Brandon

The problem is that the OL gets zero movement on about 2/3rds of the Bills running plays. That's the reason why McGahee seems to start slowly. Its actually the inability of the OL to open up running lanes in the middle of the defense. The good news is that McGahee is good enough to make something out of nothing, plus the Bills passing attack is just dangerous enough that they can usually loosen up the D later in the game.

And by the way, as usual, the more the Bills use Lee Evans, the better their offense performs.

McGahee has fumblitis today.

It was McGahee's fault. Bledsoe put the ball right right on the 21 of McGahee's jersey. Willis was late closing his arms on it. Otherwise, Bledsoe has been playing like crap, mostly attributable to his insistence on locking onto Eric Moulds. Case in point: he had another WR 5 yards behind the DB on the play where he threw the INT. What do you know? He throws to Lee Evans and we get a TD out of it. Its about time.

If you must insist on getting a car, get a 2005 Ford Mustang. I wouldn't be caught dead driving most cars on the road today, but this one actually looks good, and its relatively inexpensive. Gas mileage isn't great even with the V6, but its not going to be a major issue given you're mileage requirements. I doubt that rear seat is too comfortable, either, but it doesn't sound like you're hauling a lot of people around. Insurance premiums shouldn't be a problem with a V6 model, but check before you buy. That said, I'd recommend a midsize, 4wd crew cab truck. They're excellent performers in foul weather, have high resale values, and give you as much, if not more interior space than any car you are probably considering. Gas mileage isn't great and buying one is more expensive than a car, but myself I think its money well spent that pays off in terms of overall ownership experience. The Toyota Tacoma and soon to be released Nissan Frontier look to be the best of the bunch.

Its actually about $127 per month. You should also factor the $3,700 into the equation. That said, even $127/month for the right to drive a new vehicle for four years is a pretty good deal. The lack of warranty coverage in that last year might scare me away, though.

There's a catch. The lowest tier Chevy Malibu has a list MSRP of right at $20,000. This deal isn't even one third of that. This is either a lease or there's a massive balloon payment tacked on at the end.

If we can find a top TE, great, but I don't think its a necessity or a high priority. Campbell isn't a great player, but he's more than acceptable at the position. I do not know his status after yesterday's injury and I hope he's ok. In addition, I like what I've seen of Tim Euhus. He's got very good hands and some speed. He may never be a great player, but I think he can be a good one if he can hold up as a blocker. Prior to FA losses, I still think C and LG should be the priority. OT depth, at the very least, is also a big need. I've known for a while that the interior of the OL can't run block to save its life, but a stat displayed by CBS during the game yesterday really drove the point home. Willis McGahee, despite starting only about half the season to this point, is 3rd in the league in carries for negative yardage. Just think about how good he has been in spite of this amazingly bad stat against him. Whether its through the draft or FA, I really don't care, but this OL still needs work. Otherwise, I think the team is in relatively good shape. They probably need a #2 RB, assuming Henry is traded. K is a need, but I don't believe it'll be given priority. Secondary depth is also a need. All that said, one position to keep an eye on is OLB. I think it could be the suprise pick of the first day of next year's draft. If the Bills feel they can get a very good prospect at that position, don't be suprised if they draft someone with their first pick to challenge Jeff Posey.

Well, the Dolphins aren't quite as bad as their record, I'm afraid. They don't have an offense, but their defense is still good enough to keep them in this game with the Bills. I believe the Bills will win, but it won't be easy. Bills 20 Dolphins 10

And my position is essentially the same as yours. I've said that Bledsoe is playing mediocre football. Under ideal circumstances, he should probably be benched. However, I'm am not sure that it is in the best interests of the Bills as a team right now to pull the plug on Bledsoe. You make the Trent Dilfer comparison, but I ask you, even though Dilfer was a bad QB, do you think the Ravens really cared the year they won the Super Bowl? Granted, the Bills have hardly achieved anything close to that level of success with Bledsoe, but again, right now they have momentum in their favor. With any luck, they can carry that momentum into the offseason and *then*, in the offseason, you can start getting the team acclimated to having Losman as the starting QB instead of Bledsoe. But if they change QBs right now, I think you'll see this team finish with one or two wins the rest of the way and throw much of the progress the TEAM has made the last two months right out the window.

While the record shows the Bills to be a 5-6 team, I'm not sure that the overall record is indicative of the way this team is playing right now. In addition, I don't really agree that Bledsoe has not improved. He's clearly better than he was last year and early this year. Of course, the problem is that he started out awful and now he's just mediocre. In any event, the Bills have proven that they can play very good football in spite of Bledsoe's problems. The real question here is whether or not JP Losman is ready to take over and whether he can be an improvement in the short term over Bledsoe. I'm fairly confident he'll develop into a solid player in the longer term, but right now, his rookie struggles could damage the momentum the rest of the team currently has.

LOL. Defensive, are we? I actually don't have a problem with most of what you are saying. I was just making the point that sometimes stats DO lie. In the end, the only stat that matters is the record. I do not feel that Bledsoe has played particularly well over the course of the season, but the 5-2 record over the last several games indicates that something is working well for the Bills right now. They've got some consistency and they're regaining a winning attitude. This isn't the time to start screwing that up. I would not necessarily have a problem with giving Losman a couple of series in the middle of the remaining games, but to start him right now could set back much of the progress the rest of the team has made in the last two months this season.

Troy Aikman made the Pro Bowl in 1996 with more Ints than TDs.

I've always thought that Jennings was underrated by the fans. He's a solid LT who does not embarass himself. In fact, I think he's the best player the Bills have on the OL, and with that OL now beginning to play well for maybe the first time in about a decade, letting him leave makes me nervous and could be a big mistake. That rookie QB is going to need a good OL, and so will McGahee. Jennings does have some injury issues, but with any luck, that will actually work to our advantage by lowering the cost to re-sign him. I admit, its annoying seeing him miss parts of half a dozen games a year, but I'd rather have that than have a turnstile playing LT all the time.

Bledsoe gets one of them. He may have thrown three INTs today, but otherwise he was nearly perfect and was largely the reason McGahee had his four TDs. Speaking of McGahee, he gets another one. Four TD runs is a hell of an accomplishment. I hope the Bills can upgrade the interior of the OL this offseason. I'd love to see what this guy could do behind an OL that could create a few running lanes in the middle of the D. Finally, Lee Evans gets a game ball. Once again, he proved that when the Bills give him opportunities with the ball, good things happen. Note to Drew: throw him the damn ball!

I didn't say he was there yet. In addition, much like Evans, he also suffers from a lack of opportunities. The only real knock against him even before the injury was that he lacked blazing speed. If he can still run, then I think he brings enough to the table to be decent. I'm not saying the Bills couldn't do better, but given a little more time, I think Aiken will become a capable depth player.

As others have said, ultimately, it all depends upon how JP Losman plays. If he becomes a Pro Bowl caliber QB, I don't care if it ends up being the #1 pick. It would also seem to be a necessary step to compare Losman to the Qb class this year.

I think the Bills are in OK shape at WR. Moulds is still a good player and good things usually happen on those rare instances when Bledsoe actually throws the ball to Evans. Aiken has shown me enough to believe that he can be, at least, an OK #3. It probably wouldn't hurt the Bills to draft a WR early on the 2nd day next year, but I don't think its a pressing need. As for Josh Reed, he'll probably get one more year, but at this point, I certainly can't disagree with anyone saying he's a bust. He has been to this point.

I've managed to track down a potential steal if the price is right, a 2002 model Chevrolet Avalanche 4wd that just so happens to be brand new with the original sticker still in the window. It has every option. The question is, what's a reasonable price for it? MSRP is $38,500, but with 2005 models now out, one could argue that, being four model years old, its certainly worth nowhere near the sticker price. That said, I'm sure its worth more than a used one. For reference, there's a used 2002 with 55,000 miles at another dealership nearby that I'm looking at as well. Its not quite as well equipped, but its still a very nice vehicle and the advertised price is $20,900, and most likely could be bought for a couple thousand less. So I guess the question is, what kind of premium should the 'new' 2002 bring against the used one?

Yeah, I work in a small bank. I've known for a while that tomorrow is going to be absolute hell and that was before I learned that a quarter of our staff will have the day off. I don't even want to think about it.

Its about 35 degrees in N. Arkansas this morning. Oh well, at least its not raining like it has the last two days.

They've won 4 of their last 6 games. Could they go 6-0? Its possible, but it probably won't happen. I suspect that they'll finish with 7 or 8 wins. The sad thing about the Bills is that they're actually pretty good. The crappy start has been their downfall. They've been a solid team for the last month and a half and will probably be the best team that misses the playoffs if they continue playing the way they have during most of that period.

He just made a nice interception in the end zone that likely killed any possibility of a St. Louis comeback.

Lee Evans is going to be a very good player. They just need to give him more opportunities. To this point of the season, I think he's been badly underutilized and even as a rookie, he could be a difference maker if they'd throw to him once in a while.

Right back at you. :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: