oldmanfan

We shall see

I did not say anyone is infallible. Nor did I say fans (short for fanatic after all) don’t get to voice opinions. Just that, on the whole, folks with more extensive training and expertise in an area have a better chance of being right in that area than those who don’t. So I prefer to wait and see what happens before criticizing. People are saying Bernard is doomed to fail based on a very limited data set. I choose to see how he does before judging.

This raises an interesting philosophical point. The Internet and social media has led to many thinking they are knowledgeable in areas because of the ready access of information. Take pro football and our current GM and HC. Do they make mistakes that fans can criticize? Sure. But do they make as many as someone here on this board would make if thrown into the job? Not a chance. Because they are indeed more expert in their field than any of us are. I’m an IVF lab director with over 40 years experience and I have folks without a high school diploma try to tell me on social media how reproduction works. Sorry, but I am an expert; you are not. It would be like me taking my taxes to an accountant and then telling him or her I’m going to redo them because I know better. So when it comes to football I give guys who have done this for years the benefit of the doubt, because I believe experience and expertise is to be valued and not belittled.

I need advice as well. I have three jerseys; a blue Tasker and a blue Kelly, and a red Allen. I usually start each season with Tasker until we lose, then go to Kelly, and then to Allen on the next loss. But since we haven't gone all the way to the Lombardi yet should I change up the rotation?

Was just going to start something about this. I don't think it's a puff piece; Gaughin doesn't do those. Sounds like he's working hard on diet and such to have a good year this year.

Each guy gets his shot. How about we just watch them and see how they do?

He had throat cancer. Hope he isn’t having a recurrence.

Bass.

A lot to dissect here. I am a bit surprised by Sims, but not Florio. Florio says things to get attention in my opinion, and doesn’t know that much about football. Criticism about not adding to help Josh seems unjustified to me. This off season Beane addressed weakness in the O line interior with McGovern and Torrence. Addressed pass catching with Kincaid Sheffield, and Hardy. The RB position is stronger given two proven veterans have been added. So I don’t get Sims there. If he is saying we need another star WR I would say if we got one then that person would fight with Diggs for throws, and then how would Diggs react? Plus people tend to ignore Davis was playing hurt most of the year. Our O should be better, the keys being Dorsey’s play calling and Allen spreading the ball around and taking easier throws. On defense guys are getting older but O don’t see a huge drop off this year. Guys will be replaced over the next couple years though like Hyde and others. The big thing on D will be McD; I expect the D to be more aggressive than what we saw with Frazier. I am bored with all the speculation about the team supposedly having interpersonal issues, Diggs having issues, etc. To me it’s just hot air. Any pro athlete is extremely competitive or they would never reach professional level. Last year the team dealt with issues that I’ve never seen other teams deal with such as Knox’s brother, Von’s injury, blizzards, and of course Damar. And it caught up in the Bengals playoff loss. In the interviews with guys afterward they basically said they ran out of gas. My prediction is we finish second in the division to the Jets; they each go 10-7 but Jets win the tiebreaker. The Fish do not scare me at all as long as Tua is their QB. And the Patriots roster simply does not match the Bills. I suppose it’s possible the Bills crater but very unlikely. One last thing. At some point McD will get fired. Likely Beane will as well. Because that’s how pro football works. But I think they win one before that happens, hopefully this year.

Keeping him in my thoughts and prayers.

Then you criticize. But I presume you know the adage about assuming. And there was a post Edmunds plan; you just didn’t like it.

It’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing’ Milk Bone underwear

I was in Orlando last week scouting out locations for my daughter’s wedding, and my wife and I spent 2-3 days at Disney. I made her a friendly bet I’d get 20 people to tell me “Go Bills!” When wearing my Bills hat and T shirts. I closed at 29. One guy with Disney told me no other team generates that kind of response. What a great fan base! Go Bills! The Mafia is strong!

Good perspective

Do you really have to have those who are consistently negative spelled out? Anyone on this board knows them. And you have yet to offer an answer as to why. What does a fan get out of being consistently negative? It is certainly not unique to the Bills I’m sure, but it just interests me as a general aspect of the human psyche. Two other things. Sadly, I do think when the Bills win the Lombardi there will be posts about how either they should have won it easier, or that they were lucky, or that they’ll fall apart the next year. Second, I think Davis will have a better year because he played with a bad ankle last year, but he can do a better job making the easy catch consistently.

I can see you don’t read. Criticism is one thing. We are all critical at times of what the team does. But being negative just for the sake of being negative is different. The Edmunds example was used because some of the same people wanting Edmunds gone are now the same people saying we haven’t replaced him adequately. That is bizarre. And the stuff about believing junk from Whitlock about Josh not working hard enough when that author admitted making things up about Diggs - why would some use that to attack Allen? Be a fan however you want. My question is simple, and it’s one that no one has answered. Why? What satisfaction does one gain as a fan by being persistently negative to the point that one seeks out reasons to be negative, regardless of whether such reasons have any validity?

All this to not answer my question. Which is: why do some feel they have to be consistently negative about the team they purport to be fans of to the point that they make things up to be negative over?

Explain how Josh would be able to walk into a meeting with Dorsey on Tuesday morning knowing what plays he likes if he had not been watching film from the close of the game on Sunday. And if you actually listen to his interview with MacAfee when Pat asks if he watches a ton of film during the season he answers: Yeah, yeah. Then goes on to explain how he interprets film. Yiu are not interested in details because they blow up your pre-conceived narrative.

You have absolutely no clue how much film Allen watches. None. Give you an example. There’s a story in the News about Dorsey and his typical week. On Tuesdays he and Josh go over plays they think they will work for the next opponent. What that presumable means is that between the end of Sunday’s game and Tuesday Josh has watched film on the next opponent and has already come up with his ideas how to play against them. You say it’s reality because it fits your narrative. In reality you know squat.

You are deliberately misstating and/or exaggerating things here. Josh actually said to MacAfee that he watches a lot of film but then explains how he does not want to rely exclusively on it because he has found teams change up things when the play the Bills. He did not say he does not work out in the off season, he said he takes a break immediately after the season to heal up. And so on. Everyone wants the Bills to win the Super Bowl. Not everyone makes up negatives like you and the OP do.

I note you did not answer the question I posed.

Tantrum? No. Just struggling to understand why some seek out reasons to be negative about the team they root for. Criticism is one thing. Taking a columnist’s word as evidence Josh doesn’t work hard, after the same guy admitted he made up all the stuff about Diggs? Claiming Josh does not watch film when he told MacAfee he does? Claiming he doesn’t work as hard as other guys when you have no clue of anyone’s work ethic? That isn’t criticism. That is willfully trying to grasp at negative straws. I just raise the question of why. I could not agree more with letting the season play out. When there is reason to criticize we will. When there is reason to praise, we will. One would hope.

Agreed

Nope, honest as the day is long

Yes and no. Criticism based on actual observation is one thing. Like the Jets game last year when Josh stunk. Many including myself said so at the time. Notably Josh stood up and took the blame. But when people take the word of a columnist who admitted lying about Diggs, they turns around and questions Allen’s work ethic, that’s different. When people deliberately take words out of context to denigrate Allen, that’s different. That is simply trying to be negative for the sake of being negative. That’s not actual critical debate and discussion.