Utah John

With apologies to the Eagles and Hotel California, and updating the dates by 30 years: We haven't had this spirit here, since 1999. I now EXPECT the Bills to win. It's been a long time since I felt that way.

The strangest thing for me watching the Steelers game was that I was calm, even in the first quarter. The Bills and Steelers were clawing and scratching, and yet I had NO DOUBT that the Bills were going to fix things and win going away. And in the fourth quarter, when the Steelers made it a one-score game, I never lost the quiet feeling that we would still win. This is such a strange change from past 20 years, where it seemed the Bills themselves were always pretty sure they'd grab defeat from the jaws of victory. Now, when they're challenged, they just pull together and figure things out. I don't know if the Bills can beat the Chiefs but we have a good shot. We lost to the Chiefs when our D was really injured. Edmunds is playing well again, what a surprise that he really can play if his shoulder isn't injured (/s). Miami showed us the Chiefs can be slowed down, but Miami couldn't compete offensively. It is not impossible at all that the Bills make it to the SB. I did not thing that was possible with the schedule so daunting, but the Bills have come through. I think that after health care personnel get the virus vaccination, that Bills season ticket holders should be next in line. Fill the stadium and let the good times roll.

The Bills are winning by having very good to excellent players in most starting positions, and having injuries heal up at the right time. The generally have 8s (out of 10) at lots of spaces. The few that are better than 8 (Allen, Diggs, Beasley, White) are leaders and get paid like leaders. The 8s get paid very, very well but not as much as what some other team for whom an 8 is a big upgrade would be willing to pay. Jordan Phillips was an 8 last year and got the big contract from the Cardinals. I don't think he's played like an 8 this year. The Bills' secret sauce is all those 8s. Hyde, Poyer, Dawkins, Edmunds, Milano, Very good to excellent players in a lot of positions. This is a much better model than having one or two 9s or 10s, and a lot of 5s and 6s starting. The Bills have tried that many times and it doesn't work out. The Bills need to keep all their leaders, and as many of their 8s as possible, but it's hard because 8s want to get paid like 9s or even 10s, and there are teams willing help out. Williams is playing like an 8, and he'll probably follow Phillips somewhere else. We can't pay him like a 9 or 10. We should be able to pay him like a true 8, and if he wants to accept that and stick around, that would be just fine. I just doubt that will happen.

When Tiger Woods appeared on the PGA scene, he instantly changed the game of golf. He could drive farther than all the others except the muscle guys who had no other game. And Woods had all the other game elements as well. The other players looked at each other and realized they weren't in Kansas anymore, and they all figured out how to up their own games, or they quit. I'm seeing quarterback play in the NFL at a higher level than I can remember. Where once only Rogers could make certain throws, now there's Mahomes and Allen. and sometimes Wilson. Where once only Cam Newton could run well as a big man, now there's Allen. And suddenly there are half a dozen smaller QBs who can run like only Vick used to be able to do. There were some other players with these talents here and there through the years as well, whom I haven't mentioned, but not the flood of talent that we're seeing now. Players like Brady and the Manning boys, who could work from the pocket and win, are going to have a tough time competing with multi-dimensional players. I wonder whether this is a change in the talent mix that's available, or maybe the OCs and the game itself are now figuring out they need to accommodate what these guys have to offer. Greg Roman was a so-so OC in Buffalo. He got to Baltimore and became a genius. He also has Lamar Jackson, what a coincidence. Roman's genius was to let Jackson be Jackson, and not try to limit him with what Flacco could do.

The only seed that really matters is #1, and it would take a lot of upsets for the Bills to get that. It will be great if the Bills can host a playoff game, so my focus is on them winning the division. So, I'm rooting for KC to beat Miami.

I think a lot of this unbridled enthusiasm is due to considering only the most recent games each team played. The truth is that the Steelers, like the Patriots, always seem to have the Bills' number. Whether it's personnel matchups or bad luck, we struggle with Pittsburgh. I doubt the talking heads are aware of this pattern, or have taken it into account. I like the Bills' chances but am not overconfident.

For many years the Bills couldn't draft to save their lives. Pick after pick either sucked, got hurt, or FA'd away. A couple of years ago I checked how many of the Bills picks from rounds 1-3 from the previous few years were on the team, and out of about 15 players picked, only two or three were still on the team. Instead, the Bills had high-priced FAs, most of whom didn't work out. Beane is simply a better evaluator of talent, and is a much better manager in terms of planning how to build the team, than we had in two decades of darkness. Plus, the Flutie curse, which had held us back since the Music City Miracle he didn't get to play in, was officially lifted during the 49ers game when Flutie tweeted his support of the Bills. Now, finally, we can win some playoff games.

Bojo:punting // Allen:passing We brought a couple of young, raw talent, and have been coaching them up and helping them improve.

I remember that game. After the season, after the Jets had won the SB, Namath was on the Tonight Show, and Johnny Carson made Namath sit through a highlight reel of this game. Poor Joe. The Bills still had some good players left on that team -- Tommy Janik, Butch Byrd, and Paul Maguire were still there on defense, which still let . I think the offense had gone into the tank, however. The Bills had lost Billy Joe, the RB whom the Bills received from trading Cookie Gilchrist to the Broncos, to Miami in the expansion draft. Dan Darraugh was a rookie QB, who was playing because Kemp was hurt.

The reason your dream went that way is that the Bills already had the division locked up going into Week 17, and they chose to rest Allen and several other starters prior to the playoffs. So Jake Fromm State Farm gets to play, but things are actually going well.

I'd like the Bills to have one of these every game. It will always be a question in the back of the defenders' minds, is THIS the down when they'll be trying a trick play? And then, just to be really annoying, the Bills should run another trick play.

So, unplug one spark plug on your car's engine, and see how well it works. It will probably run, but you won't set any speed records.

I'm sure Lynn would say the Chargers were trying to surprise the Bills, doing something they'd never expect. And the Bills probably were surprised, but they still made the tackle.

All I can figure is that Moss farted in his general direction.

Let's replace them both with someone with Milano's speed and with Klein's durability.

This is a terrible decision. The Ravens have been given all sorts of rescheduling gifts because Jackson has covid. The Broncos are just getting screwed.

Buffalo is a sort of Twilight Zone for TEs. I have no idea why. We've had a couple of decent ones, but no threats, and it always seems that TEs who come here from somewhere else don't live up to their past, and TEs who leave here do better at their new spot. I had hopes for Dawson Knox but this season has been a complete bust for him. But if we release him, he'll go somewhere else and turn into the guy we hoped he'd be here.

Hell yes. He warms up with pigeons. During games he can hit hummingbirds.

This is just evidence that the game is changing. It's like comparing baseball players from different eras. Andre Reed was at or near the top of the receiving lists when he retired. Now a lot of players have passed him. He was a great player regardless of how many guys come along and play under different situations.

Darnold will want large money from someone. It won't be from us. Jake Fromm State Farm was drafted to be a cheap backup and maybe turn into a solid player. That's all the Bills want to invest in this position, aside from the monster dollars Josh will get.

A couple of injuries here, some wacky officiating there, and we're gnashing our teeth because we missed the playoffs completely. Just chill and enjoy each week's games. And be a big fan of whoever Miami is playing.

Jerry Hughes has been held so often he has dents in his neck from offensive guard arms. The refs have hated him and they never called offensive holding penalties when Hughes was the victim. This year there's been a huge dropoff in holding penalties, for no good reason I can see, so now everyone has to play with the Hughes Handicap. I'd keep Hughes. He still plays at a high level. Of all the D line players, he is NOT the problem. We just need a one-tech D tackle who weighs at least 310 pounds.

I haven't followed the Patriots closely, but if this guy started only four games maybe he's not really that good. All those INTs could be because the other teams don't want to throw toward Gilmore, so he gets a lot of chances and probably gives up some plays too.

The NFL gave the AFCE teams the killer schedule this year. In past years, we'd have been lucky to win one of the three western team games we did (Seattle, Rams, Raiders, all of which have very good teams). We lost to the Chiefs and Cardinals, both very good teams. And now we're through the mid-season gauntlet we were all afraid of. Of the remaining six games, only the Steelers looks to be a likely loss. The Bills must be favored to beat the sinking Chargers and the flailing Broncos. They are better than the injured 49ers and Patriots, although those are both away games. And then it comes down to Miami. Miami plays the Chiefs, Patriots and Raiders, three in a row, and if they can win all three of those then hats off to them. More likely they lose two of those games. I think we'll head into the final game with both teams at 10-5. Did anyone mention that the final game is in balmy, sunny, Orchard Park in early January? And that if we beat the Pats, we win the division even if we finish with the same record as Miami? I say the Bills still have the inside track to the AFCE crown.

Good perspective here. Lately the Bills have done this a lot more to other teams, than they've had it done to them. From a playoff seeding standpoint, this is a loss outside the AFCE and the AFC so it doesn't hurt as much. The Bills still have the tiebreaker against Miami and have a real chance to sweep the AFCE, which would make it hard for Miami to pass them. I don't know about a full-size Hail Mary but the Bills win over the Rams was pretty much in the same category, just the other way around.