Indy Dave

R. Rich....you are partially right but to claim that the NCAA won't let it happen is simply inaccurate. The commissioners and presidents of the six BCS conferences (Big East, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, SEC and Pac-10) have complete power. I agree with you re: Utah. They are outstanding and they deserve a chance. Even if they got to a BCS bowl and lost by 30, they have done enough this season (assuming they finish undefeated) to deserve the opportunity.

Yes, and hopefully one day the NCAA will have control to put together a selection committee for Division I football. Right now the big conferences control Division I football. If Auburn, USC and Oklahoma all go undefeated, one very good team is going to be screwed. And if Utah and Boise St. go undefeated, I think they are getting screwed too. Sure, they may not be as good as the other three unbeatens, but they should get a shot to prove themselves-- just like St. Joseph's in men's basketball last season.

Reasons why we will lose: 1. They are better than us. 2. Road game in prime time. Learn from history. 3. Two brains....Bellicek. Drew. Whose would you rather have? 4. Hank Goldberg just picked us to cover. Goldberg can't pick his nose. Reality check...Pats 31, Bills 10 I'd love to eat some crow, but before I pick us to win a road game (against the champs no less), I have to see us actually get it done.

I voted can't, won't. I am happy that we've seemed to turn the corner and are progressing. The defense and special teams are solid. Three things are improving with regards to the offense: Drew is making better decisions, Willis is emerging, and (most importantly IMO) the offensive line is starting to come together. I also think Mularkey and the rest of the staff are getting better. Having said that, I can't see us winning Sunday night. Frankly, I'd be stunned. Like I said, I like the direction this team has taken in the last couple of weeks. But New England is the wrong team at the wrong time in the wrong city for us. ANY other team in ANY other place, and I'd be feeling pretty good. That includes Pittsburgh, considering the letdown factor. But just not the Pats on a Sunday night in Foxboro. I can't see it happening. I hope to God I'm wrong.

Patriots 30, Eagles 20

Well, yeah...in hindsight I'd vote to draft Willis over those guys. And the more Willis continues to improve and produce, the more clear that hindsight will become. But on draft day in 2003, I was calling for Clark or Steinbach.

To call the decision to draft Willis "the worst draft pick ever" is about as stupid as it gets. If Willis never takes another snap, he's already proven to be a better pick than Ryan Leaf, who was selected second overall. That's just one of hundreds of examples of terrible draft choices. The Willis pick was a gamble, one I wouldn't have been willing to take if I had a say. But it clearly looks like the gamble could pay off big for us. Let's hope so anyway. Many of us on this board said, from day one, that if one of the NFL's glamour teams and media darlings had made this choice, they would have called it brilliant. You would have heard, "Wow...how about Jimmy Johnson? He's about to lose Peerless Price to the Falcons in free agency. He's days away from losing this player and getting nothing in return and BAM...he slaps the franchise tag on him and dangles a first-round pick in front of Atlanta's face to see how bad the Falcons really wanted Peerless. They take the bait and lo and behold, Jimmy gets his first-round draft choice back. And with that pick, they get a player like Willis McGahee, who would have been one of the top three picks of the entire draft had it not been for his injury. Brilliant...absolutely brilliant." Again, I loved the move to tag and trade Peerless. I wouldn't have used the pick to take Willis (for the record, I was hoping for Dallas Clark or Eric Steinbach), but this could turn out to be a very nice move by TD.

Bitter? You? No, never. They could have played every one of those World Series games at Busch. The result would have been the same. By the way BF, the Yankees play at the Cardinals June 10-12. And the Red Sox visit St. Louis June 6-8. I'd say the Cardinals have to love that home interleague schedule, especially since it's the last year for Busch Stadium.

One year ago, at home, against the Jets, Travis did exactly to the Jets what Willis did today. He had 30+ carries but not quite 37. But he had more yards and a better yards-per-carry average. Travis is capable of that kind of performance.

Average and robot are a bit harsh. Average running backs don't produce the way he has. He's above average. He doesn't, however, have near the instincts that Willis has, which allows WM to bounce outside and turn nothing into something. The big difference between the two running backs is one of them not only has better instincts, but he's also 6-1, 233 pounds and can move.

Va said it best. Not only is Willis a more complete back than Travis, he fits in with this offense better than TH. I'm a huge Travis supporter, but those are the facts. I will say, though, that Travis did a great job on two occasions picking up the blitz today. But Willis is the more consistent blocker and receiver, and you can't argue with his production as a runner.

Do you realize that Jerry Gray's defense has allowed 40 completions in the past four games? Think about that for a second. I realize we've played in some crappy weather and no one is going to confuse Kyle Boller, Jay Fiedler and Josh McCown with Montana, Kelly and Elway, but that's still an impressive accomplishment.

Shut the hell up, BF. Are you going to tell me we've lost five games because Travis started at running back in those games? If Travis played the first series today, and then we put Willis in for the rest of the game, that would have meant we would have lost today? Willis is the man and has clearly outplayed Travis. He's a huge reason why our offense has started resembling a professional football team. We all hope he gets better and better and better, he keeps getting healthier, he keeps producing with 100-yard efforts, and he keeps helping us win. But that's no reason to trash Travis Henry, who has earned a lot more respect than your stupid ass gives him. Travis has been beaten out for the job by a running back who's better than he is. That's no reason to falsely single him out for our failures.

Good question. No one wants to win the Big 12 North, which probably isn't as good as the Big East right now. I think I heard yesterday that Iowa State is now in control of their own destiny with regards to representing that division in the Big 12 championship game. That's sad. OU, OSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech...all WAY better than anyone in the north. I hope that Wisconsin, Oklahoma, USC, Auburn, Utah and Boise St. all remain undefeated, just so there is more public outcry against the BCS.

USC has beaten three ranked teams-- Virginia Tech, which might win the ACC (nothing to sneeze at these days); Arizona State; and California, which some experts argue is better than anyone except USC. USC, Cal, Oklahoma, Auburn, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas, Utah, and Georgia are all outstanding teams.

I like lamp.

Second Bill inducted in the last three years (Andre in 2002). FLORENCE, Ala. -- One of the all-time greats of NCAA Division II football who helped lead his school to two National Championships at Florence's Braly Stadium , will be honored on December 10 as the fourteenth inductee into the Division II Football Hall of Fame in Florence, Ala. Former North Dakota State University defensive lineman Phil Hansen, who went on to play 11 seasons in the National Football League with the Buffalo Bills, will be the lone inductee for 2004 into the Division II Football Hall of Fame. Hansen was chosen by a 20-member selection committee and the selection was announced Tuesday by Division II Football Hall of Fame voting coordinator Dee Corum. Hansen will be inducted on December 10 as part of a combined Harlon Hill Trophy and Division II Football Hall of Fame Banquet at 6:30 p.m. at the Florence Conference Center. The initial class of inductees in 1999 included running back Johnny Bailey of Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville), quarterback Jeff Bentrim of North Dakota State and the late Walter Payton of Jackson State University. In 2000, defensive lineman Harry Carson of South Carolina State University, defensive lineman Pierce Holt of Angelo State University, and wide receiver John Stallworth of Alabama A&M were inducted. In 2001 the third class was comprised of tight end Brent Jones of Santa Clara University, linebacker Greg Lloyd of Fort Valley State University and quarterback Ken O'Brien of the University of California-Davis. Quarterback Scott Brunner of Delaware, receiver Andre Reed of Kutztown and linebacker Jessie Tuggle of Valdosta State comprised the 2002 class. Former Texas A&M-Kingsville and Washington Redskins standout Darrell Green was inducted in 2003, bringing the total number of inductees to 13. The Division II Football Hall of Fame is housed at Braly Municipal Stadium, which has hosted the Division II Football Championship Game since 1986. The 32nd annual Division II Football Championship Game will be played at Braly Stadium at 3 p.m. on December 11, 2004, and the Harlon Hill Trophy presentation to the Division II Player of the Year, and the Hall of Fame inductions are part of the Shoals area's championship week activities. The Division II Football Hall of Fame is sponsored by Coca-Cola, The City of Florence and Trustmark Construction. Tickets are $35 each or $280 for a table of eight and are available by calling Larry Tinknel at (256) 764-4661 or the UNA Sports Information Office at (256) 765-4595. Hansen was the anchor of a solid defensive unit at North Dakota State for three seasons and was a two-time first-team All-American pick. He tied a school record for career quarterback sacks with 41 in regular season play and set a school mark with 32 career pass break-ups. He started on NCAA Division II National Championship teams in 1988 and 1990 and was twice named All-North Central Conference and Most Valuable Player in the league. He played in three All-Star games following his college career including the East-West Shrine, the Blue-Gray, and the All-American Classic. He was also the top vote-getter on the defensive line on the NCAA Division II "Team of the Quarter Century". A second round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills, Hansen was a starter for the Bills beginning early in his rookie season. He played on three Super Bowl teams with the Bills, was a member of the NFL All-Rookie team in 1991, and was first or second in sacks with the Bills for several seasons. His 11-year NFL career included playing in 156 games with 149 starts. He made 870 total tackles with 597 solo and 273 assists. He had 61.5 sacks for 343 yards in losses, 10 caused fumbles, one interception and 135 quarterback pressures.

Any idea where I can find a Thurman Thomas replica jersey (XXL)?

You're wrong. If Travis had a huge contract, you may be on the right track, but the fact is, the guy has only one year left on his deal, and it's at a reasonable salary. If Willis keeps progressing the way he is right now, you dangle Travis for a top 60-75 pick. If you can't get that, you keep him for one more year. Then he becomes a free agent after the 2005 season, he signs with another team, and we perhaps get a compensation pick for him. That would be better than a fifth or sixth round selection, and it wouldn't be a slap in Travis' face.

I thought Willis had a good, not great, game. Certainly the best running I've seen by a Bill this year. Still don't think he's 100 percent, but hopefully that means we're going to have a dandy in our backfield by the start of the 2005 season. Two plays that stood out to me was the big stiff arm he had early in the game. Reminded me of Otis Anderson against us in Super Bowl 25. But my favorite play was a two-yard loss he had. I believe it was in the third quarter. He responded by getting up and barking at Lawrence Smith for missing his assignment and leading to the loss on the play. That's the kind of leadership we've been missing on our offense.

How the hell am I raining on any parade? I'm happy as hell. I haven't seen a Bills win since last December (couldn't watch the Dolphins game because I was out of town).

True. But we got to start deep in Arizona territory multiple times. I'm glad we were able to take advantage today. I think you can attribute it to many things: 1. Willis ran hard. 2. The offensive line played its best game in recent memory. 3. Putting Bannan and Adams in goalline situation helped tremendously. 4. Arizona is a team that likes easy weather conditions, and probably didn't want to show up today.

Those are key stats, no question about it. But the key stat of this game was starting field position. We scored 31 of our 38 points without the offense having to drive more than 30 yards. Our scoring drives: 7 plays, 19 yards for a field goal 4 plays, 55 yards for a TD 0 plays, 0 yards for a TD (kickoff) 4 plays, 19 yards for a TD 4 plays, 11 yards for a TD 7 plays, 30 yards for a TD I don't care how bad you are on offense or who you are playing. If you are able to get that kind of starting field position, you're going to score some points. Kudos to the special teams for keying this win today.

Pure anger? No...much more shock than anger. Anger is watching the Bills trip over themselves every Sunday, making the same mistakes over and over again. When your team blows a series like no other team has blown one before, you are just stunned. I work with Red Sox fans, and they were just as incredulous as I was. You want the truth? That's the truth. No doubt Yankees fans have acted like jerks over the years. But Red Sox Nation has just as many jerks as New York does. I guess now they have some justification for acting the way they do.

Getting a #1 draft pick for Peerless was a great move by TD, the best he's made as our GM in my opinion. We were about to lose PP to free agency, so to turn that into a first-round pick was a great move. But I think it's safe to say that the jury is still out on whether or not Willis was the right choice. It was a gamble, for sure, but I don't think that's going to be the defining moment to TD's tenure in Buffalo. I think that's going to be the trade that landed us JP.