News flash: Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron is not a popular man these days.  A 1-5 record in six games will do that for you.  Moving on.

The question I'm looking to answer here is this: Is the fact that Dick Jauron chooses not to show a lot of emotion - either on the sidelines or at press conferences - a good thing or a bad thing? I say "chooses" because I have no doubt that he gets mad and frustrated after a loss like the one the Bills suffered this past Sunday at the hands of the 49ers. If Jauron has even a shred of competitive fire and/or pride in what he does, and I have no doubt that he does, he gets pretty furious after a game like that. So the question is; Why does he choose not to display it publicly, and why is this behavior such a big deal to Bills fans?

The "Bill Cowher spittle" syndrome
After a loss, Jauron could throw chairs, scream and swear, or in short, he could hold a press conference like Jim Mora or Dennis Green. He could even drop his pants in the locker room and treat his players like little children the way that Mike Singletary did. Instead, Jauron doesn't do any of that.  He appears calm, cool and generally unfazed, much to the dismay of a good portion of the fan base. What would happen if he did blow a gasket like those others? Well for starters, he would no doubt end up on ESPN, and you can probably count on seeing a Coors Light commercial spoofing the event, but would any real good come of it? I say no.  (But those commercials might be sweet.)

I would rather see my head coach act cool and calm under pressure. I want my coach to take a loss like last Sunday's and learn from it, study it and show the players and assistant coaches where the problems lie and how they need to be fixed. I don't believe it is the coach's job to get the player fired up, or to embarrass them in front of the media and fans. It's the coach's job to get the team prepared to play winning football every Sunday. If you want to complain about Dick Jauron, his lack of results should be the target - not his "lack of emotion".

A reflection of the fan
As a Mets fan, I've heard this story before with former skipper Willie Randolph. If a player strikes out in a big spot, or a pitcher gives up a hit in a key spot, what good does it do to yell and throw things? It's the same situation here. If Robert Royal fumbles in a key spot, we would all love to see him come to the sideline only to be greeted by a punch to the face from Dick Jauron. But that's just it: it's what we would want to do.

Most fans after a tough loss get mad - real mad - and they want to see the players and coach of their team act just like they feel. How many of you get miffed when you see Bills players hugging and laughing opponents after a loss? Why do you get upset about this? Because you want to see some frustration and anger on their faces as a reflection of your own emotions. Fans want to see Jauron get mad and throw things and pound his fist into the podium because that is how they feel. Honestly, I don't feel that way. I prefer that my head coach remain calm, like any good leader, and try to right the ship rather than mirror my emotions. But then that is just me.

  
Buffalo Bills (6-6) vs Miami Dolphins (7-5)
Sunday December 7, 2008 4:05 PM EST
Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hey Bills fans, are you ready for some good news? Well when the Bills take on the Miami Dolphins this Sunday, they will be doing so in the Rogers Centre, a place where the Bills are currently UNDEFEATED. That's right Bills fans, the Bills have never lost when playing a game in the Rogers Centre. I know what you are all saying: "That was a pre-season game and the Steelers took out all of their offensive starters after two series." You're right that was a pre-season game, and yes, the Steelers did take out all of their good players early, but that doesn't change the fact that the Bills have never tasted defeat in Toronto. So let's keep that mojo working. If the Bills have been eliminated from the playoffs, I want to take the AFC East opponents with us, and that starts with the Fish this Sunday.

On October 22 I recapped the last 3 years worth of Bills vs Dolphins match-ups. If you are interested in checking that out again, here it is.

October 26, 2008: Dolphins 25, Bills 16
After Anthony Fasano caught a 2-yard TD pass from Chad Pennington to put the Fish up 7-0 early, the Bills come roaring back, paced by 3 Rian Lindell field goals (try not to laugh in disgust) and a 8-yard Marshawn Lynch TD run, putting the Bills on top 16-7 early in the third quarter. The Dolphins then scored 18 unanswered points. 3 Dan Carpenter field goals, a safety by the Dolphin defense, and a 3-yard Ricky Williams TD run accounted for the Dolphin scoring. Sloppy play in the form of fumbles and an interception ended any chance the Bills had of making a comeback. Lee Evans had a nice game for the Bills, with 7 catches for 116 yards, but Ted Ginn had a better day.  Brian's unhappy recap.

August 14, 2008: Bills 24, Steelers 21 (pre-season)
The first ever Bills in Toronto game deserves a little love here as well. Robert Royal had two TD catches less then 5 minutes apart, and Leodis McKelvin returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD to give the Bills the win in a game which they dominated. Two big plays - a 40-yard TD toss from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes, and a 47 yard TD run by Dennis Dixon - kept the Steelers close.  Brian's very happy recap.

I know that everyone is down and that the playoffs are all but gone, but let's see the Bills salvage some pride and head up to Toronto and stomp the Fish.

 
Buffalo Bills (6-5) vs San Francisco 49ers (3-8)
Sunday November 30, 2008 - 1PM EST

A Buffalo Bills versus San Francisco 49ers game is a pretty rare occurrence. "Berman Bowls", as they are sometimes called, have only happened nine times ever. Six of the nine games have taken place in San Francisco, and the Bills hold a 5-4 edge in the all time series.

September 13, 1992: Bills 34, 49ers 31
This game was an offensive explosion. Steve Young passed for 449 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Niners wideouts Mike Sherrard (6-159) and John Taylor (5-112, 2 TD) also had huge days. Jim Kelly countered with 403 yards and 3 TD of his own. Pete Metzelaars had 4 catches for 113 yards and 2 TD, and Andre Reed added10 catches for 144 yards.  It was Thurman Thomas' second touchdown of the game (this one coming late in the fourth quarter), however, that was the difference.

December 3, 1995: 49ers 27, Bills 17
After Jeff Wilkins hit a 20-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 all, the Bills drove the length of the field and were about to go in for the go ahead score, but a fumble (I'm not sure by who) gets picked up by Evander Holyfield clone Lee Woodall and returned 96 yards for a TD, and the Niners never looked back. Five turnovers didn't help the Bills get back into the game. Justin Armour and Steve Tasker had TD catches in the loss.

October 4, 1998: Bills 26, 49ers 21
Another Niners game and another 300-plus yard, 3 TD performance by Steve Young (man that guy was good). This time, however, the Bills had the Niners shut out until the fourth quarter, and a 23-point lead thanks to three Steve Christie field goals, an Antowain Smith TD run and a Quinn Early TD pass from Rob Johnson. San Fran came roaring back with 3 scores in the final quarter, but their rally fell short in the end. Some cocky young WR named Terrell Owens had 4 catches for 69 yards for the Niners in this one.

December 2, 2001: 49ers 35, Bills 0
I painfully remember much of this game pretty well. It was a Sunday night game - the Bills' only prime time game that year - during that wonderful 3-13 season.  Alex Van Pelt started for the injured Rob Johnson (big shock there) and tossed 4 picks.  Garrison Hearst ran for 124 yards and a TD, and Jeff Garcia added 189 yards through the air and hooked up with TO for a touchdown. Shayne Graham even missed a FG for the Bills - that's how bad it got.

December 26, 2004: Bills 41, 49ers 7
Willis McGahee (15-102, TD) and Shaud Williams (17-93, TD) ran wild on the Niners defense.  Meanwhile, the 49ers QB duo of Cody Pickett and Ken Dorsey combined for a whopping 91 passing yards and 3 picks, and the Bills defense sacked them 3 times. Rookie Lee Evans had a nice day with 8 catches for 92 yards and 2 scores; he also added 21 yards on a reverse.

 
Buffalo Bills (5-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (1-9)
Sunday, November 23, 2008, 1PM EST - Arrowhead Stadium

This game is the 40th overall meeting between the Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs/ Dallas Texans Franchise. The Bills hold the edge all time 21-18. This is also the 5th time in the last 6 meetings (counting this one) that the game has been in K.C.

September 14, 1997: Chiefs 22, Bills 16
Todd Collins threw for 297 yards and a TD to Andre Reed, but was just 22 of 43 passing and tossed two picks. Tamarick Vanover returned a kickoff 94 yards for a TD and Elvis Grbac hit Tony Richardson with a 1 yard TD pass late in the fourth to give the Chiefs the win.

November 19, 2000: Bills 21, Chiefs 17
QB Elvis Grbac (341 yards, 2 TDs), WR Derrick Alexander (7-146) and TE Tony Gonzalez (9-76, 2 TDs) all had big days for the Chiefs. Rob Johnson, however, had a bigger day, connecting with Eric Moulds and Jay Riemersma for scores and scrambling for another to give the Bills the win.

November 17, 2002: Chiefs 17, Bills 16
This game was even right down the line. Total yards: Bills 344, Chiefs 320. Rushing Yards: Bills 133, Chiefs 128. Passing Yards: Bills 211, Chiefs 192. The difference? The Bills had 13 penalties for 139 yards to K.C.'s 5 for 39. Despite the penalties the Bills had a 16-10 lead heading into the final quarter, but a 9-yard TD scramble from Trent Green gave the Chiefs the win. If I'm not mistaken, Drew Bledsoe just missed hitting Peerless Price for a long score down the left sideline that would have given the Bills the win.

October 26, 2003: Chiefs 38, Bills 5
The Bills started out well, blocking a punt through the end zone for a safety; it was all down hill from there. Trent Green hit Dante Hall for a 67 yard TD score, and Priest Holmes took over from there with 3 TD runs. Drew Bledsoe was picked off 3 times and Alex Van Pelt added 2 more of his own.  Ugly.

November 13, 2005: Bills 14, Chiefs 3
J.P. Losman, in relief of injured then-starter Kelly Holcomb, hit Lee Evans for 2 TD passes (33 yards & 29 yards). The Bills picked off Trent Green 3 times and sacked him 6 times.  Both Lawrence Tynes and Rian Lindell missed 2 field goals each.

   
Buffalo Bills (5-4)  vs Cleveland Browns (3-6)
Monday, November 17, 2008 8:30PM EST

First, a little history: the Bills have played the Cleveland Browns 14 times in their history, including the playoffs. Nine of them have been in Cleveland, and the Browns have won 9 of the 14 contests. This is also the second time the Bills have played the Browns on Monday Night Football.

Second, a little nostalgia for some of you perhaps: looking over the box scores for some of these game, particularly the '87 game, I couldn't help but see some players' names and be reminded of Tecmo Bowl. Names like Kosar, Reggie Langhorne, Jeff Jeager, and my personal favorite Webster Slaughter. Please don't tell me I'm the only one who fondly remembers that game.

November 15, 1987: Browns 27, Bills 21
After Mark Kelso returned a fumble 56 yards for a score to give the Bills an 7-3 lead, the Browns rattled off 24 straight  points and held on for the win. Bernie Kosar threw for 346 yards and two scores, one each to Langhorne and Slaughter. Jim Kelly connected on two TD passes of his own in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough and the Bills fell in Cleveland.

November 4, 1990: Bills 42, Browns 0
The Bills got revenge on the team that knocked them out of the playoffs the year before by trouncing the Browns in Cleveland. Thurman Thomas scored 3 TDs (2 rushing, and 1 receiving) and Darryl Talley returned an interception 60 yards for a score as the Bills rolled.

October 2, 1995 (MNF): Bills 22, Browns 19
This one turned into a field goal fest, with Steve Christie (3) and Matt Stover (4) taking center stage. The difference is that Jim Kelly threw 2 TD passes, 1 each to Justin Armour and Andre Reed. The Bills offense out-gained the Browns offense 406-294. Sigh.  Remember what an offense looked like?

December 12, 2004: Bills 37, Browns 7
What a day for the defense! This has to be one of, if not the most dominant defensive efforts ever by the Bills. The Bills sacked Luke McCown and Jeff Garcia a total of 8 times, which led to -12 Cleveland passing yards. Add in the whopping 29 rushing yards for the Browns and the Bills allowed 17 yards of offense TOTAL, that's for the game. The Bills, meanwhile, rushed for 215 yards and got 2 rushing touchdowns from Willis McGahee, and 1 from Shaud Williams.

December 16, 2007: Browns 8, Bills 0
The "Blizzard Game" from last year.  You remember, the one that started a 3 game slide to end the season and eliminated the Bills from the playoffs. Jamal Lewis put the Browns on his back to the tune of 163 yards rushing. The Bills' offense, on the other hand, does almost nothing except a single long run by Marshawn Lynch, that didn't result in any points.  And of course on the final play of the game, with the Bills attempting to tie it up... well, you know.  We don't miss S F-M for a reason.  Right?  Rumblings recap.

Absurd. Terrible. Horrible. Pathetic.

- I fancy myself an optimist, and when I've seen Dick Jauron torn apart, and other negative opinons on here I stay away mainly because I don't like to jump to conclusions. I like to let things play out a bit, and I don't like to condem players or coaches for a bad game, or even two. But I have now had my fill. After last years performance I thought that the O-Line would be a strength for this team. Even with Jason Peters hold out, after watching the Bills easily handle the Seahawks defense, I was very confident that the O-Line would be dominant and that Marshawn would enter into elite running back status. But now I have to ask a few questions:

- Does this line miss Brad Butler that much?

- I can see that Preston is not an NFL center, but is Fowler any better?

- Is McNally's retirement hurting this team?

- Has Trent now become "gun-shy"?

- Brian stated that the Bills have 3 winnable games coming up, but if this offense continues to play like this, the Bills will be lucky to win 1 of them. Honestly, with the way that the Browns looked on Thursday with Quinn at QB, and the fact that the Chiefs seem to have found something with Tyler Thigpen, can anybody here honestly say that those games are gimmies?

- I'm tired of seeing inept offensive play, and I had honestly thought that those days might just be behind us, I guess I was wrong.

  
Buffalo Bills (5-3) at New England Patriots (5-3)
Sunday, November 9, 1:00 PM EST - Gillette Stadium

I think that we all know that the Buffalo Bills' record against the New England Patriots over the last decade has been brutal. This week I'm going to recap the last five times the Bills have visited Foxboro. If you are a masochist and love to torture yourself, read on. If you don't want get yourself depressed, stop reading now; I won't hold it against any of you if you choose not to relive any of this.

2003: Patriots 31, Bills 0
After beating the Pats 31-0 in Buffalo in the season opener, the Patriots got revenge in the season finale by beating the Bills by the same score. The Bills committed 4 turnovers (2 interceptions and 2 fumbles) and 10 penalties; need I say more? Ugly game, and the Bills packed the season in early in this one.

2004: Patriots 29, Bills 6
Not much good to report here, either. The Patriots out-gained the Bills 428 to 125. That's right: the Bills had 125 yards total for the game.  5 turnovers didn't help the Bills' cause in this one.  On a good note, Johnathan "Freddie" Smith returned a punt 70 yards for a TD; the Bills then failed on a 2-point conversion.

2005: Patriots 21, Bills 16
The Bills were leading 16-3 until almost half way through the fourth quarter in this one. Corey Dillon then promptly scored two touchdowns on one-yard plunges for the Pats, sealing their comeback win. The Bills committed another 12 penalties and 2 more turnovers; unsurprisingly, it equaled another Bills loss.

2006: Patriots 19, Bills 17
This was a close game again this time, and was also the first regular season game the Bills played under current coach Dick Jauron.  The Bills led 17-7 at the half but got shut out the rest of the way.  What's worse?  The game winning score was a Ty Warren sack of J.P. Losman for a safety.

2007: Patriots 38, Bills 7
Vince Wilfork took out J.P. Losman with what he now admits was a dirty hit.  Enter Trent Edwards to make his pro debut. (Makes you wonder, if not for that hit, how different would last year have turned out? Better? Worse?)  Oh yeah, New England piled up 485 yards of total offense, and some jerk named Brady tosses 4 touchdown passes. Rumblings recap.

Here is hoping for some better luck against these guys.  Looking back over the last few meetings it is very obvious that the Bills need to hold onto the ball and limit penalties.  In short, do what Brian said.

    
Buffalo Bills (5-2) vs New York Jets (4-3)
Sunday, October 2, 2008 1PM EST

I'm going to use the same format this week for the New York Jets as I did last week, (last 3 years instead of last 5 games) and we'll hope for better results out of the Bills this week. Let me just say, however, after watching the Jets play the Raiders and Chiefs the past two weeks, I feel much more confident playing at the Ralph this week, than I did last week. Anyway, the history...

October 16, 2005: Bills 27, Jets 17 (in Buffalo)
Starting QBs in this game; Vinny Testaverde for the Jets and Kelly Holcomb for the Bills, (was this only 3 years ago?).  Holcomb wins the match-up finishing the day 18-26 for 172 yards with two scores and two picks, compared to Vinnie's 12-26 for 161 yards, 1TD run and 2 picks. Johnathan "Freddie" Smith caught a TD pass in this one.

January 1, 2006: Jets 30, Bills 26 (in New York/New Jersey)
A game that I attended! Yet another memorable QB match-up; this time it's Holcomb taking on Brooks Bollinger.  Willis McGahee runs for over 100 yards (113) against the Jets yet again.  The Bills take the lead on a 36 yard Rian Lindell field goal, and yours truly (powered by a few over priced beers) begins to talk smack, only to get shut up 15 seconds later as Justin Miller returns the ensuing kick-off 95 yards for the win, and a long walk back to the car.

September 24, 2006: Jets 28, Bills 20 (in Buffalo)
Willis runs for 150 and J.P. throws for 328, tosses 1 TD and runs for another, but the Bills lose 2 fumbles, 1 of which is returned 32 yards by Victor Hobson for a TD, and the Bills fall at home to the Jets.

December 10, 2006: Bills 31, Jets 13 (in Jersey)
J.P. Losman hits Lee Evans for a 77 yard TD score, and for the second time in '06 Willis runs for over 100 yards in a game against the Jets (his only two 100 yard games that year).  This time, however, it's the Bills with the defensive score - Nate Clements' 58-yard pick 6 helps seal the win for the Bills.

September 30, 2007: Bills 17, Jets 14 (in Buffalo)
This was Trent Edwards' first career start, and his first win. A gutsy call on a 4th and 1 ends in Edwards' first career TD pass, a 1 yard toss to Micheal Gains.  The Bills D holds on to get the W. Rumblings recap.

October 28, 2007: Bills 13, Jets 3 (in Jersey)
An ugly, ugly, ugly game. Trent gets hurt late and J.P. steps in and throws one up for grabs that Lee Evans wrestles away from the Jets defenders for a 85 yard pass and catch to seal the win for the Bills. Rumblings recap.

One last side note; One of the fun parts about doing these recaps is to look into the Rumblings archives, and finding some of the better stories in there; if you've got the time check some of it out. Good stuff, like this, and this one, one of the best comment sections ever. I know Krytime will enjoy it.

     
Buffalo Bills (5-1) at Miami Dolphins (2-4)
Sunday, October 26, 2008 1PM EDT

Since the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins have played each other plenty over the years, I decided to revisit the last 3 year as opposed to the last 5 games. Over that span the Bills have won 5 of 6 and 4 in a row.

October 9, 2005: Bills 20, Dolphins 14 (in Buffalo)
The Bills scored 17 unanswered points to start the game and hung on to win. The Dolphins commit 18 penalties for 102 yards in this one, which surely helped Kelly Holcomb pull out the win.

December 4, 2005: Dolphins 24, Bills 23 (in Miami)
Tough loss here.  The Bills jumped out to a 21-point lead on the strength of 3 J.P. Losman-to-Lee Evans touchdowns. The Bills offense then proceeds to go and hide. The Dolphins score 21 fourth quarter points, capped by a Sage Rosenfels-to-Chris Chambers 4-yard TD pass with six seconds on the clock.

September 17, 2006: Bills 16, Dolphins 6 (in Miami)
J.P. threw for a whopping 83 yards, but the Bills played solid defense, sacking Dante Culpepper 7 times and pulling off an early season upset of the heavily favored Dolphins. This game marks the start of the down turn for the Dolphins.

December 17, 2006: Bills 21, Dolphins 0 (in Buffalo)
The Bills finished off the season sweep of the Dolphins with a shut-out. The Bills only gave up 6 points to the Dolphins all year! J.P. Losman tossed 3 TDs, 1 each to Robert Royal, Josh Reed, and Lee Evans.

November 11, 2007: Bills 13, Dolphins 10 (in Miami)
The Bills were losing 10 -2 heading into the fourth quarter, the only points coming on a Chris Kelsay safety. The Bills scored 11 points in the final stanza, including a Rian Lindell FG with :46 left on the clock to pull out the win. Rumblings recap.

December 9, 2007: Bills 38, Dolphins 17 (in Buffalo)
Robert Royal and Lee Evans each caught 2 TD passes from then-rookie Trent Edwards.  John Beck practically handed George Wilson a TD and the Bills roll in an easy victory. Rumblings recap.