From the Board: Buffalo Bills Observations - Week 8

The Buffalo Bills beat the New York .... wait.  That doesn't sound right.

The New York Jets beat the New York Jets 43-23 ... wait.  That's not right either.

I got it.

The New York Jets offense beat the New York Jets defense 43-23 on Sunday.

The Jets offense, one field goal away from a marquee win against the New England Patriots in Week 7, floundered early as Geno Smith looked awful.

Three first quarter interceptions.  Geno Smith completed more passes to Buffalo defensive backs than he did his own receivers.

And with that, his day was done.

Michael Vick came in and marched his team down the field beautifully, cutting the deficit in half.  But had the Buffalo offense been clicking better, that score would be higher.

Having players take horrible penalties, like that taunting penalty on one Smith's picks, resulted in the Bills putting nothing on the board on the first two of Geno Smith's interceptions.

The Jets turned the ball over six times, and had a seventh overturned.  The Bills, had their offense played a stronger role, could have made this game the third to have a team score greater than 50 points.  And there were moments of greatness, including both Sammy Watkins catches down field -- even if the first ended in a bonehead play that saw him celebrate prematurely.

But at least that play led to a touchdown, unlike some of the premature celebrations that resulted in the ball going the opposite direction.

As the Bills make their way into the bye week, the offense will need some work.  Much of this is adapting to two different players in the backfield, and evolving the playbook to their strengths.  And that will take time, perhaps seeing some signs of light when the Bills retake the field at the Ralph on November 9th against the Kansas City Chiefs.

At 5-3, the Bills find themselves back in the hunt for a wild card spot, a better position to be in than if they were 4-4.  And the Bills are lucky to be 5-3.  Let's be real -- overtime win against Chicago, last-second field goal at Detroit, and last week's miracle drive capping in the touchdown throw to Sammy Watkins.  Three games that could easily have gone the other way, leaving the Bills at 2-6 and searching for answers.

Instead, they're in the hunt.

And this is one of the funniest Vines you'll see from yesterday's game.

We'll meet you back here again in two weeks after the Bills play the Chiefs. Until then, enjoy the full six hours of FOX Sports Radio Blitz next Sunday at 1PM.

2013 in Review

Oh, what an exciting 2013 it was.  Both on the local scene and on the national stage, there were plenty of memories that will not expire as the calendar turns at Midnight.

The Forgettable

Florida Gators Block Each Other:

It was a forgettable year for Florida Gator football.  But, unfortunately, because of this play, the Gators mishaps in the 2013 season will take a long time to forget.  Voted as "Worst-of-the-Worst" on that cable sports channel for weeks after the play occurred, the offensive linemen involved will never live this down.

Who Wants to Catch This Fly Ball?

Zack Wheeler's second career start was less memorable than the first, but he was let off the hook after this zany play where Daniel Murphy should have been out on a fly ball.  The dropped ball gave the Mets life, but Murphy was left stranded.  Chicago would win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a solo walk-off homer.

New York Professional Football

It was a forgettable year for professional football in New York.  The two New Jersey teams saw their seasons end without fanfare, as the Giants kicked off the season with six straight losses.  They won five of their next six as they returned to playoff contention in an NFC East where nobody wanted to take a commanding lead, but then back-to-back teams against West Coast teams nailed the coffin shut on their season.

The Jets season began with news that Mark Sanchez would miss a part of the season with a shoulder injury sustained in their preseason game against the New York Giants. This led to Geno Smith being the Jets prime starting QB, and the rookie's inconsistency led to inconsistent results for the Jets, who couldn't win back-to-back games until the final two games of the season.

Like the Jets, the Buffalo Bills started a newly-drafted Quarterback for much of the season in EJ Manuel.  But Manuel's season consisted of three knee injuries, one that took him out of the final two preseason games and made him an uncertainty for the opening game against the New England Patriots, a second during the Thursday Night Football game against the Cleveland  Browns, and a third towards the end of the season.  There were moments where the Bills showed signs of defeating their playoff-less streak, but by the end, the Bills defaulted to old ways, missing the playoffs and finishing last in the AFC East.

Boston Marathon Bombing

On Monday, April 15th, the world was watching Boston as the traditional Patriots Day marathon took place down the city streets.  By 3PM, the world's reason for watching Boston changed after explosions rocked near the finish line.

No longer was it about the race.  It was about finding out who did this, and why.  By that Friday night, that search concluded as police picked up their suspect alive.

The Memorable

Boston Strong:

One of the most forgettable moments of 2013 led to one of the most memorable moments.  Two days after the 2013 Marathon Bombing, the first sporting event to be held in the city of Boston after the attack led to the crowd consuming Rene Rancourt and taking over the singing of the National Anthem before the Boston Bruins home game against the Buffalo Sabres.

It was one of the best crowd performances of the National Anthem, performed in front of a national stage.

From NESN - PARENTAL ADVISORY NOTE: Contains the uncensored profanity.

Three days later, Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz brought another memorable moment post-bombing as he spoke to the crowd during a pregame commemoration, and during his heart-felt speech let out an obscenity live on the air.

Perhaps using the Boston Strong to inspire them, the Boston Red Sox would win the AL East pennant, and then finished off the season with a 4-2 series win against the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series.

42

It was the farewell tour this season for the last player to done the jersey number 42, Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera.  Through his farewell tour, teams gave him gifts, crowds gave him standing ovations, but one of the best was in the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field when Jim Leyland, not wanting to risk the National League coming from behind to take the lead and voiding any opportunity for Rivera to make it out onto the field, sent Rivera out for the 8th inning following Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline".  Three things made this special: The crowd, the television crew at FOX for letting this air raw without any commentary or graphic, sans the "bug" on the top right corner, and the outpouring of support from players and managers alike.

Section 2: Title Town

How do you top a year where three teams make it to Syracuse's Carrier Dome and two of them win the state championship in Football?  How about a year where FOUR Section 2 teams carry home State Basketball titles (Troy girls, Watervliet, Lake George and Argyle boys), and Section 2 hockey team wins the State Division 1 Hockey championship (Saratoga Springs).  Fort Ann sweeping the baseball and softball titles in Class D, and the Queensbury Spartans coming close, falling in Binghamton in their title chance.  Then in the fall, Burnt Hills came to Glens Falls in an attempt to obtain a Volleyball title, and the Queensbury Cross Country team.  It all culminated in the Queensbury Spartans football team doing something no other team in the local tri-county area had done before, win the state championship in football, and did so in commanding fashion, winning 36-7 over Williamsville North.

NFL: Week 2 in Review

Short Recap.  It's Wednesday already and you've seen enough analysis of Week 2.

SURPRISE OF THE WEEK - Kansas City 17, Dallas 16
For years Kansas City was a team that threatened to make playoffs after playoffs.  They hit hard times, but now it appears that Kansas City, a team that last year finished 2-14, is heading in the positive direction.  Especially after beating the Dallas Cowboys 17-16.

The Chiefs are a new team after Andy Reid took control of the helm and Alex Smith came from San Francisco.  But you cannot put a lot of stock in a 2-0 start just yet, especially since one of the two was against Jacksonville and the other was against a division that isn't looking that strong early on.  But the Chiefs have one thing going for them - two more back-to-back games against the NFC East.  And if the NFC East truly isn't a strong division, a 4-0 record will look really sweet heading into that October 6th game against Tennessee.

DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE WEEK - Seattle 29, San Francisco 3
Speaking of Alex Smith, he's got to be smiling after the Seattle Seahawks didn't just beat the 49'ers, they destroyed them.  Granted the critics are talking about how things could be different when the two meet at Candlestick Park, but the truth of the matter is, the 49'ers have some serious problems two weeks in that need to be corrected.

Colin Kaepernick looked uncomfortable during the game against the Seahawks.  It looked like one of his tosses was right at a defender who picked it off.  He went 13-for-28 for 127 yards, threw 3 picks and fumbled once in the loss.

HANG ONTO YOUR HATS - Buffalo 24, Carolina 23
Most of Ralph Wilson Stadium, despite the urge from the Buffalo Bills to "Bill-eve", had to be thinking that it was over when Graham Gano kicked the field goal with 1:38 left to put the Panthers up by 6.  But then EJ Manuel started something special - a two-minute drill that Buffalo hadn't seen in a long time - that would electrify the 60,000+ that were in Orchard Park on Sunday.

It was aided by a pass interference call that gave the Bills a first down at the Carolina 11, then capped with EJ Manuel's touchdown pass to Stevie Johnson for the tying score, with the extra point to win the game. The game-winning drive was well-executed by Manuel, who worked fast to ensure the Bills quickly reset after every play.

For the Bills, winning the game was essential as going 0-2 into their road game against the New York Jets (4:25PM, 1410 CBS Sports Radio, WENU-AM) would be troubling, and with games still to come against the Ravens, the Saints and the Falcons, it would be a troubling hole to climb out of.

Coming Thursday: The FOX Blogger will pick all games coming up in Week 3, and will include some insight on what games to watch out for.

WEEK 2: Buffalo Bills 24, Carolina Panthers 23

Oh wow.

EJ Manuel makes sportswriters across the country rewrite their recaps as he leads the charge for the go-ahead touchdown with 2 seconds left to beat the Carolina Panthers 24-23.

It was a electric comeback that the Buffalo Bills had been missing all season last year, and unexpected how the Bills had been playing leading to the final drive, which elapsed only 96 seconds.

Stevie Johnson was the recipient of the touchdown pass.

Redemption: The come-from-behind touchdown for EJ Manuel was much-needed redemption, having fumbled the ball on a sack and thrown a pick, both in their own territory and setting up two Carolina 4th quarter field goals.

EJ Manuel threw 27-for-39, passing for 296 yards.  His last-second touchdown was his lone of the game.

Defense Discipline: The Buffalo Bills were flagged 7 times for 55 yards. Two of those flags resulted in Carolina first downs in situations where the Panthers would have otherwise been forced to punt.  In fact, the Panthers were punting to the Bills on one of those two flags when a holding call that came before the punt resulted in the automatic first down.  The other flag was the result of a late hit from Aaron Williams, coming on an incomplete pass on third down.

Good Things: Mario Williams had 4 1/2 sacks for the Buffalo Bills, a career high for him.  The most he had sacked before was in 2007, when he picked up 3 1/2 sacks against the Denver Broncos.

Third Down Efficiency: The Carolina Panthers converted seven of their sixteen third downs.  This is an improvement over last week, when the Patriots converted eleven of their twenty.

NEXT UP: The Buffalo Bills travel away from Ralph Wilson Stadium for the first time this year as they head to East Rutherford, New Jersey to face the New York Jets.  The Jets are 1-1 after losing to the Patriots 13-10 on Thursday Night Football.  Although the Jets may have more rest, the Bills may still be riding high after the finish today.  COVERAGE: 2:00PM Pregame (on 1410 CBS Sports Radio); 4:25PM Kickoff.

The NFL: Week 1 in Review

Wild finishes became the theme for Week 1 in the National Football League.  Whether it be a late field goal to seal victory, or an onside kick that almost worked, the final minutes of some of Week 1's games gives us more reasons why you shouldn't look away during those critical moments.

Here's what entertained us the most in Week 1:

New England (1-0) 23, Buffalo (0-1) 21 - To be honest, the Buffalo Bills surprised me during this divisional showdown with the Patriots.  Granted, there were moments when you watched (or listened) and wondered if this was going to turn into another 30 point loss for the Bills against the division's best team, but the Bills hung in there.

The defense wasn't stellar, allowing the Patriots to convert 11 of their 20 3rd down opportunities.  And discipline was an issue, with the Bills being penalized 10 times for 75 yards.  Those are two things Coach Doug Marrone will want to work on as they prepare for the Carolina Panthers.

The Bills were able to hang in the game thanks to the work of EJ Manuel.  Manuel did look a little rusty at first, but calmed down to complete 18 of his 27 passes, throwing for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Fred Jackson added 67 yards on 13 carries.

Tom Brady did not look as sharp as he usually does, going 29 for 52 for 288 yards, throwing for 2 touchdowns and had one interception.  But he was aided by the leg of Stephen Gostkowski, who converted all three field goal tries, including the 35 yard attempt with 5 seconds left on the clock to give the Patriots the victory.

Detroit (1-0) 34, Minnesota (0-1) 24 - Adrian Peterson's two touchdown runs and catch for a touchdown wasn't enough to overcome Christian Ponder's 3 intersections, as the Lions roar to victory in Week 1.

Adrian Peterson took his first touch of the football 78 yards for the opening touchdown for the Minnesota Vikings.  He would finish with 93 yards on 18 carries, which meant he ran an average of less than a yard per carry after that 78 yard touchdown run. Christian Ponder completed 18 of 26 passes, for 236 yards, but those three picks hurt the Vikings.

Reggie Bush ran for 90 yards on 21 carries, and took a pass from Matt Stafford 77 yards for the score in the 3rd Quarter.  Stafford finished the day 28-for-43, 357 yards with two touchdowns and 1 interception.

Kansas City (1-0) 28, Jacksonville (0-1) 2 - All 30 points in this game was scored by the Kansas City Chiefs.  And that's a weird statistic.  But for some reason, I love scores that have a 2 in it.

Dustin Colquitt put the Jaguars on the board first when his punt for the Chiefs was blocked and went out the end zone for the safety.  But then the Chiefs started scoring the right way, with Alex Smith connecting with Dennis Avery for a 5 yard touchdown pass to give the Chiefs the lead.

Alex Smith would be accountable for 2 touchdown throws, the other a 3 yard pass to Junior Hemingway for his lone reception of the game.  He would complete 21 of his 34 passes for 173 yards.

After the safety, the Jaguars looked flat, as Blaine Gabbert completed only 16 of his 35 passes for 121 yards, and Maurice Jones-Drew only was able to gather 45 yards of rushing offense for the Jaguars.  Overall, it looked like old days could be back in Kansas City with Andy Reid and Alex Smith wearing the Red and White.  And for Jacksonville, they've got a lot of work to do, which won't be easy with a pair of west coast games coming up.

New York Jets (1-0) 18, Tampa Bay (0-1) 17 - The Jets were the only team to get a safety and win the game (Pittsburgh got the safety against Tennessee but lost).

But the play people are talking about is the penalty to Tampa Bay's Lavonte David with just a few seconds left that not only stopped the clock, it also gave the Jets a bonus 15 yards, which made things easier for Nick Folk to boot the 48 yard winning field goal for the victory.

Dallas (1-0) 36, New York Giants (0-1) 31 - The shocking thing about this game was that the Giants were in this game despite 6 turnovers.

Eli Manning's 450 yards kept the Giants in the game, but his 3 interceptions hurt the G-men.  One of those interceptions came in the first play, connecting with a man in silver and blue instead of one of his own.  Luckily for the G-men, the Cowboys were only able to walk away with three points despite three first quarter turnovers.

A scary moment for the Dallas Cowboys came just before the half when it looked like Tony Romo would be out as he was sandwiched between two Giants, but he would later return.

The 6 turnovers are a pause for concern for the Giants, who have to travel to Denver for their Sunday afternoon contest against the Denver Broncos.

Houston (1-0) 31, San Diego 28 - If you went to bed before midnight, you may be surprised to read today that the Houston Texans won.  And if you waited until after halftime to retire to the slumbers, seeing Houston down 28-7 was enough to prompt a good night.

But the Texans came back.  With authority.  The comeback started with Garrett Graham's 7 yard reception to cap a 11 play, 70 yard drive in the 3rd Quarter, and continued with Owen Daniel's 2nd touchdown reception of the game in the 4th Quarter.  The tying play came on a Philip Rivers interception, his lone of the game, as Brian Cushing ran it back 18 yards to the end zone.

The Texans had the ball last, and they made it count.  Randy Bullock's 41 yard field goal with time expiring capped a 9 play drive that took up the remainder 3:53 on the clock, and spoiled the good mood in San Diego as Week 1 drew to a close.

So your turn.  What do you think was the most memorable moment in Week 1?  What are you looking forward to in Week 2?

Midday Recap: Not what they had in mind

Carlos Torres fans 6 as the Mets win.  It's becoming crunch time in the playoff chase.  And the NFL gets a huge weight lifted off their shoulders as the regular season gets set to begin next week.

Gary Wiepert | Associated Press

But the big story today is the Buffalo Bills 35-13 loss to the Detroit Lions in the final game of the preseason. New roster members Matt Leinart and Thaddeus Lewis had a tough time generating offense, with the former of the two completing only 3 of 10 passes for 11 yards.  Leinart also threw two picks as he played for much of the first half before being pulled in favor of Lewis.  Lewis completed 7 of his 16 passes for 132 yards, including a 4th Quarter touchdown.

Kellen Moore scored 2 touchdowns, going 10/18 for 78 yards for the Lions.  Shaun Hill completed 4 of 5 passes, two for touchdowns.  Matthew Stafford had a tough time, with only one completion out of 6 passes.

For the Bills, it ends a preseason they would rather forget.  Things looked promising for the Bills through the first two games, but then injuries started to plague the team.  EJ Manuel's knee injury being the toughest, as he looked very good through the first two preseason games, and according to reports he was also looking very good through camp too.

Kevin Kolb's possible career-ending concussion also hurt the Bills, resulting in the pickups last week of Thaddeus Lewis and Matt Leinart.

And with the New England Patriots looming the 2nd Sunday of September to kick-off the 2013 season, the Bills needed a confidence booster last night against the Detroit Lions.  But with the loss, the Bills have more questions than answers, and there's still a question of whether or not EJ Manuel will be ready to go for the season premiere on September 8th.

Link: Detroit Lions @ Buffalo Bills Boxscore via Yahoo! Sports

MIGHTY MET

Seth Wenig | Associated Press

Carlos Torres has proven his versatility throughout the season with the New York Mets. The Kansas State alum has made appearances for the Mets both from the bullpen and in the starting rotation.  With Matt Harvey sidelined for the year, as well as other starting rotation injuries, Torres made his return to the starting rotation yesterday afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Torres looking good early, striking out the side in the 2nd inning.  He would get run support in the 3rd inning as Daniel Murphy doubled home Eric Young.  Then Anthony Recker would add to the Mets score as he homered to left field to bring home himself and Justin Turner in the 4th.

Torres would continue to be scoreless until the 7th, when he surrendered back-to-back singles to lead-off the inning, and then a sac fly from Darin Ruf would bring home Chase Utley to end the shutout and also Torres's day.

Scott Rice came in to end the 7th, and then Eric Young would triple with the bases loaded to add to the Mets lead, as they would go on to win 11-3.  The 11 runs is the most compiled by the Mets at Citi Field since their opening day game against the San Diego Padres on April 1st.

Torres went 6 2/3rds innings, allowing the lone run in the 7th inning.  He struck out 6 and walked no one in the win.  In his 55 innings of work this year, Torres has allowed only 7 walks.

CHASING OCTOBER
The New York Yankees kick off a three-game series tonight against the Baltimore Orioles.  For the Yankees, this could be a critical series as the Yankees are 8 games back of first place Boston, and 5 games behind the Oakland A's for the last wild card spot.  The Yankees are 5-7 against the O's this year.

Speaking of the A's, they're starting up three games against the Tampa Bay Rays out in California.  Tampa Bay holds the 1st Wild Card spot, but only by a half-game.  Cleveland enters a critical three-game series in Detroit, made more critical after being swept by the Atlanta Braves.  Out 6 1/2 games in the AL Central, the Indians are looking to break their cold streak of late, hindered by their 31-36 record on the road.

Meanwhile in the National League, it is becoming likelier with each passing day that it is going to be three from the NL Central getting into the postseason.  Cincinnati holds the second wild card spot, with a 6 game lead over the Arizona as the nearest team outside looking in.  The Pirates remain 21 games over .500, and only need 5 more wins in order to end their 21 year streak of losing.

PRESEASON ROUNDUP

Bill Kostroun | Associated Press

All 32 NFL teams were in action on Thursday as the preseason wrapped up.  Matt Simms shined as he went 33 for 44 for 285 yards as the New York Jets 27-20.  Simms is expected to be the No. 3 QB on the Jets depth chart, and is likely to back up Geno Smith as Mark Sanchez has been announced as out for their first regular season game.  The Jets overcame 5 turnovers by dominating the time of possession battle, and used their 26 1st Downs to their advantage. Kahlil Bell had both of the Jets rushing touchdowns, gaining 80 yards on 21 carries.

The Giants ended their preseason with a 28-20 loss against the New England Patriots.  Down 20-14 entering the 4th Quarter, the Patriots used two touchdown tosses by Tim Tebow to fuel them to victory.  Tebow completed 6 of 11 passes for 91 yards, but was sacked four times for a loss of 25 combined yards.  Eli Manning completed 6 passes for 74 yards, and Curtis Painter went 8 for 11 for 94 yards.  However, the Giants lost backup RB Andrew Brown, who for the 2nd straight year broke his left leg.

SETTLEMENT
The National Football League has announced a settlement with over 4,500 retired players.  The settlement is worth over $750 million, and will help those retired from the National Football League who suffered from symptoms from dementia or other concussion-related issues.

Former Washington Redskins Quarterback Mark Rypien told the Associated Press that help is coming for those who need help, but it is sad because this couldn't be done earlier to help prior cases.  Rypien is well-familiar with the issue, having suffered two concussions during his 11 seasons in the league.

The settlement removes what would have been a major distraction for the league as the season gets closer to the start of the regular season, which kicks off next Thursday.

Midday Recap: Oliver Lauridsen scores... the right way!

Matt Slocum | AP

Two days ago, we reported about how Oliver Lauridsen scored his first goal with the Philadelphia Flyers thanks to a Zdeno Chara own goal.  So how did he follow that act?  By scoring one legitimately against the New York Islanders on Thursday.  And it was the deciding goal as the Flyers beat the Islanders 2-1.