Rubes

I know, I know, he's an ex-Bill. Get over it. How a punter in Buffalo cost a safety his job in Dallas I didn't realize it was probably a temporary thing...

Ahem...

Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.

His mother is ill and he is with her this week. This is per Jay Skursky's chat yesterday.

How did the Texans go from a bottom-3 ranked defense in the NFL (2010) to a top-3 ranked defense in the NFL (2011) in the span of a single season? Two words: Wade Philips. Coaching absolutely matters. That's why the Jets are at least competitive, and we blow chunks.

I only saw two snaps with him in there, and he was a complete non-factor on both. He just runs way past the QB and hopes he forgets about him so he can loop around and get him from behind. You know, kinda like Anderson.

Cardinals lose RB Williams The question is...will all three get 100 yards each??

We all know about the problem with injuries we've faced as a team for...damn, I don't know, it seems like decades. Seriously, what gives? Everyone wants to blame the strength and conditioning guys, but I just don't buy that. There are so many factors that go into an injury, with much of it having to do with the type of injury and the location. But whatever the cause, we just seem to always be on the short end of the stick, and there has to be some reason for it besides crappy luck. Yes, other teams are experiencing serious injuries, including injuries to important starters, but it sure does seem like we get more than our fair share, right? Look at this season so far, game by game, with the injuries for each team as reported in the NFL.com gamebook summaries: @NYJets BUF: F. Jackson, D. Nelson NYJ: D. Revis Kansas City BUF: G. Wilson, S. Gilmore KC: K. Boss @Cleveland BUF: CJ Spiller, J. Byrd CLE: B. Skrine New England BUF: K. Urbik, S. Gilmore, C. Glenn, M. Anderson, S. Chandler NE: none (C. Reinhart injured during practice week) @San Francisco BUF: C. Brown, A. Williams, M. Anderson, J. Byrd SF: none I would note that a couple of the Bills injuries (such as the injuries to S. Chandler in the NE game, C. Brown and J. Byrd in the SF game, and C. Reinhart) were not reported in the NFL.com gamebook; I got those from what I know and various online reports. Thus, it is possible that our opponents also had additional injuries that weren't reported in the gamebooks. Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to matter if it's a home or away game, we always end up on the wrong end of the injury report. That's 16 injuries to Bills players already so far this year, compared to 3 injuries for the opponents we played. Of those 3 injuries to our opponents, only one (K. Boss) was significant enough for the player to lose subsequent playing time (he's on injured reserve due to concussion issues). Meanwhile, the Bills have had at least 8 injuries that are/were significant enough to either lose playing time (Jackson, Nelson, Urbik, Glenn, Reinhart, Brown) or to significantly impact their performance (CJ Spiller and probably J. Byrd). Yes, football is a tough game, and everyone has to deal with injuries. But it sure does seem like we deal with a disproportionate number, particularly when you look at the team we played. Is it something about the way we play? Do we let other teams kick the crap out of us? Are we just more polite on the field? Seriously, what gives??

Funny, but that may not be too far from the truth. Sounds like the Bills will need to call up a few offensive linemen from the PS to replace the (once again) ridiculous number of injuries on the line. So they'll have to replace them with fresh bodies...

I, for one, appreciate the perspective. I still don't think they have a snowball's chance in hell of making the playoffs, but what the hell do I know? I thought the defensive line was going to be an unstoppable force.

I honestly can't say after reading his quotes what he thinks the problem is in Buffalo.

This is just too depressing.

I'd be pretty psyched about it if it weren't for the fact that I predicted them to finish 7-0 in the final seven weeks instead of 0-7.

If I remember correctly, didn't he block a punt and recover it in the end zone for a TD? That was one hell of a play for a big guy like that.

Meachem, by the way, is having a blistering season so far with San Diego, with a total of 6 catches through 4 games.

The best summary is the last line from Chris Brown's coverage of the interview: It better not, indeed. Perhaps a telling quote. Linky

Bills: 5 questions with defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt An excerpt: I really have no idea what any of that means.

Oh I don't doubt that. I could definitely tell that Spiller wasn't his usual explosive self, and Freddie seemed a step slower than usual. Nevertheless, I still believe the offensive line was overmatched in this one, even before those guys went down. There were no running lanes, and Fitz was definitely feeling the pressure.

And that, in a nutshell, is what went down on Sunday.

I'm not convinced, John. We had trouble running the ball all day, and we had trouble with pass protection as well. I think the offensive line was performing below par all day, as well as the defensive line. In my opinion, it was a matter of time before a team like the Pats* got their act together, reduced the errors, and figured out how to take advantage of us on both sides of the ball.

You're right. It worked out so well when we hired up-and-coming Gregggg Williams, then up-and-coming Mike Mularkey...

Well, that and the fact that they're pissed that he went to a division rival and proceeded to "appear" to be a force, effectively embarrassing their favorite team for letting a stud go and reinforcing the idea that we just don't know how to develop players. So we just want to make sure the record shows he's actually not a stud, he's still a goddamned bust, and hooray that the Jets have had the same problems getting him on the field. Something like that.

Sure does get tiresome, doesn't it?

Well, at least they still have us higher than the Jets, despite the beat down four weeks ago.