Dan

AI is good and the reason it can’t be relied upon is it gets many basic facts wrong… it kinda has a problem with interpretation. (I use it a lot in my job as well). I’m not going to look at all the stats it generated - I might not understand them if I did. But the interpretation of several events concerns me about any AI analysis: Joe Brady relied on high-percentage quick passes and screens to D.J. Moore and James Cook. I only recall one scree pass to Shakir. Did I miss more?? The Bills did stay in favorable down the distance, but I don’t think it was because of their screen game. Allen’s two rushing touchdowns reinforced his status as the premier goal-line weapon in football…. Only one of his rushing TDs could be considered goal line. The first rushing touchdown was from 21 yards out. He’s not just a premier goal line weapon. He’s an anywhere on the field weapon! Stroud's late-game fumble (recovered by Ed Oliver).. Big Ed recovered the fumble on the first series of the game. The late game fumble was recovered by Bernard. I don’t mean to suggest the post is all wrong or that the final interpretations are incorrect. But when I see several misread facts like that, it makes me wonder what else is wrong that I don’t know. Just something to think about.

The Texans are a very good team. They definitely came out fired up and with a solid game plan to prove they belonged. It will be interesting to see how they respond, because they’re likely in a fight to the finish with Jacksonville. Thats the type of loss they can take a lot of positives from and move forward…or can harp on the negatives and stumble for a few weeks. Next week they get the Bengals. I’ll be watching that game to see how they respond. Similar to last year, the Bills got one of their toughest games of the season out of the way and notched an AFC win. This game was important for a number of reasons and sets the stage nicely if they can capitalize with another few wins in the next 4 games. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the injury report, but how great would it be to still be at full strength for a tired but confident Lions team on Thursday. Man it feels good to get a win like that and literally change every talking head’s narrative! Before the game it was all about the ‘85 Bears, reincarnate. Now it’s all about Josh! Go Bills!!

Immediately after that score.. I waited a second or two to see if there was a flag. My very next thought… oh crap they scored to fast!! It’s always hard to 2nd guess going in and getting the touchdown. But I wouldn’t have been upset if he stopped and took a knee on the 1yd line as well. lol interesting to think about… glad we won and it’s a muted discussion.

Looked like he played a lot today (granted I haven’t seen the snap counts yet)? So maybe the Hamlin hate should be rested just a bit? My bigger question/concern is… why was he out there so much? I would not have expected he’d be used other than special teams. In the playoffs, yes. But in the regular season… they won a lot of games like this with McD. You really don’t have to look further than week 1 last season, but there were more beyond that. I get the McD hate; but the defense today was in no way a vast improvement over what he’s put on the field in year’s past. Hopefully, this is growing pains and we just continue to get better. I wonder if Coleman being MIA was just part of the game flow or what? But, other than him… the offense as absolutely stellar for the entire game.

Make no mistake about it… other than the first drive and the last drive of the game.. the defense was that bad. A lot will be brushed aside with the optimism we had for the defense, and the way the game ended. But… they were inches away from blowing an amazing game by Josh. The season is long and hopefully they get better. But, for now, the defense is a huge liability!

Same question from me…. Curious too how they left all that out of the story. I get it though. (Off to the google bot) edit: “Michael Hoecht was suspended for six games due to a violation of the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He tested positive for testosterone, which he described as a result of a careless mistake regarding the supplements he was taking.” “Hoecht acknowledged that he had built a trusting relationship with a trainer, which led him to stop verifying the substances he was consuming. He expressed that he takes full responsibility for the situation and views it as a learning opportunity.”

There are so many of these types of stats regarding the Bills since 2020. The odds of NOT making a SuperBowl while being so dominant, offensively, have to be staggering. It’s baffles me how so many people are ready to just trash a player and start cutting him… before a single game is played. Can we not at least let some of these guys suck it up before we write their careers off? For as bad as Coleman may have let some people down… he’s not been that bad of a player for us. I’ve seen lots of talk about the Texans defense being like the Ravens or ‘85 Bears ..good. I get it they should have a great defense. But I think too many people have crowned them before the season even starts. And for all their amazingness… how did they lose to Drake Maye last year?? Seriously!?

Others have posted since this regarding the stats that show it’s a little bit more complex or nuanced than just that. Yes team maybe didn’t pass as much on us. It doesn’t mean that we did not have a good past defense. Nor does it imply that the defense was absolutely terrible. I’ll let the stats stand for themselves and support my claim that I think we have further to fall down this season then rise up. I’m not at all saying the defense will be worse. I’m just saying it’s not a given that they’ll be better. Till the second point, I think that’s all conjecture. We all want to say that McDermot was the cause of all the ills. And perhaps he was, but there’s no confirmation that he held the offense back. And finally… as Dr. Who stated… I think it was the the last performance of the season(and all the other playoff performances as well to be honest) that drives the defensive perception from last season more than anything.

Unless I’m mistaken… the Bills had the #1 pass defense in the league last year. So its a huge stretch to say their 2025 defense was terrible. It had its flaws, yes. But any defense sporting the league’s best pass defense is not terrible. If anything, I would say that’s my biggest worry for this season. Will the defense be as good as last year? I think its far more likely that it will be worse, than better, because they did change the entire defensive philosophy (or so we presume based on the changes they did make). You would expect the offense to be as good, at a minimum. We had very little turnover in offensive players or coaches. My hope here is that Carmichael brings just enough to the table to add the needed wrinkles to keep the offense fresh and a step ahead of the defenses. My worry…. Last year’s OC that very often had boring, predictable game plans and in-game calls was promoted to HC and we see more of the same predictability that relied on Josh to just keep bailing the bad play designs out.

I been thinking the same thing. It’s only week 1 and all sorts of things can and will happen. But a win in week one could be pretty big in tie breaking scenarios in December/January. Despite the age old philosophy of beating an NFC team (lions in week 2) as being worse for our eventual playoff seedings… I think losing to an AFC team might be even worse..just this one time. So I’ll go against conventional wisdom and say that this week 1 game is more important than week 2.

Given all the negative social media accounts of the new stadium… this is a brilliant move to have a public poll and let the fans decide. Then go with it.

I don’t see a poll

I get all that. But, again… that’s all just talk and speculation. I think there’s very much a chance the Bills defense could be worse, especially to start the season. My hope, my optimism is that by season’s end they’re getting better when it matters most. But, that’s just hope and eternal optimism. The history of the league is what really concerns me, how many new coaches and defensive scheme changeovers went to the SuperBowl in their first year?

Can you fill us other folks in that don’t want a crappy band in their search history? LOL

I do agree… its better to be positive and send those good vibes to the team! I’m hopeful as well… just not entirely ready to get on board with it yet.