billsfan89

It was a crisp well coached ending to the game, the only issue was Walker missed a block and the kick was almost blocked. But the NFL does not operate on almost...

I can't think of a time when both teams were good which is when a rivalry really functions. The Ravens and Steelers have been consistently competitive in the same division for a quarter of a century that's what makes that such an epic modern rivalry. During the Kelly Super Bowl era the Jets were pretty bad. I think in the early 80's might have been the only time both teams were semi-relevant. The Jets had a solid run from 2000-2010. Of course you had the Rex Ryan back to back AFCCG run in 2009-2010 but even in the Herm Edwards era from 2000-2005 the Jets made the playoffs 3 out of 6 years and had 2 playoff wins plus a division title. Even the short lived Mangini era from 2006-2008 they had winning seasons 2 out of 3 years and made the playoffs in 2006. Then of course the early Rex Ryan era runs came after. In that time frame the Bills were in the drought and only had one year where they felt like a good team capable of making the playoffs in 2004. So when the Jets were a competitive maybe one notch above average NFL team in the 2000's the Bills were mostly mediocre. Then from 2011-2016 both the Bills and Jets were extremely mediocre. The Rex Ryan era for the Jets from 2011-2014 was mired in mediocrity. The Bills drought was bottoming out in the Chan Gailey era and then trying a failed rebuild in the Marrone era. Then the Bills got Rex Ryan for mediocre results while the Jets had their own failed rebuild with Todd Bowles. Then the Bills finally hit on the right rebuild in the McD era and the Jets are now deep into a playoff slump and mired in dysfunction. It only feels like a rivalry because the Bills play in the same division...

This is the Happy Gilmore logic of I’m just gonna try to get a hole in one on every hole logic.

I know Mahomes fans are gonna say that Mahomes probably would have the record had he played more than 1 game his rookie year. But if you total Mahomes TD's from 2018 (his first year as a starter) to 2024 (7 seasons) and you total Josh's total TD's in that same 7 season stretch then Josh has 1 more total TD in that timeframe (260 for Josh and 259 for Mahomes). And both have played a comparable amount of games. So despite Josh's 2018 being very up and down and 2019 being a growing year he's still putting up more TD's than Mahomes in that same time frame...

Given how "funky" week 1's are since they shortened off-season activities and the pre-season being shorter I think week 1 games and to a lesser extend week 2 can be written off as teams shaking off rust. The Saints last year started out 2-0 and looked like world beaters and they quickly came down to Earth. 40 points even with the clutch effort to close the game is not a good look for McD and the defense. But there's just not too much stock you can put into week 1 against an elite offense. I think the real test is going to be how does this team handle better offense in the regular season and how does McD adjust in the likely playoff rematch? Last year I thought McD coached a good game against the Ravens in the playoffs. He worked around the defenses limitations well. This year they attempted in the off-season to address those limitations in the draft and in free agency we will see how that plays out.

This is a very important game in terms of building an early division lead and setting up the chase for the one seed. This is a tough division opponent away. Last years game at the Jets was a knuckleball 50/50 type game. This year the Bills need to avoid a close game late. Because after this game the Bills then his a soft stretch in the schedule where they basically play the Fins and Pats and the NFC South Minus Tampa until November. Getting a 2-0 start and ensuring that the Bills have a 2 game lead in the division over two opponents (Pats and Fins play each other this week) is very key. Also if the Bills hope to get the one seed they need to probably at a minimum hit 13 wins and possibly even 14 wins. So I think the Bills really do need to "get fat" on this early schedule.

Hairston and Hoecht should help this defense I also think Larry O is a possible nice add. I think this team will make a defensive addition at the trade deadline. Safety or LB maybe even DT. But I think there will be an addition.

I think there will be a piece more likely added to this defense. Esp if Kincaid and Keon continue to show good development then the defense will get a piece added to it. Will that be at corner? I would say no, if Strong is decent and Tre and Max come back there's not really much I think they need there. At LB I think they aren't bad, I think the scheme and poor DT play put them in a bad spot. I think in a few weeks we will see the LB core is solid. Safety and DT is where I think there will be a move made. I also think the front office probably views Larry O and Hoecht as in season additions once they come back from suspension and both should provide a boost to the D-line. Given that I have thought for many seasons that the team should trade for a DT that is a pure good run stuffer and they never make that trade I think safety is a solid move. If Rapp and or Bishop struggle I think they make their "Rasul Douglas" type move to add a quality starting caliber piece to the safety room and patch up the defense a little bit. I don't think we are looking at major overhauls here. But I think there's gonna be a starting caliber piece added assuming there's a struggle at LB or S that lingers.

You could get bed bugs in a very nice hotel. My wife got them at a Westin (luckily she noticed them while she was there and got the hotel to comp her stay, pay for her clothing to be treated, and provided additional comp to not write a review) and I had a friend get them at a Hilton (same in that they were able to see it while they were staying and not have it be something they took home). The scary thing about bed bugs is just how pervasive they can be even if you are insanely clean and well maintained. All it takes is one traveler having them and your hotel could get infested. That being said I am willing to pay a bit of a premium to stay at a better hotel if it is cleaner, but no matter how nice a hotel is I will always bring a black light to check for bed bugs...

I thought the punting was OK outside of that last 4th quarter punt. But I'm ok with moving on, it's not like Robbins had much of a resume so trying someone else is fine.

I love Keon, I was OK with the pick at the time, didn't love it but didn't hate it. I didn't like Worthy because I thought he would have durability issues but I liked some of the other WR's ahead of Keon. But if I am going to take the haters perspective I would just say "WelL ITs OnE GAmE". I honestly think so much of this teams fortunes on offense are going to be can they get Keon to take a step up and can Kincaid get back to where he was his rookie year plus be more consistent. So far on the early returns both guys have had nice week one performances. But it is only one game let's see these young players continue to ascend!

Lamar doesn’t take a lot of sacks due to his mobility and decision making. So 2 sacks isn’t terrible and the fact that they should have had 3-4 is encouraging

My random thoughts are The offensive line still looks good, the Ravens are a tough physical team up front and the O-line gave Josh a lot of time and got a semi-consistent push in the ground game. Josh is picking up right where he left off, a couple of "off" throws that could have been picks but nothing drastic that can't be written off as rust. The defense looked bad but also seems to still play with confidence towards the end when they needed to make big plays. Safety play was not the only issue with the defense. It was a terrible day for Rapp and Bishop, but you don't give up 40 points on just bad safety play. The LB's were not having a great day, the corners were mediocre and got burnt, and the defensive line was not good at times either. It was a total defensive failure for the most part. The Ravens are a super dynamic offense. The Bills may not play a more dynamic offense in the league the rest of the regular season. The Eagles and Bengals on paper are the only offense that could come close. Special Teams looked better. Outside of that last bad punt which wasn't tragic the ST unit was solid. I think Special Teams starts out the season sloppy now so I think some of the mistakes they did make (the Walker near catastrophic missed block and the one longer return) will get ironed out. Palmer looks to be a nice addition. He's a solid all around competent WR. I think he's gonna be a nice fit if he stays healthy. Kincaid and Keon had a nice opener. That combo is going to have to be big for this offense if they want to go far. Shakir is a very good slot WR, Palmer a competent outside WR, and we know the complementary pieces like Knox, Ty Johnson, and the rest will serve as good role players but this offense will need Kincaid to be a consistent target over the middle and Keon to be a good outside presence. Good first game but it has to be kept up. Strong didn't look bad at corner. For a rookie thrust into a big moment he had a nice game. I wouldn't say he had a good game overall but he held up a lot better than he should. Curious to see how Sanders performed at DT. Seemed a bit inconsistent but to be expected for a rookie. Prater looks good, no rush to get Bass back, but Prater is older and coming off an injury so no guarantee he holds up longer term...

Always a concern to play the Jets away in recent years. Three straight years and three straight funky knuckleball type games. Close wins in 2022 and 2024 and a close loss in 2023. I think this game won't be much different. Jets defense while it laid an egg against the Steelers I don't think is that bad and always seems to play tough at home against the Bills. The Jets offense is capable, their offensive line is very good, their RB Duo is talented, Fields is not the most dynamic thrower but he's not terrible and can run well, and Wilson is a dynamic outside weapon. I think we are gonna see just how good this defense is or isn't after this game. If they can control the line against a good Jets O-line that's a good sign. Offense wise the Bills need to be more consistent and keep the defense off the field. I got it Bills 27-17 but it might be a late field goal that pushes the game to two scores...

Because they traded Hollywood Brown to Arizona they would have had two firsts that year so who knows how they would have maneuvered it. They ended up with an elite center in Linderbaum and an elite safety in Hamilton. Had they just landed those players that would have been a fantastic draft but they also got several other role players and starters in that draft. Isaiah Likely, Jordan Stout their punter, and Daniel Faalele were also taken in that draft. They ended up with 4 starters and a punter from that draft...

The Ravens since 2000 have only had 5 losing seasons (2002/2005/2007/2015 and a 8-9 year when Lamar got hurt in 2021). Since 2000 they have made the playoffs 16 times out of 25 seasons. They have won in that time 18 playoff games and two Super Bowls. That's while having the Brady era Pats and Peyton Manning (split across the Colts and Broncos) in their conference and Big Ben and the Steelers in their own division. The Bills you could argue since McBeane in 2017 are more successful than the Ravens since 2017 but the Ravens excellence extends far beyond a semi-recent successful run it goes back decades. I am hoping McBeane has a run of decades long excellence similar to the Ravens. But I'm just focused about getting one while this team has Josh...

I like what the Bills have at RB, I don't think Tank really moves the needle here. I think The Eagles backup RB is asking out so they are filling a need here. Nice move, not the biggest fan of tank but he's young and probably could do well behind the Eagles o-line.

Williams got sacked 68 times last year, I don’t think I’m gonna give up on a guy because he paints his fingernails. These guys are professionals if you can play they will respect you. Doesn’t mean Williams isn’t a bust but it’s only his second year

We are getting into semantics and nuance/opinion. I think Shakir is a physical player but he's also smaller and while I think he's got the ability to be a powerful runner I think he's just not going to be a bruiser like Knox. When Knox gets the ball in the open field I get the sense that he's gonna put some bruises on the players trying to tackle him. Whereas Shakir seems like a pain in the ass to tackle but just not the same size to make that kind of killer impact.

The edge is where the team looked a lot more physical and capable against the run. I think Bosa was a big reason for that. Groot is a good edge setter but Bosa being there to set the other edge made a difference. I'm looking forward to seeing this defense against a more sane offense. We should have a better picture of what the defense is gonna really be like against the Jets. The Jets have a capable O-line, a QB that can run, a power RB combo, and a good WR1. They are lacking with Fields as a thrower and the weapons in the passing game outside of Wilson are mediocre (not tragic but not very good) so they have flaws in addition to what they do well. I think the D-line should see a boost when Larry O and Hoecht comes back as well.

When it comes to the secondary I always defer to McD's judgement. He's proven he knows what he is doing. If he's signing Peppers he must feel like he needs a veteran hand to push the guys in the safety room I think it is the right move. Peppers however is more of an in the box type safety he's not a coverage based guy for the most part. Maybe they want to use him as a big nickel and in run heavy games? I'm not gonna give up on Rapp and Bishop just yet, not every team is the Ravens in week 1 when you are a bit rusty. Overall I'm gonna give the Rapp/Bishop combo a few more weeks to see what they have before making any panic moves. But if McBenane wants Peppers I don't see the harm.

Shakir runs hard but I don't think he's gonna truck a LB like Knox could. Shakir isn't a bruiser in my opinion, he's physical in some ways but he's not a guy that is going to bowl over bigger players either.

Anytime a seemingly narrow margins comeback happens the team letting up the lead has to make mistakes. But the team making the comeback also has to be good enough to capitalize on those mistakes. Josh is that dude plain and simple. If you leave the window open a crack he can make it work.

It's not really easy to say how optimistic I would be because that's months away. You have injuries, new players developing, coaching adjustments based on a whole seasons worth of film, and possible trade deadline acquisitions. The Bills also have two possible higher end rotation players coming off suspension in Hoecht and Larry O who could be in a possible rematch in the playoffs. So many variables that I'm not gonna feel one way or the other. Hell no guarantee these teams meet again the NFL is wild. I get the case for pessimism because when you get gashed on defense and win narrowly on a small margins comeback it can feel like the team got lucky to win. What's the case for optimism is that the Bills got blown out 35-10 and looked like they didn't belong against the Ravens in Baltimore last year (and I don't think being home makes up that margin) and they won the playoff game with a smart disciplined effort. Whereas lets say the Ravens don't fumble and the Bills lose 32-40 the Bills look a lot more competitive against the Ravens this time around than they did in 2024. The secondary is as of now a possible concern (although I am not really concerned at corner Tre and Max will be back and I actually think Strong looked competent in a tough spot) but I think if the Bills do need a boost at safety they can find some trade deadline help fairly cheaply.

Their offensive line while still having one of the best tackle tandems in the league is complete remade along the interior. They had Zeitler a reliable good vet leave in free agency and their All-Pro center in Ragnow retired. So they moved Glasgow into C and now they have two new guards a 2nd round pick in this years draft in Rateldge and a 6th rounder in 2024 at the other guard position. So out of your three interior spots all 3 players are playing in new spots and 2 are completely new players with fairly little experience. I think they were comfortable replacing one guard spot with Rateldge but when Ragnow retired not only did they have to replace the other spot but they had to reshuffled the positions. The reason Ben Johnson was able to do all those exotic play calls was because they had a complete wall in front of Geoff while also consistently being able to run the ball and do screens. I think they miss the offensive line play more than the playcalling but yeah it can take time for a new coordinator to gel.