MOST situations. HOWEVER, down in the conclusion section (way down, it's a long article) he states the situations in which you DO NOT go for it. The Bills-Saints scenario is described. It doesn't "prove" anything. but perhaps it's because Harvey ("Albany,NY") and I make our living doing statistical analysis that we respect arguments based upon mathematical empirical evidence more than emotional rushes to judgement based upon one's perception of what constitutes having "stones" . We argue our viewpoint as correct. And speaking of empirical evidence, it doesn't hurt that the overwhelming majority of NFL coaches agreed with us in the overwhelming majority of actual similar game situations... The link: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-anal...6/never-punting

Not assuming anything, and that's the point. You don't make the decision based on an assumption either way. You weigh potential risk & reward and factor in probability. - Look, we will NEVER agree on this one. So let's leave it at that. I will point out that it was NOT the reason we lost the game. And that's why I get annoyed with the clowns on WGR. - And one more thing... and be honest. What would you be saying today if the run (or pass) had failed, and the Saints were handed the ball at the Bills 28, eight minutes left, up by ten? Probably trashing Jauron either way, I'll bet. Me? I can at least give the guy credit for making the right call. That's all. I'm done.

The whistle blew and there would have been a hell of a difficulty trying to figure where to spot the ball. The dilemma didn't present iself because the rules say that when the whistle blows the play is over. Replay would be useless. Me? From where I was, he was NOT down. But it's that whole stupid "the whistle had blown" rule. Just one of those things. - Speaking of Reed, he was in true "Beast Mode" ... looked like one guy who really showed up to play. You maybe don't get it that clearly on TV, but the guy is always working as a blocker too. Doesn't take plays off, a real player. I love the guy. - Hey, on a day like that, I have to take my bright spots where I can find them...

That's not even a logical statement... I don't know how to respond.

I'm wide awake. We were on the twenty-eight yard line. The punt was the correct call. Giving the Saints the ball at out twenty-eight while down ten and eight minutes left would've been certain defeat. - Question for you ... No one had more motivation to make the better call than Jauron, an experienced NFL coach and former NFL Coach Of The Year. Me, I'm basing my judgement on 41 years following the Bills and the AFL/NFL. The odds that Jauron and I BOTH are wrong and you know better? It was the right call. We need to get over it.

Harv's right. Deal with the Bills directly or go through TicketExchange and you'll never get burned. Interestingly, the features in TickeExchange actually created more "bad" tickets. BUT if you're the season ticket holder, you have an incentive not to sell de-activated seats because you want to keep your seats. And while the bar codes change, the seat location itself can be traced back to the season ticket holder. (Also, by the way, a good reason to be careful who you give/sell your season tickets to if you cannot go any given week...) Get your seats from the team or on Ticket Exchange! It's no joke.

The punt was absolutely the right call. GR radio needs to get over it. You don't go for it on fourth down at your own 28. Period. The game had an eternity (eight minutes) left and we were down ten. I can't believe so many otherwise-football-savvy fans and media people (try GR radio for like six hours straight) are getting this one wrong. The Saints were the most prolific offense in the game at the time... giving them the ball at the 28 with eight minutes left and your team down ten is certain defeat. Punt and your defense can set you up. And besides ... What exactly was it about the Bills thirty-three rushing yards at that point (fifty-two minutes into the game) that made all these people think we were going to get that yard? - Consider this ... If you are an NFL coach, and your desire is to lose your job as soon as possible ... there is one sure-fire way to do that. It's easy ... just let the fans call the plays. Jauron knew better, and he made the right call. Let the fans call the plays, and every play would be a long ball to your best WR, followed by going for it on every fourth down. The games would be interesting, I admit, but you'd go 0-16 and get fired. At least by making the PROPER, CORRECT call, Jauron gave his team a statistically higher probability of success. In other words, he did his job.

Everyone knows (or should know) the rule ... When they've got the ball, sit. When on D, stand at will. First started going to games in '72, and 275 games later it hasn't changed much. I think the reason it's an ssue now is that at the same time that everyone has a phone on them, the team is making those announcements at the Stadium about "someone ruining your gameday experience? Text XXX to ### ..." It gives the "hall monitor" types something to B word about. I hate it because some idiot attending his first game will be telling ME how to act at a Bills game. What's really aggregious is that the ushers and - by extension - the sherriffs,if neccessary, would take the side of the hall monitors in a confrontation over the matter. Someone tell the Bills for me that empty seats will never obstruct somebody's view. Idiots.

I always feel like a kid on Christmas Eve when opening day arrives. I look forward to seeing everyone at the Tailgate! Probably won't get there until about noon - travel, driving plans involving other people, you know .. but I'll be there. Gotta see the first win in a 15-1 season, right?