Football, Football, Football!
Football 1: Today was the day that NFL teams are required to cut their rosters down to 53 men. The person given the job of summoning a player to his firing is known as "the Turk". While trying to find the origins of the name, I realized that I could play Rise of Nations as the Turks in honor of those given the unpleasant task of sending young hopefuls to their doom. Hours later, when I finally sat down to play RON, I forgot, and left it on random. Random turned out to be quite serendipitous: it picked Turks! Speaking of Turks, I feel bad for ousted Bills offensive coordinator Turk Schonert, who probably now wishes he'd never been promoted from quarterback coach last season.
Football 2: I've only been interested in football since the beginning of the 2007 season. That year, the Bills went 7-9, a repeat of 2006. Last year, the 5-1 start looked great, but it turned out only one of those wins was against a playoff team. As the season wore on and the Bills got swept by the division, I started to joke that they'd finish 7-9. I wasn't sure who they'd beat in the last few weeks to notch that last win, and Denver was a pleasant surprise. When head coach Dick Jauron's contract was extended after three consecutive 7-9 finishes, I joked with fellow fans that we were in for a fourth great year of 7-9 football. I got curious to see what exactly Jauron had accomplished before Buffalo. Let's skip his brief, mid-season replacement tenure in Detroit (squarely in the middle of the Millen era, no less) and go back to Chicago. There, he won four different NFL Coach of the Year awards for the 2001 season, when the Bears went 13-3 but lost their first playoff game. His regular season record was 35-45 over five seasons. My jaw dropped when I saw those numbers. His average record was . . . wait for it . . . exactly 7-9. In 2003, the last year he coached in Chicago, the Bears went 7-9. That extends his current streak to four seasons. What are the chances he won't make it five?
Football 3: For the five seasons starting with 2008, the Bills have moved one home game per season to Toronto. The NFL schedulers get to decide which game that is. Last year's Toronto game was an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins. This year, it's going to be a Thursday-night game against the Jets. Thursday games are broadcast only on the NFL Network, which Time Warner doesn't carry. The team's primary market gets to simulcast the NFLN coverage, but Rochester is a secondary market for the Bills. Even if the game sells out, I almost certainly won't get to see it. I would not be surprised to hear that Buffalo's offense (third OC in three years! Woo!) will run into Rex Ryan's defense like a very painful simile, so maybe it's merciful.
Football 2: I've only been interested in football since the beginning of the 2007 season. That year, the Bills went 7-9, a repeat of 2006. Last year, the 5-1 start looked great, but it turned out only one of those wins was against a playoff team. As the season wore on and the Bills got swept by the division, I started to joke that they'd finish 7-9. I wasn't sure who they'd beat in the last few weeks to notch that last win, and Denver was a pleasant surprise. When head coach Dick Jauron's contract was extended after three consecutive 7-9 finishes, I joked with fellow fans that we were in for a fourth great year of 7-9 football. I got curious to see what exactly Jauron had accomplished before Buffalo. Let's skip his brief, mid-season replacement tenure in Detroit (squarely in the middle of the Millen era, no less) and go back to Chicago. There, he won four different NFL Coach of the Year awards for the 2001 season, when the Bears went 13-3 but lost their first playoff game. His regular season record was 35-45 over five seasons. My jaw dropped when I saw those numbers. His average record was . . . wait for it . . . exactly 7-9. In 2003, the last year he coached in Chicago, the Bears went 7-9. That extends his current streak to four seasons. What are the chances he won't make it five?
Football 3: For the five seasons starting with 2008, the Bills have moved one home game per season to Toronto. The NFL schedulers get to decide which game that is. Last year's Toronto game was an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins. This year, it's going to be a Thursday-night game against the Jets. Thursday games are broadcast only on the NFL Network, which Time Warner doesn't carry. The team's primary market gets to simulcast the NFLN coverage, but Rochester is a secondary market for the Bills. Even if the game sells out, I almost certainly won't get to see it. I would not be surprised to hear that Buffalo's offense (third OC in three years! Woo!) will run into Rex Ryan's defense like a very painful simile, so maybe it's merciful.