BigBuff423

It's painfully obvious the NFL is an Offense driven league now, but also for a number of years - not so much this year - Offensive Pass Interference was off the charts as well. I remember in the "Glory Years" of the Buffalo Bills with Andre Reed and James Lofton, et. al., there was so much hand fighting and pushing and arm distancing during those years that Offensive Pass Interference was a rarity. Then, for like 10 years it became the norm. Now, when a flag is thrown you legit have no idea who the Ref is going to call for the foul. I was happy to see the flag picked up against Tre because even Collinsworth who I have no doubt has a secret basement full of Patriots' jerseys and flags and pictures all for a shrine to Cheating Bill and Marsha, said it was definitely NOT a penalty. So while the NFL is more Offense driven than it has even been, there's also been more rule changes and things that complicate the matter that it's not as simple as saying teams can't play Defense anymore. IMHO, an accurate statement is that it's harder to play Defense with all the rules and the Offense has an edge, but even some of those changes are ridiculous. But, now I sound like a cantankerous codger so I'll go eat my prunes and take my blood pressure meds and let the young folk talk.... "Hey, got off my lawn ya' darn kids!".

Denver's record notwithstanding, they're a better team than they're given credit for....I hope the Bills don't allow a peek ahead to New England distract them from a Denver Defense that isn't terrible and Drew Lock, who with his weapons has options. Do I think the Bills will win? If they maintain focus - yes. But, don't chalk it up like it's a gimme. They'll need to fight for it. Taron Johnson would be a big loss, but given Buffalo's next two games and the increasing opportunity for playoffs, T. Johnson's health down the stretch is even more important. If safe is to keep him out, just do it and make it work with other personnel.

And this isn't meant to be a zing against the OP, but if Josh had been forcing the throw to Beasley or Diggs when they *weren't* open because of dropped passes or miscues previously, he would be getting ROASTED all across this board for that very thing. And honestly, he should be - you throw the guy open or you throw to the open guy, everyone of them is a professional and Josh has to trust that they take that as seriously as he does. Mistakes are going to happen and on the cold night against that Defense, probably the best they've seen all year, you have to know there will be a mistake here or there. Bigger question: do they get better as the game goes on? Do they improve from week-to-week? To both of those questions thus far, Yes. So, while Knox has had his ups and downs, he's been better on the whole than he was in his Rookie year. Add in COVID, no Pre-Season and an improved slate of competition and what we're seeing is a incremental development of an NFL TE who was raw when he came into the league. Give him to this time next year to see just what the Bills have in him as a TE before presuming he's not any good - not that I'm suggesting anyone is saying that, but let's not rush to judgment. I've posted it in other places on this board, but TE is notorious for taking several years, even the great ones, before you can see the true potential come to fruition. I believe Knox will be the same: third year, a big step forward, and fourth year - we see his real worth to the Offense.

Here are Derrick Henry's career stats link: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HenrDe00.htm In his Rookie year Henry had: 110 rushes, for 490 yards, with 5 TDs; receptions: 13, for 137 yards and 0 TDs.; rushing 4.5 Y/A - In his 2nd year: 176 rushes, for 744 yards, with 5 TDs; 11 receptions for 136 yards and 1 TD; rushing 4.2 Y/A Here are Zack Moss' stats thus far (Rookie Year of course): https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MossZa00.htm 10 games: 84 rushes, 335 yards, with 12 receptions for 82 yards; rushing 4.0 Y/A I point this out because you specifically reference volume for Henry but it took him 3 seasons in the NFL before he arrived to that point of production. We need to continue to remember Moss, and others, are Rookies and to be patient. I think Moss will be a very good RB but we need to give him time.

We see this in other industries, in other aspects of life and community but having synergy between leadership and those who carry out the day-to-day practices has such an enormous impact on an organization. Brandon Beane is certainly the best GM the Bills have had since Polian and we can argue that McDermott is the best HC since Levy, without question. Having them together, in unison of vision and functionality with role clarity of role responsibility, is entirely the difference thus far in where this team is today versus where this team was when they both arrived several months apart from each other.

#4 to me is the epitome of another level throw by an NFL QB. His arm is unworldly and makes a jaw drop, his ability to escape pressure and run are all things we've seen from Day 1. But his accuracy development, anticipation, reading Defense, making much improved decisions on the whole, accepting what the Defense gives him and how the players respond to him are all incredible improvements but #4 is just.....wow. It was an amazing throw of the right velocity, trajectory, and placement between two levels of Defenders and trusting a Rookie WR. The intricacies of this throw is the perfect example of how far Josh has come in his professional development as he had to have both speed and touch to his throw while also knowing he could fit that throw over the LBer but in front of the WR in stride. Just, terrific.

They did send him a message....but it got right by him.

The best TEs over the last 20 years, except for one Tony Gonzalez, have been drafted in the mid-rounds (2-4) and have taken 2-3 years to show their potential. This COVID year has been a challenge along with the normal developmental curve for that position. I would not be surprised to see Knox come on in the final quarter of the season and then have a very good to total break-out year next year. Keep in mind he was a raw potential type of player when he came to Buffalo so the peeling away of the layers makes sense before we see what he can produce consistently over time. I don't know that he'll ever be a Kecle / Ertz type of TE, but I do think he has real potential to be on the fringe of a good to great TE through the years.

So, I guess the irony here is that you're citing Vrabel, who hasn't won a Championship, Shanahan (Kyle I presume since all others are contemporaries) who hasn't won a championship as a HC, and Reid, who until last year was the poster boy for "THIIIIIIIIIS Close, But Not Yet" for championships. Reid is the perfect example of a terrific coach who needed the team built the way it is in order to achieve the intended result. So, this list might not be what you thought it was in your mind when you typed it out.

Here are a few articles that make it more objective than your statement of "biased / optimistic narrative". https://www.peakendurancesport.com/endurance-psychology/psychological-aides/role-momentum-sports-performance/ This one looks at cricket, squash, soccer - not just typical American sports: https://be-world-class.com/psychological-momentum-in-sport/ Here's another that looks specifically at football (soccer): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24733938.2019.1665704

And yet, comparing the KC Chiefs to the Buffalo Bills makes sense how? Mahomes is two years ahead of Josh in development, their team is two years ahead in development of roster, and they're coming off a Championship season. Seriously? If that's your best argument you might want to reconsider the merits of that argument. It sounds much more like you're unwilling to consider the psychology of sports and the collective mindset of a team and dismissing the potential viability of its impact than evaluating its potential for truth.

I agree the season is a marathon and the team does need to improve week to week, but to the bolded part I would disagree. There's a reason why culture is so important, especially in the NFL / pro sports, because there are defining moments that sink into the minds of the players which can, if managed properly, propel them toward even better play. And to me, yesterday's win - in the way it all unfolded - was exactly that. I'll go back to a thread I started last year that compared Josh Allen's concussion moment in the Patriots' game with Tom Brady's moment when he got hit by Nate Clements'. That thread was based on the notion that Brady's numbers started to really improve after that hit, because Brady had some "sense" knocked into him about how to manage the game. Ironically enough, immediately following Josh's 3 INT concussion game against the Pats, his numbers took a drastic turn for the better. Because there are singular moments that can and do change the course of a player's trajectory or in some cases, a team's trajectory. IMO, this was a similar moment for the team. Defense established their identity again, players getting healthy, Milano comes back soon, and the Offense is now finally good enough to overcome it's own mistakes while the Special Teams contributes in meaningful, if not insignificant ways.

To the bolded portion of your statement, I'd say that it isn't "behind", it's merely that after every game there are the people who rave about the game or the "what ifs" or "shoulda, coulda, woulda" and those who champion the cause. The point of the post was to say that this Win IMHO is both and that it is the type of win that helps solidify their whole team mentality because for weeks the Defense has been under performing while the Offense kept the boat afloat. This week the Defense started to look like the Defense of the McDermott era and that they've slowly been making incremental improvements. This game, against a very good Offense, and holding at key moments, showed me (maybe others) that the Defense of the last few years didn't disappear, it was simply hiding behind a number of other factors and then showed some of its true self yesterday. That, along with a much improved Offense and modestly improved Special Teams including a Rookie Kicker that is becoming quite good, demonstrates this team, this year - can be a complete Team: Offense, Defense and Special Teams. In my mind, that's why this Win stands out and why it was exactly what the team needed: get it's Defensive mojo back while the Offense found a way to score enough and Special Teams was solid but not spectacular. IMHO, I expect to see more improved Defense, a return to Offensive potential and solid to spectacular Special Teams play that will even more closely resemble the whole team capability week to week, beginning with the 49ers.

IMHO, it simply wasn't cruising. The Defense, after allowing another Hail Mary shot, stood tall to hold the Chargers out of the End Zone at 4th and Goal at the 1, but the Offense had 3 turnovers, penalties and didn't move the ball well in the 4th Quarter to a surging Chargers Defense. It was the Bills' Defense that responded by stiffening up against one of the better Offenses in the league to hold the win...cruising is simply not accurate IMO, because it appears as thought there was little resistance but in fact, the Bills Defense helped overcome the Bills Offensive poor play along with solid Special Teams. And I think that kind of Defensive identity was really necessary to help this team down the stretch.

There is always a great deal of debate and discussion following a Bills' game and often we find polarizing opinions on both sides. However, I'd like to suggest that for once we can concede both sides and points of view and still agree that this type of Win is exactly what the Bills needed at this point in the season. The Bills' Offense played sloppy, turnover after turnover and sack after sack and STILL found a way to win. The penalties at inopportune times on Offense and a generally lackluster performance by the Offensive Line while we saw a little of 'Bad Josh' show up would have sunk this game in previous years. However, the Offense gutted out 27 points against a 6th ranked Defense against the pass and Daboll utilized the running game to the tune of over 170 rushing yards. The main reason for this win: Defense. In the years past the Bills would have "found" a way to lose or at the very least not support the Defensive effort to get the Win. However, Daboll recognized that LA getting Bosa back was going to be a problem and instead of trying to force their passing game to win the game, he adapted by running the ball relatively effectively, overcoming mistakes and errors and still have Josh make some key throws at times to keep the Offense productive "enough". Defensively, Frazier / McDermott prepped the team fairly well by getting Herbert, limiting the big plays, not yielding remarkable rushing yards to around 77 yards on the ground. Defense came up with a timely turnover to help stop the momentum shift and give the Bills the chance to hold the game's Win. This was the type of Win that in weeks before this one, the Defense would have given up more yards, points, and the way the Offense was playing - ultimately the Loss. This Win and the Defensive effort on the whole showed that while there continues to need to be some improvement, the Defense is trending in the right direction at the most crucial time of the year. The Offense was far from mistake-free and at times unproductive and stymied by a good pass rush, yet they put points on the board when they needed to mark up the score board. The Hail Mary's are frustrating, but rarely serve the Loss to the team the way it did against the Cardinals. Special Teams was not wonderful, but stable and solid when that's what the team needed it to be...not amazing, and not terrible - just good enough to hold the line. This was a Win where the Defense had the opportunity to remind us they can win a game even on a day when Josh wasn't the best 2020 version of himself, when the Offense overcame it's own mistakes and highly suspicious penalties, and the Special Teams didn't require them to be "special", just not a liability. The reason in my opinion this game was a very important way to win, is because the other wins have largely been of the Offensive variety and while the Defense would do enough to hold off the surge at the end of the game, they hadn't played wire-to-wire in a win they way they did yesterday. Between Daboll play-calling much better this year to the opponent, Josh Allen taking his next huge stride toward Elite status, the Offense snapping off TDs the way we all hoped a 21st Century NFL Offense should, Special Teams being so much better and a Rookie Kicker quietly coming into his own, the Defense just shifted into place that now shows in the NFL year of 2020 - Buffalo can be a complete team. Not just a maybe, or possibly, or if this then that....but really does have the potential to put all of the pieces together to be a complete team.

He is the son of Hal Wingo, founding Editor of People magazine, so I’m fairly certain he had enough money to retire as soon as he graduated high school. So, I presume he determines if his contributions to sports and society has satiated his career achievements as to whether he wants to continue working. Obviously I have no idea what his intentions are, but it feels as though he is driven by something far different than a financial goal.

And this time, they have Diggs, another year older and wiser in Josh Allen and apparently, an overall improved Offense. Also, the Defense has YET to have all of their starters on the field at once in weeks. Between COVID and injuries, this Defense has been beat up. Now, the Steelers are a very good overall team and I'm NOT saying the Bills "should" win or that they will. The point made was about recent history on Prime Time and so I pointed out the fact that in their two Prime Time games last year, the Bills were 2-0. If you point to this year, it comes with a gigantic asterisk, because the Bills didn't even know what team they were playing or when until the Saturday before the Tuesday night game. The Titans had 25 positive COVID cases during a 10 day period and still were permitted to change nearly the entire NFL schedule not to mention the other team the Bills had to prepare for that they WERE scheduled to play in Prime Time, the Super Bowl champs. The Bills lost handedly in both games. No excuses, but it does come with some rather large caveats when taking into context the totality of circumstances. JMO

And yet, to your point the Bills have the most wins against winning teams and have played more games, by far, against teams with winning records than ANY OTHER NFL team this year. So, I'd agree and say that this year they're winning at a respectable rate and last year, was the revelation of the beginning of turning a corner. Also, nothing you said in that panned cliché of a statement combats the truth presented. You don't like McDermott - cool, your opinion is as valid as any other when it's simply your opinion - but don't conflate that opinion with a "fact" as though it becomes truth. Whatever your issues are with McDermott, they are about style and not results.

Agreed, and ironically Josh would have had this same penchant given his throw to Diggs on Sunday if that miracle catch didn't happen....

Well holy cow...I missed your return. Welcome back!

Actually the Bills spanked the Cowboys on Thanksgiving and beat the Steelers on Sunday Night Football in Pitt....so, last year was a good year for them.

Um....no. Go to the coaches thread where there are far more insightful (and some juvenile) challenges to this line of thinking. There just is no explanation for Buffalo fans....many of them are great and loyal and intelligent when it comes to the game. Others....simply aren't. But, I couldn't disagree with this opinion more if I tried.

If I recall correctly, Joe B. graded out Ford prior to his injury and after a 2 or 3 of his games indicated Ford was doing nicely in his Guard position and said that the Bills should stop the Tackle experiment and just cement him in the Guard position. I don't have a link to The Athletic because I don't have a subscription but believe I saw several Tweets from Joe B. If I'm mistaken, I apologize but if anyone else has access to it, maybe they can post the link?

I think that's what we saw the first four games of the season but then injuries and COVID started happening. For one of the games nearly the entire TE room was out due to COVID, by luck Kroft's baby was born and for others, Ford, Morse, Feliciano all have been injured at different points of the year. The Bills have not YET had their entire Offensive line on the field, with those first four games the closest with just Feliciano missing.

It is remarkable the amount of poor insight a number of fans and folks on this board exhibit from week to week. If you've sat through, been tortured by and now survived the 20 years of lethargy, ineffectiveness and inexplicable mediocrity of coaching, then you would know that McDermott and this staff are one of the top three things to happen to this team in the last two decades. The other two, 1. Brandon Beane, 2. Josh Allen. Both of which were directly influenced by McDermott and the Pegulas' willingness to pay for coaches and talent in the front office. The culture shift has been dramatic and the fact that we are lamenting on a Monday morning after taking on the #1 rated Offense in the NFL, with COVID related absences and injuries impacting starting Offensive Line, #2 WR, and starting OLB, after a HAIL Mary despite a clutch and MVP type of throw to Diggs from Allen, shows you just how far this team has come because expectations are reasonably high. In years past this would be seen as the pinnacle of hope for this team and talk about "progress" as a team in terms of winning and how the organization is coming into the 21st century with their pass-heavy orientation toward Offense. But now, because this team has invested money and resources into both the Offensive and Defensive lines, traded for a quality #1 WR, developed most of their players they've Drafted, and poised themselves to take the AFC East - we get bent out of shape over a single, non-playoff, loss that wasn't even in Conference. That, tells you just how far this team and organization has come. McDermott has shown and admitted he continues to grow himself into a truly great NFL Head Coach, but the development of Josh Allen has been nothing short of amazing, the continuity on Defense and yes, they've had a down year but all Defenses have across the league (for a variety of reasons covered elsewhere), Special Teams has turned into a strength instead of a weakness and the Offense is on a record pace for the Bills. In other words: in all 3 phases of the game, this team is light years ahead of where they were 3 seasons ago and in some of the most crucial contemporary NFL areas such as QB development, scoring and clutch Offensive play - they are leading or near the top of the league. Also, the Defense continues to get incrementally better from week to week against quality opponents in generating turnovers, limiting opportunities and finding moments to support the win. Keep in mind this team just played two of the best Offenses in the NFL in back-to-back weeks and won the first game handedly, and except for a miracle would be 8-2 against what is widely considered the best Division in the NFL. In fact they would be 3-0 against the top three teams, but still are 2-1. That's coaching folks. Yes, they can get better, and I trust they will - but coaching changes the culture. Coaching takes the raw material of players and maximizes their abilities and impact. Coaching gets teams prepared to play. Coaching executes good decision making when it matters and by the record and overall production, in light of the NFL year amidst a pandemic and the scheduling challenge of the teams they've played, I'd say McDermott, Daboll, Frazier and Farwell and all of the assistant coaches have done an amazing job in their three years. Should we want and expect more? Absolutely. But that does NOT negate the job well done so far and that does not minimize the change that HAS occurred, it simply means the job isn't done. Until Lombardi's trophy is encased at One Bills Drive, the job isn't done - but on we go, and the path ahead looks bright.