Whites Bay

The way my pea-brain sees it, getting over "the hump" comes down to the performance of two draft picks. 1) Hairston has to come out of the gates as a solid (didn't say "exceptional") CB2. 2) Sanders has to come out of the gate...well, basically freeing up Ed Oliver to be Ed Oliver. In my mind, the rest is "gravy", in the sense that the positional weaknesses are mitigated by the opposition they face...a fancy way of saying "It's okay, the Bills are just better this week." If we get the same performance out of each unit next year that we got last year, we ought to feel pretty good. Those of you who study this a lot deeper than I do will fault my logic, and I'm fine with that. Yeah, safety is a question mark - but not a nightmare. Linebackers are pretty good. (Are they going to line Jackson up as a LB?) Offense? So-so (kidding) Kicking and Punting? Not the issue. If Hairston turns into another Elam...or Dane Jackson...the Bills are not going to make it If there's no push in the middle...the Bills are not going to make it. IMHO, any high end performance by Jackson and Walker would just be a bonus.

Just LOVING those big 90s. Bring it, boys.

With that speed? I'll be looking for his first pick-6.

I'm thinking they're going to play in Dublin, and I want to make sure I'm in front of the TV on time.

Yeah, I was really bummed about Thornton. Given how fast they raced to the podium for Walker, it doesn't look at though they were going for the WR in any event. But, yes, a curse upon the Raiders for that one.

Serious question. Is Shorter still on the squad? If so...to be honest, I feel a little better. I liked that kid.

A few points that will probably irritate some. Sorry to come across as some sort of NFL tool, but football on Christmas works very well for myself and my extended family. We - as a group - only get together a couple of times a year, and one of these windows is Christmas Day. The kids are all grown now, and our the whole extended tribe are huge Bills fans (first) and NFL fans (second). Fire in the woodstove, glasses clinking in toasts, turkey coming out of the oven; having a football game on in the background is perfect. Trust me - we've tried having the NBA on in the background...something to soak up the alcohol during a pause in conversation. Who WATCHES that stuff? Yes, it's greedy on the part of the NFL (candidly, it was/is greedy on the part of the NBA). And, no, I frankly don't give a damn about ruining the players' Christmas - even if the Bills are on TV. (In fact, ESPECIALLY if the Bills are on TV). They're young healthy men who get to take a break from reality and make a lot of money for a few years playing a game for our entertainment. A LOT of money. Again, I don't get the hand-wringing. "It's all about money". Correct. And the sun comes up in the east. Works for me.

"Shoot, a guy could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all this stuff."

"Our pure essence".

Don't forget the nasal "Rochester A". It's been known to shatter glass at 50 feet.

Everyone look up "episiotomy". Some of our mommies had to go through that in order for us to be here.

Yeah, I had a lot of hopes for Cine as well. Looking at Forrest's highlights (I get it - they're highlights)...wow. I have offseason visions of a successful safety blitz on Mahomes. It would be worth the GUARANTEED 15-yard penalty. Bring in the guy with the cart.

I don't know if it's changed, but the law USED to be that if you could prove lineage to two generations, you could get Irish citizenship, and subsequently an Irish passport. That means providing (in the case of a grandparent) the birth/marriage/death (if relevant) certificate for the relative, among other documents. It takes some time and money, but eventually you'll get a passport. I know this to be true, because I did it back in the 1990s. I have dual citizenship in Ireland. And as someone who has spend a lot of years flying to Europe, it REALLY helps to enter Customs & Immigrations through the "EU Passport" line instead of the "Non-EU Passport" line.

To this point, Google "Messe Duesseldorf", click on the Google Maps image, and look at "Merkur Spiel-Arena". The Messe is a gigantic convention facility (it's like 15-16 halls), and a luxury/business hotel and stadium are built right into the complex on the banks of the Rhine. A bit grandiose for Buffalo, to be certain. But as a concept? Been there, done that. And it's in use 52 weeks a year.

And when that happens, there will be some people here that find something to complain about. Mark it down.