Cotton Fitzsimmons

YE OLE got good points last season with Spiller due to all the kickoff yards. The Bills were getting kicked off to frequently and Spiller would gradually rack up decent yards. This year with all these touchbacks though, that loophole is closed. Sproles has looked awesome this year though. I like the Sproles play myself, but just my opinion.

With all the talk that got started with Gruden, then Shanny, and then Cowher, and how Ralph was willing to pay 10 mil/season for a caoch, expectations got out of hand quickly. As disappointed as most of us were, we all owe Chan an apology at this point. He's proving to be a damn good coach, and I don't think we'd be sitting here at 3-0 with this kind of offense had we ended up with any of the high priced names out there. Chan was the right coach for this team and a perfect fit with THE AMISH RIFLE.

YE OLE remembers it well. It was an end around to Peerless Price... Bledsoe stepped up and pancaked Jason Ferguson. It was Bledsoe's first game as a Bill, opening day 2002.

It must be, I believe that was the date on the SI Cover with Drayton on it that's floating around.

Butler held together some semblance of what Polian had created and kept the team in the playoffs, but it definitely came at a price. It seemed like pretty suspect timing when half the front office left for SD right before things went off the cliff. The 2001 season had to be tanked to recover from it. We had guys like Raion Hill and Brandon Spoon starting on that defense.

Sun 10/2 Cincinnati Bengals at Cincinnati1:00 pm W Sun 10/9 Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia 1:00 pm W Sun 10/16 New York Giants at NY Giants 1:00 pm W Bye Sun 10/30 Washington RedskinsWashington 4:05 pm W Sun 11/6 New York Jets NY Jets 1:00 pm W Sun 11/13 Dallas Cowboys at Dallas 1:00 pm W Sun 11/20 Miami Dolphins at Miami 1:00 pm W Sun 11/27 New York Jets at NY Jets 1:00 pm L Sun 12/4 Tennessee TitansTennessee 1:00 pm W Sun 12/11 San Diego Chargers at San Diego 4:15 pm W Sun 12/18 Miami DolphinsMiami 1:00 pm W Sat 12/24 Denver BroncosDenver 1:00 pm W Sun 1/1 New England Patriots at New England 1:00 pm L Call me crazy, but looking at the schedule, this is what I'm seeing right now. We'll know a lot more I think after the next coupe of weeks to see how they continue to ride this wave of success. If they continue to play the way they're playing right now, however, most of these games look very winnable. I would've said the SD game would be tough, and I do think it will be, however, they just got taken to the wire by the Chiefs at home. I have to question that a little bit as banged up and bad as KC has been. The Giants game looks tough at this point, but I could flip that either way.

Nobody wants to accept that the BIG BAD BILLS might be back, gents! Buy hey, ESPN still ranked us behind KC after clubbing them week 1... I would expect no different this week: "Well ok you won the game, but the Pats are clearly the better team"

That picture is THE WHIP... YE OLE may have to purchase the cover and get it framed.

It's always more enjoyable to make these maroons look silly every week. It's not like the Bills aren't getting respect from much of the media at this point. I think it's good to still have a few of these guys running around spouting off like this. Keep them hungry to keep proving it week in and week out.

YE OLE is gonna go with... 31-13 B-LO I just have a feeling they'll want to make a point to start fast this game.

It was a good time back in those days, gents!

Interesting, sounds like good news. Any idea how long the term of the new contract will be, and that in conjunction with wanting to begin talks to extend the lease with Erie Co., is there anything that can be read into that as it related to the teams future in WNY?

Good point Dorkington. I think we're still so early into the season that all stats may be a little skewed. That said, barring a let down, I think we'll see a W this Sunday. YE OLE feels pretty confident about this one.

Fitz seems to have really cut down on the wild throws. The other side of this, too, is even if he makes a few mistakes they seems to be able to make up for it. The offense has been moving the ball so consistently, if Fitz does throw a pick here and there it's not nearly as devastating as it would've been in past seasons.

YE OLE would give them a whirl. Throw a few berries of your choosing on top for good measure, slap some cold milk over it... in fact YE OLE could knock some of that back right now.

With regard to having a letdown Sunday, there are still quite a few out there claiming this team isn't for real. That the Raiders and Patriots games were flukes. People are continuing to say that they're not the best in the AFC East right now. If they lose a game right now it's all going to come crashing down, and everyone will pile on again. They know that. If they want ongoing respect, they have to keep winning. I don't think we'll have a letdown. This team hasn't been good long enough to get complacent.

They should put you on one side and YE OLE on the other... we'd jam them up but good!

True enough, my good man. YE OLE thinks Marv's old adage, "When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us" applies to this team for the first time in a long time. It's refreshing to see the other team unraveling down the stretch for a change.

There is something strangely prophetic about Chan's "You dog one of us, you dog all of us speech" from last year's training camp. This group seems very tight knit and ready to go to battle for each other. It lends toward their resiliency in these come backs. Some of that may have been due to addition by subtraction as well.

Thanks for posting! Bills are making up for lost coverage. They're all over ESPN this week.

Indeed Dr. Fong. YE OLE was always astonished that the only players of character during the Levy/Jauron era were all undersized and slow. Glad they started making character guys with talent again.

I don't think this team will look past Cincinnati. That '08 team had a much different make up. There's real leadership with this team that was lacking in '08. YE OLE would even hazard a guess that Fitzy fancies himself a bit of a fan in addition to being the QB.

I watched the game, but didn't hear much of the commentary. I can't speak to what was said last night, but for the most part I don't hear people talk about Romo in the elite tier of QB's. Maybe in the 2nd tier. I think he may be overhyped at that even. I don't watch a ton of Cowboys games, but when I see him I see a lot of miscommunication and mishaps. What was the deal with Romo and his center last night? Romo seems to lash out at his teammates frequently as well. I have to question his leadership.

It's a weird sentiment. We've waited so long for another crack at it, that we naturally have apprehension of getting good enough to get back there. I know what you mean though, I was thinking the same kind of thing today. But the fact is, no matter when you get there, there's no guarantees. A lot of people said GB was a good team but a year away from contending last year. Who know where this is headed, but I do know I feel good about this week's game. The more we string together, the more serious things will get.

Both of these guys have been really good so far. It seems like every other play on TV they're replaying Levitre pancaking a defender. Really this whole team is blocking well. That block McIntyre threw on Freddie's TD on the goal line was vicious. It also leads me to question if these players would've made the same progress under the previous regime. (Probably Not)