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That was not the topic

exactly. This is why I am preaching people not to freak out over just 1 / 6th of the season being played.

I'd be more open to this argument if the problem wasn't a continuation of something that persisted for the whole season last year. At a certain point it's no longer something you can excuse away, it is a legit trend that shows no signs of getting better. Could it get better? Of course, I don't think there is anything inherent to our defensive roster that means we are doomed to a high 3rd down conversion rate. At this point I would even be okay with just getting to average in that area. But we're past the point of believing it will get better. They have to show measurable and consistent improvement or it will remain a concern. What I really didn't like about the Miami game in particular is there were at least a couple times where Babich directly was the reason for the failure. There was a 3rd down where Benford was somehow the only DB in the area of two WRs along the left sideline and Tua just easily threw to the one he wasn't covering. The end of 1st half sequence in particular was awful for Babich - I blame him personally for the Dolphins last 3rd down conversion on that drive and for Waddle's TD. That can't happen. Your DC can't be the primary reason the opponent puts 7 points on the scoreboard. And I'm not being nitpicky with these examples, it's not like he called a blitz and the QB beat the blitz and you just have to tip your cap, these are situations where the defense was just not in any kind of position to even have a chance of stopping the play.

"Jimmy Kimmel and ABC defeat Future Hitler." News at 11.

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Great call. He'll absolutely get in. Wonder if any others from the Legion of Boom. On the flip side of that team, is Russ playing himself OUT of the Hall?

When all you have in response is baseless conspiracy nonsense, I can safely rest my case.

PFF rankings are for both run defense and pass defense. To be really good, don’t we need to be good at both? Plus we have played two 0-3 teams to get those rankings. I hope I am wrong, I want to believe that we will improve and get really good on defense, that’s why I want to hear some good things about the team D.

Your analysis is always impressive pertaining to personnel. Reasons for optimism abound especially with Walker and Sanders only getting better and the PED boys coming soon. My only trepidation is that Rousseau,Bishop and Hairston are huge question marks for different reasons. Hairston will need 3 or 4 games to get up to speed. Rousseau seems like getting paid was a big part of his motivation and Bishop has been ineffective so far. Tre White is good depth but he will struggle against good receivers like Waddle. The secondary will be exposed if we can’t pressure the QB better. Hopefully we will see more from these guys.

100% agree. Can you imagine the emotional toll that game would have on the Bills even if they won? It will be really tough for them to refocus the following week as they leave it all out there to get by the Chiefs. Give me the Colts or Broncos or Jags or some game that won’t have that level of stress on them.

Pressure is key. I watched last night's game and can't help to think the reason Lions made Jackson looked pedestrian is the pressure they were able to put on him - it is the same when Leslie Frazier (when he was Bills DC) blitzed Jackson which at the time seemed like a crazy idea with Lamar's legs. Look back now the issue of the Bills defense dealing with Lamar and Tua, I will say the finger points directly at pressure on QB. The good thing is we spent big in DL. The bad things is with injuries, suspensions, and rookies learning, we got little return so far.

That's probably a tough ask when you consider how the Bills have always used him. They are showing some different tendencies on D this year though so it's not completely out of the question. This is likely less reflective of their pass rush and more reflective of their opponents. They've played two teams that use a lot of read option and spread elements in their run game and one team that probably tries to get the ball out of the QB's hands faster than any team in the league. You are simply not be going to get a lot of pressures when playing against offenses like the three we've played.

Maybe once you account for the last four years, when literally no one knows who was even in charge. That seems kind of scandalous.

Doesn't bother me if you get Covid vaccines, flu shots or pound Tylenol. It's a free country.

I knew a Penn State player who made the league in the 2000s, was at the same party with him a few years after graduating, and he said that like 90% of the locker room smoked weed. The NFL basically gives advance warning on when they’ll drug test a player - they don’t care about you smoking they care about you getting caught. So I don’t really care if Josh smokes. I don’t do that stuff myself, but really it’s super commonplace at this point in our society (and people don’t even necessarily smoke it. Huge number of THC products out there)

Richard Sherman has a real shot. Let the league in PFR AV rating twice (essentially, WAR): https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SherRi00.htm.

For sure, if the Chargers can get the 1 seed Herbert is the MVP, he’s going to have to get the 1 seed over Allen to win it, IMHO.

Kyle Hamilton should be added to the too early to tell - but I’ll say it now, he will be. While he won’t be first ballot, don’t over look Dion Dawkins. When it comes to OL, their personal brand and profile helps, and being the anchor to maybe the best QB ever, getting notoriety as one of the top LT, media exposure, etc I think will eventually lead to a potential HOF spot.