NFL Football is Back
That's right – football. I can't stop listening to the Monday Night Football theme song. After all the labor negotiations and contract disputes, we finally have football. I never want to see Adam Schefter again.
As the famous Counting Crows song goes: "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got ‘til it's gone?" While I normally spend the preseason praying that nobody on the Bills gets hurt, I watched the NFL with newfound interest this August. I've never been happier to see Billy Volek and Jeff Garcia slinging the ball around the field.
My fantasy lineup is set, and I believe that my selection of Peyton Hillis in the second round was the steal of the draft.
As far as Bills fans are concerned, it was pleasurable to see that Shawne Merriman still has the ability to hit someone not named Tila Tequila. I visited Ralph Wilson Stadium on Saturday to watch the Bills come back and defeat Jacksonville in thrilling fashion – 35-32 in overtime. At the conclusion of the game, I sat back, drew a deep breath, and considered how privileged we are to have football this fall.
I have newfound fervor for the game.
UB Football Tries to Bounce Back
You're luckier than many if you weren't around to watch the football team last year. The 2-10 season was hard to watch. Coach Jeff Quinn flip-flopped between quarterbacks (Jerry Davis and Alex Zordich) more than Brett Favre did over retiring. You couldn't help but feel bad for Quinn. Both quarterbacks were inexperienced and it showed.
This year, transfer quarterback Chazz Anderson will start and Davis and Zordich will be groomed for the future. The Bulls lost three defensive backs to the NFL – a pretty impressive number for a two-win team. Unfortunately, that depletes the Buffalo defense. We'll see where this year goes.
The Bulls will only improve if they can garner the lead early. The team was 2-0 when leading at the half last season. When they were trailing or tied at the half, the Bulls went 0-10. I asked Coach Quinn if he thought jumping out to an early lead was integral to the team's success in 2011 but he downplayed it, saying every ballgame is a four-quarter affair.
I foresee the wider receiver corps as UB's greatest asset. Look out for Marcus Rivers, Terrell Jackson, Alex Neutz and Saron Hood.
Expect a better season, but I don't see a return to Mid-American Conference Championship lore coming just yet.
Before you jump on the "fire Jeff Quinn" bandwagon, keep this fun fact in mind: beloved former UB head coach Turner Gill (now head coach at Kansas) went 2-10 in his first season in 2006. In 2007, the team went 5-7.
2008? MAC Champs.
Email: aaron.mansfield@ubspectrum.com
