BearNorth

Remember Fitz went to Hah'vurd. Not only did he make a lot of money, but likely has the smartest guys in the room running it for him. He doesn't need the hassle of an OC job.

Smiley has cost us a couple as well. Last night between the returns that flipped field position and the 12 man fiasco, Jets game punt return didn't cover him with glory either.

I thought the player had to survive contact with the ground or it's called a fumble.

10-7 with our lack of tiebreakers vs. Jax, & Cin might not be enough, even for a 7 seed.

I wonder if the market will ever correct for the lofty QB dollars. It seems that if you hit on a QB early [e.g. Mahomes, Wilson] that you can build a decent team around them, but once the non-rookie contract kicks in, except if you are Andy Reed, you can't afford much of a complimentary cast. Brady took below market dollars for years, but I doubt any agent these days is going to allow a promising QB to take anything less than top dollar for their second contract.

Don't think Tre is physical enough to play safety, and with an ACL and Achilles, probably not going to be as athletically gifted as he was. Others on the board have suggested Douglas with his size may be a logical safety before long. I think Hyde's injury yesterday means that Bills will be looking to replace both safeties.

Actually PFF says it was Settle who was a microsecond from destroying Burrow. That was the most egregious ref error this season.

I also think that early [b/s] roughing call on Settle meant that our pass rushers were wary - if that was called, could you even touch the QB without a flag. That call changed the entire script of the game IMHO.

Kelce is either 1) interfered with, 2) calling for a flag or 3) committing OPI on nearly every passing play.

And no more stupid, avoidable penalties on "defense gets off the field" plays. Hopefully Linval Joseph can play and be in the game at those times.

In 2023, Josh has a higher cap hit than Hurts, Tua, and Purdy combined.

wondering if on passing third downs, we will see Groot, Von, Ed & AJE.

Looking at the data, this group tends to have a severe recency bias. I think the Bills having a few more days rest, and the coaching staff having more time to prepare will give us a different outcome than last January. I think it will be a close game, but I'm not expecting it to be a blowout. Both teams have a quality win [Bills-Miami, Bengals - 49'rs], and a loss they probably should have avoided [Bills - NE, Cinci - Tenn]. Cinci is still not playing at the level they did last January. Hopefully our Bills will have their game faces on and come ready to play.

PFF grades him as the 10th best cover corner in 2023. One of the better run defenders among the top cover corners. Size comparable to many safeties.

Getting rid of Tre at the end of 2023 carries a 26MM cap hit. That drops to just over $10mm at the end of 2024. Tough situation. Second contracts becoming burdensome for high injury prone positions.

Can we make Jordan Phillips inactive for this game? Can't take many more stupid penalties that keep drives alive.

Yeah, I just looked at the stats and ratings. Bengals defense this year is pedestrian except for Hendrickson. If Dorsey lets Josh play with confidence, and minimizes turnovers, this Cinci defense can be had. Our biggest problem as it has been since Daquan was injured it our interior defense, against the run. We have given up some huge runs, even in games we won. That being said, to beat Cinci you have to control Chase, Boyd, and Higgins. Their TE, Hurst, who killed us last year has moved on and Smith who replaced him is not of the same quality. Hoping the Bills bring their 'A' game similar to the last 3 quarters of the Miami game [although we are missing a few key pieces].

Not to mention that yesterday Stafford, Cousins, Tyrod, and Pickett all got dinged, and wouldn't be surprised if Cousins and Tyrod are done for the season [might be career ending for Tyrod].

Yeah and Trent Williams is a pretty big [literally and figuratively] DNP for this offense, one of the elite LT's in the game.

Klein has always been tagged as good against the run. Is this a down and distance spot for him, esp with Mixon?

Injury list from yesterday around the league is pretty long and impactful. Suspect there will be a lotta movement today and tomorrow.

Anyone watching the injury reports today. Pickens, Stafford, Cousins, Tyrod all injured and did not return.

Bengals chewing up Bosa & Co on the ground.

Meanwhile Cinci is making 49'rs vaunted defense look like JAG's

Yes, but they have a win in hand vs. Buf so second game becomes a must win for Bills.