Lori

September 2008 schedule, with opponents' final records: Seattle (4-12) Jacksonville (5-11) Oakland (5-11) St. Louis (2-14) What do three of the four have in common? A new head coach in 2009. (Del Rio is the only holdover.) And what do all four share? A 4-3 defense. Now, if you'd like to tell me that New England will lose at least 10 games this season and have a new coach in 2010 ... actually, please do. I like the sounds of that. A LOT. (As to your later post -- yes, the offense changes with 81 on the field. Can't wait to see that actually happen somewhere other than Pittsford, or five minutes in Canton.)

[ogre] NERRRRRRRRDS!!!!! [/ogre]

Ken, Few posts could be more about football -- and appropriate for this board -- than one celebrating Bob Carroll's life and mourning his loss.

Ugh. Sorry to hear. FWIW, via SJ.com -- after a freelancer lost a crapload of work thanks to a pressbox accident (kid somehow managed to drop a window, knocking the guy's laptop onto the floor), the best advice I read? Get a few flash drives and ALWAYS save the stuff you're working on before you pack up. The guy who suggested it carries one on his keychain, a couple in his laptop bag, etc. -- plenty big enough for a few Word files and .pdfs. I also have an external HD ... which, now that you mention it, hasn't been put into service lately. Time to take my own advice...

Correct. The Rogers Centre's listed capacity, per the 2008 media guide, is 54,000 including suites. 2008 home-game attendance: SEA 71,194 OAK 71,297 SD 71,602 NYJ 71,827 CLE 71,645 SF 70,988 MIA 52,134 NE 71,282 Ralph Wilson Stadium total/average: 499,835/71,405.

No breaks, per Paul Hamilton: http://www.wgr550.com/Jackson-has-no-breaks/5086057 Supposedly a chance he'll play Saturday, but I'm going to guess that they hold him out...

If it's Tony Moss, it's Sports Network. The P-I whacked most of its writers when it went Web-only a few months ago.

I agree, but the voters haven't seen it that way with Carter, and I'm guessing the same thing will happen with Brown.

Two numbers: Monk had already been waiting for five years when Reed first became eligible in 2006. And here's the other one. Super Bowl rings: Monk 3, Irvin 3, Reed 0. While we're at it, you might be interested in a few of my previous postings on Reed's HOF candidacy: http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/index.php?...t&p=1048883 http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/index.php?...st&p=901399 http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/index.php?...st&p=339112 I'm telling you what the VOTERS -- you know, the ones who made Carter a finalist last year ahead of Reed -- are going to do, not what I think they should do.

The D actually held its own against teh Cassel version of the Pats last year. In two games, the offense combined for a grand total of ten points, with the lone TD on a one-play, 14-yard drive with the score 20-3 NE and less than 2:00 left in the game. Okay, now I'M sick.

Numbers? Reed is the only WR on that list without 1,000 catches or 100 TDs. Those are the numbers that will matter to the voters.

With Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, and Cris Carter all on the ballot this time, Reed will be lucky to make it past the semifinalist round.

They can't simulate Brady-to-Moss any more than they can simulate Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs, because those players aren't on the Bills' roster. However, they CAN set up a scout-team D to give Edwards a full-speed look at what happens when 3-4 LBs drop into coverage. So far during training camp, they have apparently chosen not to, instead doing the entirety of their work against that formation during walkthroughs ... with Chuck freaking Lester lined up at safety. And if the Bills D had been blown out more often than their O, they probably wouldn't have ended up ranked 14th in both points and yardage allowed last season. Not great, but certainly nowhere near the offense's ... offensiveness. Just sayin'.

Although I'd argue that his contributions to the game as a coordinator should have an impact on his candidacy, I believe the Seniors Committee judged only his playing career.

http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement...enior-nominees/ Yes. LONG overdue.

You didn't buy Jauron's explanation that he, not Schonert, called that fateful Losman rollout against the Jets, did you? Me neither. Eh. We'll see what they look like once Owens gets back into the lineup, and I agree with the original poster that the line will still be very much a work in progress for the first part of the season. Also, I have been advised that while the Bills did not practice against a live 3-4 in camp, they do get some looks vs. it during walk-though periods. Not the same, but (slightly) better than nothing, I suppose.

Wilson did say he was unhappy with some of the playcalling, but I don't know that it ever rose to the level of "fire Schonert." Indeed, as you noted, defying Ralph on an assistant-coaching change didn't work out so well for Wade Phillips. Here's what Tim wrote last December: Bills plod Jauron and on and on and ...

Bills no-huddle attack also producing no TDs Yikes. Some ugly statistics in that story, Mr. Wawrow -- although, as you noted, "having Owens on the field would help." This quote bugged me a little, though: "Added receiver Josh Reed: 'That's not the Buffalo Bills. That's not what we want to be known as.'" That's not the Bills? The offense that improved to 25th in yardage and 23rd in scoring last season, from 30th in both categories the year before? And on that third-and-goal handoff vs. Chicago to set up the FG, I could have sworn that it looked EXACTLY like the Bills I've been watching the last few seasons ...

Um. I'd call that an "oops," then? Edit: Incorrect according to this story, though: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/2009...m_drinking.html Dungy reference on ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4419868 Not finding anything on SI.com yet, though.

Solid recap. What are you, a professional writer or something?

That will change starting next Saturday evening.

Uh -- just FWIW, "that man" made the Pro Bowl in 1974. I'm not thrilled that they brought him back, but I can't say I agree with the "scrawny, pathetic" line.

The original poster said following the GB game, "Our man, #71 Etukeren had 2 solo tackles/1 assist...he was only in for a few plays at end of the game...not bad!" I disagree. Strongly. Apparently, so did the Bills, since they hurriedly put Ellis back in the game on that drive.

Yeah, but they've had their Cieslaks et al. (Didn't they cut a draft pick, Tim Euhus, in favor of a UDFA? That was before Cieslak, though.) Edit: I sit corrected. Traded Euhus in June 2006, and Cieslak was on the roster that fall.

Would've been a nice tackle by a lot of other DEs, with no need for Harris to finish him off.