Utah John

When I was in college majoring in meteorology 45 years ago, the models were not even worth looking at. (Except Christie Brinkley and Cheryl Tiegs - hahaha). I spent nearly 40 years as a professional meteorologist, either forecasting or working in related fields, or in management. The models got better steadily throughout the decades since the 70s, and as you say are now extremely accurate. The improvement came about for multiple reasons -- better computers, much better satellite data, much better data assimilation routines, different types of models, more precise weather radar data. All of this was funded by taxpayers. When I hear people complain that the government doesn't do anything, or produce anything, I just shake my head at their lack of awareness. A graph is worth 10,000 words to those with a little patience to understand it.

I would speculate that the changing odds corresponded to the Bills injury report. Specifically whether Jordan Poyer would be able to play. The Bills are undefeated this year when he plays. Early in the week it looked possible he wouldn't play. He's still listed as questionable but I would be shocked if he didn't play, and play well. We need Poyer AND Tre White to be close to their best considering how good a QB Burrow is.

They're actually fortunate to be 8-8 this year. They beat Baltimore with a huge comeback after the Ravens' DBs were all hurt. They beat us thanks to the heat and the design of the stadium, and almost lost when Josh misfired on a pass to McKenzie right at the end. They have invested heavily in their passing attack but their D is not good at all, other than Christian Wilkins who is excellent. Too many holes in their roster. And they need to sort out their QB situation immediately.

Light years? More like two years. They've got a young squad, so they have a couple of years to fill the holes in their roster and in particular get a veteran QB. In that time, the Bills' front office will have to shed some of the talent on the defense due to Josh's and Von's contracts kicking in. and let's be honest, our O line is just average at best and our WRs are mostly ineffective.

Cook (surprisingly) doesn't have elite speed either. He ran a 4.42 40 at the combine, which is good but not elite. He seems so much faster though. I think he's quick, not really fast.

All the evidence points to the Bears having a really lousy D line. I can't name a single player on their D line -- I don't think any of them got their name called during the game for a good play. Our O line and RBs didn't suddenly get a lot better -- they were just up against a JV team. I'll take the win and move on, but next week at this time don't think everyone regressed after they face a tougher opponent in Cincinnati.

They also live in NJ. I got to know a former NJ Giant this fall, and he said ALL the players live in NJ. He said NYC is far too expensive for all but the highest paid players, and it's a hassle to get out of NYC and get to East Rutherford for practice and games.

I would be delighted to see a merely good QB with the Dolphins. Having a merely good QB is a ticket to 9-8 and a mighty struggle to get into the playoffs. Having a bad QB is a ticket to 4-13 or worse (better?) which looks pretty rosy at draft time. There are four excellent QBs in the AFC, we all know who they are, and only those four teams have a legitimate chance at the SB.

McDaniels has been dispatched by Belichick to sabotage two teams in the AFCW. Mission accomplished, sir, now may I come back to NE and rescue the offense from Patricia? So OK, I'm not a fan of either of McDaniels's victims, but I sure hope we can convince Kansas City to dump Reid and replace him with McDaniels sometime soon.

The Dolphins are 8-7 and not playing lights out. In fact they've lost four in a row. They might squeeze into the playoffs, but they're not going to make it past the Big Three in the AFC, with or without him. They should bench him and make sure he's right before the 2023 season. And who knows maybe they still make the playoffs without Tua. Letting him play now is a disgusting idea, showing no concern at all for this young man, and striving only for the cash players and teams get for making the postseason. What's that money worth when he could end up like Junior Seau, or the former WNY player Justin Strzelczyk.

But the Colts do have a relatively young player who looks more like an athlete not yet on Social Security. He might have given the Colts a chance. Absolutely right. He was the QB on teams that won multiple Lombardis, and he had the Fox/NFC propaganda machine behind him. (Not a political Fox comment -- just Fox Sports.) But he was never a masterful QB, not a great passer. He was a good game manager with all those weapons, who belongs in the Hall of Very Good.

It sure would be nice to get back to running on all cylinders, but I'll take the good news that the Bills can win with low-octane performances. If this team ever DOES get back to strong play all across the board, it will be incredible.

There will be at least two AFC teams that are better than either the Bucs or the Panthers. OTOH a below average team is going to win the AFCS so that's just how things go sometimes.

Part of me would love to see Jacksonville surpass Tennessee for the AFCS. I just hate the Titans. But OTOH I'm not sure I want to see Jacksonville in the tournament. The Titans would be a much easier game for the Bills.

NO NO NO. We would still need to beat the Pats to secure the 1 seed.

Carr had his career year about four years ago, when the Raiders were simply dominant. That was their year. Then Carr got injured late in the year (broken leg, I believe) and they washed out of the playoffs. They never got back near that level. If anything, memories of that year are what's holding the Raiders back. They still imagine Carr is the same guy he was before the injury, and that all will be well as long as they address other needs. Well, no, Carr sucks now, and the Raiders are doomed if he's their guy.

I had a post about this a couple of days ago, where I basically said the Bills must beat Cincinnati in Cincinnati, either on Monday night or deep in the playoffs. The reward is much greater for doing it Monday.

He needs to get out of New Jersey and onto the practice squad of a team that will help him develop and mature. A team with a rock-solid, no question about it starter. A team in a supportive environment. In short, he needs to move to New York. Bills PS next year.

Interestingly, White has been so close to good that the Jets might NOT upgrade. Which would also be a colossal mistake. It sure is fun having Josh on the team and watching the other teams flounder. Tua has skills but no balls. He is fine when there's no pressure, or when the Dolphins are up and when his two great receivers are shredding defenses. He is terrible when there's a close game on the line and the other team's defense pressures the receivers and him. He's the anti-Brady. Well that sounds like Brady doesn't have skills, and I am not suggesting that at all. But Brady is a genius at pulling the fat from the fire, find a way to win when the chips are down. Tua just pushes the chips off the table and onto the floor.

At the time of this broadcast, the Bills were in their mini-slump, and the Dolphins were at the top of their game. The mistake two of these announcers made was to assume that the performances they had seen the last couple of weeks, was locked in to persist through the entire season. Turns out the Bills have been crunching out wins every week, while the Dolphins have gone into their traditional December collapse. Note that none of the announcers said it was unlikely that the Bills would get it together, but they were all in luv with the Dolphins. Luv as in man-crush, as opposed to love as in true hearts finding an enduring relationship. There are 36 pages of comments and I haven't read them all. When I find your post, I'm sure I'll agree with it.

Quite a few of the Miami fans responding to this politely told the OP he was wrong, and that Buffalo is the better team.

Pretty good call. Actually 26-20.

It WAS working for most of the year. Bass would drop the KO at the 1, and the Bills would rally to the returner and stop him between the 15 and 20. It happened a lot. It looks like the ST coach for one of their opponents figured out a blocking scheme against how the Bills were covering kicks, and since then they've been gashed over and over. It's time for our ST coach to step up and fix it. Failing that, then yes, kicking it deep is the answer. Cook was one yard away from a 100 yard game, and Allen could have gotten there too if it had made sense for him to try. (Which it didn't.) The Bills did well, but the Bears are really terrible.

I think the Bills played down to their competition in the first half. They came out of the locker room in the second half and took care of business, then waited for the game to be over. I do not think the level of play we saw yesterday will be continued against the Bengals. The Bills always seem to rise to the occasion.

Herbstreit is extremely knowledgeable. He thinks that providing lots of information is his job. Actually, I am fine with getting the entertainment buzz from the play on the field, and getting all that information from Herbstreit. I understand most people want more entertainment from the announcers, so most people think he's boring. I think the solution is to have three people in the booth, just like the old MNF team (Cosell, Gifford, Meredith). Cosell and Gifford alone would be sort of fun to watch, but adding Meredith with the big happy personality made that team rock.