msw2112

I think it would be great if they hired O'Brien. It would be destined to fail and the Jags would remain an AFC doormat for years to come. I still can't believe the Bills lost to them this year.

Every team in the AFC is a tough matchup. That said, I agree that the Raiders coming to Buffalo would likely be the easiest first round matchup. The Colts strengths match up with the Bills' weaknesses, so yes, I would prefer that the Bills avoid the Colts, but if that's the draw, and the Bills play well, they can beat the Colts. They are playing much better now than they were playing at that point in the season. Star and Edmunds SHOULD be back and playing (they are back and playing now, so unless they get injured or Covid again, they're good to go), the Bills have improved their OL play and running game, and the Bills should be able to cut down on the turnovers. Watching the last Colts film, plus last week's film should help. The Colts won't be catching the Bills by surprise and the Bills will have to devise a solid game plan. It's certainly doable. We'll see. Let's enjoy Sunday and see what happens.

For those who are talking about a dome, I would agree that a dome would be beneficial to THIS YEAR'S TEAM. But a new stadium (dome or not) will take several years to build. By that time, it is very possible that the Bills will have overhauled their OL, acquired a top-tier RB, and become a dominant running team. Sanders, Beasley and even Diggs may be well past their primes by then, Daboll could be long gone, and our passing offense may look completely different. Moving into a dome could actually result in the Bills to GIVING UP the advantage they have playing outdoors in Buffalo in the later parts of the season and playoffs. Also, after it is built, that stadium will be around for several decades, so it will be around long after Josh Allen is retired, so who knows what type of team the Bills will have down the road. There are other benefits to a dome - use as a convention center, a more comfortable environment for the fans, etc., and I'm OK with those arguments, but enough about how a dome will be an advantage on the field.

Just an interesting side tought - when the agreement was signed, wasn't the season only 16 games? I wonder how much the expansion to 17 games is costing teams in these kinds of bonuses. I assume they are more than making up for it with the extra week of TV advertising revenue, plus gate, concessions, parking, etc.

Not sure how they'll do it. I believe there is an additional game this year, but there is also Monday night in the mix too. Under that "triple header" scheme, I would love to see 8:20 on Saturday night. That's 6:20 where I live, which makes for a very enjoyable Saturday evening. That said, it might be a bit cold that late for my Buffalo brethren and sistren out at the stadium (many of whom are on this board). EDIT: Just found this online. Looks like 2 games on Saturday and the triple header on Sunday Wild-card rounds: Jan. 15-17, 2022 Date Matchup Time (ET) TV Saturday, January 15 AFC/NFC 4:35 PM TBD Saturday, January 15 AFC/NFC 8:15 PM TBD Sunday, January 16 AFC/NFC 1:05 PM TBD Sunday, January 16 AFC/NFC 4:40 PM TBD Sunday, January 16 AFC/NFC 8:15 PM TBD Monday, January 17 AFC/NFC 8:15 PM ESPN Based on this, my top choice would remain Saturday at 8:15 PM, followed by Sunday at 4:40 PM.

While it may not favor the Bills, I agree that the lowest seed should get the least favorable time slot (in terms of time off before the next round). If the Bills are the lowest of the host game seeds, that logic would give them Monday night. I hope that's not the case. My personal preference would be the late game on Saturday. It makes it more of an event. I can't go too crazy on a Monday night, as there is work for me and school for the kids on Tuesday morning. Even for Sunday games, it is hard to enjoy myself too much, as there is work/school on Monday to prepare for. The early game on Saturday isn't good because it kills the whole day. For me, Saturday morning & afternoon is usually spent doing chores/shopping/exercise/family commitements/etc. Saturday night? All bets are off, beers are popped, and the most fun can be had.

Not a bad thought, although if he is 100% by Sunday, I think he starts the game. He has not gotten a lot of reps, so if he's going to be the starting left guard in the playoffs, he needs to get more reps and continue to develop chemistry with the rest of the line. Also, as someone astutely pointed out above, the Bills may want to see what they have in Bates if they are considering moving on from Feliciano after the season to save on cap and/or because Feliciano's performance has declined (despite him being a good dude).

Thanks - this was the info I was looking for - and it's good news. I'd say he's between questionable and probable for the Jests game on Sunday and back for the playoffs for sure. It will be interesting to see if he is reinserted as the starter, or if the injury costs him the spot. Feliciano and Ford were also back from COVID list prior to yesterday's agme, so now we are only down Ike at guard. Could be a lot worse.

The line played well today and it was great to see Ryan Bates starting at guard, a well-deserved opportunity. He left the field with what appeared to be a serious injury on the final series, but I have not been able to find any information on his injury. Obviously, I'm hoping that he's OK, both for Bates' sake and also the team's. With Ike already out, the Bills' depth on the interior line is pretty thin and I hate to see Bates miss out on his opportunity to be a starter. If anyone has any updates, please share with the board.

Hart is terrible, but he's a veteran who has started NFL games and he knows the Bills playbook. I'm not sure there's much else out there that's any better. Maybe slightly better talent-wise, but given his experience and knowledge of the playbook, he's probably the best available. Not a pretty picture if any more linemen go down. Let's hope Feliciano is back soon.

Nobody is in anybody's head. The Bills are a better team than the Patriots and they won the game. In the previous game, there were adverse weather conditions and the Bills did not handle them as well as the Pats did, so the Pats won that game. I'd say that the Pats were better prepared/better coached in the first game, but I that doesn't mean anyone is in anyone else's head.

While I think he could ultimately help, I don't see him being much help on 2 days' notice. He can't be anywhere close to game shape. This doesn't even take into account the facts that he appeared to have some animosity towards the team after his release and he has had trouble sticking onto anyone else's roster. So, it's a No. Let's hope Sanders can play, and Kumerow, McKenzie, and Stevenson can step up.

This makes no sense, but it never has. I love Dawkins, but he's had a very poor year, much of it from being very sick at the start of the season (through no fault of his own). He has never rounded into shape. Allen should definitely be in over Jackson. The teams' records are the same, but Allen's stats are much better and he's put up those stats with a lesser offensive line and lesser running game. In the end, it doesn't really matter. Let's hope Dawkins rounds into form down the stretch (I really hope that he was asymptomatic this time around) and the Bills win out. That all that does matter.

The Pats are good team. Belichick is a great coach, one of the all-time greats. Mac Jones is playing better than all of the other rookie QB's, by a wide margin. The Pats have a strong defense and running game. The game is in New England. Bills 23-16.

McKenzie can definitely help in the slot, but it would be great if Sanders were back.

Also keep in mind that Beasley has been banged up and it not 100%, plus is also part of the over-30 crowd. Having Sanders and Beasley share reps may keep both of them fresher and healthier, while Davis is getting his well-deserved reps.

Given the COVID situation, you'd think the league could expand practice squads to include some reserve specialists for these types of situations. I don't believe that PS guys get paid that much and I'd guess there are plenty of former NFL and college placekickers, punters, and long snappers who would kill for the opportunity. Yesterday, it benefitted the Bills, but in the future it could hurt them. It's not that hard to imagine kicker or long snapper going on the COVID list right before a big game with playoff implications, or a playoff game itself.

I agree. Mullens has played some good games for SF. He's not Mike Glennon.

I was thinking Tommy Doyle - but along the same lines....

I don't know any of the details, but perhaps the teams are for profit entites, while the league itself is a not-for-profit entity.

Anyone have an opinion of Hassan Haskins from Michigan? My guess is that his measurables aren't that great, but the guy is a beast, runs hard inside and outside, can catch the ball, gets tons of yards after contact and comes up large in the biggest moments. He doesn't appear to have any issues with ball security. If anyone saw the Michigan-Ohio State game, he had 28 carries for 169 yards and 5 TDs on a cold, bad weather day against a higher-ranked, favored opponent and his team's biggest rival. A couple of years ago, he had a huge day in similar conditions against Notre Dame (again, he came up big in a big game against a major rival on the big stage). I'd love to see him in a Bills uniform next year. I guess he can be had with a mid or late round pick.

A problem with the situation that has not yet been raised in the thread is that the play was run after a time out. That gave the Bucs time to settle their troops and better prepare for the potential fake. It gave their coaches a chance to remind the players to "watch for the fake." If they had just trotted out the punt team as per usual and ran the fake, they may have had a much better chance of success. Perhaps Tampa would have seen Breida on the field and called their own timeout, at which point, you know they have figured it out and you either just punt or you run the offense back out. And, as many others have said, just go for it and put the ball in the hands of your best player(s), and don't bother with the fake punt at all.

Who cheated? If I recall correctly, the Bills got a very favorable call during the game winning drive against the Rams last year. I also recall a terrible call against the Bills TE earlier in the same game. Sometimes the Bills benefit from bad calls and other times it costs them. In some games, there are a number of bad calls and some go one team's way and some go the other team's way and they "balance out." In this past Sunday's games Bills-Bucs game, the balance of the calls, partcularly late in the 4th quarter and in OT, went the Bucs way and had an enormous influence in the outcome of the game.

I don't think there is a widespread conspiracy with NFL officiating. Could there be a bad apple or two on the take, like Tim Donaghy in the NBA? Sure. I DO think, however, that there is a bias, whether conscious or unconscious, which leads some teams or players to get more favorable calls than others. If you watch a lot of football, you can clearly see that guys like Brady and teams like the Patriots consistently get the calls. It could be that guys like Brady and Belichick are all-time greats, which gives them greater influence over the officials (again, could be unconscious). I can live with bad calls here and there, but when every single controversial call, at the most critical points in the game, go in favor of one team and against the other, it's ridiculous. The Bills had two critical drives killed by non-calls (potential game winning drive at end of regulation with Diggs in the end zone and Diggs in OT) and the Bucs had one (third down in OT, extending the drive) that clearly influenced the outcome of the game and were called at worst, incorrectly, and at best, inconsistently.

That's the decision they made in Tennessee and it didn't work. Despite that, I still think it was the right decision in that game. The Bills defense had not been able stop the Titans at all, and it was only 4th and a short 1, so it was the right call. In the Bucs game, it was 4th and a long 2 (or 4th and 3) and the Bills defense had been playing well down the stretch. I think they made the right decision. They ended up winning the coin toss, so they controlled their own destiny. But for terrible, one-sided, biased officiating, they would have gotten a 2nd opportunity in OT and would have (in my opinion) gotten into FG range to win it.