Logic

I like this for the Rams. They are legitimately a great QB away from consistent championship contention. Drafting a guy and waiting three years for him to develop is not what they need. They’re ready NOW. They had to pay as much as they did because they were also unloading Goff’s awful contract. Yes, the Rams are betting big on the present at the possible expense of the future, but so be it. They have two elite defensive players in their prime, quality running back and receiver rooms, and good coaching. Swing for the fences. I like it. Very happy for Stafford. Kind of rough for Goff. One last thing: I’d be so depressed if I was a Lions fan. They drove two all time greats (Sanders and Megatron) into early retirement, then wasted a legitimate franchise QB and traded him away. Woof.

I just don’t think a third year running back on a third round pick’s salary is the cap savings we’re looking for. More importantly, Singletary was good his rookie season. He rushed for 4.5 ypc and had 134 all purpose yards against the Texans in the playoffs. He didn’t just suddenly forget how to play football this year. Fix the run blocking. Fix the run scheme. Moss and Singletary weren’t the problem.

This idea is silly and reactionary. Singletary was not the problem this year. You don’t need to promise him a starting spot, by any means, but he has value on this team. Cutting him outright would be foolish.

For real. I transferred some Bitcoin to Dogecoin this morning and, well...it's been a pretty, pretty, preettttttyy good day so far!

I found this deep dive into the Bills’ run game by Mike Tanier to be really great. https://www.profootballnetwork.com/upgrading-the-buffalo-bills-offense-running-backs-do-matter/ Tanier essentially points out that Moss and Singletary aren’t the problem, and that the run game configuration and play calling is primarily to blame, with a bit of blame going to the blocking as well. He does NOT believe that spending premium assets on another running back is warranted. Nor does he necessarily think we need an O-line overhaul. He seems to believe Daboll is the primary culprit. Lots of great stuff in there that I don’t want to copy and paste too much of, as I’m on a phone and it’s cumbersome. I recommend reading it. “The Bills don’t have to bust out the 1977 tactics or trade up to draft Clemson’s Travis Etienne to improve their running game. In fact, they should not do either of those things. They should, however, rethink the configuration of their running game on first downs to improve their efficiency. That includes whether the box is stacked or not.“

😆

Hmm... The Bills ride an elite passing offense to a 13-3 record, only to see the opposition sell out to stop the pass by deploying six defensive backs in the biggest game of the year. Where have I heard this one before? Oh, right. Super Bowl XXV. History repeats. Only this time, unlike the '90 team, the Bills aren't even ABLE to run the ball well when dared to do so. This is what we mean when we say the Bills need to be able to run the ball. Not that they need to run it more often, but that they need to be able to run it EFFECTIVELY when the game calls for it. Unless and until they can run the ball well, this is just going to keep happening.

We could have a clone hybrid of Thurman Thomas, Marshall Faulk, and LaDainian Tomlinson back there.....and it won't matter a lick of Allen doesn't start taking his checkdowns when they're the best option. 😳

Yes. Also, QBs often play into their 40s now. We know Allen loves the game. As a reporter put it on Twitter, if Allen plays as long as Tom Brady, he’ll still be taking snaps in 2039. The combo of great QB play and good, stable coaching, management, and team culture lead to being a title contender Every. Single. Year.

I wonder if Daboll simply re-committing in the offseason to finding run game solutions, and an o-line addition or two, could be the answer. I think both starting guard jobs should be up for grabs. It's tough. On the one hand, you want to settle on a starting five OL and establish consistency. On the other hand, if you don't have the RIGHT five OL in house already, you've got to keep tinkering. In any case, I don't tend to think that simply spending an early pick on a running back is the answer. I don't think Singletary and Moss are, in and of themselves, the problem. I think run game and philosophy and blocking and playcalling have a lot more to do with it. It will be interesting to see what Beane's approach to this problem is in the offseason.

Excellent stuff. I agree with pretty much all of it. Next year is huge for Edmunds and Oliver. Both likely suffered from the Star opt out. Whether Star returns or the Bills go a different direction at 1T, we NEED to see these two guys step up. Oliver and Edmunds having breakout seasons next year would completely change our defense. I, too, wouldn’t mind seeing Frazier move on. A new voice and some new ideas in the defensive coaching room would be a boon. For what it’s worth. I felt the KC game came down to your first paragraph almost entirely: Reid utterly out coached Frazier, Spags outcoached Daboll and outfoxed Allen. On defense, Literally ANY OTHER game plan we employed would’ve been better. How could it have been worse? On offense, Daboll didn’t have many answers, and when he did, Josh often didn’t execute. The triumvirate of lackluster offensive gameplan, WRs failing to separate, and Allen failing to take what the defense gave him combined to doom the Bills offense. Out-coached, out-played, out-quarterbacked, our-everything’d. All is not lost. Bills are ascending. Time for Beane, McDermott, and Allen to go to work.

I understand this line of thinking, but I respectfully disagree. I'm not suggesting that the Bills should run the ball more often next year. I AM suggesting that they need to be able to run it more EFFECTIVELY. Run volume/frequency and Run effectiveness are not the same thing. While I agree that the modern NFL is all about passing, and that the Bills should continue to be a pass-first team going forward, they have to at least BE ABLE to run the ball when needed. The two Super Bowl participants are the perfect example. Both the Chiefs and Bucs are pass-first teams, but both of them can run the ball with effectiveness when needed.

I just don't think I agree that availability has been a "serious issue" with Milano. In his first season, he played all 16 games. In his second season, he played 13 games before breaking his leg. A leg break, to me, is a freak accident that can happen to anyone, and does not indicate any kind of "injury prone" or "delicate" label. Despite breaking his leg late in the season, he returned to play 15 games the next season. This year, he missed six games. Missing three games to a broken leg and then missing just one game the next year doesn't concern me. This year was actually the first time he's missed an extended period of time. All in all, Milano has played in 54 out of a possible 64 regular season games. Three of those ten games he missed were due to a broken leg. I just don't see the "serious availability concerns".

Perhaps it's too early for some to start talking about next season. If that's the case for you, I understand. As for me, I'm already excited about the potential of the 2021 Buffalo Bills. It was quite clear watching last night's game -- and watching the entire season unfold, really -- that the Bills could DESPERATELY use a good run game. The question remains, though: Just HOW do you go about addressing the running game? Buffalo recently spent third round picks on Singletary and Moss. I doubt they're ready to give up on either of them, nor should they. The Bills usually only dress three running backs on game day, with the third being a special teams contributor. Neither Singletary nor Moss contribute much on special teams. So what do you do? Do you draft another running back? If so, you'd probably better draft one earlier than round three. If Singletary and Moss aren't getting it done, what makes you think another third round or later running back will? Are you willing to part with such premium draft capital for a running back? Do you focus on replacing a guard or two, or the center? What do you do? Knowing how aggressively Beane attacks roster weaknesses, and how much McDermott values the run game, I trust that Buffalo will actively seek to address this problem. But in the meantime, how do YOU suggest we go about it? This question does not seem to have any easy answers.

Well, I think looking at Milano's play and his effect on the defense overall strictly through the lens of tight end coverage is over-simplifying it a bit. Furthermore, the Bills DID erase Mark Andrews against the Ravens, and that was largely Milano's doing. Last night's pre-game show put up a graphic showing that in the first 10 weeks of the season, the Bills were something like 26th in points allowed. In the final six weeks of the season, they were 2nd in points allowed. To me, it's no coincidence that their period of greatly improved play lined up with Milano's return to good health. There was also the statistic that, prior to last night, they were 12-0 with Milano in the lineup and 3-3 without him. Milano is a sideline-to-sideline run defender, a quality pass defender, a good blitzer, and a generally high quality player who is just coming into the prime years of his career. He also plays a premium position in McDermott's defense. To my eyes, the difference in our defense with and without him in the lineup is night and day. I will continue to be puzzled by many Bills fans' ambivalence towards him and willingness to let him walk just because....well I'm not really sure WHY, even.

I re-watched the Chiefs game from earlier in the season, and it was exactly the same story. The Chiefs essentially conceded all the short stuff entirely. They made the bet that Josh would stay too fixated on the intermediate to deep stuff for too long, and they were right -- both times. By the time he started using his outlets late in the second half, it was too late. While Allen has made great improvements with regard to taking what the defense is giving him, it seems like he still has a tendency to revert to "doing too much" Josh, "Hero Ball" Josh, in certain big moments. When the Bills face good defenses but mediocre offenses, he seems quite willing to be patient, to take what's there. Whenever they face good offenses, where Josh knows that the Bills are going to have to keep pace offensively, he starts pressing too much. Perhaps it was the offensive efficacy of the opponent. Perhaps it was the enormity of the moment. Whatever it was, the guy we saw last night looked more like 2019 Josh than 2020 Josh to me. He'll learn, he'll improve. I just hope it's not always his fatal flaw. I agree with this. The combination of more physical coverage being allowed in the playoffs and most of our receiving corps being hobbled by injury led to a lack of separation all game which, coupled with a QB who was unwilling to check it down, led to offensive ineptitude.

Anyone who has seen the difference in statistical production of our defense with and without Milano — last night not withstanding — can see he should be a top priority to re-sign. Many Bills fans are way too willing to let him walk, and many more mistakenly think he’d be easy to replace. Re-sign Milano, Feliciano, Williams. Tender Wallace and see if you can get McKenzie and Marlowe back for cheap. Everyone else can walk.

Anyone who thinks Tre White is anything other than a top 10 corner in this league is smoking too much happy lettuce. He’s one of our two or three best players, and he is NOT even among the top few reasons we lost last night.

The Bills got out coached on both sides of the ball last night. HOWEVER... The execution was also lacking. Did you see the replays, time after time? Receivers were not separating. #17 was passing up checkdowns and short options repeatedly. Pass blocking was suspect. It’s not entirely the Xs and Os, it was also the failure of the Willies and Joes. Our quarterback, in particular, still has some growing to do.

I don't have anything new to add to this thread other than this: It's been a pleasure talking Bills with you all season, and over the past few years. I watched the old "History of the Buffalo Bills" video with Tim Russert and Vincent Gallo today. Something about the voices of Ed Sabol and Van Miller just bring to life the historical significance of this day. I then watched highlights from our last four AFC Championship games. I'm done watching clips of the past now, and I'm ready for the Bills to charge into the future. I'd like to think the Bills will be in the AFC title game a lot over the next decade, but the truth is this: It could be another 27 years. You just never know. So enjoy today, soak it in, enjoy it....and GO BILLS!!!!!

I predict the Texans won't end up trading Deshaun Watson. If they have any sense whatsoever -- and it's no guarantee that they do -- they'll do what they need to do to salvage the relationship, and will bring in whatever coach Watson feels comfortable with. If they trade away Deshaun Watson at age 25 -- no matter WHAT the compensation they get back is -- they'll regret it forever.

Yawn. Get back to me when Biden starts openly denying reality, touting “alternative facts”, or lying so often and so forcefully that he incites a violent insurrection. Play all the word games you want. The guy you support was a historically awful liar and a dangerous con man, and we have the dangerous and embarrassing Capitol attack, and the diminished place of America on the world stage, to prove it. I truly couldn’t care less about the opinions of anyone who honestly still supports that Fascist, seditionist thug, even after he tried to overthrow democracy. Have a fun time with your “lie tracker” game. I’m proud of you for finally deciding, after the last four years, that you suddenly care about honesty and facts!

So just to be clear, you’re arguing that Trump WASN’T an uncommonly enormous liar who lived in an alternate reality of alternative facts?

Yeah, you're right. Buffalo Bills message board poster Buffalo Timmy is CLEARLY a more trustworthy source than the Washington Post. What was I thinking? I didn't see "feigned indignation" at "just another lying politician". I saw revulsion at the preposterous alternate reality of lies and cons that Trump created and wallowed in for four years. All politicians DO lie at times, yes. Joe Biden will be no exception, I'm sure. But to try to draw a false equivalence between the usual brand of political lies and what Donald Trump was up to? That's just ridiculous, and I think you know that. This is a man who, just days into his presidency, had his people on national TV talking about "alternative facts". Trump was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the biggest liar to ever hold office. It's documented. Deny it all you want, but the man lived in a reality all his own. From early on, having Spicer declare "it was the biggest crowd for an inauguration ever, period", to his final days outright lying about the election being stolen...Trump was and is a gigantic liar. And wouldn't you know it? They weren't harmless lies, either. His "stolen election" lie, in particular, led to violent insurrection. If you honestly feel like Trump wasn't a special breed of lying, narcissist lunatic, then I would suggest that you're likely dwelling in the same alternate reality he is.

There are no words for the irony and hypocrisy of a bunch of Trump fans suddenly caring about lies coming from the president. Hate to tell ya, Trumpies, but Biden's got a lot of catching up to do if he wants to match wits with the all-time master of lies, Donald John Trump. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/13/president-trump-has-made-more-than-20000-false-or-misleading-claims/