ToGoGo

This is what I've been thinking. He hasn't been the same and I think there has been a "void" for a new whipping boy among fans now that Edmunds and Oliver are playing more consistent. I think fans have been unfortunately a little quick to judge Davis, who has been a shining light 4th round pick for us.

Even an OBJ who has lost a little step is a massive upgrade at #2/3 over Crowder/McKenzie/Shakir(at this stage of his career)/Kumerow. He feels like a James Lofton type signing to me.

I think the question here is if his drops (let's be honest, that's why fans are doubting him) the last 4-5 weeks are a sign of who he really is OR if it's temporary issue based on undisclosed injuries/slump + Allen's injury. I'm in the latter camp. We'll see who the real Gabe is over the next 5 weeks and playoffs.

I would rather players be candid like this. I also wouldn't dismiss everything they say.

I remember extremely arrogant Pats fans coming to Buffalo 10 years into their run and punching down on our fans big time. Let them learn how to be losers for 20 years. They were no class act as winners.

They can dish it for 20 years but they can't take it for 2 years.

I don't think it's one or the other. Yes, he can make better decisions. But do you think the TD to Gabe Davis last night was a good decision? There's things he can do that nobody else can. But the run game was working last night. WRs were making plays. Allen didn't have to put the entire team on his back like he did against the Dolphins. The defense was holding it's own. So he only made a few plays like that.

We had less adversity this week. We crush the world at full strength, we struggle when half the team is out.

He simply doesn't have the cast and crew around him that players like Mahomes have had. If Allen stops being aggressive, he becomes a Herbert/Burrow level QB that's a tier below. Maybe that's what the fans and media want?

For sure. Allen to Diggs is an immortal combo. Will be remembered 50 years from now. A Super Bowl will solidify it.

This is why I can't stand this board.

After the recent game he was mic'd up it became obvious to me. He's still depressed. I think the fanbase should show more empathy and understanding to Knox as he struggles through this bittersweet year for him. He's playing hard, but there's a spark missing that he had last year. It'll come back with time.

Insurance salesman.

He's trying but I think he's still depressed. They should mic up someone else.

Very bad omen with Watson coming.

Bad look for whom? Us or the Pats?

Their fans were like that during the Brady years too. They just never wanted to believe it. It would ruin their illusion. I'll speak for myself here that while I'll take a bad call that goes our way, I'll still always make a mental note that it was a bad call.

I answered your question in one of my paragraphs.

Sure. But I rather be a delusional winner than a "realistic" loser.

I think they can't avoid it if they wanted to. Social media, family, friends, their girlfriends showing them comments they see on IG, reporters trying to create stories, fans screaming onto the field, drunk guys making snarky remarks on nights out, etc. etc. It's not so much the content of the words, but the negative energy of it. It's one thing to ignore your neighbor when he calls you an "a-hole" for parking in the wrong spot, it's another to ignore 350,000 people that think you should get your livelihood (which you worked so hard for) taken away from you because you dropped a few balls or missed a few tackles. ESPECIALLY if it wasn't really your fault. Football is a complicated game, and I'd argue most fans don't understand it. I tune out myself sometimes listening to Eric on Cover1, so I know most other fans would too. How many fans would've flamed Allen today for that missed Cook throw if Romo didn't point out it was Cook's fault? Players are not allowed to throw players under the bus in front of the media, so they cannot defend themselves. Regardless, fans don't react well to player's being honest about things like that. Look how Feliciano was treated after pointing some blame after 13 seconds. Maybe he was right, I don't know, or maybe he was wrong. But he would be in a better position to know than me, or 99% of fans. As for other Bills players. I think Star sat out 2020 partially due to the hate he received from fans in 2019. He was never the same. I think it weighs heavier on Edmunds than most people realize. I think it really hurt Allen his first few years, but he is one of those rare people that are anti-fragile, meaning adversity makes them better. To expect that from 53 players on the same team is asinine. Basically, when a fanbase turns on a player and makes them a whipping boy, the fanbase is playing Russian roulette. We're putting a player in an extreme position and then discarding them the second he has trouble handling it. We are literally sacrificing good players that might just be going through something temporary, and turning it into something permanent. And we're doing it to our own. Very Roman gladitorial-like. But most importantly, self-defeating and toxic. Workplace environments like that have high turnover.

Disagree strongly with both your points. Yes, he's ultra clutch. His performance against KC in the playoffs is in the pantheon of all time NFL performances, not just franchise. He had one of the true great performances in NFL playoff history. Did you forget? The toe tap catches that saved us in the Colts playoff game? The incredible 4th down catch that dragged the defender over the 1st down marker in the Bucs game? That's a better clutch portfolio than 95% of NFL players in history and we're halfway through his 3rd year, so I have no idea where you're coming from. As to your 2nd point, every player is different. I'd argue 5-10% of human beings have the ability to block out the negative energy of thousands and/or millions of people doubting them. Think of the mental health epidemic now, and those are just regular people. Some people are more sensitive to it than others. They may be absolute warriors, but if you've ever had your own family or parents doubt you for years about something you believed in, you know it weighs heavy, even as you continue to perform at a high level. Something about your "own people" doubting you, is worse than knowing it's coming from your enemies/opposing fans. All Bills fans are doing are shooting themselves in the foot by praying Davis is one of those rare human beings who can overcome his issues AND the issues of hundreds of thousands of people.

There's something happening with this team the last 5 years that is unbelievable. Enjoy the ride. Sometimes what you THINK are schematic deficiencies are due to injuries or outside factors. If you are a Sergeant then you know that when dealing with large teams that there is entropy that you need to deal with as a leader. Sometimes you can't just snap your fingers and get rid of it, no matter how high up you are. You have to ride it out and compartmentalize the problems until the time is right to fix them. Trust the process!

You're sort of right, but do you really believe sitting out a year and going through NFL training and conditioning without the pressure of playing games didn't help Mahomes? Mahomes got the luxury of an NFL apprenticeship. He got to shadow a pretty good NFL QB running an Andy Reid offense for a year. His mind was way more ready for action when he began to start, than say, Josh Allen.

In psych 101 they teach the Fundamental Attribution Error. Basically, it means that when observers see somebody do something a few times, they attribute it to that person's character, rather than whatever situation they are dealing with at that time. Gabe has been an ultra-clutch performer his entire career. He started extremely strong, but the last few weeks, coinciding with the rest of the team fighting through injuries and adversity, is going through a slump of his own and dealing with drops, likely related to rushing back from an injury. Now, many fans are saying that Gabe is "not a WR2 and should stay a WR4" or that he is "unreliable". We all know about recency bias, but sometimes I am just AWED at the ability of some people to completely forget the unbelievable things somebody has done and give up on them the moment they go through a slump, no matter how uncharacteristic it is. Gabe had a solid game yesterday. Had a drop on a difficult catch/great DB play. But now of course, he's dealing with the narrative being given to him by fans. Fans don't realize this, but by putting this narrative on his shoulders, they are making the mental climb out of his hole even MORE difficult than it has to be, rather than showing support. There is such a thing as the 12th man, but fans like to think it is only a positive effect. I'd argue the 12th man is having it's own case of the dropsies when they start turning on great players going through tough times. The fans are only hurting themselves. Let's hope Davis is more emotionally disciplined than the fanbase.

Hit the nail on the head. Easy to tell who is successful in real life and who isn't on this board.