Apocalypse Nuts

I'm late to the party here but, for whatever it's worth, I actually don't mind Mowins voice. I haven't heard too many of her games and I'll just always associate her voice to last year's week 17 demolition of the Fins. What a friggin' sweet game that was! And I've seen that highlight vid about 100 times now and counting. I'll never get tired of that one. And I'm really ok with any t.v. crew as long as it's not Buck and Aikman. Man that's a terrible combination. Buck needs to stick to baseball. IMO of course. Thanks for the Harlan vid of that idiot running on the field. So damn funny! I thought they weren't supposed to acknowledge those morons when they do stuff like that. I guess Harlan didn't get the memo. He went all out.

I'm all in at 8-8 baby! Seriously though it's still a developmental year for Josh but he will improve greatly over the course of the season. Next season is the big one: 9-7! I know, I know. Drinking the koolaide. Call me crazy but I just can't help myself sometimes. I'm just an optimist. ?

I'll second this though I'm sure others will still comment on the 19 reps without reading these first. I'm 6 ft tall but my legs are very long and my center of gravity is a few inches or more higher than most guys. I seem much stronger on upper-body stuff like benching and back work but squats for me are very difficult. The higher center of gravity throws off the normal motion of the squat and I can barely get to parallel or deeper. But then my upper body and arms are a tad shorter (though not noticeable until you look closely). I've always had a strong bench because, exactly as BUFFALOKIE said, physics. The weight doesn't have to travel as far so the work being required is lower. The shorter muscle lengths add to that I'm sure. Doesn't mean I'm much stronger than someone else per say. Likewise, shorter guys or even my height with shorter legs can push a lot more than me squatting and leg pressing. Then we switch to back work and I wear them out. I think that's probably the case with Ford. And anyway, 19 reps isn't that bad really. Not the best but certainly not the worst. And I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of his punches and blocks. He clearly has good power in that 340 pound frame. It's only going to get better with NFL training and an NFL paycheck to pay for his grocery bill as he continues to grow. Really great pick! What a good guy too. Totally not an asshat regardless of all the hype around him during the draft. That's a Buffalo kind of guy.

I get the same thing and you might be the first I've seen mention it, starrymessenger. Been hearing he's mean, physical, mauler, etc. and sometimes more a finesse and technique guy. The tape doesn't show me road-grader per say. What I see though is a big fella who really uses what he naturally has very well. Maybe not the most gifted RT draftee ever but very smart, very sound on technique (which means very coach-able), great awareness and absolutely awesome hustle and effort to the whistle. He does look a tad slow in the foot-shuffle and yeah might be vulnerable to the really fast edge guys. But he seems to know how to compensate for his shortcomings well and I think he'll get really good after a year or two as a pro. Should be able to improve a lot with good coaching. And just a good young guy too. A guy who's good, is known to be good, but won't let it get to his head. Very respectable and obviously raised well. I think Bills fans are going to really like him for many years. Great pick!

A Peterman comparison? Really. Nothing on this team is that bad right now. Geez.

Dude, Allen is not Fitz. I don't care how early it is. I agree we need to see consistent winning. You don't have to preach to me on that. But sometimes you just have to trust your eye.

Absolutely correct, sir. Love the chicken salad analogy. That really says it well for me. JA is truly something special. And the non-believers just need to go back to games like week 17 against the Fish. He looked like Superman out there with a bunch of mortals. And then there's the Jacksonville game, Minnesota, etc. He's already demonstrated that he's in another class of quarterbacks with his athletic ability and his fire. The arm is there. I was pleasantly surprised with his accuracy and that's just going to improve. He makes throws that just make you whistle. So dangerous. But the haters gonna hate. Let them. They don't know anything anyway.

I have a similar story, Fred, though I got started having kids later than you. I grew up mostly in Northern Virginia and I hated the Skins. Moved there from California actually. I've moved around a lot in my life so no surprise I didn't have a team from a young age. I graduated high school in 92 and the Bills were such a great show in the early 90's. They really pissed off so many other teams when the K-Gun was firing on all cylinders. That was so fun. I have no idea why I started liking them so much other than Bruce Smith who was just a man among boys really. He was a freak athlete and most people don't appreciate how he did all that amazing stuff in 3-4 defense. That's 3 down lineman for 5 blockers, not 4. And Bruce didn't have great nose tackles that I remember most of the time. They were always so undersized until Big Ted Washington came along. (I was really, really bummed when they let him go (to the Pats maybe?)) Nobody I knew liked, or even knew anything about the Bills but there was just something there that I can't explain. You would think I would be pissed now having endured so many awful losing seasons since JK retired. It's been depressing for sure. But it's only made me love the Bills more. They're in my blood. Just ask my wife. You know the meaning of loyalty if you're a Bills fan. I've used that in job interviews and it works great if the interviewer is a football fan. Being a Bills fan is an incredible source of pride for me. I absolutely march to my own beat and I don't give a crap what anyone else thinks so being a Bills fan just fits so perfectly what that. I freakin' love the Bills and when they finally win the Big One, I'm going to lose it. I'll probably cry like a baby and I don't give a rats you-know-what.

True dat! I actually once thought that being optimistic is what a sports fan does for his team. Imagine that. Silly me. Seriously, I've been smiling a whole lot since JA started showing some life last season. That last game against the Fins was something special but just a taste of what's to come. I haven't been this excited about the Bills, genuinely excited not just overly hopeful, in a very long time. At least we have that right now. I think this picture says it all:

That's an excellent point. That definitely puts things into better perspective to judge whether or not they might have overpaid. I was definitely looking at that contract to narrowly with what he can potentially bring to this offense. Now I actually think that's a bit of a bargain. I don't really put much weight on individual stats or numbers but that one is probably an exception. Taking into account the unsettled QB position the Cowboys have had during Beasley's tenure, he was severely underutilized most of those years. He's no Edelman of course, but can definitely bring a lot of the same to Buffalo's offense with the right play calling. Daboll has very clearly established a very vertical, long-distance offensive scheme (and it's about GD time we have that again here for f---ks sake) that leaves A LOT of room underneath for Beasley to work his magic. Also means D's are going to need to be much more creative spying on Allen and we know that's gonna be fun to watch. With more speed over the top with the WR's, Cole is going to be almost exclusively single-covered. I see good things coming out of that. It's very refreshing to be so optimistic and genuinely excited about our offense right now. That's not something we've had around here a lot for the last few decades. I'm actually more than a little ashamed to have been so optimistic about those under talented and poorly schemed offensives we were stuck with since pretty much 1996. Excruciating doesn't even begin to describe it. To think we even have a 50% chance of having a truly high-powered offense is very unfamiliar territory for us Bills fans. We've so obviously paid our dues so maybe we're finally getting our returns (knock on wood). I have to watch last years highlight reels every few days just to be sure I'm not imagining all of this. I see Josh running all over for 20 yard chunks at a time, and then making those nasty on-a-frozen-rope throws and have to constantly remind myself that's actually a Bills QB I'm seeing. It's still not registering completely.

Interesting observation. I was not paying attention to the YPC on the plays that I watched just DiMarco's role just how he did his job. Can you confirm that the lower YPC was a direct result of DiMarco's poor play? I'm not saying you're wrong but there are so many other factors that can affect that stat regardless of his presence on the field. For example, defenses would naturally play the run when they saw him in the backfield vs a single-back set so if him being involved also correlates to a stacked box for the defense, that can't really be DiMarco's fault (other than karma I guess). Again, I definitely did not keep track of YPC numbers when I watched. I just wanted to observe his play individually to see what it was he was bringing to the table and what the coaches saw but I could not. Also interesting how divisive a fullback can be to us fans but that's definitely a result of us needing so many improvements for so many years now that we're really demanding better players in each and every spot. We should have cloned Sam Gash. Does he have any sons following in his shoes?

I disagree but that was pretty funny

For his size, DiMarco is an absolute sledgehammer in the hole when he's on his game. He's not perfect and doesn't always get the perfect position but when he does it's pretty impressive. I say this after bashing him myself prior to last season. For the life of me I could not understand why he kept making the final roster or what they saw in him at Carolina. But especially for not being the biggest body out there, he can really hit that first block and keep his lane open. I hated this guy until I started watching his play but I really respect him now. I don't think his job is in jeopardy at this point.

I like this signing though the price is a little high. Beasley is a tough player especially for his size. Real grit and never quits. He's going to have a rough retirement though with all of the nasty hits he's taken and will continue to take I'm sure. His brain has taken a beating already. But he does keep getting back up after each hammering. Grit.

F___K those idiots. Who gives a rat's ass what a GD sports agent says anyway? The used car salesmen of the sports world.

Sorry for the delayed response. That's a definite YES. I'll admit, producing the exact same results next year, assuming they make some improvement to the talent level in key areas and depth in others, would be a disappointment and not look good for him. But, once again, if you're really thinking about the big picture, you have to give him at least 2 more years, probably 3 really, to truly see what he can do with some decent talent. He's a lot better of a coach than you give him credit for. Do you pay attention to the huge amount of respect everyone has for him in the press? They don't come out and say "McDermott is the MAN" or the "one of the best". But they know what he's been given to work with here and the monumental task that's in front of him and Beane. Getting to the playoffs last year was an absolute MIRACLE

This is complete and total B.S. You just keep believing what you want to believe. You're totally over-complicating things but whatever makes you feel better I guess. Say/ think whatever you want about the "process" and what kinds of players they want (you're making way too much out of that too.) McDermott and Beane are not going anywhere for at least a few more years. You can bank on that. And they shouldn't go anywhere. They should be given a fair chance to turn things around. The long-haul type of turnaround not the mediocre Whaley type band-aid fix that gets you exactly middle-of-the-road and nothing more. These owners are actually a lot more intelligent than you give them credit for. They know they needed a solid, long-term plan to give this team any chance of being a contender. They have what you obviously don't have: patience. It's called the 'big picture'. But, in order to see the big picture, you have to stop crying for a minute about every loss this year and probably next. You all are so ridiculous. They've been on board less than 2 seasons now but you're already throwing in the towel? Seriously? You keep firing everyone every few years and what do you honestly expect will happen?

Give me a friggin break. Do you expect him to be a miracle worker? I'm truly astonished at the unbelievably unrealistic expectations you and so many other Bills fans have. Can you not take into account the massive rebuild going on right now? McDermott getting even a single win out of this team this year is amazing. WTF do you all expect? And who the hell do you propose to replace him with that will be this miracle working savior you envision? Sorry, but that coach does not exist. I really need to stop reading this stupid message board forever. It's full of pissing and moaning from people who have no concept of what a full rebuild is like. I truly think you all would be perfectly happy with 8-8, 7-8, whatever records forever rather than go through the pain and misery that must come with a full rebuild. They're tearing it down and building it back up so it can be a true contender, not perennial pretender we've all suffered with the over two decades now.

What a great analysis! You really know what's going on. Please be sure to fill out an application for head coach a.s.a.p.! I think you can really turn things around! It sounds like you have a great playbook and the offensive brain the fix everything. Seriously, why are you not the head coach already? Or maybe we should bring back Rex and his twin? Marrone will be in need of a job as well. What say you oh wise one?

Whatever bro

You all need to get over your love/ reliance on stats so much. You keep regurgitating the same old crap the draft "experts" jammed down our throats for months. Can you please have an original thought? Some kind of original analysis? He passes the eye test like no other I've seen in Buffalo since Kelly. You will eat crow. Of that I have no doubt.

There's someone stoking the fire. Had to happen sometime.

I like the OP's perspective and analysis. Seems to have more brains than a lot of Bills fans here IMO. I can definitely respect the big picture view here vs nit-picking and focusing ridiculously on each little mistake as if it's the end of the universe. These guys are rookies! Give them a chance, eh? This draft is turning out to be as-advertised for QB's so far so anyone who got in on the action has some fun years ahead. Darnold was my favorite pre-draft and he's the real-deal. I'm only mad he's in our division for the next 6-10 years but at least he's not f___ing Brady. The Bills made a great decision, clearly. Allen has a lot of improving to do, of course. But let's not forget how little high-level football he's actually played in his life. No wonder he's so raw. But it's obvious now why they say he has so much upside. He's got that fire like I've rarely seen in sports, especially in Buffalo at the QB position. McBeane got this one totally right. There's actually another thread by some joker calling for Barkley to start the last games. WTF? Some people just have no clue.

Awesome stuff, brother. Thank you for this, downunderbill. I actually do not remember this at all, which is surprising (sort of). I graduated high school in 1992 so you'd think I would have seen this a few dozen times. Those were pretty hazy days for me so it's actually no wonder I was unaware of something like this. I was unaware of a lot back then. This is really great stuff though. I feel a little bit older now after seeing this old footage, but still very cool stuff. And why is it that footage from those days looks so damn old and dated now? It's like looking at old film photos from the 70's.

Amen, brother. Well put. The problem is the cry babies won't listen to reason and don't understand reality. They want to have their cake and eat it too. I, for one, am actually glad this season is so bad. After decades of mediocrity, barely being decent and never getting anywhere, we finally have a management team willing to feel some real pain so they can truly rebuild this team into a real contender. But nope, the cry babies around here can't stomach being so terrible for a season or two. It's called seeing the forest through the trees, folks. It's called the big picture. Take your lumps and come back stronger. And may I add a huge "thank you" to the OP of this thread? What a nice change it is to hear a voice of maturity. So nice to finally see a thread that's not whining about everything, yelling about who should "be acountable", why all the TT haters were so wrong (get the !@#$ over that already).