Bleacher Report - Buffalo

Buffalo Sabres at the Quarter Mark

Steve Bukowski — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:22:48 -0500

After dropping four straight games to Florida, Boston, Ottawa, and Washington, the Buffalo Sabres have finally lost their lead in the Northeast Division, and now sit 3rd behind Ottawa and Boston.

Buffalo surprised most critics and opponents by racing out of the gate and being one of the last teams to be unbeaten in regulation before falling in Atlanta. Ryan Miller has been the center of the team’s success thus far, and continues to be the star of the franchise. Through 21 games, he has a league-leading 1.98GAA, a .930 save percentage and 12 wins.

The Sabres are currently 12-7-2, with 26 points and are sitting third in the Eastern Conference. The first 21 games have included matchups where the Sabres have played with stellar efforts, as well as matches in which Buffalo has fallen flat. Here are some of the more memorable and forgettable games of the first quarter of the '09-'10 NHL season:

Buffalo 1, Nashville 0: In an intense goalie’s duel, the Sabres outlasted the Predators in Nashville and won on a third-period tally by Mike Grier. Miller and Rinne (NSH) both had great games.

Buffalo 6, Detroit 2: The Sabres stunned the defending Western Conference champions in Buffalo during a game that was televised by Versus. Buffalo was firing on all cylinders as the Red Wings failed to show up in Western New York. This was the game that many people began to follow the Sabres after.

Atlanta 4, Buffalo 2: The defense failed to show up to the game in Patrick Lalime’s 2009 debut between Buffalo’s pipes. The offense outshot the Thrashers 42-27, but Atlanta’s Hedberg continuously denied Buffalo goals. Former Sabres Max Afinogenov also scored against Lalime.

Buffalo 5, Florida 2: Buffalo scored five times in the first period to put the Panthers away. Three of those five occurred in the first five minutes of the game.

Buffalo 2, Tampa Bay 1 (SO): The Sabres rallied back in the third period to score with 17 seconds left, and stun the Lightning after six rounds of the shoot out. Drew Stafford tied the game, and rookie sensation Tyler Myers won the game in the SO.

New York Islanders 5, Buffalo 0: New York dominated the Sabres all 60 minutes, and won with a stellar showing in net by Martin Biron and Tambellini’s hat trick. Biron won his 200th game against his old team and Buffalo went 0-5 on the power play.

Boston 4, Buffalo 2: The Sabres defense hung rookie goaltender Jhonas Enroth out to dry in his NHL debut, falling 4-2 in Boston.

Buffalo 3, Edmonton 1 and Buffalo 2, Calgary 1: Buffalo beat Western Conference teams back-to-back in one week, proving again that this Sabres squad has the mettle necessary to be a post-season contender. Dousing the Flames in a SO capped off a fantastic netminder battle between Buffalo’s Miller and Calgary’s Kiprusoff.

Florida 6, Buffalo 2…Boston 2, Buffalo 1 (OT)…Ottawa 5, Buffalo 3: All three of these games were lost because of a few fundamental errors, including lack of focus and physicality. The Sabres started with good effort then continued to slide going into the second and third periods of each game. What should have been six points for Buffalo quickly dwindled to a measly one.

In my opinion, the Sabres’ overall grade for right now is a B-. Their defense, despite not showing up for some games, remains one of the league’s best and goalie Ryan Miller continues to be a league leader in his position.

My only concern about the defense is Craig Rivet—Buffalo signed him for defensive prowess and veteran leadership, and may be lacking in both categories. He is also the captain, and might not be the best person on the squad for it. My pick for Sabres captain is Paul Gaustad. He’s the workhorse of the team, a good leader and an experienced player- he always gives his all.

The Buffalo offense has been even on scoring among players, with Clarke MacArthur and Drew Stafford both scoring six, and Thomas Vanek leading with seven. A few players also have five and four goals so far.

The Sabres are waiting on Vanek to ignite offensively and start to light the lamp more consistently—he needs to do better than last season, or at least as well, to help Buffalo score as many goals as possible.

Through 20 games, the Sabres have only scored 52 goals—22nd in the league. Buffalo is not looking for these kinds of numbers- the Sabres need power forwards that consistently light the lamp and give the defense some breathing room.

Buffalo's rookies have been invaluable this year, especially defenseman Tyler Myers. He's proven his case time and time again that he belongs in the NHL, and being paired up with Buffalo's veteran defense is helping him immensely. I'm that Tyler Ennis, who tallied his first NHL goal in his first NHL game in Philadelphia, will see some more time in Buffalo if needed.

The Sabres need to regain their focus and work hard the next 20 games. Within the next quarter, Buffalo faces very tough opponents in Pittsburgh, Washington, and New Jersey, as well as Chicago in a rare Blackhawks visit to HSBC Arena.

I do have faith that right now the Sabres are slumping and that they will find the fire to propel this squad in the standings. I also believe that they are playoff-bound, as long as the team remains healthy. Buffalo has a lot of work to do this upcoming week, with games against Philadelphia, Carolina, and Toronto.

Buffalo’s GM needs to start scouting around for a reliable backup goaltender. The Sabres’ current success lies solely on the play of Ryan Miller, and might even give a false impression of the team’s ability. I’ve said it before, and I reiterate: if Ryan Miller is unable to play, this team will quickly fall apart.

I'm all for the return of Martin Biron to Buffalo.

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Buffalo Bills: Head Coach Search Merry-Go-Round Rumor Guide

Dan Van Wie — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:17:42 -0500

There have been quite a number of reports circulating lately on who is talking to the Bills, who is not talking to the Bills, and who wants to. People who have nothing to do with the Bills or care about the Bills, are tossing their two cents around like they own a bunch of man-hole covers.

You are getting ready to eat with the family, but want to come across as educated and on top of what is going on with your favorite team, the Buffalo Bills. Since you are the family authority on the Bills, print this update out ASAP!

This article will serve as a handy overview to bring to the dinner table with the family for Thanksgiving, so without further adieus, let me present the latest and greatest rumors condensed in to the "Head Coach Search Rumor Guide—Thanksgiving Edition Special". Enjoy!

Heck, you can figure out a way to make a game of this. Make up clues for each coach on the list. I will start with some random clues, like:

1) I live in the high altitude of cold Denver, but sport a tan all year long.

2) I was a part of a certain Beatles song.—I am the Walrus—coo coo achoo

3) I am a small man coaching big men and I have a Napoleon complex living in a booth nowadays

You get the idea. Maybe make the person that comes up with the worst clue to have to do the dishes. Gobble gobble.

It has been roughly ten days since Bills head coach Dick Jauron was fired. During this time period, there have been a slew of candidate names bandied about. A quick list of the latest and greatest rumors, trying to sort what we know so far in to these categories:

Been talked to and interested: ex-Broncos coach Mike Shanahan

Been approached and not interested: ex-Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden

Been approached and not interested in interviewing until after the season: ex-Steelers coach Bill Cowher and current interim coach Perry Fewell

Has not been approached but wants to be: ex-Rams coach Mike Martz

Has not been approached because he is already eyeing something else: ex-Packers and Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.

Has not been approached yet until a role is to be determined for him: ex-Colts and Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy and ex-Giants and Cowboys coach Bill Parcells.

Has not been approached and may never be: Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis, CFL Coach Marc Trestman, and coordinator Leslie Frazier.

Has not been approached but was flattered to be rumored for consideration: Ex-Chiefs and Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer.

Another rumored name but not-ready-for-prime-time: U. of Buffalo Coach Turner Gil

Has not been prominently mentioned but could still land the job: ex-Saints coach Jim Haslett, ex-Giants Coach Jim Fassel and ex-Ravens coach Brian Billick.

Pass the stuffing please.....

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Dolphins @ Bills: Week 12 Preview and Keys To The Game

Dan Van Wie — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:43:36 -0500

This Sunday the 3-7 Buffalo Bills will host the 5-5 Miami Dolphins in an AFC East contest that will help to shape several things of importance to fans of both franchises.

For the Bills, each loss means that they are assuring themselves of a high pick in the upcoming 2010 draft, where many fans are urging them to select a top flight franchise quarterback.

For the Dolphins, this game will result in them either being one game above a .500 record and inching closer to a playoff wild card slot, or one game below .500 and on the outside looking in with regards to the playoffs.

Miami has won three of their past four games, while the Bills have dropped three straight.

Both teams have suffered key injuries as of late, so each team figures to do some shuffling around on both sides of the ball to compensate. Neither team offers up any fantasy stars or top 10 ranked players in any offensive category.

From a historical perspective, the Dolphins have won the last three games, outscoring the Bills by an embarrassing total of 79-29. They were the more physical team and controlled the line of scrimmage.

When the Bills traveled to Miami in week four this year, the Dolphins held the ball for 37 minutes compared to the Bills 22 minutes. Miami had the ball for 73 plays compared to 39 for the Bills.

The Bills threw three interceptions in the game, and Miami had no turnovers. Yes, it was pretty ugly. A game to forget for Bills fans, which proved to be a big step backwards for then starting quarterback Trent Edwards.

The Bills won their first three home games in the 2008 season. Since then, the Bills home record is 1-8. Terrible. Yet the fans continue to come out and support the team, hoping to file out of the stadium elated, not depressed.

In the past two weeks, Miami has lost top running back Ronnie Brown for the season, in addition to their elite nose tackle Jason Ferguson. Both of these players are going to be difficult to replace. Since Ronnie Brown was the featured guy in the Wildcat formation, it makes that aspect of their offense almost non- existent.

For the Bills, their whopping total of 14 players on the I.R. list is so staggering, that it is almost comical. First round draft choice Eric Wood and Seth McKinney are the latest additions to the list, as both were injured against the Jaguars.

To compensate for the losses, the Bills signed ex-Steelers free agent lineman Kendall Simmons and activated lineman Christian Gaddis from the practice squad. They also added two new players to the practice squad this week: offensive lineman Jason Watkins and defensive lineman Lonnie Harvey.

Who are all these new Bills?

In case you have been vacationing for the past month, and realize when you watch the game and see names and numbers that don't seem very familiar, don't feel bad. Maybe you swore off watching Bills games until Dick Jauron was fired.

There have been that many changes to the roster that you wouldn't probably know these following names and numbers. We don't yet know from this list who will be active on Sunday, but at least you will know who they are now:

No. 4—Brian Brohm—quarterback

No. 25—Ellis Lankster—defensive back

No. 35—Todd Johnson—defensive back

No. 47—Cary Harris—defensive back

No. 61—Christian Gaddis—offensive lineman

No. 66—Jason Watkins—practice squad offensive lineman

No. 71—Kendall Simmons—offensive lineman

No. 84—James Hardy—wide receiver (T.O. took his old number 81)

No. 87—Joe Klopfenstein—tight end

No. 98—Lonnie Harvey—practice squad defensive lineman

That is a bunch of moves. Thanks to Ralph Wilson and Russ Brandon, the Bills are doing their part to bring down the national unemployment rate.

Keys To The Game:

When Miami Has The Ball:

Due to the season ending injury to Ronnie Brown, the Wildcat attack is not so wild. Think of it now as more like a kitten or (since this is the Dolphins)—more like a goldfish.

Miami's featured back is now Ricky Williams, who is more of a power runner. He is still capable of hurting the Bills, so this is one of those games that the Bills will need to focus on stopping Ricky. If they can do that, they will have a great chance to experience a rare home win.

Chad Henne had his first start at quarterback in week four against the Bills. He took care of the ball that day, handing it off to Brown and Williams and watched them rush for a whopping 250 yards. His leading receiver for that game was Rich Camarillo who accounted for 42 yards.

So, subtract Ronnie Brown, focus your attention on containing Ricky Williams, and tell Chad Henne that he has to beat you in the air. Bring him in to chilly, windy and/or wet Ralph Wilson stadium in the last week of November, and I like the Bills chances to throttle Miami's offense.

Sure, the Bills have been banged up on defense, but there is help coming. Marcus Stroud thinks he can play on Sunday, and Terrance McGee returned to practice after missing last week's game. Kyle Williams returned last Sunday and played well, as did Donte Whitner.

The Bills defense is actually getting healthier by the week, with the exception of linebacker. So, with the recent experience of people like Spencer Johnson and John McCargo, combined with the play of safety-turned-linebacker Bryan Scott, the Bills are going to be looking to establish more physical play and attack the Dolphins offense.

Expect to see sustained pressure on Henne, forcing him to throw the ball in to the Bills secondary, which is excelling at interceptions.

Rookie safety Jairus Byrd is still leading the NFL in interceptions, but has been slowed recently due to a sore groin. He will be rotating in and out with Donte Whitner, as they expect to come in and out based on if they are expecting a run (Whitner) or a pass (Byrd).

The defensive front of Schobel, Stroud, Williams, Denney, Kelsay, McCargo and Johnson have done a very good of applying pressure. They will need to commit to that on Sunday.

I didn't mention Aaron Maybin, because I still haven't seen him apply any pressure yet this season. When he does, I will share it with all of you assuming I don't hurt myself when I fall off of my chair.

From a linebacking perspective, Paul Posluszny, Chris Draft and Bryan Scott will need to turn in a strong effort against the rush, just as they did last Sunday in doing a solid job at thwarting Maurice Jones-Drew.

They need to do a better job of staying in their designated lanes when they blitz and stuffing the holes to avoid cut-back rushes. I vividly recall one blitz last Sunday when four Bills players were allowed to be herded off to the right side of the line.

They all just stood there in the bunch, while David Girard took off on a key scramble running right up the middle of the vacated line of scrimmage.That is an issue of discipline and is something that Paul Posluszny has not yet fully mastered.

When The Bills Have The Ball

Ryan Fitzpatrick is still going to be the starting quarterback for interim coach Perry Fewell. Fitzpatrick had the Bills leading for the vast majority of the game in Jacksonville and for the most part was accurate with his throws. Coming up with a 297 yard performance was a welcome sight for offensively-starved Bills fans.

Analyzing the numbers, this game stacks up as follows:

Bills offense - 28th in the league, averaging 275 yards a game. Miami's defense is 19th in the league, allowing 341 yards per game. The Dolphins give up 105 rushing yards a game (12th) and 235 yards a game in the air (22nd). The Bills run game generates 102 yards a game (21st) and 173 yards in the air (25th).

Losing Jason Ferguson is a big blow for Miami. The Bills stand to have a better chance of controlling the pass rush and opening up a lane or two for the running backs without Ferguson being there to clog things up.

The Bills have been wanting to establish their ground game, but need more from Marshawn Lynch to do so. If Lynch can't pick up his game, go with Fred Jackson full time, which seemed to work pretty well from what I recall for the first three weeks.

Lynch was injured in the second quarter against the Jaguars and never returned. He did practice this week, and is expected to play. So, it could very well be the Bills offense, and not Miami's, that runs the most Wildcat formation plays this week.

What is so ironic about that is that Miami invented the Wildcat. If the weather does turn nasty, all the more reason to run it, as Ryan Fitzpatrick is not known as the most accurate passer in the league.

Fred Jackson will have a number of options for what he wants to do with the ball. His passing has not been tested that much yet, as he is one for one so far this year, but that one completion was a great touchdown pass to Lee Evans.

Terrell Owens is coming off of his big 197 yards of receptions against the Jaguars. The long touchdown pass should appease T.O. for awhile, but the home crowd will probably be wanting to see some big plays from him.

How effective will new addition Kendall Simmons be? Word now is that he could be starting this game, with only a handful of practices under his belt to learn the Bills offense.

Expect some blown assignments and maybe a penalty or two from him as he shakes off the rust. He only saw action in one game all year with New England, prior to the Patriots releasing him.

Bills Fan's - Remember This Team?

It should be noted that the Bills fans have not seen the team at home in a while. Since the Browns game in week five, the Bills have only had one home game against Houston in week eight during all this time (a span of seven weeks).

Then you have the home game in Toronto a week from tonight (Thursday Dec. 3) with the final two home games coming over the final three weeks of the season.

Perry Fewell —Continuing To Put His Own Stamp On This Team

In his first week, Perry Fewell changed things up by having the Bills wear pads in practice to stress being more physical and getting the running game going again. This week, Fewell had the team practicing outside in the rain, which is something they might see in the game as well.

He continues to be passionate, and completely engrossed in his work, which is not atypical for NFL head coaches. He does not want to talk much about his chances to be the next Bills permanent head coach, (is there really such a thing as a permanent coach?), or to even speculate on all the developments of the big-name former head coaches that are in the mix for consideration.

Fewell said that he can't control that. But he can control how the Bills play under him now, and he is doing everything in his power to have them play physical ball, be smarter and disciplined, and win a game.

Unanswered Bills Questions

Will the Bills be utilizing the Wildcat offense more? If Lynch is truly healthy, you would think the answer will be yes. If he is not, then the defenses can key on Fred Jackson, so it would be scrapped.

When will James Hardy see any game action? Bills need to find out if he has grown or developed at all since the bad injury occurred in his rookie year. He is apparently looking good in practice, so let's see him in some games to see how he is playing.

Further development of Hardy along with tight end Shawn Nelson can only be a good thing for the 2010 Bills team. Nelson continues to show some great hands but his foolish chop block penalty last week was the reason that Fred Jackson lost his first rushing touchdown of the season. That is why they call it growing pains.

Speaking of assessing player development, the Bills would like to evaluate other players that have missed time lately such as: Donte Whitner, Jonathan Scott, and Jamon Meredith. Other Bills looking to play more to establish themselves are: Nic Harris, Ashlee Palmer, Brian Brohm, Cary Harris and Ellis Lankster.

Brohm may be a long-shot to play, but if the Bills think he has enough of the playbook down, I would like to see them put him in if there is blowout game over the rest of the season. Let him feel what it is like to be in a regular season game as opposed to an exhibition game, to let him get a taste of playing when it counts.

Some Bills that have seen increased reps that showed promise last Sunday were Spencer Johnson and John McCargo. McCargo was out of practice this week due to a calf injury. They both put some nice licks on David Girard that was a pleasant surprise.

Fourth Quarter Blues

Will the Bills finally play a strong fourth quarter? The Bills coaches and the players have been talking about this subject for at least two or three weeks running, but have yet to show a strong fourth quarter performance since they beat the Panthers.

In the ten games this season, the Bills have had the lead or were tied coming in to the start of the fourth quarter in eight games. That means they found a way to lose that lead five of the eight times. That is something the head coach in 2010 has to address; how to win close games and instilling a self-confidence that those games are our's to win.

Since today's article is being written on Thanksgiving, I want to wish a wonderful holiday to everyone, and that you are able to appreciate and acknowledge what you are thankful for. Despite all the losses and heartache over the years, I am thankful to my dad for introducing me to the Bills and football, a game I love and a team I love as well. Happy Thanksgiving !

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Buffalo Bills Need to Lay Off the Turkeys This Year

JW Nix — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:08:21 -0500

Yo! I jus wanna says for furst off dat I wishes yous alls a deelishous dead bird day, capeesh?

Let me intoduece myself too dose of yous dat dont know me.

I iz 7thStoneFromDaSun. I am 3rdStoneFromTheSun's cuzin, whos yous all know as JW now.

I usually post my procrastinashuns on anothur sight, but since my cuzin iz on a train right now and kant pick, I iz takin ova wit his blessin.

I iz postin our pix for your football games twoday, but givin my insites as too why, sence we agree on the choices.

Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions

Yo, da Lions got dat eeloosive win las weak. Hope dey enjoy it, cause it mite be a minute befour they get one again. They will be starting Culpepper and Johnson mite not play. Not good, capeesh? Expect Ryan Grant to runfor over 100 yards. Dis mite be da game to eat wile its goin on.

Packers 34 Lions 16

Oakland Raiders @ Dallas Cowboys

Da Raiders are da most crazy teem in da game. Dey can kill da Eagles and beet da Bengals, but kant beat nobody else. Dallas has ben horruble on offense da past too weaks, so they iz prime for defeet. What Raiders teem shows up is da issue too gamble on.

Cowboys 20 Raiders 13

New York Giants @ Denver Broncos

Denver has been sinkin faster dan da Titantic da past few weaks. It ain't az much a souprize as da winnin streak was, capeesh? Da G-Men looked like dey righted the ship last weak after a month of losin. Dis iz a game both teems need to stay alive, so it could be da best game of da day. Problem iz dat half on da cuntry might be asleep in a turkey coma by halftime.

Giants 27 Broncos 26

OK, I gots to go delivur dis bird to my Auntie Rossetta Madonna Scappelleeto. She iz a Saint, capeesh? Den I iz lookin for a fine lady too let me eat wif at her house. If ya got a extra seat at yer tables ladeez, I will help yous wash da dishes. I iz not only a good lookin good fella, I iz a gentilman.

I leave you wif sum babble 3rd sent me on a text message :

News comes out of Buffalo that Mike Shanahan recently spent several hours talking to owner Ralph Wilson. I personally cannot see him working in Buffalo.

He was said to be lined up for the Dallas Cowboys job in 2010 after the Cowboys fall short again and cost Wade Phillips his job as head coach. I can see that over Buffalo for a few reasons.

Dallas has a lot of talent, but lack imaginative coaching on offense to win the big one. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has been mostly terrible, and owner Jerry Jones needs his head examined if he still consider Garrett the head coach of the future for the Cowboys.

Firing Garrett after this season is the right move. He might need to go to the UFL or college to learn his craft some more, because he is not NFL talent. Shanahan would represent a huge upgrade, since he is a head coach who likes to play the role of offensive coordinator.

Phillips could even stay on as defensive coordinator, a role he assumed in Denver while Shanahan coached quarterbacks from 1989 to 1991, and where most observers feel is his best place on the gridiron.

Buffalo might be appealing to him because he could be both the general manager and head coach, something he most likely could not do in Dallas under the megalomaniacal Jones.

There is talent in Buffalo, but it appears the team is years away from putting a roster ready to compete in their division.

Though the 57-year-old Shanahan has experience coaching in cold weather cities, the ready made roster of the Cowboys may too hard to pass up. Then there is the notoriety of coaching the Cowboys as opposed to the Bills from a marketing standpoint.

Give Buffalo a lot of credit for getting a early jump on their search for a head coach. It speaks well to their fans, and shows that the 91 year old Wilson still has a thirst for victory.

There may be quite a few jobs open in the NFL for 2010. Some teams that might have openings are the Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, and Carolina Panthers.

Cleveland and Tampa Bay may just get a new general manager, however, considering their head coaches are in the midst of their first season on the job.

The line of experienced coaches with the credentials of Shanahan willing to coach is short, and may only include Mike Holmgren. Holmgren might prefer to be a general manager at this stage of his career, so that makes the list even more sparse.

Whatever Buffalo does with their emanate opening, it has to be a wise selection. Fans saw promise when Hall Of Fame Bills legend Marv Levy returned for a few years as general manager.

When Levy left in 2007, the team has failed to progress. Shanahan would be a big get for Buffalo, so talking him into it now is the right thing to do. It remains to be seen if Shanahan feels that they are right for him too.

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Syracuse Orange Looking Like Team to Beat after Exhibition Loss to LeMoyne

Adrian V — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:46:20 -0500

When the Orange lost to Division II Le Moyne College, many Syracuse fans saw that as a preview for the upcoming season.

After loosing starters Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris to the draft, this season was supposed to be a good, not great year. Many fans were already waiting for next season and the great upcoming recruiting class to arrive.

The Orange won their first two games against low tier opponents, Richmond and Albany, by an average margin of 32 points, but that was nothing more than the expected. The challenges were about to begin against the top teams in the 2K Sports Classic.

After sitting out all last season with a stress fracture, redshirt sophomore Scoop Jardine leads the team in assists and points and lead the upset against then No. 12 ranked California.

The Orange scored 93 points in the blowout victory, but Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim thinks the offense can be even better.

Last season, the Orange missed arguably the two most important players to this season’s success, Scoop Jardine and Iowa State transfer Weasley Johnson.

Wasley Johnson, the Corsicana, Texas native, has been a very pleasant surprise so far this season. After averaging a little over 12 PPG in his two seasons at Iowa State before transferring, Johnson has seen a steady increase in statistical production across the board.

The combo forward has done a little bit of everything for the Orange leading the team in points, rebounds, and blocks. His versatility across the board has been key to the Orange’s success.

With a solid inside and outside game, Johnson has shown he can play both forward positions despite his lanky build. Johnson is currently ranked second for the team in three point percentage and is averaging nearly two three pointers per game.

The team’s most noticeable sharp shooter this year has been senior Andy Rautins. Last season’s sixth man has been looked to as the team’s leader and has responded well shooting a good field goal percentage and taking much smarter shots.

Last season, Rautins was looked to as the shooter off the bench to provide relief in the guard positions. Rautins would often move around to get a good three point line and shoot whenever he got the ball.

This season, Rautins is still a shooter and is still much more comfortable shooting the three ball, but has looked like a much better passer and a player that is much more relaxed handling the ball.

Against then No. 4 ranked North Carolina, Rautins caused havoc on both sides of the ball having a very balanced game with 11 points, seven rebounds, and seven steals.

Rautins’ seven steals were part of the 18 TOs caused by the Syracuse defense. After the defense not showing up against California, Jim Boeheim’s trademark 2-3 zone lead the second half lock down of a young and talented North Carolina Tar Heels.

The guard play for the Orange has been excellent, but the post has looked spectacle at times.

Senior Arinze Onuaku has looked much better running the floor and is getting good production offensively, but his rebounding numbers have been subpar for a starting center that has been averaging a little over seven rebounds per game the last two seasons prior to this one.

Syracuse has not really been in many close games, so Onuaku is also not averaging as many minutes to begin the season.

Overall, the Orange have looked like one of the most impressive teams in the start the season. The offense has been productive and have impressive, blowout victories over ranked opponents.

If the Orange continue their intensity on the offensive end and show the same defense they showed against North Carolina, do not be surprised if you hear talk about this team come tourney time.

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Will the Real Buffalo Sabres Please Stand Up?

Chris Hoy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:37:51 -0500

Maybe Buffalo sports are more connected than we think. It certainly has seemed that way, with one flop after another. The Bills have now blown six fourth-quarter leads. The UB Bulls have lost four games either in the fourth quarter or overtime. And our beloved Sabres have thrown up some ugly-looking third period efforts in the past three games.

Thus far, the Sabres are 4-5 in November, with each of those losses looking horribly reminiscent of the Sabres teams of the past two years. Conversely, those four wins (as well as most of October) are reminiscent of the last Stanley Cup team from 1999. So, the question remains:

Will the Real Buffalo Sabres please stand up?

The team that has won 12 games is going to outwork you, out-hustle you and stonewall your offense. Sound familiar? As in 1998-1999 familiar?

The team that has lost eight games (two in OT) has been unable to score regularly, lazy in the neutral zone (resulting in dumb penalties) and has seemed overall disinterested. You know, the norm here in Buffalo for the past two-plus years.

So, what next, you may ask. Here are three keys to watch for this week:

1. Patrick Kaleta's playing time

Kaleta leads the team with 55 hits, tied for 29th in the league. Not bad at all when you consider that every single player ranked ahead of him has averaged more time on the ice per game than Kaleta. In most cases, it's eight to 10 more minutes per game. Remember, Kaleta played on the fourth line until Mike Grier got hurt. Will Kaleta get more ice time in order to provide some much needed grit, or will his TOI diminish as Lindy Ruff attempts to spark the offense?

2. Tim Kennedy's Role

I love Tim Kennedy. I believe that he can be a special player in this league, along the lines of Michael Peca 10 years ago or Chris Drury three years ago. But he just hasn't been the same since Grier went down with an injury. He seems hesitant to rush the offensive zone and looks like the game is moving too fast for him at times. These are all signs of a developing player and evidence of how important Grier is to Buffalo's third line. Tim Kennedy will not be a third-line player for very long. Could Lindy Ruff move Kennedy up to the second line temporarily to compensate for a struggling Jason Pominville (four points in November)? Not likely, but an option that Ruff should explore in my humble opinion.

3. Buffalo's Neutral Zone Play

Congratulations, NHL. You have effectively removed any effect that the lockout may have had. We are now being forced to watch neutral-zone trap snore-fests again. Whereas Buffalo's trap resulted in four goals against and a save rate of over 95 percent for Ryan Miller during their most recent three-game win streak, their lackluster neutral zone play has resulted in 13 goals against over the past three games (all losses). Will Buffalo return to the trap, knowing that they are unable to score their way out of trouble as in past years?

Let's check back in a week and see where we are.

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Seen and Herd | Week 11: Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Chris Trapasso — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:07:56 -0500

It comes as no surprise: The Bills found yet another agonizing way to lose a football game.

We've seemingly seen it all of late.

This week, it wasn't a last-second missed field goal, or an opponent scoring as time expired.

Against the Jaguars, two untimely penalties sealed the Bills' fate in Jacksonville.

A Fred Jackson touchdown scamper in the first half was negated by a holding penalty. The Bills later settled for a field goal.

In the fourth quarter, Ryan Fitzpatrick launched a pass that resembled a Hail Mary attempt and Lee Evans came down with the touchdown, but an illegal hands to the face penalty called that one back, as well.

Neither would have been that "dagger" that we often hear about in sports, but imagine, the Bills could have put almost 30 points on the board had the penalties not taken place.

Bright Spots

In a time when the Bills aren't making any fans happy, let's start with the good news from Sunday's loss in Jacksonville, the little that there is.

Terrell Owens had his best day in a Bills uniform, hauling in nine receptions for 197 yards and a score. His 98-yard TD was a thingy of beauty, but the fact that he was targeted 14 times is what had me most impressed, as the Bills coaching staff realized he could victimize Jacksonville's young secondary.

Ryan Fitzpatrick nearly eclipsed the 300-yard mark, throwing for 297 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

He doesn't have the raw talent to be a great NFL quarterback, or even a consistently decent signal-caller, but he makes the right reads, and is the polar opposite of the check-down happy Trent Edwards. He lets it fly.

On defense, the Bills held the sneaky Maurice Jones-Drew to 66 yards on the ground, and although the Jags attempted numerous screen plays to the fantasy football god, he only mustered four grabs for 18 yards. Not bad, worst rush defense in the NFL.

Without Marcus Stroud in the lineup, I thought the Bills would have trouble stopping Jones-Drew, and certainly didn't envision any pressure being put on David Garrard. Boy, was I wrong.

Kyle Williams' engine resembles that of a monster truck; he was in Garrard's grill all afternoon, and believe it or not, there were a few John McCargo sightings in the Jaguars backfield. Williams has become my favorite player on the Bills defense not named Jairus Byrd.

As far as interim head coach Perry Fewell, I'd give him a "B" for his first day on the job. His defense was more stout than anyone believed, and he kept his team in the game. I knew things would get better, but it'd be nearly impossible to see drastic improvement, because the players haven't changed. The situation he's in is still pretty bad.

He automatically received a good grade from me based on the fact he showed passion and a fiery demeanor on the sidelines. Something I, as a Bills fan, haven't seen in some time.

The Bad

Buffalo again couldn't revitalize their running attack against the Jaguars. The offensive line was the obvious culprit, but 17 total carries between Lynch and Jackson? Not enough.

This game wasn't a blowout either. The Bills didn't need to throw the ball all over the field to come back. They held the lead with a minute to go in the fourth. Even though it hasn't come with much success this season, Buffalo needs to pound the rock.

Even in a game where I would have guessed the Bills held the ball a respectable amount of time, they still lost the time of possession battle by a whopping 14 minutes. They were their usual 3-11 on third downs, while Jacksonville converted on nine of 15 attempts.

That usually leads to a loss in the NFL.

The Ugly

Eric Wood. His injury was gruesome, and it's thought to be very severe. The rookie guard with loads of promise going down with injury was by far the worst part of the game on Sunday.

Marshawn Lynch injured his shoulder, and he's slowly but surely falling out of favor in Buffalo, especially because Fred Jackson has become a more downhill runner (That's something I thought I'd never say).

Seth McKinney was injured as well, and is also thought to be done for the season.

Here's the updated, ever-growing list of Bills players on IR this season: Kawika Mitchell, Leodis McKelvin, Marcus Buggs, Brad Butler, Derek Schouman, Eric Wood, Seth McKinney (not official yet), and Keith Ellison.

Other role players have been lost to injuries this season - the steamroll of injuries hasn't stopped.

News Flash

Today the Bills signed former Steelers Guard Kendall Simmons. He's an eight year veteran and has accumulated more than 80 starts in his career. Simmons is exactly what the young, injury-ridden offensive line needs.

What's Ahead

A recently injury-battered Dolphins team comes into rival Ralph Wilson Stadium this Sunday. We've reached a point as Bills fans where we'd just like to see our Bills beat up on our most hated opponents.

Ronnie Brown is out for the year, along with beefy nose tackle Jason Ferguson. They've won five of seven and are hungry to remain in the wild-card hunt, after an 0-3 start to the season.

It'll be interesting to see how Perry Fewell leads his team during his home debut. Sure, we're angry the season is all but over, but who wouldn't love to see a win over the Miami Dolphins? Squish the fish.

Bills/Dolphins Sunday 1:00 Ralph Wilson Stadium. Seen and Herd to follow.

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Buffalo Bills-Jacksonville Jaguars: The Messy Aftermath

Jeremy Pike — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:01:31 -0500

Last Sunday’s game between the Bills and the Jaguars was a mixed bag of results for Buffalo.

On the positive side, they came out and played extremely hard on both sides of the ball. This is a different team under interim head coach Perry Fewell. WR Terrell Owens had his biggest day as a Bill (catching a 98-yard pass for a TD will do that for you) and the defense held RB Maurice Jones-Drew in check enough to draw praise from the Jags tailback.

Unfortunately, the negative side holds a lot more weight.

First off, they lost the game in the fourth quarter again. Obviously the team didn’t go into complete self-destruct mode when they were down like the Tennessee Titans game the previous week, which I think is a testament to Fewell. However, they still are having serious issues closing out games in the fourth.

Second, the injury situation continues to get worse, especially on the offensive line. I’m glad I was unable to watch the game for at least a few minutes when guard Eric Wood went down. That’s a horrible injury, and I wish Wood a quick and full recovery. Not just as a football player, but also as a fellow human being, because that’s just bad. Hopefully it won’t hinder his development.

Also lost for the season was guard Seth McKinney. The Bills are down to five active roster linemen, one who is injured (Demetrius Bell). Hello, free agents.

Also expect to see Christian Gaddis activated from the practice squad.

Another negative was the penalties, especially two key ones that erased touchdowns. The first on a TD run by Fred Jackson sounded ticky-tack, but as a football player, it’s your job to avoid putting yourself in that kind of situation as much as possible. A rookie mistake by Shawn Nelson, who will be a fine player, but still hurts.

The second penalty, a hands-to-the-face by Jonathan Scott, also really hurt. If the Bills had those two touchdowns, they would have won that game. However, they did commit those penalties (at least the Scott one), so they paid the price.

In Fewell’s postgame comments, it sounds like players were going to be getting an earful from him, which is another big difference between Jauron and Fewell. Maybe the players need to read my article on discipline (look back in the archive for Coach J’s Board Talk—Discipline Edition.)

The Jaguars did earn that win, however. They stayed in it, played tough, and made the most of their chances at the end, unlike the Bills. Lots to learn for this young team. On to Miami next week.

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Hometown Hero: Greg Paulus' Lasting Effect on the Syracuse Orange

Dan Lyons — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:05:38 -0500

No one was surprised when future NFL defensive lineman Arthur Jones received a standing ovation from the 36,000 Orange faithful on Senior Day this past weekend against Rutgers.

Art will go down as an all-time great for the Orange and is one of the most charismatic and well-liked players in recent Syracuse football history.

However, the player with the second most cheers on senior night may have surprised some.

It was quarterback Greg Paulus.

Paulus, a native Syracusan, became a legend during his high school football and basketball careers at local Christian Brothers Academy. He holds virtually every New York high school passing record and was named the Gatorade player of the year coming out of high school.

However, his decision to turn down offers from both Syracuse's football and basketball programs, and play point guard for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, was not popular with many of the Orange faithful he lives amongst.

After an up-and-down tenure at Duke, Paulus made the nearly unprecedented decision to pursue another sport at another university after his career was finished. The legendary high school quarterback returned home to quarterback new head coach Doug Marrone's first Syracuse team.

It would have been hard for Paulus' one year at the helm for the Orange to be more wildly capricious. After being greeted as a savior during the beginning of the first game against Minnesota, he ended up throwing an overtime interception leading to a Syracuse loss, ruining a very impressive first performance in many eyes.

For every Northwestern game, where Paulus led Syracuse in a 37-34 victory with 346 yards and two touchdowns, there was the five-interception debacle against South Florida.

After South Florida, and other inconsistent performances throughout the season, many were calling for Paulus to be benched in favor of redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib, who plays in a few of Marrone's packages and shows a stronger arm. By the Cincinnati game on Oct. 31, Paulus entering the game garnered very audible boos from Orange fans.

However, Marrone has stuck with Paulus through it all, proving that he looks for much more than a cannon for an arm and gaudy statistics in a quarterback. With his seniority and experience as a Division I athlete, Greg can get through situations that no other freshman quarterback could think of handling.

This season, Syracuse lost over 20 players to attrition with the regime change. Ten players, most of them big contributors like Jones and All-Big East caliber linebacker Derrell Smith, have had season-ending injuries. Syracuse's best talent, receiver Mike Williams, quit the team midway through the season.

The Orange have been working with makeshift units all year, to the point where they were playing with 56 available scholarship players on Saturday's win, far fewer than the 85 that are allowed.

It is impossible to tell how a player like Nassib would have reacted to the amazing amount of adversity that has beset the Orange this year. However, Greg Paulus knows adversity all too well. Not many things in college sports rival walking onto the court at the Dean Dome wearing a dark shade of blue. Paulus had walked through the fire for four years at Duke.

Last Saturday, the Orange played in what Marrone called their bowl game. With the decline of the Syracuse program, Rutgers was able to rise from longtime irrelevance to become a contender in the Big East scene. Rutgers and SU share a recruiting base, and many think it will be impossible for both programs to be successful at the same time in the current climate of Eastern football.

Giving up almost 30 players of depth to the Scarlet Knights, few expected the Orange to give them a game.

However, Paulus and Syracuse delivered a message.

Though the focal point of the offense was the potent Syracuse running game, which amassed 213 yards and three touchdowns, Paulus provided an ample threat through the air. His workmanlike performance, 13-of-16 for 142 yards and one touchdown, helped balance out the attack, which allowed Syracuse to blow out the then-No. 25 team in the nation.

This game will have a major effect on both programs, especially in the recruiting wars. It is the most important win Syracuse has had since Paul Pasqualoni was at the helm for that very reason.

Many teams would have packed it in for the season after losing bowl eligibility. However, with Paulus taking what will probably be his last few snaps of his football career, Syracuse has a leader and captain with nothing to lose.

After the clock struck 0:00 and Syracuse had secured a win, the players rushed the field, hugging and embracing each other after one of the most impressive team efforts in the Big East this season. They then lined up in the end zone and swayed with the band to the Syracuse Alma Mater.

After their helmets were raised at "to thy memory," they rushed to the student section and thanked the die-hard students who remained to celebrate the victory before exiting the field. The last player remaining was Paulus, who walked slowly off the field for the final time to a standing ovation from the students who lined the tunnel.

In a true blaze of glory, the short-lived Paulus era at the Carrier Dome was over, but with his help and undeniable leadership, the Syracuse program is back on the rise and will be a power in the Big East once again.

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Buffalo Bills: Whose Stock is Rising and Whose Is Falling and Stuck on I.R.?

Dan Van Wie — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:11:16 -0500

Here is a picture of two of the Bills players who have seen their stock rising considerably - both safeties, and neither one began the year as a starter. But thanks to all the injuries, Jairus Byrd and George Wilson, here seen breaking up a pass against Miami, continue to impress with their strong play in the secondary.

Begin Slideshow

Syracuse Orange Land Max Beaulieu, Three-Star Florida DE

Dan Lyons — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:37:38 -0500

When Syracuse upset then-No. 25 Rutgers this weekend, many thought that it would have major recruiting ramifications for both programs.

It has quickly turned out to pay dividends for the Orange, as they have landed three-star defensive end recruit Max Beaulieu from University School of Nova Sout in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The 6'3", 240 lb defensive lineman committed after visiting the school with teammate and fellow Orange commit, Brice Hawkes. Beaulieu said that he is excited for "a chance to play in a great conference for a coaching staff that is committed to getting back to the top in the conference."

In an interview with the Miami Herald, Charles Fishbein of Elite Scouting Services (who ranked Beaulieu in their Top 100) said that "this is not just one of those ordinary talents who schools from the Northeast come in and get."

Beaulieu also holds offers from schools including Purdue, Wake Forest, Arkansas, South Carolina, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

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The New Favorite: Syracuse Big Men Tandem is Best in the Big East

Etan Kaplan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:03:23 -0500

As many recall from last year, there was an abundance of talented teams in the Big East. Some may have argued that nine or 10 teams deserved to make it to the dance, with eventually seven getting bids, the most of any other conference.

The upper half of the conference was extremely parable, with each team receiving its moment of fame. We saw three teams from the Big East receive No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament ( UConn, Pittsburgh, and Louisville), we saw teams like West Virginia and Syracuse advance deep into the Big East tournament, and we saw Villanova and UConn make it to the Final Four.

Even teams from the bottom half of the conference showed their full potentials with upsets of Providence over No. 1 ranked Pittsburgh late in the season, Georgetown's thrashing of UConn on at the XL center to start Big East play, and even bottom team USF's upset over No. 8 ranked Marquette.

What all of these title contending Big East teams had were star big men. The top four teams in the big east last year all had NBA Prospect big men. Pittsburgh's Dejaun Blair, Uconn's Hasheem Thabeet, Villanova's Dante Cunningham, and Lousville' Earl Clark, and Terence Williams all left to the NBA draft.

What this has left the Big East with is a group of suddenly parable teams consisting of freshman big men to replace their past years stars. Which team in the big east is without this problem? You guessed it, The Syracuse Orange. As we saw from this past weekend, Syracuse's big man tandem of Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku were too much for 12 ranked Cal and fourth-ranked UNC to handle.

Onuaku, a Senior, is averaging 13.8 pts in only 24 minutes per game while Jackson, a Junior, is averaging a career best 8.8 pts in only 22.3 minutes per game.

Both of these player's numbers are the highest of their respective college careers and there is reason to believe they will continue to go up when Big East Play begins in January because of the sudden dependence that the Big East's past top teams have put on their freshman big men.

Who do you think the Pittsburghs and the UConns and the Villanovas of last year are going to put up against Syracuse's two distinguished big men? Freshman Donte Talyor of Pittsburgh? Freshman Alex Oriakhi of Uconn? Freshman Mouphtaou Yarou of Villanova? None of these freshman have the experience, or the developed talent and size to handle Syracuse's big men in the paint.

In case one might want to argue that Luke Harangody is better than any of these two, try measuring up his guard counterparts Ben Hansbrough and Tory Jackson with Transfer superstar Wesley Johnson who is averaging 17.3 ppg so far with a 27 point performance against fourth ranked UNC Tar Heals in the 2k sports final and the two headed monster PG tandem of Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine.

Not to mention do-it-all Andy Rautins who had 11 pts, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 7 steals versus UNC in the 2k sports championship game.

The last three Big east tournament Champions, Georgetown, Louisville and Pitt were all supported by their respective star big men Roy Hibbert, Earl Clark, and Dejuan Blair. It looks like its Syracuse's big men Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson's turn this year.

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Analyzing Perry Fewell's Head Coaching Debut for Buffalo Bills

Dan Van Wie — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:42:00 -0500

As defensive coordinator, Perry Fewell had witnessed three straight seasons of the Bills playing two games under .500 ball, with marks of 7-9 every season. Learning how to win was going to take some time, and anyone that expected this team could learn overnight was probably guilty of some wishful thinking.

The Bills competed as they have done repeatedly throughout the year. It was not the same team though, and the perception that it was a different team emanated from their new head coach, Perry Fewell.

Fewell was animated on the sidelines and was showing encouragement and getting in referees faces as needed. In fact, there was plenty of reasons to get in the zebra's faces as they threw flags that wiped out two Bills touchdowns Sunday.

If you have been following the Bills all year, you know that touchdowns are hard to come by as is, much less having two of them taken away. The first one was on a chop block by rookie tight end Shawn Nelson and the other by young lineman Jonathan Scott.

The touchdowns would have been a long pass to Lee Evans and the first rushing touchdown by Fred Jackson. Unfortunately, those plays will never make the record books, and it costs the Bills a badly needed win, as they lost 18-15.

Analyzing Fewell's decisions throughout the game

Fewell had made it a point to emphasize that the team was going to be playing physical ball and had the team wear pads in practice to help drive the point home. Fewell wanted to emphasize the rushing game, but as it turned out Fred Jackson was only able to muster 35 yards rushing on nine carries. In the end, the rushing game was not effective at all.

The Bills were driving for a score towards the end of the first half. Studying Fitzpatrick, it seemed that he was rusty in running the two minute drill. I realize that you have to be able to move the ball to have a two minute drill, so in retrospect I doubt he has been doing that much of it.

They had a chance to spike the ball and have time for at least two shots in to the end zone from the ten. Instead they tried a running play and their frantic time out signal was recognized by the officials with one second remaining in the half. The Bills kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to 10-9.

When the game was coming down to the wire, Fewell made good use of his timeouts by being pro-active and taking the timeouts against Jacksonville's offense, knowing that there was a good chance they were going to score. Fewell's aggressive nature preserved a minute on the clock, time enough for the Bills to have a chance to get it close enough for a game-tying field goal.

Unfortunately, the fourth down pass went off of Terrell Owen's hands and wound up being intercepted. Fewell did the right things in managing the game, considering what he had to work with.

Injuries: Reduced Bills To Resembling Only A Semblance of Their Starting Team

The Bills were once again the losers in the time of possession battle, as the Jaguars easily kept the ball more—36 minutes compared to 23. They had the ball to work with almost one full quarter.

The Bills suffered four more injuries today, the worst being a severe broken leg to first round draft choice Eric Wood. Wood was a victim of a collision that pinned his leg resulting in a fractured tibia and fractured fibula. He had surgery in the hospital later after the game and remained in Jacksonville to have the operation.

Wood was in obvious pain. Also hurt were defensive lineman John McCargo, running back Marshawn Lynch, and fill-in lineman Seth McKinney. The Bills are very close to being on life support as they have zero reserves at a number of positions, which is alarming for a NFL team.

How bad is it?

With Lynch hurt, the Bills running backs are now down to Fred Jackson and fullback Corey McIntyre, who just came back from injury. They recently waived Xavier Omon, which now looks like it could come back and haunt them.

The Bills only have five offensive lineman—Hangartner, Levitre, Meredith, Scott and Chambers. This is critical. They need to land at least two free agents as there is no experience to mention on the practice squad. Demetrius Bell was inactive due to injury, so hopefully he can return soon.

The defensive line was down due to Marcus Stroud being ruled out. When John McCargo left due to a calf injury, Ryan Denney was asked to slide over from end to defensive tackle. That is not a great situation, no matter how you cut it.

Bills Bits

Terrell Owens exploded with 197 yards receiving. His first game as a Bill with over 100 yards, and he looked great throughout the game.

Roscoe Parrish made a dreadful decision (isn't that the way most of his choices have ended up this year?), trying to return a punt from the four. He lost two yards forcing the Bills to start their drive on the two.

Ryan Fitzpatrick saw a favorable match-up and called in a deep pattern for T.O. The end result was a 98 yard touchdown play, the longest catch from scrimmage in the Bills history. Besides the one long play, T.O. had eight other catches for another 99 yards.

Fitzpatrick showed the ability to throw on the run, improvise, and be a play maker, all of which are things that Trent Edwards has demonstrated time and again that he is not capable of doing. Based on this showing, expect to see Fitzpatrick holding onto the quarterback job, at least for the immediate future.

Strong pressure was applied to the Jaguars' quarterback, David Garrard, throughout the game. Aaron Schobel had a sack, McCargo, Spencer Johnson and Kyle Williams laid Garrard out with some hard shots. The Bills defense did create a fumble and interception, but Jairus Byrd was really not close to being around the ball today, and his interception streak was stopped at five games.

The injury to Marshawn Lynch made the Wild Turkey offense obsolete, so the Bills only used it one time in the game. Depending on how badly he is hurt, it will greatly limit the Bills chances to run this formation.

Going forward

With each new injury, the talent level of the replacements—we are talking about adding players that have been out of football for a minimum of 11 weeks—is going to mean that the skills and talents of the Bills will be watered down with each new roster addition.

It will be increasingly difficult for the Bills to compete as these replacements take on a key role with the team. It will also force Bills fans to keep in mind that the guys on the field are not the true team, so booing this squad when they host Miami next week is not even remotely a reasonably fair thing to do.

Keep the faith Bills fans. Fewell made it more exciting, but with a limited hand to play with, how effective can his coaching be?

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The Syracuse Orange's Domination of Rutgers Signals a Return to Normalcy

Dan Kelley — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:54:36 -0500

As any self-respecting Orange fan with a sense of his team’s history will tell you, Rutgers is not Syracuse’s rival. Regardless of what a small handful of media members or Rutgers fans say, the Scarlet Knights are still considered to be beneath Syracuse by most Orange fans.

Call it arrogance, delusion, or a failure to accept present circumstance, but regardless of the past few years, it’s hard to think of anyone as a rival when you’ve beaten them 28 times in 39 meetings.

That’s not to say that seeing the Orange administer a 31-13 beating to the Scarlet Knights in the 40th game between the two programs wasn’t an immensely satisfying experience though. After an unacceptable four-game losing streak to their historic doormat, the dominating victory on Saturday felt like a nostalgic return to good ol' days.

Despite an absurd amount of injuries and defections, the Orange came out fired up, and turned in a performance reminiscent of those beatings they used to hand the Knights with regularity up until the last half decade or so.

Even without all-Big East caliber players Mike Williams, Arthur Jones and Derrell Smith, Syracuse managed to top Rutgers in nearly every major statistical category.

Doug Marrone’s team was able to win the day thanks to a pressure defense that held the Knights to only 130 total yards, sacked quarterback Tom Savage nine times and generally terrorized Rutgers with no quarter asked, and none given.

The game plan followed the old school philosophy of winning by running the ball and playing great defense. The defense held up their end of the bargain admirably and, not to be outdone, the running backs ran wild.

The triumvirate of Orange backs Delone Carter, Antwon Bailey, and Averin Collier combined for 210 rushing yards and one touchdown each, including a 60-yard score by Collier late that secured the victory.

The three-headed rushing attack, as well as Greg Paulus’s 142 passing yards, helped the Orange run up more than three times as many total yards as the Knights; totaling 424 yards to Rutgers’ 130.

As enjoyable as it was to see the natural order of this series restored, the impact of this win could be much greater than just a momentary feeling of nostalgia for Orange fans.

This game was huge for Syracuse from a recruiting standpoint. Doug Marrone made it clear from the moment he was hired, that he intends to invade Rutgers’ backyard and recruit New Jersey heavily. The two schools are going to compete for recruits every year, and as the old saying says, “To the victors go the spoils.”

Nothing will help Syracuse pull in the top prospects in the Northeast better than beating the other schools that make that region their primary recruiting territory.

The game might also be a sign of the traditional Eastern football giant reawakening from its slumber.

It was Syracuse’s fourth win of the 2009 season, and while that total is unimpressive, it does represent progress from the three win season the Orange endured last year. Rutgers also became the third opponent along with Northwestern and Akron, that Syracuse lost to last season, but defeated this year under Doug Marrone.

The future once again looks bright in Syracuse. We’ve had more than our fair share of struggles this year, but with the 2009 season nearing an end, there is plenty to look forward to in 2010.

With plenty of talented underclassmen, few players leaving due to graduation, and an influx of new freshman entering the mix, it’s not unreasonable to think that there could be a bowl game in Syracuse’s near future.

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Bills Face Jaguars and Rain: Lots Of It

Dan Van Wie — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:41:08 -0500

The Bills are looking at playing in a thunderstorm today in Jacksonville, according to weathermen. They are also playing short handed one more time.

On defense, the Bills have ruled out ex-Jaguars Marcus Stroud and Terrance McGee.

On offense, the Bills ruled out WR's Steve Johnson and James Hardy, newly signed tight end Joe Klopfenstein, and tackle Demetrius Bell.

So what does all this mean?

It means that if you omit the names of new QB Brian Brohm, kick returner Roscoe Parrish, safeties Donte Whitner and Jairus Byrd, and tackles Jamon Meredith and Jonathan Scott, and defensive tackle Kyle Williams, that all of them are on the active roster today.

The weather could have a tremendous effect on the game. Players with knee or leg problems will have to make sure of their footing and try to avoid heavy cutting for fear of re-injuring themselves.

Jairus Byrd groin may act up, so his interception streak may be in jeopardy. That's it for now. Let's Go Buffalo !!

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Buffalo Sabres-Ottawa Seantors: Another Third Period Collapse for Buffalo

Ron Van Lew — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:06:00 -0500

The Buffalo Sabres are in unfamiliar territory this season. They are riding a three game losing streak, and not showing any signs of urgency.

Buffalo traveled up to Ottawa to take on a senators team that was on a roll winning their last three games.On the other end of the spectrum Buffalo had lost their last two games and not looked good in doing so.

Ottawa came out and dominated play in the first five minutes of the first period before Buffalo found their legs and controlled the final fifteen minutes of play. Nineteen minutes into the first period Thomas Vanek got Buffalo on the board first with a power play goal to end the period in Buffalo's favor 1-0.

The second period the roles reversed as Ottawa continued to pound Buffalo. Phillip Kuba was able to get his point shot past goaltender Patrick Lalime to knot the game up at one, early in the second. But buffalo fans could see the tide swinging. Daniel Alfredsson would prove the Senators were in this game as he got his wrister from the slot past Lalime to pull Ottawa ahead.

The second period would end much like the first, with one team holding a one goal lead. The third period was where it all cam unglued again for Buffalo. As Ottawa just destroyed any chances of Buffalo making a comeback.

The Senators would net the next three goals within the first eight minutes of the third period to take an eventual 5-1 lead. Buffalo would come back on Ottawa pulling within two goals as Patrick Kaleta and Jason Pominville would score, but it was too little, too late. And Ottawa skated away with the 5-3 win.

Thoughts and observations

Craig Rivet: This guy looks old. He continues to get caught flat footed and out skated far too often to be in a No. 1 pairing.

The offense: The box score says they put 41 shots up tonight, but holy cow how many actually hit the net? I can think of at least seven shots from fifteen feet or closer that were shot terribly wide.

The defense: Again back up goaltender comes in and they forget how to play defense. I do not recall on blue liner even trying to drop to block a shot all night. Not to mention what happened to the defense clearing the front of the net so the goaltenders have a chance? Absolute terrible team performance. Toni Lydman may be next to be visiting the press box.

The coaching: How is it Lindy Ruff cannot get his team up on a consistent basis to play back to back games? This has been a bug a boo for him for years now. Maybe a little less being the nice guy and a little more of being the disciplinarian Lindy.

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Buffalo Sabres Blue and Gold Origins: Tim Horton

Chris Hoy — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:50:22 -0500

This is the first in a series of articles meant to familiarize the casual reader with the history of the Buffalo Sabres.

For a town as hockey-crazed as Buffalo, the average citizen recognizes the name “Tim Horton” for all the wrong reasons. On any given winter morn, a blue collar worker might pull up to a drive-thru window for a steaming cup of Joe, glance at a receipt that says “Always Fresh,” and never give the name a second thought.

Here’s what the Buffalo Sabres fan, and even more so, a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, thinks of when we hear “Tim Horton”:

The Stats:

Tim played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Buffalo Sabres in a career that spanned from 1949 to 1974. He won 4 Stanley Cups as a member of the Maple Leafs and was a six-time All-Star. His 1,446 NHL games resulted in 115 goals and 403 assists.

Tim was inducted posthumously into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977, and his No. 2 jersey was retired by the Buffalo Sabres in 1998, just the fourth number retired by Buffalo.

The Stories:

Gordie Howe, arguably the greatest hockey player ever, called Tim Horton “The strongest guy in hockey.” One look at Tim and you would be hard-pressed to argue. His signature fighting move was to wrap an opponent in a crushing bear hug. Tim Horton’s Wikipedia article recounts the following anecdote:

Boston Bruins winger Derek Sanderson once bit Horton during a fight; years later, Horton's widow, Lori, still wondered why. "Well," Sanderson replied, "I felt one rib go, and I felt another rib go, so I just had—to, well, get out of there!"

Bobby Hull adds: "There were defensemen you had to fear because they were vicious and would slam you into the boards from behind, for one, Eddie Shore. But you respected Tim Horton because he didn't need that type of intimidation. He used his tremendous strength and talent to keep you in check."

King Clancy, who wore No. 7 before Tim Horton in Toronto, once stated that “If only he’d (Horton) would get angry, no one would stop him in this league.”

His long-time coach, “Punch” Imlach, sadly recounts his last conversation with Tim: "He was hurting too bad to play a regular shift in the third period. We faded without him and lost the game to the Leafs. After the game, he and I took a little walk up Church Street and had what was our last talk.

"He was down in the dumps because he didn't like to miss a shift and he felt he had cost us the game. I got on the bus with the team. Tim drove the cursed car back to Buffalo. He didn't make it."

On his way back to Buffalo at 4:30 the morning of February 21, 1974, Horton lost control of his speeding car on the highway near St. Catharines, rolling it several times. Tim Horton was killed instantly.

The Legacy:

Between 1961 and 1968, Tim set the NHL record for consecutive games played by a defenseman with 486 consecutive games, and remained until 2007 when Kārlis Skrastiņš passed the mark. It still stands as a Maple Leafs record.

In the 1962 Stanley Cup run, Tim’s 16 points in 12 playoff games (it only took 12 wins to win the Cup back then. It takes 16 now) stood as a Maple Leafs defenseman record until 1994.

In 1969, Tim was awarded the J.P. Bickell Memorial Cup in recognition of his outstanding service to the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club.

Tim’s last year in the NHL was the 1973-1974 season, the year before the Sabres made their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Tim’s leadership is credited with aiding the maturity of the young Buffalo club into a serious Cup-contending team.

In 1995, the Toronto Maple Leafs listed Tim’s No. 7, a number shared with King Clancy, as an “Honoured Jersey Number.” (Check here for an explanation of the Maple Leafs unique policy on jersey numbers)

In 1998, The Hockey News listed Tim as No. 43 on its list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

I do not have a citation for this, but Tim Horton is credited by some as the inventor of the slapshot.

Toronto has not won a Stanley Cup since Horton’s playing days.

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What's Up with the Cloak and Dagger Activities with Buffalo Bills?

Dan Van Wie — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:52:16 -0500

The Buffalo Bills will be playing a "home game" in Toronto soon, coming up on Thursday night, Dec. 3, against AFC East rival New York Jets. I am beginning to wonder if the Buffalo and Toronto connection is affecting the Buffalo Bills in a new and strange way?

The Toronto Blue Jays have long been known as an organization that puts out a certain amount of mis-information regarding injuries, trade proposals, contract negotiations, etc. to keep people guessing as to what is truly going on with players, agents and front office personnel developments.

Not exactly a straight forward team, with respect to press releases and press conferences. Instead of returning to the keyboard or laptop, you might be better off sitting through reruns of "The X-Files" to remind you that the truth is out there somewhere.

The same type of shenanigans is now starting to become commonplace with the Buffalo Bills. According to a story that was originally released by WIVB-TV, the Bills recently went hard after Jon Gruden and even met with Gruden in a face-to-face meeting.

What is strange about the story is the following :

On Monday this week, ESPN signed Jon Gruden to an extension contract that gave them exclusive rights for his services. Maybe ESPN got word that the Bills were about to sign him and that forced their hand to extend a sweeter deal to Gruden?

On Tuesday, Ralph Wilson fired coach Dick Jauron and offered the job to Perry Fewell. The next thought is, did Wilson offer the job to Fewell then because Gruden had already turned him down?

If that is the case, when exactly did Wilson meet Gruden? Was it before the ESPN deal was announced, and if so, that means that he was trying to find a new coach before he fired the one that he already had.

Or was the meeting with Wilson done sometime after Gruden signed the ESPN extension? If so, then you can pretty much figure that the exclusivity rights that ESPN maintains on Gruden is basically meaningless.

On the surface, companies are always on the lookout for talent and having a successor potentially lined up should they be forced to go in a different direction. But this is the NFL, and there are rules and by-laws that need to be adhered to, such as the Rooney Rule, which could have been violated in this instance.

Researching the franchise further, when you look at the Forbes article on valuations of NFL team franchises, the Bills are valued at roughly $885 million, generating annual revenues of $206 million.

Still think that Ralph can't afford a top flight football guy to run this company?

So, if Gruden was choice No. 1, that means that the rumored meeting of Wilson with Mike Shanahan would reduce Mike to the second best choice, and then further drop Bill Cowher to the third choice. We are talking about guys that have considerable egos, so this is important to note.

Injuries, and Misinformation - More Cloak and Dagger

During the span of the past couple weeks, there have two Bills injuries that have resulted in players going to the IR list, as they were severe enough that it forced the Bills to say that they would be gone for the rest of the year. Those injuries were to tight end Derek Fine and to linebacker Keith Ellison.

In both cases, there was no mention as to the severity of the injury, just that they were out. With Ellison it was assumed that he had tweaked or strained a quad muscle and the stories coming out said he would be out a week or two.

Fast forward to this week, and all of a sudden there is a wire-report that Ellison has been placed on the IR list. What? Having listened to over a hundred of Jauron's press conferences during his tenure (yeah, I know, I really need to get a life), it always seemed that he was above board and straight with everyone on the injured players.

The first hint that something had changed was with the Derek Fine injury, and now it extends to Fewell with the Ellison situation.

Who Is Really Running The Show Now?

When tackles Demetrius Bell and Jamon Meredith went down with knee injuries recently Dick Jauron had promised that reinforcements were coming. Now on the eve of the Jacksonville game, no new offensive lineman have been signed. More disinformation.

When the Bills announced that Ellison went to the I.R. list, that meant 12 Bills had gone the I.R. route this season that is staggering. Consider that the Bills already had lost Kawika Mitchell to the I.R., Posluszny was trying to play and recover from a broken arm.

Untested Marcus Buggs was inserted in and quickly followed by joining them on the I.R. list. It made sense to sign Chris Draft as a veteran to plug in to the group. But now that Ellison has joined the long list, no new linebackers have been signed to the team.

Instead, the Bills solved their abundance of safeties playing well, by shifting Bryan Scott to linebacker. But there is very thin depth now at linebacker, should one of the starters go down.

Nic Harris has missed practices this week due to illness, so you wonder how effective he would be if called upon. So, the Bills brought up Cary Harris from the practice squad, because they need another secondary guy they can convert to linebacker?

If all of the above is not bad enough, Marcus Stroud has been ruled out for this week, and Kyle Williams is struggling to come back from his own knee problems. The Bills are forced to start John McCargo and Spencer Johnson, and if one of them goes down, there is nobody behind them at all.

The longest tenured Buffalo Bills is defensive end Aaron Schobel was perplexed with all of the stuff going on with the team. He had been complaining in the locker room after the Titans game wondering aloud what the direction of the team was.

Aaron, we hear you loud and clear and are wondering the same thing ourselves.

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Buffalo Bills: Is There Any Hope For the Offense?

Eric Stashin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:36:29 -0500

The Buffalo Bills are a team that many thought would be significantly better on offense in 2009 than they’ve shown. The addition of Terrell Owens was supposed to open up the offense, especially with Lee Evans lining up across from him.

Once Marshawn Lynch returned from his early season suspension, he combined with Fred Jackson to form a mighty one-two punch. At quarterback, there were significant questions regarding Trent Edwards, but he was supposed to be able to take the next step and guide the team.

Clearly, that has not been the case through nine games. The team is ranked 29th in yards per game at 268.2 and is tied for 28th in points with 140.

In short, they have been bad.

A lot of that is due to the struggles of Trent Edwards. Has he been completely awful? No, but in his first game back after sustaining a concussion, he went 18-28 for 185 yards, one TD and one INT.

Overall, he’s actually completed 60.2 percent of his passes (better than Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, and Donovan McNabb), but has thrown just six TDs and seven INTs.

If those numbers weren’t bad enough, his inability to connect on the big play nullified the outside threats, for all intents and purposes:

1) He had just 14 completions that went for 20 yards or more, putting him 25th in the league.

2) He had just two completions that went for 40 yards or more, also tying him for 25th in the league.

When you have Lee Evans (two 1,000-yard seasons) and Terrell Owens (nine 1,000-yard seasons), you need a QB who can throw the ball deep and let them make plays.

That’s not to say that Ryan Fitzpatrick is the answer, having thrown for 3,044 yards in his career on 335 completions. That doesn’t really scream success, now does it?

While Owens and Lee are due to have a bit of a resurgence (at least owners hope), I wouldn’t put much stock into Fitzpatrick being the one to lead them to greatness. They have struggled and nothing much appears primed to change.

They are low-end options and at this point, you have to think that’s how they are going to remain for the rest of 2010.

What are your thoughts on the Bills? Any chance for Owens and Evans regaining their form?

This article is also featured on www.rotoprofessor.com/football

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Beasts of The East: Syracuse Defeats UNC

Daniel Kablack — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:14:07 -0500

On Friday night, 24th ranked Syracuse beat the defending National Champion North Carolina Tarheels by making them look like a Division II squad in the second half. Syracuse took the 2K Sports title, defeating the Tarheels in a 87-71 win.

After starting the season without three key players from last years Big East Championship team, the Orangemen found themselves in primetime against the Tarheels on Friday night in Madison Square Garden

Last time 'Cuse saw the Tarheels was Nov 21, 1987 with UNC coming away victorious 96-93.

After North Carolina won the tip, the first possession of the 2K Sports Title would end up thrown out of bounds—nothing new to an offense that averages about twenty per game this season.

The turnovers would keep on coming.

From the beginning Syracuse looked in control, starting the game on an 8-0 run and keeping UNC from scoring for the first three minutes.

Then Carolina, with a few steals, brought themselves back from a 8-0 deficit to take the lead 13-11.

As time wore on, Carolina would wear down.

Syracuse's reinvigorated defense slowly fatigued the Carolina offense, creating turnovers by keeping them passing, running and cutting. As the first half wore on, poor offensive play by Syracuse gave the Tarheels a two point halftime lead, 39-37.

Syracuse went on a tear to start the second half—something to the tune of a 22-1 run.

In fact, Syracuse would play so impressively that ESPN ran an inset 'Roy Williams FaceBox' during the game to better our idea of the punishment his team was taking.

But how? How could UNC have ever seen this coming? These were the same Orangemen that lost to Division II LeMoyne 82-79. They beat a Cal team missing two of their key men and it appeared that they simply couldn't match up with the Tarheels.

Syracuse proved that wasn't the case. Not any longer.

As the Orange found themselves up 85-69 with just under two minutes to go, many of us finally figured something out. The Big East is the most dominant conference in the country.

Here was the 24th ranked team in the country, ranked 5th in the Big East, absolutely punishing the National Champions.

Sure, the Tarheels aren't exactly what they were last year—they've lost some great players.

Of course, you can say it's just November basketball. Yeah, UNC will be in it at the end of the year.

But the Orange proved that they too belong at the top of the list of elite teams this year.

Daniel Kablack is editor of mySportsChat.com

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Syracuse Dominates UNC; Wes Johnson and Orange Are the Team to Beat

Quentin Penn-Hollar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:46:38 -0500

Syracuse dominated North Carolina from start to finish. North Carolina was stopped cold by the Orangemen's 2-3 zone. The Tar Heels were exploited, they will not beat a team all year that forces them to shoot threes. Will Graves is their best three point theat and he's no more a threat from three than your average intramural all-star.

No matter what the polls say, at this point, the Orangemen have established themselves as the team to beat in all of college basketball.

Kansas hasn't played anyone, Duke looks good with Plumlee in the middle, but they too haven't played a formidable opponent. Syracuse is the team to beat as far as I am concerned.

No one can argue that the Orangemen, from one through five, are the most balanced team in the country. Andy Rautins, Rick Jackson, Wes Johnson, Onuaku, and Triche. Who can beat them right now? No one. The Orangemen's 24th preseason ranking was ridiculously low. The Orangemen will be in the Final Four, guaranteed. Period. The Tar Heels, Sweet Sixteen, no further. End of story.

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