Lori

This line was written about the New Jersey Jets, but it applies equally to Buffalo... or any team, for that matter: Thanks for the link. Now I don't have to wait for the issue to show up in the mailbox...

BUFFALO BILLS at DETROIT LIONS THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2006 – 7:30 PM EDT FORD FIELD – DETROIT, MICHIGAN BUFFALO BILLS TELEVISION NETWORK: WKBW (Channel 7 – Buffalo) / WHAM (Channel 13 – Rochester) / WTVH (Channel 5 – Syracuse) PLAY-BY-PLAY: Gus Johnson COLOR ANALYST: Steve Tasker SIDELINE REPORTER: Mike Catalana MICHIGAN / NORTHWEST OHIO: WKBD UPN Ch. 50 (Detroit); WFQX FOX Ch. 33 (Cadillac/Traverse City); WJMN CBS Ch. 3 (Escanaba); WXMI FOX Ch. 17 (Grand Rapids); WSYM FOX Ch. 47 (Lansing); WNEM CBS Ch. 5 (Saginaw/Flint/Bay City); WNWO NBC Ch. 24 (Toledo, Ohio). PLAY-BY-PLAY: Frank Beckmann COLOR ANALYST: Kelvin Pritchett SIDELINE REPORTER: Steve Courtney RADIO: Buffalo Bills Radio Network PLAY-BY-PLAY: John Murphy COLOR ANALYST: Mark Kelso SIDELINE REPORTER: Paul Peck Detroit Lions Radio Network SIRIUS SUNDAY DRIVE (Detroit feed only): Channel 118 PLAY-BY-PLAY: Dan Miller COLOR: Jim Brandstatter SIDELINE REPORTER: Tony Ortiz REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: 3-3-1. The Bills are 1-2 in three visits to the Pontiac Silverdome. Their return trip to Detroit in October will mark their first regular-season game in Ford Field, which opened in 2002. LAST MEETING: October 27, 2002 – Bills 24, Lions 17 Travis Henry scored two of Buffalo’s three touchdowns, but his late fumble gave Detroit a chance to tie the game. The defense came up big when they had to, though, as London Fletcher stuffed James Stewart on fourth-and-inches at the Buffalo 20 to preserve the Bills’ third straight win. Drew Bledsoe continued his hot start in a Bills uniform with his fourth 300-yard game of the season. He finished 21-36 for 302 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown strike to Peerless Price. Both Price (101) and Eric Moulds (123) topped the 100-yard receiving mark, the last time any Bills WR tandem accomplished that feat. LAST TIME IN DETROIT: November 24, 1994 – Lions 35, Bills 21 After sitting through Buffalo’s first Thanksgiving Day appearance since 1976, most Bills fans probably didn’t have much of an appetite left for their holiday meals. The defense did a decent job of stopping Barry Sanders, holding him to 45 yards on 19 carries… but they apparently forgot about Dave Krieg, who lit them up for 351 yards and three touchdown passes. Herman Moore accounted for 169 of those yards, including a 51-yard TD on a perfectly-executed flea-flicker to give Detroit an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Lions CB Willie Clay picked off Jim Kelly twice, returning the second one 28 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. Their fourth straight road loss dropped the Bills to 6-6; they finished the season 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1987. LIONS OVERVIEW (2005 RANKINGS) OFFENSE (#27 total yardage, #26 rushing, #26 passing, #28 scoring): Detroit dumped their unsuccessful version of the West Coast offense when they hired former Rams head coach/”Greatest Show on Turf” guru Mike Martz as offensive coordinator. Early returns don’t look promising, with the first-team offense scoring a total of one touchdown in their first three games. That comes with a caveat, though: the projected offensive line starters have yet to line up together for a single play this preseason. RG Damien Woody and RT Rex Tucker went down with serious injuries early in training camp. Woody will try to play a few snaps tomorrow night with a cast on his broken right hand, but Tucker is “week-to-week” with a sprained knee; as of this writing, Barry Stokes is slated to start at tackle. LG Rick DeMulling will take the place of Ross Verba, who is sitting out to rest a sore Achilles tendon. If that's not enough, franchise LT Jeff Backus has missed practice time this week with back spasms. We probably won’t be seeing starting QB Jon Kitna either, although based on last week’s performance -- 11-22 for 118 yards, three sacks, an INT, and a lost fumble -- he could probably use the work. 2005 fifth-round pick Dan Orlovsky and former Cardinal Josh McCown are competing to be Kitna’s backup, with Martz reportedly favoring Orlovsky for the job. The big story in Lion Country these days concerns the trio of former #1 draft picks at WR. While Roy Williams has lived up to expectations, both Charles Rogers and Mike Williams are currently listed with the third-stringers on the depth chart, behind such standouts as Corey Bradford, Glenn Martinez, and Mike Furrey (who played for Martz in St. Louis). Rogers sat out the last two games with a bruised left knee; M. Williams dressed for the game last week, but never got on the field. Reading between the lines of head coach Rod Marinelli’s recent press conferences, one gets the idea they’d already be gone if not for their lofty pedigree: Marcus Pollard’s 46 receptions led the team last year, but it sounds like Martz wants a better blocker at TE. Casey FitzSimmons was working with the starters before fracturing his wrist in the first preseason game. The team also signed free agent Dan Campbell (Cowboys) in the offseason. Artose Pinner, Arlen Harris, and rookie Brian Calhoun (Wisconsin) are all in the mix to back up Kevin Jones at RB; Harris, another former Ram, is currently listed at #2. They should see plenty of time, with Jones unlikely to play much (if at all). Shawn Bryson may be a better fit at FB than aging Cory Schlesinger. DEFENSE (#20 total yardage, #24 rushing, #13 passing, #21 scoring): After a three-season run in Detroit, “Big Daddy” Dan Wilkinson has moved on to Miami, opening up the NT spot for Shaun Cody. The other DT, Shaun Rogers, made his second consecutive Pro Bowl last season; barring injury, that streak might not end any time soon. DE Kalimba Edwards led the Lions with 7 sacks in 2005 and was expected to win the starting job opposite James Hall, but a strong camp by Cory Redding has kept him on top of the depth chart. (He’s nursing a wrist injury, though, and isn’t expected to play this week.) The “Tampa 2” calls for speed at all three linebacker positions. With that in mind, the Lions opted not to re-sign Earl Holmes, instead drafting playmaker Ernie Sims (Florida State) in the first round and shifting Boss Bailey to MLB. (Bailey is easing his way back into the lineup after a hamstring injury, so expect to see LeVar Woods get most of the snaps in the middle.) Teddy Lehman is still on the PUP list, so free agent pickup Paris Lenon (Packers) takes Bailey’s place at SLB. Two-time Pro Bowl CB Dre’ Bly matched his career high with six interceptions in 2005. Fernando Bryant, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, is the other starting corner. Former Dolphins first-round bust Jamar Fletcher was signed in the offseason. Big-hitting SS Kenoy Kennedy led the team in tackles last season; Terrence Holt and second-round pick Daniel Bullocks are competing at FS. Holt is supposed to get the start against Buffalo, but the job should eventually be Bullocks' to lose. SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Jason Hanson returns for his fifteenth year in Honolulu blue, hoping to rebound from a subpar 2005 season in which a hamstring injury held him to his lowest point total (84) since 1996. He’s 2-2 so far in the preseason, but hasn’t attempted anything longer than a 38-yarder. Nick Harris is a quality punter handicapped by a lousy coverage team. His 34 punts inside the 20-yard line (versus only two touchbacks) led the league last year, but the Lions gave up over ten yards/return, including two touchdowns. Detroit should be set at KR/PR with former Pro Bowl pick Eddie Drummond. He regressed from his spectacular 2004 performance (four combined return TDs and a 26.6-yard KR average) last season, but still averaged well over twenty yards per return. Rookie WRs Shaun Bodiford and Devale Ellis have also returned kicks this preseason. Bodiford, an UDFA from Portland State, has been making a name for himself in training camp. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLOOK: Go figure: Tom Donahoe’s 31-49 tenure as GM was enough to get him fired in Buffalo. Matt Millen’s 21-59 record over the same time period -- worst in the league -- earned him a contract extension and a chance to hire his third head coach in six seasons. One suspects Marinelli, who interrupted his college career for a stint in Vietnam, won’t be impressed by multimillionaire players complaining about practice schedules and the like. His latest motivational ploy: scheduling last week’s flight to Oakland for the morning of the game. The team responded(?) with an underwhelming 21-3 loss. He has some talent to work with -- heck, with all those high draft picks, there should be -- but reshaping the attitude of a franchise with exactly one playoff win since 1957 isn’t going to happen overnight. I'm guessing the Lions roster will look dramatically different a year from now. It looks like most of the Bills’ starters are now set, but there are still some tough decisions to make. I’ll be VERY interested to see how many touches Anthony Thomas and Shaud Williams get at RB, and which WRs and DBs take advantage of their last chance to impress the coaching staff. Has Brad Cieslak shown enough to unseat Ryan Neufeld as the #3 TE? Do we have a #4 DE worthy of keeping, or does the team use that slot to keep someone they don’t think they can sneak through waivers onto the practice squad? And what do they do with Ashton Youboty? The cutdown deadline is Saturday at 6:00 PM. Should be an interesting weekend. Links: Ourlads.com: Lions depth chart Official team website: DetroitLions.com

In other words: take last season's order of finish. Rinse. Repeat. I think that's the same formula Street & Smith's uses every year. Hey, that sounds pretty easy. How do I get one of those jobs?

Considering that Holcomb's "opportunity" to start the first game came against one of the nastiest defenses in the biz, while Losman saw a much weaker Cincinnati pass rush in his first preseason start? If I was a conspiracy theorist (or Holcomb), I'd be wondering about that. Not that it matters now; Losman has shown enough to earn the job outright. (Guaranteed, no other QB on this roster makes that play to Price.) Now, we'll just have to wait and see how the kid turns out. Jerry Sullivan got this one right in a recent column: Good or bad, at least it shouldn't be boring...

High 70s and "muggy" in Lot 1 just before gametime, so you can probably add at least another 10 degrees at field level. I wore jeans, and wound up wishing I'd thought to throw a pair of shorts in the car. As to Jauron -- NFL Network had one of their training camp shows on before the DEN-HOU replay started tonight, and this one happened to include Jon Gruden telling his son something along the lines of "if they see me out here in a long-sleeved shirt, they won't think it's as hot." Psych job, in other words. Dunno if that's what DJ has in mind... but now we can replace the Tim Krumrie Fashion Report with the Jauron Watch. Excellent.

So what do you think about running a two-TE/single-back set as the base offense? If we're not getting decent blocking out of the FB slot, may as well bring in someone who might be able to catch the ball consistently and move a little quicker than the 260-lb Shelton... And judging by the amount of work the TEs have been getting in camp/preseason, I'm wondering if that's where they're going. If I get a chance, think I'll go back and check the # of plays from each formation.

IF Pinkston comes back at full speed. Guessing the Iggles wouldn't have dumped him if they thought that was going to happen.

Q for you, AKC: does Alan Ricard appear anywhere in those Cleveland notes? I know he was on the field for some ST plays, but I don't remember seeing him on offense. (Believe Joe Burns played the rest of the way at FB after Shelton came out of the game.)

True enough, although some might note that the Bills finished three of those 6 seasons at .500 or better. Think I'd choose "mediocre" instead of going all the way to "pitiful", but that's just me. (And no, I'm not expecting a playoff-ticket order form to show up in the mailbox this season, either... ) My problem isn't so much with the Greenberg/Golic "they've been bad, so they'll continue to be bad" logic, but with the actively ignorant opinions tossed out by idjits like our old buddy Skip Bayless. Case in point, from this morning's thrilling episode of "Cold Pizza" (yes, I actually watch from time to time. Still haven't figured out why): Funny, I don't remember seeing Skip anywhere near St. John Fisher, and he obviously didn't see either of KH's scintillating preseason performances that have him closer to #3 -- or perhaps off the roster completely -- than to the starting job. Fer cryin' out loud, Skipper: if you know you'll be covering a certain topic, would it kill you to do FIVE MINUTES worth of research? Maybe put in a call to someone who actually covers the team? (Assuming any of them would talk to him... hmm, maybe I need to rethink that. I've heard he's not exactly the most popular guy in most press boxes...)

No, Kubiak's switching to the 4-3 there. But since the guys Capers was trying to convert from college DEs to 3-4 rush LBs (Peek/Babin) are back at end, they are a little light on true 4-3 OLBs. Not sure if Watson fits that mold, though, and the Houston depth chart looks pretty well set at Mike -- second-round pick DeMeco Ryans is backed up by Sam Cowart and DaShon Polk.

Couldn't agree with you more on Gill... and I also think his hiring sends the signal that UB might finally be willing to give the program the backing it needs to succeed. Last year, I had problems giving away UB tix. This year, I'm actually thinking about trying to catch a home game or two. (Assuming they finish rebuilding Sweet Home Rd. any time soon, that is...)

Classic. Like any sports-opinion guy, King has his share of both hits and misses... and I'd have to say that one was a world-class, make-yourself-look-silly strikeout.

Ah, sweet memories. I'm thinking he started that game, but didn't finish it. They did the same thing to Bledsoe a couple of years later, in his first NFL start -- but even as he was running for his life, I saw enough from Drew that day to make me think he was going to turn out pretty good. Never did get that feeling with George. Not sure on this (there might be a greybeard kicker on somebody's roster), but I believe JG inherited the "oldest player in the league" title when he signed.

Don't forget Erik Flowers... In general, I'd agree with using high draft picks on DL. (Seems to have worked out fairly well for New England recently, wouldn't you say?) But before completely discarding the idea of drafting OL with #1s and #2s, let me dust off this post from last January: Wonder what round those guys were drafted? Pittsburgh OL: LT #2, RT #3, both guards and C = #1 picks. Seattle: RT #3, RG #5, C UDFA, LG and LT #1 picks. Ten Super Bowl OL starters, and half of them were first-round picks. Hmmm... you could be onto something.

Ruben Brown says hi. So do Jim Ritcher and Joe DeLamielleure. Betcha can't guess what those three players have in common...

No fewer than four former second-round draft picks, with a combined 607 receptions/8260 yds/49 TD catches in their NFL careers, equals "flotsam"? Alllllllrighty then. I wouldn't rank the current crop of Bills WRs up there with the A. Reed / Lofton / Beebe era just yet, but I don't hate 'em, either.

A Packers team that drafted ahead of Buffalo last April. Makes you wonder if Favre is on something again.

Repeating last year's request: one general, but "within cooler-dragging distance"...

Did this one in a hurry before packing up/heading out on vacation. I'm sure y'all will let me know about any typos/other mistakes....

CLEVELAND BROWNS at BUFFALO BILLS SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2006 – 6:00 PM EDT RALPH WILSON STADIUM – ORCHARD PARK, NY BUFFALO BILLS TELEVISION NETWORK: WKBW (Channel 7 – Buffalo) / WHAM (Channel 13 – Rochester) / WTVH (Channel 5 – Syracuse) PLAY-BY-PLAY: Gus Johnson COLOR ANALYST: Steve Tasker SIDELINE REPORTER: Mike Catalana CLEVELAND AREA: WKYC-TV 3 PLAY-BY-PLAY: Sam Rosen ANALYSTS: Brian Brennan, Bernie Kosar FIELD REPORTER: Andy Baskin RADIO: Buffalo Bills Radio Network PLAY-BY-PLAY: John Murphy COLOR ANALYST: Mark Kelso SIDELINE REPORTER: Paul Peck SIRIUS SUNDAY DRIVE (Buffalo feed): Channel 124 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: Cleveland leads, 7-5. The Bills are 2-3 against Cleveland at Rich/Ralph Wilson Stadium. PLAYOFF RECORD: Cleveland leads, 1-0. LAST MEETING: December 12, 2004 – Bills 37, Browns 7 The Bills were not exactly welcoming hosts for Cleveland’s first regular-season visit to Western New York since 1986. This time, the stats do tell the story: Six first downs. Twenty-nine yards rushing. Five turnovers. Nine completions in twenty-one attempts, seven sacks, negative three net yards passing, for a grand total of twenty-six offensive yards gained. After Buffalo battered Cleveland starter Luke McCown into submission, Jeff Garcia came in at the end of the third quarter for one series – just long enough to complete one pass, lose a fumble at his own six-yard line, and break his leg. Not a good day for anyone wearing a Cleveland uniform. With their seventh straight loss the Browns, finishing up a forgettable season under interim head coach Terry Robiskie, fell to 3-10. The Bills, behind Willis McGahee’s 105 yards and two TDs, improved to 7-6 to keep their playoff hopes alive for another week. BROWNS OVERVIEW (2005 RANKINGS) OFFENSE (#26 total yardage, #25 rushing, #23 passing, #32 scoring): Cleveland must be cursed. How else can you explain the fact that three seasons after using their #1 pick on a center (Jeff Faine) who couldn’t stay on the field, then giving LeCharles Bentley a $36 million contract (including a $12.5 million signing bonus) to replace him, Bentley rips up a knee on the first full day of training camp? And then his replacement (Bob Hallen) decides to retire, and then his replacement (Alonzo Ephraim) gets hit with a four-game suspension? Old friend Ross Tucker, last sighted in Western New York battling Sam Adams on the practice fields at St. John Fisher, now tops the Browns’ depth chart at the position. (For more on the Cleveland curse, also see: Braylon Edwards injury, Kellen Winslow injuries, Courtney Brown injuries, Jamir Miller injury, John Elway.) The Browns quarterbacks didn’t have much to work with in 2005, but the team apparently saw enough in Charlie Frye’s five starts to ship Trent Dilfer to San Francisco in the offseason. Frye is now the unquestioned starter, if only because there’s not much behind him. (Ken Dorsey?) Either Derek Anderson or NFL Europe alumnus Lang Campbell will be the #3 QB… although there are rumors that GM Phil Savage is keeping Vinny Testaverde’s phone number handy. Adding steady Joe Jurevicius via free agency, plus getting former first-round picks Winslow and Edwards back on the field, can only help a passing attack that was woefully undermanned last season. Dennis Northcutt, whose 42 catches lead the returning WRs, is probably better-suited lining up in the slot. Third-round pick Travis Wilson (Oklahoma) and ’05 holdovers Frisman Jackson, Brandon Rideau, and Josh Cribbs are also in the mix. Steve Heiden did an adequate job replacing Winslow, finishing the year with a career-high 43 receptions, but he’ll be a better #2 TE. Following one good year in Denver, RB Reuben Droughns came to Cleveland in a trade for DL Ebenezer Ekuban and Michael Myers. He did everything the Browns could have asked for in 2005: one of only six NFL RBs to start every game, he racked up the team’s first 1000-yard rushing season in twenty years and accounted for over 35% of their total offense. They need to find a competent backup, though – William Green and the oft-injured Lee Suggs combined for only 28 carries/93 yards last year. Fifth-round pick Jerome Harrison (Washington State) could be an option, especially on third downs. (Remember, offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon was once a teammate of Dave Meggett’s…) 255-pound FB Terrelle Smith has yet to score his first rushing touchdown in the NFL, but he’s blocked for a 1000-yard rusher in five of the last six seasons. Bentley is out for the year, but the Cleveland offense should benefit from the addition of LT Kevin Shaffer, who helped the Falcons lead the league in rushing last season. Starting guards Cosey Coleman and Joe Andruzzi return for their second season in brown-and-orange. Holdover Ryan Tucker is the RT; he’s most likely out for the rest of the preseason, though, so Kirk Chambers, Jon Dunn, and Nat Dorsey could all see time there this weekend. DEFENSE (#t16 total yardage, #30 rushing, #4 passing, #11 scoring): The transition to a 3-4 set continues, with two of Crennel’s former Patriots joining the team early in the free-agent signing period. NT Ted Washington is now 38, but “Mount Washington” can still take up space in the middle of an opponent’s offensive line. Ethan Kelley and sixth-round pick Babatunde Oshinowo (Stanford) will compete for playing time behind him. Orpheus Roye and Alvin McKinley are the starters at end. The Browns’ 23 sacks ranked dead last in 2005. To remedy that, they signed Willie McGinest and used their first-round pick on Kamerion Wimbley (Florida State) to provide a passrushing presence off the edge. Matt Stewart will probably retain the starting OLB job opposite McGinest for now, with Wimbley coming in on obvious passing downs. Chaun Thompson moves inside to join Andra Davis, but might not be able to hold off second-round pick D’Qwell Jackson (Maryland) for the starting spot. Leon Williams (Miami) is also pushing for playing time. Both projected starting CBs, Daylon McCutcheon and Gary Baxter, are out for at least the rest of the preseason. That leaves Leigh Bodden -- who may have knocked McCutcheon out of the starting lineup anyway -- and recent pickup Ralph Brown atop the current depth chart, and the team is doing everything it can to find more DBs. (Former Bills practice-squadder Therrian Fontenot was just added via trade from Green Bay.) The Browns are in considerably better shape at safety, with Brodney Pool and Sean Jones competing for the starting job next to Brian Russell. SPECIAL TEAMS: Steady veteran Phil Dawson connected on 93.1% of his FG attempts last season, a career high. Dave Zastudil (Ravens) replaces Kyle Richardson as the punter. Dennis Northcutt (punts) and Josh Cribbs (kickoffs) each scored a kick-return touchdown last season, and will probably continue to handle those jobs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLOOK: The Bills start the regular season against three straight opponents who run a 3-4 base defense, so a practice test against the Browns’ version comes at a good time. J.P. Losman seemed to have some problems reading LBs dropping into zone coverage last season; it’ll be interesting to watch whether or not he’s improved on that. The Cleveland offense – dead last in scoring last season, and breaking in a young QB – should depend heavily on Reuben Droughns again this year. The Bills run defense has looked good so far; hopefully that continues Saturday night. Links: Ourlads.com: Browns depth chart Official team website: ClevelandBrowns.com

WKBW has been advertising a live broadcast for this game, and WHAM and WTVH show it on their Saturday schedules. If it isn't already sold out, I'm guessing either the "Bills Television Network" or the franchise itself will buy the rest of the tickets and donate them to youth groups...

Agreed. Solid RB and a VERY good O-line in those fugly orange-and-black jerseys. Should be interesting. Aiken could well end up as ST captain. With the time he's missed and the talented rookie safeties on the roster, Coy has to be in deep trouble at this point.

I'll be there. Won't be parking in Lot 1 tonight, but will probably wander down that way for a while...

Don't be so sure about that. For one thing, Williams isn't even listed on the current depth chart at PR - Roscoe Parrish is backed up by Jonathan Smith. And he's certainly not going to beat out McGee for KR, and Parrish, Smith, and Josh Reed all have some experience returning kickoffs. If his main argument for making the roster is at backup KR, he might be in trouble. Just sayin'. As to RB: the Bills were hurt last year by the lack of a guy who could come in and pound the ball when Willis needed a break. Shaud has proven he has the will, but not the body type to be that guy. If they're serious about running the ball this season, I'd keep both A. Thomas and Gates ahead of him.

After mentioning the Peppers/Mike Williams draft prior to the Panthers game, I was afraid a second straight week of woulda/coulda/shoulda might depress too many people (myself included). But I have to admit that, even though that game probably cost us DaBrick, it was still a welcome Christmas present in this household. See, my stepbrother is a Bengals season-ticket holder who spent most of the pregame and first half calling to trash-talk his father from the stadium in Cincy. Guess his phone stopped working right about the time McGee hit the end zone on the INT return, though, because we didn't hear from him the rest of the day....