Utah John

That was Wichita, not Erie County. Well that's what I get for not reading all the intervening posts. Sorry.

That was after massive trades to move up, giving up personnel and draft picks, and getting lucky that other teams didn't grab Josh when they could. Beane went all out and deserves praise for cojones, preparedness, and talent evaluation.

I would like to see Jordan Philllips playing fullback, running with the ball on short yardage situations. The Bills on 3rd and 1 can't get any worse.

Well, he was the first overall pick based on the talent he showed in college. He got stuck on an absolute dumpster fire of a team. Finally he's getting a chance to compete. Will he be one of the top QBs? That's largely up to him, to keep improving a la Josh Allen's first two years.

Yeah, that second drive, what was that? Two Moss runs into the line, after Josh had carved up the Dolphins with his passing on the first drive. For the most part, the Bills were obviously trying to keep the ball out of Miami's hands, by carrying out long long long drives. Dorsey had the plays worked out to make that strategy function.

Some questions -- Could the Bills have given EVERY player an IV during halftime? Could McKenzie have intentionally fumbled out of bounds on the last play (or would there have been a 10 second runoff)?

By the end of the game, Josh was not Josh. I don't know if it was the heat, or watching all his teammates struggle with the heat, or his hurt hand. The Josh we know doesn't blow the throw to McKenzie that would have won the game. I am not criticizing him, I'm sort of applauding his courageous attempt to overcome everything, but mostly I'm saying we all need to relax. The conditions of the game, traveling to southern Florida on a short week after all these injuries, in this heat -- and losing by either two seconds of clock time or two points, against a very good opponent -- were the perfect storm, and yet he almost pulled it out. The Josh we know is the Josh we saw at the start of the game, hitting his first 10 or 11 passes, calmly dissecting the defense. That guy will be back on the field next week.

He didn't assume it would protect him, so he made plays any way he could. He always had the heart, but that first year he wasn't a good passer. And that was the last year the Bills didn't make the playoffs, but thankfully Beane got busy and rebuilt the roster.

I agree, I'd like to hear Romo's description of the Bills' offense.

That was Shakir who failed to block Byard. You're right, if Davis was there, the whole play turns out differently. Little things like this are a big reason why it's hard to make it on the field as an NFL receiver. There's just so much to learn.

For man to man, Elam is probably better than Benford, but the Bills play mostly zone where Benford is better. It's just great to have two rookies who are ready to step in and play.

It's like a Tesla but it runs on your wife's talking, so it's really fast.

I still have a Pet Rock around here somewhere if someone with an NFT wants to trade...

I was at the Vikings game when Foreman got hit by a snowball, and it came from the area where I was sitting. I wasn't supposed to be sitting since I was working as a beer vendor in the stands, but come on, who was drinking lousy watery beer in the snow? So I was sitting there. And I did NOT throw the snowball. I don't remember whether that was Stevenson's last game.

I still get a little nervous tension before Bills games, but this season that's quickly replaced by a sense of quiet anticipation. This is soooo much better but part of me still misses the continuing nerves from watching the team struggle, like they did for so long. Fortunately the Sabres will start play soon so I can get my fill of nerves, not knowing how games will turn out.

Every team has weaknesses. It doesn't diminish a win to say that your team found a way to exploit the other team's weaknesses. It's a kudo to your coaches for finding that way. The Rams had holes in their O line that the Bills exploited, pressuring a somewhat-injured Stafford and limiting the Rams offense. The Titans have no scary WRs or TEs and the Bills mostly shut down their passing attack, allowing them to focus on stopping Henry. I don't give a crap. The Rams and Titans are both NFL teams, with the Rams the defending SB champs and the Titans last year's AFC #1 seed. The Bills crushed both of them. Some people act as if the only legitimate win for the Bills would be if they played a team as good as they are. That's nonsense. A win is a win. And while the Bills are exploiting other teams' weaknesses, where are the Bills weaknesses that other teams are exploiting? Think about that. The reason the Bills keep winning is that they're the unicorn team, without weaknesses. (Except for injuries at CB.)

Gilliam might be called a fullback, but to me a fullback is a much bigger but slower player. Whatever. The game has changed so much that speed and space are what's critical. Would Jim Braxton or Sam Gash have a role on this team? There is something wrong though when 3rd and 1 is the worst possible down and distance for the Bills. I'd like to see Jordan Phillips get some chances as the RB on those plays. This is how strong teams get stronger, with drafts like that.

The first quarter last night, the Bills played sloppy, tight, too-juiced. When they figured out they only had to play the way they can play, everything turned out fine. The Bills just need to play Miami like the Ravens did the first three quarters. Mahomes/Hill/Kelce >>> Tua/Hill/Waddle But we're getting very thin at CB, now needing to start two rookies. If Micah Hyde is OK, though, the team D should prevail. Even if one of our CBs was man to man against Hill or Waddle with no safety help, that CB would KNOW he had no safety help and would play the receiver the whole way. That play was just a boneheaded rookie mistake PLUS a boneheaded safety mistake.

Last year's schedule was very soft, and the Bills had the top-ranked D that didn't scare anyone. This year, no one wants to play them. The concern of course is we're down to starting two rookie CBs, against the Dolphins passing attack. Fortunately we have this monster D line, and the fish have Tua.

Most of the AFC will be a tough out. The more the other teams beat each other up, the better. Whether Miami beat Baltimore or vice versa, the important thing is that someone got an L. The only real good news is that the Bengals and Raiders are 0-2 and the Colts are collapsing. I actually enjoy watching the Bills rip the guts out of the fish.

This is why we can record games and watch them later. The good news for the game you watch on Tuesday is that you can skip the commercials. There are far worse problems that this.

Maybe I'm just older than many on this board, and I remember how consistently excellent Shula was. And there was never any hint of controversy with Shula, no rumors (or facts) about cheating. And, he never had an elite QB until Marino, and then as I said Marino's best years happened to come when the Bills were so dominant for so long.

Yep, that's true, and it's a great accomplishment by the guy with the third most wins in NFL history.

If Belichick had handled Brady better, maybe Brady would not have left. That's conjecture but it's reasonable. But the rest of the roster was deteriorating, and Belichick keeps losing assistant coaches and coordinators. The Pats would not have been able to maintain their dominance even if Brady was still there. What would probably have happened is that Brady would have last a couple more years in New England, and then retired, rather than ride the Pats sled downhill. 328 vs 290. Belichick won't last long enough to catch Shula. Actually if you go on one of these talk shows, it's because people DO want your opinion.

Look at the bigger picture. Brady left when the rest of the Patriots roster was falling apart due to retirements and FA walkaways, plus the departure of so many assistant coaches and coordinators. The problem for the Patriots is that despite having a great head coach, they have a terrible GM, who happens to be the same guy. Despite all these problems, the Pats put a good team on the field last year, one that could beat the Bills in Orchard Park, and could make the playoffs. Of course that's as far as they went, but still, it's a great accomplishment. So, while it's true that the Pats headed downhill after Brady left, there's a lot more to their problems than the departure of Brady. Don Shula won 328 games. George Halas won 318. Belichick has won 290, so far. BB is NOT the winningest coach in NFL history. But he is still an outstanding coach, and has been held back only by his own incompetence as a GM.