kudos to the crowd

What a wonderful Sunday it was for Eagle hunting.  I think we bagged our limet, to say the least lol

Micheal Vick proved once and for all what a great athlete he was.  Some of the moves he put on Bills defenders made me do a double take.  He didn't rush for over 9,900 yards in his career by pure luck.  The man is a superb athlete.  I knew comng into this game that Vick would make it close.  I even told my son that "Vick scares me" when the Bills had a commanding lead.

I was right.  He almost did enough to overcome all his mistakes and squeeze out a win.  Too bad the Eagles got Buffaloed.  They got stampeded by an opportunistic Bills defense that forced 5 turnovers.  FOUR of them by Vick, himself.  Not his best day...

The crowd was really into this game.  Even before the kickoff.  Eagles fans are notorious for their poor attitude towards opposing team's fans and they didn't disappoint this week either.  A group of 4 or five walked past my parking spot at about 11 am and they were screaming about how horrible Bills fans were and what a lousy record we should have, etc.  Fortunately, a few large Bills fans were coming over to teach them a lesson.  I've heard, and read, dozens of other stories reiterating the same thing.  Bills fans protecting their home turf.  Kudos, Bills fans.  Keep up the good work.

It's my belief that the guy that ran onto the field in the 3rd quarter was an Eagles fan trying to get away from the ravaging pack that is Bills fans.  He probably had been shooting off at the mouth all day, and then saw his team trailing by a ton.  Rather then exit with grace and class (something Eagles fans don't have anyway) he ran onto the field and interrupted the game.  Kudos, Bills fans.  Keep up the good work.

Looking ahead, we play the Giants next week.  I'm looking forward to this game for several reasons.  :
1) my wife is a closet Giants fan and at least one of us is bound to be happy at the end of the day. (too bad it won't be her )
2) Perry Fewell took over for Dicky J. when he was FINALLY relieved of his duities.  He didn't get to stay, but he's the coach first coach that thought Ryan Fitzpatrick could be a starter in this league.  It was a wise choice that's still paying dividends for the Bills today.  I'm wondering how the post game talk is going to go between the two of them.

Good time to be a Bills fan.  I never left and have recruited many in my time to join.  Here's to making reservations for the playoofs in the near future...

Relax, everybody

If you had told me we would win three games in September, I wouldn't have believed you.

If you had told me we would beat the Patriots in September, I wouldn't have believed you.

If you have told me we would only give up three sacks in September, I wouldn't have believed you.

If you had told me would lead the league in offense, I wouldn't have believed you.

Kinda puts things in perspective a little bit, doesn't it?  Yes, this loss hurts.  Anyone who says otherwise isn't a true fan.  It doesn't help that the officials make up the rules as the game goes along, but that's for another day (see my sign I'm bringing to the Eagles game.  Hopefully Fox picks up on it, but they don't do a very good job of showing any crowd that shows any enthusiasm so don't hold your breath...)  

There are two important things that come out of the 4th weekend in the NFL:

1)  No team is going to win 15 or sixteen games this year.  I'd put the over/under for most wins in a season at 12.5.  Parity is alive and well in the NFL, which is how the league wants it.  I for one, am thrilled.

2)  The NFL has a serious problem.  It isn't attendance although the lockout has caused an obvious dip in overall numbers...) It's not revenue (new TV contracts...)  It isn't even the Miami Dolphins (welll, maybe . . .) It's the officiating.  Tuck rules called on a whim, catches not being corrected on replay, poor ball spotting, etc.  I think it's time we locked out the officials and started over.

As for the Bills, how they respond against the Eagles will be very telling for how they do the rest of the year.  If they come out flat like they did in the second half against the Bengals, there's no hope of making the playoffs.  If they come out, take care of business against a lesser team, then I can definitely see them going deep into the playoffs, which would be very nice indeed...

CBA extension a good sign

The deadline for signing a new Collective Bargaining agreement was extended 1 week last night.  This is good news for fans, and not so good news for the NFL owners who have no real choice after Doty's ruling but to take it on the chin and try for the best possible spin afterwards.

The owners had TV contracts that were written in such a way as to guarantee $4BILLION in income even if there was no football next season.  Not a bad little haul to be sure.  The NFLPA sued, saying the owners weren't negotiating in good faith and had already planned on having a lockout.  Judge Doty agreed.  The owners won't get ANY of the $4billion they were planning on.

Is it any coincidence that the owners started making concessions immediately following that ruling?    I THINK NOT.  Memos came out that stated the NFL restructured tv contracts to"maximize revenue in the event of a work stoppage"  The owners have egg on their face and they know it.  They should hang their heads in shame, if not publicly flogged.

Here's what I predict will be included in the new CBA.

The owners get 1.4 billion dollars off the top of revenues.
The players get 58% of everything that's left.
18 game season starting in 2012 (with a decrease to 2 preseason jokes, errr...games)
players will need 1 less year of playing time to become eligible for benefits once an 18 game regular season commences.  This will be prorated for those already in the league.
The customary pension plan and health insurance increases that ALWAYS happen with new CBA agreements...

There's probably more to it, but this would enable both sides to claim "victory"
The owners get their 18 game season which increases revenue.  They also get to claim "we didn't give them just $1billion off the top" bla bla bla
The players get a bigger piece of the pie, increased pension and healthcare, and the can say "We didn't let them take $2 billion off the top"  They also have the enormous win from judge Doty's ruling last week.

I'll be interested to see how close my numbers are when the actual numbers come out.  I just wish they hadn't waited until the very last minute to settle this thing.

One final note.  Ralph Wilson jr was one of only TWO owners who voted against the last agreement.  Both were laughed at and scoffed at at the time, but both were absolutely correct.