Lori

Lot 1 Pole 5 before and after every home game for the rest of the season, with some of Sahlen's best on the grill and Samuel Adams in the cooler. Stop by and say hi! (Not quite sure I believe the bit about SDS and JSP, though... )

15 minutes with a 2005 media guide and the Houston gamebook, while the PSU game is at halftime on the big-screen across the room. Not like I had anything better to do... Oops, the third Q just started. Roar Lions Roar....

Considering the Bills only scored 1 offensive TD last week, at home and against an inferior defense, seems like a reasonable prediction to me. I'm not saying I agree with him, but I wouldn't be shocked if it did turn out that way. And as PowerEye points out, Hamilton is entitled to his opinion. (Although as the beat reporter he has to be a little more careful expressing said opinion than the talk-show hosts, who can afford to be more subjective...)

I got to thinking about this last Sunday, while watching the Bills wreak havoc on the Texans' passing game. Remembered a discussion from June... http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=25813 ...and decided to drag up what I wrote back then: The five regular-season games since Troy Vincent became the starting FS: Buffalo 37, Cleveland 7 - 7 sacks, 5 turnovers, 26 total yards, -3 net passing yards. Vincent hit the trifecta with a sack, INT, and fumble recovery; Milloy added a sack. Buffalo 33, Cincinnati 17 - 3 sacks, 4 turnovers, 1 defensive TD (62-yd INT return by Spikes), 126 net passing yards. Quiet day for the safeties, as the front 7 made the big plays in this game. Buffalo 41, San Francisco 7 - 3 sacks, 4 turnovers, 91 net passing yards. Milloy had one of the 3 Bills INTs. San Francisco never made it past the Buffalo 45 until their single scoring drive in the fourth quarter, when most of the Buffalo starters were already celebrating on the sidelines. Pittsburgh 29, Buffalo 24 - 3 sacks, 3 turnovers, 1 defensive TD (Clements 30-yd INT return), 105 net passing yards. Despite drive starts on the Buffalo 20 and 24, the Steelers offense only found the end zone once. The key to that game was Buffalo's inability to hold onto the ball in the first half - four three-and-outs plus a bad Bledsoe INT, and at halftime, Pittsburgh had an 18:58-11:02 edge in TOP. (That perhaps explains why the D wore down in the second half, no?) Buffalo 22, Houston 7 - 5 sacks, 5 turnovers, 120 total net yards, 25 net passing yards. Vincent had 2 INTs (and almost a third), Milloy an INT and a fumble recovery. Totals: 21 sacks, 21 turnovers. That averages out to over 4 of each per game - think about that for a minute, averaging 4 takeaways/game. And check out this average, too - 68.8 net passing yards/game. Granted, the Bills weren't playing against Peyton Manning or Brett Favre in any of those games, but those numbers are still unreal. And this week's opponent, Tampa Bay, offers up a LG/LT combo who had started a combined 0 NFL games before last weekend. Here's to a sleepless night for Brian Griese tonight....

"59 + 51 = 110 degrees - make it HOT!!"

Yeah, so I pounded the crap out of my week 1 opponent and lead the league in points, but I also left 16 on the bench with LJ. I'm greedy - and still ticked about having to give up the points trophy at this year's draft - so leaving ANYTHING on the bench bugs me. RB: Priest (KC), LJohnson (KC), Steven Jackson (STL), TJ Duckett (ATL), KFaulk (NE) WR: Fitzgerald (AZ), CJohnson (CIN), DJackson (SEA), Lee Evans, SParker (KC), Crumpler (ATL) Can go either 2RB/4WR or 3/3; no separate TE slot. Holmes, SJackson, Fitz, ChadJ, and DJax are all obvious plays, so my sixth and last selection is between LJ/Duckett/Lee. (Unlike Kent14, I'm not deciding between LJ and another team's full-time starting RB; that's why I put this in a separate thread...) What say you?

You're learning....

Or to some of our earlier cleetuses, right?

A-friggin'-men. Great thread. GREAT (bleep)ing thread, especially the Stratton takes (for us young'uns who remember him only from a couple of highlight clips). The Fletch Faithful make a solid argument, but I think I'm leaning toward siding with KTD on this one - while LF quietly takes care of the heavy lifting and I'm damn glad to have him on "my" team, Spikes is the guy changing the numbers on the scoreboard. IMO, Biscuit is the only one close - remember John Elway walking up to the line of scrimmage that first game, seeing #55 ready to come after him at 100mph, and immediately calling a timeout? I think TKO is approaching that level.

That's the plan, anyway. Next week: the Michael Vick Experience, Chris Chandler vs. Alex Van Pelt, and Jim Kelly breaking the leg of an Atlanta DB who dared to intercept one of his passes.... By the way, welcome aboard!

About that Pittsburgh game: the players spent the entire offseason ticked off because of it, and Mularkey has been drilling it into their heads that, "You've got to play every single play like it's going to be the difference in your season." They know they came up small when it counted, and they're using that as a motivating factor for this season. Just like the end of the 1989 season... Keep that in mind.

Given that Joe Cahn was the one doing the seeding, I'm not so sure about that - there's a reason he's normally in Orchard Park for the season opener. (I believe he decided on the Arizona game instead last year because of the wedding at his good friend Ken's Pinto...) BTW - thoughts go out to Cahn. As some of you may know, he's based in New Orleans... other than what's in the RV, I guess he lost everything to Katrina.

I'll get you for that... Thanks for the feedback, and epecially to both Harv and ATBNG for correcting my screwup. (Sad thing is, I just checked my notebook, and I had Bidwell written in there - must've just brainlocked when I was typing this before heading into work last night. KNEW I should've proofread one more time. Arrrrgh..... ) In case y'all haven't figured it out by now, "Ms. Information" can be read more than one way. Ripping off a line from Tony Kornheiser, I'll try to do better next time...

REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: Tampa Bay leads, 5-2. Weird factoid: Tampa Bay has never played a regular-season game in Rich/Ralph Wilson Stadium; 2009 will mark their first visit to Orchard Park since a 17-6 Bills win in the 1977 preseason.... PLAYOFF RECORD: none LAST MEETING: November 26, 2000 - Tampa Bay 31, Buffalo 17 Frank Middleton. Frank #*%$ing Middleton. Despite losing CB Antoine Winfield to a season-ending shoulder injury the week before, the 7-4 Bills were on a four-game winning streak and solidly in the hunt for a playoff berth on their inaugural visit to Raymond James Stadium. The defense set the tone early, forcing three 3-and-outs and sacking Bucs QB Shaun King 4 times in the first quarter alone. 2 1/2 of those sacks were credited to Sam Cowart, who was having a monster game - so Bucs RG Middleton apparently figured if he couldn't block Cowart, he'd come up with another way to stop him. In one of the most blatant, gutless cheapshots I've ever seen, Middleton dove into Cowart's lower leg from behind while he was engaged with another lineman. The resulting high ankle sprain not only put Cowart on the shelf for the rest of the season, it probably cost the Bills a playoff spot and head coach Wade Phillips his job. The Bills also lost FS Keion Carpenter and OLB Sam Rogers for the season in that game, but hung tough until a 73-yard punt return TD by Karl Williams broke the game open in the fourth quarter. (That play wasn't without its share of controversy, either. LB Jay Foreman had his jersey practically ripped off on the play; a flag was thrown, but following a referees' conference the flag was picked up and the TD allowed to stand.) I don't hate players on opposing teams, not even Miami... but I hate Frank Middleton. Indeed, his presence on the Oakland roster in Super Bowl XXXVII was enough to make me cheer for the Bucs (and against my childhood-favorite Raiders) that night. If Middleton never plays another game in the league, that'll be just fine with me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUCCANEERS OVERVIEW OFFENSE: This is a team still in transition after a disappointing 5-11 season in 2004. Jon Gruden managed to win a Super Bowl with the players he inherited from Tony Dungy, but switching to Gru's preferred West Coast scheme has meant an almost complete turnover of the roster since then - tackle Kenyatta Walker and RBs Mike Alstott, Michael Pittman, and Jameel Cook are the only offensive players left from that season. QB Brian Griese is at his best in the West Coast system; he set a team record with a QB rating of 97.5 last season, and his 69.3% completion percentage led the league. With the offseason departure of former starter Brad Johnson, Chris Simms and Luke McCown (acquired from Cleveland) are the backups. Ike Hilliard and Joey Galloway give Griese a crafty pair of vets to throw to, but Michael Clayton is the first option (and a future Pro Bowler) - his 80 catches and 1193 yards led all rookie WRs last year. At TE, Jet castoff Anthony Becht is a better blocker than catcher, but choosing Alex Smith in the draft - yes, the other Alex Smith - is already paying dividends. At this point, Becht/Smith could potentially be a serious upgrade from last year's tandem of Ken Dilger/Rickey Dudley. Flashy rookie RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams is another immediate upgrade, and a badly needed one at that - the Tampa Bay running game was dreadful last season. Their 93.1 yds/game average ranked 29th in the league; only San Fran, Miami, and Oakland were worse. Unfortunately for Williams and Griese, though, the offensive line didn't receive similar attention. They gave up a total of 44 sacks in 2004 (including 26 on Griese in his 11 games) and they're depending on a former UDFA/practice squad guy, Anthony Davis, to man the all-important LT spot. To make matters worse, LG Matt Stinchcomb is currently listed as questionable on the injury report. His probable replacement, rookie 4th-round pick Dan Buenning, will eventually push Stinchcomb out of the lineup anyway, but I'm not sure they wanted to have to make that move this early in the season. RT Kenyatta Walker, while no longer in danger of being cut, has never lived up to his lofty #1-pick status. (And to think, we could have had Walker instead of Nate Clements...) Anything less than four sacks and a couple of takeaways by the Bills defense would be a disappointment. DEFENSE: Unlike the revamped offense, the Buc D is stacked with experienced vets. Seven starters (and ten players overall) remain from their Super Bowl team. They may be a couple of years older and a step slower now, but don't kid yourselves - Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks are still damn good players. Former first-round pick DT Chris Hovan wore out his welcome in Minnesota, but word is he's fitting in well next to 'Booger' McFarland. Their LB depth took a hit when projected starter Jeff Gooch went on IR; Ryan Nece takes his place. (We'll see if Nece is as big a hitter as his Hall of Fame dad, Ronnie Lott.) Shelton Quarles keeps pluggin' along at MLB. Brian Kelly and Ronde Barber form a nasty duo at CB, and Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson returns at FS. Defensive mastermind (and onetime Bills LB coach) Monte Kiffin is in charge of the scheme - Gruden mostly keeps his hands off the defense, because he realizes Kiffin knows what he's doing. Tom Clements vs. Kiffin should make for an interesting chess match. Losman is going to have to be prepared to just get rid of the ball when he has to - try to force one too many throws against this defense, and Brooks, Barber, and Kelly all have the potential to step in front of a receiver and take the ball the other way for six. SPECIAL TEAMS: Matt Bryant beat out Todd France to win the kicking job, but I'm guessing Gruden's still keeping an eye on the waiver wire. Former Steeler Josh Miller is a solid punter. I was going to tell you how underrated KR Torrie Cox is - despite not taking one back for a TD, his 26.2 yds/return average last season ranked right up there with Eddie Drummond and Terrence McGee - but a suspicion-of-DUI arrest late Monday night puts his status for this game in doubt. If Cox is suspended/cut/in jail or otherwise unavailable, backup RB Earnest Graham or even Joey Galloway might be returning kicks for them. The kick/punt coverage teams are mediocre at best. EDIT: ATBNG pointed out that Josh Bidwell (former Packer), not Josh Miller, is the Tampa punter. Brainfreeze on my part; sorry about that. On the field, the 6-3, 220lb. Bidwell has a bigger leg than Miller, but has had problems with consistency in the past. Good personal story - Bidwell spent what would have been his rookie year in Green Bay battling testicular cancer, and seems to have beaten it. His Packers teammates voted him the team's recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 2000, and he continues to speak out on the subject, even teaching high school health classes in his native Oregon.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLOOK Two middle-of-the-road offenses with young players in key positions. Two great defenses. The current line has Tampa Bay favored by 2.5; given the home-field advantage, the oddsmakers see this game as practically even. I agree... mostly. The difference? I see a definite advantage for the Bills special teams in this game, and I think that ends up being the difference. Bills, 17-13. Links: NFL.com - Buccaneers roster NFL.com - injury report Ourlads.com - Buccaneers depth chart

Thursday night, 8:30 EST. Program name is "Six Days to Sunday". http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/schedule/0915

Sporting News had something on this last week - they're trying not to wear Willis down (the way Wanny did to RWilliams), so he probably won't be in for quite a few third downs, and he'll get a series off from time to time as well. Besides, SWilliams is more of the prototype third-down back - small, shifty, and a better passcatcher. Just my opinion....

Per Paul Hamilton, talking with Schopp/Parker at 5:00 - Euhus and Parrish are out this week, but Parrish (as noted above) was running routes. He'd like to be back as early as next week. (My personal opinion: beginning of October is more likely.) Good news: Crowell has been upgraded to probable, Villarrial is now off the injury report and practiced fully. Not-so-good news: Both Eric Moulds and Shaud Williams were held out of practice today, and added to the report as probable with ankle injuries.

Aw shucks - we (mostly) behaved ourselves before the opener last year, didn't we? Other than JSP's incessant whining, that is. (Hi, Joe, ol' buddy ol' pal.... By the by, I believe Jeremy was giving the names, not Howard. Perhaps sobriety would've helped you do better. Scoreboard. ) Wish you would've stopped, Brad, and consider this an open invite for next time. (Although I probably would've missed y'all anyway - I was pulling into Hammer's about the same time you were starting your broadcast.) After all, you *are* part of the Wall community now, no? As for Sully, I don't think there would have been a problem - it's much easier to hurl brickbats online or over the airwaves than in real life. And besides, he hasn't really written much to disagree with lately. Talking about "our" Bills, mentioning how he wished he'd been here for the original standing-buffalo era? I'm starting to wonder about him...

Let's bring this up top... Tix go on sale 10AM tomorrow, so y'all need to let Eric know what you're doing ASAP.

St. Louis Rams. Bad special teams. Hmmm.... seems like I've heard that one before. Here's the original article that quote is taken from. Based on MadMike's previous history with ST coaches, I give this guy precisely fifteen more games before he's looking for work again....

Found this on the houstonprofootball.com board: Sports Illustrated Interesting quote from Troy Vincent in there.

What makes you think there's only one?

Carr was looking for Johnson.... not just because Johnson is that good (and I agree he is), but because the other guys they have are apparently that bad. And yeah, Nate locked him down. Hard. I think the cost of Nate's signing bonu$ just went up again.. Think I read at least one BuffNews piece this morning discussing this very subject: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050913/1063508.asp P.S.: And to think I was mocked when I protected the Bills D in our keeper league...

Wife? Son? Is there something you're not telling us, Mike?

Unfortunately, Neufeld's planned replacement is still on the P.U.P. list....