Indy Dave

Bobby Cox should win NL Manager of the Year. He has done a great job during his career, but I think this year was his masterpiece. 13 straight division titles is very impressive....congrats and good luck in the playoffs.

Yep, exactly right. Only I thought the play was similar to when Ricky Williams scored against us in that Sunday night game last year. Of course, then it was a touchdown. Then again, we didn't deserve to win that game, and we didn't deserve to win on Sunday either.

And before anyone replies with a whiny post about history not meaning anything, let me add some current-day information for you: Yankees 96-57 Red Sox 91-61 That current enough for you?

Going to the Packers-Colts game.

I love how when the Yankees beat Boston's ass last weekend, the Red Sox fans claimed how it didn't matter because both teams were going to the playoffs anyway. Now we're on the dawn of a new series, and all of the sudden it matters again. If Boston wins all three games or two of three, it will matter to them and their flagship station called ESPN. If the Yankees win the series, they'll fall back on the series not mattering because both teams are in the playoffs anyway. That's pretty convenient. The Sox have homefield and pitching advantages for all three games, given that Pedro is overdue for a good start, Wakefield the Yankee killer goes tomorrow, and right now it looks like Schilling against Loaiza on Sunday. But before you rip on New York's pitching staff, you might want to know that Boston's staff has allowed 63 runs over its last nine games. That's seven runs a game in a stretch that included six games against Tampa Bay and Baltimore. Throw in the fact that Lieber and Mussina are hot, El Duque has proven to be the ace, and Kevin Brown is close to coming back, and I don't think the Yankee staff is in that bad of shape. It certainly looks better than it did two or three weeks ago.

OK, you got me a on a technicality. I was referring to the first pick made by the Bills in each of the last three drafts, not the actual last three guys taken by the Bills with a first-round pick. Anyway...I still don't agree with trading him, for reasons I already outlined. He's a good player and he comes cheap. If Willis can beat him out, more power to him. But if we simply trade away Travis, what do we do if Willis blows that knee again? You just don't get running backs at the price we have Travis, not ones as good as he is anyway. For better or worse, this is our team. The only change that might happen would be late in the year, when they might put JP in to give him some experience. I don't think they will do that though, unless the season is totally lost.

I'd rather they eliminate the wild card than extend it to a seven-game series. In fact, I think they should shorten the entire season, so that the ALCS and NLCS begin in mid-September and the World Series begins on or about Oct. 1.

Because Parcells' track record would indicate that they will get a significant player with a top-five pick, not a Ryan Leaf-type player. So again, why make the trade if you are Dallas? I might also add that they used two picks in the first four rounds to take running backs in last year's draft, and they signed free agent Eddie George. So they need another running back? And our last three #1 picks are not on the bench. Mike Williams, while not yet showing production of a No. 4 overall pick, is a starter and has been since he got here. Evans is a starter too, depending on what formation we are in (three-receiver or double tight end). Willis is not a starter but like I said from day one, that was a stupid pick anyway. Had we taken Dallas Clark or Eric Steinbach, those guys would be starters and would be significant upgrades at positions where we need significant upgrades. Running back was not one of those positions. It was a cocky move made by a cocky GM who has failed miserably so far in Buffalo.

Don't you think that Bill Parcells and his staff are looking at the Bills and seeing a potential top five pick with the 2005 first-rounder? Don't you also think that Dallas would be able to draft a player potentially better than Travis with that kind of selection? So why in the world would they trade that pick back to us for a running back who is between 8th and 12th in the league (depending on who you ask)? I love Travis Henry. I'm glad he's on our team and while there are others better than him out there, the fact is, he's pretty damn good and he comes very cheap. That's a rare combination. And here's another way to look at it: if we trade Travis Henry to Dallas, we are giving away our best and most valuable player over the last couple of years. In return, we get a draft pick. Who do you think Tom the Genius would take? Maybe that 39-year old receiver from South Carolina?

After that, we can send a fifth-round pick in the 2009 draft to the Colts for Marvin Harrison.

Yeah, probably. As long as McCardell's contract didn't break the bank. I haven't totally given up on Josh Reed, but McCardell lined up on the other side would make Eric Moulds a better player.

Madden to Beerball: You see, Beerball, this defensive lineman is going to jump and make contact with this guard....right here, watch.....BOOOM. And see, that's offsides because the center hasn't snapped the ball yet, so this guy is offsides and that's a 5-yard penalty, you see, right there. Gee, Mr. Madden...tell us more about this great game. I don't hate him, but him explaining the obvious like we've never watched a football game before is a bit tiresome.

You want to make Evans our #3 receiver and improve at the #2 spot? Fine, trade Josh Reed and a #4 pick in the 2005 draft to receiver-starved Tampa Bay in exchange for holdout Keenan McCardell.

Huge Chipper Jones fan. Switch-hitter, consistent as they come. He's on the team, but he's not my starting third baseman. Rolen is one of the best defensive players I've ever seen, and a pretty damn good hitter too.

Fair enough. My point is, we need an upgrade at the quarterback spot more urgently than we need an upgrade at the running back and receiver spots. An upgrade for our OL would help, of course, but replacing one guy is easier than replacing five. And I agree with you, our TEs stink. When you consider that Drew has a history of performing better with good TEs, it baffles me that we haven't addressed this position. I was screaming for us to take Dallas Clark last year. I like Drew and really want him to do well. I just don't see it happening though. I hope I'm wrong.

My dream lineup would be: Ichiro, CF Jeter, SS Bonds, LF Pujols, 1B Manny, DH Rolen, 3B Vlad, RF Ivan, C Soriano, 2B Actually, I'd make A-Rod learn another position and put him at second. I'd need another lefty on the bench, so Edmonds would make the team too. Johnson, Santana, Schilling, Hudson and Mulder would be my starting rotation, with Rivera the closer. As for the rest of the bullpen, it probably wouldn't matter. If you'd like to pitch middle relief, give me a call.

Perhaps we should have traded out of the #13 spot into the low 20s, and picked up another pick in exchange (perhaps an extra third or fourth-round choice). We then could have taken JP with the first-round pick, and still had our second-round choice, where we could have taken a guy like Keary Colbert. We'd still have JP, we'd have Colbert instead of Evans, and we'd still have next year's #1. We'll see how it plays out.

Give me ownership of a team and tell me I can pick whoever I want from any of the other MLB teams, the first three position players I'd take are: Derek Jeter Ichiro Albert Pujols

Did I just read that right? It's not Drew, it's the supporting cast? Let me just ask you this... If the NFL announced today that the entire offense for the Buffalo Bills will have their contracts voided and are free agents as of today, who would the other 31 teams go after? Eric Moulds, Travis Henry, or Drew Bledsoe? My guess is that Eric and Travis would have contracts in 10 minutes. I also suspect that Lee Evans and Willis McGahee, despite their limited playing time and production, would get calls soon. I bet that Josh Reed, despite his many shortcomings, would get a call by the close of business today. It's also safe to say that Mike Williams and Jonas Jennings would be on a plane by the end of the day, flying to their new homes. Teams looking for an experienced No. 3 or 4 receiver would probably call Bobby Shaw. Some of our other linemen might get calls from teams who have zero depth on their OL, or calls from a team like Miami who have next to zero talent on their OL. Now, having said all of that, who do you suppose is going to call Drew and ask him to PLAY-- not be some seasoned vet to tutor a young QB, but to ACTUALLY PLAY by season's end? Really, is there a team in the NFL that would want Drew Bledsoe as their starting to quarterback today? Maybe Baltimore, San Francisco, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Chicago? Maybe those teams. But would Drew have more weapons with those teams than he does with Buffalo? Sure, there's Jamal Lewis in Baltimore, a couple of nice receivers in Pittsburgh, but as a whole, the Bills have better skill players than any of those teams.

Going to watch my second-favorite team, the Colts, play against a quarterback who I have always respected and enjoyed watching (Brett Favre and the Packers). The Colts are a distant second, but at least they give me something to cheer about.

OK. Now I see. As long as teams go to a prevent defense and their defensive backs allow our receivers to get 10 yards behind them, we can count on Drew to make the play. Great. I'm pumped.

ICE, Save what I am about to type because I'm a man of my word. If the Buffalo Bills go 10-6 during the 2004 season, I will buy you a ticket to a game of your choice during the 2005 season. Better yet, if a 10-6 record gets the Bills a home playoff game, I will buy you a ticket to that game instead. If you can't make it to a playoff game, we'll go on the original statement, and I'll buy you one ticket to one game during the 2005 season. Best of luck to you. If I have to buy you this ticket, I will be every bit as happy as you. Trust me. I just don't see it happening though. And for all you newcomers, I have been posting on this board since 1996 and have never been near as negative as I have the last two days. I can't remember a time in my life when I've been so negative and pessimistic as I have been the last two days. Usually, I'm quite optimistic (but realistic), but this team has sucked the life out of me. I'll be watching every week, but quite honestly, I've thrown in the towel. I hope like crazy I'll be eating crow. Hell, I'll eat crow stevestojan if it means having a winning record this year.

For the record, I was at Yankee Stadium for all three games in April, when the Red Sox swept the Yanks. The booing of Derek Jeter by Yankee fans made me want to puke. Having said that, there are just as many classless Red Sox fans as any team in the majors, or professional sports for that matter.

Thank you Jay. And that one, Mr. Jennings, will be an Atlanta Falcon next year. Sorry, ARGB52, but TD's tenure has not been a success. Two things jump out at me. One, our biggest problem when he got here was the offensive line. Here were in 2004, and it's STILL our biggest problem. Then there's the bottom line. 17-33 and going nowhere fast. He's made some nice moves, no question about it. But I judge a GM by his draft and his won-lost record. Neither are good.

No one said he isn't the number one problem? This is a copy and paste from a thread started earlier today: Wake up Buffalo the real #1 problem on this team is TRAVIS HENRY. Why you ask? Because he is directly responsible for alot of negative plays resulting in punts or INT'S or fumbles. For example in the first half Travis #1) totally whiffs on a block causing a sack( this was not the O-LINE) and the result was PUNT, #2) Falls down twice on consecutive plays when the hole was there and the result was PUNT, #3)Lets a pass right to him go threw his hands and the result is INT, #4) When we go for it at the goal line on fourth down he falls down again when he should of scored and the result was TURNOVER ON DOWNS. This was four drives that stood out that Travis was the direct cause of the drive failure. I am not saying Henry is the only problem. I am not saying the O-LINE is not a problem. I am not saying Bledsoe is not a problem. I am saying that HENRY IS THE # 1 REASON WHY BUFFALO SUCKS ON OFFENSE. And people agreed with this BS. That's why I started this thread. I agree with you...the line is our #1 problem, with Drew a close second. What aggravates me is that I don't see anyone ripping Eric Moulds. What has he done? I don't see anything about Josh Reed? What has he done? We've gotten better effort and more production from Travis than we have from Eric and certainly Josh. If Travis had fumbled inside the 10 in the fourth quarter of a close game (like EM did last week), the people on this board would have gone nuts, and would still be talking about it. And that's just my point...we could be ahead of the Patriots 41-0, and Travis could fumble a ball away in the fourth quarter, and people would call for his head. But all of our other skill players (Drew excluded) are immune from criticism. Yes, Moulds has two TDs and that's great. But he has made far more costly mistakes through two games than Travis has. Bill in NYC...you asked me about this season and what we should do about it. Sadly, I don't think there is anything we can do. Not much anyway. We can replace Travis with Willis, Drew with Shane, swap tight ends, etc., etc. But the fact is we can't replace our line. We just have to hope they get better. I know there are plays to take advantage of cheating and overly aggressive defenses. For example, the draw play to Willis on third down was good for seven yards and a first down yesterday. Deep down, though, I think the only way we can really find out what our problem is is to have JP come in and see if we get that spark. Unfortunately, that's not happening anytime soon.