Dan Gross

3.5 YPC = bench 3.6 YPC = starter. Fine line indeed...

Yeah, the only thing that would have made it better is if he had punctuated it with a "boom goes the dynamite!"

It comes from the head coach, but it could be fear of a Mickey Mouse Fake End-Around bull sh-- Reverse !@#$tard Halfback Option Pass that drove him to punt rather than risk it... But yeah, I was watching that think TMQ was going to have a field day with him...

Here you go: From a quick scan through: NEW YORK -- Amani Toomer's IV bags. Tom Brady's voice. Buffalo's surprisingly Killer D. Rex Grossman playing superbly. Brett Favre's back-to-the-future day. Those are the Week 2 things that really stood out to me from my perch in the fifth-floor command center of NBC's Football Night in America and from a lot of phone calls afterward. ... Buffalo might be a contender. The Bills have now beaten up the Patriots in one division road loss and embarrassed the Dolphins in a road win. The common element in both games: The Bills' defense is playoff caliber. "The NFL didn't do us any favors with the schedule,'' linebacker London Fletcher told me. "But you just play what the schedule says. Now at least I think we've shown that when you play us, it's going to be a long day.'' In eight quarters, Buffalo has not allowed a rushing touchdown and has 10 sacks and at least 12 additional quarterback pressures. Fletcher credits new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's system. "Nothing against coach [Jerry] Gray's scheme, but there was so much in it,'' Fletcher said. "This is simpler. Not as much to think about, more reacting than thinking. It lets us cut loose and get to the quarterback.'' ... The "Fine Fifteen:" 13. Buffalo (1-1). Bills defensive end Ryan Denney, all 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds, will be a nightmare for Daunte Culpepper for a long time. Three sacks and several pressures do that. ... Special Teams Player of the Week Coy Wire, S, Buffalo. You can't block a punt much better than Wire did in the third quarter of the Bills' 16-6 win over Miami. He slithered through the line, burst into the backfield and smothered the punt. Beautiful, textbook example of what a smart special-teamer does to wreck a punt play -- and he did it against a coach, Nick Saban, who prides himself on kicking teams. ... Top Ten Things I think... 8. I think this is what I liked about Week 2: b. Buffalo's defense might be the real thing. The Bills were all over Daunte Culpepper.

I think when he first came on as a broadcaster he tried too hard to "distance" himself from his playing days. He put on the "just because we played together recently doesn't mean I'm going to be all nice-nice to you" attitude, which ticked off a number of players. The "established" CC seems better, though, like the lot of them, can be a tool at times. Goes with the territory...

Try ESPN.COM and you'll find the answer is 3, which is also how many 200+ yard games he had (including the playoffs). And he didn't start until mid-way through the season...In other words, 1/3 of his games during that season were sub-100 yard passing games.

Yeah, I noticed that. He'll probably wear short sleeves at the Miami game in Buffalo.

Sunday Night = NBC now. I went to ESPN first as well, but I remembered.

Actually pulled out with a triceps injury, per Chris Brown's blog...

So Joe, what about that joke of a front office and coaching staff that has sworn you off ever putting another dime in Ralph's pockets? I believe you were leading the whine brigade when that all came about...

Ummmm, I don't recall Fletcher and Schoebel having player press conferences. I also don't recall them having their presser immediately after being told Vincent was put on IR. I also don't recall them being asked the direct question "Do you think putting Vincent on IR is a sign the Bills are rebuilding?" (read the entire Spikes quote carefully and you can tell that was the gist of the question he was asked). He was put in a situation where there was "no win." He says "no, not really," people say "Open your eyes Takeo!" He says "no comment," people say "way to dodge the important questions Takeo!" He speaks from his initial emotional reaction, and he gets "STFU Takeo!" If anyone's to blame here it would be Berchtold for not managing the situation well. Postpone his presser or something... And of course everyone talks about the rebuilding comment without speaking to the whole answer that Takeo gave, the rest of which is handily contained below in my signature...

Yeah, blog was last updated in 2004. Posts indicate he was getting ready for a collectibles show next month...

He left three kids, the youngest being 6 months old. Shocking.

Buffalo News confirmed it today... "Hey, don't you think it would be cool to put a fuzzy version of the image up there, then slowly defuzz it?"

Is that how you're describing JP now?

What I want to know is what he said about what Spikes said about Vincent...

If we could install BGiM's avatar as a smiley then I think we'd see a lot of that in here...

Beautiful, Richard. Finally, someone else gets it. It's not about pointing the finger @ people, it's about remembering how we're all Bills fans and not putting any fan above another. It's these kind of posts that will bring us together and not keep us divided.

Sorry, I'll shut up. Spikes is acting like a spoiled child and needs a spanking. Kumbaya and all that stuff. Peace out.

So I guess "being professional, like the Patriots" includes waiting until after a bad performance, then blaming said performance on the departure of the player. And being professional is pleading with management through the press (back in the Aug 1st SI issue) to settle the Branch issue. ...and that's only dealing with this year's issue, without going back to when Milloy was cut by the Pats...

Wow, of all the Bills I could imagine showing up on the TSW "tar and feather" list I would have expected Takeo to be among the last. But how fast folks turn. Don't give him a benefit of a doubt because he happened to be told about TV just before his presser, not getting a chance to let his emotional reaction die down before talking to the press. Don't suggest how the press (let alone you numbskulls) would react to him taking the sage advice of "STFU" and saying "next question" when the press asks his reaction to TV being put on IR. Nope, TKO has instantly turned from emotional leader of the team to locker room cancer, from physical specimen to constantly injured, from team leader to next out the door. I'd use the word pathetic here, but it simply doesn't seem to be strong enough a word.

Whitney, Bobby splitting... bin Laden cancels Jihad.

Don't forget the hours he spent on the field with young receivers and DB's after practice helping them. Evans two years ago in particular.

It said "Out" at the time that the link was posted. The article has been through several edits today...

Chris Brown makes a point on his blog. Do you really expect the Bills to play this weekend with 3 safeties? If not, who do you cut? With TV looking more long-term of an injury, putting him on IR gives the team an opportunity to put another healthy safety on the squad. Considering the number of edits made to that article (including the now-deleted "Spikes Out" that started this thread), I'm really prone to wonder what the exact quote was that Spikes gave.... Edit: Understanding now that it is what Spikes said, you also have to understand the context, based on the fact he learned about it just before stepping up to the podium...