National Polemic

In the past, we’ve gotten ourselves in a lot of trouble trying to separate the mind from the body. What we can all agree upon is that we think of our conscious mind as being “I” while we see our body as being “my body”, that is, the body “I” possess. What truth can be derived from this distinction is still beyond my grasp. We can hypothesize until the coffee and cigarettes run out, but we may never come to an adequate distinction between the mind and body. So let us make a cautious distinction and allow that the mind and the body are both natural conditions of the human sum and that the body is governed primarily by nervous systems, chemical stimuli, and a complex arrangement of gears and pulleys influenced, if not controlled, by the mind. How much control our minds really have can be determined only by our experience of thinking and doing. Insofar as we can command our body, that is the extent of the minds control, as far as we know.

The mind can be said to be comprised of memory, consciousness, and will. Within our memory dwells all our impression, ideas, and beliefs derived from, and only from, our experience. This constitutes our knowledge base and our world view, that is to say, everything we know and everything we believe. Our consciousness is comprised of perception and reception. We are always perceiving and receiving information from the world around us. The distinction between perception and reception is that we are only immediately aware of our perception. Psychologists draw this distinction by referring to conscious and subconscious experience. The will is comprised of conscious intentions predicated upon such inner stimuli as, emotion, instinct, and reason. The Will has two roles: decision making (intention) and reflection (reasoning). From our intentions spring actions and from our reasoning comes understanding and expectation.

Intelligence depends upon the effectiveness of each area of the mind all working together. The more memory an individual retains, the more perceptive an individuals’ consciousness, and the more focused the will, the more intelligent the individual is. In short, this is how the mind works:

Our consciousness perceives and receives sensations from the world around us and from ourselves, and stores that information in the memory as impressions and ideas. Meanwhile, the mind reflects upon these impressions and ideas, and assigns them meanings and relations. While meaning will be associated with a things identity, what a thing is, the mind will attach all kinds of relations between things and experiences. A single chair is associated with the complex idea, or concept, of “Chair”, it is associated with other chairs, with particular styles of chair, with other kinds of furniture and so forth. Even the ingredients that constitute the chair itself will have similar relations between particular identities. Such that, the mind will associate tables, chairs, and wardrobes made of mahogany, the common trait being mahogany.

The sum of all these meanings and relationships comprise an individuals’ knowledge base, from which he forms his expectations and understands his present experiences. The collection of expectations and understanding comprise an individuals’ beliefs. Beliefs can be more or less correct depending upon the depth and accuracy with which an individual is acquainted with an object or subject matter. The person that has only driven a car will have much less understanding of cars than a person that works on vehicles professionally.

Life, however, has taught us some strange lessons. Given the above, we would assume that the more experience a person has, the better their understanding will be, and, we’d expect, the better their decisions would be in these areas. But this is not always the case, which is why we must admit that instinctual impulses bubbling up from the bodies genetic code and extremely complex psychological stimuli, called emotions, have a very real influence over the mind, often overwhelming and overriding an individuals reasoning.

Our reasoning can be judged according its logic, or lack therefore. However, because an individual can reason themselves to a correct conclusion doesn’t mean that the individual will make decisions based solely on these conclusions. For example, a person who has suffered tremendous pains from drug addictions understands how harmful the drugs they take are to their lives. However, because of chemical addictions and powerful feelings of need, the individual continues to choose to use the drugs.

Psychology has helped us to understand human conditioning. We know that when you give a person positive or negative reinforcement for a particular behavior, that person tends to repeat the behavior. We know that when we give a person positive or negative punishment for a particular behavior, that person tends to stop doing whatever they are being punished for. Taking a broader view, we can see these same principles at work in massive national economies. If you tax something, you get less of it. If you subsidize something, you get more of it.

A purely rational consciousness would never be able to understand the human being, because we accept into our conditioning both physical and emotional reinforcement and punishment, such that what we know and what we believe are not always priorities when it comes to the choices we make. For example, imagine a man who is terrified of being alone, but knows that only through solitude and self-reliance will he learn the life skills necessary to realize his deepest ambitions. Everyone will agree that despite his fear of being alone, it is certainly in his self-interest to be so, such that he can realize his long term goals and achieve greater personal happiness and contentment. After all, haven’t we always accused ourselves of being motivated entirely by self interest? Regrettably, we’ve all seen individuals who are so overwhelmed by their emotions, be they fears or insecurities, that they choose to do what they know is bad for them in order to relieve the tremendous irritation caused by an emotion.

Another example is a person who becomes dependent upon some dazzling and irresistible pleasure. They become so dependent and obsessed with the attainment of this pleasure that the rest of their life begins to fall apart. They know they are suffering from their lack of attention to the rest of their lives, but they can’t seem to help themselves. They’ll sacrifice their professional, marital, and social stability and happiness for a single pleasure, no matter how much they believe they value their job, their marriage, or their friendships. They will become depressed and miserable when they lose their job, their spouse, and their friends, but they will continue their single-minded pursuit of pleasure, because the physical pressure is simply too overwhelming. To everyone else, this individual seems irrational, if not insane, but they know what they are doing, they understand the consequences, and they care. They just don’t have the self-control necessary to stop.

And so we arrive at the most important virtue of the mind, which is self-discipline or self-control. As the mind is not influenced only by our reason, we must strive to strengthen our rational mind to the point where it can govern not only the needs and desires of the physical body, but also the needs and desires associated with our emotions. We’ve already demonstrated that the mind ought to govern the body. We can now clarify this principle by saying that the mind ought to be governed by reason, such that we our decisions are made according to our understanding, wherein the governs the influences of our emotions and bodies rationally.

To develop our own philosophy of life, we must consider the nature of our bodies, our minds, and our “selves”. We may discover the nature of our bodies in our innate needs and desires, in our neurology, biology, and genetics. We may discover the nature of our minds with respect to our “will”, our psychology, our passions, emotions, interests, intelligence, and wisdom (which is the ability to apply our understanding derived from our experience). We may discover the nature of our “selves” in the concepts and identities we hold as important and true: in our virtue and ethics, our position and status, our relation to our environment, our relation to each other, and in the actual process through which our own identity is formed and changed in time.

Let us define “the Self” as the personhood and consciousness we identify as “I” and all the characteristics and beliefs of which this entity is comprised. Our estimation of ourselves, that is to say how we define ourselves, enables and disables our behavior and the manifestation of our personality as witnessed by others.

Let us define “the will” as conscious intentions predicated upon such inner stimuli as, emotion, instinct, and reason. Given that “emotion” includes all our fears and desires, insecurities and confidences. Given that “instinct” includes all natural desires and aversions attributed to genetic dispositions toward self-preservation. Given that “reason” includes all decisions, judgments, identifications, opinions and suspicions, arrangements of concepts and their composition in terms of their relations to all matters of thought and reflection.

A) The Body

The human body is nearly incomprehensible in all its building blocks of life, in all its chemical complexities, and in its delicate fragility. The body influences our minds constantly giving us cravings and aversions for food and drink, for sex, for physical action and purpose, for shelter and amicable temperatures. The body is demanding, such that it requires the greatest degree of mental concentration to deny the body its demands. We all accept that the body knows what it needs, but so often it seems that the body is greedy, or at least paranoid. The body never knows when it will get its next fix and so its’ pressure upon our minds is unremitting. We must condition ourselves to govern the body and its demands in order to avoid the dangerous excesses the body sometimes pushes us toward, sadly, to its own demise and dissatisfaction.

Let this be our first principle for the manufacture of our philosophy of life, that the Mind must govern the Body. However, to make this assertion we must seek to demonstrate that the mind is distinct from the body, is capable of governing the body, and is capable of doing this job well.

Let us dispense with the idea that there is any real material distinction between the body and the mind, as if there was a mind that could exist or survive independently of the body. Let us also admit that what distinguishes the concept of the mind from that of the body is not that our conscious self originates from elsewhere, but that its function is independent of the bodies instinctual processes and is therefore capable of making choices in favor of the body’s needs or to deprive the body of those needs. If what we think of as the mind is empowered with the ability to help or hurt the body, then clearly the body is subject to the mind. We admit that this subjection is neither universal nor absolute, but rather a general and natural condition of the human body itself.

The body does not pressure the mind to fulfill needs based on an account of the person’s entire memory and knowledge base, and therefore cannot know how secure or insecure its position really is. It is what we think of as “the mind” which “knows” how accessible the objects of the bodies needs really are. Thus, because the mind has more information than the body, we can easily admit that the body ought to be subjected to the mind and that, therefore, the mind is responsible for governing the body.

In determining in what ways the mind ought to govern the body, we must determine the bodies needs and purpose, such that we can define with some confidence what promotes the body and what causes the body harm.

Arthur Shopenhauer argues that, “the greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness”. Whatever purpose we choose for our bodies, we should be able to agree that the better our health and physical condition, the better our performance in every other area of life will become. It is also well established that a healthy and well-conditioned body makes for a more energetic and focused mind. Thus, our second principle in our philosophy of life must be that above all other concerns and desires originating from the body, our concern for and attention to, our good health and conditioning is of the foremost importance.

In governing our body, we must seek knowledge of our body’s basic needs, so that we can provide the right amount, avoiding excess and deprivation. It is better to think in terms of correct allocations than in terms of the vagaries of moderation. When considering what the body needs and what the body can stand without being harmed, we can have as much or as little as we please within those boundaries. Let us not obsess over moderation and instead focus on acquiring enough knowledge concerning those needs in order choose how much and how often we want to consume a substance we desire.

Philosophers and social scientists often times like to speak in generalities for the good of the listener, because they feel that a general rule is the best guide they can offer. I disagree with this approach. I believe that people ought to be encouraged to acquaint themselves with as many facts and concepts as is possible, in order to expand their freedom of choice. They say that knowledge is power, but it also increases our ability to maximize the opportunities made available to us according to our liberty.

Therefore, let our third principle state that we ought to be vigilant in our pursuit of knowledge concerning our mind and body, for knowledge increases our ability to make efficient and efficacious decisions. The desire for efficiency and efficacy in life is an indication to yourself and others that you take pride in yourself: in your work, in your relationships, in everything; that you value life by respecting each task you perform. How you care for yourself, your ability to make time for informing yourself, exercising, and conditioning yourself, and all the discipline this concentration requires you to obtain will be the foundation for every other priority in your life.

Finally, let me address the place of pleasure-seeking behavior in our lives. The pleasures of sex, drugs, alcohol, and even of eating are not evils to be shunned. Rather, we must choose of what importance pleasure shall hold in our lives and take full account and responsibility for the negative consequences of indulgence. It should be firmly established that if health and conditioning are of the utmost importance to our happiness and ability to achieve our desires, then we must be willing to sacrifice certain indulgences. If, for whatever reason, we decide that a certain indulgence is so pleasurable as to justify the negative consequences it entails, then we must take care to make sure that those negative consequences threaten only us and not others. Therefore, it is our prerogative whether or not we want to engage in a vice such as drunkenness, but it is a great evil that we should subject others to the negative consequences of our choice. Take account of and responsibility for your behavior when you take risks, such that the risk is yours and yours alone.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team with enormous potential. However, it is important for us to remember that the year they won the Super Bowl, they barely squeaked by into the playoffs. The Bradshaw like steadiness of Ben Roethlisberger give the Steeler offensive a chance to win every game, but this team continues to struggle with average teams in the league. Last year they lost to Arizona, Denver, New York Jets, Jacksonville, New England, and Baltimore. They lost to Jacksonville by two points in the playoffs. When a team wins the games they are supposed to win and lose the games they are supposed to lose, that’s a team dominated by their talent. But if you lose the games you are supposed to win, that is a team struggling with coaching. It’s the coaching the concerns me about the Pittsburg Steelers.

This year, I expect the Steelers to win as many games as they lose. However, not because of their offense. I think Parker will do better this year (1300 yards, 8 touchdowns). I think Roethlisberger will do better as well (3600 yards and 25 touchdowns). It will be the defense, surprisingly, that I believe will cost them wins. This is the year the Pittsburgh should dominate their league, but don’t expect it. I think Pittsburgh is the type of team to beat the teams they are supposed to lose to and lose to the teams they are supposed to beat.(8&8)

Week 1: (L) vs. Houston
Week 2: (W) vs. Cleveland
Week 3: (L) vs. Philadelphia
Week 4: (W) vs. Baltimore
Week 5: (L) vs. Jacksonville
Week 6: Bye
Week 7: (W) vs. Cincinnati
Week 8: (L) vs. New York Giants
Week 9: (L) vs. Washington
Week 10: (W) vs. Indianapolis
Week 11: (W) vs. San Diego
Week 12: (L) vs. Cincinnati
Week 13: (W) vs. New England
Week 14: (L) vs. Dallas
Week 15: (L) vs. Baltimore
Week 16: (W) vs. Tennessee
Week 17: (w) vs. Cleveland

Cincinnati Bengals (6&10)

No one is happy in Cincinnati. It’s hard to believe that a team with as much talent suffers from as much discontentment. Marvin Lewis is a great head coach, but the Bangles are a team lacking discipline and if Lewis wants to get his guys ready for a winning season, he’s going to have to get these guys unified and organized. Carson Palmer will get great, as usual, but the real question concerning the Cincinnati Bangles is their rushing game. This is one of the few teams that I feel could have a great season or a terrible season depending on which way the wind blows, but if the Bangles don’t establish some consistency early, and I don’t believe they will, I think it will be hard for them to recover.

Experts are still baffled by the appalling performance of the Cincinnati Defense last year. But this is what Marvin Lewis does, so I expect to see some improvement, just not enough improvement to make a real difference.

Week 1: (W) vs. Baltimore
Week 2: (L) vs. Tennessee
Week 3: (L) vs. New York Giants
Week 4: (L) vs. Cleveland
Week 5: (L) vs. Dallas
Week 6: (W) vs. New York Jets
Week 7: (L) vs. Pittsburgh
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: (L) vs. Jacksonville
Week 10: (W) vs. Houston
Week 11: (W) vs. Philadelphia
Week 12: (W) vs. Pittsburgh
Week 13: (L) vs. Baltimore
Week 14: (L) vs. Indianapolis
Week 15: (L) vs. Washington
Week 16: (L) vs. Cleveland
Week 17: (W) vs. Kansas City

The Cleveland Browns offense is the best in their division, with Jamal Lewis, Dante Stallworth, Braylen Edwards, Joe Jurevicius, Kellen Winslow, and Derek Anderson. They have an excellent roster backing up those players, so Cleveland should be able to absorb some injuries. I expect Derek Anderson to have an even better year and would not be surprised to see Winslow, Edwards, and Stallworth all exceed 1,000 yards receiving. I also think it likely that Jamal Lewis will repeat his rushing numbers from last year (1304 yards).

If the Browns can find a way to improve their turnover ratio and their time of possession, they could be a serious threat in the league, winning 12 or 13 games. However, as we have no reason to believe these numbers will improve, we must suspect that the Browns will lose some games they have no business losing. The Browns have high expectations and an awful lot of pressure. Cleveland got off to a rocky start last season, especially their defense, giving up 34 points to the Steelers, 45 points to the Bangles, 26 points to the Raiders, 34 points to the Patriots, and 31 points to the Dolphins who went 1 & 15. I expect another slow start. However, I believe they will really come together as a team in the middle of the season.

Week 1: (L) vs. Dallas
Week 2: (L) vs. Pittsburgh
Week 3: (W) vs. Baltimore
Week 4: (W) vs. Cincinnati
Week 5: Bye
Week 6: (L) vs. New England
Week 7: (L) vs. Washington
Week 8: (W) vs. Jacksonville
Week 9: (L) vs. Baltimore
Week 10: (W) vs. Denver
Week 11: (W) vs. Buffalo
Week 12: (W) vs. Houston
Week 13: (W) vs. Indianapolis
Week 14: (W) vs. Tennessee
Week 15: (W) vs. Philadelphia
Week 16: (W) vs. Cincinnati
Week 17: (L) vs. Pittsburgh

After going 13 and 3 in 2006, the Ravens fell to 5-11 last year, plagued by irreconcilable debility at the Quarterback position and an offense that simply could not produce. Things aren’t looking better this year. Coach Brian Billick is out, after years of successful regular seasons. John Harbough now has the reigns and must find a way to bring organization and purpose back to this disgruntled football franchise. Baltimore is now both young and old, which is a bad combination unless the young players experience an evolution together under the leadership and steady play of the elder statesmen, such as Ray Lewis.

Besides their Quarterback problems, the Ravens suffered from one of the worst turnover ratios in the league (-17) and with an excellent defense, that number is a black mark on the steadiness and stability of the offense. The QB problem hasn’t improved. Troy Smith has shown no sign of NFL level maturity on the field. Joe Flacco is a rookie. Kyle Boller has never quite gotten the hang of things. The Ravens still have no real threat at the wideout position. Todd Heap is still suffering from an inability to stay healthy. Willis McGahee underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee over the off season and Baltimore signed the elderly, four time pro-bowler Lorenzo Neal from the San Diego Chargers. Offensively, the Ravens are going to struggle. Even their biggest scoring threat, Matt Stover is getting up there in age.

Defensively, the Ravens are still a threat and is capable of winning games on their own, so long as the offensive doesn’t fall apart completely.

Week 1: (L) vs. Cincinnati
Week 2: (L) vs. Houston
Week 3: (L) vs. Cleveland
Week 4: (L) vs. Pittsburgh
Week 5: (L) vs. Tennessee
Week 6: (L) vs. Indianapolis
Week 7: (L) vs. Miami
Week 8: (W) vs. Oakland
Week 9: (W) vs. Cleveland
Week 10: Bye
Week 11: (W) vs. New York Giants
Week 12: (W) vs. Philadelphia
Week 13: (W) vs. Cincinnati
Week 14: (L) vs. Washington
Week 15: (W) vs. Pittsburgh
Week 16: (L) vs. Dallas
Week 17: (L) vs. Jacksonville

Philosophy is about understanding our experience of the world, defining that understanding and determining its’ application and relevance to us as individuals and as collectives, such as societies, nations, families, communities, and institutions. We try to distinguish between things we know and things we believe. We try to understand the process through which information is received through experience in order to determine the quality of our considerations and judgments about the meaning and reality of those experiences. We try to establish hierarchies of value for everything in order to demarcate the margins of our rationalizations that distinguish what is right from what is wrong.

Most never make use of the utility of philosophy, nor pay much regard to its’ practical influences on our lives and societies. It is too arduous to keep so many ideas in our minds at all times. Our acceptance of the various tenants of philosophy rest underneath our immediate focus, in the subconscious mind. They are a part of our passions, beliefs, feelings, and thoughts. Always there, but rarely identified as something that must be considered in itself.

The practical result of our failure to understand the philosophical premises we allow to influence our beliefs and passions, is a systemic disorganization that stands like an invisible wall between what we do and what we want to do, between what we tell ourselves we value and what we give priority to in our daily lives. The resulting frustration, confusion, fear, and insecurity cause an untold number of troubles. We need philosophy. Without philosophy, we live defensively, trying to meet each stimuli and consequence without understanding its nature or cause. We are reactive, instead of purposeful.

We can start by defining for ourselves, in the simplest terms, what we believe about our experience of the world. Either the world is real or it isn’t. If it is real, things either have a nature or they are chaotic. If they have a nature, either that nature can be understood or it cannot. Assuming that we can understand our own nature, it isn’t difficult to imagine the empowerment and control that would come along with such understanding. If we understand how we work, we can begin working on improvements. Either we want to understand and improve ourselves, or we don’t.

How can philosophy help? It starts by drawing your attention to yourself and to the world around you. If science is the pursuit of knowledge, then philosophy is the pursuit of understanding. Knowledge tells us how to do something, while understanding reveals to us what to do and why. The first question people associate with philosophy is, “what is the meaning of life?” While we seem to have given up on answering this question, as a society, as a world, we all still yearn to answer this question, at the very least, for ourselves. Philosophy is art and science of understanding and of choosing; but we must first understand something before we can act intelligently concerning it.

Thus, to practice philosophy requires us first to understand ourselves and the world around us so that we can act deliberately and intelligently.

The Miami Dolphins got The Tuna, lost Jason Taylor, and had an above average draft. After a 1 & 15 season last year, we can all rest assured that the Dolphins will improve. I expect them to win 4 games. Their defense isn’t better and their offense is still young. Four games is an optimistic number based on the assumption that shit happens. Teams have a bad week, QBs are injured, God is vengeful.

Will Ronnie Brown finally have a breakout year? Probably not behind that Offensive line. Will Chad Pennington be a difference maker? Again, no protection, Pennington will be lucky to play and if he does play will be lucky if he can stay healthy. I see no upside with the Miami Dolphins. Maybe Ricky Williams stays away from the bong long enough to put down some yards. But I doubt it.

Week 1: (L) vs. New York Jets
Week 2: (L) vs. Arizona
Week 3: (L) vs. New England
Week 4: Bye
Week 5: (L) vs. San Diego
Week 6: (L) vs. Houston
Week 7: (W) vs. Baltimore
Week 8: (L) vs. Buffalo
Week 9: (W) vs. Denver
Week 10: (L) vs. Seattle
Week 11: (W) vs. Oakland
Week 12: (L) vs. New England
Week 13: (L) vs. St. Louis
Week 14: (L) vs. Buffalo
Week 15: (L) vs. San Francisco
Week 16: (L) vs. Kansas City
Week 17: (W) vs. New York Jets

The New York Jets (6&10)

As Bret Farve descends upon New York, Jets fans may jump at the chance to feel a sense of excitement. Farve is a difference maker, so the question we must ask ourselves is, “How much of a difference will Farve make?” I suspect, not that much. The Jet’s Offensive Line gave up 53 sacks last year. Farve is the NFL’s leading Interception King. I suspect Farve will throw as many interceptions this year as he does touchdowns (I’d say 26 TDs & 26 INTs). However, expect him to throw a lot of touchdowns. Cotchery and Coles are two fantastic targets and I expect this year to be a breakout out year for Jerricho Cotchery (I predict 1100 yards 8 TDs). If the Jets don’t improve their turnover ratio though, they won’t have a winning season and this is a problem that, with so many changes this year, I don’t expect to see improve.

Defensively, The Jets offer a balanced whole, but are not without their weaknesses. While I believe the Jets will be better against the run this year, with an improved defensive line, they will have a great deal of trouble defending the pass, especially against teams with good RB and TE options. Furthermore, a QB who knows the Jet’s offensive system backwards and forwards, in Chad Pennington, will now be an integral part of the Miami franchise.

There is no simple solution for what plagues the Jets. Expect a disastrous start to their season. It will be how they handle disaster that will determine how they do down the stretch.

Week 1: (W) vs. Miami
Week 2: (L) vs. New England
Week 3: (L) vs. San Diego
Week 4: (L) vs. Arizona
Week 5: Bye
Week 6: (L) vs. Cincinnati
Week 7: (L) vs. Oakland
Week 8: (W) vs. Kansas City
Week 9: (L) vs. Buffalo
Week 10: (L) vs. St. Louis
Week 11: (L) vs. New England
Week 12: (W) vs. Tennessee
Week 13: (W) vs. Denver
Week 14: (W) vs. San Francisco
Week 15: (W) vs. Buffalo
Week 15: (L) vs. Seattle
Week 17: (L) vs. Miami

New England Patriots (13-3)

The New England Patriots are coming off of one of the most successful seasons in history. Let’s face it, Brady is everything great and right about professional football on the field and is well on the way to becoming footballs greatest field general. That said, the Patriots are not bullet proof. Their defense has holes. The offense gets impatient at times. They become a little too reliant on Moss downfield.

They will lose games this season. Which ones is hard to predict. People complain about Laurence Maroney’s numbers last year, but they forget the about the contributions made by Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk. The Patriots will miss Dante Stallworth this season. However, barring some slew of injuries to Brady, Moss, Maroney, or the offensive line, I simply can’t imagine the Super Bowl taking place without their presence.

Coaching, I believe, more than talent, will discover and exploit the Patriots weaknesses. It is for this reason that I believe the Colts will be victorious in the regular season. I also believe the San Diego’s offensive could catch the Pat’s defense off guard after a series of non-existent offensive attacks comprising their first four match ups.

Week 1: (W) vs. Kansas City
Week 2: (W) vs. New York Jets
Week 3: (W) vs. Miami
Week 4: Bye
Week 5: (W) vs. San Francisco
Week 6: (L) vs. San Diego
Week 7: (W) vs. Denver
Week 8: (W) vs. St. Louis
Week 9: (L) vs. Indianapolis
Week 10: (W) vs. Buffalo
Week 11: (W) vs. New York Jets
Week 12: (W) vs. Miami
Week 13: (L) vs. Pittsburgh
Week 14: (W) vs. Seattle
Week 15: (W) vs. Oakland
Week 16: (W) vs. Arizona
Week 17: (W) vs. Buffalo