My Friends Call Me Tebucky

All of them except the Chicago and second New England game, in a way. But this season isn't about making the playoffs- yes, it would be nice, but it's about them learning how to win. Losing the Detroit, NYJ, Indy, and first NE game all hurt them, but it's a young team and they seem to have turned those heartbreaking losses into lessons. Bills teams from 2000-2005 would have found a way to lose the Texans and Jags games. They seem to be able to win those now, and that's a huge step for a developing team.

They gave up 200 yards rushing (excluding Rivers' kneel down on the final play) and were a -2 in the takeaway/giveaway. I think that says it all. I'd like to know the last time a team allowed 200 rushing yards and was a -2 in +/- and WON. I'm sure some team has beaten the Falcons in the Vick era when that's happened, but I'm guessing it's incredibly rare.

How about some "high talent" players? Anthony Thomas is a decent backup I guess, but he really is similar to McGahee. Both are plodders that aren't especially good receivers. Thomas hits the hole a little harder, McGahee has a little more speed and agility. They need a classic "change of pace back," somebody that can come into the game and pose a different threat than the guy in there before him. Jones-Drew would be perfect for the team, but that's a pipe dream. Travis Henry might be having a good year, but he's no better than McGahee. He's also getting pretty old by NFL running back standards. Michael Turner (San Diego's backup to LT) is somebody Buffalo should consider going after....

He's better than, say, Kendrick Office. I think he'd be a good starting defensive end in a 3-4 because he has speed and seems to be able to hold his ground pretty well.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES. Two of them. I love Kyle Williams' hustle, and think he would be a good rotational player, but he can't anchor well enough consistently (ever) to start on an NFL team. Triplett's coming on strong, but his strength isn't as an every down lineman for the same reasons as Williams- plus Triplett is supposed to be the disruptive "slasher" in the defensive line, and he clearly isn't. He's an asset, but only as an overpaid 3rd down pass rusher. They can't let Clements go. Lock him up, and then relax because you have a pretty solid secondary all tied up for a few years. Clements might not be worth the money he'll get, but he's too good not to keep while they have a ton of cap room not being used. After DL, I'd go with the interior offensive line, and linebackers- two areas where I think we're weak. A solid #2 WR would be great, but the way I see it they have 5 guys who are legit #3s. I like Andre Davis a lot- anybody notice he's become a Sam Aiken on special teams yet can show talent on offense? He needs more of a chance. He's the only good blocking WR they have. Anyhow, I'm rambling...

Schobel's one of maybe 3 or 4 players on the defense that are legitimate high-quality NFL starters. He's a speed rusher...he's terrible on draws and traps, just like any speed rusher in the history of the NFL has been. He weighs no more than 250 pounds and if they played a 3-4 would probably be a linebacker...what "moves" do you want him to make? A bullrush against a guy who outweighs him by 90 pounds? He rushes upfield all of the time because that's his game, and he's pretty damned effective at it. Of course they get burned on draws to his side every time, because the center is able to block Williams/Anderson/Triplett on his own and the guard can kick out and clobber a linebacker. It's really not that complicated. If we had a defensive tackle that could actually absorb two blockers once in a while, Schobel's "deficiency" wouldn't be very noticeable at all...

3 huge games from Clements in a row now. He's not Champ Bailey. He's not worth 7 million dollars a year. He looks like Exhibit. But we can't go out and get anybody better than him, and can't trust McGee as a #2 let alone a #1. LOCK HIM UP!

I don't care if he's from Compton or Charlotte, I'd like to see the Bills have one successful run to his side- I don't think I have since he's been in the lineup

I wouldn't exactly chalk up Tennessee as a win... by the way, it would've been nice if Henry had busted off a 70 yarder or two in his time here- then maybe we'd have him at RB and a solid interior D-lineman instead of McGahee...

I say Faulk, only because he was the "engine" for Super Bowl teams...but Tomlinson is as special a talent as I think I've ever seen- and he does it all behind a garbage offensive line. Honestly, please try not to include Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, or Thurman Thomas in your responses, I'm trying to compare backs from this particular era. Oh, and, yeah, I think has become the prototype for the ultimate modern day running back (Faulk, Holmes, Barber, Tomlinson), moreso than Smith (Shaun Alexander or Corey Dillon, maybe?) or Sanders (can't really compare any modern day guys to his talents)...

This is really a nice thought. But it's ludicrous. Of the players listed: Cornelius Bennett - Rookie (Bills have no linebackers among their corps with half of the natural talent of Bennett. Spikes does, but he's on the downside now, and by the time they're good, especially if this is a 2 or 3 year process, he won't be close to the player he was 3 years ago) Ray Bentley - 2nd year (The only player the Bills have who's comprable is London Fletcher. While Fletcher is better than Bentley ever was, he won't be around that much longer. Again, he's getting up there in years) Derrick Burroughs - 3rd year (I guess comparing him with McGee is fair. Burroughs was a decent #2 CB for a while, and McGee is as well. But that's pretty much McGee's ceiling I think) Shane Conlan - rookie (Umm..no answer here. I remember a lot of people comparing Brandon Spoon to him the last time the Bills were this obviously rebuilding- and we know how that worked out. Raion Hill was going to be the next Leonard Smith too, according to the ultraoptimists) Ronnie Harmon - 2nd year (Granted he wasn't a part of Buffalo's championship run, but he played a big role in turning the team from decent to pretty good. No player on the roster does or can do what Harmon did out of the backfield) Kent Hull - 4th year (2nd NFL) (Ha- mediocre journeyman Melvin Fowler or borderline Hall of Famer?) Jim Kelly - 4th year (2nd NFL) (Not even going to respond to this one) Mark Kelso - 2nd year (Kelso wasn't that good. Was great at keeping everything in front of him and great at picking off overthrown passes in center field. No run support or physical presence. Ko Simpson can be better, he's one of the few solid building blocks we have) Nate Odomes - rookie (Their #1 corner for 6 or 7 years. Clements can play, but he won't be in Buffalo next year. I hope you're not talking about Jabari Greer or Yobouty here) Andre Reed - 3rd year (Evans is the only player on the team that I could even in my wildest dreams see in the Hall of Fame, so, ok) Leon Seals - rookie (He was a journeyman type player, same as Denney and Kelsay appear to be turning into- decent, nothing special) Bruce Smith - 3rd year (I like Schobel, but I wouldn't feel comfortable comparing him to the best defensive lineman the NFL saw since Deacon Jones) Steve Tasker - 3rd year (Coy Wire, right? Nope) Will Wolford - 2nd year (Pro Bowl caliber left tackle? Don't see one on Buffalo's roster) And that's not to mention quality players like Howard Ballard, Pete Metzelaars, Keith McKeller, Thurman Thomas, Jim Ritcher, and Darryl Talley that were already with the team or about to join it. In terms of long term building blocks, I see this team as having somewhere around a dozen: QB- Losman RB- None (I don't McGahee's that special, I also don't think he'll be here long) WR- Evans TE- None (has Everett shown ANYTHING?) OL- Peters DL- Schobel, K. Williams (haven't seen enough from McCargo to bother including him, and Kyle Williams is a building block as a rotational player, not a starter) LB- Crowell Secondary: Simpson, Whittner, McGee Special Teams: Moorman, Lindell, Parrish This is a mediocre core to have, especially consider some of them have reached their potential and aren't going to get better (Schobel, Moorman, Lindell). I know the comparison was initially meant as a source of optimism, but let's face the reality of it people, we'll never have an assemblage of young talent like we did in the late 80's on one team again. The Bills need Losman get better, and a couple of very good drafts (both lines) to be a playoff team.

If Vincent wasn't president of the NFLPA, he'd be in another uniform this season, and Milloy would be the starting SS. In a perfect world they could find somebody better than both of them (Ko Simpson is probably better than Vincent anyway, as I thought Rashad Baker was), but I think they're afraid of dumping/embarrassing such an integral member of the player's association. I could be completely full of sh--, but oh well...if Moulds' contract was too rich for their blood, they're rebuilding, and there's no reason to keep Vincent in that situation unless they're afraid of the backlash in terms of the reputation the organization has with potential free agents in upcoming years....

I think the emotional/ leadership aspect of the Milloy thing outweighed his knowledge of their playbook. Milloy probably still knew their playbook when they whooped our ass by the same 31-0 score to close the season. For some reason I don't think losing Jonathon Smith is going to break the soul of the Bills' unit.

The only one that really stands out for me is Warrick- if he's healthy, he's one of the best slot (3rd, with no chance of being a 1 or 2) receivers in the league. Unfortunately, Warrick is basically an older version of Parrish, and that's not a need for the Bills... I'll pass on Haynes and Rogers- we know what we have with Denney- consistent mediocrity. Haynes shows flashes but disappears. Denney's also better vs. the run, which is the biggest concern with the Bills right now. Rogers is garbage, attitude, overrated talent, an injury prone waste of a roster spot.

Why are people worried about this? Smith's PR stats from '04 are altered by that one TD return (ironically, I guess, against the Patriots) where he almost was caught from behind by Patrick friggin Pass. The way I look at it is that New England is pretty desperate at WR- at least there's one position Buffalo is better than them at. Seriously, shouldn't we be more worried about Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, and Rodney Harrison than Jonathan "Not Really that Fast Freddy" Smith? We have plenty concerns for week 1- this isn't one of them.

-Any of the three commercially released Velvet Underground live albums. -Nirvana Unplugged in NY (even if you're not a Nirvana fan, you can't deny the power of it). The unplugged shows of Pearl Jam (bootleg) and Alice in Chains (commercial release) are also great- yeah, I'm a child of grunge. -Neil Young- Live Rust -Tragically Hip- Live Between Us -Cash- Folsom Prison -

Molson. The skunk factor makes it 5 times better than your Labatt's. I also think it's stronger, which amplifies the pathetic drinking alone I'm rockin' out.

He has plenty of time to rest while the defense is giving up 7 minute long drives

Don't forget the valuable insight regarding the Eagles off-season distractions (Owens, Owens-McNabb, Simon, Westbrook,etc.)..."I don't think it'll affect them unless they lose 3 or 4 games in a row" His IQ can't be more than 55.

The Sabres shouldn't be trashed for passing on human pylon Derian Hatcher for 4 million, or not trying to sign a man with no organs and looks more like a wolf than a hockey player for 5 million. Nor should they be condemned for letting the inconsistent Satan go...considering his ice time, he had the potential to score 45 every year with his talent, but instead was a perennial 25-35 man. He'd lost his motivation in Buffalo, time to move on. At the price the Isles paid, Zhitnik should have been kept...he's not nearly as replaceable as Satan and he was more important to their team. But he was a UFA and he had to want to stay. Apparently, he didn't. The vast majority of players who B word about Ruff and the team don't understand that the Sabres, under the old system, weren't a team that could really afford to have 40 or 50 goal scorers. They'd be gone within 2 seasons. Ruff was a defenseman...their style was defensive. For the most part, it's worked. Sure, they started playing better last year after Ruff loosened the reigns a little bit. But overall, during the Ruff-Regier era, they've been better served to try to win 2-1 games. That's why people like Kozlov, Satan, Audette, Gilmour, Andreychuk, etc. have had negative things to say upon leaving the organization. The only one of those guys who was ever interested in backchecking was Gilmour, and that was 10-15 years ago. You don't see defensemen in Buffalo complaining so much. Woolley did, but he was a Paul Coffey wannabe- rarely paid attention to his own end, and when he did, you wished he hadn't. My point is, in the past, the Sabres system has been defensively oriented primarily because of economics (and a slightly lesser part because of Dominik Hasek). They could never afford to pay a team full of Paul Kariyas, but could have some on-ice success and stay afloat financially by building a team around a bunch of 1.5 million a year solid but unspectacular defenseman than three or four 5 million a year forwards. It was the proper way of thinking at the time...if it wasn't, Buffalo would not have a hockey team anymore. Their failure to make the playoffs the last three years hasn't been a result of a lack of star power on offense, but more because of some terrible clutch goaltending by Martin Biron and a propensity to think the hockey season starts halfway through January, not early October. Ruff's biggest fault is that he can't get the teams' head out of it's own ass for the season's first 3 months of any given season- if that weren't the case, Sullivan would never have had an article to write. The frustrations and complaints of offense-only forwards mean nothing to me.

Upon my film review of the Green Bay game, I've determined it wasn't worth my time to review the film of a preseason game. I do feel as though Tim Anderson is a hell of a one-gap penetrator, though.

Expect a lot of appereances on "Blue Collar TV" for Kent when he retires

I think it's... Mike Williams (most solid player in a major question mark area) Nate Clements (best player on team) Willis McGahee (centerpiece of offense) Lawyer Milloy (smartest defender, best leader on the team) Sam Adams (without him, Fletcher and the linebackers will be eaten alive) Aaron Schobel (only player the Bills can count on to supply pressure w/o blitzing) ...in that order

Everybody likes Tom Jackson, and I have no idea why. He's probably the nicest guy in the world, at least he seems like it- but he never, EVER, ever says anything of any consequence...

Don't discount Milloy's return as a major reason for the turnaround either.