LongLiveRalph

I am 31 and I agree with the above. My brother has been calling for Nall, and I have questioned why he thinks Nall is so good, and I referred to Green Bay's handling of him. Nall said he wanted a chance to start, so he leaves a team where they didn't know if the starter was returning and only a green rookie as the other QB, and comes to Buffalo where they have a 3rd-year 1st round pick with starter experience, and a veteran backup. Seemed strange. I am all for JP, but I also need to see more out of him. These last eight games will be a good opportunity for him. Four home, four away...Some good defenses (SD, Jax) some bad defenses (Hou, Ten), two divisional games, and a few cold weather home games. He has the chance to show what he's capable of, let's hope he does it.

Hey, wait a minute...If we are kicking off a lot, that means we are scor.... I AGREE!

Pat is not going anywhere. He had the best year of his career last season (supposedly...I didn't see him much but everyone says he was a terror.) The Vikings gave him a target weight to come into camp at, and he showed up a few cheeseburgers above that number. Rookie head coach = send a message = Big Pat on the PUP list. Pat was removed from the PUP list and practiced yesterday, after spending a week with the conditioning coaches. He will be starting all year and will be his usual disruptive self in the middle of the D-Line. I don't think this whole PUP situation was anything more than a rookie head coach trying to instill some discipline and let the squad know that they do things his way or no way. They never had any intention of letting Pat go or sitting him out. They just wanted to enforce their rules and set the precedent that everyone better come into camp in shape.

When I was in college, I was a finance major. I always kind of floated through, my prevalent attitude was "C's equal degrees." The first semester of my junior year, I decided to really apply myself and go for a 4.0 GPA, just to prove I could do it. (Important note: I didn't scale back my partying, I just actually went to class and followed the recommended reading schedule in the syllabus. Amazing concept!) Anyways, I was taking a bunch of School of Business classes, marketing, management, finance...So I made sure to schedule one dog class. That class was titled "Jazz: America's Music." I loved the class, it was VERY interesting and really got me into jazz. I did learn a lot, and have since taken up the saxophone. Anyways, I hammered through all my classes, did great on my finals, and got an A in all four of my hard classes.....and an A- in Jazz: America's Music. The 3.94 GPA was a crushing blow when I was shooting for the 4.0. But I decided that I had proven enough that I could really do well when I applied myself...so I went back to not applying myself and settled back into my 2.4 GPA. Thanks for crushing a semester's worth of hard work Jazz!!!!

1. NFC East- Evenly matched, all play well at home. I see the Redskins having a down year, though 2. NFC South- Hard to believe, two NFC div's at the top. I rank the top 3 in the NFC South even with the AFC West's top 3, and I see the Saints minus Brooks (and with Drew Brees, a healthy Deuce Mc, and Bush) as better than the Raiders with Brooks. 3. AFC West- This division may have peaked two years ago. Still tough, but on the downturn, IMO. Just look at the QBs- Green in KC, Plummer (with Cutler over his shoulder) in Den, Rivers in SD, and Brooks in Oak. Green is getting up in age, and there are question marks about the other three. 4. AFC North- Almost put the East here, but gave the North the nod because within lies the defending SB champs, who were unable to win this division last year. McNair will be better than Boller in Baltimore, but that's not saying much. I'm interested to watch Frye for a full season in Cleveland. I don't think he has 'it' but only time will tell. 5. AFC East- If I was standing back and looking at this objectively, I say there's only one good team in the division. I would lump the Bills and Jets in with some of the worst in the league. The Fins are not world beaters, and have plenty of question marks. But with our familiarity to this division, I have to rank them at 5. There is never an easy game, and like smokin said, all take care of the home field. 6. AFC South- Two good teams (Indy, Jags) tops the NFC West's one good team (Seattle). 7. NFC West- Seattle should have a home playoff game every year with the six freebie wins in this division. The Niners are sad, and the Rams just never seem to get it done. They remind me of the Vikings or Dolphins. Hopefully Arizona can take advantage of the sell-out crowds and actually play with a home field advantage for once! The sooner Leinart is ready, the better. Kurt Warner was a meteor in the NFL sky, but it's not 1999. Maybe the two receivers can ignite his career (again.) Otherwise it should be back to the supermarket. 8. NFC North- Chicago is the best of this sorry division- but that's like being the thinnest kid at fat camp. At least last year, if you could get to 17 points on them, you had a real good chance at winning. Vikings, Lions, Packers- I'd have to think the AFC East is licking their chops.

I believe they attended a screening of 'Weapons of Ass Destruction.'

Game 3 will be enormous. Sabres need to put the foot on the throat. I agree, that Philly series going 2-0 and then 2-2 could help them out. In 1999 the Ottawa team would've folded up shop (actually, they did!) Something tells me this Sens team is going to fly and go hard until they shake hands. I agree, Sabres looked undisciplined. Maybe the PP's were uneven, but Ottawa was also the aggressor, forcing the action and drawing the calls. That's the way it goes. This thread did read like a Flyers board, complaining about big hits (in the playoffs??? Come on people!) and complaining about the refs. Nobody wants to see cheap hockey, but if Connolly were to be out for the series, that's a huge advantage for Ottawa. Players know that when they see him staring at the puck in between the blues. McKee's hit was questionable. He's got to avoid that and not stick his leg out there. Not only does he get two minutes, he could also do up his own knee, or draw a retaliation knee blast to Briere, etc.

The Jets put all of the available QBs through the paces...Rigorous on-field throwing session and a long talk in the film room. They had a shot at Leinart and Cutler but passed and waited for Clemens. Must've seen something they liked.

Very true. Like Roehtlisberger, that's the benefit of dropping in the draft. You can fit into a decent team, rather than being the 'savior' on a 3-13 squad.

Interesting. Would've thought there'd be more. Hopefully, as a #8 pick, Whitner turns out to be similar to another #8 pick, Roy Williams (only better in pass coverage!)

Dude that is not right! She does appear to have a bit of a package though

Good God, that is horrible, but effing hilarious!!!

The funniest part for me about last night's game was sitting in the upper deck, and there were four Leafs fans (obliterated of course) about five rows behind us. These guys were young, all about in their mid-20's. All they said all game was "Zero Championships! Zero Cups!" Meanwhile, these guys haven't seen the Leafs even play for a Cup in their lifetime. It would have been easy to just point to the rafters at the Eastern Conference Champs banner, when the Sabres rag-dolled the Leafs in '99. But I don't worry about the past. I simply responded, "You better check the out-of-town scoreboard! What's it like looking up at Atlanta? What's it like hoping the THRASHERS lose so you can back into the 8-seed?" You know they hate losing to Buffalo more than anyone else, because they seem to think they're entitled to beating our sh*tty team from our sh*tty city. The truth is, these guys were bragging about a Stanley Cup their father said their team won in 1967 because their team just isn't relevant anymore. The Leafs are a bad team, and their fans know it. Overall, the Leafs fans were pretty good during Patty's ceremony. I was just hoping for no boo's (and I didn't hear any); I fully expected a few "Go Leafs Go" chants, which there were. Actually, I did crack up when one of these same guys behind us yelled "Keep your head up Patty!" I shouldn't have laughed, but it was funny...And made even funnier when I turned around and he had a Lindros Leafs jersey on! Talk about keep your head up!

Stevens was a joke. He couldn't hold on to anything. Hasselbeck showed signs of a leader by continuing to go to him, but I don't think I would've. While Stevens had a bad game, I thought Porter was pretty quiet also. I agree on the Alexander part. He appeared to be getting into rhythm on Seattle's TD drive, and he continued to look good on their next drive after Pittsburgh went 3-and-out. After cruising down the field, Hasselbeck threw a bad pick, which he is usually good for once a game. By the way, wasn't that the worst call ever when they got Hasselbeck for 'going low' on that tackle??? He never touched the blocker, and put his shoulder into the thigh of the Steeler CB. That was a big 15 yards.

The Top-25 list sucked me right in by starting off with Mora's "diddly-pooh" speech. That was absolutely hilarious at the time, and reading it now, I still got a good chuckle.

I think it's a solid idea s'n'j. I was going to say that there would be gripes about the home field advantage, but then I realized, it's a pre-determined scheduled game. If two teams need to win to make the playoffs in the last week of the season, tough break if you are on the road. It's the same situation. The only downside would be if there was one team who was REALLY that bad. For example, imagine two teams who are both 1-14 and about to play each other in the last game of the season. Team A has lost three games in OT, they beat a Super Bowl contender for their one win, and have generally played their games tough. What if Team B has been absolutely blown away in all of their games, and they beat a 3-13 team 9-6 in OT? Perhaps Team B is REALLY that bad...It has nothing to do with laying down in games...Team A would win that battle, get the #1 pick, and Team B would be punished, even though they were the worst team. It would be cool though, I'd like to see it. Also, by making it a play-to-win situation, it would fuel betting on that game rather than restrict betting, which the NFL loves (don't let them fool you- they love the Vegas action.)

Yeah, the Madden jinx has been bad. McNabb, Ray Lewis, Vick...who else? I think the SI jinx will return with a vengeance Sunday, as Brady will throw at least 3 picks, and the Bills win 20-14. Also, the "Best Bad weather kicker" Vinatieri goes 0-3. As for Sportsman of the Year, Brady is not a horrible choice, just unexpected. Weis wouldn't have been bad, and Leinart/Bush are certainly deserving, but co-winners are kind of a cop-out. If Federer were more popular, it would have been him. He dominated everyone this past year, and is already mentioned in the conversation of greatest players ever.

Dang, Simon and Smokin are getting after it! I questioned everything Simon said after reading the first post when he had Southern Cal at 8 and Georgia/Alabama at 2/3. Smokin, you know the Pac10 is not a tough conference. There are some adequate teams, but I see Oregon and UCLA more as pretenders than contenders. That being said, here's my top 10: 1. USC 2. Texas 3. Penn State 4. Miami 5. LSU 6. Notre Dame 7. Ohio State 8. Virginia Tech 9. Auburn 10. Oregon Simon you did provide some humor for your case against USC. However, IMO, your case is pretty weak. They take every team's best shot every week and win ballgames. I know it's the Pac10, but their schedule has them play the four other teams (Oregon, UCLA, Cal, and Arizona State) all on the road this season, plus Notre Dame on the road. Those five games right there are tougher than Texas' schedule (I'll call the away games at OSU and ND equally tough, but the rest of the Big12 has nothing.) But even Texas was outplayed for much of the game in Columbus against a team who was having serious QB issues at the time. The way I see it, USC has won 31 in a row. Texas has won 17 in a row. You can't blame all of that on the competition. Until a school puts 11 guys on the field who can beat either one, they are the top 2. USC has beaten the champion of the ACC (VT), Big 12 (OU), and Big 10 (UM) over the past two seasons. Texas took Michigan's best shot last year and won in the Rose Bowl. The Big10 and SEC have solid talent, but every team has been inconsistent at one point or another this season. USC and Texas have been the model of consistency.

Holcomb is sad. I hate teams who throw dump passes, and the Bills are the worst culprit in the league. That's great that Holcomb is 20-26, but it doesn' t get them anywhere. All it gets them is 3rd and 3. Anyways, it's clear that this team has much bigger problems than QB. It's too bad they didn't let JP play two home games against two of the worst teams in the league when they gave Willis the ball 30 times in each game. I think the experiment is over. The Bills brass probably doesn't want to play JP on national tv against the defending champs, but I hope he's back in following the bye week so the Holcomb madness can stop. Let's lose with the young guy. Eli Manning yesterday? Anyone?

They are both similar in that they dropped to the Bills in the draft due to college knee injuries. After that, the similarities stop. Thurman was much more of a threat on all plays, and was a prototypical 3rd-down back (who also happened to play on 1st and 2nd downs as well.) Willis is more of a bruiser and can get his 100 yards without you noticing too much. He needs work as a receiver and blocker. I think Willis is an exceptional talent and has the opportunity to be one of the great Bills backs. But he's only started 18 games. I think the career comparisons can wait.

OMG those are hilarious. Somebody emailed me the original picture once before, and I thought that was great. I'm glad this guy now has a whole website devoted to him. He's quite the world traveler! This one had me laughing pretty good Thanks for the link, funny chit!

I'm impressed Ralph can still subvert his staff at his age! The miracles of science!

Vinny sitting in the best booth in the deli...No doubt under an autographed picture of himself with a big plate of lasagna on the table. Nice Gino Toretta reference also! I can see the two guido Miami alums running a deli!

I have been wondering this myself. I can't find a way to look at this so it makes sense. Even from a blocking standpoint, isn't the 230 lb Willis a better option over the smallish Shaud? MM needs to give a better explanation for this other than "Willis needs a rest." From every strategic standpoint, it seems better to have WM in there (running, receiving, blocking, decoy, etc.) I just don't get it. Perhaps that's an underlying reason for our poor conversion % on 3rd down (along with having a first-year QB). I don't think there are any RB's in the NFL who want to come off the field at all, unless they just finished a 50-yard jaunt.

Forgot they held this record: • Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison broke the NFL record for most yards passing between a quarterback and receiver in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against Cleveland. The Indianapolis duo entered the game needing 24 yards to pass Buffalo's Jim Kelly and Andre Reed. Manning and Harrison connected six times for 53 yards, giving them 717 completions and 9,568 yards -- both NFL records.