R. Rich

Yeah, I kinda liked the old format better myself. Loved goin' to the draft party @ RICH, then goin' back to the Draft Cave (LancasterSteve's place) to check out the rest of the first day, followed by Mark VI bringin' over the breakfast pizza on Sunday mornin' for the second day's festivities. But, like some have said, I can see the plusses of the new format, especially when it comes to havin' the time to really strategize and engineer trades.

Don't know how this got reopened, but anyhoo, it's open now so go ahead and make your selections. Taken by me.

So, it's 'bout that time for another Mock Draft! The mock begins Monday, April 23 2012 @ 10am EST. Thread will open tomorrow (04/20/12) morning @ 10am EST. Teams awarded on a first come, first serve basis. The mock draft will be conducted in the Mock Draft Forum. Draft Order:(This is the generic draft order based on final NFL standings. This is NOT just for one particular round!) 1. Indianapolis JPS 2. St. Louis jobyst62 3. Minnesota jobyst62 4. Cleveland R. Rich 5. Tampa Bay Ramius 6. Washington Why So Serious? 7. Jacksonville TheNewBills 8. Miami Numark 9. Carolina NewEra 10. Buffalo PICK WILL BE DONE BY POLL 11. Kansas City JPS 12. Seattle Peytons Neck 13. Arizona aussiebills 14. Dallas BillsFanInTexas 15. Philadelphia UK ATO 288 16. NY Jets JWell 17. Oakland Scott CHANdler 18. San Diego Ramius 19. Chicago JPS 20. Tennessee tennesseeboy 21. Cincinnati BillsGuyBackInMalta 22. Atlanta ecgetty 23. Detroit ans4e64 24. Pittsburgh R. Rich 25. Denver KD in CT 26. Houston BillsInMaine 27. New Orleans section122 28. Green Bay Boom Jam 29. Baltimore Why So Serious? 30. San Fransisco BillsGuyBackInMalta 31. New England section122 32. NY Giants KD in CT

150 days and counting!!!!

Only 152 days 'til the home opener!!!! Hey, just like last year! Super Mario on board to rush the passer, maybe a really good LT, LB, or WR added in the first round and (hopefully) some depth added @ linebacker throughout the rest of the draft. And just two days before my anniversary!! I really can't wait!!

Have a wonderful day. You're not @ work, so it should be fantastic.

Can you Billieve it?!!! Wow! The Buffalo Bills not only gut out a tough win in a game that started off horrendously for 'em, but they did it against the team that had beaten' 'em 15 consecutive times: the New England Patriots!! This team is showin' a lotta heart so far this season. I sure hope it continues. I watched the game @ Jimmy's Old Town Tavern in Herndon VA w/ a bunch of rabid Bills fans (the owner is originally from Buffalo and shows all Bills and Sabres games there), including the daughter and son in-law of my good friend William (Bill from NYC). There were a group of us who actually held hands while Lindell made the game-winning kick. It was awesome! Oh yeah; sorry for missin' Game 2. I forgot to tivo the game, so I couldn't do the kinda review of the game that I like to. No such problem this time, so on to the game.... Ryan Fitzpatrick had a very good game. Yeah, yeah, he threw for well over 300 yards and a pair of scores, but he also made some very big throws while minimizin' the harmful ones. The 29 yarder to Donald Jones @ the 3:25 mark of the fourth quarter, just after Tom Brady made that game tyin' TD throw to Wes Welker on fourth down, showed the kinda heart I mentioned earlier I see outta this team, but also the type of steely resolve you love to have in your QB. That feelin' of "don't worry, I got this", so to speak. There were plenty of other great throws, such as his 33 yarder to Steve Johnson @ the 9:45 mark of the first quarter, a beauty of a throw to David Nelson @ the 4:56 mark of the first quarter when he faced the rush, stepped up in the pocket, and delivered a nice strike, and that great 11 yard TD to Johnson @ the 2:00 mark of the second quarter, where he put the ball right on target in the corner of the end zone. There were a few miscues: a pass thrown a bit too high (but still catchable) to Jones @ the 8:58 mark of the first quarter, the throw @ the 0:22 mark of the first quarter where he threw into tight coverage in the middle of the field and was intercepted by Kyle Arrington, and a horrible decision to throw in the end zone that was picked off @ the 10:52 mark of the fourth quarter (he was bailed out by a pass interference call on that one). Still, those pale in comparison to the many big throws he had in this one. Is Fitzpatrick a long term solution @ QB? I have said no in the past. Maybe this game was his way of tellin' me to STFU. The jury is still out though, but havin' such a performance in a game of this magnitude for the Bills goes a LONG way toward convincin' me that he's not just a stopgap QB 'til the Bills find their long term solution. Props to you for a great showin' when you needed to be great. Speakin' of big plays, what 'bout Fred Jackson? Man, this guy can do damage! He definitely had plenty of help from his offensive line (more later), but he also made tough runs and big plays aside from that. His 11 yard run @ the 10:07 mark of the second quarter was helped by some good blocking, but also by a nifty cutback move Jackson made to find open field. Same w/ his 21 yarder @ the 5:21 mark of the second quarter and his 27 yard reception on a well called screen play @ the 0:35 mark of the second quarter. And, how sweet was his 18 yard run @ the 11:11 mark of the third quarter, especially when he shook safety Sergio Brown and kept on goin' or the blitz pickup he had @ the 11:24 mark of the fourth quarter on a play that went for 48 yards? Nice. But yeah, the 28 yard screen play @ the 2:00 mark of the fourth quarter was as cluth as anything! What a huge play @ a critical time!! C.J. Spiller got a few shots, but mainly did his work on special teams. Corey McIntire had a nice lead block on Jackson's fourth quarter 1 yard TD dive. Cannot say enough good things 'bout the job this young group of receivers did. Steve Johnson made some very big plays, like his aforementioned TD grab (great inside fake on CB Devin McCourty to get 'em to bite and then beat 'em to the corner of the end zone) and a great third down conversion @ the 3:28 mark of the first quarter. There was a noticeable drop he had @ the 4:45 mark of the third quarter on a 2nd and 10 play, but overall, he was consistent and reliable. How did David Nelson follow up bein' the hero of the win over the Raidahs? He made the nice catch I mentioned @ the 4:56 mark of the first quarter, made another great catch @ the 4:08 mark of the second quarter for 15 yards, and had a nice run after the catch play @ the 2:55 mark of the first quarter that went for 26 yards. Nelson also made a nice chip block of DE Andre Carter on Jackson's 18 yard run @ the 11:11 mark of the third quarter. Donald Jones, who I saw havin' some issues w/ consistency in the opener vs Kansas City, made some very nice plays in this one. He had a nice comeback route for 7 yards @ the 9:04 mark of the second quarter, made a nice third down conversin w/ an 8 yrd catch @ the 0:45 mark of the second quarter, and was the target on two key plays late in the game: the 48 yard completion @ the 11:24 mark of the fourth quarter and the 29 yarder @ the 3:25 mark of the fourth quarter. Scott Chandler, another bright spot of the early part of the season, made some nice blocks (nice one on Carter @ the 5:21 mark of the second quarter on a 21 yard run by Jackson) and nice catches (7 yard catch for a first down @ the 5:33 mark of the first quarter, 3 yard TD catch @ the 9:38 mark of the third quarter). He did miss a block on LB Jerod Mayo @ the 10:07 mark of the second quarter, but the rest of the line did their job on that play and Jackson still got 11 yards. Okay, we're three games into the season and it has to be said: Demetrius Bell has been havin' a heck of a season! Not only has he gotten it done in pass protection (as the line as a whole has), but his run blocking has really been a welcome surprise. He had a nice block on Carter @ the 6:01 mark of the first quarter on a 7 yard Jackson run and teamed w/ Andy Levitre on a trio of plays that were impressive: Jackson's 21 yard run @ the 5:21 mark of the second quarter (nice double team on NT Vince Wilfork), a 6 yard Jackson run to start the third quarter (15:00 mark), and the 18 yard Jackson run @ the 11:11 mark of the third quarter (both Bell and Levitre blocked down on Wilfork). Levitre has been havin' quite a year, too. On that last play I mentioned, in addition to the double teaming of Wilfork w/ Bell, Levitre also got to the second level and took out Mayo. He took Mayo out on Jackson's 7 yard run @ the 6:01 mark of the first quarter as well, and had a nice double team on Wilfork (again w/ Bell) @ the 10:07 markof the second quarter on an 11 yard run by Jackson. Chad Rinehart had a nice block on DT Kyle Love on that same 11 yard Jackson run, teamed w/ Eric Wood to take DE Shaun Ellis out on Jackson's 18 yard run @ the 11:11 mark of the third quarter and also looked good gettin' out in front on screen passes. Wood had some issues w/ penalties (chop block @ the 1:30 mark of the first quarter and holding @ the 9:33 mark of the second quarter), but made all the line calls and also showed nimble footwork to get out on those screen passes. Erik Pears held off Ellis on the 11 yard Jackson run @ the 10:07 mark of the second quarter, sealed off LB Rob Ninkovich on the 18 yard Jackson run @ the 11:11 mark of the third quarter, and was solid in pass protection, as were the rest of the line. It was a very strong showin' for these guys. The defensive line didn't generate a ton of heat via the pass rush, but a lot of that has to do w/ the quick release of Brady. They did have their moments. Marcell Dareus was able to get a good rush right @ the start of the second quarter (15:00 mark) and get his hand up on a pass that ended up being broken up. On the very next play (14:56 mark), Kyle Williams was able to break through and get to Brady just as he released the ball on an incomplete pass. Dareus was also in on a couple other plays that stopped Brady pass attempts: @ the 8:24 mark of the fourth quarter, he got a good push into the backfield and allowed Chris Kelsay to get in right behind 'em and knock the pass down. He also was key to one of the biggest plays of the game, Drayton Florence's INT for a TD @ the 10:32 mark of the fourth quarter, as he bulled his way into the backfield enough to deflect the pass w/ his helmet enough to where Florence was able to grab it out the air and race untouched for the score. In terms of stuffin' the run, there was one play in particluar that stood out to me. Alex Carrington had a beautiful stop @ the 3:20 mark of the third quarter when he beat his blocker, got into the backfield, and stopped WR Julian Edelman for a 3 yard loss. There were some bad run plays too, but not many. On back to back plays (9:33 and 9:03 mark of the fourth quarter), I saw Dwan Edwards and Carrington get knocked off the ball, allowing RB Stevan Ridley to get big gains (first for 16 yards, second for 6 yards). The next play after those was the one I mentioned earlier where Dareus was brought back in and Kelsay got the knockdown. While they didn't rack up impressive stats, these guys helped to make the Pats one dimensional. They did their job. The linebackers had some success w/ run support, but little in pass rushing. Shawne Merriman did have one nice rush (6:42 mark of the second quarter) where he nearly came up w/ the sack on Brady and forced an incomplete pass. I did see 'em get neutralized by LT Matt Light (14:20 mark of the first quarter) on a Brady pass to Welker that went for 11 yards and he was stuffed @ the line of scrimmage (7:33 mark of the second quarter) on another Brady pass to Welker for 17 yards. He had a couple of nice plays vs the run: one (11:40 mark of the second quarter) where he set the edge and forced RB Danny Woodhead back inside on a play that gained only a yard and another where he took on the lead block (4:22 mark of the fourth quarter) on a second and goal run by RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis @ the 1 that was stuffed for a yard loss. Chris Kelsay did some good things in rushing the passer (beat RT Nate Solder off the edge @ the 15:00 mark of the second quarter, his previously mentioned pass knockdown, pressure of Brady to force incompletion @ 13:27 mark of third quarter) and in run support (was there to help stop Green-Ellis run for a yard after pressure by Kyle Williams @ 10:52 mark of first quarter), but he also needs to do a better job of droppin' back in pass coverage (way too shallow depth @ 6:38 mark of the second quarter on 21 yard catch by TE Rob Gronkowski). Nick Barnett was caught in a bad mismatch late in the game on Welker's TD catch (3:33 mark of fourth quarter) and caught a bad penalty late in the first half (1:56 mark of second quarter) w/ the roughness call against Woodhead, but he and Andra Davis also had a nice stuff of a short Green-Ellis run @ the 6:44 mark of the first quarter. I thought this was the secondary's rough go of the early season, but considering how prolific the Pats' offense has been, they did pretty well. I, for one, have been impressed by the improvement in the tackling overall and by Jairus Byrd in particular. Obviously, they've paid attention to this and worked on it. There were a few bad plays though. Drayton Florence's goin' for Welker's inside move on his first TD catch (9:51 mark of the first quarter) was bad, but havin' Gronkowski covered by three guys on that play (George Wilson, w/ help from Bryan Scott while Byrd gave deep help), leaving Welker alone w/ Florence, was a bad move. Byrd also was outmatched on the goal line play (6:06 mark of the first quarter) where Gronkowski got off the line clean (?????) and Byrd trailed the play too far to make a play on the ball. Speaking of Scott, he missed a shoestring tackle of Woodhead (1:25 mark of the second quarter) on a 10 yard gain, but he made up for it big time a few plays later (1:09 mark of the second quarter), when he made the interception in spectacular fashion, stoppin' the Pats as they were in the red zone. Wilson got in on the action, too, w/ his great interception @ the 11:38 mark of the fourth quarter, a pivotal play. It also was good to see, as he had been beat on that route several times earlier by Gronkowski, so he undercut it and made the pick. There were nice pass breakups by Byrd (15:00 mark of the fourth quarter) and Reggie Corner (14:55 mark of the fourth quarter). Leodis McKelvin made a beautiful pick (13:27 mark of the third quarter) on Brady's first pass attempt of the quarter, which was his first attempt since Scott's INT in the first half as well. McKelvin also had a nice tackle on a 3rd and 4 play (5:30 mark of the third quarter), stopping Woodhead short of the first down and forcin' a FG. Special teams did okay. The coverage units had some really nice stops: Da'Norris Searcy made a nice open field tackle @ the 9:34 mark of the third quarter and Arthur Moats did the same @ the 10:36 mark of the fourth quarter. Now, I did see my buddy William takin' Spiller to task for his fair catch @ the 5 yard line (14:51 mark of the fourth quarter). I think it should be noted here that there were two Patriots defenders (WR Matthew Slater and DB Ross Ventrone) who were ready in position BEHIND Spiller. So, if he chooses to let the punt go, there's a very good chance that one of 'em scoops it up even closer than the 5. Can't really fault Spiller that time. Of course, props to Lindell for the game winner! Imagine, there was a time when he simply wasn't good enough for many on TBD. I like to call that the "Nuge Hysteria Era". May it never rear its ugly head again. As for coaching, there were some mismatches that the Bills seemed to have trouble figurin' out (Barnett coverin' Welker in a goal to go situation?), but man, did they do a great overall job. Think of this: they had the ball late in the first half lookin' to score w/ THREE timeouts available to 'em and had TWO available on that last drive of the game. Really? The Bills bein' good clock managers? Wow. Also, props to Gailey for figurin' out that the Pats had NO answer for the screen pass and for Fred Jackson in particular. That last pass to Jackson, where he was split wide, then came underneath as Steve Johnson went wide was sheer genius, and the Pats had no clue as to what to do w/ it. Excellent job! And so, the Bills are 3-0 and in first place in the East. Gotta love it! Of course, the by-product of this is now you have the media fawnin' all over 'em. Ugh! Sorry, but I am not one of those fans who needs the "love" from those guys. I want to see my team win the championship, and I realize this "fake love" comes w/ that. Now, I also realize that this was a big win, but there is plenty more work to be done. This team isn't perfect; they still need to defend the tight ends better, they still need to do a better job defending the outside running plays, and they still need a pass rush. BUT, these guys play w/ such heart (imagine that!!!) that you gotta love their chances. Fitzpatrick didn't get overwhelmed in that last drive; he just calmly hit Donald Jones for a big play and later hit Jackson twice to get in Lindell's range. Pure heart! It's been a long time since I've seen this outta the Bills, and I'll savor it as long as we have it. Enjoy this (hey, WE FINALLY BEAT THE PATRIOTS!!!), but re-focus and move on to the task @ hand: a win over Cincinnati. I'll probably miss it, as I'll be w/ my wife on a cruise that sets sail that day (and returns the day of the game vs the Iggles), but I will be tivo'ing it and I will check it out as soon as I can. So, when I get back, I'll have double duty. But, it's a labor of love and one I look forward to.

The day is finially here..... It's Game Day!!!! We'll see ya in a few. GO BILLS!!!!

T minus..... 1 day and counting!!!! Spendin' the day visitin' w/ family and then we'll head to Danny's tonight. Hope to see some of you there!

T minus..... 2 days and counting!!!! We're in Hamburg and I am ready to go. I'll be leavin' to go to Rochester for my inaugural Garbage Plate in 'bout 90 minutes. Home Opener weekend has begun!!

Yeah. Just woke up a few minutes ago (LOVE bein' on vacation!!!) and I'll be headin' over in 'bout 90 minutes. I should arrive right 'round noon.

T minus..... 3 days and counting!!!! Headin' out soon, after we finish loadin' up the vehicle. I will see you all either tomorrow @ Nick Tahou's (WNYTBDGPS), Saturday night @ Danny's, or Sunday @ Hammer's Lot. Lookin' forward to our vacation/home opener/anniversary weekend!! See ya soon.

Have to agree w/ Gordio. The Broncs have to come cross the country and play in hostile environments (last year @ Blacksburg; this year in a "neutral" site vs Georgia.....the GEORGIA DOME) in order to get anyone to schedule 'em. I guess what we'd love to see is a team like Alabama go to the blue turf and kick Boise back to Division II. I'm sure it's set to happen soon.

T minus..... 4 days and counting!!!! Gettin' psyched!! Last work day for me, so @ 5:30pm, vacation begins! Psycho Ward 86 and I will be on our way to WNY by this time tomorrow. YES!!!!!

Marshall?

I wish I could.

Yes, it is finally here: football season!!! Gotta love this time of year! And, man, what a start to the season! I was just in awe of what the Bills were able to do. I watched the game @ home w/ a good friend and fellow Bills fan who (stupidly) moved to Baltihell and knew I had the Ticket, so we made our own Bills Central. We were both thinking: is this a dream? If so, I hope it continues for another few months. Well, let's get into it, shall we? Here we go... I'll start by sayin' that Ryan Fitzpatrick had a very solid outing in his first opener as the Bills' starter. Sure, he had a few miscues (poor throw on quick slant to Stevie Johnson @ the 6:54 mark of the second quarter, threw to a heavily covered Donald Jones @ the 5:47 mark of the second quarter when Brandon Flowers had good coverage down the sideline and they had safety help over top), but those plays were far outweighed by all the good things he did. Here's a few: 1. His 35 yard completion to David Nelson @ the 1:50 mark of the first quarter was sweet! 2. His 27 yard TD to Johnson @ the 1:02 mark of the first quarter was also nice; put it high where Stevie could grab it but to the outside shoulder where the DB had no play on it w/out interfering based on Johnson's body positioning. 3. His 13 yard quick strike to Johnson @ the 0:57 mark of the second quarter to beat the blitz was very nice as well. 4. His 17 yard toss to David Nelson on the first play of the third quarter was very good. Right over the shoulder, and the receiver caught it in stride. 5. One of my favorite throws of the day: his 4 yard bullet to Jones for the TD @ the 0:19 mark of the third quarter. He put great zip on it, as he had to for that kind of quick route in the end zone. It was a hint (JUST a hint!) of Favre, Elway kinda touch. What a game for Fred Jackson! He had some truly insipring runs in that game. Looks like someone was makin' a statement to management 'bout his true worth to the team!! He does owe his offensive line major props (we will address this later), but he had plenty of times where his effort was the difference in the play, too. He had a beauty of a cutback run on the first drive (14:16 mark of the first quarter) and exploded through a nice hole made by a great block by guard Kraig Urbik (10:28 mark of the first quarter). The second half was his time to shine, as he had a great 14 yard run early in the third quarter (14:30 mark) and had perhaps his second best run of the day in my (meaningless) opinion @ the 10:11 mark of the third quarter on a play that featured a series of excellent blocks (more later). Why the second best, you say? Well, I say that 'cause I believe his best run was late in the second quarter, @ the 0:48 mark. W/ the Bills needin' one yard, Jackson got hit two yards deep in the backfield by Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson, but he recovered, shook off another tackle attempt, and then carried Flowers on his back in order to get the yard needed for the first down. It reminded me of the effort Marshawn Lynch made to get a couple yards in the home opener vs Denver a few years ago. It was sweet to watch! In addition to Jackson's efforts, there were some good plays by rookie Jonny White (nice run for 13 yards @ the 9:30 mark of the fourth quarter) and FB Corey McIntire (forced the fumble on the opening kickoff, had a beautiful chip block on Chiefs LB Tamba Hali on Fitzpatrick's TD pass to Johnson @ the 1:02 mark of the first quarter). The receivers made some stellar plays in this one, too. Johnson's leaping TD catch, Nelson's previously mentioned 35 yard completion, and Jones' 4 yard TD catch all were nice plays by this young and talented unit, but by far the biggest surprise and best showing came from TE Scott Chandler! What a game! A Bills TE w/ not only catches, but a 13 yard per catch average AND a pair of TDs??? Wow!! His catch @ the 11:46 mark of the second quarter showed he has soft hands and good body control. He also showed his prowess as a blocker, making some solid blocks highlighted by a lead block on S Jon McGraw on Jackson's 24 yard run in the third quarter (10:11 mark). I hope this was just the beginning of Chandler's contributions to the offense. Now on to our unsung heroes of the day: the offensive line. A much beleaguered line, for sure. These guys have been bagged on by many (myself included) and have seen little love on TBD. Well, they get plenty of love for their effort in this one. Overall, this was a very good performance by the line. It wasn't perfect, but we'll take it. I will point out that I wasn't overly thrilled by the game RT Erik Pears had. He wasn't awful, but he had some gaffes. For example, he did get driven back 'bout 4 yards by Chiefs DE Tyson Jackson @ the 10:28 mark of the first quarter (***BUT*** Jackson was able to get yards due to a great block by Urbik) and he had a play in the second quarter (11:01 mark) where he actually whiffed on not one, not two, but THREE blocks! Here's how it went down: First, he missed a double team block w/ Urbik on DE Allen Bailey, then he went after Johnson and totally missed 'em, and finally, he went for a crackback block on S Sabby Piscatelli, missed 'em, and allowed Piscatelli to make the tackle. Seriously. Of course, he also gave up the sack to Hali @ the 12:20 mark of the third quarter. Now, that said, Pears wasn't w/out his successes, too. On the very next play after the triple whiff (10:20 mark of second quarter), he made a nice kickout block of LB Cameron Sheffield and he also stopped Jackson cold on Fitzpatrick's 16 yard throw to Chandler @ the 7:29 mark of the third quarter. How 'bout his counterpart on the other side, the very much beleaguered LT Demetrius Bell? I saw plenty of good stuff from 'em. Start off w/ the fact that he pretty much held Hali, who had 14.5 sacks last season and destroyed the Bills on Halloween, in check. From there, he showed some impressive stuff in RUN blocking too! For instance, he threw a great kickout block on a 2nd and goal play @ the 13:04 mark of the first quarter. A few plays before that (14:16 mark of first quarter), he took DE Glenn Dorsey out to allow a nice 7 yard cutback run by Jackson. On the Bills' first play (14:50 mark of first quarter), Bell threw a great kickout block on Hali that, combined w/ Andy Levitre's blocking, created a hole big enough for Jackson to pick up 9 yards on. Great stuff. I hope Bell continues to improve in this area. Speaking of Levitre, what a game he had! Here's a few highlight plays he had: 1. He had a play @ the 14:30 mark of the third quarter where he took out Dorsey and Johnson, clearing a path for Jackson to run for 14 yards. It was very impressive. 2. He walled off Dorsey (@ the 10:11 mark of the third quarter) while Bell kicked out Johnson, Urbik pulled to take out Hali, and Chandler pulled to throw the nice lead block on McGraw. 3. He pulled to make a great lead block on Piscatelli (9:39 mark of third quarter) as Jackson gained another 9 yards. Besides Levitre, Urbik also made some nice plays. He had the one mentioned earlier, but also did well in pass protection like the rest of 'em. Wood seemed to be settled in @ center and held his own. He and Levitre cleared a nice path for a 4 yard gain on 2nd and goal @ the 13:04 mark of the first quarter. He did get beat by Johnson @ the 2:35 mark of the first quarter on a play that forced WR Brad Smith to reverse field on a Wildcat running play that was stuffed. Still, a very good overall performance by this entire unit. The defensive line? Outstanding as well! I think the difference was the play of rookie DL Marcell Dareus. Man, did he look very good out there! Here's a few of his highlights: 1. He actually was double teamed early on in the game. It was @ the 11:13 mark of the first quarter where I saw Chiefs C Casey Wiegmann actually come off his guy to help out and double team Dareus. The guy he was blocking? Kyle Williams! That was ridiculous. 2. Just one play later, @ the 11:08 mark of the first quarter, Dareus pressured Chiefs QB Matt Cassel and forced 'em into a sack. 3. He made a brilliant stop @ the 13:52 mark of the second quarter on a play that gained just one yard. 4. He shed his blocker and dropped RB Jamaal Charles for just a 2 yard gain on a play @ the 5:28 mark of the second quarter. 5. He blew into the backfield @ the 10:44 mark of the third quarter and forced Cassel to get rid of the ball on a quick throw to TE Leonard Pope that lost 2 yards. He did have the one gaffe in the fourth quarter (14:25 mark) that cost the team a stop on third down, but other than that, it was a standout debut by the big guy. Kyle Williams was able to pressure the QB for most of the game and they also got good inside pressure from Spencer Johnson. Johnson and Williams teamed up to come up w/ a sack @ the 12:16 mark of the second quarter and put the Chiefs in long FG range (Ryan Succop missed) after they nearly got a TD from Pope that was overturned on review. Alex Carrington did have a few bad plays on running downs, as he seemed to have trouble settin' the edge. He got sucked inside twice on plays that went for big yards: the first one @ the 0:55 mark of the first quarter on a 22 yard Charles run and the second one was @ the 3:56 mark of the second quarter on a 23 yard run by Dexter McCluster. He did provide the pressure that led to Cassel throwing the pick to Drayton Florence @ the 14:12 mark of the fourth quarter though. If there was a unit that you could say had a "decent" showing, it would be the linebackers. Not that they didn't contribute anything to this one, but overall as a unit, they weren't quite as solid as the DL or DBs. Nick Barnett was the guy the cameras caught chasin' Charles on the 22 yard run (0:55 mark of the first quarter), but he was comin' from the hash mark, as the only person on that edge was Carrington. Barnett got chipped, which allowed Charles to slip past 'em. Where was the OLB on that one? Barnett did get beat on a 3rd and 4 play @ the 14:23 mark of the second quarter when Chiefs TE Jake O'Connell slipped into the middle after Barnett got caught peekin' into the backfield. O'Connell gained 15 yards on that play. There weren't many embarrASSing plays by this unit, but there also weren't many eye catchin' "Wow!" plays, either. Chris Kelsay was better than I expected, especially against the run. No examples come to mind, but he wasn't a liability and actually held his ground well. It seemed the only few times the Chiefs had success runnin' @ the Bills was when the Bills had their "rush lineup" in, where Batten and Merriman were down linemen w/ Johnson and Carrington as rush linemen (this is where Carrington was sucked inside w/ no help outside). The play of the secondary can be summed up by the fact that the Chiefs passing game was no factor in this one. Also, the big surprise was the marked improvement in tackling by this unit! In particular, safety Jairus Byrd, who was a glaring liability in run support last year. Not in this game, he wasn't! Byrd had a great open field tackle @ the 7:43 mark of the first quarter, stopping a play for 6 yards that could've easily been 36. He had another one @ the 2:55 mark of the second quarter after Charles beat Spencer Johnson on a cutback run. Bryan Scott also had some nice open field tackles, one @ the 4:27 mark of the second quarter to limit the run to 4 yards and an impressive one @ the 3:55 mark of the third quarter for a one yard loss. George Wilson did have a bad missed tackle on Pope's 18 yard catch @ the 12:09 mark of the first quarter, but he did have that forced fumble on a big hit @ the 6:37 mark of the second quarter and had a play where he got pressure and knocked the Cassel pass back to Cassel for a 4 yard loss @ the 11:16 mark of the third quarter. Leodis McKelvin was a busy man, as he had to keep Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe from becoming a factor. Well, mission accomplished! He had a play @ the 5:31 mark of the first quarter where he made a great open field tackle on Bowe, limiting the catch to a gain of 2 yards. He nearly made a nice catch for a pick @ the 5:32 mark of the second quarter w/ an excellent break on the ball. Florence had the nice pick @ the 14:12 mark of the fourth quarter and nearly had a pick while blanketin' Chiefs WR Jerheme Urban on a deep route @ the 0:02 mark of the third quarter. Rookie Aaron Williams got caught gamblin' on the Charles TD @ the 1:51 mark of the second quarter. Gotta either go full out to get there to make the pick/break up the pass or get ready to knock Charles silly to get that ball out. It'll come, rook. Brian Moorman was boomin' his punts again. His first went for 63 yards and he added a 59 yarder later on. Hopefully, this means he's back to form and not anglin' kicks which cost him and the Bills dearly last season. Rian Lindell wasn't called upon often, but when he was, he nailed the kicks. The coverage units were very good, coming up w/ the turnover on the opening kickoff and generally keepin' the Chiefs in poor field position all game. The return game had some hits and misses. Roscoe Parrish had a nice return in the third quarter where he just fielded the punt and made people miss on the fly. This is what made guys like Mel Gray and Vai Sikahema great return guys in their day. Keep it up, Roscoe. Coaching wise, you gotta give props to Chan Gailey and whoever else decided to use Scott Chandler in the passing game. Man, has it been ages since we've seen a Bills tight end be a factor in a game. Lovin' it! Also, George Edwards can take a bow as well. The defense played w/ attitude and, more importantly, w/ better fundamentals. There were so many great open field tackles and so many times where guys were just in their corect position. It was refreshing to see. I do kinda take 'em to task for the decision to shut it down @ the end of the first half, right after Jackson made such a brilliant play to get the first down and w/ the Bills havin' a pair of time outs to use. Oh, and that's another thing: the Bills didn't squander timeouts??????? Okay, so it's on to the Home Opener!!! The Raidahs can run, so it will be a stern test for the Bills defensive front. Keep doin' what you did on Sunday and we'll see similar results. I am excited for the future of Bills football. Looks like these guys are pointed in the right direction. I know it can get derailed w/ a heartbreaking loss in the opener, followed by a beatdown by the Pats, so no need to go on that tangent. Let's just enjoy what we saw: a game where the Bills excelled in nearly every facet of the game and gave their fans hope. Only 5 more days, folks. I'll see you @ "Home"!

Scott's initial post has been updated to include all responses.

T minus..... 6 days and counting!!!! Another short week of work (Monday-Wednesday; I could get used to this), and then it's off to WNY for the long weekend! Man, am I lookin' forward to this. Even more so after what we just witnessed yesterday.

T minus..... 8 days and counting!!!!

An interesting opening week, for sure. Just another addition to their, "What else do we have to do?" file. Just like w/ Va Tech, they go into a hostile environment (one THOUSANDS of miles away from the blue turf!) and take care of business. It's such a shame that they still have to prove their worth to the higher ups (tards) in the NCAA. I did get to watch the last 4.5 minutes of that game (in 'tween the FSU-La. Monroe game and the big prime time LSU-Oregon game). Just in time to see a complete Rebel meltdown. Houston Nutt's clock management was atrocious, and the decision making of the players (Stoudt threw some horrendous passes into coverage; WR ran a shallow route and came down IN BOUNDS late in game as time was tickin' away) was just as putrid. Give BYU credit for not goin' away, but man did the Rebs blow that one. Hard to gauge either team based on the comp, but @ least they did what they were expected to do....crush an inferior opponent. PENN STATE looked okay vs Indiana State (liked how committed they were to runnin' the ball), but faded late as usual. Neither the Bucks or the Huskers did. Not quite Ap State-ish, but it was commendable. I love the games where the "patsy" either puts a beatdown on the team that is supposed to win or where the team that is supposed to win blows it. I can't stand to see the 67-12 wins by major schools vs So and So Tech. That is the poll system @ work; gotta beat the crap outta our opponent so we don't drop in the polls. Goin' against that grain is what cost PENN STATE a national title (when they throttled down vs Indiana years ago, let 'em make it close, and then flip flopped w/ then #2 Nebraska as both teams won out). I will be very interested to see what the Wolves do on Saturday. Yeah, that school lost, but USF isn't an easy mark. FSU was very impressive on the defensive side in their win last week, but their offense found Louisiana Monroe's defense to be just as quick and made things a bit difficult. While they did end up scoring well, they weren't able to just march up and down the field on 'em and Manuel didn't tear things up nearly as much as I thought he would. OU-FSU could be the best big game of the early part of the season. We'll see. I agree w/ you: this is a great time of year for football!

T minus..... 10 days and counting!!!! And so the final countdown begins. One week from today, Psycho Ward 86 and I will be on our way to WNY! Lookin' forward to seein' all of our good friends once again.

I have scheduled our online draft for tomorrow evening beginning @ 7pm. Please designate your keepers before then, so that I can set up the draft room and we'll be set to go on time.

T minus..... 15 days and counting!!!!

Great drama (if not great defense) to kick off the season from the TCU-Baylor game last night. What an upset win for the Bears! Yeah baby…..college football is back! We’re getting’ close to game time for the early ones today, so here goes my take on a few matchups from opening week. Here's a few games I'll be watching/tivo'ing/VCR recording this week: GAME #1: Indiana State @ PENN STATE Why this game?: Duh. It's the opening game for my beloved Nittany Lions! I think they could surprise some folks this season, but they are still not a finished product. Player(s) To Watch Out For: While neither guy is getting’ the All-America hype, DE Jack Crwaford and DT Devon Still are players who can make a difference for the Nittany Lions. LB Michael Mauti gets plenty of props as the next “great PSU ‘backer”. We’ll see if he can live up to such high praise. I am curious to see what sophomore RB Silas Redd can do. WR Derek Moye has been a good playmaker, but we’ll see what happens w/ the QB shuffle PSU seems to be set to use w/ Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin. Prediction: The Lions need to get off to a great start. They have to show they can run well, play good defense, and settle their QB issue. They had better get it together quickly. PENN STATE 30 – Indiana State 14 GAME #2: Louisiana-Monroe @ Florida State Why this game?: It's a chance to see one of the nation's top teams, the 'Noles, in their debut. I actually believe they could finish, if there are no stumbles along the way, higher than many of the polls and predictions I've read. What helps is that the ACC won't be nearly as treacherous to navigate for FSU as the SEC will be for LSU, 'Bama, Florida, and the like. Player(s) To Watch Out For: ‘Noles QB EJ Manuel can run it and throw it. Who will catch it? Well, that’s another story. The ‘Noles return 8 offensive starters, but will miss WR Willie Haulstead, who is out for this game w/ a concussion. Look for Rodney Smith and speed Bert Reed to step it up. On the defensive side, the ‘Noles have two of the better players in the nation in CB Xavier Rhodes and LB Nigel Bradham, but also have a couple of solid linemen in DE Brandon Jenkins and DT Jacobbi McDaniel plus the returning Everett Dawkins, who missed last year due to injury. Prediction: Louisiana-Monroe could be in for a long day. The ‘Noles bring back a wealth of talent and appear to be the class of the ACC and a legitimate BCS contender this year. Manuel could have a monster debut. Florida State 44 – Louisiana-Monroe 13 GAME #3: Oregon @ LSU Why this game?: Two of the top rated teams in the nation mixin’ it up @ the Jerrydome. Ducks have plenty of talent. Enough to slow down the Bayou Bengals? We shall see. Both teams are hurt by losses: the Ducks lose all conference defensive back/return man Cliff Harris, while LSU will be w/out QB Jordan Jefferson and, perhaps more substantial, WR Rusell Shepard. All three were suspended due to off the field infractions. Player(s) To Watch Out For: For the Ducks, it starts w/ their dynamite tandem of QB Darron Thomas and RB LeMichael James, a Hypeman finalist last season. Both players have game breaking ability and are threats to break off the big play. TE David Paulson is also a solid weapon for the O. The line, anchored by G Carson York, lost 3 starters, so we’ll see how they adjust. LSU will be led by backup signal caller Jarrett Lee, who has lost ‘bout 20 lbs this offseason and appears to be committed to gettin’ the job done. This is his chance. He’ll get help from the defense, led by CB Morris Claiborne and LB Ryan Baker. Prediction: The Bayou Bengals will certainly miss havin’ Shepard out there. They’re gonna have to get more out of guys like Lee, RB Spencer Ware, and WR Reuben Randle in order to keep up w/ the Ducks. What should help ‘em is their defense, in particular their front seven. I’ll give ‘em a slight edge since I’m old school and, as they say, defense wins championships. LSU 21 – Oregon 17 Enjoy the games, folks!