2003Contenders

I expect (hope) Palmer and Davis are both healthy and play on the outside. That said, this could be a big game for Keon playing the "big slot" with Kincaid likely out and Shakir limited or out as well. I see something like 6 targets, 4 receptions and 58 receiving yards with most of the receptions being short with little-to-no YAC, but I think he breaks a slant for a long gain and a potential TD. I'd say 50/50 that he scores this week.

I wonder if we will ever find out what the real story was behind the Waddle negotiations. I know many of us have been operating under the assumption that the sticking point in the Waddle trade was that Miami wanted a 2026 first rounder and Beane was unwilling to make that trade. I have gone back and forth on this myself. Part of me maintains that Waddle is a proven player and almost certainly better than any player we could have acquired late in the first round this coming April. Also, he would be a shot in the arm to our struggling passing game and would help us NOW. But, it is worth asking -- are we really just a single WR away from the Super Bowl? What we saw on the field against Miami on Sunday would certainly suggest otherwise. And, again, do we really now that Waddle was available to the Bills for a 2026 1st round pick? From what we gave heard from reliable sources, Beane proposed a 2027 #1 and a 2026 #3, which was the best offer on the table. So perhaps Beane felt like any better offer would have been a case of him out-bidding himself. What we don't know is how serious were the negotiations. Did the Dolphins offer a counter? Were they ever seriously interested in working with the Bills -- or trading Waddle at all? Or, as some have speculated here, was there a deal in the works for the reported parameters -- but Miami pulled out at the final hour? We also heard rumors that Beane inquired about Olave and was told flatly that the Saints were not interested in trading him at all. Likewise, on trade-deadline-day, he was reportedly steadfast about trading for G. Wilson but the Jets were unwilling to make a trade in division. There was also talk of discussions between Beane and the Commanders about trading D. Samuel, which thankfully were never consummated. As many have said, all GMs make bad personnel decisions. It is forgivable to miss, for example, on the Keon pick. The bigger issue is coming across smug like you know so much more than the interviewers/fans and treating them in a disrespectful manner. I remember the same thing happening with T. Donahoe after he fired Gregg Williams -- he had a press conference in which he was irate and spoke condescendingly to the reporters and fans. He never overcame that misstep, and a GM that Bills fans had previously applauded was soon viewed as a villain. He was gone not long after. If I were a PR man for Beane, I would suggest that he go back on the radio on WGR and not necessarily apologize, but in a witty way acknowledge that they were right and that he has tried (and will continue to try) to fortify the WR position.

No denying the Pats are good. Even when they struggled the last few years, their defense was still pretty good, and we typically were 1-1 against them. Now they have found their QB and have a very solid coach, who will typically have them prepared game-in and game-out. Still, if the Bills had not played like trash against them, that would have been a Bills victory, which would have put the remainder of this season in a completely different light. Funny, all the talk heading into that game about how the Bills had not lost the turnover battle in like 2 years -- and then went on to do it in 3 of the next 5 games, all of which were losses. I guess a regression to the mean? Sadly, we've seen a lot of "regression to the mean" this year.

Well, in Pegula's defense, the Rex hire was at the urging of Russ Brandon, who was more interested in marketing than building a quality team.

The irony of all of this is that the theme behind McD's defensive scheme has always been to bend-but-don't break. That is, concede the underneath stuff -- and if a team is going to beat you, force them to be patient and methodically march the length of the field. The concept -- and in many ways it is a correct concept -- is that if an offense requires more plays to hit paydirt, then it is more prone to make a mistake somewhere along the line. So what kind of offense has McD instituted? The exact offense he wants his defense to force opponents to run! What's even worse is that he doesn't have a noodle-arm QB that he is trying to protect with such an offensive scheme, he has a generational talent at QB, blessed with one of the strongest arms ever. I get that the run game is important -- and the 12 (and even 13) personnel formations they have been running can be quite successful. But any offense needs to be truly multi-dimensional (which it CAN be in these heavy formations when utilized properly) in order to succeed. If nothing else, the offense has to be able to compete in a shootout, which it has shown on multiple occasions already this year it cannot do -- with the exception of the Week 1 game against Baltimore, which honestly may have been more of an indictment against Baltimore than anything else.

The 3rd down conversion play to Samuel was classic Josh with the Superman cape. He bought an extra 10 seconds literally running all over the field before Samuel finally broke open. You could tell after that play he was gassed -- but still doing his best to persevere. It is pretty clear that the receiving corps he has to work with sucks- and he knows it. But he just wants to win so bad. Contrast that with the "I don't care" body language that Coleman exhibits.

Not so sure about Beane. His roster management -- player acquisition and cap management -- have been really bad. Also, the meltdown on radio after the draft was embarrassing -- especially since he was clearly so WRONG. One thing no owner (including Terry) likes is being embarrassed.

It's funny... at halftime I was angry at Beane for having not been willing to cough up the 2026 1st rounder up for Waddle. Now -- especially with mounting inhuries on both sides of the ball -- it is pretty clear that this team is more than 1 WR away from making it to the Super Bowl.

The full Josh Allen experience. 😞

For as horrifically as the Bills have played, the are very fortunate to only be down by 16. Need to make proper halftime adjustments!

Bills defense looks like they are running in quicksand

Gutless effort

Someone forgot to tell Miami that their season was over. Our receivers still suck. Stop throwing the ball to Coleman! Where are Shakir and Kincaid?

No pressure whatoever on Tua

Holding!?!