cwater10

Thank you Shaw66. This is a perfect, non cynical yet grounded insight into where The Bills stand at this moment in the season. My bread crumbs back to Bills fan sanity has often been the reminder that this is a continuing story, one in which nobody, even the lead characters knows the plot until it unfolds. It's reality TV that doesn't suck! In a season with an excess of highs and lows just 11 games in, what a great look you've offered at where this team stands. The Tre White plot twist is the unexpected turn that we were not ready to take in. But the Bills themselves... well they have to to be ready and they have to act. You captured the situation perfectly in calling out the staff's need to reshape and respond. I think this has been an ongoing theme for much of this year anyway. They have had adjust on the fly to a host of challenges for much of the year. Welcome to life as a contender, welcome to the NFL BMOC club. Nothing is going to be easy in that club. When I think of the most successful Bills teams over the years, one common theme has been the ability to take a step forward just when disappointment begins to set in, right at that point when I've started to think "meh... this bunch is more ordinary than special". It happened subtly last year when they broke out of a bit of a funk and blasted Seattle. And then again after the Arizona spirit crusher. In the past, of note, it happened far more slowly, but on a far more permanent basis for the Super Bowl teams. It was around this point in the season in 1989, after a surprise run the AFCCG in 1988 that The Bills were becoming a big disappointment. The stifling defense was suddenly showing flashes of inability to stop anyone. Kelly and the offense seemed frustrated and angry. High expectations were slipping away and the popular narrative was changing from Super Bowl bound to "same old Bills" and of course, "Bickering Bills". Anyone here seeing shades of those ghosts lately? I'm raising my own hand shyly, slowly and maybe with a little Bills shame in the back of my Bills addled brain. The road back from that funk wasn't quick. Ironically The Super Bowl era Bills reshaped themselves and then gradually found what would become an iconic identity in a couple of painful losses. The first being the playoff loss in Cleveland that ended their season in '89. It was in that game, on the wrong side of the scoreboard in the 4th quarter, that they had no choice but to go full time no huddle. That game still ended in disappointment, but the incredible no-huddle, K-Gun magic was found in that moment. And then early on in 1990, they took an absolute beating in an early season game in Miami which prompted Marv Levy to pull the starters with plenty of time remaining. Levy found a way to challenge that team to look in the mirror and to a man, dig down deeper than they had before. Over the next few weeks, a few miracle games in which they pulled out unlikely comebacks against Denver and LA Raiders started to forge the resilience and the character needed and they began to steamroll from midseason to become a truly dominant, complete team. None of us yet know if we are in a 1989/1990 type of plot twist or maybe something more temporary similar to last season. Or it could be something completely new. I don't think we are at a 2008 type of storyline. Given the state of the roster, there is just too much talent here for that. This feels a bit more like 1989 to me. I think some fine tuning here and a few additions here AND there, and good things will be seen down the road. How far down that road? I'll keep tuning it to find out. Go Bills!

More faith is great. So is more effective blocking... and I'll always need more cowbell. But seriously, the blocking from the OL last night was a step in the right direction against a decent defense. If we can find a way heal the sick between now and next Monday, my faith will not be shaken! Or at least be shaken a little less.

Yeah put that stuff away now. Marcellus Wallace says that's just way too far off into medieval territory for regular season. I'm working on acquiring a box of old phones for the Pats* game(s). Win or lose, they get thrown at the wall postgame.

Yeah, it is a no bu** s*** name, but can he block?

It was a successful business trip. For having to work late on a holiday with questionable food brought into the office, it turned out to be worth it. Please keep feeding Dawson Knox.

Oliver - Finally flashing top ten pick type plays! Diggs - Difference maker! Knox - Obviously been missed.

Food coma won with a walk off plate of banana cream pie about 90 minutes ago. Just woke up at my desk minus any awareness of my time space details. Bills play soon? Cool.

That worked out OK... Several picks later and into round 2, Buff got a guy from Oklahoma State with a bum knee. He was pretty good.

Gonna be a great day. I have so much to be grateful for. I've survived 2 heart attacks, a triple bypass surgery and decades of Bills games. The Bills are on tonight and I have three quarts of gravy congealing in the fridge! What could possibly go wrong? Thanksgiving is the BEST! Go Bills!

Had to be Christopher Cross.

Josh is not Carson Palmer’s student. Josh has worked with Jordan Palmer.

Bills fan forever and all of that still hits home. It always will. Still, this loss left me unusually discouraged and empty as a fan. After 50 plus years on the rollercoaster, I thought I had perfected the art of not getting too high after wins (or good seasons) and not getting too low after the tough ones. But my oh my, how we are coming to know how expectations can be a bi***. Surprisingly, this team appears to have no soul at the moment. I had previously thought that was their ace in the hole. If that soul, that "culture" is real, or still in there somewhere, now would be a great time to show it. After watching yesterday, my inner football fan just wanted to sit in a dark, smokey room and start writing country and western songs... "And Then They Broke My F***ing Heart". Has a nice twang to it. It seems that all too much in recent weeks, this team has made me "want to shout", for all of the wrong reasons. Appropriately, I guess, it comes down to proving it against the Pats. Have some soul Buffalo Bills. You are out of wake up calls. Playoffs start now. If you are real, show us. Choose any cliche that feels right or makes us feel better. We'll still be there next year, the year after etc... but please remind us why sometime soon.

I have no idea what this team's story will look like when the smoke of this season clears. This is NFL Week 11. There are still 7 regular season weeks to go. Do you recall the narrative about Buffalo and all the other teams around the league 7 weeks ago? Hell, I barely recall a pre "Spencer Brown has COVID" world. It probably will change that much again over the next 7 weeks. Stay tuned. As for a guess... Looking forward to March for real story of this teams future to unfold. I haven't given up on this season, but there are significant holes that need patching no matter how this season ends. Break out the industrial size drum of spackle Mr. Beane.

KC 33 Buff 6 took place on 10/7/91. For those wondering, that was the second Super Bowl season. Think Nigerian Nightmares...

March.

This sentence is the clubhouse leader for winning 2021… Even if it is two sentences…

Agree with every syllable…

Perhaps we were more successful in those games because our OL was not yet further stressed by losing a starting guard (as we have now) during those games. Brown's loss simply represents another domino. It is NOT a singular issue. And it need not be the end of the world, nor equal catastrophe to be a concern. Yes, they can win without Spencer Brown. They have done it multiple times this year, of course. We all get that. But let's not pretend that winning did not just get more difficult as a result of him being out. It did. That's football. Should we still beat The Colts? Of course we should, but the margin for error is now less. I'm not sure how there is any argument counter to that.

Impressively reasonable compromise. This board is a model for society!

I think every team is different with respect to what is critical. On this team, Josh likes to, and seems do do better when he is able to roll to his right. Does that make it more critical than other teams? I think its part of a complex set of issues for this offense. I believe Spencer Brown is a critical player for this offense, in this season. To me, context is king. And in the the context of The 2021 Buffalo Bills, RT has appeared to be critical to their results. I hope they move past this and adjust well. Still, it makes me flinch a little bit. I would much rather have him on the field this weekend than not. That is not panic... Also, with respect to the other positions listed above, they have respectable depth to overcome a missing starter. I think we can reasonably question whether that is true for RT (or T in general).

Depth is not what it was in the 80's and 90's. In the salary cap world, any team misses a quality starter. When you are missing one at a critical position that you are thin at, you miss him that much more. Does that equal collapse? I doubt it, but his absence will be felt. First year player or not, he has become a player that this team counts on. I am looking forward to seeing how Dabol adjusts.

Ridiculous maybe, but he's moved on from the third round project status that he arrived with. He's differentiated himself quite a bit from that half way through the season. If we have any doubt about that, where do you think he would be drafted in a redraft now? I believe that, after mid season review, he is a 1st rounder for sure. Props to Beane for getting him where he did and providing support to develop quickly.

Agreed. I look though at the fact that Beane gets paid to know not just what he has, but more importantly, what he will have looking forward. We will see where he comes down on that soon enough. Unfortunately for Cole, numbers are chasing him right now. Be it cap space, age, or even allocated future roster spots or roles (Davis), his future may already be dictated.

Exactly this! I expect that all things considered, it will be “thank you for all of your contributions and we’ve decided to go in a new direction.”