BuffOrange

If you'll recall, Pierson Prileau(sp?) and Tavares Tillman looked decent in their first couple of starts at safety. Can we please hold off on the Rashad Baker lovefest after 2 games? He's the same guy who was burned on 3rd & 27 in Oakland.

Well like last year, we only beat the sorry Jets once, so maybe he is right.

I actually kind of think the SB kicks are slightly overrated just because both games were tied so there wasn't THAT much pressure. Not many kickers get that kind of opportunity once, much less twice, and given the chance there are some others who would probably be successful. But the kick to force OT vs. Oakland was something else, and given Vanderjet's consistent choking in the few clutch situations he has had, you have to say Vinateri is the better of the two. Glad you agree w/ me on Manning though - the Bills would be so damn good w/ him.

Years ago Vinatieri used to not be automatic (he missed many kicks vs. the Bills in the late 90's) but he is without question a stronger clutch performer. Not only did Vanderjagt choke vs. NE this year, he also missed a game-winner in OT vs. Miami in the 2000 playoffs. If I recall he also missed a couple early in the Jets playoff loss (not that it would've made a difference). Throw in the fact that he plays more than half his reg. season games in a dome and it's really not much of a contest.

10 years may be a bit extreme, but I feel the same way about the jury still being out. It was no secret that Spikes, Milloy & Adams (I'm still not a big Fletcher fan) were good players. I do give him credit for being a good recruiter and getting those guys to come to Buffalo. The 2002 draft was horrible, compounded by the fact that they actually traded up for Ryan Denney. The 2001 draft was good but not great. Schobel comes up small in big games (most notably vs. NE) every time; and giving him a big extension could be disastrous. Henry by TD-apologists own admission is not a franchise back. I don't like some of the personnel decisions he made when he got here - cleaning house with some solid defensive players that weren't making a whole lot of money - which contributed to a horrible defense in '01 and '02. However, I do somewhat agree that ultimately winning the SB is all that matters and records be damned. He's made 2 coaching hires - 1 of which was horrible, the other yet to be determined. Bottom Line = he has made 3 bold, controversial, franchise-defining moves so far. The Bledsoe trade which bombed, the McGahee pick which looks like it's going to work out nice, and the Losman trade. So far he's 1-for-2 and ultimately the play of JP Losman will be the tiebreaker and determine his success/failure as a GM.

1) Peyton Manning 2) Johnathon Ogden 3) Ed Reed 4) Antonio Gates 5) Kevin Mawae Anyone who wouldn't take Manning #1 is either insane, or just going out of their way to be different.

My 9-7 prediction will be closer. I had originally considered 11-5, but then I remembered to subtract two wins for the token "come out flat against an inferior team at home" game, and the token annual "get jobbed by the refs" game. That fact that those 2 games occurred in the first 2 weeks of the season is something I didn't see coming.

I think the above posted numbers were pretty decent for a #2 WR considering Kelly was washed up in 96 and Todd Collins was prominently involved in 97.

What are you guys talking about - I thought he was very solid for a #2 WR. He had quite a game vs. Jacksonville in the playoffs, but the defense blew it.

Unfortunately, the Patriots don't play the Patriots twice this year, nor do the Bills play the Bills, although Drew has tried at times this year.

In my best John McEnroe voice, "you can't be serious". Preseason?

Well that's a problem b/c they're probably going to have to win in Minnesota to win the division. That first game was in GB. I do think the Packers have the best chance to upset Philly though.

We shall see - they needed a bogus call to beat the Moss-less Vikings at home, so I still like Minnesota to win that division.

??? They haven't played the Colts or Seahawks. They lost to the Jets in September before Brees caught fire, the Falcons on the road by 1 point, and the Broncos on the road - who they will likely beat this week. And that's all been without a 100% Tomlinson. Not saying they go to the SB, but I do think they'd be the 2nd best team in the NFC.

Interesting....I don't know what the spread is. My guess would be the Bills by 2 or 3? Another incredible trend over the last 10 or so years has been the Bills lackluster performances (failing to cover) the week after Miami games; although I don't see us losing to Cleveland at home.

That is ridiculous. Oakland sucks. Not to mention, Denver is better than the Bills and this game is on the road.

Seems like a good spot for the first overtime game. Bills win, 16-13

I watched their first game against the Browns and I thought he won that game. His numbers may have tailed off lately, but the kid can play. There's nothing wrong with zero turnovers and a win minus his favorite WR against the top-ranked defense in the league.

Ever get into one of those topics with somebody where you bring something up and one of you says: "it's a no-brainer" and the other person says "I agree". But then upon further discussion, you're shocked to realize that you actually disagree with each other? That's what happened w/ my roomate and I when this came up last year. I say Favre. I'm not saying Ripken's streak wasn't impressive, but almost all of us can relate to picking up a ground ball. I don't think any of us can relate to the physical pain and wear & tear of the NFL, being hit by 300+ LB giants week in and week out. That may sound a bit simplistic, but basically it boils down to 1 football game doing more damage to your body than 13 baseball games. If the baseball player was a catcher maybe it would be a different story.

Agreed - looks like a good spot for an upset. The Bus won't be able to run wild on Jax, so Big Ben will need to step up his play. The only thing that would worry me is if everyone else jumps on it later this week and it becomes a fashionable upset pick.

You're half-right, but you're also using extreme examples to make your point. The Ravens had one of the best defenses in league history. The Colts have a bad defense, and Manning still has a lot of years left - he will win a SB before he's done. The Bills have a good defense, great Special Teams, good RB, pretty good WR's, and they're 5-6. What's left to blame? The OL certainly isn't good and we all agree it's a priority in the offseason but it's not THAT bad. Yesterday was the first time we scored a 1st half TD on the road in how long? It's gotten to the point where the 1st Jets game was considered a decent offensive peroformance on the road even though we were shut out for 3 Qtr's. The QB was a major problem in the Raiders, Ravens, and Patriots games, and to think otherwise is just kidding yourself.

Agreed Don't think we need to make a big FA splash at CB. McGee can be an adequate starter IF we get a good pass-rusher, which is the #1 defensive need you left out. I agree an upgrade at FS is needed, unless this Baker kid plays lights out these last 5 games. Agreed Nah, that "if X gets hurt" scenerio holds true for any team. My list in order of importance would be: OL DE TE FS Filling all 4 of those holes may be a bit much in one offseason, but upgrade 2 or 3 of them and we could be looking at an 11-win team next year.

Pittsburgh I think is winable, but it's going to be difficult to sweep the road games vs. Miami & Cincy - both of those games are toss-ups and I feel we will find a way to lose one of them. I don't see how you can think this next game on the road is a cakewalk after we beat the same team via a defensive TD in Buffalo. Which standings is everybody looking at anyway? 10-6 isn't going to be good enough with our unfavorable tiebreakers.

Sorry for the shameless plug, cha ching. I'm liking GB tommorow night too.

Agreed - complaining about the Thanksgiving games to me is like complaining about the sudden death rule of overtime. It is what it is and there are plenty of other things the league should fix before that.