Writer's Block?

By Jon

I've been a stranger around these parts lately. It's a three-way tie as to why:

1) Lots of traveling around Thanksgiving left little time to coherently think about something to post about.

2)I didn't really know what I thought of the local teams.

3) Pure laziness.

I'd be lying if I said that #3 wasn't the biggest factor, but after watching the Sabres and Bills over the past couple of weeks, I think we have a better idea on where they stand.

Bills

After the New England game, I was convinced that the Bills didn't have a shot in hell, but I didn't go public with my thoughts because I wanted to be proven wrong. I wanted them to run over Jacksonville and give me some hope. Didn't happen. Truth be told, this team isn't much better than any of the other teams we've been subjected to over the past seven-ish years. Sure, it was fun to look at playoff scenarios when this team had a winning record after nine games, but look at the teams they beat:

NYJ x2
Baltimore
Miami
Cincinatti

Combined record: 10-34.

All of the teams we beat are teams that we should have beat. But we couldn't pull it out against teams that we are competing with (i.e. Denver, Jacksonville.) If you look at the rest of the schedule, there's only one team left that we SHOULD beat: Miami. The rest of the games are against teams competing for the playoffs, AKA the games we haven't been able to win this year.

The quarterback situation has been hashed and re-hashed a thousand times, but I think the JP Losman bandwagon has pretty much closed up shop. I'm not the only one who would be shocked to see him in a Bills uniform next year.

Sabres

After pulling out our fifth straight win against Washington on Monday night, the Roost's own Chris proclaimed to me that the Sabres were cup contenders. If they play the way they did during their win streak, I can't really argue. But it's games like Wednesday's tilt with the Blues that will keep the fans grounded. And really, that's what I expect from this team for the rest of the year. The high times will make them look like the class of the Eastern Conference, but the low times will make you want to put your head through a pane of glass.

I realize this is hardly original commentary, but if they enter March and April on a hot streak, they might make some noise.

(That is, of course, if they are healthy. A big if.)

Also, I don't fully support Ryan's efforts to get Goose crowned captain for December. I like Goose, don't get me wrong. Hell, he's the namesake of the blog. That's not to say that I don't think he has leadership ability, but I really have liked the job that Hecht and Lydman have done. Basically, I would keep the same three letter-wearers we have now (Hecht, Lydman, Campbell), but I would give the "C" back to Jochen.

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I struggled with my thoughts of the media coverage in the Sean Taylor case, but I think Dan LeBatard (as much as I hate him) wrote a decent piece on the subject.