skibum

That's also a tough one, though. If they capped the penalty yards, then you would invite blatant PI on any pass longer than that cap. It almost has to be the way it is, though I agree that it seems unnecessarily harsh in many cases.

That's correct. ACLs do not heal themselves, nor do they heal when sutured back together. There's just not enough blood flow to the ligament. If an ACL is torn at all, it's usually torn enough that it should be replaced, because it's going to cause instability until it finally fails, and there is a high risk of collateral damage to other knee parts when that happens. I once had a partial tear, rehabbed it for four months hoping to avoid surgery, then it blew out. Wasted four months!

I think Crowder's a great guy to have, but I'm not getting my hopes up that he'll be a difference maker this season. He's only just starting to put weight on it again. I suppose if they can keep winning without him, he can give it more time and maybe be in decent shape for the playoffs.

Miami. The tip of America's d0ng.

It's a good question. I know a lot of athletes do the cadaver graft because there's no 'harvest site morbidity' in your patella or hammy, but I also know cadaver grafts are much more likely to fail altogether - as in, they never come back to life/heal and just sort of dissolve. Maybe if you have Von Miller money, you can pay a living person to donate their patellar tendon to you.

I have had both of mine rebuilt, but since I'm not a professional athlete, I did not get a cadaver graft. Those cost extra! Ironically, it's the harvesting of your own tendons for spare parts that ends up causing the most problems over the long term. I still can't kneel on my right patella, 20 years later!

It doesn't matter if it's a partial tear, they just have to cut the whole thing out and replace it either way. You can't actually 'repair' an ACL, because they have no blood supply with which to heal. So the recovery will be the same as with a complete tear.

If it's just the ACL that's damaged, then they are effectively pretty similar. You can have a grade 1 sprain, but even those make the knee less stable, and they basically never heal because the ACL has almost no blood supply. They are also pretty rare, because there is not much difference between the amount of force required to stretch an ACL vs. tear it. A grade 2 partial tear leaves the knee forever sloppy and is liable to blow out sooner or later anyway, possibly taking other ligaments with it. I tried rehabbing one of those once, and it popped four months later. For all but the mildest sprains, it's generally best to just get it repaired right away. The good news is that If the surgery is successful and rehab is done right, then it's darn near good as new. It just takes a while. ACL injuries get a lot worse when there is collateral damage in addition to the torn ACL - like a meniscus tear, for example. The meniscus also doesn't heal itself in most scenarios, and surgical options don't really fix it, they just minimize the impact to the extent it's possible. Long term, the meniscus will most likely be a bigger problem for Von.

I don't consider this a major deal for the Bills' SB prospects. Von was a nice bonus add to help seal the deal on a championship, and he made the big plays he was paid to make. But he was only playing half the snaps, and this is still a very deep defense without him. That, and I think his presence will still be felt on the field, in the form of all the things he taught the young guys who are still playing. Sure, it would be nice to have the option to play Von Miller on every down during the playoffs, but I think it will be alright. Did anyone think the Bills were not SB contenders before Von Miller came to town?

Bills only team in NFL with Josh Allen in every game this season

This would make a great episode of 'YOU Make the Call'.

Not sure I agree with that - If that was the case, then wouldn't they place the ball at the line of scrimmage any time the QB gets sacked? Or does it become forward progress if he drops back, then moves forward?

Yes, the pundits made a big stink out of Von Miller being out, but nobody said much about getting Edmunds and Tre back on the field. I think they more than offset the loss of Miller, who I see as more of a 'nice to have' luxury than a key peice of the D.

Come on, the guy played a solid game on one leg. Yeah, he got beat bad a couple times, but he was in a really bad way, and he showed up when he had to. We're fortunate to have him as the backup LT. Game balls to Diggs and Edmunds, honorable mention to McKenzie and Lawson. Awesome night for the D line, and the offense just kept moving the chains. Not the most exciting game, but it was so satisfying to watch them dissect the Pats in their own barn. I'm proud of these Bills, 3 straight wins on a long and bizarre mid-season road trip. You can't ask for anything more.

He was talking about the AFC Championship game..😉

It's a nice luxury to have a good place kicker on your team.

Funny game; the Pats pretty much dominated wire to wire, yet somehow managed to lose. Grogan outplayed Kelly by a wide margin. The Bills' best player that day was Ray Bentley on D, and maybe Robb Riddick on O, but overall the Bills' offense was horrendous. Thurman didn't do squat, Kelly himself may have had the longest run of the day, and Reed had maybe two catches. Bruce didn't even play. Norwood with the game-winner from 41. And that's my synopsis.

Hmmm, Rochester is pretty much getting nothing from this storm. I wonder if they kicked the tires on any facility options there. And I certainly hope they are planning to fly to Detroit out of ROC...

I think it mostly came down to (a) a second-hand secondary, (b) Allen trying to be a hero, and (c) some great plays by the Vikes - hats off to Cousins, a gamer who gets no respect, and of course Jefferson. The Bills D-line was mostly very good. Edmunds being out for the 2nd half showed the haters his value. Bills Offense did enough to win on most days, but a few big mistakes were the difference.

Wow, just when you think Stephen A. Smith can't be any dumber. Trying to make it like Mahomes' game against the Bills was qualified MVP material. Those two picks were bruuuutal! Until last week, any reasonable person could have given Mahomes the edge, based on his career, 13 seconds, and continued stellar play. He was the reigning MVP candidate until proven otherwise, and that proof was delivered last Sunday. How much evidence do you need?

When I set up this account, I was many years deep into livin' the dream in the northern Rockies. Another many years have passed, though, and that handle is now totally inaccurate! But I'll always be a ski bum at heart.

Arguably a candidate? Come on, Reid is a lock for the HOF. Give a little credit where credit is due!

Tom and I are the same age, and the prospect of being chased around by 300 lb. freak athletes trying to kill me is horrifying. Time always wins.

Have we forgotten about the spanking the Bucs gave the Chiefs two Super Bowls ago? It's not exactly the same Chiefs team, but close enough. Mahomes was running for his life the whole game.

It's not often you see a RB a lot taller than his QB.