TPS

I was looking at the Bills' cap situation and just noticed him on the PS--don't know how I missed this addition? I was hoping the Bills would draft him. He was too raw to make the roster, so he ends up where I hoped anyway. Hope they can keep and develop him.

While I’m sure it’s related to his new body, I think he probably put a lot of time into improving it. I remember watching him last year and thinking he was reacting too slow to the snap or movement of the Oline. Not this year.

That is a great quote!

I don't know how they grade their edge rushers, but seeing Epenesa up there gives it some credence. The fortunate son has been been a beast. Relatedly, good call (so far) by Shrager having him as one of his 10 breakout players for 2021.

That play is an example of how McD described him during the preseason. It was a combination of that deceptive speed and great recognition of where Brissett would run—see the Cover1 breakdown post on this play.

Doesn't mean he's gone for good. Kumerow came back.... [after an eventual release]

Also, somewhere in the digital void someone on a Chiefs' board is calling for Mahomes to be benched for throwing his first September INT and losing to the Ravens....

AJ may be the new Hughes, leading the team in QB pressures but doesn't get the sacks. Everyone else is going to benefit in the sack stats because of him. As for looking quicker, he started to come on last year toward the end. The play that made me take notice last year was very similar to his hit on Brissett, it was against the Pats on Stidham. They called it roughing the passer penalty, but it looked legal.

I think that was the sack credited to Zimmer.

It's a good thing they are playing that football team at home.

McD's Mantra, get better every week. I trust they will...

Someone will look at the stat sheet and say he sucks...

Yeah, they may look back on this game similar to the loss to Arizona last year.

Just finished a batch of chilaquiles which will tide me over until dinner. I don’t like to eat during the game.

Yeah, as a conspiracy theorist, last year I mentioned a couple times that I thought the NFL would no longer hose the Bills because they are becoming a national draw, and it's all about advert $s.... Relatedly, I shipped a couple Allen/Diggs Jerseys to friends in Hawaii last month.

Sorry, I probably misinterpreted Beane. I was thinking in % terms, so his 83% is what I reacted to. Re-reading it, I'm sure Beane meant # of players.

In the interview, he says they are in single digits for unvaccinated.

I was watching his press conference yesterday and noticed how big his neck is--bigger than my legs!

Yep, run Harris to set up the play action is what I expect them to do Sunday.

Yes, it's simply an indication of a good team over a 16-game season.

I recall looking at point differential a few different years to try to make some kind of generalization about playoff teams. I think the number was +8 or greater for the majority of playoff teams (there is always at least one outlier). If I ever decide to look at it again, my guess is defensive ppg rankings might be more important than offensive rankings.

Best place to tailgate is with the TBD gang in Hammer's Lot. Check the TBDAHOT thread that's pinned.

I was going to mention Roost if no one had--good recommendation. Waxlight Bar a Vin over in "Chandlerville" is pretty good too. You can check out Thin Man Brewery over there as well.

This is another good piece on dissecting Allen's development, though couched in whether or not he'll "regress." The thing that sticks out to me is his discussion about expecting teams to play zone and make him take the easy throws in long, methodical drives. We're going to see if he's matured to that next level of being patient and taking what's given. As for regressing, if the metric is his stats, I don't think Fairburn adequately compared last year's schedule to this year's. Based on ESPN's team D rankings by PPG fpr 2020, the Bills and Allen will face more games in 2021 against last year's top 10 Ds. They play 10 games against those teams vs 7 last year; based on Schein's ranking, they play 5 this year vs 4 last year (if you adjust to 16 games and take WFT out, then it's 9 vs 7). The point: yes, it's possible Allen will regress statistically, but, IF he does, it will most likely be due to facing a first place schedule. Personally, I believe he is continuing to get better and better, and he will be better this year, though it might not show up in his personal stats being better than last year's stats (adjusting for an extra game). NFL Team Defense Rankings 2020 (Top 10) PPG Rams Ravens Steelers WFT Saints Miami Pats Bucs Giants Colts/Chiefs (tied) 2020: 7/16 games 2021: 10/17 games

Mark Gaughan has a really good piece in the B-News today which essentially addresses this issue, Allen's continued development. Highly recommend it. https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/air-allen-how-bills-offense-merges-elite-talent-with-excellent-scheme/article_37c43f88-0cd3-11ec-80f1-8370f099c1e6.html