Forward Progress

This sums it up perfectly.

The best QB’s in the league lead the league in converting first downs, not completing passes for eight yards when we need 10. In our offence, Taylor throws the ball short of the sticks, but the ball is not positioned for the YAC needed for the first down.

This is the plan on defense. We need to be physical at the line on every snap, jamming receivers to disrupt the timing of their quick passing attack. On offence, we need to stay balanced between pass and run, taking whatever the defense gives us. The league has learned that they can stack the box, stop the run and beat us. We have shown that we will run mindlessly into the heart of a stacked box. We need to throw to unstack the box, and run it down their throats when Patriots have 7 or less defending the run.

Very different scenario. Prescott went in because of an injury to Romo and played very well over several games before there was a choice to be made between Romo and Prescott. I do agree that playing quarterback behind the best O-line in football gives any QB a huge advantage over our mess of an O-line.

So you’re saying there’s a chance...

1 - Run Defense Our tackling was terrible and the Jets ran all over us. I really miss the high-energy version of Marcel Dareus from yesteryear, because he would have really helped last night. 2 - Offensive Game Plan It was frustrating to watch our RB's run into stacked boxes all night. I was looking forward the half time adjustments, because I thought we had adjusted well in earlier games. Instead, we started the third quarter with two unsuccessful runs into the gut of the Jet defense. The Jets were determined to stop the run and consistently pushed the OT's back to eliminate Tyrod's escape routes. We needed to take what the defense gave us last night, which was the quick hit passing game. This is not an area where we've been successful before, so I can't be sure that it would have worked either, but with so few defenders left in coverage, there must have been shots to be taken. 3 - Offensive Line Play These guys were pushed around all night long. Couldn't run block... couldn't pass protect. Tyrod had almost no time to throw. Ducasse and Mills were manhandled and I would gladly sign a petition to elevate Groy and Dawkins to the starting line. 4 - Team Discipline What was a refreshing change this season after the Wrex years was the drastic reduction in penalties. Too many penalties punctuated by the Hughes 15 yd personal foul on a play that the reply would have likely resulted in a forth down and punt by the Jets. 5 - Ball Control The fumble by Matthews was caused in his effort of reaching for a first down. I can understand the motivation to reach for the first, but the fumble was costly. The fumble by O'Leary was simply a lack of awareness following a fantastic catch. He simply can't ruin such a great play in that way. I honestly don't remember the third fumble, but I think it was Tyrod. I'm an admitted Kool Aid drinker and don't like to focus on the negative so much, so for my own sanity, here are the things that I liked last night... 1 - Zay Jones Zay had his second straight game showing the great hands we heard so much about in college. He ran a really nice rout on the TD catch. I hope his injury isn't as bad is it looked when I saw it. 2 - Tyrod Taylor I know that I will get beat up for this view, because the team can't lose when a QB plays well. Tyrod played well under immense pressure, completing almost 75% of his passes and no INT's and a few nice deep throws. With the O-Line play, he needed a Brady-like 1.7 sec throwing time and no one is mistaking Tyrod for Brady. I agree with other posters that Tyrod needs to be given the authority to audible out of the called play, when the defense alignment calls for it. 2-3 of his sacks could have been avoided by throwing the ball away, so this is a weak positive point. 3 - .... Sorry, that's all I've got and, admittedly, Tyrod wasn't a superstar. He just didn't play terrible, considering the duress he was under, which is all it took to look good last night. We are better as the underdogs, so maybe this will keep our team's heads on securely in preparation for the Saints game.

Did you also notice that Tyrod was handing the ball off on first and second down so McCoy/Tolbert could run into a stacked box, leaving 3rd and long with a pass rush in his face before the receivers could run the 12 yards needed for a first down? Tyrod was crippled by poor play calling and terrible OLine play. This was a game where we needed to pass on early downs to open up the run, but didn't adjust our game plan at all.

Why Football is Awesome... Every play of every game is important from September to February. With a 16 game season, every win or loss matters and is often the difference between playoffs or not. In the playoffs, its one loss and done. Within a game, every first down matters, every third down play is critical, every interception, fumble, field goal and touchdown matters. Penalties can instantly alter the game. There is more drama and intensity in football than any other sport. It is the best spectator sport and it isnt even close. To put this in perspective, I grew up as a hockey player, playing competitively for 13 years and coaching for another 8. I understand every aspect of hockey and appreciate the nuances that a casual fan doesnt see. In hockey, you can go on a five game losing streak and still make the playoffs. You can lose back to back playoff games and still advance to the next round. The long season and seven-game playoff series remove all of the intensity that makes football so awesome. Its only in the rare game seven of a playoff series that the intensity comes close to NFL football. FP

Forgive me 2BD, for I have sinned... When the Alonso for McCoy trade was announced, I did not support the trade. Maybe I was influenced by the Alonso jersey hanging in my closet. I thought it was wrong, as a team building toward the future, to trade a young talented LB for an older talented RB. I thought that RB's are replaceable, if the OLine is in place to open holes. I thought that RB careers are relatively short, so we were essentially giving up about five years of play with this trade. I didn't appreciate what a game-changing talent McCoy is until I watched him play week after week. Since McCoy has arrived, he is the single-most important player on this team - when he is out, our chances to win drop significantly. This trade has been a great trade for us (almost as good as the Jerry Hughes for Sheppard trade) and I couldn't be happier to be wrong. FP

THIS

I always liked Hogan, and would find it hard to cheer against him... if he didn't play for the Patriots.

Tre' White has been fantastic, and the extra 1st in 2018 makes this pick a winner. Zay Jones finally held on to some passes against the Raiders. One game doesn't make a trend, but the receiver known for having great hands may eventually have great hands. Dion Dawkins held the fort on the left side with Glenn healing. We have a lot of depth at Tackle on this team, hence the trade rumors. Milano has played very well in his two starts. What more would you expect from a 5th round rookie? Feels like a steal. Peterman... who knows? He looked pretty comfortable in pre-season that some posters have applied the Franchise QB label. I think it takes more than one good pre-season to get on the HOF ballet, but the coaching staff will know more about Peterman than any of us can. Overall, this feels like a good draft. I hope that our new scouting organization has a consistent eye for talent.

We talk a lot about finding our franchise QB. Finding a Franchise coach is just as important and maybe we have one now. FP

1st - DT 1st - CB 2nd - WR 2nd - G 3rd - RB 3rd - DT It's looking like we are lining up for two late 1st's, two late 2nd's and two late 3rd's, so the only QB's available will not be blue chip picks. I would prefer not to sacrifice our draft picks to trade up and build the depth we need to compete instead. In Tyrod, we have an average (maybe trending to an above average) NFL Quaterback, which isn't a bad thing. Half of you are below average posters. Half of your children are below average students. Half of you are below average drivers... you get the point. P.S. I thought we started talking draft when we were out of the running for the playoffs. Maybe I don't know what it's like to be competitive in November.

My strategy has been to buy jerseys of young stars early in their roookie contracts. I only own two jerseys - Alonzo and Watkins. Id buy Tre Whites jersey, but Id hate to see him traded away too.

+1

My favourite part about the Tampa game is that with the game on the line and the ball in his hand, Taylor led the Bill to a fourth quarter comeback. He hasn't shown the ability to make plays with the game on the line and I was thrilled that was able to make the clutch plays needed for the win. If Taylor can pull a few more victories out of the jaws of defeat, he will win over the fan base. I have cheered for every quarterback who has donned a Bills jersey and will cheer for Taylor to succeed until the next Bill's quarterback takes his place. FP

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/26/donta-hightower-injury-new-england-patriots Apparently this injury was an issue back in March. The Jets pulled an offer sheet to Hightower after failing his physical.

This is music to my ears. I did see a couple of plays with pulling guards in Atlanta. I'm relieved to see some adaptability in our coaching staff.

Dick Jauron always lived up to his motto - "It's hard to win in the NFL"

I'm more nervous about this game than the Falcons game - mostly because I was prepared to be happy with a hard fought loss in Atlanta. This week, only a win will do. It's early in the year, but the bye seems to be at a really good time, with injuries piling up. Hopefully Glenn, Dareus and Gaines are 100% after this bye and Matthews and Humber's recoveries are shorter than predicted.

You had to go there...

I just watched a replay of the Pats* game last night. Gilmour is still the same Gilmour. Every time there is a tackle to be made in his area and another Patriot nearby as well, he backs off and lets someone else do the dirty work. He likes keep his jersey clean.

I like Sammy and the 2017 Bills would be better with Sammy instead of Gaines. Assuming we turn the 2nd rounder into a starter, the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Bills will be better because of the trade. This trade was the right move.