CircleTheWagons

I had to read that twice because I'm so used to that sentence ending with the Bills. We're no longer even in the bottom 10 in the league in sacks allowed. Now that the sacks are going down, I would love to hear a good analysis of why - Does Drew have more time in the pocket? Is McGahee picking up blitzes better than Henry? Is Drew getting rid of the ball faster? Do we get stuck in obvious passing situations a lot less? Enquiring minds want to know

No extension yet, although I think he is doing a pretty good job. We have started to beat the average teams in the league and I would say that we are above average, but not by a lot. We need to beat some good teams and win a couple of tough road games before I'm ready to say this team is going to the promised land. Baltimore and New England are still painful to think about.

I agree, if it's items that impact the football performance, however my concern is that it's stuff like getting out and meeting season-ticket holders, shaking hands with Ralph's friends, or answering weekly questions on the team website - stuff that is important to the franchise but not the product on the field. Of course, it's entirely possible that it's simply his standard answer for that question that he came up with back in the summer.

I just read the latest "Ask Coach Mularkey" and for at least the second time he has commented about the amount of time he spends on things that are not really football related. Can we not get this guy a staff to take care of lots of the other crap? In my opinion, one of management's key responsibilities is to eliminate some of the distractions so that the coach and team can focus on football, especially during the season.

I'm not going to defend them, but that isn't free money - it's money the players paid in union dues over the years.

I miss the NHL a lot The sports radio station in town does a stupid "Fantasy" hockey season for the Calgary Flames - where they simulate every game following the timing of the original schedule. It's really bad, but when they add the real play-by-play voice for "highlights" using last year's games, I get a knot in my stomach. I want to blame the players, but if you follow the history of the NHL, there are lots of good reasons for the players to distrust management. This would have been one of the best years for hockey in Calgary - not sure how well the Flames would have done but the atmosphere in the 'Dome would be awesome

I remember that the Henson threads here talked about him being a project - he really should have been the 3rd QB in Dallas this year (Quincy Carter). I think if Quincy was cut before the draft, we might have Henson and our first pick and Losman might have a star on his helmet.

They beat Denver 41-10 and KC 38-31. They didn't punt in either game. I'm not sure if they can beat the Pats this year when it matters, but I agree they are a better team this year than last year.

If the Seahawks miss the playoffs, then I think he might be gone, but they are still a game up in their division and St Louis plays at Green Bay on Monday. This isn't a must win for Seattle, but they do need to start putting it together if they want to do anything in the playoffs.

Yep, that's definitely what this forum needs - somebody to suggest to FFS that he should expand his posts with term definitions. I would actually try to help provide an answer, but I have yet to wade too deeply into one of his posts - I'm afraid of drowning in his stream of consciousness

But do you think the Marvin Lewis made the right decision in Cincinnati? Seems to me that he took a team that made strides last year and was hoping to take the next step, and basically told them he didn't think they could win this year. 10 games into the season, Lewis is now he's saying he won't accept mediocrity? You can't set up a team to fail and then B word and moan when they fail. I'm soooo glad Lewis isn't coaching the Bills. Depending on how the rest of the season goes for the Bills, I think it is quite possible Drew is the starter at training camp. JP needs to step up and earn the job and not count on the coaching staff handing it to him - exactly the way our RB position sorted itself out this year. I want JP playing because he's better than Drew, not because he's a first round pick or "the future".

Retired How long until he's eligible for the Wall of Fame

Nope, can't even get away with this on a Friday afternoon. Bank of Canada Flag Rumour Although I did hear something about an American Flag on a Saddam statue somewhere - did anyone hear anything about that

Perfect. On sooo many levels. If you understood how perfect that quote is, well, I salute you.

Of course everyone thinks they're a "Thoughtful Football Fan". I think most who think they are thoughtful and are "constructively critiquing" are Negative Ninnies. Some thoughts on how you can tell the difference: If you wanted to cut Drew before he was re-signed, THOUGHTFUL. If you keep posting about cutting him after, NINNIE. If you think he's going to the Pro Bowl, Optimist. If you were worried about Jerry Gray riding the coattails of GW or Lebeau before the season, THOUGHTFUL. If you've mentioned it in the last few weeks, NINNIE. If you were worried about the McGahee pick, THOUGHTFUL. Still worried? NINNIE. If you've mentioned Peerless Price as a Bill in the last 2 months, NINNIE. If you complained about using Bannan on the oline for any reason, NINNIE. If you were complaining about our poor offensive performance in the first quarter of the season, THOUGHTFUL. Still complaining? Still THOUGHTFUL . Personally, I'm more of a #1 than anything. I think people become Ninnie's because it is too gut-wretching to have your expectations stomped on every week.

Ms Information - you are definitely earning your nickname today

Debates like this are why I love TSW.

I know it's "unfair" to blame Bledsoe for the Bills offensive woes since 2002. But this is one of those games that carry a lot of weight with me. Tough defense on the road. Ravens need this game and will be fired up to play without J. Lewis. This game smells like Week 3 in Miami last year. I know the situation is not identical but it's one of the games we get to see if Bledsoe can lead this team in a hostile environment. In my opinion, Bledsoe usually comes up short in these situations. Time for Bledsoe to drop the "white collar" and grab a lunch bucket. Time to go to work. I want to see Bledsoe take a shot from Lewis, stand up and get in his grill. Then I want Bledsoe to walk over to whoever missed the block and get in his face. Don't worry about embarrasing your friggin teammates - if you're the leader, lead this team, if you're not, sit the @#%! down you're wasting my Sundays. C'mon Drew. Make me a believer again.

Lots of interesting stats on here today. Any idea how many 10-6 teams didn't make the playoffs because of their conference record? I went back to 1996 and the ONLY 10-6 team I could find that didn't make the playoffs were the fish last year. Most years a 9-7 team gets into the playoffs. We go 9-2 in our remaining games and I like our chances to make the playoffs.

Thanks for the stats. Why the heck would I want to make Henry look good? I thought yards per quarter doesn't take into account the game situation with a losing team - if we're behind, or we have KG as coordinator then we're probably throwing too much in the 4th quarter and Henry isn't getting any carries - which your original stats would not account for. In fact, if I do some quick math on the stats, Henry gets a lot less carries in the 2nd/4th quarter than he does in the 1st/3rd quarter. Do you see why I wanted to see the YPC? If I came on here and posted that Henry is Mr. Clutch because he hasn't dropped a pass or lost a fumble in two years on our final drive of a game, I'm pretty sure somebody would yell BS (I completely made that stat up) I won't defend Henry (well, unless you're a fish fan ) but I was interested in whether or not he was getting opportunities to get yards in the 4th.

I won't defend Henry - I want WM to start too, BUT I don't think you can take a running backs yards/quarter on a losing team as a good measure of his ability to finish. Any chance those stats have a YPC attached to them? If that stat goes down in the fourth quarter, then I think its more meaningful.

This is from a Len Pasquerreli story on ESPN I LOVE GOOGLE

Nope - I think it's actually written down some where - because I remember it mentioned that it was modified last year - but I don't remember the exact details. Time for me to "google"

I don't think it works that way - I think he's allowed to break his contract to accept a head coaching position (no compensation). If there is a reason for the timing of this, I think it might be a message to the 'D' (Sam Adams) after the message to the Offense cutting Shaw. Adams gets into a screaming match with his coach and then his coach gets an extension - says to me "Quit bitching about the system fat guy. We believe in it and expect you to do your job."

One of the great things about being a parent is that you get to decide how important the initials are. Here is my .02. Ask yourself what you are going to say to your 11 year old daughter when she comes home and tells you that she hates you for giving her those initials. If you have a good answer - the names are significant for some reason, then I think you're ok. If you won't have a good answer for her, don't do it. I agree kids can be mean, but it's not like they won't pick on your daughter if her initials are boring - I can think of a few off the top of my head just for your last name alone