Utah John

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.

The picks were all Allen's fault. Terrible decisions. That's not to say Zay Jones is an NFL-caliber receiver. We're asking him to fill the shoes of Robert Woods, and his feet are much too small.

I think the Bills have some other problems to attend to right now. WR, punter come to mind.

The final two pieces of the puzzle are WR and punter. I think we saw the two best defenses in the AFC and possibly the league today, and the Bills had a decent chance to win, once Allen left. Allen is our QB and should play whenever he's healthy, but today he was completely awful. The Bills looked better when Barkley came in. Given WRs who can outbody DBs, I think they could have won today.

I actually think the uniforms they have today are the best ever, at least since the 60s.

This looks right except I think we lose to the Browns and beat the Jets again. Still 10-6. The biggest x-factor as always is injuries.

So who are the candidates? DB: Gilmore, Darby, Robey-Coleman, Jairus Byrd LB: Zach Brown, Preston Brown, Bradham DL: can't think of any OL: Levitre, but he's retired RB: McCoy, Gillislee WR: Watkins, Wood, Goodwin TE: Can't think of any Who did I miss?

It wasn't long ago that you could put a team of ex-Bills together from other teams' active rosters, that would be better than the team we had on the field. Not anymore.