LongLiveRalph

Mike Stratton #58

I think the Oak win was pretty quality. Its always a dangerous spot when a young team is SUPPOSED to win. It's easy to play the "No one believes in us" card and motivate yourselves against playoff teams like Seattle or Jax. But when you are the decided favorite, and everyone is picking you to win 34-13, it puts some extra pressure on a team not used to being in that spot. The Bills played the first 3 quarters like they could just show up and beat the Raiders. That doesn't happen against ANY professional team. It's not like LSU just showing up and beating Ole Miss based on talent alone. That doesn't fly in the NFL. Its nice that the Bills were able to learn that lesson AND still get a win...It's a good opportunity for the coaching staff to reinforce that they haven't done anything yet, and nobody is going to lay down for them. As for the wins, they beat a banged up Seahawks team and a banged up Jax team. However, I don't recall ANYBODY apologizing to the Bills last year when they beat us while we were missing 6 or 7 starters. I don't recall Denver or Dallas apologizing for winning on the last kick of the game. It's nice to be on the other side of those things this year. To steal a quote from a fat, surly, old man: "You are what your record says you are." They are 3-0.

They look legit in all phases, and have beat two likely NFC playoff participants on national TV- including winning in Lambeau for the first time ever- and went on the road in week 1 and manhandled a Cleveland team who had high expectations. It's a long season, and they play in the best division, and I hate them with a passion, but they appear to be the truth.

Homer or not, you'd be hard-pressed to find any analyst who wouldn't say the Cowboys are the best team in the league right now. That doesn't mean anything for early February, but if the Super Bowl was this week, they'd be favored over anybody. Frankly, I'm a little scared of them.

Reed is a physical blocker. He finishes plays. A lot of guys don't like the same dude in their grill on every single play, banging to the whistle. On top of that, Reed likes to get into it and run his mouth a bit. But there's a reason it's always him getting the "extracurriculars," because he's bringing the noise. Focus on him for a few plays if you go to a game, it's great.

It's important that instead of coming up with a solution for the future, we determine who we can blame for the past.

Solid, thanks for the heads up. I've been travelling for work and had the WGR stream listening to Ricky J last night...Nobody better, especially when you just have audio....

I'd have to say it'd be between the Bills and the Ravens. Obviously, with Brady out, the Bills leading the division is less of a surprise, but before the year, you'd have to put the team who had won 20-straight regular season games at the top. The West was always going to be between the Broncos and Chargers, and with Denver hosting SD in week 2, its not necessarily a surprise that the Broncos snuck out a win and are in 1st place. Tennessee is a shocker, especially with their off the field turmoil, and with the struggles of 1-2 Indy and Jax. It's hard to fathom Indy losing their first two home games, and they could easily be 0-3. We are so used to them starting out 6-0 every year. But I think the most shocking is Baltimore, mainly because they are doing it with a rookie QB, and EVERYBODY had either Pittsburgh or Cleveland taking the reins in that division. Granted, Baltimore has only played twice...But you can't blame them for winning. Beating Cincy in week 1- who had been looking like the Bungles of old- was a good division win, and the defense made plays this past Sunday that we've been accustomed to seeing the Ravens defense make. We'll see...It's a long ride and it should be a fun one...Nice to have the Bills in the thick of it, rather than trying to right the ship and dig out of a hole....

I'm also impressed by the way the talking heads are stating that the Pats "will be fine after the bye week, once they have a chance to install an offensive package that works for Matt Cassell." I realize the guy has barely played, but HE HAS BEEN IN THE LEAGUE FOR THREE YEARS!! HE PLAYED THE ENTIRE PREASEASON!!! It just seems a little simplistic to say "The Pats will be fine, you know their coaching staff will use the bye week to their benefit." How, exactly, do we know that??? What have they been doing for the last three weeks? What is this new, miracle offense they are going to create in two weeks? You can draw up all the plays you want. Executing them against a defense "throwing the kitchen sink at cha" is the difficult part. Also, I couldn't help but notice Randy Moss pulling up on a high pass over the middle yesterday, clearly hearing the footsteps......

Oh I agree...Certainly Parcells looms large over everything in Miami, and deserves some credit for a big road win. However, it just struck me as funny, knowing that if the Fins go 10-6, the media claims it a Parcells masterpiece. If they finish 4-12, the media will call it a long first year for Sparano.

And as we saw yesterday against the Raiders, it is very dangerous when a young team is "supposed" to win. After a decade of being the underdog, the Bills played the first half like they could just show up and beat the Raiders. That's not true of any team in the NFL. Thankfully the Bills were able to squeak out a win, and (hopefully) learn a lesson about playing as a decided favorite. Just because Vegas thinks you will win by two scores doesn't mean you can unbuckle your chinstrap and coast to victory. It's a good lesson to learn before the Rams game, where the Bills will likely be 8-9 point favorites again.

When hearing a recap of the Dolphins' upset of New England, several different times yesterday and today, various media outlets referred to "The first win of the Bill Parcells Era in Miami." The media love for Parcells is well-known, but for Christsakes, perhaps a little credit to "The first win for the Tony Sparano Era"???? You know, the guy who actually came up with the game plan and coached the team to victory? Because you know if they lost, reports would've said that "Tony Sparano has fallen to 0-3 in his coaching career and is still searching for his first win." It just struck me as funny the first time I heard it, much less the fourth and fifth times.

It only took them four seasons to figure out that extending your own players a year before they're up is cheaper than competing with 29 other teams! Bravo. I do like the offseason; my only disappointment is that the worthless Larry Quinn is now part-owner, and we'll never escape from that devious bastard. I'm not overly enthused by the Sabres' chances...But I'm not incredibly scared of anyone in the East either...I see them somewhere between 5th and 9th. A good start will be key to success. You can't blame them for last season's lackluster start, after two straight deep playoff runs and a hectic offseason. They have a full year under their belts as the "new" team, not the Drury/Briere playoff teams. Hopefully they get it done. Tim Connolly over/under 43 games???

Yes, agreed, once he blew the whistle his hands were tied. Just pointing out that he even botched his botched call.

Hochuli, in ruling (incorrectly) that it was an incomplete pass, was also incorrect a 2nd time- because if his ruling was that it was a pass, the ball travelled backwards, and by rule, should've been a live ball regardless. I understand if Cutler was in traffic, and it appeared the ball was tipped, or he was hit as he threw, etc....But he was running all by himself!!! Overall, I don't like Hochuli as a ref. His games consistently take 3 1/2 or 4 hours to finish. I don't know what it is...His discussions with other refs on seemingly routine calls seem to take longer than everyone else. I realize the "measure twice, cut once" aspect of things, but his crew seems to take it to another level. His owning up to his mistake is what's overrated. What's he going to do, refute it??? He saw it for himself in the replay hood. Nonetheless, we have all made mistakes in our lives and our jobs. It's the nature of humans. The only failure is not learning, and making the same mistake again. The NFL should certainly review their policy so that another official isn't put in the same position. Hochuli getting "marked down" by the NFL was expected. But the real punishment would be if they changed the referree signal for illegal touching. You just KNOW that is Ed's favorite call with those pipes!!!!

Swing low, sweet chariots.

That's some thick wool you're pulling over your eyes. If you could actually view this thing from a logical angle, rather than a political one, you'd clearly see that the federal deficit is horribly in the red, the outlook for the credit and insurance industries is as bleak as ever, and the government continues to put major Wall St stalwarts on life support. Where do you think this money is going to come from??? I hate to break it to you, but whichever candidate takes office is going to have the ingredients of a financial crisis staring at them. Whenever this has occurred, historically, the first burden is felt by the American taxpayer. It is impossible for the goverment to dig out of this hole (while continuing to supplement failed corporations) without increasing tax revenue. Businesses and the upper class tax brackets are always the first to feel the pinch. Even the most die-hard fiscal conservatives understand that you cannot justify upper class tax "relief" (if there is such a thing) when the majority of the middle class is in the midst of a recession. But feel free to continue to believe that "your team" is better than the "other team." Frankly, it's not going to matter much. But if it makes you feel better to froth at the mouth over some "liberal" and "conservative" predefined political ideals that don't even exist anymore, be my guest.

It must be nice to be a member of a political party. You always know that you're side is right, and the other side is wrong. You don't even have to think for yourself, you can just blindly follow your leaders while discounting anything and everything that comes from the other side. They are the repigs or the libitards. Impressive. Deeply religous people can still occasionally see the value of other teachings. Somehow, the political discourse in this country does not allow for open-mindedness. These last eight years have been so refreshing to have elected officials in the White House who are absolutely certain that their course of action is the correct one. Considering alternatives is for pussies.

Hahaha...I think there are MANY photos from my college days that would need to be destroyed before that could even become a remote possibility. Plus, I'd have to take Air Force One back to WNY the first Monday of every month for village board hearings...There's some hot topics on the agenda, including diagonal parking on Main Street, an addition to the fire station, setting up an architectural review board, and other earth-shaking developments!!!

Yes, I am never impressed by people who volunteer their time for such needless things. Political ambitions are ALWAYS for the right reasons. I am on the village board in my small town, an elected position that is more about community service rather than the small salary. Yet, even in small town politics, there is major red tape. Widening a sidewalk requires seven public hearings. I think its safe to say that a single person could actually do more as an unaffiliated and unelected "community organizer" than most elected officials could do or want to do. Day-to-day results that you can see, at the grass roots level, are real and they're important. It never ceases to amaze me in political races, how Kerry's military service, or Palin being "just" a small town mayor, or Obama being a community volunteer, somehow take on a negative connotation. THESE ARE ALL GOOD THINGS, PEOPLE!!!!

Very true. I know quarterbacking has become the most difficult job in sports, and nowadays QBs are barely given 10 starts before people declare them busts. However, it disgusts me when analysts/columnists harp on the fact that 3rd & 7 is a bad position to be in. When you draft a QB #1 overall, and pay him $50 million, I don't think its unreasonable to expect that he can convert an 8-yard pass on occasion. Complex defenses, coverages, and blitzes have made life tough on young QBs. And I know that sitting in 3rd & 8 all day is not a recipe for success (just ask a vet like Hasselback how week 1 went at the Ralph.) But somehow, "good quarterbacking" has become more about throwing the ball away, not getting sacked, and hitting the safety valve for four yards. Even if McFadden is getting stuffed, he's going to make something happen eventually. You'd like to think your QB could do the same.

QB is such a strange position, its hard to say if somebody is "prone" to injuries or not. Somebody like our boy Robbie Johnson, I'd say most definitely injury prone. Trent? Not sure. The O-line should help him avoid hits. The way Trent moves within the pocket should help too. You can tell he's getting a better feel for what needs to be done in that respect, especially on the 37-yard gain to Evans in the 4th qtr. He stepped up, almost had his jersey grabbed by the DE, and shook loose and let fly. I can only imagine JP feeling that pressure and turning into a spaz, spinning around and getting sacked for -7. However, at QB, having someone hit you low, or a lineman roll on your ankle, or breaking your finger on somebody's helmet on a follow thru, all of those things happen all the time, and it doesn't much matter if you are "injury prone" or not. In response to the original question, Trent's fitness can only help him. But as far as the freak QB injuries I mentioned above...A 4% body fat isn't going to do much for anyone. It makes Favre's streak all the more impressive.

Can't discount them for the runner, I agree. You can discount them in that he was putting his young QB in 3rd & 7+ way too often. But I agree. Barry Sanders was the least of the Lions' problems when he was going 2, 2, -3, 1, 66.

I agree. 8 ypc is what it is. I think the point is less a reflection on McFadden- every team would take 166 from their RB- and more a reflection on Russell. Basically, after a touchback, McFadden's 50-yard gain would get you to the opponent's 30. Then what? A 2-yard gain, a 1-yard gain, and a Russell incompletion on 3rd & 7. 136 yds on 5 carries is the reason McFadden got drafted so high. 16 yds on 30 carries is why Russell had such an awful game.

From Bill Barnwell at ESPN: