Utah John

Just wondering if the NFL has acknowledged the refs blew the call on the Ertz play, where offensive pass interference was not called, giving McKelvin a chance to dance with Ertz for 41 yards down the sideline to set up the winning field goal. Seems like almost every game the NFL has to apologize to the Bills for blowing a key call late in a game with devastating results for the Bills. I will agree that in most cases the Bills could have overcome the ref's bad call with a good showing on the next play, but that's no excuse for the bad call in the first place.

This was exactly my thinking when they announced the trade with Cleveland. Why else pay such a high cost to move up a few spots -- obviously to get the premier talent in the draft. I remember many pundits suggesting Mack should be the top pick, over Clowney (and he's turned out to be a better player than Clowney, too). I did think Watkins was the best receiver in the draft, to be honest, and I still think he's going to be a great player, I did not see Beckham developing like he has. Of course he has Manning throwing to him so that's a big advantage also. Also Kiko has not figured out the pro game, or offensive coordinators have figured out how to beat him. On the Bills TD run on Sunday, Kiko was in position but overran the play. How many times did we see him do that for Buffalo?

Overall Whaley has done a very good job at picking talent, but not so much at picking character or intelligence. Sometimes a questionable character pick, say, Incognito, turns out to be a really good player who just needed to grow up a bit to become a valuable contributor, yesterday notwithstanding. OTOH Jerry Hughes is either stupid or crazy or some body part south of the waist. This past week Ryan was interviewed about the Shady trade, and he said something to the effect of, we needed a running back and we weren't sure what would happen with CJ Spiller being a free agent. Not a word about Fred Jackson. Granted FJ was not the most explosive back but Ryan and Whaley completely disregarded the effect leadership has on a player's worth. Mario is a highly talented player and he wants to be in a scheme where he can use his talents. There are a lot of people like that. The problem is that he's now in a scheme where his talents are wasted. He does not play hard most of the time, and everyone sees it. This is not leadership. It's not really poor character, it's more that his personality doesn't bring that out. He's a great player, don't get me wrong, but that part of the package isn't there. Dareus plays well but not to his full capacity. That's a shame. The Kyle Williams injury and the FJ release cut the two great leaders of the team out from under everyone. Who's going to step up? TT? I wish he would, but I get the feeling the Bills FO isn't sold on him and so the other players aren't all in either. I'm beginning to think Sammie Watkins is looking around for teams to jump to when he becomes a free agent, since like Mario Williams he isn't being given a chance to shine, ether, at least in his eyes. That will be two first round picks walking out the door when that happens. Anyway I don't see Sammie showing the kind of leadership the offense needs. The leader probably should be McCoy but here again he seems an on-again, off-again type, not the guy the others listen to.

Time after time yesterday, the refs made questionable calls or non-calls in favor of Philly. I think they just get their eyes glued to the Bills and don't watch the other team. Several times this year the NFL has admitted the refs made bad calls that cost the Bills chances to win, and I think the refs are tired of being embarrassed. So instead of improving their own performance, they hammer the Bills. The non-call on the offensive pass interference on the 41 yard gain that set up the winning field goal was just the worst example. I am not sure that all the neutral zone infractions against the D line were actually in the neutral zone. The D line would sometimes move but I think were far enough back not to actually enter the neutral zone. But the Eagles O line, Jason Peters in particular, would immediately jump up whenever this happened. Up to a few years ago, there was no penalty for defensive players causing an offensive player to jump out of his set. Then they changed the rule basically to protect offensive linemen who wouldn't have to sit still and be whacked by the guy across from him. But it's gotten so extreme that defensive linemen can't jump at all, even if they stay outside the neutral zone. I think the Eagles O line has been coached to act this way, which is actually smart under the current rules, but I think the league should be considering changing that rule again. Speaking of Jason Peters, did anyone hear the announcers mention he was a former Bill?

Every player on the field could be crippled on every play. It's the nature of the game, and it's only because most of the serious injuries are to limbs or are slow-progressing like brain damage, that we shrug and hope the guy is OK, then forget about him. The gruesome, crippling injuries to the nervous system are rare. If I had Aaron Williams' athletic ability, I don't know if I'd play pro football in the first place, considering the risk and the fact that I want to be a healthy mobile old man some day. But since I don't have even 1% of Aaron Williams' athletic ability I can't put myself in his shoes. So if he makes the choice to go back out on the field, who are we to tell him it's a mistake?

I looked at Mulligan as a shorter version of Scott Chandler. Also less talented, which some may find impossible to be.

Shoot, half the people in Philly are standing in line to complain to Lurie about Chip's offense. DeMarco will have to take a number.

I am optimistic about Glenn. There are better OTs out there that should command the most interest, but he's done well for us this year. I certainly would welcome him back for less-than-top dollar. I think a deal is doable. Incognito ought to be an easy signing. He HAS to be grateful to the Bills for getting him back in the league, and I think he likes playing for guys with Rex's and Kromer's attitude. He's worth pretty big money. But he's a guard, not a tackle, so there ought to be a limit there too. I don't know what to think about right tackle. Two draft picks from last year who ought to be striving to improve, and neither one is grabbing the job. RT is often a stretch for a first rounder, but it won't be a particularly high first rounder so it could make sense. And, what other areas of need do the Bills have at the moment? Depending on what FAs they lose, they might have a hole to fill, but they have no other big weaknesses. I would like to see another talented WR, but that's about it.

Any outcome for the final four games, from 4-0 to 0-4 and everything in between, is possible. Seems to me we should be hoping for the Jaguars to win their division, since we have the tie breaker with both Indy and Houston for the wild card.

OK, there's still a chance to make the playoffs. There's a grab bag of so-so teams following the three good ones in the AFC, and why shouldn't the Bills be one of the teams that gets in. Also, OK, there's a chance that Ryan really knows what he's doing, and he sees that the Bills defenses the past two years were really good but not good enough to win (not that I buy that at all) so he's blowing up the defense to bring in the players he needs to fashion the modern defense he knows (yeah, right) is the right approach to win. Really, though, Ryan isn't that smart. The Bills defensive collapse (no Mario, no Kyle, no Gilmore, no McKelvin) will take them to the division cellar next year, and we'll be a bottom five team going into the 2017 draft. Still not bad enough to get the QB we need for the long haul. And Shady will be old or cut and still using up salary cap space. Here's to 2020 when the next three-year plan will come to fruition.

The fact is, Rex Ryan took a defense that was near the top of the league the past two years, returning most of its players and adding a rookie CB who exceeded all expectations. And he ruined it. It's a below-average group that can't stop anyone now. The players can't use their abilities and they're asked to do things they're not good at. And it's December and they still don't say they understand what they're supposed to do. The offense is much better but than under Hackett, thanks to Roman and not Ryan. So if the only thing saving Ryan's job is fear of starting over, that's not much to go on. Better to pitch Ryan than to pitch all the talent and money invested in the defense, before he gets to work during the offseason getting rid of players like Mario Williams who don't fit his way of doing things. It takes a lot longer to assemble a powerful defense like Pettine and Schwartz used so well, than to bring in a coach who isn't too arrogant and stupid to take advantage of the players he had available.

I saw this article about how the Washington players are holding each other accountable for mistakes during practices: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/11/30/after-a-players-only-meeting-the-redskins-are-in-first-place-theyre-also-ticked-off/ I wonder if this kind of professional, tough, demanding environment would help the Bills avoid mistakes, penalties, etc. Also as we're talking about maybe running the table against easy teams to get in at 10-6, remember the other teams including Washington are looking at the Bills as an easy win too.

Does anyone know what kind of training the refs go through at the start of a season? Is there any kind of camp where they go and explain to everyone what each subjective rule means and how to interpret it? It would be less bad if they were all screwing up the same way all the time, instead of what appears to be a personal interpretation by each guy. The league could bring in current or retired players, or college players, and have them run through plays where one of the guys is supposed to break a rule, and all the refs in training would make the call. Do the refs get together once a week by Skype or similar technology, to go over all the bad calls, to discuss trends the league has noticed, etc? I would really like to be a fly on the wall if Gene Steratore had to explain to his peers, by Skype or in person, how the heck he made up a different rule about where to place the ball after an inadvertent whistle. This would be an uncomfortable situation for the guys who had made mistakes, but when you consider what's at stake for players and coaches, who could miss out on playoffs or get fired, I have little sympathy.

This is absolutely not on Whaley. He brought in the talent, making a lot more hits than misses. I think he has the salary cap under control for the next several years. He's doing everything in his power to build this team. It was the Rex hire that looks so bad in retrospect. Just destroyed a dominant defense, and doesn't use it to its full advantage. With a decent pass rush, Alex Smith does not hit all those long passes. The Bills were rushing four and sometimes three most of the game. Seriously? Is that how you take advantage of a O line with three starters hurt, two of whom are out? STUPID. STUBBORN.

My question is, does anyone doubt that Jim Schwartz's defense, plus Greg Roman's offense, would have any problem making the playoffs? Last year the Bills had a High School-grade offensive coordinator. This year they have a real one. And they have a good QB, Shady, Sammy, Clay, and an O line that is doing a lot better than anyone expected. The offense is making plays and sustaining drives. The defense is crumbling at the worst possible times. Last week Ryan looked really good against the Patriots. Brady was confused and needed a couple of breaks to beat the Bills. Is Alex Smith a better QB than Tom Brady, so that Ryan was afraid to try the same tactics he used against the Pats? Seriously?

The guy's a freakin' genius, I tell you. First he figures out what no offensive coordinator could do the past two years, neutralize the Bills' pass rush. Now he figures out what the KC defense couldn't, how to shut down Sammy Watkins. Pure genius.

I'm not completely sure Schmidt was hit on that play. It looked like the Patriot player slid underneath while Schmidt was in the air, and to avoid the Patriot, Schmidt fell forward. It's possible that there was contact between the two of them, but I couldn't really tell one way or the other. The official was right there watching, not that that would have been enough to prove anything for that crew.

I think John from Hemet makes the key point about the draft. Taylor is the best QB we've had in a decade, might be the guy in the long run but might not. Next year will be his sixth in the league. If we draft a promising QB he can sit behind TT and learn his job, assuming TT doesn't get blown up tripping over a yard marker.

Clay is clearly better than Chandler. But who among our other tight ends is better than Chandler? Or for that matter, Lee Smith? None, as far as I can see.

Taylor is 5-2 as a starter, with losses only to New England and Cincinnati. He has won on the road and he has won when most of his offensive weapons have been hurt. He has particular strengths including leadership that are hard to find. Just as important, there is no aspect to his game which is below average, except his height, and tell than to Russell Wilson. He has been in the league long enough to know what's what. He reads defenses well the majority of the time and he's continuing to improve at that. He has a great arm and can make all the throws, including deep outs that don't hang in the air. And he runs extremely well. The Bills offense this year was not built to take full advantage of Taylor's mobility but it will be next year. Bottom line, huge upside. I realize the Bills were burned by falling in love too quickly with Fitz. There is no rush to re-do Taylor's contract. But if the Bills finish strong (could still miss the playoffs due to EJ's blown games) I think they'll re-sign him in the spring. As yourself if you've enjoyed waiting for Jim Kelly's successor to appear. Taylor isn't Kelly but he's the best we've had since Kelly.

Edelman has turned into a really good player. He isn't as tall or fast as some others but he has been just as deadly to the Bills as Gronk. He's like Hogan, always open, but he has more quickness and has been around longer so he has more of an idea how to be effective. We would love this guy if he was on the Bills. There really is no one who can take his place. Amendola was supposed to be the new Welker. That hasn't worked out partly because Edelman got so many targets so Amendola got less, but that also reflects the fact Edelman is a better player than Amendola. I think the Bills could legitimately try double covering Gronk, putting Robey or Darby on Amendola, and seeing how things go. Could be a major upset in the making.

If we can't beat an average Chiefs team with everyone healthy (assuming no new injuries in the Pats game), are we really playoff material?

Whaley's doing very well. But there is something out of alignment in the front office, between Whaley and Ryan. Whaley would still like EJ to pan out as a decent player, but Ryan keeps pushing EJ down. So Whaley foolishly traded Cassel for a bag of donuts or something, to force Ryan to elevate EJ to #2. I agree with other posters that the Bills with Cassel beat the Jags, and that ridiculous loss may keep the Bills out of the playoffs. And there was no rush to trade Cassel when he did. There's always some team desperate for a veteran QB, even someone as far below acceptable as Cassel. I have to think Ryan has the clearer head about this situation. He sees EJ on the field and clearly doesn't want him playing for him. Elevating Josh whoever to #2 for the Jets game was an act of rashness too, just to make a point.

I haven't read all the posts, so I apologize if someone already pointed out it's swallows that return to Capistrano. I think salmon would have to crawl to get there.

I think the key point was just made by Whitewalker, that the Jets schedule gets a lot harder now. They got fat stats beating up weak teams, and now have to run the gauntlet the Bills did earlier. At the same time the Bills schedule gets easier (even with all those road games). Fitz is like a ball tossed in the air -- what goes up must come down, and this year he got too high and is about to auger in, as jet pilots say.