Rubes

Is the stadium now different than it was back in 2007 when the 4-0 Cowboys played the 1-3 Bills on Monday night? Because that was a pretty crappy team, and I recall that place being as loud and crazy as any other game, ever.

I've been a season ticket holder since 1977, so that's what, 36 years? I got a date of 9/2. When I went to log in at the specified time, the site was down. It remained down for some time, probably around half an hour. Once I finally got through, there were only like four choices left, and they were all fairly lame. I think there was a Bills blanket listed as an option, but when I tried to get it, it said it was sold out. I didn't even bother to pick another one. All in all, I thought it was poorly done, especially the site being down at the specified time. But now that I hear about the other potential options, I think it was even worse. I didn't think of writing an email, though. I think I should.

Hmm. Sounds vaguely familiar to another team I know.

Kinda strange, but we're #4 in the league in rushing after week 1. Unfortunately for us, the Pats* are #3. Yeah, that's Miami down there at #32, with less than 1 yard per carry (23 att, 20 yards). Against Cleveland, there was a total of 67 yards rushing. By both teams.

Sure. I could use another kick in the nads.

I think it's only when they have a double-header on opening weekend.

That was quite the vicious hit. He's lucky he landed the way he did.

Just un- -ingbelievable.

Well done, sir.

The weird thing is that I keep reading in the media how the Bills run defense looked considerably better from last year. Watching that game, I didn't get that impression at all.

We all knew it in the preseason -- penalties by this team were horrible. I was hoping to look for improvement as the preseason wore on, but it just didn't happen. In the end, the Bills averaged 9.75 penalties per game, for 69.5 yards per game. I was really hoping to see improvement with just the starters playing in the regular season. But again, it just didn't happen. Yesterday, the Bills were flagged 10 times for 75 yards. Right on their preseason average. The Bills were flagged on the very first snap of the game. I was hoping to see improvement as the game went on, but alas, it just didn't happen. What on earth can they do to fix this? It sure doesn't seem like they've made an inch of progress since the preseason started.

Dude, that is just freaking hilarious.

Definitely better than Lose. Man.

Just keep in mind that Russell Wilson didn't pass for more than 160 yards during the first four games of last year. In the fourth, against St. Louis of all teams, he threw three picks and had a QB rating of 45. After five games last year, he had 5 TDs and 6 INTs. Ironically, it was the home game against the Pats* that started the turnaround for him. Nevertheless, although we all want EJ to succeed, and even better to succeed right out of the gate, it's not the way things usually go. Even if he looks pedestrian in the first quarter of the season, we need to be patient. Like others have said, just look for good decision-making and gradual improvement.

Looks like he's made up for it.

Agreed. Thanks for getting me through the offseason. Looking forward to some more "thoughts".

True dat.

Still wrapping my brain around this one. Does that equal 50% mental?

Hopefully not exemplified by their average of 9.75 penalties per preseason game, for 69.5 yards per game. Also of note, the Patriots have an NFL-high 14 rookies on the 53-man roster.

That was one of the best ones in that series that I've read. Absolutely hilarious and awesome.

Did you look at the use of TE in the context of the offense as a whole? In other words, was TE production merely reflective of offensive production in general? Or were the WR on those teams equally, highly productive, reflecting the fact that those teams had efficient, productive passing offenses in general?

Regression to the mean, baby. It's got to happen sometime, doesn't it?

Well, that's just the cynic in me, but I always go into a Pats* game expecting to lose 45-3.

I think, in order to judge who might be the biggest bust, you have to take into consideration things like: - draft slot, so guys selected #1 overall have more "bust" impact than a guy drafted #10 - position, so guys who play QB probably have more "bust" impact than, say, an OL - hype coming out of the draft, so guys judged as "can't miss" have more "bust" impact than less heralded players (probably related to the first item above) - how long the guy's career was, so a guy who flames out after 3 years is more of a bust than, say, a guy who lingers around the league, however unproductively, for 7 years - some important stats, like games started, impact plays (TDs), and such, even if there weren't many - injuries, and the part they played in reducing impact/shortening his career I think there was a good thread on this during the offseason discussing the biggest Bills draft bust, which touched on some of these issues. Given all of that, Curry has to be very high on that list, given his draft hype, lack of impact, and short career. A guy like Mandarich would qualify as well, but you could say that he lingered around the league longer than some (didn't he come back after time away from the league?). I still think Leaf has got to be near the top of the list as well.

Thanks, Big C. I'll settle down now. By the way, did you see the Pats* sign a street FA TE? Wonder what that means about Gronk...