Livinginthepast

Yet another chance for Trubisky to get it done.

That Steeler missed FG had a bizarre flight pattern

This Steeler/Bengal might be the most entertaining (Non Bills) game I have ever seen on opening day!

As excellent as this regime has been in the past few years there have been a few curious hickups in judgement here or there on player personnel but this situation takes the cake. How on earth did a team that prizes "character" traits and intangibles not get wind of serious allegations of sexual assault that were apparently in plain sight. Did they attempt any investigation? And once they found out why did they cut their incumbent punter and stick with the controversial choice. What were the Bills thinking?

If you look at the early history of the SB it had almost a novelty feel to it. Like the game was a made for tv joke. As the 70s wore on, the games seemed to get better. The first one I remember watching was the juggernaut Steelers defeating the Rams. In most of the games since, the hype never lives up to the reality. And in many ways all the other crap overshadows or ruins the game itself. The last few years the games have been pretty mediocre at best. Maybe the last good one was the Pats Philly. I thought throughout that game Sunday that the players on both sides seemed to be far too laid back and mellow. Either they were tired or tranquilized. I really thought that the urgency would kick in by the 4th quarter, but even on the last drive the players seemed to be sleepwalking. Cinci and their coaches seemed to think they had 5 downs on that last series with their playcalls and non challant attitude. Its like they smoked a fat one before the last drive started.

Great TD Vs the Chiefs in our win in Arrowhead but then he fell off the quality cliff by midseason. He was a non factor by the end.

Should have been a first down and a free play for the Bengals

The half time show was meh, the vote about the halftime show on this post has turned out...meh and the game? you guessed it...meh.

NFL coaches time and again, are either stupid or indecisive when it really matters. Football is definitely the sport where in game coaching is the most important and yet tonight was a perfect example of two teams whose coaches blew it over and over again with their strategies. McVey has to feel lucky that Kupp and Stafford bailed him out because he coached that game poorly. Cinci blew it both on offense and defense at the most crucial time dud to bad coaching moves.

To be fair it was holding but a very marginal piece of holding on the call against the Bengals in the Red zone. But this game should have been over for the Bengals already by that stage. The Bengals didnt play with any urgency when they had the lead and their Defense collapsed on that last drive. And even with all of that they had a chance not just to tie but I think a legit chance to win the game on that last drive until 3 terrible play calls in a row. I would be sick right now if I was a Bengals fan over that 2nd half performance after the TD. They choked away a victory.

McVey was so close to another shttng the bed in the SB. Stafford bailed him out.

WTF were the Bengals thinking!!!???

NFL praying it doesnt go to OT so once again their stupid OT rules cant ruin the game!

Had him wide open!

Cinci defense picked a bad time to lose focus!

Its been a really weird vibe that I have felt all night. Its like everybody is a bit stoned!

Not much sense of urgency in this game for either team.

Which knee did Burrow rip up last year?

Its killing me thinking that the Bills could have been here and faced LA. They are so overhyped. The Bills would have definitely been able to handle the Rams.

Its been a snoozer so far. Cincinatti missed a huge opportunity to kill it after that Stafford pick and only getting a FG.

I would still love to know what happened in that situation and this just makes things more murky. If Farwell didnt listen to McD and kicked it deep then he should have been fired. If McD made that decision then why is Farwell going? Or is his exit due to mediocrity in the punting and punt coverage?

To be fair to Marrone in that game. The refs allowed the Pats back it in it with a bogus PI call which was crucial. The Jags players got gut punched and couldnt recover and Brady did most of the rest. The Jags played over their heads in that game and against anybody else would have won it. But against the Pats they were up against a great team and massively bias officiating!

Its an interesting thing to discuss but it would never happen for a number of reasons. 1. Frazier wasnt hired (so there is no opening, 2. The current racial controversy over Flores makes firing Frazier and his racial background a loaded decision, 3. It would take huge cojones to fire Frazier after a Number 1 defensive rating (no matter how suspect it was 4. Schwartz has a different defensive style than what is here, just to name a few. Its also a good question to ask if Schwartz is much of an upgrade and if we are seeing that defense (in St.Doug's time) as better than it was. In addition another angle that I always thought was interesting with Schwartz is how beloved he was with his defense (to the point where they hilariously carried him on their shoulders after the Detroit game) and how that dynamic made things awkward with Marrone who was probably not popular with many of his players. I cannot see McD being cool enough to allow a Coach under his wing to get that kind of attention. Is Schwartz better than Frazier, I think he is, but that just isnt happening here right now.

The sad part is the Bills could have easily won the SB with Frazier this year had he only been even slightly competent in those last 13 secs vs KC. I think going forward it will still be the offense that gets us there and we can win despite Frazier and not because of him.

You mean Brian Flores didnt get it? I thought for sure Stephen Ross would put a good word in for him!