Logic

It seems like bad calls by NFL officials become a bigger story every year. Far too many big games are decided by awful calls and non-calls, and it's diminishing the product and alienating the fans. In my estimation, the biggest problem is that the NFL absolutely refuses to have full time officials. For a sport this big, which makes this much money, and which sees so much money wagered on it by the betting public, to NOT have full time officials, seems inexcusable to me. There is also no real accountability for egregious mistakes, and there needs to be. I think the Tweet below proposes some logical solutions, but I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions on it, because I'm sick to death of this god awful officiating week in and week out.

Thanks so much for this. It's fascinating to hear how provincial (pun somewhat intended) and protective the populations of some areas are. In the case of Quebec, its a little bit more easily understandable, as I've always perceived that they take fierce pride in their heritage and culture. What you say about the Canadian government mostly wanting to make sure you'll contribute to society, and the biggest obstacle being the need to have a job lined up or prove your value in terms of professional experience and skillset, lines up exactly with what my perception of the immigration process is. The part that has always seemed a little bit tricky to me is the "chicken or egg" of it all: That is, it seems like it might be tough to get hired at a job without having moved there or become a citizen yet, while at the same time the only way TO move there and become a citizen is to already have a job in place. I don't have a modern, work-from-home, computer-based job like many who move abroad seem to. I work in hospitality. Currently doing accounting for a major hotel chain. My wife is the COO of a cannabis company. Somehow I don't imagine hospitality accounting or cannabis work to be desirable enough to the Canadian government to make them want to open their arms to us, but maybe I'm assuming too much and overthinking it. In any case, Saguenay (which I wasn't very familiar with) looks beautiful. It's nature, gorges, and water features remind me a lot of the pacific northwest, where I live now. You've chosen a beautiful place to live! Anyway...thanks again for your replies and congrats on your successful relocation. Interesting you should say this. My wife and I just vacationed in Portugal for the first time this year and loved it. We didn't get outside of Lisbon much, but we felt more or less right at home there. I had a hell of a time adjusting to the language (we had just been to Spain, and I wasn't prepared for how different Portuguese is from Spanish). Anyway...thanks for the reminder. I'm gonna research the immigration process there.

Wow. Incredibly informative and helpful. Thank you very kindly for this response and the invitation it ended with. If you don't mind a follow up question: In terms of the practicalities of the immigration process (I assume you moved there from the U.S., although maybe that's not a safe assumption), did you find it to be rigorous/difficult? I hear mixed things from people trying to move from the U.S. to Canada in terms of the difficulty of the process and the realistic requirements for acceptance.

In order to play snaps at WR in the NFL, you have to be able to run block and get off the press. Both of those things require use of the hands/wrist, and neither would be possible for a player with an injured wrist to do successfully. That means that having such a player on the field during run plays would be detrimental to the success of said plays, and having them run routes wouldn't fool the defense for very long if they weren't able to do the hand-fighting necessary of running routes. I get what you're saying, but in practical terms, the requirements of the WR position would not allow a player with an injured wrist to contribute to the offense's success in any meaningful way.

Oui, tres bien. I've heard great things about Montreal and Quebec City in terms of having the feel of being in a European city, but in Canada. Plus I'd still be within reasonable traveling distance of my family in western New York. While employment prospects would be better for us, I've heard the process of repatriating to Canada has become fairly difficult these days. To put it politely, I don't exactly think Canada WANTS Americans at the moment.

Yeah that's been the biggest drawback that's kept us from choosing Italy so far: employment. I think I'd be okay (depending on where we chose to move) because I'm in hospitality, and there are always jobs at hotels. My wife would have a much harder time. Shame, because the lifestyle and pace of living there seem perfect for us. But practically speaking, it seems tough to make a go of it unless you already have a big nest egg. Thanks for the input.

*Disclaimer: No political crap in this thread, please. If you wanna talk about that stuff, take it to the PPP* My wife and I have been considering moving abroad for years now. We previously lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a couple years, but that's a U.S. territory, so it was pretty easy and didn't involve anything special. As for this potential move, we've talked about various options including Italy, Sweden, Costa Rica, and Montreal. I recognize that different countries have different immigration requirements, some more stringent than others, so I'm wondering if anyone here has ever moved abroad and, if so, what their experience was. Where did you move to and when? Was it difficult? Complicated? Easier than expected? Obviously I can google various countries' policies, but I'm more so looking to just hear firsthand accounts from people that have actually done it. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Nah, he appears to be cooked. There's a reason the Ravens are releasing him. I'd rather give the snaps to Javon Soloman.

The Bills are ranked higher in scoring offense, scoring defense, and have the vastly superior quarterback. Then again, a team with a high quality running back, pretty good defense, and savvy veteran quarterback is exactly the type to give the Bills unexpected trouble, especially on the road and sandwiched between a division rival and the Chiefs. This is a TCB game. Take Care of Business, no matter how ugly. It won't surprise me if the Bills win by three scores, and it won't surprise me if they win by three points. Just win and escape, and go into the Chiefs game 8-2 for the first time since 1992.

I'll never forget in Marv Levy's autobiography where he states that in order to have a well-built and consistently winning football team, you need to be good from the top down. And by "the top", he meant ownership. If you have bad ownership -- meddlesome, cheap, absentee, whatever -- you're unlikely to be very good or for very long. The Dolphins and Jets have bad ownership. So long as the men who own those teams continue to own them, I foresee continued turnover at GM, HC, and QB. The Pats have good ownership in Kraft, but he's getting older, and I have doubts about his ability to fully move past the Belichick glory days (witness his anointing Jerod Mayo as head coach without a particularly legitimate coaching search). The Bills have an owner who is willing to give whatever money is necessary to the GM and HC and then get out of the way. He doesn't seem to be particularly meddlesome or cheap, and he's usually visible in the post-game locker room breakdowns, meaning he's probably not absentee (lack of public press conferences not withstanding). In the immediate term: The Dolphins have a head coach who, in my estimation, isn't long for head coaching duties there. I've seen this song and dance before: Whiz kid offensive play caller sets the league on fire, the league catches up to him, and he has no second act. I think his schtick will begin to wear thin. He'll have a long career as an OC in this league, but he is not a leader of men. Once he's out the door, will the next head coach want to stick with Tua? The Jets have tied themselves completely to the Aaron Rodgers clown show. They deserve everything that's happening to them. If and when they free themselves from him and start over, they're back to square one -- in need of a new head coach, new QB, possibly a new GM. All of it adds up to "not particularly threatening any time soon". The Patriots' head coach doesn't appear to be cut out for the job. Their owner, for reasons I mentioned earlier, may not be trustworthy in terms of turning a page on the head coach if and when it becomes necessary. The young quarterback looks pretty good, and we all know that a franchise QB can turn things around pretty quickly. Of the three teams in our division, the Pats are, in my estimation, the most likely to become a viable threat again in the near future, because at least they have a promising young QB prospect. One could make an argument for the Dolphins, but not so long as McDaniel is their head coach, in my opinion. TL;DR: Franchise QB's health permitting, Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills are going to continue to own this division for the next decade.

FWIW, Joe Buscaglia seems to think that Jefferson is the direct Smoot replacement. A guy who can play DE on base downs at times, then kick inside to 3T on passing downs. That's what Jefferson did the first time around. I'm not saying he's right or wrong. I don't think that just automatically assuming he'll fill the same role he did four years ago is necessarily a safe bet. But...I can see where Buscaglia's coming from in that thought.

Baldinger is one of the best things going on that god forsaken app. I love his little video clips and breakdowns. And yes, Josh has mentioned a few times this year that Brady gives him a lot of answers. He designs plays and does things with motion that simplify things for Josh and get guys open in space. In short, our OC helps our QB out in ways that I have been begging for for YEARS now. And wouldn't you know it, the percentage of Josh's passing yards that have come after-the-catch is the highest its ever been in his career. Thank goodness. Finally. Brady may need to really step his game up the next couple weeks if Cooper and Coleman are both out. I'd love to see him meaningfully gameplan around and involve BOTH tight ends in the passing game consistently. Dawson Knox didn't just forget how to play football. Kincaid has the talent to be the featured receiver on any given week. Let's get these boys going.

Aren't DaQuan Jones and Austin Johnson both 1Ts?

Not the worst rotational 3Ts to add in the middle of November. A little surprised that they signed BOTH of them, but I suppose they had the open roster spots to do so.

Thanks for posting this. Cover 1 always does a good job. Staying in nickel all game and still being able to at least somewhat limit the opposing run game has pretty much been the Bills' defensive identity since McDermott took over. Every once in a while, they come up against a team who is able to effectively call their bluff and run it down their throats. Baltimore did it earlier this year, Miami did it yesterday. Most teams can't do it. They either don't have the OL, don't have the scheming, or don't have the personnel to make it work. Credit to Miami. At the end of the day, neither defense really did much to stop the opposing offense. It took the Bills getting one extra possession via forced fumble to win the game, and even then it was a 61 yard miracle of a kick away from going to overtime. Live by the sword, die by the sword. They lived on Sunday, but just barely.

It was the right decision. For months (years?) people excoriated McDermott for being too conservative and playing not to lose rather than playing to win. Punting would've been a cowardly, "play not to lose" move. Attempting the field goal was the aggressive, "I believe in my players", play-to-win move. The question that should REALLY be asked is "should the Dolphins have gone for two instead of an extra point", and in my mind, yes, they should have. Granted, assuming everything from there onwards goes the same, it wouldn't have mattered, but still. I thought Mike McDaniel's decision was cowardly, and I thought Sean McDermott's decision was courageous and correct, and I fully supported it. (but also, yes, I was terrified, I assumed Bass would badly shank it, and that the Phins would have a shot at a Hail Mary or quick of their own to win the game. Luckily for me and for Bills fans, Bass absolutely drilled it, creating the greatest moment of his career to date.)

What's wrong with our defense? Nothing. Yesterday, as others have said, a good offensive play-caller and a highly motivated team featuring two excellent WRs, an excellent RB, and a QB playing at a high level played their best game of the year against the Bills....and the Bills defense STILL made a big play to turn the ball over, and that one extra possession wound up being what won them the game. Further, I think they're always going to be a bend-but-don't-break defense, and to that end, they are excellent in the red zone this year. I think they'll always be vulnerable to the run because their priority is not getting beaten over the top. But zooming out and looking at the larger picture: The Buffalo Bills are ranked 8th in scoring defense despite missing various key defensive players at various points in the season, including arguably their best player Matt Milano, who hasn't taken a single regular season snap this year. To be ranked 8th in scoring defense in such a transitional year -- new DC, new position coaches at various spots, two new safeties, etc -- is pretty impressive if you ask me. There are improvements to be made for this defense -- particularly in terms of stopping the run and getting more effective and impactful safety play -- but I think they're doing quite well as it is, particularly considering all the coaching and personnel changes and injuries.

Count me among those who -- if we're not going to use Samuel in a meaningful way -- would rather see them try out KJ Hamler or Jalen Virgil for a few weeks. If it's injury thats causing Samuel to be a zero, then IR him. If it's performance, then lets see what Hamer or Virgil has to offer.

Your lips to God's ears. How do we have Curtis Samuel, Dalton Kincaid, and Dawson Knox on this roster and consistently see them COMBINE for less than 50 yards receiving? Madness.

Assuming Coleman misses a bunch of time and Cooper comes back next week or the week after... Here's a novel and crazy idea: What if Curtis Samuel -- who had 62 receptions for 613 yards last year and is still only 28 years old and signed a decent sized contract this offseason -- ACTUALLY ***** STARTED PRODUCING FOR THE BILLS?!?! Is that too much to ask? Cooper - Samuel - Shakir should be a fine starting three group in the NFL. Why can't Samuel seem to collect even 10 yards receiving in a game? WHAT IN THE EVER LIVING HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!

Most fired up I've been after a Bills win this season. Big time stuff! - Awful game from the refs. Feels like I could say this every week. - Bills offense shot themselves in the foot throughout the game. - Dolphins controlled both lines of scrimmage for much of the game. - Excellent games from Tua and Achane/Mostert - Another slow start from Buffalo ...AND YET... Despite all of that, the Bills just found a way to win. That's what good teams do -- they find a way to win. Not your best day on offense? Not your best day on defense? Doesn't matter. Find a way to win a big divisional matchup at home. Now you're 7-2 and your division rivals are 2-6. Have to think this huge win -- particularly with the way they won it -- will provide a big boost of confidence going forward. Likewise, have to think it will deflate and demoralize the Dolphins. Lastly, how could I not mention Tyler Bass? THAT is how you bust a slump! THAT is how you get your confidence back and instill confidence in your teammates and Bills fans. Credit to the coaching staff for sticking with T Bass, credit to them for trusting him to attempt the kick, and credit to him for absolutely DRILLING it. It might have been good from 70! Time to crack a beer and toast a resilient win and a resilient kicker. GO BASS! GO BILLS!!!

Not meant as a dig against McDermott at all. I simply meant that the fact that there doesn't seem to be a meaningful correlation between penalties committed and W-L record probably doesn't mean much to McDermott or to fans, who both (rightly) loathe penalties. Currently, within the top 10 of most penalties committed in the league this year, you'll find (along with some bad teams) Baltimore, Minnesota, and Buffalo. Committing a lot of penalties doesn't seem to move the win-loss needle as much as you'd think, but it doesn't mean that McDermott won't (rightly) be preaching "clean football" all week long anyway.

To that last point, I can't ever remember seeing a team overcome offensive penalties as easily and as repeatedly as the Bills did against Seattle last Sunday. It was drive killing penalty after drive killing penalty, only...they DIDN'T kill the drives. The offense just easily overcame them. Granted, that's not always the case. I don't know how to verify this statistically, but I believe some of the league's best teams are often some of the most penalized. Or at the very least, that high penalty rates do not meaningfully correlate to teams being bad. Of course, that means diddly squat to Sean McDermott, who loathes penalties and sloppy play. Still...1st and 15 somehow seems less daunting when you have #17 under center.

It really does suck for them. It feels like the Bills are almost always the ones going into these big games with half their roster missing, so it's hard for me too feel too much sympathy. The injury bug comes for everyone. Next man up. Same as it ever was.

I didn't see this video posted yet, and I thought it maybe deserved its own thread because it's pretty impressive. Bills home offense is scoring 38.3 PPG (1st in the league), which would be a Bills record. Josh also has the #1 ranked QBR and #1 ranked TD/TO ratio in the league at home this year. Aside from their elite offensive production at home, Orlovsky talks about one of the things that has helped them find success this year: playing with a sixth o-lineman. The Bills have the most rushes with six offensive linemen in the league this year, and have produced the highest yards per rush and yards per play in the league out of this formation. As Orlovsky mentions, it's frankly kind of amazing that more teams don't do this more often, but credit to Brady for effectively utilizing it.