In the Second Week, the camp was beset by Jaguars....

The Bills beat Jacksonville, 38-17, in Jacksonville. Yay!

I didn't watch the whole game, because an opportunity to go out with the wife, and without the kid, presented itself. (We left her in the car while we saw a movie.) (No, not really. But we did go to a movie.) But I did get to see the game get to 31-10, so I was happy.

The Bills are looking like they might just be for real this year. Those who were along for my NFL ride last year, and who actually read those posts instead of ignoring them as sports-babbling, remember that I tend to err on the side of pessimism where the Bills are concerned, on the theory that pessimists are prepared when the worst happens and presently surprised when it doesn't. Thus, I predicted 6-10 for the Bills in 2002; they turned in an 8-8 record, which made me presently surprised.

So, I'm not just some goofy homer jumping on a bandwagon. The Bills played a tough team today (the Jags aren't an elite team, but they're most definitely not the Bengals either) that is coming off a painful loss last week, on the road, in weather conditions they're not used to (high heat and humidity). And they commanded the game. I was very pleasantly surprised by the way their offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage today, a fact which augurs well for later in the season and especially next week, because I'm not totally convinced that Miami's defense is the next incarnation of last year's Bucs or the 2000 Ravens. The lack of yardage produced by the running game is a bit of a concern, but the development of pass protection is a very welcome development.

The defense played pretty well - - they were very physical, but they also looked a bit more susceptible to overpursuit of the run than I had expected. That needs some work. And I'd still like more pass-rush! Oh, and don't ask me about that fake punt. I have no idea what that was about. Gregg Williams occasionally seems to lose his senses completely, and that was one of them.

All in all, a good game. The Bills are 2-0, still in sole possession of first place in the AFC East, going into their first game against Miami next week. Bring on the Dolphins.

Other notes:

:: The defending champion Bucs are 1-1 after losing in overtime to Carolina. The Bucs really need to find some offense, but they probably don't need a whole lot of offense to stay on track to win a second championship. In the middle of the 2000 season, a lot of people had a good time making fun of the Ravens, who went something like four consecutive games without scoring a touchdown. That Ravens team ended up winning that year's Super Bowl behind a defense that was probably as good as the 1985 Bears' D.

:: The Eagles are in a world of hurt right now. In the little I've watched them, they looked terrible.

:: Is the starting job in St. Louis now Marc Bulger's for good? Or just until Mike Martz blunders up his career too, by refusing to use his running game and refusing to address an injury to the guy? Stay tuned…I happen to not think that Kurt Warner's career is over, although it may well be, as far as the Rams are concerned. He might not have a 5000-yard, 50-touchdown pass season again, but I think he'll end up somewhere else and, if the system is right, end up being productive if not a winner again.

That's all for this week. I always find it hard to focus on football in the early weeks of the season, when it's still too warm to sit inside for an entire Sunday afternoon. But we're only two short weeks from October, my favorite month as well as the best sports month of the year!