Lori

Of course, Kelly had already started two full USFL seasons (plus the first nine games of the '86 season) by the time Levy got here. I see your overall point, and agree with it... but Levy already knew Kelly had the goods. He -- and we -- can't be sure about that with Losman. Personally, I love J.P.'s potential. If you're an NFL coach, though, 'potential' can get you fired right quick if it doesn't pan out... (channeling Paul Maguire) I'll tell you what, this offseason shouldn't be boring.

Marv liked some vets, others not so much. Remember, the team moved on from Smerlas and Devlin - both of whom were here well before he was - just as the Super Bowl run was beginning. They were vets, but not necessarily 'his' vets... Marv doesn't have history with anyone on this roster except for Moulds, so I doubt he'd feel any extra sense of loyalty toward them. That leads me to agree with your "hard to say" analysis.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't think my typing needs any work. You may wish to revisit the "I before E" rule, though. Regards, LC

...or a "how do I get out of this chicken(bleep) outfit" pre-emptive strike by TD.

The only time the Thurmanator appears in the team's Top 10 single-game list is a 214-yard night vs. the Jets, 9-24-1990. Might be something about a MNF record there; let me check... Yup, second-highest total to Bo Jackson's 221-yard game in 1987. The Bills were stomping the Jets bad enough that TT might have had a shot at OJ's 273 - he had 146 at halftime. Bet that's the game you're thinking of. Relentless doesn't have anything along the lines of that Levy quote, but here's what Thurm said: (You might be old , but just because I didn't find said quote doesn't mean it didn't happen. Fair enough?)

To update: Adam Benigni (Channel 2 News) just referenced "a single source within the Bills organization" to report that Marv will be named the G.M. tomorrow.

That's a pretty cool story, except for the part that's missing. You know, where TT's top rushing performance of that season (116 yards vs. the Packers) was only 157 yards short of OJ's team record...

By leaving him on the bench? Moulds didn't become a full-time starter -- and Pro Bowl WR -- until Wade took over.

I was going to pull down the relevant media guide and refresh your memory... but then I thought, why ruin BOTH our weekends? Happy 2006, everyone!

Back atcha, Bill. Give Pat a hug for us, and crack open a bottle (or two) of her fine vino tonight....

That's only because we never got to play the early-90s Vikings or Rams in any of those Super Bowls. We would've beaten them.....

First thing I thought when I looked at the stats was, Rudi got how many carries against our 32nd-ranked run D?

Oh, there's lots more where that came from. Didja know AVP was the last Bills QB to beat the dog-a$$ Jets at the 'Swamp? Or that the last one before him was Todd Collins, all the way back in '97? You were at that game last year, weren't you? (Or was that one of the drubbings in '02 or '03?)

But is that on Mularkey or Donahoe (or the late JButler, in the case of Flowers)? Or, rather, should we give the lion's share of the credit to Billick or Ozzie? I'm assuming Billick has always had the final say on which QB he was going to start. Not sure I'd go that far with regards to MM/Losman... Billick inherited Jonathan Ogden. Mularkey inherited Mike Williams. Now that's not fair. Okay, I'll admit I dug up those various factoids just so I could play devil's advocate. To be serious for a second, though, a significant part of that Super Bowl-winning defense was already in place before Billick's arrival in Ballamore.

BUFFALO BILLS (5-10) at NEW YORK JETS (3-12) SUNDAY, JANUARY 1, 2006 – 1:00 PM ET GIANTS STADIUM, EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. CBS: Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: Buffalo leads, 49-40. The Bills are 11-10 all-time vs. the Jets at Giants Stadium, where the Jets began playing their home games in 1984 after calling Shea Stadium home for the previous twenty seasons. PLAYOFF RECORD: Buffalo leads, 1-0. LAST MEETING: October 16, 2005 – Bills 27, Jets 17 Preview Two Kelly Holcomb touchdown passes – Jonathan Smith’s first career TD catch, and Eric Moulds’ 46th – gave the Bills a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. The two teams then traded punts before a long Curtis Martin run set up the Jets’ first score, a 44-yard Mike Nugent FG. Holcomb was picked off by longtime Bills-killer Ty Law on Buffalo’s next series, and a one-yard Martin touchdown run made the score 14-10 with 0:30 remaining in the half. That still left more than enough time for the Bills’ top-ranked special teams to step up, and they didn’t disappoint - Terrence McGee’s 42-yard return set up a 50-yard Rian Lindell FG to send the Bills into the locker room up 17-10. As the third quarter began, Martin’s second long run of the afternoon gave New York a first down at the Buffalo 20. Linebacker Angelo Crowell stepped in front of a Testaverde pass on the next play, though, and the Bills offense responded with a long drive of their own, capped off by Willis McGahee’s one-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 24-10. A gift-wrapped Holcomb interception on Buffalo’s next possession led to a two-yard Jets touchdown drive, but the defense held the rest of the way, and Lindell’s second FG of the afternoon accounted for the final margin of victory. Curtis Martin’s 49- and 41-yard runs accounted for most of his 148-yard total, the only time this season a Jet RB has topped the century mark. Martin’s stellar outing couldn’t make up for Vinny Testaverde’s horrid afternoon, though – five sacks, two interceptions, and a lost fumble probably had Vinny wishing he’d stayed on his couch instead of un-retiring. For the Bills, McGahee’s 143 rushing yards and 167 total yards from scrimmage both set new career highs. LAST TIME IN THE MEADOWSWAMP: October 10, 2004 – Jets 16, Bills 14 The Bills offense was nonexistent for the first forty-five minutes of gametime – seven possessions, seven punts - before a sideline tirade by Mike Mularkey led to a furious fourth-quarter comeback. Drew Bledsoe’s second touchdown pass of the quarter, a 46-yard strike to Lee Evans, gave the Bills a 14-13 lead but left almost six minutes on the clock. Chad Pennington methodically drove the Jets down the field to Doug Brien’s go-ahead 38-yard FG with 1:03 remaining, and Bledsoe’s last-ditch Hail Mary was intercepted by Terrell Buckley to seal Buffalo’s fate. OVERVIEW OFFENSE (#31 total yardage, #31 rushing, #27 passing, #32 scoring): The New York offense bears almost no resemblance to the lineup that opened the season. No fewer than five starters – QB Chad Pennington, RB Curtis Martin, C Kevin Mawae, TE Chris Baker, and RT Jason Fabini – are on injured reserve, joined by #3 WR Wayne Chrebet and backup QB Jay Fiedler. The offensive-line shuffle has resulted in RT Adrian Jones playing on the left side, LG Pete Kendall shifting to C, and backups Jonathan Goodwin (LG) and Scott Gragg (RT) moving into the starting lineup next to holdover Brandon Moore (RG). The chaos up front hasn’t done third-year QB Brooks Bollinger, Lee Evans’ Wisconsin Badger teammate, any favors. In ten games (eight starts), he’s taken 28 of the team’s 49 sacks allowed. (Good thing he’s got decent mobility, or that number would be even higher.) His first start was ugly enough to make Herm Edwards look up Vinny T’s home phone number, but he’s improved a little with more playing time. Laveranues Coles and Justin McCareins are two of the few offensive starters who haven’t missed any time this season; Coles leads the team with 69 catches, 766 yards, and 5 touchdowns. The Bills did a good job on Coles in Buffalo, but had trouble covering McCareins – he ended up with 5 catches for a season-high 116 yards in that game. Wayne Chrebet’s most recent concussion forced him into retirement, so speedster Jerricho Cotchery inherits the #3 WR role. Doug Jolley is a decent pass-catching TE. With top backup Derrick Blaylock still recovering from a broken foot, Curtis Martin’s season-ending knee injury forced the Jets to turn to rookie Cedric Houston at RB. Considering the circumstances, Houston’s 3.8 yards/carry average isn’t that bad. Blaylock returned to action last week, so he or fullback Jerald Sowell will get most of the playing time in the Jets’ third-down packages. DEFENSE (#12 total yardage, #28 rushing, #2 passing, #22 scoring): DE John Abraham leads the team in sacks with 9.5. DT Dewayne Robertson and last year’s sack leader, DE Shaun Ellis, have both missed the last couple of games with injuries and are listed as questionable this week. Lance Legree (DT) and Bryan Thomas (LE) would start if Robertson and/or Ellis are unavailable, which would be welcome news for the Bills offensive line. According to NFL.com stats, MLB Jonathan Vilma leads the entire league in tackles. The Jets named him their 2005 MVP, but he still couldn’t garner enough Pro Bowl votes to bypass Zach Thomas for the trip to Hawaii. (Nice job stuffing the ballot box, Fins fans…) Victor Hobson and Mark Brown remain the starters at OLB. Ty Law’s seventh interception of the year – returned for a 74-yard touchdown against old friend Tom Brady and the Pats on Monday night - tied the Jets single-season record, set by Johnny Sample in 1968. Law will be making his fifth trip to the Pro Bowl next February. David Barrett missed some time with an eye laceration, so 2005 second-round pick Justin Miller has started the last seven games at the other corner. Second-year player Erik Coleman (FS) and rookie Kerry Rhodes (SS) are the starting safeties. There’s not much depth behind them. SPECIAL TEAMS: Rookie Mike Nugent got off to a rocky start but is starting to live up to the high expectations placed on him. He’s 19-24 overall, 13-14 inside 40 yards. The Aussie punter, Ben Graham, is above-average – he currently ranks 8th in the league in gross yardage, 5th overall in net yardage. (By comparison, Brian Moorman’s 45.6-yard gross average leads the NFL, and his 39.0-yard net ranks 3rd.) Jerricho Cotchery (punts) and Justin Miller (kickoffs) both rank in the middle of the pack in return average. The Jet kick-cover teams are mediocre – as previously noted, Terrence McGee burned them for a long return to set up a Lindell FG back in October. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLOOK: Mike Mularkey might not be saying much about his starting QB right now, but does anyone really expect him to go back to J.P. Losman for this game? No matter who starts at quarterback, let’s hope that whoever’s calling the plays these days remembers that two of Willis McGahee’s best rushing performances have come against this Jets defense. On the other side of the ball, New York’s second-string offense ranks near the bottom of the league in just about every stat imaginable. Before you mark this one in the W column, though, remember this: all three of their wins this season were against teams that beat Buffalo. The Bills are slight favorites in this game, but they’d better plan to show up with three hours’ worth of solid effort if they want to break their recent streak of futility in New Jersey. Links: NFL.com: injury report / Jets depth chart /Jets team stats Ourlads.com: Jets depth chart Official team website: NewYorkJets.com Smizzy's board:Jetnation.com boards

Yup. And the Super Bowl was in the Georgia Dome the year the Rams won - meaning that 38 seasons after the Oilers first moved into the Astrodome, a dome-home team has yet to win it all on an open-air field...

Five former #1 or #2 picks start on offense for Baltimore, seven on defense (not counting Ray Lewis). Counting Losman and Mike Williams along with Moulds/Evans/McGahee gives us five on offense, six on defense (when Sam Adams starts, and not counting TKO). We lost TKO in the third game of the season. They lost Lewis in the sixth game of the season. We have a first-round pick at QB who, after starting 8 games in his second season, has a lifetime QB rating of 63.5. They have a first-round pick at QB who, after starting 33 games in 3 seasons, has a lifetime QB rating of 70.6. They're 6-9, we're 5-10. And Billick is a genius, and Mularkey (according to many here) is an idiot. Interesting.

Compared to our TE 'talent' since his departure? BADO may have a point. Ah, for the days of McKeller and Big Red....

To quote Marv, Dickerson's "been fired more times than a Civil War cannon." Wish I'd thought of that line.

Well, let's see - considering that three of the four other teams you listed drafted in the top 11, one could logically assume they should end up with better players than a team drafting #23/#46 with their top two picks. As for the exception, Baltimore? Last time I checked, Heap was the only 2001 draft pick still on their roster on opening day 2005 (as compared to three defensive starters for the Bills). Thanks for playing, and better luck next time.

Straight-up trade, LT for McGahee? I'd go for that...

Amen.

Wouldn't that be on Polian, not Levy? Agree with pretty much everything else. Could Kelly have called a better game than he did? Yeah, I suppose so... but looking at the play-by-play to refresh my memory, I don't see as many obvious "should've run instead" playcalls as I thought I would. Couple of bad penalties didn't help the down-and-distance, either; that offensive PI on Dre really fouled up the first drive of the second half...

Even if four of those touchbacks came from 41 yards or under - including one from 34 and another from 33 - and the other five averaged a 38-yard net? You're right, my bad. He's obviously having an off-year.