Whites Bay

As I'd mentioned in another thread, Byrd gets a quiet "Play of the Game". The Pope touchdown that was overturned is all Byrd. Byrd knew he was beat, but gave a big swat with his right hand onto Pope's hands. A very smart play on his part, because he knew that body tackling at that point was useless. Pope had both feet in bounds, and it was about to be 14-6 (the score was already up on the board). Because Byrd hit Pope's hands, the ball was technically bobbling in Pope's grasp when he landed. Byrd doesn't make that heads-up play, and the score is 14-7, and the Arrowhead Stadium crowd is right back in the game. It was a huge play that I don't think gets enough recognition.

Dating myself here, but when I was a kid (well, at least when the bald spot wasn't so pronounced), AFC games were carried on NBC, and NFC games were carried on...gasp...CBS. And the ass-clowns on CBS, which included dorks like Bradshaw and Madden, barely gave the Bills a whoop-de-doo back during the Super Bowl run. And now CBS carries the AFC, and gee whiz, Gomer, what do you think they're covering? That's just the way it is. These guys are just pimping their product. But to echo another poster...the bigger question is "Why in God's name are you watching Fox?"

1) Unheralded player of the day? Jairus Byrd. Great open field tackle in the first quarter - just nailed the ball carrier for a big loss to force a punt. Just a great tackle. But the biggest play of the game was Byrd's "whack" on Pope's hands on the apparent TD catch. Watch the replay. Pope had the ball, he had both feet in bounds, and that was 6 points. But Byrd had the presence of mind to bring his right hand from shoulder height into a full swing and slap Pope's hands as he was trying to cradle the ball. The result? Even though the feet were in bounds, the ball was moving. No touchdown. Byrd doesn't do that, and the Chiefs are right back in the game, and so is the Arrowhead Stadium crowd. 2) Freddo. Hey Fred, we need to move the chains. The chains get moved. The guy's nickname should be "Money". 3) Fitz. I hate the beard, but I'm not married to the guy, so maybe I should just let go. He's playing well within the limits of his environment. If your offensive line is less-than-optimal, what do you do? Spread the ball around so that your opponent doesn't get the chance to tee off on you. Sounds pretty simple, but Fitzpatrick seems to have good field vision. I'd be the last person to say that he has Losman's (or Manning's) arm, but who cares? You don't need a cannon if you're able to get that extra 0.8 seconds to deliver because the defense can't outguess where you're going to throw. 4) I hate the Cowgirls more than virtually anything imaginable. But if the Jets lose tonight, guess who will be on top of the AFC East standings tomorrow morning? 5) And MY wife is upstairs, while I enjoy a glass of wine in the man cave. Oh, Faith Hill has a new skin tight black leather outfit this year. My goal for Sunday Night Football this year is the same as last year's goal - go through the whole season with the sound on "Mute" when she's singing. All the eye candy, with none of the idiocy.

Apologies for driving the "Melancholy Express" over a couple of potholes and then onto a sidewalk crowded with children, but whenever I think of Ruben Brown, all I can hear is "Holding, number 79, Offense, 10-yard penalty, repeat third down". Great man, done a lot for Buffalo, can't take anything away from his enthusiasm for the city or from his foundation....BUT.....someone should have used some duct tape to keep his hands down.

Okay, fair enough. I'm no Kiper, but I'll play. I would have picked Ngata. I was totally sold on Ngata. Whitner hit me like a brick in the mouth. Change that ONE pick, and this whole post falls apart.

I'm throwing this one out to those on this forum who have played, or - more specifically - those who have coached. We're all enjoying the training camp reports on Shawne Merriman's progress. Imagine - a pass-rushing linebacker. I'm still trying to get my mind around it. In addition, it sounds like Dareus has potential. I'm not going to say he's "The Real Deal" yet, because he hasn't played a real down. Call me an embittered realist. But the potential exists on the defensive side of the ball this year for the Bills to really cause some problems from the outside for the first time in a long, long, long time. Here's the question. What makes more sense...putting both of these guys on the same side (I'm assuming QBs blind side), or does the coaching staff break them up so as to bring heat from both directions? I know the pat answer is "it depends on the play/the opponent/blahblahblah". What is a rule-of-thumb? And, from an historical perspective, someone tell me what the Bills did during the Smith/Bennett era? I was too naive, and drank way too much back then, to really understand the strategy behind it. Thanks in advance, guys.

I've always felt that the moniker should be "The Polar Express". Trust me, I'm in marketing. My job is to put $#!+ in a box and get you to like it. "Polar Express" works. Send the royalty check to the offshore bank in the link below.

The cynic in me agrees with you, KD. But unless you have an investment group that is willing to plunk down the total cost, if not the majority cost, of a billion-dollar stadium, the L.A. bid has a big problem. I'm not saying it's an insurmountable problem, but let's get down to brass tacks. California is a budget nightmare. New York is god-awful, but California makes New York look like some sort of fiscally Puritanical nirvana. I mean, it's a goddamn mess. They can't even pass a budget, and even if they do, next year's fiscal situation will be worse. And AEG is going to look for SEM (Someone Elses Money) to build a billion-dollar stadium? Yeesh. That's salesmanship. "Free Man in Paris" - Joni Mitchell

True enough. Not meaning to "rain" on anyone's barbecue, but let's be honest - I wouldn't want to be in the NFC Central THIS year. I still can't believe that Detroit landed Fairley IN ADDITION to Suh. Thank heavens the Bills have a few years before they face THAT crap again. Unless it's in the Super Bowl, of course. "One Toke Over The Line" - Brewer and Shipley

In agreement. I'm SO DAMN GLAD the brain trust drafted Dareus. Note to the doubters...don't like Fitz? Friggin' deal with it until the 2012 draft. Bring your Tums, and wash them down with the Labatts. Fitz is who ya got. Rally 'round. "Ain't That A B word" - Johnny 'Guitar' Watson

1) Time is essentially linear, at least from our perspective. It's 2011. 2) Marshawn Lynch plays for the Seattle Seahawks. Right?

Uh...Metzelaars?

Possibly one of the funniest posts I've ever read. Almost geysered the Shiraz. As to the self-consuming paranoia that engendered the original post..."Get a life" comes to mind, along with a few other statements that would get me in the soup again. Relax. The Bills had a great draft. Sit back and enjoy the buzz. Idiot.

If - for some bizarre reason - we reach Pick #3 and Newton and Dareus are still on the board, and this Front Office picks Newton, I think I'm going to $#!+ myself. It won't be pretty, and for that reason I'd recommend you all stay away from the North Country. But if you start hearing warnings about E. coli contamination, don't come back to me with a lot of whining. You've been warned. Given this Front Office, I'd start boiling my drinking water and stocking up on chlorine tablets. "Crippled Inside" - John Lennon

I want Marcel Dareus at #3. I don't want a quarterback. I'm not dillusional. I'm not even delusional. I know how to spell. Try C-A-T with me. Jesus. Brains of Steel.

No, for winning the lottery! For getting away with it! For being a total ass clown and having someone weirdly stupider than he is PAY him TONS of money for doing NOTHING. You can be critical of Russell, and you should be, but don't pretend for a minute that you - and everyone on this board - doesn't dream of some idiot with a lot of money tossing a crapload of it YOUR way for being Homer Simpson. To deny this sentiment is being dishonest with yourself. And Jamarcus Russell got away with it. Lucky bastard. "That thing you do" - The Wonders

I'm in France and was watching the game on NFL Gamepass on wireless - in other words, the transmission was a little ragged and jumpy for most of the game. From what I could tell, however the one Bell moment that got airplay was the head-slap takedown Bell had on his opposing lineman (sorry, I didn't catch his name). Oh, my God, he looked like Deacon Jones! If Demetrius Bell is creating a highlight film to show his kids sometime in the future, I hope that hit is included. Honestly, it was funnier than hell.

I'd probably like to have given Lee Harvey Oswald a shove on the elbow. And then pray he couldn't reload fast enough to put me in a pine box.

Bob, One of the best movies ever made. Just a perfect post! To to OP - deal with it. If you have any hope of optimism around here, just don't even log in for the next 36 months. This place is on collective suicide watch until the Bills show a potential for a winning season. Trust me, this forum is best addressed during the off season, when everyone is 0-0. Threads of this sort will, unfortunately, not change things. Tune in at 1:00 P.M. Eastern time on Sunday, crack open your beer, and hang in there along with everyone else. "I'm all smiles" - Barbara Streisand

Echoing comments made by a poster in an earlier thread, I'm predicting - expecting - a full-scale dynamiting of the offensive line on Tuesday 12 October 2010. This would give the Bills O-line two weeks to get their collective @($% together. I plan to be thriled. Will THOSE changes make the OP happy? I'm guessing not.

Sullivan is the master of the half-truth, the spin, the second-guess. I can't for the life of me understand why people get wound up over the vomitus to which he "treats" us. We - and I mean "we" as a Western New York community, not "we" as the people who post here - will never Never NEVER get anything even remotely resembling "I was wrong" from Jerry Sullivan once the Bills turn things around. I mean...N-E-V-E-R. He'll dance and two-step around everything he's ever written. Jerry Sullivan has a career just waiting for him in Albany. Lt. Governor Sullivan....hmmm...... Where are you in Japan? Do you enjoy sushi? If so, you're in Mecca.

The most accurate tool I've used is TitanTv (www.titantv.com). I'm not saying it's 100%, but it hasn't screwed me yet. As of nearly 6:00 P.M. Thursday evening (that's 5 hours post-blackout announcement), both Syracuse and Watertown ARE SHOWING THE GAME. I agree with Jack vis-a-vis Watertown. I've had games blacked out on Syracuse 5, but still televised up north. Thoner7, head for the North Country.

By the way, thanks for going back to the "classic" Bob Dobbs avatar. Sincerely.

I consider myself one of the more rosy-eyed members on this forum. Having read the aforementioned post, I humbly doff my chapeau, bow deeply, and shake your hand. Bills over the Pack? In Lambeau? Oh, you beautiful, delusional fool. You were there at Pickett's Charge, weren't you? "Badge" - Cream

The 174th ANG from Hancock was transitioned from F-16s to drones about 4 months ago. F-15s never flew out of SYR. Now it's going to be a bunch of guys in an airconditioned room moving a joystick. And you don't want THAT schit flying over the Ralph.