Whites Bay

You'll be fine. It's going to be televised on WWNY 7. I've been heading up there for the past several weeks, and I've avoided the friggin' blackout each time.

Is it too early in the weekend for the gratuitous Southern jokes? Like: Q) "What is foreplay to a Southern boy?" A) "Hey sis.....you awake?" Probably too gratuitous and pedestrian, I admit, but that one always seems to ring a bell.

Take heart in the knowledge that they're one of the few teams in the AFC Wildcard race that we're actually viewing in our rear view mirror. If I've correctly interpreted the thousand threads on this board covering the tie-breaking scenarios.....well, in all probability, they're sniffin' our tailpipe. And that's a beautiful thing.

Glad to help, but sad that I've had to learn so much about the blackout and telecasting! Love the Bills (have had season tickets during two stints), respect Ralph for what he's done this year.....but GEEZ LOUISE! We're in the Utica area, and it friggin' baffles me how I can live over 3 hours from the stadium and STILL get blacked out because of a small slice of Yates county - which itself is 2 hours from us. 75-mile blackout zone my @$$. It extends all the way to friggin' Albany. While Chuck Schumer's busy getting the NFL Owners to have a CBA meeting in January, he ought to bring THAT little gem up as well.

I had a September bet with a co-worker, who said they'd go no better than 4-12. I said 5-11 or better. If I won, I got a case of Molson Canadian. If he won, I had to get him a case of Genesee Cream Ale and drink it with him. It was touch and go for awhile, and I'm very grateful that the "Screamers" will be put on hold for now. In my heart of hearts, I felt we'd be 7-9 at best. But like everyone on this board......man, it's going to bite the big green one if they lose. It's too late now - the bandwagon's rolling and it's just wonderful. Dunno about the Ravens, but I think we're in good shape for the Titans game. Vince Young might be a media darling and a great collegiate player, but has he ever had to play in THIS STUFF THIS LATE in the season? Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.

Gribblenation's a great site, but always read the fine print. He says he pulls his data from a few other sources, and - bless him - he doesn't make claims for 100% accuracy. I've caught a few hiccups as the year has progressed. It's been my experience that the best data comes from www.titantv.com. Type in your zip code, choose analog or digital, and let 'er rip. I've found this source to nail it down within about an hour of the blackout, while gribblenation sometimes misses it...guess he has other things to do with his life than to update TV maps. Go figure. The upshot is that Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse are screwed blued tattooed. Going to head upstate to the Watertown area myself. It's like "The Land The NFL Forgot", and they don't screw with the blackouts up there.

Weather's going to be rough, with a high of 38 and flurries/snow showers. JP's shown that he can throw through this with accuracy - on a dime. Young's shown that he can be rattled, and still plays with the instincts of a rookie. Sorry for stating the obvious, but the passing game's going to go to the Bills, and I'm guessing at least 2 passing touchdowns for JP. One will certainly be to Evans, but I'll toss the other one to either Parrish or Reed, as I don't think the Titans are going to ignore Royal like the Fins did last week - too much press now. PacMan will get a pick, and it will result in a TD. I can hardly wait to hear the gobbling PacMan noises made by the talking heads on ESPN during the highlight films on Sunday night......... It's a good thing the linebacking corps was built to be quick, because they're going to need it. Fletcher's going to have a big day, because Young's GOING to come up the middle - the question is how quickly Fletcher's going to shed his blocks in order to keep the gains to a minimum. Watch for Young to fumble twice because of the bad grip he'll have in the snow/wet, and Fletcher hitting him like a bag of cement. Bummer we're going to lose him next year. Henry's going to get 100+ on the ground just out of sheer emotion, but Willis will top him. Bills 27 Titans 14

The best - BEST - part about this weekend (assuming a big win, and a few Christmas presents like Miami and Jax losing) will be when the dust settles, and we're 8-7.....and have a real shot at it.......the BEST part is going to be ALL next week watching a lot of national media types having to (a) even MENTION the Bills and (b) gag while they actually ponder the possibility that THEY'VE BEEN FRIGGIN' WRONG WRONG WRONG. I'm predicting a couple of heart attacks on the air.

You can also try "www.gribblenation.com". Go to the html site, and you'll find the link on the lower-right side of the page. That data can sometimes be out-of-date, however; if you suspect it's squirrely, go to Titantv.com, and type in your zip code (and choose analog or digital). That's usually the best.

In order of priority: 1) I don't think you CAN get away from the Ravens game. In all probability they'll be playing for home field, and will come out like wild dogs. Hard to get away from THAT scenario. 2) Dolphins will be tougher then the Titans, and it means more (AFC East, versus merely AFC). 3) Titans will be tough because of Young, and Travis Henry has waited for this moment for a few years. Aside from that, however, they're very beatable.

We're in agreement. Like I said at the beginning of the thread, I'd give the team about 5 years to become cold oatmeal. You raise a good point about "people wanting to be seen"....I remember watching either Jay Leno or Johnny Carson back in 1989 (sorry, can't remember who was hosting back then) and Sammy Davis Jr. came on for what turned out to be his last interview before lung cancer got him. I almost fell out of my seat to see him in a Los Angeles Rams leather jacket. What a surprise - the Rams were making a run for the playoffs. A wonderful entertainer, but what a front runner. You'd get a lot of that in the first couple of years, and then......sound of crickets chirping.

It's a message board. Agreed - there are a lot of inane responses to highly inane topics. Looking at the main screen, however, I can see at least two threads that deal with this topic. The fans are, simply put, terrified that the team might leave. Part of me would rather be discussing our star receiver falling asleep in practice, but we don't have that luxury, I guess. Can't wait until there's final resolution to the issue.

Sounds like it hasn't changed in the twenty years since I first bought tickets to the Rams out there. Really a god-awful fan base, and it's refreshing to see that Goodell came out so bluntly. Looking at it another way - what did we miss by? 3900 tickets out of a capacity of 73000? That's missing by only 5%, sports fans. Believe me - and the above referenced quote ("zero call or excitement for a team here") - a Los Angeles-based team ownership would crawl on its collective knees on broken glass to have a fill rate of 95%. Zero, zero, zero interest in having a football team out there, and it's been that way for two decades.

Bingo. You nailed it. Put us at a 9-7 (or even 8-8) finish this year, and slip one of your December games into October next year, and none of us are having this conversation. Guaran-damn-tee it.

I figured there had to be some sarcasm in the original post. Always better to use it as a scalpel, and not a chainsaw. Couple of points, for what they're worth. Someone had stated on an earlier thread that Golisano is making some decent money now with the Sabres. Well, let's hope so, because if he's making bucks with the NHL, he's going to be awash in it with an NFL franchise. Let's hope he gets the bug. A downtown stadium in Buffalo? As a Rochester-born native...NO! The Bills have worked their collective tush off to expand the fan base beyond Buffalo, so take advantage of it and build the stadium to the East. Believe me, people outside Buffalo don't want to pound their way into downtown - and back out again. Finally, it likely wouldn't be Los Angeles, for the above stated reasons. Just an awful fan base that would itself have a hard time selling out a 70,000 seat stadium. But San Antonio? Toronto? Not too far-fetched. Go, Golisano, Go!

I can't tell how much seriousness is in your thread, so I'll refrain from the monosyllabic responses that first come to mind. If I were you, I'd be looking at the "move" from the other direction. I'll agree that, despite the pious bleatings, the NFL couldn't give a rat's hairy patoot if the small market that is Buffalo loses the Bills. The NFL's problem is not that Buffalo gets crushed. The NFL's problem is that there is ZERO fan support for their product in Los Angeles, and it's been shown by fans and political power-brokers (where is that new stadium, anyway?) for two decades. I'm speaking from experience. I'm one of the few posters on this board that has HAD season tickets to a Los Angeles-area football team. As a Rams season ticket holder from '87 (yeah, the strike year) through '90, I was continually amazed at: 1) The tepid, passive nature of the "crowds", and the way they would stare incredulously at anyone who dared cheer the team on. God forbid you screamed "DEFENSE!!!"....you might spill someone's Chardonnay. 2) The way people BAILED by half time. I've never seen anything like it! There was an innate fear of being caught in traffic at game's end. The team could be up by 10-14 points, the game could be wild.....and ZOOM! The crowd sucked out of that stadium like a turd in a bowl. 3) Not that there was all that great a threat to jam up the freeways. The Rams rarely packed in 60,000 people, and that was when they were competitive in '89. So....go ahead and fire off your stinging little posts about the Bills leaving for more profitable climes. It might happen, unless Ralph and a locally-based consortium can get something arranged quickly (because Ralph ain't gonna be around more than about 36 months - deal with it, he's 88 or so). But the Bills going to Los Angeles? Buddy, any team that heads to Los Angeles will be cold oatmeal within 5 years, because the fans simply couldn't care less. They're just the worst in the country, and I've lived it. Too much else going on, too much apathy, too superficial, no passion.

Can someone give me the inside skinny as to why Pennington is starting at ORT, instead of Butler? I'm not complaining about his performance (well, that first game was a little surreal, but expected), but Butler was a true ORT drafted in the fifth round. Pennington was a swing - I think - but in any case drafted in the seventh round. Marv obviously thought more of Butler back in April.....Anyone know the reasoning? Pennington's size? Arm length? Did Butler have an injury that slowed his development? Why all the questions? Because the above post to which I'm replying brings back a lot of memories, and makes a lot of sense. It simply drives me up a wall that we're not running to the right side! Can you say "Predictable"? Gee, here comes Willis to the left again - let's slide the spy over that-a-way, whuddya think? Who knows? Maybe they're just trying to give the kid some reps this year in preps for 07 (?). I'd love some insight into this from someone who's been watching the game more closely than I have. Why Pennington and not Butler?

Limbaugh. Oh, that didn't last very long, did it?

I guess upon rereading this the thought of a "frozen ball" doesn't represent what I meant. What I'm thinking of is how fast you'll get a layer of frozen water on leather. It happens in seconds, and it makes the ball real slippery. I know, I know. Stop overthinking it, dumbass. It's football. At the end of it all, I think the conditions will equalize more in our favor than against us...but I don't know if it's going to be enough to overcome a very talented Chargers team. So why do I actually feel optimistic? Too much Kool-Aid in the water supply?

Can't help ya there, homester! I wanted Ngata.

With all the money that's gone into this place, I wouldn't be a bit surprised. Sorry, had to open another one. No, that can't be right. Huge energy expenditure being funded by taxpayers for perhaps five Sundays. The more I think about this thread, the more cynical I become! I guess it's possible, but WOW that's a lot of kW. You could perhaps get away with it using passive solar, but that would have meant a tremendous amount of foresight in 1998 when the stadium was redone. People weren't thinking alternative energy when oil was $40 per bbl. Anyone have more details? In any case, a heated field won't affect the ball. That's going to freeze up real hard real fast once it's thrown. It'll be interesting to see how many balls are dropped.

Only if the Chargers game plan is to run up the middle. To be fair, I haven't had a lot of film time with San Diego, so maybe this is their modus operandi, and we'll get kee-illd. But I believe the field conditions will make for a bey-atch-and-a-half for either team to run wide, run sweeps, run reverses. Too damn slippery, and slippery will lead to caution, and to fumbles.

The Roscoe comment was pretty good! Wonder if he's lived that one down yet? Qualifier on "air it out" - I can see the short and intermediate stuff (it gags me to reference Marcia, but he doesn't seem to slow down through the air in a similar environment), but the long balls move around a lot upon landing. Now that I think of it, the two big Evans bombs in Houston were really high, you know? Especially that first one. Homey don't wanna try THAT crap on Sunday. It'll end up in the press box if we're lucky.

My concern is ice. Ice on the field, frozen moisture on the ball. You're probably right that JP has the arm strength to whip it good in the wind - although I don't care WHO'S throwing the ball, it's going to weave around at the end of a 40-yard toss. Short- and intermediate-range throws will be the ticket of the day. Who knows? Maybe our receivers are more accustomed to expect non-linear flight paths(?). This front came through like a ton-o-bricks, and the field is already soaked. There will be precipitation coming for the next 48 hours, and the night time temperatures are going to be well below freezing. so the field's going to be slick. I don't see either team succeeding with the long ball on Sunday. But you know something? Even if I take my beer goggles off, I think the crappy conditions will HELP be an equalizer. I still don't think that WE'RE totally accustomed to this crap, because it's been a mild autumn. But someone brought it up a couple of days ago, and they're right - if we're adversely affected by this environment, it's going to be a downright reality warp for the Chargers. I think you're correct in that the game plan will call for more tear-it-up than we saw in the nadir that was Indy, but get ready for the coaching staff to curtail things FAST if JP starts misfiring, or if the receivers start dropping passes or fumbling a lot (this is my big worry). Ice.

I'd have to agree. A million years ago, I had season tickets to the Los Angeles Rams when I lived out in Orange County. In my day, I was known as a "yeller" - I was loud as hell, and would get some incredulous stares in my section way the hell up in nosebleed central above the smog line. In my view, THOSE fans were a waste of skin, and it's no surprise they're in St. Louis today. In that sense, I can agree with MV in that the advantage to the team comes from being LOUD. But standing up all day? My brothers and I have had Bills season tickets during two stints in the past 20 years, and loved the entire experience. We're not locals; it's just not economically feasible for us to head into the stadium the way we used to (for a number of reasons), so it really REALLY ruins things when we've laid out upwards of $1000 for airfares, hotel, meals and rental cars, and we find ourselves having to watch the F-ing Jumbotron because some weaving buffoon won't plant his @$$. Unlike many folks on this board, we're a vertically-challenged group, the tallest of us measuring about 5'9". What are we supposed to do? Contact Balco for steroids or something? Be loud! Be enthusiastic! Be vocal! That's why "The 12th Man" is on the Wall - we've earned it. But remember, the Bills couldn't care less if you're standing up - they aren't looking at you! Sit the "F" down - it's not all about you.