WhitewalkerInPhilly

That was the refs, who clearly got two paychecks this week

Bye week can't come soon enough with these injuries

I actually really liked the city the last time I was there. The Rock and Roll hall of fame is fun, I liked the Michael Symon restaurant I got to go to, the Cleveland Children's Museum was a blast as a kid, and I have family that needed to make regular trips to the Cleveland Clinic so I have nothing wrong with the city itself. But this stuff is new lows

Yeah, there was a moment where "Tank for Tua" was a thing. The injury was supposed to be the only thing holding him back. I can remember Flores switching between Fitz and Tua and wondering what the hell was happening. While it's unfortunately common for teams to ruin excellent prospects, he's already had chances. It's not like he was throwing to trash last year either. Waddle was there last year, and they had DeVante Parker. Is Hill a step up? Absolutely. But you would think that he was like the Bills in 2018

Look, I used to like Cleveland. I felt kinship over being smaller market rust belt teams. It didn't drive me bonkers when Manziel got the hype, though I loved watching him get flattened. It minorly bothered me when people tried to edge Baker Mayfield over Josh Allen, but so far that seemed like normal fan vs fan stuff. Their defense, and now their fans defense of first Kareem Hunt and now Desean Watson are inexcusable.

Obviously, we all want the Bills to throttle the Dolphins. But as I am getting ready for this game I've realized: I don't think there's a team left on the schedule who I so viciously want to dominate, and that puzzled me. Obviously, I want to knock off the Chiefs but we proved that it can be done in the regular season last year, and if we don't manage it Week 6, there's darn good odds that we get another bite at the apple in January. I want the Bills to beat the Ravens so I can have bragging rights versus a buddy of mine. I want the Bills to beat the Browns because eff those guys. But there is no one else left on the schedule that I would dread losing to. So why are the Dolphins bothering me so much? Basically, it comes down to this: I remember back to 2020. The Bills had knocked off the Jets by a safe margin and edged out a division rival in the Dolphins (Fitz has played out of his mind) but now was the moment that the world told them they were in for a reality check. They were headed in to face the Rams, who had been to the Superbowl and had aspirations. And so the world said, "alright nice story but now it's time for a reality check". Sure, Stephon Diggs was a nice addition, and maybe they would scrap in but now they would be facing an elite team. Now, we know what happened as the end result, which is why we shouldn't get too cocky. But I don't remember many "Man, this would be a statement win for the Bills" takes. I don't remember many "Josh Allen will be on the short list for MVP if this goes well" takes. I don't remember people asking if the Rams had been anointed too soon. And yet, I am hearing this level of hype for the Dolphins and it boggles my mind. I have heard legit questions of Tua being a dark horse MVP candidate after 7/8 quarters of meh play. It took the Bills taking the 2nd seed and smacking the Ravens in the playoffs to be treated as legit contenders, and we still got "they're a nice underdog story". And, god forbid, if we lose, the Dolphins hold the head to head tiebreak and a 2-0 division record until we face them again...in mid-December. I want this narrative to die horribly, and now. Bury 'em boys.

I don't think Lamar Jackson is a bad QB, but the fact that he had a near perfect passer rating is a pretty big indictment. If Davis is back, the Bills have the capacity to torch them.

And yet, there's been so much media attention about Tua's "emergence" that it bore half a second to evaluate. Obviously, the proof will be this Sunday. The Patriots held them in check with zone defense, and I believe that our version is superior to theirs. The big numbers came from a man coverage Ravens scheme with a depleted secondary.

If I am Frazier, that's the gameplan that I'm cooking up. Trust Milano, Edmunds, Poyer and Hyde to disciplined in their zones. Be prepared to take a few long Hill or Waddle sprints as the price of doing business, don't panic and stay disciplined. Let Tua make the mistakes we know he is capable of. P.S. Wait, you were in Baltimore Sunday and then hoofed it up to Buffalo for Monday night? Respect/.

The further I go into mental prep for this Sunday I've decided that it's not Tua that I am afraid of. It's his targets. Gisecki and Hill and Waddle are a formidable groups. Gisecki can keep chains moving while Hill and Waddle are explosive threats every time they touch the ball. And this is with our top 2 CBs (White and Jackson) out for injury, meaning that we are going to need to lean heavily on the rookies. I foresee a lot of two high safety, keeping everything in front of us. Make Tua grind it out against what is looking like a dominant pass rush.

No. I know what you're trying to say. A little part of me liked being the underdog. Maybe if the fanbase becomes insufferable like the Patriots after multiple championships I'll miss it, but I have close to 20 years of irrelevance to exorcise first.

Well, you could always forfeit the game! Ok, serious question then. First, I think that you need to bite the bullet and double cover Diggs. I love Gabe Davis, and I want him back soon, but there is a severe drop off between Diggs and him. I see a big drop off between Diggs and the rest of a receiving threats (Davis, McKenzie, Knox, Crowder). The most significant loss on offense was Beasley as a zone beater, so if you are playing tight, disciplined zone coverage you can at least contain them and hope for a mistake. Next, I'd do my best to stunt, overload and double gap on the D-line, trying to overwhelm Saffold, Bates and Brown who are all good but not world beaters. You have to generate quite pressure while cutting off escape routes. Try to force third and short where the Bills seem to keep having problems. This is not easy. I do not foresee many games this year like the Steelers and Jaguars last year. But if I am trying to come up with something that's what I would try. Josh Allen is playing out of his mind right now, and while he does still sometimes have a dud, his short field accuracy has looked amazing and he is now willing to take the profit. I keep going back to all of those easy Diggs completions because the CB just played so far off him.

I think that's where our group sat for the Patriots game. Let me tell you, it was worth it on that bitterly cold night. I've been to three Bills games in my life in person and I will never forget that one. The argument, as much of the spin that the annnouncers put on it that while the defense did in fact flinch and in doing so caused the offense to flinch (because they are trained to do that, because 99% of the time it's an Offside) that the defense hadn't moved "enough" into the neutral zone and had reset by the time the offensive line moved, and this it was a false start. Which is utter BS, and I expect there was an attempt at point shaving at that point.

Can they make it permanent?

Good. I don't expect him to play anytime soon, but if he is walking unassisted that is an amazing sign for his long term health. I'd rather burn a roster spot on a street CB than risk a man's life.

Virgil and Shaw are still princes, I just have been bursting at the seams. That's a good thing about primetime games, that I have the night to think it over instead of needing to take care of real life things.

sparingly, but it got used with under 2 minutes to go with the Bills in the RedZone and I was tearing my hair out

I am not sold on Tua either. The Ravens play aggressive man coverage while the Bills play suffocating zone, which should limit those kind of comebacks. But I have to admit, every knock that I have had against Tua I can point to Josh. I am not saying they are the same, but yeah, it took Josh until his 3rd year and a legit elite #1 season to blossom into the massive talent he is today. Can Tua do the same? Time will tell.

I don't think so either. But beating us early makes it harder for us to snag the lead, and would help them on playoff seeding.

Because the more talented and vetted commentators are still being productive citizens and I need by fix: I confess, midway through the second quarter I was an irritable mess. I have seen a certain script play out once too often: the Bills, despite being an objectively better team, were being stopped. Injuries were going to pile up and the Titans were going to steal one from us. Again. And then, little by little, the grip tightened. The broadcasters called it "suffocating" and it's not a bad analogy. The Rams and Titans were able to thrash around, fighting for dear life to keep is close until little by little they exhausted themselves and went limp. The Bills have the depth that even if teams bring everything in the early rounds, but the end they are punching just as hard as the start. Speaking of the broadcasters, was it me or was that cringeworthy? I kept hearing every opportunity to bash the Bills early about being annointed too early in a game that they never trailed in. I mean, try to be a bit objective. They then had to pad time talking about why Josh Allen is why you don't give up on young QBs. I hope this gets better next week. Speaking of next week, that's looking like a game with playoff implications. I was not expecting that. My memories of the Kelly era Bills are dim, but I cannot think of a player quite like Josh Allen has been playing. Even Mahomes, as great as he is, doesn't seem quite the same type of player as what we are seeing. Is it me, or has Josh been making more adjustments at the line than in previous years? Or is it that it now seems like he's nailing the right choice so often that I'm noticing it more? Either way, even though he ran once it was at the perfect time in a key situation. Single off coverage on Stephon Diggs? Yes please. I am not even mad that Josh didn't distribute it more (which he did, just not at a huge volume). If teams are consistently giving your WR1 easy matchups, you take it. I once again pound the table for the FB position. Gilliam very nearly had two touchdowns. One the one he did get, I was sure that was a tackle for a loss and that he managed to bulldoze out of it is going to give defensive coordinators nightmares. Speaking of giving defensive coordinators nightmares (yes, I am repeating this) Dorsey has not missed a beat. Give credit to Daboll for building up this scheme, but Dorsey has found a new gear. I have been pumping the breaks on the idea that we might lose him, but I think he at least gets some interviews. At this point, I am not against bringing in a street free agent like Joe Haden at CB. Is it a waste of a roster spot? Is he going to be a liability long term? Maybe. But I do not like running out two rookies as our starting outside corners next week, and there is no way that Jackson is 100% by next week and we have no guarantees that Tre is ready to go week 5. I don't want to hear any comments about Edmunds for hitting his teammate. The Titans live on broken tackles, and that kind of mentality that we needed to stop Henry doesn't go off like a switch. It's tragic and terrifying, but this is the game. If you feel bad, then let's give defenses more room to breathe in the rules. Von Miller continues to look like an excellent choice, and it looks like Rousseau is coming along nicely. I was worried about our D-line, but hopefully we are back to full this Sunday. This team has the potential to be something. To steal from a legend "These guys are good. Scary good"

Time to prepare for the next victims. The Titans (after some trouble) made feeding Diggs easy. I mean, playing off man coverage? Yes please.

My kind of psychopath

Is it me or is this broadcast getting chopped up? I mean in spite of the pretty terrible commentator work.

Now that I can see it, him pounding the ground and kicking his legs is a very good sign. Still a monster of a hit, and I don't expect him back soon but it shouldn't be a spinal injury if he was able to move like that.

I hadn't seen that. Bastard should be thrown out of the game.