Rubes

I do recall seeing one blitz against Tennessee...K. Thomas came in on a blitz and never got anywhere near Young. Nice completion on the play. When your front four get decent pressure, you're much better off not blitzing. When they don't, sometimes you have to try. They had gotten good pressure the previous couple of weeks with the front four, but nothing against Tennessee. I was a little surprised they didn't blitz more, especially against a rookie QB. Then again, I haven't watched film of the Titans, and it could be that Young does a lot of damage against blitzing teams by using his legs.

I think Belichick did that once and it worked out, and of course he was praised for it. I agree, sometimes there are strategies that seem to make all the sense in the world, but coaches at this level are just too afraid to take the chance. A lot of fourth-down situations are like that; sometimes it just makes more sense to go for it rather than punt, but you'll hardly ever see it unless it's maybe 4th and one.

Makes you wonder how Clements feels about this game. He's already proven his value and has only to wait for the big payday. Think he'll want to blow out a knee in a meaningless final game?

I thought I heard the sound of regurgitation around here...

I would have liked to have seen a FG attempt, but I agree that the wind was way too strong to make it an easy decision. Bironas' 42-yarder looked like it got slapped backward on its way toward the uprights and barely cleared. The odds were pretty slim. But again, I would have liked to have seen it tried. Then again, I'm more upset with the play calling before it. TEN was not stopping the clock, and two more runs would have been much better than two ridiculous pass attempts. I think Fairchild got a little too greedy on that one and it cost us. Oh, Royal. Why'd you have to do that?

Smells to me like our run defense. Again.

Just a guess, but I think Shelton would have more catches than Evans. ANd we wouldn't have swept Miami, that's for sure!

Either way, I'd say I doubt it will be the BUF-BAL game. If the first-round bye is settled this week, they'll be sitting starters either way and I'm sure NBC wouldn't want that.

Best division names ever.

Nice pics! I never realized Lamb was so damn tall. Any Mark sightings?

Well, one thing going for both Jauron and Levy is that they have had players over the years that rave about them. Black and white. I think that speaks volumes. I did read this part ...and all I could think about was Tom Donohoe.

Now there's the understatement of the year.

I think we should start a collection for him. Pass the hat!

The thing that kills me about that drive is that we couldn't even force a freaking 3rd down, for crying out loud.

How can there possibly be that many tickets left? It astounds me.

I'd really like to see some opportunistic and ambitious journalist from Buffalo have a nice 60-minutes-style sit-down with Ralph and have him address some of this stuff. Sure beats wondering what the hell might happen.

I think I just vomited a little in my mouth. But so be it.

Who said there was anything wrong with it? I'm just interested to know if we can get knocked out even if we win. Chill.

It also helps that Ellison is playing out of his mind!

Thanks...I was thinking more along the lines of going into the final game of the season. It would be really nice to have the possibility still alive this late into the season. It was nice in 2004, but other than that, it has been quite the dry spell.

Good to know, thanks.

Not sure how I missed the other, more populated thread!

I just can't bring myself to read through all of the playoff scenario threads here, so my apologies if this has been covered. Can we get knocked out of the playoff chase this coming week even if we beat Tennessee?

While it's hard to argue with those numbers, you also have to consider a few things: - the new group was thrown into the fire; they didn't have the luxury of being together for training camp and preseason games before the season started - hurries and pressures; my sense is that these are down considerably - number (and frequency) of guys needed to stay in and help block (max protection); my sense is that this is also significantly reduced since the switch Numbers can tell you something you might have missed, but you also can't argue with the fact that, overall, they are playing better and allowing JP to play better. The coaches aren't blowing smoke when they voice their opinion that they believe they are playing better -- and I doubt those numbers would really change their minds.

I say we just punt on first down and avoid any turnovers.