msw2112

Other than the occasional short yardage sneak or RPO when the defensive end crashes down inside, I'm fine with the Bills taking the designed Allen runs out of the offense. They are unnecessary and subject him to injury. That said, when the pocket breaks down and he can scramble for the first down or more, he absolutely should be running. If there's green grass ahead of him, he should take it. Even where he might have a chance to dump it off, he should run it if there's a big open lane. I've seen many times this season where such a lane has been there and he has not taken it. The thing he needs to do differently than in the past is to slide and or go out of bounds. As exciting as it may be, he should be taking tacklers head-on, bulling them over, or hurdling over them. Mahomes' running is highly effective for the Chiefs' offense, but he's scrambling when the defense gives it to him and he's getting to the sidelines or sliding. He's not taking on linebackers. Allen can and should do the same.

I think he came out after his junior year, so he was not a graduate. That said, he did attend Cal-Berkeley, one of the top universities in the country. He may have gone back to get his degree - I have no idea - but not at that point in time. I'm sure the stories are mixed, but it's clear that Lynch was not a model citizen while with the Bills, nor has he been since he left Buffalo. He's has a number of run-ins with the law since. The guy was a great player and had some all-time moments with Seattle. He's also reshaped his image to become popular in ads and other media (I think he does pieces on TNF for Amazon Prime). I don't think the issues he had with the police in Buffalo were racism-related. Not to say there isn't racism in Buffalo or in police forces, but Bills players are pretty much revered in Buffalo (and in most places). Many black players loved their time in Buffalo and some have stayed in or moved back to the area. I'm inclined to believe that there's some truth to the stories about the Hamburg officer's wife, plus other public incidents with Lynch, such as the much-publicized hit-and-run on Chippewa, that made him a target of the police.

Last year, the injuries on defense really hurt the team - Miller, Poyer, Hyde, and Tre not being 100%. I thought that if they remained healthy, given the improvements at guard and the addition of Leonard Floyd, the Bills could do it this year. They still can, but I am more pessimistic with the losses of Milano, Jones, and White. Plus, age and injury recovery may be catching up to Miller, Poyer, and Hyde. They all look a bit slow out there. Let's hope Miller can regain some form as the season goes on. Poyer and Hyde are probably as good as we're going to get. I love of all of those guys, but am trying to be objective based on what I've seen. The offense has been up and down, but I think that if they stay healthy (which they have so far), that they'll get it together and be fine.

I don't live in Buffalo anymore (although I try to keep up on the local Bills news coming out of Buffalo) and I was super busy in the days before the game trying to get ready for my trip to Europe, so I had not heard this reported or discussed before the game. It's a fair point. I'd still say that getting out there as soon as you can is the best option. Having 5 days to overcome jetlag and acclimate to a new time zone is better than having 2 (and the Bills had perhaps a little less than that). It seemed to work for the Ravens, who had done it the other way around on their previous trip out there and had the opposite result. My own experience traveling internationally says that it takes 3+ days to adjust and feel "normal again" although I admit that the only international athletic competition I ever participated in was hockey tournaments in the Toronto area as a kid. It didn't take much time to recover from the long drive up the QEW.

I arrived in London on the same day as the Bills. I was groggy and off of a normal sleep schedule for 3 or 4 days before finally becoming adjusted to the time zone. That's clearly anecdotal, but Travis Etienne made some comments about feeling off for their first game there, but feeling much better for the 2nd one. Baltimore also went out there Thursday/Friday for their previous London game and got killed, so they changed their routine and went out Monday/Tuesday this time and played much better this time and won in a rout (against Tennessee who went out there Thursday/Friday). Again anecdotal, but I was shocked that the Bills didn't get out there by Tuesday and predicted that a Friday arrival was not going to be in their favor. I fully admit that I have not read the sports science on this topic, but common sense says that the human body/brain needs a few days to adjust to a new time zone.

The OL has upgraded its personnel at guard. Brown is healthier than last year. Is that all, or does anyone think that a second year in Kromer's system is also yielding benefits? Outside of the beach chair incident, the guy has a pretty good track record. Could Dawkins, Morse, and Brown be better than last year because they know Kromer's system better?

Just because he's fat doesn't mean he's out of shape. He obviously is in good enough shape to make it through an NFL training camp and play an entire NFL game. I agree that it seems strange to see 300+ pound guys with less than perfect physiques successfully playing a professional sport, but they do. Spencer Brown has a much better physique, but he's not a better player (although I hope that maybe one day he will be).

I don't know why the Bills coaches are going more/going first with Murray versus Harris, but I have a few ideas why: Murray has been extremely effective when he's touched the ball Murray looks to be a much bigger player Harris was injured in camp and has a pretty lengthy injury history, so perhaps they are using him less to a) help him recover; or b) prevent future injury Regardless, all of the backs look solid and I'm in favor of whatever the Bills coaches think is best.

Funny, this resonated with me. As I get older, my interest in actual games has remained high (if not increased), but my interest in pre game, post game, highlight shows, etc. has decreased dramatically.

We all know that "power rankings" are meaningless, but fun to do regardless. I'd go 1. Dolphins 2. Chiefs 3. Bills but expect that to change after Sunday and the Bills to "vault" to #1. For now, the Bills lost a game to the Jets and for that reason don't deserve to be #1. Other than that, the Bills have not played a difficult schedule so far. The Bills lost to Zach Wilson's Jets and it wasn't because of what the Jets offense did, regardless of who was at QB. The Bills offense failed to do its part. The Bills defense did more than enough to win that game. Fortunately, the Bills have straightened things out and look fantastic on both sides of the ball, with a good kicking game to boot (no pun intended).

Like you, I even turned down other NFL games during the drought era. I did not, however, date a girl who worked for the Falcons. That said, I did date a girl who worked for the XFL Chicago Team in the early 2000's, whatever they were called. Our relationship was brief and never resulted in tickets or sideline passes. Not sure which happened first - our relationship folded or the team/league folded. Too bad, because she was pretty high up in the organization, so the tickets and access might have been good. Or maybe the lack of access what why the relationship ended...It was a long time ago.

I used to live in Chicago. I was offered Bears tickets a number of times for free, but turned them down. Regardless of how good or bad the Bears might be and regardless of who they are playing, I'd rather watch my Bills on TV than go to another NFL game for free. I did accept tickets to a game in Arizona once, but it was for a late game. My friends were not too pleased with me, because I spent the entire tailgate watching the Bills game on my phone, and then I continued to watch it on my phone all through the security line and during the 1st quarter of the Cardinals game, as the Bills game went into OT. Ironically, it was the snow game against Indy when Shady scored the winning TD, so I was in shorts and T-shirt in Arizona while watching the snow game on a phone. I find it very difficult to do pretty much anything else during a live Bills game, as my mind is on the game and not on the people I am with, the place I am at, etc.

Siemian isn't the worst QB out there. He might be in the class of a Kyle Allen or Matt Barkley. Maybe that's not saying much about the Bills' backup QB situation, but the Bills starter is a little bit better than the Jets' current starter, so there's that.

I remember this and thought at the time, and still do today, that the Bills should have stuck with the hot hand in Frank Reich. I think they might have won the Super Bowl if they had. I love Marv, but he didn't make the tough decision that Parcells made 3 years earlier when he played the hot hand in backup Jeff Hostetler (I'll leave it at that). Kelly was nowhere near 100% and the Bills passing game was non-existent. That whole Miami game was screen passes and nothing downfield. The team was operating at peak efficiency with Reich at the helm and I don't think they should have messed with the chemistry. If my memory serves me correctly, Kelly got knocked out of that Super Bowl game and Reich came in and played better that Kelly had, but the game was already out of reach. Another item from this thread - I really was at the Comeback game. I was with three other guys, two of whom wanted to leave at halftime. We decided as a group to watch the first series of the 3rd quarter and then decide whether to stay or go. Of course, the Bills threw a pick-6 and it actually got worse, but we had already committed (and it was a very warm day for January in Buffalo), so we toughed it out and stayed for the entire game. From the group of 4 that were there, one lives in Arizona, one lives in Philadelphia, one lives in North Carolina and one stayed in Buffalo, but we all stay in touch to this day and talk about the Bills (via text) almost daily. One more Marv Levy story that relates to this. In the late 90's/early 2000's, I lived in Chicago. One day, I was in my neighborhood grocery store and bumped into Marv in the produce section. I introduced myself, told him I was a huge Bills fan, and that I was at the Comeback game. Marv, without missing a beat, said "So was I!" Classic Marv. Marv lived in a high rise a couple blocks from where I lived. He may still live there today. The only other time I saw him was when he did a book signing at a local sports bar in the neighborhood. His step daughter-used to come to the Bills bar (Delilah's) and watch games with us (she was very nice), as did Dick Jauron's daughters, when he was coaching the team. They may have enjoyed the "I love Dick!" chant in the bar during a big win. I've told all these stories on TBD before over the years, so my apologies to those who have read these before. They are some of my favorite memories from the past, so I like to share them with fellow Bills fans.

A few names that popped out to me: Antonio Gates Lomas Brown Nate Newton Rodney Harrison Dwight Freeney Mike Vanderjagt

I don't live in Buffalo anymore, but still try to get to a game or 2 every season. I got to one road game in LA and one home game (Green Bay). The tailgate options in LA were terrible, so we had a few beers literally sitting on a curb outside the gate and it was terribly boring. There was only 1 parking lot that permitted tailgating and it was full. There aren't a whole lot of options in Inglewood, CA....In contrast, thanks to TBD, I got a spot in Hammer's Lot for the Green Bay game and was with two friends from Wisconsin who wore Packers jerseys. We all had plenty to drink, but we're 40/50+ and know how to handle ourselves. Everyone had a great time and nobody bothered my friends. In fact, they had good-natured fun alongside Bills fans (including doing the shot out of the bowling ball). They had a great experience and despite the Packers losing, they have told everyone they know how much they loved Buffalo. There's a larger group back in Wisconsin and now everyone wants to come to Buffalo the next time the Packers come. As a side note, I will be at the London game, but will be with my wife and 2 kids. My older one has been to a NFL game, but it's her first Bills game. My younger one has never been to an NFL game (and thus no Bills games). I'm excited, but I have not been to a game in London and have no idea what to expect as far as crowd rowdiness.

I agree with you that I can't stand the media ball-washing for Mahomes, but whether we like it or not, the has earned it. The guy has been to 3 Super Bowls and won 2 of them. Also, he only had 1 turnover on Sunday and his team won the game. Josh had 4 last Monday and his team lost the game. The media is generally favorable for Allen, and was correct that his poor play cost the Bills the Monday night game. All that said, I'm a huge Allen fan and was extremely pleased with how he played on Sunday. Maybe there will be a silver lining in the Jets game in that it showed Allen what he needs to do (and not do) to be successful and he will be more consistent going forward. If he plays like that the rest of the way, the Bills will be very difficult to beat.

I have not read this entire thread, but based on the title "Stop Blaming Josh Allen" I disagree, at least in part. To the extent blame is being distributed about the loss, it really does fall on Josh. He's the one who turned the ball over 4 times, at least 2 of which were terrible decisions that could and should have been avoided. He agrees and blames himself, so I don't think that fans on the message board agreeing with that will drive him out of town. Allen loves Buffalo and he knows how passionate Buffalo fans are. Any criticism was duly earned and duly accepted by Josh. That said, it's time to move on to Week 2 and the Raiders. Allen and the Bills know how and why they blew Monday night's game and they will adjust accordingly. I anticipate a very good performance on Sunday.

I just made extremely similar points to these first two posts in another thread. I agree with both!

I don't want Allen to run EVERY time, but when there's no defender between him and the sticks (and for that matter, no Bills player either - in other words, wide open green grass) he should run. Tom Brady could have run for that first down, and maybe even Aaron Rodgers, achilles injury and all. Allen has been in the league long enough and is talented and smart enough to know when it makes sense to run and when not to. I agree that with his talent, he should run more often than the average QB, but he also needs to get out of bounds and/or slide rather than taking on defenders. It's fun to watch and an adrenaline rush, but not good for his short or long term health. Obviously, if it's late in the 4th quarter of a close game, overtime, the playoffs, etc. and the extra yardage is needed, it makes sense to do whatever is necessary in those situations, but otherwise, he needs to have situational awareness and be smart with how he finishes running plays. With this one play in particular, I disagree with those who are saying that the INT was "just as good as a punt." A run to the left sideline would have been an easy first down, so why would a punt even be necessary? The INT killed a drive and gave the Jets some belief that they could stay in the game (which they did). I was able to read the Kubiak article (despite the paywall and my lack of subscription) and agree that Kubiak was measured in his analysis.

Nice post. Extremely applicable to the current situation with Allen.

I agree in part with this. In the Jags game, the penalty would have pushed them outside of FG range (65 yards), so you have to take the penalty. It was a horrible decision. In the Jets game, even with the penalty yardage, the Jets were still in Zuerlien's range (he has one of the strongest legs in NFL history - he's "Greg the Leg"). By accepting the penalty, it would have given the Jets another down to throw it downfield, potentially getting a long first down or drawing a penalty on the Bills (such as pass interference) which may have given the Jets a first down. So, in that situation, declining the penalty is not the same. What I think was the worst decision on the day was NOT calling timeout when the Jets were in FG range and the clock was at around 2:40. It allowed them to bleed an additional 40 seconds off the clock, which left much less time for the Bills when they got the ball back. When you have the ball, you can stop the clock by going out of bounds or spiking the ball. When you are on defense, you can't stop the clock, so that's a more appropriate time to use timeouts. Perhaps the Bills would have had time to score a TD and win the game if they had that additional time to work with, instead of settling for a long FG and OT.

At the time, I, at first, thought this was a bad decision. After thinking about it more, I was OK with it. Zuerlien has a very strong leg ("Greg the Leg") and can hit from 55. If the Bills take the penalty and the Jets ran a conservative play, they would have likely gotten a few yards closer, making the kick even a little bit easier. It's also possible, if the penalty was taken, that the Jets could have completed a long pass downfield (unlikely, but it's happened before), or gotten a pass interference penalty and a 1st down. So I don't see this as a terrible decision. It's one that could go either way. I also think that the decision to take the 3 points, as mentioned earlier in this thread, was the correct one. The Jets have a very good defense. If it was 4th and 1 or 4th and inches, you go for it. 4th and 2 or 4th and 3 against a good defense, in a game that looks like it will be a defensive battle, and Zach Wilson is the opposing QB, taking the points is the correct move. The mental boost it gave the Jets for limiting the Bills to a field goal is way less than the mental detriment it would have dealt the Bills if they had gone for it and not made it. As others have said, this did not cause the Bills to lose the game. In fact, it contributed to them being in control of the game into the 3rd quarter. Then the drive-killing turnover machine reared its ugly head and the Bills gifted the game to the Jets.

But he didn't win the Super Bowl, so his season was a total failure. (Activate sarcasm meter.) I sat on the couch together with my brother and my 2 daughters for 3 hours last night. That would not happen on a Monday night if the Bills were not playing. I'm still hugely disappointed with the outcome of last night's game, but getting together with family, friends, and other Bills fans ("extended family/friends") to watch the Bills is fun and something that adds to my life.

His team was very impressive against Dallas the other night.