hondo in seattle

I had some fears and worries about Brady before the season but have loved what I've seen the past 10 weeks. Points per drive - to me - is a big thing. I believe points per drive and yards per drive are great ways to measure the potency of an offense. If an offense scores a lot because it gets a lot of drives, what does that really tell you? The fairest way to measure an offense is to measure how productive it is on the drives it gets. To be sitting at #2 all-time is impressive. Take Allen away and this group looks nothing like a historic offense. Joe and Josh have both been impressive.

I think my logic was okay but my optimism was undercharged.

I don’t think McD intentionally employs a bend don’t break defense. Given that something like 2/3rds of the yards in the NFL are gained through the air, he defends the pass first. But he also plays the cards he’s dealt and does the best he can to defend both. I’ll guess he doesn’t want to bend or break.

Bills…. 29 Pats…. 18

Bummed. Attending a wedding. Will miss a Bills game for the first time in years.

I respect a guy who admits he was wrong more than one who hides he was wrong.

His stats were very good for his time despite playing in the swirling winds of Rich Stadium. QBs tend to be more mobile now but their better stats has more to do with rule and scheme changes than increased talent.

I agree - sort of. Every pick, every signing involves risk. But it seemed like Beane knew he needed to generate some pass rush and went big on a guy who was probably on the downside of his career. This wasn’t a normal NFL risk - it was an expensive gamble with a questionable payoff and huge opportunity cost. We could have and should have used those dollars for more cost effective players.

OJ didn't win MVP in 1975 when he averaged 130 yards per game and led the NFL in scoring despite playing against 1970 era defenses that were designed to stop the run with brawny RB-eating LBers and man-mountain DEs. Why should Barkely get MVP for averaging 123 yards per game in a league where the base defense is 4-2, LBers are agile coverage guys, and DEs are finesse QB chasing edges with ballerina spin moves?

The folks who chose to watch the Bills-Lions contest made the right decision and had no regrets.

Rules, defensive schemes, offensive schemes... were all different back then. If you look at a list of the top twenty most total TDs, they're all newer guys. No Otto Grahams or Johnny Unitases. It's just a different game now: more games in a season, more rules to protect the QB, rules that make blocking easier, rules that allow receivers to run free, etc. Interestingly, the oldest guys in the Top Twenty of total TDs are Marino and Kelly. Kelly was a scoring machine in his time. Not quite as strong-armed as Josh but probably more accurate and just as tough. None of the leg talent though. Kelly would be top five in today's game with today's rules and schemes.

For years I've been complaining that the Bills need a better bodyguard to optimize the production and protect the health of our unicorn QB. This year's OL looks good, and Dawkins may be the best of them. I voted Dion.

I've had wings at The Peanut. If my memory is correct - it isn't always - the wings were good but lightly breaded so not true Buffalo Wings.

I like JT's breakdowns as a way to learn about X's and O's and see things I didn't notice during the game. This one is particularly fun just because it was one of Josh's better games.

Thanks for explaining. I wasn't sure about how Diggs was paid in real money. In Monopoly money (i.e. NFL accounting) we're paying him $31m this year to play for another team which suggests Beane and/or McD don't want him around. So I don't foresee him coming back to the Bills nor would I want him.

What hard work? The Bills only practiced once last week and still beat the team the pundits said was the best in the league.

Sometimes his analysis is a little more detailed and enlightening. This is more like a highlight reel made by a fan. And, yeah, he really needs to work on his video production skills. But I like Baldy.

Isn't that, though, the idea behind power rankings? It's not about win-loss records and more about which team is actually the best? According to ELO ratings (which are used to rank chess players but can also rank any other competitive sport/game), the Bills are #2. They have Josh rated as the #1 QB. ww.nfeloapp.com/nfl-power-ratings/

Everyone likes different things. I grew up in the Buffalo suburbs and chose not to live there. I'm currently in the San Francisco Bay Area. I love the proximity of the ocean. I go hiking in the mountains every week. I enjoy the multicultural environment and especially the insane diversity & quality of the eating options. But Buffalo has its charms, too. My wife from the tropics actually wants to retire there. She loves Buffalo's four seasons, especially the snowy winters.

It's a funky award. Reid, possibly the best coach today, won the AP Coach of the Year award exactly as many times as Lovie Smith and Wayne Fontes (i.e. once). Smith and Fontes both retired with losing records. Ron Rivera and Kevin Stefanski both won the award twice - once more than Reid. They also both have career losing records. Reid's been a winner everywhere he's coached and has multiple Lombardis.

I guess it depends on how you weigh the evidence. Not in the Bills favor: three losses including a blowout to the Ravens and a defense that is now collapsing. Much in our favor: we beat - reputedly - the best team in the AFC and the best team in the NFC. Both victories were unfluky and well-deserved.

Good observations. You should post this on X.

Which is weird (or maybe my memory was weird) because I recall his deep ball being one of his strengths his first couple of seasons. I think his bigger weakness has been decision making: making throws when his feet aren't set, choosing the deeper covered receiver instead of the shorter open receiver, not throwing on schedule because he's hoping something better might open up, etc. But he does seem to be making better decisions this year.

Fair enough. I only wish it was every team at its best the past two years. I think I read something somewhere that the Bills were NOT losing more player-games than the average NFL team the past couple of years. Our issue is that we were without very key players on defense during the playoffs. I would so love to enter the playoffs healthy this year - with only backups and maybe a jag or two starter hurt.

14 teams get into the playoffs. So I think the Bills odds are somewhat better than 7% since we're somewhat better than the average playoff team. Our D worries me, particularly with the injuries (but even without them). Let's call it 10% or so that we win it all. 20% we reach the SB. I'm not sure why injuries don't count. Every team has injuries but not all teams have the same injuries. There's a gigantic difference between a backup QB with a minor tear to his non-throwing shoulder and a starting QB with a broken hip.