Utah John

Leadership 101: Praise in public, criticize in private.

The Jets defense looked really good until their MLB went out. If they get him back, their D will steal some games for them, as it almost did yesterday. Fortunately our O got untracked, and our D is even better than their D. The Jets early schedule this year is almost as brutal as ours was last year. By the time it gets softer, their season will be over.

If the shorter throws are what the defense was giving, he should take them. I thought he played pretty well in the first half, except for the strip sack fumble. The two INTs were not his fault, his accuracy was good, and he threw it away when he had to. The fumble on fourth down didn't matter since the play wasn't going to work and it would have been a turnover either way.

A lot of what's important to NFL players is respect. Other players notice how stars are treated. Washington didn't even have Adrian Peterson suit up today -- how can you do that and not have other players notice? Shady could still have been very good for the team this year, but he wasn't going to get the carries he's used to. It wouldn't sit well for a rookie to become the lead back while he watches from the sidelines. Cutting him instead of trading him? That shows respect too. Instead of getting a low draft pick for a HOF candidate, they let him pick his team, and possibly get a ring at the end of his career. Good for him. Shady responded with very appreciative tweets about the team and about Buffalo. I think this was handled correctly by the Bills.

Allen played OK. One fumble was clearly his fault, the other fumble didn't matter because the Bills were going for it on fourth down, and the play was blown up and wouldn't have succeeded even if there was no fumble. So it would have been a turnover on downs or a turnover from a fumble. His passing was much more accurate today than usually the case last year. He has developed the ability to drop the ball between two defenders in front of and behind the receiver. He had very few cringe-worthy passes. As for Darnold, he was OK too, but he was playing against a much better pass defense so his yards were limited. I don't think any Jets fans are calling him a bust. He's going to be a very good player for a long time, and the Allen-Darnold rivalry (between two good friends) will be ours to enjoy for a decade. If I have one concern on offense, it's not QB, it's O line. It's better than last year but that's a low bar. Either the Jets have a far above average D line, or the Bills are going to continue to struggle to open holes between the tackles.

Did Gore fumble? Did he miss any assignments in pass protection? Does he help Singletary prepare for the pro game and being a professional? The guy is doing his job and he provides leadership. I am glad to have him on the team and on the field. The times he was running in the first half, the Jets still had their MLB in the game. Him getting hurt seemed to have a lot to do with the Bills' O suddenly getting going -- although that's also when Singletary came in. Gore still has gas in the tank for one more solid year before he hangs em up and starts counting down to the HOF.

Trubisky was going against a D coached by a former Bills HC. Allen will do the same on Sunday. Those are two good coaches, at least on the defensive side. I would like our chances a lot more with Shady in the lineup. Oh well.

I think the Bills were a better team than the Jets last year and the Bills have done things to get better. It sounds like the Jets have also addressed weaknesses, although I haven't been following the Jets closely. Should be a good game.

I have to agree that the 1974 opener was even better than the 1973 opener. Beating the Raiders on two fourth-quarter Fergie TD passes, sandwiched around a Braxton fumble returned for a TD. I was working at Rich then, selling beer as a vendor, and I was in the stands screaming with everyone else.

No question about it. 1973. Bills beat the Pats 31-13 in Foxboro. OJ rushed for 250 yards, a new single--game record, on his way to breaking 2000 in a single season. And the Bills improved a huge amount, finishing 9-5 but unfortunately missing the playoffs. (Nine wins can get a team into the playoffs now, in a 16 game season. We wuz robbed.)

Most rushing yards for the Bills -- Allen, I'm afraid. I wish it were otherwise.

It's just two road games in a row. No big deal, no reason not to follow the usual pattern.

Every time I think the Pats might be on the verge of going downhill, I look at the other three teams in the division. This year in particular the Pats will probably go 5-1 in the AFCE. That's a huge benefit for any team trying to make the playoffs with a high seed. They only need to go 6-4 against the rest of the league to land at 11-5 and a first round bye. Let's see how things go for the Bills on Sep 29, at home against the Pats. I honestly have no idea what their record will be going into that game.

Same old Nate. Does great in preseason, not so much in real action. He probably pulled a muscle thinking about first-string defensive ends.

So why not trade Shady instead of cutting him. We got something for friggin Bodine, after all. My theory is, since if he was traded the new team picks up his full salary, there weren't many takers for even a mid-round pick, and the Bills didn't want to embarrass him by trading him for a 6th or 7th. So they cut him instead, which except for a paycut which shouldn't matter that much at this point in his career, puts him onto the best team in football. I'm sure getting cut hurts for him, but he'll feel a lot happier right quick. I will miss him. He is not what he used to be, but what he used to be was really special. The fourth best Bills RB of all time, which doesn't sound impressive, but that's after Simpson, Thomas, and Gilchrist.

Another possibility is that the Bills trade one of their on the bubble O linemen, then bring back Coleman or Duke Williams.

I look at it this way. How long has it been since the Bills could simply release a player of Shady's abilities? I'll grant you he's not what he was, and he was expensive, but he's still a great back. I think it's a sign of progress that this could happen. No room on your roster for LeSean McCoy? Wow.

Looking good in preseason was never Peterman's problem. Maybe he finally has enough experience, and maybe he's lifted enough weights to gain enough strength, to handle live action in real games. I hope so, for his sake. He always seemed like a good guy. Another former Bills QB draft pick, Cardale Jones, looked good in preseason with the Chargers but got cut. He might be a better choice for our practice squad than Jackson.

If some team did want to trade for Kiko, they'd have to be offering draft picks. The fish are rebuilding, and not stocking their roster for this year. Kiko was an outstanding rookie who got hurt, missed a season, and has never been the same since. He's not worth even a 7th for the Bills situation.

The Bills FO happy talk was that they're fine with the DL personnel they had. I guess they're always looking to see if they can upgrade, which I'm fine with, but why bring in someone new, now? Someone who doesn't know the system, who can't be evaluated properly. \ Also, he's listed as a DE but he was wearing number 46 for the Broncos. Sounds more like an EDGE or LB.

So how tight to the cap are the Texans? If they sign Clowney to the one year tender, does that force them to release players they want to keep? Could be the other GMs around the league are letting the Texans sweat a little.

Due to his contract situation, I think the most likely outcomes are that he signs the tender and plays for the Texans, or sits out the year. One way around the impasse is to trade him for conditional picks. If he re-ups with the team that trades for him, the compensation is x, but if he leaves, the compensation is y. Protects both teams.

I think what's giving Beane pause is Allen. If Allen is The Guy, the Bills are a couple of great players from real success, and then it makes sense to get Clowney. If Allen just never gets it, Beane will need his capital to move on in the 2021 draft.

I'm glad he's still around. What a great soul. I can't ever remember him with a bad word to say about anyone. He was doing the color announcement on the Bills-Titans game when they let a forward lateral stand for the Music City Mugging. Maguire said immediately that the play would come back. To this day I think it was not a legal play but at the same time if the Bills had covered the kick like every high school player knows how to do, staying in their damned lanes, the play wouldn't have worked at all.

I'm eager to see how he does. That photo, though -- sure doesn't look like a TE to me. Gronk has more muscles in one arm than he does in both.