msw2112

Miami and Arizona are better than they were expected to be, and to paraphrase one of my favorite quotes of all-time (from Dennis Green) - the Pats and Jests are who we thought they were!

They are friends from when Brown played in AZ. Prior to the game, Brown cited Fitz as a great mentor of his. And yes, Fitz is one of the all-time class acts in the NFL.

I'm not putting forth any objective data here...I watched the game yesterday as I have watched every Bills game for years. Although with many games, I come out saying that "we really got screwed by the refs," I didn't come out of yesterday's game with that feeling. Sure, there was a bad call here or there, but overall, I don't think bad officiating had a significant impact on the outcome of the game. The could have overturned the interception when Fitzgerald last the ball going to the ground and didn't (which I think was correct, but it was close). The Bills seem to be on the wrong side of many of these. There may have been a PI which could have gone either way and disfavored the Bills, but nothing egregious.

Jax and LA Chargers. SD Chargers had a very solid fan base and a good following in the San Diego area. That move may come back to haunt that franchise.

People need to be realistic. Hall of Famers like Aaron Rodgers throw an occasional interception and have an occasional bad game. Russell Wilson just had his 2nd bad game in a row. Is he a mediocre QB? Allen, too, will throw an occasional interception and have an occasional bad game. Yesterday, he didn't have a terrible game. He made some great plays, and made a couple of mistakes. He also, as noted in this thread, had zero run game support. He still made enough plays to win a road game against a good opponent. He got the Bills into a 4 point lead with 31 seconds to go, making an incredible TD throw to get them there. The Bills got beat on a freak play by two great athletes. If they run that play 10 times, it fails 9. It's hard to take the loss, but at some point you have to take your hat off to Murray and Hopkins, who made a great play.

Klein has had a rough season and has taken a beating on this board. There's no doubt that prior to yesterday's game, his play has been poor. With Milano on IR, it was great to see A.J. step up yesterday and have a great game. He was all over the field making plays, against one of the top offenses in the NFL. Let's hope he can continue to play this way for the rest of the season. If he can, it will make a huge difference for the team.

My Wisconsin friends tell me he's a big play guy who does some amazing things, but then drops some easy ones. Talented, but unreliable. Sounds like a WR version of Dawson Knox.... I believe they activated him for 2 reasons:. 1) today is going to be a shootout and the Bills need all the weapons they can find, so they're gambling on his upside; and 2) he can fill in for Taiwan Jones on Special Teams.

I will always remember this sequence. Not a single play - but 3 TDs in 77 seconds against Elway and Broncos in 1990. I had great seats near the 50 yard line in the lower bowl. I have been to many games, including the Comeback game, but I don't recall anything more exhilarating than this incredible sequence: https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2010/9/30/1703600/september-30-1990-bills-score-20-points-in-77-seconds

Josh is no doubt the man. As the QB goes, so goes the team. Allen has been good (and in some games great) and the team is 6-2. But, I believe I can help define secret MVP - try "unsung hero" or a guy who quietly makes a large contribution without much notoriety.

Taiwan Jones is out? We're doomed. As some have mentioned, we are not stopping anyone (particularly with an offense as good as the Seahawks') with or without Milano this year. The game will be a shootout and let's hope we can outscore them. It may boil down to whoever gets the last possession. Given that the next 2 games are NFC opponents, it makes sense to rest Milano until after the bye and see if he can help down the stretch. John Brown playing may be more important this game, as we need all of our offensive weapons to keep pace and have a shot.

Before the season, I said that the lack of LB depth was the Bills' biggest concern. Sometimes (but rarely), I don't like to be right. We clearly have to go with the shootout strategy and see if we can outscore them. 47-45 anyone?

People have heard of his dad.

I agree with this, but want to clarify one comment. Yes, the ball bounced the Bills' way, in that once the fumble was on the ground, either team could have recovered it. But, it wasn't just a lucky bounce. Zimmer was BEHIND Newton and could have given up on the play, but instead, chased Newtown down, hustled, and made an intentional swipe at the ball, jarring it loose. So it was more than just a bounce the Bills' way, it was a great play by a Bills player that ultimately sealed the victory, which we should all enjoy. Could the Bills be playing better or winning by higher margins? Sure. But plenty of top teams win close games against "lesser" opponents. Not every win by a better team is a blowout. And not every game has the "better" team winning - see Bengals over Titans last weekend. Enjoy the win!

Two weeks ago they were terrible (small, slow and weak), Yeldon needed to play more and we were foolish for waiting until the 3rd round to draft RBs. Funny how the narrative can change so quickly with one successful game. OL play makes a difference.

The Bills didn't play a perfect game and there are certainly things they could have done better. That said, they never trailed in the game. Also, Newtown didn't drop the ball. Zimmer hit him from behind and clearly made an intentional move to punch the ball out - which was successful. The defense got run over most of the game, but made a play when they needed it most. They gave up a fair number of points and yards during the Raiders game, but also made a play (a couple of them) when the game was on the line and they had to have it. As to the national media, I really don't care what they say. Sure, it's nice to see praise for Buffalo and/or the Bills, but it really doesn't change anything. Simms should have gotten Zimmer's name, but keep in mind that Zimmer is a backup player recently signed from the practice squad who has never been a starter in the league. Not exactly a household name. Simms is generally a Bills supporter and I don't believe him blowing Zimmer's name was a show of disrespect. And I really don't care when they drone on about the Patriots, I just tune it out. I agree that they had one of the most successful runs in professional sports history, but it's over.

I have no problem with them taking a look at Worley or Poe. The reason that they are looking at Worley is that we are thin at CB due to injury and he's a CB with experience who is now available. Yes, they know him and he may know the system better because he's an ex-Panther, but it's not like they are offering draft picks to anyone to trade for a guy like this. I don't see the problem. If we sign him and he doesn't work out for us, we release him. If he can play a little bit, he provides some much needed depth. It's pretty simple.

I have no problem with this signing. I assume it's for short-term and low money. If he pans out, we have some much-needed depth. If he doesn't, we move on the to next guy. We don't know if he will pan out, but we do know that he was a high draft pick, has good speed, has NFL experience and plays linebacker.

I am going to go with the crowd that says that Phillips is not fully recovered from his knee injury, thus, he's not playing as well as he did before the injury and thus, he's riding the pine until he is fully recovered and playing at the level he can play when healthy. He appears to be the type of guy with the right attitude and work ethic, plus he's young and on a rookie contract, so I believe they'll give him an opportunity to get better. If he doesn't demonstrate a full recovery soon, they'll get him in IR for the knee and start fresh next year. McDermott likes him, but can see that he's not playing at 100% and thus not contributing as much as some other guys on the roster, so they are on the field and he isn't.

As much as things looked differently a few weeks ago, this team is probably a playoff team, but not a true Super Bowl contender. As such, does it make sense to give up future assets (mid-to-high round draft picks) for a couple of established veterans in positions of need? That's aside from Salary Cap considerations. Are we really one or two players away? Would one or two new players push us over the top? And if we have to give up players to acquire players in positions of need, who do we give up? We could strengthen one area of need, but at the cost of weakening another. I'm sure Beane is scouring the market and talking with other teams, and would be willing to make a deal that doesn't have long-term negative consequences.

Guards, we have Winters, Ike (is he PS or active roster?), Feliciano could be activated, Darryl Williams could play RG with Ty playing RT. Bates may also be able to play guard. Not saying any of this is good news, but we do have the bodies. CB - after Tre, it gets thin fast and Tre himself is banged up. Is Norman healthy? He has a nose for the ball, but cannot cover. Taron Johnson, I believe is healthy, although not playing well at all. How about Siran Neal? He used to be a safety, but I believe he's a slot corner now. I assume that Wallace is still out (is he on IR?). Feel free to fill in the blanks - these are just off the top of my head. Good thing we have the Jests this week.

Daboll interviewed for the Browns job last year, so I take that to mean that he would leave Buffalo to be a HC somewhere else. I agree that as an OC, he wouldn't go anywhere other than Buffalo. Despite the losses the last 2 weeks, it's a good young team on the rise with a highly-talented franchise QB, I suspect the Pegulas pay market rate or better, AND he gets to live in his hometown and work for the team he was a fan of growing up.

Being an NFL coach is a grind. You work long hours, don't get to see much of your family, etc. You also have a lot of headaches to deal with and often have a short shelf-life. Could Romo be a coach - probably yes. But he makes a great living doing what he is doing and it's a much easier job and lifestyle. If I was in his shoes, I would stick with broadcasting.

I usually exchange a quick "Go Bills" or "Go Buffalo" comment when I see people wearing Bills or Sabres gear. I was wearing a Sabres hat on the beach in southern California around Labor Day and a guy spotted me and stopped to chat - he had some kind of Bills gear on. We did the "where are you from?" and talked for a couple minutes. My favorite of these interactions was at Octoberfest in Munich a couple of years ago. I had a Bills hat on and out of nowhere I heard a couple of guys screaming "Bills Mafia!" We exchanged high-fives and moved on. I think the comradery of Buffalo natives and fans is great and seems to be much stronger than for people from other markets. I like it and take pride in my hometown and hometown teams.

Thanks for the explanation - that makes sense. I figured there was something like that, but didn't know what.

I don't understand the practice squad rules these days, but why are they announcing this today? If he played in the game on Monday, wasn't he added to the 53 at that time? As far as how he played, I don't think it can be said that any of the Bills defensive linemen played well on Monday, but Zimmer did make a couple of hustle plays and seemed to give a lot of effort, so perhaps that elevates him above the others and earned him a spot on the roster. He certainly didn't appear to be any worse than anyone else on the D-line.