Logic

I'm only able to read the opening section of this article, as the rest of the breakdown is behind a paywall. Still, the title and the opening bits alone are worth sharing. My favorite bits are bolded. https://www.golongtd.com/p/the-bills-have-josh-allen-the-patriots "There’s justifiable hesitancy any time any team jacks up the quarterback market. Too many franchises suffer from buyer’s remorse a few months into breaking the bank. Then, there’s Josh Allen. The $258 million contract the Buffalo Bills handed their long-lost savior felt like armed robbery on Sunday. Given the lost bodies, the stakes, the pressure and the presence of the greatest coach ever on the other sideline, this was Allen’s finest performance to date. The Bills’ 33-21 win over the New England Patriots felt like a true flip of the script. For two decades, the Patriots delivered this exact same message to all of Western New York: Our quarterback is better than yours. Foxborough is where the Bills’ dreams have gone to die every December. But not with Allen. Not with possibly the best quarterback in the sport. Every excuse was neatly lined up into this colossal AFC East rematch and all Allen did was throw the Bills on his back and make anything seem possible. No Cole Beasley and no Gabriel Davis? Fine. All Isaiah McKenzie did was have the game of his life. The offensive line was mashed up again and then lost starting guard Ike Boettger to a torn Achilles? No sweat. Allen baited one, two, three rushers at a time before flicking first downs across his body. A run defense that’s been gashed for a good month was without defensive tackle Star Lotulelei due to personal reasons and mostly gashed again. Big whoop. It did not matter. And it’s taken four years but maybe, just maybe, Allen was able to rewire how his head coach manages a game, too. There was no punting at midfield this day. Hell, the Bills didn’t need to punt at all. Sean McDermott finally coached like he had an MVP candidate at quarterback with his foot firmly on the accelerator. And this is the effect the best players in the sport have. They affect everyone and everything. Allen is more than capable of throwing the Bills on his back and taking them as far as he pleases. We know Patrick Mahomes can do this. Maybe Jonathan Taylor can. Maybe Derrick Henry can, too, if he returns. The list of such singular forces of nature in the AFC likely ends there. On Sunday, Allen completed 30 of 47 passes for 314 yards and rushed for another 64 yards. He threw three touchdowns, was not sacked once and did not throw an interception. This wasn’t against the Texans, the Jets or the Washington Football Team. This offense imposed its will on a defense surrendering an NFL-low 16.2 points per game into this weekend. If not for two drops in the end zone, the Bills would’ve hung 40 on Bill Belichick’s defense. Which is remarkable. Most of this season, New England’s patriarch has penned brilliant gameplans for the best quarterbacks in the game — he made Tom Brady look ordinary, remember. And in the biggest game of the season, the greatest coach ever had approximately zero answers for Allen. That’s why Allen’s performance this day cannot be illustrated in numbers. This is the game that should have bubbled all of the 2018 ugliness to the surface. Belichick should have confused Allen on the back end with a variety of zone coverages, pressured him up front with Buffalo’s line decimated and — again — kicked the Bills to the curb. Instead, again and again, Allen was the chief demoralizer..."

Just wanted to bump this and say that anyone who hasn't read at least the Bills section of this article yet should do so. Good reading!

I said this in another thread, but I thought today was Josh's best game as a pro. Given the surrounding roster circumstances, the stakes of the game, and the quality of the opponent and opposing head coach...the win was huge. The WAY he won was huge. He made the right decision on almost every play. He played a complete, mature, intelligent, composed, poised game. He's had flashier games, but in terms of being the consummate field general, I don't think he's ever been better. Today wasn't the most EXCITING he's ever been, but I think it's the BEST he's ever been. Like you said, it was winning football. Health permitting, Josh Allen is going to have a bronze bust in Canton one day.

This may be a controversial opinion, but... Given the stakes of today's game, the surrounding roster circumstances, and the opponent...I thought today was Allen's best game as a pro. He seemed to make the correct decision on almost every play. When the Pats dropped defenders deep, he checked it down. When they finally squatted on the short stuff, he hit them medium and deep. When his protection held up, he stayed in the pocket. When it broke down, he ran for positive yards or rolled out and found an open receiver. He played within the structure of the offense and the gameplan. He took what the defense gave him ALL. GAME. LONG. Yes, he had two passes that could and maybe should have been picked. Other than those two passes, he had just about a perfect game. The Pats defenders even said in the post-game pressers that he just beat whatever they were throwing at him all game long. Mind you: This was against the number one defense in the league, arguably the best defensive mind and head coach of all time, in their house, for the division. Zero punts. 33 points. Domination. Best game as a pro. I'm sticking with it.

So, uh....is this still a thing or what, @Beerball?

Fair. It should be noted, though, that the Bills have been playing more and more 2 TE sets in recent weeks. I don't have the numbers in front of me because I don't have subscriptions to any of those data aggregate websites that show personnel grouping percentages, but they haven't been as 10 and 11 personnel happy as they once were. The Bucs game is the notable exception to that. Furthermore, if Dawkins misses this game and Brown and Williams wind up as the starting tackles again, I like the extra help that tight ends or Gilliam would provide to them. In any case, the Pats have an average to below average run defense and an elite pass defense, so hopefully the Bills can find a way to run the ball successfully against them, whatever personnel grouping they choose.

If Sanders can't go, I expect the Bills to run a lot of two tight end sets. When they do go three-wide, I presume Isaiah McKenzie will be the primary beneficiary of Beasley's absence, with Kumerow taking snaps as well. I don't get the sense that Stevenson is ready to contribute much in the receiving game or that Hodgins -- even if brought up from the practice squad -- what get many offensive snaps.

The post-game video showed me all I needed to see with regard to the team's readiness to face New England. Josh: "Nothing needs to be said. We know what we need to do." The players aren't dumb. They're also not the "just here for a paycheck" types. These guys are all competitive, prideful, and love the game. They're surely well aware of the importance of this game and will all be "up" for the game.

I sure hope he makes it to the market. In my mind, drafting a few big, mean guards and a bruising running back and signing Godwin should "fix" the offense. Find a decent 1T and a capable corner somewhere, and there's your offseason.

Godwin's contract is up at the end of this year. I'm guessing the injury complicates things for him in terms of finding someone to pay big bucks in the free agency market, and he winds up signing a 1 year deal with the Buccaneers. If NOT, I'd sure love to see him sign in Buffalo. He's a top three slot receiver in the NFL and is still only 25 years old. Give me Diggs, Davis, and Godwin next year.

The whole league’s had Belichick on their backs for 20 years. It’s not just McDermott that has had trouble beating him. He’s the greatest head coach of all time 🤷‍♂️

This post is filled with bad takes and barely legible english. I feel no need to respond further.

How did the Browns let Jordan Poyer go on to become an elite safety elsewhere? How did the Packers let Micah Hyde go on to become an elite safety elsewhere? How did the Colts trade Jerry Hughes away for a pack of Marlboro Lights? How did the Vikings trade Stefon Diggs away only to see him be a 1st team All-Pro in his first season in Buffalo? These things happen.

I'll say it again, because many probably skimmed past it: I read -- ( https://apnews.com/article/kathy-hochul-sports-nfl-business-buffalo-bills-77b347e94170316c76a9c9bd380b80ae ) -- that the plan for the new stadium in Orchard Park is to be built in such a way as to protect the field and the fans from the winds and the elements, similar to Seattle's stadium. I've attended a game there late in the year, and despite it being a cold and windy day, you couldn't really tell from the stands. This type of construction doesn't COMPLETELY mitigate the cold, but it makes it VASTLY more tolerable than it is at Highmark Stadium. Here's the pertinent quote from the Wawrow article above: "The new venue would not include a roof, but it would be designed so that a majority of the seats would be protected from the elements, the person said."

I think "Christmas Spirit" and the degree to which each person is in the mood for the holiday or not is highly subjective. For me, I'm usually pretty "into" Christmas by the early part of December. I look forward to it, I enjoy it, I play all the music and watch all the specials...all that stuff. The past two years I have felt...basically nothing at all at Christmas time. No holiday spirit, no desire to binge watch Christmas movies, nothing. I should mention that I don't have any kids and I live 2,000+ miles from my family. I'm sure those factors have something to do with it. Anyway...I'm sure the pandemic, the political climate, the whole generally grotesque milieu that is American life in 2020 and 2021 has a lot to do with it, but yeah...not much Christmas Spirit for me this year. I'll give the gifts, I'll call the relatives, but...meh. Humbug.

Yeah, I'm sure McDermott is all sorts of flustered after sweeping the Pats last year.

I get that, but....the Raiders also are 7-7. I'm wondering why it was better for us to see the Browns go to 7-7 -- which I gather it was -- than to see the Raiders go to 7-7. Edit: Wait, nevermind. I'm an idiot. I realize now the Browns would have been 8-6 with a win. Duh. I blame the weed.

So that was good for the Bills somehow, right?

I’m fairly certain I read that it WILL be built in such a way that the field and stands are somewhat wind protected, similar to Seattle’s stadium.

Other than the one long TD run, the Bills limited them to 3.5 ypc. The Pats also actually have a WORSE run defense than the Bills do. 🤷‍♂️

Respectfully... Kelly, Brady and Elway (among others) had Hall of Fame careers built on prolific passing attacks in outdoor, cold weather stadium. Peyton Manning, who played the majority of his career indoors, had the best year of his career playing at Mile High in Denver. Currently, Patrick Mahomes has an incredibly prolific aerial attack in Kansas City, and things get rather cold, windy, and rainy/snowy there, too (as we saw when we played them earlier this season). This idea that prolific passing attacks can't thrive in outdoor stadiums doesn't hold water for me. Above and beyond that, though, I just don't see it as likely that the extra cost and red tape necessary to build a dome would make things any EASIER in terms of getting a budget passed and a stadium built.

Pats* fans that have already built Jones up in their minds to be the next Tom Brady are in for a rude awakening over the next couple seasons, in my opinion. He seems to be a quarterback that you can win with so long as your defense and running game are doing well. I don't see him being a transcendent talent that can put teams on his back and carry them the way that true franchise quarterbacks sometimes need to do. Put differently: immobile, pocket-only QBs with limited improvisational, off-structure ability don't tend to be among the elite signal callers these days. Brady is about the only one, and he's obviously more the exception than the rule when it comes to quarterbacking. I'm not saying Jones definitely can't or won't be elite. Maybe he will be. But many Pats* fans seem to think it's a foregone conclusion, based solely on his being a capable care taker and winning some games on the backs of an elite defense and coach.

Not to mention the endless slobbering over the elite Patriots defense, without mentioning whatsoever that the Bills give up only 1.2 points more per game and are ranked second in scoring defense, right behind the Pats.

Why do I have the feeling that most of the people wanting a dome (which is undeniably the more expensive option) will be the same ones complaining about the price tag when it comes time for the public funding discussion? I think, given the realities of the economic constraints of the Buffalo market, that certain realities have to be faced. Namely, the most affordable and most feasible option is an open air stadium in Orchard Park. Building either a dome or a downtown stadium -- or both -- would be more expensive, have a lot more red tape associated with it, and would be less likely to receive the necessary funding and to be successfully completed on a realistic timeline. This, in turn, would imperil the future of the Bills in Buffalo. A roof in cold weather would be nice. A downtown mega-plex would be nice. All things considered, and confronting the economic realities of the situation, give me whatever is necessary to actually get a new stadium built and to keep the team in Buffalo.

I'm soooo glad we get to experience another week of Pats* fans telling us what wins we get to feel good about and how great Mac Jones is. 🤢