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the bartender's been pouring some strong one tonight at this suburban Rochester hotel, and this season already seems doomed before it begins, when suddenly my unofficial all-time favorite, nut-bustin, rock and roll song comes banging on my ipod headphones: "Tumbling Dice": The Rolling Stones. so what's yers? jw (second: "Bastards of Young": The Replacements.

haven't heard of this one, but i'm aware of the Middle Brother "Portland" as noted by the very respected music poster Astrojanitor. is there anything he doesn't know. and, no offended at all. very much appreciated, in fact. keeping this 'mats kindling burning is continued proof that they continue to resonate today. the hep cats, of course, know this, snap and snap. by the way, anyone listening to this Raphael Saadiq guy. geez, he can rock. jw by the way ... just saw from an e-mail this morning that Those Darlins will be touring with the Drive-By Truckers. this is a good thing. jw

this is so wrong. this will not happen. jw

oh, trust me. i didn't take it that way. no problem. jw

i stand by what i wrote. jw

that's more of a pre-requisite for the business i'm in. and i can't play tackle. jw

i don't see him being an option in Buffalo or many other teams for that matter given his health issues. jw

this is extremely odd. jw

my feeling is the season is already over. jw didn't care. jw was this Buddy's trade? jw huh? jw you can't be serious? this is very far from the truth. jw

really? jw really? jw oh, geez. jw not true as far as i know. jw

i question the motives for making this deal. and as i wrote, it opens up the Bills to being second-guessed for thinking this offense, which made modest gains last year, can improve without what's been its most consistent threat. jw

and this is what stands for hope, nowadays. yikes. jw

might have been what Lee told the AP. jw

there's still some failed reasoning here. Lee Evans had a solid year as a lone No. 1 in 2006. ... and if you're going to go back to 2009 and use that as an argument, i'm sorry. the Bills offense that season was an absolute and utter mess. the fact that it scored more than 3 touchdowns was a miracle given that Jauron decided to go no-huddle, fired his offensive coordinator and then cut his starting left tackle. ... good receivers need comlimentary receivers around them and quarterbacks to get them the ball. Steve Smith was an elite receiver in Carolina but then suddenly his production dropped off. Deion Branch was good in New England, a bust in Seattle and now suddenly good in New England again. ... hmmmm. what's Braylon Edwards done recently? weren't Peerless Price and Eric Moulds a better tandem together than they were apart? some could say Moulds had a great 2004 season because of Evans. Larry Fitzgerald is a good receiver, and yet why did he fail to make an impact last year? sure, he had another, 1,000 yard while matching a career low with 6 TDs. Andre Reed didn't do it all himeslf here in Buffalo, did he? here's something odd: if Lee Evans wasn't a bona fide No. 1 and couldn't do it all himself, how did he do it all himself in 2008 opposite Josh Reed, or in 2006, opposite Peerless. look at the numbers: Evans' 1,292 yards receiving in 2006 were more than one third of the yards passing the Bills produced. odd, no? jw

there's some cherry-picking facts going on here. Evans was in part a fan of J.P. Losman because he didn't want the offense to go through yet another quarterback change. another point is, would you blame a receiver for wanting to stick with a quarterback with whom he had a 1,000-yard season? Edwards, it turned out, wasn't the guy to run the Bills offense. is it wrong that Lee Evans believed that. and yet he didn't exactly throw Edwards under the bus. and you're wrong about Moulds. sure, Evans had a great season alongside Moulds, but he also had a good season in 2006 without him. the trouble is, Evans hasn't consistently had a credible or consistent guy playing opposite him. it was Moulds for a year. Peerless Price for a couple of years. Josh Reed. T.O. during what was a dysfunctional year for the offense altogether, and now Stevie Johnson's emergence last year. Fitz not having a good rapport with Lee? how do you know that. i've seen them hook up in practice numerous times. and you don't hear Lee Evans questioning Fitz's capability as a starter. and why is it that Evans struggles to get open? might it be opponents continue to swing coverage his way? look, i'm not saying Evans is one of the NFL's elite receivers. but his value to this offense has been under-appreciated given what the perennial change and dysfunction this offense has gone through over the past seven years. jw

Coach, with all due respect here. i was merely responding to bubba's contention that there's a possibility that the Bills could get 5 first-round picks for someone like Dareus. let's be realistic here. it's not gonna happen. jw

bubba, my point in regards to you being serious was proposing the Bills get five first-round picks, a mountain of gold, a brand new stadium and free pizza for life in exchange for Lee Evans Marcell Dareus. as to your point here, there's very little difference between 5 and 6 wins. and yet, the offense made modest gains a year ago and it would hurt the development of this team and offense to trade away Lee Evans for what's likely a 4th-round selection at best. the offense needs to continue making progress and this would be a significant setback, minus of course someone offering the team five first-round picks as you've suggested. i prefer to be rooted in a more realistic world. jw OOPS: i mistook the conversation and apologize for suggesting the Bills could get five first-round picks for Evans. the conversation here was about whether you were in favor of trading Dareus. and you suggested the Bills could get like 5 picks and Fort Knox for him, that would work. ... well ... sure.

geez, why not throw in Aaron Rodgers and Suh into the mix, to make it a three-team trade. let's be serious for one moment, can't we. jw

you'd trade Dareus? jw

well, that's a sexist comment. jw

i agree to a certain extent, and this will be a different season based on the lockout, so predictions might be a little more difficult. i still see questions along the line, particularly at left tackle. i'm not sure about the strong safety spot. as much as the defense is improved, it will still have to prove to be sturdier against the run. Barnett should be better dropping back into coverage than Posluszny was, and Dareus will certainly complement Kyle Williams. this, however, will take time. and despite what some might think about the Pats and Jets are over-rated -- and believe me, i've at times in the past thought one or the other were fading -- the thing is they're currently not. they've been good for a reason. barring a shot at the playoffs, a solid objective would be getting ahead of the Dolphins and getting to .500. we'll see. jw

sorry, John. when asked, i currently respond that i don't see the Bills being a playoff team this year. i've got them at 6 wins. jw

ah, so Jamie is heading upstate. the next part of the story. Jamie: "Ma, I need da cah." Mom: "Fer what?" Jamie: "I found out where da trader's staying, sum dump up in Rochester." Mom: "Rochester? Watchyou wanna go up dere for. I need you here to mow the grass. And you clean up your room yet? Geez, yer uncle's comin ovah." Jamie: "Ah, moooom." Mom: "Don't pull that whiney act with me. You can't have da cah, cause I gotta go to bingo." Jamie: "Jeezz, marone. Bingo. Here I am, finally got to track down da trader, and youse gotta go to bingo. I gotta life, too, you know." Mom: "What life. Sitting and yelling at that computah screen all day. Why don't you get yourself a girl." Jamie: "Girls. Dey all freakin' Giants fans or sumptin. I ain't going out with no Giants fan. And then there's that rash I was telling you about." Mom: "That still ain't healed? You been scratching at it again?" Jamie: "Uh ... no." Mom: "Well, let your uncle take a look at it when he comes ovah." Jamie: "Mooom!" Mom: "Don't mom, me. Go get yo sistah. I got dinner ready." And so Jamie is stuck at home, unable to find transportation while on the verge of his big opportunity, and a bone to pick with several Bills fans. He heads back up to his room, checks his computer, and applies some balm. The rash is getting worse. It's not been a good day. jw

so, the Towpath Motel gets an interesting call this afternoon, from someone looking for the Bills. Jamie: "Yo, youse guys have a trader there?" Clerk: "Whaa? Jamie: "A trader, wuz wit da Jets last year and now heeez left to go to da Billz." Clerk: "Ma'am, I certainly don't know who you might be referring to." Jamie: "Don't call me ma'am. Ima guy ..." Clerk: "My apologies, Ima." Jamie: "&%#!! Geez, what's it wit you upstaters. Do eyes a have to drive up dere to give you sum knuckle sangwiches." Clerk: "Well, you don't have to be rude. But I don't know how I can help you." Jamie: "I unnerstand that the Bills stay there, and eyes lookin' for a trader." Clerk: "The Bills don't stay here, so I don't think I can help you." Jamie: "I figured you might try ta pull that schtick. Git me da trader." Clerk: "Aahhhh." Jamie: "Da dopes on the intrawebs told me da Bills were staying there, so don't try to pull no wool over my eyes. Get me da trader ya %$&^ mope." The line goes dead. What will Jamie do now? jw

holding our collective breaths, jamie. jw