Well, you want to know why Terrell Owens was out of action the last 3 preseason games? Answer is simple, It's gotta be the shoe.
"Come to find out it was really due to the shoe that I had on. It was not anything structurally or due to a tackle or anything like that. It had to do with a type of shoe that I was wearing, so obviously it was a different shoe that I had last year, so I just had to switch shoes. It’s good that it happened earlier than later."
I just thought of it! Maybe the Bills have been playing like garbage because all of their shoes suck like T.O.'s. Either way it's good that Owens is back to practice. He seems to be representing the only hope for the Bills this season.
OK, I almost fell off my chair when I just heard the Bulldog compare how much more entertaining it was to watch JP Losman play than Trent Edwards. Are you kidding me? Bulldog used the words "Reckless abandon" when describing Losman's play. OK, if you want to say Edwards play is boring, fine. But Losman's games against the Jets and Dolphins from Last year took back the QB position to the 1940's. How could we forget the Jacksonville and Pittsburgh game from 2007. Reckless abandon would be like describing Brett Favre or Randall Cunningham in their early playing days. JP Losman's play was reckless alright, as in don't be operating heavy machinery when watching him play. Dumb comparison Bulldog!
I've been hearing a lot of fans trashing Trent Edwards play over the preseason. If I'm going to play devil's advocate when it comes to believing the preseason hype that Edwards play has regressed, then the shoulders of blame should be squarely on one person. That is Dick Jauron.
If you look at the players Jauron has drafted, the one thing in common is how each player almost plays the exact same way now, as they did their rookie season. Guys like Whitner, McCargo, Lynch, Edwards, Poz, and Kyle Williams are players who haven't exactly taken the next step since being rookies. What was the last play DonteWhitner made? Has Kyle Williams made a game changing play? Look at Trent Edwards first game as a rookie against the Jets, his play was outstanding for a rookie in that game, and was even getting praise from Rich Gannon for quickly catching onto the pro game. Since then, over the last 8 games, Edwards has looked more like a rookie than he did during his first couple starts as a pro. Poz has been a complete bust, McCargo had his moments, but his best year to date as a bill was his rookie year. Lynch is only in his 3rd season but he still shakes more then he attacks when given the ball.
If you want to go beyond Jauron's years in Buffalo, look no further then Chicago. Under Jauron's watch, the Bears drafted guys like CadeMcNown, David Terrell, Anthony Thomas, Rex Grossman, and Michael Hayes. Yeah, not exactly a ringing endorsement for player development for Jauron.
Since Jauron has been coach, most of his rookie class has had their moments as rookies, but when it comes to developing in their 2nd year and beyond, Jauron has failed. So before you point the finger at Edwards play, remember who his tutor is and how his other young classmates have learned in Jauron's classroom.
Watching Big Ben and Aaron Rodgers the last two weeks shred the Bills defense got me thinking. What could have been if we lost one more game. It was the 2003 Season, and the Bills were in the mists of one of their biggest disappointing seasons to date. It was the year after the Bills traded for Drew Bledsoe and made 3 huge splashes in the offseason by signing Takeo Spikes, Lawyer Milloy, and Sam Adams. The Bills had an incredible offense in 2002, but their defense was a disaster. With the signings of the 3 pro bowlers on defense, the Bills seem to be on the right track to having a balance team in 2003.
Of course, that didn't happen and the Bills were a disaster. The offense broke records in offensive futility for the team. The Bills were 4-7 and going no where fast. Of course lady luck came shining on the Bills in week 13 and 14 of the season. Buffalo was pitted against the lonely Jets and Giants, and the rest was history. The Bills ended up beating both teams in back to back weeks to climb to an uninspired 6-7 record. The Bills ended up losing the last 3 games by 50 points combined. Why am I bringing this up? The Bills, Jets, and Steelers finished with identical 6-10 records, and because the Bills had a better division record than the Steelers and Jets, the Bills picked at 13th in the 2003 NFL Draft, while the Steelers and Jets picked 11th and 12th.
The Steelers and Bills both needed quarterbacks for the future. The Bills had the aging Bledsoe, while the Steelers had Tommy Maddux. The Jets didn't need a QB, because they had a young Chad Pennington (before his arm problems). With the 11th pick in the draft, the Steelers selected a MAAC quarterback from Miami of Ohio. The guy's name was Ben Roethlisburger. Two Superbowl trophies later, he's the biggest fixture for the Steelers since Terry Bradshaw. Why couldn't we just throw one of the NYC games?!
Of course, with the Bills not having Big Ben on the board they went with Lee Evans with the 13th pick. Some experts thought GM Tom Donahoe panicked by not getting Big Ben. The GM gave up a 1st (2004) and 2nd round pick (2003) to Dallas to move back into the first round, and select JP Losman with the 22nd pick. Besides losing Big Ben and gaining Losman, what made matters worse was what the Bills gave up. Dallas used the Bills 2nd round pick to select running back Julius Jones. Even though Jones was a bust for the Cowboys, the next pick was by the Colts who selected Bob Sanders, who has a NFL defensive MVP award under his belt. Think he could of looked good in a Bills uniform?
The nightmare doesn't end there. In the 2004 NFL Draft, the Cowboys used the Bills 20th pick in the first round to select Marcus Spears. A pretty good player in his own right, but just 4 picks later the Green Bay Packers were on the clock. Just like the Bills the year before, the Pack needed to find a young QB to be the heir apparent to Brett Favre. The Packers selected a QB whose draft stock was slipping at the time. Aaron Rodgers became the Packers 24th pick of the 2004 NFL Draft. DOE!
Flash forward to the present, Aaron Rodgers is coming off an outstanding first year as a starter in the NFL. Big Ben may have issues with his motorcycle and girls, but he's going to be apart of the Steelers for at least the next 10 years. JP Losman is playing slots in Las Vegas preparing to be the face of the UFL League (yeah, that will put butts in the seats). Tom Donahoe hasn't been heard from since being fired by the Bills after the 2005 season. And Drew Bledsoe is retired in some log cabin in Montana. Pretty fitting to be surrounded by trees that have more movement than he did in the pocket.
Can you imagine where the Bills would be now if they didn't beat one of the NYC teams or had they not panicked about not getting a QB in the 2003 draft? Maybe Tom Donahoe would still be running the team. Maybe the Bills would of made the playoffs by now. Hindsight is 20/20, but when it comes to losing for over a decade, you can't help but feel a little down.
I've been tooting the horn that preseason doesn't mean jack and we shouldn't make a big deal about the negatives or positives of it, but after tonight's game...ehh. Tonight was a debacle, terrible, & embarrassment. Buffalo held the ball just 8:14 of the first 30 minutes Saturday. The Bills were out gain, 209-50, in the first half, losing 17-0 to the Steelers. The third preseason game is suppose to be the dress rehearsal for the regular season, and the Bills looked as if they were dressed for Halloween, childish.
Coming into the preseason, I was hoping for T.O.'s impact on the team to be more along the lines of catching 70-75 passes for 10 touchdowns. I think the Bills are going to need a little bit more then that. Lee Evans seems to be non-existent so far in the preseason, and showed his frustration by not taking questions from reporters after the game. That's how bad it gets when a WR is pouting for not getting the ball enough in a preason game.
Along with Evans uneven play, Trent Edwards is starting to get the deer in the head lights look. He doesn't look down field ever, and is content when the rush comes on to just dump it off to his backs. Edwards is playing the exact way Dick Jauron coaches, conservative. Being conservative as a QB, only works if you have other strong components for the team (strong defense and running game). The Bills don't really have either, and unless Edwards breaks through, it's going to be a long season.
I wrote in an earlier blog how I wasn't a big fan of the Jason Peters trade. You don't just trade All-Pro Left Tackles, because they just don't grow on trees you know. Since the trade, the Bills have revamped their offensive line and now the coaching staff may have second thoughts on the revamping. Sources have told ESPN AFC East Blogger Tim Graham, that some of Bills coaching staff wants Demetrius Bell to start over Langston Walker. And we aren't talking next year, we are talking first week of the season.
Mind of Joe:
One, this is not the time for your coaching staff to be thinking about making a change at the most critical position on the offensive line. 2 weeks before the regular season doesn't sit well with me.
Two, If you make the change at some point, that means you're going to be changing at least two spots on the offensive line. There is no way the Bills are going to bench their highest paid offensive lineman. So if they move Walker back to RT, then you're going to move Brad Butler inside, which means you'd be changing 3 spots in one fell swoop. It's a mess.
Three, I don't know much about Bell, but I'm hearing some fans state that because Bell was a late round pick he would be following in the steps of Jason Peters, as being a guy who was developed rather than a high draft pick. That logic is completely false! I can't think of the last All-Pro left tackle who were undrafted. And making the statment is like saying if the Bills drafted a QB with Pennsylvania roots, he'd become the next Jim Kelly.
Four, and most importantly, Bell has been out with an injury and is listed as week to week. If the Bills decide to make this change that would mean Bell wouldn't have enough reps with the first team offense.
At the end of the day, I think the Bills will keep their line the same for opening night. It's just too late in camp to consider making this sort of change. But I wouldn't count out the change happening at some point during the regular season. Don't forget that Bell is a cheap player, and moving him in the line-up would mean having 4 guys on the offensive line who are making pennies by NFL standards. It's always about the dollars people, just ask Jason Peters.
Don't believe me, just check out Owens Twitter page:
Yessss!! My toe is healed!! I'm sittin n charlotte airport on layover headed 2 dallas @ CPK! Tht'scalifornia pizza kitchen if u dn'tkno!
I don't know if being at the Charlotte airport had anything to do with Owens healing, like in the movie Leap of Faith. I also realized that someone needs to take Owens to La Nova Pizza because California Pizza is bla! Speaking of Dallas, did Owens find a new home yet in Buffalo or is he just going to pull the Rob Johnson deal and live at the hotel?
If you've been a fan of my blog, you will know my feelings on what the key to success for the Bills is. It's all on the defensive line. I know everyone is all about how Trent Edwards plays and whether T.O. will implode, but in order to win in the NFL you need to have a pass rush. History shows that almost ever single Super Bowl winning team had a pass rush specialist. The 49ers and Cowboys, known more for their offenses had Charles Haley. Even the Rams had Kevin Carter who was able to get double digit sacks. The Bills are a long way away from making fans forget about Bruce Smith.
The rotation to no where
I remember last year how excited I was about the Bills new look defensive line. All I heard during the offseason was how the Bills were going to rotate guys in and out, and keep the defensive tackles fresh. The Bills biggest acquisition last year was the trade for Marcus Stroud and the FA signing of Spencer Johnson. The two of them, along with John McCargo and Kyle Williams were being touted as the core of the defense. Unfortunately, McCargo was a disappointment who was benched, then traded to the Colts, only to have the deal break down because he failed the physical. McCargo ended up going IR in November and if you look up his stats for 2008, it's all zeroes across the board. Stroud played well at times, but seemed to disappear towards the second half of the year. Williams gets a lot of credit a lot of credit from fans and peers about his play, but I just don't get where that comes from because his stats don't show it. The 4 DT's combined for 6.5 sacks and no forced or recovered fumbles last season. Whether it's a rotation or playing every down, plain and simple the Bills need their DTs to make bigger plays.
The 6 and 7 million dollar men
If there are any Bills players I'm most critical of, it's Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay. Not only are both defensive ends over paid (Kelsay 6 million and Schobel 7 million a year), they fail to get the most critical aspect a DE needs to accomplish, getting sacks. Since getting his new contract 2 seasons ago, Kelsay has only 4.5 sacks. Schobel, whom if you watch his highlight reel, it seems that all of his sacks are from the defense blitzing 5 players, has been a huge disappointment. Since getting his record 7-year 50 million dollar contract, Schobel only has 7.5 sacks in two seasons. To top it off, I've heard interviews where Schobel has stated that sacks are overrated. Seriously? That's like a wide receiver saying touchdown catches don't matter. The fact that there hasn't been a bigger outrage about Schobel's statement is shocking.
Bottom line the Bills ends are overpaid and overrated, and if you've watched the games closely, whenever the Bills have only 4 players rushing the QB, you may as well forget about getting pressure. For the record, the Bills only had 24 sacks last year. I know some of you will state Schobel not being in the lineup for 11 games due to injury hurt the pass rush. But if you look at the 2007 season, when Schobel played all 16 games, the Bills only had 2 more sacks than last year. When it comes to the Bills D-Line, forget your popcorn, get your tissues ready.
Aaron Maybin factor
I know a lot of Bills fans are counting on Maybin to be the cure for the pass rush. He might be, but not this year. Maybin is a project player, who only played one full year as a starter in college. He's a bit undersized for a defensive end and extremely raw. Look for Maybin to play only on passing downs and considering how conservative the coaching staff, it wouldn't come as a shock if he doesn't get on the field during some games in order to bring him on slowly.
Terrell Owens was at practice today running routes with wide receivers. Owens ran routes and caught passes from Trent Edwards during roughly a 20-minute portion of practice. He looked to be going full speed on the sprained right toe that has kept him on the sideline. The previous two days, Owens worked out running routes on the side, not with the team. I still want to know if it were the regular season would Owens be playing.
Jason Fine is nursing a hamstring injury and Jauron isn't sure how serious the injury is. Shawn Nelson has been taking a lot of reps in practice in the place of Fine.
If you read some of my earlier blogs, you will know I hate it when media outlets have an agenda with covering certain sports teams for financial reasons (ESPN & NFL and the Sabres and WGR). For the last week or so, Trent Edwards has been getting lit up on WGR. I've taken the stance that a lot of his criticism has been a tad unfair, because its preseason and the Bills have been without Owens. Obviously, WGR doesn't agree with my opinion. But WGR does have a tendency to use the injury excuse more than enough when it comes to talking Sabres.
I've heard Howard Simon, Jeremy White, and Schopp & the Bulldog constantly say the reason the Sabres didn't make the playoffs last year was because of the injury to Ryan Miller. They stick to the excuse like glue. Is it just me or is that the same situation when it comes to Edwards struggling? Let me know if I am wrong.
Forget Brady vs Manning or Lebron vs Kobe. The newest blood brother feud is happening at a stadium near you. NALL VS LOSMAN! Craig Nall has recently been signed with the UFL's Florida Tuskers (I guess the Tuskers must be the distant cousin of the Florida Panthers of the NHL). The signing sets up the biggest battleground and meal ticket for the UFL. Here are two men who were former teammates. Two men who fought for the starting job in Buffalo. Two men who were so bad in the NFL, they both can't find homes. With guys like theses, who needs to pay for top talent.
In other words, fat chance in hell. The BTN had an article up today reporting the Bills have opened up negotiations with Terrence McGee for an extension. That's about as equivalent to Larry Quinn saying the Sabres are having a top to bottom evaluation. It's nothing more than window dressing for the Bills. Ralph Wilson has never paid top dollar to keep any of his young cornerbacks from hitting the FA market. From Jeff Burris and Thomas Smith to Nate Clements and Antoine Winfield. Unless McGee decides loving Buffalo is a lot more important than making almost double in the open market, pencil in Reggie Corner as your 2010 starting corner.
The Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame committee reduced its list of nominees for this year's class from eight to six, dropping Tom Barrasso and Paul Wieland. Joe Crozier, Dominik Hasek, Rick Jeanneret, Jim Lorentz, Alex Mogilny and Rob Ray moved on to the next round of voting by the 11-man committee. The group will be cut to four in the next two weeks before a final vote on the inductees is made.
Mind of Joe
Dominik Hasek hands down should be number 1 on the list. The guy is arguably the greatest goaltender of all-time. He should of been inducted after he retired (the first time) if you ask me. If it wasn't for him, the Sabres of the 90's wouldn't of been close to being in contention. I know he wasn't the most popular player because he ran off Ted Nolan and I always had the feeling American fans don't exactly embrace European players. But without him, the 90's for the Sabres would of been like the 2000's for the Bills.
My next guy on the list would have to be Mogilny. In all honesty his career kind of reads like a poor mans Hasek. At one point he was the best player in the world, scoring a Sabres record 76 goals. But Buffalo fans rather embrace the tough guy (Barnaby and Ray) than a guy who wasn't considered tough. Mogilny was awful in his own end and normally stood by the blue line waiting for the team to get possession so he could break to the opposition zone. But if you doubt Mogilny's skill, then just watch the "May Day" series highlights to be dazzled. As good as Pat LaFontaine was, people don't give Mogilny enough credit for helping make Patty a household name in Buffalo.
As far as the two announcers go, look I've never been a fan of going overboard for anything off the ice. I hate when fans make an uproar about uniforms or saving the shout song. Lorenz was a decent defenseman in his day, but not rafter material. I do miss him as a analyst, considering Harry Neal says absolutely nothing, besides his random stats of "the Sabres are 5-3-1 when Lindy Ruff wears green." As for Jeannert, he's a great announcer, and considering the majority of NHL play-by-play guys don't even do their job title for most games, he's a top 5 guy. But that's why they have the Buffalo Broadcasters HOF. If you start putting these two up, then you have to put Robbie and Pete Webber in. And if they go in, then you've to put in Sabre Tooth and the Goo Goo Dolls. You get me?
If you think the announcers going up in the rafters would water down the selection process, then Rob Ray going up would completely open up Pandora's box. I know he's a popular guy and he's done a lot for charity in Buffalo. But you can't put up someone in the rafters who played 5 minutes a game and was scratched every other night. I can't even think of any goons who are in the rafters for any team. Simply put, team hall of fames should be for the best players. Not for the best broadcast teams or fighters.
Seriously? Do I really need to put on ESPN or read Tim Graham's blog to tell me to panic about Owen's toe? The fact that ESPN had a 2 minute piece on the history for toe injuries ending players careers is complete overkill! I don't remember ESPN showing Steve DeBerg's pinkie injury from the early 90's when describing Tony Romo's pinkie injury. I don't remember Trent Edwards getting a concussion last year, and ESPN showing footage of Wayne Crebet getting his clock clean. I could go on and on, but you get the point.
It's preseason and the media is doing their very best in making a minor story into a gigantic issue. Of course it's Owens, and they have to find something wrong with the guy (try the reality show). Owens doesn't care about playing preseason and the Bills are pu$%ies when it comes to taking any chances. You know how many times a star player doesn't play in the preseason because of injury, only to come back and kick ass for the regular season? Mark my words, Owen's toe will have nothing to do with his play when the regular season kicks off.
I always get a kick out of Mike Schopp when he bad mouths the NFL product, and then acts as if the NHL is the all world sport. Today, Paul Hamilton was on with Schopp and pretty much the two of them beat up on the Bills. Before you start sending your Sabres hate mail to me, I don't have a problem with them criticizing the Bills. But my issue with their discussion is towards the end of their interview. Schopp was yucking it up with Hamilton about how they couldn't wait for hockey season to start, as if they were kids waiting for Santa Clause on Christmas Eve. Then the two of them went on to bad mouth the NFL as a product and put over the NHL.
Look, you can be a bigger NHL fan over the NFL, but don't try and insult my intelligence by telling me the NLF product is a joke. I mean how wrong can 95.4 million people who watched last years super bowl be? Of course, WGR being the home for the Buffalo Sabres has absolutely nothing to with his stance.
I know I'm going to get some bad comments (Dale?) about my stance on the NHL. I feel some fans and media members in Buffalo act as if the NHL is the end all be all of sports, because they take pride in the fact that the sport stinks outside of Buffalo, in terms of viewership and fan interest. It's like people in Buffalo who love drinking crown royal and take pride in it because other cities don't drink it. At the end of the day, crown is disgusting, but hey it's our drink.
I'll admit, I buy the logic to a certain point. If the Sabres didn't exist in Buffalo, I wouldn't give a rats ass about the NHL. Once the Sabres get eliminated, wake me up when free agency starts, or in the Sabres case, 3 weeks after FA starts. I'll watch some NHL teams play, mainly the top tier of the league. But if you think I'm going to sit through a snooze fest between the Devils and Thrashers, you got another thing coming to you. Like I said, I'd rather see Manning vs Brady than Ovechkin vs Crosby. There's no way you can prove me wrong on the match-up.
Of course after blogging about the importance of Owens playing against the Steelers, the star wide has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Steelers. Owens did tell Jauron that his toe feels better than it has in a while. Don't be surprised if the Bills struggle against the Steelers and Jauron pulls the we weren't at a 100% for the game card.
I'm sure everyone will come out and yell that Owens needs to be there to get the timing down with Edwards. Just a quick stat for you, in 2007 when the Patriots traded for Randy Moss, the wideout didn't play one preseason game and went on to have 23 touchdown catches for the year. These guys are professionals, and catching and throwing the ball should be something a player should be use to doing with anyone.
This proves my theory that NFL rookies may be the most overhyped entity in football. Everyone was so hyped about the Bills drafting two linemen in the first 2 rounds of the draft, but tend to forget rookies don't exactly make an immediate impact for a team till at least year 2-3 in the NFL.
As much as the Bills have struggled in the preseason, I didn't need to see an exhibition game to know the Bills line is in transition. What do you expect for a team that has only 2 returning starters and all 5 lineman playing a new position. Lynch still looks out of synch in his first 3-preseason games only averaging about 2.2 yards a carry. The Bills need their running game to net results this year, because putting the omen of success on the square shoulders of Edwards is too much for him. Heck, he can't even take just chatter from fans saying he neglects to go deep.
If the Bills start having bigger issues running the ball in the regular season, they may have to scrape the 3 wide formations on every down and go to a conventional 2 tight end offense. God knows they can't use a fullback because I don't even know if one still exists on the team.
Terrell Owens is back at practice, and not a moment to soon. T.O. wasn't actually practicing, but was doing foot work drills with the trainer. The Bills next preseason game is on Saturday against the Steelers. The 3rd game is normally where you bring out your best as far as preseason game plans go. It would be a big boost for the Bills to get Owens in the game. And considering their is more pressure, unwarranted may I add, for the offense to look phenomenal during the exhibition (sigh), the Bills may want to cave into the fans who are ready to throw away their season tickets by having all their weapons at hand.
I've been hearing a lot of fans today acting as if the season is over based on this weekend's game. I haven't made my prediction yet for the season, but I assure you I will not base it on what the team does in preseason. I've been watching football for almost 20 years and have been fooled into believing the preseason hype before. Again, history shows that preseason doesn't mean d#$k. And for fans and media personalities to go AWOL because of preseason games, shows their ignorance. Rob Johnson looked good in preseason, while the 90's Bills looked terrible in exhibition. In 2006 not one division winner had an above .500 record in the preseason. The stats don't lie, but preseason sure as hell does.
Oh it looks like you can chalk up Trent Edwards to Jerry Sullivan's list of public enemies. Sully and Edwards went at it today when Sully asked Edwards about how fans have been talking about him not willing to go down the field more often. Edwards snapped at Sully by saying lets see how you would do if you were calling the plays. Edwards then started saying that he was being coached to play the short passing game. As if he was saying it's the coaches fault with where the ball should go.
Edwards has to go down the field more. I'm not saying he has to go Oakland Raiders 70's style, but if your bread and butter is going underneath, you need to make defensive backs pay if they are excepting underneath routes. Look for the Bills/Steelers game for the Edwards to air it out to try and shut up his critics.
As far as Edwards comments go, it was a pretty simple question asked by Sullivan, and for him to go off really puts into question if Edwards can handle criticism. He better start learning because you know when Terrell Owens comes back, he's not going to be as nice as Sully is.
Well the news just keeps getting worse about the Bills weekend. Aaron Schobel injured his elbow in the Packers game and Jauron is saying he may miss a week or even more. I hate to be one to conger up old memories, but that's the exact same thing we heard about Schobel's ankle last year that went from being week to week, to out for the year. The Bills already have enough issues with getting to the QB with Schobel. Without him it would spell another disastrous pass rush situation. I've always felt Schobel is the most overrated player on the Bills and hasn't come close to his 49 million dollar contract. But he is a better alternative than what they got, which isn't much.
Well that Bills game was a lot of fun! geesh...ok repeat after me, preseason is a shame! the playbooks are vanilla. Think about it. The Bills offense looked great versus a superior defense (The Bears) and then all of a sudden tank against the Packers. It's because preseason is all about getting the clinks out and trying new things. That's why I have always said you can't believe what you see in preseason. Good or Bad. The Colts and Pats have been notorious for being bad in preseason. Last year the Lions went perfect in the preseason, only to lose every single game! Look for the Bills to open up the playbook the next game so they can cast all the doubters to relax and come back from the ledge.
Listen to WGR today was an eye opening experience. They keep acting as if the season was over and the end of the world was upon us. Again, If you want to make the case the Bills are going to be garbage this year, fine. But don't make that assessment after watching a bad quarter of football. Jeremy White is going off the deep end, saying the Bills need to leave their starters in the rest of the preseason. Seriously? It's preseason! The Bills in my opinion will only go as far as their defensive line and running game will take them, and I didn't need preseason to come to that decision.
Are you ready for some preseason football?!! bla... The Bills are getting ready to play their 3rd preseason game against the Green Packers tonight. Since the Bills have an extra preseason game, don't look for the starters to go past the first quarter. But for all you preseason fans, here are some of the goals for the Bills:
Stay Healthy:
I mean no s#$t Sherlock. The Bills have been rather unscathed this preseason with Drayton Florence being the only major injury. The Bills better hope that injuries don't come to the linebacking core, which by far is thinnest position on the team.
Will a real TE please stand-up!
The only competition for a starting job in camp is the tight end position. It's between Derek Schoman and Jason Fine. I'm not looking for who will be the best pass catcher, but who can block in pass protection and running the ball. The Bills have 3 players (Lynch, Evans, and Owens) who can be dangerous as skill players. They just need the TE to do the dirty work.
Can Lynch make it..
To the line of scrimmage without being hit 3 times in the backfield? I keep beating the drum how concerned I've been with the running attack of the Bills. 41 carries vs the Bears, averaging 2.5 yards a carry has to be a concerned. The Packers run defense isn't close to what the Bears defense is, so this better be the night they can average over 4 yards a carry.
Speed it up
As much as everyone has loved the no huddle offense, I feel in order for the Bills to get the full effect of it, they need to snap the ball quicker than they have been thus far. Going to the line of scrimmage and waiting 30 seconds for the play call and to hike the ball really isn't a true no huddle. I want to see the Bills run more hurry-up.
Of course, it's preseason and even if the Bills don't do any of the above it won't change my opinion, because it's preseason football which is a shame.
Well the first thing Aaron Mabin should do with his new 5-year 25 million dollar contract is to redo his hair cut. Maybin is sporting his jersey number 58 and Bruce Smith's number 78 along the side of his head. He must of gone to Leonard Smith's barber. Big statement from Maybin to have Smith's number on the side of his head. Hopefully he can at least live up to Shane Conlan's old jersey and not Marlo Perry's number. Maybin won't be traveling with the team on Saturday to Green Bay for the 3rd preseason game.
2 years for shooting yourself in the thigh? Don't try and tell me the law office in NYCdidn't try to make an example for a celebrity like Plex having a expired gun permit. Don't tell me Mayor Bloomberg didn't make a stance on the issue because it's election year. Don't tell me that Plex being an unpopular player amongst fans has nothing to do with the lack of an outcry of the sentence. I know some of you will say the law is the law and are big on rich people getting half the time when arrested.
But try and separate money and fame from the real issue. Plex was the guinney pig in all this. If it were Jimmy the Deli guy doing this crime, he would of got a slap on the wrist. The laws about gun control was made to limit killers in NYS to get access to handguns. Plex isn't a killer, he was just protecting himself with having a gun which is every single person's right in America. The Problem was Plex is more like Elmer Fudd than John McClaine when it came to his gun.
Can you imagine if T.O. injured his twitter finger? I'd lose my number one source for telling the world that Aaron Maybin signed with the Bills. Luckily, Owens finger is fine but his T.O.E. is still hurting and will miss his second straight preseason game. Of course I'd love for T.O. to play, considering I hate preseason football and need every good excuse to watch. But the bottom line is Owens has to stay healthy and their is no need to rush him back since the Bills have 2 preseason games left after Saturday's game.
Well you can chalk this blog under there isn't much to do in Buffalo. That's a joke, btw. The Bills have sold the 3rd highest season tickets at 55,194, behind the record 57,132 and last years total of 56,011. It's kind of strange the Bills haven't passed their record from last year. I guess people were more excited about the addition of Marcus Stroud and Kawika Mitchell than for Owens, or maybe the economy tanking was the main reason (bingo).
I'm sure the anti-Toronto fan will say this proves we don't need to have games in Toronto to make the team economically viable. Again people, $50 for your average ticket in Buffalo, $200 in Toronto. The tickets are so cheap in Buffalo that one of my friends bought season tickets, and he's unemployed! Thank your stars that tickets aren't in the middle of the league pricing. I always wondered how many tickets the Bills would sell if the team actually was making the playoffs on a yearly basis.
Chalk this story under the "why I'm I wasting my time" with writing this blog, the Sabres have signed veteran Jeff Cowan to a one-year contract. Cowan is expected to play in Portland and will most likely not amount to anything more than an extra body for the Pirates. Cowan has played for 4 NHL teams, and has 47 goals, 88 points and 695 penalty minutes in 413 games over 8 NHL seasons.
Put this blog under the you have to love Twitter category. I was about to Blog about the fall out of fans wanting Aaron Maybin to hurry up and sign with the Bills. But at 11:30pm, Profootball talk.com reported Aaaron Maybin maybe close to signing with the Bills. But it wasn't Mark Gaughan or Mike Florio confirming that Maybin was signed. It was by Mr. Reality himself via his Twitter page.
"Congrats 2 our #1 draft pick Aaron Maybin!! He will b officially joining the Buffalo Bills 2morr!!"
-T.O.-
I had wrote in an earlier blog, that I wouldn't be panicking about Maybin NOT signing until at least September 1st. I wasn't expecting much from him since he's more of a project player, who was only going to play on pass rushing downs. Fans have made so much about the Bills breaking camp from Rochester without Maybin signing. Hello!? It's not like the Bills stop practicing and start eating Buffalo Wings with Pablo when coming back to Buffalo. The Bills will still be at the Field House practicing, not to mention Maybin still has 3 preseason games to get up to speed. Rushing the passer isn't much of a science people.
OK, so I'm very late with my Brett Favre has returned blog, but better late than never. I blogged earlier last month how Favre's legacy wouldn't be tarnished if he went to Minnesota to get revenge against the Pack. I used the Thurman Thomas signing with the hated Dolphins as an example from the late 90's for a comparison. Thomas was hell bent on getting revenge on the Bills for cutting him and wanting to prove he still had it. Fans hardly ever mention Thurman's inspiration when it's been over 9 years since he retired.
Since then, I've had a change of heart on the whole Favre saga. The retiring, the unretiring, the milking cows, mowing the lawn, my wife, and the unretiring of Bret Favre has been way too much for me. In July, I thought we were only days away from Favre announcing he was coming back. But Favre caught me by surprised, when he decided to stay retired for the upteenth time. Favre's said his reasoning for not being able to come back was because of his arm strength.
3 weeks later, boom! He gets on a plane from Mississippi to Minnesota, signs a contract, practices, and has a press conference. In what? 5 hours. Favre sited that his injured arm had miraculously healed. I'm guessing he used the same arm healing trick Mr. Miyagi used on Daniel Son in The Karate Kid. But lets be honest, Favre didn't feel like doing two-a-days during training camp and since he's lord Favre, he can come in whenever he wants.
At Favre's unretring press conference, he was inspired after his daughter cried when telling her about his retirement. Awww, how cute! I'm sure if Favre's daughter took after him, she must of changed her mind at least 10 times on whether she wanted her dad to play or not. Maybe Favre decided the time was right after getting an endorsement deal from Peta to take away the spot light from the Mike Vick signing in Philly.
Look, I don't mind getting revenge on the people who said you couldn't play anymore, like he's obviously trying to do with the Packers. But to sit there and change your mind over and over again, in a span of 5 months is a joke. It's putting yourself ahead of the players and the the Vikings organization. The microscope on Favre is going to be 20x more intense than it was last year, because people pitied Favre for being booted out of Green Bay. Now some of those fans have gone from pitting to spitting on Favre.
Lastly, you have to love how Jarred Allen spoke on how he doesn't care if Favre signed late, as long as the Vikings were playing in the Super Bowl. Well no s##t! If T.O. decided he was going to stay off his injured toe because he wanted it to be a 100% to walk down a red carpet event in October for his stupid reality show, and the Bills made the Super Bowl, I'd be for it. But what will happen if Favre's play is reminiscent of his stretch late last year in New York. Don't forget Thomas Jones and a couple of unnamed players weren't happy with how Favre didn't mingle much with the other players. Trust me, if the Vikings are any where close to what the Jets were last year. Minnesota will be burning.
Well the saga of Kane vs Travis Bickles is going to end without much of a bang. WIVB is reporting Kane will except a plea deal for his close encounter with a taxi driver. Another story of a rich kid who gets off scoot free. But I'm just hating. Hopefully Kane learns a valuable lesson about the term of beer muscles by not using them too often. BTW, I wonder if the cab driver will open up his own cab business? He can call it "Kabi's." Gotta strike while the iron is hot.
I've never understood why players who have just been arrested, make public statements. First off, you can't say what happens because of the legal process. Secondly, you either say you're sorry or declare your innocence. Finally, you only speak for 30 seconds and don't take questions from the press, which becomes a huge let down for the viewer. Well for all you fans who wanted to see what Pat Kane said about his fight with Travis Bickels, here it is:
"Because I've put myself in being in the wrong position in the wrong time, I've caused a lot of pain for my family, my hometown of Buffalo, the city of Chicago, the Chicago Blackhawks and obviously the great fans we have here in Chicago," he said. "And for that part, I sincerely apologize. Now it's time for me to move forward." Riveting speech. Up there with the Gettysburg Address. Told me everything I ever wanted to know about who the real Pat Kane is. Wake me up when the trial is over please.
I was able to listen to WGR this morning with Jerry Sullivan, and the first topic was the play of Trent Edwards. The s#$t stirrers at WGR were talking about how we shouldn't be overly impressed with the play of Edwards, considering half his passes were completed to running backs in check down situations. Lets get this out of the way, preseason doesn't mean d#$k and you can't judge a team by their play during it. But I need to blog.
Three things that jumped out for the people bored by the check downs by Edwards. First off, you have to realize the Bills were missing one of their key weapons, Mr. Reality show. I don't have to get into what Owens will do for the offense when he is healthy. Secondly, Edwards did go down the field once, completing a 36-yard pass to Lee Evans on the first drive of the game. And 3rd and most importantly, great quarterbacks have made a living going for the underneath stuff. Tom Brady and Wes Welker have killed the competition when it comes to running the 8-10 yard inside pattern. Payton Manning has made a living using the check down in getting Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai involved. Not to mention, Edwards did average 8 yards a completion which is very high if you compare it to Drew Brees, who averaged 7 yards a completion in his record setting year.
Again, I hate running topics on preseason game analysis. I could give you a list of preseason game performances that didn't do diddly poo or surprised fans for the regular season. But overall, I was impressed by Edwards and I'm looking forward to seeing him with T.O. in game situations.
Maybe I'm tuning into WGR at the wrong times, but twice this week the WGR hosts were talking about their favorite television shows. WTF! This should be the money time of year for talk show hosts. You have Terrell Owens, the biggest sports icon in the country at your door step and Mike Vick being seen at coffee shops in Buffalo, and you're talking about your favorite shows? To me it's a slap in the face of Bills fans, because I've listen to the same hosts talk for 2 hours about signing Marty Biron and previewing the NHL Trade deadline in January. No one wants to hear WGR hosts talk reality shows and their favorite bands. Especially during training camp. Did I mention WGR is the radio home of the Buffalo Sabres?
TBN Slacking on chats, AGAIN
I know Sully was on vacation this week, but I was disappointed that the Buffalo News didn't have any chats this week. Considering Ralph Wilson and Bruce Smith were inducted in the HOF, and the News had 3 reporters covering the festivities, I would of loved to hear some of the stories that came out of Canton, especially the after parties (just google Andre reed and Jim Kelly singing). Not only did you have the HOF ceremonies, but you had the Bills first preseason game. I'll be the first to say that preseason doesn't matter, but I know lots of fans who don't agree with the statement, and want to review the games. The biggest factor for having these chats for me, is because I'm bored at work and like something to read while eating my lunch.
Patrick Kane backlash
Well you knew when Pat Kane was arrested for kicking Travis Bickles ass, the media would be coming out guns blazing about the Buffalo Native. Everyone stated the obvious, it was a stupid mistake by a young kid who needs to grow up quick. The funny part was how the radio and print personalities all talked about how they could see this coming from all the rumors of Kane being cocky. Was the media waiting for a incident like this to empty Pandora's box on Kane? I still think the media didn't go after Kane as heavily as they did with Lynch. You could make the case that the girl Lynch hit, who by eye witnesses was trashed and dancing in the streets could of played the same role as the cab driver who by reports, had a suspended license. I don't want to say it's a black and white issue, maybe more of a hometown hero issue. But the venom I've heard Paul Hamilton and Mike Schopp say about Lynch being thrown off the team for his actions are a lot different when it comes to Kane's.
Give it up for the "real" journalists
This is why you could never have the Internet take over as your real news source. All day Thursday, I kept reading on some NYS politician's twitter page that The Bills were about to have a news conference on the signing of Vick at 4:30. Earlier in the day, my friend from Buffalo called me and told me his friend from the airport said that Mike Vick was in Buffalo. Obviously it was total BS, and it proves once again that you can't believe everything you read on the Internet. You know the print media enjoyed this exchange, considering Mike Harrington was twittering all day about how the rumor was BS and that people should listen to real reporters. Touche.
Before I start doing my recap, please repeat after me. "I won't judge the Bills after watching preseason football." OK, now that we got that out of the way, the Bills beat the Bears 27-20 on the 9th annual kids day event. Edwards was sharp in his 3 series of work, completing a perfect 10 of 10 passes for 79 yards. Equally impressive was Ryan Fitzpatrick, who completed 13-16 passes for 143 yards. More importantly the no huddle offense showed improvement, Edwards was on target, the defense forced 5 turnovers, and the Bills' starters had a decent night Saturday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
The Good Word:
The T-Gun Offense: You have to love how the Bills are really trying to make this no huddle offense stick. Not only do the starters run it, but so do the back-ups. The Bills have been very crisp when it comes to calling plays at the line of scrimmage. I've also been surprised how the starting offense didn't commit penalties for the second straight week. An impressive feat, considering the Bills have 5 offensive lineman starting at new spots. I hope we can end the chatter about how bad Ryan Fitzpatrick has been this preseason. I'm not saying he's a superstar, but lets look to bigger concerns on the team besides their backup QB.
All-around Lynch Lynch could of easily gotten into the "bad word" category for his play (lack of yards), but I liked how Lynch was able to get the ball early and often. The back only had 8 touches for 24 yards, but the best part was how he has been involved in the passing game. I keep hammering the fact that the Bills need to establish some screen passes in their playbook. Lynch and Jackson are too good of pass catchers to only be used on check down situations.
McKelvin the "X" factor It's funny what a difference a year makes. At this time last year, LeodisMcKelvin was so overwhelmed with being an NFL cornerback, that he was 4th on the depth chart. McKelvin turned the corner late last year, and even though it's only preseason, the 2nd year man intercepted Jay Cutler for his 2nd pick of the preseason. McKelvin needs to keep making plays like this. The Bills over the last couple years have severely lacked when it comes to causing turnovers. McKelvin is a gambler, he's going to get burned a lot this year, but should be able to cash in on some needed turnovers for the defense. If McKelvin stays on this path of improvement, the Bills may have a pro bowler on their hands.
The Bad Word: No holes If you read my preview edition for the Bills o-line, you would know my biggest concern is for the team to open up holes for their backs. The concern is still there after watching two preseason games. The Bills ran the ball 41 times last night and averaged less than 3 yards a carry. I'm starting to wonder how much the actual running scheme has to do with the the O-line having issues. The Bills have had problems getting their yards per attempt up the last 3 years and they have gone through different backs and o-lineman during this time. I don't have to give you a history lesson on the importance of running the ball, but the Bills may have to steal some history from the playbook of the 70's Steelers to get their running game on track.
Red Zone futility: As good as Edwards and Fitzpatrick were, both QB's had problems in punching the ball in the endzone. Both QB's guided the offense 4 times into the redzone, resulting in only 13 points and one turnover. This is where the Bills need the T.O. signing to pay dividends. He's the guy they need to score that fade pattern in the corner of the endzone. Not to mention the o-line hasn't proven to me they can get the tough 3rd and inches yardage you need when inside the 5 yard line. When you are playing against the Patriots (twice), Saints, Colts, and Falcons this year, you're going to need to keep up the pace with those offensive teams by scoring touchdowns, not field goals.
So you have Roscoe and McKelvin So why the hell is Dominic Rhodes returning punts and kickoffs! Rhodes muffed a punt late in the first quarter which led to a Bears field goal. Rhodes only averaged 23 yards on his 2 kickoff returns and hasn't returned kicks full time since 2005. I'm not sure if they are saving McKelvin and Parrish for the regular season, but Rhodes didn't show he was a good understudy. I think Rhodes will play a big role during the Lynch suspension, but if the Bills are thinking about what to do with Rhodes when Lynch returns, special teams shouldn't be on the agenda.
On the Menu Had a cobb salad and potato skins at the nearest sports bar. Cobb salad was really dope, while the skins were just OK.
