Utah John

Only one undefeated team has ever won the Super Bowl so 2 or 3 or 4 losses out of 17 is not bad. We're in good shape, barring injuries or covid surprises.

We are NOT one dimensional. It happens that the Titans D line is good against the run, and their secondary is all injured, so passing tonight was the better choice. Against other teams, the Bills have run about as well as most teams (not as well as the Titans or Browns).

I know there's a rule that says no player except the player who fumbled can advance a fumble, in the last two minutes (or five minutes?) of a game. It goes back to a play called the fumblerooskie or something, where the Raiders TE Dave Casper intentionally fumbled forward and someone else fell on it. Or someone else fumbled and Casper fell on it. It was a loooong time ago. I checked on google. The play I remember was called the Holy Roller and it was in a game between the Raiders and the Chargers on 10 September 1978. Ken Stabler was the QB and he was surrounded by Charger defenders with the Raiders losing and time running out. So before he got sacked he flipped the ball forward (making it an incomplete forward pass but it wasn't called that way) and it bounced around into the end zone where Dave Casper fell on it. The Raiders won. John Madden was the coach at the time.

True enough, but he had time before he crossed the LOS to make the throw. He committed to the run and that was that. If he had made it, no one would care he could have passed for a TD. That was just Josh being Josh. I'll take it.

It was a legit call but it did not affect the play since McKenzie was already moving past the line where the block/hold occurred. The refs are just always on high alert during kickoff returns.

There WAS an open receiver in the left corner of the end zone. Allen was just determined to make it on his own, and he wasn't looking to pass anymore once he made up his mind to run.

Yeah, I'm not sure he even noticed his own mistake. It was a good play by Allen. Absolutely right. If the Bills got those two TDs the entire game changes. I think the play calling was not up to usual standards, and Josh didn't have his usual field awareness. There were several TDs that we didn't score because he didn't see wide-open receivers.

He was short. The Bills seemed to be like Casey at the Bat. They could move at will, almost, with the Titans CBs third string. But it seemed like that would have been too easy. They kept running the same running play on first down, getting three or four yards. Then if Allen hit his second down pass, fine, but if he didn't suddenly the Bills were on their heels. And too many times, there was no joy in Mudville. There was no reason to run against the Titans. The weather was good, the field was dry, and the defense was wounded. I don't think we got outcoached. I think we outcoached ourselves.

But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads and say I've changed Well something's lost, but something's gained In living every day Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now I have to say I can't find a single thing about how the Bills are doing lately that I'd trade for a trip back in time to the drought years. The old hopeful feeling that today might be the day the Bills finally figure out how to beat (fill in the blank) but deep down knowing it probably wasn't the day after all? No, I remember the feeling from the SB years, when it was an excited yet calm feeling before a game, knowing the Bills were probably going to win again. That was the best, and that's how I feel now too. I've looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow It's life's illusions I recall I really don't know life at all ibid

So Knox says the usual answer, he just worried about what he could control. Well, the list of things he can control includes how well he himself plays. He worked really hard in the offseason, even consulting a vision specialist, and just like Josh Allen after Allen's summers of work, he got better, a lot better. If he had stayed at last year's level, maybe McBeane make the trade for Ertz. The point is, Knox DID act to control the situation, by working really hard and becoming a better player.

Neither have the Bills, as it happens.

Since the border with Canada is just a few miles from the stadium, how about the Border Patrol?

Looks like there aren't a lot of chess players on this board. I do like the suggestion.

If we get one, the Patriots will get two. That's the rule.

I'd go with BOHICA. Bend Over Here It Comes Again. That's how offenses feel.

Those things would help but so will more experience. There were throws he missed or didn't even try, that a competent NFL QB should make almost every time. Philly isn't going anywhere this year so letting Hurts get his feet under him could pay off. It worked for Josh Allen and a lot of other good QBs.

Wood is a pretty good color guy, but he's also a cheerleader. That play was seven points there for the taking, and the Bills settled for three. Of course that ended up not being important, but you still have to maximize your opportunities. On the broadcast, she said that that meant they were very good.

I've tried to make that point all week, but people keep saying no, Diggs was so wide open that the important thing was just to get the ball to him. I say, that's nuts. This is Diggs, the best WR in the game or one of the very best. If Allen leads Diggs he catches the ball easily and walks in.

Ertz has to be delighted to be going to a team with a legit NFL QB. Hurts might turn into a good player but he was pretty bad last night. Murray has an outside shot at MVP. Of the two teams last night, it was the Bucs who need a CB more badly, but the refs bailed them out. There's a DB on the Bucs, last name Dean, who mugged the Eagles WRs over and over, with no DPI or DH calls. As long as Brady is in the game, the questionable -- hell, the rotten -- calls will keep coming. Very reasonable theory. The Cardinals didn't give up much in terms of draft picks or players, but what are they giving up in terms of salary cap space? Ertz is a long-term veteran with a solid career -- he's got to be earning a lot more than Knox, who's still on his rookie contract.

The Sabres are stuck where the Bills used to be, with a rotten culture. Nothing will overcome that except leadership and success. The Bills did a great job hiring McBeane, and they did a great job keeping Kyle Williams and getting Lorax to teach the younger players how to do things. Also McBeane purged a lot of bad attitudes (Dareus I'm looking at you). McBeane shifted the culture AND brought in a stream of good players. Lightning struck and we are all trying to get used to this. Lightning seldom strikes twice in the same place however. The older players on the Sabres were/are a cancer, and the ones we should have kept (O'Reilly) couldn't stand it here because of the bad attitude. I think it's all been downhill since the Sabres let Drury and Briere walk at the same time, TBH. What's left now looks like the start of a core with good attitudes and team-first goals. Let's see how long they can keep that up when the losing sets in.

I say New York, the pretty part, not downstate where there are some urban areas. And I'm almost always wearing a Bills sweatshirt or a Bills cap or even a Bills covid facemask my wife made for me, so there's no mystery to the person I'm talking to.

The Gronk ad is there to make the point that USAA is for the military only. I'm retired Air Force so of course I have USAA coverage. Everyone in the military knows about USAA and I think everyone joins -- the prices and the service are great. My question really is why the heck does USAA pay so much for advertising? Pretty much everyone who's eligible to join already knows about it. As for the State Farm commercials, they're really tiresome, but at least they're a little inventive. There are just too many insurance commercials overall. Progressive and GEICO and Farmer's and State Farm and Prudential and Liberty -- and of course USAA. I think the message here is that there isn't much difference between all those companies so they spend a ton to have catchy commercials to build their market share. Here's a radical idea -- do like USAA and have REALLY better rates and REALLY better service. OK, off my soap box, now back to football. TJ was here Week 1, and look how that turned out. Signing Watt would have meant not signing Milano. That ought to end the discussion right there. The Bills are thriving because they DON'T have a lot of elite players. Instead they have excellent players all across the roster, all making good money but none sucking up xx% of the salary cap. Watt would be an upgrade over most of our Dline right now, but the cost would have meant not having the 9 or 10 starter quality players we are now rotating in and out.

I'm glad Edmunds is getting props. His role on this defense is not to be the splash play generator. It's to eat space and contribute as 1/11th of the unit. His size and speed are what make the overall unit work well. At least in pass defense. He still takes the wrong gap sometimes on run defense. Maybe most LBs do that too, and we don't notice because we don't look for it. It's great that Spencer Brown is working out so well. As things stand though we now have a really expensive guard (Williams) who's drawing tackle pay. It's good to know though that we have such depth at tackle -- most teams couldn't lose even one tackle without hurting their offense. If Brown keeps on playing so well, or better, I can see Williams leaving at the end of the year. That might have been McBeane's plan in the first place, to have Brown take over at right tackle. And then the Bills draft or sign a FA, or two, at guard.

I wasn't aware it was optional. EVERYONE seems to do it. As for behavior while watching games, all I need to say is that marijuana is legal here in Alaska.

Yep, that's the size of it.