11:03 p.m. -- New Orleans Saints, CB Patrick Robinson, Florida State
-- I'm going to drive home and then type up a "best available" post. This is going to be amazing. I now LOVE the new draft set-up.

10:59 p.m. -- I half-expect to see NBA-style deals tonight, with re-evaluations making teams re-value guys they wanted who were already picked.

10:55 p.m. -- No. 31 Indianapolis Colts, OLB Jerry Hughes, Texas Christian
-- Bob is displeased. Indy needed a lineman and I thought they could go quarterback, but the Colts now have some depth if Dwight Freeney's injury is worse than thought. This is setting up to be an incredble overnight as both McCoy and Clausen will be available, as will Charles Brown and Mount Cody. I expect the Saints to go with Taylor Mays to fill the Darren Sharper void, unless they trade out.

10:46 p.m. -- No. 30 Detroit Lions, RB Jahvid Best, Cal
-- Best is an unruly freak. Played with Reggie Bush-ish dominance at Cal before getting hurt on that disgusting flip into the air when he went 345 feet into the air. Love this pick for Detroit.

10:45 p.m. -- And they do... Vikings go to second pick of second round. Their quarterback will likely be there.

10:42 p.m. -- With the whole day to debate the second round's beginning, expect all these picks to take the full 10 minutes. Even if the Vikings love Clausen or McCoy, they have to be salivating at the idea of moving out.

10:38 p.m. No. 29 New York Jets, CB Kyle Wilson, Boise State
-- The Jets wants to have the deepest secondaries in the NFL, not even taking into account Antonio Cromartie's many soon-to-be draft eligible children.

10:30 p.m. No. 28 Miami Dolphins, DT Jared Odrick, Penn State
-- Odrick, like many NFLers, is built like a house. With Paul Solial as their current NT, they really needed a monster DT unless they plan on playing the 3-4 the Bills want to play, where Kyle Williams can play the base NT and an OLB slides on a given side depending on the match-up. Weird.

10:23 p.m. -- No. 27 New England Patriots, CB Devin McCourty, Rutgers
-- It would be dishonest for me to tell you I know anything of value about Devin McCourty. Here's something: he could be Irish.


10:13 p.m. -- No. 26 Arizona Cardinals, NT Dan Williams, Tennessee
-- Two straight picks that the Bills were rumoured to be interested in at No. 9. Gotta be a bummer for Buddy Nix and company.

10:07 p.m. THE EARTH SHOOK. Just kidding, but Tim Tebow is selected.

No. 25 Denver Broncos, QB Tim Tebow, Florida
-- Kinda wished it happened in Buffalo just because I believe he will put it together as a quarterback. The under-center and throwing motion garbage is trying way too hard. That said, Colt McCoy is still available.

9:58 p.m. -- The Patriots deal their pick to the Cowboys. How is it that the ex-Pats-ish teams are the only ones smart enough to keep trading down?

No. 24 Dallas Cowboys, WR Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
-- That's exactly what I thought.

9:52 p.m. No. 23 Green Bay Packers, OT Bryan Bulaga, Iowa
-- Our collective hands slap our foreheads as OURLADS' No. 2-rated tackle goes to the Packers. This is a very surprising drop indeed.


9:46 p.m. No. 22 Denver Broncos, WR Demaryius Thomas, Georgia Tech
-- Thomas' parents couldn't decide between the Y and the I, so they went with both.

9:41 p.m. -- No. 21 Cincinnati Bengals, TE Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma
9:40 p.m. -- No. 20 Houston Texans, CB Kareem Jackson, Alabama
-- I can't tell you all that much about Jackson other than he played on a ridiculously good defense, but Gresham is a potential monster for Carson Palmer. Last year, Gresham would've gone ahead of Brandon Pettigrew, but came back only to be injured. This makes an absurd amount of Sooners taken soon...er than some thought.

9:31 p.m. -- No. 19 Atlanta Falcons, OLB Sean Witherspoon, Missouri
-- Brad is ecstatic after seeing Witherspoon torture UB at Mizzou a couple years back. The Falcons were yearning for LB help so good for them.


No. 18 Pittsburgh Steelers, C Maurkice Pouncey, Florida
-- Supposedly the fans chanted, "She said no." I love the fans right now.

No. 17 San Francisco 49ers, OG Mike Iupati, Idaho
--Two picks that don't hurt the Bills. In fact, I'm extremely surprised Clausen didn't go here.

9:21 p.m. -- No. 16 Tennessee Titans, DE/OLB Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech
-- There goes that theory. Cue some video of him dancing like an idiot. Solid, solid pick-up for Jeff Fisher.


9:15 p.m. -- No. 15 New York Giants, DE/OLB Jason Pierre-Paul
-- If Derrick Morgan continues to drop, the Buffalo Bills could very well jump up to grab him. Chan Gailey recruited him to Georgia Tech, and he fits what the Bills need.

9:11 p.m. -- OURLADS on Spiller: "A bolt of lightning type runner that is a threat to score as a receiver, ball carrier and return specialist." Hmmm, that sounds good. I'll have that. A BOLT OF LIGHTNING type? According to Wikipedia, there are six main types of lightning: bead, staccato, forked, ribbon, heat and sheet. We think he's staccato lightning.


9:04 p.m. -- No. 14 Seattle Seahawks, S Earl Thomas, Texas
-- Quite a drop from where he could've gone. CRY, EARL THOMAS, CRY.

9:01 p.m. -- The reason the 49ers took Davis instead of Jimmy Clausen is likely because no one needs a quarterback between their two picks, while Davis would've certainly been selected by someone in the interim.

8:57 p.m. -- No. 13 Philadelphia Eagles, Brandon Graham OLB/DE, Michigan
-- Granted I'm a Michigan guy, but I love Graham. A combination of instinct, smarts, speed and skill, any team would be blessed to wind up with him commanding either side of their defense. Nice pick.

8:53 p.m. -- Denver trades down again. Stockpiling picks in a pretty solid move here.

8:50 p.m. -- No. 12 San Diego Chargers, RB Ryan Mathews, Fresno State
-- Mathews scored a lot of touchdowns.

8:45 p.m. -- No. 11 San Francisco 49ers, OT Anthony Davis, Rutgers
-- He's lazy. I'm glad he's not a Bill. The 49ers traded a fourth-round pick to get this pick from Denver. Now at 12, San Diego has traded with Miami to slide into the next position.

8:43 p.m. -- Sixteen minutes later, I'm totally on-board with the Spiller pick. He probably is the best all-around talent in the draft. YES, you can get good running backs at the Buz'n'Bee in South Buffalo, but I'm going to go on record as saying this pick works for me.


8:33 p.m. -- No. 10 Jacksonville Jaguars, DT Tyson Alualu, Cal
-- I'm feeling even better about the Spiller pick now.

8:31 p.m. -- No. 9 BUFFALO BILLS, RB C.J. SPILLER, Clemson
-- He's an incredible running back, but is this what they need? He's 5'11" and definitely better than the simple "waterbug" Chan Gailey said he needed. He can be LaDanian Tomlinson. Seriously. Let's hope they have a plan to get him some blocking and a quarterback.


8:29 p.m. -- No. 8 Oakland Raiders, OLB Rolando McClain, Alabama
--And a double whammy... Adam Schefter said C.J. Spiller is the pick for the Bills. Whammmmmmy.

8:27 p.m. -- After all is said and done, I wouldn't be surprised to hear the Steelers had dealt Ben Roethlisberger to get into this spot.

8:26 p.m. No. 8 Oakland Raiders, DRUG Cocaine, Colombia


8:23 p.m. No. 7 Cleveland Browns, CB Joe Haden, Florida
-- More tears. It makes me kinda wish he was crying because he had his heart set on Cleveland and they called to say they just killed his cat.

8:06 p.m. -- No. 6 Seattle Seahawks, OT Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
8:03 p.m. -- No. 5 Kansas City Chiefs, S Eric Berry, Tennessee
-- As Brad just said, not a single pick has gone down that will change the Bills idea of what they'll do at No. 9. Okung is a solid selection and Berry is the hard-hitting speed freak who knocked out Tim Tebow. Now here's Cleveland who loves Colt McCoy. This is where things get very intriguing.

7:59 p.m. -- No. 4 Washington Redskins, OT Trent Williams, Oklahoma
-- I thought Okung was the play here, but Williams should do just fine. Tackles named Williams tend to work out at No. 4. Whoops. By the way, Trent Williams... call J.P. Dockery for me to complete an odd pairing.

7:53 p.m. -- What will Washington do? Well, their line is absolutely awful and they have their pick of the OT litter. Book it. It's over-thinking if they don't go Russell Okung, but almost everyone thinks Trent Williams will go to D.C.


7:51 p.m. -- No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma
-- Don't cry, large young man... you're rich now.


7:44 p.m. -- No. 2 Detroit Lions - DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
-- Aaaaaaand that's the last time I have to use CTRL-V to paste the name "Ndamukong."

7:40 p.m. -- The Lions are currently starting Ko Simpson at safety, so it makes sense to me that Detroit might want to see what they can get for Ndamukong Suh, and drop a few slots to pick up Earl Thomas or Eric Berry. I know they play free safety, but move Louis Delmas over if you want.

7:37 p.m. -- PICK -- No. 1, St. Louis Rams, QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
-- As I've said, he's really good at throwing a football and can heave it far when he has to. Great arm and smart kid. His only issue in my mind is his back-to-back injuries. A risk worth taking.

7:20 p.m. -- Among this red carpet B.S. is our conversation about a potential rookie salary cap coming in 2010. So... you'd have to REALLY believe in a QB at No. 9 overall, because there's a strong possibility that next year you could pay a whole lot less for your "next franchise quarterback."

7:09 p.m. -- Aaaaaaaand we're on the air on WECK 1230AM and streaming online at http://www.weck1230.com . Get me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/NicholasMendola, or email nickonweck@gmail.com

7:01 p.m. -- Remember how Ndamukong Suh was the best prospect in the last 30 years? That sentiment is less than 100 days old and he won't go first. So.... 30 years, huh?

6:50 p.m. -- This draft has no "gotta get him" player for me, especially in the first round. By nature, I love freaky-nasty (not Freaknasty, I think that was a pop group) linebackers, so I would be pleased with Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain at No. 9 overall. Yet I'd be pleased in just about any scenario.

A) Trade up. Take Sam Bradford. He's good at football. I promise.
2) Trade down. Get another second round pick and get more prospectively good football players because you don't have a ton of them.
D) Take someone you believe.

It's Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey. There is no legitimate reason to doubt them at either GM or head coach because neither guy has truly failed in that position. You can be cynical and dislike them because they're old, but then karma will put you in a bad nursing home one day.

Beginning around 6:30 p.m., I'll be blogging it up pick-by-pick while on-air with Brad Riter, Scott Wilson and Bob Gaughan on WECK 1230 AM. Can I multi-task despite a decades-old case of ADHD? Listen longer and find out!

Just a quick thought... an immediate reaction if you will.

As I sit here hosting Sportstalk Saturday, the reports continue to roll in regarding NFL free agency, and the celebrated Howard Simon Show question, "Are the Bills better today?", is unclear. Sure, they've signed a second-string signal caller in Ryan Fitzpatrick, but everyone in the AFC East has made a significant improvement in the first 24 hours of free agency.

(Fitzpatrick married a fellow Harvard athlete who played goalkeeper on the Crimson soccer team. Did the Bills get rights to their child?)

I'm not going to jump into the NHL rhetoric -- which may be true, according to my talk with Kevyn Adams -- that Buffalo is the opposite of a destination city, but you have to wonder what the heck is going on.

The Jets picked up a linebacker and cornerback who would be the best on the Bills, in Baltimore's Bart Scott and Philadelphia's Lito Sheppard, respectively. The Patriots received a second-round pick for their second-string quarterback, Matt Cassel (Kansas City), and also picked up Fred Taylor, away from the Bills. They also got a pick for a linebacker on the extreme downside of his career, Mike Vrabel. The Dolphins added a starting safety in Gibril Wilson.

I'm not saying things have to happen in the first 24 hours, and the truth is that the Bills could sign someone the minute I leave the studio to head for the gym. Still, this is a scary spot for Bills fans, who are facing a daunting schedule -- which could look less daunting come September, this is the NFL -- and opened up a hole at left guard by releasing Derrick Dockery, when there may have been something in return left by the fax machine (?!?).

Is it absurd to suggest the Bills best moves would be the two with the fewest question marks. Re-inking Angelo Crowell and Jabari Greer would bring back two guys who their teammates like. You might doubt that about Crowell, but look at it from the athlete's perspective... he left one day after he knew he would get paid. That's the culture.

As far as Greer, I have a feeling that Detroit is going to give him dollars that ensure a private island, but if not, why not fork over the bucks for a corner who knows "the system." Greer isn't a world-beater, but he's solid, and hopefully after 2009, you're looking at him as the No. 2 to an improved Leodis McKelvin, with Terrence McGee getting far too much money somewhere else.

Look at it this way: the Jets hole is.... quarterback. Maybe running back. Either way, with Sheppard across from Darrelle Revis, and Scott behind that defensive line... wow. The Dolphins and Pats certainly have less holes than the Bills. There's a lot of work to be done, and it can be, but if Friday is the starting line, the Bills got a start that is average at best, and the other runners might be faster, anyway.

Theser are just some quick thoughts that could be moot in 20 minutes. I don't care if that's irresponsible: nick@wgr550.com

Scanning the list of NFL free agents, here are five quick names that jumped off the bottom of the page:

Chris Simms, quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Simms isn't a name that's really "under the radar," but I'd love to see him get a shot. Had a miserable start to 2006 before that pesky exploded spleen thing put him down for almost two years. The 10-TD, 7-INT season he put together in 2005 has lingered in my mind for a while now. Hard to believe he's 28.

Leonard Pope, tight end, Arizona Cardinals (RFA) -- The 6'8', 258-pound under-achieving monster kind of screams Courtney Anderson and whoever the other stupid tall guy the Bills signed in 2008, but hear me out. Pope was absolutely vicious for Georgia, and was behind several receiving options on the NFC Champs. Then again, we said the same about Bryant Johnson...

Kendall Simmons, guard, Pittsburgh Steelers -- The Derrick Dockery demons that say, "He comes from a good offensive line" trouble me, but may be a bargain coming off an injury that sidelined him for much of 2008.

Maurice Morris, running back, Seattle Seahawks -- Combining with Fred Jackson for a few weeks might be enough to lure him to Buffalo for some increased workload. I wonder if a one-year deal would sound about right to a guy who generally averages over 4.2 yards-per-carry but has never hauled more than 162 carries in a year. The Oregon Duck could end up back in Seattle, tempted by another chance to be a true No. 1 back if he can trump Julius Jones.

Andra Davis, linebacker, Cleveland Browns -- While I'm expecting the Bills to go OLB/DE with their No. 1 pick in April's draft, Davis would be a servicable alternative re-signing Angelo Crowell.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

Thanks to my brother Sam for sending the above photo. Now, before I get to Bills' personnel issues...

You don't care about performance-enhancing drugs.

You might care about the records broken on account of them, but you don't give a crap who is using them with the exception of the morbid curiousity that comes with knowing who is doing what.

Anyone who doubts this needs to take a step back and gaze at the hallowed New England Patriots. The news today is that special teams ace Larry Izzo is going to testify in the perjury case against Barry Bonds. Rodney Harrison was suspended for steroid use. No one is being asked to give their titles back.

======================

In getting prepared for my NFL draft podcasts and other assorted draft shenanigans, I've decided that the two guys I'm going to fawn over this year are on defense:

Penn State defensive end (now with linebacking capabilities!) Aaron Maybin and USC linebacker Ray Maualuga

At the outset of this year, I wanted the Bills to wind up with Maualuga, and I'm still down for the Trojan linebacker.

The Washington fan site "Hail Redskins" compiles every single mock draft they can imagine, and who the 'Skins selected. Can someone please do this for the Bills' draft? All Bills fans would explode with gratitude.

Side note: I also wouldn't hate if the Bills took Mississippi's Michael Oher, but that's because I read Michael Lewis' "Blind Side" about how left tackle is the most important position ever in the history of any sport, and that Oher may be better than Orlando Pace and Anthony Munoz's genetically-impossible mutant child one day. So... he sounds like a good idea.

They let him place point guard in high school basketball. "Let" being the key word.

Our own Joe Buscaglia has his mock draft out ahead of his trip the combine. He, too, has the Bills selecting a perimeter rusher, and I wouldn't hate the fella he chose, either.

===================================

Marshawn Lynch is favorite on-field Bill since Chris Spielman, and Cornelius Bennett before that. All that said, his misconduct off the field has me 100 percent prepared to trade him if value is offered in return.

I know bad guys are good at sports, and that there are some on every team, but if you came offering a second- and a third-round pick, or a first, or a tight end who can play football with decent success rates in rushing and passing, I'd listen.

Heck, deal Lynch and Jason Peters together to the Bengals or the Raiders. They'd love these two. Then, sign Fred Taylor to go with Fred Jackson for the Fred offense. Idea doesn't sound right to you?

Why not? He's known as a character guy, and was drafted with the pick we dealt for Rob Johnson. Also all the folks who bought A-Train jerseys can do the whole tape trick. Make amends!

It's a goofy sort of day. I'm going to the dentist and then Napville: nick@wgr550.com

My football-watching brain is friiiiiiiiiiiied, so this may end up being another short one. Let's face it: if this game really mattered and went down the way it did, we may never stop talking about it.

For those of you who missed the in-game break-in, President Bush was giving his farewell speech from Iraq this afternoon (American time) when an Iraqi reporter took off his shoe and fired it at Bush. The president ducked, an in came shoe No. 2. You see, throwing a shoe at someone is considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture. I say this because I've had several conversations since the Bills game ended in which someone has said;

"Would someone toss a shoe or two at Dick Jauron?"

Here we go...

— Why in the world were they passing on 2nd-and-5 with just over two minutes to play and the lead? That was easily the dumbest play call of the year. Bar none. I want you all to send me emails about dumber play calls and I will tell you why this one was worse. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

— I can't say enough about Marshawn Lynch. After coming out and — as Duke Preston admitted — getting his line riled up by taking the blame for a tough year, he goes straight "Beast Mode" for 60 minutes. In the wake of his "hit-and-run" issues — something that admittedly still rubs me the wrong way — he's been a very fun player to watch.

— The Bills didn't have a single three-and-out on offense. They did have a one-and-interception, two-and-interception and four-and-touchdown... but no three-and-outs.

— How about the Bills defense on that play-action naked bootleg? Everyone fell for it. Everyone. I'm not even mad. I'm impressed.

— Good on Steve Johnson for getting his first career touchdown. He's a keeper, but think about the receivers under contract next year: Evans, Reed, Parrish, Hardy, Johnson. Then there's Jenkins as a relatively important special teamer. Don't be surprised if the Bills don't snag a wide-out in the offseason.

-- Also on Johnson... great, if unoriginal, touchdown celebration. The "football's-stuck-on-my-hand" is almost always funny.

— James Hardy was carted off with a knee injury. It's a shame, because he was due for a big catch.

— Brett Favre had a very similar game to Losman in terms of numbers, turnovers and accuracy, yet Dan Dierdorf hailed Favre as gutsy, and Losman as wild. I love Favre as much as any football fan, but that was tough to endure.

— I am liking Derek Schouman and Derek Fine as tight ends. Not saying they're my idea of a No. 1, but I'm not sure what that would look like in this style Bills jersey. When Jay Riemersma and Pete Metzelaars are the two best tight ends during your time as a Bills fan, you should probably question your allegiance... or tell the Bills to draft more tight ends with hard-to-pronounce last names. Maybe Devin Frischknecht of Washington State?

(Note: It'll be interesting to see where blocking tight end, and local boy, Dan Gronkowski of Maryland ends up).

— So, here's the drill: In my dismay during the past few weeks, I neglected to start by Bills MVP competition on time. So we're going to make this more "fan interactive." We'll go from 16 to 8 this week, eight to four after the Broncos game, and then four to two after the Patriots finale. After that, i'll put a web poll up with the final two players. It'll be "fun."

Here were the match-ups heading into this week:**

No. 1 Marshawn Lynch vs. No. 16 Chris Kelsay
No. 2 Lee Evans vs. No. 15 Roscoe Parrish
No. 3 Fred Jackson vs. No. 14 Bryan Scott
No. 4 Josh Reed vs. No. 13 Kawika Mitchell
No. 5 Marcus Stroud vs. No. 12 Paul Posluszny
No. 6 Leodis McKelvin vs. No. 11 Terrence McGee
No. 7 Langston Walker vs. No. 10 Ryan Denney
No. 8 Jabari Greer vs. No. 9 Darian Barnes*

*The reason Darian Barnes is No. 9 is because I wanted Jabari Greer into the next round, and because they cut him when they were 4-0, so.... if you really have a problem with it, I'll bump Barnes into Round Two.

**Apologies to Brian Moorman and Kyle Williams. Didn't really consider anyone else.

The round-up:
- Lynch over Kelsay. The reigning champ wins, with no explanation needed.

- Evans over Parrish. Roscoe is explosive, but what he's thinking when deciding whether or not to field a punt is beyond me.

- Jackson over Scott. Good to see Fred finally get a touchdown, and it was a beast of a run.

- Reed over Mitchell. Reed had another gutsy game, even if he did make a couple boners. Mitchell looked awful on a Favre pump fake in the third quarter.

- Posluszny over Stroud. Stroud's been better all year, but Posluszny had important tackles and a pick against the Jets.

- McGee over McKelvin. Terrence was just McBetter today, even if Leodis' growth will be pivotal to next year and beyond. Like the Posluszny/Stroud match-up, McKelvin would've won the year-long battle.

- Walker over Denney. Paul Hamilton would say I'm crazy, but I think the two most-unheralded seasons belong to these two. Denney absolutely over-performed as someone who should be a situational rusher, batting down a ton of passes.

- Greer over Barnes. Again, if you have issues, email me: nick@wgr550.com

ROUND TWO:
No. 1 Lynch vs. No. 12 Posluszny
No. 2 Evans vs. No. 11 McGee
No. 3 Jackson vs. No. 8 Greer
No. 4 Reed vs. No. 7 Walker

(I can't believe five offensive players move on, but I had to go with my gut).

Stat line I enjoyed:
Lynch, 21 carries, 127 yards; three receptions, 13 yards
— Sensational.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Losman, 24-of-39, 148 yards, three sacks, 1 TD, 3 INT, one fumble lost.

(Bills) Game ball:
Lynch.
— Unquestionably, with a nod to the run-blocking of the line.

Lastly...
I really like the way Thomas Vanek has reshaped his game.

Next week:
Thank goodness the Broncos won't need the game. I vote for Denver 27, Buffalo 20.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

Stupid Bills.

What in the world are we supposed to do with that? I really mean that question.

Ugh...

-- The first place I'd like to start is Roscoe Parrish. Now, I absolutely admire his positivity before that final punt return, bobbing his head to and fro, enjoying the music that announced the arrival of the football in his hands.

Now me, if I were him, I'd be thinking about the touchdown I dropped. You know, the one that would have tied the game, and not made math your most important ally for all of December.

-- I like Fred Jackson. Great guy, I mean it, but if it's 3rd and short, and the best running back on your team has gashed a defense for over 130 yards, give him the football. Please. I totally understand that Derrick Dockery and Jason Peters decided to block the same guy on the play, but still, give it to Lynch, and if he doesn't get it, give it to him on fourth down.

Disagree? Jackson averaged 1.6 yards-per-carry, Lynch had 8.4. Even without the 50-yard run, Lynch would've averaged over five yards per carry.

-- Ron Pitts is the worst play-by-play announcer in the NFL. Tony Boselli, on the contrary, is a pretty good color guy.

-- I don't think it's too much to assume that the defense has had enough of the offense's shenanigans. Your defensive ends got you three sacks, allowed ten points, and gave up a paltry 52 meaningful yards in the second half. The opponent was San Francisco, and your quarterbacks need to be able to come up with 10 points in 60 minutes.

-- Between Trent Edwards and Jack Losman, the Bills were 21-of-37 for 205 yards and three sacks. Sometimes numbers don't tell the story, as inaccuracy plagued Edwards and indecision punished Losman.

When Losman's sent packing after this year, you'll need a veteran back-up, and you'll also need to pick up another quarterback, whether on Day One or Day Two of the draft is your call.

-- The major difference between Edwards and Losman today was that Losman was sacked on plays that Edwards would've dumped it to his running back or tight end. How do you get this far in your career without knowing the rush is coming.

-- That said, Parrish dropped a touchdown. Did I mention that?

-- My golly, what happened to Rian Lindell? I know the weather was awful, and has been awful, but his performance was inexcusable.

-- This team needs to practice outside, and if they do, then they need to practice outside more. When you have elite, effective athletes like Leodis McKelvin and Marcus Stroud saying, "It's going to be a cold one and we'll have to stay warm," (I'm paraphrasing), it's time to change your routine. You're a cold weather team, play cold weather football.

-- Patrick Willis is really good at playing tackle football.

-- Six penalties is too many.

-- Between you and I, it's going to make me sick to listen to all the "We just have to go out and win the rest of our games and hope for the best" comments for another year. I went to college for this.

Stat line I enjoyed:
Lynch, 16 carries, 134 yards, TD
-- He's really good at football, too.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Lynch, 16 carries.
-- Don't overthink it. Just give him the ball.

Game ball:
Ryan Denney and Chris Kelsay, 10 tackles, three sacks
-- Can't put it on the defense this week.

Lastly...
Nice home game, team. Stupid.

Next week:
Don't call it a home game. Bills 20, Miami 17 in Toronto, Ont., Canada, North America, Western Hemisphere, Earth, Milky Way, Universe.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

Welcome to the 2008 MLS Cup running diary. Just kidding (although I am watching the Columbus and New York while I type this in preparation for my 6:30 p.m. "Final Whistle" show on WGR).

So, I don't know about you, but I needed that. Forget the running game, the defense and the special teams, I needed to see Trent Edwards knuckle up and play with some gumption, and did he ever.

Bills 54, Chiefs 31. Let's go (Buffalo)...

-- Was anyone else freaking out when Edwards missed Robert Royal on a picture-perfect-wide-open-play-action-of-all-things-surefire-touchdown pass attempt? Sweet Losman's Uncle, that was terrible.

Luckily, redemption came in buckets for the Stanford kid, who was 24-of-32 for 273 yards and four touchdowns (two passing, two running). More important to my confidence than his tosses to Josh Reed and Derek Schouman were the rushing scores. If this season was Edwards' life, than this game was his puberty. He took a whole sackful of courage into the end zone with him.

-- I don't want to look too far into the future, but the only good thing about this season eventually ending -- unless it ends with the Upersay Owlbay Ampionshipchay -- will be knowing Edwards' noggin will get a month or two off. I swear, every single time he gets hit I start getting Tim Connolly and Brett Lindros replays dancing through my
head.

-- Also, Trent, learn to slide.

-- I really want to rip on the defense, but the team was a plus-five on the day in turnovers. I guess that's what you have to deal with as a fan if Perry Fewell's defense is going to take more chances with the blitz.

-- I said all week, most prominently on Sportstalk Saturday with Corey Griswold, that the Bills were going to be looking at 7-5 going into the last four games of the season, but I certainly didn't see win No. 6 coming quite this emphatically.

-- The thing I've loved about Lee Evans since Day One is the humility he has when he plays the game well. Sure, he'll bob his head after a catch or a touchdown, but while Edwards, Lynch and company were giddy on the bench in the waning moments, Evans was just sitting there, looking straight ahead. Unless they were making fun of his mom, nice to see that composure from the captain.

-- Edwards loves Reed, and Reed is a tough man.

-- "Beast Mode," indeed. I love watching Marshawn Lynch run so much more when his line decides that blocking is part of its job description. Twenty carries should be a must, and his 79 yards round up to 4.0 per carry. Fred Jackson packed in a 24-yard run to make his nine for 56 looks explosive enough, and Edwards carried six times for 38 yards. That's a remarkable net of 171 yards, and 357 combined in two games after looking dead for several weeks.

-- Speaking of "Beast Mode," the microphone picked up some vintage, "punky" trash talk from Lynch after converting for a first down. Early in the third quarter, Lynch was right near the refs' mic when he
blurted out, "That's what I'm talking about. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah." I know I laughed.

-- A huge high-five for Duke Preston, who showed something we haven't seen out of a Bills lineman in a while, standing up for Lynch after a questionably-dubious hit from Kansas City safety Bernard Pollard.

-- That moment was also scary for Bills fans, as Lynch ended up on the bench, favoring his shoulder.

-- Not one Bills tackle was assisted on, according to Yahoo! Sports, and no Bill had more than four takedowns. Keith Ellison, Blake Costanzo and Terrence McGee has three.

-- Exactly what was McGee doing on that play where he didn't bother to defend Dwayne Bowe because he was busy assuming offensive pass interference was about to be called? That, and Jackson catching the kickoff that was headed out-of-bounds, was the epitome of bad silly stuff. Poor form, fellas.

-- Really good to see Schouman with a nice three-catch, 25-yards and a touchdown game. He's been through a ton since being drafted out of Boise State, including foot problems and constant position changes. He's a quiet, hard-working player who's always cordial in the locker room. Plus, terrific beard.

-- Marcus Stroud is not only large, he is good at football. He only gets credit for a tackle, pass defended and fumble recovery, but Stroud is such a difference maker in the middle of that line.

-- Three sacks? In one game? Buffalo is allowed to do that?

-- Lynch's 42 catches are one-shy of the most for a Bills' back since Larry Centers and Travis Henry each caught 43 in 2002. Edwards will have to check-down-his-brains-out to get Lynch near's Centers' 80 grabs (2001) or Thurman Thomas' 62 (1991).

P.S. Isn't it weird that Thomas never caught more than 62 balls in a year?

-- Kawika Mitchell had a weird game, often in a place to do something nice, but never quite achieving his goal. Just one tackle, and he did a standing push-up on Tyler Thigpen in the end zone, apparently fooled that Thigpen had thrown the ball.

-- Ryan Denney impressed me again, even if I wish he was still a very-good third defensive end. He plays tough each week.

-- How about those Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks? After Donovan McNabb goes 8-of-18 with two sacks and two picks for a quarterback rating of 13.2, Kevin Kolb comes on and shows him up with two picks of his own and a 13.2 rating. Yikes, and the Bills could've used the Eagles taking advantage of a Baltimore team that left the game there for the taking for most of the first half (at least it seemed).

Stat line I enjoyed:
Rian Lindell, 4-for-4 field goals, 6-for-6 extra points, 18 points.
-- No one liked seeing his forlorn face after the Cleveland miss, and the quiet, consistent kicker deserved a nice rebound.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Tony Gonzalez, 10 catches, 113 yards, 1 TD
-- First of all, I have a Buffalo complex, and he may or may not have nixed any trade ideas to Buffalo. Nice team, Gonzo. Second of all, Buffalo has struggled with tight ends for as long as I can remember, and I have Dustin Keller and Ben Watson-sized fears the rest of the way.

Game ball:
Leodis McKelvin
--Two tackles, two interceptions, 64 INT return yards, 1 TD
--Two kick returns, 67 yards, long of 46

I wish I had the phone numbers or emails of every "Leodis McKelvin is a bust 10 weeks into his career" person. Would've been nice to see him corral that interception late against Cleveland.

Lastly...
In the words of Benjamin Orr, bassist for The Cars, this game was just what I needed (Ric Ocasek doesn't sing on the track. True story). The defense needs to be much better, but Sunday felt pretty good. Also, I hope Herm Edwards is cut some slack. Twenty-three new players since the season's inception is an eerie reminder of last year's Bills struggles.

Next week:
They win against visiting San Francisco. I'm standing by my 7-5 call, and if there's a big, emotionless let-down at home, then everyone should be fired. Bills keep the playoff hopes alive by beating the 49ers, 29-17.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

Less than a month ago, I wrote about how much I liked Trent Edwards, and yes, it was after Adrian Wilson took his head off. In fact, it was after the Bills beat San Diego to move to 5-1. The day was Oct. 20, 2008, and you can read what I wrote here if you'd like a refresher.

Since then, Trent Edwards has played like a pile of hot garbage, and that happens in football. Maybe it doesn't happen for a month, but it happens. So it's time to pose the same question: "How Good is This Guy?"

Call it Volume II.

In four games, all losses, Edwards has been a mess, with only completion percentage to hang his hat on, and even that number isn't a lot of fun. Those last four weeks, has a quarterback rating of just 61.7, completing 74-of-119 passes (62.2%) for 784 yards, three touchdowns and eight inteceptions. He's been sacked nine times and fumbled thrice, losing two.

That brings us to two very important questions if you're living in a world of mass confusion. Have other good quarterbacks gone through this, and is Edwards doing better than his rookie year, when he made many Bills fans freak out in a pleasant manner?

(In the interest of full disclosure, I hurled approximately 20-25 offerings of profanity at Edwards on Monday Night, and probably an over/under of 100 in the last four weeks. I've had 250 thoughts of drafting Colt McCoy, Graham Harrell or Matt Grothe (should he come out)).

Let's go.

Question 1: Is Trent Edwards better than his rookie year?

The answer, remarkably, is yes. You probably want to go back and read that again. Yes, because to date, he's played in the same amount of games in each campaign, and we can make a pretty nice comparison.

The numbers:

2007- 10 games, 70.4 rating, 151/269, 56.1%, 1,630 yards, 6.1 y/a.
2008- 10 games, 82.5 rating, 180/271, 66.4%, 1,993 yards, 7.4 y/a.

2007- 7 TD, 8 INT, 12 sacks, 4 fumbles, 0 lost
2008- 8 TD, 10 INT, 20 sacks, 5 fumbles, 4 lost

Edwards is better in every statistical category except turnovers and sacks, and is it possible that those numbers are affected by an offensive line that's been awful with the exception of Week One and Week Twelve. It's not just the quarterback's numbers that have been affected by the line's play, either. Marshawn Lynch's yards-per-carry is down from 4.0 to 3.7, and it appears that Turk Schonert and Edwards have resorted to calling passing plays that leave Lynch as an option with open field in front of him (This does not excuse Edwards on Monday night, however. Just awful).

Question 2: Have other good, active quarterbacks gone through stretches like this early in their careers?

Yes. In fact, no doubt yes.

Let's start at the top, looking at another signal caller's second full season after early "success." In 2002, Tom Brady -- you might've heard of him -- had both a four game losing streak, and an abhorrent three-game stretch to close the year with the Pats in contention for the playoffs. New England finished 9-7 after heading into Week Fifteen with an 8-5 mark.

In the four game losing streak, he tossed seven interceptions to go with six touchdowns in losses to San Diego, Miami, Green Bay and Denver. He completed barely more than 50 percent of his passes while having a long pass of 34 yards.
In that season's final three games, he averaged under 175 yards per game, while again completing just over half his passes, with two touchdowns and three interceptions. The long pass? 35 yards.

They were 5-5 in their first 10 games, and his quarterbacking rating from the year was an average 85.7.

Sound familiar? Donovan McNabb was worse than Edwards. It took Ben Roethlisberger three years to have an awful campaign, and he spent year four tossing 32 touchdowns and just 11 picks. It looks like it happens, folks.

A third question...

Here's a personal one: if Edwards doesn't play better the rest of the way, are you still thinking he's your starter in 2009? I might not be. I am no longer "smitten" as I typed 30 days ago. I'll look to the draft, and I'll look for a decent No. 2, especially with J.P. Losman most likely out of the area as an unrestricted free agent. What else will you be drafting early on? An offensive lineman and a tight end might be the only arguments I could make ahead of quarterback, should Edwards not look better in 2008's final six or more games.

Again, he's been miserable with a capital M. So, Miserable. Edwards looked scared on Monday Night, and had Lee Evans open all night, and passed to him once. I'm not heaping his issues on the coaching staff at all, either. Edwards has been bad.

All I'm saying, after four weeks of complaining myself, is that if you're selling your 100 shares of Edwards, I might just be buying 20-30 of them.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

I'm sick of failures so awful we have to name them.

There's a laundry list of them, you know. From your "Homerun Throwbacks" to your "No Goals" and back again, there's a sickening, stench-filled sack of titles for our sports misery, and now the cupboard has become so bare that even Old Mother Hubbard's headed straight for sequel territory, and she still has to choose between two monumental repeats.

"Wide Right 2" or "The Monday Nighter 2."

If pressed, I'd choose the latter, because even though this one ended dreams and shattered hopes, it won't end with a crowded town square saluting the courage of a kicker who failed on the nation's biggest stage. No, this one's not even over, at least not until the audience tastes the leftovers with every bitter bite of what's sure to be a half-inspiring romp in Kansas City on Sunday.

The truth is, I'm left trying to find something left in my guts that isn't bruised from another series of kicks to the ribs. This is the recurring dream where I wake up and run my tongue over my teeth to make sure they didn't all fall out. Well, my abdomen hurts, I can't really chew and I feel like running my cheeks over a belt-sander.

I'd say, "This is Buffalo sports," but it isn't. It's truly much worse than a title.

Onto the game (in brief, I promise)...

-- Trent Edwards' massive failures hurt even more because the offensive line was borderline heroic, at least relative to their play in Weeks Two through Ten. You can have your Rian Lindell miss, and your three-consecutive running plays leading up to said miss, but Edwards made two throws all evening in an otherwise miserable performance.

How bad was he? Besides the three interceptions in the first 11-and-a-half minutes? Well, he played scared, which is the worst kind of quarterbacking to play, or watch. Edwards was so gunshy that of his 16 completions, 10 went to his feature back, Marshawn Lynch, and I'm not sure more than three were clearly past the line of scrimmage.

His No. 1 wideout, Lee Evans, was open almost all evening. He didn't find him once. Not once.

He was throwing against a defense that was giving up more than 225 yards-per-game, and came up with 148.

His quarterback rating, if you're into this, is 19th amongst starters.

Only six passers have more interceptions than Edwards, and of them, only J.T. O'Sullivan has thrown as few as the Bills starter's eight touchdowns.

In his last four games, he is 74-of-119 for 784 yards, with three touchdowns and eight interceptions.

He was wildly inaccurate, even in his completions. Looked a lot like J.P. Losman.

Just brutal stuff. No injury excuse. No scapegoat offensive line. Just this man wearing No. 5.

-- Marshawn Lynch was, surprisingly, a monster with all the blocking. Twenty-three runs for 119 yards from the man with the "Beast Mode," who also hauled in 10 passes for 58 yards. His touchdown was a thing of beauty, as was his season-long 28-yard run. He was magnificient.

-- Speaking of running games, I heard folks dogging the Bills defense because of Jerome Harrison's 72-yard touchdown run, but that's ill-advised. It would've been a big run in any event, but Terrence McGee was being held like a newborn by Braylon Edwards, right in front of the official. Jamal Lewis was held largely in check.

-- Kawika Mitchell made some nice plays. He also made a really dumb one. You know what the best part about personal fouls made three yards out-of-bounds is? Nothing. He's a veteran who's won a Super Bowl, remember?

(***Edit note: I was at the game, and I've received several emails telling me the hit was in bounds. It definitely didn't look that way on the field, and they didn't show a replay. Speaking of which, they did a great job of "slow-mo-ing" questionable calls on the scoreboard. Great work).

-- Lindell's been so good for so long that it's hard for me to ... sorry, my brain just exploded.

-- The box score accurately states that Terrence McGee defended six passes. Six passes. Even though he was still too far off his receivers on several plays, it was a very good performance, particularly on the last break-up to Braylon Edwards before Phil Dawson, well, you know.

-- Marcus Stroud was dynamite.

-- Clearly, this was the best game of Leodis McKelvin's career. Don't look now, but he's third in the league in yards-per-kick-return (29.0), and first in total kick return yards (1,073). No one in the league has more than his one kick return touchdown. The dropped interception wasn't fun, but it was at least a tough a catch as Ko Simpson's dropped pick.

Stat line I enjoyed:
Lynch, 23 carries, 119 yards; 10 receptions, 58 yards, TD
-- Marshawn and his line were very good, and he also made several terrific blitz pick-ups. He's coming into his own, and it's been hard to notice because of his teammates.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Lee Evans, 0 catches
-- I'm not even sure Trent Edwards threw at him multiple times, and from field level, you could tell Evans was open. Often.

(Bills) Game ball:
Lynch, with a nod toward Stroud and Brad Butler, who was clearly playing hurt.

Lastly...
It's sickening. I'm not sure what else to say. The emotional cupboard is bare.

Next week:
Kansas City has the second-worst rush defense in the league, so good news for Turk Schonert: you don't have to throw. The Chiefs are allowing 165.4 yards on the ground per game. They've also only sacked opposing quarterbacks a league-low six times, five less than second-worst Cincinnati. The Chiefs' offense is also terrible, and despite the Bills morale, it's unlikely Buffalo will lose. Bills 24, Chiefs 23.

Finally...

I was convinced it would be good. I guess I should've known better?

Maybe "The Nightmare on Abbott Road?"

Email: nick@wgr550.com

Now that the Sabres have erased much of Saturday's debacle in Boston from my mind, I think it's about time to reflect on a weekend in New York and New England that was a legitimate good time, despite big time Buffalo bungles in Boston and Foxboro.

Friday "Are those Iced Coffee Drinks Man-Acceptable? Cause They're Delicious"
As much as my job is basically "following sports," it's always good to take a day off, and as wild as it sounds, the drive to New York City on my own was a nice change. Here are the albums that made the cut for the first leg of the road trip:

"The Motown Box", Disc One and Two
Uncut Magazine compilation, "Tribute to The Band"
Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band, "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J."
Bob Dylan, "Blonde on Blonde"
Bob Dylan, "Nashville Skyline"
Sigur Ros, "Hvarf/Heim"
My Morning Jacket, "It Still Moves"
Miracle of 86, "Every Famous Last Word"
Matthew Good Band, "Beautiful Midnight"
The Beatles, "Abbey Road"
Bruce Springsteen, "Nebraska"
Q-Tip, "Amplified"
Wilco, "A Ghost Is Born"
The New Chemistry demo

I made it into New Jersey just in time for a toll booth attendant to tell me I was going the wrong way, which would've been helpful if I actually was going the wrong way. The Lincoln Tunnel was actually the first exit after her booth, and I politely informed her that she owes me $5.85 the second time I went through and by politely, I mean that my mom would've given me quite the scowl and maybe a slap.

You want to know why living in Buffalo is great? Because you don't pay tolls every two miles, unless you're going into Grand Island, the Southtowns or toward Rochester. I'm talking $2 every couple minutes, $5.85 NJ 'Pike toll here, $8 Tunnel toll there, $18/hour for parking in Manhattan... and we're not even getting into Boston, which is better, but still awful.

Regardless, I made it to Stout Pub to see the FA Cup, the trophy awarded to the team in English soccer who wins a huge knock-out tournament. The competition's been around since 1871-72, and former Newcastle United defender Warren Barton was there on behalf of Setanta Sports and Fox Soccer Channel. I don't have that picture back yet, but here's a couple fellow Magpies fans and me with the trophy.


To those who know soccer, please save the "that's the closest Geordies will ever get to the Cup" talk. It's been 53 years. We know.

After paying some undeserving attendant for driving my car about 25 feet, I met up with the elder of my two sisters in Astoria, in Queens (or near Queens, I don't get it, really. I should start telling people I live in "The Parker," in the "Town of Tonawanda"). We met up with her boyfriend and headed off to Terminal Five to see a couple solid bands, The Drive-By Truckers and The Hold Steady.


The Hold Steady were tremendous, except for one song.

Here's the thing abou stereotypes of NYC -- they are on full display at a concert. First of all, a dripping water spout above us turned out to, well, not be water at all. So we left space in front of us, which means folks plowed in front of us for those glorious three feet of puddle. Needless to say, it was worth the skewed sightline to literally watch people, well, you know, stand under the leaking bathroom.

Both bands are and were tremendous, but here's my one beef. For an encore, The Hold Steady came out and played three or four songs before bringing Patterson Hood and the Truckers out for a couple jams, one of which was Blue Oyster Cult's "Burning For You," or whatever it's called. It was fairly in jest, but it's pretty much a terrible song. I realize they won't be pulling out "Don't Fear the Reaper," but tongue-in-cheek "classic rock" is much better served by something like "Psycho Killer" or a solid Neil Young rocker.

I then slept well, with visions of beating the Bruins dancing in my head.

Saturday "Wouldn't it be nice if we could peel the Bruins off the Sabres for a minute?"
After a little too late of a start, we hit the road to meet up with my brother, who goes to school in Rhode Island, and my younger sister, who had a job interview in Boston. Because I can, here are some of the co-selected CDs for the journey:

Centro-matic, "Operation Motorcide EP" ((playing Saturday at the Mohawk, by the way) Come hang out))
The Drams, "Jubilee Dive"
My Morning Jacket, "It Still Moves"
Grand Champeen, "The One That Brought You"
Pete Yorn, "Day I Forgot"
Uncut Magazine compilation, "Tribute to The Band"

Luckily for us being under the gun to get TD Banknorth Garden on time, we had to ride a crowded train that included Boston College and Notre Dame fans headed to "The Holy War" in Chestnut Hill. In case you haven't seen "The Departed," "Good Will Hunting" or "Boondock Saints," apparently 94 percent of Bostonians are Irish, so this was an interesting "T" ride.

We arrived at the Garden just late enough to miss Tim Connolly's goal, but we didn't figure it would be a big deal. The Sabres would score plenty of goals on Manny Fernandez, right?

Right?


Good seats, surrounding by solid, young Bruins fans. I hate them a little less, especially considering they laid the wood to the Sabres, "old-time hockey"-style, and hopefully woke them up for that St. Louis game.

First off, the nachos were first-class, maybe the best I've had in any stadium, including the Jacobs/Progressive Field offerings. Secondly, Milan Lucic is a monster. I would trade almost anyone for him. All he wants to do is hit, but he can score and pass as well. Big, big fan, and I think Blake Wheeler's going to be something nasty if he figures out the game.

Lastly, was it a touch too much to expect a single body check or some fight from the Sabres? I know they traveled the night before, but there were times, sitting there in fairly expensive seats I bought for my sisters, brother and friend, that I wish I had some knives to hide in my brain for an hour. It was brutal, but it was also "Veterans Night" at the Garden, and they had some really cool vignettes honoring all the troops who were in attendance. I guess there were worse nights to watch your team lose on the road.

After that, we went to Bobby Orr's bar/restaurant, "Fours," which was a tremendous place, voted the No. 2 sports bar in America or something like that (Apparently, the No. 1 is in Boston, too, and like a block away. Weird). Two of my truly good friends from Massachusetts met us there, and Paul Hamilton sauntered down after finishing his post-game appearance with Brian Koziol (a fan asked for a slice of Paul's moustache, but he refused to deliver). All-in-all, a fun night with family, and my brother and I were jazzed for our first Bills road game the next day.

Sunday "At Least the Tailgate Was Awesome"

To stay with the program, here was the music selection from our hotel in Boston to Foxboro, in stadium traffic:

The Strokes, "Room on Fire"
The Old Sweethearts, "Arms of The Town"

The drive in wasn't awful, even with only two or three lanes leading up to Gillette Stadium. My brother borrowed one of those Garmin GPS things, and it was kind of awesome how much technology has grown from "Mom reading a map to Dad and Dad telling her it was wrong" (Not my parents, no way, just guessing).

Here's where cost really became a pain, and I can equate this to the Ralph to make it easier on you. We parked about as far a walk as that fire hall all the way down Abbott Road. Twenty bucks, no joke. There were folks who parked at the equivalent of "Kettles" or "Bert's"... Forty bucks.

How about the ECC lots? or close to Danny's South?

Fifty Dollars.

Fifty.

Dollars.

God bless Western New York. I guess Massachusetts makes up for what they don't tax in parking fees.

Anyway, no joke, one of the most fun parts of our pregame antics was checking out all the old Pats jerseys. You know how you love to notice the Steve Christie or Phil Hansen jerseys at the Ralph? How about Tebucky Jones, Drew Bledsoe and Willie McGinest. It was fun.

Jeremy White told me that hanging out in a new stadium would change my thoughts on the Ralph forever, and that was half-true. Gillette Stadium is massive, and the sighlines are very good.


How nice of Steve Grogan to wear his game day Starter jacket into the stands.

Here's the one thing that stunk about their stadium. They have a "16-0 Regular Season" banner, and it looked so cheesy. Maybe that's why they kept it as far as humanly possible from their Super Bowl Championship banners. Other than that, and the fact that the fans are dead -- relative to Orchard Park -- for most of the game, the place is great.

Their official tailgate party has lunch, drinks and dessert you'd normally find at an expensive buffet. There is a mall and Cineplex attached to the stadium to help traffic ease out. Nothing says, "Wind down from a football game," like watching "Changeling." I bet there are a ton of people in New England who think Dane Cook is legitimately funny from viewing films after too much tailgating.

Maybe the best part of the game, especially considering the boring game was accompanied by the Bills underperforming, was when the 40-0 Jets over St. Louis halftime score flashed, and I got to hear the thickest Boston accent ever say, "Oh, I wunda if weer gunna heeah bout New Yawk runnin up the scoahr all week. Wicked."

After taking that long walk back to our car, where Sam and I conducted the world's longest post-game show, with a focus on Trent Edwards and Jason Peters, I drove him back to his school in Providence, where I had some solid college flashbacks while playing a game of Madden with him in his dorm room (For the record, I won, despite playing my first game of Madden on XBox 360. Take that, youngin'.

The music on the long ride home ranged from Neil Young to NWA to a Christian CD (I think I reviewed all the CDs as part of one blockbuster show. It was probably outstanding). For my thoughts on the actual game, head here.

Otherwise, thanks for reading, and let's go Bulls (Thursday night on ESPNU against Akron).

Email: nick@wgr550.com

P.S. My road record, like many Buffalonians, is not-so-good:

Bills: 0-1
Sabres: 1-5
UB basketball: 1-2
UB football: 1-5
Bisons: 2-0* (I was in a taxi to the airport when they coughed up a lead in Norfolk in the finale of the series. Come on, Ben Wagner. I was counting on you).

When I was in my late single digits -- ah, to be young -- there was one, and only one, thing that mattered to me during football season besides the Bills:

"Inside the NFL" with Len Dawson and Nick Buonicotti on HBO.

Now, I was too young to realize that Buonicotti picked against the Bills because of his history with the Dolphins, but I lived by that show, waiting for my dad to get home so we could either:

a) become enraged when someone bet against our Bills
b) play catch after the Bills were picked to win

One season specifically, I tuned in with special interest. The Bills and Redskins were the only remaining undefeated teams, both at 8-0 or 9-0, and the obvious broadcasting debate each week was, "Which one will lose first and will it be this week?"

I don't even remember who it was, but flash forward to 2008, and I'm reliving those moments right now. Howard Simon mentioned on our show this morning that he's not going to say the 'S' word yet. That's fine, I'm not worrying about that either. I'm busy having "Inside the NFL" delusions of grandeur with just three other teams holding an '0' in the loss column.

Hey, if Buffalo makes it past Arizona, it gives the other teams two weeks to blow it.

Maybe the Bills are benefiting from a soft schedule, but the fan in me doesn't care much, and the analyst is on vacation right now, so feel free to leave a message for when he returns. At 4-0, I'm having fun remember some of my favorite moments as a young Bills fan:

-- Leonard Smith picking off a pass and racing to the end zone in a 29-28 win over Denver in 1990 (Part of a huge comeback night game in which "The Biscuit" returned a blocked field goal 80 yards for a score.

--The next week... J.D. Williams blocking a punt and Nate Odomes ripping the ball away from a Raiders wide-out, both returned for touchdowns in another come-from-behind win at the Ralph.

-- The next week... Jamie Mueller catching a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jim Kelly to cap another come-from-behind win at the Ralph.

Remember those games? That run was euphoric, and while the Bills of now aren't in that class, the comebacks and "We're not going to lose" feeling of the first four weeks are nothing short of nostalgic. I'm not preparing for the return of Carlton Bailey and the 10-7 win over Elway and Denver at Rich Stadium in the AFC title game, but it's just a lot of fun.

This is Buffalo. Let's try and enjoy it, huh?

Email: nick@wgr550.com

A Week Four haiku, entitled "Nick works at 5 a.m.":

The Bills beat the Rams
Later in the day than most weeks
Write quickly for sleep

— Would you trade the reliable "20-for-25 for a TD" Trent Edwards for
the one we saw against St. Louis, having to wait for long routes to
develop, and misfiring on a deep ball or two, likely one for an
interception? I'm not concrete on this idea, and I'll ask some coaches
next week, but I think you sacrifice efficiency when you
call more "Shot" plays (I think I heard that somewhere). Also, is it possible that this is the sort of
"bad game" we'd see from a veteran Trent Edwards? I'll admit it, I'm
excited, and it's not because of the line.

— Did anyone else catch Solomon Wilcotts' best "Wisdom of Solomon"
moment ever? Midway through the third quarter, Trent Edwards is hit as
he throws, the ball pops out of his arm and goes to Josh Reed in a
complete act of luck. Wilcotts says — seriously — that Edwards did a
great job of staying tough in the face of the rush to deliver that
ball. My mom and dad were over, so four folks laughed hard at that
one. And yes, I could do a better job.

— Wilcotts and Ian Eagle had some very good analytical moments,
however, including Wilcotts pointing out how James Hardy will look
once he learns how to position himself — which he hasn't. Full credit
to Turk Schonert for calling his name several times early. Ronald
Bartell was simply up to the task.

— The Buffalo Bills secondary hits hard, and I'm not just talking
about the Leodis McKelvin/Dane Looker/short-term memory fumble fiasco.
I remember talking to Ko Simpson after Week One about how his hitting
stepped up in the season opener, and he said that when he hits
someone, he wants them to remember it every time they come deep into
the secondary. Simpson delivered again in Week Four, as did Donte
Whitner.

— The Bills definitely had some problems tackling against the Rams,
but I'll credit most of that to Steven Jackson's hard-running. Lynch
has made a lot of defenses look like poor tacklers, and this is what
it looks like on the other end.

— A nod to Rian Lindell. Two 45-yarders mixed in with his three field
goals... not child's play by any means.

— Another "would you trade": Would you trade the "offense looks slow
for a half, then turns into a veritable powerhouse for the rest of the
game" for a quick start and then barely holding on? That's why I'm not
complaining.

— I thought the illegal formation penalty on Robert Royal was garbage,
but maybe I don't understand the rule right. When I rewound the DVR,
he looked fine, a step back from the right tackle, with Josh Reed in
the slot and James Hardy closing the line.

— Trent Edwards was only sacked four times? Was the guy who ran the
stat book drunk, or did I eat too much salsa? Another
"feast-or-famine" performance from this offensive line, who looks
brilliant at times. Potential nickname: The Feast or Famine Line? I
like it, especially since they're the biggest line in the league.

— Would someone please block for Marshawn Lynch? He's a 200-yard game
waiting to happen, and I'm sick of watching him get beat up. At one
point in the fourth quarter, there were nine Rams trying to bring him
down, and only the whistle did.

— It never got old at Rutgers, and it won't get old in the NFL. Brian
Leonard is a running back for the Rams. Brian Leonard is also the name
of my father-in-law. It's just pretty amusing.

— Speaking of dads, my dad literally called the Jabari Greer
touchdown. He had just checked out my basement and, after being
negative for much of the day, said "Here's where we get an
interception return for a touchdown." Nice!

— Just for the record, I picked Washington to win the NFC, and some of
my morning show compatriots told me I was nuts. Just saying.
(Although, my Buffalonian spirit wishes I could be a homer and take
back Pittsburgh winning the AFC, even if I think they are one of the
few teams built to beat the Bills).

— Couple other emotional "around the league" notes. Thoughts and
prayers out to Arizona's Anquan Boldin after a horrific injury toward
the end of the Cards' 56-35 loss in New York, and even more to Tampa
Bay kicker Matt Bryant, who played this week despite losing his
three-month old baby on Wednesday. I can't imagine how difficult that
must be.

Stat line I enjoyed:
-- Leodis McKelvin, 3 kick ret., 97 yards; 2 punt ret., 26 yards; 1
tackle, 1 fumble recovery.
Playing what was definitively his best game as a Bill, McKelvin showed
prologned flashes of the football brilliance the Bills' saw when they
made him pick No. 13 in April's draft. He was fast, decisive, exciting
and hard-hitting. His reputation was for dropping interceptions, but
the team didn't let Torry Holt kill them, and McKelvin was a part of
it. Good game.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
-- Bills offensive line, four sacks allowed; 3.6 yards-per-rush
That 3.6 figure is embarassing when you throw the fact that Fred
Jackson had a 22 yard run mixed in there. You can't discredit the big
run, but another rough day for the big guys, including a play early on
when Brad Butler quit on a play while Lynch was still charging away.
When the normally relentless Butler has a listless play, you're having
a rough day.

Game ball:
-- Lee Evans, 2 catches, 88 yards, TD; 2-point conversion.
With all due respect to some gutsy catches from Josh Reed, it was
great to see Evans rebound from one of his worst games as a Bill to
catch two big deep balls and run a terrific route on the 2-point
conversion.

Lastly...
Let's start quickly against the Cardinals, huh? They should be fired
up after laying an egg in New York

Next week:
Arizona. Remember how the Bills looked good when they turned it around
after a terrible first-half. The Cardinals looked better when they did
the same in the third quarter against the Jets. As sad as it is to
say, Boldin's injury makes the Fitzgerald/Boldin/Breaston threat a
little more palatable for the Bills, who at the very least have a
dinged-up Terrence McGee. Regardless, I think I'll take the Cardinals
to end the dream of a perfect season, but check back with me later in
the week. Arizona 31, Buffalo 27.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

P.S. I don't hate hate hate the Mets — thought I do hate Whitey
gloating about their rare successes and he told me I was "nuts" to
pick the Phillies to win the division — but nice baseball team, New
York fans. Way to send Shea out in style.

Sixteen years ago, the Buffalo Bills began the season 3-0 on the way to a Super Bowl loss.

I was going to write something else intelligent about how the Bills are now 3-0, and how sixteen years ago I was playing squirt hockey for the Kenmore Knights, but I just sat and stared at the word "Super Bowl" for like 15 seconds and lost my entire train of thought. Actually, let me amend that -- I lost my entire spinning biosphere of thought.

You see, for the first time in a long time, winning the AFC East looks plausible. So, if I really wanted to dream, I could think about the Bills winning a playoff game or two. And if, say, someone slipped a crate of acid into my iced tea before I took a nap, I could have a long and vivid dream about the Super Bowl before, ultimately, dying. That dream might include flashbacks to the 1991 crazy night-game comeback against the then-Los Angeles Raiders I kept having during this game.

Yes, the Buffalo Bills are 3-0. After today, several other teams will fall from the ranks of "those unbeaten." Heck, the Patriots already have. So while I am leagues away from even predicting the Bills will win a playoff game, I feel legitimately pumped about the Bills.

Now, let's get a little deeper:

-- My favorite play of the game was Donte Whitner doing something really stupid. After Johnnie Lee Higgins (who?) lit up the defense for a 84-yard touchdown slant, the former-UTEP wide-out really classed it up, slowing down several times while out-racing Whitner to end zone. Whitner, justifiably, realized some guy named Johnnie Lee Higgins was showing him up and tackled him just short of the stands.

The 15 yards would've been costly, especially that close to the end of an obviously still winnable game, but I love the statements it makes:

A) Don't make Donte Whitner angry
2) That doesn't fly in Ralph Wilson Stadium
D) That doesn't fly against the Bills
20) Don't make Donte Whitner angry

-- Before we leave that play, two other crucial questions:

1) Why in the world would Paul Posluszny go for a one-handed interception instead of containing Higgins and forcing a punt?

2) What in the world was Higgins' touchdown dance? Seriously, someone go rewind the game and tell me. Was he figure skating? Doing interpretive dance? Combining sign language with a seizure?

-- Tell me when you want the negative stuff.

-- Good teams beat the teams they are supposed to beat, so maybe, just maybe, we have a good team on our hands. The Bills were awful for most of the day. Luckily for them, they played an equally-awful-performing team who lost one of their cornerbacks in the fourth quarter due to a case of idiocy. Thanks, Gibril Wilson! Josh Reed has never been so happy to be slapped in the face.

-- Ah, Trent Edwards. Right when we were getting ready to write-off a horrendous performance as "something that happens to a young quarterback," he decides to make 99 percent of Western New York forget about that first half (more on that later).

Edwards, and his line, were dynamite for the final 16 minutes and 54 seconds. The first of the three final scoring drives was of the 16-play, 96-yard drive variety. What followed were two seven-play drives to win the game, but perhaps most remarkable was that the drives weren't flawless, and the Bills didn't come apart. "Weren't flawless?" Heck, there was a 3rd-down-84-yard-usually-back-breaking-slant-route for the Raiders mixed in there. Wow.

--Speaking of quarterbacks. I'm pulling for Jamarcus Russell. Kid's got some tools, just needs to move pass Losman status in Oakland. I wasn't rooting for him against the Bills, by the way.

-- Don't you dare hate on Leodis McKelvin for being pushed out of bounds by Raiders' kicker Sebastian Janikowski. He had one chance of getting by Janikowski, who was angling McKelvin toward the sideline, and the Raiders had two special teamers coming if the Bills returner cut back.

Even moreso, Janikowski is a left-handed and -footed, and a right-handed kicker would not have been able to shove with the same force. It's funny how a detail like that can factor into a play. Also, Janikowski is known for being an aggressive tackling kicker -- that reads funny, I know -- and up until the last couple years would join in the rush upfield to pursue the returner.

He also was a member of Poland's U-17 National Soccer team before emigrating to the United States. Can you believe I just typed about the other team's kicker for this long?

-- Is it weird that I never thought the Bills would lose? After the 84-yard score to Higgins, I conceded that it was capable a Bills team performing this poorly could lose, but I never really felt Buffalo would fall to Oakland. It's probably because I'm so awesome.

-- Let's play Madlibs:

For more than three quarters (A Bills left guard) and (A Bills left tackle) looked like (mammal) (bodily fluid) as the (below average AFC West team)'s (defensive end or linebacker) abused them on the football field. I can't fathom how a (insulting noun) could possibly think missing training camp was a good idea.

Seriously, Jason Peters and Derrick Dockery were 670 pounds of uselessness for much of the game, and they compounded the rough day Edwards was having by making him rush throws. Edwards seemed to rush throws when defenders were not using a magnifying glass for identify the thread count on his jersey's name plate, as if he knew a Raider must be coming. Dockery looked great with Langston Walker in Week One, so go figure.

-- Pardon my anger after a good win, but shouldn't we be seeing some run-blocking from this line soon? Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson continue to grab yards after contact, and the contact seems to often be a yard in the backfield. It would be cool if the line would allow Lynch to put up some All-World statistics.

-- What in the world was up with the DeAngelo Hall interception? Can anyone explain it to me.

-- On the same topic, I loved when Dick Jauron looked at the official and asked if he actually had to throw the red challenge flag, and then dropped it a foot from his own shoe. Grown men, folks, grown men.

-- Off-topic from the win, I hate the entire situation with Lynch and his hit-and-run, how he dealt with it and how the police handled it, but I don't hate him for getting angry when the media brought the incident up during his Friday interview.

-- Another solid game for Ashton Youboty. Nice.

--Robert Gallery seems to finally be looking good as a blocker.

-- If Oakland coach Lane Kiffin gets fired after this performance, it's even more of a joke than had he been fired after the Raiders' Week Two win. One of Al Davis' problems with Kiffin is the coach's displeasure with defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Well, if Kiffin gets sacked for Ryan's defense's failings, it's an even bigger act in the Oakland circus.

Stat line I enjoyed:
--Josh Reed, 6 catches, 72 yards.
Plus, he's really good at getting slapped in the helmet.

Stat line I also enjoyed:
-- Oakland running backs, 29 carries, 97 yards
A usually-accurate media peer of mine text messaged me during the game that the Bills' offensive and defensive lines were getting pushed around like it was 2007 all over again, but I disagree on the latter half. I thought Marcus Stroud, Chris Kelsay and Kyle Williams highlighted a solid defensive line performance. At the time of the text, the Raiders' backs were average 4.3 yards-per-carry. They finished the game at 3.34 yards-per-carry.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
-- Bills offensive line, three sacks allowed
Get better already. You're supposed to be good at the pass blocking part.

Game ball:
-- Lynch, 23 carries, 83 yards, gymnastic TD; 4 catches, 31 yards.
What a freak! His touchdown was a pivoting, leaping thing of beauty. He gets the you-know-what hit out of him week-in and week-out, and keeps going. He's like a dread-locked Energizer bunny who loves chain restaurants and Lil' Wayne (I caught him singing "Got Money" on the way up the tunnel after Thursday's practice).

Lastly...
Don't do that again. By that I mean go down by double digits in the third-quarter, because I hope they have huge comebacks whenever they need them.

Next week:
St. Louis, who looks all sorts of awful. Being a road game should help the Bills' not look past them, and I'll predict a blow-out, even with Steven Jackson. Buffalo better not be doing what I am, and wondering if the Bills can stick with Kurt Warner and the Cardinals. Buffalo 34, St. Louis 10.

Let's type about it: nick@wgr550.com

Post-type, or "Some random, non-football points I need to get off my chest":

A) The carpets were cleaned in our office and smell like wasabi.
B) My soccer team, Buffalo City Football Club, hasn't lost since the Bills' preseason, so maybe we're good luck and the other teams should not show up and risk hurting the Bills?
C) The Cubs won their second-straight NL Central crown. Feel free to email me with ways they could blow it this year.

A riddle: What do a pulled hammy, a Trojan horse, a Catholic prayer, a Hoosier tap dance and a Venezuelan history lesson have in common?

Your answer: My favorite sports weekend in recent memory. Let's walk through it together.

Saturday - Noon - Temple at Buffalo, UB Stadium
If there was a danger in my sports weekend, it was here. The UB Bulls have a pretty nice history against Temple. The Owls have been the victim of Turner Gill's first win (9-3 to open the season in 2006) and the Bulls eye-opening 42-7 throttling of Temple in Philadelphia last year.

The problem here is that the Owls are no longer a doormat, and sandwiched between road games at Pittsburgh and Missouri on the Bulls schedule. They also have a versatile quarterback in Adam DiMichele, and posed a serious threat to the Bulls' MAC title hopes during the teams' conference opener Saturday.

It went according to Temple's plan for the most part, but the Bulls rallied in the fourth quarter to take a 24-21 lead on a 25-yard field goal from A.J. Principe, the normally-reliable kicker who was anything but in the Bulls' 27-16 loss to Pitt last week. Pretty gutsy turn-around for a kid.

Yet on came the Owls, as DiMichele lead a thing of beauty in Amherst, finishing the drive with a punctuating 11-yard touchdown pass to put Temple up, 28-24 and on the road, with 38 seconds to play.

Ballgame? Hardly.

Senior quarterback Drew Willy heaved a final-second Hail Mary into the sky, and local hero Naaman Roosevelt grabbed that prayer like a St. Joe's boy should, tucking it away and falling into the end zone as the Bulls emerged victorious. The crowd went bananas, ESPN paid attention, and the Bulls have some fond memories heading into a Saturday afternoon showdown at Missouri, a team that hasn't scored under 50 points this year and is now ranked in the top five in the country.

To be honest, the Bulls needed almost holy help, and got it. I love my college football team, and you should go see them soon (Oct. 11 - Western Michigan, Oct. 18 - Army, Nov. 4 -Miami (Ohio), Nov. 28 - Kent State).

(Have you seen the game-winning TD yet? You can find it and vote it as the ESPN game-changing play of the week: http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/pontiacgcp/?evar24=ponredirect)

Saturday - 8:05 p.m. - Ohio State at Southern Cal, the Memorial Coliseum
Oh, the plight of one Nick Mendola here. A lifelong Michigan supporter - even if the slimy Rich Rodriguez has me rethinking my allegiance - I hate Ohio State perhaps more than any other athletic team in the world. Unfortunately, I love the Big Ten. What could work out in my favor here?

Well, Jim Tressel could be embarassed on a national stage by a team that looks better than any other in the country save Oklahoma and Florida.

This wasn't about the Buckeyes' ineptitude, it was about complete and robotic destruction by a USC team that had me wondering how they'd fare against the St. Louis Rams. Linebacker Ray Maualuga is the best player in college football, and the Trojans defense keyed a 35-3 win. Get ready to hear his name from me in perpetuity -- he's my new Limas Sweed -- because the idea of Kawika Mitchell, Paul Posluszny and Ray Maualuga makes me want to cry tears of football joy.

That said, perhaps ol' Tressel learned his sweater-vested lesson. Don't keep your star running back in the third-quarter of a pounding against lowly Youngstown State, and try to look like an actual football team against the Ohio Bobcats before you take your "Top-five" program into USC. Yeah, there's some hate here, but the Trojans were machine-like, and I get to pretend that Penn State and Wisconsin would put up a better Big Ten fight for several weeks.

Saturday - 10 a.m. - CS Italia at Buffalo City Football Club, Ellicott Creek Park
Hey, it's my weekend, and I don't feel like talking about my Newcastle United FC circus over in England, so how about the first ever win for the Trumpets of Buffalo City FC. Ryan Edwards (Niagara Falls) headed in a Scott Lombardo (Sweet Home) corner kick, and we took down CS Italia, 1-0, in a super hard-fought home game in a mess of grass and mud. I left the game with one of the most painful injuries I've had in my life, and now totally understand why Howard Simon doesn't risk his hamstring. If any Bills player ever missed a game with a hamstring pull, I get it. You can still walk, but any quick movement whatsoever feels like your upper leg could disconnect from your knee.

It would take a whole lot of ice, heat, Icy Hot and compression shorts for me to play Sunday, and my wife said I wouldn't.

Sunday - 1 p.m. - Buffalo at Jacksonville, All-Tel Stadium
My "Immediate Reactions" piece for this week deals with this game in depth, but how fun will this week be knowing the Bills could be 3-0 for the first time in 16 years if they can manage to shut down Darren McFadden and Michael Bush (a taller task than you think). I feel like the Bills are in danger of doing what I'm doing -- salivating at the thought of the Bills defense against the Arizona Cardinals offense in a battle of 3-0 teams -- but who cares? This was a big win.

A quick thought for those who thought Marcus Stroud didn't have a good game because he didn't register a tackle: You're not watching football correctly. Three-point-one yards-per-carry for the Jags' running backs, and more disruption in the middle than you believe. Go ahead and rewatch this one on DVR, TiVo or whatever, the line had penetration, it just couldn't haul down David Garrard. All-in-all, a good part of a great weekend.

Sunday - 8:30 p.m. - Chicago Cubs vs. Houston Astros, Miller Park, Milwaukee
After "The Final Whistle" show that I host after Mike Schopp and The Bulldog's post-game rendezvous on our airwaves, I was stuck at the station for an extra 25 minutes because my car wouldn't start, a feat the ol' ZX2 would repeat at 4:45 this morning, thank you very much.

It was a blessing in disguise, because I was about to "hit the hay" before checking the Cubs' score one last time. It was the top of the eighth in Milwaukee, and my favorite pitcher, Carlos Zambrano, had a no-hitter in tact against the Astros, with only one walk to show for it.

I called the wife out. I texted many friends that "Big Z was having a very very good game" and that ESPN was about to switch over to the ninth inning on Sunday Night Baseball. Lacey had never seen a no-no, so we sat watching our beloved Cubs chase history. They did. We yelled... and went to bed. She's well-versed in the curse and told me it would be the best moment of the year for the Cubbies.

I didn't speak to her for several minutes.

And oh yeah, don't bring it up to her, but...

Sunday - 10 a.m. - Delaware Spallers at Buffalo City Football Club, Ellicott Creek Park
Yeah, after she waited on my bum hamstring and ankle day-and-night Saturday, I took a couple pain relievers, bathed in Icy Hot and stretched just enough to play in our Sunday game... and we won again. It was sweet to put two together, but two side notes made the day more memorable.

A) During the game, the entire net blew over their goalkeeper's head, and landed around him. This was only funny because he didn't die. The rest of the game was played with metal garbage cans holding the net up.

2) After the game, I met up with the keeper, who is listener/caller to my show (so he's the one). Jim had emailed me years back when I was talking about Mike Foligno being my favorite player of all-time, and he delivered big time. He had a game-used Foligno stick he had no use for, and gave it to me, signed by Uwe Krupp, Mike Ramsey and Darren Puppa, arguably the three greatest Sabres of all-time. Suffice it to say, I'm trading him a sweet piece of memorabilia that will remain nameless until he receives it after our next game... that is if we win, Jim.

For the record, Scott Lombardo again scored in our 1-0 win, pounding in a Scott Frauenhofer (Kenmore East. Go Bulldogs) rebound, and BCFC takes on Lake Shore FC at 10 a.m. next Saturday at Ellicott Creek Park. Go unofficially-nicknamed Trumpets!

Miscellaneous- Sunday night
I also received an email and subsequent phone call from a great guy I used to wait tables with at Big John's during college, and he's moved on to really solid things. He and his wonderful wife have a 2-year old son (Nicholas, absolutely no connection unless Jay's an idiot. I mean, really, I once dented the ceiling at the restaurant by playing catch with a 20-pound ham), and he's working with kids full-time. Not to get emotional, but when you find out good dudes are living the right way, that's the perfect cap to a good day.

What a weekend! God, I'll take another!

Email: nick@wgr550.com

P.S. Oh yeah... hockey starts soon.

I mean this in all honesty -- I've waited until after the game to type up my thoughts because a listener, Meredith, emailed me after last week and said the new "write as the game goes" philosophy wasn't working for her. She said it was because she was still learning the game, and my columns helped her last year.

See, one person can make a difference. Now go register to vote for someone you care about, and email: nick@wgr550.com after you read this.

Now, about the win...

-- I want to start with Fred Jackson. Credit Turk Schonert for calling his number on several short passes, or credit Trent Edwards for checking down to him, but the Bills don't win this football game without Jackson.

He was shifty, followed his blockers well, and really brought a tougher-running Roscoe Parrish ability to the open field. I love, love, love Marshawn Lynch, but even his style in the open field is more manageable than Jackson. With Lynch, you have to hang on for the ride and look out for the stiff arm. With Jackson, man, that guy is slick.

-- Trent Edwards had a solid, NFL quarterback day, another step in the right direction for the young quarterback. Just five incompletions go into his 20-25 for 239 yards and a score performance. The biggest thing to take away from his performance isn't even the completion to James Hardy for the game-winning score (For the record, most of the work was on Mr. Hardy's side). No, Edwards best moment was the 37-yard completion to Lee Evans, the only connection on the day over 16-yards that wasn't to Jackson.

Edwards showed incredible poise and presence in the pocket (alliteration, suckers), and threw a perfect ball to Evans, who crossed the entire field during his route. It was a moment where you know you're watching a good quarterback, something we've seen very little in the past few years.

-- What can I say about "All-World" tackle Jason Peters, who was flat-out embarassed by Quentin Groves on a sack that turned the ball over to Reggie Hayward and the Jaguars. I'm not going to fool around with terms like "game shape," but the Peters we know is quick enough to get off the block on that play, and take care of his man. I'd bet more practice would help.

-- We've gone all offense so far, which is a little bit of a shame, because there's a lot good and bad to talk about with the defense. For one, David Garrard is apparently covered in butter, or something slippery that isn't delicious, because the hungry big men on the line for the Bills had some issues tackling the Jacksonville quarterback.

Outside of that, the Bills did everything they were supposed to against a beat-up Jaguars offensive line. It didn't always look so hot in the game, but Jacksonville's ho-hum 3.6 yards-per-carry was much lower on actual running plays. Garrard averaged 5.3 per play, so credit the Bills defense to holding running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor to 66 yards on 21 carries, or Pi-per-carry (that.s 3.14, friends).

-- With all due respect to Devin Hester, when does Roscoe Parrish get his love in the media? I'm thinking a commercial with a bunch of dogs chasing him around a town park or something.

-- At some point this week, I'll have an article on Ashton Youboty, who's been a massive surprise at corner. Youboty got a terribly slow start with the Bills after his mother passed away, and he had to head home to take care of his family, but he seems to be back on track after an exemplary preseason, and a solid couple of games to start the regular season. Sure, he appears to weigh 11 pounds soaking wet, but 9 tackles and a sack through two games is solid for someone I thought was as sure as cut.

-- I don't even blink when Rian Lindell lines up to kick a field goal. What a change from a couple years ago.

-- Hardy's game-winning touchdown catch was the stuff of perfection. Now, there are some folks who will tell you it was "no question" a touchdown, but what they should say is that there's no way they could've reversed it. He lands with what appears to be both feet in-bounds, but the white tape on the front of his shoes makes it nearly impossible to flip the call. What an athletic grab, and good to see that Edwards has the guts to chuck that ball up for grabs.

-- I can't say enough about the coaching, even if it can be just classified as "well-above average." It's nice to see a team not throw up on itself.


Stat line I enjoyed:
--Edwards, 20-25, 239 yards, 1 TD, 3 sacks
This was almost exactly his 17-14 win over the Jets last year, but better, because he didn't throw the crucial interception. Look at that game (22-28, 234 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, two sacks). Plus, 6-of-11 on third down is a vast improvement on last week.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
--Four penalties for 40 yards.
Might not seem like a lot, but they came at some inopportune times (As if penalties come at opportune times. Nice, Nick. Pure genius).

Game ball:
-- Jackson, 7 catches, 83 yards; 6 carries, 17 yards.
He was the x-factor in my book, the variable that the Jaguars didn't look prepared for. Bonus points for Lynch continued to run behind a line that has some issues pushing the defense (which is a huge concern if you're already thinking playoffs. Lynch is a good enough runner. Not sure about his line).

Lastly...
I'll take it, even if the tackling was a little infuriating, and most of the game was underwhelming. Let's face it, Edwards style is a little bit of the station-to-station baseball of American football. I'll take it, but I feel like you'll know the Bills played their game when you're smiling with a win, and without angina.

Next week:
Oakland's defense, as well as Darren McFadden, will be a much bigger test than many think, but look for Buffalo to take care of business at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Let's call it... Buffalo 23, Oakland 14. Two big runs for McFadden, and a bunch of field goals for Lindell.

There you go, Meredith. Hope that was better!

Think I'm wrong? I'm used to it. Let's type about it: nick@wgr550.com

"It'll be a great Monday and a fun week to be a Bills fan, especially if Brady's knee exploded,"
--Me, two hours ago

That statement, uttered in my "Immediate Reactions" column mere hours ago, was tongue-in-cheek, but now I've bit my tongue clear off (which will make it very difficult to host a talk show, so stay tuned).

But let's really think about this, supposing of course that Michael Silver's Yahoo! Sports report is true. The Pats will be looking at Matt Cassel, Matt Guttierez and who? Vinny Testaverde? Daunte Culpepper? Will they trade for a Billy Volek, Sage Rosenfels or Rex Grossman?

The fun part is they'll probably sign Testaverde, and we can watch as Bill Belichick plays the role of stubborn genius, fumbling his way through a 9-or-10-win season with an aggressive defense and Cassel under center (Tell me he doesn't consider it a challenge to win with inexperienced would-be third-stringers).

Of course, this development is beautiful for Buffalo, and people will say it's the opposite of classy to be happy about this, like the division championship wouldn't count if the Bills were edging out a broken down Pats team to go along with the Jets and Dolphins. The truth is, and take a deep breath here, the Bills will be in focus on all the NFL shows nationwide as the country comes to term with Brady's knee and Buffalo's 34-10 win over Seattle.

Now, there's a pretty good chance Brady will reconstruct his own knee with the help of Tedy Bruschi, overcoming the injury to throw even more touchdowns in a 16-0 season, but could things have worked out more in the Bills favor in Week One:

--Big win over a playoff team in Seattle (albeit an injured one)
--Dallas opens up seemingly every hole in Cleveland's game
--The Chargers fall to Carolina (even if everyone has San Diego taking that division anyway)
--Jacksonville falls to Tennessee

If Denver falls to Oakland, oh, happy day.

Now, the Jags falling to the Titans could be bad for a couple reasons. One, it may wake up Jacksonville, whose pre-season hype may have gone to their heads, and two, Tennessee may be way better than most have thought. Let's face it, Jeff Fisher is in the Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren class of making something out of nothing.

In reality, the Pats will still be good, and it's only one game, but isn't it fun to get a little carried away? (Especially considering that it may end up not qualifying as getting carried away).

Forgive me for smiling, but it's been a good Sunday.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

This year, or at least this week, for my "Immediate Reactions," I'm going to make it more of a running blog that I publish at the end of the game, which means I'm done faster, and then you're reading it faster. Should work better for all of us, except for the fact that I won't be contemplating my feelings more, leading to more negative emails. Fun! Also, make sure to tune in for The Final Whistle with me at 6:30 p.m. tonight in WGR Sports Radio 550.

— A resounding win with a standing ovation on opening day? Don't post-pone your annual January vacation yet or anything, but your favorite team just shut down a well-coached team that's been to the playoffs five-consecutive years. Yes, they were missing some folks, but missing some folks doesn't add up to a blow-out. Nice work, defense, special teams and yes, even you offense. Let's go to Florida.

—Marshawn Lynch 21-yard touchdown run. To the left side, to boot. My brother's out with the Bills Backers of Rhode Island during his first weekend of college, and his text message was, "BEAST MODE." Apparently, they go to a Patriots bar, and the waitress leaves their food at the top of the stairs because she isn't interested in serving Bills' fans. Can't wait for our road trip to Gillette Stadium.

— Good to see Melvin Fowler up to his old antics on the first 3rd-and-1 of the year. Nice blocking as he gets blown up by a defensive tackle the league's barely heard of in Brandon Mebane. Hey, forget it, he's a 2007 third round pick who racked up 29 whole tackles last year. All-Pro, Mel! I smell a Funtime Billsland.

— John McCargo, inactive? Are Tim Graham's trade rumblings true? If so, how many disgruntled linebackers are out there? I personally hope not, because I'm a pretty big McCargo supporter.

— Don't tell anybody, but this first half is kind of boring.

— For those who of you who tuned into the font of football knowledge that was Sportstalk Saturday, you heard me say that both Baltimore and Atlanta won't be as bad as you think. Well, what's happening now? Joe Flacco, 4-for-7, 33 yards first quarter and 21-0 Michael Turner and company over everybody's darling, Detroit. I love over-emphasing the first quarter of the first game of a long season.

— Back in the preseason I did a show about how it felt a little different rooting for Lynch after his traffic infraction. No issue now. None whatsoever. He's still my favorite Bills player in years, just running so hard all the time, and it seems like defenders have to work extra hard to tackle him, which must wear them down faster.

— By the way, just seven minutes into the first quarter and we had our first satellite breakdown at the Bills party. We missed a three and-out. Shocking.

— Tom Brady was just injured by a helmet-to-knee hit, a la J.P. Losman versus Vince Wolfork's. Payback's no fun for you, huh?

— End of first half recap: Get out of bounds, Robert Royal. An eight-year old knows that. It looks like he had to think about it a second time, too. (Edit note: Edwards really utilized the tight end well today, and Bobby scored as well).

— The Bills defensive line looks very good against an above average Seattle offensive line that features Walter Jones and Mike Wahle. This is a very, very good sign for this season, and here's hoping Marcus Stroud is reading the "Jags will be better without him" articles.

— Quick, pick up Ryan Denney, wide receiver in your fantasy league. A+ for Bobby April. Can't wait to hear the critics call that play a waste. Ah, football season!

— Marcus Stroud is a large, large man.

— Funny how the NFL works: Roscoe Parrish's punt return touchdown made me totally forget about his DUI. Legitimately one of the most exciting players in Bills' history, and it was a lot of fun hearing the announcers reference the a block from Jon Corto, a hometown boy.

— Doesn't it seem like New Orleans' Devery Henderson always has a good first week or two?

— If I was a pessimist, and I was watching the first quarter of this game, I'd be asking if Trent Edwards is loving good weather at the Ralph, you know, like he did last year? Turns out his rust lasted approximately ten minutes. Luckily, I'm not a pessimist, but it's going to be fun listening to the Whiner Line tomorrow morning. And by fun, I mean like the Hong Kong Flu.

— Who else is totally down with Turk Schonert going for the throat? Coming into this year, you might've had a bunch of players wondering what Dick Jauron was up to in terms of being aggressive. They probably aren't now. Pretty good sign.

Stat line I enjoyed:
Lee Evans, four catches, 120 yards
-Just think: If he liked Trent Edwards, he could've had eight catches for 240 yards. Horrible teammate, that Evans.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Bills offense, 4-for-16 on third down.
-It's nitpicky, but third down efficiency was an issue for most of last year, and it will need to be better than 25 percent to win most weeks.

Game ball:
Marcus Stroud, 1/2 sack, five tackles, pass defended
-It was either him or Paul Posluszny, and Poz was around for at least some of last year. Big Marcus was a difference maker today. Who knew you needed a big defensive tackle in this league? Oh yeah. Everyone did.

Lastly...
That was a lot of fun. Parrish setting a Bills record for punt return yards with 120. Denney with a sack and a receiving touchdown. Some huge hits, including one from former poor tackler Ko Simpson. John Wendling making like Steve Tasker for a moment late in the game. We'll take it all except the blocked field goal. It'll be a great Monday and a fun week to be a Bills fan, especially if Brady's knee exploded.

Next week:
Stroud's homecoming, and a Jaguars team who won't be too happy after a season-opening loss against the Titans. Call me naive, but even with Edwards on the road facing a much better defense and the Bills defense facing a much better running game, I'll pick Buffalo 16, Jacksonville 13. Yep, it'll be that exciting, too.

Email: nick@wgr550.com