Kirby Jackson

The Ravens are going to lose at least 2 more games imo. Their schedule isn’t impossible but they have the Lions, Rams, a Bears team that could be dangerous on any given day, their division, at the Packers, at the Chiefs and at the Vikings. They can probably only afford 1 loss to get the 1 seed because the Bills would have the tiebreaker. I just don’t see a lot of losses on the Bills schedule. It’s just too easy. If they play like they did Thursday (C or C+) they CAN lose a few times. I believe that is one of the worst games that they’ll play this year. The defense was bad and the offense too conservative. They thought that they’d win by showing up and avoiding mistakes. They were right. They have like 7 or 8 more games on their schedule like that. They can win without playing well. That leaves about 7 games that they need to play at a B or better. If they go 4-3 in those, the Ravens can’t get the 1 with more than 1 more loss!! That’s a wild way to look at it but it might be true. The Colts can’t sustain at this level and it’s TBD on the Chargers. They will have some sprinkled in there. Just keep stacking wins against these trash teams and crossing off weeks. Make the margin of error for the teams behind you smaller and smaller. Show up next week and bury a bad team early.

I’d sit him until at least the Pats game. I’m not pushing anyone (outside of Josh) at this point. These regular season games just don’t feel that important to me. The Bills should win 14ish games pretty easily. With the win over Baltimore, that’s likely enough for the 1 seed. The Bills played a C or C+game on Thursday and won by double digits. They don’t need to be pushing guys at this point. The Bills goals have moved. They aren’t worried about a playoff spot or winning the division any more. That’s a forgone conclusion. What matters, is getting by Baltimore and/or KC in the biggest game. It’s Super Bowl or bust. Approach this entire season through that lens. If they play a bad game, I don’t want to see anymore padded practices on a Wednesday. This is the time to be ultra conservative. Just keep stacking wins and be ready to go in January. It’s a nice place to be. That’s how the Pats were able to operate for years.

FWIW, my whole section was screaming, “someone get open!!” Lol, it wasn’t just me. Those guys were blanketed. It hasn’t burned them (yet). Thoughts on DJ Moore? His name is starting to show in some rumors. He feels like a guy that would absolutely help. He beats man coverage consistently. Moore feels like a rich man’s Shakir. I’d sign up for that (or a plethora of other guys).

So, I heard some stuff recently. The sales are “well ahead of where they expected them to be.” They were hoping to have the stadium full by training camp but it looks like they will be there just after the Super Bowl and well before the draft. They are currently ahead of what they envisioned as a best case scenario.

Davis isn’t very good; he has slow feet. I call him Zack Moss 2.0. In my opinion, he may be the worst player on the 53. I think Johnson is pretty good. He has struggled a little this year but he’s smart and versatile. I’m fine with him being the number 2. Cook has become a star. The people saying that, “if Cook holds out, screw him, we will be fine because we have Ray Davis” deserve to be tarred and feathered for their horrendous football take. 🤣🤣

That would certainly work. The counter is, the Bills have invested heavily in terms of assets into their defense, just as the Yankees have with their bull pen. The Bills used their top 4 picks this year, and then extended Rousseau, Benford, and Bernard on big contracts, while paying Bosa, Tre, and the two suspended guys. That’s a lot of assets to throw at defense while you signed the Chargers number 3 and Elijah Moore well after the draft. The Bills didn’t exactly look to find “the guy” there. They looked to find a couple of bodies. My belief, is, and has been, if the Bills are going to win in this era it will be BECAUSE of Josh Allen. With that being said, my philosophy would be, load up FOR him instead of saying, “he will be good enough to overcome their shortcomings.” They have built an elite OL and now running game with the emergence of Cook as a star. If they had a number 1 WR (and honestly maybe even a number 2) they’d win multiple Super Bowls. To do that though, you have to make decisions like, “we will let Rousseau walk and allocate that cap space to a guy like Tee Higgins”. That’s meant to be an example so don’t get hung up on the names but you get the point. You have to say things like, “we have been really good at finding corners that can play later in the draft (Benford, Taron, Dane Jackson, etc).” That doesn’t mean that they are all great but instead of using prime picks there, take some shots at WR because the best ones never hit FA anymore. In order to get an elite WR now, you need to trade for them or draft them. Instead of 1st round CB and 7th round WR, try 1st round WR and 7th round CB. This conversation has been going round and round for months/years. Of course we are all thrilled that the Bills are winning. They absolutely score lots of points. It’s a difference of philosophy and a realistic concern because they have not yet proven that they can get it done when it matters most. For me, it alls centers around the conversation of, “what is the best way for this team to get over the hump? Should they load up on defense and let Josh’s otherworldly abilities cover up for their lack of talent on the outside? Or should they keep swinging to upgrade the WRs, figuring that they can make the offense the Monstars?” I’m firmly of the belief, and was even when the defense was better, that the incremental growth of the defense by upgrading from Solomon to Landon Jackson is way less impactful than upgrading from Palmer to Isaac TeSlaa. That’s the crux of the debate. I want them to keep taking a shot at finding that guy to create the Monstars vs. trying to upgrade from Solomon to Landon Jackson. There are a lot of words here but to reiterate it’s a philosophical debate. “Should we load up FOR Josh or should we load up on the other side of the ball because Josh is so good that he will make everyone better?” I believe the former. Many people here believe the latter. The irony is that both have been proven right AND wrong over the last few years. The Bills have scored lots of points. At the same time, the Bills haven’t had the dudes to get it done in the biggest moments.

I just thought of another analogy (and sorry if it has been used). I’m a Yankee fan. The Yankees lead baseball in runs scored AND runs scored via the HR. They have slugged and beaten up on bad teams. I do not look at their runs scored and think, “that’ll be great in the playoffs.” When you play the best teams you need to be able to win in a variety of ways. Right now, the Bills can win with an elite running game, never turning it over and Josh being the best player in the world. So while, it’s great that the Bills score a lot, when things tighten up, can Josh get enough help from his receivers? He did vs. Baltimore (who always chokes). For me, I wish that the Bills had, or do, make a move for a guy that wins on the outside because he’s better than the guys trying to defend him.

When they got stopped on the biggest drive of the year… I actually just thought of what my point is. I would rather invest prime assets at pass catcher even if it means giving up an extra 100 points on the year, if in exchange, it increases the chances of 1 score vs. KC/Baltimore, in the playoffs, by 20%. Maybe that’s the crux of the point? It hasn’t been good enough when it matters. I don’t care how good things are vs. Miami, in September at this point. We are beyond that mattering.

Excellent point It almost feels like they are very aware of that as well. They had a couple of play calls last night that had me screaming. At the same time, it is partially because if they don’t make a mistake, Miami can’t keep trading punches with them. That’s what I think the Bills believe.

Jackson Hawes has added such an interesting element to this team. Candidly, I didn’t know much about him when they took him other than he was a great blocking TE. You could see the vision though with the pick. He’s basically replaced Alec Anderson and done so in a manner that keeps the option to throw out there. He has been a fantastic addition so far.

That’s a great question. I think that the development of Cook into a star, along with elite OL play, probably still keeps the Bills from getting totally bottled up against a bad team. They could certainly drop a game to a bad team but it would probably have to be like 31-24. I don’t see any situations where bad teams hold the Bills under 3 or 4 scores.

So far, it has to be Walker with Hawes as the 2nd choice.

I didn’t say they were “trying to push the ball down the field.” What I did say is, “they absolutely did not intend to throw just 1 ball 10+ air yards.” Those do not mean the same thing. The WRs inability to get open against the worst DBs in football, prevented them from doing anything but what they did. Again, they scored plenty of points against a horrible defense. Will that work vs. KC in January? That’s the concern that a lot of us have. It’s a perfectly reasonable concern.

That’s not completely accurate. The Bills game plan ABSOLUTELY did not call for ONLY 1 throw of 10+ air yards. I promise that wasn’t the goal. Guys were blanketed all over the field. The video review is going to be brutal for the WRs. The Bills WRs are among the worst in the NFL. The Bills have scored a lot of points. Both of those are true. We have reached a point in this era, where beating a bad team at home by 10 is the expectation. We should all be happy with that today. At the same time, there are concerns that if you are playing KC in January, and guys can’t get open, and you lose (again), it’s a disaster. Josh Allen is halfway through his career and they haven’t played for a Super Bowl yet. When you see a problem, that’s VERY evident, there’s reason for concern even if it hasn’t cost them a game yet. They played that way because they have the worst DBs in the NFL. They have to play like that.

I posted it in the game thread but this is why some of us have been screaming for a top WR for 2 years. Josh had time. Nobody could get open. The tape is not going to be kind to the WRs. That’s why he only threw one ball 10+ air yards. When everything happens within 10 yards of the LOS the defenses will adjust. It will become harder to run and those windows tighter. You have to be able to stretch the field vertically to open everything up!! You can get away with that against Miami and New Orleans. When you’re battling KC/Baltimore in January, you can’t have Josh drop back, have time, and no one to throw to. The margin for error is miniscule in those big games. You need a dude on the outside. Shakir is a nice player but not a dude. Coleman still can’t get open. Kincaid is developing into a good TE but not a dude. Josh is incredible and the OL elite. The TEs are good, Cook is turning into a star and the WRs are bad. So the Bills can still score points but they are also limited. Both statements are true.

This game is a microcosm of why “everybody eats” isn’t sustainable. You have to get open at some point.

I believe that Dorian Williams might be the Bills best LB. The emphasis is on “might.” Milano was playing well but he can’t stay healthy. I don’t think Bernard is very good (but he does have a nose for the football). Williams feels like he could take off if given the chance. I’m absolutely fine with him playing. This is probably the injury that the Bills can most easily survive.

One of my hot takes before the season was that Dorian Williams MAY be the best LB on this team. Milano was off to a good start and I think Bernard is overrated. Williams physical tools make him potentially dynamic IMO. We will see I guess…

I’m going to say the script is flipped and KC beats the Bills in the regular season and the Bills beat KC in the playoffs. I think that the Bills finish 14-3 or 15-2 assuming they stay healthy. They’ll drop a game that they shouldn’t, KC and maybe the Eagles/Texans/Bucs/Pats.

This is 100% true. The best pricing will be the morning of the game. 3 of the people that went with me last week bought their tickets at 6:30 PM from the parking lot. They paid $120 less a ticket than the day before.

Frank Gore Jr. is better than Ray Davis. I’ll hang up and listen

No

Lol, candidly I bet him to catch a TD so I was wishing it into existence

Put them away right here. Play action Td to Knox

Gross call