Are you ready for some football? If you're anxious for some Bills football, I'm afraid we've still got nearly three full days to wait. However, there is football to watch tonight, as the Colts take on the Saints in the season opener. (Of course, if these two clubs don't satiate your need for Bills football, you can always check out the Buffalo Gridiron Pulse, which airs LIVE tonight at 9:00 PM eastern). For now, I offer you some Bills tidbits from around the Web:
The Bills (and by the Bills I mean the actual Bills, as in the players) voted on their team captains, and those names were released to the public. Your 2007 Buffalo Bills captains are:
Offense: QB J.P. Losman, WR Lee Evans
Defense: DE Chris Kelsay, LB Angelo Crowell
Special Teams: P Brian Moorman, LB Coy Wire
Solid choices by our young football team. It's great to see Losman get yet another vote of confidence from his teammates. It's also nice to see that the young guys realize just how valuable a performer Coy Wire is to this team. This announcement got me even more pumped up for Sunday's game - I can't wait to see how our new leaders respond in the first game of the season.
Negative Nancy (my pet name for Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan for those new to the site) has surprisingly written a smart article today cautioning Bills fans that this team is still, in fact, rebuilding. His best point:
Spot on, NN. Many Bills fans are under the impression that this team is ready to make a playoff run this year. While I couldn't call myself a Bills fan if I didn't want this to happen, it is my belief that this team is, as NN says, too young to be a serious contender this year. I view 2007 as a year of growth and maturation - and once that happens with this roster, this team is going to be really, really good. The Bills are going to scare a lot of good football teams this year, starting two days from now when Denver comes to town. Temper your expectations a bit and you will enjoy this season; temper your expectations and watch a 2008 contender blossom right before your eyes.
Imagine for a moment that the upcoming Bills/Broncos game is a freshly purchased strawberry sundae. Mmm, ice cream. If you've got that image in your mind, this article is the bully who beats you up, steals your ice cream and your money, and ruins your week. Consider - well, not my week - but my Thursday ruined:
Dick Jauron enters his second season with a team that's simply trying to produce a winning record for the second time since 1999. Making the playoffs appears to be a loftier goal for a team that has endured a rebuilding process that has lasted twice as long as the average NFL career.
Sure. Go ahead. Bring up the worst game in Bills history. Twist that knife a little deeper. It feels so good. Seriously, is it prudent for a local media entity to bring up eight years of pain and suffering two days - two bleeding days - before this promising team opens their 2007 season? I would be willing to bet that if a poll had been taken on what Bills fans would rather read besides this article, you'd see some interesting results with more votes. The weather, SpongeBob SquarePants and the New England Patriots come to mind.
We. Know. We know this team has sucked for the vast majority of the past decade. We know that the team is still a year or two away from making a full comeback. Rather than trashing my sanity, however, I like to focus on the fact that this is the most talented squad we've had in recent memory, and that the future of the franchise is brilliantly bright. But no. No, the Buffalo News likes perspective.
Ugh. Can we just fast forward to Sunday, please?