Lori

You mean it's not all about the quarterback? Hmmmm..... that bears considering....

Gramatica is 5-12 from 30+ this season, 3-6 from 30-39... and it's not just this year, he was 7-17 from 30+, 3-6 from 30-39 last year. Explain how that's an improvement over Lindell (6-12 30+, 3-3 30-39 last season; 6-9 30+, 5-6 30-39 this year). And gaining 3.2 yards per kickoff isn't a good enough answer. Hey, I don't trust Lindell either - but have you seen Gramatica kick lately? Gru didn't have a choice.

Tried to put it up right at the end of the game... right about when Scott, or whoever, was battening down the hatches. Never fear, it'll be there soon.

48 hours?!? Try, until the first Bills-Fish game NEXT YEAR. The Finfans at work are going to hate to see me tomorrow.... Bills hardhat and all....

Now how did I know this thread would draw you out, TH? We expect a full scouting report on Cleveland from you. The CBS affiliate in Altoona (the other half of my split-screen today) cut to Colts-Titans early in the second half, when they decided the Pats game was getting too ugly....

Yup, Greg - not only does that break the season record for the Bills, it also ties the CAREER team record held by Charley Warner.

Nothing in either the recap or the gamebook, and nothing from V-coach (which did give us the updates on Campbell and McGahee). I do believe MPrice went the rest of the way at RT, though, and LSmith had to come in for a play at LT when Jennings went out. (Result: sack.) 6PM news is about to come on here; maybe they'll have something.

I'm shocked. Shocked.

Twice - that's how many times they've punted. You must have missed my post from Friday night. The one where I mentioned Miami is #2 in the league covering punts, averaging 4.6 yds/return? Their gunners are beating our blockers cleanly.

FYI: With that TD, McGee set the season record and tied the Bills career record for kickoff return touchdowns. And the Teague penalty that brought back the long screen to WM was BS. To much of the old familiar "road" Bills so far. Time for a wakeup call to the pass D.

Much happiness to a special person. Terrence McGee just gave you a present.

The answer to your question? Never.

Some people will tell you it's all McGahee, that Drew and the O-line still stink. Others will say it's the line's improvement, and McGahee hasn't made as much of a difference as the first group suggests. You could even cite the wind at the Ralph, for the effect it had on the playcalling in the Miami and Arizona games (and to a lesser extent, the Jets game). And I won't even start in on the pro/anti-Drew factions, since they're starting to sound suspiciously like the DF/RJ flamebaiters of old.... Just going by instinct, I'll tell you what I told the guys in Lot 1 after the Arizona game - it's just a different team with #21 on the field. But looking at the numbers, I have to give the line some credit as well. I charted the game-by-game offensive stats, then added up the totals for the games started by each RB. Obviously, the sack stats are the first thing to jump off the page. Right behind them come the rushing stats -- yards-per-carry goes from 3.5 in games Travis started to 3.8 with Willis, not that big a difference. But the team is also averaging over 6 more carries a game with WM starting, so that adds right about 30 rushing yards to the total. The passing game is still seeing its share of third-and-longs, and third-down conversion percentage has improved only slightly, from 35.3% to 36.3%. The Bills converted a season-high 60% (9-15) of their third-down tries against Seattle; I was mildly surprised to see that the only other game they hit 50% in wasn't in any of WM's starts, but the Jacksonville game (7-14). And other than the two New England games, the Rams game was actually the next-worst (2-11, 18%) in that area - looking back through the play-by-play of that game, there were an awful lot of 3rd-and-10+ situations. The real key to the sacks-against improvement might just be something pointed out after last week's game (by Rubes, I think, or maybe Kelly). He complimented the Bills on finally - FINALLY! - figuring out how to successfully complete a screen pass. Now take that a little further... in games TH started, the completions broke down like this: WRs 56 catches, 65.9% of the total; TEs 9 (10.6); RBs 11 (12.9); FB 8 (9.4). Compare that to the games WM started: WRs 55 catches (60.4%); TEs 16 (17.6); RBs 15 (16.5); FB 5 (5.5). You can infer a couple of possibilities from that breakdown. Either the line has improved to the point that Tom Clements doesn't feel the need to keep the TEs/RBs in to block quite as often, or maybe they're just doing a better job of getting open when they *do* run routes. Now factor in Drew: is he reading his progressions better because the line is giving him more time to do so, or is he finally developing enough confidence in players not named Eric Moulds to look for the dump-off more often? After all that number-crunching... the answers to your questions might be "yes" to all of them, except for maybe the last one. The line isn't great, but it's getting better... and fewer OL penalties also means fewer 3rd-and-longs, something well worth pointing out. WM's blocking didn't impress me at the beginning of the season, but as he gets more playing time, he'll continue to improve. (And yes, he's already a better blocker than TH was.) Likewise, Daimon Shelton has really picked his game up since September. And as the TEs/RBs become a more reliable factor in the passing game, Bledsoe doesn't have to hang onto the ball hoping either Moulds or Evans can get open. But hey, that's just my opinion......

Factoid: Nate Clements returned an interception for a touchdown in each of the Bills' last two visits to Miami. Factoid #2: the Miami offense has given up a defensive touchdown in three straight games, and a total of seven this season (6 INT returns, 1 fumble return). Five of those early Christmas presents have come courtesy of this week's starter, A.J. Feeley. Given those trends, I won't guarantee Buffalo's D will score, but don't be shocked if it happens...... Miami O vs. Bills D: The numbers aren't pretty where the Fins' offense is concerned -- most of their stats rank 25th or lower in the league. Our old friend Sammy Morris is dinged again, so it looks like Travis Minor will get the start. Minor is coming off a 22 carries - 47 yards performance against the 49ers, part of a Miami ground game averaging a league-worst 3.3 ypc. Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, and Randy McMichael are decent receivers. Question is, can Feeley stay upright long enough to get the ball to them? No team in the AFC has given up more sacks than the Dolphins' 38... Bills O vs. Miami D: Don't be deceived by Miami's #1-ranked pass D. They're good, don't get me wrong, but quite a few teams were running the ball to protect a lead against them. (29th in rush D, giving up 136.6 yds/game and over 4 ypc.) The Miami front seven has been beset by injuries since the last time we saw them -- DT Tim Bowens and LB Junior Seau are now both on IR, and MLB Zach Thomas has been ruled out for this game. FS Antuan Edwards was released, so none of Miami's top three tacklers from the game in Buffalo will be on the field this Sunday. Both Jonas Jennings and Trey Teague missed that game, but Marcus Price kept DE Jason Taylor off the stat-sheet (with a little help from the TEs/RBs)... Special teams: Miami's coverage teams are decent (15th on KOs) to very good (#2 on punts); no return TDs either for or against. Buffalo's KO-coverage and punt-return teams still rank #1. Bottom line: I think we're finally starting to see the team that teased quite a few of us into predicting a playoff run this season. Given the upheaval in Habana Norte, if the Bills show up ready to take care of business, they should win this game without too much trouble....

Actually, a Bills season-ticket holder, or at least he used to be......

Ask ICE where that one came from.

Tell me. Sitting here leafing through my tickets right now. Only 11 more home games. Maybe two Ws in those 11. Maybe. If the program ever needed our support, it certainly needs it now. Doesn't make the games any easier to sit through, though... A hearty :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: to Wicks Jr. and Sr. and JvBK.

Thanks for that, Jokeman. The couple of sites I tried didn't list anything for him after Buffalo released him. Who knows - considering how bad that team looks, maybe he'll get a game or two on the active roster before the end of the year.

That's about the way I see it too, Tiger. #89, was that from the Booster Club meeting? I got stuck on 4-12s this week, so I couldn't make it. The newsletter said Brian Moorman might be there?

Yup. The original SR was great stuff, with Mitch Albom, Bob Ryan, Bill Lyon, and that pencil-necked geek Mikey Lupica in heavy rotation and Schapp keeping them in line. Some of the replacements they're bringing in - LeBastard, for one - drag the show down almost to the level of the "Around the Horn" shoutfest. JMO.

Great post. Don Coryell is another one to add to your list.

ESPN is going the same way MTV did. Remember when MusicTV -- yes, kids, that's what the "M" stands for -- actually played music? Too many people trying to be the "next Chris Berman" or "next Jim Rome" with their cutesy catchphrases and one-liners; just lose the stand-up act and give me the sports. Please? For the record - I like Boomer; he's an original. Hate Rome and anyone pretending to be him; Bob Costas's "idiotfest" comment (re:the current state of sports radio) is thanks in no small part to Rome's influence on the younger generation of sports-talkers. These days, I'll try to catch the NFL Live/NFL Matchup shows and anything Bob Ley does, but that's about it. Oh, and "Sports Reporters" - the guys with my Dream Job. Don't watch that as much as I used to, though. John Saunders is a solid host, but I miss Dick Schapp. A lot.

Yup. That's who they moved to make room for Jason Peters on the active roster.

No. Kemp-to-Bass was 94 yards.

Absolutely - "Christmas at Ground Zero" was the only reason I bought the Dr. Demento Christmas CD. A more serious answer: one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. (Technically, it's not even part of the "Christmas section" of the oratorio. I don't care. Still have the tenor part memorized, all these years after singing it in high school.) And on the rare occasions during December when the CD player doesn't contain one of my Handel CDs, I'm normally playing the disc from the Christmas concert Peter, Paul, and Mary did with the New York Chorus a few years back (the one that still shows up on PBS every year). Honorable mention: any really good tenor singing "O Holy Night". Pavarotti is great, but I've always been partial to Placido Domingo myself....