Sunday, September 27, 2009
Immediate Reactions, Wk3
12:36 PM | 
Posted by
Nick Mendola
The defense wore down, but it never quit. Even late, when Pierre Thomas was gashing the Bills for some nice-sized gains, Buffalo would come back with consecutive stops. They played hard and aggressive within reason, most of the time (More on that later, Kawika).
To be fair, the offense didn't quit either, it just looked that way. It was a performance so awful that I texted a co-worker to see how windy it was at the stadium. He said it wasn't, just breezy.
So there's no excuse for that.
Let's talk 1-2....
-- Judging by early Twitter and Facebook messages, is this game really going to become a "blame Dick Jauron" thing? Seriously? You are absolutely allowed to dislike how the team has been under him, and think he's done a poor job overall, but please don't make the mistake of saying a different head coach would've engineered that offense to victory today. Just don't.
-- I know we've never had this discussion in Buffalo before, so let me be the first to ask if you think it's Trent or the offensive line? My, oh my, were they both awful.
For those who want to pick the former: "Trentative" Edwards came back this week, and Thurman Thomas "tweeted" during the game that Trent had options open downfield. Did you know that Edwards is 56-of-81 for 598 yards, 4 TD and 2 INT, but only 43 percent of his completions have gone to wide receivers?
For those who want to pick the latter: The line truly looked like a bunch of hacks this week, including a center who thought the shotgun was the handgun. They took a number of horrible penalties when they weren't forcing Edwards to be better in the pocket than Minnesota Fats.
Choose wisely. Again, I know it's a new argument around here...
-- The offense was summed up more than adequately by Trent Edwards tossing the ball to Fred Jackson at the line of scrimmage on 4th and 23 with just over two minutes to go. Trent, I know Fred's saved your bacon an awful lot this year, but put that ball up in the air!
EDIT NOTE: BEST TWEET EVER, courtesy of @bps21: Let's put the blame in Hangartner's hands so that he can lay it at Trent's feet.
-- Forget T.O.: Lee Evans is a hard-nosed, blazing fast receiver with terrific hands who gets open. Get him the ball. Now.
-- Jackson posted a more than respectable yards-per-carry, so why quit on the run game as early as they did? He ended up under 4.0 yards-per-rush, but that was due to a world-class awful counter play on the last drive. He continued to eek out extra yards, and I can't wait to see what he and Marshawn Lynch combine to do at Miami next week.
-- Geoff Hangartner forgot how to snap a football or something. He made Melvin Fowler look like Jeff Saturday. Maybe he was trying to save his quarterback some misery. Ai-yie-yie.
-- At first, I was an enraged as anyone with Jauron not challenging the Josh Reed play where it appeared his knee never touched the ground, but the absolute lack of outrage from anyone other than Reed and Lee Evans leads me to believe that his shoulder must have made contact with the turf when he was flipped over.
-- The Bills defense did not truly give up 27 points, regardless of what the scoreboard tells you. The offense also didn't score seven.
-- Still think Aaron Schobel is washed up?
-- Marcus Stroud was an absolute monster. For a guy to weigh as much as he does and not be a fat guy is remarkable. He should be a body guard in action movies.
-- I hadn't realized Sean Payton was "annoying sideline guy." So much for rooting for the Saints in the NFC, if it even was more than an inkling.
-- Dear Kawika Mitchell,
I know the game is fast, but try not to forearm shiver anyone in the helmet. It's illegal.
Sincerely,
An interested observer
-- Fourth-and-1 at his own 28-yard line with 7:22 to go -- and trailing 17-7 -- DIck Jauron punts. Apparently, the media is going to make this the greatest debacle in the history of football ever. A colleague actually used the phrase, "worst punt call ever." I'm not going to waste time finding worse ones -- maybe tomorrow morning -- but let's not get carried away.
-- Alright, I'm officially done with message boards, television and radio for the night. Terrell Owens wasn't trying hard enough? I had a couple angry reactions, like the deep ball thrown over the wrong shoulder and the one-handed stab at an errant out pattern throw, but replays proved my eyes wrong. As for body language, Lee Evans didn't look too pleased, either.
-- It's okay to like Edwards and still say he was awful today. It's all that's wrong with sports fanaticism to simply project this loss onto Jauron, Owens or Roscoe Parrish, whose fumble was terrrrrible.
-- Derek Fine isn't a fast runner.
-- Ryan Denney has as many touchdown receptions as anyone who's worn a Bills uniform in the last two years not named Lee Evans.
-- I usually use the rock and roll or indie rock music to calm down, but The Roots are doing a terrific job tonight.
Stat line I enjoyed:
-- Drew Brees, 16-of-29, 172 yards, 2 sacks, 0 TD
When you do that, you should beat the Saints. Whoops.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
-- Trent Edwards, sacked four times
The offensive line was absolutely brutal in pass protection, and took a whole lot of bad penalties.
Game ball:
-- The defensive line
Forget the Saints pass rush, if the Bills 'D' went against its own O-line today, it would've knocked Edwards out in the first quarter. Heck, the defensive line even scored Buffalo's points.
Lastly...
Nothing. I'm done. I have to screen the Whiner Line in the morning, so please allow me to just watch the Colts/Cards and call it a night.
Next week:
The 0-3 Dolphins host the 1-2 Bills in Miami. AFC East football; it's faaaaaantastic (Thanks, Spike Lee). I think Perry Fewell's defense will handle the wildcat, and the Bills have the talent to take care of the Dolphins' defense. This team has done a good job of rebounding from misery in the past, and I think they'll show up next Sunday. Will they win? Yeah, but it'll be just as ugly as JP's win in Miami a few years back. Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson could both threaten 100 yards, and I think the passing game throws for around 125 yards. Bills 16, Dolphins 13.
Let's type about it: nick@wgr550.com
To be fair, the offense didn't quit either, it just looked that way. It was a performance so awful that I texted a co-worker to see how windy it was at the stadium. He said it wasn't, just breezy.
So there's no excuse for that.
Let's talk 1-2....
-- Judging by early Twitter and Facebook messages, is this game really going to become a "blame Dick Jauron" thing? Seriously? You are absolutely allowed to dislike how the team has been under him, and think he's done a poor job overall, but please don't make the mistake of saying a different head coach would've engineered that offense to victory today. Just don't.
-- I know we've never had this discussion in Buffalo before, so let me be the first to ask if you think it's Trent or the offensive line? My, oh my, were they both awful.
For those who want to pick the former: "Trentative" Edwards came back this week, and Thurman Thomas "tweeted" during the game that Trent had options open downfield. Did you know that Edwards is 56-of-81 for 598 yards, 4 TD and 2 INT, but only 43 percent of his completions have gone to wide receivers?
For those who want to pick the latter: The line truly looked like a bunch of hacks this week, including a center who thought the shotgun was the handgun. They took a number of horrible penalties when they weren't forcing Edwards to be better in the pocket than Minnesota Fats.
Choose wisely. Again, I know it's a new argument around here...
-- The offense was summed up more than adequately by Trent Edwards tossing the ball to Fred Jackson at the line of scrimmage on 4th and 23 with just over two minutes to go. Trent, I know Fred's saved your bacon an awful lot this year, but put that ball up in the air!
EDIT NOTE: BEST TWEET EVER, courtesy of @bps21: Let's put the blame in Hangartner's hands so that he can lay it at Trent's feet.
-- Forget T.O.: Lee Evans is a hard-nosed, blazing fast receiver with terrific hands who gets open. Get him the ball. Now.
-- Jackson posted a more than respectable yards-per-carry, so why quit on the run game as early as they did? He ended up under 4.0 yards-per-rush, but that was due to a world-class awful counter play on the last drive. He continued to eek out extra yards, and I can't wait to see what he and Marshawn Lynch combine to do at Miami next week.
-- Geoff Hangartner forgot how to snap a football or something. He made Melvin Fowler look like Jeff Saturday. Maybe he was trying to save his quarterback some misery. Ai-yie-yie.
-- At first, I was an enraged as anyone with Jauron not challenging the Josh Reed play where it appeared his knee never touched the ground, but the absolute lack of outrage from anyone other than Reed and Lee Evans leads me to believe that his shoulder must have made contact with the turf when he was flipped over.
-- The Bills defense did not truly give up 27 points, regardless of what the scoreboard tells you. The offense also didn't score seven.
-- Still think Aaron Schobel is washed up?
-- Marcus Stroud was an absolute monster. For a guy to weigh as much as he does and not be a fat guy is remarkable. He should be a body guard in action movies.
-- I hadn't realized Sean Payton was "annoying sideline guy." So much for rooting for the Saints in the NFC, if it even was more than an inkling.
-- Dear Kawika Mitchell,
I know the game is fast, but try not to forearm shiver anyone in the helmet. It's illegal.
Sincerely,
An interested observer
-- Fourth-and-1 at his own 28-yard line with 7:22 to go -- and trailing 17-7 -- DIck Jauron punts. Apparently, the media is going to make this the greatest debacle in the history of football ever. A colleague actually used the phrase, "worst punt call ever." I'm not going to waste time finding worse ones -- maybe tomorrow morning -- but let's not get carried away.
-- Alright, I'm officially done with message boards, television and radio for the night. Terrell Owens wasn't trying hard enough? I had a couple angry reactions, like the deep ball thrown over the wrong shoulder and the one-handed stab at an errant out pattern throw, but replays proved my eyes wrong. As for body language, Lee Evans didn't look too pleased, either.
-- It's okay to like Edwards and still say he was awful today. It's all that's wrong with sports fanaticism to simply project this loss onto Jauron, Owens or Roscoe Parrish, whose fumble was terrrrrible.
-- Derek Fine isn't a fast runner.
-- Ryan Denney has as many touchdown receptions as anyone who's worn a Bills uniform in the last two years not named Lee Evans.
-- I usually use the rock and roll or indie rock music to calm down, but The Roots are doing a terrific job tonight.
Stat line I enjoyed:
-- Drew Brees, 16-of-29, 172 yards, 2 sacks, 0 TD
When you do that, you should beat the Saints. Whoops.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
-- Trent Edwards, sacked four times
The offensive line was absolutely brutal in pass protection, and took a whole lot of bad penalties.
Game ball:
-- The defensive line
Forget the Saints pass rush, if the Bills 'D' went against its own O-line today, it would've knocked Edwards out in the first quarter. Heck, the defensive line even scored Buffalo's points.
Lastly...
Nothing. I'm done. I have to screen the Whiner Line in the morning, so please allow me to just watch the Colts/Cards and call it a night.
Next week:
The 0-3 Dolphins host the 1-2 Bills in Miami. AFC East football; it's faaaaaantastic (Thanks, Spike Lee). I think Perry Fewell's defense will handle the wildcat, and the Bills have the talent to take care of the Dolphins' defense. This team has done a good job of rebounding from misery in the past, and I think they'll show up next Sunday. Will they win? Yeah, but it'll be just as ugly as JP's win in Miami a few years back. Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson could both threaten 100 yards, and I think the passing game throws for around 125 yards. Bills 16, Dolphins 13.
Let's type about it: nick@wgr550.com
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Immediate Reactions, Wk2
The trick plays, the defensive harassment, the big play to seal it... Week Two's win over the Buccaneers felt a lot like 2008's home opener against Seattle.
With that in mind, let's talk about the game that was...
-- Let's not wait to talk about Trent Edwards: He made me feel a whole bunch better with his performance. There were some snafus and all, but I've often said that to win you need to have a quarterback at least as good as Matt Hasselbeck in his prime, and Edwards' day was very much in the vein. Hasselbeckian, if you will.
-- By the way, those who thought critics were crazy to suggest the Bills might want to have Edwards to stretch the field... about that. Derek Schouman's productivity in the middle of the field was not a coincidence. It was also a huge relief to see No. 5 take another stab downfield after the interception, too. This is something I feel very comfortable attributing to Turk Schonert's dismissal and Alex Van Pelt's, uh, gusto.
-- You ladies and gentlemen at the stadium sounded loud. Good work.
-- Week Two confirms it: The Bills run defense is nasty. Tampa's stable of backs -- Cadillac Williams, Earnest Graham and Derrick Ward -- is better than the Patriots' group, and Buffalo was still all over it.
-- As for the pass defense, I think Byron Leftwich is going to find bruises all over his body Monday, and more than usual. He made a bunch of terrible throws with a couple of very heady plays mixed in. If you asked me to categorize his performance, I'd say the up-and-down play I'd say it was very Losmanian.
-- Reggie Corner's fourth-quarter force out of Maurice Stovall on a jump ball in the end zone should be noted, and may be lost after Tampa converted a touchdown moments later.
-- Bryan Scott's interception almost certainly wasn't. As I "tweeted" during the game; "Fortuitous officials' decisions, creative playcalling and two picks from safeties? Who is this masked team?"
-- Assuming he doesn't vandalize someone's house or bring his own drugs into a Chippewa bar, I can't wait for Marshawn Lynch to get back and form a brutal one-two punch with Fred Jackson. I'm getting a lot of "Trade Marshawn" texts, but look around the league and see the tandems and trios doing work for good NFL teams. Xavier Omon is a young back, and not nearly the change of pace the team needs. Now, as a No. 3? Sure. But if the Bills deal Lynch, they better have another running back in mind to pair with "Fast and Furious Freddie" (There was a tee-shirt in the locker room Friday with that saying).
Jackson has adopted, or co-opted, Lynch's "always keep the legs pumping" mentality. If we continue with the classifications, you might say it's very Craigian (As in, Roger). By the way, how about the fact that for five years, San Francisco's starting running back and baseball manager had the same name? That's way harder than the Jason/Andrew Peters thing we had to deal with here in Buffalo.
-- The paranoid part of me says we should thank all that is good that Terrell Owens got himself a touchdown after dropping that big bomb early. Combine that drop with the fact that up to that point the Bills receivers had three catches and, oh, boy.
-- On that big drop: they showed a replay in the second half, and you could tell Owens had a visor on his helmet. When they shot back to the current play, no visor. Just saying.
-- Wasn't it nice to see a bunch of those Tampa players in long sleeves? Fellas... come on.
-- Tampa's two-minute warning field goal encroachment call was the team's eleventh penalty of the night, and pushed their total to 97 yards. I spent the next two minutes hoping they'd cross the century mark more than anything else. Then, they did it! Thanks to all who participated!
-- The injuries are a real concern moving forward. Leodis McKelvin, Brad Butler and two tight ends, one of whom may be out for the season (Derek Schouman). Let's hope Shawn Nelson, Butler and McKelvin are better for New Orleans.
-- My fantasy team, Chest Hair Casserole, would like to thank its manager for playing Buffalo defense, Rian Lindell, Lee Evans and Trent Edwards today. It was a brilliant move.
-- Big ups to Lew-Port's Darryl Johnston and the FOX crew for giving Buffalo a minute-long tourism PSA on the weather in Buffalo and the hospitality of Western New Yorkers. Also, big ups to FOX for showing that high school picture of Johnston when he looked like a mutant Patrick Kane.
Also, I really did enjoy Johnston as a color commentator, and after hearing Tony Siragusa give a mouth-band version of AC/DC's "Hells Bells" while setting up a plate of lasagne in the Bills media room on Friday, I've got a tiny soft spot for him, too.
-- I want more games like today, where the Bills would only be getting the ball back late to kneel it down and I'm wishing there was more time to watch the offense work.
-- FYI, and I must've missed this, good man Copeland Bryan signed with the Lions.
Stat line I enjoyed:
-- Fred Jackson, 28 carries, 163 yards; six catches, 25 yards; one fumble
As much as I wanted to put Edwards in this space, Jackson was unreal. As much as I don't want them to deal Lynch unless they can get a decent tailback in return, Jackson is literally impossible to miss. He's an incredible guy in the locker room, and has already made me forget the whole "give me more money" thing. I'm glad they gave him more money, and clearly the guy wasn't just playing for a contract.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Kellen Winslow, seven catches, 90 yards, TD
-- After the Ben Watson fiasco -- and with Jeremy Shockey coming to town -- it would've been nice to see the Bills linebackers get a little better on the whole "cover the tight end" thing. I have concerns about this. Several. Or one. Whatever.
Game ball:
You know what? The obvious answer is Jackson, but I want to give some love to two members of the Bills secondary. Donte Whitner and Terrence McGee have taken their games to the next level in terms of big hitting and tackling. I'm very much feeling it. Huge credit to management for having the guts to move Whitner to free safety. Also, Bryan Scott is a guy who's been a class act in the locker room for a while, so it's nice to see him make nice plays in consecutive weeks (He stopped the two-point conversion in Week One against the Pats).
Lastly...
Sweet goodness did we need this. Get healthy, fellas!
Next week:
It's going to be bombs away at the Ralph when Drew Brees and his superhuman productivity come to town. The Saints have made both Philadelphia and Detroit look terrible. I'd like to think Buffalo's pass defense is closer to Philly than the Lions, but either way, it'll be a challenge. Look for Buffalo's run defense to look a little less stout as they focus on the pass. Also, look for Buffalo try and chew on the play clock and strike first. Will it work? I'm not so sure. New Orleans 32, Buffalo 24.
With that in mind, let's talk about the game that was...
-- Let's not wait to talk about Trent Edwards: He made me feel a whole bunch better with his performance. There were some snafus and all, but I've often said that to win you need to have a quarterback at least as good as Matt Hasselbeck in his prime, and Edwards' day was very much in the vein. Hasselbeckian, if you will.
-- By the way, those who thought critics were crazy to suggest the Bills might want to have Edwards to stretch the field... about that. Derek Schouman's productivity in the middle of the field was not a coincidence. It was also a huge relief to see No. 5 take another stab downfield after the interception, too. This is something I feel very comfortable attributing to Turk Schonert's dismissal and Alex Van Pelt's, uh, gusto.
-- You ladies and gentlemen at the stadium sounded loud. Good work.
-- Week Two confirms it: The Bills run defense is nasty. Tampa's stable of backs -- Cadillac Williams, Earnest Graham and Derrick Ward -- is better than the Patriots' group, and Buffalo was still all over it.
-- As for the pass defense, I think Byron Leftwich is going to find bruises all over his body Monday, and more than usual. He made a bunch of terrible throws with a couple of very heady plays mixed in. If you asked me to categorize his performance, I'd say the up-and-down play I'd say it was very Losmanian.
-- Reggie Corner's fourth-quarter force out of Maurice Stovall on a jump ball in the end zone should be noted, and may be lost after Tampa converted a touchdown moments later.
-- Bryan Scott's interception almost certainly wasn't. As I "tweeted" during the game; "Fortuitous officials' decisions, creative playcalling and two picks from safeties? Who is this masked team?"
-- Assuming he doesn't vandalize someone's house or bring his own drugs into a Chippewa bar, I can't wait for Marshawn Lynch to get back and form a brutal one-two punch with Fred Jackson. I'm getting a lot of "Trade Marshawn" texts, but look around the league and see the tandems and trios doing work for good NFL teams. Xavier Omon is a young back, and not nearly the change of pace the team needs. Now, as a No. 3? Sure. But if the Bills deal Lynch, they better have another running back in mind to pair with "Fast and Furious Freddie" (There was a tee-shirt in the locker room Friday with that saying).
Jackson has adopted, or co-opted, Lynch's "always keep the legs pumping" mentality. If we continue with the classifications, you might say it's very Craigian (As in, Roger). By the way, how about the fact that for five years, San Francisco's starting running back and baseball manager had the same name? That's way harder than the Jason/Andrew Peters thing we had to deal with here in Buffalo.
-- The paranoid part of me says we should thank all that is good that Terrell Owens got himself a touchdown after dropping that big bomb early. Combine that drop with the fact that up to that point the Bills receivers had three catches and, oh, boy.
-- On that big drop: they showed a replay in the second half, and you could tell Owens had a visor on his helmet. When they shot back to the current play, no visor. Just saying.
-- Wasn't it nice to see a bunch of those Tampa players in long sleeves? Fellas... come on.
-- Tampa's two-minute warning field goal encroachment call was the team's eleventh penalty of the night, and pushed their total to 97 yards. I spent the next two minutes hoping they'd cross the century mark more than anything else. Then, they did it! Thanks to all who participated!
-- The injuries are a real concern moving forward. Leodis McKelvin, Brad Butler and two tight ends, one of whom may be out for the season (Derek Schouman). Let's hope Shawn Nelson, Butler and McKelvin are better for New Orleans.
-- My fantasy team, Chest Hair Casserole, would like to thank its manager for playing Buffalo defense, Rian Lindell, Lee Evans and Trent Edwards today. It was a brilliant move.
-- Big ups to Lew-Port's Darryl Johnston and the FOX crew for giving Buffalo a minute-long tourism PSA on the weather in Buffalo and the hospitality of Western New Yorkers. Also, big ups to FOX for showing that high school picture of Johnston when he looked like a mutant Patrick Kane.
Also, I really did enjoy Johnston as a color commentator, and after hearing Tony Siragusa give a mouth-band version of AC/DC's "Hells Bells" while setting up a plate of lasagne in the Bills media room on Friday, I've got a tiny soft spot for him, too.
-- I want more games like today, where the Bills would only be getting the ball back late to kneel it down and I'm wishing there was more time to watch the offense work.
-- FYI, and I must've missed this, good man Copeland Bryan signed with the Lions.
Stat line I enjoyed:
-- Fred Jackson, 28 carries, 163 yards; six catches, 25 yards; one fumble
As much as I wanted to put Edwards in this space, Jackson was unreal. As much as I don't want them to deal Lynch unless they can get a decent tailback in return, Jackson is literally impossible to miss. He's an incredible guy in the locker room, and has already made me forget the whole "give me more money" thing. I'm glad they gave him more money, and clearly the guy wasn't just playing for a contract.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Kellen Winslow, seven catches, 90 yards, TD
-- After the Ben Watson fiasco -- and with Jeremy Shockey coming to town -- it would've been nice to see the Bills linebackers get a little better on the whole "cover the tight end" thing. I have concerns about this. Several. Or one. Whatever.
Game ball:
You know what? The obvious answer is Jackson, but I want to give some love to two members of the Bills secondary. Donte Whitner and Terrence McGee have taken their games to the next level in terms of big hitting and tackling. I'm very much feeling it. Huge credit to management for having the guts to move Whitner to free safety. Also, Bryan Scott is a guy who's been a class act in the locker room for a while, so it's nice to see him make nice plays in consecutive weeks (He stopped the two-point conversion in Week One against the Pats).
Lastly...
Sweet goodness did we need this. Get healthy, fellas!
Next week:
It's going to be bombs away at the Ralph when Drew Brees and his superhuman productivity come to town. The Saints have made both Philadelphia and Detroit look terrible. I'd like to think Buffalo's pass defense is closer to Philly than the Lions, but either way, it'll be a challenge. Look for Buffalo's run defense to look a little less stout as they focus on the pass. Also, look for Buffalo try and chew on the play clock and strike first. Will it work? I'm not so sure. New Orleans 32, Buffalo 24.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
On McKelvin, vandalism and thuggery
Nick Mendola was sick from work today, and certainly didn't plan on writing about someone in his town -- likely drunk or just stupid -- thinking spray painting Leodis McKelvin's lawn was a good idea. Alas...
There's a tremendous book on the sociology of a crowd called "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford. In it, it details how fans of Manchester United in the early 1990s were transformed from ordinary plumbers, lawyers and family men into monsters of creation by their desire and support of the giant English soccer club. They traveled to Italy as a group and beat the living tar out of innocent Romans as a show of how strong they were as a "community." In one instance, a thug and his friend beat up a bar full of cops with weapons, ultimately grabbing an officer by the face, sucking his eye out of the socket and chomping down.
A community is defined as a group of interacting organisms in an environment. I use this definition to show that when we talk about how strong of a community Buffalo is when donating their time to fix Gowanda after a flood or to help support universal newborn screening, it isn't the only example of community in a city. There are horrible people in any town, and even good people who make horrible decisions when in a group.
Now, we don't know what the guy who defaced Leodis McKelvin's lawn was thinking. He couldn't been blitzed out of his mind and dared to do the deed by someone who knew where the fumbling cornerback lived. Heck, the bartender I spoke with yesterday before a meeting with some associates told me he knew where McKelvin lived.
But he also could've been buoyed by a group of people producing a manifestation of animal hate, caused by as simple a place as a message board. Fan outrage over a silly and costly mistake in a football game spilling over into a sense of bad community. Look, if I said something stupid on the radio and found something on my lawn, I might quit my job... let alone what would it happen if I saw someone doing it. I understand what Kawika Mitchell posted on his Twitter. It's not just heavy-handed positioning. It's life.
What I want to do is ask something to all of you who -- like me and many fans -- probably come too much closer to rage based on sports than they ever should: Can you be the voice of reason in your group? The same way every group needs a designated driver, each pocket of fans and friends needs a designated "prider" -- someone who makes sure everyone stays on the right side of passionate fandom.
I've been to countless games where I saw some guy walking sideways and angry, threatening the life of someone on the opposition. I've heard slurs of all varieties directed towards all varieties. I've seen arguments and fights and brawls, all because someone didn't have the guts to stick up to their friend before it go too far.
There would be true wrong to take this story and act like the guy who vandalized McKelvin's property was "one bad seed." The capability of such a transgression is in every single one of us. It's called being a human being. How many of us have said something way to hurtful to someone we love more than anyone, let alone some stranger on the local football team (Not to mention an accessible stranger who has never turned down an interview or been anything short of honest with reporters. Leodis McKelvin is, no doubt, a very nice guy in the locker room).
Our city needs to stand as one of the best in the country, the folks who stand up and shine a light for victims of a plane crash, the citizens who plow roads so ambulances can get through a storm, and the fans who welcome Scott Norwood back to Buffalo with open arms. Remember, one of those shouldn't carry the weight it does, too. It's just sports.
So please, know when to say when. It's easier said than done, but do what's right.
Don't count yourself among the thugs.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
There's a tremendous book on the sociology of a crowd called "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford. In it, it details how fans of Manchester United in the early 1990s were transformed from ordinary plumbers, lawyers and family men into monsters of creation by their desire and support of the giant English soccer club. They traveled to Italy as a group and beat the living tar out of innocent Romans as a show of how strong they were as a "community." In one instance, a thug and his friend beat up a bar full of cops with weapons, ultimately grabbing an officer by the face, sucking his eye out of the socket and chomping down.
A community is defined as a group of interacting organisms in an environment. I use this definition to show that when we talk about how strong of a community Buffalo is when donating their time to fix Gowanda after a flood or to help support universal newborn screening, it isn't the only example of community in a city. There are horrible people in any town, and even good people who make horrible decisions when in a group.
Now, we don't know what the guy who defaced Leodis McKelvin's lawn was thinking. He couldn't been blitzed out of his mind and dared to do the deed by someone who knew where the fumbling cornerback lived. Heck, the bartender I spoke with yesterday before a meeting with some associates told me he knew where McKelvin lived.
But he also could've been buoyed by a group of people producing a manifestation of animal hate, caused by as simple a place as a message board. Fan outrage over a silly and costly mistake in a football game spilling over into a sense of bad community. Look, if I said something stupid on the radio and found something on my lawn, I might quit my job... let alone what would it happen if I saw someone doing it. I understand what Kawika Mitchell posted on his Twitter. It's not just heavy-handed positioning. It's life.
What I want to do is ask something to all of you who -- like me and many fans -- probably come too much closer to rage based on sports than they ever should: Can you be the voice of reason in your group? The same way every group needs a designated driver, each pocket of fans and friends needs a designated "prider" -- someone who makes sure everyone stays on the right side of passionate fandom.
I've been to countless games where I saw some guy walking sideways and angry, threatening the life of someone on the opposition. I've heard slurs of all varieties directed towards all varieties. I've seen arguments and fights and brawls, all because someone didn't have the guts to stick up to their friend before it go too far.
There would be true wrong to take this story and act like the guy who vandalized McKelvin's property was "one bad seed." The capability of such a transgression is in every single one of us. It's called being a human being. How many of us have said something way to hurtful to someone we love more than anyone, let alone some stranger on the local football team (Not to mention an accessible stranger who has never turned down an interview or been anything short of honest with reporters. Leodis McKelvin is, no doubt, a very nice guy in the locker room).
Our city needs to stand as one of the best in the country, the folks who stand up and shine a light for victims of a plane crash, the citizens who plow roads so ambulances can get through a storm, and the fans who welcome Scott Norwood back to Buffalo with open arms. Remember, one of those shouldn't carry the weight it does, too. It's just sports.
So please, know when to say when. It's easier said than done, but do what's right.
Don't count yourself among the thugs.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Monday, September 14, 2009
immediate Reactions: New England 25, Buffalo 24
For the full roller coaster of in-game thoughts, feel free to visit www.twitter.com/NicholasMendola
That's not on Dick Jauron.
That's not on Trent Edwards.
That's not on Keith Ellison.
That's on Leodis McKelvin, who played with the football smarts of a pinata.
I have no -- let me be clear, zero -- problem with him taking the kick out of the end zone with his team up 24-19. There was 2:06 to go, and he could eliminate the two-minute warning. But to not go down when hit, like you're going to break four consecutive tackles with one hand on the ball? Did Bobby April not relay the "Don't fumble" message? You have got to be kidding me. This team continues to find ways to slice open my soul and pour battery acid into it.
No lie, the Buffalo Bills are the most heartbreaking franchise in the history of professional sports, and those citing the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns and anyone else can go home and eat laundry soap.
I guess we should talk about the rest of the game, somehow...
Why wouldn't you go down, Leodis? Why would you do this to me? Don't you know I was repeating the phrase, "Don't be the Bills" for the last six minutes of the game. All you needed to do was go down.
Anyway, the rest of the game...
--- Keith Ellison can't cover a receiver, tight end, running back or manhole. I feel bad for pointing this out when he made 16 tackles and some decent plays in the run game, but he was abysmal in pass coverage. The Bills need to entertain the thought of a free agent linebacker instead of filling their needs from inside, especially if Paul Posluszny's arm injury in serious.
--- Dick Jauron and the coaching staff didn't do anything remarkably wrong all night, so you might want to sit back and find someone else to blame, and if it's not going to be McKelvin, and it's not going to Ellison... you're probably trying way too hard.
--- Trent Edwards worked as the Bills quarterback Monday night, and topped 200 yards on that frenetic last second pass to Derek Schouman and the rest of the team. He did enough to win the football game, and had a number of balls dropped. He was pressed for time often, and only put one super-foolish, almost-intercepted ball into triple coverage, which hopefully encourages him to throw deep more often. It would be awesome if the offensive line could keep him upright, as some of his more impressive plays were navigating around the Pats pass rush to deliver dump-offs.
--- What a pitiful final offensive drive. You know New England wanted less than 45 seconds left when the Bills get the ball.
--- That said, I didn't see too many plays that weren't called in the preseason, for those thinking the Bills were "keeping all the good plays under wraps."
--- You really have to wonder how they'll ever pull off a win in New England. They got all the calls -- those that weren't against Demetrius Bell, or the bogus but within the rules offensive pass interference call against Terrell Owens.
--- They ruined 4-0 and 5-1 last year. Hey, at least they didn't wait this time around!
--- It was our dog Ernie's first time at the house during a Bills game. He bit my buddy Joshua in the nether regions during a celebration. He'll learn (Ernie, not Joshua).
--- Wide receivers caught five balls. Five.
--- EDIT NOTE: Tim Graham astutely pointed out in his "Rapid Reaction" column -- interesting title, ha -- that the final score was the same as a certain Monday Nighter against Dallas. ghjkSDFaskughDVCBK DSAVCIB SDCJK
--- I'm not going to say I told you so about a healthy Aaron Schobel, but... he's good. Loved the defense on fourth down, and sometimes even on -- Gasp! Don't say it, Nick -- third down. They've got a good look.
--- Good for Shawn Nelson grabbing a touchdown in his first game. One day, he could be as good as that Robert Royal guy (For those unfamiliar with my work, I'm being sarcastic about the Royal part).
--- As long as I've got some negativity stuck in my bones, I'd again like to thank Marshawn Lynch for being an idiot. Could've used some "Beast Mode," especially the way Fred Jackson was almost exploiting the Pats run defense, not to mention the way he collected short passes and turned them into more.
--- It was nice of the game to end at a reasonable hour.
Stat line I enjoyed:
-- Schobel, one tackle, one sack, one interception returned 26 yards for a touchdown
I loved his game, and forgot how smart he played. It's actually amazing that Bills fans seem to hate a hard-working player who doesn't show off and plays fairly intelligent football. The lying-in-wait interception was so well-executed that Brady almost fell for it twice. Tom Brady.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
-- Bills offensive line, four sacks allowed, countless pressures and several penalties
After last year's game against Oakland, I wrote, "Get better already. You're supposed to be good at the pass blocking part." They need to get better at holding a pocket, though they run blocked well and got into space after the short completions.
Game ball:
-- Jackson, 15 rushes, 57 yards; five receptions, 83 yards, touchdown.
He got the ball a lot, and he didn't waste it. A solid job filling in for Lynch.
Lastly...
Don't do that again. I know you will.
Next week:
Tampa Bay. The Bills should win their home opener comfortably, giving us ample time to discuss how they should be 2-0 and waiting for a showdown with New Orleans. Tampa is better than most would imagine, and this one will be close if the Bills don't attempt to stretch the field. Buffalo 20, Tampa 10.
That's not on Dick Jauron.
That's not on Trent Edwards.
That's not on Keith Ellison.
That's on Leodis McKelvin, who played with the football smarts of a pinata.
I have no -- let me be clear, zero -- problem with him taking the kick out of the end zone with his team up 24-19. There was 2:06 to go, and he could eliminate the two-minute warning. But to not go down when hit, like you're going to break four consecutive tackles with one hand on the ball? Did Bobby April not relay the "Don't fumble" message? You have got to be kidding me. This team continues to find ways to slice open my soul and pour battery acid into it.
No lie, the Buffalo Bills are the most heartbreaking franchise in the history of professional sports, and those citing the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns and anyone else can go home and eat laundry soap.
I guess we should talk about the rest of the game, somehow...
Why wouldn't you go down, Leodis? Why would you do this to me? Don't you know I was repeating the phrase, "Don't be the Bills" for the last six minutes of the game. All you needed to do was go down.
Anyway, the rest of the game...
--- Keith Ellison can't cover a receiver, tight end, running back or manhole. I feel bad for pointing this out when he made 16 tackles and some decent plays in the run game, but he was abysmal in pass coverage. The Bills need to entertain the thought of a free agent linebacker instead of filling their needs from inside, especially if Paul Posluszny's arm injury in serious.
--- Dick Jauron and the coaching staff didn't do anything remarkably wrong all night, so you might want to sit back and find someone else to blame, and if it's not going to be McKelvin, and it's not going to Ellison... you're probably trying way too hard.
--- Trent Edwards worked as the Bills quarterback Monday night, and topped 200 yards on that frenetic last second pass to Derek Schouman and the rest of the team. He did enough to win the football game, and had a number of balls dropped. He was pressed for time often, and only put one super-foolish, almost-intercepted ball into triple coverage, which hopefully encourages him to throw deep more often. It would be awesome if the offensive line could keep him upright, as some of his more impressive plays were navigating around the Pats pass rush to deliver dump-offs.
--- What a pitiful final offensive drive. You know New England wanted less than 45 seconds left when the Bills get the ball.
--- That said, I didn't see too many plays that weren't called in the preseason, for those thinking the Bills were "keeping all the good plays under wraps."
--- You really have to wonder how they'll ever pull off a win in New England. They got all the calls -- those that weren't against Demetrius Bell, or the bogus but within the rules offensive pass interference call against Terrell Owens.
--- They ruined 4-0 and 5-1 last year. Hey, at least they didn't wait this time around!
--- It was our dog Ernie's first time at the house during a Bills game. He bit my buddy Joshua in the nether regions during a celebration. He'll learn (Ernie, not Joshua).
--- Wide receivers caught five balls. Five.
--- EDIT NOTE: Tim Graham astutely pointed out in his "Rapid Reaction" column -- interesting title, ha -- that the final score was the same as a certain Monday Nighter against Dallas. ghjkSDFaskughDVCBK DSAVCIB SDCJK
--- I'm not going to say I told you so about a healthy Aaron Schobel, but... he's good. Loved the defense on fourth down, and sometimes even on -- Gasp! Don't say it, Nick -- third down. They've got a good look.
--- Good for Shawn Nelson grabbing a touchdown in his first game. One day, he could be as good as that Robert Royal guy (For those unfamiliar with my work, I'm being sarcastic about the Royal part).
--- As long as I've got some negativity stuck in my bones, I'd again like to thank Marshawn Lynch for being an idiot. Could've used some "Beast Mode," especially the way Fred Jackson was almost exploiting the Pats run defense, not to mention the way he collected short passes and turned them into more.
--- It was nice of the game to end at a reasonable hour.
Stat line I enjoyed:
-- Schobel, one tackle, one sack, one interception returned 26 yards for a touchdown
I loved his game, and forgot how smart he played. It's actually amazing that Bills fans seem to hate a hard-working player who doesn't show off and plays fairly intelligent football. The lying-in-wait interception was so well-executed that Brady almost fell for it twice. Tom Brady.
Stat line I didn't enjoy:
-- Bills offensive line, four sacks allowed, countless pressures and several penalties
After last year's game against Oakland, I wrote, "Get better already. You're supposed to be good at the pass blocking part." They need to get better at holding a pocket, though they run blocked well and got into space after the short completions.
Game ball:
-- Jackson, 15 rushes, 57 yards; five receptions, 83 yards, touchdown.
He got the ball a lot, and he didn't waste it. A solid job filling in for Lynch.
Lastly...
Don't do that again. I know you will.
Next week:
Tampa Bay. The Bills should win their home opener comfortably, giving us ample time to discuss how they should be 2-0 and waiting for a showdown with New Orleans. Tampa is better than most would imagine, and this one will be close if the Bills don't attempt to stretch the field. Buffalo 20, Tampa 10.
The Day After: Week One
Here are some things I learned from Sunday's non-Bills action in Week One:
-- Minnesota 34, Cleveland 20 -- Adrian Peterson is unlike anything I've ever seen. My memories of Walter Payton are very remote, but the way people would describe Sweetness' play also fits the bill for AP. Peterson's final touchdown run was absurd, as he literally threw two Browns aside on a scamper up the left sideline. If you consider what strength it takes to do that at full speed... wow. Wow-e-wow
Also, Brett Favre is going to do just fine in Minnesota, and it was nice to see the return of Eric Mangini's "someone used my soup as a restroom" face, even if I was rooting for the Browns.
-- Green Bay 21, Chicago 15 -- Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers helped a great deal, but the Bears and Packers defenses look overwhelming. For much of the night, the Bears were rushing just four or five at Rodgers, but Chicago defensive line coach Rod Marinelli is already better than he was as Lions head man last year. You can mark Detroit down for 0-6 in the NFC North. Book it.
Also... Dan Hager on why his girlfriend wouldn't change the station from the MTV whatever awards to the Bears/Packers game.
"She doesnt want to watch a bad QB who always looks like some one stole his truck."
True, Dan, but nobody deserves to watch this (That's why no one can read her pokerface).
-- Atlanta 19, Miami 7 -- Atlanta looks scary this year, even if I'm secretly hoping their 19-7 win over Miami was due to the Dolphins being awful. Matt Ryan continues to make the reporters who said the prototypical pocket passer was a thing of the past look as foolish as they sounded. Remember all the "scrambling quarterback craze" or a few years back? Ridiculous.
-- Denver 12, Cincinnati 7 -- I'm sorry, Cincinnati fans. Not only did you have to watch your team trail Kyle Orton and the Broncos, 6-0, for three-plus quarters, but then once your team finally takes a 7-6 lead, you lose on a tipped prayer of a pass. You're then forced to watch Kyle Orton and Josh McDaniels literally shocked to have won a football game. I'm sorry... at least until tonight.
For the record, I still feel like the Bills are going to win tonight. I fully expect them to have a losing season, but I can't shake the idea of Buffalo coming out on top against all odds. Just seems like something that would happen, where Xavier Omon and "Bills DEF" become the two surprise fantasy acquisitions for Week Two... or they lost 38-13.
-- New York Jets 24, Houston 7 -- By the way, the official cliche term for 2009 has been set: "Downhill Defense." Trent Dilfer was just one of the folks to love Rex Ryan's "Downhill Defense." In other, completely-unbiased news, I hate the New York Jets more than any other football team.
-- Baltimore 38, Kansas City 24 -- Two touchdowns for Willis McGahee, but 108 yards for Ray Rice. The real story for this week will be whether KC's offense has improved that much, or if the losses of Rex Ryan and Bart Scott have hurt the Ravens. Oh, and the loss of Jim Leonhard.
-- Philadelphia 38, Carolina 10 -- If Carolina isn't inquiring as to the availability of Derek Anderson right now...
Jake Delhomme looked miserable again, but the he did get the Panthers into the playoffs last year.
-- Indianapolis 14, Jacksonville 12 -- Peyton Manning's 301-yard day almost goes for naught, but the Jags call some sort of rugby formation to go for two, and can't tie the game late.
-- New Orleans 45, Detroit 27 -- Sure, Lions rookie Matthew Stafford may have thrown three interceptions, but Detroit may want to look closer at their defensive plans after Drew Brees threw six balls to receivers in the end zone, and all earned the Saints six points and a shot at an extra one. Just saying.
-- Dallas 34, Tampa Bay 21 -- Bucs didn't look nearly as bad as predicted, but Tony Romo's three touchdown passes should keep the critics off his back for, oh, at least a week.
-- San Francisco 20, Arizona 16 -- How long until the NFL makes San Fran head coach Mike Singletary take off the wooden crucifix he wears over his shirt? Stay strong, Mike. The Catholic in me is wondering how God chose between that show of faith, and Kurt Warner. By the way, I still love 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis.
-- New York Giants 23, Washington 17 -- London Fletcher made 18 tackles as Eli Manning and Jason Campbell had the exact same day. Both make equal dollars... just kidding!
-- Seattle 28, St. Louis 0 -- No Torry Holt, all kinds of problems. I don't like the Rams odds this year.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
-- Minnesota 34, Cleveland 20 -- Adrian Peterson is unlike anything I've ever seen. My memories of Walter Payton are very remote, but the way people would describe Sweetness' play also fits the bill for AP. Peterson's final touchdown run was absurd, as he literally threw two Browns aside on a scamper up the left sideline. If you consider what strength it takes to do that at full speed... wow. Wow-e-wow
Also, Brett Favre is going to do just fine in Minnesota, and it was nice to see the return of Eric Mangini's "someone used my soup as a restroom" face, even if I was rooting for the Browns.
-- Green Bay 21, Chicago 15 -- Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers helped a great deal, but the Bears and Packers defenses look overwhelming. For much of the night, the Bears were rushing just four or five at Rodgers, but Chicago defensive line coach Rod Marinelli is already better than he was as Lions head man last year. You can mark Detroit down for 0-6 in the NFC North. Book it.
Also... Dan Hager on why his girlfriend wouldn't change the station from the MTV whatever awards to the Bears/Packers game.
"She doesnt want to watch a bad QB who always looks like some one stole his truck."
True, Dan, but nobody deserves to watch this (That's why no one can read her pokerface).
-- Atlanta 19, Miami 7 -- Atlanta looks scary this year, even if I'm secretly hoping their 19-7 win over Miami was due to the Dolphins being awful. Matt Ryan continues to make the reporters who said the prototypical pocket passer was a thing of the past look as foolish as they sounded. Remember all the "scrambling quarterback craze" or a few years back? Ridiculous.
-- Denver 12, Cincinnati 7 -- I'm sorry, Cincinnati fans. Not only did you have to watch your team trail Kyle Orton and the Broncos, 6-0, for three-plus quarters, but then once your team finally takes a 7-6 lead, you lose on a tipped prayer of a pass. You're then forced to watch Kyle Orton and Josh McDaniels literally shocked to have won a football game. I'm sorry... at least until tonight.
For the record, I still feel like the Bills are going to win tonight. I fully expect them to have a losing season, but I can't shake the idea of Buffalo coming out on top against all odds. Just seems like something that would happen, where Xavier Omon and "Bills DEF" become the two surprise fantasy acquisitions for Week Two... or they lost 38-13.
-- New York Jets 24, Houston 7 -- By the way, the official cliche term for 2009 has been set: "Downhill Defense." Trent Dilfer was just one of the folks to love Rex Ryan's "Downhill Defense." In other, completely-unbiased news, I hate the New York Jets more than any other football team.
-- Baltimore 38, Kansas City 24 -- Two touchdowns for Willis McGahee, but 108 yards for Ray Rice. The real story for this week will be whether KC's offense has improved that much, or if the losses of Rex Ryan and Bart Scott have hurt the Ravens. Oh, and the loss of Jim Leonhard.
-- Philadelphia 38, Carolina 10 -- If Carolina isn't inquiring as to the availability of Derek Anderson right now...
Jake Delhomme looked miserable again, but the he did get the Panthers into the playoffs last year.
-- Indianapolis 14, Jacksonville 12 -- Peyton Manning's 301-yard day almost goes for naught, but the Jags call some sort of rugby formation to go for two, and can't tie the game late.
-- New Orleans 45, Detroit 27 -- Sure, Lions rookie Matthew Stafford may have thrown three interceptions, but Detroit may want to look closer at their defensive plans after Drew Brees threw six balls to receivers in the end zone, and all earned the Saints six points and a shot at an extra one. Just saying.
-- Dallas 34, Tampa Bay 21 -- Bucs didn't look nearly as bad as predicted, but Tony Romo's three touchdown passes should keep the critics off his back for, oh, at least a week.
-- San Francisco 20, Arizona 16 -- How long until the NFL makes San Fran head coach Mike Singletary take off the wooden crucifix he wears over his shirt? Stay strong, Mike. The Catholic in me is wondering how God chose between that show of faith, and Kurt Warner. By the way, I still love 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis.
-- New York Giants 23, Washington 17 -- London Fletcher made 18 tackles as Eli Manning and Jason Campbell had the exact same day. Both make equal dollars... just kidding!
-- Seattle 28, St. Louis 0 -- No Torry Holt, all kinds of problems. I don't like the Rams odds this year.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Bulls win much more than 1-0 start
There is little chance this will read like an objective report, so call it the hopeful opinion of a Buffalo-area football fan looking for anything to grasp onto: UB's 23-17 season-opening road win over UTEP is anything but an ordinary victory for the program.
Coming off a championship campaign filled with drama that saw the Bulls catapult into local relevance under Turner Gill, the Bulls were already faced with the dilemma of their first new quarterback in four years when star tailback James Starks was lost for the season with a shoulder injury. The pundits had them down for a tough campaign, some worse than others: ESPN had the Bulls 1-3 out of conference, and you can be sure that one win was against moribund Gardner-Webb at home next month, not against UTEP, who the magazine had rated as a Top-50 team, with the Bulls back at No. 86.
As an alum, fan and reporter, I was willing to sit through some struggles this year as Turner Gill went to his sophomore quarterback Zack Maynard. Truth be told, I'm still willing to do that, but what going down the Texas and beating the Miners says for Gill's program is remarkable. The head coach finally has a team of recruits almost exclusively his to go with a mean experienced defense and a young offense that went to the road to open a season and did enough to come out unscathed.
The Mid American Conference went 3-10 this weekend, and the Bulls win was certainly the most impressive -- Kent State beat Coastal Carolina while Bowling Green handled Troy, both at home. The two conference favorites, Western Michigan and Central Michigan, looked miserable in lopsided losses at borderline power schools, Michigan and Arizona.
When the Pitt Panthers head into UB Stadium this Saturday for the Bulls home opener, Buffalo has a chance to ratchet the local excitement level up several notches by spinning Dave Wannstedt's moustache around like a cartoon pinwheel. Maynard's going to struggle at times -- like any young quarterback -- and the Bulls are going to have games where they have trouble keeping the defense honest, but the athletes on UB's defense are as talented as any in the history of the program. It's a crew that went down to UTEP for the Miners' opener, and held the home team to under 33 points for the first time since Oct. 11 of last year.
Go Bulls Go (Nick Mendola, BA, '05 English) Email: nick@wgr550.com
Coming off a championship campaign filled with drama that saw the Bulls catapult into local relevance under Turner Gill, the Bulls were already faced with the dilemma of their first new quarterback in four years when star tailback James Starks was lost for the season with a shoulder injury. The pundits had them down for a tough campaign, some worse than others: ESPN had the Bulls 1-3 out of conference, and you can be sure that one win was against moribund Gardner-Webb at home next month, not against UTEP, who the magazine had rated as a Top-50 team, with the Bulls back at No. 86.
As an alum, fan and reporter, I was willing to sit through some struggles this year as Turner Gill went to his sophomore quarterback Zack Maynard. Truth be told, I'm still willing to do that, but what going down the Texas and beating the Miners says for Gill's program is remarkable. The head coach finally has a team of recruits almost exclusively his to go with a mean experienced defense and a young offense that went to the road to open a season and did enough to come out unscathed.
The Mid American Conference went 3-10 this weekend, and the Bulls win was certainly the most impressive -- Kent State beat Coastal Carolina while Bowling Green handled Troy, both at home. The two conference favorites, Western Michigan and Central Michigan, looked miserable in lopsided losses at borderline power schools, Michigan and Arizona.
When the Pitt Panthers head into UB Stadium this Saturday for the Bulls home opener, Buffalo has a chance to ratchet the local excitement level up several notches by spinning Dave Wannstedt's moustache around like a cartoon pinwheel. Maynard's going to struggle at times -- like any young quarterback -- and the Bulls are going to have games where they have trouble keeping the defense honest, but the athletes on UB's defense are as talented as any in the history of the program. It's a crew that went down to UTEP for the Miners' opener, and held the home team to under 33 points for the first time since Oct. 11 of last year.
Go Bulls Go (Nick Mendola, BA, '05 English) Email: nick@wgr550.com
See Ya Later
The announcement that Turk Schonert was fired as Bills offensive coordinator came literally the instant I sat down in my car on Friday. With a weekend trip to Pittsburgh booked, I knew I wouldn't get a chance to "react" until Tuesday morning, which works out well because I've had even more time to get my thoughts straight.
Regardless of how I feel about Dick Jauron, Trent Edwards or Alex Van Pelt, I'm happy that Schonert is no longer a member of the Bills offense. After a non-descript playing career as a back-up signal caller, Schonert has struggled to make an impact with any of the offenses he's coached.
While 2008 in Buffalo was his only year as an offensive coordinator, Schonert has been the quarterbacks coach for 13 seasons with five clubs. In 1992, Schonert headed to Tampa Bay where he "guided" Vinny Testaverde to 14 touchdowns and 16 interceptions and a ticket out of Tampa. The Bucs were 5-11, but Turk stayed, with a young quarterback under his tutelage. Miami's Craig Erickson skippered Tampa to a 11-18 record over two years, but did show improvement before being booted in favor of Trent Dilfer. Dilfer tossed four touchdowns to go with 18 interceptions under Schonert, who was removed from his post and headed North.
Schonert's greatest success came in Buffalo from 1998-2000, where he couldn't choose between two quarterbacks with successful numbers. The Bills were 29-19 during that time, with Doug Flutie (47 TD, 30 INT) and Rob Johnson (22 TD, 10 INT) co-existing peacefully. He left after an 8-8 campaign in Orchard Park.
Schonert had another inexperienced starter in Carolina in 2001. Chris Weinke went 1-14 as a starter, with 11 TD and 19 INT. Turk's tenure in Carolina ended there. He took a year off in 2002 before returning to the league in 2003 with the Giants, where he coached Kerry Collins to one of his worst years as a professional. Collins and Schonert were out of jobs. After another year off, Schonert spent a season with the Saints, ensuring the end of Aaron Brooks' time in New Orleans. Three wins and 13 losses tend to correspond with 13 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Schonert, Brooks, gone.
Sensing a pattern here? Schonert has failed with rookies, veterans, Pro Bowlers and Super Bowlers.
Now, I don't believe that means his firing is a fix for the Bills by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly won't hurt the team. The one enduring statistic from each of his failures is an awful lot of interceptions, and is there a chance that happens when you think you have the "Greatest Show on Turf," but really have something better suited for a video game. Could a "Pop Warner" offense be better? Thing is, lots of interceptions also happen to show up if your quarterback is substandard. How nice.
I will admit I was struck by my reading material on a road trip to Pittsburgh this week. With the exception of Raiders boss Tom Cable (4-8), Dick Jauron has the worst career winning percentage of any active head coach in the National Football League. Only Marvin Lewis, Eric Mangini, Gary Kubiak, Norv Turner and Jauron are under .500 as a bench boss. Jauron has won just .429 of his regular season games, while Turner is the only failure close to him (.439). It's not quite that easy, as Turner is now succeeding with a good quarterback, something all the above names save Lewis have had to dance around until recently.
Then, there's Edwards and Van Pelt. His struggles have been well-documented, and you'd be naive to think his Stanford woes were all due to the pitiful nature of the Cardinal. Bills fans may be justified to be nervous about the hiring of Van Pelt, especially when you consider that Schonert's hiring came under such similar circumstances. When Steve Fairchild was dismissed as the cause of Buffalo offensive woes, Schonert was promoted as quarterbacks coach (For the record, while I didn't love Fairchild, it should be noted that he did not murder the Colorado State program. In his first year with the program, the Rams went to their first bowl game since 2005, earning their first bowl win since 2001).
At best, this piece is a cursory study in numbers, and its possible that all four men (Jauron, Schonert, Van Pelt, Edwards) should not be involved in pro football. Yet, I have hope. Edwards has played well at times during his first two years under center. Van Pelt was briefly involved in the UB program that developed Drew Willy into an NFL draft pick, and has more knowledge of the no-huddle than most.
Perhaps the biggest indictment of Schonert, though, comes from one of his star wide-outs, Lee Evans.
"The basis of it was that we wanted to be simple and fast and move up and down the field, and he felt that being simple was Pop Warner," Evans told Channel 2's Stu Boyar this weekend.
This coming from a wide receiver who was reassured after a meeting with Dick Jauron last week. If the boys believe in the simple offense, maybe it was one man who was the problem. Maybe Edwards was suffering under the so-called tutelage of a man who couldn't succeed at any other stop. We'll soon find out, but even if its 5-11 instead of 3-13, I think the Bills win with this move.
Regardless of how I feel about Dick Jauron, Trent Edwards or Alex Van Pelt, I'm happy that Schonert is no longer a member of the Bills offense. After a non-descript playing career as a back-up signal caller, Schonert has struggled to make an impact with any of the offenses he's coached.
While 2008 in Buffalo was his only year as an offensive coordinator, Schonert has been the quarterbacks coach for 13 seasons with five clubs. In 1992, Schonert headed to Tampa Bay where he "guided" Vinny Testaverde to 14 touchdowns and 16 interceptions and a ticket out of Tampa. The Bucs were 5-11, but Turk stayed, with a young quarterback under his tutelage. Miami's Craig Erickson skippered Tampa to a 11-18 record over two years, but did show improvement before being booted in favor of Trent Dilfer. Dilfer tossed four touchdowns to go with 18 interceptions under Schonert, who was removed from his post and headed North.
Schonert's greatest success came in Buffalo from 1998-2000, where he couldn't choose between two quarterbacks with successful numbers. The Bills were 29-19 during that time, with Doug Flutie (47 TD, 30 INT) and Rob Johnson (22 TD, 10 INT) co-existing peacefully. He left after an 8-8 campaign in Orchard Park.
Schonert had another inexperienced starter in Carolina in 2001. Chris Weinke went 1-14 as a starter, with 11 TD and 19 INT. Turk's tenure in Carolina ended there. He took a year off in 2002 before returning to the league in 2003 with the Giants, where he coached Kerry Collins to one of his worst years as a professional. Collins and Schonert were out of jobs. After another year off, Schonert spent a season with the Saints, ensuring the end of Aaron Brooks' time in New Orleans. Three wins and 13 losses tend to correspond with 13 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Schonert, Brooks, gone.
Sensing a pattern here? Schonert has failed with rookies, veterans, Pro Bowlers and Super Bowlers.
Now, I don't believe that means his firing is a fix for the Bills by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly won't hurt the team. The one enduring statistic from each of his failures is an awful lot of interceptions, and is there a chance that happens when you think you have the "Greatest Show on Turf," but really have something better suited for a video game. Could a "Pop Warner" offense be better? Thing is, lots of interceptions also happen to show up if your quarterback is substandard. How nice.
I will admit I was struck by my reading material on a road trip to Pittsburgh this week. With the exception of Raiders boss Tom Cable (4-8), Dick Jauron has the worst career winning percentage of any active head coach in the National Football League. Only Marvin Lewis, Eric Mangini, Gary Kubiak, Norv Turner and Jauron are under .500 as a bench boss. Jauron has won just .429 of his regular season games, while Turner is the only failure close to him (.439). It's not quite that easy, as Turner is now succeeding with a good quarterback, something all the above names save Lewis have had to dance around until recently.
Then, there's Edwards and Van Pelt. His struggles have been well-documented, and you'd be naive to think his Stanford woes were all due to the pitiful nature of the Cardinal. Bills fans may be justified to be nervous about the hiring of Van Pelt, especially when you consider that Schonert's hiring came under such similar circumstances. When Steve Fairchild was dismissed as the cause of Buffalo offensive woes, Schonert was promoted as quarterbacks coach (For the record, while I didn't love Fairchild, it should be noted that he did not murder the Colorado State program. In his first year with the program, the Rams went to their first bowl game since 2005, earning their first bowl win since 2001).
At best, this piece is a cursory study in numbers, and its possible that all four men (Jauron, Schonert, Van Pelt, Edwards) should not be involved in pro football. Yet, I have hope. Edwards has played well at times during his first two years under center. Van Pelt was briefly involved in the UB program that developed Drew Willy into an NFL draft pick, and has more knowledge of the no-huddle than most.
Perhaps the biggest indictment of Schonert, though, comes from one of his star wide-outs, Lee Evans.
"The basis of it was that we wanted to be simple and fast and move up and down the field, and he felt that being simple was Pop Warner," Evans told Channel 2's Stu Boyar this weekend.
This coming from a wide receiver who was reassured after a meeting with Dick Jauron last week. If the boys believe in the simple offense, maybe it was one man who was the problem. Maybe Edwards was suffering under the so-called tutelage of a man who couldn't succeed at any other stop. We'll soon find out, but even if its 5-11 instead of 3-13, I think the Bills win with this move.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Double Fantasy
I've slowly been distancing myself from fantasy football overload, but there's one league I'll always partake in, whether I have a choice or not. My brother Sam has been running one for my family and a couple friends since 2002, and with almost as many runner-up finishes as the Bills, I have to keep up any possibile family get-together trash talking opportunities.
What I learned from this year's edition of our draft is that the Bills preseason struggles have scared some of their fans, and almost negated the "draft the good Bills way too high" effect that happens in Buffalo-based fantasy drafts.
This 10-team league has starts two quarterbacks, four receivers, two running backs, a tight end, a kicker and a defense with five bench spots. By rule, unless a guy like Tom Brady is inexplicably available in Round 11, I don't take non-Buffalo AFC East players, and shy away from anyone on the Bills' schedule.
I don't pretend to be good at fantasy sports, and I generally end up choosing players I like more than the "right pick." I think it's fair to say folks will be surprised at which picks ended up on the roster of "Chest Hair Casserole."
First round: I'm picking No. 5, and thrilled at the prospect of drafting Matt Forte, who played wonderfully for me last year without any threat in the Chicago passing game. With Jay Cutler on the scene, Forte would've been a fun pick for receiving yards in addition to his scampering talent. Alas, he was snatched up with pick No. 3. So, I reluctantly took the advice of my former Niagara Gazette colleague and current TBN writer Jay Skurski, and went wide-out. Welcome to the squadron, Larry Fitzgerald.
All of the sudden, I'm hoping the Cards trade Anquan Boldin.
Second and third rounds: Eleven of the first 15 picks are tailbacks, so my hopes of waiting until the third round for a back have been scuppered. With apologies to Steve Slaton and Chris Johnson, I've never been led astray by Frank Gore. My third round pick shores up my backfield, former Irishman Ryan Grant.
Fourth round: Donovan McNabb has never let me down, and I want to grab another Irish fella to toss the ball to Fitzgerald, but I go with Cutler, who I think will have more good days than bad with the Bears. I'm excited to see how Chicago's third-round pick, Oklahoma product Juaquin Iglesias, matures over the course of his time with Cutler.
Rounds five through seven: The plan is three-straight receivers at all costs, with the hope of getting T.O. in round six. After snagging Chad Ochocinco in the hopes of Carson Palmer's resurgence, things are going well in the pursuit of Owens, who is available right up until my brother snags him one pick before me. I didn't have much of a back-up plan, but Hines Ward is one of my all-time favorite annoyances, so he joins the team before I take Lee Evans in round No. 7. I am very pleased with this development.
Who says I don't believe in Trent Edwards (besides everyone including me)?
Eighth and ninth round: Everyone does something risky and/or stupid... and for three rounds I can't get the idea of taking Brady Quinn out of my mind. It's probably why I'm awful at fantasy football. The plan next was Marshawn Lynch, with both Grant and Gore's bye weeks coming after his suspension is up, but Beast Mode heads to Team "I Suck At This" one pick before me. So, it's Haloti Ngata and the Baltimore defense aboard the "Chest Hair Casserole" train. Choo Choo, chest sweaters!
Tenth round: So, I need another quarterback, and there are several starters left including Kerry Collins, Jake Delhomme, David Garrard and Chad Pennington... and some guy named Edwards. Now, I just did an extensive morning study on how No. 5 has been -- by far -- the worst preseason starting quarterback in the NFL. Sounds like every reason to take him. I love the risk/reward ratio here, mostly because if Quinn stinks, I can have the Bills starter... for at least six weeks or so.
I also have a Trent Edwards Topps Performance limited edition autographed card even The Hobby might be proud of... if the kid ever turns into something. It was either a two-dollar investment or a two-dollar hilarious conversation piece. Then again, there's a team in the league called "Trent the Sent." Also, the emailer-inspired nickname Trentative has been mentioned several times during the draft already. Here's hoping Edwards is as good for my fantasy team as he was for James Farrior on Saturday night.
Eleventh round onward:
I grab Kerry Collins as a safe alternative to Quinn and Edwards. I spit on the idea of Willis McGahee being any good and opt for Rutgers star Ray Rice. Brett Favre loves his tight ends, but as much as I'm tempted to go with Visanthe Shiancoe, I feel like Pittsburgh's Heath Miller is the safer play. Next, I want my second defense, and for some reason I feel like I'm playing with house money when I grab Buffalo's defense. With my final three picks, I eschew back-ups at tight end and defense and go with Colts RB Donald Brown and Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin before grabbing my kicker, Rian Lindell. Hey, if Edwards can do anything, it's set-up a field goal!
Feeling good about MNF about Sept. 12!
Thanks for reading this as if it matters: nick@wgr550.com
What I learned from this year's edition of our draft is that the Bills preseason struggles have scared some of their fans, and almost negated the "draft the good Bills way too high" effect that happens in Buffalo-based fantasy drafts.
This 10-team league has starts two quarterbacks, four receivers, two running backs, a tight end, a kicker and a defense with five bench spots. By rule, unless a guy like Tom Brady is inexplicably available in Round 11, I don't take non-Buffalo AFC East players, and shy away from anyone on the Bills' schedule.
I don't pretend to be good at fantasy sports, and I generally end up choosing players I like more than the "right pick." I think it's fair to say folks will be surprised at which picks ended up on the roster of "Chest Hair Casserole."
First round: I'm picking No. 5, and thrilled at the prospect of drafting Matt Forte, who played wonderfully for me last year without any threat in the Chicago passing game. With Jay Cutler on the scene, Forte would've been a fun pick for receiving yards in addition to his scampering talent. Alas, he was snatched up with pick No. 3. So, I reluctantly took the advice of my former Niagara Gazette colleague and current TBN writer Jay Skurski, and went wide-out. Welcome to the squadron, Larry Fitzgerald.
All of the sudden, I'm hoping the Cards trade Anquan Boldin.
Second and third rounds: Eleven of the first 15 picks are tailbacks, so my hopes of waiting until the third round for a back have been scuppered. With apologies to Steve Slaton and Chris Johnson, I've never been led astray by Frank Gore. My third round pick shores up my backfield, former Irishman Ryan Grant.
Fourth round: Donovan McNabb has never let me down, and I want to grab another Irish fella to toss the ball to Fitzgerald, but I go with Cutler, who I think will have more good days than bad with the Bears. I'm excited to see how Chicago's third-round pick, Oklahoma product Juaquin Iglesias, matures over the course of his time with Cutler.
Rounds five through seven: The plan is three-straight receivers at all costs, with the hope of getting T.O. in round six. After snagging Chad Ochocinco in the hopes of Carson Palmer's resurgence, things are going well in the pursuit of Owens, who is available right up until my brother snags him one pick before me. I didn't have much of a back-up plan, but Hines Ward is one of my all-time favorite annoyances, so he joins the team before I take Lee Evans in round No. 7. I am very pleased with this development.
Who says I don't believe in Trent Edwards (besides everyone including me)?
Eighth and ninth round: Everyone does something risky and/or stupid... and for three rounds I can't get the idea of taking Brady Quinn out of my mind. It's probably why I'm awful at fantasy football. The plan next was Marshawn Lynch, with both Grant and Gore's bye weeks coming after his suspension is up, but Beast Mode heads to Team "I Suck At This" one pick before me. So, it's Haloti Ngata and the Baltimore defense aboard the "Chest Hair Casserole" train. Choo Choo, chest sweaters!
Tenth round: So, I need another quarterback, and there are several starters left including Kerry Collins, Jake Delhomme, David Garrard and Chad Pennington... and some guy named Edwards. Now, I just did an extensive morning study on how No. 5 has been -- by far -- the worst preseason starting quarterback in the NFL. Sounds like every reason to take him. I love the risk/reward ratio here, mostly because if Quinn stinks, I can have the Bills starter... for at least six weeks or so.
I also have a Trent Edwards Topps Performance limited edition autographed card even The Hobby might be proud of... if the kid ever turns into something. It was either a two-dollar investment or a two-dollar hilarious conversation piece. Then again, there's a team in the league called "Trent the Sent." Also, the emailer-inspired nickname Trentative has been mentioned several times during the draft already. Here's hoping Edwards is as good for my fantasy team as he was for James Farrior on Saturday night.
Eleventh round onward:
I grab Kerry Collins as a safe alternative to Quinn and Edwards. I spit on the idea of Willis McGahee being any good and opt for Rutgers star Ray Rice. Brett Favre loves his tight ends, but as much as I'm tempted to go with Visanthe Shiancoe, I feel like Pittsburgh's Heath Miller is the safer play. Next, I want my second defense, and for some reason I feel like I'm playing with house money when I grab Buffalo's defense. With my final three picks, I eschew back-ups at tight end and defense and go with Colts RB Donald Brown and Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin before grabbing my kicker, Rian Lindell. Hey, if Edwards can do anything, it's set-up a field goal!
Feeling good about MNF about Sept. 12!
Thanks for reading this as if it matters: nick@wgr550.com
Trent By The Numbers
NFL preseason is relatively unimportant. No one wins the Super Bowl in four or five games before the season even begins, but people do lose jobs, positions and money -- and I'm not just talking about the suckers forced to pay for two extra "games" with their season tickets (Hey, I was sucker No. 1 for a while).
So when you try and make judgments based on someone's awful performance, it would have to be truly awful to be worth writing about, and I promise to write nothing if Trent Edwards had equal company amongst NFL starters in his massive struggles this preseason#.
#Here's where half the super optimists among Bills fans will be preparing their, "The Lions went 4-0 last preseason" comments.
POSITIVE NOTES ON TRENT:
- He is eighth in completion percentage.
- He's played more preseason games than any other starter.
OTHER NOTES ON TRENT
- Of the quarterbacks who have played three games, only Shaun Hill and Eli Manning have thrown for less yards than Edwards, who has played in four.
- Besides Edwards, the following starters who have played in three games have not thrown for a touchdown -- Jason Campbell, Shaun Hill, Jake Delhomme, Kurt Warner. Of the starters who have played in just two games, two have thrown for a touchdown -- Brett Favre and Matt Cassel.
- Only Denver's Kyle Orton has tossed more pics and only Matthew Stafford has thrown for as many interceptions as Edwards, who has played one more game than the Detroit rookie. That may sound unfair, but Stafford has thrown eight more passes.
- In addition to Edwards, only Matt Cassel, Eli Manning, Shaun Hill and Kyle Boller do not have a 100-yard "game" on their resume.
THE RAW NUMBERS (the final figure is the relatively inane number of 100-yard passing games):
Arizona - Kurt Warner - 3 GP, 56.4%, 272 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 1
Atlanta - Matt Ryan - 3 GP, 74.3%, 254 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1
Baltimore - Joe Flacco - 3GP, 65.6%, 470 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 3
Buffalo - Trent Edwards - 4 GP, 68.4%, 189 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT, 0
Carolina - Jake Delhomme - 3GP, 65.6%, 265 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1
Chicago - Jay Cutler - 3 GP, 63.6%, 329 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 2
Cincinnati - Carson Palmer - 1GP, 63.6%, 133 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 1
Cleveland - Brady Quinn - 3 GP, 67.7%, 225 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1
Dallas - Tony Romo - 3 GP, 70.2%, 353 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2
Denver - Kyle Orton - 3 GP, 67.2%, 367 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT, 1
Detroit - Matthew Stafford - 3 GP, 54.3%, 308 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 2
Green Bay - Aaron Rodgers - 3 GP, 71.1%, 458 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT, 2
Houston - Matt Schaub - 3 GP, 75.7%, 275 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1
Indianapolis - Peyton Manning - 3 GP, 74.2%, 296 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 2
Jacksonville - David Garrard - 3 GP, 59.5%, 331 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1
Kansas City - Matt Cassel - 2 GP, 57.9%, 114 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 0
Miami - Chad Pennington - 3 GP, 61.8%, 271 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1
Minnesota - Brett Favre - 2 GP, 63.6%, 146 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1
New England - Tom Brady - 3 GP, 61.9%, 307 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 2
New Orleans - Drew Brees - 3 GP, 72.5%, 354 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 2
NY Giants - Eli Manning - 3 GP, 52.9%, 184 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 0
NY Jets - Mark Sanchez - 3 GP, 59.4%, 280 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1
Oakland - Jamarcus Russell - 3 GP, 65.8%, 279 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1
Philadephia - Donovan McNabb - 3 GP, 60.7%, 424 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 2
Pittsburgh - Ben Roethlisberger - 2 GP, 76%, 201 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1
San Diego - Philip Rivers - 3 GP, 66.7%, 327 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 2
San Francisco - Shaun Hill - 3 GP, 53.8%, 140 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0
Seattle - Matt Hasselbeck - 3 GP, 71.7%, 414 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 2
*St. Louis - Kyle Boller* - 3 GP, 57.8%, 212 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 0
Tampa Bay - Byron Leftwich - 3 GP, 48.8%, 224 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1
Tennesee - Kerry Collins - 3 GP, 68.2%, 276 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 1
Washington - Jason Campbell - 3 GP, 48.6%, 257 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1
*Boller is St. Louis' No. 2, but Marc Bulger has only throw four passes this preseason.
In summation, preseason is preseason but, save Shaun Hill, it's been rough. I guess our best hope is to go with the apologists and hope the Bills are purposely running a vanilla scheme until Terrell Owens is ready.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
So when you try and make judgments based on someone's awful performance, it would have to be truly awful to be worth writing about, and I promise to write nothing if Trent Edwards had equal company amongst NFL starters in his massive struggles this preseason#.
#Here's where half the super optimists among Bills fans will be preparing their, "The Lions went 4-0 last preseason" comments.
POSITIVE NOTES ON TRENT:
- He is eighth in completion percentage.
- He's played more preseason games than any other starter.
OTHER NOTES ON TRENT
- Of the quarterbacks who have played three games, only Shaun Hill and Eli Manning have thrown for less yards than Edwards, who has played in four.
- Besides Edwards, the following starters who have played in three games have not thrown for a touchdown -- Jason Campbell, Shaun Hill, Jake Delhomme, Kurt Warner. Of the starters who have played in just two games, two have thrown for a touchdown -- Brett Favre and Matt Cassel.
- Only Denver's Kyle Orton has tossed more pics and only Matthew Stafford has thrown for as many interceptions as Edwards, who has played one more game than the Detroit rookie. That may sound unfair, but Stafford has thrown eight more passes.
- In addition to Edwards, only Matt Cassel, Eli Manning, Shaun Hill and Kyle Boller do not have a 100-yard "game" on their resume.
THE RAW NUMBERS (the final figure is the relatively inane number of 100-yard passing games):
Arizona - Kurt Warner - 3 GP, 56.4%, 272 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 1
Atlanta - Matt Ryan - 3 GP, 74.3%, 254 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1
Baltimore - Joe Flacco - 3GP, 65.6%, 470 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 3
Buffalo - Trent Edwards - 4 GP, 68.4%, 189 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT, 0
Carolina - Jake Delhomme - 3GP, 65.6%, 265 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1
Chicago - Jay Cutler - 3 GP, 63.6%, 329 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 2
Cincinnati - Carson Palmer - 1GP, 63.6%, 133 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 1
Cleveland - Brady Quinn - 3 GP, 67.7%, 225 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1
Dallas - Tony Romo - 3 GP, 70.2%, 353 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2
Denver - Kyle Orton - 3 GP, 67.2%, 367 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT, 1
Detroit - Matthew Stafford - 3 GP, 54.3%, 308 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT, 2
Green Bay - Aaron Rodgers - 3 GP, 71.1%, 458 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT, 2
Houston - Matt Schaub - 3 GP, 75.7%, 275 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1
Indianapolis - Peyton Manning - 3 GP, 74.2%, 296 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 2
Jacksonville - David Garrard - 3 GP, 59.5%, 331 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1
Kansas City - Matt Cassel - 2 GP, 57.9%, 114 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 0
Miami - Chad Pennington - 3 GP, 61.8%, 271 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1
Minnesota - Brett Favre - 2 GP, 63.6%, 146 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1
New England - Tom Brady - 3 GP, 61.9%, 307 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 2
New Orleans - Drew Brees - 3 GP, 72.5%, 354 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 2
NY Giants - Eli Manning - 3 GP, 52.9%, 184 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 0
NY Jets - Mark Sanchez - 3 GP, 59.4%, 280 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 1
Oakland - Jamarcus Russell - 3 GP, 65.8%, 279 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1
Philadephia - Donovan McNabb - 3 GP, 60.7%, 424 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 2
Pittsburgh - Ben Roethlisberger - 2 GP, 76%, 201 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1
San Diego - Philip Rivers - 3 GP, 66.7%, 327 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 2
San Francisco - Shaun Hill - 3 GP, 53.8%, 140 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 0
Seattle - Matt Hasselbeck - 3 GP, 71.7%, 414 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 2
*St. Louis - Kyle Boller* - 3 GP, 57.8%, 212 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 0
Tampa Bay - Byron Leftwich - 3 GP, 48.8%, 224 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1
Tennesee - Kerry Collins - 3 GP, 68.2%, 276 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 1
Washington - Jason Campbell - 3 GP, 48.6%, 257 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1
*Boller is St. Louis' No. 2, but Marc Bulger has only throw four passes this preseason.
In summation, preseason is preseason but, save Shaun Hill, it's been rough. I guess our best hope is to go with the apologists and hope the Bills are purposely running a vanilla scheme until Terrell Owens is ready.
Email: nick@wgr550.com
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