2006 Weekly Results and Comments

[football junkie]

Week I
September 10, 2006 - Gillette Stadium
(0-1) Bills 17 - (1-0) Patriots 19

Passing:
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
J. Losman 15/23 164 7.1 0 0

Rushing:
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
W. McGahee 20 70 3.5 0 15
A. Thomas 3 29 9.7 1 18
J. Losman 1 0 0.0 0 0

Receiving:
REC YDS AVG TD LG
J. Reed 3 40 13.3 0 20
P. Price 3 25 8.3 0 11
L. Evans 2 25 12.5 0 18
W. McGahee 2 24 12.0 0 20
R. Parrish 2 20 10.0 0 15
A. Thomas 2 16 8.0 0 14
R. Royal 1 14 14.0 0 14

Kicking
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
R. Lindell 1/1 100.0 53 2/2 5

Bills lose the season opener as QB Losman takes a safety on third down with 8:33 to play in the 4th quarter.

Losman says after the game: "I should have gotten rid of the ball, but the game was on the line. I dipped under one defender, but then there was another guy."

[Note: all Bills fans please feel free to comment on this thread. But keep it clean. I get the feeling we're in for a long season.]

[football junkie]

Week II
September 17, 2006 - Dolphin Stadium
(1-1) Bills 16 - (0-2) Dolphins 6

Passing:
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
J. Losman 11/18 83 4.6 1 0

Rushing:
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
W. McGahee 25 91 3.6 0 15
J. Losman 2 10 5.0 0 9
A. Thomas 5 4 0.8 0 8

Receiving:
REC YDS AVG TD LG
J. Reed 4 39 9.8 1 19
L. Evans 2 19 9.5 0 14
P. Price 2 12 6.0 0 10
W. McGahee 1 6 6.0 0 6
R. Parrish 1 4 4.0 0 4
R. Royal 1 3 3.0 0 3

Kicking:
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
R. Lindell 3/3 100.0 45 1/1 10

Highlights:
Defense
Ryan Denney, fifth-year DE out of BYU, recorded 3 sacks.
Angelo Crowell, fourth-year LB out of Virginia snagged an INT and forced a sack.
London Fletcher racked up 10 tackles, 7 solo.
Ko Simpson, rookie Safety out of South Carolina got his first career sack.
Chris Kelsay, fourth-year DE out of Nebraska recorded his second sack in consecutive games.
Offense
QB Losman now sports an 88.2 QB Rating.
PK Rian Lindell is now 4/4 in FG attempts with a long of 53 yards.

Overall the Bills took apart a division rival on the road. Losman was throwing rockets -- but still making frequent misreads and taking foolish chances downfield, trying to go vertical too soon. McGahee gained 91 rushing yards against rush stuffers Zack Thomas, Keith Traylor and Jason Taylor.

The defense was dominant and made Daunte Culpepper and Ronnie Brown crumble like a sandcastle at high tide. There is definite reason for hope.

[football junkie]

Week III
September 24, 2006 - Ralph Wilson Stadium
(1-2) Bills 20 - (2-1) Jets 28

Passing:
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
J. Losman 22/38 328 8.6 1 1

Rushing:
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
W. McGahee 26 150 5.8 0 32
J. Losman 3 14 4.7 1 12
P. Price 1 4 4.0 0 4
A. Thomas 1 1 1.0 0 1

Receiving:
REC YDS AVG TD LG
L. Evans 8 107 13.4 0 27
R. Parrish 4 104 26.0 1 51
P. Price 3 49 16.3 0 20
J. Reed 4 45 11.3 0 31
R. Royal 1 20 20.0 0 20
W. McGahee 2 3 1.5 0 6

Kicking:
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
R. Lindell 2/2 100.0 36 2/2 8

Highlights:
Offense
Rian Lindell is still perfect in field goal and extra point conversion.
Willis McGahee exploded for 150 rushing yards -- averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
J.P Losman set a new personal high of 328 passing yards in one game.
Lee Evans caught eight balls for 107 yards.
Roscoe Parrish, the second year wide out from Miami, snagged 4 catches for 104 yards -- including one 51 yards touchdown reception.
Terrence McGee returned five kicks for 111 yards.
The Bills converted 26 first downs.
Defense
Brian Moorman averaged 49.5 yards a punt.
Chris Kelsay recorded a sack for the third straight game.
The Bills held the Jets to just 74 yards rushing.

This is a game the Bills should have and would have won had it not been for two lost fumbles and an interception. Considering it is a divisional matchup and an in-conference game, this loss really hits the Bills where it hurts.

[football junkie]

Week IV
October 1, 2006 - Ralph Wilson Stadium
(2-2) Bills 17 - (2-2) Vikings 12

Passing:
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
J. Losman 23/32 222 6.9 1 0

Rushing:
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
W. McGahee 28 78 2.8 1 18
J. Losman 4 17 4.3 0 15

Receiving:
REC YDS AVG TD LG
L. Evans 7 90 12.9 0 23
J. Reed 4 43 10.8 0 23
P. Price 5 40 8.0 1 17
R. Parrish 3 25 8.3 0 16
R. Royal 1 13 13.0 0 13
D. Shelton 1 6 6.0 0 6
W. McGahee 1 4 4.0 0 4
K. Everett 1 1 1.0 0 1

Kicking:
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
R. Lindell 1/2 50.0 28 2/2 5

Highlights:
History
Great wide out Andre Reed honored at halftime by having his name added to the Bills' Wall of Fame, surpassed later in the day by Marvin Harrison of the Colts for 4th place on the all-time receptions total (954)
Offense
Losman completed 71.9% of his passes for a 101.3 QB Rating
Willis McGahee scored his first touchdown of the season
Lee Evans has 15 catches for 197 yards in the last two weeks
Bills dominated time of possession, holding the ball 35 minutes and 57 seconds
Bills committed zero turnovers
Bills amassed 296 total yards of offense
Defense
London Fletcher and Angelo Crowell picked off Brad Johnson passes
Secondary held Johnson to a 63.4 QB Rating
The Bills defense completely shutdown the running game, allowing only 63 yards -- including 23 from starter Chester Taylor
Crowell, Whitner, Clements and McGee completely dominated the Vikings' passing game

Lowlights:
15 penalties for 104 yards
Zero sacks -- but they played a great O-Line
Willis McGahee scored only his second touchdown in his last 14 games

Big Picture:
Bills are now solidly in second place in the AFC East
Patriots play the desperate Dolphins next week -- one of them has to lose
Next week Bills face toughest challenge of the season so far at Soldier Field

[football junkie]

Week V
October 8, 2006 - Soldier Field
(2-3) Bills 7 - (5-0) Bears 40

Passing:
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
J. Losman 14/27 115 4.3 1 3

Rushing:
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
W. McGahee 14 50 3.6 0 11
J. Losman 3 8 2.7 0 7

Receiving:
REC YDS AVG TD LG
L. Evans 9 94 10.4 1 19
W. McGahee 4 15 3.8 0 12
P. Price 1 6 6.0 0 6

Kicking:
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
R. Lindell 0/0 0.0 -- 1/1 1

Highlights:
None

Lowlights
Losman tossed three interceptions
Buffalo rushed for 58 yards combined -- an average of 3.2 per carry
Brian Moorman averaged 57.8 yards per punt
Two of eleven in third down conversions
Bills produced only 145 total yards
Seven penalties for 44 yards

Big Picture:
This is what happens when an excellent team plays a mediocre team
The Jets and Dolphins lost today so the Bills are still in second place
New England is firmly in first place in the AFC East
The Bills play the winless Lions next week, it can only look up from here

[football junkie]

Week VI
October 15, 2006 - Ford Field
(2-4) Bills 17 - (1-5) Lions 20

Passing:
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
J. Losman 21/34 207 6.1 2 1

Rushing:
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
W. McGahee 17 66 3.9 0 21
J. Losman 3 16 5.3 0 8
A. Thomas 1 3 3.0 0 3

Receiving:
REC YDS AVG TD LG
L. Evans 8 82 10.3 0 23
R. Parrish 2 48 24.0 1 44
P. Price 4 27 6.8 0 10
J. Reed 3 24 8.0 0 11
W. McGahee 2 14 7.0 0 8
R. Royal 1 8 8.0 0 8
R. Neufeld 1 4 4.0 1 4

Kicking:
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
R. Lindell 1/1 100.0 53 2/2 5

Highlights:
Offense:
Losman completed 61.8% of his passes for an 86.3 QB Rating, he tossed two more TDs
Lee Evans caught eight passes for 82 yards
Losman and Roscoe Parrish connected on a 44 yard touchdown pass
Special Teams
Terrence McGee returned a kick for 72 yards
Rian Lindell now has an 89% FG% and a 100 PAT%
Defense
Ko Simpson nabbed his first interception of the season
Fellow safety Donte Whitner had eight tackles
Terrence McGee had seven tackles and four pass defenses
Chris Kelsay added his fourth sack of the season
Aaron Schobel and London Fletcher also added a sack each

Lowlights:
Offense
Willis McGahee rushed for 66 yards -- 3.9 average -- meanwhile the man he replaced Travis Henry rushed for 178 yards -- 5.8 average and a touchdown. Wasting a draft pick on McGahee after Henry was coming off back to back 1,300+ rushing seasons just keeps looking better and better, doesn't it?
Bills were 3 for 11 in 3rd down conversions
Defense
Takeo Spikes return and London Fletcher's presense couldn't prevent Kevin Jones from rushing for a career high 127 yards -- 5.5 avg and a touchdown. To put that into perspective, Jones rushed for 8 yards on 10 carries last week for an average of 0.8.
Roy Williams caught ten passes for 161 yards and a touchdown

Big Picture:
This hurts. This is the kind of game against the kind of team that the Bills absolutely need to win. The game was on the road. That is no excuse. At 2-4 the Bills now rank only above the rank Dolphins in the AFC East. The Jets won. The Bills are now 1-2 in their division and conference. I think any shot of an 8-8 or 9-7 season and perhaps a wild card berth ended today. The Bills might as well start losing games on purpose now -- it's all about the 2007 draft. I hope I'm wrong. But I doubt it.

[football junkie]

Week VII
October 22, 2006 - Ralph Wilson Stadium
(2-5) Bills 6 - (5-1) Patriots 28

Passing:
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
J. Losman 16/25 193 7.7 0 1

Rushing:
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
W. McGahee 20 59 3.0 0 8
J. Losman 3 13 4.3 0 7

Receiving:
REC YDS AVG TD LG
W. McGahee 2 61 30.5 0 56
P. Price 5 53 10.6 0 25
R. Royal 4 36 9.0 0 21
J. Reed 4 32 8.0 0 11
L. Evans 1 11 11.0 0 11

Kicking:
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
R. Lindell 2/2 100.0 46 0/0 6

Highlights:
Offense
Willis McGahee's rushing and receiving plays produced 120 yards
Special Teams
Terrence McGee returned four kicks for 122 yards -- and a long of 47
Rian Lindell now sports a 91% field goal percentage on the season and is still perfect on extra point conversions
Brian Moorman averaged 44.2 yards net per punt
Defense
The Patriots' rushing attack was held to just 95 yards -- 3.5 yards per carry
London Fletcher recorded his second sack in consecutive weeks and added nine tackles
Chris Kelsay racked up his fifth sack of the season, the fourth year player is on track for 12 sacks this season
Aaron Schobel sacked Tom Brady twice, bring Schobel's sack total to five in six games played -- might eclipse the 12 sacks he produced last season and is fast establishing himself as one of the best DE's in the league

Lowlights:
Offense
Willis McGahee averaged a paltry 3.0 yards per carry
The team combined to rush for 75 yards -- a long of eight
J. Losman tossed an interception and fumbled the ball three times
No Buffalo wide out or tight end caught more than five catches
Buffalo was penalized nine times for 67 yards
Buffalo converted only four of 12 third downs
Special Teams
Buffalo game up a 74 yard kick return to Laurence Maroney
Defense
Despite sacking Tom Brady four times and pressuring him, Buffalo could produce no turnovers -- zero interceptions and zero fumble recoveries

Big Picture:
Buffalo gave up one 35-yard touchdown pass, one 74 yard kick return and two Corey Dillion rushing touchdowns -- one from eight yards out, another from 12. And Buffalo's QB had three fumbles and an interception. If that's not a recipe for a blowout loss than what is?

Buffalo lost another home game, another division game, another conference game. If it weren't for the pathetic and inept Dolphins than the Bills would be in last place in the AFC East.

Week VIII is Buffalo's bye week -- and then Green Bay comes to town on the fifth of November.

I think Guy Fawkes had the right idea 401 years ago: "Remember, remember the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."

Of course Fawkes was trying to get rid of a corrupt and inept parliament, I think as Buffalo Bills fans we owe it to our team to take heed of his example and do everything we can to get the two people in charge of the Bills (Ralph Wilson, Jr and Marv Levy) to give up power immediately to more qualified and YOUNGER colleagues!

If you're from Homeland Security and reading this -- get a life. The Bills need new blood in charge! Maybe somebody younger than 86. Losman sucks. McGahee sucks. Lee Evans is league average at best. Josh Reed sucks. Robert Royal sucks. The offensive line sucks. The defense is decent but not good enough to carry the team and it isn't getting any younger.

So until Buffalo hires a competent President of Football Operations, a qualified vice-president of player-personnel, a halfway bright general manager and settles on a permanent head coach -- the Bills will remain a mess of a franchise that won't ever improve.

[football junkie]

Week VIII

Update:
AFC East update, the New York Jets lost this week. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins were on bye. The New England Patriots play on Monday night. Hence, the east division is still in the same position.

Next week we face Green Bay in Buffalo and after that we travel to Indianapolis for what promises to be a blowout loss -- long past the point of optimism.

Next week against Green Bay we could win. Brett Favre is still doing his Randolph Scott impression (those of you over 12 will get that reference). And one of the few parts of the Bills' team that I like is the secondary. If Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay can penetrate the Packers' O-Line and pressure Favre, he could revert to his gunslinger ways -- although in all fairness he hasn't tossed an interception in three games.

We're getting to the midway point in the season, in terms of games played. And I'm starting to feel that it might be better for the Bills to continue to lose games. We're 2-5 now. All I'm saying is that if we win something like seven games this season then we'll be in the middle of the pack in next year's draft. If we finish up 3-13 or 4-12 then we'll at least have a decent shot at the top overall pick in the draft or at least cracking the top three picks, especially with Oakland's surprise win today. There's a lot of football left to be played and there are still three one-win teams in the league but that could change quick.

This team needs to rebuild through the draft, so let's get it started.

In MLB we constantly used to hear the laments of the Red Sox and the White Sox because it had been so long since they won a World Series. The Cubs are still playing that, "we're the most loyal and long-suffering fans in all of sports" card. But I don't think any team in any sport can match the misery of being a Bills fans: four Superbowls in a row, four Superbowl losses in a row; before the Kelly, Reed, Thomas, Smith & Levy Era we suffered through the Joe Ferguson Era. If it wasn't for Lou Saban and Jack Kemp in '64 & '65 then the team would have never won anything in its 66 year existence. Only problem with that is, those AFL Championships were won decades before a lot of us Bills fans were born. I said it before and I'll say it again, I don't think any teams' fans suffer more than Bills' diehards do. And I don't know about the rest of you but I'm ready to see some changes in the front office, on the coaching staff and in the locker room. We deserve a winner!

[football junkie]

Week IX
November 5, 2006 - Ralph Wilson Stadium
(3-5) Bills 24 - (3-5) Packers 10

Passing:
ATT YDS AVG TD INT
J. Losman 8/15 102 6.8 1 0

Rushing:
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
A. Thomas 20 95 4.8 1 14
W. McGahee 4 15 3.8 0 9

Receiving:
REC YDS AVG TD LG
L. Evans 2 58 29.0 1 43
D. Shelton 2 17 8.5 0 14
R. Royal 1 9 9.0 0 9
P. Price 1 6 6.0 0 6
J. Reed 1 6 6.0 0 6
A. Thomas 1 6 6.0 0 6

Kicking:
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
R. Lindell 1/1 100.0 28 3/3 6

Highlights:
Offense
J.P. Losman lead his first career NFL fourth quarter comeback
Anthony "the A-Train" Thomas filled in admirably, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown on only twenty carries -- an average of 4.8 per carry
Losman threw for 102 yards and a touchdown on his way to compiling a 97.1 in-game QB Rating
Lee Evans connected with Losman on a 43-yard touchdown reception
Special Teams
Terrence McGee returned a kick for 61 yards and finished with a 100 yards on three kick returns
Rian Lindell converted one field goal and three extra points, raising his field goal conversion rate to 92% and maintaining his XP rate at 100%
Brian Moorman averaged 47.4 yards on eight punts
Defense
London Fletcher returned a Brett Favre interception 17-yards for a touchdown
Fletcher lead the team with 14 tackles, 11 solo
Ko Simpson picked off a Favre redzone pass thrown from the Bills one yard line and returned it 76 yards
Aaron Schobel recovered a fumble and added two sacks to his season total, raising it to seven sack in seven games played

Lowlights:
Offense
The Bills pathetic offensive line gave up five sacks and much more importantly assisted in getting the Bills best offensive player, Willis McGahee, seriously injured
McGahee was hurt when two Packers penetrated the Bills porous O-Line and stuffed McGahee for a three yard loss. He then writhed around in agony for several minutes clutching his left ribs before being carted off the field
X-Rays were taken at the game but results were not released
The Bills had 184 total yards of offense and converted just two of 11 third downs
The Bills committed eight penalties for 50 yards
Special Teams
None
Defense
None

Big Picture:
The Bills played exceptinonal defense, didn't turn the ball over and capitalized when the Packers did commit turn overs and hence the Bills won -- despite an anemic offense and an offensive line that should just about all be getting bus tickets home.

Luckily for the Bills Brett Farve is still doing his Randolph Scott impression and the Packer's long snapper, Scott Wells, fumbled literally everytime he touched the football.

I suppose it is good to see the Bills win a home game but almost any other team in the NFL that played today would have ate the Bills' lunch. Next week the bills start a two-game stretch on the road, in Indianapolis. That's just going to be plain ugly.

This team has so much wasted potential. It has an above average, at times excellent, defense. The special teams are fantastic. Lindell is having the best season of his career. Moorman constantly backs other teams up deep and gives his defense a good long field to work with. Terrence McGee might be the most under-rated kick returner in the NFL. Willis McGahee is a top-notch talent at running back. Anthony Thomas is a more than adequate back-up RB. J.P. Losman appears to be learning his craft. He committed zero turnovers this week. But the whole team is being dragged down by a horrible offensive line! Losman gets little to no protection. McGahee hardly ever has an open running lane. Passing plays are easily disrupted making the third down conversion percentage far too low.

Why invest millions of dollars in London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes and Willis McGahee and J.P. Losman and then start a rookie seventh round draft pick at offensive tackle? The Bills have talent, which on the defensive side of the ball certainly isn't getting any younger, but they are never going to win until they seriously address their offensive line problems -- even if that means replacing every single offensive lineman and firing the line coach!

Until then, it's just more misery for us Bills' fans.

[football junkie]

The X-Rays are in and Willis McGahee has a broken rib. There is no official word yet whether he'll play this week against the Colts or not. I know I wouldn't expose him to the beating he'd take from Anthony McFarland, Cato June, Bob Sanders, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis -- not unless the point is to injury him more.

Either way this is the kind of injury that kills productivity for the rest of the season. Chalk up another mess up to the offensive line. It looks like the A-Train is now going to have to be the man at RB.

[football junkie]

Bills' head coach Dick Jauron revealed that Willis McGahee's x-ray results show one broken rib, the ninth rib, and two other "damaged" ribs. McGahee is out this week and for the foreseeable future -- pin this token of dishonor straight onto our horrible O-Line's chests.

For some reason this reminds me of the good ole' days when I was a kid and Kent Hull anchored a thoroughly solid O-Line and the Bills dominated the AFC. Is 1992 really so long ago? I feel old.

Anyway we play the Colts this week and while "once upon a time" that would have been a cake walk, now I'm thinking we're going to lose somewhere to the tune of 47-3.

[football junkie]

Week X

Lost again, this time to the Colts, two more Bills players are going on the IR, tight end Ryan Neufeld and offensive guard Chris Villarrial.

Through a move of managerial "brilliance" (translate: utter incompetence) the Bills now have only two tight ends on the 53 man roster. TE Brad Cieslak and OT Randy Hand are likely to to be added to the roster in time for the Bills to get ran over this week by David Carr and the Texans.

Terrence McGee and Aaron Schobel need to make the Pro-Bowl. Virtually everybody else on the team needs to be cut. Although the A-Train is doing a nice job filling in for Willis McGahee.

Stats don't seem important anymore. I don't think I'll be listing them on this thread unless they really stand out. Here's one that stands out. Losman threw for 83 yards the whole game! He was also sacked four times for minus 32 yards and a fumble. Meanwhile the Bills haven't scored an offensive touchdown in four consecutive quarters and counting.

[football junkie]

Week XI

The Bills pulled off an improbable victory on the road against the Texans on Sunday bringing Buffalo's record to 4-6 on the season.

J.P. Losman started out red-hot in the first quarter but then rapidly returned to being the QB we've all come to dread until the start of the fouth quarter when he got it back together long enough to drive the Bills down the field for the winning touchdown.

Losman threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter. In the third quarter he threw an interception right to Dunta Robinson who returned it for a touchdown. But Losman redeemed himself, at least for one game, by connecting with Peerless Price for the go ahead score with 14:51 left in the fourth quarter.

The real star of the game was Lee Evans: 11 receptions, 265 receiving yards and two touchdowns of exactly 83 yards each.

The running game, led by the A-Train failed bigtime and could easily have cost the Bills the victory. But let's remember this is the Texans the Bills were playing and that's a hard game to lose.

Nate Clements was the defensive MVP intercepting David Carr and recovering a fumble. Aaron Schobel added sack number eight on the season.

Rian Lindell was perfect on the day converting one 40-yard field goal and three extra points and Brian Moorman punted seven time for a stellar average of 46.9 yards. If it wasn't for Moorman's leg burying other teams so deep in their own territory, the Bills' defense would have a much harder go of it. He legitimately deserves Pro Bowl selection.

The Bills committed only three penalties for 17 yards and won the turnover battle 1 to 2. But I just can't get too excited about this win.

There are six games left in the season. Next week we host the Jaguars sans Byron Leftwich. That should be an easy win. Anybody who thinks that David Garrard has the stuff to be a starter in this league is seriously deluding themself. (And all this talk about him supplanting Leftwich just makes me laugh.) The Bills secondary will probably pick him off two or three times next week.

After that San Diego comes to town and we'll lose, like always.

Then come two divisional games: at the NY Jets and then at home against the Dolphins. The Jets are the most inconsistent team in the NFL. One week Chad Pennington plays like Joe Montana, the next week he plays like Ryan Leaf. So that's a toss up depending on which Pennington shows up. But the Dolphins game should be a slaughter, like dolphins caught in Bumble Bee fishing nets in the '80s & '90s. (Just think of all those yummy dolphin sandwiches you probably ate.)

Then the season ends with Tennessee and Baltimore, maybe one win and one loss.

I'm guessing the Bills will finish the season 7-9, with just enough losses to keep us out of the playoffs and just enough wins to keep us out of the top of the draft. In other words, the old catch-22. We get the worst of all worlds, a boring team having a lousy season, no playoffs and no bigtime prospects to look forward to next year -- probably just some mediocre offensive lineman in the middle of the first round. (Please not another Mike Williams!)

I still have no confidence in the people in charge.

[football junkie]

Week XII

Winning its second straight game Buffalo has solidified its position in the cellar of the AFC East and while the team is still mathematically alive for the playoffs -- the idea is laughable.

Losman continues to prove he shouldn't be starting in the NFL. He tossed another interception and had two fumbles on Sunday. After three years and 24 games in the NFL, all he's proven he can do is hand off to a running back -- and that's when he doesn't fumble the exchange.

Willis McGahee returned and had two rushing scores.

Like always the tale of this win was specials teams. Roscoe Parrish returned a punt for 82 yards and a touchdown. Rian Lindell was perfect in both field goals and extra points for the day. Lindell now has an 89.5 overall field goal conversion percentage this season: 17 for 19. The only two kicks he missed where between 40 and 49 yards -- from which range he is 7 of 9. He's also perfect in kicks of over 50 yards. That's about as close to automatic as it gets.

Brian Moorman blasted a punt 56 yards and kept it from going into the end zone, averaging 44 net yards per punt.

London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes showed they can be rushed against. The Bills gave up 207 rushing yards. The secondary was a huge let down, allowing 132 yards and two passing touchdowns to an offense lacking in skill at receiver.

Each win moves that much closer to the part of the draft where busts are born, like this year's pick, DT John McCargo -- who's been on IR all season.

[football junkie]

Week XIII

Today the Bills fell to 3-3 at home on the season and 5-7 overall. Alone the score could fool someone who just saw it into thinking that this was a close game. It wasn't. The Chargers were dominant.

The Bills entered the game tied for 26th place in the NFL in rushing yards allowed -- averaging 135.2 per game on the year. And that was the story of this week's matchup. Chargers' running back LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns all by his lonesome. The rest of the team tacked on 19 more rushing yards for a total of 197.

On the opposite side of the ball, Willis McGahee produced 26 rushing yards on 16 carries, an average of 1.6 yards per touch. The entire Bills team managed to put together 63 rushing yards on the day.

The Chargers lost two fumbles but the Bills matched those two lost fumbles and J.P. Losman added two more interceptions to help the Bills lose the turnover battle. Losman was responsible for three of the Bills turnovers -- two INTs and one lost fumble.

Aaron Schobel, Bills' DE, upped his sack total to 9.5 on the year. Other than that, neither him nor his defensive team-mates did much to stop or even hinder the Chargers offense -- which was lead by a QB, Philip Rivers, who consistently shot himself in the foot.

The special teams unit produced little to brag about in the loss in front of 63,361 people at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The only bright spot of the game is that the Bills committed just two penalties for ten yards and converted eight of 17 potential 3rd downs.

Besides being mired in last place in the AFC East, the Bills added to the organization's bad news when LB Angelo Crowell left the game in the first quarter with a left leg injury and did not return. There is no word yet on his status.

...another pathetic loss.

[football junkie]

Week XIV

When the Jets are bad, they are bad. The Jets have the 26th ranked rush defense and 18th ranked pass defense in the NFL. Overall the Jets own the 27th ranked defense in the league, allowing 349 yards and 20.7 points a game. So excuse me if I don't get too excited about the Bills offensive production on Sunday.

But a win is still a win, even if it does only ensconce the Bills more firmly in last place in the AFC East -- a truly pathetic division.

J.P. Losman hooked up with Lee Evan on a 77-yards touchdown pass. And although that seems impressive, it gets less so when you realize Losman only threw for 157 yards all game -- including the touchdown connection with Evans. Losman's 80 yards on 14 passing attempts equals 5.7 yards an attempt for the rest of the game, not exactly stellar.

Willis McGahee ran for 125 yards and a touchdown but the Jets give up 139.2 rushing yards on average.

The real why behind this win, as usual, was special teams and defense. Aaron Schobel pulled off the hat trick, sacking Chad Pennington three times and forcing a fumble that Bills DE Ryan Denney recovered. Denney also picked up his sixth sack of the season in the game.

Nate Clements nabbed an interception in the fourth quarter and returned it for 58 yards and a touchdown. London Fletcher grabbed his third interception of the season and upped his team leading tackles total to 121.

Andre Davis took over kick returning duties for the week, returning three for 69 yards. Rian Lindell had another perfect day. Lindell is now 18/20 in field goals made this year for a cool 90% and maintains perfection in extra points. The other part of the kicking game had an even better game. Brian Moorman, who definitely deserves to go to the Pro Bowl, punted six times for a net average of 40.6 yards -- including a long of 56 and pinned the Jets inside their own 20 yard line three times.

It is all those hidden yards in the kick and punt return game shortening the field for the offense, those clutch kicks from within the 40 yard line putting points on the board, and the punts pinning opponents deep in their own territory and giving them long fields to work with that has kept this team within reach of a .500 season.

If it wasn't for the special teams play of Terrence McGee, Roscoe Parrish, Rian Lindell and Brian Moorman the Bills would be about 2-11 instead of 6-7.

[And proving that not only the people running the Bills are stupid, but also that the Jets' management got an equal dose of the kool aid -- the Jets decided to give Cedric Martin 18 rushes -- which he used to produce an average of 2.9 yards an attempt while nearly ignoring the young stud out of Florida State the Jets have in their backfield, Leon Washington, giving him only seven carries -- which he used to produce 55 yards for an average of 7.9 yards per carry.....duhhh bright move Jets.]

The Bills play the Dolphins in week 15. With the Dolphins missing Ronnie Brown and their receiving corps being all banged up, I'm relatively confident the Bills can pull out a home win to up the record to 7-7.

After that Tennessee comes to town and Travis Henry (937 yards, 4.4 AVG, 7 TD) is going to run all over the team that let him go. Vince Young will keep doing his Randall Cunningham impression and the Bills will likely lose, 7-8.

Then the season concludes in Baltimore. I have to say I think the Bills have a good chance of winning this game. By this point Baltimore should have locked up a first round bye in the playoffs and probably home field advantage through-out. That means they are likely to rest almost all of their starters. Baltimore will be playing their B/C-Squad and most of the Bills players will be trying to prove they deserve a job next season -- an 8-8 finish for Buffalo? It just might happen.

Looking ahead to next season -- seems like Bills fans have been doing this forever now -- with a prospective 8-8 record, the Bills would likely draft somewhere around 16th overall. At that position the Bills could likely start over at QB with either Jamarcus Russell of L.S.U. or Brian Brohm of Louisville. Honestly I like the idea of having Russell as the QB but the team has more pressing needs. WR Dwayne Jarrett of USC might still be on the board when the Bills draft. He'd give the Bills the type of complimentary receiver the team needs to pair up with Lee Evans. But again there are more pressing needs: the defensive and offensive lines. Now the Bills should get 2006 first round pick and current occupant of the IR, DT John McCargo back for next season but if DT Demarcus Tyler is still on the board the Bills might need to nab him up. Between McCargo, Tyler and Fletcher the Bills would then be able to shut down the rush and Schobel and Kelsay can already get plenty of pressure on opposing QBs.

I've said all year long that the weakest link in the Bills chain is the offensive line but with where the Bills will likely be drafting, most of the top-notch O-Line talent will be taken. Penn State OT Levi Brown might still be on the board and the Bills must take him if he's there. They just have no other choice. The offensive line the Bills have now isn't fit to start for Troy State, and I'm not knocking Troy State!

I've also been hearing these crazy rumors that Ohio State wide out Ted Ginn Jr., might slip to the middle of the first round. This is the one player I would absolutely break the O-Line selection and take. If teams are braindead enough to let Ted Ginn Jr., slip to the Bills, then I'd be very happy seeing him line up for the next half decade across from Lee Evans, talk about going vertical with the passing game!

[football junkie]

Week XV

Any team with the intestinal fortitude to put a 21-0 stomping on a team lead by Cleo Lemon, Sammy Morris and Wes Welker must be just fantastic!

Not to begrudge the Bills a little credit, they did crawl out of last place for the first time all season.

I don't have much to say about this "win", as I consider this the equivalent of a college football matchup between the University of Southern California and California State University of Pennsylvania (yeah it actually exists).

[football junkie]

I'm not still trying to make the case that I'm psychic or anything but:

Week XI I'm guessing the Bills will finish the season 7-9, with just enough losses to keep us out of the playoffs and just enough wins to keep us out of the top of the draft. In other words, the old catch-22. We get the worst of all worlds, a boring team having a lousy season, no playoffs and no bigtime prospects to look forward to next year.

And another quote from Week XIV: "After that Tennessee comes to town and Travis Henry (937 yards, 4.4 AVG, 7 TD) is going to run all over the team that let him go. Vince Young will keep doing his Randall Cunningham impression and the Bills will likely lose, 7-8."

I should play the lottery. Henry rushed for 135 yards or 5.4 yards a carry. Young tossed two touchdowns, ran for another score and scrambled for 61 rushing yards. In all the Bills gave up 215 rushing yards, including a long of 36 yards to Young and another big play of 30 yards to Henry.

The Bills sure gave a lump of coal to the fans on Chrismukkah eve, blowing a nine point fourth quarter lead to hand deliver to everyone at Ralph Wilson Stadium another home loss.

Losman was in the holiday spirit, giving the ball away twice to Titans defensive backs.

The Bills played an awful game today. Where to start? Maybe with the 396 yards of offense surrendered or perhaps with the 20 percent third down coverstion rate?

The only bright spots, are the same guys who have been lighting it up all season long: Lindell, Schobel, Moorman, McGee.

Rian Lindell converted five of five field goals and tacked on two extra points. Lindell is now 23 of 25 in field goal attempts on the season -- a 92% success rate!

Pro Bowl selection Aaron Schobel added another sack, raising his season total to 14.

Pro Bowl selection Brian Moorman had two punts for an average of 40 yards. Both punts trapped the Titans inside their own 20 yard line. That's 31 times this season that Moorman has pinned the Bills opponents inside their own 20 yard line.

Terrence McGee returned three kicks on the day for 88 yards, including a long of 52! McGee has a previous return of 88 yards this season and increased his kick return yards total to 1,222 on the season.

Next week the Bills cap their season in Baltimore. I believe the Baltimore will be playing to potentially capture home field advantage throughout the playoffs so it's not likely Baltimore will rest any starters.

Nate Clements will also be playing his last game as a Bill. He'll be the top cornerback on the free agent market this spring. Washington is allegedly going to make a bigtime cash offer to the standout, shutdown corner. So long Nate. It was nice having you.