Whites Bay

1) People pay a lot of money for an exercise like this. You're aware of that, right? 2) What's your time frame?

If things keep going like this (no, you idiots, I don't assume the Bills are going to go undefeated), you can pretty much count on getting one, probably two, games on Sunday night. Monday's locked in, so that's off limits. The Bills will suddenly be cast as the Cinderella Team, as though they're "Mt. St. Mary's Sisters-of-the-Blind" come NCAA March-Madness time. They won't have the panache or front-running fan base that the Pats* have enjoyed for about 5 years, but they'll be sexy to talk about nonetheless. Broncos game? Maybe. Pats* game? Maybe. If they're playing for the division title.....get your popcorn for Sunday night.

Or the Diamond Dust.

I've watched a trend on this board for the past few years. For the first two days following a loss (more-than-likely) or win, the Wall goes apeschit over the game just played. Somewhere around Wednesday afternoon, the conversation starts to shift to bong hits. Or navel lint. By about Thursday, roughly coinciding with Lori's next piece of journalistic platinum, the focus begins to painfully, agonizingly focus upon the game ahead. It's like turning a supertanker, or like working ones way through a particularly bad hangover. It just takes time. So I'm posting this note simply because it will pop this thread to the top of the Wall, and maybe, just maybe, people will start thinking about next week. Perhaps I'm just too early. Perhaps I'm slamming my head into a wall of goo. Perhaps this thread will submerge like a ground sloth caught in the La Brea tarpits. Or perhaps I'm a trendsetter. Anyone ready to think about exotic plays for next week? I could start turning that into my weekly post, like Bill-in-NYC's "No Particular Order" threads. St. Louis, anyone?

You know something? I guess the Throwbacks ARE starting to grow on me. Dopey question - does anyone have a picture of what the "Road Whites" looked like? I'm so glad I was able to move back to Upstate New York and break out the Hunter Orange in the autumn. What a beautiful environment for football. But I'll never - NEVER - go back to Genny Cream. Some things hurt too much.

I have the "Mute" on a lot. It's refreshing to watch Favre throw pick after pick after pick. Oh, he just used the "S"-word"! Anyone else see that?!? Screw the Jets. San Diego looks real good. THAT'S going to be this year's "Jacksonville".

I understand the argument, Chaz, but I have to respectfully disagree to an extent. That's a position posited by Madden. "They (fill-in-the-blank) won it last year, and in my book, that makes 'em the team to beat". I've heard him say it year-in, and year-out. Right after "Bang, Whap, Snot". Let me try a baseball metaphor. The 1997 Florida Marlins (okay, I think it was 1997) won the whole shooting match. World Champions. A team constructed primarily of high-priced free agents and stars who had one goal - win the whole thing this year. And they did it! Well done! In the offseason, however, Wayne Huizenga realized that he was going to have to keep paying for all this stuff, and decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Poof. He cut everyone. The team was a shell of its former self. Using the Madden logic, well, the 1998 Marlins were the team to beat. Right? I mean, after all, they had just won the whole thing, and quite convincingly. As I recall, that's just what a lot of teams around the league did. The Marlins got beat. Like a rented mule (for you animal abusers). Okay, this is a bit extreme, but you get my point. It doesn't matter a sparrow's fart what the team did last year. There are too many variables week-to-week. And the Pats* are now being exposed for what they are. Old, slow and lacking depth. So now they're looking at bringing in an even LESS experienced quarterback?!? Oh, that'll improve things. And surely no other defensive coordinator in the league will figure him out. Maybe he'll be able to throw to Randy Moss. Randy Moss...whose head is already focused on the next BassPro tour gig. This next two week period is going to be the most critical test of the Pats* coaching staff's collective career. They could have a shot at getting this team to 9-7. Or they could let it become the next version of the 2005 Buffalo Bills. Remember THAT operation? Remember how close the Bills were at the end of 2004, and all that was needed was a little tweak? And for two weeks, the Bills made the oldest mistake in Sales 101: "Never believe your own bullschit". What a meltdown. I'm thinking the Pats* are right there. Let's see what this coaching staff is made of. These guys are a lot closer to the 1997 Marlins or 2005 Bills than they are to the 1991, 1992 or 1993 Buffalo Bills. The Pats* have nothing. Nothing.

"Jesus. What have you been eating?"

Anybody. Oh, God. Just anybody. Let's just get there, okay?

Ah, King Troll. Welcome back. When Brady went down with the $100 million ACL injury, and after I threw up listening to Peter King whimpering and pleading to all who would listen that "Tom Brady being out of the game is bad for the NFL", I began to think of past dynastic teams that have had to face this level of adversity. I mean, it's gut check time. Let's see what's under the hood. Let's see how this tainted Pats* "dynasty" stacks up with the Cowboys, the 49ers, the Steelers, the Broncos (I admit, this might be stretching it, but Elway's bunch put a couple together). The best comparison I could see was the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers. They'd already come off Super Bowl victories, they were far-and-away the best team in the NFL (possibly the best the league had ever seen at that time), and were slated to roll their way to a triple repeat. And then Bradshaw blew up and everything went "crumph" in a pile of Terrible Towels. The Steelers defense rose to the occasion, however, shutting teams out time after time. Anyone can Google the history, but look also to the NFL Films documentary if it ever rolls around again. Quite the performance. So how have the Pats* fared when it was their turn? Squeaked by the Chiefs. WOW! Squeaked by the Jets. WOW! Two powerhouses. The best part - the BEST part - about the Pats* having won two games is that it actually allowed the front-running fan base to start to believe that "Hey, maybe we ARE that good! Things won't be so bad!". The Dolphins game was the "Unmasking Game" that we've all been awaiting, and that Peter King and his ball-washing ilk have been dreading. You see, unlike the Steelers in 1976, the Pats* have nothing. Nothing. They're old. They're slow. They're thin. And now they can't cheat. And do you know what the best part is? They'll have no excuses. They have a creampuff schedule, and they're STILL going to have their limp-wristed nancy-boy asses handed to them, week-after-week-after-week-after-week.......... After last season - and, no, not just because of what they did to the Bills, but to EVERY team simply for the sake of being dicks - the Pats* can't lose enough. 2-14 sounds good to me.

You have to respect a man who knows when he's gone incoherent. Bills as "Contenders"? Proviso 1: The team has to maintain the "One-Game-At-A-Time" mentality. I think this could be Jauron's finest hour. Proviso 2: The dreaded injury bug decides it's had enough feasting in Orchard Park, and shifts its focus elsewhere in 2008. Given these provisos, The Bills hit two "Contender Levels" by the end of October/early November: Contender Level 1: If they take care of business through the bye week (5-0), and then get by San Diego the week after the bye, they'll be one of the few major unbeaten teams out there at 6-0 with a couple of legitimate potential AFC playoff opponents under their belt (Jax and SD). Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying the Bills will beat San Diego. The fact that it's in Orchard Park, however, means a LOT this year. Contender Level 2: At that point, the next three games on the slate are the NYJ, Dolphins and Pats*. It is a real likelihood that - if Provisos 1 & 2 are still working - they could be 9-0. Having just reasoned this all out in my head, I just typed that out, and it looks highly unlikely. I think the atmosphere might be a little rarified. They couldn't REALLY go 9-0, could they? Maybe I'M the one who has gone incoherent!

Welcome to the Board, Iowa. I too liked the comment about the pig being ready for the slaughter, but the Bills got the bigger knife. You're going to catch a fair amount of crap for showing up here, but as long as you keep things related to events on the field (stats, injuries and the like), there's not too many people here that will turn out-and-out nasty. Until the evening hours when the martinis and bongs start rolling out. Or, in my case, the Molsons. You're starting to see a lot more Kool-Aid chugging, and it can be excused given (a) the drought through which this fan base has suffered, and (b) the gratifying blossoming of so many players that were acquired via The Draft. The Bills front office has really put it together the old-fashioned way. They laid out a long-term plan when Marv Levy came back to the organization, they put in the right coaching staff (FINALLY - good riddance Steve Fairchild), and drafted players for key positions that often landed them the requisite crap from the talking heads in the Sports Media. Remember the manure that was spread this way when Whitner was brought in? Sheesh. You'd have thought that One Bills Drive had pantsed the Pope. Well, it's finally here. The concrete is setting, the garden is blossoming...pick your metaphor. My favorite? The AFC East has just discovered there's an 800-gorilla living down in the basement. And he's really pissed off and hungry, and coming soon to a stadium near you. I'm one of the more conservative posters on this board, but even I'm starting to believe 11-5 or 12-4. And, unless I see (a) major injuries on the Bills, and (b) dramatic improvement in the Jets, Dolphins and Pats*, I'm starting to see the Bills taking a 6-0 sweep of the division. Just my two cents on a message board, but I just don't see any of these other teams being able to take a shot at the Bills this year.

Jeez. Can you say "The Pats*"? Or would that be simply to much blasphemy for the networks to bear? Or perhaps they wouldn't want to contend with having to haul Peter King's copious body mass index off some camera set in a studio somewhere.

I'm spouting another old, tired phrase: Detroit 2006. They'd better NOT take Oakland for granted. What I expect is that the Bills will win. What I hope - HOPE - is that Jauron allows Schonert to put the foot-to-the-floor and pile on the points. Not for the sake of arrogance, but for the concept of tiebreakers. These AFC games are very, very important in December. Make 'em bleed, Turk. Those TDs that you put on the board in September might lead to the Bills playing football in January.

Jesus fuggin' christ. Goddamn kids. Guess you found the "Animal Husbandry" comment amusing, did you? Try it for a living. On the receiving end. Try thinking "outside-the-box", fer chrissakes. What fuggin' play do you think the Bills are going to call that is going to cause you to drop yer beer in yer lap.

"I still might run in silence. Tears of joy might stain my face. And the morning sun might burn me till I'm blind". We're going to get whacked soon, and it's going to hurt a lot. But golly it's really something to start thinking that we only have to pull together another 8 of these and we're heading to the...... NO! NO! CAN'T SAY IT!!!

ENOUGH!!! ENOUGH!!! ENOUGH!!! Okay! I promise. I'll never NEVER use the word "exotic" on this fuggin' board again! Jesus fuggin' christ. I wrote the goddamn post this morning in Berlin at about 2:00 in the morning your time (EDT), and came back from work and Jesus friggin' christ look what you goddamn inbred goobers did to my post! SCHIT! It's not like I start a lot of posts! It's fuggin' "Unorthodox". Not "exotic". Not "erotic". Not "sadomasochistic". Not "animal husbandry". Sheesh. It's like I left the building and the goddamn inmates took over the asylum. Jesus.

Two weeks ago I almost fell out of my seat with the fake field goal/touchdown to Denney. This past week I was 100% certain that Fewell would call the blindside CB blitz with The Sheik, and I was dead-on. This coming week against the Raiders....well, here's my guess: Reverse to Parrish. Follows a Hardy block (if Hardy plays, otherwise it'll be an Evans block) and picks up at least 20. They pulled that one out of the hat a couple of times last year, and it's usually a success. What gimmickery do you think Fewell or Schonert will pull on Sunday?

Read that, and I think you're right when saying "there isn't anything here that an informed Bills fan doesn't already know". It makes me realize that we live in a very focused bubble within this community, and are far ahead of the power curve in terms of (a) immediate information from local reporters (or so we hope) and (b) interpretation thereof. Casserly's piece is....well, nice, I guess. I'm of two minds. Yes, I like seeing that the Bills are starting to get some props, but, golly, the team has a long way to go. It's a 16-game season, last I checked. My opinion means nothing, of course, but it's refreshing that the team members (from what I can read of the interviews) are taking the same approach. Next week is next week. Bring the lunch pail.

The "Trap Game" is going to be Arizona. I'm nervous about that one. That's our farthest-West trip this year, and the Cardinals can't suck forever. I'm drowning in Kool-Aid, but remember Detroit 2006.

Gosh. I miserably post that I'm up to my eyeballs in Kool-Aid. I'm starting to really REALLY believe this team should beat the living snot out of the Raiders. I have no deep-seated bias against the Raiders; pounding them like a $3 whore in the AFC Title Game was fun back in 1990 (yes, I was there. Were you?). But I really have no animosity against this house errant. As such, Jesus, I'm going out on a limb with my hopes and fears and thinking that FOR ONCE the Bills are truly going to beat Oakland senseless. In the words of the Blue Meanie: "Kill Them! Crush Them! Destroy Them................Oblueterate them....."

You know, the thing with Clayton is that he looks like such a goddamn mouth-breather that you have to take him seriously. I mean, it defies logic that anyone could LOOK so stupid and still BE so off-base (repeatedly) without having been bred out of the gene pool about 14 generations ago. As such, there's an inherent nature in all of us - linked to the 10th chromosome - that says "Hmm. That's a long time! Inbreeding should have taken care of that, but it didn't. As such, I should probably pay attention to this entity, because its very existence is testimony to its survival". And we get sucked in each time. Oh, wait....he's on again..........

My apologies. The sarcasm detector was numbed by the Shiraz. Must work on that.....

Sorry. Just noticed your "bold" on "The Sheik". This thread was covered about two years ago. Baby Snakes!

No, no. It's not worth my time to go back into the archives and find all the Pro-Sheik posts that I've written. Half of them were vaporized in the "Crash of 08" anyway. I knew he'd be good, and I don't mind saying it. I just didn't know he'd HIT this hard. Give credit where credit is due. Not to me, but to Yobouty. Am I overwhelmed by Yobouty's ball-hawking skills? Hell no. But that kid hits hard. It's like having another safety out there, and on the CB blitz he was a light linebacker.