Dan

You hate to say a week 2 game is really that important.. or that it determines if you're a pretender or a contender. But... This was no doubt a hugely important win, likely establishing the Bills as legitimate early contenders for a playoff spot. Two wins against 2007 playoff teams - one on the road and come from behind. It's the type of game that goes a long way to giving the team confidence in themselves and the coaches.

I'm getting this pumped up, nervous feeling in my gut like I do before all big Bills games. They need to start the game already and get the first sack on Gerrard out of the way!

I find it hard to even write a response. I'm sure it was tougher for you. I still prefer to not recount much of what I experienced in the days after. Thank you for all you do. And that last sentence.. please. That's all I've wanted to see on the news for 7 years. But, ya know, I don't even care anymore to see it on the news. If you find him and he disappears from thought forever, I can live with that.

If the Federal Government got all the profit from the refined gas at that new refinery, then I'd be all for the Federal Government building a new refinery. If an oil company that's making billions of dollars in profits each year needs a new refinery so badly, why don't they just go and build one? I guess I just don't understand why my tax dollars should go toward building a refinery that some oil company is going to then charge me an arm and a leg for the gas from that refinery. The problem with high gas prices is that we depend entirely too much on gas (and oil). If people want to remove the pressures of high gas, the solution is not building new refineries or finding more oil. It's finding a viable alternative to an oil-powered society. Drilling more oil and/or refining more gas just allows the the big oil guys to continue their strangle hold on this country. But I digress, back to my original point, why do we want less government involvement in our lives, but we demand the government to build refineries allow oil companies to drill? Seems like we don't want the government to help small guys, but we have no problem with the government helping the big guys.

I completely agree. I usually enjoy the Bills Zone videos. Definitely some of the best out there. But, for this one, when I clicked on the link and saw I had to register.... well, I opted out. I'm sure this video is great. I'm sure there are no strings attached to the registration. However, it's just a personal preference. I veer away from websites that make you register to see anything on them. If I do, its usually all completely falsified information, anyway. No big deal either way, I suppose.

This all seems like alot of trouble to see a simple video.

Really? Really... is that necessary? I stopped reading right there. Why pay attention to someone when they can't even spell our own backups name properly? Lori's write up absolutely blows anything, anyone in the media - local or national - writes.

Thanks for the info!

Quite honestly... if he can't handle the boo's or letting people down; then he needs to find a different job. Because let's face it, no one that's in the public eye pleases everyone all the time. And no one has ever won every football game they've ever been in. So, again, if he can't handle the criticism and failures that comes with being a star in the NFL - it really is best for him to just retire and do something else with his life. He'd probably be a happier person in the end.

Cassel is no Hamdan.

Good point. It certainly would have been nice to see McCargo pick his game up in response, similar to Youboty. Youboty may very well be the surprise of the season. He definitely played a solid first game.

Interestingly, much of the same could be said about McCargo and the signing of Stroud and Johnson. Similar situation, somewhat different results.

And Trent held onto the ball too long.

Agreed. Pay Evans now.

Yep... said he's coming in for a physical.

Precisely correct. It's quite refreshing to not see rookie mistakes in game 1.

No Schit. Ahead by 24 points and about 5 minutes left in the game... I'm still thinking, "OK, guys don't screw this up. It's not over yet." I was nervous until I saw them kneel on it at the end.

Most impressive thing I saw all day....? get the ball back with 40 seconds or so to go in the half - and they actually tried to move the ball down and ended up kicking a field goal. I mean wow! Is there any clearer indication that this is a different team than last year's? It's so nice to think that our offense might try and resemble a professional football team.

Who?

WOW. Excellent all around game.

He has continually shown love to the Bills today. Just now, talking about the Pats*, what was Berman's comment..... ? "It makes you appreciate the accomplishments of the early 90's Bills even more." Also, when Mort suggested Jauron was a sleeper for being a coach on the hot seat. Berman quickly came back with.. not a chance the Bills will probably make the playoffs this year. I've seen past posts that blast him for his antics, but this guy has the Bills' back. Period. Gotta love him.

No it's definitely not looking good for him. Wow... is all I can say. I never really expected him to be a perennial probowler. But, it looks like the dreaded "bust" label is creeping up on him. Sucks.

That I think is the key to this whole situation. If he shows up in shape, picks up the offense quickly, and plays in week 2 (possibly week 3) - and the Bills don't lose in week 1 or 2 because of Tackle play. Then all he has to do is stay healthy all season and continue at the all-pro level he played at last year. Do all that and all is forgotten and he gets a new, big contract. On the other hand, show up out of shape or don't pick the offense up, take 2 weeks to start playing, play mediocre with nagging injuries all season; and he's just screwed his career. So, I agree, it'll be interesting to see what shape he's in, and is he practicing with the first team next week.

Kelly, the problem with this stance you've been supporting for some time now is that there's no way to ever prove or disprove it. We'll never know what price point the FO was thinking it would take to re-sign Peters before the hold out; so we'll never know if the hold out actually benefitted him. If he plays well and gets $10mill/yr; then you could say see the hold out helped. If he gets $8mill/year; you still say see he got more than he would have. There's just no way to tell - unless the Bills don't give him a raise at all and/or cut him. Then I think we could say the holdout actually hurt him. I'd agree the Bills probably agreed to waive the fines to get him to report. But, I'd think overall he's burned any good will he had with the team and now he only gets the big payday if he plays lights out. As opposed to just being consistently good (ala Schobel) and still getting the big pay day. So, in that regard, you could argue that he's hurt himself more than helped. Ultimately, I guess we won't know for several months or even a year.

Since when is the OLine coach responsible for the the offense's production? McNally's job was to coach Peters and the other OLiners. Given Peters development, I think we can conclude he did a respectable job, in the least. Yet, none of those other 31 teams rushed in to sign him when he was undrafted. Interesting that such a high in demand freak of talent wasn't more highly sought after - or drafted for that matter. Yes, he worked hard. But, the Bills also worked hard to develop him. They also paid him quite handsomely for his potential. Yet at the first sign of greatness, he holds out. Now that's gratitude. Hated by some fans - only after being a no show for 8 months. Prior to this hold out, he was perhaps one of the most loved players. Amazing how that works.