Turf Toejam

Things I Think I Think: 1. Jaron knows the limitations of JP Losman at this point in his career. There were many plays today where if the primary receiver wasn’t there, there was a very safe outlet, which gained a few yards on the play. 2. We were gizzing over LJ Shelton at some point in time? That guys is a backup quarterback’s wet dream… 3. Elllison is a player. Not a Coy Wire kind of “pile on” kind of player, but one that actually makes plays. Can we survive w/o TKO? I don’t know, but the Felons made me think about this point today. 4. Moorman better make the Pro Bowl, or the voters all have glaucoma and didn’t smoker enough dope to counteract the effects of the disease. 5. Mularkey’s still an idiot. 6. Both rookie safeties played very solid games. Both of them were great in run support. #20 and #30 were consistently in on the running plays. 7. Villarial looked terrible in pass blocking early. An old guy like Kevin Carter schooled him big time. 8. Our return game still rocks and should be feared. 9. The pass rush today (with the rotation as forecasted) was relentless. Denney had a game all in the first half. Just wait until these guys get used to playing with one another. 10. McGahee’s still not a great back. There, I said it. I could be way off base, but most of the plays that he gained a good chunk of his yardage weren’t great individual plays, but a result of great blocking. I hope Marv sees this come contract time.

I'm still coming down fom it all. I've f0llowed them from Albany all year. I've see 90 percent of their games, these guyes are really, really good. Scary good, to coin a phrase. Where did Mike R go?

Things I think I think: --Pyatt looks terrible. Probably the worst game I've seen him. I don't think he fits with this team, and should not be kept. Too slow. Too slow. Too slow. --I wasn't too keen on Roy in the beginning of the season, but he has certainly turned into a nice player. Not spectacular, but solid. --Miller reads passing plays better than any goalie in the NHL right now. --It was certainly gratifying to see Sundin get penalties for the sh-- that he's been doing for years now. Nice to see the new NHL rules were enforced, hope it stays. --Briere had a good game, he's still the most dangerous Sabre in the offensive zone. --Max continues to shine on the line that he's on right now. Those guys were a force EVERY single time they took the ice. --Teppo isn't the most flashy D-man, but he gets the job done. I prolly agree that we could use another big guy at the blue line for the playoffs, but I think Darcy will stay pat with the group that we've used all year. --Brian Campbell has some true offensive touch. Several plays tonight were amazing. He has great potential once he gains more experience in the league. --Did anyone else think that Jenerette's neck would explode with that tuxedo buttoned up? --Beer and hockey together are a gift from God --I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to GEICO

Maybe Zeke was part of Rousseau's crew? Also, why did Zeke say where Walt was? All he said was "He is special". WTF?

I would guess Jin buys it, and Michael 'horns in' on Sun.

I agree with you on that point. When the shootout started in Toronto, I wondered for a second if Lindy would consider pulling Marty and putting Miller in just for the shootout. From the two or three SO's I"ve seen this season, Miller has stoned a few very top notch scorers multiple times, while Marty tends to make more 'predictable' moves, and gets burned for it. The shootouts are exactly the position that we miss Briere. Hope all goes well with his surgery, lucky we have the break for the Olympics this season.

I separated my shoulder third degree on Super Bowl Sunday of this year while snowboarding. My doctor was totally full of sh-- when he told me that his football players experience this sort of injury and are expected to play in two weeks. After a month, I finally made it back to the slopes, albeit very tentatively. This was after gettting a full doctor's clearance. After nearly six months, I believe that it's very uncommon to mess up your shoulder again in the same manner. It happens, but my doctor told me that I would have to experience a similar fall to the first one in order to sustain a problem. I've been also lifting weights in order to improve my muscle mass around the affected area. I think you're screwed, I would throw out the possiblility that you've experienced some sort of rotator cuff injury, which will automatically guarantee you surgery. My doctor told me that my injury, if experience by someone that 'worked' for a living (i.e. carpenter, bricklayer, carpet installer), they would have automatically have done surgery, which from my research, would have not been a pleasant experience from a recovery time standpoint. Do what you want, but I would have to concur that your probably need surgery, and the sooner you get it, the better.

I sent my email in tonight, don't expect it will do any good. WRGB used to show the most 'relevant' game of the week between the Jets, Bills and Patsies, but their decision to 'feature' the Jets really sucks now.

The new style of play has definitely helped the Sabres. Amazing amout of speed and the great goal play of Miller. I would also add that the defense has also been refreshing. I know it's not the Mike Ramsay days, but at least they don't seem to be making some of the simple mistakes that I've seen in the past. McKee has been terrific. I've caught them in Albany not only on MSG (on Ranger off-nights), Fox-NY (last night) and OLN (sucky announcers nonetheless). Makes me consider Center Ice, haven't sold the wife yet. R-

I knew there was going to be some immediate piling on, but it's not completely unexpected. Yes, this is going out on a limb, but my two points here are: --the NFC West was a complete mess this year, and to expect to sweep the NFC South just isn't realistic. In addition to that, if this is "still Bledsoe's team" as firmly stated by DB himself, there are some guys on those teams (can you say Julius Peppers?) that would salivate to play against the Bills in its present state. --As many people banter about San Diego's remarkable turnaround this year, this is the exception rather than the rule. Out of the six teams that made the playoffs in the AFC this year, I would have picked 4 out of the 6. So, to say that I don't know "jack schitt" about what's going to happen next year isn't completely right either. I see TD and his crew "staying the course" with their focus being trying to retain Phat Pat and Jonas, i.e. restructuring contracts, etc. Also, I would hope that everyone scales down their FA acquisition plans, 'cause I don't see any major signings on the horizon with our current cap situation. And since we're a little short on draft picks this year, I'm not expecting great things that offer an immediate impact on the 2005-06 season. My cha-cha's don't need to be too big when considering these facts.

The Bills better improve next season (including on the O-line), because they're going to have to play the NFC South next year, which means Atlanta, Carolina, New Orleans and Tampa Bay. Top to bottom, this division was playing as good as any other NFC division at the end of the year. As opposed to this season, I could see the Bills going 2-2 against this division. To make matters worse, many of these teams offer some guys that could absolutely pummel QB's like Bledslow. 8-8 is looking more realistic all of the time. 2 losses against the NFC, 2 losses against the Patsies, 1 loss against the Jets, and 3 miscellaneous !@#$-ups during the year brings us there. So, all of those fans that still "feel good" about this year, and are "looking foward" to the challenges that next season will bring, better keep their antidepressant scripts up to date for the 2005 season.

excellent analysis-----was looking forward to your take on the game.

I think MM at the end of the season will say "we ended where we deserved to be". Watching the game, it just reinforced how far we really are from being a great team. I think we should be thanking Pittsburgh for taking us to the woodshed instead of WNY staying in this delusional state for the entire offseason. If there's still anyone around that thought that we could win a playoff game on the road, please pass me along what you're smoking, 'cause I want some of that. Bledsoe's done, let's cut him and take the cap hit. Doesn't he have a big payment on his contract coming up in November? The answer isn't Shane Matthews minding the store for a year. He only came out of retirement so he could get another year of pension credit. I think he only signed for one year, so he isn't going to be the man. JP could be great, he could totally suck, but he shouldn't be judged on his few mop-up appearances during the regular season. I tend to agree that if MM says it's "open competition" in training camp, that DB will win that fight. But if DB's spent a year with Sam Wyche, and still is making the same mistakes that ran him out of NE, is it really worth it? There are certain concepts that the Bills cannot wait until DB is 35 to understand. Lindell should be history. When he wondered earlier this week why he hadn't had any game winning field goal attempts in a long time, he should have viewed that as a testament to his futility rather than circumstance. The defense is still solid, but a stud DE and a smarter MLB would be appreciated. O-line still needs work. They should lock McNally in a room for a week with the game tapes to figure out what the next steps should be, 'cause after a whole season, there's obviously some folks there that aren't getting the "big picture".

That's what I've thought to myself for the past few years. Teague does not support the shape of the pocket very well at all, and very often is the source of the problem in pass blocking. Heck, I wanted the center out of Notre Dame (Jeff Faines?) that went to Cleveland. I don't know how this draft looks for "true centers" i.e. not converted tackles or guards, but it might be worth a second or third rounder.

In Albany, they're showing the frickin' Jets game. I heard that WRGB switched this year from showing "the most compelling game" to showing the Jets whenever available. It stinks. Luckily, the next door neighbor has DTV, so I'll be on his couch at 1pm.