Whites Bay

Apologies for being too lazy to look this up, but who's the Jags' backup QB? This could seriously be a game in which the big injury happens to Garrard. Don't worry, I'm not calling for "head hunting", but Stroud's going to be a man possessed, and the pocket's going to be a-collapsing. Quarterbacks who are scrambling around for their lives tend to scramble into bad situations.

I'm the last person to really get out there and crow at the top of my lungs, but you might be right at 4-1. The switch I'd make, however, might indeed be Arizona for Jacksonville. 1) Jacksonville - Tuten Reyes is starting. Let THAT roll off your tongue. Tuten Reyes. There's a reason he's no longer with the Bills, and was last seen as a bank teller. And HE'S a NAME in that line. I don't want to know what the other guys were doing last year. That O-Line is going to get crushed this weekend, and the Bills' secondary is going to feast. If the Bills' offense plays like it did in the second half of Sunday's game, there's no way Jacksonville's going to keep up. 2) Arizona - Played SF pretty well this weekend. More to the point, however, is that this is the Bills' longest (geographically) road trip of the season. The schedule gods put all the Pacific teams in Orchard Park. The farthest West the Bills have to play is Phoenix. It's not as bad as coming East three time zones, but it's still a heckuva trip. This all having been said, I'd take 4-1 with an NFC loss over 4-1 with an AFC loss any day of the week.

Keep yer head down and yer mouth shut. Life below the radar is a good thing.

I just think it's absolutely wonderful. Words have not been invented that can describe my lack of sympathy, or even empathy. The only thing that could have been better would have been the cart. It's hard to imagine any icing on the cake, but watching all the Pats* bandwagoneers spilling helplessly into the nearest gutter as the team goes 5-6 would come close. Watch what happens when MORE people get injured, and when MORE teams start exacting revenge for last season.

The Bills are suddenly NOT a team against which you want to be 3 men short on the O-Line. Not a good situation at all. I keep harping on the interplay between the pressure on the D-Line and the Bills' secondary. Stroud's going to be pumped, that's for sure. McGee, Greer, Simpson and Whitner (let's not forget Yobouty) are simply licking their chops. These guys are all reviewing their contracts and looking at the "Number of Interceptions" clauses, and are mentally already buying retirement properties in Barbados.

Go, Roscoe, Go! Way to call it!

Don't get me wrong - I think Sullivan is a whiny ass-bag who would probably find something negative to say even as the Bills were hoisting the Lombardi trophy amidst a torrent of confetti. But I find it hard as hell to dispute this sentence: "When it really matters, they don’t stop people. When a team shows up with a solid quarterback and a complete attack, the Bills’ defense gets thrown around the field." He's right on this point, and you know it, and I know it. Barring injury (note how I started with that all-important statement): 1) This secondary could be in the top-5 in the league. 2) The linebackers are good, not great. In fact, they may not be all that "good". 3) It's going to come down to Stroud plugging the middle, hence a 3rd and 5th. And if Stroud plays like he's worth a 3rd and a 5th, we can cut this article out and use it as a suppository for Mr. Sullivan.

That was actually pretty good. Looks like I found the "big people table".

Jeez, VOR. Sorry. I jumped the gun. My secondary point is that it's usually easier to go East-to-West. Apologies.

Got the sheet-shorting and fibreglass-insulation-in-the-pillows done JUST in time. Timing's everything.

They're professionals. That the part with which I'll agree. Experts in traveling across country? NO ONE is an expert in traveling across country. Least of all these kids. They're in their 20s, they land in Buffalo (with no transfer, assuming they took the charter) after a 5 hour flight, and it feels like three hours ago with regards to their body clock. No harm, no foul. Until they try to go to sleep. Presto. It's still three hours behind. 10:00 P.M. feels like 7:00 P.M., 11:00 P.M. feels like 8:00 P.M., etc. That's fine until you have to wake up. Then things start to suck a lot. Don't get me wrong - I'm not expecting the entire Frappacinos team to miss the bus to the stadium. I'm not expecting ANYONE to miss the bus to the stadium. But I can assure you it's not a good feeling in the morning to come from PDT to EDT and expect to function at 100%. Maybe at 96%. 4% means a lot at this level. Even to professionals.

Always harder to go from West to East. They're in Buffalo/Orchard Park at the moment, but their bodies aren't going to want to sleep at 1000h. Morning shows up awfully early. Wonder if they're all on Ambien? Throw in the fact that two of their receivers were tending bar at Casey's Grill last year, and the Bills look to be in good shape.

Sorry. This is possibly the funniest post in the past 24 hours. At least in MY mind. Too many places to go with this one. Jesus, I can't stop laughing.

THAT'S a Youtube special. Bummer you didn't catch it on the cell phone, dammit.

I'd buy that score, but I'd replace McLovin's TD with a pickoff and return. I don't care by whom. But I think we're going to be making Hasselback's life miserable if he tries to go more than 20 yards deep.

That was unbelieveable. 90% of those kids' computers could use a V-chip. They must be growing a lot of good weed up in the Yakima Valley.

The facet of the game that I'll be watching will be the Seahawks' VERY weak receiving corps against the Bills' secondary. OBD has spent a king's ransom in draft picks, signing bonuses and contracts on this group - much to the consternation of Bill-in-NYC. Okay, well, it's time to take the Ferrari out of the garage and see what it can do against a Dodge Reliant. Holmgren will likely short-pass the Bills to the point of frustration and exhaustion, because the LBs are a question with Ellis. (Or, maybe he's just what they need, as he's going to have to be quick tomorrow. That'll be ANOTHER interesting matchup). If the middle of the D-line holds, however, and the Bills can actually put the same kind of pocket pressure on Seattle that they did on Pittsburgh and Indianapolis in the pre-season, I'm guessing that Hasselback's going to get picked off a MINIMUM of three times if he tries to go any deeper than about 20 yards. He's just not going to have the time against the speed in the Bills' secondary. I'm not guaranteeing a win by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think he's going to be throwing into hell itself tomorrow. It'll be a blanket out there.

I've been watching in earnest since about 1970. I don't want to pine away about "The Good Old Days", and "walking to school 20 miles each way uphill in the snow", but there are two reasons that I single out the late 1980s as a different era: 1) I remember watching my first satellite broadcast. This was back before DirecTV and Dish Network. I mean the big, old-fashioned monstrosities that took up an entire backyard. The technology was so embryonic that it was not uncommon to catch moments where the announcers had left the booth...or, in some cases, they weren't ever there to begin with! I remember watching a Bills-Broncos game with a simple, direct feed. No talking heads, no one explaining (or attempting to explain) everything. That would just never happen now. It's.....well, it's just become so goddamn slick and overproduced. 2) In the same era, I remember sitting in the stands at (the then-) Rich Stadium. In between plays, one heard....the crowd. The whistles. The guy two rows in front of me explaining the formation. The officials and benches yelling (if I got close enough that game). Today it's just NOISE NOISE NOISE. There are advertisements ALL THE FRIGGIN' TIME in between each and every goddamn play! Every minute of every game is bought, sold, purchased, claimed and spoken-for. I'm one of those people that hit the "Mute" for every commercial. That doesn't happen at the Ralph! It's like Tim Horton's or Excellus is trying to drill into my brain stem. To OC in Buffalo's point, I don't know if the PRODUCT - the game itself - has changed. Perhaps. It IS a more complex and faster paced game, and I think it has to be if a team wants to stay competitive in the media market. I mean, who the hell wants to watch those 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust Los Angeles Rams/John Robinson teams from 1983? What has DEFINITELY changed has been the PRESENTATION. And it's changed for the worse. I'll sit at home with my Mute button, thanks. I do miss the stadium (season tickets from 1990 - 1993, and 2002 - 2005) and my tailgating squadron, but it's just gone over-the-top for me.

Oh, God, I'm so sorry for you. That's like being stranded on a desert isle with a case of Danny Schuster's Mt. Nelson, and no corkscrew. No, make that a rusty corkscrew. My stomach's in a knot. The Whitner (#36) jersey is dusted off, I'm reading everything I can about the Seattle Frappacinos, and am anticipating a SERIOUS alcohol issue by the third quarter. This one's going to leave a mark.

He's a writer. That's his job. It was either try to predict injuries, or talk about the challenge that peeing now brings in the middle of the night. My guess - and, it's only a guess - is that the latter choice wouldn't end up on message boards.

There's that "rationality" thing again. Go back into your corner, put on the dunce cap, and spank that inner child within.

He had 192,000 reasons to return, and they weighed heavily on his conscience. Nice to know he has some depth of soul.

I thought it was Bruce and Hansen. It felt like it was the entire D. Like many of you, I was at that game, and was doing the Snoopy dance at that point. I know we're not supposed to root for injuries (uh....right), but seeing Farvre's career end on the cold turf of the Ralph wouldn't bother me a bit. When I think of the way he ruined "Something About Mary", it makes me want to scream.

Whew. Yeah, maybe so. Still don't know why Crowell waited so long. It's not like these guys have to worry about the cost of healthcare. If the knee seems to keep bothering you in April, May and June, why wouldn't you walk into the radiology department have a look-see? Quick, painless and free. Doesn't add up.

Two days ago I would have said it would have been Corto as low man on the totem pole. Funny thing happened on the way to the Turk's party.....