Fan in Chicago

Would you rather have a coach say that he is going to extend his recent record against the Bills to 12-1 ? Phony or not, it works for his team and that is all that matters. And, about those 'almost lost' games for the Patriots ? His team has been almost losing for several years now but they win many more than lose. I think for fans of a team, that is extra fun in watching such games than blowouts. Any of us would rather almost lose than almost win.

I don't disagree with you when we talk about next season. But, I was referring to last season when there just weren't enough quality players to spend the money on. And if Marv wants to keep Nate, he should negotiate now when NC is missing tackles. If Nate starts playing well in the last few games simply to get his market value up, we lose in the offseason - whether we pay him to stay or let him go. But stepping back, I think the oft-repeated item about our DL being the primary problem rings true. I find it tough to believe that the performance of both NC and McGee suddenly dropped off for no apparent reason. One player I can understand but two in the same part of the field is kinda tough to swallow. Extending that logic, maybe Whitner too will shine much brighter with a better DL.

I see your point about maximizing the use of cap dollars. But except for Hutchinson and Bentley, there weren't really any good offensive lineman to spend the money on. I am pretty sure we will spend to acquire what we need on both lines. This year, with the new coaches and new schemes, the only way to staff up was to look at past performance of the FAs and evaluate who would do well here or not. Same goes for our own players. Marv did a great job in keeping Nate for one more year to see how he fits. It is eminently obvious now that he does not. So in this coming off-season, we know exactly which of the existing players are not performing well in the schemes. Thus the needs list becomes more clear than it was this past offseason. I expect us to load up on the linemen this offseason and prepare for a REAL playoff push next year. We will probably end up dumping players such as Clements, Gandy, Tim Anderson and get their replacements + a real center. I wouldnt be surprised if Spikes is let go also.

Consensus amongst who ? Link please ? I have read four posts of yours so far and all they have implied is that JP sucks and Ben R is great. I would rather have JP. That is my individual consensus.

Depends where his brain resides ofcourse.

Man it is tough to dislike an opponent if it has fans like you. Kidding ofcourse. Thank you for being very gentle and civilized. We all got to experience your excellent offense and defense. Would have loved it if we put up a fight and really tested your team's resilience but that was not to be. And I was relentelessly scoffed at by my co-workers after the trampling. Good luck for the rest of the season. For the good of your team, I hope they face stiffer opposition during the season so you can go into the playoffs with a degree of caution. Winning tough games will avoid the kind of massive let-down experienced this January by Chicago.

Ouch !!! You may have a point there. The elevation to God-like status is as much as product of the media as that of the fans themselves. How many times have posters, on this board, wished we had drafted Lienart, Cutler, V Young etc. Isn't that pre-supposing their succcess and making a star of a totally unproven commodity ? Ben R was no different. He was asked to do very little in his rookie year and he did that very well. I must say, however, that I liked Philip Rivers' poise and accuracy in yesterday's game.

Count me in. A game like this had to happen this season with all the rebuilding. I am more interested in how the team responds in the coming weeks - do we fall off a precipice or regain our fighting spirit displayed in the first 4 weeks ?

This morning's Chicago Tribune is very arrogant about their team and eveyone associated with it including the waterboy (or gatoradeboy whatever). Till this morning I was fairly calm but now I hope to God the Bears lose. I mean really get their rears kicked by us. A solid, hard fought smash in the face, kick in the a$$, slap on all cheeks kinda beating is what they need. ElseMonday is going to be hell in the papers and my office. {aint I a selfish pric*}

I think it will depend on whichever line holds up for the entire game+ ST.

To me, I don't understand the abusive nature of your posts in this thread. Just because daquixer's stating his opinion doesn't mean you need to use words like dipsh--. Argue his point and he has an opinion as do you - both are entitled to each without disparaging each other. Pretty much everyone is convinced that Bears are the better team. But that does not mean we write this off as a loss. I for one am not convinced that Grossman is the next coming of {insert name of your favorite passer}. He looked specatacular against Seattle but he has to prove it on a consistent basis. He has progressed and is showing poise, of that there is no doubt. We will most likely lose but winning is possible also. To use a cliche, that is why the game is played.

Till he retires. If he has achieved anything to deserve mention as a 'great' then it is not obvious to me. I still have visions of the Todd Collinesque look in his eyes during the last drive in the Superbowl.

I agree very much with most of your above points save for the one on heating oil. Heating oil produced, as a percent of crude oil inputs, is miniscule compared to gasoline and diesel. Hence, heating oil demand will have to rise by an order of magnitude to have this counterbalancing effect. Also, the supply situation of heating oil is not too tight (in fact there is global over capacity and refiners routinely re-configure their sites to reduce its production). Finally, I don't see any reasons for heating oil to sustain its upward momentum (if there is one) on a long term basis.

I believe what daquixers is trying to say is animals fight for self defense whereas this action was an act by a human with problems. Don't insult animals by comparing him with them.

If the above is true, I wonder if GS just started something that would have happened anyway. Right now, long term supply-demand situation looks good and end product prices are likely to be off from their recent highs. Most likely, GS did an analysis and decided to start selling. Others hitched on to their analysis and actions and followed suit. Hence, I don't think GS tried to manipulate the market. If they were doing so, it would be at great financial risk which the market would punish accordingly. And GS is not that stupid.

If you are referring to the MNF game, I agree. However I disagree that McNabb can be classified as great (yet).

I would argue that right now he is in the top half of QBs this season because of the low turnovers and decent % completion. Whether he is solid or not should be clear by midseason. Personally, I am enjoying his play. Everytime he is going to pass, I expect him to complete the pass compared to last season when I used to cringe. Anyway, FWIW here are two stats and where he stands: #12 in passer rating: http://www.nfl.com/stats/leaders/NFL/PRAT/2006/regular # 22 in passing yards: http://www.nfl.com/stats/leaders/NFL/PYDS/2006/regular

I can't remember how many years it has been since I last had my heart pounding away and then come away with a win. The offense (at least in the first half) was very exciting with Losman throwing and our WRs catching what seemed like improbable balls. I truly had fun today and really want us to win next weekend (living as I do in Bear country). I do know that tomorrow a bunch of Bears fans are going to be congratulating me for the Bills victory today.

After the opening NE road game, I think the next weekend provides a good opportunity to see the resilience and drive of the team. On the road against a stifling Bears defense and possibly above average offense will present big problems for the Bills. I expect us to lose but hope we can put up a spirited effort and keep it close. If we pull off a win, it will be the best win of the season so far. And I really pray we win if only to silence all the Bears fans predicting superbowl all around me.

At the bottom of the buffalobills.com article it said past winners from Buffalo were Gabe Northern and Sam Cowart. Isn't it telling that we haven't had a winner from the offensive side of the ball ? Congrats Donte ! Now go for the rookie of the year award.

May I say it will be significantly worse next week in Chicago against their defense !

Guess I am up to my usual jabbering without listening self

Not sure where this sub-thread is going but let me weigh in a bit. CTM commented purely on how commodity prices can be affected by monetary policy. As far as gasoline is concerned: - domestic production of gasoline since May is at an all time high. For the period of May-August, we are producing (just by eye-balling here) 9.1 million barrels per day of gasoline compared to about 8.8 MMBPD a year back. - Winter gasoline formulations can be made with less cost and more quantity by refiners. - Peak driving season is gone and demand is down compared to the summer season - This year there was a new mandate to blend ethanol into gasoline and the gasoline marketers had trouble with the logistics causing depressed supply early in the year. I think these issues have been resolved All these factors make gasoline prices go down. In the real shortrun, the administration can directly affect only the commodity prices (oil in this case) through monetary and defense policies. Other factors are related to supply-demand which is to large for the adminstration to influence (again, in the short run). As a side note, nation wide average price is about $2.40. I still believe we will never again fall below ~$2.25.

In free agency, TD was better at letting people go than bringing people in. Save for a few spots (Spikes), the people he brought in did not adequately fill in for those departed.

That was really hilarious. Those posters really know their 'celebs'. I loved Youboty, Kyle Williams and Josh Stamer (Lurch). Some are downright creepy in their similarities McGee - Dupri How did they miss Losman-Adam Sandler ?