Lori

Not like this. He's played here four times; the worst weather was the October 2001 game, and the wind that day topped out in the mid-teens. Jests won that game 42-36, but two of their TDs were defensive scores and another was on a 4-yard drive after an interception...

Well, I certainly don't blame Krumrie for picking Edwards, as you seem to have done above.

Weather Channel forecast for Orchard Park this afternoon - 50, showers, WNW 20+ mph. The scoreboard-to-tunnel effect should set up nicely. And the Jets have two kickers who have never set foot inside Ralph Wilson Stadium before.....

Washington and Adams were first-round picks; Smerlas was a second-rounder.

Thanks, Bob. Good read. Every time I go into Marcel Dionne's store in the Boulevard Mall, I drool over the poster-size "Fandemonium" picture he has in there. Someday... As long as we're talkin' Jets, and the weather forecast looks like the "Hawk" might be flying today (high 40s and wind over 20mph out of the west), anyone got any good memories of perhaps the most famous wind game in Rich/RWS history? 40mph winds and driving rain - "football weather", Orchard Park-style... September 29, 1974: Bills 16, Jets 12 Jim Braxton's 21-yard TD run provided the winning points. Joe Namath had more interceptions (3) than completions (2), and his first completion didn't come until after the 2:00 warning in the second half. Buffalo didn't even bother trying to throw - Fergy was 0-2, but the Bills ran 61 times for 223 yards. The two completions were the fewest by two teams in a game since Brooklyn and Pittsburgh combined for one in a 1942 contest. (As usual - thanks to Sal Maiorana and Relentless for the stats and quotes.)

Not quite opening day, but close - September 23, 1979. Bills won 46-31. Butler set the all-time Bills receiving record that day, with 255 yards and 4 TDs - the Hail Mary was 74 yards, and his next TD (in the third quarter) was 75...

FYI: Krumrie was still in Cincinnati when Edwards was drafted in 2001. John Levra was the DL coach then.

Link took me to a Q-and-A with Herm Edwards, probably not the story you were referencing. But as long as I'm here, let's discuss this further. "Weak" secondary. Hmmmm... So far this year, the Bills have allowed a 58.9% completion rate, 5.98 yds/attempt. Given up 4 TD passes in 5 games, 2 to WRs, 2 to TEs. 7 INTs, 6 by DBs. Overall, opposing QBs have a 63.8 passer rating, and the 139 passing yards/game given up ranks the Bills pass D #1 in the league. (Of course, if the run D wasn't so horrific, opposing teams might need to pass a little more often. I'm also not happy with the opponents' third-down conversion percentage. But "weak", in regards to the secondary? Sorry, not seeing it.)

Considering that JJ's nickname on here has been "Jennings A La Cart" for at least the past three years (thanks again, BADO), one wouldn't need much in the way of clairvoyance to foresee such an event...

Whaa? Oh, you mean the kid from Penn. Tragic, to be sure, but not the same school we're talking about. University of Pennsylvania = Ivy League, Philadelphia. Pennsylvania State University = Big 10, University Park/State College. Always had a soft spot for Penn - my final choice came down to those two schools, even though I knew I'd never be able to swing the finances to go to UP...

Don't forget, after Vince Wilfork cracked the side of Jennings' helmet the week before on a late helmet-to-helmet shot, JJ was questionable (concussion) and didn't practice for part of the week in question. Probably shouldn't even have played that game in the Meadowswamp. Abraham did nothing vs. Jennings and his helpers the second game, and Marcus Price (in for MWilliams) held off Ellis... Dug this up from before last year's game in Buffalo: I see no reason to change that plan. P.S: Bill, the last time I actually predicted a score was the Tampa Bay game. Considering how wrong I was on that one, I'd prefer not to embarrass myself further...

NEW YORK JETS (2-3) AT BUFFALO BILLS (2-3) SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2005 - 4:15 PM EDT RALPH WILSON STADIUM, ORCHARD PARK, NY CBS: Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: Buffalo leads, 48-40 PLAYOFF RECORD: Buffalo leads, 1-0 LAST MEETING: November 7, 2004 - Bills 22, Jets 17 The Bills won their third game in four weeks, knocking off the 6-1 Jets at a blustery Ralph Wilson Stadium. Willis McGahee posted season highs in carries (37) and rushing yards (132) for Buffalo, and broke loose a 4th-and-inches play for a 12-yard touchdown to put the Bills up 7-0. The Jets scored the next ten points before a 20-yard Lindell FG tied the score at the half. Buffalo took the third-quarter kickoff and drove 77 yards to the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard Drew Bledsoe-to-Lee Evans pass; on the day, Bledsoe was an efficient 18-30 for 184 yards, no sacks and no turnovers. Another Lindell FG extended the lead to 20-10 early in the fourth quarter. Buffalo was forced to punt on their next series, but a perfect Brian Moorman kick pinned New York at the 1; Pat Williams stuffed Curtis Martin for a safety on the next play. The Jets tacked on a late TD when Terrence McGee slipped and fell while covering Santana Moss, but Buffalo ran the last 4:06 off the clock to seal the win. OVERVIEW OFFENSE: Welcome to the Vinny Testaverde Reunion Tour. After injuries to both Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler left overmatched third-stringer Brooks Bollinger as the only healthy QB on the roster, Vinny called Herm Edwards and offered to trade in his Jets Alumni membership card for a helmet. Considering the circumstances - not having played since the end of last season, and stepping into a new offensive system - he managed his first game well vs. a stout Tampa Bay defense. Not bad for a guy a month short of his 42nd birthday… Long-term, it will be interesting to see how new OC Mike Heimerdinger - brought in from Tennessee to open up the passing attack - revamps his scheme to accommodate the not-exactly-fleet-of-foot Testaverde. Heimerdinger prefers deeper drops and taking shots down the field instead of the dink-and-dunk West Coast set used by former OC Paul Hackett, but Jet QBs have already been sacked 16 times this season. If Vinny can’t get the ball off in time, they may have to start mixing in more short routes. Laveranues Coles is the unquestioned #1 WR - he was just starting to come into his own during his first stint with the Jets, and made a trip to the Pro Bowl as a Redskin in 2003. Justin McCareins is the other starter, with Wayne Chrebet the #3. (Hopefully, the Bills can figure out a way to cover Chrebet this season.) Chris Baker and Doug Jolley are both adequate pass-catching TEs. Curtis Martin is an obvious first-ballot Hall of Fame RB; he’s currently fourth all-time in rushing yards, trailing only Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders. Martin led the league with 1697 yards last season, but his numbers are down this year - he hasn’t rushed for more than 72 yards in any of the Jets’ first five games, and his current 2.7 yards/carry average is by far the worst of his career. Is he finally starting to slow down? Maybe. The way I see it, though, Jets management weakened their rungame in the offseason by letting RT Kareem McKenzie jump to the Giants in free agency and replacing solid blocker TE Anthony Becht with Jolley, who has never been known for his blocking ability. (And despite costing the Jets their first-round pick last April, Jolley can't even crack the starting lineup…) With Derrick Blaylock sidelined for at least the next month, sixth-round pick Cedric Houston becomes the top backup. FB Jerald Sowell could get a couple of carries; he’s also a very good receiver out of the backfield, as is Martin. Second-year tackle Adrian Jones opened the season at McKenzie’s RT spot, but Jones and LT Jason Fabini have switched sides in an attempt to protect Fabini’s gimpy right knee. The interior of the line - LG Pete Kendall, C Kevin Mawae, and RG Brandon Moore - is the same as last year. DEFENSE: NT Jason Ferguson moved on to Dallas, and was replaced in the lineup by James Reed. The rest of the line returns intact. Ends Shaun Ellis (11 sacks) and John Abraham (9.5) accounted for more than half of the Jets’ 37 sacks last season; hopefully Mike Williams is good to go, because I don’t like Greg Jerman’s chances against Ellis. The Bills’ best bet vs. Abraham is to double him early and often, and hope the interior of the line can hold off Reed and DT Dewayne Robertson. MLB Jonathan Vilma is a playmaker who may well end up in the Pro Bowl this season. He might not be the biggest guy on the team, but he can go sideline-to-sideline and loves to hit. According to the Jets’ statistics, he’s currently leading the entire league in tackles. ‘Sam’ LB Victor Hobson doesn’t have Vilma’s speed, but plays tough against the run. ‘Jack’ LB Eric Barton is probably out again this week with a high ankle sprain; Mark Brown has started the last two games in his place. After Donnie Abraham’s sudden retirement, the Jets are fortunate they could create the caproom to bring Ty Law aboard. Law may never completely return to Pro Bowl form, but he’s still worlds better than their other options at the position. Former Cardinal David Barrett is the other starting CB. FS Erik Coleman was a fifth-round steal in last year’s draft; New York is hoping for similar success with rookie SS Kerry Rhodes. Another rookie, second-round pick Justin Miller, will probably see the most time at nickel. SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Doug Brien had a respectable 2004 season for the Jets, but his two missed FGs in a playoff loss to the Steelers helped cost New York a trip to the AFC Championship game. Exit Brien; enter second-round pick Mike Nugent, the Lou Groza Award winner from Ohio State. Nugent had a rough day last Sunday, missing both his FG attempts; he’s 4-7 for the season. Ben Graham isn’t your typical punter. The 31-year-old AFL import - that “A” stands for Australian, not Arena - checks in at 6-5 and 230 lbs. The former Geelong captain’s unique kicking style most likely has Bobby April studying extra tape this week; it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Bills employ their two-deep PR set on Sunday. Jerricho Cotchery and Justin Miller have split time at PR this year, but they’ve each fumbled away a punt and neither has managed a return of over 12 yards. Miller is the primary KR, and is averaging a respectable 27.8 yards/return. The coverage teams are led by ST captain and former Bill Kenyatta Wright. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLOOK: In spite of what One Bills Drive is (or isn’t) saying, I think we all expect Kelly Holcomb to get the start at QB again. The Bills made a strong commitment to the running game last week; even though Miami did a decent job stopping McGahee, forcing them to defend the run left some room to work in the passing game. New York’s run D isn’t on a par with Miami’s, so I see no reason to do anything different for this game. The potential return of Mike Williams, Chris Villarrial, and Tim Euhus to the lineup - and perhaps even a Roscoe Parrish sighting? - should also help improve the offense’s production. As for the defense… what happens when a resistible force (the 29th-ranked Jets running game) meets a moveable object (the 31st-ranked Bills run D)? Guess we’ll find out Sunday afternoon. Buffalo has had decent success stopping Curtis Martin in years past; let’s hope that continues, because I don’t think the Jets can win if it does. See you in Lot 1 Sunday afternoon, and Go Bills! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Links: NFL.com injury report NFL.com Jets depth chart NFL.com Jets team stats Ourlads.com – Jets depth chart NewYorkJets.com

No prob. I knew I kept that particular issue for a reason.... Googling "Corrigan Report" brought me to this... http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories...30/daily18.html and this... http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/headlin...05-report.shtml Happy reading.

It gets better. I'm looking at this week's press release right now. Specifically, the depth chart on page 13. Even more specifically, the big empty blank space next to the spot marked QB, where the names Losman, Holcomb, and Matthews used to be. We don't even have a McGahee/Henry-style "1a and 1b" here - according to this, we have no quarterbacks on the roster. I'm sure somebody will either write a rant for the News or vent on the local radio station about this, if they haven't already. As for me, I think it's flippin' hysterical. (Just so long as the folks over at One Bills Drive take time out from playing "Top THAT!!!" with the media to craft some semblance of a gameplan.... )

Ahh.... Dan, always the man with the plan. Sounds good. If this is true, though, I'm going to have to stop donating money to Penn State. How the heck could they have allowed someone like me into their University Scholars program, if my IQ <50? Disgraceful.

Just happen to have the June 5, 2005 BuffNews sports section in front of me right now. Headline: "UB light on pay scale", story by Rodney McKissic. The average salary of a head coach at UB is $59,341, lowest in the MAC. (Ohio U. is next-lowest at $60,846; seven of the other 10 schools pay their HC over $70K.) The salary of an average UB assistant coach also ranks 12th out of 12 schools, at less than $30K/year. I was wrong about the recruiting budget, though - looks like UB is middle-of-the-pack in the MAC. The numbers were taken from the Corrigan Report, prepared by the former head of the NCAA. Here's what he had to say about UB: More from McKissic: Corrigan's report said that if UB wants to support a successful athletics program at the NCAA Division I level, the MAC "is the right place for UB, particularly if Division I-A football is valued." The report noted, nevertheless, that the school was "not well positioned" when the decision was made to join the highly competitive league in 1999. One last bit from Corrigan: As some of you have pointed out, that may already be starting to change. I wish UB well in the effort...

Check their recruiting budget vs. the other MAC schools - they've been trying to field a D-I team on a D-II payroll. Until that changes, don't expect them to get much better....

You were saying?

As billsburgh said, #91 is Tamba Hali - one of the players I said could possibly "merit attention for All-American status" back in April..... http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showt...0&hl=tamba+hali

Ah, yes.. costumes from the "Swamp Thing" collection....

*applause*

Likewise.

Thanks for that audiovisual fright show...

Mora? I think that's the closest I've ever been to going out of the stands after someone - when they scored their first TD against the Bills, JMjr was down past the 20 whooping it up with the Falcon fans in the front of our section. Guessing they were relatives of players, because it looked like he knew them - but I don't care who they were, Mora doesn't need to be doing that during a game...