Whites Bay

Thank you. Bless you. And I'm such an awful, awful person to be laughing as hard as I am. I just can't stop myself.

For the love of God, someone please post a link to the Jets fan board.

Sorry. "I'm an idiot". That was Feliciano, and that was funnier than hell.

If you want a giggle, watch the second clip again. Keep a close eye on Spain, and watch what happens at the end of the play. Holy crap.

99% of the time it's my place. If family comes up, great. They understand. But it's pretty tense, and there's lots of pacing during commercials. It hasn't been good for the last 15 years, so I apologize to the people on the other side of the bay for the cursing. The other 1% of the time would be Spook Hill Tavern in Adams, NY, when Fox screws the pooch like with the Detroit game last year. Nearest sports bar to me. Great turkey and gravy dinner, to be honest.

There has to be some truth to this (anatomical references aside). I mean, I've never played the game, but that has to get into your head, right? If you're Bodine, and you've been getting creamed for 5 weeks in training camp against these guys (particularly Oliver), that's going to stick in your head come game day. "I got this. I got this. He's not that good. I got this..." WHAM. "Yep, I remember that. I remember that. Jesus. I couldn't stop that two months ago..." And that's in the first quarter.

I used to live in Salt Lake, and crossing the Wasatch was always "Buckle Up". But nothing compares to landing in a turboprop in Jamestown in the middle of February whiteout conditions. Come on. Daboll should give THAT a try once, and he'll never worry about the Rockies ever, ever again.

If the programming extended into early March, it would JUST be enough to get to March Madness. And that would be enough to get us to Spring. I'm in.

I'm predicting a lot of holding calls if Oliver gets the penetration we're starting to see in training camp. The line isn't going to be able to hold their blocks long enough for Bell to be that patient.

I love it, and I've been calling for 10-6 for months (just looking at the schedule). But I'm looking at splitting with the Jets, and - yes - splitting with the Pats*. This is the year the Bills do it. Beasley moving the chains in the second half while Brady mutters to himself on the sideline. Belicheck throwing things. Impotent.

About 30, including two away Jets games and one Pats* game. My brother and I had seasons during the glory years (and 2005, after I got suckered in following 9-7 in 2004...), and as exciting as the first AFC Championship game was against the Raiders, and the Comeback Game (yes, I was there, and have the stub to prove it), the one that sticks out was the December 23rd 1990 game against the Dolphins. The one where the fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts. The one where Paul Maguire famously said something like "They'd better get those horses out of there. These fans are going to beat up the horses". It had a surreal feeling, like Field of Dreams. We weren't supposed to be on the field, but we and 65,000 of our closest friends were. Hard to describe this to young fans today. I mean, you'll NEVER be allowed to storm the field or tear down goal posts again. You're talking a night or two in the county slam.

Really? I thought his last regular job was a gig with the Detroit Lions. Anyway, glad he's back in upstate. Good for him. Hope he has a chance to shine.

That's an interesting thought. Because I just sat next to Jarron Jones about 3 weeks ago on a flight from Chicago to Dallas. I'm guessing - just guessing - that he was getting an invite to the Cowboys camp. And, yes, it was in first class. The man is huge.

And why the Imperial system and not Metric? Why not 3-meter Hungarians, right? I don't understand the obsession with Oliver's sack totals in his rookie season - as a DT. Jesus. I just want the guy to blow up timing. Imagine getting off the field with the opposing offense (yeah, the Pats*) going 4-and-out instead of conversion after conversion. Just give me THAT.

Grew up in Rochester, now live in the North Country. Is that Bills territory? It depends on whether Fox is slated to carry the game but decides to broadcast an NFC match up instead. Had to head to the local sports bar for last year's Lions game.

Thanks for the update, Promo. I'm just going to be thrilled to see the uniforms on the field again. But, yeah, holding my breath for injuries...

This. Unless, of course, you're one of the cleverer among us that has access to rubber mats. The only upside to preseason is simply that it means the drought is over, and meaningful football is on its way. The final cut down day is a relatively big deal, the final configuration of the offensive line this year will be a relatively big deal, the running backs and tight ends will be a relatively big deal. But otherwise? Just beware the mats.

I've been thinking 10-6 for months. AFC East (4-2) Sweep the Fish. Split with the Jets. Split with the Pats* (Bills take the home game). AFC North (2-2) Take the Bengals. Take one of the next three (and for the life of me, I don't know which one. I'm not going to get into that argument. But the Ravens, Steelers and Browns are beatable) NFC East (2-2) Take the Giants and Skins. Lose to the Cowboys and Eagles. Sucks to lose in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, but build your afternoon around it. 3rd Place teams (2-0) Bills can handle both the Broncos and Titans That's 10-6. And doable. Not "doable by a stretch". Doable. That first game against the Jets is HUGE. I know national TV audience is going to look at that game with an earth-shattering yawn, and they'll probably bring some college intern aboard to handle color commentary, but for the Bills, it's HUGE. 1-0 to start the season in the AFC is money in the bank.

Colts Texans in Week 12 might start having Wild Card implications. Jets Ravens in Week 15 almost certainly will, if only from the perspective of AFC conference W-L. Both games are good for a few beers each.

I guess another aspect is that the Bills have owners that have made a decision to keep the team in Buffalo. As I recall, one of the drivers behind the Rochester training camp was the desire to expand the fan base. "Regionalization", I believe it was called. Well, if the owner has deep pockets and has stated publicly that Buffalo fans should plan to enjoy the team "for generations to come", I guess it's not as urgent an issue. Kind of along the lines of expanding the footprint to the "Home" games in Toronto. When you think back on it, those were some pretty dark days. Glad that crap's behind us.

Really. Just mention "Ames and Childs" and watch people squirm. Or Hoffmans versus Zweigle's. That always spins people up. (Hint - the answer is "Zweigle's").

The only game that wasn't shown last year was the Detroit Lions at the Bills on December 16. The game was carried by Fox, but Fox chose to show Dallas/Indy. Had t o head to the sports bar for that one. I don't know what was behind the decision. Perhaps the game wasn't sold out? To quote an article at the time: "Even the state of New York is divided for Week 15, as the Binghamton, Syracuse, Utica and Watertown markets—cities that normally carry Bills games—switched over to broadcast the Dallas Cowboys/Indianapolis Colts showdown (in red) instead."

And doesn't it figure that the Pats* close the season by hosting the Dolphins...

While the subject of this thread focuses on the season finale against the Jets, I'm eyeing the season opener. The national media may look at the Bills@Jets game as a junior varsity match up, but I see it as critical to the Bills going 10-6. And I do believe this team - on paper, with this schedule - has 10-6 in them. Key to this is a split with the Jets. But if they can sweep the Jets in that last game, it's playoffs. What an important bookend series. If Darnold and Allen keep growing, the national media won't be treating it like a junior varsity match up by late December.

My bold prediction is that this front office will not draft the likes of Donte Whitner, Aaron Maybin, John McCargo or Mike Williams. Or "Joe Fill-in-the-Failure-blank". It's over now. Let's move.