Jerry Sullivan was the lead sports columnist for the Buffalo News for 16 years before he was unceremoniously punted by the newspaper in May because his "voice was becoming bad for business". That was the reason given to Sullivan, now an independent Buffalo-based journalist, by the paper. Were his columns, particularly about the Bills (and especially during the post-2000 playoff drought and before Ralph Wilson's death), often quite negative? Yes they were. But for good reason in my opinion. A cheerleader he was not. Sullivan was critical of Wilson's cheapskate management and coaching hiring practices after the departure of the triumvirate of GM Bill Polian, coach Marv Levy and quarterback Jim Kelly. It was my impression that Sullivan had a large following of readers among Buffalo sports fans - those who agreed with him and those who didn't. The Buffalo News obviously saw it differently. I always loved his description of how he approached his job with the paper in terms of not being a homer: "I column as I see 'em".
I have no idea how Sullivan earns a living theses days. I follow him on Twitter and I read his columns after every Bills game (which he posts to his Twitter account). Maybe there are advertisements for Tops Friendly Markets or Dunn Tire embedded somewhere in his column that I subconsciously see but I certainly don't pay to read what he posts. Not to say that I necessarily wouldn't pay if it came to that but, for me, either way, he is a go-to source after every Bills game. Yesterday, Sullivan referred to the Bills win over the Detroit Lions as a key part of the equation in their "epic race to 7-9". It reminded me of something he said about Dick Jauron who coached the Bills from 2006 through November of 2009. The Bills finished 7-9 in 2006, 2007 and 2008 under Jauron. In a sarcastic reference to his pursuit of mediocrity, Sullivan wrote that "Jauron strings up 7-9 seasons like Christmas lights on his house".
Yesterday, Sullivan described the Bills v. Lions game at Ralph Wilson Stadium as "having an August feel to it". I'm quite sure that he wasn't referring to the weather - rather to the fact that the game felt much like it was taking place in the pre-season with little for either team to play for in terms of the importance of a win or a loss. The Bills and Lions do play every year in week four of the pre-season - usually the least relevant of the NFL's four-game season ticket holder punishment program before the real games start.
Another thought that Sullivan had yesterday was about the emergence of Robert Foster as a legitimate NFL wide-receiver. Foster, who played his college football at Alabama, was signed by the Bills as an undrafted free agent in May. This reunited him with Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll who was Foster's coordinator in Tuscaloosa. At last winter's combine, Foster's 4.41 in the 40 yard dash ranked him fifth among receivers but was not quite enough for any team to draft him. He was called up to the Bills from the practice squad last month and yesterday, he recorded four catches for 108 yards - his third 100 yard receiving game this year. Yesterday;s effort included catching the game-winning 42 yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen in the fourth quarter. Presumably the Bills will have a fresh new cohort of receivers on the team in 2019 but Foster has shown enough to deserve a chance to compete for the number one receiver position in training camp.
As for the Bills epic race to 7-9, it may prove to be too tall an order as they travel to Foxborough next week to face the Patriots who have now lost two consecutive games. They still lead the AFC East but currently occupy the third seed which means a home playoff game but no first round bye and road games in the second and third rounds. They would obviously like to move up to the second seed which would earn them a week off followed by a home game. If Josh Allen and Robert Foster can lead the Bills to a win, it would be truly epic.
Oh, and the winner of this week's Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award is.......Bills running back Marcus Murphy who left the game in the second quarter with an apparent broken arm. He's done for the season and may be done withe the Bills altogether. I wish him well.
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