The Frankish Reich

No Saint, you are on an epic roll ... 😀 Thanks for saving the thread.

I'm going to go all sentimental now ... there is something about being a fan of a team based in what demographers call a depopulating region. The big outflow of population creates a stronger bond among those who stayed, as well as among those who left (I did, as a kid, when my dad had an option: move, or lose your job). You don't see the same level of intensity in the growth regions, even when the team has been around just as long. I know, I live in Colorado. Broncos fans are a pretty committed lot, but it's not the same intensity as with Bills fans. And I don't think it has anything to do with winning or losing. It has to do with a sense of connection. I'll be honest: for me, my primary remaining connection to Buffalo is the Bills. And I appreciate that.

Aren't we the hypersensitive fans of a losing team ... someone asked Preston (who played here last year) what the hell is going on with the Bills, and he gave an honest (and obvious) answer - "some weird [stuff]" - and from that we get 10 pages of Preston sucks, he's no Tremaine Edmunds, blah, blah, blah. What did you want him to say?

Is there a stereotypical GEICO insured driver? I fully support your "hit 'em before they have a chance to hit you" theory, but I need to know the strategy.

Yep. They bottomed out like we haven’t. Until now?

Two uncontroversial thoughts: 1. The single biggest reason the Bills offense is worse so far this year is the drop off from mediocre veteran stater Tyrod Taylor to the combination of the horrific Nathan Peterman and the talented but very raw rookie Josh Allen at QB. 2. The single biggest reason the Bills defense is worse so far this year is the drop off from competent veteran Preston Brown to the talented but very raw Tremaine Edmunds at MLB. It astounds me that anyone would even try to argue with these glaringly obvious points. To say these things is not to criticize Allen or Edmunds! One could have said the same thing about the immediate drop off in performance when the Broncos moved on from veteran mediocrity Bubby Brister to a talented but raw rookie named John Elway.

See what I mean? “The Bills are taking a step back to go 3 steps forward.” Which (in every place but perhaps Riverside, or Hemet, or what’s next, Fontana?) is the same thing as agreeing with me that the Bills D misses Preston Brown RIGHT NOW. (Screams silently in frustration)

If you insist on answering a different question/responding to a different point it is. But my point - the point you argued with! - is that the single biggest difference in the Bills this year is the immediate drop-off from productive veteran Preston Brown to raw rookie Tremaine Edmunds at MLB. And you attempt to rebut that by saying “but it was a good move because Edmunds is much more talented and will pay dividends in the future.” Which is kind of another way of saying I’m right, but I’m asking the wrong question. So don’t argue the point. Concede the point, and then make your point. It’s not so hard to argue rationally ....

Huh? It starts out “Rookie linebacker ...”. And that’s beside the point. We can all agree that he has tremendous potential. My point is that he’s being asked to do way more than he can handle right now, and that’s why we really miss a veteran (albeit a less athletically talented one) in Preston Brown. Oh, there’s plenty of other issues, but that’s the single biggest one.

Look, you don’t have to be the Worlds Greatest Athlete to disrupt a play by recognizing and reacting. And the Worlds Greatest MLB Athlete is useless if he doesn’t recognize what’s coming at him. Don’t take it from me. Take it from PFF: “Rookie linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has the athletic ability that coaches crave in today’s NFL, but the Chargers targeted him early and often in this game. He got caught by multiple play-action fakes and was at times guilty of taking poor angles to the ball.”

So .... what’s the major difference between last year and this year that explains the precipitous defensive decline? EJ Gaines?

So you think Edmunds is as skilled as Brown at recognizing that those crossing routes are coming? So you don’t think that the Ravens and Chargers were exploiting Edmunds’ inexperience as a 20 year old signal calling MLB?

I’m pretty sure this is serious, not snark. Which is kind of amazing since the “scheme” the new guy fits is a scheme to give up an average 40 points per game. Yes, it is indeed working perfectly, this new scheme thing. Seriously, the loss of Preston Brown is the single biggest reason why our D has gone from average to awful.

And ask yourself: just where would our defense be today if we hadn’t made those trades last year? We wouldn’t have Tre White. We might have given up the most points in the NFL after Game 2 of 2018. Now, we wouldn’t have wanted that to happen!

I love how Bills fans immediately discount Prescott and Watson without mentioning that even at their 2018 level of performance so far, either/both of them would be the best QB we’ve had in a decade and a half. And that’s with room to grow for both. Prescott just turned 25. Watson is younger than Josh Allen. I would give my left but to have either of them as the Bills QB right now.