Logic

I think Hapless nailed it: We lost Star, Zo, Shaq, and Phillips. Milano, Edmunds, and Oliver have been injured off and on all year. We have yet to play a single game this year where our top four corners are all active. Combine loss of personnel — two of whom, Star and Zo, were really good and important players — with injuries to three core guys and much of our secondary, and you have a recipe for major decline. I think the defense will improve for the stretch run of the season. They’ve already improved greatly at third down defense the past couple weeks, for instance. But I don’t think they’re ever going to completely “figure it out” this season and look like the unit we’re used to seeing. Going forward into 2021, I trust McDermott and Frazier and Beane to right the ship. I think as long as we have McD and Frazier running things, the Bills are likely to have a good defense more often than not. Oh, and one more thing: it’s not a stretch to say that Star opting out (and the lack of a capable replacement at 1T) really, really hurt our defense. When your three star front seven defenders all make their living off of speed and quickness, you need that anchor that draws double teams, keeps the LBs clean, and gives your 3T one-on-ones. Star was a BIG loss.

Diggs calling him “one of, if not the best coach I’ve ever had” is extremely high praise. The proof is in the pudding. Hall appears to be getting the most out of the WRs.

I'm in a pivotal matchup in my fantasy football league (on the ESPN Fantasy platform) for a decent amount of money, and my opponent has Taysom Hill. This wouldn't bother me, except that ESPN lists Hill as TE/QB, meaning my opponent is able to play him at the TE spot, where he is projected to have 21.2 points. Absolutely indefensible decision by ESPN Fantasy. The second he was announced as the starting QB this coming Sunday, they should have removed his "TE" designation. Lame, lame, lame.

It depends on what you like about football. If it's just the gladiatorial, "people smashing into people really hard" aspect, then you'd probably feel as though football has gotten worse. If, on the other hand, you enjoy the athletic spectacle, the complexity and diversity of offensive and defensive gameplans, the creative deployment of personnel, and the parity, then you probably think football has gotten much better. I tend to fall more in the second camp, though there are certainly moments where the over-officiation and over-penalization of hits is regrettable and irritating. The level of competition across the league is great. The quarterback play is at an all-time high (though that fact is clearly inseparable from the offensive rule changes and protections that have been inserted in recent years). The playcalling and schemes and creativity and deployment of personnel is at an all-time high. The willingness of pro coaches to utilize college schemes and ideas has really injected new life and freshness into the NFL. And this is all just the league itself: I haven't even MENTIONED the "access" to the league, or all the stuff around the league. Between super slow motion high definition replays, NFL Sunday Ticket, Red Zone, ten thousand preview, review, highlight, and recap shows, fantasy footballs, DFS, legal sports gambling, social media, mic'd up, NFL Films, etc, etc, etc....there has never been a better time to be a fan of football. Sometimes it boggles my mind to remember that, in order to find out what happened in NFL games across the league, you used to either have to catch local news sports highlights, or read the next day's newspaper. Crazy.

Thank you for this thread. I truly believe that gratitude is transformative. Lately, I've been taking a "gratitude walk" every morning, where I silently count to myself the things I'm thankful for. That may sound sappy or lame or whatever, but I don't care. It works. Instead of dwelling on the things that are bad in the world, I am consciously choosing as often as I can remember to dwell in a state of gratitude, reverence, and present-ness. I picked up a couple small meditations/affirmations from the Vietnamese Zen monk Tich Nhat Hanh: "I have all the conditions around me and within me right now to be happy" and "breathing in, I smile. breathing out I am thankful for this moment, I know it is a precious moment". These sentences are simple, but they're powerful. As to what I'm thankful for... - I am thankful for my wife, who is the best person I know. - I am thankful for our two sweet little cats that we've had for 13 years. They teach me about unconditional love, and they keep my lap warm on cold winter nights. - I am thankful for my ancestors and my mother and father, to whom I owe my literal composition as a person. - Speaking of my father: while his death at a young age was very hard, it showed me the importance of never taking a single day for granted. I am thankful for that. - I am thankful to my friends and family, who help me to water the seeds of joy in myself on a daily basis. - I am thankful for a shelter over my head and protection from the elements. - I am thankful for food and for water, and for the financial security necessary to have enough of both. - I am thankful for working lungs, and for the ability to take un-hindered breaths. - I am thankful for my legs and feet, which allow me to walk and run and climb. - I am thankful for me arms and hands, which allow me to interact with my environment, to play music, and to work. - I am thankful for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual good health. - I am thankful for the teachings of Ram Dass (or Richard Alpert, whichever you prefer), which unlocked many doors of teachings and wisdom in this lifetime. - I am thankful for music. - I am thankful for the sport of football and for the Buffalo Bills. I could go on and on and on. Gratitude doesn't get enough play in our world. When I concentrate on that for which I am thankful, then I see that, as the meditation says, I have enough conditions around me and within me to be happy and at peace RIGHT NOW. Life is a miracle. Waking up every day and taking another breath is a beautiful gift. As Warren Zevon said: "Enjoy every sandwich". Here's a beautiful little song about gratitude by Pete Townshend. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

This thread wins “worst take I’ve read all week”. Thanks for the laugh.

This. Morse is at the point where any further concussions could end his career. Better Safe than sorry. Heal up across the board over these next two weeks and come back fresh and ready to go on a run. 4-2 with wins over LA, DEN, SF, and NE or MIA puts us at 11-5 and likely division winners.

In keeping with the spirit of this thread, here’s how things have changed for me: I’m not worried that the Bills won’t make the playoffs. I know they will. But a Wild Card berth isn’t good enough — I want to win the division. THAT’S why yesterday’s loss hurt for me — because it could negatively affect our chances of winning the division. The fact that the playoffs have become a given, and that a playoff berth alone is not good enough...THAT is the big sign to me that things have changed in Buffalo. The Bills are likely to make their third playoff trip in the last four seasons — and that’s not good enough. Who’da thunk it?!

In the Bills tailgate lot, before the Texans playoff game. $20. My drunk ass was pretty happy about it. 😂

Baby Yoda's ready for a Bills win.

I saw that Tweet from Tompsett, but I can’t for the life of me see Hyde’s equipment in those photos.

The 7-2 Buffalo Bills are playing a football game today. Today is a good day.

Been re-watching What We Do In the Shadows on Hulu and laughing my ass off lately.

As Bruce Exclusive would say: Let people like things.

The humanity angle gets lost too easily. Sure, it stinks that they’ll have to miss the game, but the real concern is that these men may have contracted a dangerous virus whose complications can be long lasting and life threatening. Here’s wishing, more than anything else, for a full and complete recovery from any players who have been infected. Football success is a distant second fiddle to long term health.

They did call Jackson up. He’ll start at CB2.

It’s... It’s not that bad. Really. The worst case scenario is losing a game to a tough NFC opponent on the road. It’ll be okay.

I hate it. 1pm Sunday start times are elite. All other start times are dookie.

Hydro flask products. They keep cold drinks cold and hot things hot for an absurdly long period of time. When I was living on a tropical island, I’d bring a Hydroflask of ice water to the beach, and after spending all day in the equatorial sun, there would still be ice cubes in it when I left. Ive also never had to replace any of my Hydroflasks. Extremely high quality and durable products.

I disagree entirely. Hyde is excellent.

The thing that gives me the most hope for offensive success is that Arizona plays mostly man coverage and doesn’t rush the passer very well. So far this year, Allen’s best games have all come against just such a combination.

Shaud Williams. Every time it was 3rd and 10 or more, I used to get so excited for the HB Draw with Shaud for 3 yards. Really set the forthcoming punt up nicely.

Wow. It wasn’t just Wright in that clip. It was all three analysts. One guy said the Bills are “too up and down”. They’ve won three straight and just beat everyone’s NFC Super Bowl favorite. Someone show that clip to the Bills locker room, please.

The Bills will apparently always be the backwoods, podunk kid sister that no one wants to talk about. Even when they ARE good, the media coverage is usually just like “aw, ain’t they cute? Bless their hearts!”. 7-2? Doesn’t matter. More wins against winning teams than anyone in the NFL? Meh. Exciting, endearing QB with a legit case for MVP? Yawn. I just can’t wrap my head around it. People will say “you have to earn it”, but what have the Cardinals earned? What did Lamar Jackson’s Ravens earn when they were the toast of the town? As others have pointed out: one of the teams in the Bills-Cardinals match beat the mighty Seahawks last week. One lost to the Dolphins. One QB outgunned Russell Wilson. One got outgunned by a rookie making his second start. So who does the media love and give the majority of the props and positive coverage to? The Cards, of course. It’s madness. I try not to let this stuff get to me, but it gets really old after a while.