Logic

All the people saying it's Le'Veon Bell time must not have seen Ty'son Williams run in the preseason. I have a feeling he'll be the lead back -- and a breakout star -- for the Ravens this season. Then again, I could just be saying that because I roster Ty'son Williams in all three of my fantasy leagues.

Brady and the Cowboys are so high atop my "NFL hate list" that I'll be rooting for a zero-zero tie tonight.

I would just point out that Brady and Manning were the two kings of the mountaintop while Peyton was playing. Despite the Pats' more consistent overall success and Brady winning more titles and beating Peyton head to head most of the time...I would still consider Peyton Manning the "face of the league" during those years. When it comes to marketing, there are considerations other than just "who is the better quarterback?" and "who wins head to head more often?" It could be pointed out that Peyton won a Super Bowl in his eighth year, so perhaps Josh has to do that before he can ascend to "face of the league" status.

I'm obviously biased as a Bills fan, but I think he's the most likeable superstar in the NFL. His whole backstory (farm boy in podunk town gets no college offers, writes 1,000 letters, is doubted every step of the way), his personality (well spoken, funny, playful, quotable, humble), his play style (exciting in both the pass game and as a scrambler, stiffarms d-linemen and hurdles linebackers), his "just a big kid out there" demeanor on the field...everything about him screams "face of the league". In my opinion, he's much more likeable and marketable than Patrick Mahomes, in the way that Manning was more likeable and marketable than Tom Brady, despite Brady winning more titles throughout their respective careers. If Allen's high level of play continues, and especially if the Bills win a Super Bowl, he WILL be the face of the NFL. He seems on the brink already. Couldn't think of a more deserving guy!

My favorite answer was the one Beane gave about Stefon Diggs. Basically, it suggests that you can do certain things to take various receivers out of games, but Diggs isn't one of those guys. He's essentially unstoppable. He can beat man coverage, can beat zone coverage, can beat the press, has elite route running, good speed, hands, and contested catch ability. What could anyone realistically list as a weakness in Stef's game?! Add in the intangibles, like the leadership and contagious swagger he has brought to the team, and you have one of the best trade acquisitions in Bills history. Here's the exchange: What makes [Diggs] such an asset to the offense even compared to other great receivers? "Physically, his release is really good. He’s hard to press. Some guys can get open versus man, but they don’t have a feel for zone. Some guys are zone players; they just can’t separate at the top of the route. Stef can play inside, or he can play outside. So no matter how you play him, he can still factor in the game. You can take certain receivers out of this game because of their skill set, and Stef makes it much harder to do that. His game speed? You can tell, even at practice, when he is in game mode, whether it’s one-on-ones with Tre’Davious White out there. He practices hard, but there are some days where you can see he’s going to be on a heater. You KNOW he’s going to catch it. To me, I see confidence, just like a cloud of confidence around him. I think that started with our quarterback, and now just the whole team feeds off his confidence, his swagger."

Nah. I said it just to bother you.

You mean the 2020 season that saw the Bills losing handily to the Chiefs in the AFCCG and then ended with a Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl? Yeah, I remember that. Exactly my point. I’m seeing more people picking the Bills than the Chiefs or the Bucs. The Chiefs beat the Bills twice last year and the Bucs return all 22 starters. What changed?

I've noticed over the past week or so that more and more local and national reporters, analysts, and talking heads are picking the Bills to win the Super Bowl. Many are also picking Josh Allen to win the MVP award. Whereas earlier this offseason it was all "will Josh Allen regress?" and "can the Bills fix their pass rush?", now I'm just seeing a whole lot of "Bills win the Super Bowl" predictions. What changed? Was it the preseason performance against the Packers? The training camp reports of Allen and the offense being lights out? The perceived improvement of the pass rush? Are the Bills just the "trendy" pick all of the sudden? I'm sure there's much more than I'm listing here, but here's just a small collection of what I'm talking about. I'm not sure how to feel about all this but here we are. What a time to be a Bills fan.

I'll be at the game this Sunday, and this is pretty much what I was expecting. Not great, but predictable. Did you see ANY masked folks at the game?

Thanks.

As opposed to your scientifically unimpeachable, not at all subjective or hunchy analysis? Nothing subjective or hunchy or fan-speak-y in there. Nope. MILES better than what I wrote. Very objective and well articulated 🙄

I read back in April that Hammer's Lot is requiring proof of vaccination for entry into the lot. Does anyone know if that is still the case?

Thanks. I usually like being in the stadium early, any way. I like seeing pre-game warmups and introductions and pyro and planes and all that jazz. Gonna have to remember to be at the gates extra early this week. Nothing worse than spending all that money/effort getting to a game and then being stuck in that drunken cattle herd and hearing the sounds of the crowd at the opening kickoff from outside the stadium.

All good, it indeed was not directed at you.

I'm guessing from this response that you didn't actually read the post in this thread where I explained exactly why I think the Steelers will win this one. I listed EXACTLY why I think they take it: Good head coach who isn't going to take two straight losses to the Bills lightly, a fresher Big Ben, an improved running game with Najee Harris, a healthier defense than the Bills have face the last two times out, and the Bills players being too hyped up in front of the raucous crowd (a phenomenon we've seen before with this team). I listed at least as many and as valid a set of reasons for my prediction as you did for yours. As for "guys like me"....again, not so sure you know what you're talking about here. I'm a pretty relentlessly optimistic person, and I said in that same post that I expect the Bills to win 12 or 13 games this year. Assuming you don't believe they'll win all 17 (which I do not), it seems reasonable and necessary to predict a loss every now and again. Predicting that one of said losses comes against a high quality head coach with a Hall of Fame quarterback isn't exactly ground-breaking stuff. I'm not saying anyone has to agree with me -- I recognize that mine is the minority opinion. But to suggest that I didn't explain why I'm predicting a loss or that I'm some type of consistently negative poster is inaccurate and a poor characterization. It's not. I believe the Bills will win 12 or 13 games this year and take the division. I just don't think they'll win all 17 games.

I'm just curious: am I the lone soul picking the Steelers to win this one? It sure feels that way.

I'll be in the stands, screaming my head off and banging on the seats. I'm a little nervous about going, for obvious reasons, but life is short and I love the Bills, so here we are. It's gonna be an absolutely insane game day atmosphere. Sometimes, this Bills roster comes out a little bit too hyped up in situations like this. As much as it will negatively affect the Steelers, it won't surprise me if it negatively affects the Bills a little bit, too, at least in the first quarter. While I think the Bills will have a great season and win 12 or so games, I am picking the Steelers to steal one here. The Bills have beaten them the last two times out, sure, but this game feels different to me. Duck Hodges will not be the quarterback. We will be seeing Roethlisberger right at the start of the season, rather than later in the season, meaning that his arm should be fresher. The Steelers defense will be healthier than the last couple times we played them -- even though Stephon Tuitt being out is a big blow. Najee Harris should add a dimension to their offense that it lacked last year. At the end of the day, Mike Tomlin is a great coach, Big Ben is a Hall of Fame quarterback, they have a great corps of offensive playmakers, and their defense is likely to be elite. As previously mentioned, I also expect our guys to be a little too hyper in front of the raucous crowd. Ultimately, the Bills win 12 or 13 games, but week 1 isn't one of them. Steelers 23, Bills 19

Live look at Nick Wright:

I’ll tell ya who was REALLY ranked too low on that list: Marion Motley.

Thank you so much !

So true. I use a VPN to buy NFL Gamepass every year, but I shouldn't have to jump through those hoops. Just let American customers give you their $250 and have the ability to stream it from their computer or Smart TV. Is that so hard?

What's the link or website? It doesn't come up on my work computer and I want to pull it up on my phone and watch it.

Agreed. That said, in 2011, I was driving from Ithaca to Orchard Park for the Bills-Pats game. "Don't stop Believin'" came on the radio, and at that moment I saw a Seneca white deer -- a rare, all-white deer that I had never seen before -- in the meadow to the side of the road. I took it as a sign that the Bills would beat the Pats that day. Lo and behold, they did! Thanks, random white deer and terrible Journey song!

When trailing leading into the 4th quarter, I've often heard "Livin on a Prayer" or "Don't Stop Believin". After a win, there's a decent chance you'll hear "Sweet Caroline". That one seems to have migrated from Boston to just about everywhere. And never forget: