Utah John

The Bills set up shop every summer as "O Linemen R US" -- they stock up on guys who can sort of play, so when another team gets desperate because of injuries (or covid), Beane trades them someone he just picked up, for a low round draft pick. It seems to be the only way he can get sort-of comp picks, since the Bills usually don't get any official comps.

What's especially frustrating is that the Bills regularly went 4-0 against the NFC teams they played in the regular season, then couldn't handle them in the SBs. I don't blame the Bills for losing the second and third SBs. They were up against the Redskins and the rising Cowboys, when both those teams were really loaded. The Skins and Cowboys had better teams. But in the first and fourth, it was lack of coaching flexibility that did in the Bills. In the first, Kelly wanted to throw so much, but Thurman was really set up to dominate. TT did great, but he could have done so much more. The Giants' defense was keyed to stopping Kelly, and Levy didn't get Kelly to go to what was really working, which was Thomas. Aside from the defense being hung over and unable to tackle anyone, that was the key. In the fourth SB, at halftime, while the Cowboys were figuring out how to win, the Bills were, what, napping? Instead of Levy and the team leaders rallying the troops and getting them fired up, and perhaps even pointing out how something they saw the Cowboys doing that the Bills could take advantage of, I think Levy was handing out orange slices.

While Hooker might have been a good option, the best FA safety signing the Bills didn't make was on Dean Marlowe, who actually was on the team last year and played well. I never heard the reason why Marlowe left. Could have been he got more money of course, or maybe he just wanted to find a situation where he could start. Not much chance of that with Dr. Poyer and Mr. Hyde.

It was 3-3 at the time, and it was Phil Hansen who deflected and picked off Marino. The game was really decided earlier that that, when Bruce Smith broke through a block by the guard and sacked Marino immediately after a three-step drop. Unbelievable quickness and acceleration by Bruce. Marino was sketchy the rest of the game.

Marino had the bad timing to be at his career best when the Bills were so dominant. He had the talent to win at least one SB but he couldn't get past Buffalo, year after year. This game shows how one team BEATS another team. Not just outscores them, but beats them down and crushes their spirit.

It's the equivalent of saying you won't get the same medical attention if you're in a car wreck and you weren't wearing a seat belt. If you insist on not taking all reasonable precautions, which is your right as an American adult, you should not be surprised if there are consequences. No, and the team has kept a lid on that. All we know is that he was undecided, and that was months ago.

I am not sure. I know the players will NOT be paid if their team is involved in a forfeit. I think it would be only fair to reimburse ticket holders if the game is not played.

Vaxed people can still contract covid, and that's no surprise since no vaccine is 100% effective. Actually the covid vaccines are more effective than most vaccines, but still not 100%. My understanding is that the league will punish outbreaks if players are not vaccinated.

I am so glad to hear about this. Allen worked with Palmer the previous two offseasons and the results were as amazing as we could have hoped for. I wondered a little whether Allen would continue to bear down, working to maintain what he got right previously and to improve where possible. I'm delighted to hear that Allen is back at it. Allen's good friend is Sam Darnold, and Darnold also worked with Palmer in previous offseasons. But Darnold didn't put in the same effort. When Palmer corrected Allen about something, he'd work on that point over and over to make sure he got it right. Darnold would do it once and call it good. Darnold never really had a chance in New Jersey with their clown car coach, but he didn't do himself any favors either.

I so much admire Carucci. I have another compliment to toss his way: What an articulate, well-delivered, message. Almost no hms or uhs or other pauses -- just a stream of well-chosen words.

Well, look, the thinking at the time of the draft was that Josh Rosen was the guy who was more ready to step into the NFL and play well. And if Rosen had had a decent team and coach, he could have played well as a rookie, better than Josh Allen, whose fundamentals and mechanics were still not that good. The most important difference of course is that Allen's ceiling is so high because his athletic talents are so massive, and then he worked his butt off in the offseasons to get better. Rosen as I recall was independently wealthy and was always likely not to dedicate himself to his craft, and so he didn't get better, and he became an irrelevant afterthought, while Allen is on his way to a HOF career. Beane drafted Allen and not Rosen because he saw the potential of both men, and he chose wisely.

I did that for a few years when my daughter was in college. The service is not as good as the full-scale ST, but if you only want to watch one team's games it does work.

I'm glad Allen hasn't decided to rest on his laurels and figure what he can do now is good enough. Aside the from the opportunity to refine one area, getting back with Palmer gives a chance to correct any bad habits he might have picked up.

I just rewatched the Seahawks game from last year. The only reason the Bills didn't put up 60 points, and Allen pass for 500 yards, was that most of the Bills' O line was hurt, so the Seahawks were able to get pressure on Allen in the second half. That was a great game for a Bills fan to watch, but probably not so much for everyone else. Other Bills games were like that too. There were some close games though. The first Jets game could have been a loss if the Jets hadn't lost CJ Mosely after the first half. That was a tight game but was pretty lacking in big plays. The first Pats game could also have been a loss, if Cam hadn't fumbled. I'm just glad they didn't pick the Titans or Chiefs games, but the Bills weren't in them right from the start, so maybe they weren't competitive enough to get on the list. I had dozens of tapes of old Bills games. My father taped the games for me and mailed them to me because there were no options for out of towners to see the games live. I had to throw many of them away when we moved a few years ago. I still watch the ones I kept from time to time. As mushy said, the commercials from the 80s and 90s are great.

If BB was half as good a GM as he is a coach, the rest of the league could just play for second place. He'd still cheat of course.

The Pats should contact the Titans or Seahawks and offer to trade. BB would want something else thrown in of course since Harry was drafted earlier, and by BB, so he is obviously better. Sure, that'll work.

Yep, I've seen that too, and I hope it turns out to be true. I think he got sideways last year by losing too much weight before the season started. This year he has regular coaching and guidance.

NFL DCs are in business to solve offenses. Lamar Jackson lit up the league, until DCs figured out how to slow him and then stop him. Ref: The Bills held Baltimore to a field goal in their playoff game. DCs around the league are all trying to figure out how to defend Allen. If someone does figure that out, all the copycats will take note, and they'll do it too. It's just hard for guys to maintain exceptional performance year after year. That's why I voted no in this poll. It's not a lack of faith in Allen or Diggs or Daboll. It's respect for DCs in the NFL.

The Bills have not done a good job evaluating DL personnel. I think they grabbed Epenesa, Rousseau, and Basham and hoped that at least one of them will pan out to be a top-level player. It's like playing three bingo cards at once. There are no guarantees with drafted players, so let's load up and see what develops. We really need only one of these guys to excel. If two or three do, well that will be great, but they really need at least one to be a strong player.

I think you're thinking about a different game, probably the playoff game against the Steelers when the Bills were trying to make it to the SB for the fifth time. The Burroughs PF was the dagger, but what killed the Bills in that game was the string of injuries on defense. Shane Conlan, Bruce Smith and others were out or limited. The Bengals had a great offense, and the Bills O was not able to keep up.

Regular season Allen > regular season Kelly Playoff Kelly >>> playoff Allen I don't know what happens when Allen gets into a playoff game. Maybe the game plans get tighter, or maybe he just feels the pressure more. The Bills won two playoff games last year but didn't look great doing it. The playoff losses to Houston and KC were just bad games for Allen. There's no real reason why Allen can't dominate in the playoffs. Maybe he has a little monkey on his back about this, and once he goes out a lights someone up in a playoff game, this will all be viewed as part of his learning curve.

I had just arrived in Germany for my first Air Force assignment when this game was played. With the time difference, I had to listen to it on radio in the middle of the night. What a horrible ending to a great season.

Also of note, the NFL MVP in 1963 was Y.A. Tittle of the Giants, not Jim Brown. Looking back that's hard to understand.

The NFL season in 1963 was 14 games, just as it was in 1973. Simpson could do that because he knew he was faster than the guy closest to him, so he didn't have to worry about the guy right behind him. Today, the LBs and DBs are faster. Of course Simpson would have found a way to be better than anyone else today, too, just as he did back in the day.

That's about the size of it. He was a terrible man but an amazing athlete. And I almost agree that there was never a better RB -- Jim Brown was the best player ever, while Simpson was the best player I ever saw in person. Both Brown and Simpson would excel today, but it would be tough for either of them to get the stats they got back in the day. LBs and DBs are much faster now. On many of his longest runs, Simpson deliberately put himself close to a defender knowing he could outrun him. Those runs would not work the same way today because the defender would stop him early. That said, for the era he played in, he dominated like no other player. Thanks for the memories. Considering how visually challenged Bergman was, I'm surprised he was able to find his way to his own house.