mannc

Yeah, I think Belichick is very uncomfortable with his kicking situation and knows it could cost them a game in what is becoming a tight race for the division and home field....

I love the Bills +5.5 (or better), although the more I read and hear about the Ravens the more I think this will be a very hard game for the Bills to win. They've won eight straight, including several blowout wins over very good teams. Their confidence has to be through the roof. I almost never bet the over/under. I just think it's a complete crapshoot, with too many factors to accurately assess.

Good stuff. The bolded is an understatement, by the way. A really good kicker like Gostkowski (as opposed to an average or below average one) is probably the difference in one or two games per year. How many other positions can you say that about? The fact that few kickers have been drafted early is not a reflection on the relative value of the position, but rather, as you point out, the fact that it's a huge crapshoot. There seems to be little correlation between where (or even whether) a kicker is drafted and how well he will perform in the NFL. It's strange, because you would think that a great college kicker (especially one from a major program who is used to kicking in front of 80,000 people) would almost automatically become a great NFL kicker. I mean, it's not like they have to adjust to playing against bigger, faster guys, like position players do...

yeah, I still have nightmares about the way Ingram shredded the Bills defense when the Saints came to town a few years ago.

I thought the same thing about Zeke going into the Dallas game and it turned out alright.

I don’t think so. I think we only get one early game, and it’s SF vs NO. I’m not 100% sure, though.

I did not realize that his FG percentage was that low, but some of that time was when it appeared he was injured and it seems like a lot of those misses were from 50 or more. Hauschka's certainly going through a bit of a tough stretch, but kickers are strange creatures. He's battle-tested (both here and in Seattle) and that means a lot when you're playing big games. The fact that he's still kicking the ball through the endzone on kickoffs tells me that he's not injured and his leg isn't "tired". The only way I would get rid of Hauschka this year is if it appeared that he had completely lost his confidence. I don't think we're there, yet. I will agree that's his seat is getting warm, though.

No. SF v NO is the early game on Fox.

He's a team captain. Unless he starts missing every kick, he'll be in Buffalo for the rest of the year. His kickoffs are still going through the end-zone almost every time, so his leg does not appear to be shot.

73% winning percentage is not anything to brag about at a program like Michigan. They have around 4 cupcake games per year, so this means he’s really only about .500 against bona fide division 1 programs, although I’ll grant you that the Big 10 has become more competitive since Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor.

The previous two Michigan coaches were bad. Harbaugh has lost at least three games each of his five seasons in Ann Arbor. The expectation when he was hired was that the Wolverines were going to compete toe-to-toe with Ohio State, against whom he's now 0-5. He's fallen well short of that expectation.

I don't think he's lived up to expectations in Ann Arbor and his ego has gotten out of control. That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if some NFL team hired him. Maybe the Jets...

Forgot about Marrone. I think the Jim Harbaugh brand is irreparably damaged.

They probably already know who they want to hire and are getting a head start. You don’t want to be the last team looking for a HC. I would expect a few more firings in the next two weeks (Quinn, Shurmur, maybe Kitchens).

We’d better hope not

I used the Oregon State Lottery mobile app. I’m not sure where they get their betting lines. They have Ravens -6 and it seems other services have Ravens -6.5.

Jackson loves to throw over the middle and the Bills' defense likes to force teams to throw over the middle, where they can create tipped balls and turnovers. Something's gonna give...

I only got +185, but I still like it a lot.

Bills 23 Ravens 17 Ravens are due for a letdown and this is the week it happens. McDermott/Frazier will be able to scheme up something to slow down LJ and the Baltimore offense. SF showed that the Ravens defense can be run on. Look for the Bills to adopt a run-heavy attack that limits the number of possessions the Ravens get. Bills are peaking at the right time.

An underrated part of the NE dynasty: Every year, from 2000 until this year, they had a top 2 or 3 kicker, in Vinatieri and Gostkowski. Those guys won a lot of close games for them over the years. I can’t help but think their kicker is going to lose a tight game or two for them this season.

The amazing thing is that guys like Carson and Philip Lindsay are available in the seventh round of the draft. I’d draft a RB in the late rounds almost every year. And yes, Ingram is a terror....Just no fun to tackle at all.

Carson is a battering ram. I love Singletary but we could use a guy like that in next year’s draft.

And let’s not forget the Browns losing to Ducky Hodges.

Nothing. Just a disfunctional 68-year old acting like a two-year old who just had his binky confiscated.

I don’t know about you, but the Jets losing to a winless team and falling to 4-8 is a little cherry on top.