Cotton Fitzsimmons

YE OLE is ready to bring it, gents!

The thing is their injuries are mostly on the defensive side of the ball (although I believe I heard Vollmer is out as well). The consensus seems to be that we could score on the Pats at full strength. Our defense is what worries me. YE OLE was not thrilled with Jason Campbell torching us last week.

It's hard to compare stats from one era to the next. There's so many variables involved. Obviously when Kelly played the USFL was an option that was out there for guys. On the other hand, one could argue that during Kelly's prime we had only 28 NFL teams vs. 32 today, so the NFL is more dilluted today. Or you could argue that athletes are getting bigger, stronger, and faster so it's actually a higher level of play today. I think ultimately the question raised with regard to rival leagues has to be put in the same context. Was that league viable in that era? Clearly the AFL was as it eventually became par of the NFL and those stats should be taken to account. I would say the USFL performance of Kelly should be taken into acct. but perhaps to a lesser degree. That league had talent in it and some real marquee players. Now fast forward to more recently and look at leagues like the XFL, and obviously that was a joke. Jim was clearly amongst the best of his era, when some guys were playing in the USFL, so it should be considered. Had Brady played 20-30 years ago, he definitely would not have put up as many yards as he has. His benchmark for greatness is different as the landscape of the game has changed.

YE OLE thought we would score on these guys with Haynesworth and Chung.

YE OLE will be watching from Michigan on the Sunday Ticket. YE will be jumping around his living room channeling his defensive prowess to the boys on the field.

True dat, Rubes... TRUE DAT. As much as I believe in this team this year, it's hard not to be gun shy about this one. I'll never forget going to work the day following the '09 opener. I was a branch manager for a large bank, and had a staff of "casual" NFL fans, mostly female. All I heard all day were conversations of "Oh I just knew the Pats would pull it out they always win..." and "Tom Brady is so hot" For everything we've been through from Wide Right to the Music City debacle... I think I had as much anger that day in the fall out of that game than almost any time in my Bills fandom. We need this one tomorrow.

YE OLE has seen this question raised many times over the years, and inevitably there are a few people out there who just can't stand the people who refer to the team as "we" or "us" etc. I'm never sure why it sticks in the craw of some to such a large extent. As you say "The 12th Man" resides on the Wall of Fame and it's a certainty that fans do play a role in a team's success and failure. Especially in this new era of social media, the interactions between fans and players have increased infinitely. Take a look at the BillsMafia movement that has exploded on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/TheBillsMafia This all stemmed from certain talking heads in the media continuing to dog Stevie Johnson after his drop against Pittsburgh. In this day and age, Chan's statement rings true, "You dog one of us, you dog all of us." I'm of the belief that fans have always had a big part in the team, but it's increasingly so in this new interactive world.

Rubes, my good fellow, you could be right. YE OLE wouldn't mind a good old fashion, take behind the wood shed, beat down to put a cap on this streak. What say you? What is the official Rubes prediction on this tilt?

YE OLE is expecting as much... but holds out hope that the D will harass Tombo. Unfortunately YE won't be at the game tomorrow, but is clearing some space in the living room to bust out a LIGHTS OUT dance or two, should the need arise.

Let us entertain the fantasy just a while longer, for posterity sake, of course.

In honor of your avatar EZC... when Stevie scores on Sunday, he should run over to Belichick and say "Hey Coach! We're showing your guys the 'OH' face today... OH OH OH... OHHHHFENSE" I can hear Billy now going off like in THE BILL BELICHICK SPECIAL on NFL Network where Derek Mason is giving him the bsiness... he'd be like "**** you Johnson... just **** you... ****!"

It's not secret YE OLE loves Fitz... that being said, it was imperative that he cut down on those 3 or 4 AWFUL throws every game. He's had a couple head scratchers in the first couple of weeks, but not as many as we had seen in the past. If he cuts down on those, the sky might be the limit. He definitely makes some brilliant throws out there.

The very sight of Lee Evans on the sideline still makes the safeties play back. Lee can be on crutches and in street clothes and he still looks like he's tearing ass all over the field.

Billy Joe Hobert is THE WHIP! The dude never cracked open a playbook, but managed to stick around and collect a handsome check.

This is a little something YE OLE put together for his blog today while avoiding work. I know there are those amongst us who like useless analysis and trivia as much as YE OLE, so I thought I'd post it here as well for the masses. Enjoy, gents! By The Numbers: New England @ Buffalo Hey boys and girls, get ready to shock and amaze your friends at the tailgate on Sunday with obscure trivia! It's always interesting and sometimes pointless... it's time for Sunday's Matchup by the Numbers: 103: Sunday will mark the 103rd meeting between these AFC East rivals. The Bills won the first game in the series on Sept. 23, 1960 by a count of 13-0. Overall the Pats hold the edge with a 60-40-1 record all time. 15: The Bills have lost the last 15 games in the series. 5: Despite losing 15 in a row, the Bills have had their chances. Five of the 15 losses have been by 8 or fewer points. 54: The over/under on Sunday's game. The Bills come into the game with the league's highest ranked scoring offense, while New England ranks 1st in total offense at 563 yards per game. Defense could go out the window early on in this one... take the over. 19: The number of touchdowns the Bills and Patriots have combined to score in the first two weeks of the season... (see #54... take the over) 1: The number of times the Bills and Patriots have met in the playoffs. Despite having met 103 times in the regular season, they've amazingly only met once in the postseason. New England, led by Babe Perilli's 300 yards passing, won the contest 26-8. Jack Kemp and "The Mad Bomber" combined to throw 4 INT's in front of the home crowd at War Memorial Stadium. The year was 1963. Now there's some tailgate trivia for you! 8: The number of times the Bills have opened a season 3-0. A win Sunday would put the 2011 Bills in rare company as only the 9th team in franchise history to accomplish this feat. Despite the Dick Jauron/Trent Edwards collapse in 2008, the other 3-0 starts have yielded good results: 1964: 12-2 AFL Champions 1965: 10-3-1 AFL Champions 1975: 8-6 1980: 11-5 AFC East Champions 1988: 12-4 AFC East Champions 1991: 13-3 AFC Champions 1992: 11-5 AFC Champions 2008: No need to rehash that debacle 3946: The total number of points scored in this series dating back to 1960. The Patriots hold the edge here as well by a count of 2126-1820. Averaged out over the 102 games already in the books, that works out to roughly New England 21 Buffalo 18. But look at the bright side... the Bills are within shouting distance here. A few good seasons could wipe out that 306 point deficit in no time! 479: The number of yards New England is giving up per game. Did I mention that I really like the OVER in this game?! The once sturdy Patriot defense has shown to be vulnerable in recent years. This year does not look like an exception. This, in conjunction with the high octane offense the Bills have displayed in the first two weeks is, perhaps, the biggest reason to believe the Patriots winning streak will end on Sunday. 6: Over/Under on the number of times Teddy Bruschi will have to remind Ochocinco NOT to be in awe of Tom Terrific and EXPECT greatness. 42-35: My prediction... the Bills win a shoot out 42-35. GO BILLS!

We'll likely be closer to #21 than #1 in ESPN's rankings. If we lose, we'll surely go back to the basement.

This is definitely a SHOW ME THE BABY game. Buddy may even need to smell their breath for this one... figure out what they had for lunch.

YE OLE hates to say it, given our long hatred of the Pats* but I have to agree. The Chiefs fans were amongst the most arrogant I've seen. The Raiders fans seemed only moderately better. The people on the Pats forums express a genuine concern about this game. Of course some of it might be getting a couple of wins under our belt and scoring bushels of points in the process.

Indeed hondo. He seems to have that "IT" factor that is infectious. We're turning out undrafted receivers, waiver pick ups, etc. and they keep turning into players. Credit Gailey and the front office, but I think Fitz has a lot to do with it as well.

Indeed my good fellow, if only they had your cousin Captain Foresight running things over there, Brian "Tag" Hoyer would be starting.

Wow, how tragic. Not drawing any implications here until the facts are released, but it seems odd how many of these former athletes are found dead in this manner. I remember the official taking a lot of heat for that incident. Brown was a really good tackle as I recall before that incident, but that did long term damage to his eye, from what I remember.

YE OLE caught that. Belichick was criticizing his throws and Brady was defending every one of them with that "OH COME ON DAD!" voice. Sounded like a whiny little kid who was getting grounded.

Carl is THE WHIP! "My pool looks like it's tearin' ass all over the backyard, and it ain't even movin!"

Far be it for YE OLE to say Nelson is on VJax' level just yet, but I do think he will give New England major problems this week. It's still hard to believe this guy went undrafted.

YE OLE tends to agree, but it is nice to get some coverage. However, we'll rue the day if we lose on Sunday. It will be similar to a vision YE OLE had while napping yesterday. Picture this: Michael Irvin shows up in the middle of my living room and is like "I told you SON, you're garbage!" and then *POOF* there's Marshall Faulk all like "3-13 for the Bills this year, don't hate me, you'll see what kind of team you have" Needless to say, YE OLE had to get up out of the easy chair and "open that can" ... YE was in the midst of unleashing a barage of haymakers when he was awoken by the Mrs. with "honey do" list in hand. But make book on this... if those jabroni's come back tonight while YE OLE is sleeping, YE will have to handle his business.