All_Pro_Bills

The Bills upgraded the offensive skill position groups in free agency and the draft but they need to do more to deliver the knock out punch to NE's reign of terror. For starters we need a big, physical receiver (maybe two?) that can battle and box out defenders that play the tight and physical style the Patriots employ against the Bills year after year. I guess that's why a lot of posters are calling for Duke Williams to get a shot. That crazy catch Knox made on the sidelines on Sunday, no way any of our WR group battles and out-muscles the defender while still focusing on the ball to make that catch. Some real speed out of the backfield would be a nice add to in next year's draft. But if this team is serious about making the playoffs and a genuine run to the big game then it might be worth the cost to get a healthy AJ Green for a late round pick.

It would be better to have one of your players fake an injury and stay on the field for a couple minutes. You save the timeout and the challenge while getting a lot of time to sort things out. The downside is you lose the player for one play so pick somebody that has a good back up at the position.

This is one of those "Gray" areas that this team has a knack for exploiting. They probably have a full-time guy on staff that reads and reviews the rule book assigned the task of finding things they can use and get away with because the rule book doesn't explicitly say you can or cannot do something. In this case faking interference or making the defender think he's going to get interfered with but not physically doing it. While this might seem like bush-league level "cheating" it highlights the extreme measures the Patriots are willing to take to get any edge.

I watched the replay several times as I'm sure everybody else has too. It was an intentional helmet to helmet hit. Jones never raises his arms or attempt to lead with his shoulder or use his body in any way to engage Allen, or attempt to make any kind of legal tackle. He leads with his helmet into Allen's helmet and lunges toward the ball carrier. I don't see how it can be any more obvious.

It's good advice, avoiding a bad situation is much better than having to deal with the results and consequences of a play like yesterday. But the issues isn't about what decision a QB makes but rather the actions of defenders and the fair and equitable application of the rules by the officials and the league office. Many have tried to explain the hit in terms of intent or subtle changes in contact angles but I've heard it explained dozens of times every Sunday that the league rules insist that the defender is responsible for their actions. Apparently not yesterday in this particular game. In this instance the sliding scale of judgment applied by the NFL from week-to-week and game-to-game and team-to-team this hit on Allen was judged to NOT be sufficient to result in ejection from the game. I can't wait until another flagrant hit or two occurs next weekend and the league once again will be forced to explain their inconsistent and arbitrary enforcement of the rules.

I think the Bills defense played about as well as a defense could in the game. Holding NE to 11 1st downs, 150 yards passing, and 74 yards rushing. If the offense had its act together the Bills would have won this game. Unfortunately, as well as the defense played the offense and special teams didn't hold up their end. The blocked punt was inexcusable. Before the snap I said out loud "they're going to block the kick". There was simply a lack of recognition from the Bills. The defender over the left side gunner moved into the formation to rush the kicker. This was obvious to anyone watching. Obvious to anyone except the people that mattered, the gunner, the punt team, and the coaching staff. There were three things they could have done to eliminate the play. 1) It being obvious he was unblocked the gunner could have recognized the defender moved inside and was unaccounted for and moved inside to block the free rusher. 2) the punt team recognizing the gunner was uncovered could have audibled and had the punter throw a pass to the open gunner with only the punt returner some 40 to 50 yards downfield between him and the goal line (not saying I'd do it but it was there). 3) the coaches on the sidelines could have recognized there was a free rusher and called timeout to reset the punt formation. Any one of these would have prevented the block and 7 points. Add in the missed FG before the half (compounded by Allen taking a sack to make it a longer kick). Assuming everything played out the way it did subtract out 7 points for NE and add 3 for Buffalo and at halftime we're at 6-6. Then there was the turnovers and poor game plan strategy by the offensive coaching group. If the offense can clean up and the defense holds up this team can has a chance to beat every team on their schedule. Optimistically, maybe we hit the Thanksgiving game at Dallas at 8-3?

Frankly, I had more confidence when Barkley came into the game as he was less likely to force anything. The pick he threw was the result of the RT blocking down and allowing the DE a free shot at the QB instead of a bad decision. Barkley had almost as many passing yards, 127 to 153 as Allen in 12 fewer attempts. To me that just screams experience and comprehension of what the defense is doing. Allen needs to clean up his mental mistakes. The interceptions were unacceptable and poor decisions along with taking too many sacks rather than just throwing the ball away or looking for the check down. Sure he makes some great plays at times when improvising but he needs to develop his game to be consistent. That said the coaching staff produced a very poor game plan for Allen to execute. The Patriots defense did exactly what I and each and every one of us knew they were going to run. 8 or 9 in the box with heavy pressure. I've been watching NE defenses do this to the Bills offense for 15 years and am still waiting for a coaching staff to develop and execute something different. And the fact that they didn't much of anything different like quick screens to the sidelines or sweeps to the parameter to name a couple is discouraging. During the week I was hoping for a heavy dose of double TE with Knox and Sweeney to counter stacking the box and didn't get much of that at all. For Allen and the offense to succeed against the top defenses the game plan needs to be a little more creative.

This version of the Bills is just learning how to win and for this NE squad winning comes naturally. It's just part of their culture. At this point the Bills are playing with house money as not one of the "experts" forecast them to start 3-0. If I was setting the tone for the game I'd let them know right away that its going to be a 60 minute street fight. Take some chances on both sides of the ball. Maybe take a hard 15 yarder early on Brady to send a message. Not to hurt him but just to let them know that regardless of the final score this time, and every time from now on, its going to be different playing the Bills and coming into our home isn't going to be something you look forward to anymore.

I too think this team is headed in the right direction as the Bills finally have a management team and coaching staff that has a strategy and a plan that they are executing. Whether or not that and adding talent is enough to beat NE this week is questionable. Another poster elsewhere said the Pats will probably single up Gilmore on Brown and over/under cover with 2 defenders on Beasley, move defenders into the box and dare Allen to beat them from the pocket. This seems logical. I expect the Bills will come out in a "heavy" 2 TE, 2 WR, 1 RB formation as their base offense, see how NE adjusts and exploit any match up advantages the Bills offense can identify. Basically do to them what they do to us. The big improvement this season is we actually have the personnel to run this and pull it off. It's up to Allen to make the reads and execute. He can do it but needs to be as consistent as he possibly can be this week and eliminate any lapses in judgment.

I think the Bills best option would be to go a lot with 2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB formations. If the D goes "heavy" use the TE's against LB's in the passing game. If they go nickel or dime in coverage then run the ball a lot.

Absent a missed FG aided by Arians taking a delay of game penalty because his kicker is better from farther away (really!) the conversation would be different. But the Giants came out with a win and the play of Jones was the highlight. But now the weight of expectations and a weeks worth of game film might start to factor in here. Declaring him the new star franchise QB after one game is a little premature. But what else do NYC football writers have to report on given the sad state of the two local teams?

That's what I'm thinking too. While I have no evidence I suspect he's taking some HGH or some other performance enhancer, that is undetectable by current NFL drug tests as it keeps measurable bio-markers inside normal ranges. I don't care how many cale salads you eat or yoga classes you take. If there's some proven "healthy lifestyle" option available then why haven't other QB's or position players adopted it? Heck, why can't we all benefit from it? I'd love to feel 15 years younger. So exactly what is he doing? Is it purely genetics? I doubt it.

And from observation I believe the 2% more are called in the 4th quarter when the outcome of the game is no longer in doubt.

His theatrics, such as those strange hats, make me wonder if his head is in the game 24x7 and if he sees himself more as an entertainer than a professional QB committed to bringing his best every Sunday. My advice, drop all the nonsense and get to work or give it up.

Most likely Brown will keep his mouth shut, cut back on his social media activity, be a model citizen, and have a productive season. Probably not 100+ catches but good enough for some other team to offer him a big contract in free agency and get the Patriots a compensatory 3rd round pick for their troubles.

This guy Anderson may believe that Murray is ahead of Allen and a "generational talent" but he should recognize that his book of work to date has been a couple poor pre-season performances along with playing in a major college program in a QB friendly system surrounded by outstanding talent as almost every position on the offense. While Allen QB'd a poor Wyoming team supported by not a lot of talent and a less than perfect environment for grooming and developing a QB. So yeah, Murray looked like a world beater on the highlight reel and on Saturday's. Being prepared to assume a pro career in baseball parlance Murray started his pro career on third base and Allen started his at the plate facing a 1-2 count. When Allen returned from injury last season he played decent football, certainly there was room for improvement. And there obviously still is but by any measure I "see" improvement in his game based on work to date in the pre-season. Having a better supporting cast and a year of experience at the pro level helps. Maybe Murray improves and becomes a great QB and he starts to get the support from his teammates on offense that every QB needs to be successful. If he does great for the Cardinals and for him. As a Bills fan I won't be paying too much attention to Murray or the Cardinals once the season starts.

Foster is playing on a rookie free agent contract that pays him $750K. Even for a 3rd or 4th WR that's an inexpensive depth player. He came on strong ending the season, showed good chemistry with Allen, and looks to have a lot more upside. From a roster management perspective and given a 16 game schedule where injuries and circumstances can change things quickly trading him makes zero sense. Even less sense than the argument for trading him made by the blogger. And when did it become a problem that the Bills have too many 'good' WR's?

Next time Cowboys or Patriots fans, the top two on the list, rally around some cause or individual and donate their time and hard-earned money to some local or out of market charity or person in need of help I'll give them high marks for 'social equity'. But right now Bills fans are #1. What fan base reaches out and helps like this one?

The city of Boston's Championship drought extends to 4 months! I feel so sorry for the fans. ?

The thing is Schatz and other analytics guys don't have an opinion, just an interpretation of the data. If the data changes, they change their assessment. Conveniently they are never wrong, and also never right. Sure Allen's 'numbers' might not indicate he is primed for success. But the context in which those numbers were produced needs to be considered. If you believe, as the Bills leadership does, in the 'potential' of Allen and improve the context such as fewer dropped passes and less pressure from the defense then the data may reveal improvement. Or it may not. At this point I'm willing to trust the judgment of our GM and HC over some data gathers with a couple spreadsheets.

I expect to see a lot more formation flexibility and personnel package options in the play calling. Along with this I think utilizing the pick up's in the draft and free agency will create a lot of uncertainty for the defense in pre-snap recognition of whether the Bills offense is going to run or pass out of those formations. Should open things up. For a long time the Bills offense has been very predictable and that changing is going to be a big thing.

"Also, it's not always advisable to spend a pick on a punter, but we'll give New England the benefit of the doubt with the Bailey selection." The thing is there is a grading bias in favor of the Patriots and a couple other teams. And that bias may be justified based on the fact that these team has been successful based on wins and losses along with championships. You've been successful in the past the expectation is that will continue. That might or might not be true. In reality it's a just an opinion based on the graders preconceived opinions about specific players and how they ranked them. Your draft aligns with their thinking you get an 'A'. You deviate, your grade drops. Draft grading is like a college course were the professor wants you to answer the questions by telling him what he told you the right answer is vs. telling him what you think the right answer is.

I'm very optimistic about the teams prospects for the coming season. Management addressed the team's biggest weakness along the offensive line in free agency and the draft. Getting what looks like a starting RT in Ford, the best center available in Morse along with several other OL veterans that are a huge upgrades from last years group. Instead of talking about issues with the line there are discussion threads about competition for the starting spots among several good options. I like the TE's in the draft and Kroft and WR's Brown and Beasley as it will enable a lot of different formations, 2 TE, 3/4/5 WR's that can create mismatches in both the running and passing game that they didn't have the personnel to pull off last season. On defense other than Kyle retiring they got stronger with Oliver and some pickups in the secondary. There's definite improvement but on the other side of it every other team can make the same argument. I see a team that will compete week in , week out and don't expect we'll be on the short end of any blowouts this year.

My reason's are a bit more selfish. I'd just like to see the 2 games a year the Bills/Jets play to be highly competitive and meaningful to watch. And the outcome of their late season games more than an exercise in calculating the odds for a better draft spot. If it makes the Patriots season a little harder and eventually eliminates their automatic playoff berth and division title all the better.

And traded a 5th for Bennett to the Eagles. The Patriots are experts at playing the compensatory pick system and roster management in general. Other teams sign their free agents for big money and they replace them with late round pick trades or tender offers to other team's low round picks or former college free agents. The formula gives them extra picks every year. Everybody is an interchangeable part except for Brady and a few core players. It's a cold and soulless management system but it works.