silvermike

You very rarely get a top LT, well, ever. Ogden, Pace, and Jones are in a class by themselves. There are other pretty-good ones (Matt Light, Tarik Glenn), but mostly, you need to have a top-3 pick in the right year to nab'em. Williams isn't in that category, but neither was McKinnie, or Levi Jones, or really anyone else drafted that year. Assuming trading down wasn't an option, Dwight Freeny was the only one we really missed (who was missed by most of the draft projectors too, it was considered a bit of a reach) along with Ed Reed, who was a mid-round pick anyway.

The whole freaking system is out of order, really. How many top five picks have earned their money in the past few seasons? 1999: Couch, McNabb, Smith, James, and Williams. 2/5, and Edge was availible for a 2nd round pick last year anyway. 2000: Courtney Brown, Arrington, Samuels, Warrick, and Jamal Lewis. Warrick and Brown are obvious busts. Jamal Lewis and Chris Samuels are the real deal. LaVar Arrington is heavily overrated. 2001: Michael Vick, Leonard Davis, Gerrard Warren, Justin Smith, LT. Linemen aren't really cutting it, it seems. 2002: Carr, Peppers, Harrington, Big Mike, Quetin Jammer. Peppers was the only one worth anything up there. 2003: Carson Palmer, Charles Rogers, Andre Johnson, Dewayne Robertson, Terence Newman. Newman's all right, Palmer, obviously. Andrew Johnson has an incomplete, and Rogers is 3rd on the depth chart. After that, it's a little too soon to tell.

Chuck Dickerson ran him off the air.

If the Ravens, Patriots, Panthers, Steelers, Eagles, and Falcons were also not mentioned, I really can't complain.

Not counting sports, I presume. 1.) The Simpsons (reruns) 2.) Arrested Development 3.) Family Guy 4.) The Simpsons (new) 5.) 24

Capers and Seifert (that was probably a joke) - I think if we're getting our coordinators hired away, then I think we want to try to keep the corps together and not bring in outside help. It'd mean losing more of our guys to Gray's future team.

This is, of course, premature, but interesting speculation, I think. Should the defense stay as good as it looked today, Jerry Gray is going to be the next head coach of the (Saints, Seahawks, Titans, etc.). Tim Krumrie seems like his obvious replacement, but that might just be his personality overshadowing his skills - who else on the coaching staff would you like to see promoted?

Carr nearly outgained Davis, though.

-3 yards allowed in the first quarter. Ain't complaining 'bout nothin'.

The Texans need to remember that they should wait until the ball is snapped to rush the passer. This isn't preseason.

Is there no chat room this season?

With Villarial banged up and Geiseger out, does that mean Preston is our only interior backup for this game?

I get the impression that this is a dark story that's not intended to be a horror movie, except nobody told marketing. It still could well suck, but maybe it's not supposed to be that scary?

The Bills should have a classic touch football game sometime. Or skills competition - I'd like to see Kelly and Losman in an accuracy contest.

42 hours to go now!

Watson looked really good in that game - part of the "TE is the new WR" trend that's gripping the league. I wouldn't mention him in the same breath as Gates or Gonzalez just yet, but he's stepping up. On a side note, how many TEs in this league have been named Ben, as compared to every other position? Watson, Utrecht, Troupe, Coates, Hartsock, Joppru, Steele, Zagorski, by a quick scan of NFL.com Compared to two total QBs, one RB, and no WRs. That is incidentally, five of the least productive minutes of my life.

Our offense is definitely better, probably at every skill position, depending on exactly what kind of shape Jamal Lewis will be in this year. They just have a defense that could spook Mike Singletary on the right day. REmember, they won the Super Bowl in a year where they went five games without scoring a touchdown. Until the Bills show THAT kind of dominance, we won't get picked over the Ravens on D alone.

Would it make sense to establish a microbrewery at Ralph Wilson Stadium? Seems like a great marketing pitch - a few years of a beer availible exclusively at the Ralph, then license it out to Wegmans or something. How many people would drink Buffalo Bills Ale every Sunday if that were real?

I mean, here's the thing: we don't really know how good Brady and Collins will be this year, because taht game was all decided in the trenches. The Pats hammered Collins with the pass rush, and Brady had all day to throw. Somebody learn to blitz and somebody else pick it up!

Actually Collins might be off the hook - I have to put a lot of blame on Norv Turner for this one. No shotguns, no blockers, that's playcalling. Even Randy's routes. Somebody has to shout at this guy.

The Raiders could be terrible this year in a big way. Collins didn't look like Bledsoe, he looked like Collins - Todd, that is. If not for a few impressive throws and some acrobatics by Moss, this could have been a miserable game for him. He made bad decisions, was sacked and hurried constantly, and just blew, essentially. Really, it's probably Norv Turner's fault. Is there a worse NFL coach in the league right now? Barely any shotgun, no extra blockers - throw your QB a line so he can pass to Moss!

Not emotional pressure, pass-rush pressure. D-linemen in his face. Of course, most QBs do as well.

Welcome home! Who says that the Bills fans always lose!

boys, boys, boys, you're getting distracted. There are plenty of experts debating this COlts-Pats thing. The REAL question, of course, is how the heck the New York Giants are going to go 12-4 and to the Super Bowl? Only if Eli and Peyton secretly pull off that prince and pauper thing. And so do Harrison and Plaxico. And Wayne and Toomer. And, improbably, Stokley and Hilliard.

See the Derrick Johnson photo? Does that look like a terrible knee injury shot to anyone else?