Rubes

That 51-3 game is available on DVD, if anyone's interested...I gave it to Fezmid, give him a PM if interested.

Agreed 100%. Here's one for you, Langston...

Whoa, another Bills fan in SLC? Do you watch the games at home or do you hang out somewhere in town?

Amen, brother. Amen.

That was freaking awesome. So many cool reflections...great seeing Braxton and the Juice...what a receiving tandem with Rashad, J.D. Hill, and Bobby Chandler. And very cool to see Gary Marangi come in as a rookie against the Dolphins and throw a TD on his first pro pass, then another to tie the game with under a minute to go. Looked like Lou Saban was ready to kill somebody when they let the stinkin Fins score to win it. Thanks!!

I appreciate the perspective and I like when folks try to keep it real, but arguing that the Bills offense really only scored 13 points in that game just doesn't cut it for me. The offense scored 20 points, plain and simple. 20 isn't fantastic, but it's a good amount for a new offense and a young, still-learning QB when coupled with strong defense and special teams. Not acknowledging the TD following the kickoff return fumble, I think, misses one of the big things about the new offense -- it's aggressive, it's effective, and it's not content to settle for the easy figgie. Throughout this decade, we've had to put up with just the opposite.

Probably feels good, too. Don't tell me it was my Merriman thread that dragged you back into this mess?

I feel like there was an entire thread that I completely missed.

That's the key, for sure. And I agree that any score from our D or special teams would be a huge advantage -- as in any game, but particularly in a game that I expect the offense to struggle a bit in, like this one.

Salvatory glands? Are those, like, Italian or something?

Doesn't he do that, like, every other week?

Crap, they're on to me!

Ding ding ding

One other thing to keep in mind: last week we were at home, the Jags were on the road. Next week it's the reverse. Don't underestimate the impact of that, especially on things like the advantage the home-team linemen have on both sides of the ball. I expect the Jags offense to be better than last week, depending on how the O-line backups play. I also expect our offense to struggle badly at times. The one thing I think we really have in our favor is special teams. The Jags ST are good, but I've never seen a ST group have such a tremendous impact on the outcome of a game as ours. Seriously, two TDs and a kickoff fumble recovery in one game is just ridiculous. If we can get even a fraction of that on a weekly basis, that takes so much pressure off the offense and defense. I have the feeling that, if our ST continues on this torrid pace, the league is going to wake up and realize just how important a killer ST unit can be.

We need Stroud to make it through the whole season playing at this level and without getting re-injured. Please, no bear prodding.

Google is your friend. And by the way, freaking awesome column. Made my day.

Yeah, but who's gonna tell you bozos to actually take the stuff?

What, the crack about being a doctor?

Merriman likely to be placed on IR "Total reconstructive surgery on his knee." I'm no doctor, but that can't be good. Oh wait, yes I am.

Good God, are people really worried about Hardy right now? Wow.

He's at least a decent writer, and at least he acknowledges and embraces his homerism. Yet I still relish in his despair. His stuff after the SB loss was classic, and quite entertaining.

I would actually expect McKelvin to get some chances this week, maybe in the second half. With the heat down in Florida, I imagine they would want McGee to stay as ready as possible.

Even better than just 3 for 16 is the fact that 13 of those 16 third downs were 3rd and 8 or longer. That's the kind of situation your defense really needs to be in to have good success at getting off the field.

Great report, thanks! I'll be up for the Raiders game, hope I can meet up with you and the gang.