Packers should be scared

Bills beat the Vikings 27-6 last week in Minnesota. I love saying that! Two weeks ago, Vikings and Packers tied at Lambeau. Last night, the Rams, who many consider the best team in the league, went to 4-0 by beating Minnesota 38-31 in Los Angeles.  That's right, what the Bills did to the Vikings was more dominant than what the much ballyhooed Rams did to them.

Should I make my reservations for Super Bowl LIII yet?

Poor Kavanaugh: Dude Needs to Step Away

Another day, another woman coming out with sexual misconduct charges against Brett Kavanaugh.  The dude really needs to step away from his nomination at this point. I mean I get that all this seems to have happened in high school (and college, I guess) and that he has likely matured significantly since then, but does anyone really believe in his denials anymore?

I mean, his best friend in high school was apparently this author, Mark Judge, who wrote a book called Wasted: Tales of a Genx Drunk. I mean, I was there guys. I am about your age and I know what kind of shit went down in the '80s. I was never a part of any gang rapes, as this latest woman is accusing Kavanaugh of being part of, but I did some pretty bad things and in some respects am probably lucky to be alive. Bad shit went down in the '80s, we get that, but why can't Kavanaugh just admit to it and explain that he has moved on? That would work for me.

But instead, he seems to be following Trump's lead and denying everything, hoping that if you keep repeating it, people will believe it. For me, his credibility is shot and I certainly would not want a liar serving on the Supreme Court. And I apologize if I'm wrong and he is telling the truth, but there seems to be so much smoke that there was to be a fire somewhere.

Bills Win Big: Of Course They Do

So, the Bills won huge yesterday, pasting the Minnesota Vikings 27-6, in Minnesota no less. The Bills came into the game as 17-point underdogs. It has been classified as the biggest upset in the NFL in 23 years. 

Yup, these are the Buffalo Bills who have been pilloried by everyone for the last two weeks as having possibly one of the worst teams in NFL history. But, there were a few things that led me to be optimistic heading into Sunday's game vs. the Vikings. First off, the Bills had actually outscored the Chargers 14-3 in the second half last week. This was after Vontae Davis infamously quit and Head Coach Sean McDermott assumed defensive playcalling duties from Coordinator Leslie Frazier.

On Sunday, Frazier retook the retook the reins of the defense, but Davis was still gone. Here's what a very insightful article on The Ringer had to say about Davis' departure: "Before Davis retired, the Bills played six quarters and were outscored 75-9. Since Davis retired, the Bills have played six quarters and have outscored the opposition 41-9."

The second factor playing in the Bills' favor is that the Vikings were likely overlooking them. Last Sunday, they played to a hard-fought tie with their arch-rivals, the Packers, and this Thursday they have to go to Los Angeles to face the red-hot Rams - in a throwback to a number of great  '70s tilts between these two squads. The Vikings definitely came out flat,.

I have to admit I was unusually excited for the game - maybe because I hadn't been able to watch the Bills' first two games, due to my son having youth games at the same time. His game this past Sunday wasn't until four, so I figured I would at least get to watch the first half vs. Vikings - and it would likely be over by then anyway. It was over of course, just not in the way anyone expected.

I also was inspired to pull out the Taz shirt from the bottom of my drawer yesterday morning:

I think I've had that shirt since the glory days of the '90s and I'm not sure when the last time it saw action was, but you can't dispute yesterday's results. The question is do I wear it next week and until the Bills lose, or save it for another big game? Yes, I said another big game! The playoffs are certainly not out of reach....

No seriously, New England looks like they are not very good (of course, how many times have we said that before they turned it around) and we never thought Miami or the Jets were going to be good. And the Bills defense has looked very solid for 6 straight quarters now - which was the key to getting us to 9-7 and a playoff birth last year. Plus Allen looks legitimately better than Tyrod (bad week for his stock). Maybe when/if Shady comes back, we'll be even better. Who, knows? It's all in play now (5-11 also is) as we move to Green Bay next week. Go Bills.

Insights on Women and Guests from the Odyssey

I think I have mentioned that I am re-reading the Odyssey, an abbreviated version of which I first came across in grade school, and a story which has fascinated me ever since. As always, when re-reading something, the different perspective you bring to the material gives it a new spin. And the Odyssey offers plenty of content for spinning.

I tried reading the preface to the Robert Fagles version I have, and there were some points in there about Homer's treatment of women in the text. I think Fagles (or whoever wrote the preface) said he treated them fairly well, so I have been kind of watching for that throughout the text. Women are clearly very powerful in the Odyssey - after all, Helen started the Trojan Way, but they are certainly not treated as equals of men. That said, this lack of equality doesn't mean they aren't just as powerful.

Helen, for instance, is found back in Menelaus' house, and her stature and position don't seem to have been diminished by her "fling" with Paris.

Of course, there does seem to be a bit of treachery and untrustworthiness associated with several women in the Odyssey.

There is Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, who with her lover ambushes and kills the great Greek king upon his return home from Troy - not good luck with women those sons of Atreus, who apparently had some trouble with his own wife as well.

Then there is Penelope, Odysseus lonely wife and heroine of the story. While he's gone, she keeps to herself for the most part, but also won't rule out the suitors and seems to lead them on, until of course they meet their bloody deaths at the hands of the hero. In Book 15, Athena encourages Telemachus, Odysseus' son to sail home with the following warning, "You know how the heart of a woman always works: she likes to build the wealth of her new groom - of the sons she bore of her dear, departed husband, not a memory of the dead, no questions asked." Hmmm, a rather curious depiction of the duplicity of women.

Penelope is painted as both a hero and a potential villainous, but it's precisely this complexity of character that makes the Odyssey so interesting and enjoyable 10,000 years after it was written. Odysseus himself is far from perfect, and of course, neither are the gods!

Book 15 also includes this very perceptive insight on guests that still holds true today. According to Menelaus, when talking to Telemachus, "Balance is the best in all things. It's bad either way, spurring the stranger home who wants to linger, holding the one who wants to leave - you know, 'Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest!'" Timeless wisdom, for sure!

Butler to the Clips?

Don't know what to make of this. I think it's a great sign that they are on the top of his trade list and I like the part in the story where it says, the Clippers "are emerging as a front-runner for Kawhi Leonard when Toronto's All-NBA forward becomes a free agent in July," but there is also this "The market for Butler, 29, will likely be the five-year, $190 million maximum extension that could come with a trade to a new team, which means a team would be committing $40 million-plus annually to Butler as he reaches his mid-30s," and this, "it remains uncertain how much -- if anything -- the Clippers would trade for a player whom the team could sign this summer without surrendering any assets."

So, basically it seems the Clippers could execute a sign-and-trade for Butler, but that would require giving up prospects for a 30-year old on a max contract, and I'm not sure our (relatively) new guru Jerry West would want to do that. But, if we were guaranteed to get Kawhi, maybe he and Butler could be a foundation for something great for the next few years. I'd be very tempted to trade for Butler if I thought I was going to get Kawhi.

Big gambles with hundreds of millions of dollars going on here, but, that's the League.

Good luck Clips.

Bills Suck Again; Davis Departs

The Bills sucked again this week, managing to go down 28-3, before apparently stabilizing things and making it a respectable 31-20 loss - at home, to the San Diego  Los Angeles Chargers. I want to say that Phillip Rivers completed like 15 of his first 16 passes (I did not watch the game as it wasn't on locally and my son had a youth game anyhow). Rivers fast start was against a pass defense that included veteran cornerback Vontae Davis, who was one of the Bills' top off season free agent signings. Davis was inactive in Week 1, started Week 2 and then retired at halftime. Shades of Anquan Boldin from last year . What is it about these Bills that makes people want to walk away from the Bills? Is the fan base next? (SI pointed out that Kyle Orton left the Bills a few years back in similar fashion, not to mention Doug Marrone [who now coaches possibly the best team in the AFC] taking the money and running.)

Also, apparently McDermott took over defense play calling responsibilities from coordinator Leslie Frazier, which helped lead to the second-half improvement. This wouldn't seem to bode well for Frazier, the former Vikings head coach (21-32-1) who was hired by the Bills prior to last year. Is he even going to make the trip to Minnesota this week?

Next two weeks we are at Minnesota and Green Bay, so I'm expecting an 0-4 start. Maybe we can get Tennessee at home the following week, but I have no idea. Josh Allen seemed to play better than Peterman ever has at QB, so he's likely the guy from here on out. Let's hope he improves enough to lead us to some wins. 

Allen getting the Starting Nod

It seems that Josh Allen is getting the starting nod for the Bills this Sunday at home vs. the San Diego Los Angeles Chargers. Not exactly sure what to make of this. On one hand, it appears the Bills are throwing him into the fire vs. a ferocious pass rush - on the other hand Nathan Peterman certainly hasn't proven he is a capable NFL starting QB, so why not start letting Allen gain some experience now? Potential injuries and a loss of confidence long-term are probably the two reasons against starting Allen, but at least with Allen you appear to be working toward some future goal. The Peterman road seems to be a dead end.

Good luck Josh. It can't be as bad as last Sunday's 3-47 loss to Baltimore or last year's 24-54 loss at the Chargers when Peterman threw 5 INTs in the first half of his first professional start, can it? My paranoia tells me yes, but let's hope I'm over-reacting.

Book Recommendation: The Music of Chance

by Paul Auster.

About a guy who comes into a bunch of money, blows it, hooks up with a degenerate gambler and gets into some really hot water with some rich guys.

Amazon listing

Trust the Process

We've clearly reached the "Trust the Process" phase of the Bills rebuild. After Sunday's 47-3 beatdown by the Ravens, what else could you surmise?

Head Coach Sean McDermott has consistently shipped talent out of town - including Marcel Darius, Sammy Watkins, and Tryod Taylor and brought in his own players. The result is a roster without a lot of proven talent, aside from LeSean McCoy, Tre'Davious White and maybe Jerry Hughes, Kyle Williams, and a few others (I guess the safeties) and a bunch of McDermott's guys.

Yeah, we made the playoffs last year, but three players that are now gone - Tyrod, Eric Wood, and Richie Incognito - had a lot to do with making the offense competent at times - at least enough times to finish 9-7. The defense was fairly decent last year and didn't seem to lose too many players, so, I'm not sure what happened yesterday vs. Ravens, maybe it was an anomaly. But, I don't think I'm expecting the playoffs this year. We do play the Dolphins and Jets twice each, so maybe 5-11 would be an optimistic outlook.

On top of that, you have to trust that McDermott is really building something from the ground up. I like Josh Allen (have wanted him for the Bills since I first heard about him after his outstanding junior year), and guess the idea is to fill in some pieces in around him. In his first game yesterday, rookie Tremaine Edwards looked like a stud from all reports, and last year's first round pick, White, has also looked like a winner. But the o'line seems to be devoid of talent and something obviously gave on the defense....So, we'll see if McDermott gets this right, but unfortunately, it appears like we may have to suffer through at least one miserable year. I'm willing to do that, if there is light at the end of the tunnel. The Bills did go back-to-back 2-14s in the mid-'80s before emerging as a championship contender a few years later. So, there is some precedent.

For now, I guess we can always take heart in the success of our castoffs like Ryan Fitzpatrick, who passed for 417 yards and 4 TDs yesterday while leading the Buccaneers to a 48-40 win over the Saints. Yeah right, while our quarterbacks threw for 70 yards with no TDs and two interceptions. Hopefully in another five years, when we are celebrating our latest AFC championship, this will all be a bad, distant memory. Either that or we'll be gnashing our teeth through yet another rebuild.

Ringer Ranks Bills Number 32

Yes, that's last in their pre-season NFL power rankings. The good news is there is nowhere to go but up. The bad news is that I might agree with that ranking. The only reason I say "might" is that I really don't know how good any of the other 31 teams are, only really closely following the Bills in pre-season. Okay, I might think that the Patriots could no way be worse than the Bills, but as for the Jets and Dolphins - our two other divisional foes, as far as I know we might be better.

Yes, the Bills o-line has looked like shit in the preseason and we seem to be starting the season with a quarterback who threw five interceptions in a half in his only NFL start that I remember last year - it does seem he also started the Snow Bowl win - but we couldn't see who was playing. My feeling is that Peterman inspires a lot more confidence in the Bills coaches and Pitt alumni (who all tell me he is good) than he does in me. But, I thought we would absolutely stink last year and a strong defense and running game actually led us into the playoffs, where we were at least competitive with Jacksonville - til Peterman through an interception of course.

So, what are we looking at this year? I am going to maintain my pessimism in spite of last year's performance (maybe it will pay off again) and go with 4-12 with at least half those wins coming in the division.