Rubes

Good catch. Not sure why I thought it was his 3rd season.

Mostly because he's so well spoken and often gives good, insightful quotes to the media. A fine orator, he is.

Thanks everyone, glad you enjoyed it. The story is basically this: I was in college at that time, and since there was no internet, the only way I got my Bills news was by my stepmother sending me the Buffalo News sports sections in the mail every week. I must have sensed at the time in 1987 that something special was brewing, and I started saving some of the clips. It was right after that 34-31 Dolphins game that the trade for Bennett happened, and I have a bunch of clips from that, too. When the 1988 season started, I pretty much saved all the clips from that year, too. I had them sitting in a book all these years and somehow it made its way through the years in my boxes of crap, until I dug it out the other day. Actually, the main reason I thought to dig it out was a picture I saw online after the Pats* game with Fitz and Jackson walking together on the field arm in arm after the game and hollering to the crowd. It reminded me of a picture from that 1987 season that I had saved, but it turns out it was after the 27-0 thrashing of Miami later in the year. It was a picture of Kelly and Bennett, also embraced and hollering at the crowd after the game. After digging it out to take a look, I came across that Felser article from the earlier win, and I thought it was quite uncanny. Anyway, there you have it.

I can't remember that specifically, but I will say that I disagree in general. Felser is/was a much more knowledgeable sports writer than Sully could ever be.

Okay, so let me start off by saying that this is not another one of those, "Dude, this is so much just like that 1987 team happening again!" posts, but rather an observation that history does tend to repeat itself in curious ways. And that, in this case, there are some interesting stories from the Buffalo News from 1987 that could be played back, almost word for word, with appropriate substitution of names, and you might not even notice that they were written some 24 years ago. Now, whatever you do, just don't ask how or why I have these stories, or where I dug them up. Suffice it to say that the answer would leave you with mixed feelings of pity and embarrassment towards me. I'll just accept that now and be done with it. I don't think these stories are available online anywhere, and I asked the mods to make sure this was kosher. If it ends up not being the case, then my apologies, and just take it down. But it's also not the full articles, so, well, there you go. To set the stage, remember that 1987 was the last time there was a labor stoppage (somewhat similar to this year), although in that case it was in the middle of the season. It was coach Levy's second season with the team. Kelly was on his third season with us. In this case, the players had just come back from the strike, and this was their first game back, against the hated Dolphins in Miami, who by then had made an art form out of crapping on Buffalo teams. Interestingly, in that game Miami came out hot, and cruised to a huge 21-0 first half lead. Buffalo scraped a FG before the half to make it 21-3, but things looked bleak. Then, in the second half, the Bills exploded. Buffalo pulled it out with a game-winning kick (in OT) to win, as you might guess, 34-31. It was a thrilling win and an amazing comeback against a hated division rival who had pretty much owned the Bills of late. It was a huge victory for the fans and franchise. This was the column written the following day by Larry Felser. As you read it, think about how it would sound by substituting the Patriots* for the Dolphins, Brady for Marino, and Fitzpatrick for Kelly, among other obvious things. Think about the strike and how it was, in many ways, similar to the lockout we just had. All in all, pretty interesting. Just thought some of you might enjoy it. For those of you also interested, this game was followed a month later by a complete thrashing of the Dolphins at Rich Stadium (27-0), after which Donn Esmonde wrote a flattering article titled, "Marv Levy: He's a Coach To Appreciate." Some excerpts: Not exactly a revelation, but still, an interesting perspective that could also be applied to Gailey. I just thought it an interesting trip down memory lane, with a number of curious similarities.

At least we've answered that question.

Well, I didn't say "only one" thing. I said one thing, and then followed it with another three. So there.

I am totally loving the new unis. Including the helmets. And I was a big red helmet fan. And a big A+ for the blue end zones, too.

Now that **** is just funny.

Sweet, A+ for the wife. Wish I could be there.

And while you're there, hit Nobu for dinner. Best restaurant on the planet.

Seriously, how could anyone not just immediately drop what you're doing and watch all of it (again)?

Jerry reserves the right to change his mind and opinion at any time and for any reason.

I think the main source of the skepticism is the fact that they fell behind by so much in the OAK and NE* games. It's easy to view the "falling behind" part as an indication of potentially bad things behind the curtain, and the "coming back" part as just a sign of desperation that can't be maintained, rather than true power and ability. It's interesting, because the opposite is rarely true: in OAK and NE*'s cases, the jump to big early leads is seen as a reflection of their true power, while their failures at the end is viewed more as a fluke letdown rather than the result of an exploitation of their weaknesses.

They're showing it again at midnight ET.

Sweet! Loved the locker room clips afterward.

I've been to Soldier Field and the old Indianapolis Dome (before Lucas Oil field), and neither one was anywhere close to the Ralph in terms of noise. But then again, I went to a Bears-Packers game where the Bears got spanked, and the Bills-Colts game I went to was in the early 90s when the Colts crapped the bed. So no surprise it was not loud in either place. Edit: the only other stadium I've watched the Bills at was in Madison for a Packers-Bills preseason game in the early 90s. It was an odd experience. The place was packed, and the fans were seriously into the game, even though it was a meaningless preseason game. When Kelly was hit going out of bounds and was shaken up, the place was roaring with approval, as though it made any difference. Those were some hard-core fans.

Damn, I could watch these things all freaking day.

I don't get it. All the Patriots* fans are saying they only lost because Brady gave us the game. How does that make us any good?

Good points, as usual. It's almost as if we're completely, utterly unpredictable at this point. It seems like we could beat any team, or lose to any team. I sure as hell love watching them, though. I think I just need more time to figure out if this is all real.

This is football, son.

Holy crap. I could watch a hundred more of those. Thanks!!!

Brady threw a pick in the first game of the year against the Fins on a screen pass. It was picked off by Jared Odrick, all 6'5" 305 lbs of him, and as he rambled down the field, Brady could be spotted barely even jogging after him. It was clearly obvious he didn't feel it was worth trying.

Amen to that! I lived in Chicago for 8 years, and I'd go back there any day. Loved living there, I recommend it! Then again, I also love living in Utah. Winters here cannot be beat if you like the outdoors.

The official Rubes prediction is to expect the unexpected! And I think everybody pretty much knows what that means...