silvermike

Spot on. Also worth noting: even though Gano made the field goal, a 39-yard FG is not a 100% affair. And there are bad snaps, blocks, penalties and the rest to consider. All against the chances of gaining one yard against a tired defense.

Stevie Johnson is really a frustrating player. His route-running is really second to none. He gets open against every defense that tries to cover him. That's an elite skill. The problem is that it's his only elite skill. He doesn't have breakaway speed to turn those into huge gains, nor can he get open like that deep. And as we've seen repeatedly, he doesn't have great hands. But man, that ability to get open is amazing. What the Bills have missed for a long time is a guy who will make the play that Stevie missed. The guy who will catch 95% of those passes for a gain of 4 on 3rd and 3. Ideally, I think that's a tight end. But I don't think it's Chandler.

The problem is the contract situation. You don't get Byrd cleanly, you get Byrd playing under a 1-year contract at $7M, which can't be negotiated until the end of the season, and you can't franchise him again without paying a huge tender. Maybe you want him for your 2013 run and it's worth it, but if you're thinking long term, you can just sign him without giving up a pick in the winter. Has a franchised player ever been traded after the July deadline?

Why wouldn't he go for a defensive player who at least got one more week in with Marrone and Pettine?

Hey, that picture proves they made at least one. It's out there in the world somewehre - when's trash day in Orchard Park?

So, we play the Lions tonight. A late August game against Detroit is going to be familiar, because we've got this matchup every damn year since 2002. That's ten games in the books so far - in the worst ongoing traditional game in sports. Consider the following: 1.) The NFL preseason is always terrible. We know that - after a long offseason, the first game might feel like a drink of water at the end of a desert march, but it quickly degenerates into a month-long panic attack based on key injuries. This year more than most. 2.) The 4th preseason game is especially terrible. The key work is all done, and the starters stay home. So in a meaningless NFL game, this one doesn't even feature familiar faces. It's not even a preview. 3.) The Lions are terrible. At 51-125, they have the worst record in the NFL since this series began. 4.) The Bills are terrible. Sadly true. 27th out of 32 teams in total record for the past decade (thanks Lions, Raiders, Browns, Cardinals, and Rams). But we've got a secret weapon: no other team has missed the playoffs every year in that span. 5.) The games are terrible. Even for preseason, these are some clunkers. One team or the other regularly fails to score a touchdown. 6.) We always lose. Not always, but we're currently riding a FIVE game losing streak in this dud of duds. This would be higher, but I'm not sure it wouldn't be more embarrassing to win.

I will say - preseason is when I really want a homer broadcast crew. It's not because I want to hear about how great we're going to be or how the refs are ripping us off at every turn. It's because I want all the coverage to focus on the minutiae of the Bills performance, especially as the game goes on. I don't want a balanced look at the Colts' battle for dimeback, but I do want a focus on the battles for the 53rd spot on our roster.

You joke, but Emily Post specifically states that there is no obligation to tip on takeout: http://www.emilypost.com/out-and-about/tipping/89-general-tipping-guidelines

You've gotta find a new take out place.

How many assistants under 40 were left off the list? Any?

Assuming he stayed in shape, I always wonder how bad a 50-year old QB would be, one who was very good at 30. Bad, obviously. Would he be worse than all 32 starters? All 32 backups? However many third stringers? 4th-string camp bodies? afl2 starters?

Myths have a way of not being true or accurate.

ANd on the other hand, who cares? If football sinks to be as popular as hockey - a huge collapse - it won't be any skin off my back. It'd likely be relatievly more popular in Buffalo than other places, but it might put some downward pressure on ticket prices. I don't care how much money the owners and players make. I just want to be able to watch the games, and I'm not worried that the NFL will be so short on talent it can't field 32 teams.

I'm not certain that a shirking talent pool will affect things much. They'll be playing against other guys coming from a diminished talent pool. The slower receivers will get open against cornerbacks whose reflexes are off. I don't think the average fan will notice. And in any case, fans certainly like college football just fine, despite the lower quality of play.

My problem with the pick is far more Russel Wilson than TJ Graham. Graham had an iffy rookie year with some promise. Whatever. There is not a single player on any Bills roster between 2000 and the present that I would rather have than Russel Wilson.

We need a QB on the roster better than Aaron Corp. I think that I can get behind Kolb for that role. I'd be pissed if they sign him for $8M per season and announce that he's the day-one starter, but does anyone think that's likely? We have no QBs on the roster who took an NFL snap in 2012. It's not a high bar to get over, and there aren't a lot of candidates.

The dolphin is much safer now - clearly, he's not playing football any more.

Ralph wanted Bobby April fired?

I know it's been tried, but I got another one: Judas betrayed Jesus Jesus is the son of God God caused Stevie Johnson to drop a touchdown pass against Pittsburgh Thrown by Ryan Fitzpatrick

We need a new thing, now that Wang and Levitre are gone and we're down to Wood. Meanwhile, Wang is an Eagle. So is Patrick Chung.

Where does that leave fan message boards?

I'd take him.

Yeah, I bet the Broncos are really regretting that one. Too bad their defense couldn't cover Jacoby Jones.

Yep, about right. The guy liked being the QB of the Buffalo Bills and really, really wanted to win games for the team. I'm never going to hate him. But his time had come.

I've been trying to get that table formatted without success, so here's a link:http://www.pro-football-reference.com/pi/share/NUq8Y Now it's all QBs since Kelly, minimum 10 starts. Only Flutie has a winning record (21-9). RJ has the best rating at 85.5, and leads in yards per attempt, although you have to cancel out his many sacks. But since 2002, when Bledsoe took over, we have basically no difference between these guys. Bledsoe, Fitz, Edwards, and Losman all had completion percentages between 59.1 and 60.9. That's something like one extra completion every 3 games. Four points of QB rating separate them. 0.15 yards per attempt. We've had, basically, the same quality of QB play for a decade now, although I'm surprised to see Bledsoe lumped in there.