No Yelling On The Bus

Apparently, after getting shut out in a must-win game yesterday, the Buffalo Bills couldn't even get out of Cleveland in style. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that things didn't go so well for the team plane; some thanks to the weather, other thanks to a poor move by the pilot.

The pilot took too wide a turn from one taxiway to another at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the front wheel of the plane got stuck, airport spokeswoman Pat Smith said. The team was not on board the plane.

"It wasn't snowing at the time. We don't know why he did this," Smith said.

If the pilot was making odd turns without the team aboard, it may have been a blessing in disguise that they didn't hop on that plane.

Jason Webster Resurrection?

The Buffalo Bills have been one of the NFL's better stories of this season. Many pundits had them pegged to be one of the worst teams in the league. The team decided to prove a few people wrong by rolling to a 5-4 record - good enough for second in the AFC East behind some team from New England.

Opening day saw them lose one of four games as they lost to Denver 15-14. Cornerback Jason Webster broke his forearm in that game and was subsequently placed on the Injured Reserve, ending his season.

However, if you're one of those guys that uses Yahoo!s forecasting system for your fantasy leagues, they've pegged Webster to put up nearly nine points this week as the Bills take on the New England Patriots.

Check it out here...


So, if you're a risk-taker, you can plug the injured (and inactive) Webster into your lineup and see if he can achieve his forecasted six tackles and one-tenth of an interception.

In fact, I suggest you forward this on to all of your IDP leaguemates and suggest they do just that.

Jesse Chatman, Huddle Hurler

The Dolphins fell to 0-9 on the season after dropping one to the Bills on Sunday. While this news is about 20 hours old, the news of Jesse Chatman's nerves is not.

The Miami Herald reports that Chatman's stomach got the best of him during the second drive of the game. While in the huddle, Chatman let loose on the field in front of about 70,000 not-so-proud.

"I got a little Willie Beamen-itis in me a little bit," Chatman laughed, referencing Jamie Foxx's Any Given Sunday character, who vomits before every game. "I needed that because my stomach was hurting."

Surprisingly enough, the Dolphins didn't get flagged for the cookie tossing. Penalty flags otherwise ruined the afteroon for the 'Phins who are now the only team in the league without a win.

Good news is that Chatman, the back-up for injured running back Ronnie Brown showed that he can more than carry the load. He finished with five catches and 27 carries, totaling 124 yards.

Dolphins Taylor Hurts Ankle [Miami Herald]

Afternoon Delight: Pick 'Em (Week 8)

Think they forgot to put a "1" in front of that +2.5?
OK, so last week got a bit rough - you'll have that when New England hangs 40 on a team that loses it's starting running back to a season-ending injury. I think we should be able to get our principle back if a game-deciding injury occurs.

Like what if by some strange chance a fan takes Washington +17 this week, but when I say "takes" I mean puts a few million on the line. And that fan just happens to be a little unstable - because what Redskins fan isn't - and runs on to the field to take out Brady? You think those that took NE would want a refund if the man is successful? Bet your sweet ass.

But I digress. On to this week's picks....

New Orleans (-2.5) over SAN FRANCISCO
Let's just say that I'll be hard-pressed to take San Francisco with anything less than getting a touchdown for the rest of the season. They're awful. Plus, Darrell Jackson is likely out. And they still have Trent Dilfer. Trent Freaking Dilfer. The Saints aren't as bad as their record suggests, and San Fran isn't exactly Soldier's field in terms of a home field advantage. Give me Reggie by at least a field goal. (Edit: While they still "have" Trent Dilfer, he's not starting. Alex Smith is. Still taking N'Awlins. No turning back now.)

Buffalo (+3) over NEW YORK JETS
Take the 49ers, give them green jerseys and move them to east coast and you have the Jets. Buffalo can be thrown on all day, but until the green and white can stop an opposing running back - in this case, Marshawn Lynch - they're not going to win games. I can't believe Trent Edwards can win a game two weeks in a row. Heck, he doesn't even have to do that, just don't lose by more than three.

Indianapolis (-6.5) over CAROLINA
Are you serious? They destroyed fellow expansion team Jacksonville on the road last week and do not even have to give up a touchdown this time out? Carolina could start both David Carr AND Vinny Testeverde and I'd go with Peyton Manning giving points. Plus, that would just be stupid of Carolina. Who startstwo washed up QBs? Wait, what's that Raiders fan?

Green Bay (+3) over DENVER
Obviously, I'm not liking the home teams very much this week*. I'm just a fan of Brett Favre on Monday nights...and this happens to be a Monday night. Green Bay will need to run the ball to be successful, and DeShawn Wynn seems like a guy that can get the job done when needed. Give me the gunslinger and some points and I'm all over it on the road.


*Actually, St. Louis getting points at home is intriguing with Steven Jackson coming back - but I'm a Browns fan, so I can't do it

Sunday's Forecast Calls For More Chad

One more week of this, Jets fans
Though the New York Jets have gone from playoffs to barely playing, Newsday reports that Jets fans will see more of the same come this Sunday.

[Jets Head Coach Eric] Mangini announced this morning that Chad Pennington is the starting quarterback this weekend. Following his evaluation during the last two days, Mangini said he liked Pennington's decision-making as well as his play-making, pointing to his 5-yard scramble on third-and-5 ("Classic Chad," he said) and the Jets' final TD and 2-point conversion with no time remaining.

The other option that the Jets have is going with second-year quarterback Kellen Clemens. If you remember back to the Jets-Ravens contest, Clemens pretty much orchestrated a comeback until a pass was deflected in the end zone and ended up in the hands of Ray Lewis - who is not on the Jets.

With the Jets being 1-6 and coming off of a very winnable game last week in Cincinnati, one has to think that this coming week against Buffalo will be Pennington's last chance to remain the starting quarterback. In fact, it was the Bills that have given the Jets their only win of the season to this point so there is still a ray of hope.

Fans just may want to hold off on any future purchases of a Pennington jersey, as he's obviously not going to be the long-term answer for a struggling team.

It's Chad [Newsday]

Morning YouTubeness: No Guarantees Here

While this video is obviously a week old, I just happened to find it and it's pretty much gold. All you need to know is the following:

- Drunk Bills fan
- Beer where his shirt used to be
- Thinks alcohol should be allowed in the workplace
- Future mayor

The one line that emphesizes his dismay for the Bills?

"I think I'm gonna burn down a church, or something."

Nice.

Some language is a bit NSFW. Now excuse me while I register to vote in Buffalo, NY.

Morning YouTubeness: The Comeback

I have to admit, I turned this game off after the Indians/Yankees game had ended. Mostly due to the fact that I was extremely bitter out of getting zero production from my fantasy trio of Terrell Owens, Lee Evans and Marshawn Lynch.

Thankfully, someone posted a video of all of the essential plays that allowed one of the better comebacks of the season. Best part is hands down Mike Tirico's "And the Cowboys win! No!"

If you're a Cowboys fan, enjoy. If you're a Bills fan, there's always next week. Oh, you're on a bye? Even better.

Oh. My.

Huge thanks to FanIQ for linking back to my Kevin Everett story from yesterday, but this video takes the cake...which continues to be an analogy that I really do not get. Who the hell wants to take a cake of all things? Anyways...



Yea, well done there News 12. Doctors believe that that's the wrong video...

Kevin Everett's Locker, Not Hot

While Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett continues to improve from injuries sustained to his spinal cord, two recent occurrences have brought some malcontent.

First was the news that the Bills have been forced to clean out his locker due to what's being called a "space crunch."

Only a week earlier, Head Coach Dick Jauron had the following to say:

"Kevin knows that he's a part of this team and everybody else on the team knows it, too," Jauron said last week. "It's the way it is and the way it'll be. It definitely serves a purpose to keep him right in front of us in that locker room. And we'll keep it that way."

Well, things have obviously changed as injuries continue to plague the Bills, and the team cannot afford to have unused lockers in the room. Apparently, building a few new lockers was out of the question, but what do I know. An offensive lineman named Brad Butler is now the owner of said locker space.

Running back Anthony Thomas, a close friend of Everett, was given "permission" to be the one to pack up Everett's things and send them to Houston where the tight end continues to recover.

To add a bit of insult to injury, for lack of better terms, I recently stumbled upon this picture:



At first glance, you may not be able to tell, but the third picture over in Yahoo!'s "Who's Not [Hot]" page is ... Kevin Everett.

Evidently, nearly paralyzed tight ends aren't exactly a hot commodity in the fantasy world. So, those of you deciding between Antonio Gates and Everett this weekend may want to heed their warning. Many thanks to Yahoo! for pointing this out! Assholes.

(If you're having trouble viewing, the original photo is here)


Bills TE Everett's locker cleaned out because of space crunch [USA Today]
Yahoo = Bastards [Break]

Morning YouTubeness: Pay Attention, J.P.

Happy Friday to all. Big thanks to Dennis for taking over for a few minutes yesterday even though it was about Michigan.

Today's little clip features digital Buffalo Bills players making a touchodown pass. Why do I have to show you digital Buffalo Bills completing such a feat? Beacause the real ones can't do it, that's why.

If anyone can show this to Lee Evans (who's absolutely killing me thus far) and J.P. Losman, please do.



Of course, it's always refreshing to see a clip of Don Beebe when he's not doing this...

Morning YouTubeness: Holy Toledo

It feels good to be back. I know that my hiatus was at the most ill-advised time being the first week of the NFL season, but I promise that those will be no more.

I'm pretty sure that this has been seen by many already, but the finish of the Denver/Buffalo game this past weekend was one of the better ones. While it irks me a bit given "The Drive" and all, it's good to see a young guy win...especially since I just mentioned my opinions on Denver being one of the better teams in the league this year. Enjoy.

Make Check Payable To...

A few posts ago, I mentioned the release of Madden 2008 that is right around the corner. If you're big into this kind of stuff, you may have heard of another football video game, All-Pro Football 2008. This game is supposed to rival the Madden series, with only one catch: No current NFL players.

But one guy who is featured in this new game is the running back-turned-author, O.J. Simpson. Check it out here if you don't believe me. Fittingly so, he's on a team named "The Assassins," whose mascot is a knife-wiedling maniac on top of a scoreboard.

Of course, there was quite the uproar given Orenthal's recent history with the league and the state of California.

But fear not! It's now being reported that all money that Mr. Simpson receives will go directly to Mr. Ron Goldman - as a part of thirty-eight million dollar civil suit that dates back about 13 years ago. At this rate, O.J. should be good to go by the time All-Pro Football 2530 is released.

Moral of the story, kids: Don't kill your wife and get sued for $38 mill.

Note to AFC East: Load Up On Tomatoes

The big news out of Bills camp today is that rookie running back Dwayne Wright is recovering from possible food poisoning that is reported to have taken place on August 6th.

Wright, a 230 lb. lad, had an allergic reaction to something he had eaten and woke up on the 7th with a swollen lip and jaw.

"Oh yeah, it was a scary thing," Wright said. "But no problems. I'm here ready to work."

Apparrently, Wright is allergic to avocados and tomatoes, one of which is believed to have been in a wrap that was consumed on the 6th.

Good news for the big guy, as he'll look to be a part of one of the younger backfields in the NFL.

Meanwhile, look for Joey Porter to use the "tomatoes" excuse when asked how Levi Jones woke up with a swollen lip and jaw in Las Vegas.