Matt in KC

So, do you guys think it's a sure thing we don't try to re-sign Teague? Besides playing a bit light, what faults do you see with his play? I saw him whiff on one play (for a sack) this year, but overall he's loooked like our best lineman to me. I agree Preston's play has been good. After preseason I felt he was not ready to play, but he holding his own - - very impressive for a 4th round rookie! We do need to find him a permanent home on the O-Line if he continues this way. To add to ans4e64's praise: he looked good next to Jerman!

Wow. Not one mention of the NHL yet. Overall, I think the accuracy of the calls is the best in MLB, understanding that each plate umpire will call a slightly different strike zone that the players need to learn. But, I think MLB being the best is mostly a statement about their job design, not the refs' inherent quality. NHL refs/linesmen often miss calls, but they are in a very challenging position, moreso I think than any other major sport. I'm hesitent to say they are the worst (tho it sure is fun to boo them! ) As for the NFL... they are far from the best, and I distinctly think they are getting progressively worse over the last couple decades. The NBA may have the worst refs today, but don't watch enough to give any specifics.

Yes, I saw it. It said Roscoe Parrish 1 rush for -3 yards in the "fantasy stats" at the top after a McGahee run. They obviously typed in 11 instead of 21.

I also think that our defense is okay. The injuries (esp. Crowell, Fletcher, Spikes) and heat in TB caused big one-game problems, but I don't think it's valid to extrapolate that into a horrid season.

Wait a minute... didn't we get rid of our TE's? (Or do you mean Jason Peters?) I hope we also play our defense that is better on 3rd down this week. Thanks for your thoughtful post and optimism.

oh man, why would they resign him??

What ever happened to... Gabe Northern? Village Green Bookstore (Monroe Ave, Rochester) X-Files (is the truth still out there?) the term "clipping" in football?

I'd like to see a full-team photo, and not a shot of the player-of-the-day.

Of course he's thrown several right to the other team that they've dropped. But, we have a very practical problem "counting" these. We don't have stats on how many near-interceptions other QBs have/had. So, if we're trying to use stats to evaluate performance, we have to set these near-INTs aside. If we're using our observations of performance then we don't need the stats in the first place. I'd say JPL is performing better than many young new-to-the-NFL QBs have, and worse than others. (Exciting conversation, huh?) Another problem is extrapolating based on very little data. Losman is on pace for 8 TDs and 8 INTs this year, which may not be too far off, but after the first game it looked like 16 TDs (all to linemen) and 0 INTs.... What is clear is that it is too soon to tell.

You mean so you don't have to spend 30 seconds searching for it? Obviously some odd choices in their list. I think they struggled to find 10. Interesting that there's one each from the AFC East teams.

This may be stupid, but have the Bills run any plays this year that were QB roll-outs to the left? (I only remember JPL rolling to the right.) I haven't rewatched this play, but it looked to me like a very good D call, anticipating the roll-out to the right where JPL could throw the ball away if needed, and not get callled for grounding (=safety). Unfortuantely, the Bucs committed strongly to the blitz that cut JP off. more than anything, this is the story of this play. Yes, WM or Shelton could have blocked better; yes JP probably could have gotten out of the endzone or escaped somewhere to the left or throw the ball to MW's feet; but mostly what happened was the right D call against a risky O-playcall.

If we did switch to the throwbacks permanently, then we could wear the new (current) uniform as a throwback for a couple games, right?

I posted the below in another thread, but I think we have to keep this in mind. Yes, the D looked average for most of the game (not horrible). But, when considering whether this is a categorical (persistent) issue with the D, or a situational (game-specific) problem, consider the following: ************* I think we need to consider the circumstances when judging the D's performance yesterday. 1) Fletcher going out was a big hit (he left when the score was 2-0), 1a) the D plays were called in from the sideline (maybe from Fletcher ? ) 1b) to Crowell, who was hurt and unable to play last week and may not have been 100% 1c) and Crowell looked like he was playing the playbook, not the opponent. I saw several times he charged through his gap, completely ignoring the ball carrier a over one gap. 2) The heat and time of possession. [A similar injury situation plagued the offense: MW went out, and Jerman was manhandled, leaving CV who was not fit enough to finish last week to man the rightside of the line.] ********* Additional thought (1d): The speed of calling the D play in from the sidelines was not fast enough. The LBs were often flatfooted, and getting to their spot at the snap - - far from being aggressive. I couldn't tell if the adjusted at all to the change in O formation right before most of the snaps without Fletch there to "QB the D."

A question for those of you that were there: Was the wind gusting? The NFL gamebook says 4MPH wind, but many kicks sailed long, and I wondered if gusts might have been affecting JP's throws at times (not that he didn't make bad throws all on his own).

If the game is broadcast in HD, can you see the secondary on most plays in the area blacked out on non-HD games? This would be strong justification for upgrading my TV, to see the pass coverage.... Thanks for the info.

I thought so too, but after watching some of the tape I'm not so sure. Twice shortly after he came in I saw the D-line do something sneaky. The D-end grabbed Jerman and kinda fell backwards, pulling Jerman toward him. While this happened, someone else blitzed around the end. While this looked like Jerman really hit his man, the result was someone cominig clean from the end without getting chipped. I think after this happened twice, Jerman started standing up a bit more, not leaning into his man.

Those of you with those fancy new rectangular TVs: do they show the secondary with the extra screen space? (Is the broadcast only letterbox for HD games?)

I think we need to consider the circumstances when judging the D's performance yesterday. 1) Fletcher going out was a big hit (he left when the score was 2-0), 1a) the D plays were called in from the sideline (maybe from Fletcher ? ) 1b) to Crowell, who was hurt and unable to play last week and may not have been 100% 1c) and Crowell looked like he was playing the playbook, not the opponent. I saw several times he charged through his gap, completely ignoring the ball carrier a over one gap. 2) The heat and time of possession. [A similar injury situation plagued the offense: MW went out, and Jerman was manhandled, leaving CV who was not fit enough to finish last week to man the rightside of the line.]

So, who do you think he'd be an upgrade over? He's definitely weaker than any of the starters IMO, but I'm impressed that he's not a glaring weakness when he comes in. This kid may well have a bright future, and I am glad to see him getting time in the line up for his development, though this does mean others (CV, MW) have been hurt.

Yup, me too. Must be a problem with their indexing for searching. I didn't look closely, but I typically use keyword "Buffalo" for my search. Is it possible it just says "Bills?" I do still see the game on my "To Do" list however....

Welcome Rayberry! It would be cool if you and gsurdam met at the bar. Or, if you own a chainsaw... maybe you could watch at Ryberry's house....

From my memory, there were 3-4 times last year that we went for a first down on 4th and long, or punted instead of attempting a 45-50 yard FG. I think this is what has been interpretted as lack of confidence. (Goodness knows Moorman doesn't like what this does to his punting average....)

You don't mean when Jabari Greer made the grab in that scene, do you? Haggan did look thinner. I wish Crowell had been there. I would have liked to have seen the interactions. It was clear from what I saw that Stamer is the most imbedded backup. Also, even if you really had problems with Posey's performance (I don't AT ALL), how could you want to disrupt the chemistry? Me too. I thought that was awesome. Talk about keeping them focused. That's exactly what I'd want to hear from my coach if I was Spikes, pushing for the playoffs.

Re: TKO vs. Fletcher Stats as a Bill adjusted to a per year (16 game) average: TKO / Fletcher Sacks: 2.91 / 2.77 INTs: 3.39 (*2 TDs total) / 0.0 Forced Fumbles: 2.42 / 1.31 Fumble Recoveries: 1.45 / 1.63 Passes Defensed: 8.24 / 2.94 Durability: perfect / perfect Tackles: 109.09 / 141.06 (over 3 years - wow) Sure it's a flawed stat, but Fletcher has nearly 9 tackles per game for 3+ years. (and no pro bowl... wow) Misc Playcalling: advantage Fletcher Consistency: both good, but advantage to Spikes Penalties: I couldn't find this, but would guess it's about 10 yds per year for Spikes and 50 for Fletcher. And yes, I know, several of those were bad calls. $The Cap Hit$ (2005 only): $5.4M / $3.8M While I think TKOs stats are stronger, Fletcher's still my favorite. I think I like rooting for the under-appreciated badass that consistently performs. I'd love to see him and Spikes both make the Pro Bowl this year. As FFS points out though, having 2 LBs so good we have to debate all aspects of their game to argue who is better is a great problem for us to have.

Wow: "In 77 punts by P BRIAN MOORMAN last yr, punt coverage unit allowed 1 PR longer than 20 yds & caused 4 fumbles"