So I’m sitting here at work (study-hall aid) and maybe you won’t believe it, but I don’t have much to do.
I assure you this is not my calling in life, but it’ll make a buck for the time being.
Anyway, with all this free time on my hands, I’ve got a lot to say that you may or may not agree with about Buffalo sports in his dreary day in October.
I realized that short, quick blurbs are what people like today; it at least changes the pace from those long, drawn out columns/rants I write on occasion.
Buffalo Sabres
– As Joe touched on yesterday, there’s no need to panic yet. Worry? Maybe. There’s bound to be a power shift someday in the NHL, but take a look at the standings right now. Toronto’s a top the East with 6 points, while Pittsburgh and Ottawa are a combined 1-5-1. Buffalo isn’t the only pre-season “contender” that’s struggled out of the gate.
– I will say that in watching the Sabres’ last three home contests, they have trouble getting pucks to the net and they definitely “complete” a low percentage of their passes. There has been too many blocked shots when they’re in the opposing team’s zone, and I havent’ seen many tape-to-tape passes – plenty of bouncing pucks. I’m not a hockey guru, but someway, somehow, that needs to change. As the new players jell with their linemates this should improve.
– Even though his goals against average is currently 2.78, Ryan Miller is still the man. He single-handedly kept Buffalo in the game against the Devils, and sent away a flurry of first period shots when the Sabres only mustered one. The type of performance he put on last night will win the Sabres many games this season.
Buffalo Bills
– Where to start? Yea, the Bills are terrible, we know.
– How about the release of Chris Ellis earlier this week. It’s not exactly Chris Kelsay Extension-esque, but another move I can’t fully wrap my mind around. Ellis was far from a stud, but does anyone else think John McCargo is a more worthy candidate to be cut?
– The Bills held a player’s only meeting this week and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Sure, it looks good to the average fan, but what was said in there? I heard free-agent invisible acquisition Reggie Torbor did most of the talking? Well, at least it shows they aren’t happy being the laughingstock of the league.
– Buffalo added LB Thomas Williams who played at USC after the Ellis release. Will he make a difference? Probably not, but he does have special teams experience with Carolina and last played for the Patriots. The blocking for C.J. Spiller has been atrocious, so if Williams can play on kick returns, that’s a plus.
– This talk of playing Brian Brohm is a little crazy. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who’s certainly not the future of this franchise is actually playing better than many orginially thought. His QB rating is near 100 and he’s got 7 TDS to only 2 INTS. Chunks of his yardage has come in garbage time, but he deserves to play, and I highly doubt Brohm is the franchise guy some desperate Bills’ fans hope he is. I mean can you really expect him to come in, light the world on fire, so much so that the Bills don’t take a QB with their first pick in next year’s draft? I don’t think so.
– With that being said, QB is not Buffalo’s biggest problem. It’s where to start when rebuilding a franchise, but if the other pieces were in place right now, call me crazy, but I’m fairly confident the Bills could be a .500 or better team with Fitzpatrick under center. Linebacker, offensive tackle, and any type of player that can create a pass rush are much more critical needs for the Bills at this juncture.
Niagara Hockey
– Today, they appointed former Sabres defensivemen Jay McKee to their staff. I don’t know much about the collegiate hockey ranks, but this has to be a good move for one of the better programs in the area. Maybe they’ll have a run like RIT did last year? Without the 8-1 loss on national TV.
Buffalo Bulls Football
– They escaped in their MAC opener against Bowling Green, but face a much tougher test this week when they play Northern Illinois in Dekalb. The Huskies lost their opener to Iowa State but since then beat North Dakota, (big whoop) narrowly lost to an improved Illinois team, won at Minnesota, destroyed Akron 50-14 and took down Temple last week 31-17. They are currently 12th in the nation in rushing, averaging 236.2 yards per contest. We’ll see how good or bad the Bulls are after this matchup.
That’s all I got. Time for lunch.
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