nodnarb

I'm not going to be able to watch anything fooball-related for a long time, cuz the steelers are going to get the Big Year-round Bukake. I'll say this though: The Hawks' special teams were pathetic today. That punter had 5 opportunities to flip the field and he put them all deep into the endzone for minimal net gains. RIDICULOUS. But not as ridiculous as the officiating. Officiating can ruin this game, and I think it *is*.

EVERY SINGLE BAD CALL HAS FAVORED THE FUGGIN STEELERS and i can't stand it. there is such an obvious bias. if a steeler had been brought down by that horse collar tackle, you know they'd throw a flag. That bogus hold that brought back that first and goal CHANGED THE GAME; a judgment call changed the game. It's not supposed to happen like that.

haven't read any posts in this thread yet so i'm sorry if this is redundant... the refs and the nfl seem to want pittsburgh to win. that PI call was the most BS rinkydink penalty i've seen in a long time. and THAT WAS NO TOUCHDOWN. That being said, what the hell is hasselbeck doing taking 18 seconds off the clock when he only had 30?...only to call a timeout...? WTF was that? I really wanna see the hawks win here cuz they don't have a lombardi, they're the underdogs, i hate the steelers and the roethlishype, and seattle fans have been supremely patient. but this has been a dreadfully dull game and frustrating to watch with all these questionable calls. HAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT the NFL promos are all about steelers players holding a lombardi and talking about what it's like to be champions? little curious imo

Good post. Watching the Sabres this season has been a lot of fun. I watched 3 years ago when things were at their worst. I give a lot of credit to Darcy and Lindy for having crafted a plan to re-build a team for the new rules; not every team prepared themselves for the new open style, which in my opinion has saved the game. We have a TEAM. These guys really like each other - you can see it. Getting rid of Miro was the best thing they could have done. What impresses me is that they've overcome as many injuries as any team. We're winning despite having lost Briere, Dumont (glad he's back), Connolly, and now Kalinin. These are all some of the very best guys on the team, and the team didn't allow a let down. It was GREAT to see Ryan Miller (figuratively) best Dom Hasek last night. It was like a baton was passed. I really think Miller is going to be one of the best goalies for a long time. He's not as unique and clever as Dom, but no goalie is. But Ryan isn't an eccentric loner, either. The team really likes the kid and know what they have in him. The future is bright for Buffalo hockey because the team was well built, and will continue to be. That fact is even better music to the ears than the fact that they're a top 5 team at the moment. There was so much impatience and regret the past few years over player trades like Connolly and Briere - I remember listening to fan call in shows and everyone seemed to think that Connolly was a total bust and Darcy got snookered in the deal. We're only BEGINNING to see how good that kid can be. His hands are every bit as fast and clever as Ilya Kovalchuk's. He might not be as good right now, but his ceiling is higher than any forward on the team. It did take patience to get the team to the point it's at right now. Which is also why, despite my disappointment with Mularkey, I do think that Ralph overreacted, behaved in a way that scared away many good coaching prospects, and probably set back his own team another 3 years. Jauron is a good coach, but he needs a lotta help, and I"m not sure we have a team that's stacked with enough good strategists. We'll see. Pittsburgh 30 Seahawks 23 But I'd like to see Seahawks 30 Pittsburgh 23

But first, I keep reading that this was the last defensive coordinator hire in the league. Who the heck did the Jets hire for defense? I don't see a DC on their website. RE: Fewell, I'm skeptical. First-timer. Sigh. I can't believe the Bills just didn't give Bates another 200K. Disappointing. I'm skeptical because he comes from the Tampa 2 school of defense, which has a history of being good but not great. Many Cover 2 DCs believe in it to the point that they don't believe in scheming or changing things up or disguising coverages. They just line up and dare the offense to beat them. To be good at that, you had better not have any holes that can be exploited. And even if you don't have any gaping holes, like the Colts D or the 05 Bears (which were good but not great) you still can't get far in the playoffs unless you show your opponent something they haven't prepared for. That's what makes the Patriots so consistently good. They understand that you can't give your opponent and edge by being predictable. And Tampa-2 coaches tend to be just that. The Steelers beat the Colts primarily because the Colts weren't ready for what the Steelers showed them and that sent them into catch-up mode. The Steelers had so much for them they kept changing their looks and the Colts were guessing the whole game; that's why their protections broke down. Meanwhile, look what happened to the vaunted Bears D in their first playoff game. They were made to look *very bad* all of a sudden. Because they came out with their standard D, which made it easy to prepare for and scheme around. NO adjustments later, and they were 1 and out. Fewell's secondary was GASHED again and again and again. And most importantly, for this defense to work, you absolutely MUST have a DLine that can get a consistent rush with 4 guys. We have 2 guys in Adams and Schobel who can do it. Kelsay is still unproven and unless Ron Edwards is healthy and re-signed and suddenly great, we'll need a new DT to tie up blockers. A Pat Williams type. Thoughts?

i've never heard randy cross say anything original, intelligent, or insightful. yet they pay him gobs of cash to speak. the networks haven't a clue.

I don't see a link to his article on ESPN. Can ya copy/paste for me?

WTF? this is crazy. I need to know the story on this one. WHY, sam, WHY? JP Losman must think he unraveled everything around him. This is a big loss, even from just a consultancy point of view.

yawn. can we get some CONTENT please?

Well, if we get him, we'll have one of the better D coordinators in the league. Miami was always tough under Bates, don't forget that. And his players really like him. If we don't get him, and he decides to do nothing and collect a packer paycheck, then we'll know that Ralph's wallet is truly tight, and we'll know where a big part of the problem is...

i agree. this was a baaaad episode. it was the kind of episode where you wonder, 'was there a guest writer for this one?' I wouldn't be surprised. I like LOST, despite some things that really annoy me, but it needs to get back on point. It needs to develop the EXISTING mysteries - particularly of the film/computer/bunker and the others; who they are and what motivates them. AND THEY HAD BETTER come up with a damn good explanation for the polar bear, black horse, and last but not least, the intelligent plume of black smoke.

mularkey will do better for miami than we did for us. Watch. why? cuz he'll LEARN FROM SABAN how to a. keep your players in the game when things look bleak b. keep them focused when they have a lead c. manage a game d. manage the clock e. challenge bad calls vs. not challenging he'll also learn from Saban that you don't always do X because you think your opponent expects Y. That's a big part of the game, but NOT WHEN YOU HAVE 2nd AND GOAL FROM THE 1.

Good. We don't want Donnie Henderson. He didn't do much with a lot of talent. He's not known as a good strategist, which is what this game is all about. strategy and motivation. He's good at the later. I think a good strategy motivates for itself.

and even i'm cracking up. Someone needs to tell ralph to step away. that last press conference was the clincher. He has two marbles left. He doesn't know what day it is. And he wants to take a more active role? Please, Marv. Advise him to play his octogenarian tennis and forget about making any more appearances. We're trying to attract free agents, for god's sake. That "joke" he told is being repeated and repeated...followed by "is this a monday?" and they're juxtaposing what's going on in Buffalo with what's going on in Miami. It's both funny and depressing.

"...is today monday...?" good grief, there are two marbles left.

It won't be. We're not going to be able to attract the guys who are in this to win, and those are the guys you want. We'll get a few guys looking for a paycheck and we'll overpay for them because we'll have no choice.

JP should absolutely not be the starter next year. He had two years to digest Mularkey's offense and he was ineffective. I'm not judging his potential here - but it's obvious that he's not going to pick up WHOEVER'S offense as quickly as HOlcomb will. It's about maturity and experience. If people are going to cry if they don't get to see JP next season, better buy a few cases of kleenex. I don't think Marv is going to go thru all of this only to play the "young guy with potential" versus the veteran who can help us win immediately. By the way, I don't like this hire. And you watch: Mularkey and the Fins will have a top 10 offense next season, and will sweep us. It's just the sort of thing that seems to happen to the Bills.

When you call any company, you get the front desk. Off hours, you get a message service. dial by name. Leave a message. It's that simple.

There's an appropriate cliche for all of this: Be careful what you wish for... Hey, it applies to me. I was pissed at the failure of our coaches to turn this talented roster into a contending team. I felt bitter by Donahoe's failure to build us a respectable offensive line. But if I could undo both firings? Hell, I would. I think we'd have a better chance to win in Mularkey's 3rd season that we will in Jauron's first. DO YOU REALLY THINK THE PLAYERS WILL BE MOTIVATED FOR THIS GUY? I knew one thing: Marv coming back to Buffalo would be a mistake, and it would be widely perceived as such by football men across the league. We love him, but this was a mistake. You probably won't believe me, and I don't care if you do or not, but Marv Levy called me tonight before halftime of the Seattle/Panthers game. That's right. I had left a message and he called me back. It's actually the 2nd time I've spoken to him since he arrived in Buffalo. He also talked to my friend Rick in New Mexico. Rick expressed disappointment in the decision, and Marv said that nothing has been announced yet and everyone has an opinion, etc. So tonight he returned my call. My wife was closer to the phone so he asked for Rick. He had already talked to Rick, but he asked for Rick. I said, No, I'm Brandon. You spoke to my friend Rick an hour ago. "Okay, well Brandon, you wouldn't believe how many opinions I've heard. I appreciate hearing from the fans and..." And I interrupted. "Thanks for calling me back, Marv. Please tell me that at least Jim Bates is in this mix." "Well, ...pause... we...I... my staff here will be announcing all of that very soon." And honestly guys...it was not a very focused conversation. I gleaned nothing from it, other than the fact that Marv has some time on his hands the day before a major press conference, and Jauron is our next coach and I suspect he knows there's going to be some dark clouds rolling in over this decision. I'll always respect Marv. But guys, the Bills aren't going to be contenders until Ralph is..."out of the game", so to speak. Bringing in Marv was the classic comfort decision of an addled old man. Holmgren said something important tonight. He thanked his owner for having patience and allowing him to stick to the plan. YOU CAN'T KEEP STARTING OVER IN THIS GAME! It's just too hard to get a team to peak. One good thing I can say is that next season I'll be able to watch Bills games emotionally detached, for the first time in my fandom.

Gee, thanks Marv. They say that teams take on the identity of their coaches, so get ready for the dullest team you've ever seen.

Whe the hell ever said that? That would be one of the funniest homer assertions ever.

I'll take any bet and predict that miami sweeps us next season. If you think things have improved because we have marv levy as our GM, you're in for a shock, in my opinion. I wasn't a fan of Mularkey, but you know, Saban is no dummy. He knows that he's a really good coordinator. Sure, Whisenhut has picked up where he left off without missing a beat and in fact gaining a few. But that doesn't erase what he did in the past with less offensive firepower than the BIlls had this past year. Unfortunately, he was overmatched as a head coach, just like our last head coach. Donahoe foisted two experiments on us and it set us back but I'm not sure that the answer is starting over again for a third time. Call it seller's remorse, perhaps. But I'll make any bet that Miami's offense is ranked higher than ours next season.

You guys are happy about this? I think this gives miami a great edge. Mularkey knows our personnel better than anyone else saban could hire. He's going to know how to exploit individual linemen's weaknesses, d-linemen's weaknesses, and most importantly, JP's limitations. Mularkey knows how to stop his former quarterback, and he knows what the Bills will do to try to counter moves designed to stop him. He'll also have a much smarter guy reigning him in when he wants to do something stupid. Mularkey will probably be very good in Miami. I expect it. We'll both have new offenses, and one thing's for sure: They'll be more prepared to play than we will.

Hi Dick.

the whole argument is ridiculous. if you have a football team, are you going to hire somebody because they're a minority? (WHITES are a minority in texas now. TEXAS.) or are you going to hire the guy that you believe gives your team the best chance to win a championship? There aren't any inuits in the NFL either.