fergie's ire

I disagree. They don't stand out at all for me...because there were so many great plays by Allen in that game. The throw to Beasley from the end zone....also to Beasley, this time to the sideline while rolling out....the 15 yard TD (first of that length by a quarterback on Thanksgiving since Jim Kelly). Even the throw to Knox that was knocked away at the last second was a great throw. And that whole long drive that ended in a field goal was a thing of beauty. Some big 3rd down plays. When they got to the red zone, I thought they were conservative...but smartly so...eating clock and then the field goal to go up three scores. It was really a masterful game by Allen.

The young'uns on the list won't remember the great joy that one feels when the Bills not only win, but destroy a franchise in the process. After the Houston comeback, the Oilers fired everyone, were never the same, and moved a few years later. Looking at Jerry's expression at the end of the game, I am thinking we might get to feel that joy again this week.

I spent a year in France after high school, and I remember excitedly going to the book store once a week to grab a copy of the International Herald Tribune with their paragraph write-ups on each NFL game, so I could find out how the Bills did.

THAT was the type of ball that he needs to throw....particularly against man to man. His inability to hit these before is the reason he has seen so much man to man lately. Now, I think I have seen him do everything a great quarterback needs to do. He just needs to put them together and then he will have that 300 yard game. I should also add that the touch throw to Cole Beasley was a great throw. JUST enough air under it to go over the defender, and this is the kind of throw he could not make last year.

This. And then the list makes sense. It is the list of quarterbacks who make Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes possible. There was a time, not very long ago, when the assumption was that African-Americans were great athletes and so could make great running backs and receivers, but they lacked the mental ability and leadership qualities to be quarterbacks. It took players like Harris and performances like Williams' in the Superbowl to start to change that attitude.

Yeah, I HATE the Cowboys...but it's not close. Want the Patriots. In addition to reasons above, I wanted them to go into Thanksgiving celebrating rather than desperate.

Yeah, I'd heard reports that Kraft said he would pay this guy over his dead body...or words to that effect...after the whole "different strokes" thing.

And have set themselves up to do so. The bears were giving away picks and signing big contracts (or at least one really big contract). The Bills have been collecting picks and keeping cap space open to build for the future.

No. I am not going to blindly trash Allen after a game like last week when I saw a lot of good for him...or call him inaccurate when I think that for the most part he is quite accurate. However, I am not blindly going to look for ways to praise him after a game like yesterday, when I still think there is a big hole in his game. I like Allen and THINK he can be a great quarterback, but I think anyone who is being honest and watches football regularly knows the kind of throw I am talking about. Sometimes a tight end runs a 15 yard out and the defender is trailing to the inside. The quarterback will throw a rope that the tight end catches in front of him. On another play the tight end runs up the sideline with the defender trailing up field. The quarterback lofts the ball and drops it over the defender to the tight end. Both are 15 yard passes to the tight end, but very different passes. Last year, Allen could not make the second throw with any kind of consistency. It was clear in the Jets game. Darnold was making those throws and Allen wasn't. THIS year, Allen is making those throws consistently. He has learned. However, he still needs to learn how to do that on deep throws. Sometimes there will be a defender between Allen and the receiver so "on a rope" won't work. I would agree.

Actually "on a rope" is the reason it doesn't count. I'm not talking about the distance it traveled but the type of throw...something with air under it. it doesn't have to be sixty yards, but it has to be able to get to a receiver who has a defender on his back.

Nope. I don't. These are the kinds of deep balls that Allen would throw last year....on a line. I have yet to see him drop a ball over the shoulder of a deep receiver...a true "bomb." The only time I have seen that kind of throw was a pass to Foster last year, who was wide open, so he did not have to drop it over a defender.

Why I have always been a Josh Allen fan is that he seems like a learner. Some quarterbacks make the same mistakes over and over. (How many times did JP Losman try to loop out of the pocket and turn his back on the defense, only to lose like 15 yards on a sack.) Last year, the mid range passes with air under them were a weakness of Allen's and this year they are much better. In the Patriots game, the interceptions were a problem, so he hasn't thrown one since (and may even be trying too hard not to throw interceptions). At this point, it seems Allen can do just about everything you want a quarterback to do (except that deep ball). What's frustrating is he never seems to be able to put everything together in one game....I keep thinking it is going to happen and we will have that "wow" game, but not yet. In this game, we saw Allen read defenses better than he has been doing, and also beat pressure than in recent games. However, I think it was actually one of his least accurate games. I was one who disagreed with the "inaccurate" label (or at least found it to be....well...inaccurate). If he threw the ball on a line, he could the ball in tight windows consistently. This game his ball seemed to be frequently a yard or two off, and sometimes was caught and sometimes not. I think of the sideline pass to McKenzie that was short or the out to Brown that led him way too much. As I said, I think he is normally accurate with those throws. It's just one more case of when he does everything else well, what he normally does well slips. It's very odd.

HEY, HEY, HEY!!! We'll have none of that kind of talk around here, Ishmael.

Yes, not sure if it was covered by anyone because I haven't had the chance to go through the whole thread, but Lofton actually explained the rule well earlier in the game when Josh Allen had one called an incomplete pass. Once the arm is going forward, even if something happens like the defender twists the quarterback or it comes out of the hand in such a way so that the ball goes backward, it is an incomplete pass. It doesn't matter where the ball ends up once the quarterback's arm is moving forward.....a bit like the tuck rule.

The weird things about these deep throws is that they almost all seem to be exactly the same distance in front of the receiver: about 5 yards. I'd almost want to say, "Josh....throw the ball five yards behind the receiver" and see what happens.

In addition to what others have said about it only protecting against the most common strains, it also takes about two weeks to be fully effective.

Probably did not challenge because he has seen the numbers. As of Oct 11th, coaches were 1-21 in challenges of pass interference. He has probably also seen the tape where CLEAR interference on non-calls is not overturned. It's a rule....but it's not really a rule. They just don't award PI on replay.

And if that happens, and we both have 2 losses an have beaten each other, WHY do we win the division? Because we were smart and lost to Philly. Genius. That loss could actually give us the number one seed.

My takeaway from the injured list: Vernon Davis is still in the league?!!

I think market preference plays a part...but I think the bigger issues is the "they signed splashy skill players we've heard of" bias.....and teams that sign a bunch of linemen...and a bunch of GOOD players who fill a need...get overlooked. The Browns signed Odell and they have Baker...but they let their O-line go to hell...and everyone thinks thought they would go to the Superbowl...because they have players we've heard of (and by "we," I mean lazy reporters who don't want to dig deeper than headlines).

I am generally anti-thread hijacking....and I have seen these comments in several threads, but just had to respond at this point. What team is being described below: "_______ allowed Philly to run down their throats. As a team, the Eagles rushed for 176 yards on 5.3 yards per-carry. As we mentioned above, Jordan Howard was a force, particularly when they were within striking distance of the end zone. The Packers had no answer for him or Miles Sanders, who rushed for 72 yards on 6.5 yards per carry. Along with not being able to stop the ground game, there was also some questionable decision making on the part of the _____ coaching staff when they got to the goal line late in the game." So, what other team was manhandled in the trenches and showed questionable coaching against Philly? Hint: R-E-L-A-X. Again....apologies for being off topic.

Yes, and I think that the confusion comes because he isn't listed on any of the other days, they are blank, and it looks like he didn't practice all week. But I think that that happens because he took his rest day on Friday...so wasn't on the list for those other days. If, on the other hand, he had a rest day on Wednesday, Thur and Fri would say "Full." Took me a minute to parse this out....but I think it just means he took a veteran's rest day today.

And they are a month removed from having beaten the Packers, one of the best teams in the league, in Green Bay.

Isn't there pressure to lose? Because I seem to remember that losing to an NFC increases chances of making the playoffs.

The season Bledsoe lost to Steelers' backups (2004), the second half of the season our schedule had some really bad teams. Ha. I was typing the same thing when you posted this.