RunTheBall

Heh. I respect my "damn" namesake's offensive (heh) philosophy, although we are two different people. I think I'm fiscally very conservative, conservative when it comes to scope and size of government, but liberal when it comes to social issues. Someone asked for a positive of GWB's presidency. The fact that we haven't been attacked on our soil since 9/11 is not mutually exclusive of talking about the potential for future attacks. I'm very cynical of both parties and politicians in general. I really can't stand constant complaining without any alternative policies for addressing issues in the country, and that's all that seems to have come from the Democratic side lately. RTB

Not one terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11. It's not for lack of trying on the terrorists' part. That's the most important job of the government, to protect its citizens. RTB

Only the most blind of partisan hacks can look at Bolton's record for the last year and not give him credit for what he's accomplished in a nearly useless institution like the U.N. 1) Unanimous Security Council resolutions against North Korea (getting China and Russia to go along without a veto) 2) Unanimous Security Council support for the suspension of uranium enrichment in Iran As useless as United Nations Security Council resolutions are (i.e. Iraq), that's the job of the UN Ambassador. He's got China and Russia on record as supporting our diplomatic goals in both North Korea and Iran. The Democrats and a bitter Lincoln Chafee (who I voted for here in RI, btw), are just pissed off that Bush pulled an end-around and used a recess appointment to make him UN ambassador. So Joey Balls, prove to us you are not just another democratic whiner with no solutions, just complaints complaints complaints. Tell me who you would rather have had as UN Ambassador, why, and what that ambassador should have accomplished in 1 year that Bolton didn't. This should be good. RTB

It continues to amaze me, year after year, how this guy with a near complete lack of talent survives on this roster. I find it hard to believe that our LB depth is so poor that we have to play a guy who wasn't even drafted to play the position he played in college. I think Coy must have had compromising pictures of Ralph, Greggo, Meathead, and now Marv and Jauron. He should be the team photographer. RTB

You can't stop racism. You can only try and contain it.

The hallmark of a good coaching staff is gameplanning that involves exploiting an opponents weaknesses and taking away their strength. I think we've seen the beginning of this over the course of the past few weeks with a mix of conservative / aggressive game plans depending on who we are facing. The Chargers are a tremendous passr ushing team, I think they lead the league in sacks, and Merriman is back. It would be foolish to come out and start with 7 step drops and the long ball. I'd say a short to medium passing game (3-5 step drops) mixed in with a lot of Willis / A-train would be the way to go. You have to go deep every now and then to take your shot and keep them honest, but I don't think you'll see too many long developing deep pass patterns called. Getting the TE in the middle against their back-up free safety would be a plus. The Charger's offense is excellent both passing and rushing, but obviously the key to slowing them down is to try and limit the damage LT can do to you and make Rivers get the ball to other people to make plays. I'm not as worried about LT rushing (how much worse can our run D get) as I am about him catching the ball out of the backfield. Our D has shown a tremendous ability to ignore the backs coming out of the backfield and have given up huge chunks of yardage to simply swing passes. RTB

I love guys who haven't shown up for a game in 15 years and then think they are "superfan" when they finally decide to show. Instead of telling people who actually show up and support the team on a regular basis how they should act, or how they should "get out of their heated seats", you should learn a few things from these responses. Maybe some of that California smugness will disappear and you'll remember what it was like to be a real fan from Buffalo. So grab your blackberry, fly back to your California barber shop, have a latte, and say hello to Rob Johnson for me while you two share a hot-tubber. RTB

Bro, I've been a silent partner in your attempt to educate the masses in the myth that is Coy Wire "Special teams demon". The worst thing I found out this Thanksgiving was that he has been hitting on my cousin. I told her that she should continue to ignore his advances as I would not be able to hold back the criticism at family gatherings RTB

Thank you and godspeed. RTB

I was at the game so this was the first time I had a chance to watch it on TV. The NFL Sunday Ticket Shortcuts are a great way to check out the whole game in 30 minutes or just concentrate on a few plays. Anyway, I'm sure some of these have been mentioned but here goes. 1) On Roscoe's punt return, Coy Wire got away with a horrendous hold on a player who would have had a good shot at tackling Roscoe. I can't believe the refs missed that one as it was blatant. It's about time we benefited from a non-call so I'm not worried about it. 2) Roscoe was already getting his balance back when Thomas grabbed his jersey during the punt return 3) On the 4th and 14 play, Crowell just absolutely whiffed on that tackle. He had Gerard lined up 3 yards short of the first down marker and just MISSED. He barely touched Gerards left side. That's god-awful from a linebacker in a game ending situation and I hope he got reamed for that. Whoever was comparing him to an early TKO needs their head examined. He's going to be solid but he's got a ways to go (and not just from that one play) 4) Ko Simpson can hit! Once he stops thinking so much and just lets his ability take over I think he's going to be a tremendous force in the backfield. Receivers are not going to want to go over the middle once he can consistently lay the wood on them. 5) The reason Royal was so far in the backfield on the play in the 4th quarter where JP lateraled the ball to him on 3rd down was because he went to block the DE and just BOUNCED off him even though the DE was engaged by Peters at the time. 6) A HUGE reason why JP got that last throw to Roscoe off was because Willis destroyed a linebacker on a blitz pick up. I'm happy to see him really improving on blitz pickups since the beginning of the season. 7) Willis looked fast at the stadium on his long TD run. He looked fast on the tape. I don't know if this is the speed we've been looking for but he's fast enough once he gets into the open to be a very good back. 8) The improvement in the O-line is a combination of the O-line playing better and JP making faster decisions. RTB

I think this stat is a little misleading although its definitely better than the opposite. The D was giving up 10+ yards on first and second down pretty often. 2 of those failed third down conversions were 2 fourth down conversions, including that horrendous scramble by Gerard. From the beginning of the second quarter to mid-fourth, the D was absolutely solid though. Too bad they couldn't close out the game when they had the chance but then we wouldn't have gotten to see the JP/Roscoe/Lindell heroics. RTB

Holy crap, some of you people are absolutely ridiculous. This is a rebuilding year, even though we've been rebuilding for 7 years. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the maturation of a QB and a team. Stop with the Craig Nall crap for this season. RTB

I've been pretty harsh on the DE's and this was one of their better games as a unit that I've seen. I'm very far from calling them a top-flight DE tandem, but the DEs played well once they started sticking to their assignments and not trying to make every play. What I liked was that every rush was not a speed rush to the outside and in the second half, they stayed home and were able to make some stops in the run game. RTB

If Jauron and Co. opened up the game plan against the Colts the score would have been 55 - 7 in favor of Indy. If Tom Brady and NE got spanked at home throwing the ball aggressively against them, why do you think the Bills without 1/4 the talent would have any chance in hell? The coaches are putting these players in a position to win games with solid game-planning, not superior talent. That's the hallmark of good NE teams, scheming against your opponents, not dogmatically sticking to a scheme ala Greggo and Mularkey. When we get some more talent, especially in the trenches, I think these coaches are going to be good. RTB

The NFL does not run up against anti-trust laws because any group is welcome to come in and start a football league to compete. MLB has some legislation that favors that specific league so the politicians have more leverage over it (hence the steroid investigations). As for the NFL and NFL network, what you're seeing here is simple capitalism at work. The NFL has a product that they own, and they don't have to sell it for anything less than what they think its worth. If Time Warner doesn't want to carry the NFL Network in the capacity that the NFL wants, then they don't have to buy it, its that simple. Of course, they'll get some heat from NFL fans but that's the trade off. It's not about being fair. It's about making money and using leverage to get the best possible deal for your company. I loved the Direct TV advertisement in USA Today on Wednesday. A full page ad with the headline "Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks. Thank Time Warner and Cablevision for not carrying the NFL Network and here are the games you will not be seeing: " And then they went on to list all the games on the NFL network this season. RTB

Thank you for the excellent picture. Who's going to say Peerless hit with his hand out of bounds first? Bueller? Anyone? RTB

Oh jesus, blow it out your ass with your "some of you are never happy" crap. I'm very happy with the win, especially for JP, but you were giving your "props" to a player who has a knack for the garbage sack instead of showing up when we need him. DE's love to play us so they can pad their stats. I care less about the stats and more about showing up when it counts. The Pats, in their prime, had many players who showed up in big games at the right time but didn't have the "stats" to show for it. Aaron Schoebel is the king of the garbage stat. He sucks at run D, consistently runs himself out of plays with his upfield rush, does not command a double team, and does not apply pressure to opposing QB's on a consistent basis. So ya, it's nice to see him make 1 play during a game for his 6 million per year contract (signing bonus included). RTB

I'd like to see Schoebel show up when it actually mattered. I'm not real happy with our DE play. Too many upfield speed rushes which leave a huge gap between guard and tackle. This has been consistently exploited by opposing teams this season. These guys need to learn a move besides running 10 yards into the backfield and hoping the QB is there. RTB

When they didn't go for it on fourth down on the second last drive of the game I was pissed beyond belief. I asked in the chat room if Greg Williams was back with us. I didn't think there was any way this D was going to keep Houston from running out the clock. Houston pulled a Mularkey on 3rd and short and threw the ball after running it down our throats all day. Anyway, I'm glad this coaching staff proved me wrong. After last weeks game plan and this weeks calls, I may actually be losing some of my cynicism about Buffalo coaches in general. RTB

I'm fuggin sick and tired of moral victories. I don't care if they lost by 1 or 100, it's still a LOSS and its something this team has become very good at. The only positive I got out of this game is that I liked the gameplan and the fact that the coaches didn't panic - they stuck to what they thought would work and the team was in a position to win. The problem, as always, is lack of talent, especially in the trenches. Bad teams find a way to lose, especially the close ones. RTB

Post of the year. Bro, you owe me a keyboard. RTB

We're just so desperate for even 1/4 of the success the Pats have had over the past decade that we even look at the friggin turf they use as an explanation for their dominance. I love watching the Pats lose as much as anyone but who gives a crap about their field or when they decided to change its surface. RTB

The best Star Wars fight was Star Wars Kid vs. Himself. Nerds. RTB

One of the first indications that this franchise was heading back to sucking big time was that absolute assinine firing of Bruce DeHaven after Home-Run-Throw-Forward. An excellent special teams coach was thrown under the bus for a play the refs blew and we were left with the Ronnie Jones debacle and the downward spiral that ensued. RTB

It's probably better for the long term future to get the always-hurt Chris Villarial out of the line up to see if one of the draft picks can fill that role. As for Neufeld, what has he done except get penalties at inopportune times? RTB