mjd1001

For sure they were not good to great at pass blocking. Allen covered up for a lot of their lack of talent there. Average, maybe, but there were dozens and dozens and dozens (it not more) plays were pass protection broke down and Allen saved them.

This has been covered over and over but this is a new thread to me so here goes: Its the OL. Is every other single position on the team perfect? No, but the OL is the issue on this team. They can't run block at all. I truly do not think the RBs aren't good enough, other than an occasional missed read (which happens to just bout all RBs), they are fine. The OL just is awful at run blocking. They were bad last year and might be even worse this year. And as far as pass blocking, they are average-to-below average there. Josh Allen and his mobility save this line from looking bad in pass protection. But watch most games...more often than not by the time he takes a 3 or 5 set drop, he already has to pay attention to where the pressure is coming from. If this OL was average-to-good so many other problems on this team would either go away or we wouldn't notice them.

Watching a few of their games, and of course reading the boxscores and articles....I'm OK with saying the Dolphins are a legit mid-tier team now. They have an easy game coming up against the Jets (should get them another win) and then the game against the Saints. They beat both the Jets and the Saints, I'll take notice. It doesn't bother me. As a little kid I remember (barely) some Phins/Bills games in the late 70's and of course from the 1980's on...but I never really had that hatred for Miami, I don't really care too much if they are good or not. I want the Bills to beat them when they play that is all. If the Phins are good and somehow make it into the playoffs, good for them.

I watch games like this...or when Pitt plays Cleveland...or Cincy....and I still can't just wish the Bills were in a division with those teams, and not the AFC east. I know, I know, everyone is excited for tomorrows game.....but to me seeing the Stadiums, the uniforms, the fans, the weather, I just wish the Bills were in a Division with Pitt and Cleve and Cincy instead of the Jets pats and phins.

I agree with you but I think I'm a few steps/years ahead of you even. I grew up watching EVERY bills game as a kid. Wouldn't even miss a minute of preseason games if I had the choice. Had season tickets for a decade. I looked forward to and thought about football season daily through most of the year until it arrived. Now? Eh, whatever. I do follow the team a lot, but I get more enjoyment out of the discussion on the message boards than I do watching the game. Did the Bills win? Great! Did they lose? Oh well, maybe next game (or next year) will be better. Today for example, I took a walk with my wife until about 1:30...turned on the TV to watch the game, but before I even saw a play I saw the F1 race was going to start. So I watched the F1 race, only flipping back to the Bills game once very 15 to 20 minutes to see the score. I just have trouble investing in a sport where I have pretty much seen everything. I have seen come from behind wins, I have seen epic collapses in the 4th quarter. I have seen teams/fanbases win the superbowl that never have before and seen their reaction. I've heard WAY too many discussions/arguments about who is the 'best ever' at any position. I have seen dozens of 50+ yard TD runs, one handed catches, bad officiating calls......basically nothing I see on any given sunday is new anymore. And that goes back to one of your original points....the losses and the angst are just not worth it...they are worse (and the reaction of most of the fans of 'your team') are much worse than anything positive gained from the win. Of course many people will disagree, but to me I have gone from the hardest of the hard core Bills fans to someone who just likes to follow the conversation, watch a game if there is NOTHING else to do...and overall I'm happier for it. I probabaly now watch 4-5 Bills games per year from start to end...another 5 or 6 I watch 50% of them while doing other things at the same time, and the rest I just read about after the game when I have something else to do..or something else I want to watch.

I agree totally. I know the 'inflation calculator' might not be a direct correlation to the cost of building a stadium, but really, these are getting out of hand. You know the rabit hole I start going down when thinking about all this is....to play the game the team needs a grass (or artificial turf field) of about 1.5 acres. That is what they play on. Practice facilities, workout areas, offices...they are usually all separate from the stadium. The Stadium is for the game. For the 95%+ of those who watch football over television, the $Billion dollar stadium isn't needed, just the 1.5 Acres. Now I know that isn't how things work, but do we really need to spend $1.5 Billion dollars for that concrete and steel structure around the field that services the 60k-90k people that show up? There really isn't a way anymore to do it for CONSIDERABLY less?

As of now I still think the Titans are the team the Bills have to worry about the most for that 1st round bye. The Bills have to finish with a better record than the Titans obviously because of the Tie breaker...But other than the Rams, I think they should/will be favored to win every other game on their schedule, even without Henry. That of course doesn't mean they wont slip up and lose a game or two in there, but the Titans still worry me for home field in the AFC.

The could potentiall win their next 4 games and come into the Bills game at 8-4. They SHOULD win 2 or maybe 3 of them and come in 6-6 or 7-5. I'm still not concerned about them. To me they are just another 'in the hunt' team. If they Beat Buffalo and come out of that matchup leading the division, that is when I'll be concerned.

If the only thing that mattered about being a sports fan was wins and losses...then there would be no need for a message forum like this. Some of us LIKE talking more in depth about what we saw, what worked, what didn't work, what can be improved on. There are many of us who think sports are a bit deeper than just the scoreboard and we like to discuss these issues. You know what else is 'so predictable'? someone like you complaining about the things people talk about on this forum after a win.

I'm not saying he was the problem, I'm saying there were a handful of plays where he could have made a better decision that may have been enough to win the game for the Bills. Everything isn't black and white...except I guess on this forum.

Yes I did, and as I have posted MANY times on here, on many of the 3rd down conversions that failed where he scrambled or threw deep there were guys open, and I mean wide open, that would have gotten the first down. The question should be what game where YOU watching?

Watch a replay of the game. Watching it live many of the 3rd down conversions the bills failed at there were guys open (often time standing there) that he just missed. If you didn't see it live check out the all-22, I saw it a few times live.

I'm not sure what is confusing. There were plenty of his incompletions or scrambles where they didn't get the first down...and there were guys wide open underneath or even just past the sticks. Check out a replay of the game or the All-22 and you will see it.

The line play (offensive) is ALWAYS atrocious against any D-line that is just above average or better. This O-line has been a weakness of this team, is currently a weakness and will continue to be a weakness. They can perform good enough against bad teams, but they are exposed time and time and time again against any D-line that is simply better than average.

Allen was overconfident again, often taking chances when better/safer options where there. Offensive line was, is, and will continue to be a weakness. The O-line looks good against bad D-units, but will almost always struggle against above average D-units, just like last year. The Defense was never 'great'. They are 'good' but their results are more a function of who they played. On the call at the end, you go for it there. If that game goes to overtime, it's basically a 50-50 chance of you winning/losing. You basically have a chance to come close to winning it right there on the 4th down. I think getting the first and then getting a TD there was better than 50-50....they just didn't do it.

Only great against cupcakes.

And this was with a 'fully' healthy Bills team coming into the game with a Titans team that is really banged up at this point.

I agree. I don't have a problem with Collinsworth. Is he great? No, but I don't see all the outrage. Al on the other hand, I don't get the love for. He was 'good' in his prime, nothing special to me but good/very good, but as you said he comes across as a guy getting really old and grumpy and just going to do and say what he wants.

I don't have a problem with him. Hes not my favorite, but I'm ok with him.

As for your roofer, that is exactly my point. The new stadium will not be for people like him...it is for the professionals making well into the 6 figures. You haven't spent much time in Amherst, or looking at who is buying the hundreds of new houses put in in Lancaster lately? Sure, were are not loaded with people whos net worth is over $100 million dollars....but in terms of people making 6 figures....I think there are more than you believe there are in the metro Buffalo and Rochester area.

The thing is I think you are looking at the CURRENT crowd that attends Bills games. You know what you get with a new stadium, no matter where it is built? More expensive tickets, sometimes MUCH more expensive tickets that price out some people and those people are replaced in the stands with people with more money. You also get the 'something new' thing to do that gives further incentive for the same thing. Here's an example... -I had season tickets in my 20's for about a decade. I gave them up a while ago and don't go to games anymore. A New stadium..especially one in Downtown? I'm likely...if not to get season tickets...to at least want to go to a few games and I'll pay top dollar for them. I have a very close relative who makes well into the 6 figures who also gave up season tickets, but he said with a new stadium, PREFERABLY downtown, he's likely back in for the 'novelty' of it and he'll pay triple or more to do so compared to what he paid in the past. And its not just Buffalo, look at when new stadiums were opened in the past (I was living in Boston when the pats stadium opened about 20 years ago). Not all of them, but a good number of the younger tailgate-and-drink crowd gets replaced. They get replaced with high income earners, mostly in their 40s and 50s and 60s....many that don't tailgate, and they want to go to that bar or restaurant to eat before or after the game. I think if a stadium was built downown, and ticket prices go up considerably, you will see a full stadium at the games. Just that a large number of the current 'tailgate' crowd will be replaced by older people with higher incomes that aren't tailgaters, but go to the game for more of an 'upscale' experience. Smart/cheap drinkers are replaced by ones that are willing to spend more money.

Yes, they are. I want to see them for a few more weeks of course, but right now I'd say they are a top 5 team in the NFL and for sure a threat to appear in this years superbowl.

Look at it another way. Without Brady as his starting QB, he is now in his 9th season (with no Brady) In those 9 seasons: -2 winning records, 7 losing records (including this year so far, 6 full season losing records) -1 playoff appearance -Overall Losing record -Negative point differential in the teams he coached for every season without Brady except for just 1. Those are the type of results that get you fired from multiple jobs, not results that have you considered one of the coaching greats of all time.

I have been looking in on some other games while watching the Bills. 2 observations...Big Ben is really done, isn't he? I've seen a couple of his passes today and they barely had a spiral on it. He is getting about 5 yards per COMPLETION right now also. And Mac Jones. Hes not playing BAD, but I don't know yet why the New England Media thinks he is their savior. He just doesn't throw the ball more than 10 yards in the air. MAYBE he is really good, but there is no way of knowing it from what anyone has seen so far.

We can enjoy the game AND think about the future at the same time. Its called mental multi-tasking. It can be a fun exercise. As I said in my previous post, you are the one that needs the 'settle down francis'. How about letting people enjoy the game and the win the way they want to. The simple fact that the post I was replying to was a person who was complaining about HOW other fans were enjoying the win proves that. Take your own advice, you are the one that needs to settle down and not worry about how others view the game and enjoy the win.