I love summer more than the next guy but autumn is even better. Football season. Hockey season. Need I say more?
Football Season..."!" or ":-("??
The
The one bright spot in the defense, at least to me, were the linebackers. But Keith Ellison starts the season with the infamous High Ankle Sprain. Coy Wire, who showed much promise and desire at LB, tears a knee ligament. And the worst of all, Poslusnzy breaks a foreman, originally speculated to sit the minimum of 8 weeks, and is now on IR to successfully end his season.
Now we get to J.P. Losman. Fortunate or unfortunate that he receives a cheap shot (more on this later) from Vince Wilfork? Losman has been nothing less than abysmal this season. Sacked 6 times in the first 2 games. Once against the Pats. Losman is supposed to be this mobile quarterback who can take off on the run when a sense of urgency is felt in the pocket. The problem? Losman fails to feel the sense of urgency. The internal clock doesn't tick in Losman's head. If Losman is supposed to be this mobile QB, and Trent Edwards is supposed to be a pocket passer, then why was Edwards sacked only one time against a top 3 defense in the league?
Edwards was put in the worst situation possible for a rookie...if he was relied on for a win. Otherwise it's just a bad situation. The coaching obviously wasn't interested in a win though. Changing the game plan to "fit" Edwards was stated by Dick Jauron in post-game. WHY?! See what he can do!! You've got a rookie who shined in garbage time in preseason. His primary receiver was Freddy Smith. His line consisted of nobodies. He successfully ran the K-gun. I was sitting there on Sunday thinking to myself, "Hmm, I wonder what Edwards can do with some legit weapons," of course this was attached with hoping the Pats don't wreck his confidence. When he drove the team down and Marshawn Lynch pounded his way into the endzone, optimism filled the air. Only to find out the plays we used on the drive were tossed in the recycle bin and not used the rest of the game.
I'm interested to see what Edwards will do this week against a poor NY Jets team. He'll have a full week of game planning and working with the first teamers. If the team can find a way to neutralize Jon Vilma by keeping him in coverage and getting secondary help to pave the way against the 20th ranked team against the run, Lynch could have a big day.
What I like about Edwards is his perfectionist attitude. To me, it sounds Peyton-Manning-esque. Now I am not comparing him to Manning what-so-ever but Edwards is a student of the game, like Manning, digests film well, like Manning, doesn't have elite arm strength, like Manning, but has top notch ball release, like Manning. I'm not comparing him to Manning because I think the Bills have the next top QB of the NFL; I am simply comparing him to the benchmark of the QB position.
If Edwards can progress on these skills and equip himself with the ability to put players in position to succeed, the Buffalo Bills will have one helluva quarterback.
As for the argument that replacing Losman sends signals to people that the Bills can toss the season (John Clayton), haven't they already? The laundry list of injuries. The lack of confidence at QB. The lack of confidence in the offense to execute.
If Edwards excels, Losman is on the bench following the bye week. None of this bologna about the back-up quarterback is what he is and rides the pine when #1 is healthy again.
Why I love Hockey more than Football
Last week, Vince Wilfork took a cheap shot on Bills QB JP Losman. Wilfork stuck out his elbow to clip Losman's knee. Say what you will on whether it wasn't a cheap shot but you do not brace your fall with an elbow at a 30 degree angle. What happens to Wilfork? A 15 yard penalty which becomes obsolete because Losman loses the football later on the drive.
Last season, the Buffalo Sabres took on the Ottawa Senators. Chris Drury was labeled with a cheap shot by none other than Chris Neil after the puck clearly left the stick of the captain. Drury suffered deep lacerations and two black eyes. What happens to Neil? Immediately, and I mean immediately, rookie Drew Stafford, who’s only 20 games into his career, stands up and tosses punches with Neil to stick up for his teammate. This is followed by a series of fights with Mair, Peters and Pat Kaleta, playing his first career game might I add.
Stick up for your teammates. Vince Wilfork should have left the field on a cart after the second play of the game on Sunday.
The league obviously is not going to police this incident anymore than a 15 yard flag. The Bills need to send the Pats a reminder on November 18th.
Hockey Season!!
The Buffalo Sabres stand at 1-2 in preseason play. Oh well, it's preseason. Miller was a stud in the Shoot Out against the Jackets and the Powerplay has been better.
Not much coming out of camp other than this year's top pick T.J. Brennan has been sent back to juniors, which was expected.
Other big news is the separation of Toni Lydman and Hank Tallinder. They were a staple together the past two seasons when Tallinder has been healthy. I like how Lindy Ruff is trying to find new combinations, putting Jaro Spacek with Lydman and All-Star Brian Campbell with Tallinder. This gives an offensive threat from the defensive standpoint on both pairs if Spacek can play up to his $3 million contract. And if all goes array, it's a quick fix.
Ruff is attempting to regain the top play of Spacek by laying the hammer down and conditioning him with extra work and skating.
Final Thoughts
Unleash the QB!
Why isn't Roscoe Parrish returning kicks when McGee is out?
Let's Go
Go Lakers!
