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The BS Report

Bills ink Gandy, Holcomb in moves to add depth

By Kevin Berchou, March 5th

After flying low for the first days of free agency, content only to watch their biggest names gobbled up by ravenous counterparts, the Buffalo Bills finally threw their hat into the proverbial player acquisition ring Friday, acquiring two lower priced veterans in moves that should work to add depth.

When the free agent signing period kicked off Wednesday, it was assumed that the Bills, with $8 million in cap room, would be a market player of considerable stature. Instead, Buffalo acted as though it has no dollars to spend. Though they would have loved to retain both Jonas Jennings and Pat Williams had the price been right, General Manager Tom Donahoe was steadfast in his belief that he was not going to over pay either of the big uglies.

When it became clear that neither man was going to accept a lowball, hometown discount type offer to remain in Buffalo, Donahoe told both players that they would be free to test the free agent market.

It’s a test both seemed to pass with flying colors. Williams signed, almost immediately, with the Minnesota Vikings, in a move that reunited him with defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, garnering a three year, $13 million contract that included a $6 million signing bonus.

Jennings was a bit luckier and a bit richer. At only 26 years old, he was the clear choice as the top left tackle available at the San Francisco 49ers paid him accordingly. Jonas inked a whale of a deal, signing for what was believed to be a six year, $36 million contract replete with a staggering $12 million bonus.

Though the moves do leave the Bills with considerable holes in the trenches, two truths can be gleaned from the events of the past week.

First off, Buffalo didn’t think either player was worth the deal they got and, frankly, we’re inclined to agree. Pat Williams, at 32 years old, is a risk. It’s tough to give a player on the wrong side of 30 a huge deal. Donahoe had to think that Williams was good but not that good. And that he could be replaced, perhaps from within, with the likes of Ron Edwards and Tim Anderson at a far better value.

And, just the same, Jennings, though young, was not viewed by Buffalo, to be amongst the league’s premier tackles. Credit Donahoe for refusing to pay him like he was.

Jennings, a third round pick in the 2001 draft, was a value player for his four years of NFL service, playing under the paltry dollars of his original rookie deal. He was a solid player, certainly worth more than he was getting paid. But give him $36 million and a huge bonus, money befitting of a true Pro Bowl caliber player, and he becomes overpaid, lacking of any value.

Rome was not built in a day and other dynasties like New England were not built by overpaying for players. The Patriots have won three of the last four Super Bowls with an offensive line composed of a fifth round pick, two seventh round picks and two undrafted free agents. In short, they found value and developed value instead of overpaying for the flavor of the month.

In refusing to outbid highballing suitors to retain Williams and Jennings, Donahoe remained true to his longstanding player evaluation principles; he won’t pay you more than you’re worth and subsequently won’t jeopardize his team and its salary cap status.

But value is all well and good until you have to replace what you lost and the Bills are, as we said, left with a few holes. It’s looking as though Williams will be replaced from within, but the issue of the offensive line is a bit thornier.

The Bills need a left tackle to replace Jennings. In looking at the current roster, the most likely scenario seems to be moving center Trey Teague back out to the left tackle position he used to occupy, while shifting guard Ross Tucker to center. However, Buffalo could decide to play Marcus Price at the quarterback’s blind side (assuming they resign the unrestricted free agent) or shift right tackle Mike Williams to the left side.

In any case, the Bills probably needed one more starter on the offensive line and they may have found him Friday when they inked former Bear Mike Gandy a contract at the veteran minimum.

While Gandy is no world beater, he is a solid, versatile player who can play both the guard and tackle positions, exactly the type of flexibility o-line coach Mike McNally covets. Gandy is a smart player whose virtue is extolled by everyone associated with him. He seems a likable guy, a good teammate who will do what his coaches ask of him and nothing more.

Gandy, a former third round pick out of Notre Dame, started at both left tackle and left guard for the Bears over parts of three seasons. The concern, however, is that he seems injury prone, having been released after injuring his shoulder midway through last season.

At first glance, it would seem a typical Donahoe signing. Gandy is a player who, coming off an injury, probably came at a fair discount. He’s a value guy who may not start but will nevertheless add depth and flexibility to the line.

Then, just hours later, the Bills made a bigger, far more surprising splash, landing former Browns quarterback Kelly Holcomb to serve as newly installed starter J.P. Losman’s backup.

The move was a best case type of scenario. Holcomb, is a more than capable backup, with starting experience. He’s got a fair arm and he very mobile. He’s played well in big games (nearly 500 yards passing in a playoff game against Pittsburgh). And, he’s content to be a backup, not one to rock the boat.

Holcomb was coveted by the Cleveland, who wanted him to return as a short term starter while they waited for their probable first round pick quarterback to develop. But, when contract talks stalled, Holcomb latched on with Buffalo, the first team to contact him when the free agent period began, for four years at $6.6 million, great value for a quarterback of his value.

Holcomb is a far better solution that Shane Matthews and probably a better and cheaper option than some of the other backup passers available. Jeff Garcia, Kurt Warner, Vinny Testaverde and Jay Fiedler are names that come to mind.

It was an under the radar move by the low flying Donahoe that caught most everyone by surprise. Should Losman be injured or begin to struggle, Holcomb is a more than adequate substitute. In truth, it’s an ideal solution.

And though these two moves seem good ones, Buffalo still had needs to address. They probably still need an additional offensive lineman and we’d love to see them add a third receiver and kicker.

Time though, is not off the essence. Buffalo might wait until June 1, when a new round of big name players will likely be cut to make some additions, but we certainly wouldn’t put it past them to swipe another value commodity off with free agent wire sometime soon.

Throwing big dollars in the direction of cornerback Nate Clements, a Pro Bowl level player who becomes a free agent after the coming season, is also an option. Clements is young and very good, they type of player worth the big contract he’ll get. Donahoe may want to lock him up before he hits the market.

The BS Report

The hot, hot stove

By Kevin Berchou, February 26th

The NFL free agent signing period has not yet even begun, and already football’s hot stove has blown up.

In what could be the most interesting off-season in league history, scores of star players promise to change teams proving once again than our nation’s greatest sport there is no offseason.

Since we last met, there is much to report. This week alone saw over a dozen Pro Bowl level players released and a couple more traded. Ty Law was axed by the Patriots. The Titans cut what seemed to be their entire team. And, of course, Drew Bledsoe was cut and then signed by the unfortunate Dallas Cowboys.

Here’s what we think.

Clearly the week’s biggest development was the Vikings agreeing in principle to trade long troubled wide receiver Randy Moss to the Raiders in exchange for linebacker Napoleon Harris and the seventh overall selection in this April’s draft. It’s a deal the Vikings botched badly.

We would never have traded Moss. He’s the one offensive player that truly changes game plans. His mere presence causes defensive coordinators to shudder and his skill set is unlike any player ever to play in football at any level. Though Moss is far from a model citizen, much of his so called "bad act" is a media creation. Events that would be minor were they to be perpetrated by a player of lesser talents become huge stories when Moss is involved. The Vikes will never be able to replace his talents.

Furthermore, if you are going to trade Moss, you’ve got to get more than a linebacker you don’t really need and a draft pick. If we were to have even considered parting with Moss, we’d have needed a minimum of three starters in return. Had the Vikings gotten Jerry Porter or another first rounder the deal would have at least made some semblance of sense.

And speaking of wide receiver, as we go to press, it appears as though the Bears have agreed to a long term contract with former Panther Mushin Muhammad. Muhammad was released just this week by Carolina, who would have had to pay him a cap busting $10 million dollar roster bonus had they wanted to keep them. Muhammad is a talented player coming off his best season, but clearly the Bears are overpaying him after a career campaign. You don’t win in this league by buying high.

Derek Mason, one of the most productive wide receivers over the past several seasons we cut by Tennessee as a cap casualty. Rumors have the Jaguars showing a strong interest.

After being cut by the Patriots don’t be surprised if Ty Law lands in Cleveland with former defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel.

Jerry Rice was cut by the Seahawks. As we write, we’re hearing retarded radio talking heads speculating on his prospects of joining the Bills. If this happens, I’ll eat my computer. Rice has been finished for years and runs his routes with a fork lodged squarely in his ass. His career is a sad reminder to how difficult it is for some players to walk away from the sport.

In the smallest surprise of the week, Buffalo formally released Drew Bledsoe. Both of his fans wept. Incredibly, though he’s had one truly good game in the last two and a half seasons, Bledsoe was immediately signed to a three year (two of them GUARANTEED) contract with the Dallas Cowboys. The move of course reunites Bledsoe with his former coach, Bill Parcells who seems crazy enough to think the move is a good one.

Don’t get us wrong, we like Bledsoe. He’s a good guy but he’d finished as a football player and the sad truth is that he’s really been an average passer his entire career. Bledsoe will struggle mightily behind a Cowboy line that is far worse than Buffalo. Moreover, Dallas lacks the speed at receiver to stretch the field and create separation. Bledsoe will be forced to throw short and underneath, something he does about was well Shaq shoots free throws blindfolded. It’s hard to believe a coach of Parcells’ supposed genius would sign off on a move like this. Clearly he had no faith in Drew Henson.

It appears as though the Bills are prepared to let both Jonas Jennings and Pat Williams test the open market. They may even be working now to line up the former’s replacement. Cardinals’ left tackle L.J. Shelton was in town recently. He’s still under contract but could soon be released or traded, fueling speculation of one for one swap for Travis Henry.

The deal would appear to make sense for both sides. The Cards badly need a back and Henry would come cheap. He’s due to make just $1 million next season. For Buffalo, Shelton, a former first round pick, would come at a considerable discount compared to Jennings. Shelton, however, has many interested suitors so Buffalo may be forced into a bidding war.

It’s no secret that Buffalo’s free agent priorities include a third receiver, a tight end a kicker and it just so happens that a familiar name recently became available. The Steelers yesterday released former Bills’ tight end Jay Riemersma. You have to wonder if Buffalo would have a keen interest in bringing the talented pass catcher back. If they choose to look elsewhere, Vikings tight end Jermaine Wiggins is a possibility, thought it’s thought that the Vikings want to retain him.

Buffalo wants Shane Matthews to return to backup newly installed starter J.P. Losman, but the Bills would need at least one other quarterback even if that does occur. Look for Buffalo to either take a project type quarterback very late in the draft or else bring in several grizzled veterans to compete for the third string spot in training camp.

Buffalo has seemed to stay under the free agent radar even though they have huge dollars to spend on this year’s bountiful crop. We’re still not sure exactly what Donahoe will do but we’ll be sure to tell you as soon as he does.

The BS Report

What Tom Donahoe is thinking

By Kevin Berchou February 13th

You have to wonder if an old poker player like Tom Donahoe just might have something up his sleeve.

Going into this offseason, the always salary cap aware Bills General Manager was rumored to be roughly $10 million below the 2005 payment ceiling, a figure that would seem to more than suffice the needs of both Jonas Jennings and Pat Williams, Buffalo’s two free agents of note.

Since players inking significant long term deals rarely carry a large cap figure in the first year of their deals, $10 million would have likely been enough to sign Jennings and Williams and still have sufficient funds to chase down a veteran quarterback to tutor J.P. Losman and sign their draft picks.

But it appears that $10 million worth of leeway isn’t enough for Mr. Donahoe, a surefire indication that he’s got something big brewing. Donahoe, just this weekend, completed the renegotiation of receiver Eric Moulds’ deal, reducing his cap figure for the upcoming campaign while extending his contract by one year in the process. That, coupled with widespread reports that Buffalo is poised (and we told you this two months ago) to release quarterback Drew Bledsoe, would put the Bills a startling $14.5 million below the estimated 2005 salary cap. So where is that money going to go?

$14.5 million is a heck of a lot of money, slightly more that 15% of the total cap figure. It means that Buffalo will quite likely do all it can to resign the likes of Jennings and Williams. They seem to think highly of the left tackle and their only real competition for his services, the Atlanta Falcons, are in salary cap jail, behind bars to the tune of $20 million. If Jennings isn’t retained Buffalo could decide to go after Seattle Seahawks’ tackle Walter Jones, but he would cost even more and Seattle would have the opportunity to franchise him and force Buffalo to surrender draft picks should they truly want his services.

Since it’s unlikely Buffalo would want to pay the $7 million or so a year it would take to get a player of Jones’ caliber, they’ll likely be content to perhaps overpay for Jennings at a rate of $5 million per for five years with a $9 million bonus.

If, however, Buffalo decides Jennings isn’t worth that type of money, they could be content to let him walk and sign Marcus Price, Jennings’ backup and another unrestricted free agent, to a long term contract for much less money.

It would seem that Pat Williams is even more likely to return than Jennings. Williams has business ties to the area and is beloved by his teammates. Though he’s 32, he’s a terrific run stopper and a vital cog to the Bills second ranked defense. He should be back and making $3.5 a season with a nice bonus to play alongside Sam Adams.

But, as we said, $10 would have been enough to sign both Jennings and Williams and it’s not even certain that the Bills aim to have both of them return. Since the Bills don’t have a first round pick in this year’s draft, having traded it to acquire J.P. Losman, they don’t have to pay one, further inflating the sum they have available. Signing this year’s crop of rookies won’t cost Buffalo anymore than $1 million, significantly less that the $2.5 it usually requires.

It all means that Buffalo is planning to be something of a player in the free agent meat market that begins March 2^nd. There’s no way the Bills would enter 2005 under the salary cap, so those funds will have to be spent somewhere. Our first guess is that the Bills will look to lock cornerback Nate Clements up with a long term contract. Clements had a Pro Bowl season and is due to become a free agent at the conclusion of the coming campaign. Though the new rules prohibiting contact downfield by defensive backs have slightly reduced the value of a good cover corner, Clements would still command a sizeable deal. At 26, he’s just entering the prime of his career, and the Bills would be smart to lock him up now.

But aside from current players, where else will the Bills look? They’re in the unique situation of not having many holes. They don’t need any front line players to fill significant gaps. The defense and special teams are solid, and the offense should be talented enough to nurture Losman, who will almost certainly be taking the reins take season. It would seem that Buffalo would be content to add perhaps a veteran backup quarterback as an insurance policy for Losman and perhaps a third wide receiver to replace Josh Reed who could also be cut. But that still doesn’t spend $14 million.

It’s quite possible that Tom Donahoe is looking at something bigger. If Buffalo had any hole last season (other than quarterback) it might have been kicker. Rien Lindell didn’t miss much; he just missed when it mattered. Add in to his miss count the number of kicks the Bills eschewed to attempt because they lacked confidence in Lindell and it would triple. He’s unreliable, a death knell adjective for an NFL kicker.

With a few bucks in the coffers the Bills could find themselves in the Adam Vinitiari derby. The All Pro kicker is a free agent, and though the Pats would love to retain him, they may not be able to afford him. Buffalo would have to pay him to the tune of $2.5 per year but it just might be worth it. Mike Vanderjagt, a former All Pro in his own right, could be a Colts’ cap casualty and find himself released. Buffalo would be very interested should that course of events play out.

Additionally, with both Mark Campbell and Tim Euhus rehabbing torn ACLs suffered late in the 2004 season, the Bills enter ’05 with an uncertain picture at tight end. If both players are healthy, Buffalo’s ok, but if either isn’t ready, depth will have to be added making the Bills interested in a player like the Vikings’ Jermaine Wiggins, a player with good receiving skills who won a Super Bowl in 2001 as a member of the Patriots.

$14.5 million is a lot of money and it means that Buffalo should be able to get most everything they want. But Tom Donahoe is the king of the unexpected (just ask Travis Henry) and he never passes up a chance to improve his team. If he sees an opportunity to better his bottom line by acquiring a big name free agent, he just might, so long as the player is an upgrade. Since Donahoe is working actively to clear salary cap space he clearly has something big in mind. The question, however, is how big and at this point nothing would surprise us.

Other league notes :

Look for the Buccaneers to make a huge push to sign Shaun Alexander.

If you’re one of those people that think Travis Henry is headed to Miami, then you’d better be willing to settle on getting a third round pick in return. The Dolphins don’t have a second round selection in this year’s draft and there’s no way they’re giving up the third overall pick for Henry.

It’s rumored that Eagle players in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl were already soliciting free agent wide receiver Mushin Muhamaad to join their team. Imagine an offense with McNabb, T.O., Westbrook and Mushie, it just might be the best in the league.

That tells you what Philly players think of Freddie "The People’s Champion, FredEx" Mitchell.

I’m glad Emmitt Smith finally retired. Now he can get on to realizing he was only the third best running back of his generation. Barry Sanders was a better pure runner and Thurman Thomas was a far more complete player.

Michael Irvin (sob) didn’t make the Hall of Fame (sob). Sarcasm duly noted.

The BS Report

Straight talk from the Super Bowl

By Kevin Berchou, February 7th

While watching a Super Bowl that went pretty much as we told you it would, the BS Report came up with many an observation that begs to be made.

First off, this was a game that the Eagles should have won. New England played, by its own tremendously high standards, a poor game. They lost another member of an already battered secondary in the third quarter and yet, despite countless opportunities, the Eagles failed to capitalize.

If I were a fan of the Eagles, and tell Terrell Owens to thank God that I'm not, I would have jumped off the nearest bridge last night. Never, in a life that has seen me watch Herman Edwards coach the Jets numerous times, have I ever seen the clock so mismanaged. The Eagles wasted no less that four and a half minutes waltzing to the line of scrimmage and huddling when they were down by two scores with less than six minutes to play. Where was the sense of urgency? Were they waiting for a bigger game?

Then after scoring a touchdown (finally) the Eagles chose to attempt an onsides kick, a horrific decision that tells me all I need to know about Andy Reid's coaching ability. With 1:45 on the clock and two timeouts left, you have time to kick it deep and stop the offense. Upon said stop, the Pats would have been forced to punt from say their own 25 yard line giving Philly a the ball at perhaps their own 30, a mere 35 yards away from a reasonable field goal attempt for the strong legged David Akers. It would seem like the ideal scenario. Since the Eagles wouldn't have had any timeouts left after forcing New England to punt, driving 35 yards for a a field goal would still have been reasonable. But by electing to onsides kick the football, the Eagles essentially ended any chance they had to win the game when they failed to recover. Now even if they did stop the Pats' they were going to get the ball back at, at best, their own 20 yard line. When New England was able to down the ensuing punt at the Philly four with 41 seconds remaining, 96 yards and no timeouts away from the tying score, Reid was made to look like an idiot in front of 2.5 billion or so people.

Of course none of the FOX announcers picked up on any of this. Shocking. Joe Buck is as dumb as he is fake and Troy Aikman is clearly suffering aftereffects from his recent concussion.

If you went to a fair and asked one of the circus artists to draw a crazy caricature of you it would look like Chris Collinsworth.

I think if I had any respect for Donovan McNabb, I lost it. I don't care what his stats were, I thought he played a terrible game. He was inaccurate from the start, reverting to a career long tendency to overstride causing his passes to either sail high or fall low. Even the simple screen pass became an adventure. His interceptions were awful throws and cost his team the game. Moreover, McNabb's decision making on that take too long penultimate drive was questionable at best. Why not throw downfield? Or maybe to the sidelines where a receiver might have a chance to get out of bounds to stop the clock? For as good as he can be physically, and he did make some great throws last night, McNabb is inconsistent and lacks the head to succeed at the league's highest level.

I think Tom Brady is the best player in football. He got my vote for MVP. Strangely it wasn't counted.

I think that Terrell Owens made a fan of me. His performance was nothing short of spectacular. The man's ankle was shattered seven weeks ago. Owens is a warrior who gets far less credit than he deserves. I don't care how brash he is. The man would do anything for his team and plays as hard as guy out there.

I think if I saw Rodney Harrison in a dark alley I would run.

I think if I saw him in a well-lit church I'd do the same.

I can't wait for Charlie Weiss to coach Notre Dame.

I think what the Pats have done in a free agency run, salary cap shackled NFL is the most impressive feat I've seen in my lifetime.

I think I still hate their team.

Our prediction!!!

By Kevin Berchou February 6th

With two weeks of unending Super Bowl hype mercifully coming to an end, the day of the big game is finally here. Though we still have to sit through seven interminable hours of television hype with such trash as Phil Simms "All-Iron" team clogging the airwaves, we're that much closer to seeing the Pats and the Eagles take the field.

It's just impossible to pick against a team as complete as New England so I'm not going to be the fool to do it. However, I look for Philly to play a good game with the outcome again coming down to the foot of Pats' kicker Adam Viniatiari. I think Terrell Owens will play a significant role and I think Tom Brady will again win the MVP. I think Joe Buck will irritate me and I think Troy Aikman will irritate me more. The highlight of the game will be the chicken finger pizza I consume while watching it. I also think Drew Bledsoe finds a way to get sacked.

Patriots 27, Eagles 24

The BS Report

Your source for NFL news and insight

By Kevin Berchou, January 26th

We’ll begin this week’s edition by apologizing for its delay, a day being the reason for the tardy arrival. However, the good is an extra two days gives us that much more to report and report we shall.

Where else to begin by with this past weekend’s AFC Championship games? Though it was thought by many that both tilts would be titillating, each proved to be a relative dud. New England and Philadelphia, as you no doubt know by now, won handily and were never in any real danger of falling behind.

Already there is the requisite talk of the Patriots being a dynasty and in truth it’s a hard point to argue against. There is no more disciplined squad, no team that does a better job getting the whole to be far greater than the sum of its parts. How else can you explain losing Ty Law and Richard Seymour, clearly the two best players on the defensive side, and still shutting down a vaunted offense like the Colts? Somehow the Pats were able to sign a guy named Hank Poteat out of classes at the University of Pittsburgh and get him on the field and contributing just days later. On Sunday, he played a large role in shutting down Plaxico Burress, getting some help along the way from… Plaxico Burress.

There are many quarterbacks that get more praise but it might be time to call Tom Brady the very best player. His command over the proceedings of a game is uncanny and his abilities as a passer are vastly underrated. People have spent the last several days hailing his 60 yard touchdown strike to Deion Branch, one in which he froze the safety with a deft pump fake, but perhaps his most prolific pass was the 45 yard rope he threw to the same target while stepping up in the pocket and avoiding a blitz that came from both sides. A pump fake is one thing, but we knew of Brady’s cerebral abilities. To make an absolutely brilliant throw against the blitz is another. It’s about sheer talent and it’s a throw I’m not even sure if the likes of Manning, Peyton or Eli or Archie, could have made. Tom Brady has become a wonderful football player. He’s not the system quarterback his critics claim him to be and he would go a long way towards making any team in the league significantly better.

Speaking of quarterbacks, the upcoming Super Bowl only validates an assertion made time and again on this site. Quarterback in the NFL is a necessity and not a luxury. The truly great teams, those that find themselves occupied on Sunday afternoons, have great players under center. A guy like Trent Dilfer is an exception to the rule, an anomaly if you will.

My opinion on Donovan McNabb is slowly changing. I’m still not eating Campbell’s Chunky Soups but I’m starting to appreciate his abilities as a player. McNabb, until this season, was a horribly inaccurate thrower of the football. His play making acumen with his legs helped to mask such ineptitude. But this year had brought with it a different Donovan. McNabb’s release point is ever so slightly lower than last year and he does a much better job squaring his shoulders to the line of scrimmage before releasing the ball. It all means that McNabb tends to sky far fewer throws, something that has plagued him his entire career.

And still more about quarterbacks… Ben Roethlisberger is going to good but right now he’s bad. It’s not about a bad thumb or a broken toe. The simple fact is that the Steelers’ rookie can’t yet read an NFL defense downfield. When his first option isn’t open, he rarely has the confidence to make a bold throw to the second option. The results are tentative floaters that make easy pickings for a hungry defensive back. His injured mallards killed his team in the last two games. They should have lost to the Jets and fell to the Pats in large part because Big Ben blew up.

I need to stop buying into the Michael Vick hype machine. He looked awfully average. Still fun to watch though.

We hate to say we told you so, so we’ll just mention that alerted you as to the potential of it occurring. As reported here over a month ago, the Bills are going to part ways with Drew Bledsoe by March 2^nd. It’s not official but the writing looks to be on the wall in permanent marker. Tom Donahoe has not backed Drew when given the chance to do so. He talks about having an open competition. Since Drew is too proud to accept a pay cut for second straight year and be reduced to back up role, the Bills will cut him and turn the team over to Losman.

It’s common knowledge that the Bills gave Travis Henry permission to seek a trade. It’s rumored they want a second round pick in return. My guess is that they’ll end up settling for a third.

Here’s a quick look at the Bills’ off-season shopping list, something will delve into in depth at a later date. Assuming Jonas Jennings leaves via free agency, Buffalo will certainly be looking to add an offensive tackle but not necessarily a starter. The team likes Marcus Price, also a free agent, and will likely attempt to retain him. If Pat Williams leaves, Buffalo will also be in the market for a defensive tackle, though it’s fairly likely that Fat Pat will sign an extension. Other areas of concern include; backup QB, tight end, kicker and a third wide receiver to replace Josh Reed who will also be cut.

If I’m the Bills I pay a couple of million to sign Adam Vinatieri, a free agent to be, or Mike Vanderjagt, an upcoming cap casualty. It would be well worth it. Rian Lindell is awful.

Though they backed into it and embarrassed themselves in the process, I think Notre Dame hit the jackpot with the hiring of Charlie Weis. Since college football has become a farm system for the pro game, top recruits often pick the school that will best prepare them to play in the league. What better trump card to play than an offensive coordinator for the three time Super Bowl Champions, a man who turned a sixth round pick into a three time Super Bowl MVP?

That’s right, 3. The Pats aren’t going to be losing anytime soon and Brady is the easy pick for MVP. But I think it will be closer than people think. Patriots 33, Eagles 27. Terrell Owens will not play and if he does he’ll be a non-factor.

The BS Report

The debut of out weekly NFL Report

By Kevin Berchou, January 16th

Welcome dear reader to what will become a weekly Monday feature on out humble sight. Today marks the debut of The BS Report, BuffaloSports.net’s weekly NFL news column. You’ll find observations, rumors and predictions from our top columnists each Monday all in the no holds barred format you’ve come to expect from us. Unlike similar columns on major sites, out livelihoods do not depend on players granting us interviews so we won’t hesitate to rip them where appropriate. We hope you’ll make The BS Report part of your Monday routine.

Can we agree that there is no better weekend in all of sports than NFL Divisional Playoffs? Eight ostensibly good teams, four games, spread over two days, all of the games televised. It’s an armchair quarterback’s dream.

Please don’t tell me Michael Vick is overrated. I’d hate for you to be wrong. Let’s set the record straight on Mr. Vick. Is he a good quarterback? No. Though Vick has as good an arm as any in the league, he is terrible inaccurate. Moreover, he has one of the longest releases you’ll ever see and thusly has problems setting his feet and throwing in the face of blitz schemes designed to harass him. Since Vick is so athletic, he’s gotten away with quarterback skills that are average at best. He doesn’t know how to progress through his reads and rarely does he check off to an open man. If the first option isn’t open, he takes off. But that’s all just one big caveat. If you told me Michael Vick was the best football player in the NFL, I’d have a hard time disagreeing with you. Vick is an athlete that plays quarterback and he just might be the best athlete the game has ever seen. He plays quarterback only because it’s the only position that ensures he’ll handle the ball on every play. You have to stop comparing him to quarterbacks like Manning and remember that by the time he’s finished Vick will have redefined the position. The game Vick played on Saturday night against the St Louis Lambs was masterful. Because the linebackers couldn’t commit to the run or the pass and instead had to wait to see if Vick would take off after a three step drop, Warrick Dunn was able to have the game of his life, taking several smart, delayed handoffs to the house. Vick himself rushed for a jaw-dropping 119 yards. Sure he only attempted 16 passes but he completed 12 of them, two for touchdowns. There is no player in the game who changes the way a defense plays more than Michael Vick. The fact that he takes a defense so far from its comfort zone, so far from what it theoretically does well, is the reason the Falcons are playing to advance to the Super Bowl. Vick is a winner and a joy to watch play.

Ben Roethlisberger came back to Earth. You have to applaud a rookie showing a certain amount of poise in the pressure cooker that is the NFL Playoffs but the Steelers won Saturday in spite of their quarterback and not because of him. Big Ben threw two horrific interceptions and don’t buy the assertion that either was a rookie mistake. They were bad quarterback mistakes, one a bad overthrow the other a bad underthrow. Roethlisberger will be good someday but right now he’s holding the Steelers back. He’s a system quarterback in a system designed to mask his inexperience.

I find the fact that Jets kicker Doug Brien is on Monster.com this morning looking in vein for employment rather amusing but the onus can’t fall entirely on the man who missed two field game winning field goals in the last two minutes of his team’s loss to the Steelers. Both attempts came from over 40 yards in Heinz Field, a stadium notoriously difficult to kick in. In the entire four year history of the stadium only eight opponents had made field goals beyond 40 yards with the longest of those conversions coming from just 47 yards. Jets coach Herman Edwards needed to get the ball a bit closer in each instance. Time was not a factor. The Jets had plenty of time to throw a high percentage pass and gain an additional 10 yards. Curtis Martin had been lethal on the screen pass all afternoon. It’s the same mistake Chargers’ coach Marty Chokenheimer made last week. Hopefully he and Edwards will be able to get a tee time together.

Peyton Manning was beat yesterday from the moment the Colts went three and out on their first possession. Manning was jittery in the pocket and his body language said "I know we’re going to choke again." As Bellichek has shown us time and time again, the way to make a pure passer struggle is to get him to move one way in the pocket. Call it the Drew Bledsoe axiom. Bellichek had Manning on the move Sunday and when that happens, Manning is just an average quarterback. Check the highlights, Manning’s feet were so happy they were beaming. He was done from the first series on.

Don’t buy for a second the shills on CBS telling you that this wasn’t Peyton Manning’s loss. Sure the Colts’ D got run over for drives that seemed to last an entire quarter, but Manning was still on the field long enough to score and he couldn’t get it done. My best argument on this point; three points. The fact is Manning failed to get it done in a big game. Sure he didn’t have a ton of help, but history will remember only the man under center. I’m starting to think Manning is a bit of a comfort zone quarterback. In the friendly confines of the RCA Dome he’s unstoppable but in bad weather, in a pressure situation, I’m just not so sure. When the going got tough, Manning seemed to play the blame game. He would shake his head or throw up his hands on every incomplete pass and offensive penalty. Some leader you are Mr. Manning.

I thought the Eagles were going to struggle without Terrell Owens. I was wrong. Freddie Mitchell played a magnificent game and wow, Brian Westbrook, is phenomenal.

If I’m starting a team in this league Daunte Culpepper just might be the player I want. Great thrower. Great runner. Tough as hell.

I think that there could be no worse time for the Bills to try and deal Travis Henry than this offseason. You could argue that the NFL is right now experiencing a Golden Age in terms of running backs. There are more studs in the league right now than there ever were before. With stars like Shaun Alexander and Edgerrin James on the free agent market and lesser lights like Lamont Jordan also available, Henry’s value is certainly diminished. Additionally, though the upcoming NFL Draft class is generally thought to be weak, its strongest position is said to be running back. Teams looking for a rusher, Arizona, Miami and Oakland come to mind, might eschew trading for Travis and instead take a back in the draft. If the Bills get a third rounder, they’ll be lucky.

God, I hate Phil Simms. Is there a man alive that opens his mouth more but says less?

The New England Patriots are the best team in football and they’re going to win the Super Bowl again.

I hope they play the Falcons in Jacksonville because I want to see Vick on a big stage and I want to see how Bellichek would handle him.

I’ll go ahead and tell you right now the Bills are going to release Drew Bledsoe by the middle of March. They’ve asked him to take a pay cut for the second consecutive year, clearly a vote of not a whole lot of confidence. If the Bills want Drew to play for less, they’re likely telling him it might well be in a backup role. Since it’s hard to imagine Bledsoe accepting a slot as J.P. Losman’s understudy it’s likely Drew will be through come March.

In Defense of Moss

Before we string up Randy Moss, let's get our facts straight

By Kevin Berchou, January 11th

Though there were four, for the most part, entertaining National Football League playoff games this past weekend, the sporting media has events far more lunar in nature on its often singular mind.

Of course the lunar event, or near lunar event to be accurate, in question is that of Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss whom, after scoring a game clinching touchdown, pretended to drop his pants and pay homage to the Green Bay revelers. Though it seemed to many a harmless endzone celebration, Moss has become the subject of intense media scrutiny by those who want to blame him for corrupting youths, disgracing the game and the impending doom of the Social Security system.

To read any number of prominent national football writers you’d think Randy Moss was Osama bin Laden. You’d think the next place George Bush and his team of gumshoes were going to look for the nukes was ol’ Randy’s locker. Moss, tried in the court of public opinion, has been found guilty of everything from taunting to defaming to disgracing and all of that really couldn’t be further from the truth. The media would like you to believe that Randy Moss is indicative of everything that’s wrong with the game and that just isn’t the case.

All Randy Moss is guilty of is drawing attention to himself. Contrary to popular belief, Moss is not the devil incarnate. He’s never committed double homicide, or even been accused of single murder like OJ. He’s never been accused of rape like Kobe or of armed robbery like Bernard Hopkins. What Moss has is an attitude problem. No man is his master (and clearly no man is his barber but that’s another story) but is that reason enough to crucify him? I should say not. I’ll be the first to admit that when I watched the celebration live, I laughed.

Because Moss has had a history of odd behavior (much of it overblown by the same media that now hangs him in effigy) writers and television personalities alike are quick to pounce on him for the slightest of misdeeds. When Moss left the field with two seconds remaining in a meaningless loss to the Redskins you’d have guessed, by the nature of the coverage, that he’d left the scene of an accident or a tsunami. Did he need to leave the field early? No. Should he have stayed? Yes, I mean if you’re Randy Moss, why put yourself through this, you know how the media is going to react (then again perhaps that’s further proof that Moss is his own man, that he just doesn’t care). But what the media failed to tell you is that there were ONLY two seconds left. The Vikings had just scored and were about to attempt to recover an onside kick. Since onside kicks are generally not recovered in one second leaving enough time for a potential Hail Mary pass, the game was over. Done. Finito. Moss left because he was clever enough to deduce that. It’s not like he pulled a Scottie Pippen and refused to enter a game in the waning seconds when his coach wanted him to take the decisive shot.

But of course since the moon nearly became visible on the heels of Moss "abandoning" his team, the endzone celebration became all the more of a story. To be frank the media’s coverage of this event was laughable and at the same time deplorable. When it happened, Joe Buck, who apparently has taken it upon himself to become the moral voice of America (Ralph Nader must have wanted royalties) called the act despicable and apologized to the viewer for airing it. Keep in mind, Moss did not actually drop his pants. He merely feigned doing so. What is he guilty of exactly? Attempted indecent exposure?

But it was later, on ESPN’s NFL Primetime where the true errors were made, where hypocricy reached an apex. The show’s hosts overlooked that Moss had just made the game’s most important play, catching a brilliant 34 yard scoring pass while gutting it out on an injured ankle to ice away an important playoff game against an archrival and instead vilified him for his endzone antics. Though they chose not to even air Moss’ randy endzone celebration, they discussed it for some two minutes. Thanks for the visual guys. Who knew cameras were barred from the court of public opinion. Where was Judge Ito when you needed him?

In almost the same breath, Berman and Tom "Unicolor" Jackson, gave Brett Favre a free pass when he made one of the dumbest plays you’ll ever see, passing the ball underhand, when he was a full four yards past the line of scrimmage on a critical third down play in the redzone. The play was incredibly dumb, inexcusable from a rookie, let alone a grizzled veteran like Favre, yet ESPN was content to show a shot of the Green Bay passer smiling and saying "boy that Favre, he just loves to play the game." Please. If you’re going to crucify Moss for celebrating in a tasteless fashion AFTER he scores a huge touchdown then please, be as unforgiving to Favre when he makes a play that costs his team one.

That sequence, however, was only the beginning of Berman’s errors. He attempted to segue to the highlights of the Colts-Broncos game by saying "Let’s go from a guy with no class (Moss) to a guy who epitomizes it, Peyton Manning." Such a statement could not be more ironic. Moss was of course said to have no class because he mooned the Green Bay crowd, but Manning was nearly suspended from the University of Tennessee football team for mooning a female athletic trainer some seven years ago. Perish the thought! The almighty Peyton, God’s gift to quarterbacking, guilty of bearing his behind to mock a woman? No it couldn’t be, but it was. Manning was sued by the trainer in question and later settled out of court. Get your facts straight Boomer.

Don’t get me wrong. Randy Moss is not a role model. In fact, his arrest record suggests he’s more of a roll model, but he’s not the villain he’s made out to be. Moss’ teammates will tell you that no one plays harder, through more injuries and cares more about winning than Randy Moss. What’s more is that Moss is undoubtedly the single most exciting player in pro football. If you disagree you’re wrong. No player is as capable of changing a game like the high flying, gravity defying Vikes’ wideout. He demands double and even triple coverage and thus impacts a game even when he doesn’t catch the ball. And when he does catch the ball, he is the single greatest receiver in the history of the game. No player has his skill set and no player is more feared. He has the speed and size to own even the best of cover corners and simply possesses the best pair of hands you’ve ever seen.

Give credit to Colts’ head coach Tony Dungy who defended Moss by pointing out that in Green Bay it’s tradition for fans to bare their backsides when the opposing team’s bus arrives at the stadium on game days. It’s hard to believe that’s coincidental. Clearly Moss had a method to his madness. And just as clearly, information like that would have helped to round out the story.

Don’t tell your kids to behave like Randy Moss. Sure he could use an attitude adjustment. But he’s not out there committing felonies either. Appreciate Moss for what he is, a tremendous football player who doesn’t care what you think of him beyond that.

Through with Drew

For J.P.Losman the time is now

By Kevin Berchou, January 6th

I’m through with Drew.

I’ve had enough and don’t think I’m being rash. I’ve seen enough coverage sacks, errand throws and choke jobs to know that I don’t want Drew Bledsoe to quarterback the Bills next season. I’ve heard all the excuses. They’ve been telling me for years that it’s the line, the departure of Peerless Price or the lack of familiarity with the offense. I’m not buying. What I’m going to buy is a stack of pink slips and then I’ll make friends with The Turk. I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that when the Bills step on the field for the 2005 season Drew Bledsoe is not under center.

I’ve thought about this one long and I’ve thought about this one hard. There are certain people out there who argue that Drew Bledsoe can still succeed. They surmise that given the right situation he can still perform. That’s not an altogether bad point. In theory, if your quarterback is your weakest link, you can cover up his weaknesses with a strong running game or a couple of big time run after the catch wide receivers. You can further augment the situation by building a great defense, one that all but guarantees the offense won’t need to score 30 to win. Maybe you toss in a playmaking special teams to do some of the scoring.

Sound familiar? It should. We just described to a sharp t, the 2004 Bills. They were built not around Bledsoe, but over him, which is to say they were constructed to cover him up. They had a terrific running back, a budding star in Willis McGahee, a player capable of controlling games and a guy that significantly eased the pressure on Bledsoe. With McGahee in the game, defenses couldn’t blitz all the time. They had to not only respect the run, they had to revere it.

With the emergence of Lee Evans to compliment the presence of veteran star Eric Moulds, Buffalo had, by season’s end one of the most potent receiver combos in the league. Both players have big ability and are a threat to score on any touch. Sure they need someone to get them the ball, but when a wideout can take a short pass the distance, any quarterback’s chances of success are greatly increased. Who can’t throw a six-yard out pass? Don’t answer that.

While McGahee provided balance on offense, it was the defense that was likely the cornerstone of this year’s team. Again, the unit finished ranked second in the league and in most games it made only modest demands of Bledose. If Buffalo were to score 17 or so points, they’d win most games. Moreover, in a departure from defenses of previous seasons, this year’s D made its share of big plays, forcing turnovers and often rewarding the offense with a short field.

The defense’s solid season coupled with a special teams that some called the best in the history of the NFL, conspired to make the quarterback’s job about as easy as can be. Such circumstances would seem almost perfectly conducive to success.

Buffalo gave Drew Bledsoe a great running back, two solid receivers, an ever improving offensive line, a good defense and a great special teams and essentially told him, "just don’t lose it for us."

So if we agree that Buffalo was a team built to win without necessarily needing a tremendous quarterback then we can argue now that Bledsoe need leave. Call me crazy but I hate having to win in spite of my quarterback. If there’s one positional deficiency on my roster, I really hope it’s not under the center. Quarterbacking in the NFL is a necessity not a luxury. Such men not only routinely win games for their teams, they’re leaders as well.

If Buffalo is building its team to mask Bledsoe’s deficiencies they’re acknowledging he’s not that good.

It’s no secret that Bledsoe is limited, about as limited as a paraplegic. He has the mobility of a rocking chair too old to rock and the pocket presence of lint. It’s no secret that he needs a lot to be successful. We’ve seen his performances in big games. We’ve seen what good defenses do to him.

So why not JP Losman, the Bills second first round pick in the 2003 draft? If Buffalo’s situation can be agreed to be conducive to quarterbacking success than could it not be a safe enough haven for a young gun like Losman to develop? What better tools to give a young quarterback than a great back, two great receivers and excellence on both defense and special teams. Certainly he’ll be asked to do no more than Bledsoe. And considering that Losman is far more mobile than Bledsoe, he’d be adding a significant dimension to the passing game. Defenses would likely need to keep a linebacker out of any blitz package to use as spy for a scrambling Losman. That alone could open up the middle of the field.

Moreover, Losman is a leader. He’s brash and confident, more like Jim Kelly than Casper Milktoast Drew. In college had had a propensity for making big plays with both his arm and his legs, the type of plays that changed games… for the positive. Drew’s only game changing plays seem to come when the ball ends up in the hands of a guy wearing the wrong color shirt.

And if Drew Bledsoe’s pocket presence can be agreed upon as awful, if we can concur that he holds the ball too long, isn’t it almost gospel that Losman is going to do certain things better. If Bledsoe holds the ball 1 second too long and Losman hasn’t yet started an NFL game, it doesn’t mean that Losman is going to hold the ball 1.5 seconds too long. In fact, it’s a fair probability he’ll get rid of it quicker.

So really, if Losman were to play in this offense with the defense and special teams staying relatively intact, how much would he need to do? Well certainly no more than Bledsoe and the numbers bear out that Bledsoe did very little. In seven of the Bills nine 2004 wins, Bledose passed for less than 200 yards. In seven of those games he threw at least one interception. In six of those games he threw at most one touchdown pass. None of the Bills nine victories came after they had trailed in the fourth quarter. So clearly Bledsoe wasn’t being asked to do a whole lot. Certainly, he wasn’t being asked to win the game, simply not to lose it. The numbers lend credence to the assertion that the Bills did not win because of Bledsoe but in spite of him. If they won nine games with mediocre at best quarterback play, could they not win the same or more with someone else who might be better? Almost anyone would be an upgrade over another season in the continuing tale of the emasculation of Drew Bledsoe.

That lack of confidence says it all, or most of it anyway. Instead of giving their quarterback the keys to the new car, the coaching staff had him riding in the backseat. Aware of Bledsoe’s limitations from the outset, quarterbacks coach Saw Wyche used an alarm clock to drill into Bledsoe’s head that he needed to release the ball quickly. In the biggest game of the year, against a blitz happy Pittsburgh defense, Buffalo made the game plan even more vanilla than usual, fearing quite likely that Bledsoe would lay an egg if he were under intense pressure. Make him get rid of the ball quickly, they reasoned, and he’ll have less time to screw up.

And that might be the biggest problem with Bledsoe. He’s a known commodity. You’re aware of precisely what you’re getting. And you’re getting a very limited Bill of not really that goods. He can succeed sure, when the planets are properly aligned. And he is good enough to win, but not good enough to win by himself. You can push him up to the top of the mountain but he’ll be unable to lead you back down. He just can’t get the whole job done. Against a good defense, he’s a sitting duck.

But J.P. Losman is the great unknown. Why not take the young gun and give him a shot in the theoretical idealist of circumstances? We know that Bledsoe’s not good enough but we have no idea about the prospects of success for Losman. We know that he’s mobile and we know that he won’t be asked to do a whole lot, at least not at first anyway. Why play a player known to limited when you have a player of limitless potential on your bench? If we don’t get to see Losman now when are we going to see him? If every rooke goes through growing pains, why postpone those symptoms now only to have them happen later?

Sometimes the unknown is the best option. It always is when the known is known to be bad.

Gag Reflex

Bills choke away a playoff berth.

By Kevin Berchou, January 3rd

In the end we should have known.

We should have realized that a team inept enough to begin the season 0-4 by playing some of the worst, some of the stupidest, football you’ve ever seen was not good enough to make the playoffs.

But the Buffalo Bills tricked us. They lulled us into a fall sense of hope by winning six games. They started to become fun to watch for the first time in years.

But those victories proved only a band-aid for the deep running problems that have plagued this franchise for some time. And on Sunday, in the biggest game the Bills had played in 8 years, they choked. Plain and simple, they choked, gagging away what should have been an easy victory against a Pittsburgh Steeler team that was playing its backups and the backups to those backups.

No one likes to use the "c word." It might be the greatest insult you can throw an athlete’s way, to tell him that he simply could not play up to expectations when the pressure was intensified. Everyone wants to be a money player. But that’s precisely what happened. Before a raucous crowd prepared to will its team to win the Bills fell apart reverting back to their woeful early season form

Needing to win and then get a bit of help to complete one of the most magical runs to the postseason in league history the Bills got some assistance but failed to help themselves. In what seemed like a bad dream, the many factors that had conspired to make the Bills a one time 0-4 team roared back in concert to make them a team guilty of missing the playoffs. A classic choke, the worst in the beleaguered history of the franchise. Apparently Dr. Heimlich was not among the 72,366 partisan fans, for no one came to the Bills aid.

The Bills 29-24 debacle cannot truly be blamed on one or even two parties. No this was a conspiratory collapse, a cooperative choke – everyone was involved. Leading the pack was quarterback Drew Bledose, a player I’ve written off more times that a tax deduction, a player thought to be reclimated by the recent winning streak. We knew he wasn’t Peyton Manning, but we figured with help he could play well enough not to lose and on this day we thought that was going to be good enough.

It wasn’t and it wasn’t even close. On a day where his teammates didn’t bail him out, Bledsoe couldn’t save himself. He was awful. If the Bills laid an egg he was mother hen. He looked like the quarterback who had sleepwalked through the 2003 season. He was jumpy in the pocket, couldn’t have sensed the pass rush with radar and made awful throw after poor decision after gut wrenching mistake. When receivers were open Bledsoe underthrew them. When they weren’t open he threw to them anyway often with disastrous consequences. Bledsoe was tentative and jittery from the start. In the biggest game he’d played in three seasons he lacked confidence of any sort, odd given that the Bills were prohibitive favorites against a team with nothing to play for.

Bledsoe’s insipid performance confirms what deep down we already knew. In his current state, Bledsoe is a serviceable passer. With a good running game and a good defense and the planets properly aligned he can play well enough. In truth, on this team, with a few breaks he was probably good enough to get them to the playoffs. But it’s doubtful that he’d get them any further than that. In the NFL, great quarterbacks are capable of winning games, of making that singular momentum altering play when circumstances seem dire. Bledsoe is nothing like that. He doesn’t carry a team, rather it is his team that props him up and make him at times seem competent. Without their help, he’s brutal.

Bledsoe’s most dismal of performances in this the most crucial of circumstances made the most compelling case yet for young quarterback J.P. Losman to take over next year. Buffalo won 7 games with its quarterback throwing for less than 200 yards this year. I have a hard time believing that Losman couldn’t do as much. Most guys are capable of handing to the running back 30 times and hitting Evans and Moulds with 4 or 5 throws apiece. Add in some mobility and some pocket presence and Losman becomes an immediate upgrade.

But Bledsoe is not fully to blame, even though he played like he had a bone stuck in his throat for much of the game. A coaching staff that had done wonders with a team for a month and a half felt flat on its face Sunday, seemingly overwhelmed by the presumed magnitude of the moment. Instead of attacking a backup laden squad from the onset, Buffalo’s gameplan was vanilla. The coaching staff seemed to know that its former colleague Dick LeBeau, now the Steelers defensive coordinator would blitz Bledsoe incessantly. How could he not? He saw this guy in action first hand last year. Consequently every dropback seemed a get rid of the ball as quickly as possible exercise, a workout Bledsoe failed miserably.

For much of the game, the Bills seemed tight and unsure of themselves. It wasn’t a game to be accepted. You couldn’t watch the action and say Pittsburgh beat the Bills. The game went such a way where it can only be said that Bills beat themselves.

When Buffalo began its season by losing four games, dumb penalties became the rule. Time and again, players seemed to behave without fear of consequence. But this was a disease that had looked to have been in remission. Not so. Sunday’s game was a comedy of errors that led to a tragic result. With a 1:56 left in the third quarter and Buffalo on a game securing march from its own one yard line, Bledsoe hit fullback Damon Shelton in the flat. When Shelton was done rumbling he had reached the three-yard line. It was first and goal and surely Willis McGahee would have little trouble moving things from there. But there was a flag on the field. Josh Reed had committed an inexplicable offensive pass interference foul, decking a defensive back as he ran across the field. Reed was supposed to be a decoy, to set a pick and sell the fake. Instead he knocked his man clear off his feet incurring a penalty that all but killed the drive.

Three plays later, Rian Lindell, a man who has never made a field goal of consequence for the Bills missed a 29 yard effort… you guessed it… wide right.

Both Reed and Lindell should be cut before the start of next season. Reed was in on approximately 15 plays Sunday, dropping a pass and committing a penalty on two of them. Considering that he had zero receptions, it can be said with certainty that he did little but hurt his team. A former second round pick, Reed’s career has been a monumental disappointment. Players like Sam Aiken and Freddie Smith have already surpassed him.

Lindell is perhaps even more infuriating. Despite the opinions of The Buffalo News, a paper that earlier in the week ran a laudatory story on the Bills’ kicker describing his "quietly good season," Lindell is awful. Anyone who’s watched a Bills game this season can tell you that his team has no faith in him. Often they’ve gone for the first down or punted when the alternative was a field goal longer than 45 yards. For the season, Lindell has made, incredibly, a single field goal of over 40 yards. Sure going into Sunday’s game’s he’d been perfect from inside 35 yards, but every kicker should be. It’s a veritable chip shot, an extended extra point. The thing about those kicks is that they didn’t matter. They weren’t pressure shots in big games where the tension runs thicker than the polluted waters of Lake Erie. In the biggest game of the year, in the biggest game of his life, Lindell lined up a simple 29-yard kick that would have given his team a four point lead, and missed. His unreliability coupled with his ghastly kickoffs that generally come to rest somewhere between the 25 and 30 yard lines make him a likely candidate for the waiver wire.

And what of the defense, that vaunted unit that talked of the becoming the number one ranked in the league. Sure they were on the field far too long, and yes they did force three turnovers but when push came to shove they got knocked up field, yielding a nine minute drive to a third string quarterback, a fourth string running back and a bunch of guys who should have been driving trucks and delivering pizzas. Sam Adams’ epitaph should read "Willie Parker: 102 yards, Fourth String." When they absolutely needed a stop, when they needed to give an inept offense one more chance, they got run over. If it’s still the third ranked defense in the league, it’s overrated.

Critics will say Sunday proved the Bills aren’t capable of playing with NFL’s elite but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This Bills team could use some upgrades certainly, but they are nonetheless a more than capable squad built around a special running back. I don’t care if Pittsburgh is 15-1. The simple fact is that they didn’t play many of the players responsible for that mark. The men dressed in black and gold Sunday were not the Steelers, they were a fraud. Yet still they were more than a match for our counterfeit Bills.

The sad truth is that in the biggest game of the year against a bunch of backups the Bills choked. They were good enough to win and that perhaps is the saddest part.

Miracle Sunday

Do you believe in miracles? YES!

By Kevin Berchou, December 29th

All things considered, it was like hitting the lottery.

If the Buffalo Bills end up successful on their improbable quest to the playoffs, we’ll likely look back at Sunday, December 26^th, 2004 as the day all things good came to pass.

After watching the Denver Broncos buck the pathetic Tennessee Titans on Saturday evening, things looked bleak for the boys in red, white and dark blue. They needed a lot of help from a whole bunch of teams and they needed it quickly. There were only two weeks left for the stars to align.

But Sunday went perfectly. If a Bills fan were to have drawn it up like a Tom Clements trick play, it simply could not have gone better. Buffalo needed Baltimore and Jacksonville to lose. They did. Buffalo needed Pittsburgh to win, harboring hopes that if the Steelers did just that they would treat the season finale at The Ralph as nothing short of an exhibition. And Pittsburgh complied.

Still, in order to maximize its chances, and be forced not to rely solely on the Broncos beating a Colts team with nothing to play for in the season’s final week, Buffalo needed some help from the Jets. If New York were to lose its final two games and were Buffalo to be, at the same time, victorious, the Bills could still edge them out by way of an arcane tiebreaker tied to the record against common opponents. But in order to lose two, you have to lose one, and the Jets did as much, in spectacular, crash and burn fashion, falling at home to the Patriots by more than two touchdowns.

Finally, but most importantly, Buffalo needed to win its own game against the forlorn 49ers. A loss would render the above all but mute. They did.

It all meant they went five for five. The Steelers won and in doing so beat the Ravens. 2 down. Jacksonville laid an egg in its own roost losing by shutout to the Texans. 3 down. The Jets continued a tradition of late season collapses. 4 down. And the Bills won. Five for five.

That’s right, Powerball has nothing on Bills fans. Were the circumstance to be any more fortuitous, the NFL might have retroactively declared Scott Norwood’s kick good. But to make things even that much better, the Philadelphia Eagles, winners of seven straight, decided to rest any player worth his weight in bling on Monday night against the Rams. The mass sitting allowed St. Louis to win easily meaning that it will play a very meaningful game next week against the Jets.

In just a short month, the Buffalo Bills have gone from outsiders to heads of the Rat Pack. Any one of two scenarios would ensure an invite to the postseason festivities. First off, Buffalo needs to win. Assuming they do that against a Steeler team that will be resting all players crucial to the effort, they need only a Bronco or Jet loss to complete one of the most remarkable turnarounds this side of Frank Reich.

So next time when someone asks you plaintively if you believe in miracles, make like Al Michaels and utter a singular, exuberant "YES!"

All you can ask for

Bills get by with a little help from their friends

By Kevin Berchou, December 26th

For another week, the impossible dream continues.

On a day where their friends around the league did everything they could to help them out, the Buffalo Bills annihilated the putrid San Francisco 49ers Sunday, running them over as they ran for the bus.

For Buffalo, a dominant 41-7 effort was good for a sixth consecutive win, one that, more importantly keeps them very much alive for one of the coveted two Wild Card playoff spots.

It was only weeks ago that the Bills stood at 0-4 with about as much chance of making the playoffs as Otis Nixon had of winning a beauty pageant. Even when they began their impressive run some four Sundays ago, it was thought that even if they were to win out, it’d be a classic case of a too little a bit too late. There were too many things that had to happen in their favor, and too little time left for all of them to occur.

But the Bills have gone from long shot to some shot. By virtue of the Ravens, Jaguars and Jets all losing this week, the Bills now can complete their miraculous run to the postseason in one of two ways. They must, first off, defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers next week in a home game rendered meaningless for the metal workers thanks to their home field clinching win over Baltimore. They then must hope that either the Broncos fall at home to Indianapolis or that the Jets lose on the road in St. Louis. They’ve got a chance and that’s all they can ask for.

Buffalo remained asleep and kept its dream very much alive by following a blueprint that has become all too commonplace. They dominated a poor, injury ridden 49ers team in every conceivable facet of the game. It was a game they were supposed to win in convincing fashion and they followed suit perfectly, dispatching a vastly inferior foe in the manner good teams are wont to.

In flummoxing ‘Frisco the Bills did a bit of everything well. After being listed as questionable, and generally being ruled out of Sunday’s game, Willis McGahee was the surprise starter, running with purpose for 103 yards that enabled him to surpass the 1,000 yard barrier on the season and scoring twice to bring his total TD count to ten. And whereas he has spent much of the season fighting for the tough yards, Willis found the going easy today. Each time he touched the ball his line seemed to open a gaping hole. For the game, he averaged nearly eight yards a carry. Again he seemed the best player on the field.

And quarterback Drew Bledsoe, coming off successive shaky performances, put together one of his more efficient outings of the season, making good use of both Eric Moulds and Lee Evans to build a 17-0 halftime advantage.

It was, for Evans another chapter in what has been a breakout rookie campaign. The rookie scored twice and had six catches as he continued to stake his claim to the Bills’ number one receiver slot. His emergence has eased double coverage on his counterpart Moulds, and had undoubtedly opened up passing lanes for his quarterback. His speed and big play ability are as important to the offense as the able legs of its running back.

A dominating defense again played no small part in another dominating victory. A focused unit seemed to force turnovers at will, beating down the 49ers so terribly that both of their quarterbacks, Ken Dorsey and Cody Pickett, finished with a lower passer rating than Buffalo punter Brian Moorman who threw an incomplete pass on an attempted fake punt.

While Sunday’s game was supposed to be an easy one for Buffalo, it had all the makings of a trap. Some thought the Bills might be ripe for an upset, thinking that maybe a hot team was looking ahead to a big clash with the Steelers that would surely determine its playoff fate. But this team had no such letdown. Head Coach Mike Mularkey had it focused from the outset. This was a team that knew its purpose and executed a game plan all but flawlessly.

The rout got so bad so quickly that Buffalo was able to insert its backups midway through the third quarter, allowing both Shaud Williams and Shane Matthews to play a role in touchdowns. Indeed Buffalo’s second team outscored the 49er starters by a 14-7 count, with San Francisco saving shutout face thanks only to a meaningless Kevan Barlow touchdown in the fourth quarter.

It was a game in which the Buffalo Bills showed how frighteningly good they’ve become and a game in which they continued what could go down as one of the most enduring streaks to the postseason in the 85 year history of the sport. In their six wins they've outscored their opponents by a 224-89 count, while posting more points in a half dozen game stretch than any team in franchise history. Right now, they might well be one of the three or four most feared teams in the league. A shame it would be, if they were denied the chance to scare.

Now all they need is a little help from their friends. Then, they can get by.

Gettin' a Feeling

Bills have playoff fever

By Kevin Berchou, December 22nd

It’s official.

The Buffalo Bills are the feel good story of the NFL. In a transformation that continues to confound Bills conversation has gone from unspoken to the tip of every fan’s tongue. Your once all but dismissed Buffalo Bills are the talk of the National Football League.

In putting the Bengals on the verge of extinction Sunday for their fifth win in as many games, Buffalo kept itself squarely in the middle of the hotly contested AFC playoff race. Though they still need a tremendous amount of help to do the unthinkable, to qualify for postseason play despite sitting at 3-6 though 9 games, the ongoing Bills saga has to be enjoyed in the here and now. It’s a story that’s becoming too good to be true. Believe.

Buffalo beat Cincinnati by playing the type of game we told you good teams are all about. They looked by their average level of play on the field to be just getting by, but a quick glance at the scoreboard suggests otherwise. It’s another blowout. The Bills are one of those good teams that is learning to make the incredible the routine. When the gun wasn’t firing on all cylinders they managed to come up with enough bullets to fell their target.

To be sure, this like the Cleveland win a weekend ago was not the Bills’ best performance. The running game wasn’t there. Bledsoe was having another average day at the office for his company, Average Inc and the defense was getting run on more times than a long sentence. The Bengals were controlling the clock, running and stopping the run. A look at the stats would do so much as to suggest total domination. So how did the Bills win? They made plays.

Good teams have those types of guys that just rise to the occasion. They have on their roster the type of player that changes a game all by himself. The very best teams have a great many of those players and on the very best teams, those players find a way to alter the outcome. On the very best teams, it’s a different savior working miracles every time you look.

Enter Jason Peters. With the score tied at 7 in the first quarter, Jason Peters, a player that went undrafted by each of the 32 NFL franchises, a player that had to lose 25 pounds to play tackle at the professional level, tore through the middle of Bengal front and used his pterodactyl like wing span to swat a punt with one of his preposterously sized paws. It a game changing play, but a play that most undrafted rookies would have been contented with right then and there. Most undrafted rookies would have launched into some type of spasm dance routine to celebrate their good fortune. Not Peters who had the presence of mind to throw the punter off him and sprint to the endzone where the ball had come to rest. Taking care to corral it properly, he fell on it for touchdown that would give his team a lead it would never relinquish.

It was a play men of Peters’ first year ilk simply don’t make. Lesser men of lesser heads would have been so excited to score the touchdown they’d have kicked the ball out of bounds. London Fletcher would have kicked it into the third row. Meet Jason Peters, the man who changed the game.

And if the lesser hyped of the first year JPs on the roster was your first gamebreaker, a homecoming Takeo Spikes was your second. After playing five mostly forgettable seasons for the always awful Bengals, Spikes was determined to make a splash in return to the ‘Natty. With Pat Williams running roughshod into the Bengal backfield and making a panicked tiger out of quarterback John Kitna, Spikes pounced, knocking over Rudi Johnson, the intended target of an errand throw, reaching high to snare the throw and motored 62 yards to the endzone. Ball game. Again it was a matter of athleticism meshing perfectly with intelligence. Like the Peters, Spikes was both capable and aware. Unlike the early season Bills, this time both mind and body were willing.

Spikes blatantly interfered with Johnson. He tossed him right out of the way. When the replay quickly aired, everyone thought the Bills had gotten away with one. Not so. Johnson was behind the line of scrimmage when Spike decked him. He was fair game. He knew the rules and so did the officials (for once), resulting in a fifth consecutive win cementing score that provided victory’s final margin.

Offense? Ehh, played an average game. Defense? Well, Johnson did run all over them? Big plays? Check. The Bills beat the Bengals because they made the big play, quickly turning an otherwise losable game into a blowout win.

It’s all meaning that precisely no one in the NFL wants to play the Bills right now. I’d have a hard time picking anyone but New England to beat them on a neutral field right now. Peter King has them ranked sixth in his Monday Morning Quarterback Power Rankings. A month ago they were ranked 26^th.

The Bills are a team of billievers. It’s no longer a matter of if but how and whom. Who is going to make the play that puts this baby to bed? How are we going to tuck it in?

Sadly, what’s fast becoming a magical run could all be for naught. Buffalo still needs Jacksonville, Denver and Baltimore to lose at least once in the next two weeks.

Cross your fingers. Light some candles. Billieve.

A Tale of Two Seasons

It was the worst of times. Now, it's the best of times

Kevin Berchou, December 15th

It’s a story that is not yet over, but already it reads as a memorable tale.

The 2004 season will go down in Buffalo Bills’ lore as one of the most dichotomous of all time. Not in memory, has one team so run the gamut between unwatchable and can’t miss ‘em. It’s a team that once gave nary a reason to be loved that now gives nary a reason to be hated.

A little more than a month ago, I sat in this same spot so fed up with the Bills that I was ready to write Drew Bledsoe’s obituary (Born in Washington on a cold, dark day…). But he would have just been the fall guy. For the most part, save maybe a punter and a running back, they were all bad. I’d just seen Bledsoe play perhaps the worst game a quarterback has ever played in this league, saying something considering we’ve lived through three years of his starts on the road. Somehow, he had managed to be intercepted by one of his former wide receivers (It’s better said like that. To clarify that last point would have only served to let Bledsoe off that hook).

They really were that bad. They went in to New England, on national television, and got thwacked by the best team in the league 29-6, a score that seemed to demonstrate perfectly the chasm between the teams. It was a seemingly a perfect period on the end of a sentence that told of an awful season. That was it. It had to be. There was no way they could come back from that.

And just the same, I thought, it’s probably better this way. Better, that they don’t tease us with a few more wins and somehow convince themselves that this overrated team was good enough to compete next year. No, it’d be better to get hammered, cut ties with Bledsoe and hand the reigns to J.P. Losman and start getting ready for next year.

Things were bleak. We’d just sat through half a season of dumb penalties, enraging mental lapses and heartbreaking losses. The coaches didn’t know what they were doing. They wouldn’t put McGahee in until the Miami game, not even on the goal line. What was there, really, to look forward to? Bledsoe was clearly awful and, even next year, with Losman, well, there was no way he was going to be good as a virtual rookie. Were we really going to catch the likes of the Patriots anytime soon?

After that New England game I was sure the season was over. Had I not been on vacation, I would have used this space to write them off. But Mike Mularkey steadfastly said he was sticking with Bledsoe. "There are still seven game left," he reasoned. Seven games! Seven more insufferable Sundays. How much did this guy think we could take?

Right. It turns out that the Bills’ first year head coach knew what he was talking about. In the last month, the Buffalo Bills have engineered one of the most startling turnarounds in recent league history. That went from being given up for dead to being given up for glory. And it all happened in one month.

What happened is that we all overreacted. Each and everyone of us. The Bills weren’t nearly as bad as they played in that first half of the season. Looking back on it, they probably needed a grace period to learn a new system installed by a new coach. It’s not an excuse but it is a reason. They were warming to Mularkey and now they’re cooking.

The team that I hated to watch is now one of the league’s most feared. An offense that was once moribund, is setting team scoring records. McGahee is tossing that stiff arm around and Bledsoe threw four touchdowns… on the road! The only stiff arm we saw in the early part of the season was Bledsoe’s. And sure, we scored four touchdowns on the road. But that was an aggregate total over two seasons.

Last week the defense allowed 17 yards… for the entire game. The old Bills had at least that many penalty yards… on each drive.

They have a great offense, a sensational defense and we haven’t even mentioned the special teams, a unit whose title could not possibly describe them better. Punter Brian Moorman is a terrific player. Never before has it been enjoyable to watch someone punt but never before has someone done it so well.

The return teams have brought back five kicks for scores. They say lightning doesn’t strike twice but any Bills fan would argue it’s struck Ralph Wilson Stadium in spades I get giddy just writing that.

While the future once looked bleak it now looks luminous. McGahee is a star and first round pick Lee Evans is fast becoming one. Tom Donahoe is not the idiot we thought he was one month ago. Never before has a man’s IQ risen so much in a four week span.

Bledsoe looks good. So does the offensive line. Throw in a prideful defense and a go for broke special teams and you’ve got the makings of something good.

Most importantly the Buffalo Bills are developing a culture of winning. For two years we watched a team we thought was talent laden underachieve beyond all reason and logic. That something that was missing has now been found. This team thinks they can win, even expects to.

It’s a reversal of fortunes we didn’t expect and that’s precisely what makes it so wonderful. Sure, it’s a story without yet an ending, but just the same it’s a story you get excited to tell.

Brown Out

The Bills do what the good teams are supposed to... they win

Kevin Berchou December 12th

Good teams don’t need to be perfect to win.

They don’t need flawless performances from their offense, defense and special teams. They don’t need the sun, the moon and stars to be in some sort of ideal cosmic alignment. They just find a way. They just get it done.

The Buffalo Bills are getting there. They’re not a great team, but certainly, after a dominating 37-7 trouncing of the woeful Cleveland Browns, they have to be considered a good one. Their fourth successive victory wasn’t necessarily the prettiest of the lot, but it was effective nonetheless. The Bills, in winning, kept their slim playoff dreams breathing. They’re not done yet.

We knew going in that Cleveland was awful. Beset by injuries, they were a team in disarray. Things got so bad their former coach Butch Davis began suffering panic attacks, but he can’t be blamed really. If you had to coach this team you’d be sweating things too. Interim coach Terry Robiski resembled a deer in the headlights more than he does an NFL football coach. You half expected him to run towards the light. You wondered that if Orchard Park had a bait and shoot program, if Robiski would just have assume to have been put out of his misery He looked clueless from the opening kickoff. He should have stayed home.

The Browns had a rookie coach, a rookie quarterback and a defense that had given up an astonishing 100 points in the last two weeks. The oddsmakers seemed to have it about right. The Bills were favored by 11 or so. This was a game they were supposed to win.

But things didn’t start off as planned. Bledsoe threw an interception and then botched a handoff with McGahee. Then Clements fumbled. At one point the Browns actually took a 7-3 lead.

At some point after that the Bills realized that they had become a good team. They didn’t have to be perfect, they just had to be better than the Browns. They had a certain swagger, a confidence that began to show. They gave the ball to McGahee. They mixed in looks to Lee Evans, a man fast becoming a serious weapon in a rejuvenated Bills offense.

That was all the defense needed. They were spectacular. Taking advantage of an entirely in over his head Luke McCown, making just his second start, the Bills played easily their best defensive game of the season. They shut down Browns’ running back William Green and had McCown on the run all day, sacking him 7 times.

You might remember William Green, the former Boston College star that the Browns selected in the first round of the 2002 draft when they could have had Clinton Portis, a move that sums perfectly the sad state of their personnel department.

With five minutes remaining in the game the Browns had -2 yards of total offense. With no minutes left in the final stanza, they had 17, the fifth lowest total by any team in the 84 year history of the National Football League.

Sure, the Browns take bad to previous unrealized depths but this victory was still significant. You saw in this game how much better the Bills were than a bad team. Though they were far from perfect, they still won by 30 points. That’s what good teams do. They play what seems like, just ehh, ok, type football and then when the game ends they’ve won in a rout.

The fourth straight win is of course the best thing to come out of Sunday’s cold, precipitous tilt but there were other positives to be sure. The defense was back to its old, staunch self after last week’s aberration in Miami in which they gave up 32 points. At its best, it’s a unit that prides itself on playing aggressive football. At its best, this defense views yardage gained by opponents as personal affronts. From the way the Bills’ D played you’d swear, McCown said something bad about Sam Adams’ mother.

And Brian Moorman, who may play his position as well as anyone in the league, was again spectacular knocking three punts inside the five where they were ably downed. Willis McGahee, too, gave a typical workmanlike performance toting it for 105 yards and two scores.

But since we pointed out that Buffalo won despite its mistakes, it makes sense to note them here. After playing well in back to back weeks, Drew Bledsoe was awful today. Sure the conditions were bad, but he still, time after time, threw the ball just behind, or just low too low, to open targets. Against better competition, in a tighter game, those balls need to get there accurately.

Additionally, the mistake prone, error ridden team from the first two months of the season seemed to resurface in the first quarter. Aaron Schobel jumped off sides to negate an interception. The Browns would score their only points of the contest on the next play. Clements tried to do too much on a punt return and put the ball on the carpet. Against the Brown, a team they were worlds better than, the occasional mistake could be overcome. But against a playoff team such mistake could be a death knell.

Buffalo did what it needed to do today, eventually looking impressive in handily beating an inferior opponent. They’re fast becoming a reliable, good team.

The playoffs, my friends, are still a possibility and the playoffs is where the good teams go.

Dodging a bullet

Clements out of running. Weis to coach the Irish

Kevin Berchou December 11

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Tom Clements was today told he was out of the running for the vacant head coaching post at the University of Notre Dame. According to sources, the Irish are in negotiations with Clements' Patriots counterpart, Charlie Weis to succeed Ty Willingham as high priest at the world's preeminent Catholic institution.

The move is a boon for Bills fans and means a young, improving offense will likely have its staff intact for next season. Bledsoe has, lately, entered a comfort zone under Clements tutelage and has, quite possibly resurrected a flagging career.

While it remains unclear as to why Clements was passed over after being mentioned as a frontrunner just days ago, the prevailing thought is that he simply didn't not have experience with responsibility. This was just his first season as a coordinator. Prior to 2004 he had been a position coach. The guess is that the Irish decided that though Clements had potential, he was probably a better candidate for the next go round... when the Irish next botch a head coach search.

Of course, while Bills fans win by getting to keep their coordinator they gain too in having the rival Patriots lose theirs. Part of New England's success over the last few years has been their ability to keep its staff together. Coordinators Weis and Romeo Crennel have been instrumental to Bill Bellichek's success, a harmony that will soon, it appears, be challenged.

Who's Next?

Clements is as good as gone. Who'll be the next Bills offensive coordinator?

Kevin Berchou, December 9th

Since it looks, with each passing hour, that current Bills offensive head man Tom Clements is in line to be next football coach at the University of Notre Dame it stands to reason that we might speculate on his successor.

Indeed, Clements is, tonight, being interviewed by members Notre Dame brass including Athletic Director Kevin White and incoming President Father John Jenkins, both of whom flew into Buffalo this afternoon. It is thought that Clements is on an extremely short list of available candidates, and it is known that he is extremely interested in the post.

What makes Clements a near shoo-in for the position is the support he's garnered from alumni all over the country, and, as evidenced by the unceremonious departure of Tyrone Willingham, the alumni rule the roost. Clements' fellow alumni have rumored to have been voicing their support to such a degree that Clements, himself, actually asked that it be toned down, that they stop calling University offices in South Bend to campaign for him.

Trust us. He's as good as gone. There will be an offer made before the Bills take the field Sunday against the Browns.

So where does that leave the Bills? An offense that had shown tremendous improvement of late would certainly be remiss in losing the man that built it. But, thankfully, by NFL rules, even if Clements should take the Notre Dame job, he would still be required to remain with the Bills until the season's end.

Essentially, he'd be doing two jobs concurrently. Since an offensive coordinator's job is typically done in the beginning of the week, gameplanning for the next opponent, Clements would have time then toward the end of the week to build his staff and continue recruiting. Of course, Sunday's would still be devoted to deciding whether the Bills will run Willis right or left.

Since Clements has no shortage of friends within the Bills' organization, you can bet that men like Mike Mularkey and Sam Wyche will attempt to ease the burden of the transition by assuming some of Clements' regular. And if the Bills are eliminated from playoff contention anytime soon, you can bet that Tom Donahoe would allow Clements to vacate the coordinator position and get a head start on his duties beneath the Golden Dome.

So if Clements does in fact depart, who takes his place. The most obvious candidate is current quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche. Wyche is a man obviously familiar with the scheme and he can given no small measure of credit in the reclamation of Drew Bledsoe. Sam Wyche has a wealth of coaching experience and has always had the respect of his players. The offense would run just fine of he was to be given the keys.

The Bills are, however, this year in a rare, enviable position. With plenty of young talent on offense, they're all of a sudden a hot team and would be a favorable destination for any hot position coach looking to take the next step. The Bills offensive coordinator job would have no shortage of suitors. Think of a drunk Catherine Zeta-Jones at a local bar. Guys would be crawling all over her.

In other news, kick return sensation Terrence McGee has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. If he doesn't make the Pro Bowl squad, I'll eat the transcripts of Barry Bonds' grand jury testimony.

Change is good

Regular visitors to our humble sight will notice some changes. We recently won an advertising contract and have decided to streamline the content. Accordingly you’ll see that the links on the left side bar have been modified.

Fear not, however, dear reader. The combination of advertising and focus means daily updates on a variety of topics. The site’s main page will be a resource dedicated to daily Buffalo Bills developments and commentary. Each day’s new entry will be logged at the top, while previous stories will cycle below.

Also, our famous Mono-log column will return in a slightly altered format. The new Mono-blog will feature daily (hopefully) humorous observations from the world of sports.

And with a myriad of sports websites on the internet, we at BS.net felt a need to distinguish ourselves from the masses. We needed to cover topics better than our local competition. Since The Buffalo News covers neither boxing nor fantasy football with any degree of accumen, and since we see ourselves as experts in both, we’ve decided that those two disciplines will join the Buffalo Bills as the foci of our venture.

Please, to those of you loyal enough to visit regularly, tell your friends. Have them visit the site and click on our ads. We’ll be informative. We’ll be funny but most importantly, we’ll be daily.

So without further adieu... your daily dose of Bills news.

Short at End and Clements on his way out

December 8

Bad news on several fronts from Ralph Wilson Stadium. It looks as though the Bills will enter Sunday's home game against the hapless Cleveland Browns with Ryan Neufeld as the only tight end with NFL experience on the roster. Starter Mark Campbell is out for the season having suffered a torn ACL in his right knee. Compounding the problem is the fact that rookie Tim Euhus, who has come on of late, is doubtful with a knee injury of his own.

While the Bills' offense has enough personnel groupings to still function with a certain degree of proficiency, the injuries will certainly hurt particularly when Willis McGahee tries to run outside. Look for more of fullback Damian Shelton leading on McGahee counters to the outside since there just won't be enough ends to do the same.

McGahee could well see some additional looks in the passing game as well. Bledsoe has done well to make use of his portly pass catchers of late, content to dump the ball over the middle, instead of forcing it downfield into tight coverage. The Bills will likely keep Shelton in on third down situations and send McGahee out on a pass route to compensate for the sudden shortage.

Also today, it was confirmed that offensive coordinator Tom Clements has been granted permission to interview for the vacant head coaching position at the University of Notre Dame. While just as much was as thought to be a long shot just days ago, Clements has rocketed to the very top of the list and is rumored to have been recommended by both Joe Montana and Ara Parseghian for the post. Though Clements has no head coaching experience and has only been a coordinator for 12 NFL games, he did quarterback the Irish to a National Championship in 1973 and coached there under Lou Holtz from 1992-1995.

And when you give it some thought, it's not all that preposterous a candidacy. If the Bills do make the playoffs, much of the credit would go to Clements for his reclamation of Drew Bledsoe. He would be hailed as one of the league's top coordinators and would thusly be in the running for several NFL jobs.

The guess is that Clements might have better chance at landing in South Bend than you might think. He and his Patriots counterpart, Charlie Weis, seem to be on an ever shrinking list of available candidates, and Weis, with the Pats likely to go further in the playoffs, wouldn't be available until later.

It all could add up to Clements - by default.

Guess who's back

After a wild win in Miami the Bills are again fun to watch

By Kevin Berchou December 5th

All of a sudden its fun again to be a fan of the Buffalo Bills.

You can discard the paper bags you’ve been wearing to the stadium. You can pull your head out of the sand. And you can forget the excuses you’ve been using when caught about town in your Drew Bledsoe jersey.

Today, our Bills, woebegone for way too long, showed exactly how far they have come in a short time. Not only did they defeat their archrival, the Miami Dolphins, for their third successive win, the last two coming on the road, but they handled some adversity and lived to tell about it, surviving a thrilling sixty minutes to squish the fish by a 42-32 count.

Prior to today, the Buffalo Bills handled adversity about as well as a cheap plastic chair at an obesity convention. When the pressure was turned up, they collapsed. A very game Dolphins team played a very good game and, playing hard for an interim coach they’d love to make permanent, they opened up a 10 point lead.

Gulp.

When this Bills of even a month ago would fall behind by 10 you could rest assured they it was merely a precursor to them falling behind by 20. They would abandon the run, begin to force passes, and of course Drew Bledose would compound a bad situation and make it worse. Enter the most recent road debacle in New England three weeks ago as Exhibit A.

Today, on so many levels, was different. Miami dared the Bills to throw. In bringing nine men into the box, they were determined not to let a homecoming Willis McGahee control the action. They dared Drew to do it and somehow Drew did.

When the Bills were bad there was no one worse than Drew Bledsoe. He held the ball far too long, made poor decisions when he did get rid of it and generally looked finished as a respectable NFL player. Against Miami he was magnificent.

Amazingly, shockingly, in just three weeks time Bledsoe had morphed from the worst player on the team to the best. It’s a resurrection befitting of Lazarus and the much maligned passer simply can’t be given enough credit. Lesser man would have given up under those formerly dire circumstances.

Drew Bledsoe was patient today. When the downfield routes weren’t there he was content to dump the ball short. When they were open he hit his wideouts in stride. The 69 yard touchdown strike to Lee Evans was as good a throw as you’ll ever see. For the first time in quite some time, there was a swagger, a moxie we’ve missed since Drew’s troubles began a year and a half ago.

Against the Dolphins, he distributed the ball effectively. The fact that Eric Moulds didn’t catch a pass in a half where the team scored 21 points, is a testament to the fact that Bledsoe finally was content to look elsewhere. He didn’t force things. He hit other receivers. Look no further than Lee Evans’ brilliance. When the coverage started to shift to the shorter routes in the second half, Bledsoe was able to hit Moulds on several medium range slants; patience paying off.

Today the Buffalo Bills did not panic. They stuck to the run, using it effectively to open up the passing game. And though the defense started poorly, the coaches were able to make several adjustments that entirely changed the flow of the game.

All of a sudden the defense was opportunistic. If a ball was near them, they intercepted it. And after having crumbled in so many crucial situations previously, the Bills made their most impressive stand of all when they most needed to as Pat Williams made like a much more athletic man, making a one-handed interception that he promptly returned for a touchdown to make the last two minutes a mere formality.

It was a game that the Bills of a month ago just wouldn’t have won. Those Bills could win when everything went right, when things happened as planned. The slightest hiccup all but incapacitated them. They didn’t have an offense capable of playing from behind.

It was a game that showed just how far the Bills have come and it provides a perfect opportunity to assess the strengths of the team with exactly one-quarter of the season remaining.

The offense is now good. In a span of a month it has become one of the more dangerous units in the league. The importance of Willis McGahee simply cannot be overstated. Quite simply, he is one of the ten best players in the entire league. Defenses are petrified at the prospect of facing him and game plan with the sole intent of stopping him. He commands attention and he changes games. Sunday, he grinded out the tough yards but more importantly played a critical role in opening up the passing game for a resurgent Drew Bledsoe. He had 91 yards rushing in addition to a 66 yard reception that was called back on a phantom holding call, courtesy of village idiot official Gerry Austin.

With McGahee as its centerpiece and catalyst, the offense has begun to realize the full potential of its diverse weapons. With the secondaries closer to the line of scrimmage and therefore more room in the defensive backfield, the receivers are running wild. Moulds has been consistently strong while Evans has come into his own in the last couple of weeks, validating his status as a first round selection. Both are good enough to merit double coverage leaving defenses to choose their poison. Today Drew Bledsoe seemed to ask Miami which way it wanted to die.

Tom Donahoe has been made to look like a genius. The selections of McGahee and Evans seem like strokes of ingenuity. You have to be excited by their long term prospects.

And, though they struggled for parts of the game today, the defense has been solid. They’ve been generally strong against the run and coordinator Jerry Gray has them taking more chances in pass defense. The increased propensity to gamble means some long completions but when it works it works. Today the Bills picked off five passes.

While both the offense and defense have played well in recent weeks, no unit has been as important to the Bills’ success as the special teams which are undoubtedly the best in the sport. Time and time again, the so called special forces have made a game changing play. You keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. You tell yourself that they have to be lucky. They can’t possibly keep doing this. But they do.

Simply put, the Bills have the best return game in the professional football. Terrence McGee, another Donahoe find, has an astonishing three kickoff returns for touchdowns and will be plying his trade in Hawaii come February. Nate Clements and Freddie Smith do well to return punts but Brian Moorman does even better in booming them.

While Willis McGahee is probably Buffalo’s best player, Moorman might be its most valuable. Time and again, Moorman has displayed an unprecedented ability to control field position with ought to be bronzed right leg. Pinned deep in their own territory today against Miami, Moorman uncorked a 69 yarder. Clinging to a three point lead with three minutes remaining he dropped one high and soft inside the Dolphins’ five. There is no better special teams player in football than Brian Moorman.

Most importantly, this team is beginning to have that "it," that something that you can’t quantify, but that something that separates the great teams from the merely good. The Bills believe in what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. They believe in a coaching staff that has begun to command respect. They’ve thought all year they were capable of winning and now that they’ve figured out how exactly to do that, the only thing that’s going to stop them is the fact that the NFL schedule only provides for 16 games. If the season were 18 games long, the Bills would be considered a Super Bowl contender. Right now, they’re that good.

Marv Levy used to say that the importance of offense, defense and special teams should be weighted equally. That said, you’ve got to think he’d like the way this Bills team is coming together. Though it might be too late, the Bills are coming into their own in all three phases and finally, it’s fun to watch.

Today, after a fantastic victory in a hard fought game, you sat listening to the radio, craving more Bills information, wanting to hear highlights. And then you heard something, something you hadn’t heard in what has to seem like forever. The talking heads started to tell us about the progress of other games around the league, games that we all of a sudden cared about. They were talking about the possibility of the Bills making the playoffs and they were beautiful words to hear.

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