In Nepal, it is known as Sagarmatha. In Tibet, the name is Chomolungma. In 1865, Andrew Waugh of the Royal Geographic Society, who held the post of British Surveyor General of India, decided to "re-name" the world's highest mountain after his predecessor and the man who hired him, Welshman George Everest. Everest, who had never seen the mountain himself, apparently objected to his name being used in this case because, among other reasons, it was not easily pronounced in or translated to Hindi. The Society went ahead anyway and the name has obviously stuck.
Mount Everest rises 12,000 feet from its base which sits at about 17,000 feet above sea level. Its peak is measured at 29,028 feet or 8,848 metres. In other words, the top of the world's highest mountain stands almost nine kilometres above sea level. By comparison, the deepest part of the ocean lies south of Japan and east of the Philippines in a part of the Mariana Trench known as Challenger Deep. That clocks in at just short of 11,000 metres (or 11km) deep.
One day, I plan to dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, swim to India and then climb Mount Everest. But I will start by going to Nepal and trekking to Everest Base Camp - something which I am on my way to do right now. I have received more that $500 of vaccinations, filled prescriptions for Diamox (to prevent or minimize altitude sickness) and a powerful anti-biotic in case of intestinal infection and I have been climbing the stairs in my 12 floor building for a few weeks.
Am I ready? We'll see. This trip could make wilderness canoe tripping seem like 5-star luxury. Our guides tell us that Nepal is a mystical and spiritual place with wonderful warm people who rely largely on whatever income they can generate from the thousands of trekkers and others who come to see the world's most spectacular mountains. Everest Base Camp alone sees about 40,000 trekkers every year.
As you read this, I will be on a 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. We left Sunday evening and will arrive on Tuesday. Crossing the International Date Line in a west-bound direction means we will not experience Monday this week, although I understand that the Giants v. 49ers Monday Night Football game will take place anyway. On the way back, we will endure Thursday November 29th for a couple of days. The Saints play at Dallas that day.
Meanwhile, yesterday in the Meadowlands, the NFL dialed up another entirely unpredictable outcome as the Bills dominated the home team in all three phases of the game with Matt Barkley looking decidedly above average at least in terms of his ranking among the team's 2018 class of quarterbacks through ten weeks of play. I'm sure that Barkley jersey sales came close to crashing the Bills merchandise site when they went up 31-0 late in the second quarter. I have a feeling that I may be seeing soon-to-be former Jets coach Tod Bowles within the next few days. If I were him, I would seriously consider immediately going trekking in Nepal.
I scheduled the trip in order miss only one Bills game - the November 25th home game against the Jaguars. The bye week is next week so there will be no blog posts from me until Monday December 3rd, after the Bills play the Dolphins in south Florida.
Commentary on the Buffalo Bills, politics and whatever else is on my mind
Sunday, 11 November 2018
Monday, 5 November 2018
Bears 41, Bills 9
Nathan Peterman's great grandfather, Nathaniel Jeremiah Peterman, established the family tradition of interception throwing way back in the early 20th century when he played college football somewhere in Florida at a time when passing in football was only beginning to find its way into offensive playbooks. Three generations later, Nathan Peterman proudly carries on the family tradition in a Buffalo Bills uniform. His relationship with interceptions is complex and deep. They are a fundamental part of who he is as a football player and as a man. And he is committed to the practice: his career NFL statistics show that he throws an interception on every tenth pass attempt. Even when they are not his fault, the interceptions just seem to pile up when he is under centre. But that didn't stop the Bills from taking him in the fifth round of last year's draft and naming him as their starting quarterback going into week one this season. He got another start yesterday - the third of his NFL career - as he was clearly the best quarterback on the roster not suffering from an injured elbow or a concussion.
The Chicago Bears had 11 first downs yesterday in Orchard Park. The Bills had 22. The Bears gained only 190 total yards compared to the Bills 264. Buffalo won the time of possession battle by eight minutes. These statistics usually lead to a win but the Bills engineered their own blow-out by handing the game to the Bears with three turnovers in six offensive plays in the second quarter. Two of these were returned for touchdowns. Peterman did achieve a couple of irrelevant milestones yesterday: first, he played a complete game for the first time in his career and second, he led the team on a touchdown drive (and scored the touchdown himself) which began on their side of mid-field for the first time in 25 quarters, or almost 40% of an entire NFL season. Albeit, that was in garbage time. I had long since taken the dog for a walk at that point and didn't see it but I'm sure that NFL Films will feature it one day as part of its deep dive on Nathan Peterman as the only player to win the Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award three times in one season. And there are still seven games to go. If he wins it again, that record will likely stand until climate change consumes the earth in fire.
On Saturday, I caught most of the second half of the game in Austin, Texas where the No. 7 West Virginia Mountaineers stole a 42-41 win over the Longhorns. After scoring a late touchdown which brought them to within a point of tying the game, the Mountaineers rolled the dice and went for the win by going for a two-point convert which was successful. I admire that kind of aggressive approach and it helped make that the game of the day in College football. Going into yesterday's NFL action, the game of the day was either going to be the Saints and the Rams (the league's only undefeated team) or the Patriots and Packers. The saints ended up handing the Rams their first loss of the season in a very entertaining game, thereby prompting the 1972 Miami Dolphins to uncork their champagne knowing that their record of an undefeated season, including the playoffs and the Superbowl, will stand for another year.
The US mid-term elections take place tomorrow. I saw some eye-popping numbers from the advance polls over the weekend which point to a high turnout and renewed engagement on the part of voters aged 18 to 29. These numbers may not carry through to the final results but in some states, the early voting numbers for that cohort are quite impressive: in North Dakota, turn-out in advance polls among 18-29 year-olds was up 2,400%, in Wisconsin, it was up 758%, Tennessee 666% and over 400% in Texas and in Georgia. I read some analysis which predicted that this mid-term round will probably have the highest voter turn-out since 1966 when about 49% of eligible voters exercised their right. The last few mid-term rounds have averaged at or below 40%. High turn-out and an engaged pool of younger voters probably spells bad news for the GOP but engagement on both sides appears to be strong, thanks to inflamed rhetoric and the unprecedented political divide in the US right now.
The Democrats are on a path to re-take the House of Representatives as all of its 435 seats are up for grabs tomorrow. The Senate is another story with only 35 seats being contested, 26 of which are held by Democrats. They will need to hold all of these and gain another two seats if they are to take over control of the Senate. Or, if they lose one (as seems likely in North Dakota), they will need to take away three seats from the Republicans. The most likely states where the Dems have a chance to unseat Republican Senators are Texas, Tennessee, Arizona and Nevada. The party which occupies the White House is almost always dealt a set-back in mid-term elections. Tomorrow night, we'll learn how big that set-back is.
For those who might care, the Bills play the Jets next week at the Meadowlands of New Jersey.
The Chicago Bears had 11 first downs yesterday in Orchard Park. The Bills had 22. The Bears gained only 190 total yards compared to the Bills 264. Buffalo won the time of possession battle by eight minutes. These statistics usually lead to a win but the Bills engineered their own blow-out by handing the game to the Bears with three turnovers in six offensive plays in the second quarter. Two of these were returned for touchdowns. Peterman did achieve a couple of irrelevant milestones yesterday: first, he played a complete game for the first time in his career and second, he led the team on a touchdown drive (and scored the touchdown himself) which began on their side of mid-field for the first time in 25 quarters, or almost 40% of an entire NFL season. Albeit, that was in garbage time. I had long since taken the dog for a walk at that point and didn't see it but I'm sure that NFL Films will feature it one day as part of its deep dive on Nathan Peterman as the only player to win the Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award three times in one season. And there are still seven games to go. If he wins it again, that record will likely stand until climate change consumes the earth in fire.
On Saturday, I caught most of the second half of the game in Austin, Texas where the No. 7 West Virginia Mountaineers stole a 42-41 win over the Longhorns. After scoring a late touchdown which brought them to within a point of tying the game, the Mountaineers rolled the dice and went for the win by going for a two-point convert which was successful. I admire that kind of aggressive approach and it helped make that the game of the day in College football. Going into yesterday's NFL action, the game of the day was either going to be the Saints and the Rams (the league's only undefeated team) or the Patriots and Packers. The saints ended up handing the Rams their first loss of the season in a very entertaining game, thereby prompting the 1972 Miami Dolphins to uncork their champagne knowing that their record of an undefeated season, including the playoffs and the Superbowl, will stand for another year.
The US mid-term elections take place tomorrow. I saw some eye-popping numbers from the advance polls over the weekend which point to a high turnout and renewed engagement on the part of voters aged 18 to 29. These numbers may not carry through to the final results but in some states, the early voting numbers for that cohort are quite impressive: in North Dakota, turn-out in advance polls among 18-29 year-olds was up 2,400%, in Wisconsin, it was up 758%, Tennessee 666% and over 400% in Texas and in Georgia. I read some analysis which predicted that this mid-term round will probably have the highest voter turn-out since 1966 when about 49% of eligible voters exercised their right. The last few mid-term rounds have averaged at or below 40%. High turn-out and an engaged pool of younger voters probably spells bad news for the GOP but engagement on both sides appears to be strong, thanks to inflamed rhetoric and the unprecedented political divide in the US right now.
The Democrats are on a path to re-take the House of Representatives as all of its 435 seats are up for grabs tomorrow. The Senate is another story with only 35 seats being contested, 26 of which are held by Democrats. They will need to hold all of these and gain another two seats if they are to take over control of the Senate. Or, if they lose one (as seems likely in North Dakota), they will need to take away three seats from the Republicans. The most likely states where the Dems have a chance to unseat Republican Senators are Texas, Tennessee, Arizona and Nevada. The party which occupies the White House is almost always dealt a set-back in mid-term elections. Tomorrow night, we'll learn how big that set-back is.
For those who might care, the Bills play the Jets next week at the Meadowlands of New Jersey.
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Patriots 25, Bills 6
A hastily arranged gathering of the clan took place last night. The clan being a small group of men in their mid-fifties and the gathering being a get-together focused on watching televised professional sports. Late October clearly is the very best time of year for North American sports fans with every team sport operating on some level. If the World Series had been even a bit more interesting than it was this year, game six would be tonight. Hockey and basketball regular seasons are well under way. The CFL is entering the final week of its regular season while the NFL is half way through theirs. There isn't a late October night that goes by without some solid sports viewing to be had and last night was obviously no exception with the Maple Leafs at home against Calgary, the undefeated Raptors visiting the undefeated Milwaukee Bucks and the Bills playing a home game on Monday night. So, the clan gathered, aided by the best multiple picture feature that Bell Fibe has to offer as all three relevant games were on concurrently.
The Leafs fell first, giving up two quick early third period goals before losing 3-1, then the Raptors hopes of an 82-0 season were dashed as they fell to the Bucks whose similar hopes remains alive for now. Not a good start for our Toronto based teams but down the road and across the river in Orchard Park, the Bills were hanging tough against their nemesis, the New England Patriots, trailing only 9-3 at halftime. The Bills were doing ESPN a solid by keeping the national football television audience tuned in for longer than most pundits (and me) expected. The second half of the game in Orchard Park earned the clan's full attention - and for good reason. There would be no early to bed on this night.
As Bills fans have seen so many times over the past 20 or more years (after Jim Kelly retired), their team's defence put in another inspired performance, keeping the Patriots out of the endzone until the fourth quarter while the offence coughed, sputtered and stopped possession after possession. But the home team and its fired-up fans trailed by a manageable score of 12-6 after the third quarter. A touchdown, if it ever came (and it obviously didn't), could win the game and upset the heavily favoured visitors. Matt Milano, the second-year fifth-rounder from Boston College looked strong again at linebacker as he and his defensive teammates played hard, hit hard and kept their team in the game until well into the fourth quarter. Tremaine Edmunds, the promising rookie linebacker who the Bills took at 16th overall from Virginia Tech, suffered a concussion in the second quarter and did not return. He earns this week's Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award - not because he should or will retire - just because he missed the second half and someone has to win the award each and every week of this 2018 season. His tackling is excellent and I hope to see him play many playoff games in a Bills uniform starting round about the 2020 season and beyond.
With the score 18-6, Bills tight end Jason Croom fooled us for a few seconds with what looked from the television angle like a spectacular one-handed 25 yard touchdown catch which would have made the game a one-score affair with six minutes left. But the replay clearly showed that he didn't actually make the catch and then two plays later, the Bills dialed up the old and always reliable interception-returned-for-a-touchdown play which sealed the game and sent us all home for the night. The Patriots would like to play the Bills more than twice every year as they are 32-5 in their last 37 games against them. Watching Brady playing and Belichick coaching last night made me feel that us Bills fans are caught in a never-ending feedback loop which just keeps playing losses to the Patriots over and over again. When will they leave and let us have a sniff at winning the AFC East and earning the coveted home playoff game which goes with it?
At 2-6, the season is now a write-off and if this were English Premier League football, the Bills would stand a good chance of relegation. The remaining competition is for player evaluation and draft order. The Chicago Bears make their first visit to Orchard Park in 16 years on Sunday. Last time they played "at Buffalo", in November, 2010, the game was played in the subdued and quiet confines of the Rogers Centre, a few minutes walk from where we watched last night's games. The Bears, at 4-3, look to have a decent team this year after picking up former UB Bull Kahlil Mack from the Raiders. Their fans also travel well so there should be a good crowd back at New Era Field in five days time.
The Leafs fell first, giving up two quick early third period goals before losing 3-1, then the Raptors hopes of an 82-0 season were dashed as they fell to the Bucks whose similar hopes remains alive for now. Not a good start for our Toronto based teams but down the road and across the river in Orchard Park, the Bills were hanging tough against their nemesis, the New England Patriots, trailing only 9-3 at halftime. The Bills were doing ESPN a solid by keeping the national football television audience tuned in for longer than most pundits (and me) expected. The second half of the game in Orchard Park earned the clan's full attention - and for good reason. There would be no early to bed on this night.
As Bills fans have seen so many times over the past 20 or more years (after Jim Kelly retired), their team's defence put in another inspired performance, keeping the Patriots out of the endzone until the fourth quarter while the offence coughed, sputtered and stopped possession after possession. But the home team and its fired-up fans trailed by a manageable score of 12-6 after the third quarter. A touchdown, if it ever came (and it obviously didn't), could win the game and upset the heavily favoured visitors. Matt Milano, the second-year fifth-rounder from Boston College looked strong again at linebacker as he and his defensive teammates played hard, hit hard and kept their team in the game until well into the fourth quarter. Tremaine Edmunds, the promising rookie linebacker who the Bills took at 16th overall from Virginia Tech, suffered a concussion in the second quarter and did not return. He earns this week's Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award - not because he should or will retire - just because he missed the second half and someone has to win the award each and every week of this 2018 season. His tackling is excellent and I hope to see him play many playoff games in a Bills uniform starting round about the 2020 season and beyond.
With the score 18-6, Bills tight end Jason Croom fooled us for a few seconds with what looked from the television angle like a spectacular one-handed 25 yard touchdown catch which would have made the game a one-score affair with six minutes left. But the replay clearly showed that he didn't actually make the catch and then two plays later, the Bills dialed up the old and always reliable interception-returned-for-a-touchdown play which sealed the game and sent us all home for the night. The Patriots would like to play the Bills more than twice every year as they are 32-5 in their last 37 games against them. Watching Brady playing and Belichick coaching last night made me feel that us Bills fans are caught in a never-ending feedback loop which just keeps playing losses to the Patriots over and over again. When will they leave and let us have a sniff at winning the AFC East and earning the coveted home playoff game which goes with it?
At 2-6, the season is now a write-off and if this were English Premier League football, the Bills would stand a good chance of relegation. The remaining competition is for player evaluation and draft order. The Chicago Bears make their first visit to Orchard Park in 16 years on Sunday. Last time they played "at Buffalo", in November, 2010, the game was played in the subdued and quiet confines of the Rogers Centre, a few minutes walk from where we watched last night's games. The Bears, at 4-3, look to have a decent team this year after picking up former UB Bull Kahlil Mack from the Raiders. Their fans also travel well so there should be a good crowd back at New Era Field in five days time.
Monday, 22 October 2018
Colts 38, Bills 5
I can't decide whether yesterday's game was worse for Bills fans than week one at Baltimore was when the Bills were crushed 47-3. I am certain that it doesn't matter at all as either game provided clear evidence that the Bills are one of the worst two or three teams in the NFL in 2018. They are in contention for the first overall draft pick in 2019 along with the Cardinals, the Raiders and the 49ers. It seems hard to believe but going into week seven, some NFL pundits actually placed the Colts below the Bills in their power rankings. I expect that will change.
The game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis yesterday was scoreless through the first quarter but the Colts and their blue chip quarterback Andrew Luck came alive in the second quarter with 24 points. The Bills defence, which had played surprisingly well over the past four weeks, delivered a decidedly uninspired performance. On the other side of the ball, journeyman quarterback Derek Anderson, who was on vacation with his family two weeks ago when he got the call from Bills GM Brandon Beane, looked almost serviceable in the early going but faded as the game went on. He earns the Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award this week. For not staying retired. I suspect that this morning, he wishes that his vacation had taken him well out of cell range. Nathan Peterman probably watched the game from the sidelines with a feeling of relief that at least he would not be the scapegoat this week.
I caught some of the post-game commiseration on WGR yesterday. The mood fluctuated between somber and outraged as callers seemed particularly nonsensical and Mike Schop and the Bulldog gave them little leeway. They wondered if Bills coach Sean McDermott, now a season and a half into his head-coaching tenure, had, for the first time, "lost his team" yesterday. Did the defence simply lose motivation knowing that two weeks ago their starting quarterback was on vacation from his aluminum siding sales job? McDermott had been able to get his defence dialed-in for the last month but not yesterday. Will they end up at 2-14 and claim that first overall pick, they asked.
They then turned their attention to week eight. A Monday night home game. The first one in ten years. Wow! With the Patriots coming to Orchard Park in prime time, how should Bills fans be feeling about this game, they asked. What would the opening line be? The answer to that question is 13 points. As for how the fan base should be feeling, well, that's a tough one.
NBC took over the broadcast rights to Sunday Night Football from ESPN (which had the rights to the Sunday prime time games since they began in 1987) in 2006. ESPN took Monday Night Football from its related company ABC the same year. Ratings for SNF soon surged and is now consistently the most watched NFL game each week. Between 1970 and 2006, MNF was the league's prime time jewel. Since I became a dedicated Bills fan in the late 1970s, some of the most memorable Bills games took place on MNF. Among them are: (1) a game on November 14, 1988 when the Bills went into Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami and throttled the Dolphins 31-6 on their way to winning the AFC East before going all the way to the AFC Championship Game that season and starting their run of dominance which lasted until Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season, (2) the October 8, 2007 home game against the heavily favoured Dallas Cowboys which the Bills should have won but lost 25-24 on a long field goal as time ran out, and (3) another 25-24 loss on opening week of the 2009 season at New England when Leodis McKelvin fumbled the game away on a kick-off return. Fans spray-painted messages on the front lawn of McKelvin's house later that night. Maybe this week's game will remind us of the 2007 game with a cranked-up crowd supporting the underdog. And maybe the kicker will miss as time runs out.
Today, in Ontario, we vote. I'm not sure who is running for dog-catcher in my ward but I will make it my business to find out before I walk up to Glenview Presbyterian Church this evening. I have been thinking that it may be time to make some changes to municipal government structure in Ontario - in two areas in particular: the "weak mayor" system and the prohibition of political parties. Maybe these changes should apply only to Toronto (or to Toronto and perhaps four or five other large Ontario cities). Whoever wins the Toronto mayoralty tonight will have earned more direct votes than any other politician in Canada - in the hundreds of thousands at least - and in return, they will hold one vote of 26 on the new council. That's it. To move their agenda forward, they will have to earn the support of a majority of their council colleagues. This is something that Rob Ford never quite understood or accepted and, honestly, I think he may have had a valid point. As for political parties, I have collected the campaign brochures of those running for council and school trustee in my ward. Everyone seems to be in favour of better transit, reduced traffic gridlock, affordable housing, more efficient municipal services and smaller class sizes. I have also met and spoken with some of the candidates and I think I know how I'm going to vote. But for most people in this major urban centre where they are very unlikely to know any of the candidates personally, how would they possibly decide? If candidates in municipal elections were permitted to affiliate themselves with political parties, those affiliations alone would help guide voters in some way. I just wish I could vote for an NDP dog-catcher.
The game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis yesterday was scoreless through the first quarter but the Colts and their blue chip quarterback Andrew Luck came alive in the second quarter with 24 points. The Bills defence, which had played surprisingly well over the past four weeks, delivered a decidedly uninspired performance. On the other side of the ball, journeyman quarterback Derek Anderson, who was on vacation with his family two weeks ago when he got the call from Bills GM Brandon Beane, looked almost serviceable in the early going but faded as the game went on. He earns the Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award this week. For not staying retired. I suspect that this morning, he wishes that his vacation had taken him well out of cell range. Nathan Peterman probably watched the game from the sidelines with a feeling of relief that at least he would not be the scapegoat this week.
I caught some of the post-game commiseration on WGR yesterday. The mood fluctuated between somber and outraged as callers seemed particularly nonsensical and Mike Schop and the Bulldog gave them little leeway. They wondered if Bills coach Sean McDermott, now a season and a half into his head-coaching tenure, had, for the first time, "lost his team" yesterday. Did the defence simply lose motivation knowing that two weeks ago their starting quarterback was on vacation from his aluminum siding sales job? McDermott had been able to get his defence dialed-in for the last month but not yesterday. Will they end up at 2-14 and claim that first overall pick, they asked.
They then turned their attention to week eight. A Monday night home game. The first one in ten years. Wow! With the Patriots coming to Orchard Park in prime time, how should Bills fans be feeling about this game, they asked. What would the opening line be? The answer to that question is 13 points. As for how the fan base should be feeling, well, that's a tough one.
NBC took over the broadcast rights to Sunday Night Football from ESPN (which had the rights to the Sunday prime time games since they began in 1987) in 2006. ESPN took Monday Night Football from its related company ABC the same year. Ratings for SNF soon surged and is now consistently the most watched NFL game each week. Between 1970 and 2006, MNF was the league's prime time jewel. Since I became a dedicated Bills fan in the late 1970s, some of the most memorable Bills games took place on MNF. Among them are: (1) a game on November 14, 1988 when the Bills went into Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami and throttled the Dolphins 31-6 on their way to winning the AFC East before going all the way to the AFC Championship Game that season and starting their run of dominance which lasted until Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season, (2) the October 8, 2007 home game against the heavily favoured Dallas Cowboys which the Bills should have won but lost 25-24 on a long field goal as time ran out, and (3) another 25-24 loss on opening week of the 2009 season at New England when Leodis McKelvin fumbled the game away on a kick-off return. Fans spray-painted messages on the front lawn of McKelvin's house later that night. Maybe this week's game will remind us of the 2007 game with a cranked-up crowd supporting the underdog. And maybe the kicker will miss as time runs out.
Today, in Ontario, we vote. I'm not sure who is running for dog-catcher in my ward but I will make it my business to find out before I walk up to Glenview Presbyterian Church this evening. I have been thinking that it may be time to make some changes to municipal government structure in Ontario - in two areas in particular: the "weak mayor" system and the prohibition of political parties. Maybe these changes should apply only to Toronto (or to Toronto and perhaps four or five other large Ontario cities). Whoever wins the Toronto mayoralty tonight will have earned more direct votes than any other politician in Canada - in the hundreds of thousands at least - and in return, they will hold one vote of 26 on the new council. That's it. To move their agenda forward, they will have to earn the support of a majority of their council colleagues. This is something that Rob Ford never quite understood or accepted and, honestly, I think he may have had a valid point. As for political parties, I have collected the campaign brochures of those running for council and school trustee in my ward. Everyone seems to be in favour of better transit, reduced traffic gridlock, affordable housing, more efficient municipal services and smaller class sizes. I have also met and spoken with some of the candidates and I think I know how I'm going to vote. But for most people in this major urban centre where they are very unlikely to know any of the candidates personally, how would they possibly decide? If candidates in municipal elections were permitted to affiliate themselves with political parties, those affiliations alone would help guide voters in some way. I just wish I could vote for an NDP dog-catcher.
Monday, 15 October 2018
Texans 20, Bills 13
Derek Anderson was signed by the Buffalo Bills last week to be a mentor to Josh Allen. He was not on an NFL roster at the time, having reached the end of the line after last season with his former team, the Carolina Panthers, where Bills head coach Sean McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane knew Anderson well. Anderson's first day with the Bills was last Wednesday and when Josh Allen arrived at the stadium, Anderson was already hard at work, having completed his weight session and was deep into reviewing film of the team's upcoming opponent. By all accounts, Anderson, a 14 year veteran, was helpful to Allen last week as he prepared to face the Texans in Houston. Fast forward less than a week and Anderson may find himself as the Bills starting quarterback on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Nathan Peterman is a past winner of the Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award (and there are only four of them, after Davis himself) but this week, I am awarding him with a variation on the award - a sort of forced retirement - as he is likely to be cut by the Bills after earning the starting quarterback job coming out of training camp and the pre-season. Peterman will become a punchline in Buffalo for his propensity to throw interceptions and it seems unlikely that any other NFL team would want to add him to its roster. In his two career starts - one in Los Angeles last year and another in this year's opener in Baltimore - and after coming in to last season's playoff game in Jacksonville and then entering yesterday's game in the third quarter for an injured Josh Allen, Peterman has established himself as a prolific interception thrower. He threw five in his ill-fated start last season and another in the playoff game but yesterday he reached a new level by literally throwing the game away with 1.23 remaining in the fourth quarter of a tied game. Peterman's pass, intended for Kelvin Benjamin, was read easily by Texans cornerback Jonathan Joseph (as Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News put it, "he couldn't have read it more easily if it were flashed on a giant neon sign") who easily returned it for the game-winning touchdown. I can not see Peterman remaining on the Bills roster through the end of the season. If Allen can not play this week, look for Anderson to get the start with Peterman backing him up and then look for the Bills to cut Peterman once Allen is healthy again.
Lost in all of the Peterman interception excitement was an outstanding performance by the Bills defence in Houston yesterday. Think back to halftime of week two against the Chargers. Through a game and a half, the Bills defence looked like they couldn't stop anything. It was certainly enough for Vontae Davis and with clearly prolific ineptitude on both sides of the ball, I was preparing for the possibility of an 0-16 season and the first overall draft pick which goes with it. But since then, the Bills defence has steadily improved and yesterday in Houston, it looked very impressive indeed, allowing only 216 yards of offence and 13 points. The pass rush was awesome as Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson was sacked seven times and hit repeatedly. The Bills defence forced another three turnovers and held the Texans to a field goal at the end of the fourth quarter after setting up with a first down at the Bills one yard line after a pass interference call in the endzone. An outstretched Matt Milano got his hand in front of a third down pass from Watson to prevent a game-wining touchdown. Houston had little success in the run game with only 74 yards and, despite having one the NFL's best receivers in DeAndre Hopkins, the Texans managed only 142 passing yards on the day. With any modest level of offensive support, the Bills defence played more than well enough to win. I chalk up the improvement to good coaching.
Up next, the Bills travel to Indianapolis. By that time, cannabis use in Canada will have become legal. I think I'm looking forward to trying it on Wednesday to see if legal cannabis is any different from the kind which has been firmly embedded in the Criminal Code for a hundred years. I'll report back next week if I remember. I do hope that users will show respect for those who do not choose to use it and who find the smoke and the smell not only offensive but bad for their health. What we do not need, in my view, is a free-for-all with people smoking-up on the streets, in parks and in other public places any more than they already do now. I support the concept of legalization but I also support a reasonable and respectful level of discretion around the use of cannabis in public.
Nathan Peterman is a past winner of the Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award (and there are only four of them, after Davis himself) but this week, I am awarding him with a variation on the award - a sort of forced retirement - as he is likely to be cut by the Bills after earning the starting quarterback job coming out of training camp and the pre-season. Peterman will become a punchline in Buffalo for his propensity to throw interceptions and it seems unlikely that any other NFL team would want to add him to its roster. In his two career starts - one in Los Angeles last year and another in this year's opener in Baltimore - and after coming in to last season's playoff game in Jacksonville and then entering yesterday's game in the third quarter for an injured Josh Allen, Peterman has established himself as a prolific interception thrower. He threw five in his ill-fated start last season and another in the playoff game but yesterday he reached a new level by literally throwing the game away with 1.23 remaining in the fourth quarter of a tied game. Peterman's pass, intended for Kelvin Benjamin, was read easily by Texans cornerback Jonathan Joseph (as Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News put it, "he couldn't have read it more easily if it were flashed on a giant neon sign") who easily returned it for the game-winning touchdown. I can not see Peterman remaining on the Bills roster through the end of the season. If Allen can not play this week, look for Anderson to get the start with Peterman backing him up and then look for the Bills to cut Peterman once Allen is healthy again.
Lost in all of the Peterman interception excitement was an outstanding performance by the Bills defence in Houston yesterday. Think back to halftime of week two against the Chargers. Through a game and a half, the Bills defence looked like they couldn't stop anything. It was certainly enough for Vontae Davis and with clearly prolific ineptitude on both sides of the ball, I was preparing for the possibility of an 0-16 season and the first overall draft pick which goes with it. But since then, the Bills defence has steadily improved and yesterday in Houston, it looked very impressive indeed, allowing only 216 yards of offence and 13 points. The pass rush was awesome as Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson was sacked seven times and hit repeatedly. The Bills defence forced another three turnovers and held the Texans to a field goal at the end of the fourth quarter after setting up with a first down at the Bills one yard line after a pass interference call in the endzone. An outstretched Matt Milano got his hand in front of a third down pass from Watson to prevent a game-wining touchdown. Houston had little success in the run game with only 74 yards and, despite having one the NFL's best receivers in DeAndre Hopkins, the Texans managed only 142 passing yards on the day. With any modest level of offensive support, the Bills defence played more than well enough to win. I chalk up the improvement to good coaching.
Up next, the Bills travel to Indianapolis. By that time, cannabis use in Canada will have become legal. I think I'm looking forward to trying it on Wednesday to see if legal cannabis is any different from the kind which has been firmly embedded in the Criminal Code for a hundred years. I'll report back next week if I remember. I do hope that users will show respect for those who do not choose to use it and who find the smoke and the smell not only offensive but bad for their health. What we do not need, in my view, is a free-for-all with people smoking-up on the streets, in parks and in other public places any more than they already do now. I support the concept of legalization but I also support a reasonable and respectful level of discretion around the use of cannabis in public.
Monday, 8 October 2018
Bills 13, Titans 12
Since the Music City Miracle in January of 2000, the Bills and Titans have faced each other eight times with the Bills winning only three of those games, including yesterday's last second 13-12 win in Orchard Park. With the most recent meeting before yesterday being a 14-13 win in Nashville in 2015, the Bills have now won the last two meetings with the Titans by a single point. Had Home Run Throwback not succeeded as it did so tragically for Bills fans, the Bills would have won that one 16-15. Tennessee entered the game yesterday as a five-and-a-half point favourite after beating the Super Bowl champion Eagles last week.
One long-time reader of this blog encouraged me to continue the "halftime retirement" theme throughout the season if possible. So, I will not only oblige but I have decided to name one player from each Bills game for the rest of the 2018 season as the winner of the weekly Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award. This week's candidate was more of a challenge to come up with but I have decided to name Titans wide receiver Nick Williams as the winner. Williams played for the University of Connecticut and was initially signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an un-drafted free agent in 2013 where he moved on and off the practice squad and saw limited action before signing with Washington and finally the Titans entering this season. He will quite likely be cut once again today and could find that his chances of getting on with another team are quite slim. Although his retirement-inducing play came in the fourth quarter yesterday when he dropped what looked like an easy touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota on a third down play, had he have been able to foresee it, he surely would have retired at halftime, thereby saving himself from being the game's goat (I know its a stretch).
Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving and, as I have done for several years, I brined, stuffed and roasted the turkey for our family dinner. The turkey went into the oven exactly at noon, immediately after which I did my one-hour bike ride and then settled into the game surrounded by family and friends who generally cared not at all about the Bills or any kind of football on TV. But I fought through the distractions and watched the Bills defence play a solid game which earned them three turnovers. The running game also showed up for the home team with LeSean McCoy gaining a season-high 85 yards on 24 carries and Chris Ivory adding another 43 yards. Josh Allen picked up 19 yards which included the game's only touchdown in the first quarter. Allen did not have a strong game passing the ball but made a few key throws at critical times, especially on the final game winning drive.
So, at 2-3 (and having won two of their past three games) the Bills are showing signs of having earned some measure of respectability in the NFL. I doubt that they will finish with the league's worst record as seemed likely after their first two games. On to Houston next week to face the Texans who eeked out an overtime win against the Cowboys last night. The Bills are early 10 point underdogs.
In a departure from recent posts, I want to weigh in on the recent SCOTUS developments. The point I want to make is by way of comparison of the US system to the convention which governs Canadian Supreme Court appointments. Now that the drama around his nomination and confirmation has mostly ended, I have to say that I was most struck by the way in which Mr. Kavanaugh comported himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee when he gave testimony the week before last. And I'm not really talking about the fact that he decided to repeat what I would classify as Fox News talking points in his testimony (which I disagree with but that's not the point I'm trying to make here). It was his demeanor and attitude which shocked me. In my view, it was the antithesis of how a judge on the nation's top court should behave in a very public setting. When I think of characteristics which befit a judge, I think of words like calm, thoughtful, reserved, rational, neutral, learned. In Canada, we rarely hear judges say anything at all publicly except perhaps after the retire from the bench. And when judges are appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, we hear very little about their personal lives or political leanings and no mention at all of whether they might be conservative or liberal. The appointment process in Canada purports to operate above the unsavoury partisan bickering of the red/blue tug of war. Maybe we are fooling ourselves thinking that our judges aren't partisan and who knows, maybe they would react just as angrily as Mr. Kavanaugh did if we conducted pre-appointment hearings which included salacious details of their past personal lives. I just think that the events which played out over the past two weeks in the United States have damaged the American people's confidence in the SCOTUS and that is a sad development.
One long-time reader of this blog encouraged me to continue the "halftime retirement" theme throughout the season if possible. So, I will not only oblige but I have decided to name one player from each Bills game for the rest of the 2018 season as the winner of the weekly Vontae Davis Halftime Retirement Award. This week's candidate was more of a challenge to come up with but I have decided to name Titans wide receiver Nick Williams as the winner. Williams played for the University of Connecticut and was initially signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an un-drafted free agent in 2013 where he moved on and off the practice squad and saw limited action before signing with Washington and finally the Titans entering this season. He will quite likely be cut once again today and could find that his chances of getting on with another team are quite slim. Although his retirement-inducing play came in the fourth quarter yesterday when he dropped what looked like an easy touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota on a third down play, had he have been able to foresee it, he surely would have retired at halftime, thereby saving himself from being the game's goat (I know its a stretch).
Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving and, as I have done for several years, I brined, stuffed and roasted the turkey for our family dinner. The turkey went into the oven exactly at noon, immediately after which I did my one-hour bike ride and then settled into the game surrounded by family and friends who generally cared not at all about the Bills or any kind of football on TV. But I fought through the distractions and watched the Bills defence play a solid game which earned them three turnovers. The running game also showed up for the home team with LeSean McCoy gaining a season-high 85 yards on 24 carries and Chris Ivory adding another 43 yards. Josh Allen picked up 19 yards which included the game's only touchdown in the first quarter. Allen did not have a strong game passing the ball but made a few key throws at critical times, especially on the final game winning drive.
So, at 2-3 (and having won two of their past three games) the Bills are showing signs of having earned some measure of respectability in the NFL. I doubt that they will finish with the league's worst record as seemed likely after their first two games. On to Houston next week to face the Texans who eeked out an overtime win against the Cowboys last night. The Bills are early 10 point underdogs.
In a departure from recent posts, I want to weigh in on the recent SCOTUS developments. The point I want to make is by way of comparison of the US system to the convention which governs Canadian Supreme Court appointments. Now that the drama around his nomination and confirmation has mostly ended, I have to say that I was most struck by the way in which Mr. Kavanaugh comported himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee when he gave testimony the week before last. And I'm not really talking about the fact that he decided to repeat what I would classify as Fox News talking points in his testimony (which I disagree with but that's not the point I'm trying to make here). It was his demeanor and attitude which shocked me. In my view, it was the antithesis of how a judge on the nation's top court should behave in a very public setting. When I think of characteristics which befit a judge, I think of words like calm, thoughtful, reserved, rational, neutral, learned. In Canada, we rarely hear judges say anything at all publicly except perhaps after the retire from the bench. And when judges are appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, we hear very little about their personal lives or political leanings and no mention at all of whether they might be conservative or liberal. The appointment process in Canada purports to operate above the unsavoury partisan bickering of the red/blue tug of war. Maybe we are fooling ourselves thinking that our judges aren't partisan and who knows, maybe they would react just as angrily as Mr. Kavanaugh did if we conducted pre-appointment hearings which included salacious details of their past personal lives. I just think that the events which played out over the past two weeks in the United States have damaged the American people's confidence in the SCOTUS and that is a sad development.
Monday, 1 October 2018
Packers 22, Bills 0
I wasn't really worried about another halftime retirement by a member of the Bills (ok, there's only been one and I'll move off this theme after today) but if anyone was going to hang 'em up after the first half of yesterday's game at Lambeau Field, it could have been Josh Allen. Things went well for him last week in Minnesota but, as happens with rookie quarterbacks in the NFL, it all turned around yesterday against the Packers. Allen and the Bills offence were anemic at best, gaining only 145 yards on the day. Allen generated three turnovers - two interceptions and one fumble - while completing 16 of 33 attempted passes. Whatever pocket presence he had shown through his first two starts deserted him yesterday as he was was sacked a total of seven times. Green Bay fans will take comfort in a solid defensive effort by their team while Bills fans will lament an offensive performance to be forgotten.
Although the score never got out of hand, the game was not competitively close in any way. At times it felt like I was watching a football practice - a Packers practice, that is - where the Bills were only on the field as a scrimmage opponent posing no threat to actually win the game. The Bills were not quite the Washington Generals playing the role of doormats to the Harlem Globetrotters but at times the two teams didn't look like they play in the same league. I can remember games from the early 1990s which felt like yesterday's game with the Bills calling the practice drills against their own versions of the Generals.
Aaron Rodgers looked sharp yesterday despite a couple of missed throws and he also gave up a rare interception on a ball which was tipped twice. Otherwise, it was clear why he is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. He used yesterday's game as a chance to work on his pocket movement and, on a few plays, he looked like he was testing his mobility and playing a game of something between keep-away and chicken with the ball as he easily avoided the Bills pass rush. Those skills, combined with his arm strength and accuracy, make Rodgers a huge challenge to defend against. He is one of the NFL's biggest stars and one of its most recognizable faces. He has been able to leverage his popularity and clean image into lucrative television commercials with another campaign this season for State Farm insurance and a new gig for Bose noise-cancelling headphones where he is able to tune out Chicago Bears fans as he warms up before a game. The only known less-than-wholesome aspect of Rodgers public persona is the somewhat mysterious rift between him and his immediate family - his siblings and his parents - with whom he has not spoken for at least a couple of years. He doesn't comment publicly on this. His annual football salary is more than $33 million and he recently signed a contract extension which included $100 million guaranteed.
The Bills return home next week to face the Tennessee Titans who beat the Super Bowl champion Eagles in overtime yesterday. The overtime in Nashville was one of the few I can remember where the team which had the ball first (the Eagles) scored a field goal on their opening possession and then went on to lose the game. I still strongly feel that the NFL should adapt a version of the college football overtime format which is more dramatic and also ensures that no games end in ties. There have been two games already this season which have ended in ties and yesterday there could have easily been another two - Tennessee/Philadelphia and Oakland/Cleveland.
The AFC East reverted to the norm yesterday with the Bills, Jets and the previously undefeated Dolphins all losing and the Patriots showing that they are still for real. With a win against the Titans in Orchard Park on Sunday, the Bills can improve to a respectable sounding 2-3 on the season. They then go on the road again for two weeks with theoretically winnable games against Houston and Indianapolis before returning home for a Monday night home game against the Patriots.
Although the score never got out of hand, the game was not competitively close in any way. At times it felt like I was watching a football practice - a Packers practice, that is - where the Bills were only on the field as a scrimmage opponent posing no threat to actually win the game. The Bills were not quite the Washington Generals playing the role of doormats to the Harlem Globetrotters but at times the two teams didn't look like they play in the same league. I can remember games from the early 1990s which felt like yesterday's game with the Bills calling the practice drills against their own versions of the Generals.
Aaron Rodgers looked sharp yesterday despite a couple of missed throws and he also gave up a rare interception on a ball which was tipped twice. Otherwise, it was clear why he is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. He used yesterday's game as a chance to work on his pocket movement and, on a few plays, he looked like he was testing his mobility and playing a game of something between keep-away and chicken with the ball as he easily avoided the Bills pass rush. Those skills, combined with his arm strength and accuracy, make Rodgers a huge challenge to defend against. He is one of the NFL's biggest stars and one of its most recognizable faces. He has been able to leverage his popularity and clean image into lucrative television commercials with another campaign this season for State Farm insurance and a new gig for Bose noise-cancelling headphones where he is able to tune out Chicago Bears fans as he warms up before a game. The only known less-than-wholesome aspect of Rodgers public persona is the somewhat mysterious rift between him and his immediate family - his siblings and his parents - with whom he has not spoken for at least a couple of years. He doesn't comment publicly on this. His annual football salary is more than $33 million and he recently signed a contract extension which included $100 million guaranteed.
The Bills return home next week to face the Tennessee Titans who beat the Super Bowl champion Eagles in overtime yesterday. The overtime in Nashville was one of the few I can remember where the team which had the ball first (the Eagles) scored a field goal on their opening possession and then went on to lose the game. I still strongly feel that the NFL should adapt a version of the college football overtime format which is more dramatic and also ensures that no games end in ties. There have been two games already this season which have ended in ties and yesterday there could have easily been another two - Tennessee/Philadelphia and Oakland/Cleveland.
The AFC East reverted to the norm yesterday with the Bills, Jets and the previously undefeated Dolphins all losing and the Patriots showing that they are still for real. With a win against the Titans in Orchard Park on Sunday, the Bills can improve to a respectable sounding 2-3 on the season. They then go on the road again for two weeks with theoretically winnable games against Houston and Indianapolis before returning home for a Monday night home game against the Patriots.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)