BADOLBILZ

Yeah he has a very high ceiling but he played in a pretty simple system in college. The quality of processing of the other LB's in the room should help push him.

Yeah he's really turned it around. I was cautiously optimistic when I heard he was going to call his own defense because I had wondered if being more of a hands-off delegating.....then just periodically intercede.... HC was right for his intense personality. But in the first half it looked like the coordinating and the other decision making were too much for him to balance. But some people work better in more intense situations like that creates. The recent results would seem to indicate that perhaps we are finally getting all of what was promised from him as a defensive-minded hire.

I don't remember Spector NOT looking good whenever he's played. I know preseason is more basic football but he's looked excellent and instinctive in those opportunities. Dodson had also almost always looked solid as well(despite some claims to the contrary). AJ Klein had a nice run when he had to start(once they adjusted his role to his strengths). Even Julian Stanford looked good filling in for Edmunds in 2018. Preston Brown lead the NFL in tackles in 2017 and Ramon Humber wasn't even too bad before Milano took that job over full time. Lorax was also excellent in a hybrid role that included a lot of LB. You pretty much gotta' go back to the Rex days to see poor LB play in Buffalo.

No worries the Nashville and Miami takeover folks will probably buy those up and fly in for a wintry game in Buffalo.

Yeah the reality is that the Bills have only had 5 decisive victories where they played well on both sides of the ball for most of the game and 3 of those were in the first month of the season. And none recently. Everything else has been a hard-watch, mistake-filled struggle including the last 3 wins........all against reeling/depleted teams. So I'd expect a one score game regardless of who plays or doesn't for Pittsburgh. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Just win. The last two times the Bills played really well and blew out an opponent in the WC game.........the 343 yard rush game to end Shula's career and the "perfect game" vs NE......... they got beaten the next week.

Yeah there weren't nearly as many strong armed QB's. Most of the guys playing QB in the NFL today would have focused on other sports growing up if the NFL hadn't changed the rules to make it less physically demanding to play QB(and receiver).

I was torn between wanting to see the Steelers get beaten and not wanting the Colts to win. Such indignity kicking Jim Harbaugh's azz twice that season(I've never seen a QB take more punishment than he did in the game in Buffalo) and then watching them really play well enough to reach the SB just 2 years removed from the Bills 4 straight trips. The Bills had won 10 straight AFC playoff games going into Pittsburgh.......after the euphoria rushing for 343 yards versus Miami and putting Shula's career to bed the week before........what a sickening end to that season.

https://boingboing.net/2021/01/11/how-could-there-be-two-famous-people-named-wink-martindale.html

Will be interesting to see if Wink goes the Vic Fangio route and takes on an advisory role with a playoff team like Vic did with the Eagles in the lead-up to the SB last year.

He has had multi-game flashes of greatness like the past few weeks and this stretch earlier The best part is that he still has a chance to reach the higher end of his pre-season projections in the playoffs. PFF actually projected him to exceed 1,000 yards receiving.

Can you chicken-heads stop taking victory laps before you reach the starting gate? As @Mikie2times says they could get upset in the next 2 weeks and the narrative would revert..........just as their 2021 win streak to end the season and "perfect" playoff game against the nemesis Patriots gave way to "13 seconds" and outrage at McDermott a week later. Anyone who didn't recognize that a negative story about McDermott would likely rally the team together for a while doesn't understand the team dynamic. But that focus and execution dissipated after a few weeks.........and it's been a mistake-laden struggle offensively for the past few weeks. We could use another "McD hit piece" going into the playoffs. McD is a good NFL head coach. Is he a great one? Not so far. But worse coaches have reached and won SB's. So the "we'll never win a SB with this guy" crowd is just blowing hard. And NO he doesn't "need" to win a SB soon to define his career(Andy Reid went 20 years before he won his first one).

Oldie but goodie. And Bills relevant. He was dubbed that by some clever Fish fan after his 3 INT performance in the season finale loss(56-26) to the Bills in 2020.

I think Miami loses next week and Buffalo wins and therefore survives the season longer than Miami. But it's too early to even be taking victory laps because nobody cares who wins divisions........it's how you finish the season. If Miami advances beyond Buffalo they will have the last laugh. Case in point, 1995 when the Bills physically battered and swept the Colts and won the division..........only to lose decisively in the divisional round and have to watch the Colts nearly pull off a miracle in the AFCCG and advance to the SB. Quentin Coryatt dropped a would-be game sealing INT........and then after giving away the lead this happened:

20-25 mph winds is good for "lofting"?

18 games with 2 bye weeks. That's where it's going and where it should go.

I think they are already playing thru the worst weather month of the year..........which is January for Buffalo and much of the northeast where there are still open air stadiums. And the Bills stadium will be the last NFL stadium built without a dome unless they put a team in San Diego again. So weather isn't an issue any longer.

Pickens didn't have a pass thrown his way last game and yet they won. So that would be incorrect.

If there is one thing analytics has taught us in US sports it's that less information = more fun. A lot of what we enjoy about sports is easily taken away by analysis of data and mimicry. Variety is the spice that gets lost. So I hope they don't ever figure out how to sort out HC candidates and that it is always difficult.

I agree with all of that...........the defensive improvement has been legit.........but the rest of the points I only agree by the slimmest of margins. They lost 5 games to non-playoff teams and only played 5 good games of their own out of 17...........and 3 of those were in the first 4 weeks. The AFC was there for the taking this year and they have stretched the cap to nearly it's limits to build this roster...........and still they hadn't clinched a playoff spot until late afternoon in week 18..........they needed a big upset in Tennessee and a 1 score win filled with unforced errors to get into the playoffs. Hopefully your last point is the most important..........character is something that is built. The perception that you have resilience can be self fulfilling for a team. Last season they showed resilience getting the 13-3 despite all of the tragedy around the season.........but then promptly rolled over and played dead in the divisional round. So they really have to show resilience to a SB win for it to really become an organizational trait.

I can't see it. Belichick has too much pride to be meddled with. Even Bob Kraft doesn't dare meddle with him and if anyone should be arrogant about their ability to replace a HC it would be Kraft..........who has hired 3 HC's and all will be in the HOF. I think LAC is the best destination for Belichick. An owner desperate for results and willing to write the check and hand over the power. Plus tons of MILF/GILF action for BB in LA.

It's funny, when Jerry came into the NFL he was the "maverick" owner.............but he is probably the most "Ralph" owner in the league now. He hires lame ducks so he can have control over them. Dan Quinn........the HC who blew the 28 point lead in the SB at his last HC job.........will be a perfect replacement for McCarthy. Just enough of a resumé to prop him up as a winning hire.

There is simply no way of telling if there is a shortage of talent capable of being NFL head coaches or not. Personally, I believe there is always an abundance of capable people. There just isn't an efficient way to sort thru the hundreds of options at the college/pro/unemployed levels. The fact that the list of candidates every few years becomes people you'd never heard of 3 years prior bears that out, IMO.

There was also this more recent sexual assault allegation: