mjt328

The NFL only added one additional team. There will be 7 playoff spots this year (three Wild Cards), rather than the usual 6. You can pretty much assume that one WC spot will go to either the Steelers or Ravens, since only one can win the AFC North. The Browns are already 5-2 and have a cakewalk schedule against the NFC East. Hard to see them missing the playoffs this year. That leaves one more WC spot. And unfortunately, the AFC East is matched up against the best division in football (NFC West). All four teams have significantly harder matchups than teams like the Colts or Raiders. It would be pretty surprising if a WC team emerges from the AFC East this year. It's likely either win the division or bust. Tua is a rookie, less than 12 months from a devastating injury that could have cost his career. I wouldn't expect much from him this season.

This game is absolutely monumental. We haven't won the AFC East in 20 years. Our current regime is 0-6 against the Patriots. This is a team that dominated us for two decades. Winning this game would rip the monkey off our backs, make us 6-2 at the halfway point, and put the Bills totally in the driver's seat for taking the division. It would also give the Pats to a 2-5 record and drop them four games behind. They immediately become a longshot for the playoffs. And the once-mighty Patriots organization is forced to start planning for next year. On the flipside, losing Sunday would put the AFC East back in play. It would not only give the Patriots life and hope for winning the division, but it would be a confidence destroyer for the Bills organization. Previous Patriots teams were possibly vulnerable to an upset. This Patriots team is inferior and has a bunch of players hurt. If we can't pull it off this Sunday, the mental aspect is going to kick-in and this team is going to stop believing they CAN beat New England. Not to mention, our upcoming schedule is brutal, and the chances of landing a Wild Card with less than 10 wins is not great. Bottom Line.... This Sunday has the potential to spark the turning point for both organizations. WE ABSOLUTELY MUST WIN.

Maybe his fear isn't Mike Glennon. Maybe his fear is that Jacksonville ends up with the #1 pick and gets Trevor Lawrence. At the very least, the Jaguars will probably be in talks for one of the other top guys like Justin Fields, Trey Lance or Kyle Trask. The upcoming QB class is supposed to be very good, and this may be Minshew's best shot at keeping the starting job.

This is an excellent point. The Bills have been able to stop the run when the gameplan is dedicated to doing so. They did a pretty good job of shutting down Le'Veon Bell, Josh Jacobs and Derrick Henry. When they have focused primarily on stopping the pass (Rams, Chiefs), is when they have gotten totally gashed on the ground. So the real question... If the Bills load the box and stuff the run, can the Patriots offense take advantage of us in the passing game? Consider that New England is going to be without Julian Edelman (knee surgery) and very likely will be without N'Keal Harry (concussion). That is the top two receiving weapons on a team that already has none. Cam Newton will have literally nothing to work with, in a game where wind is also expected to be 25-50 mph. On the other side, Bill Belichick always focuses on taking away the other team's top weapons. My guess is that he will dictate a heavy amount of coverage on Stephon Diggs, and then do his best to confuse Josh Allen by changing his pre-snap looks. This is where Allen's development since last season, and our abundance of weapons comes into play. We will probably be forced into sticking heavy with the run. But when we throw, it will be extremely important for Allen to stay poised, spread the ball around, and not force the ball into coverage. I agree the Bills have struggled to get their running backs going. But we get back Jon Feliciano, which I think will be a boost to the blocking. And we did start to show some life last week with the return of Zack Moss. We far outweigh the Patriots in talent, and I don't see any reason we don't walk away from this with a win.

This is why it's always important to look at the contract details before judging a contract. On the surface, some fans like criticizing Brandon Beane on overpaying for players. But at the end of the day, many of them are only 1-2 year rentals. Beane seems to be taking a similar approach with the D-Line as he did last year with the O-Line. Sign a bunch of veterans to short-term deals. Then see which one are a good fit and which ones are not. Move on from the rest.

The rise of the New England Patriots dynasty around 20-25 years ago, coincided very much with the demise of the 90's era Buffalo Bills. They never took the AFC East when we were at our peak, loaded with Hall of Famers and in the midst of our Super Bowl run. During those years, the Patriots were a total joke and not even worth mentioning on our schedule. It wasn't until our key players started getting near retirement, free agency started depleting our roster and they happened to add Bill Parcells/Drew Bledsoe that the Patriots were even a threat to beat us on Sundays. Even then, their dominance in the division didn't start until Jim Kelly was long retired and we were busy having QB controversies between Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson. While hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, I highly doubt any of their fans were thinking... "This would be so much more satisfying if we had done it against Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith and Thurman Thomas." They didn't care. Just like we didn't care during the 1990s that our dominance over the AFC East wasn't happening over Bob Griese and Larry Csonka. And we shouldn't really care now about Tom Brady.

Unless we are trying to make a move for another position, in which case trading Murphy could: a) Clear cap space b) Open a roster spot Otherwise I agree. Trading him for a late round pick has very little value right now.

I don't notice the refs unless they are clearly making BAD calls.

It comes down to a lot more than just size. Just because a guy weights a lot, doesn't mean he has the strength or playing leverage to manage double-teams. Generally speaking, the larger DTs are more successful at the 1-Tech spots, because it's a lot harder to move a 350+ pound Nose Tackle than someone "undersized" like the 287 pound Ed Oliver. Most of the big guys also lack the burst off the snap to get into the backfield, making them less than ideal at the 3-Tech. But that's not always the case. Aaron Donald is around the same size as Oliver, but regularly destroys double-teams. With that said, I don't generally trust analytic "rankings" of the 1-Tech position. If a guy's job is to occupy blockers, and graders only award points for getting penetration into the backfield, that guy will probably get a bad grade for just doing his job (see Star Lotulelei). I don't know if Dontari Poe would be a good signing at this point or not.

The Bills have been gradually improving since the time Sean McDemott got here. A "signature win" would be representative of how good the team is at the time. We were a borderline Wild Card team in 2017, in the middle of a rebuild with a rookie QB in 2018, and then back to being a solid Wild Card team in 2019. It's hard to notch a signature win against a Super Bowl contender when you simply aren't that good yet. - I would consider our road wins against the Falcons and Chiefs (both 10-6) to be signature wins in 2017, and really set the tone for this team breaking the playoff drought. - I would consider our wins against the Titans, Cowboys and Steelers to be signature wins in 2019, with us beating other Wild Card-level teams. The bar has clearly been raised this season, and nobody is going to be impressed with us beating teams like the Raiders (or even the Patriots) anymore. The games against the Titans and Chiefs were opportunities to make our mark. And we failed badly at both. That doesn't mean we can't turn things up in the second half of the season, and notch one of these kinds of victories. If we can walk away with a victory against the Seahawks, 49ers or Steelers... that would definitely be the signature win that fans are looking for.

Is it possible that our Defense could "course correct" and improve in this area over the second half of the season? Especially if we start getting our key pieces healthy? I agree that we probably can't continue winning the majority of our games if the defense continues to struggle at this pace. But it's also hard for me to believe a defense that was Top 5 for the last two years (and was fantastic at getting stops on 3rd Down), could suddenly drop off a cliff and instantly become one of the NFL's historically bad defenses in that same area.

If you have been following the NFL that long, you know that things change. The Pats don't have our number. They have clearly had our number for the last 20 years. But we dominated them the decade prior. Buffalo has also won the last few meetings against the Patriots when they have been without Tom Brady. I understand the respect people have for Bill Belichick. But his coaching clearly isn't overcoming the roster problems so far this year. Early in the season, opponents weren't expecting the drastic change in offensive style and were caught off guard by Cam Newton's running ability. Defenses have adjusted and now their lack of offensive weapons is killing them.

Yes, but I think you are missing the overall point. The Rams game further amplifies my point about inconsistency. The Bills played fantastic at the start of that game. Then totally fell apart in the second half. And then needed to comeback and win the game. Why can't this team ever play good on offense AND defense? Why can't they play good for 4 full quarters?

Coming up on the midpoint of the season, the Bills will either be sitting at 6-2 or 5-3, and will be in the driver's seat for winning the AFC East. Yet it's not a stretch to say most fans are disappointed in the team's overall performance. I believe the biggest problem is a lack of consistency. During the Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott era, this team seems totally incapable of putting together a FULL four-quarter performance on both sides of the ball. When the Offense plays good, the Defense struggles to stop anyone. When the Defense shuts opponents down, the Offense can't score. When the team gets a big lead, they inevitably fall apart in the second half. When the team starts flat, they often come back in the 4th Quarter. For weeks they are unstoppable in the Red Zone. Then suddenly, they go 0-9 in a single game on scoring a touchdown. At the end of the day, the Bills do usually seem to emerge with a victory. But games we should be winning in blow-outs, always end up becoming nail-biters. And of course, we can't seem to get over the hump against the best teams in the league. It's easy to spot the places where the Bills have been underperforming over the last several games. But the lack of consistency is still a disturbing trend overall, and something I can't quite put my finger on. Is it a problem with coaching and scheming opponents? Do our players have trouble staying focused? Thoughts?

Eh. I'm enjoying the Patriots demise. The only thing missing is that Tom Brady isn't involved. But they DON'T have competent QB play. How many teams could make the claim... "We would have done fine, if only our QB didn't suck."

Actually, I think the teams have been pretty close to what I originally expected. The Bills still have 5 games against teams who are .500 and under (Patriots x2, Chargers, Broncos, Dolphins). Two of those will be against rookie QBs. So even if we struggle against the top teams in the NFL, there will still be opportunity to finish with double-digit wins and take the AFC East.

I don't believe Josh Allen has regressed. Defenses have adjusted to take away the deep ball. Against the Titans and Chiefs, he wasn't patient enough to take the check-downs and struggled. That changed today, and he began taking what the defense gave him. Although we couldn't punch it in the endzone, the offense moved the ball on every drive and didn't even punt once. Overall, he played very well. Just because Allen has "broken out" doesn't mean he's a finished product, or that he's stopped developing. Today was greatly encouraging, because the Jets tried to do the same thing he was struggling with for two weeks... and he was able to overcome it and play very well. If he continues to show patience and willingness to pick teams apart, those deep throws will eventually start opening up again.

Let's watch how the season plays out. The Bills were "battling for first in the division" in 2018-2019 too. Then the Pats kicked our teeth in. If Arizona loses tonight, they will be 2.5 games out of 1st place and will have lost 3 out of 4.

Only ran for 100 because of Allen. We don't need to be the Titans. But at some point, we need to establish a semi-successful running game with our RBs.

Before the season, I said a successful 2020 would be: - Winning double-digit games - Winning the AFC East - Winning at least one playoff game The Bills are on pace to do the first two. But the last two weeks, I'm becoming more skeptical they can accomplish the third task. After 17 years without the playoffs, it's hard to complain at any measure of success. But if Sean McDermott goes into the offseason boasting an 0-3 record in the postseason, there are going to be a lot of fans questioning his ability to eventually lead us to a championship.

Agree the problem is not coaching. But the most successful teams are not one-dimensional.

Last year, everyone was complaining because Daboll was too conservative and not throwing enough. The last three games everyone is complaining because Daboll is throwing too much. The problem (as it usually is) is not with coaching. It's with our players not performing. Coming into the season, the story on Josh Allen was that he couldn't hit the deep ball. So over the first 3-4 games, defenses dared him to beat them over the top. And Allen responded by putting up MVP-like numbers with the deep ball. At the same time, the Bills were struggling to establish any kind of running game. What we have seen recently, is opposing defenses adjusting to our success throwing the ball deep. Similar to what WE did against the Chiefs, they are leaving open the check-downs and daring us to run the ball consistently. Against the Titans and Chiefs, Allen was not patient enough to take the check-downs. Instead, he tried forcing the ball down the field into coverage. Thankfully, Allen did a better job of this today. But we STILL haven't really established a running game. And it's one of the main reasons we also struggled in the Red Zone. Simply put. Our run blocking has been atrocious this year. This is not on Daboll. This is mostly on our interior line/guards, who are not getting any kind of push. Hopefully this changes when we get back Jon Feliciano.

The Bills will run Sean McDermott's defensive scheme as long as he's the head coach. Period. Leslie Frasier is just calling the plays. But don't be fooled. This defense is McDermott's, and nothing in that scheme is going to change. Go back and look at his defenses before coming to Buffalo, and what kind of players they needed to be successful. Our current scheme/system is almost identical to what Carolina ran during its best years. The 2015 Panther team (which went 15-1) actually featured Star Lotulelei, Mario Addison and Josh Norman in the starting lineup. Tremaine Edmunds/Matt Milano are basically the Bills version of Luke Kuechly/Thomas Davis. Ed Oliver is the Bills answer to Kawaan Short. As I've said before. The Bills DO NOT need a total defensive overhaul. They don't need a totally new group of players on the D-Line. They don't need to move Edmunds and get a thumper at MLB. None of that fits what McDermott does. What we need is someone to fill-in for the loss of Lotulelei, and we need Milano to come back healthy.

There are several reasons for Gregg Williams failing. Going back to his first year, Williams took over a team that clearly didn't need a full-blown rebuild. Two years earlier, the Bills had finished 11-5 and were considered a Super Bowl contender. The next year, they finished 8-8. But they still had tons of talent and one of the best defenses in the NFL. Most fans believed they just needed stronger leadership than Wade Phillips to get back to premiere status in the AFC. But Williams (and GM Tom Donahoe) came in and totally dismantled the franchise. They got rid of fan-favorite Doug Flutie at QB, blew up our massively successful 3-4 defense and proceeded to finish their first season 3-13. In my opinion, Donahoe did a pretty good job of stockpiling talent over the next couple years. The 2002-2003 Bills teams were actually pretty loaded with Pro-Bowlers. Drew Bledsoe, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Sam Adams, Lawyer Milloy, etc. But it never really came together on the field. Building a team is like assembling a puzzle. Each coach has a different idea scheme/system, along with a different style and personality. To succeed, that coach needs to not only have talented players.... but also have players that fit into the puzzle that he's creating. For some reason, our talent just never meshed with what Williams wanted to do. Of course, all of these events also coincided with the emergence of the Patriots/Belichick/Brady, making it extremely difficult for anybody in the AFC East to have a real chance at winning that division.

Fair argument. They certainly could have signed someone. Just like they could still sign someone today or tomorrow. My point is that prior to Free Agency/Draft, it's easier for a GM to come up with a solid plan to replace a position. Once those dates have passed, the options are usually not great. Just because some DTs have been signed elsewhere, doesn't mean they would have been a good move for us. I agree with you, that Beane believed either Harrison Phillips or Vernon Butler could fill the void. And he was wrong about that. Either way, the Bills are still 4-2 and could still sign someone to fix the hole at DT.