Rubes

Nice observations, thanks. The only other game I kept my eye on was the Denver-St. Louis game. Both of those teams looked like crap. Plummer looked about as bad as I've seen a quarterback play. I was actually thankful to have JP over this guy. He single-handedly gave St. Louis the game, although the Rams could do absolutely nothing with the ball except kick field goals. It seemed like neither team wanted to win that game.

My apologies. Seems like most of the threads I'm reading are giving him the majority of the blame for the safety, and I just don't see it that way. I guess you saw it differently.

Did JP screw up by getting sacked in the end zone? Yes. But last I checked football is a team game, and if there's one thing I took from that game, and that play, the sack was only in part due to JP's error. I blame the mysterious, unnamed player who got the penalty on the kick return that backed us up inside the 10 to start with. I blame the offensive line for not being able to handle the Pats pass rush anymore, unlike they were able to do in the first half. I blame the coaches for not figuring out what the Pats were doing to slice them up. I also blame the coaches for the play call. A 7-step drop from the 8-yard line is just foolishness. By that time, the Pats were hot, the fans were screaming, and the Bills were backed up to the shadow of their own goal. The defense was bringing the heat. Where were the draw plays? Where were the quick slants? Where were the screen passes? JP definitely needs to have a better feel for the rush and a better understanding of where he is on the field at the time. There is no excuse for taking that safety. But please, spare me. JP was only one piece of that sad story.

Yes! I did notice that. Glad I wasn't the only one.

Shelton sucked yesterday. I saw two plays I can recall where he either whiffed completely or just stood around not blocking the guy in front of him.

Perhaps, but I will say this about the refs: there were at least two or three cases of (what I felt to be obvious) false starts by the Bills offensive linemen in the first half that were NOT called.

In the first half, yes. In the second half, our front four really didn't get much of a push. Not sure if they tired or if BB figured it out.

Who are you and how did you get Joe's password?

I'm sure they'll just point to the opener a couple years back when we pasted them 31-0, yet came back to do the same to us later on and go on to win the Super Bowl.

If the Dolphins have 1st and goal at the Steelers 3 yard line and run it in, I'm going to fly over there and kick Mularkey's ass.

Big deal. Ralph is old and senile. And did I mention how old he is?

That has got to be the 2006 Word of the Season. I love it.

Oh you just can't see that enough!

I would say one of the following: - Neufeld - Three wides, one back - Two wides, two tight ends, one back Since Neufeld is basically a TE and a FB, they could do a few things with him.

Now all we need is some optimism for our 3rd down defense.

Why bring me into this?

If he does, that would mean Brad Butler would already be out there...which is a thought I'd rather not have again.

This was written by Jerry Markbreit (former NFL ref extraordinaire) in 2004. I don't know if it still applies, but I'm pretty sure it does. This was from this source. There was also this snippet from a TMQ article written late last year (November 2005): It's at this link.

Can't really argue with any of that too much. The only one I see differently is the San Diego game, but it depends greatly on how Rivers is coming along by then. I see 8-8.

Well that right there is enough to convince me this year will be better than last year in many ways.

Let's just say "I'll believe it when I see it."

Didn't Ko change from 40 to 30?

I think we kept him for his receiving skills. My favorite play: swing pass out to the fullback, who gets creamed as soon as he catches it for a 2-yard loss.

Wow, what a coincidence...my dad lived right around there on Chapel Woods. I remember going to OJ's house at least once. Didn't Schoenfeld also live around there?

Since we now have the final opening day roster, we can consider this challenge closed and determine the winner. The successful entries are from: 34-78-83 Stl Bills Nick in RaChaCha McGill Bill BILLS4LIFE Dibs As per the rules, ties are resolved randomly by me. Since there are 6 winning entries, I'll assign each a number and roll a die to determine the winner. I'll do this in the next day or two to allow people to make sure I haven't missed anyone, and I'll announce the winner here and by PM.