GhostsOfTheRockpile

You would have thought after last year's incredible debacle (compared to a normal debacle most other years) brought upon by the high demand for Monday Night tix, the Bills would have upgraded server capacity, added some phone lines, anything to make it easier for the glut of people hoping to buy tickets the day they go on sale to season ticket holders. But no. Phones - you get a fast "busy" tone, a regular "busy" tone, some "alarm"-like noise, a ring followed by a voice telling you "all circuits are busy"... impossible to get through. Internet - I'm finally through on my Account Manager, but the place where the individual games showed up last year and where they should show up again this year are completely blank. C'mon Bills... get your s--t together. EDIT: I'm utilizing three phones and two internet connections, and nada. EDIT #2: That was a new one... got a message over the phone telling me the "wireless customer" I'm trying to reach is unavailable. Huh?

Welcome to the 21st century, CBS. We've been expecting you.

It IS your word. "Kroise" it is.

As important, can we get a phonetic spelling? Are we pronouncing it part charisma, part poise.... "k-roise"? Or are we altering the pronunciation of charisma (because, after all, where does the "r" in "chroise" come from?) and going with "ch-roise"?

Ten to fifteen years ago, or so, this news would have brightened my day. Not today, though. Today, Toronto is the Great Beast in the saga of our beloved Bills. Further, does anyone have any detailed information regarding the deal recently struck between USC and the LA Colesium? I'm under the impression that (a) there are going to be massive upgrades to the stadium, making it worthwhile of both USC and an NFL team and (b) USC retains some sort of refusal rights to keep a team from said stadium. Details, anyone? I don't see ANY team being moved to LA, unless Al Davis wants to get crazy one more time...

I like this pick. And if he's the next Antoine Winfield, I will kiss Russ Brandon on the mouth. Mark it, dude.

Tim Thomas has stayed in The Association for years, earning millions upon millions of dollars. The longer Green stayed in college, the greater the odds of the gaping deficiencies in his game being exposed. Leaving now - while he is more "upside" than "risk" - was the right move. Hell, Kwame Brown might be the biggest bust in the history of the NBA, and he's earning something like just under $9 million a year!!! Good move, Donte. And if Harris' overrated a$$ were smart, he'd join the Syracuse football team and take up TE. That guy has "zero NBA potential/longevity" written all over him.

Mom?!?

Me. - GhostsOfTheRockpile

Texas A&M has paid homage to the 12th man for longer than anyone else. For years they had a kickoff coverage unit composed primarily (solely?) of walk-ons, with each player wearing #12. You're actually quite wrong, PNW... Seattle has acknowledged the 12th man since "retiring" the number in 1984 (according to the 'Hawks website), long before they were ANY good. Buffalo didn't retire the number until the early or mid-90's, so don't presume the Bills have any sort of ownership here. To the contrary, they have none at all.

Ok, its 4:30. Some sites have stated the schedule should be out about now. Anyone watching NFL Network? Anything??? Ugh... I hate this waiting crap. Need a Bills fix NOW.

I don't keep company with idiots, so... ... zero.

#1 - throwbacks. #2 - mid-90's. Everything else is garbage. Maybe the white charging buffalo helmet could get worked in on an update of the mid-90's unis, but those two are the only ones the team should consider. The current blue-blue or white-white combinations look awful... stripes are all mismatched, they look like blue berries at home...

With the schedule being what it is, I think the Bills could end up 7-9... and still have taken several strides forward this season. It is going to be very difficult to come out of the gates flying, with so many young, new pieces in place. The going should be tough to start, but my hope is the team ends the season with a flurry, setting up '08 as a year to make a strong bid for the playoffs, especially with another off-season and draft to improve the squad.

This team has some serious upgrading to do between now and the regular season (draft, trades, FA's, whatever) as well as some growing up to do between now and then... ... because part of me looks at this schedule and thinks the Bills could start 0-8 before heading to Miami. I'm guessing 3-6 at this point, but who knows... maybe we'll all be surprised and they'll play out of their heads the first half and be sitting pretty at 5-3 or better. Not likely, though.

Was that the game the Bills completely fooled Denver in a heavy, bunched set on 3rd or 4th and inches, and Kelly found Metzelaars wide open for a monstrous TD reception?

If this team goes 3-0, I'll eat my hat.

About this time last year, Edgerrin James signed a 4-year, $30 million deal. Thomas Jones fetched a lone 2nd round pick. I find this extremely hard to believe. If true, Marv vaults to the top of the "Worst GM In Sports" list ahead of Billy King.

Shaud = MAJOR homophobe.

Agreed. As much as I think Tom Brady is a fantastic QB and I'd take him over everyone else in the league, King's obsession with The Golden Boy is a bit overboard. I only mention this because JP has a higher completion percentage than Brady (and Pennington, who King also spends a good deal of time ballwashing), yet JP is the one who is "still too inaccurate." In the end, who cares. This is just ANOTHER case of the national media making assumptions based on four or five mintues of game tape they watch per game. Losman is "not" many things, but one thing he "is," fortunately, is "accurate."

I've been very critical of Nate over the past two-plus seasons, and have called for the Bills to let him go - because let's be honest, he hasn't earned his pay the past 30-plus games or so. But I have to admit, Nate has been our best defender the last four games or so (maybe Fletcher, but Nate has been making big plays). He keeps playing like this - and gets back to where he was a few years ago - he'll have me convinced he's worth a raise. Whether he's worth the raise he'll WANT, that's another story...

The vantage point from my seats at the stadium prevented me from getting a good look at the deep ball to Evans everyone is talking about. Those of you who saw more clearly or watched on TV - was that (horribly) underthrown ball dropped, tipped, what?

Dr. Z also picked Whitner as an "All-Pro sleeper" or something to that effect. Thinks Donte is quite the cerebral player. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedi...content.24.html

I'd keep Fletcher over Spikes at this point. I think Spikes may have come back a bit early, because whether its his Achillie's, the hammy, or a combination of the two, he is virtually invisible out there. I'd rather he be benched, be given ample time to rehab, and come out strong next season than have him continue to play in this condition. I think it is at the point his presence is hurting the team. You can see him hobbling out there if you watch him apart from the rest of the play. He's not reacting to plays as quickly as he once did, and there were more than a few times yesterday there were huge cutback lanes to his side (partially on the D-Line, obviously) and he simply could not plant and cut fast enough to keep up with the RB. I fear he's on his way to Sam Cowart territory... where he can hold down a job in the league, but his playmaking ability is drastically reduced.

I've seen two whole Ravens games and a portion of another, and he's doing an excellent job. As someone mentioned, he's doing his job a la Big Pat Williams... clogging the middle, freeing up Ray Lewis & Co. For obvious reasons I've kept my eye on him more than a few times, and I've been relatively impressed by his play for a rookie DT who - like most rookie DT's - take a little time to get in NFL shape, learn their roles better, etc. He would have been a nice fit in Buffalo if the coaches thought he could have fit in Perry's D. That said, I loved the Donte pick then, love it now, and I think we're all going to (hopefully) love it for the next 10 or so years.