msw2112

You left out one of the best, but most painful, games in the history of the rivalry. January 4, 1981. AFC Playoff game. Chargers score long TD with 2 minutes to play to beat the Bills 20-14. This is the game when Joe Ferguson gutted it on on one ankle and the Bills were in control until the fateful Fouts pass to Smith. I was a kid at the time, but remember seeing the play and feeling like I just got punched in the gut. Little did I know that I would experience that same feeling so many times in the 35+ years to follow. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1981/01/04/fouts-50-yard-pass-to-smith-ousts-buffalo-20-14-in-afc/432bf4c0-4062-402c-9b8d-ea9bfcd23b1f/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b1c02bcdcee8

Most teams do.

I agree with the Darnold comment above. I only watched a few minutes of the Jests game last night, but I did see the play where Darnold threw a bomb down the left sideline to Robbie Anderson for Darnold's first NFL TD. His line gave him ALL DAY to get that throw off. I don't know if Peterman has the arm strength to make that play, but Allen certainly does. It's going to be a while before a Bills QB has that kind of time to throw. I was a believer in Peterman earning the job and being the stopgap, but I have been proven wrong. I didn't love the McCarron trade at the time and now I really dislike it. This coaching staff and I have something in common - we both overvalued Peterman.

I live in Phoenix and from this list, the one I know the best is Pullano's. They have good food: pizza, wings, beef on weck and other red sauce Italian food. Their wings are among the best in Arizona and among the best I have had outside of Buffalo. The owners are actually from Michigan, not Buffalo, but I suspect that they got some of their menu ideas from their customers. I have lived in Michigan and nobody there knows what beef on weck is....It's in a strip mall in a middle class to working class part of town and the crowd fits that mold. Very nice, down to earth people, including the owners, the wait staff and the members of the Bills club. Everyone will make you feel welcome and comfortable. It's a family friendly atmosphere. In full disclosure, I have Sunday Ticket and record most games on my DVR and watch them a little bit later in the day, as the games start very early out here and I have a lot of family commitments in the morning. In the past, I have watched Bills games at the Bills bar in other cities, including Chicago (both of them), New York City and San Diego. The Chicago and NYC bars are in more "upscale" neighborhoods and have more of a "white collar" crowd and the San Diego bar is near the beach and has more of a "blue collar" crowd. Bills fans of all walks are great people and I enjoyed each and every one of these experiences. As to the other Phoenix bars: a few years ago, I went to Santisi Brothers to watch a game and couldn't find any Bills fans there. They show all of the NFL games and it is not exclusively a Bills bar, whereas Pullano's definitely is. The other one I know something about is Bottled Blonde. This is a huge sports bar in the "party district" of Scottsdale. This place is not a family atmosphere, but if you want to see smoking hot bartenders and waitresses (and who doesn't), this is the place for you. I haven't been there for a game, but I have been there to drink. I highly doubt it is exclusive to the Bills. I'm sure that Bills fans gather there to watch the game, but I don't know if they are an active "chapter" of Bills Backers. Pullano's is definitely that. All of the other places are in the East Valley, which is far from where I live (in Central Phoenix), so I don't know anything about them. My recommendation is this: if you are with your family, go to Pullano's. If you are single, go to Bottled Blonde. Also, with 16 weeks of games, you may want to try both. Good luck, enjoy and Go Bills!

The ranking is appropriate for right now. If Peterman plays well, he can change the conversation.

I'm assuming this is a joke designed to stir the pot....

I agree with those who say he should have challenged it. Your Rookie QB made a good play and potentially got a rare first down. If we challenge and win, you might build some confidence for the offense (and the young QB) and it would provide more snaps to evaluate them. I also agree that McD's in-game decision making was suspect last year and it would be beneficial to the coaching staff to practice their challenge "process," which clearly needs some work. I also agree that we were fortunate to win the Indy game and had a number of lucky things go our way to help pull out that win. Better game management may have allowed us to win without needing the luck. (And I am a big McD supporter).

DirecTV sent out an email this morning to Sunday Ticket subscribers indicating that they are doing a test of the streaming system tonight and that Sunday Ticket Subscribers can stream tonight's game for free. The email was not very clear about where to go to start the stream. It mentions it can be done on Apple or Android operating systems and that you can log in with your DTV username and password, but it doesn't indicate WHAT link to use or WHAT App to use. Kind of frustrating. I am on West Coast time and will be working at kickoff time and likely in transit and not get home until well after halftime, so I don't know that I will have time to even bother with this. (Of course, in reality, I will probably try to stream it on my phone while sitting at my desk right at kickoff at 4 PM). UPDATE: I just investigated and it appears that tonight's games can be streamed on the "regular" Sunday Ticket app on an Apple or Android tablet or phone. For those that have it and are out of market, that's how you can watch tonight's game live. NFL Network will rebroadcast all of the games at a later date and time. I have not looked up the Bills-Bears telecast yet, but my DVR is pre-set to records all Bills games, so I'm covered.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a Peterman lover and I think Allen is our long-term starter at QB. That said, Peterman has had a great preseason and has shown himself to be more decisive. He makes his reads and gets the ball out much more quickly than Allen at this point. Given that this OL is not providing the QB much time, Peterman is the better choice to start right now. Given more time, there is no doubt that Allen can make plays with his arm that Peterman and most other NFL QBs can't. Assuming McCarron is healthy, I would make the same comparison. Peterman makes his reads and gets the ball out much more quickly than McCarron. I have not seen any of training camp, but what I have read is that McCarron is holding onto the ball too long. I did see the first half of the Cleveland game, and McCarron was completely ineffective and unable to get the ball out quickly, just like Allen in the Cincy game. When Peterman played with the 1s against Carolina (who I think has a decent front line and pressures the QB), Peterman got the ball out quickly and was successful.

This looks like a good deal for all parties involved. The Jests get a 3rd round pick for a backup QB and don't end up paying much in the way of his salary & bonuses. The Saints get an NFL QB with starting experience who has shown that he has come back from injury and can be effective. With Drew Brees getting up around 40 (I don't know his exact age), Bridgewater becomes a legitimate future option. For Bridgewater, he gets an opportunity to sit behind a Hall of Fame QB, with an opportunity to show his wares in practice and potentially re-sign and become the future starter. If Brees gets injured, Bridgewater's opportunity comes even sooner.

The starting defense looks terrible and the starting O-line looks worse than that. In addition to seeing nothing positive so far out of Murphy or Star, Vonte Davis looks pretty bad too and no doubt much worse than EJ Gaines looked last year (when he was healthy enough to play). It's only pre-season, so I am willing to give the front office the benefit of the doubt, but there are some things to be concerned about. As other threads have pointed out, and anyone who has watched the last two games will attest to, the starting OL is probably cause for increased concern....

It's too early to say whether Allen will be successful. You can't predict an NFL career on two preseason appearances. So far I like what I see. He has the physical skills, seems to have the desire to put in the work, and so far, is demonstrating the "football smarts" that it takes to be a successful NFL QB. EJ Manuel had the physical skills, work ethic and was a smart kid in general, but lacked the "football smarts" - the ability to quickly process information on the football field, react to it and execute the proper play. Tom Brady is a good athlete (he was an excellent high school and college baseball player and was drafted by the Montreal Expos), but he was not and is not as athletically gifted as numerous other quarterbacks who have played in the NFL, including EJ Manuel. He has a great work ethic. He's a smart guy, but probably not as smart as a guy like Ryan Fitzpatrick. What separates him is the innate ability to process information quickly on the football field, react to it and execute the proper play. He may be the best ever in this area - it's hard to argue otherwise. To make one other comparison, Doug Flutie had great football smarts, but was limited by his physical stature, whereas Rob Johnson had the physical skills, but lacked the football smarts. Fitzy has the smarts, but lacks the physical ability. Getting back to Allen, let's hope he has the complete package. Time will tell. Go Josh and go Bills!

I was surprised that there were no photos from the Bisons playing there between the departure of the Bills in the early 70's and the opening of (then-called) Pilot Field in 1988. That's the era of the stadium that I remember most. Despite this omission, I enjoyed the photos. I was too young to see the Bills play there, but my father and grandfather used to go to Bills games there in the 60s and early 70s.

Seeing all of the success that many others were having, I decided to call again. I got a rep in India and politely asked to be transferred to the Loyalty Department. They transferred me and I got an experienced rep on the line - you can always tell within the 30 seconds. She worked her magic and got me an additional $75 (or so) off of Sunday Ticket, plus a free upgrade to Max. So my final cost for the full Max package was less than $75. She REMOVED my $15 off for 12 months and said that I should be getting something in the range of $55 per month, but that the system had not yet generated the offer for me. She said she would give me a one-time $55 credit to take care of this month and to call back after the close of my next billing cycle, when the $55 off per month for a year should be available. It appears that she still gave me the $15 off for the first month, but removed the last 11 months of the deal, as my acceptance of this could potentially negate a larger offer that is coming soon. She said that I had large discounts from last year that just rolled off of my account and it can take a full billing cycle (or 2) for them to "regenerate." I took her word for it, took the additional savings for now and will call back in a month. I am much happier than I was yesterday. So yes, they broke me, but not completely. Persistence definitely pays off with these folks.

I don't understand whey the Vikes didn't hang on to him. He may well end up being better than Cousins (who I like) and won't cost $84 million, or whatever ridiculous fully guaranteed money they gave him. I guess they were not confident that he could fully recover from the injury. Nice play by the Jests to pick him up for $10 M. Good insurance for Darnold/McCown (and they didn't have Darnold at the time of the signing) or they can flip him for a draft pick. I was hoping the Bills would pick him up, but Allen is looking good, so I am happy with how it is playing out for us.

Some variety of this approach has been stated above, but I will let you know a fairly easy way that I would recommend to get the games for your Dad: 1) YOU sign up for DirecTV and Sunday Ticket. 2) Buy a Chromecast dongle and hook it up to your Dad's TV through an HDMI port. (I think these run about $35.) 3) Download the "Sunday Ticket" app to an Android or Apple Phone (or Android or Apple Tablet) at your Dad's house. (Free) 4) When you are watching the game on TV at home, your Dad can open the Sunday Ticket App on his phone or tablet, logging in with YOUR DirecTV username and password. 5) He can then watch the game on the phone/tablet OR he can click the "Cast" icon and it will cast onto the TV with the Chromecast attached. I had not thought about this in the past, but I think I am going to do this very thing for MY Dad this season! (Or my brother - they can fight over it or first come, first served!)

The more I read these posts of success, the more frustrated I am about the deal I accepted yesterday. It was my 3rd or 4th call, so they broke me. I just couldn't take another call!

I just wrapped up my annual call. Big downgrade from last year. Last year: $55 off per month on service ADDITIONAL $20 off per month (from a 2nd call) Free NFL Ticket, Free MAX upgrade One year contract ME: Thrilled! This year: $15 off per month on service NFL Ticket (regular, not MAX) at 50% off One time $50 credit No contract ME: Not so happy, but at least I got something.... Not great, but they wore me down. It took 3 calls to get this far and I ran out of time and patience. I am actually fine with the NFL at 50% off. They paid billions to be the exclusive provider and they have shareholders to think about, so they are entitled to make money off of their investment. Where I am pissed off is the small monthly discount on the service. They are charging a lot of $$$ for a service that can be had elsewhere for less. They mark it up and should then counter that with discounts for good customers who ask. I'm still willing to pay a fair price for their service, but for what I get, I don't think that what I will be paying is a fair price. At least I got something for my time and I will call back in a month or two to see what else I can do.

When this story first broke, I thought that McCoy could have been responsible The more this unfolds, and the way it is unfolding, the more I think it is a crock and an attempted money grab.

I agree that the scheme will help and also having the QBs get the ball out more quickly. I have read that this is weakness of McCarron in camp, but I have not seen last night's game yet (out of market and recorded the NFL Network broadcast this morning) to see whether that's the case.

I'm one of those sick individuals (and there are many like me on this board) that loves watching Bills pre-season games. I don't care much about the score or who wins, but I really enjoy seeing how some of the unknowns develop. QB, OL and WR are big question marks to watch. I also want to see Edmonds in his first NFL action. Finally, I love watching the 4th quarter when the long shot guys get a chance to show their skills and make some plays. Who is going to be this year's Landon Cohen? This year's Eddie Yarborough? This year's UDFA WR that nobody has ever heard up who is going to look great (and probably still not make the team)? When watching other teams in preseason, I only have interest in the big names, but when it's the Bills, I take great interest in 54-90.

I can't stand Spiro Dedes and Beth Mowins. I'm not sure if Mowins is even with CBS. I like Nance/Romo/Wolfson and Gumbel/Green and am optimistic about Arians. Eagle and crew are OK, certainly not a favorite of mine. Did I mention that I cannot stand Spiro Dedes? He is really annoying and makes numerous errors throughout each and every game. It boggles my mind that the networks can't find enough competent announcers to fill all of their slots.

My annual contract runs out on August 16. I have called a couple of times to see what offers are out there for next year and so far, there hasn't been much. $5 off per month and some free Cinemax. My current agreement has me with $75 off per month and I got free Ticket Max last year. Last year, I had already gotten $55 off per month for 12 months and free Ticket, and an unrelated call to an inexperienced rep last year netted me an additional $20 off per month for 12 months. I'm not realistically expecting to do as well as that this year, but if I can get something in the range of $50 off per month and some kind of decent discount on the Ticket, I will be happy. So far, I am not happy. Will try again. I'll keep checking back here to see how others have done, as that is an indicator of what is available.

Marv is a great guy. When I lived in Chicago, he lived in my neighborhood. I once saw him in the grocery store and had a conversation with him. I told him that I used to go to most of the Bills home games during the late 80's/early 90's and told him I was at the Greatest Comeback Houston playoff game. Still witty at his advanced age (and that was several years ago), he said, "funny, I was there too!" When his autobiography came out, I was out of town, but my girlfriend (now wife) stopped by the book signing at the neighborhood sports bar where she met him and he signed it. I also watched several Bills games with his wife and stepdaughter at the Bills bar in Chicago. This was during the Jauron era and Dick's daughters showed up from time to time as well. I was never a big Jauron fan, but I will never forget leading the "We love Dick" chant at the bar when his Bills team got off to the 4-1 start one year. Getting back to the point of the original post, Happy Birthday Marv!

I also agree that there's not much point in kicking the tires on LaFell. He hasn't done much on multiple teams in recent years (and maybe not much ever). I'd rather see if any of the young guys have some upside. Plus, we already have Holmes. Streeter and Kerley, so we have enough veteran middle-of-the-road WR's already.