Alphadawg7

OP posts about our youth amongst our starters...others reply about the age of the 53 man roster LOL

Don't know he brings anything to the WR room we don't already have. If we made a move for a WR, I think I would prefer someone who can push MVS for deep ball snaps as I still don't trust MVS hands.

Yup, I totally misunderstood your implication, thats on me. This makes so much more sense, I thought that was an odd post from you so I was confused. My bad Note: I just edited my previous post and fixed the misunderstanding.

I agree with this...although I think I differ some on the reason why. Not saying McD didn't have a role in it...but I think it was more about the fact both Daboll and Dorsey were stubborn to a fault and both struggled to support Allen with an effective run game. Chiefs would have no SB's for Mahomes if not for their ability to effectively run the ball. I would also add in that the Bills notoriously were a small and less physical team that also relied too much on the big play. For me, the win column looks so different with Brady vs Dorsey because that stubbornness left with Dorsey's firing. It was like he set a script and would stubbornly stick to that script even when it wasn't working and DC's had caught up with what was working earlier in the season. Then both Daboll and Dorsey would stubbornly still stick with that for the weeks to follow until they had no choice but to try something different to get out of the skid, except Dorsey lacked the creativity Daboll did and never could snap out of it in 2023 despite low level competition we were facing. Perfect example with Daboll was 2021 when his slump lasted into the Bucs game where we were getting beat bad at half time and Daboll finally decided to get the run game going in the 2nd half and we nearly came back and won the game. From that point on, Devin's involvement and run game increased significantly rest of the season and the offense bounced back that carried us into the post season which included record breaking performances by the offense. To be clear, this is not to say it needed to be run heavy or run first...but if you can't effectively run the ball you put your self behind the chains a lot and that has been an absolute staple of our offensive slumps where we are consistently behind the chains and asking Allen to make hero plays on 3rd and long way too often.

There is nothing wrong with your take here at all. Your concerns about the boundary talent on the team are fair given we have not seen what this group can or can't do yet...and more importantly, we haven't really seen our passing offense even really unleashed just yet to understand how they are going to consistently use the group as a whole. Personally, I am less concerned about the "boundary" than you and some others are because I have watched the 2 most recent dynasties operate without such an attack in the Pats dynasty and Chiefs mini dynasty. Those teams bread and butter is not a downfield attack, dominance on the boundary etc. Even when Hill was there, his best season with Mahomes was more than 500 yards less than he averages in Miami...yet Miami can't beat a .500 team or win a playoff game while Chiefs have 3 SB rings. Brady with all that air it out offense with Moss...no rings. Brady with pedestrian outside WR's but with high end TE play and smart, sure handed, quick, short to mid area WR's has 6 rings. And the common denominator has been a consistent ability to effectively run the ball around those GOAT QB's, short and quick timed passing offense, and YAC. Does that mean we are the next Chiefs or Pats...no of course not. But if there are teams I want to see us draw more inspiration from, its not teams airing it out with no rings to show for it, its teams with 10 rings in the last 25 years or so that also had elite QB's and realized they were better teams by taking higher percentage and lower risk opportunities and exploiting the defenses weak spots than trying to force the ball downfield as much as guys like Daboll and Dorsey have done. Scheme does only get you so far...but its not so much the 1 on 1 battles that concern me, its the OC"s ability to adjust the scheme, gameplan, etc against each opponent and his ability to make live in game adjustments as things work or don't work to said scheme/plan. Keon can win 1 on 1 with size and body control...Shakir can win 1 on 1 with his route running and high IQ...Hollins showed he can win 1 on 1 already in week 1 on his TD running a text book route...MVS has shown he can win his 1 on 1 deep but Allen just has missed on the throw. So we are seeing early signs of 1 on 1 success, and its something we don't even need a lot of. What we have not seen yet is Brady face adversity where the offense is stalling (outside self inflicted things like Allens poor decision on the fumble or the rust with the false start penalties we saw early in week 1). So that is when we will really start to know if what Brady is building here is going to be sustainable, at least with this current group, as the season goes on. And as I mentioned in another post here, I think his first real sniff test with be Houston as they will then have 4 weeks of film on this offense to game plan for with a defensive front 7 that can disrupt the QB and a defensive HC. It is still just one early season game, so how we fare that week won't make or break anything, but I do think that is about the time where we put enough on tape that DC's can better understand how to prepare for us and they have a roster to execute what they want to do. So will Brady catch them off guard with more things that have not seen a lot of, will Brady run into some challenges and need to make in game adjustments, etc is the question. GO Bills!

Yup and our RB had 3 TD’s and our offense mailed it in the entire second half to chew clock and avoid injuries during a blowout as well. So people concerned about WR stats this week seem to be over looking a lot of context.

Adding to that...Bills only had 2 pass attempts until the final drive of the first half over the final 2 and a half minutes. From that exact moment over the next 59 straight minutes of play, the Bills offense scored 54 points. They had a FG prior to that and another 7 from a defensive TD after that. Now factor in because of the defensive TD early in the 2nd half, the Bills offense coasted and chewed clock from that point on. If not for the early rust fumble week 1 or the blowout week 2, Bills very well might have put up 90+ points over the first 2 weeks with ease. But...now we face a team we keep playing DOWN too in the Jags the last couple outings. So with the long layoff, I hope they come out flat or cold. I want to see them come out sharp and get a rhythm going again like they have been establishing this season.

I agree really with all of this Happy. I said coming into the Fins game get ready for a lot of Cook/Davis on a short week on the road in a humid stadium. Why...because its hardest on the DL and the Fins front 7 were already a mess. Plus controlling the game on the ground also counters their offensive speed by keeping it off the field. And that is also what I have loved about Brady, he doesn't go out there and just try and make his "system" work, he adapts to the game and gameplans accordingly. Dorsey felt like he stubbornly stuck to a script even when the script was poor and not working. For me, week 5 is the first sniff test for Brady. Houston has a good offense and good defense. They have a defensive HC. They will have 4 weeks of tape on this offense plus any tendencies Diggs helps point out. Win or lose won't make or end Brady, but that for me will be the first real stiff test for the reasons I stated above. Can he adjust, counter, bring things they haven't seen or expecting...things like that against a well coached and talented team with the defensive prowess to put our toughest test of the season. But the reason I am optimistic we can avoid an offensive slump this year is because I feel like we finally have the ability to incorporate the run and short area pass attack that can help build rhythm, move chains, etc even if nothing else is working down field. Where before, we were highly dependent on the down field attack working or the offense was in trouble. Daboll and Dorsey were frustratingly stubborn to a fault in contrast.

Depends...whats your spillage budget for all the dropped beers?

All fair points. As to the midseason slump we have seen 3 straight years...here are two reasons to be more optimistic we can break that trend this year: #1 Reason to believe it may be different this year: The Run Game. 2021 - 2023 (until Dorsey firing): The common denominator with all 3 seasons was the lack of a run game to compliment Josh. Not saying we needed to be run first or run dominant, but Daboll struggled to run the ball and so did Dorsey. Since Brady took over, we have had a much more reliable run game and that looks to be even more improved in the small sample of this year. You win the tough games in the trenches and being able to effectively run the ball when necessary. Chiefs and Patriots all ran the ball very well despite having what many consider the 2 GOATS already in Brady and Mahomes. Neither QB has nearly as many personal or team accolades without their respective teams ability to compliment their QB's with a quality run game. #2 Reason - Short area pass attack Those short area throws that are almost an extension of the run game, also something both the Chiefs and Pats did more than anyone. This has been something that this team has struggled with, especially in the physicality department. Only guy we had with size was Gabe, and he was not good in these areas, his bread and butter was down field with a limited route tree. And Allen now has the weapons to execute that, as well as an OC that seems to understand how to build that into the offense. These are the things that also open up things all over the field for Allen to attack as well. This team has been way too dependent on the big play for too long. Teams would take that away and the offense would go into a funk each of the last 3 years. You want to win consistently...you want to win in the postseason...you want to win close games...these are the things that are major components of that. To be clear, does NOT mean to be conservative or run first. You use these to keep moving the chains and keep teams having to cover the whole field and open up those mid to deep shots. But for too long we were way too dependent on the big play and this offense was too easily disrupted by taking that away. Me personally, if you were to ask me which offenses I want Joe Brady to try and incorporate more of...elements and things that the Pats and Chiefs have done or more of the Daboll/Dorsey stuff...well that is a pretty easy answer for me and it is the thing I am the most encouraged about regarding Brady. DISCLAIMER: Brady still needs to be tested, as with each passing week teams have more film. So as teams prepare to try and disrupt his flow and offense he still needs to show he can keep making the adjustments. So this is a story far from over right now, just sharing the reasons that I think will help us potentially snap that 3 year streak of a midseason slump.

It. Is. Just. This. Simple.

What is the over/under on how many people want us to sign him around here because he can run fast in a straight line even though he doesn't do much of anything else well?

Except that is not what happened, I mean I literally gave you nothing but detail in my simple and short reply to something you said. You can pick any one of my many long-detailed posts all over this board on the subject and reply to them if you want to have a deeper convo on it...or just start one...or keep doing this complaining schtick...whatever floats your boat. But I do find it ironic you are complaining about posts that don't have enough "historical perspective or decent statistical analysis" while making a post that literally has none of that or adds anything to the conversation really. But I do full agree with the bolded that fast starts are no indication of long-term results, or even slow starts for that matter (like people who wanted to declare the Jets dead after week 1). Teams will literally add film on Brady and this offense with each passing week to try and better prepare to defend it. It is going to be up to Brady to figure out how to keep adjusting in order to find consistent success and avoid any offensive slump again like this team has gone through the past 3 seasons. IMHO - Week 5 is going to be our first true test...that is 4 weeks of film, that is a legit defense, that is a legit offense there in Hou. That is a defensive HC too. That is the game for Brady to officially take his first sniff test IMHO.

Mitchell has a one of the least accurate quarterbacks throwing him the ball in the NFL. You don’t think this stat has any meaning because you don’t seem to understand the stat…which was solely about the receivers ability to create separation, not count how many catchable passes their respective QBs threw.

We didn't snap out of our slump last year until we stopped focusing on Diggs. So there is that too.

I am all for working out kickers...but this is the best they could find? There has to be a better option out there to try out. Hell, humor us with a Youtube trick kicker for all I care, just give us some hope there will be an improvement at least.

I don't disagree...I said there is a lot of football left, but the early returns are positive. And lets not forget we scored 31 points in 31 minutes on AZ too without all those Tua short fields. A team that just dominated and decimated the Rams this week showing they are not the doormat there were last year. But there is no doubt this team will be tested more over our next stretch of games of Jags (a team we have played down to in the past), Balt, Hou, and Jets over our next 4 games...which includes each of those teams having more and more film on Brady's offense to prepare for with each passing week. And as I have said in every other post, the first week or two does not decisively prove anything, it was never going to be proven in the first 2 weeks, good or bad. But...none the less, its an encouraging start by all measures and good early returns to start the season.

Bills have scored 65 points in 2 games despite: A) Allen having just 2 pass attempts until final 2 minutes of first half week 1...and B) The Bills mailing it in for almost the entire second half of week 2. Cardinals showed this week they are not the doormat they were last year too. Final 6 games of the guy you defended all offseason in Dorsey, Bills averaged under 20 ppg with Diggs as the focal point of the offense. Brady took the focus off Diggs and the offense went on to average over 8 more points per game the rest of the season on its way to 6-1 finish saving the season. In the first 2 games we are now averaging 32.5 PPG despite the offense only playing at full speed barely a game and a half (and all but 3 of that came in a stretch of about 4.5 quarters of play). There is only one column that matters, the win column and we went from 5-5 against bad teams under Dorsey with a focus on Diggs to 9-2 since while averaging significantly more points per game. I would say the returns thus far are showing this is a better brand of football for this team. Lot of football left, but early returns are positive.

Oh I know what you meant, 4 game IR. If he does in fact go on 4 game IR they are done too in terms of divisional race as they won't win many, if any, games with Thompson with how bad they are in the trenches and will far too far behind. But if Tua misses a game or two, then they can still potentially stay in the mix with their schedule compared to ours. This is our upcoming schedule: Jags, Balt, Hou, Jets, Ten, Sea, Mia, Colts, KC, SF, LAR, Det, Pats, Jets, Pats There isn't a game on our schedule we can't win...but there are also not a lot of "easy" games ahead either. Between now and week 15 (Lions) we have to face 6 teams expected to be among the best in their respective conferences coming into the season. Then we end the season with 3 straight divisional games, one of which is with Jets if they manage to keep pace at all. So for me, I just think it was way too early to propose us "skating" to the divisional title as we need to first focus on getting through each week and doing that over a tough stretch without 3 of our best defenders. And it starts with us reversing our recent trend of playing down to the Jags on Monday night. I do expect us to smash them, but I thought that in the games we lost to them too lol.

This is more of a must win for the Ravens IMHO than Dallas. Ravens starting the season 0-3 is going to really put them well behind in the AFC that is already a lot tougher conference than last year. Cowboys can start 1-2 and still have a good chance at their divisional title as at worst they will be only 1 game back where Ravens will be either 2 or 3 games back depending on if Steelers win this week. I think both are pretenders though as they are every year.

To be clear, I agree with everything you said about both teams here. But the schedule we have vs them is where I take pause on our eventual divisional title being a cake walk like the OP suggested. I prefer Josh's approach where its just focus on going 1-0 each week and hopefully this is the week we finally smash the Jags like we always should but somehow find a way to play down to their level.

Well the doctors haven't ruled that out, nor have they said he will be out that long either. If he goes on IR, Fins are done for sure as they won't win many, if any, games with that mess of an OL with Thompson. I am just saying, its premature to declare our division title a cake walk given how hard our schedule is with Jets still there, Pats playing tougher than people thought (although I expect that to fade some) and Tua still having the possibility to not miss as much time as people originally thought.

This is the first year I did NOT place a Josh Allen MVP bet or a McD COY bet. I did that intentionally because I actually felt like both could be really in play this year if the Bills offense plays at a high level and Bills exceeded the lowered expectations with such a tough schedule. So I figured I would help those odds by NOT betting on them...and yes, that was a real consideration and conscious decision I intentionally made 😂

He may...he may not. All he has to do is clear concussion protocol, and with concussions every one and every person are different. If I had to guess I think he misses this next game and is back the week after.

Like I said up thread - Too early to declare Jets dead off one game. Too early to declare Miami dead as we don't know Tua is done or even going to miss more than a game and they have an upcoming schedule where each game is winnable (if Tua plays). Jets week 1 was a poor barometer considering it was the first time their QB played in 2 years and skipped all preseason. While its just the Titans, they certainly fared better week 2 than week 1 and unreasonable to think they can still improve their overall play as Rodgers and the offense get more comfortable with each other. Miami has a relatively winnable schedule until they face us again in week 9. They can stack some wins here if Tua doesn't miss much time given he is full go on coming back, not retiring and working to get back on the field. Do I think we will win the division still. Absolutely. But all this premature talk about skating to a divisional title was way too early as we have by far the hardest upcoming schedule and are down 3 of our best defensive players already for that entire stretch. And while the 2-0 start is sexy, its also just a 1 game lead on both Jets, Miami, and NE (who has so far surprised and been tougher than people expected) I love Josh Allens answer and approach whenever asked about the season ahead or games coming up...every week its about going 1-0. Just focus on the game at hand and what you need to do to win that 1 game season.