That Aud Smell

You look at the depth chart, man, and there is just no fat to cut. I think it'd hafta be a DE/LB.

so - what to do? is there some super brief IR trickery they can deploy with Rousseau?

Wow. And yikes. Maybe they’ll be palatable with some Frank’s?

Rousseau officially out for Sunday. Bummer. From what I gathered on (fka) Twitter, he got stepped on in the Miami game. But he then played through that for much of the game. Hopefully it's just a contusion/bruising that swelled up once he took his cleats off. Fingers crossed that there's nothing broken. Per McDermott, Rousseau's status will have no bearing on whether Miller plays. If they activate Miller, they will need to waive someone. Based on snap count, I'd guess they'd waive Kingsley Jonathan and hope he goes unclaimed (although I think that unlikely). I like Jonathan's upside more than Shaq Lawson's known skill set (which is solid, but unspectacular), but I think McDermott would want to keep the steady veteran as one of his ends.

I saw somewhere that Rousseau’s injury isn’t looking good for this week. Rough news, especially if it’s anything serious. The guy has been a revelation so far this season.

I had not heard that he was hurt. Dammit!!

I have the same question. It appears that the Poona Ford signing motivated Tim Settle, since the former has been unable to supplant the latter.

nah, man. that'd be crazy. foolhardy too. of course the player wants to play. the medical team must have a schedule established for easing him back into things. nfw they let him play. i'll eat my zubaz undies if he plays a snap.

It was drier than a muhfugger throughout September. Of course, a drought-driven drying of leaves is different than the leaves changing colour.

I'm not saying solely. But the change in sunlight appears to be a stronger influence than temperature. And there are other factors too -- not the least of which, I'm guessing (and not Googling!), are things like how wet the spring was, how dry the summer was, what condition the supporting soil was in, etc.

Myriad reasons. Taro touched on some of them above. I also think that dilution of the quality of the game is inevitable. There's also the matter of how some franchises don't belong/are not supported where they currently are (Arizona, principally) - they ought to be relocated to new markets before expansion is permitted. Mostly, though, I see the march towards expansion -- does Bettman ultimately envision 36 teams? and 6 divisions of 6 teams each? -- as something unduly motivated by a desire to increase revenues without addressing other persistent, underlying issues that suppress profit growth and market share. Just getting bigger is an easy, short-sighted "fix."

I had the sense that September was weirdly warm. It prompted me to conclude that the leaves turn not so much because of temperature drops, but more because of changes in the amount of daylight. Idk. Yep. The El Nino should keep us mostly mild ... but all it takes is a little weeble wobble of the Polar Vortex and WHAM! several feet of snow somewhere east of Lake Erie.

Fahk. This is a horrible idea. What it reminds me of: How, in certain industries when profits are flat over a period of time, companies/firms will often seek to expand themselves into greater profitability through acquisitions. That doesn't usually work out. Seems like the NHL owners can't (won't) say "no" to more expansion fees. Greedy. And stupid.

I recall thinking that they were getting specifically targeted for physical play. Late finishes of checks and the like. This was more late December/January, iirc. I recall this as well. Hmm. I just recall DG protecting the kids after their torrid start.

@LGR4GM - where are the Bills on that run blocking graph?!

Benson skating with Thompson and Skinner today, so ... yeah. Dude is almost certainly making the squad. Question remains for how long.

The Ford signing is interesting, as he's been inactive for most if not all of the team's games so far. Perhaps his signing had the added benefit of lighting a fire under Settle. The personnel move from Edmunds to Bernard is nothing short of fascinating. Who was the Edmunds apologist here? @inkman's take has been vindicated through 4 games: Edmunds was sound and fury signifying nothing. Edmunds looks the part, but he lacks instincts and football IQ. The Bills' version of Rasmus Ristolainen. As for the struggles against the Jets, Mahomes and the Chiefs just laid a turd against them as well. Losing Tre is so tough. They should absolutely ease Miller back in. You want that guy feeling good in December.

In terms of outside cornerback, the org's depth is now Benford - Jackson - Elam - Ingram. Lewis backs up Taron (NCB) and Hyde (FS), evidently. Neal also backs up Taron. As others have noted, Beane's signing of Rapp (for a Poyer replacement) looks so smart now. Between Lewis and Ingram, the Bills could have a lot of (UB) Bulls in the d-backfield. Or on S. Teams.

You haven’t been paying attention.

I wonder how much the Sabres paid for that promotion opportunity.

Counterpoint:

This is interesting. Rapp was in for Poyer yesterday. Both strong safeties. When Hyde went down last year, Hamlin came in. Both free safeties. In terms of outside corners, they have Benford, Jackson, and Elam on the 53 man roster. Now they'll add someone to the 53 man from the P Squad. It's someone we saw in preseason. Not sure who that is. And then they'll sign someone else to the P Squad. All that said, I would like to see them bring in a capable vet who is familiar with McDermott's defensive philosophy. There's a gotta be a team that stinks already (or who will soon stink) who has someone who could help. One edit: Cam Lewis might now be the team's 2nd string free safety. In addition to being the Bills' backup slot corner.

Please. An Era.