Utah John

I think this is the right point. The correct call should have been defensive holding, but instead the ref called DPI. It would have made sense to correct the call from DPI to DH but the rules don't allow that. Sort of a Catch-22. The replay rule changes on PI didn't include the possibility of switching the call if that was the right thing to do. I think that despite the unfairness of the outcome, the officials got it right according to the rules.

What would NOT have happened if Mahomes was drafted by the Bills? He would NOT have had the chance to sit his entire rookie year and watch a very skilled QB at work, teaching him the game. He would NOT have had the best supporting cast of O players in the league. He would NOT have been coached by Andy Reid. If he'd come to Buffalo, there's every chance he'd be cut by now as a draft bust who couldn't make a broken down jalopy win the Indy 500. McBeane understood all this, I think, and did what they though best over a period of years. They now have a good young QB in the second year of his rookie contract, instead of the third. The window to win with a young QB is short. Once they can get what the market will bear, the entire roster's salary situation goes to hell. A couple of really good starters will be traded, a lot of quality depth players won't be retained, a lot more rookies will take over. A solid, balanced team struggles to keep the wheels from falling off. The goal is not to have the MVP on your team. The goal is to have the Lombardi trophy in your city.

This is one of those plays where the Bills had a bad call against them, but it was their own fault that they lost. First of all they could have let the clock run down to two or three seconds before the kick where they took the lead, so that there would not have been any time remaining for the kickoff. Second the Bills players didn't cover their lanes AT ALL on the kickoff. All the coverage men on the right side collapsed into the middle, leaving their side of the field open. I've never gone back and checked but the Bills must have been doing this in previous games, for the Titans to have had any reason at all to put in this play. To me, this means the ST coach allowed the players to do something that created a vulnerability. Whether this was enough to get him fired is a judgement call. The no-goal against Dallas was similar. Yes, Brett Hull had his skate in the crease when he regained the puck and scored, and there was no rule allowing him to do that, so the goal should not have counted. However, just before Hull scored, one of the Sabres skated past him and tried to poke check the puck away, instead of checking Hull and knocking him away from the front of the net. Also, realistically, the Sabres were not going to win that game. They were exhausted and hadn't mounted a serious offensive threat in a long time. Dallas had these huge defensemen, so when the Sabres tired forwards skated into the Dallas end, the defense just knocked them down and took the puck away. The Sabres best chance in that game was a Stu Barnes shot that hit the crossbar.

Good coaches put good players in a position to succeed. Beane has gotten the players McD and Frazier want. Talk about complementary football -- it's wonderful to see it all working. A couple years ago we could have drafted Mahomes, and didn't do it. The payoff is White, Allen, and Edmunds. As good as Mahomes is, he would have struggled with the talent here the past two years. And he wouldn't have had the luxury of watching Smith his entire rookie year, learning the game without the pressure to carry the team. Mahomes is a great player in a great situation. I think Edmunds is the same. By the way, Frazier and McD are the unWrecks. Ryan came in, tossed out a very excellent defense, and tried to run his version with players who weren't suited. This more than anything is why I hate that man. The one thing we don't get a lot of in this D is sacks, that is until we played the Titans. The system is designed to put pressure on all parts of the opposing O, not just attacking the QB. Getting a lot of sacks means leaving holes elsewhere. The Bills D hates holes more than it loves sacks.

Absolutely not. I think Snyder is a disaster, and when I lived in DC I found the arrogance of the Skins fans annoying. But I am Wrecks hater and I never want to see that bozo working again.

Sometimes coordinators leave for the glory of being a HC and derail their careers for years. Mike Pettine was a really good DC for the Bills who left to become the HC of the hopeless Browns. He was fired of course because no one could win there, then. He's been back on the road as a DC ever since, doing a great job, but I don't know who might take another chance on him as HC. I've been worried more about Frazier leaving at the end of the year, than about the loss of any D player. Lorax might retire, but everyone else seems like they'll be around unless replaced by an upgrade. Daboll hasn't proven himself to be ready as a HC. And as an OC, his record here isn't very stellar. The O is a lot better than last year but that's partly due to better personnel. His schemes generally work and I think the Bills will really come into their own as the D continues to play lights out, and the O improves through the year. Some team might take a chance with him but I doubt it. I'd love to see him stick around and establish his system for several years. Look what the continuity of Frazier on D has resulted in. I'm pretty sure the Skins need a professional coach. Ixnay on Wrecks.

Practice squad, if the Bills have an open spot. Otherwise cut. There's no time to get a player in game shape, learn the complicated defense, and contribute on the field. If he progresses well on the PS and if there's a need for a LB, bring him up, but that's a long shot at this point. Dodson's real shot will come next year.

Most of the country doesn't see what Bills fans see, because without NFL Sunday Ticket or some streaming thing they can't. Here in Alaska the only Bills game on the regular channels was the game against the Patriots, which wasn't great advertising for the offense. QBs are the stars and Allen sucked that day. Great defenses are respected within the league but not sexy enough for the average fan. So, don't expect much more attention unless the record demands it. By the time Buffalo plays Dallas on T-day, they will have played 11 games and could easily be 8-3 or better. They play Dolphins twice, the Redskins, and the Broncos during that stretch, all of which they should win easily, and they also face the Eagles and Browns, which are much harder to predict. The Eagles game is in Orchard Park, and the Browns could be fighting each other by then. The Bills really could be 10-1 at that point.

There have been occasional Bills teams over the decades that started to play well and routed some teams, only to lose a couple of close ones. This year's team doesn't feel like that. They don't seem able to rout anyone, just to put together solid offensive games most of the time to go with outstanding defense, and they seem incredibly resilient. I would take 11-5 without routing anyone in a heartbeat. Much better than 9-7 with some fun-time routs but a couple of regrettable losses. BTW the Jets have an early schedule like the Bills did last year -- very difficult. Once a team gets beat a few times in the early games, it's hard to keep the edge and passion they need. The Jets have talent and will be a lot better next year.

I think the injury situation will pretty much determine what happens before the trade deadline. Suddenly the depth on the O line is gone, and I am worried about Milano, who is just playing great and will be hard to replace. The Bills could be shoppers and buyers.

They've got dozens of small, quick receivers. They need a tall, physical guy. Duke looked great in preseason and I hope he's ready to go.

Surprisingly I can't find any stories about Bidwell in the St Louis newspapers. Maybe they haven't heard the news.

If Allen is 100% cleared and has no symptoms, fine, play him. If there's any doubt, sit him and give him the three week break. Actually I think he might have needed a break anyway. He looked lost at times against the Pats. Of course that's a great defense that makes a lot of QBs look bad, but Allen was astoundingly bad. A little break to regroup might be good for him. Barkley has proven himself and with a full week to prep as the starter I think he'll do fine. But, NO RUNNING Matt.

Most of the players on D are going to be playing for quite a while. Lorax will probably not and he's pretty darned important, but the Bills are trying to develop replacements. The one I'm worried about losing isn't a player, it's Frazier. D Coordinators as good as him get HC job offers.

I was not only at that game, I was working at the stadium as a vendor in the stands. I was 17 in the fall of 1973 so I was too young to sell beer, so I sold the lousy pop they sold. I walked around with a tray of this things, spilling most of it because the plastic wrap covers didn't seal. I didn't make much money but I got in to watch the game. That was OJ's record year. After that year, I was 18 so I was old enough to sell beer, and I made a lot more money those years until I moved away.

Great. We can trade him plus a mid-round draft pick for … a mid-round draft pick.

Brady is in decline but his game isn't going to fall off a cliff. He doesn't have to face a defense as good as the Bills' is until late December. Like any other player who's declining, it will be a downward trending up and down affair. He'll have good days when the zip is still there, and he can do what he wants when he wants. These days will compound the frustration for him on the bad days, when he can't get it done and doesn't understand why. I don't blame him for playing this year because he was still very good last year. But this does seem to be the end of the road.

I have to say, if a player can take a single step and leap over all the players on the line of scrimmage, getting both enough height and enough distance, while wearing all the weight of pads and helmet -- well shoot these people aren't actually human.

Once Brady had been called for one intentional grounding penalty, the quota was used up. There was no way he'd ever get called twice in a single game. He probably won't get called again this year. This is Brady we're talking about.

No, he was late and didn't get enough speed on the throw. Yeldon was open, really open, and the pass just didn't get there in time.

I guess the point of this is, would we be clamoring for Barkley to take over. No, Allen is the starter and has the talent to take us deep into the playoffs. Barkley is a good backup.

The Bills defense is really excellent. There have been a few occasions where they got out of rhythm -- right after the first stupid INT against the Bengals, and on the Pats' only offensive drive -- but no defense is perfect all the time. The players are just doing their jobs and shutting things down. I do not think the defense will let the team down all year, except of course for injuries. The Bills got substantial yardage (375 yards, I believe) against a Pats defense people say is the best in football, and that's with Josh playing that badly. The offense should be fine against the Titans' defense. If they just get their heads on straight after yesterday's disappointment, they'll be fine.

If he throws it out of bounds or in the dirt, he can't be the hero. He could just win, which is all we want. This is the fundamental challenge for an overconfident inexperienced QB. It's hard to have patience but that's the only choice.

Somehow despite Allen's putridity today, the Bills outgained the mighty Pats offense 375 to 224. The Pats had SEVEN three and outs, one four and out, and one five and out. I finished the game telling myself I had just watched the two best defenses in the AFC, and possibly in the NFL.

I don't recall him ever looking that bad, certainly not this year but not even in his rookie year. Did BB get inside his head? I don't know but whatever the reason, he just looked completely incapable. There were open receivers he didn't see, and he missed so many throw you wonder if he wasn't injured before the helmet to helmet cheap shot.