mjt328

Forget what the media is spouting. The Bills are not on the Patriots level. Yet. And there is nothing wrong with admitting that as a fan. Of course it doesn't mean we can't keep the game close or possibly even win on Sunday. I just think fans are setting themselves up for a really bad weekend, if they are judging whether the Bills are "legit" or "real" based strictly on how they perform this Sunday. There will be a time when Josh Allen will be expected to perform like a Top 10 Quarterback, and anything short of 12 wins and the AFC East Title will be a significant disappointment. But we aren't quite there yet. Allen has only 14 starts under his belt. This was Beane's first offseason with cap space, and the ability to draft BPA (without worrying about getting his quarterback). If we can win 10 games, ***** a Wild Card spot and see consistent progress from the guy under center -- then I will consider 2019 a massively successful season.

Honestly, I'm not a big fan. I'm skeptical if their approach is built for long-term and consistent success. Go back about 4-5 seasons. Similar to the Bills, the Rams were a perpetual 7-9 and 6-10 team without a Quarterback to get them over the hump. Unlike the Bills, they had two cornerstone pieces on offense (Todd Gurley) and defense (Aaron Donald) to build around. So instead of totally deconstructing their roster, the Rams kept the majority of their team intact. To get the QB, they mortgaged much of their 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 drafts to trade-up and land Jared Goff. With the extra cap space available from having a QB on his first contract, they have also been able to trade/sign numerous veterans. The problem is, Goff just signed an extension for $134 million. They recently handed big contracts to both Gurley and Donald. They will soon be faced with really tough salary cap decisions, and won't have the space to sign everyone. Once that happens, the holes on the roster will need to be filled by younger players. And I'm not sure their draft classes from the past 4 seasons are up to the task.

Great post. But I have to disagree with this part here. I don't think the Bills are overachieving at all. To me, they have clearly been the better team all 3 games. Their mistakes were the only thing that made the scores close.

The Browns/Jets are a perfect example of what I've been saying. You can't build a TEAM by just going out and picking up a handful of stars in trades/free agency (Odell Beckham, Le'Veon Bell). You need a cohesive vision - starting with the front office, working together with the coaching staff and then trickling down into the locker room. You need consistently solid drafting, and strong depth across the entire roster. And you need a culture that ties everything together. Talent is absolutely important. But it's very rare to see 1-2 guys (especially ones known for being me-first) to carry the other 51 guys alone. The Bills approach may be slower to yield results. But eventually, I think what Beane/McDermott are building will transform this franchise from a consistent loser into a consistent contender.

Disagree with those expecting a low-scoring game. Unfortunately, our defensive scheme plays right into Tom Brady's hands. We like to keep catches in front of us, and limit offenses to short passes... which just happens to be his specialty. Already this season, I've noticed some weak spots against covering screens and swing passes. In our four match-ups since McDermott became the coach, the Patriots have put up 23, 37, 25 and 34 points. Not exactly shut-down performances. And I suspect the Pats were playing somewhat conservatively against us, knowing we were incapable of actually scoring points. The only way this changes is if the Bills can bring tight-press-coverage, and heavy pressure up the middle. After our D-Line bombed against the terrible Bengals blocking, I'm not optimistic. On the other side, it's really hard to find flaws in anything New England has done so far. They have totally shut-down their first three opponents, not letting up a single offensive touchdown. They seem to be strong at all three levels. With that said, I think the Bills can move the ball and score 20-25 points... IF they put all the dumb mistakes behind them. This is the type of game where a dual-threat QB and versatile offense makes all the difference. Bill Belichick will certainly find a way to take something our offense wants to do, and we will need to attack them in a completely opposite way. That seems to be the goal of both McDermott and Daboll. I'm just not certain we are quite there yet. I know that fans don't want to hear it, but I think we are totally mismatched on both sides. Out team is much better than years past, but we still aren't on the Patriots level. That doesn't mean we can't win. It just means we need to play WAY better than we have at any point this season. We need a great game from the interior pass rush. We need tight coverage and flawless tackling at all levels. We need a better performance from the offensive line. We need the coaches and Josh Allen ready to adjust the gameplan at a moments notice. And we cannot turn the ball over.

Curious. Does anyone know how many times New England was called for holding yesterday?

True. But it would have been nice to have Shady available, especially with Singletary sidelined indefinitely. And this was the problem. The coaches didn't think Shady would be happy as the #3 back.

Based on my high expectations for this season and the teams we played during the first month, I'm not really surprised at the 3-0 start. The team has actually played worse than I expected, considering the turnovers and dumb mistakes. With that said, I'm not going to judge how "real" the Bills are by how they perform against the Patriots this Sunday. Most of the people who follow the NFL have already mentally handed New England the Lombardi trophy, and the real question is how close they can get to 17-0 along the way. If the Bills can win 10 games this season and make the playoffs, I'll feel content that we are moving in the right direction.

Frank Gore is a very good between-the-tackles runner. Love having him in goal line situations. I'm still somewhat baffled at the decision to take TJ Yeldon over LeSean McCoy though. Even if McCoy has lost several steps, he's still way better than Yeldon. It sounds like Beane was worried about McCoy not handling a timeshare well, and wanted to get Devon Singletary more involved. It kinda sucks if that was the reasoning, because we really downgraded by letting him go.

Josh Allen has been mostly positive this season, combined with a bunch of frustrating mistakes. You can see Pro-Bowl superstar potential. You can see the clutch-gene, and the ability to completely take over when things are clicking. He's understanding defensive coverages and seeing the field better every week. His accuracy has improved greatly, and should no longer be a big concern. He's making plays from the pocket first, and using his legs as a secondary weapon. At the same time, he's often careless with the football and needs to learn when to take a sack or incompletion. He also seems to hold the ball too long at times. Let's not forget that Allen has only started 14 games in the NFL. He's still got PLENTY of time to improve the weak points of his game.

Please. Have the Bills faced a half-decent offense yet? We talk about how great our defense is, but our guys have let up a handful of touchdowns already. The Patriots haven't let up an offensive touchdown in their last 4 games (counting back to the last Super Bowl). The Rams are generally considered one of the best in the league. What they are doing is ridiculously impressive.

I was watching the Ravens-Chiefs game on another screen. Both Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson were CONSTANTLY throwing up ridiculous jump-balls. Regardless, we are seeing to much of it from Josh Allen.

The Giants game, it definitely seemed our offense was just sitting on the lead. I wouldn't say that was the case in the Jets game (we were down 16-0). Today just seemed like a repeat of the Jets game with mistakes piling up and finally biting us. We don't seem to have a problem moving the ball, as much as we've got troubles with turnovers, penalties, missed blocks and drops. Offenses tend to take on the identity of the Quarterback, and right now the the Bills are just sloppy. The potential is there to be a very dangerous offense. But Josh Allen needs to find the balance between making BIG PLAYS and protecting the ball. The interception easily could have cost us today's game... as could the fumble before halftime.

Solid? Has their defense given up an offensive TD yet this season? The Jets two scores came on a fumbled punt and an INT return.

The Bills offense has been WAY too sloppy through three games, regardless of the team's record. Turnovers, Penalties, Drops Right now, the Patriots defense is playing historically good. If we are going to have a chance, we absolutely cannot leave points on the field. Based on how McDermott's defense has generally performed against Brady, our offense will probably need to put up 20-25 just to make this a game.

That was your takeaway from the game? Alrighty then...

If the Texans don't do something about their O-Line, the next quarterback to go might be Deshaun Watson. In all honesty though, here are the ages of some prominent QBs: Brady - 42 Brees - 40 Manning - 38 Rivers - 37 Roethlisberger - 37 Rodgers - 35 Ryan - 34 Flacco - 34 I'm not sure what is driving Brady at this point. Stats? Another Super Bowl? Pure enjoyment of the game? Common sense says he MUST done soon, but if he keeps playing at a high level...what stops him from going another 4-5 seasons? Brees isn't much younger than Brady, but he's accomplished less on the championship side. I see him giving the Saints 2-3 more seasons of trying to assemble a contender, and then he will call it quits as well. I think Manning may give it another shot next year with a different franchise (if someone is willing to give him a temporary starting job), but I just can't see him playing much longer. He doesn't seem like a guy willing to spend years with a backup job, and that's what he's probably looking at. The big knock on Rivers is his lack of championships, and I think that will continue driving him for another 2-3 seasons. If the Chargers stop looking like legit Super Bowl threats, he may consider being done. Roethlisberger says he's going to play next year, but we'll see how the rehab goes and how Rudolph plays in his place. Pittsburgh is showing signs of a rebuild, and I don't think he wants to stick around for that. He's considered retirement before. Rodgers and Ryan should have several years left in the tank. Flacco is on his last starting gig, and will probably go another 5-6 years holding a clipboard and bouncing around the league.

The NFL's job should be to preserve the integrity of the league and the sport. Tom Brady's opinion should hold no more significance than an undrafted long-snapper on the practice squad. Players come and go. In 20-30 years, other guys will have stepped up and the next generation will know little/nothing of Brady. Does the NFL want to damage its credibility over one guy (who most fans outside of Boston already despise)? Or do they want to make sure the rules are fair and balanced for all teams and all players?

If I was Terry Pegula, I would be pleased that Brandon Beane had the foresight to give Tyler Kroft a modest deal with very little long-term commitment. If teams start shading coverage to John Brown, that just means Josh Allen will need to look elsewhere. Maybe Cole Beasley gets more catches underneath. Maybe Zay Jones or Robert Foster can exploit the other side. Defenses adjusting is not the end of the world, and it is actually a very important step in our young Quarterback's development. Opponents came into this season planning to keep Allen in the pocket, and not let him break off big runs. Many critics thought this would spell doom for Allen, but instead he's done very well making throws from the pocket. If he keeps it up, teams will be forced to give more heavy coverage looks, which will likely open up more scrambling opportunities. Defenses simply can't do everything at the same time.

I don't understand the business aspect either. The NFL has no incentive for Tom Brady to keep playing. In fact, it's probably the opposite. Outside of the people in Boston, every other football fan is absolutely SICK of seeing the Patriots in the Super Bowl. They want new faces and new teams to start stepping up. Every time New England makes the Super Bowl, I hear tons of people say they aren't even interested in watching the game. Of course they end up watching it anyway (because it's the Super Bowl and what else are you going to do in February), but it does show the fatigue of watching the same thing over and over for 20 straight years.

My friend's brother is a scout for the Colts. Around the end of January 2018, we were talking about some random football stuff. I recall asking him about the upcoming QB prospects, what he thought about Kirk Cousins in free agency, and a bunch of other things. One thing he mentioned was the importance of player attitude, and he just happened to bring up Vontae Davis as an example. "Good football player," he said. "Bad locker room guy." I probably would have completely forgotten about this. But about a month later, the Bills went and signed Davis. Of course, the rest is history...

I understand the NFL tries putting "premier" teams into the primetime slots. But too much changes from year to year, and they end up with half the games being terrible anyway. Two weeks in, and any game from the Colts, Steelers or Saints is likely to be a stinker, simply because of QB injuries. With Sunday Night, Monday Night and Thursday Night, they should just evenly divide the primetime slots among all 32 teams. Every team gets one of each. Three primetime games per franchise. It gives each team some nationwide exposure and removes the NFL from playing favorites. And based on what we've already got, the games should be just as entertaining.

Agree. Physically speaking, Zay Jones is an average NFL guy with nothing that makes him stand out. Average speed and quickness. Average size. When he was a top Buffalo's WR depth chart, he was young and still developing his route running skills. He struggled with some drops (although this has been massively overblown by the fans). The Bills also had one of the worst offenses in the league, and could barely generate 1-2 decent drives per game. Now three years into his career, I think Jones has gotten pretty good as a route runner. I believe he's gotten past his drop struggles. And the Bills passing offense is finally showing signs of life. But now Jones has been pushed down the depth chart, and has become our #3 option at best. He's not a bad player. But as a 2nd Round Pick, I think he's always going to be a disappointment from the production standpoint.

This 100x. We are 13 starts into Josh Allen's career. Baker Mayfield has 15. Sam Darnold has 14. Josh Rosen also has 13. Lamar Jackson has 9. All of these guys have lots of room to grow, and any of them could see setbacks once defenses catch on to their tendencies. The interesting thing is... so far in 2019, it seems that Allen and Jackson have shown the most growth and improvement. They were the guys who supposedly had the most overall potential, but many critics didn't believe they could become efficient passers.

Exactly what he said. AJ Green has missed 15 games (so far) since 2016 with foot, ankle and toe injuries. Sure, WRs can sometimes play into their early 30's and still be effective. But when you combine his age with the injury problems, it becomes a major risk that he will never be the same. Consider that Torrey Smith just announced his retirement this week (he is 30). Dez Bryant has been done for two years (he is also 30). Demaryius Thomas started declining two years ago (he is 32). There are some non-QBs around the league that I would be willing to part with a 1st Round Pick for. But AJ Green is no longer one of those guys. If the Bills want long-term success, it will require consistent high-level drafting every single year. In my opinion, it's not wise to throw away a premium pick for an aging vet who may never be effective again. I would consider a 3rd Rounder, on the condition of a contract extension.