RuntheDamnBall

I wasn't indicating there was a conspiracy. I simply think there was pass interference. The DB behind Reed pushed into him before the pass arrived, from my POV. I watched the play a few times and that's the way it looked. The DB in front of Reed, I'll agree he was strictly playing the ball. I've seen less deserving plays flagged, all I'm saying.

Your football posts are pretty much spot-on, SDS. I'd like to add though that Polian had the benefit of putting this team together before the explosion of free agency in '92. Let's not forget that. Yes, there was quality, but there was also the hope that most of it would be more easily retained.

I'm not saying we would have won if they'd called the play right, but it was pretty obvious there were some blown calls. We can not have that subject come up when a game is called right.

The refs weren't helping us out none yesterday, either. Reed was definitely pushed into not making that play. But that's not interference or anything...

This is going to be a rant. 25 minutes into this game all I could do was laugh, the Bills were so bad. I'm not going to jump off a bridge or anything, but I sure hope they can give me more for my money next week. I'm taking Dad to the game so it would be nice to get one for him. About this game - JP: I continue to like this kid. He was one of few to play with heart today. I hope we don't get him killed, and that this time next year, he looks like Eli Manning does now. Hopefully the front office and coaches have the good sense to put him in that position. The O-Line: just dreadful today. They didn't even give JP a fighting chance. The Defense: They were talking best of all time at the beginning of this season. I would settle for fifteenth best in the league, this season at this point. Jeff Posey was undisciplined and cost them. The secondary looked ridiculously weak -- McGee was hurt and gets a pass. The rest of these all-Pros and best in the NFL don't (TV, Milloy, Clements: I'm looking in your direction). I saw the defensive line just give the f--- up on a couple occasions. They were strolling their way to the backfield while Brees just lit them up. They overpursued on countless screens, they never pressured the receivers, who got constant separation. That we got killed by guys named Parker and McCardell and Turner, while Gates and Tomlinson had relatively quiet days, is telling. Takeo Spikes' absence is a problem, but a "performance" like today's is an unmitigated disaster. It reminded me of the way NE would decimate the Bills D in Foxboro over the past couple of years. Screens, high-percentage plays, and gaining yards on every play. Play-calling: Mularkey and co. seem to get a pass from a lot of folks around here, citing stats of how he really is calling enough running plays, etc. etc. What the stats don't tell you is how he actually calls a game, when he calls what play. From here it looks like he just totally doesn't know how to go with what works, and get his offense into a rhythm. For as much as he accused our young quarterback of "pressing" early on, it felt like he was pressing with his playcalling when down 14-3 early in the game. It shouldn't really be time to abandon (or never even start to use) the run at that point. You go with what works. It felt like they were looking for a quick strike to even the score instead of playing the kind of football that has been winning them games, by successfully running the ball or at the very least establishing some commitment to the run. To be fair, Mularkey can't be faulted for a botched handoff or a day in which it just seems nothing can go right. But as the leader of the team, he has failed at most turns, especially on the road, to establish an identity for this team. In general, it just seems like these guys can't prove it on the field. Posey can't respond to a cheap block by just going out and destroying the guy on the next play, instead of pushing him from behind and attracting a 15-yard penalty. Willis can't just go out and prove it by rising to the challenge of playing a three-time Pro Bowler. He's got to run his mouth. The defense can't just go out and stop the opposition, they've got to talk about how they might be the best ever. I'm sorry for anyone who apologizes for these guys for "wanting to be the best." I wish they'd just go out and show how good they can be. I've seen scant evidence thus far. Really. I hate the guy, but how many times have you heard Tom Brady talk about how awesome he is? How often do the Colts' playmakers get in the media for yammering on about their greatness? The former has hardware. The latter have 10 wins, no losses. Results like those tend to speak for themselves. Good night, and good luck. We need it.

The links are up on buffalobills.com but they don't seem to be active yet. I haven't gotten any audio when I click on them yet.

Surprised no one has mentioned shifting TV back and getting Rashad Baker on the field. That kid is probably the most solid at this point out of the four young backups in the defensive backfield.

Not sure if you like Dylan, BiB, but Emmylou sounds awesome on the Rolling Thunder Revue 2CD that came out a couple years ago. She's also great on those Gram Parsons cuts.

or cheatin', or whiskey, or shootin'.

Thanks, Lori (and KRC!).

Hot damn, nice pick! That's a great record. And "Needle in the Camel's Eye" still rocks more than just about anything out there today.

I know, laws shouldn't have been in my statement there. PETA has been fairly effective (I'm not making a judgement call saying they're right / wrong in what they've done) in pursuing lawsuits and to some extent laws that are in line with their mission. I'd argue they are not an electoral force. I'd agree to all three of these and am sorry if I used any overwhelming generalizations, I'm sure you're aware I despise them. I think it's clear that every person who thinks of him/herself as a strong Christian is not a political extremist -- I didn't say they were. I grew up in a strong Christian home that was pro-union and strongly Democrat, I'm aware there are subtleties and complexities and I generally try to acknowledge that. But I think my argument is valid; a good number of people who voted for Bush did so for what they viewed as moral reasons. There were massive voter registration and mobilization drives that were church-oriented, and Rove made this a central part of Bush's re-election strategy. It worked, that's evidence enough. On the left, you have a lot of issue wedge groups that may or may not overlap (PETA, Sierra Club, etc) and I think perhaps environmentalist groups would be the strongest parallel to the organization we'd see on the Christian right. But the thing is, you can't just say the "700 Club" and cite it as the one leading example of an organization that finds its grounding in the right-wing Christian ethos. There are also Focus on the Family, Moral Majority, Christian Coalition etc. etc. PETA cites membership of 850,000 worldwide. That's not necessarily just America. CBN claims to reach 2 billion people, and that's one network from just one of these organizatinos. Not even close, Tom. PETA doesn't reach billions worldwide via television, it hasn't started up its own universities, and no other organization on the left has mobilized anything that compares to what the religious right has. It's a fact that there is a lot of money and muscle behind this movement, and I really do think they have a lot more pull with the government and with the electorate than the myriad wedge groups on the left that are less holistic and big-picture with regard to their goals.

The "extremist left" couldn't get a damn thing done in this country. It's too small. Maybe in Oregon or California, but I'd say the laws they enact are in line with the social values of a lot of people there. I don't think they should legislate them, but nor do I feel that the right should legislate its moralist positions. I suppose you're talking about the smoking ban, but I just can't see barbecues at tailgates being banned, and I'd love to see some evidence of even a proposition for a ban. BTW: smoking ban, signed into state law by that noted leftist George Pataki. "Many" does not equal a representative figure or percentage. I think the views are more complex on this one. There are plenty of Catholics who are against both the death penalty and abortion. And I don't think it's inconsistent that you can be pro-abortion rights (note, I said "rights," not pro-abortions) and have a child. This is all beyond the point, though. Aside from the smoking ban, which was passed by a city board that I think could hardly be described as leftist, and some ridiculous laws in CA and OR, like the handgun ban, where are leftists controlling the agenda? If they are, it certainly hasn't worked. Perhaps it's just the way I see it, but it appears there is a lot more muscle and power involved in the struggle to get ID, and prayer, in schools, the ten commandments in courtrooms. Maybe it's because religion appeals to the emotions of a lot more people. Maybe the media has just been covering it a lot more, I can't say. But when some whacko bombs a McDonalds, people call him a whacko. When Pat Robertson says hellfire is going to rain on a Pennsylvania town, he gets to appear on CNN. He clearly has more influence and his position, even if widely viewed as nuts, is heard in the public sphere. I am far from advocating that PETA should get a voice in the media, I am just making the case that the far right so-called Christian agenda is very much woven into current American politics, while the fringe left is just that: on the fringe. I'd argue the Republicans wouldn't win elections without the religious right. No way. Not in this day and age. Why else would Bush kowtow to them so often? As for the "original 9 ninnies," I have my own problems with the Democrats and their complete inability to field a reasonable and good candidate. But I'd hardly call them all extremists, and you'd note that the ones who are were considered fringe candidates, like Kucinich and Sharpton. Kerry wasn't an extremist. Hell, he wasn't sure what the hell he was. Edwards was a Southern Democrat, probably the best kind of candidate they could put up, but the trial lawyer thing and his inexperience hurt him. Dean is actually, if you look at his positions, a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. Don't confuse his being mentally unhinged with his positions (which appealed to a lot of people, both Republican and Democrat). Bob Graham, super centrist, not much of a candidate. Wes Clark, entered too late, not unreasonable. Lieberman, giant weenie, about as Republican as one can get for a Democrat. CM Braun, did next to nothing, poor candidate. If these candidates were extreme in any respect, it was that they were on the whole extremely unmotivating and unorganized. Fun to argue, though

Anyone who's into Leo Kottke should check out John Fahey. He pretty much jump-started Kottke's career and was a giant influence on him, too. Aside from dozens of folk artists who have been influenced by him, Jim O'Rourke, Sonic Youth, Wilco and Jack Rose count him as a forbear. Jimmy Page couldn't have happened without him. In addition, he was a collector and digger for a lot of amazing roots music -- he was instrumental in the rediscovery of artists like Charley Patton and Bukka White, and he helped unearth tons of early folk/blues/bluegrass recordings from as early as the late 1890s (released on the "American Primitive" series). One of my favorite guitarists and artists, ever -- seriously underrated, probably because he looked like Lurch and was a little eccentric. But man, could that guy play.

You guys can call me when PETA is changing our elections or laws. Sure, they're nuts, but as a percentage of the electorate, or of the left even, how many are members of PETA vs. how many on the right who ascribe to a fundamentalist Christianity?

Campy, this post should be pinned. You hit the nail on the head. Thank you.

Joe, has the "bigotry of the left" that you speak of affected the social order? Are white people being sent to the back of the bus? More likely to be in prison? Are Christians not being allowed to celebrate Christmas? Is the government going into Christian homes to interrogate people? Are men earning 75% of what women make? I'm sorry, I can't really take the incessant whining of the right on this subject. It's like bitching about how a guy has a king in his hand when you hold all four aces. Call out bigotry and racism in all respects, and I think we'll get to agreeing. We all need to clean the hypocrisy out of our houses.

Bad break for this kid, I was hoping we'd see him this year, but as we expected, this injury is probably too much to let him on the field too soon. Hopefully next year he breaks out and steals Neufeld's spot. I'd like to see that guy gone, and a big dude who can be a ball-catching threat in his place.

Apparently grammar's reign of terror has also come to a close.

Not sure what you're getting at there. Brady is 3 plays away from being on the losing end of 3 Super Bowls and being the next Jim Kelly instead of the next Joe Montana. It didn't happen that way, so speculation about how it could have happened is worthless. Losman also connected on a big pass to Reed to set up that first score (on 2nd and 19!), and he also threw a smart shot to Campbell that got us out of a jam deep in our zone. Those are the kinds of plays that are going to make this offense believe in itself and in its new QB, to say nothing of the two big TD tosses that allowed Evans to showcase his ability and effort. True, KC's pass D is not stellar, but that's all the more reason to go after them with the pass -- and it succeeded.

Weren't they exempted because the Bucs were wearing their whites at home?

JP was still seeing the rush. But he was able to avoid it a little better, you have to admit.

The kid looked pretty poised today, and his accuracy was a lot better. I can't wait to see what he does with a dominating Willis. Nice to see him connecting with Evans, too. I think he needed this kind of win (off the bench, coming to the rescue). We needed it, too. I am so much more excited now that I'll (hopefully) be seeing JP play against Carolina instead of Holcomb. No offense to the latter, but he doesn't get me excited about anything. Today showed me that the future of the Bills could be really exciting (the young guys did pretty well on D too, btw).

I'd like to call bull sh-- on that one. Looking at the quality of the defenses Losman has faced vs. Holcomb, I would bet you that Holcomb would not have fared better in those games, save for possibly against NO, where Losman got rattled on the road -- you can expect this early on from a rookie. The defenses in the three losses were harrassing our O-line all day, playcalling was inept and inconsistent, and we weren't running the ball successfully in 2 of those 3 games. At the same time, Holcomb got a couple gimmes at home (and Holcomb has yet to prove he can win on the road) against reeling the reeling Jets and Felons. Maybe VERY roughly the same level of opponents, but nowhere near the same situations.

So he looked like a Clydesdale instead of a white mare?