msw2112

I agree that I don't agree.

I know this is an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary and is available on ESPN+. Is it also on Netflix?

I agree that 13 seconds was not Allen's fault. But despite the boneheaded coaching decisions made by the Bills helping him out, Mahomes properly read what the defense was giving him and got his team into FG range to tie that game in 13 seconds. It showed a mastery of the game that few have. Allen was off-the-charts incredible in that game and if he had the benefit of a possession in OT, I'm confident the Bills would have scored. But that's another story. Mahomes' mastery of the game in crunch-time situations is second to none (since Brady's retirement). That doesn't mean that Mahomes is a 10 to Allen's 2 or 3. Allen is a 9 1/2. Mahomes is not a "Mental God" over Josh. They don't play against each other, as they are not on the field at the same time. That said, Mahomes has displayed a mastery of the situation in crunch time, particularly in the playoffs, that Allen has not yet shown. Allen needs to work on the decision making part of his game and if he improves there, he'll be as good, and quite possibly better than Mahomes.

I don't think Mahomes is vastly superior to Allen. To the contrary, Allen is better in many areas. But you can't ignore the reality that Mahomes has 3 Super Bowl titles and Allen has none. Mahomes has found a way to get the job done in the playoffs and Allen has not. Mahomes has accomplished more than any QB in the first 5-6 years of his career than any other QB in NFL history. I'm not a Mahomes ball-washer. I prefer Allen for the Bills and wouldn't make the trade. That said, I can't ignore the facts and reality of the situation. I also stand by my belief on how the Bills should have handled the final 2 minutes against the Chiefs. It was critical that they used up the clock as well as scored (and unfortunately, they did neither). That's just smart football and the correct management of the situation. It's similar to when a player gives himself up before the goal line and slides at the 1 yard line. You don't want to leave enough time on the clock for the other team to beat you, especially when you have a Hall of Fame QB on the other sideline who has done it time and again. Furthermore, the Bills were trotting out a shell of their staring defense. Do you really think that unit was going to get a stop against Mahomes and the Chiefs in that situation? Perhaps Allen is not at fault - maybe it was Brady and/or McDermott not communicating the strategy or not calling the correct play. I would rather have had the Bills take a FG with no time on the clock than scoring a TD with almost 2 minutes on the clock and Mahomes on the other sideline. That's exactly what the Chiefs did in the Super Bowl and it worked out pretty well for them. They used up the clock, preventing the 49ers from having the last possession, tried to get the winning TD, couldn't get it, and wisely took the FG to live another day in OT.

I'm fine with bringing Trubisky back on a team-friendly deal. He's better than Kyle Allen and could keep the team afloat for a few weeks, if Josh were injured. I don't see Mitch going into KC and willing the team to victory, but could he beat the Jests or Pats in Buffalo? Sure. He's a good fit for the Bills' system and situation, better than he was for the Steelers' and the Bills were not going to (and are not going to have to) pay him what the Steelers were paying him. I also advocate drafting a day-3 QB to develop as a potential future backup. Kind of like a Jake Fromm who doesn't suck.

I agree with this. I love Allen. He's the most physically talented QB in the game and he's mentally tough. He has carried the Bills to a lot of success and willed some victories. I'm glad he's the Bills' QB and I wouldn't want anyone else. That said, he still could improve his situational awareness. On the last drive against KC, the ball should not have been thrown into the end zone when it was. Even if successful, it would have left too much time on the clock for the Chiefs to come back and score. The correct play was to get the first down and milk the clock down before throwing it in the end zone. Diggs was wide open underneath (as we all know) and that's where the ball should have gone. It's possible that the play call was the problem - I don't know - but the guys going deep (like Shakir) opened up Diggs underneath which would have netted a first down and the opportunity to manage the clock before going to the end zone. At this stage of their careers, I believe that Mahomes is better at this aspect of the game. A perfect example is the last drive in regulation in the Super Bowl, when the Chiefs drove down the field and kicked the game tying FG with 8 seconds left. They tried to get a TD to win it, were not able to, but when they kicked the FG, there was no time left on the clock for the 49ers to drive down to win. They gave themselves the best chance to win in that situation. The Bills final drive against the Chiefs should have been managed in this manner. So I think that Allen has room to improve in this area, but it has nothing to do with Mahomes. Allen and Mahomes are not on the field at the same time. Allen has outplayed Mahomes numerous times when their teams have played each other. When the game is on the line, however, Mahomes makes the right plays at the right time, and manages the situation perfectly to give his team the best chance to win. Allen is not quite there yet.

It's frustrating as hell, but the Bills are very close. They lost a 1-score game to the 2-time Super Bowl champions, with a decimated defense. Multiple starters were out. Multiple backups were out. Third and fourth string players were out there trying to stop the best QB in the world. They didn't, but they came very close. I agree that the Chiefs' play calling is better and their kicker is better. It could be argued that their QB is better in clutch situations. All that said, with a little bit of injury luck, the Bills might get over the hump. There were points in the season where I felt McD should be fired at the end of the season, but looking back, and taking a realistic look at what our defensive personnel looked like in the KC playoff game, what would be the better alternative? I'm not sure that Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh, Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh, Don Shula, etc. or any other great coach would have beaten the Chiefs in that playoff game with the defensive personnel the Bills had available.

That's the rationale that Shanahan stated in the post-game press conference. I'm not saying it's the right decision, but it's the reason that he stated.

I don't think there is necessarily a correlation between being qualified for the position and being interviewed for it. Eric Bieniemy has a lot of experience as an NFL offensive coordinator and did a decent job with what he had in Washington last season. Although he didn't call plays in KC, he had several years experience there as an OC. He was not retained when Ron Rivera's staff was terminated. From what I read, he was not offered any interviews for open OC positions in the NFL or NCAA. He's certainly qualified to do that job. There's no objective way to quantify something like that. So I think we can agree to disagree on whether interviews=qualified. I think we CAN agree that Babich was clearly in higher demand than Butler and hence, he's the new DC and Butler is out the door.

The fact that the Bills' defensive backs have performed well over the years are an indication that he might be qualified. Outside of Elam, our other defensive backs have performed pretty well during Butler's tenure. He's been a defensive position coach on a successful NFL team for several years and has earned a promotion during that time. Those are typically the type of guys who get promoted to defensive coordinator roles. I'm no insider at One Bills Drive. Like most people here, I watch all the games, read stuff online, and participate on this board. So I really don't know if he's qualified, but it's certainly possible that he is, and its even more likely that he THINKS he is qualified. As such, I stand by my opinion that he wanted the promotion to DC and decided to part ways with the team when Babich got it. I agree with you that ranting on social media is not a good look at all, even if it was not a large time investment to do it.

I've never been a big Mayfield fan and he's not at Josh Allen's level, but he's good NFL QB. He's got the arm talent to make all of the necessary throws, has some mobility, and lots of moxie. He really did get a raw deal in Cleveland. His decline in play was clearly attributable to an injury. And the TV commercials he made at the stadium (Progressive?) were funny, evidencing that the guy has some personality and sense of humor. I actually like him more now than I ever did in the past because he's faced some substantial career adversity, toughed it out, and has come out the other side pretty successfully. Good on Tampa for giving him the opportunity and good on Mayfield for making the most of it.

My take is that the Bills had no choice but to promote Babich, or they would have lost him to one of the other teams that was interviewing him. He also has an impressive track record with the LB's that suggests he's a rising star in the coaching ranks and was worthy of the promotion. That left them in a bad spot with Butler, who was also worthy/deserving of the promotion. Rather than face the indignity of working for a guy who got the promotion that he wanted/felt he deserved, Butler elected to move on and the Bills had to replace him and hired Addae. I admit to knowing nothing about Addae other than what I've read in this thread, but obviously, I hope he succeeds. As others have said, Butler will land on his feet and I wish him success - in the NFC.

I wrestled for a few years in high school. During that time, I was BY FAR in the best shape of my life. The amount of discipline it took to participate at a serious level was pretty extreme. I also played football and hockey and I have to admit that those sports were a lot more fun than wrestling, but they didn't produce the same level of fitness.

I knew at the time that Kelly was playing on a bad knee, which is why I wish the team had stuck with Reich throughout the playoffs. Reich led the team in the comeback game, then played great to beat a very good Steelers team (on the road I think). Reich was red hot and the team was humming. In the AFCCG against Miami, they went back to Kelly, who won the game easily by handing the ball off and throwing screen passes. He was nowhere close to 100% in that game, but was not tested and he was nowhere close to ready in the Super Bowl, when, unfortunately, he was tested and he did not pass the test. By the time Kelly went out and Reich came in, it was too late. I should add that I'm a huge Marv Levy fan, but he got this one wrong. His stance was this is "Jim's team" and so if Jim said he was ready to play, he played. Contrast that with Bill Parcells, who against the Bills in the Bills 1st Super Bowl, stuck with backup Jeff Hostetler, even though starter Phil Simms had recovered from injury. Hostetler had the hot hand and Parcells stuck with it, not concerned about offending Simms. We all know how it turned out.

You may not follow college football that closely, but Michigan's recruiting was somewhere in the range of 14th-16th compared to the teams at the top like Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State and Michigan lags behind those programs in NIL money. For that team to win the national championship (beating Ohio State and Alabama along the way) speaks volumes about Harbaugh's ability to develop players and coach a team. And while the sign-stealing scandal may reflect poor sportsmanship, it certainly offered Michigan no competitive advantage against Purdue and Ohio State (who already had Michigan's signs and shared them with each other), and Penn State, Alabama, and Washington, all of whom Michigan played and beat long after the scandal hit the media. Throw in Harbaugh's previous success at U of San Diego, Stanford, and in the NFL with the 49ers, it adds to the fact that the guy is a great football coach. I completely agree with you that he's an odd duck and says some pretty crazy things in press conferences. The influence he can have on a team for millions less than a 2nd tier WR#1, with no salary cap implications, makes the deal a bargain. The Chargers will be a contender very soon, which, as stated above, helps the Bills in that it makes the Chiefs' season more difficult, but hurts the Bills in that there will be another very good AFC team they'll have to deal with.

I think the answer to this is that good coaches get snapped up pretty quickly these days. If a team take too much time to make a decision, the good ones are out the door and hired elsewhere. If you have an internal guy that is well-liked by the players and coaching staff, and has performed well in the past, you lock them up. As to Smiley, I agree that special teams were not good last year and an upgrade there would be a good move for the team.

For those of us who have promoted Roman Wilson on this board, good to see him having a good first day.

He's worth a late-round pick. He is good enough to be a backup QB in the league and there's some value in that. While he can start games and have a good performance here or there, he's certainly not a "franchise" quarterback. He became a star at Alabama because he was surrounded by talent that was far superior to that of the opposing team. See AJ McCarron (except AJ gets extra consideration for his better half).

I actually think the song is a "classic" in its genre and a lot of sports teams in both college and professional sports play this song. I agree that it doesn't appear to have any direct relevance to Buffalo, but it doesn't bother me one way or another if the Bills want to use it.

I mostly agree with this. Reid is a master and the Chiefs' game plan against the Bills may have been different if the Bills had their full complement on defense. That said, the game was very close and I do believe that if the Bills had even 2 of Milano, Bernard, Tre White and/or a healthy Rasul Douglas, they win the game. But they didn't and the Chiefs moved on. I'm not going to bash the OP, but I will disagree that realignment is a reasonable solution to the Chiefs' dominance.

I'm bummed out about the Bills being out of it and I'd never get super excited about an NFL game that doesn't involve the Bills. That said, I enjoy NFL football and I really enjoy NFL football between two good teams with their season on the line. Both games present interesting matchups. So I'll be watching. I admit that there will be a bit of an empty feeling during the AFC game, knowing that the Bills were extremely close to being in that game.

The Bills should promote this guy to DC in title and pay. McD can still be involved and/or mentor him. Seems like a rising star in the coaching ranks and the Bills should find a way to retain him, particularly while McD could stand to put more focus into his role as head coach.

I agree. Unless Diggs had an injury that we don't know about, I'd attribute his drop off in production to the change in OC and offensive philosophy (which, for the most part, worked). Guys drop off as they get older, particularly after age 30, but if they're not injured, they simply don't drop off this much in the matter of a couple of weeks. I also agree, however, that the Bills WR corps needs to get a younger, bigger guy on the outside, whether or not Diggs comes back next season (which he likely will) and whether or not Diggs' stats return more to his usual numbers.

This plan actually worked. The offense had the ball on the 27 yard line with 2 1/2 minutes and timeouts. The plan gave the team a chance to win, despite the depleted defense. Unfortunately, the offense was not able to covert. I'm getting really tired of the piling on McDermott. The guy may not be the 2nd coming of Vince Lombardi, and yes, maybe the Bills need a fresh voice to help get the team over the hump in the playoffs. But the idea that McDemott is a complete incompetent and horrible coach is ridiculous. The guy has had a lot of success with the Bills. Other teams have great QBs and have not performed as well as McDermott's Bills have. For a recent example, how have the Chargers done with Justin Herbert? How many Super Bowls did Don Shula win with Hall of Famer Dan Marino? McDermott may not be the best coach in the business, but he's not a horrible coach. McDermott has won 4 division titles and 5 playoff games. He got a team with very limited talent to the playoffs before Josh Allen arrived. He somehow managed to get a 6-6 team that was left for dead to win 5 straight games, including the final game on the road against its biggest rival to win the division and then win a playoff game. There may be better coaches out there than McDermott, and maybe the Bills would be better off with one of them, but the idea that he's a terrible coach is a fallacy.

The "best" fanbase is a completely subjective concept. There are few metrics than can objectively tell you which fanbase is best. That said, the Bills fanbase (whether or not you like the "Mafia" moniker) has developed a reputation as being among the best, if not the best, in the country. A few things that contribute to this: showing up to support the team at the stadium, regardless of how bad the weather conditions are unmatched tailgating for NFL football (ask fans from other teams who have come to Buffalo) greeting the team at the airport after road games taking over opposing teams' cities on weekends of away games (and "neutral site" locations like London) the great pride that Buffalonians take in their city, hometown, and by extension, its sports teams huge amounts of money donated to charities of its own and opposing teams' players TV ratings and merchandise sales for the Bills (which fall more in the "objective" category) I grew up in Buffalo, but have not lived there in about 30 years. I still have close friends there and I go back as often as I can. I have lived in a few other US cities and traveled extensively in the US and a little bit internationally. From my personal experience and interactions, people outside of Buffalo generally regard the Bills' fanbase as one of the best.