BuffaloWings

Yes, because Indy is the 3rd seed. The scenario you painted there puts Denver as the #5 and Buffalo as the #6. Denver wins the tiebreaker based on conference record. The only way Buffalo gets the #5 seed is if the Bills win, along with the Jets AND Broncos losing.

I just got off the phone with TW...they tell me the "lack of programming" is the reason they took it off the air. Basically, with no NHL, nobody was watching it. :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: Gary Bettman :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: Player's Union Get the damn thing straightened out.

Nice...I live in Clifton Park and just noticed it last night. No such letter came to my house, though. I called customer service and bitched to them, but there's not a thing they can do about it. Sadly, I bought the Sports Premier (or whatever it's called) package because I WANTED EMPIRE. Granted, only $1.95 a month for Empire, 3 Fox Sports networks, Fuel, Outdoor Life, and CSTV - not a bad deal. But still no Empire. If the NHL was playing this year, I'd be more pissed.

Agreed. He commands the respect because he has played and coached in this league for a long time. He also respects the players. Most of the guys are veterans who (basically) know what it takes, so Mularkey knows what to expect. This type of mutual respect usually prevents the crap that's happening in St. Louis. Any time I can have a boss who used to do my job and respects me enough to let me do it, I'll work for them 24 hours a day.

I believe it was Jason Taylor who once joked on Dan Patrick's radio show that he ended up going to Akron instead of Ohio St because he "actually wanted to go to class". All kidding (maybe) aside, Clarett's a whiny, spoiled brat. He's probably right about the stuff that's going on there, but that still doesn't vindicate him at all.

I agree...the play pretty much sucks and never works. Kinda like the direct-snap play to Moulds or Evans or McGahee. However, it makes the other team have to be ready for it. Part of the whole game plan - the defense KNOWS a trick play will be coming, but just not when. I'd like to see them do something they haven't done. Maybe a hook-and-lateral or something. Of course, I'd rather not see it unless they were ahead by a couple TDs...

This will sound like a cliche, but the Bills are a different team than they were on November 14th. That loss really turned this season around. The players have more confidence, the offensive line is better, the entire defense is better, the special teams are making plays, and the offense knows their limitations. Mularkey and Clements have reshaped the offensive game plan so that the line does a better job of protecting Bledsoe and opening holes for McGahee. This has made a world of difference. If the Bills were to actually get in the playoffs (we're not there yet, remember) and if they got past the wild card and if they were in a positon to play at New England, I'd feel much better about their chances. They probably wouldn't win, but they'd put up a damn good fight.

They're not playing Manning or Brees, they're playing Maddox. Let's cross the Manning/Brees bridge when we get to it. Beat Pittsburgh first...

That's right....dominated. That's exactly what a top-flight team should do - dominate and crush teams at the bottom of the league. They're not just doing it with one phase of the game. Special teams and defense have picked up the offense. The offense has picked up the defense. You name it - the Bills can do it with every facet of the game right now. I don't think any of us aren't acknowledging Pittsburgh's success this year. I agree - they're arguably the best team in the NFL right now and over the course of the year. This game should be a whopper, no matter how you look at it.

I can't say that I ever gave up, but when they were down 10-0 to the Rams a week after the egg-laying in Foxboro, it was pretty damn close. I don't remember thinking that they could still make the playoffs, but I looked at the schedule and saw the toughest game was @Seattle. All they had to do was survive that one.... I do remember thinking that the losses to Jacksonville & Oakland would definitely come back to bite them.

Probably, but did it occur to you that maybe the Bills *could* beat the Steelers at their best? I'm not saying that will happen, because we may not see the Steelers at full strength for the entire 60 minutes. Besides, put yourself in Cowher's shoes. Would you want to risk a season-ending injury to Roethlisberger right now? Or Ward? Or Bettis? Or Porter? I don't care what he says in the press conference, if I were him, I'd be sitting those guys for the second half.

Yeah, but that was a revenge game. The Bills were done and Belichick's ego was still smarting from the 31-0 shellacking that he got from Drew & Co. in week 1. He had to be licking his chops on that one. Belichick can say what he wants, but he clearly wanted to take it to them for showing him up on opening day. I mean, really....28-0 halfway through the 4th and they give up on a 3rd down play just to kick a FG and make it 31-0. Then putting his starters back in to stop the Bills from scoring from the 1-yard line? If that wasn't showing someone up, I don't know what is.

Hell...I have no idea about the Jets-Rams. Neither team has impressed me. The Rams are just in disarray and the Jets have no confidence right now. I'd say the Rams should win, since the Jets are a .500 team since week 5. They barely beat Cleveland and Arizona (granted, they were on the road with Quincy Carter), their starting QB is struggling badly - not to mention has a world of pressure on him after he opened his mouth, and the only real quality teams they've beaten are Seattle and Buffalo (before the Bills were what they are now). I'd also say the Jets should win, since the Rams don't respect their coach, they got waxed by the Cardinals 2 weeks ago, and they can't beat an AFC team to save their life - turns out they'll have to on Sunday. If anything, the Rams are probably a better team with Bulger in there and all they have to do is put a semblance of pressure on Chad Pennington. They are playing in the dome, so that's another advantage. But still....we don't know what team will show up.

It is....primarily Giants, but for AFC games, the Jets are priority. In general, Albany is a NYC market, so we get all the NY/NJ teams first.

This is typical...Jets AND Bills have big games to play, but the New Jersey teams have first billing around here. Thus, we get the Jets-Rams on the local CBS TV instead of the Steelers-Bills. However, about 3 or 4 times in the past week, I've gotten a lot of comments about my Bills jacket - all have been similar to "I hope they make the playoffs!!". This seems different from any other run to the playoffs that I've seen. It's far different from when the Kelly-Reed-Thomas-Smith teams were making the Superbowl. I don't remember as many fans in the Albany area (not to mention around the country) being so excited about the Bills.

Boomer reminds of the outcast kid who wants to be part of the "in" crowd, yet makes silly comments that make no sense. He was a decent QB and probably has good football knowledge, but he comes off the wrong way. I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did on ABC.

Martz is a classic case of "Good coordinator, bad head coach." The only reason they went to Superbowl XXXVI was that they were still playing Vermeil's system and Kurt Warner was still a good QB. Martz is making questionable play calls on the field and when his team loses, he makes excuses and blames everyone else. His players are not motivated at all. This should be an 11-4 team right now, but they weren't prepared to play games that didn't seem that important to them. They *should* have walked out of Arizona, Buffalo, and Miami with wins. They underestimated Arizona and Miami. They had the Bills down and the count was almost to 10, but they let them back in the game (thankfully). I hate to think of firing anyone, but Martz's days are numbered. I doubt he can even save his job by making the playoffs.

I'd have to agree, also. He's playing - even though it's on a bad team - whereas he'd be sitting on the bench in San Diego. I love Peyton and I still think Eli will be an excellent QB, but I lost a lot of respect for Archie when he pulled that crap.

He'll be back. I think Bruce knows what he had in Buffalo, so he won't leave without acknowledging that.

I'd rather lose to Pittsburgh's starters, if that were the case. At least we could say that the Bills gave it every chance they could, but just fell short. Given the 0-4 start, it would be amazing if they just squeaked in. Thus, I wouldn't be too upset. That would hurt even more. One could say (and many have) that the Bills were the most dominant team of the early 90s, yet they still never won the big one. I want the trophy. Ralph Wilson deserves it just as much - if not more - than any of the original AFL owners still around right now.

Don't forget Stephen Jackson. He's a younger version of Faulk and can run OVER defenders.

For what it's worth, he said on the post-game show yesterday that it would be a shame and a huge disappointment if they didn't make it. I agree with him, though. It's a 16-game schedule.

Hell, if Cincy could get a Monday night game at home this year with an 8-8 record in 2003, I would think the Bills would be in line for a Monday night game somewhere next season. But I agree...it'll probably be in New England or in the Jersey swamp.

He's kidding, right? He obviously hasn't seen Buffalo play FOR THE PAST 6 WEEKS.

For simplicity's sake, let's presume the Bills give up their average next week (264). Any less will make it easier to obtain. I'm also assuming that the final average for Washington and Pittsburgh would be 265.0 per game - just for nice, round numbers. The Bills would need to rack up 373 yards of offense to overtake Pittsburgh's D. Minnesota would need to get 279 yards on Washington. At first, it looked like it would take a Colt-type effort from Buffalo to do this. However, both are possible. If I had to bet, I wouldn't bet that the offense can pile up over 370 yards of offense on the current #1 defense. You never know.....