Lori

No significantly different thoughts on QB from yesterday. Still has confidence in TE. It hasn't gone the way we've liked, but we'll just keep going and try to get this thing righted.

For those who can't watch: "Not optimistic" about Demetrius Bell's knee injury. Levitre didn't look bad in relief, so that's an option. Hope that Jonathan Scott returns to us as quickly as he can. Expect to bring in/look at some available guys -- even with everyone back, just 7 on the active roster "if the worst is true about DBell."

Regular Monday press conference scheduled for 12:30pm, so probably not.

Adams has apparently had second thoughts. Statement from the Titans:

Heh, heh. Some solid answers already, I see. Re: the declined penalty, from Mark Gaughan: Six for his last seven from 50+, Coach. TitansOnline postgame quote sheet (And I'd like to add, kudos to the Titans for making both teams' postgame transcripts available not just to the media, but also on their public Web site. Nice touch.)

A coach who majored in communications, and who used to "call" games imitating Curt Gowdy when he was a kid ... We all knew Parcells would go back. Gru, I'm not so sure.

Yesterday, before the switch to Fitz and Jauron's noncommittal response to Edwards continuing as the starter, Sully was thinking about writing his column on how low the standards have become -- both for the QB and the offense as a whole. Perhaps he fell victim to that line of thinking himself, when he called the bombs "accurate." As in, "close enough to make a play on." No 300-yard games since Losman v. Houston in November 2006. 29th in passing yards this season, 26th in yards per play, and they haven't crept above 18th in either of those stats since 2002. 2002. 14 receiving TDs last season, 12 the year before that -- in fact, the Bills haven't tossed 20 TD passes in a season since Drew Bledsoe's final year here. Given that recent history of ineptitude, we celebrate completions. (revised)

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id...s-deal-with-mnf Per Pat Yasinskas: "Working with Mike (Tirico), Jaws (Ron Jaworski) and our entire Monday Night Football team is the most fun I have had in years, and I am fired up to make this long-term commitment to ESPN," said Gruden. “Monday Night Football is special and I look forward to remaining a part of it and continuing to call these great games.” So much for that particular Plan B. Dammit, I liked the thought of Chucky on the Bills sideline, too.

Time to revisit. My original link no longer works, but thanks to Google Cache, the story is still available: http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:JjhKsL...ory/789022.html "Yes, by all means get your popcorn ready. The paper bag will come in handy."

The injury report is now "insider insight"? Ummm, OK. Just pointing out a possible reason they might have held him out, one which hadn't been mentioned yet. As to the wisdom of dressing him instead of another offensive lineman, guess what? With Jonathan Scott off to parts unknown, there WEREN'T any. Every other o-lineman on the active roster suited up for the game, including Meredith, who they also knew was too injured to play. And just like trading Peters, not drafting a replacement because they thought Walker would be able to move to LT until Bell was ready, not bringing in a veteran when Butler went down, and every other o-line move that has blown up in their faces since last spring, that all goes back to the same place -- a conscious decision by the Bills braintrust. You can decide for yourselves if that last word was meant to be sarcastic.

Bob DiCesare suggested that it might be time to request his transcripts.

No, I figured they'd find a way to convert ... but I also knew Bironas could make that kick.

Ask and you shall receive. He was 8-for-13 from 50+ coming into today's game, but hadn't tried one yet this year. 50+ stats from the '09 media guide: 2005: 2-5 (52, 58n, 53, 50n, 51n) 2006: 1-2 (51n, 60) 2007: 4-5 (52, 53, 56, 53n, 54) 2008: 1-1 (51) To sum: 6 for his last 7 from 50+, not counting the 60-yard prayer at the end of today's first half.

FCS (former I-AA) playoff begins Nov. 28, with championship game on Dec. 18. But of course, any FBS playoffs would run afoul of the big money behind the conference championshp games and the bowl system, so we can't have that.

For the record, while Whitner was active, he never participated in a full practice this week due to the ankle injury. Carry on ...

This. Not so sure that call was much different than the punt vs. New Orleans, at least in the impact it had on the team -- both times, Jauron flipped the lightswitch to "OFF." Also, FWIW -- coming into today's game, Bironas was 8-13 from 50+ in his career, and a couple of the misses were end-of-the-half prayers like the one today.

Harris poll is a mix of former coaches, players, and administrators along with some current and former media (who seem to be soundly outnumbered on last year's list): http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/news...ept_17_2008.pdf Just sayin' -- if you want to B word about the BCS numbers, don't blame the "sports writers." Thanks.

Don't think they were No. 9 in the AP poll after last week, and they're now down to 22nd. In fact, the BCS rankings (where they were ninth) don't include the AP votes.

From Bills Live, the BuffNews chat:

Today's starting lineup, per Sal M.: Byrd/Wilson at S, B. Scott at LB. Unfortunately, the B doesn't stand for Bart.

From Sal M: Whitner active, but NOT starting. Wilson/Byrd are the safeties again.

WR: Evans, Owens, Reed, Johnson, Jenkins. Bills haven't been using much four-wide anyway. Also, don't forget that Shawn Nelson should be back, giving them the ability to run more two-TE sets and use him in the passing game. Assuming they have one.

Add a few temporary blips after a particularly egregious loss has people screaming to cut/fire everyone RIGHT NOW!!!!, and I think you've pretty much nailed it. "Groundhog Day" for masochists. Sigh ... Don't know if you saw it, 'bot, but Graham has joined the "shoulda drafted Oher" legion.

Guilty as charged. Of course, at that point, they still had two alleged NFL-quality offensive tackles on the roster.

Congrats, Ken! I look forward to reading it.