Lori

Likewise. Plenty in the coolers in Lot 1 beforehand... and if the next game is anything like the last one, we may need a few after, as well...

Hear that, Harv/PIA? Busted by the Man himself! Seriously, though, Nick - great meeting you, and it sounds like you truly enjoyed the trip of a lifetime. (Well, except for the small matter of the game itself....) At least you had Van's standup routine to keep you amused while the score snowballed in the wrong direction....

I'll go for that. At least the press conferences would be entertaining....

At this point, they'd be more likely to remind you of the 1968 Bills (who wore those same uniforms) than the 1965 championship squad....

Yup, Elbert, that question was definitely answered yesterday. The bags are packed, the engine is warming up, and the bus doors are already open...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=simmons/051209 The Bills are in his "teams that truly suck" category. Ya know, Simmons, I liked you a lot better back when the Pats hadn't won anything yet....

Depends on which part of Rochester, where you plan on parking, etc. Traffic should be surprisingly light for a sellout. (Well, perhaps not so surprising, considering the events of the last seven days...) Remember, though, the "patdown" lines start to clog up the stadium gates at least half an hour before kickoff. Took me 15-20 minutes to make it through at the last game...

Other than the fact that he got Wilson's age wrong, Pencilneck might be right this time. Where has TD been ever since his radio show aired Monday, anyhow? A couple days ago, Chuck Pollock wrote about the "bunker mentality" at OneBillsDrive. Looks like they're at DEFCON 1 right about now....

We still had playoff hopes last week? I'll be there, but with a couple of extra tickets in hand. If anyone has crappy seats and wants to move into section 109 row 6 (20 behind the Patriots sideline), see me at lot 1 pole 5. Otherwise, I'll just be taking them into the game with me and adding them to the no-show count...

There's a DVD? I kept my taped copy, if only to watch Van Miller lean out of the broadcast booth and yell something like "You guys STINK!!!" Priceless....

Hey, it worked for Marino..... Elway numbers, perhaps, but not the Elway image that goes with it. Remember who Denver's RBs were back when they were going to Super Bowls in the '80s? Not many people do. And while the 'Three Amigo' WRs got some publicity, most non-Denver fans would be just as hard-pressed to name more than one or two of them. When I think of those Bronco teams, I think of Elway literally carrying that franchise on his shoulders - probably farther than they should have gone, based on the non-competitive outcomes of those Super Bowls. On the other hand, when Drew Bledsoe's one Super Bowl season as a starting QB is examined more closely, the lion's share of the credit will probably go to Curtis Martin... who is a first-ballot lock. Just my opinion.

Phil Simms? Ken Stabler? Bledsoe will get some votes, but his stats alone won't be enough to elect him. IMHO, he needs a ring, and the one he got for XXXVI counts about as much as the one Bernie Kosar got with Dallas.

mmm.... bacon...

Sounds good, but it's not true - including playoff games the Bills are 50-40 against the Jets, and were 34-28-1 versus the Colts before they left for the AFC South.

So that's what happened to her voice....

This is MILD. Should've been here for the Flutie/Johnson Wars. Losman? He's not there yet, but I think he can get there. Some blocking might help, as might a viable downfield threat at TE.

Please pass along our thoughts/prayers to the rest of the family, Cindy. I'm working 4-12s this week, but if you need anything, you know the number. See you Sunday morning.

Believe I'll also be wearing my customary #80. And you ask a very good question, Rock. My guess is he's otherwise occupied - tracing the phone # of the jerk who called his radio show Monday, so he can pull his season tix...

Put me down for a couple bags of marshmallows.....

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (7-5) AT BUFFALO BILLS (4-8) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2005 – 1:00 PM ET RALPH WILSON STADIUM, ORCHARD PARK, NY CBS: Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: New England leads, 49-40-1. The Patriots are 16-15 at Rich/Ralph Wilson Stadium. PLAYOFF RECORD: New England leads, 1-0 LAST MEETING: October 30, 2005 – Patriots 21, Bills 16 Preview Buffalo dominated much of the game – holding the ball nearly twice as long and outgaining the Pats 394-273 – but their inability to score touchdowns in the red zone came back to haunt them in the Halloween Eve matchup. The game-turning play came with 6:20 remaining and the Bills clinging to a 16-14 lead; OLB Rosevelt Colvin took advantage of a missed blocking assignment to blindside Kelly Holcomb and hit the sack/fumble/recovery trifecta at the Buffalo 23. Two plays later, Corey Dillon rumbled into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Aside from the costly turnover, Holcomb played a decent game for Buffalo. He finished 20-33 for 263 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown pass to Eric Moulds; Moulds’ season-high 125 receiving yards marked his second 100-yard effort in the last three games against New England. Willis McGahee ran well, averaging 4.4 yards on 31 carries for his second-highest rushing total (131) of the season. On defense, Aaron Schobel abused rookie LT Nick Kaczur for two sacks and a forced fumble. LAST TIME IN BUFFALO: October 3, 2004 – Patriots 31, Bills 17 The Bills took a 17-10 second-quarter lead on a 41-yard Bledsoe-to-Moulds hookup, but a successful New England two-minute drill sent the game to halftime tied at 17. The Pats went up 24-17 early in the fourth quarter, then sealed the win when Buffalo botched a questionable fourth-down QB bootleg and Richard Seymour returned the ensuing Bledsoe fumble 68 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. PATRIOTS OVERVIEW OFFENSE (#8 total yardage, #27 rushing, #4 passing, #12 scoring): With Charlie Weis in South Bend, Corey Dillon in and out of the lineup, and a pair of rookie linemen protecting his blind side, Tom Brady has been asked to shoulder more of the load than ever this season. Brady has responded to the challenge; he currently leads the league with 3301 passing yards. He had a bad day in Kansas City, but rebounded with an efficient game against the Jets last week. The OL situation has only gotten worse, though – starting C Dan Koppen is now out for the year, and it doesn’t look like LT Matt Light will be back any time soon. As noted above, Light’s replacement had a rough game against Aaron Schobel back in October. Under normal circumstances, with some help from the RWS “12th Man”, I’d almost guarantee a career game for Schobel this Sunday – he has 6.5 career sacks against Brady, more than any other QB in the league. Dillon’s ongoing leg problems and Kevin Faulk’s broken foot have forced the Patriots to search for other options at RB, including using FBs Patrick Pass and Heath Evans in a single-back set. Dillon is on the wrong side of 30 and has had more than 300 carries in four of the last five seasons; one wonders if the tread on his tires is starting to wear a little thin. All four RBs are listed as ‘questionable’ on this week’s injury report… if that means anything, coming out of Fortress Belichick. I expect both Dillon and Faulk to play. Deion Branch and David Givens are still the starters at WR, with Troy Brown, Tim Dwight, and even Andre’ Davis filling in when Givens was sidelined with a knee injury. TEs Daniel Graham, Ben Watson, and Christian Fauria have combined for 7 of the team’s 18 touchdown catches. DEFENSE (#29 total yardage, #16 rushing, #31 passing, #25 scoring): Getting Seymour and Tedy Bruschi back has solidified the New England front seven; they’ve improved from 24th to 16th against the run since the first Buffalo game. Versatile linebacker Mike Vrabel leads the Patriots in tackles, and is also tied for the team lead in interceptions (including one returned for a touchdown). He moves inside next to Bruschi when the Pats use the 3-4 set, with Willie McGinest and team sack leader Colvin lining up at OLB. Underachieving FA signees Chad Brown and Monty Beisel have been relegated to backup duty. The Pats’ injury-mandated secondary shuffle continues. Six DBs (including five who started at least one game this season) are now on I.R., so they’re left with rookie third-round pick Ellis Hobbs starting opposite Asante Samuel at CB. Former Bengals/Panthers CB Artrell Hawkins, signed three weeks ago, has started the last two games at strong safety; Eugene Wilson is the FS. While New England may have gotten better against the run lately, opposing QBs have thrown for 21 touchdowns versus 6 interceptions; only Houston and Oakland have picked off fewer passes this season. SPECIAL TEAMS: Last week, Adam Vinatieri’s second field goal against the Jets pushed him past Boston Patriot great Gino Cappelletti to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. He’s having another steady season - 14-15 from inside 40 yards, 17-22 overall. Josh Miller leads the league in gross punting, averaging 46.7 yards/kick. (Brian Moorman and Tampa Bay’s Josh Bidwell are tied for second with a 46.1 average.) Miller’s 39.5 net average ranks #2 behind the Chargers’ Mike Scifres. Tim Dwight, Bethel Johnson, and Ellis Hobbs have all taken a turn at KR, but none has had a real impact this season. Dwight has done a decent job at PR, averaging 8.7 yards/return. Although they have yet to give up a touchdown return, the coverage units are average at best. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLOOK: The most galling part of what has turned into another lost season? It seemed like the Super Bowl-era Bills teams almost always managed to find a way to win the close games – when it came down to crunch time, someone would make a big play to turn the tide in our favor. The 2005 Bills are the antithesis of those resilient Levy-coached squads; they’ve blown halftime leads in three of their eight losses this season, and the ineptitude of their red-zone offense (ranked 30th in the league) is exceeded only by their red-zone D (dead last). Up until about 3:30 last Sunday afternoon, I liked Buffalo’s chances in this game. But after the “Miami Meltdown” and the ensuing chaos at One Bills Drive, I honestly have no idea what kind of team the Bills are going to put on the field this weekend. Can they regroup from such a gut-wrenching defeat, or has the run-for-the-bus mentality already begun to set in? And what the heck is the deal between the head coach and the franchise’s #2 all-time leading receiver, anyway? Maybe we’ll find out by late Sunday afternoon... And if New England manages to take an early lead, things could get ugly. Really ugly. See you in Lot 1. Go Bills. Links: NFL.com: injury report / Patriots depth chart /Patriots team stats Ourlads.com: Patriots depth chart Official team website: Patriots.com http://bostonsportsmedia.com http://www.patsfans.com

The day Johnson was announced over Flutie... you mean when Flutie was released by TD, or the Monday afternoon before Homejob Throwforward (as already mentioned by Petrino?) That's the one I was thinking of. "Just give it to 'em" was pretty hot for a while, too, if not on the level of the post-Throwforward "Phil Luckett must DIE" vitriol...

Umm.. yeah, that's kind of the way I read it as well. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I suppose.....

Serves 'em right for having the ugliest uniforms in all of organized football, bar none. But seriously, you have a valid point - no Top 25 wins makes the Quack Attack a hard sell. So does losing Kellen Clemens for the season. NCAA takes injuries into account when seeding the basketball tourney; I'd be surprised if they didn't sneak that into one of their obscure BCS calculations.

'Cause you're still in trouble for not stopping by Lot 1 Pole 5 when you came down to... errr, whichever game it was you came down to? Or because I read the first one, then forgot about it while I was working on other stuff. As others here can attest, I do things like that. Often. Or because I'm a jerk. There seems to be a lot of that going around these days, if you listen to the general manager of a certain local football team. (channelling Tony Kornheiser) I'll try to do better next time.

Here is the text. 523121[/snapback] In other words, they're merely repeating what Brad Riter said on WGR tonight. If you'd been here at about 8:00 this evening, you could have asked Brad about it yourself... http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=36265