msw2112

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.

I don't agree that Tyrod plays the style that he does because he's trying to be a career backup and collect big paychecks while holding a clipboard (although not a bad gig if you can get it). Some people have the ability to make quick decisions and execute accordingly. Tyrod is a skilled athlete, but doesn't possess that ability. He plays a tentative style because of the way he processes information. He doesn't have the innate ability to make quick decisions and quickly execute the things that he's physically capable of doing. Fitz is kind of the opposite in this regard - he is able to make quick decisions and quickly execute, but he is limited in the things that he's physically capable of doing (compared to the top guys). The true greats are the ones that have the innate mental ability to process information quickly and execute AND also the physical talent to make it happen. I think that Josh Allen is one of those guys. Even those guys, however, need SOME semblance of an offensive line to function at their highest level.

The bad luck comment was referring to the injuries they have sustained. Tyrod got impaled by a metal medical device rendered by a team doctor when he was with the Chargers that opened the door for Herbert and Fitz got injured earlier this year in Washington, opening the door for Heineicke. Neither was destined to be a long-term solution, but in both cases, they were the named starter.

Both guys, Tyrod and Fitz, have had similar bad luck in recent years/since leaving the Bills. Pretty much everywhere either one of them has gone and been named the starter, they have been supplanted by a rookie or other young player, oftentimes due to their own unfortunate injuries. Both are good guys and good teammates that can play, are excellent backups and could be starters in the right situation. Neither guy is likely to lead a team to the Super Bowl, but paired with a strong defense and running game, these guys can run an offense on a successful. Fitzy can also be pretty darned productive, as he was in Miami. Tyrod is much more consertive - the proverbial game manager.

Reminds me of when Beasley Reece used to work as part of the broadcast crew for NFL games - he always pronounced "Bills" as "Beels" (or "Beals," depending on your preferred spelling).

The Pats deserve any media attention they get. They have the best record in the AFC, lead the division, lead the conference, and just won a pivotal game against the reigning division champion. That said, I would not at all be surprised if they lose their next game against the Colts, the Bills beat the Bucs (no easy task, but certainly doable), the Panthers, and then beat New England in the re-match in a few weeks. That would flip the narrative pretty quickly. I personally am not that intersted in the media's opinions and don't really care what the narrative is. I just want the Bills to be successful.

I agree. The throw was to Davis, but was rushed because Allen had a guy in his face. The ball would have been behind Davis, even if the DB didn't get a hand on it. If Allen had time, the throw would have had a chance. That said, it was 4th and 14, so the defense knew we were throwing the ball and brought pressure. And why was it 4th and 14? A wasted run into the line on 1st down that hadn't worked all game (and never works) and a stupid penalty.

Like another poster said, I saw that graphic last night and didn't think twice about it. I didn't give it more thought until I saw it mentioned in this thread today. As a fan, it doesn't bother me at all. Whether FOX loves the Pats, hates the Bills, put up only QBs of 1st place teams, etc., I don't really care. If this provides motivation for the Bills and they play with more intensity because of it, then I think it's a good thing. I despise the Patriots and don't care for Mac Jones, but I can't deny that they are playing well now and have worked themselves into first place in the division. It's up to the Bills to step up and take care of business on Monday night. They have the talent, the home crowd, the return of a number of key players, and they know the importance of the game. They also, in the McD-Allen era, have tended to play very well in nationally televised games, including one just last week in New Orleans. So I expect the Bills to get it done.

I remember that JP Houston game. The bombs to Lee Evans! I thought it was the start of something big. I also remember JP leading a late 4th quarter game-winning drive at home against Jacksonville. Not too many JP memories beyond that, but I always liked the kid and hoped he'd develop into a franchise QB. I was never a big fan of Trentative, as between the two. That was a great play - one of the best single plays in Bills history. It was also when Fitz stepped into the limelight a bit and started to become a fan favorite, which he still is, to this day, in Buffalo (and elsewhwere).

I don't remember how Doyle played in the preseason, but the regular season sample size isn't very large. I know that he nearly got Josh killed on his first snap, but did he play any more than that one snap? Did he get an entire series (which if he did, was probably a 3 and out, the way they played in that game)? I have no idea whether he'll develop into a contributing player or not, but I think it's a little soon to write the kid off. Obviously, they saw something in him that warranted a mid-round draft pick. Of course, they saw something in Cody Ford too.

I think he could re-sign with the Bills in the offseason if the opportunity with the Giants doesn't turn out to be a good one for him. There's no doubt that being on the Giants active roster is a better place to be than on any team's practice squad, but who knows what the Bills might have available next year.

The risk of activating Stevenson is the loss of a roster spot that is needed elsewhere. If they decided to remove McKenzie from the roster in lieu of Stevenson, then you have a one-for-one swap. The problem with Stevenson is that he has a pretty long injury history, which is why he slipped to the late rounds of the draft. If they activate him, lose McKenzie to another team, then Stevenson gets injured, where are they? Stevenson is also a rookie - can he be trusted down the strech in a playoff run? McKenzie has not shown reliable hands in the return game, but has been effective as a receiver, on jet sweeps and when he actually does secure the ball, he has been explosive on kick returns. I'm not advocating one way or the other, but am just pointing out information that says this isn't an easy decision.

There is no comparison between Jeff George and Josh Allen. George was a complete me-first a-hole. Even his father was known to be an a-hole (which is likely why George himself developed that personality). Allen is not playing well right now, but he's a total team guy who takes responsibility and will work as hard as he can to correct his mistakes and get better. George blamed everyone else and took no responsibility. Also, from a playing style, George was not a great athlete, but had a great arm. Allen, on the other hand, has both a great arm AND great athletic ability.