Whites Bay

The facet of the game that I'll be watching will be the Seahawks' VERY weak receiving corps against the Bills' secondary. OBD has spent a king's ransom in draft picks, signing bonuses and contracts on this group - much to the consternation of Bill-in-NYC. Okay, well, it's time to take the Ferrari out of the garage and see what it can do against a Dodge Reliant. Holmgren will likely short-pass the Bills to the point of frustration and exhaustion, because the LBs are a question with Ellis. (Or, maybe he's just what they need, as he's going to have to be quick tomorrow. That'll be ANOTHER interesting matchup). If the middle of the D-line holds, however, and the Bills can actually put the same kind of pocket pressure on Seattle that they did on Pittsburgh and Indianapolis in the pre-season, I'm guessing that Hasselback's going to get picked off a MINIMUM of three times if he tries to go any deeper than about 20 yards. He's just not going to have the time against the speed in the Bills' secondary. I'm not guaranteeing a win by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think he's going to be throwing into hell itself tomorrow. It'll be a blanket out there.

I've been watching in earnest since about 1970. I don't want to pine away about "The Good Old Days", and "walking to school 20 miles each way uphill in the snow", but there are two reasons that I single out the late 1980s as a different era: 1) I remember watching my first satellite broadcast. This was back before DirecTV and Dish Network. I mean the big, old-fashioned monstrosities that took up an entire backyard. The technology was so embryonic that it was not uncommon to catch moments where the announcers had left the booth...or, in some cases, they weren't ever there to begin with! I remember watching a Bills-Broncos game with a simple, direct feed. No talking heads, no one explaining (or attempting to explain) everything. That would just never happen now. It's.....well, it's just become so goddamn slick and overproduced. 2) In the same era, I remember sitting in the stands at (the then-) Rich Stadium. In between plays, one heard....the crowd. The whistles. The guy two rows in front of me explaining the formation. The officials and benches yelling (if I got close enough that game). Today it's just NOISE NOISE NOISE. There are advertisements ALL THE FRIGGIN' TIME in between each and every goddamn play! Every minute of every game is bought, sold, purchased, claimed and spoken-for. I'm one of those people that hit the "Mute" for every commercial. That doesn't happen at the Ralph! It's like Tim Horton's or Excellus is trying to drill into my brain stem. To OC in Buffalo's point, I don't know if the PRODUCT - the game itself - has changed. Perhaps. It IS a more complex and faster paced game, and I think it has to be if a team wants to stay competitive in the media market. I mean, who the hell wants to watch those 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust Los Angeles Rams/John Robinson teams from 1983? What has DEFINITELY changed has been the PRESENTATION. And it's changed for the worse. I'll sit at home with my Mute button, thanks. I do miss the stadium (season tickets from 1990 - 1993, and 2002 - 2005) and my tailgating squadron, but it's just gone over-the-top for me.

Oh, God, I'm so sorry for you. That's like being stranded on a desert isle with a case of Danny Schuster's Mt. Nelson, and no corkscrew. No, make that a rusty corkscrew. My stomach's in a knot. The Whitner (#36) jersey is dusted off, I'm reading everything I can about the Seattle Frappacinos, and am anticipating a SERIOUS alcohol issue by the third quarter. This one's going to leave a mark.

He's a writer. That's his job. It was either try to predict injuries, or talk about the challenge that peeing now brings in the middle of the night. My guess - and, it's only a guess - is that the latter choice wouldn't end up on message boards.

There's that "rationality" thing again. Go back into your corner, put on the dunce cap, and spank that inner child within.

He had 192,000 reasons to return, and they weighed heavily on his conscience. Nice to know he has some depth of soul.

I thought it was Bruce and Hansen. It felt like it was the entire D. Like many of you, I was at that game, and was doing the Snoopy dance at that point. I know we're not supposed to root for injuries (uh....right), but seeing Farvre's career end on the cold turf of the Ralph wouldn't bother me a bit. When I think of the way he ruined "Something About Mary", it makes me want to scream.

Whew. Yeah, maybe so. Still don't know why Crowell waited so long. It's not like these guys have to worry about the cost of healthcare. If the knee seems to keep bothering you in April, May and June, why wouldn't you walk into the radiology department have a look-see? Quick, painless and free. Doesn't add up.

Two days ago I would have said it would have been Corto as low man on the totem pole. Funny thing happened on the way to the Turk's party.....

Okay. This post wasn't supposed to go to PPP, but I'm not going to let this one drop. If the mods want to move this one, I'm fine with that. I'll be done here after this, in any case. 1) Dropping the "l". No, dropping the "l" would have meant that I was referring to "allot", which is to distribute, or to set aside. I'm guessing you didn't mean that, but instead meant "a lot". Two words. "A lot". Work on the space key. It's a big bar in the middle of the keyboard. 2) I didn't go to an Ivy League school. I went to a middle of the road private college, borrowed the money, and paid it all back over 19 years. I borrowed it because my parents - Goldwater Republicans - didn't have two cents to rub together. I don't feel any insecurity that I didn't go to an Ivy League school. Why do you? Some of my best friends from a long time ago are from Ivy League schools, and they washed out in the Game of Life. Big deal. I didn't. Sounds like you're trying the best you can as well. 3) I don't care that you served in the military. Your choice, not mine. Don't rub in in MY face, and, in fact, don't rub it in ANYONE'S face. It doesn't make you any more American, or any more patriotic. Just drop that action, bub. No currency here. 4) Good job on the degree in business. Good job on a degree in anything. I have several in science and in business. Do we compare GPAs now, or just thump our chests? 5) Insolent punk? I'm older than you, by a long stretch. Watch your mouth. I might be your next boss. For a short while. The game is lopsided, and all I can think about while watching this is that I pray that the Bills show more coherence on offense than does Washington. All I've read about the Giants had led me to indicate that their defense would #$*@ the bed this year, but it doesn't look to be that way. Or maybe the Redskins really are that bad. So how did they beat the Bills in preseason?

Wait a minute. If everyone hates the guy so much, why the suicide watch now that he's being shopped? If, of course, there's any truth to the rumor? And if he's being shopped, do you really think he'll be out the door in 64 hours? (J.P. Losman, drafted in the same round as McCargo, was shopped virtually all off-season with no takers). Assuming he's traded for another DT (a safe assumption), is it really going to affect the Sunday game if he really sucks that bad? Or is all this rationality just getting in the way of a good-ol'-fashioned-group-wrist-slitting? Carry on. We need the bandwidth.

And your spelling is "alot" like my beagle's. Can't be voting for Obama, that's for certain. You'd have had to have made it past fifth grade English. In fairness, I wouldn't get too exercised about it. The Redskins are biting the big green weenie, and this game is going to be in the books by about 9:30 P.M. Plenty early enough for Grandpa to give us a bedtime story.

Heckuva thing to say about your next President.

That could be VERY interesting news. In my days of following the Los Angeles Rams (going back to Roman Gabriel), I had to wait a long, long time for Joe Montana to finally come to earth. As the saying goes...."Time heals all wounds", and my wound has been two very good quarterbacks. Time took care of Montana, and maybe - just M-A-Y-B-E - it's starting to nip at Marcia's heels. Literally. Osteofissures in the foot can be a really tough issue. My mother didn't even know that she had a hairline fracture in her foot for about a year. It just caused her immeasurable pain. By the time it was properly diagnosed, the bone had healed out of position, and the foot had to be rebroken and reset (editorial note - sometimes I think my Mom is tougher than I am. That's a procedure I wouldn't want to endure, and it the pain must have been unbearable to subject herself to that course of action). Most of you have recently read the Buffalo News article about Ryan Denney, and his long road back from foot surgery. Doesn't it sound like a song sung in the tune of John McCargo and HIS foot surgery? Think "lots of little bones", and "really tough to set them back into place" and "the principal load-bearing member of the entire friggin' body". And Tommy Boy is going to try to tough it out, eh? Here's the deal.....IT DOESN'T HEAL UP PROPERLY UNLESS YOU PLANT YOUR @$$ ON THE RECLINER FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS. You don't have to look much farther than Denney, or McCargo, or even Stroud (ankle) to figure THAT out. I love it, Marcia. You're a hero, and an inspiration to us all. Get out there and show us you're Superman. We'll put a brass plaque with your name on it on our injury cart.

I just got that. No. No. No. Nothing in the NFL could be as funny as that. Please God. Please. A Fudge Packer. Jesus, you can't pay for entertainment like that.

Oh, I'm envious as hell, and hope one day to meet all of you. Okay, not ALL of you, but enough, anyway. I'll be here in the North Country, Molson Canadian in hand, my stomach in a KNOT. I'll be thinking of my mates at TBD, and if you listen closely, you'll hear a-howlin' from the Eastern basin of Lake Ontario.

I've screwed up on so many calls vis-a-vis players. I'm so glad to say I never screwed up on The Sheik. Good for the kid. Question, however - all the media reports I've read have said that he's had "2 interceptions, a forced fumble, and A sack in preseason". I'm picking nits, but didn't he have a sack in the Pittsburgh game AND in the Detroit game? That's a straw-man question...I'm telling you - he DID have a sack in both games. As I said after the Pittsburgh game...."That's a big kid". I like what he can do on the blind-side CB blitz. Watch for it a couple times this year, and watch it to be successful. Maybe even 3 times.

Looks like the boy took a wrong turn on his way out of Zion.

"I agree with this. I think part of that was a mind game that Belicheat successfully (almost Ha Ha) played on the whole league. The Pats were an incredibly talented team the scared people to death. By running up scores I think they created a myth that they couldn't be beat. The Bills were guilty of believing this. Last years Bills team was also an anomaly. With all of the injuries that we had there were time when I didn't think they were a legitimate NFL team and our offensive play calling was a joke. This especially true during the first game against the Pats when Wil!@#$ took out JP. I think we have better personnel and Turk appears to be a real OC. The Giants exposed the myth that the Pat couldn't be beat and I have seen the affect of that during the three preseason games that I watched." Let me further this point. There's no way in hell the Bills were going to beat the Pats* last year. No chance. Having Fairchild as the OC, however, guaranteed that the losses would be God-awful. Mark my words - the change in offensive coordinator this year may well turn out to be the single most important upgrade that the Bills make in 2008. More important than McLovin', more important than Hardy, more important than Stroud. "I don't agree with this simplistic statement but judging by the player performance that I saw things don't look good. The Pats o-line was beat on a regular basis." Herein is the nugget of the post. Preseason success or failure IS a bit of a chimera. Position/Skill players can come out of the woodwork with outstanding individual contributions (witness Action Jackson and Jabari Greer) and make the team, and everyone gets into a collective buzz. Individual performances in camp mean a LOT less than the strength of the lines. The lines - particularly the OL - are the key, the foundation. If these are struggling, it takes a cooperative effort on the part of 5 people to make it right. The key to that Pats* offense for years has been the protection afforded Marcia, and this protection lies in their blocking schemes and execution. I'm no particle physicist, but I believe it was the Giants' diagnosing of the Pats* schemes that brought the house down - and not necessarily outstanding individual performances by the Giants' defense. And you've had 31 teams studying that Super Bowl tape for about 7 months now. If the Pats* OL is struggling in the preseason, frankly I think it weighs a lot more into the overall chances for their success than Marcia's foot being in a boot.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. The Jets at 9-7? I have to watch myself, as this is one of those posts on which I could just go "off", and Lori's going to beat me into a sniveling pulp. I may not have a lot of pride, but I have just enough to avoid self-immolation. Ah, what's the use? Who in God's Green Acre gives a rat's hairy @$$ about that which a bunch of overpaid prognosticators on the Mickey Mouse Sports Network think or say? The ONLY reasons this collective hemorrhoid of humanity feel that the Jets are even SNIFFING a winning season are: 1) It's NYC. Big Market. Gotta get the knee pads for THAT action. 2) It's Favre. Big Name. Gotta get the knee pads for THAT action. 3) It's Mangini. A Belicheck derivative. Gotta get the knee pads for THAT action. I'll shut up and get off the board. I'm going to refer back to a very good post engendered by Tim Graham ("I'd Like Your Opinion"). That was quite something. I tip my hat to my mates on the Wall for a collective cerebral response. Nice to know it can arise when duty calls. Even so much as deigning to comment on the Jets being 9-7 strains credulity in light of a great post like that. Tell me you're better than that. Help me out here.

I was thinking he was rather like gastric reflux. There for a moment, painful, monotonous, and then gone. Preferably for a long time.

Hello Tim, I check the D&C every day, and look forward to coverage by Maiorana and Roth. Bob Matthews, not so much. I was surprised to see zero coverage of a very solid-looking offensive performance at Indy the other night. Understand that the reason I visit TBD (and occasionally post) is BECAUSE of the compendium of Bills information herein. I don't have the time or patience to listen to/watch/read about every snippet of information from a multitude of sources. Although much of the information presented on TSW is...well....inane, this is usually the best place to get the latest breaking news, because many people here DO watch national media outlets, and post instantaneously. Let me make a gratuitous statement - Lori Chase's gameday summaries are about the best thing going. Chuck Pollock is also well worth reading, and Scott Pitoniak's articles in the D&C are a must-read. I guess I don't take the time to tune into the national outlets because - God almighty - places like ESPN and the like are virtually unwatchable any more. I'm proud to say that I don't even know where ESPN resides on my cable channel array. As for the cutbacks in the local papers, this is sadly inevitable. The only reason my brother and I occasionally purchase the local paper (The Watertown Daily Times) is so that we can use the newsprint in the charcoal chimney to start the barbecue. That's not being said to be funny, it's reality. And it's a reality to which the Toronto Sun, The Toronto Star, and the National Post are not immune. You certainly know better than I do that the local papers are pulling people from other beats to cover the NFL north of the border. Fair enough. I think you'll see a high-water effect at the beginning of coverage, followed by a steady ebbing of interest. Toronto is a big, beautiful, self-absorbed city with hockey, followed by hockey, complimented by hockey, basketball, baseball, and a couple of other things to do besides sports. My gut call - and it's only a hunch, nothing more - is that the NFL is going to find it a MUCH harder slog to get the faithful to buy into the product north of the border. The league does appear to be a juggernaut at times, and it seems that they can put $%*#-in-a-box and make it sell, but keep in mind that they have failed on occasion, and have failed significantly. Witness two failed attempts at placing a team in Los Angeles, and witness the NFL Europe. The NFL Channel's ongoing struggle with Time Warner leaves THAT venture in the "jury's still out" phase. Thanks for dropping by. It's nice to know we're being included.

I know I'm probably stretching this analogy to the point of making it scream to where dogs alone can hear it, but when I hear that we need "at least one veteran back-up" in the defense, I think of the dreaded combination of Lawyer Milloy and Troy Vincent playing safety. Or Eddie Robinson at linebacker. Or Al Wallace (was that his name?) or Chidi Ahanitu (sp?) on the D-Line. Sorry, had to shudder for a minute. I'm back now. My point is.....no thanks. No. Nyet. Nada. Null. I can't say that "aged veterans" are one-dimensional (although Milloy was almost laughable in his last season), but they certainly have lost enough of their former dimensions that any rare display of a crafty, savvy veteran move is negated by the multitude of times someone younger leaves them looking for their collective jockstraps after a wicked spin juke. Plugging a veteran in for the sake of plugging a veteran in is Donohoe redux. I'd rather leave THAT mindset in the rearview mirror. If the "kid" is playing better, put him in and live with the mistakes. He'll grow into the position. The veteran just gets older.

Lori, It puzzles me beyond the bounds of my exotic imagination that the kids on this board don't learn from your delivery. You're a damn good writer, both in terms of substance and style. You've been told this a thousand times, and it's gone to your head. Well, it would have gone to mine, in any case. I tell you this to compliment you, but also as an attempt to present contrast to those on this board who actually listen to - and seem to take seriously - the exudate issuing from ESPN, Mike & Mike, or WGR. It leaves me scratching my head that people actually get their collective dander up about that oral flatulence. Hey TBD (and national media)...want a good read on the Bills? Her name is Lori Chase. WB

I'm giving it one more game. Like.....against Freeney. If, however, the line holds up against Freeney, that "poof" sound that you'll hear will be Peters'/Agent's bargaining position. What it ALSO means is that there will be two or three guys on the Bills who survive "The Turk" that shouldn't rest too easily. The Bills will get down to 53 players, Peters won't be in camp, and OBD going to snarf up every decent OT/OG on whom they can lay their hands. The roster doesn't get settled this year until about three days after the final roster cut.