Nextmanup

Shows the value of an awesome run game.

I have tried a LOT of single malts. You know, all "research." 😂 It's one of my favorites and competes with some 18 year olds. Go for it and let me know what you think. Why do people hate MNF? Do you have to work nights or something? Or go to bed early so you can't see the whole game? What's not to love about "playoff weekend" lasting an extra day? You'd rather have no football on Monday night with the whole thing already behind you for another week? I want more football.

PS: you still working homicide?

I think the Jets are beyond that sort of thing, realizing it's not going to help anyway. 😜

I was wondering if anyone would make threads for the games today. I'll be watching both, but on "tape delay" so I can skip all commercials and halftime! And sure, I'll cheer for Broncos!

I don't know what the point of that is. Either skip the fines, or make the high enough that players might consider them before taunting. To be honest, I don't mind taunting and that type of thing on the field, as long as it is isn't totally out of control. A little back and forth between the players is a good thing; adds competitive spice to the product.

John Brodie. Yes, he was a football player, golfer, and announcer all in one! Curt Gowdy was a great broadcaster; one of the all time best. And yes, Charlie Jones was play by play too. I guess I'm changing the topic as this is supposed to be about color guys.

Beane, get 'er done!

Ryan for the infraction? Or the ridiculously trivial fine that has no impact on anyone's behavior rolling forward? Maybe a little of both.

Are people talking about Dick Enberg? He was AWESOME. Heck, I always liked Charlie Jones! Paul Maguire was like the poor man's John Madden. Very similar cut of cloth, but not quite as good. He was still great though. Who didn't love "The Budweiser Sports Line with Paul Maguire" back in the day?! Used to watch that religiously, desperate for any Bills media coverage I could find. The good old days pre-internet!

I would argue your average ex-NFL player wouldn't recognize (or stay current with) exotic defensive schemes. You can't comment on that which you do not see. What annoys me is how, over time, a language has been built up surrounding football in terms of how to talk about it. People hear this their whole lives and then repeat it themselves...despite the fact that what they are saying is nonsense. The classic example is the concept of "momentum" during a football game. It's a fiction that isn't actually involved in the game, but what color guy won't talk about momentum at some point during a game? And then you have the modern color guy strategy of simply flattering everything on the field and surrounding the game. I think guys do that because its easy. You don't have to know what you're watching to say something nice about a payer/coach/whatever. Jon Gruden took that to a new level on MNF, and currently, Cris Collinsworth is its most offensive practitioner. Collinsworth makes me feel dirty; he comes across like a used car salesman trying to sell something. The game doesn't need his help, and he comes across like an amateur with that type of ownership interest in the product. He's there to comment on the game, not sell me on NFL football.

I had a little "discussion" with a poster here like a week or 2 ago. He made the blanket statement that our defense is "terrible" or words to that effect. I think a LOT of Bills fans want the team to succeed so badly, want to see them become SO dominant, that they compare the reality of what they are to some crazy, idealized notion of what a team could possibly be, hypothetically speaking. And based on that unrealistic comparison, they conclude we aren't very good. But they are living in reality, where no team is perfect. The reality is we are a top 5 offense AND defense! Statistically, we are as good as any team in the league, if we play our game.

Highland Park 12: the best bottle of single malt you can buy for @ $60.

I agree. I'm almost 51 now; not long ago (so it seems) I was the young kid in his 20s who knew everything. My mental age is still around 25 near as I can tell. I don't think of myself as being older at all. What you describe is part of the circle of life I guess. Where the 20-something SHOULD get blown into the weeds by the older guy is EXPERIENCE, for which there is no substitute.

I bet everyone's favorite sports broadcaster--Mike Schopp--signed up! The guy is obsessed with sports gambling any and every way he can. I have a little game I play: see how long the S&B show can last before Schopp makes some reference, of any kind, to the concept of gambling. It's usually no more than 10 minutes.

PS: I don't remember where I heard it, but someone recently suggested it is time for all NFL game broadcasts to include the "analytics guy" similar to how they have the "officiating guy" ready to jump in and explain complicated rulings. The job of the analytics guy would be to pop in and comment on key decisions as they unfold during the game. Like a HC decides to punt from his opponents 46 yard line and the analytics guy would chime in with the relevant probabilities and clarify that, according to the math, the decision to punt is wrong. Then he would disappear again. I think that would add a TON to broadcasts, though coaches around the league wouldn't like it. Which makes me like it more.

Solid DB cover guys are the second most important thing on the team, IMO, after the QB and WRs for the QB to throw the ball to. Be able to throw, and stop the other teams ability to throw on you....2 most important needs of the entire team.

Showing up for 0, 1, or 2 periods of game, but not all 3, has been a Sabres hallmark for the last decade and more. I have never seen a pro sports franchise in any sport take more nights, or large portions of nights, off. Having said that, the Sabres have been MUCH BETTER in this department under Don Granato than any other coach since Teddy Nolan during the tank years. The player who did the "drive by" in the video is Rasmus Asplund. I actually like his game some times, but unfortunately this sort of thing is now what NHL hockey is, at least in the regular season. There used to be two kinds of hockey: "European" and "North American". Now, it's all one hybrid that has more in common with the Swedish Elite League than it does a Flyers vs. Bruins game from 1985.

It did about 3 seasons ago.

I have always found Gronk's utter hatred at this forum really bizarre. He's the best TE who's ever played the game, and he's a native Buffalonian. So sure, let's hate on him! That cheap shot on White was brutal, but no Buffalo Bill bothered to do anything about it at the time. I get Gronk owns the Bills along with the rest of the Patriots, but is that a reason to hate him as an individual? I have been surprised at the charisma and character he has shown in TV commercials. I always thought he was a REALLY stupid jock.

I totally agree with the idea, but disagree with the NFL model. I don't think they are hiring these guys based on popularity as a player at all..some of them are pretty obscure or didn't have much of a playing career. The outdated model that needs changing is the notion that you must be an ex-NFL player to comment on what's happening in an NFL football game. And that's where I totally agree with you: comb Youtube content providers (among other places) and find people (probably younger than older) with personality who understand the game as its played today, and get them on there. There have been attempts at other models in the past. Who can forget Monday Night Football with comedian Dennis Miller as a "co-color guy". That didn't work, or last long. I understand your take here, but I would argue a really good broadcasting crew is MUCH more valuable than you suggest--particularly in a game that is not that great or which I don't have a lot of interest in to begin with. If I'm watching Chicago vs. Minnesota and it's 17-3 in the 3rd quarter, a really good broadcasting crew that I like is the difference between me continuing to watch for the fun of it and turning the game off. If we are talking a Bills game: I don't care whatsoever who the broadcasters are, though better people make the experience better. I give them a TON of credit for trying something out of the box, though it didn't work! That is such a conservative, cautious, scared industry--it's a miracle anyone ever signed off on the Miller Experiment.

Tanking or resting starters still involves 11 guys on the field going 100%, trying to put on a football game. 2 teams taking a knee every snap does not. Raiders would be my No. 1 wish; New England (who I think it will be in reality) is No. 2. At least in the first game. We are going to be going through KC regardless IMO, so it doesn't really matter who we play in first game.

Correlation does not imply causation.

I will forever remember watching Bears games that year and thinking the Bears actually had the advantage on defense...like no one could really move the ball on them at all. That's probably not quite right, but I don't ever recall a more dominating defense that literally controlled play and dictated the outcome of games.