November 30, 2007

Fletcher’s reunion loses luster

London Fletcher did his best to downplay Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, the team he played for the past five seasons before signing with the Washington Redskins.

But after jokingly saying this was just another game, he finally suggested this one was circled on his calendar.

:60 with Chris Kelsay

How did you become such a big outdoorsman? It started with my father. He grew up with three older brothers and their love of the outdoors came from their father. If you see me in my free time I’ll have a reel in my hand and after the season I have to hurry back home to Nebraska to get some hunting in. I really enjoy being out in the wilderness or just dropping a line in the water. You have to work together to reel in those big catches, so there is a lot of teamwork and camaraderie involved.

Redskins’ Gibbs needs some help from front office

Q: The Redskins are 5-7. Do you think hiring Joe Gibbs will go down as a mistake? — David Clarke, Boston.

A: I don’t think hiring Gibbs was a mistake. He hasn’t lost all the traits that made him a Hall of Fame coach. However, he was always a coach. Period. He had a general manager in Bobby Beathard who made a ton of great personnel decisions.

Apart from Peterson, rookie class comes up short

There’s no way to sugarcoat it. Take Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson out of the equation and you’re left with the fact that this has been a brutal year for rookies in fantasy football.

When Peterson has been healthy he’s been special. Though he’s missed the last two games, he still leads the NFL with 1,081 rushing yards, has a pair of 200-yard games, the NFL single- game rushing record, and has scored nine times. After that, you’re left with scraps.

Jackson could start at RB for Bills on Sunday

Running back Fred Jackson was one of the most noticeable players this past summer when the Bills were sweating through training camp at St. John Fisher College.

Of course, that's the way it is with many young players who get opportunities to shine in the preseason, then are never heard from in the NFL again.

Thomas Has Torn Muscle; Unlikely To Play Sunday

Buffalo's running back stable looks like it will be down to two come Sunday in Washington. That's because veteran Anthony Thomas' status for Sunday's game appears bleak as he is not expected to play.

"I'm not optimistic about Anthony," said head coach Dick Jauron. "It's a torn muscle and he's very sore and it's swollen."

Parrish to Proudly Wear Taylor Decal Sunday

He was part of the same incoming freshman class at the University of Miami with Sean Taylor, so naturally when Roscoe Parrish got that terrible call Tuesday morning he was devastated.

No Let Up On Bills Injury Front

Bills linebacker Keith Ellison took to the practice field Wednesday and made his way through practice as he always does in preparation for the upcoming opponent. About midway through the mid-week workout however, he noticed something.

November 29, 2007

Bills, Browns get most out of talent on hand

The Bills have overcome a spate of injuries on defense to remain competitive. It speaks wonders to the job head coach Dick Jauron and his staff have done that the Bills have been blown out only by the Patriots (twice) and Steelers.

Bills reserves may be needed against Redskins

It looks like quarterback Trent Edwards will need the help of plenty of backups Sunday when the Buffalo Bills visit the Washington Redskins.

Bills' Thomas to miss Sunday's game

Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron said running back Anthony Thomas is not expected to play Sunday because of a torn calf muscle.

Taylor on the minds of Bills, Redskins

Buffalo Bills players offered their sympathy Wednesday to the Washington Redskins as both teams began the difficult task of preparing for their game Sunday in the wake of the death of Redskins safety Sean Taylor.

“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” said Bills guard Derrick Dockery, who played with Taylor in Washington the past three seasons. “He was a great individual. He always was positive. He’d encourage me when I was going through tough times.

Reed, Tasker make Hall cut

Buffalo Bills greats Andre Reed and Steve Tasker were among 26 players named as semifinalists Wednesday on the 2008 ballot for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Reed and Tasker made the cutdown from a preliminary list of 124 candidates in a vote of the Hall’s board of selectors. The list of 26 semifinalists will be reduced to 15 modernera candidates in another vote that will take place next month.

Lynch, Kelsay likely sidelined as injury list grows for Bills

Not that this is anything new for a team that already has 12 players on the season-ending injured reserve list, but the injury bug is back and is biting the Bills in a big way this week. Eleven players missed practice Wednesday as Buffalo began preparing for its game Sunday against the Washington Redskins.

Former Bill Fletcher hit hard by Taylor's death

When the NFL schedule was released in April, new Washington linebacker London Fletcher wanted to know two things.

"When we played Dallas, and when we played Buffalo," Fletcher said Wednesday via conference call from the muted offices at Redskin Park. "Obviously it doesn't have the same meaning to me after what has taken place."

Taylor's death shocks Bills players

On Sunday night, George Wilson was listening to Roscoe Parrish tell tales about University of Miami football, well aware Parrish was anxiously awaiting his on-field reunion with former Hurricanes teammate Sean Taylor. "Roscoe was just talking about Sean, talking old stories," Wilson said.

Redskins' Pain Echoes Loudly for Their Next Opponent

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Josh Reed said he could hardly sleep Tuesday night, so distraught was he about the shooting death of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor. Safety George Wilson said Taylor's death was the last thing he thought about Tuesday night and the first thing that entered his mind Wednesday morning. "I don't think there was a minute that I didn't think about it," he said.

Dockery’s homecoming won’t be as planned

Derrick Dockery envisioned his homecoming in Washington unfolding a certain way: seeing friends and familiar faces; laughing about old times and slapping backs.

That’s not what he expects to happen Sunday.

November 28, 2007

Bills reserves may be needed against Redskins

It looks like quarterback Trent Edwards will need the help of plenty of backups Sunday when the Buffalo Bills visit the Washington Redskins.

The Bills are likely to be without both of their top two running backs. Neither Marshawn Lynch or Anthony Thomas were able to practice Wednesday, and coach Dick Jauron said he's not optimistic about either one playing. Lynch has a sprained ankle. Thomas has a calf injury and was on crutches Wednesday. That means Fred Jackson probably will start and be backed up by rookie Dwayne Wright.

Lynch Making Good Progress

Bills head coach Dick Jauron for the third straight week said he was not optimistic that Marshawn Lynch would be available to him come Sunday for Buffalo's next game in Washington. But Lynch is not letting the slightest negative creep into his head as he recovers from his high ankle sprain suffered more than two weeks ago.

Bills Fill Practice Squad Opening

The Bills wasted little time filling the practice squad vacancy left by cornerback Dustin Fox's promotion to the active roster last week, signing free agent defensive end Shaun Nua.

Bills players mourn Taylor

By Sunday, Derrick Dockery hopes he’ll be able to concentrate on football, but at the moment his thoughts still revolve around Sean Taylor, his former Washington Redskins’ teammate who died early Tuesday in Miami from a gunshot wound.

Dockery and the Buffalo Bills are preparing for Sunday’s NFL game against the Redskins at 1 p.m. at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., but it’s a difficult chore.

“I’m deeply saddened,” Dockery said. “Sean was a great guy, a great teammate. He was so positive. He encouraged me through tough times.

Jackson in running to start

Two years ago, Fred Jackson was working as a part-time youth counselor and living in his mother-in-law’s basement. Five weeks ago, he earned an official place in NFL history books even though he accomplished nothing, defined as having one carry for 1 yard and one catch for minus-1 yard.

Why Brady is best of the bunch

After the New England Patriots’ most recent dismantling of the Buffalo Bills I wrote, with less than unanimous acceptance, that no quarterback in NFL history compares to Tom Brady. New Englanders e-mailed to applaud my keen sense of observation. Those removed from Beantown wrote to express dismay and in some cases profound anger that I’d have the audacity to draw such a firm conclusion.

Redskins Are Expected to Play as Scheduled

The business of playing football will go on for the Washington Redskins even as those in the organization mourn the death of safety Sean Taylor. NFL officials said yesterday that they expect the Redskins' game against the Buffalo Bills to be played as scheduled Sunday at FedEx Field.

"I have not heard any discussion of changes to the schedule," Greg Aiello, the NFL's senior vice president of public relations, said by telephone from New York.

November 27, 2007

With Losman done, Buffalo continues searching for its savior

When you spend a high-round draft pick on a quarterback who ultimately doesn't develop the way you had originally hoped, your franchise is set back a number of years. How many depends on whether the organization bounces back and finds the right replacement.

Safety In Numbers

There's no question that the Buffalo's defense has some areas of their game that need fixing, and a lot of it has been due to injury which has compromised continuity defensively. But one position that has been instrumental in helping Perry Fewell's unit through some rough patches this season has been safety.

Edwards to return as Bills’ starter

Trent Edwards has learned a few things during his rookie season with the Buffalo Bills, but none was more important than the eye-opener he experienced Monday after replacing J.P. Losman at quarterback. In the NFL, you’re only as good as your last play, so make sure your last play was a good one.

Defense paid the price for yielding big plays

Bills give starter role to Edwards over Losman

J.P. Losman, more than anyone, saw the move coming. With each loss, the leash that Buffalo Bills coach Dick Jauron had on the fourth-year quarterback got shorter. And on Monday, following Sunday's 36-14 loss at Jacksonville, Losman's third consecutive dismal performance, that leash ran out of links.

Bills replay: Was benching Losman right call?

It was absolutely the right move. After four starts and after another failed chance to beat a good opponent on the road, Losman needed to be put on the bench and I'd secure him there with Super Glue.

Bills report: Inside slant

Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman had a clear opportunity to make his case for being Buffalo's long-term quarterback over the past month, but not even the O.J. jury would have seen fit to cut him a break. Neither could coach Dick Jauron, who announced Monday that he was going back to rookie Trent Edwards for Sunday's game in Washington.

Bills report: Strategy and personnel

It was a woeful day for J.P. Losman as he failed to generate any type of downfield attack against a Jacksonville defense that was determined to take the deep ball away. Losman completed a career-high 27 passes, but he threw dumpoffs all day and had only 141 yards passing until the final two minutes when he piled up some garbage yardage.

Bills report: Notes, quotes

The Bills may have to deal with another key injury as defensive end Chris Kelsay left Jacksonville with a walking boot on his left foot, and crutches under his arms. He re-injured his already-sore ankle in the second quarter and could not return. "Chris' ankle is pretty sore and he's in a boot and that one, we may not know for a number of days," said head coach Dick Jauron said.

November 26, 2007

Playoffs Now An Uphill Climb

Going in Buffalo's players knew the stakes. The Jacksonville Jaguars were in the driver's seat for the top Wild Card spot in the AFC.

Second Down: Week 12

Each week we'll spend Monday dissecting the more interesting statistics and noteworthy items that came out of Sunday's game. Some stats may surprise, others might impress and some might tick you off, but we try to cover it all in Second Down.

Jauron Again Not Optimistic About Lynch

It's going on three weeks now that the Bills have been without one of their most consistent offensive performers, and signs are not positive that he'll be ready to play Sunday at Washington.

Kelsay’s Ankle In A Boot; Two Other Defenders Hurt

The hits just keep on coming for Buffalo's defense when it comes to injuries. Chris Kelsay appears to have the most serious injury coming out of the Jacksonville game.

Bills: Edwards in, Losman out at QB

Trent Edwards is back under center for the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo’s special-teams units have no reason for talking proud

The Buffalo Bills take a lot of pride in their special teams, but there was nothing to feel good about during Sunday’s 36-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mistakes on punt and kickoff coverage directly led to 10 points by the Jaguars.

Jaguars’ defense makes Bills’ Evans disappear

Two catches for 19 measly, meaningless yards.

If the Jacksonville Jaguars’ intent was to take away Buffalo Bills wide receiver Lee Evans, they succeeded in grand fashion.

Evans, who hadn’t gone without a catch since the sixth game of his rookie season, was shut out Sunday until a 12-yard reception with 44 seconds remaining. He added a 7-yard grab on the same garbage-time drive on Buffalo’s last possession.

Bills-Jaguars Report Card

Grading the Bills

Running game

C- Parrish TD run made numbers look decent. But Thomas, the featured back, had only 46 yards and 3.1 average. They really missed Lynch.

Passing game

D Losman completed 13 throws to running backs. So much for gunslinging. He’s started and finished six games this year and been bad in five.

QUARTERLY REPORT Mark Gaughan breaks down the game quarter- by- quarter

FIRST QUARTER: First TD Taylor made

Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor did not look like a man with 10,000 yards of tread on his NFL tires in the first quarter. Taylor burst through a hole in the middle of the Bills’ defensive line on the Jaguars’ first possession and rumbled 50 yards for the game’s first touchdown.

Final answer

Sunday’s football game in Jacksonville was all about answers.

The Buffalo Bills did not want to let the Jacksonville Jaguars’ power running game beat them.

The Jaguars did not want to let the Bills’ fastest receivers, Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish, beat them downfield.

Any questions now on who the QB should be?

All right, I think we’re done now. That knocking sound you hear is the jury foreman, alerting the court of public opinion that a verdict is ready. It’s finally over for J.P. Losman. He’s had his last trial run as the Bills’ franchise quarterback, and he has failed miserably.

Losman had his chance Sunday against the Jaguars. The Bills were on the road, battling for their playoff lives against a rival AFC playoff contender. Playing without Marshawn Lynch, they needed Losman to raise the level of his play, and to lift his team above difficult circumstances in the process.

Durant steps in, steps up

Justin Durant was thankful the action came his way quickly in the Jaguars' 36-14 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
 

Rookie Durant delivers on defense for Jaguars

Justin Durant had a cell phone attached to his ear just minutes after his Jacksonville Jaguars sent the Buffalo Bills into a two-game slump.

Standing next to his locker, the radio interviews kept coming for the rookie linebacker who led the team with nine tackles and a game-altering interception in the absence of the team's leading tackler and recently injured Mike Peterson.

Musings: Time to give the football back to Edwards

All right, all right, I've seen enough.

All year long I've been saying that J.P. Losman deserved a chance to show what he could do in his second year in Steve Fairchild's offense, playing behind a revamped offensive line, with a stud running back and a deep-threat receiver like Lee Evans.

I thought Dick Jauron pulled the plug too soon when he anointed rookie Trent Edwards the starter-for-the-foreseeable-future during Losman's inactivity due to injury in late September and early October.

Buffalo Bills two-minute read

Play of the Game

Fred Taylor’s 50-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. It wasn’t the play that won the game for the Jaguars, but it was the play that set the tone for the rest of the day. Taylor took advantage of a breakdown by the Buffalo defense and his score gave Jacksonville a lead it never relinquished. From that point, the Jaguars were in control for just about the rest of the day, even though the Bills did creep within 19-14 late in the third.

Loss to Jacksonville hurts Buffalo's playoff chances

If there's one thing we've learned about the Buffalo Bills of the 21st century, it's that they have a nasty habit of coming up small in their biggest games.

It happened again Sunday afternoon at Jacksonville's Municipal Stadium.

With a chance to stay right in the thick of the AFC wild-card chase, the Bills played one of their worst games of the season and were blown out 36-14 by the wild-card leading Jaguars.

NFL notes | Losman on shaky ground after loss

The Buffalo Bills are dealing with back-to-back blowouts after losing 36-14 in Jacksonville on Sunday. They were hoping to rebound from a 56-10 drubbing against New England, but floundered offensively.

The Bills actually had a chance to tie the score in the fourth quarter. They trailed 22-14 and had the ball in Jacksonville territory. But quarterback J.P. Losman threw an interception, his third turnover of the game.

November 25, 2007

Taylor leads way as Jags' victory over Bills clinches AFC East for Patriots

Fred Taylor ran for a season-high 104 yards and a touchdown, Josh Scobee kicked five field goals and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Buffalo Bills 36-14 on Sunday in a game that was more lopsided than even the final score indicated.

Jaguars run away from Bills

 Buffalo’s playoff hopes, a light flame at best at the start of the day, are barely flickering now after a disappointing 36-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars this afternoon.

Jaguars have too many weapons against the Bills

Game recap

Final from Jacksonville: Jaguars 36, Bills 14

It's all over in Jacksonville, with the Jaguars posting a 36-14 win over the Bills.

Turnovers Sink Bills Chances In Loss To Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills severely jeopardized their playoff aspirations as three turnovers proved costly for the Bills as they dropped a 36-14 decision to the Jaguars slipping to 5-6 on the season. Buffalo's defense held Jacksonville to just six points off those turnovers, but those giveaways also wasted opportunities for the Bills and a closely contested game wound up looking one-sided.

Let’s have perspective before bowing to Patriots

Is there anyone within 100 yards of a computer keyboard who has not yet crowned the New England Patriots as the “greatest team of all time,” without considering the insertion of two important words — “one of?” Is Tom Brady now universally ensconced as “the greatest quarterback of all time,” dispensing with Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, John Elway, Brett Favre, Otto Graham and Sammy Baugh in one misguided swoop?

Power Rankings / Mark Gaughan ranks all 32 NFL teams

(Last week in parentheses) 1 New England Patriots. Pats 40-8 after Thanksgiving since 2001. (1) 2 Indianapolis Colts. Banged-up Ponies have earned a good rest. (2) 3 Dallas Cowboys. Can’t put an NFC team ahead of Colts. (3)

The use of tight ends is catching on faster than ever

Tight ends are doing more damage than ever in the NFL this season. Tight ends are on pace to smash the NFL season record for the position in both receptions and yards. Those respective marks are 1,945 in 2005 and 20,761 in 1984. At the pace set in the first 11 weeks, the league’s TEs will combine for 2,099 catches and 22,302 yards.

Mostly turkeys served up as holiday leftovers

Today could be a day for spoilers in the National Football League. Three division leaders — the Cowboys, Packers and Colts — played on Thanksgiving Day, leaving a rather unattractive schedule for the other 13 games. There is potential for playoff contenders to stumble against marginal teams.

Let's Get Physical

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – No NFL team plays caveman football better than the Jacksonville Jaguars. Knock you down and drag you along the turf – that’s the Jaguars’ style.

BILLS: Losman faces last chance to secure starting job

So it comes down to this for J.P. Losman. One start — probably his last if it’s lost — as a member of the Buffalo Bills.

Bills reach crucial point in season

 J.P. Losman admitted this week that last Sunday's 56-10 humiliation at the hands of the New England Patriots lingered a little longer than most losses.

Bills Scouting Report

We may have just waived goodbye to Thanksgiving, but it's starting to feel a lot like Christmas for the Bills, meaning the playoff push — if such a thing exists in Buffalo — begins today.

Bills must think inside the box to stop Jaguars’ running tandem

1. Two- headed monster

Jaguars RBs Fred Taylor ( 604 yards) and Maurice Jones- Drew ( 569 yards, 5.0 yards per carry) spearhead one of NFL’s best rushing attacks.

Today’s test will reveal Bills’ status

Early in the year, it would have been lunacy to suggest the Bills could be a .500 team after 10 games.

Jaguars are long on brawn and dishing out punishment

No NFL team plays caveman football better than the Jacksonville Jaguars. Knock you down and drag you along the turf – that’s the Jaguars’ style.

November 24, 2007

Bills need a quality victory on road

The Buffalo Bills have a 5-5 record but they're still a below-average NFL football team in just about everything except special teams and enthusiasm.

Bills hope to shut down Jaguars' backfield

Whether opponents like it or not, the Jacksonville Jaguars play power ball.

November 23, 2007

Under Center with HOF QB Jim Kelly: Week 12

Buffalo's loss to the New England Patriots on national television Sunday night was embarrassing. All the talk of the Patriots running the score up is absurd. The bottom line is Bills needed to stop New England from scoring. It's embarrassing to get beat that bad and have the opposition dominate the game the way the Patriots did at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Game Day Tipsheet: Week 12

Once again we'll be featuring our Game Day Tipsheet every Friday, which will include everything you'll want to know, some things you may not have known and probably a few things you didn't care to know, but find interesting anyway.

Bills Promote Fox To 53-Man Roster

Injury has once again forced the Bills hand in making a roster move. On Friday Buffalo released linebacker Leon Joe and filled the vacant roster spot with practice squad cornerback Dustin Fox.

Buffalo has its back against the wall entering Week 12

It's been awhile since the Buffalo Bills -- who haven't made the postseason since 1999 -- have played in a game they absolutely needed to win.

CFL boss sees NFL coming to Toronto

CFL commissioner Mark Cohon believes the NFL could be coming to Toronto.

Bills rookie running back won't play at Jacksonville

Bills rookie running back Marshawn Lynch will miss his second consecutive game because of a badly sprained left ankle when Buffalo plays at Jacksonville on Sunday.

NOTEBOOK: Jags-Bills likely a blackout again

The Buffalo Bills and the Jaguars have their homes in different parts of the country, but they have a lot in common.

Guard duty suiting Butler just fine

The first face-to-face impression Brad Butler made on the Buffalo Bills’ coaches came at the NFL Scouting Combine workouts before the 2006 NFL draft.

More productive Parrish wants larger role

The lone bright spot for the Buffalo Bills in the blowout loss to New England was receiver Roscoe Parrish’s 47- yard touchdown catch.

60 Seconds with Keith Ellison

Your younger brother, Kevin, is a star safety at the University of Southern California. You get a chance to see him play a lot?

Bills: Jags bring team back to earth

Last week, the Buffalo Bills were bombarded by the New England Patriots’ air raid. On Sunday, the Bills are bracing themselves for a ground assault from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Bills need to turn up heat on QBs

Buffalo Bills coach Dick Jauron makes a salient point in regards to quarterback sacks being an "overrated" statistic.

November 22, 2007

Buffalo Bills Inside Slant

For the first time, Dick Jauron used the term "high ankle" when describing rookie running back Marshawn Lynch's injury that kept him out of last Sunday's blowout loss to New England. Typically, high-ankle sprains take multiple weeks to heal. That means Lynch will very likely sit out another key AFC game Sunday when the Bills (5-5) travel to Jacksonville (7-3).

Bills Know What’s At Stake Sunday

In the NFL coaches constantly preach to their players to take one game at a time. The game that has perhaps more at stake for the Bills than any other this season is in front of them now.

NFL Picks Week 12: Buffalo Bills vs Jacksonville Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12 hoping to rebound from an embarrassing 56-10 loss to the Patriots after being an NFL Picks team and winning their last four in a row. 

Bills' Losman feeling the pressure to perform vs. Jaguars

 J.P. Losman said Wednesday that he feels like Sunday's game is a make-it-or-break-it day, not only for the Buffalo Bills, but for his own future with the team.

Lynch Has High Ankle Sprain

It's the dreaded term for an ankle sprain that no NFL player wants as a diagnosis. The high ankle sprain. But that's exactly what Marshawn Lynch is dealing with now more than week removed from sustaining the injury.

November 21, 2007

Bills WR Parrish feels overlooked in offensive attack

Roscoe Parrish is proud to be the NFL's top punt-returner so far this season. Trouble is, the Bills receiver was not happy Wednesday, wondering what it'll take to get more involved in the offense.  "Thank god for punt returns, but man, on offense, I've been getting overlooked to be honest," said the normally laid-back Parrish in a rare display of displeasure.  "Well, you know, you can just only take so much. I just feel like I can play more receiver, I can blossom more as a receiver. I know the abilities I have."  Perhaps, Parrish's 47-yard touchdown catch in an otherwise forgettable 56-10 loss to New England last weekend can be a start.  "I just made the play. And I just want more opportunities to make those plays," he said. "I just think I can get more touches on offense, if that's what you want to hear?"

Lynch, Whitner miss Bills practice

Running back Marshawn Lynch did not participate in practice this afternoon due to his ankle sprain which kept him out of last week’s game against New England.  That was not a surprise.

What was a surprise is that strong safety Donte Whitner was held out of the workout because of a blow to the head that he suffered against the Patriots.

Bills-Jaguars Preview

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had little trouble overcoming injuries to key players.  They'll look to do it again Sunday in trying for a third straight win when they host the Buffalo Bills, who are hoping to bounce back from the worst loss in franchise history.

Bills RB Lynch still limping, could miss game at Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills could be without their top offensive threat for a second straight game after rookie running back Marshawn Lynch missed practice Wednesday because of a sprained left ankle.  Referring to the injury for the first time as a high ankle sprain, coach Dick Jauron said he's "not particularly optimistic" Lynch will play at Jacksonville on Sunday.  "He wants to play. He still thinks he should've played last week," Jauron said. "But he's just real sore."

Bills struggle to move on

Buffalo Bills coach Dick Jauron wished every game was a single entity with every result evaluated equally and pushed aside all the same. In fact, as Jauron acknowledged this week, the blowout loss to the New England Patriots would likely stay with him a little longer than most of the others.

Week 12 trends and tips

Buffalo at Jacksonville The Bills are 7-3 vs. the number, including 2-2 on the road. … Buffalo has covered nine of its last 15 road games and is 5-0-1 vs. the spread in its last six contests vs. AFC South teams. … The Bills have covered four of the last five meetings with Jacksonville, and their last five road games have all stayed under the total.

32 Questions: Choking season

More than anyone I know, my brother-in-law, Ted, loves Thanksgiving dinner. Not only does he gorge himself on all the staples, but what he really looks forward to is a week's worth of chowing on leftovers. One year his wife, Sarah, came down with a nasty case of food-poisoning a couple of days after Thanksgiving, while Ted became only mildly nauseous. They knew the culprit had to have been one of the leftover dishes, and the logical reaction was to start dumping Tupperware containers. But Ted couldn't bring himself to do it. He took his chances and kept feasting on post-Thanksgiving fare until it was completely gone.

Time to Find Who's for Real

Week 12 NFL Rankings. 1. New England Patriots - Didn't prove much this week other than that they can run up the score on any team they want. Be nice Belichick, come on isn't that why you give your kicker a paycheck?

Field Goal Replay May Be on Its Way

The NFL's competition committee will study whether instant replay should be made available to review certain field goal attempts, a league spokesman said yesterday. The committee's consideration, which will be reviewed in the offseason, is the result of the bizarre ending of the Cleveland Browns' triumph Sunday over the Baltimore Ravens. A tying field goal attempt by the Browns at the end of regulation initially was ruled no good even though the ball first struck an upright, then the curved support behind the crossbar before bouncing onto the field in the end zone. But the officials conferred and changed the call, ruling the field goal good, and the Browns won in overtime.

Catch Us if You Can

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- After he had four touchdown catches, all in the first half, in another dominating victory for the New England Patriots on Sunday night, Randy Moss was asked if he'd noticed that Terrell Owens had caught four touchdown passes for the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the day against the Washington Redskins. "Yeah," Moss said, "I saw the real 81."

Shakedown > Week 11

1. New England (10-0, Last week’s ranking: 1) – I can’t believe some people were actually giving the Bills a shot. I guess Tom Brady and Randy Moss didn’t want to leave any doubt in the first half. The duo shredded Buffalo like they had somewhere else to go.

November 20, 2007

Patriots get another shot at prime-time audience

NBC's take on the undefeated and dominating New England Patriots is clear: Blowout TV is good TV. NBC, which aired the Patriots' 56-10 prime-time dismantling of the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, will get the Pats again this Sunday when they play the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the obvious viewership problems caused by a one-sided game, Fred Gaudelli, the producer of the NBC's Sunday Night Football, noted there is a fascination to watching a powerhouse athlete or team roll over the opposition.

Bills Must Move On

After suffering its most lopsided loss in franchise history the Buffalo Bills face a much bigger game this Sunday, as they travel to Jacksonville to face the 7-3 Jaguars

Kevin Everett Is Home

2 On Your Side has learned from family members that Kevin Everett is at home. Everett will continue to receive rehabilitation treatment and physical therapy at Memorial Hermann on an outpatient basis.

It's unreasonable to ask Patriots to stop scoring

We've never heard of somebody asking a dominant defense to let the other team score. Which is why we find it hard to believe that, week after week, people are calling for the Patriots offense to stop scoring. New England moved to 10-0 and received another round of "boos" from a hostile crowd on Sunday night while beating division-rival Buffalo, 56-10, in a nationally-televised game.

NFL Power Rankings: Cowboys and Packers Fight For Second Place

If the eleventh week of the season taught us anything at all, it's that we don't know anything. But, of course, we already knew that. After ten weeks of me saying that the Steelers were one of the top three teams in the league, they lost to the Jets in overtime.

Bills' Everett still has 'long journey'

Buffalo Bills' tight end Kevin Everett says he has "a long journey" to recover from a spinal injury.

Jim Kelly Insists Bills Will Stay

When WGR - Sports Radio 550 throws an event, things just happen. While there were many barbs thrown back and forth between Joe DeLamielleure, Steve Tasker and Thurman Thomas during the 1st Annual WGR Whiney Awards, Jim Kelly brought the crowd to its feet with the following statement:

BILLS: The lone bright spot

Admittedly, there was very little for Roscoe Parrish and the Buffalo Bills to take from Sunday’s 56-10 shellacking at the hands of New England.

Buffalo's secondary a primary problem

 The Buffalo Bills' defensive backfield of free safety George Wilson, cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Terrence McGee and strong safety Donte Whitner got great looks at the back of Randy Moss' jersey this past Sunday night.

Kevin Everett will continue rehab for spinal damage

Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett has been released from a hospital in Houston .

Losman will make fourth straight start for Bills on Sunday

Despite generating only 229 yards in Sunday night's blowout loss to New England, quarterback J.P. Losman has retained the Buffalo Bills' starting job for next Sunday's key conference matchup at Jacksonville.

Can Bills still make the playoffs?

Leo: No, but I suspect they'll give it a good try now that they have left Planet Brady and have returned to their normal solar system; you know, the regular, boring NFL where teams don't win by the average score of 41-16.

Bills turn the page on lopsided loss

Early Monday afternoon, it was officially behind them, because they knew it had to be.

Former Bills coach Jim Ringo dies at 76

Former Bills coach Jim Ringo, a Hall of Fame center who played 15 seasons for the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, died Monday morning after a short illness. He was two days shy of his 76th birthday.

Bills Regroup

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As if playing in what proved to be the most lopsided loss in Buffalo Bills history wasn't bad enough. Yesterday, some 12 hours after the final whistle blew following a 56-10 loss to New England, Bills players had to go through it again by watching the prime-time debacle on tape.

Die-hard Bills fan longs to win the big one

Jags game could be J.P.’s last stand

Column as I see ’em: • It’s no surprise to hear Dick Jauron will stick with J.P. Losman as his starting quarterback for the Jacksonville game. Jauron couldn’t yank Losman based on Sunday night’s debacle against the Patriots. Losman was bad, but so was the whole Bills team.

Patriots put heat on Losman

Buffalo Bills quarterbacks have enjoyed some good protection for most of the season, but J.P. Losman did not feel too secure for much of Sunday’s 56-10 blowout loss to the New England Patriots.

Losman will start against Jacksonville on Sunday

J.P. Losman will be a starting quarterback for at least one more game when the Buffalo Bills play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. It will be the Bills’ biggest game so far this season and would wind up being the biggest of Losman’s four-year career.

Early exodus from Bills rout helps keep arrests down

The 56-10 rout of the Buffalo Bills by the New England Patriots on Sunday night might have produced a sliver of a silver lining on a night filled with dark clouds all over the football field.

November 19, 2007

Losman To Remain Starting QB

For the second straight week J.P. Losman had his share of struggles, but he wasn't alone this past Sunday night as the Bills were steamrolled by the undefeated Patriots. In light of that fact Bills head coach Dick Jauron isn't planning on switching his quarterbacks this week. "I don't anticipate any changes and that includes the quarterback position," said Jauron Monday.

Jauron Not Optimistic On Lynch For Sunday

Facing perhaps their most important AFC conference game of the season this Sunday, the Buffalo Bills stand a good chance of still being without running back Marshawn Lynch. Bills head coach Dick Jauron provided an update Monday on Lynch's status, but the news does not sound promising.

Two-minute drill Another ugly coaching mismatch

There's a reason Dick Jauron is a perennial loser in the NFL, a disaster on the sidelines with a career mark of 48-63. Have you ever seen a team less prepared for a home game?

Bills were embarrassed, but they have to rebound

The Buffalo Bills were set up to succeed on Sunday night. They were riding a four-game winning streak, having improved their record for the 2007 season from 1-4 to 5-4. They were at home, playing in front of a raucous crowd and a prime-time audience. Most importantly, Bills tight end Kevin Everett -- nearly paralyzed in the team's season-opening loss to Denver -- taped an inspirational message that was shown to his teammates and the fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium before the game.

Pats end drama quickly; Brady throws five TDs

The New England Patriots have a long way to go before staking their claim as the greatest team in NFL history. On Sunday night, however, they made a case for being the greatest team ever to play in Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Secondary is left defenseless

The Buffalo Bills’ secondary has lived through this nightmare before, but it wasn’t as bad as the horror they experienced Sunday night. The Bills’ defensive backfield was overmatched by the New England Patriots’ explosive receiving corps.

Juggernaut tramples Bills’ upset dreams

Try to look on the bright side. At least they didn’t lose on a last second field goal. They didn’t lead you to the brink of a big home win and then rip your heart out at the end.

Dreary game clouds QB picture

J.P. Losman never had a chance in this one. Looking to cement the starting quarterback job as his, Losman couldn’t do much against a New England Patriots defense that harassed him and locked down his receivers.

Quarterly Report

FIRST QUARTER: Opening statement; The New England Patriots have owned the first quarter this NFL season. Sunday night’s game was no different. The Patriots took a 14-7 lead after the first 15 minutes and were knocking on the door for a third touchdown when the quarter ended.

Bills-Patriots Report Card

Running game C- Losing Lynch was a serious blow. Hard to judge when they were playing from a hole from the outset. Can’t expect much from Thomas.

Everett released from hospital

Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett’s road to recovery took another major step as he was discharged from Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital last week.

Patriots hand Bills worst loss in franchise history

There are few things that are perfect in the world of sports. In baseball it's 27 up and 27 down, in gymnastics perfection is defined as a score of 10, in figure skating it's a 6, and in bowling it's 12 strikes for a score of 300.

Despite loss, fans say Bills are on road to resurgence

There was no way anyone in the parking lot at Ralph Wilson Stadium could confuse Aimee Schunk's football loyalties on Sunday evening.

Bills need to forget this blowout fast

It had all the makings of a big game all right. Three hours before kickoff, a crowd gathered outside the Madden Cruiser waiting to catch a glimpse of John himself, as if the famous broadcaster were a rock star. What Mick Jagger might look like if he ate fast food for a year. Campfires burned, beer went down, and the nation watched.

Bills report card

D Quarterbacks: While Tom Brady was going 7-for-7 on TD drives, J.P. Losman was stumbling about trying to save his career. He was good for his usual killer turnover, token TD bomb and array of garbage yards. Yes, it was difficult playing from so far behind, but he helped dig that hole with an interception on his third pass, setting up an easy Patriots score and 7-0 lead.

Bills aren't in a whine mood

When the Patriots knocked off the Redskins, 52-7, three weeks ago, the rumble from the visitors' locker room in Gillette Stadium was that New England was running up the score when it went for it on fourth down with a 38-0 lead. They were the same whispers heard at Miami Oct. 21 when Tom Brady was passing in the fourth quarter of a game that was out of hand.

November 18, 2007

Buffalo Bullied as New England Piles It On
Patriots 56 Bills 10

Game Center | Play by Play | Drive Charts | Team Stats | Photos

Message From Kevin Everett

BILLS: Tackles not enough for Crowell

Even when compelling evidence says otherwise, Angelo Crowell is steadfast in his belief that people don’t respect the Buffalo Bills.

The Gift of Grab

Today we offer a lesson in NFL mathematics. Question: When does one plus one not equal two? Answer: When two defensive backs are trying to cover Randy Moss.

Joyful Bills ready to leap into the fire

During the week after the Dallas loss, when the Bills were at rock bottom, Coy Wire got up in a meeting and told his teammates to heed some advice from his favorite book. When adversity strikes, be joyful, Wire said. It will make you that much stronger in the end.

Pats prepared for better Bills team

Less than two months ago, the Patriots beat Buffalo by 31 points.  They piled up 485 yards of total offense, while yielding just 193. The Bills didn't score after the first quarter, and managed just 12 first downs to the Pats' 27 in the game.

Beaten, but winning

Among the many phrases coined by ESPN icon Chris Berman is, "Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills."

Bills' playoff chances look slim

 A victory tonight for the Buffalo Bills over the mighty 16-point favored New England Belichicks would be one of the most significant accomplishments in the history of pro sports in western New York.

NFL legend Madden loves Buffalo

It is Thursday afternoon, and the 45-foot-long, red-and-yellow luxury coach motors along Interstate 90 just east of South Bend, Ind.

Bills like underdog label

 Donte Whitner has been a member of the Buffalo Bills for barely a year and a half, but he has already gained a keen sense for the culture of losing that has engulfed the franchise for the better part of seven years.

QB edge? Losman is no Brady

The Buffalo Bills have won four straight and five of six, but here comes a cruel reminder of what this franchise has been missing ever since Jim Kelly retired.

November 17, 2007

Lynch still watching

Running back Marshawn Lynch did not practice for a third straight day Friday and is almost surely out for Sunday’s game against New England. The Bills officially listed him as doubtful for the game.

A hard-knock life

Anthony Hargrove never will forget the last time he saw his mother. He was a 9-year-old boy. His mom, Rosa Hargrove, was in the hospital, her frail body wracked with AIDS. She was paralyzed from the waist down.

Sports on the Air: Madden sees good things in Buffalo

The Madden Cruiser on Thursday afternoon was approaching the home of Notre Dame — South Bend, Ind. — a perfect time to talk football and food with NBC analyst John Madden before the Buffalo Bills’ game Sunday night with the New England Patriots.

Patriots resume bid for perfect run at Buffalo

Refreshed after a weekend off, the Patriots resume their bid for a perfect season when they travel to Buffalo tomorrow to play the Bills.

Darth Belichick returns

They're back. (Cue the shark music from Jaws.) Poor Buffalo. Bill "Darth" Belichick hasn't been able to beat up on anybody in three weeks.

Bills' Greer faces test covering Moss

When Buffalo cornerback Jabari Greer played high school football in Jackson, Tenn., he and his fellow defensive backs had a saying for occasions when they were beaten for a big play.

November 16, 2007

Bills have faith

They have to believe, otherwise it won’t work.
That’s what the Buffalo Bills are saying about Sunday night’s big clash with the New England Patriots.

Can Bills Stand Up to Patriots' Machine?

The New England Patriots are running away with the AFC East this season, but at least the Buffalo Bills have made a bid to remain in the race. Those two division foes, both of which are carrying long winning streaks, will square off this Sunday night in a nationally-televised matchup from Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Perfect Patriots resume bid for run at undefeated season against Bills

And now, back to our regularly scheduled NFL programming in which the Patriots, refreshed after a weekend off, resume their bid for a perfect season by running up the score on any team not named the Colts.

Game Day Tipsheet: Week 11

Once again we'll be featuring our Game Day Tipsheet every Friday, which will include everything you'll want to know, some things you may not have known and probably a few things you didn't care to know, but find interesting anyway.

Under Center with HOF QB Jim Kelly: Week 11

I envisioned the Buffalo Bills going to Miami and dominating the Dolphins to set up for a big showdown with the New England Patriots this weekend. Unfortunately that didn't happen, but Buffalo was still able to pull out a win, which is the most important thing.

Bills’ Greer makes a leap of faith

Cornerback Jabari Greer sat in front of his locker inside Gillette Stadium answering question after question following the Buffalo Bills’ 38-7 loss to the New England Patriots in September.

Lynch doubtful for Bills against Patriots

Bills rookie running back Marshawn Lynch missed his third straight practice on Friday and is doubtful for Buffalo's game Sunday night against unbeaten New England.

Lynch's absence puts pressure on Bills' young RB duo

So far this season, rookie running back Marshawn Lynch has been the only offensive player the Buffalo Bills have been able to count on each week.

Bills-Pats: Facts, a prediction and Buffalo's game plan

On Nov. 5, the National Football League elected to move this Sunday's Buffalo-New England game from a 1 p.m. start on CBS to prime time, 8:15, on NBC's "Football Night in America" telecast.

Improved Bills no match for Patriots yet

The Buffalo Bills are an impressive 13-4-1 against the Las Vegas point spread (ATS) in their last 18 games, but they don't figure to pad that profitable mark Sunday night against visiting New England.

Bills' Fewell a rising star among NFL assistants

Perry Fewell enjoys solving jigsaw puzzles in his spare time.
"I like fitting things together," the Bills defensive coordinator was saying the other day after practice.

Make-believe Pats test the Bills

 Remember when you were a kid, and when you played football in the back yard you wore your Jerry Rice jersey, or Terry Bradshaw jersey, or Walter Payton jersey?

Bills defense confident it can rebound to contain Brady

Now that Jabari Greer has capably taken over as the Bills' starting cornerback, he still can't shake the frustrating memories that followed his first test of the season.

November 15, 2007

‘Splain Yourself Weiler!

Gladly! A friend with credentials in NFL scouting and Dolphins fan wrote me following yesterday’s Fins v. Bills game after my soliciting his opinion on the Bills. I thought that his points invited some interesting discussion and opened the door to the questioning of my viewpoint(s). Here is that brief exchange:

I think as I've thought all year, most of your criticisms of the Bills are not unfounded at all.

But where I tend to come out disagreeing with you is where you put the criticisms into context with some of the good things the Bills can, and do execute.

This is a team that has now won 5 of their last 6 games...and the one that got away was that super duper close one against Dallas.

Do they look like the Dallas Cowboys of the early 90's? Maybe a comedy troup version, lol. I mean I'm watching today and unless the Miami D has suddenly resurged to last year's quality (which I doubt) then that OL was pretty poor at run blocking, the only receiver they have is Lee Evans, Marshawn is good but can't do much without good blocking, and Losman is...Losman. Yet, they made the plays they needed to make at the points they needed to make them.

I mean, case in point. Miami's been stopping Marshawn Lynch all day long. No problems out of him at all. Then, the Bills start to finally get a little something going on offense (again, FINALLY, so nothing too impressive here)...they get a little boot action with a dumpoff to the TE, who gets them into the red area goal to go on the 3. I mean, Miami has been stuffing this OL and Lynch all day, so by all means they should have been able to stuff him from the 3 yard line. They really should have. Yet, when it counted, the Bills OL and Lynch gutted up and got in there and I just couldn't believe it. Then, the 2-point conversion, the SAME thing. Seriously, that shouldn't have happened once, let alone twice, the way Buffalo's OL was performing...but as I said, they made the plays when they've needed to make them.

Is this a good team? No. This isn't even a talented team. But, if I didn't know better, I'd say this Bills team was under-talented, and OVER-coached. Seriously, they're overachievers...and I don't see why you couldn't be proud of them at least some of the time, even if they are angling to move to Toronto.

Much of his statements reflect my own. In fact, my initial brief response to him was the following:

I agree too. So how come our final outlooks are different?

Well, how come they are? Great question. The question was somewhat rhetorical and knowing, at least from my end, what the answer was.

I did later counter with the notion that I believe they are "over-coached," rather mis-coached and poorly coached.

Nevertheless, why "can’t I be proud of them at least some of the time?"

For the record, I have always stated that the Bills being poor is not the fault of the players, it’s the fault of management, a terrible personnel department, and coaching at one or more levels. The players , while the issue as a collective, did not assemble themselves. Yet the are left to perform together as assembled. People getting paid well into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars annually have and continue to do the assembling. Nevertheless, the players are what fans are left to watch and pay their money to see. So that’s the end product as it were in what now more business than sport.

Yet, when it counted, the Bills OL and Lynch gutted up and got in there and I just couldn't believe it. Then, the 2-point conversion, the SAME thing. Seriously, that shouldn't have happened once, let alone twice, the way Buffalo's OL was performing...but as I said, they made the plays when they've needed to make them.

Yes, against the Dolphins. Also, against the Bengals, Jets, and Ravens. Should I be impressed that the Bills made the plays that they needed to against the bottom quartile teams? They certainly cannot and do not make them against teams much outside of that range.

Sure, they played Dallas close, but they did not "play a close game." They were utterly dominated in the fundamentals vs. Dallas. Minus three plays; Kelsay’s tip/INT/TD, Leonard’s INT/TD, and McGee’s KR/TD, the Bills could not move the ball, prevent Dallas from moving the ball, and put no pressure on Romo in spite of five INTs committed by Romo. The Cowboys on the other hand did do those things, consistently too it can be added, when Romo did not throw INTs for no apparent reason on horrid throws indicative that it was merely an "off night" as opposed to anything that the Bills did to actually cause those. Their ball movement was merely interrupted by Romo’s clear off night. That’s for those being objective on the matter.

So where does that leave the Bills. It leaves them having beaten the Fins (0-9), Ravens (4-5), Jets (twice) (1-8), and Cincy (3-6).

Are those teams good? No. Not at all. No one would, should, argue to the contrary. Those teams are a collective 8-28 and on a game basis for wins, 9-36. Here are the teams that those four teams have beaten:

Dolphins (0-9): No one

Jets (1-8): Dolphins (0-9)

Bengals (3-6): Baltimore (twice) (4-5), the Jets (1-8)

Ravens (4-5): the Jets (1-8), Cardinals (4-5), San Francisco (2-7), St. Louis (1-8)

Is this to be applauded? Heralded? Championed? There is not one quality win in the lot by either the Bills or by any of the teams that the Bills have beaten. It’s the low end of the league slugging it out here for who knows what. Respectability presumably. But respectable is relative. Simply because the Bills have emerged from the mud wrestling match with less mud on themselves than their opponents does not make them clean.

This is more like a bottom quartile NIT tournament of sorts whereby the losers in the league all take on each other for bragging rights to being the best of the worst. Sorry, but that simply ain’t cuttin’ it these days!

Sunday’s Miami game was wholeheartedly unentertaining. A reader e-mailed and in his words was "uninspired football." Obviously agreement is in order. Even against the lowly Dolphins the Bills could not establish any semblance of a consistent running game or passing game against Miami’s woeful secondary, or any semblance of good fundamental football, again, against perhaps the worst team in the entire league. Miami got their running game at the hands of Chatman going however like most other opponents have this season.

It’s a given for the Bills that they do not generate a consistent passing game either except on a twice-a-season (extrapolated from Cincy game) basis against an opponent of that caliber. The Dolphins were that caliber and yet the Bills still could not manage to piece together even a mediocre passing game.

As a fan I am not here to "encourage" the poor product and sour fruit that the organization has assembled as if we as fans owe the team/franchise/organization anything. They owe us, the fans. They owe us competence. The NFL is turning more and more into a business and less and less into a purist sport. That’s fine, but then they cannot expect fans, true fans, to react much differently than I am given the proverbial playing field that they themselves have leveled.

The Buffalo Bills have fielded, are fielding, and continue to field a piss poor team. They charge competitively for fans to come view their product. For a decent ticket and parking alone the cost is $100+ for a single attendee. Forget the expenses of getting to the game and reasonable concessions.

If the Bills were to beat 7 more teams of the caliber that they’ve beaten and finish 12-4, would it mean that they were good? Certainly they would advance to the playoffs. But what would happen there? The answer is obvious. The same thing that’s happened in games vs. the Steelers, Patriots, and Cowboys, namely the Bills would get grossly out played and be forced to rely on a few big plays to win games. Or if they got lucky, perhaps in this day and age of the mediocre NFL brought to you by the proponents of "parity," they would have the opportunity of facing some mediocre team against which they could "play up" and overachieve against logging a win before the inevitable loss to a well balanced team deserving of playoff status.

Is that a good thing to place one’s hopes in? Even assuming that they would do it once in the fashion that they played the Dallas game, the odds of them repeating that are next to nil beyond that. The odds of them doing it for the three or four games necessary to win a championship are all but zero.

The same fate that awaited Jauron’s Bears in ’01 off of a 13-3 season built on similar that this season’s Bills are built on, or the ’04 Bills, would await this team, namely thorough dominance in the playoffs. That was Jauron’s only winning season and it featured circumstances similar to the Bills this season and in ‘04.

There have been two entertaining games this season; the Cowboys and Bengal games. The Bengals reek into the heavens and the Bills got as much out of big plays apart from solid play that they were going to get vs. Dallas or any other good team in that Monday Night game and it still fell short. It only gets worse from there without two defensive TDs and a special teams TD. Much worse very quickly too.

The bottom line to all of this is that the exchange with my friend clarified some of the differences that I have with some fans and readers in spite of many agreeing with me. I support the players fully. It is not their fault that they have been handed an AMC Pacer to compete in a national stock car race. That’s the fault of an organization laden with incompetence and otherwise issue-laden to the nines. Imagine as a professional race car driver being handed an AMC Pacer and told to go out and compete with the stock cars. Whose fault would losing then be, those that handed you the car or you, the driver?

What I do not support is them, the front office, owner, GM, and coaching staff, all of whom have made and continue to perform their jobs incredibly poorly. Then comes the marketing staff to try to sell me an inferior product. While I appreciate the job that Russ Brandon has done and is doing, I personally am not interested in the product that they are selling and told them so upon cancelling my season tickets several seasons ago now.

Either way, No sale!

If the team wants to invite me/us, its fans, to the games for free with free parking, or with heavy discounts considering the circumstances, then we are talking about something completely different. Yet, in this age of NFL marketing taking precedence over quality on the field turning the NFL into a business first enterprise, league-wide now, we will agree to those terms, the ones that they have set.

When the Bills have a product worth viewing and one that’s actually entertaining more times than not, then perhaps a good chunk of the fan base will once again begin paying attention. Otherwise attending games such as the Denver (another piss poor team) and Dallas games, only to have fans’ hearts ripped out just prior to them getting into their vehicles and heading home, is not the Wysman’s idea of a good time, entertainment, or something that should be paid for apart from solid play otherwise, and "solid play otherwise" was simply not offered in either game. Honestly, how many fans come to see three big plays apart from any semblance of competent football otherwise? If that’s what they were told would happen prior to each game, namely that the Bills would make two or three big plays but play completely uninspired or terrible football for the most part otherwise, would fans still attend games? Yet that’s pretty much the case week in and week out, if in fact those big plays even occur as sometimes and often they do not.

Again, apart from three individual plays in a vacuum, there was nothing entertaining about the Cowboys game. In fact, solid play has only been offered in one single game to date regardless of outcome, the Bengals game. Boy howdy!

This team, despite it’s 5-4 record is not good as evidenced by the above. Fans looking for wins, while satisfied with season record perhaps, will be as disappointed as Bears fans were following their ’01 season although the Bills have no shot of going 13-3 and will in fact be fortunate to win more than one or two more games given the circumstances and schedule.

Fans content with mere wins however seem to lack the perspective of the big picture, namely to win a championship. That is a product of the style-over-substance approach of the NFL in an "era of marketing." Nevertheless, these wins are a cut above meaningless in terms of relevance.

In the Wysman’s opinion, fans merely seeking wins no matter how they may come are missing the point entirely. Then again, simply "making the playoffs" seems to be the goal of most apart from what happens in them. Because suppose that the Bills were in fact to "make the playoffs" this year, they would stand no chance whatsoever of advancing given their track record as the precedent.

The goal should be a competent football team and one that is capable of actually competing in and not merely "making" the playoffs on a house-of-cards foundation. Not one that merely capitalizes off of "odd circumstances" and big plays but cannot seem to piece together even two quarters of solid, fundamental football translating to moving the ball and preventing opponents from doing the same, much less doing so over a full game. The Bills have anything but that at the moment.

Otherwise wins merely mask the issues that teams need to correct, and the Bills are more than happy to proceed right on down the road based on completely faulty perceptions. Is that wise?

When the Bills finally beat a couple of teams in the top half and on the merits of solid fundamental football/play, then perhaps we can reconvene on the matter. Otherwise, 5-4 or not, and a record that just as easily could have been 2-7, with little difference between the Bills and the teams that they've beaten, is simply not impressive given the circumstances. The teams beaten by the Bills are all but fully interchangeable from a performance perspective relatively speaking.

Regardless, entertainment can be found in teams with losing records. Alas, the Bills are not even entertaining in most wins much less in most losses. The Bills will become entertaining when they become good. Unfortunately they are not going to become good with this owner/GM/coaching staff/front office/personnel department combination. Ergo, by the time they will be competitive will be following Wilson’s selling of the team which he states will be following his passing. Wilson turns 90 next year in less than 11 months now, so that time is likely not too far off in the future. The fate of the team at that point hangs in the balance and has already been explained here.

In response to my response to my friend, "I agree too. So how come our final outlooks are different?", the answer should clearly be differing perspectives. If the goal is merely wins, then I can be fully satisfied by looking online or in the paper following games to see whether or not "I am content or otherwise satisfied."

If the goal is having a team that plays good fundamental football, is capable of competing with the best, and is generally competitive across the board, then this team/organization is clearly not it. This team is characterized by the inability to play solid fundamental football, its inability to play consistently, and its inability to compete with the better half teams in the league consistently and without a host of favorable mitigating factors or circumstances. That makes it a poor team, not a good one. Sure, it does what it needs to beat teams such as Miami, the Jets, Ravens, and Bengals, but why that would impress anyone remains a mystery. When one realizes that four of five of those games more or less went down to the wire and frankly could have gone either way, they become even less impressive.

It does not play entertaining games except as exceptions, and again, not without a host of favorable mitigating factors or circumstances such as in the Dallas game, yet still leaving fans with about as empty a feeling as one could have as a fan upon the last seconds ticking off the clock.

So again, it’s all a matter of perspective based upon the expectations and criteria for satisfaction that each fan establishes. Again, since the NFL has turned the league into a business first enterprise vice a "football first" enterprise, can they expect fans not to follow in the same mode yet on the opposite side of the business-customer relationship?

Methinks not!

Translation: they cannot make it a business yet expect fans to react from the heart and much less to do so with a blank check or open wallet. As a business, the NFL, and more specifically the teams within it, need to begin putting out a product that sells. If this product sells to some, then great. No one, no fans, want to deny the Bills selling as much of their product as they can.

However if they truly want to reach a much larger segment of fans including myself, then competence is fully expected. To date now, and running on now pushing a decade, that is not the case however and there appears to be no turnaround in this way in the foreseeable future. Next major pivot point for the organization; Wilson’s passing and the sale of the team.

mweiler@afceastreport.com

Bills have prime opportunity against Patriots

The Buffalo Bills get the chance to spill ink on the New England Patriots’ masterpiece season Sunday night.

They were talking more Wednesday about the great opportunity they have than their improbable chances of spoiling the Patriots’ perfect record.

Lynch’s injury opens the door for rookie Wright

Unknown running backs have made a big impact in the NFL this season.

Maybe Buffalo Bills rookie Dwayne Wright can continue the trend.

Wright is likely to get a lot of action for the Bills on Sunday against the New England Patriots because Marshawn Lynch is not likely to play.

Nickels will prove their worth

The nickel cornerback position will be a matchup to watch when the Buffalo Bills play host to the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

The Bills lost nickel cornerback Kiwaukee Thomas for the season to a groin injury suffered in the win over Miami. Thomas has given the Bills strong veteran play on quick receivers in the middle of the field for the past two seasons. He was placed on the injured reserve list.

Ankle injury may KO Bills' Lynch

Rookie running back Marshawn Lynch, a centerpiece of the Bills' offensive attack and the NFL's fifth-leading rusher, did not practice yesterday because of a sprained left ankle, putting his availability for Sunday's game against the Patriots in doubt.

"He's real sore; we'll just have to see as we move along here, but we're not particularly optimistic about it," Bills coach Dick Jauron said in a conference call.

Bills Notes: Injuries grow as two more join IR

Injuries never seem to end for the Buffalo Bills.

On Wednesday, two more players — tight end Matt Murphy and defensive back Kiwaukee Thomas — were sent to the season-ending injured reserve list.

Murphy suffered a torn calf muscle in practice last Thursday, while Thomas went down with a severe groin injury in last Sunday's victory over Miami. They became the 11th and 12th players whose seasons were cut short by injury.

Win over Pats would be Bills' greatest upset

t doesn't matter what betting line you pay attention to. The simple fact is that the Buffalo Bills are humongous underdogs Sunday night in their game against the unbeaten New England Patriots.

When last these two teams met in September at Foxborough, Mass., the Patriots were a whopping 16½-point favorite and covered by nearly double the margin, winning 38-7. This time the line has fluctuated anywhere from 14½ to 16 in the early-week action, and almost anyone who follows the NFL thinks New England won't have much trouble covering that, either.

Bills may face Patriots without Lynch

As if playing the undefeated New England Patriots isn't a daunting enough challenge, the Buffalo Bills may have to do it without their starting running back and most consistent offensive player, Marshawn Lynch.

The impressive rookie, who ranks fifth in the NFL with 751 rushing yards, sat out practice Wednesday with what coach Dick Jauron termed a "very sore" ankle. Jauron did not sound enthusiastic about Lynch's chances of suiting up for the Sunday night showdown against the NFL's best team.

Patriots Use Rare Break To Prepare For Bills

Patriots coach Bill Belichick couldn't remember ever giving his players five days off during a bye week.

That's because he never did.

Some used the unprecedented break to rest, relax and reflect on the first nine weeks in which the Patriots set or tied 17 NFL records, including 12 that belong to quarterback Tom Brady. When the players returned to the practice field Monday, the focus was on the next opponent.

New England (9-0) at Buffalo (5-4)

All this attention hasn't been nearly enough to overwhelm the New England Patriots.

The Patriots, the NFL's final remaining unbeaten team and perhaps its biggest draw for positive as well as negative reasons, look to improve to 10-0 when they face the Buffalo Bills in a game moved to Sunday night's prime-time TV slot.

THE UNDEFEATED PATRIOTS BATTLE THE RESURGENT BILLS ON “NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”

Tom Brady and the undefeated New England Patriots (9-0) travel to Buffalo to take on the surging Bills (5-4) winners of three straight and five of six on "NBC Sunday Night Football."  The NFL announced last week that this game would be moved to Sunday night as part of the league's flexible scheduling.  Coverage begins Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET with the "Football Night in America" studio show.

Bills say tickets remain for last 2 games

With a sixth straight sellout (not to mention a national TV audience) confirmed for Sunday night, the Buffalo Bills have plenty of available seats for the final two home games.

Lynch Status For Sunday Night In Question

There's a chance the catalyst for Buffalo's offense won't be available for the Bills' biggest game of the season. Marshawn Lynch did not practice with his Bills teammates Wednesday putting his status for Sunday night's game against the undefeated New England Patriots in doubt.

"It's very sore right now," said head coach Dick Jauron. "I would say we're not overly optimistic. We'll just kind of go through the week and see what happens, but we're not optimistic about it."

Bills Bring TE Cieslak Back

With the tight end position the latest victim of the injury bug, Buffalo filled the void by re-signing Brad Cieslak, who was with the club during training camp.

The Bills lost rookie Derek Schouman to a severe ankle injury suffered in the Cincinnati game two weeks ago. He was placed on injured reserve last Thursday. That same day tight end Matt Murphy went down with a torn calf muscle in practice.

Murphy, Thomas to I-R; Bills Sign TE Massaquoi

The body count keeps rising for Bills players on injured reserve. Buffalo added two more on Wednesday as tight end Matt Murphy and cornerback Kiwaukee Thomas became the 11th and 12th players added to the season ending list.

Murphy tore his calf toward the end of practice last Thursday and likely won't recover in time to play again this season. Thomas meanwhile, suffered a severe groin injury last Sunday in the fourth quarter against Miami.

November 14, 2007

Buffalo biggest home underdog since '92 Colts

The Buffalo Bills have won four straight games, tied with Green Bay for the second- longest current winning streak in the NFL.

Bills know it's 'hard to find a flaw' in unbeaten Patriots

Every week, the same question is asked -- who'll stop the reign?

Bills' Lynch misses practice, may miss game

Rookie running back Marshawn Lynch, who has been Buffalo’s most consistent offensive performer, may not be available to play in Sunday’s showdown against the New England Patriots.

Bills place 2 more on IR, sign replacements

With the loss of tight ends Derek Schouman and Matt Murphy, both of whom are now on the season-ending injured reserve list, the Bills this morning announced the signing of two replacements.

Parrish heads for history

When Roscoe Parrish returns a punt, everyone from his teammates, the opponent and fans hold their collective breath.

Patriots: Special teams the X-factor for Buffalo

Dust off those algebra books, sorry to say, this one is going to require a little math.  The Buffalo Bills rank 31st in the NFL in total offense and 28th in total defense. Yet they enter Sunday night's showdown with the Patriots boasting a winning record at 5-4 and riding a four-game winning streak.

Bills Get Set To Take on the 'Brady Bunch' Prime Time Sunday Night

The Buffalo Bills are hopeful about running back Marshawn Lynch as they get ready for Sunday night's game against the undefeated New England Patriots.

Buffalo's Offensive Woes: Cause and Solution

Much has been made recently about the incredibly inconsistent play of the offensive unit of the Buffalo Bills throughout their first nine games of the season.

Playoffs – why not?

Let me start off by stating that I'm not insane, despite all of the extremely stupid things I've said in my life. Hopefully my next sentence won't be one of those things: I think the Bills can make the playoffs.

Bills may be perfect foil

As the NFL’s only unbeaten team, the 9-0 Patriots obviously own the league’s longest winning streak.

Do Bills have any chance against Patriots?

Sal: No, no, and no. Look, I hate to always be the purveyor of bad news, and I would love nothing more than for the Bills to deliver what would surely be their signature win of this heretofore depressing millennium, but there's just no chance of them winning this game, especially if they play even a smidgen as poorly as they did against Miami.

Losman is starter again — this time vs. Patriots

Two days after leading the Bills to another come-from-behind win, quarterback J.P. Losman was selected as the starter for Buffalo's game against unbeaten New England on Sunday.

Are The Bills For Real?

The Buffalo Bills have a proven running back, a solid quarterback under center and a defense talented enough to help them to their longest winning streak in three years.

November 13, 2007

Jauron names Losman starter vs. Patriots

The Bills will keep J. P. Losman as the starting quarterback for at least another game.

Big plays come from everywhere

The Buffalo Bills weren’t at their best Sunday in Miami, but they had three things going for them: a defense that gave up yards but not points, the hard-nosed running of Marshawn Lynch, and special teams.

Enjoyment cut short as Patriots loom

Buffalo Bills coach Dick Jauron has told his players they should spend a day enjoying every victory or overcoming every defeat with the understanding that winning doesn’t come easily in the NFL. The 24-hour rule, as it’s commonly called, lasted about 24 minutes after the Bills’ 13-10 victory over Miami.

Optimistic Lynch to have more tests on sprained ankle

Marshawn Lynch will have further tests Monday on his sprained left ankle, but Bills coach Dick Jauron hopes the rookie running back will be ready to play against New England this weekend.

Edwards sits again:Bills stick with J.P. at QB

J.P. Losman will be the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback when the Buffalo Bills play host to the unbeaten New England Patriots on Sunday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Bills starting to be taken seriously

Marv Levy was gazing around the Bills locker room at Dolphin Stadium on Sunday afternoon with a look of pride and contentment on his face.

Scrappy Bills are no match for Patriots

 Some Buffalo Bills fans might feel insulted that the New England Patriots are whopping 15-point favorites for Sunday night's AFC East showdown at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Resurgent Bills upbeat in preparing to host perfect Patriots

 Some Buffalo Bills fans might feel insulted that the New England Patriots are whopping 15-point favorites for Sunday night's AFC East showdown at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

November 12, 2007

Bills RB Lynch to have more tests on sprained ankle

Marshawn Lynch will have further tests Monday on his sprained left ankle, but Bills coach Dick Jauron hopes the rookie running back will play against New England this weekend.

Jauron said Lynch is sore, but noted initial tests showed no broken bones after the player limped off the field after helping secure a come-from-behind 13-10 win at Miami on Sunday.

"There is a concern," Jauron said. "But as (Lynch) said last night, he feels like he'll play. We've got to kind of wait and see on that one. But he's very upbeat."

Lynch Carries Bills to Comeback Win Over Dolphins

After a three-quarter struggle, the Bills offense finally woke up in the fourth quarter putting together a 10-play drive capped by a Marshawn Lynch three-yard run and two-point conversion. That combined with a Chris Kelsay third-quarter safety pulled the Bills, who trailed the entire game, even at 10.

Lynch then got two key first downs on Buffalo's final drive which culminated in a 34-yard field goal by Rian Lindell with 46 seconds remaining to lift the Bills to a 13-10 come from behind win.

Lynch puts beast foot forward

They played the popular rap tune, “Crank Dat,” at the two-minute warning in Dolphin Stadium.

Little did they know they were only helping Buffalo Bills rookie running back Marshawn Lynch get into his “Beast Mode.”

The Bills were facing a critical third-and-2 situation at the Miami 38, and Lynch was bobbing his head and grooving to the rhythm as the Bills waited in the huddle.

Losman rebounds in fourth quarter

Quarterback J.P. Losman did not play poorly enough to lose the starting job, but did he play well enough to keep it?

Buffalo Bills coach Dick Jauron was mum about whether Losman would remain the starter after he helped lead a 13-10, come-from-behind victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Special teams turn the tide

In an even game between offenses and defenses, special teams made all the difference in the Buffalo Bills’ 13-10 win over the Miami Dolphins.

A downed punt by Justin Jenkins at the Dolphins’ 2-yard line led to a third-quarter safety and Roscoe Parrish’s 40-yard punt return in the fourth quarter set up Rian Lindell’s gamewinning 34-yard field goal with 50 seconds remaining.

Dolphins suffer ‘L’ of a day

The beats go on. The Miami Dolphins remain on pace for history. The Buffalo Bills made sure of that.

After teasing their hapless hosts for three quarters, the Bills scored 11 points in the fourth to send the Dolphins trudging off their home turf 13-10 losers.

“We can’t catch a break,” Dolphins defensive tackle Keith Traylor said. “It’s just so frustrating right now. You can’t put it into words.”

Bills report card

C- Quarterbacks: It was a pretty interesting day for J.P. Losman. He couldn't have gotten off to much worse of a start with four straight three-and-outs and zero passing yards in the first 24 minutes of the game. However, Losman came around when he needed to most. In the fourth quarter he completed 6 of 7 passes for 76 yards to lead the Bills to a touchdown and a field goal that won the game. He can be maddening, but the Bills won, they're 5-4, and Dick Jauron can't possibly take him out, can he?

Musings: Bills fans aren't feeling sorry for Dolphins

You won't find me, or anyone else who follows the Buffalo Bills, feeling sorry for the Miami Dolphins. I don't have that gene in my body.

The team that so many of us grew up despising when it beat the Bills 20 times in a row in the 1970s has walked right off South Beach and sunk to the bottom of the ocean as the only winless team in the NFL at 0-9. Tough luck.

Two-minute read from the Bills win

Play of the game

It was actually two plays, but they were very similar and c