Logic

All of the pressure in this game is on Miami -- from keeping playoff hopes alive, to getting the "Bills" monkey off their back, to breaking a losing streak. None of the pressure in this game is on the Bills, who will be comfortably in first place in the AFC East regardless of the outcome of the game. Furthermore, Josh Allen just seems to play confidently and play well against the Dolphins. A relaxed, confident Josh Allen having fun is usually a dangerous Josh Allen. I in no way think this game is a gimme, and the Dolphins are a talented and motivated enough team that an upset wouldn't shock me. BUT....I think the Bills will take care of business this week.

Only ever been to one TBD tailgate, but I remember Mead being as nice a human as you could possibly imagine meeting. Happy Birthday feller!

No one is trading for Mike Edwards. Maybe -- MAYBE -- you could get someone to swap their 6th for our 7th, but I doubt even that. It's more likely that the Bills will just release him because they don't want a malcontent in the locker room.

It's not that decent sushi can't be had in WNY, I'm sure. It's just that the sushi one can get in the pacific Northwest is, as a rule, pretty much always going to be superior. It's like asking "can't I get a good garbage plate or beef on weck outside of western New York?". And the answer is that yes, maybe you can. But it's almost certainly not going to be as good as one you get in WNY. It's just not. Each region has its regional culinary delicacies. In Seattle, fresh seafood and fresh sushi and great Asian cuisine in general are top of the list.

Yes absolutely! I saw this video on the big screen at a Grateful Dead "meetup at the movies" a few years back, and it was awesome. Blew me away. I always love Bruce Hornsby era Dead. The sound of his grand piano fit in beautifully and really brought something unique to the music in those years. His presence (particularly early on in his tenure with the band) also really seemed to inspire Jerry to play well and be creative and to have fun, which in turn meant the band would usually follow suit, and a great night of music would ensue. We are so, so, so lucky to have so much recorded material from this band. To think that one can listen to high quality recordings of almost every live show they ever played for 30 years is absolutely mind blowing. What a gift.

Thanks for that. I can (and do) get lost in that version of Eyes over and over and over again. A stellar example (even 25 years into their career) of what the Dead could be at their best.

I would just like to say that no one has ever played the bass like Phil Lesh before, and no one probably ever will again. Most bassists more or less sound the same. Lesh was the exception. He played all over the fretboard. Played his instrument like a lead guitar. At times he anchored the music as bassists usually do, but at times he also left that to the drummers and keyboardist and said "see ya later" and took off on a flight of fancy, challenging the rest of the band to keep up. Lesh was an incredibly original player. So was Bob Weir. So was Jerry. The fact that there were THREE very original players leading the band -- and that they all took turns leading, pushing, pulling, and sonically cajoling each other -- is what made the Dead's music so interesting and it's why they've sometimes been referred to as "electric Dixieland". Lesh's quote "never play a song the same way once!" was apt. He was such a singular musician, and the Dead were such a singular band. I haven't been too sad about Phil in the few days since his passing. He lived a long, great life and died peacefully with family. Instead, I've just been soaking up the sounds he left behind. What a gift his music was to the world, and what an unspeakable amount of joy it has brought to my life. Always one of my favorite illustration's of Phil's unmatchable groove and bounce :

I've been happily posting that Keon is making me look like a fool so far in various threads, and if he keeps it up, my pre-draft anti-Keon position will go in the "All-time giant idiot takes from an armchair GM" Hall of Fame next to my anti-Josh opinion from 2018. Kid is killing it, and I'm thrilled to (apparently) have been super wrong about him. That said... Have you posted your apology thread for saying that our receiving corps was gonna be just fine this year? Because us WR worriers were shouting from the rooftops that something more needed to be done at WR, and you were one of the leaders of the "we'll be just fine" chorus, extolling Curtis Samuel's virtues and saying we shouldn't worry about Mack Hollins being a starting outside receiver for us. And last I checked, Samuel has been a zero, Hollins DID start at outside receiver and our worries about him WERE justified, and the Bills just traded a 3rd for Amari Cooper, thus admitting their WR corps was lacking. So if we're doing "WR apology threads"....you first!

- Elite 50/50 and jump ball ability - Legit YAC juice - Breaks arm tackles consistently - Developing scramble drill chemistry with Josh - Willing and effective run blocker Keon is starting to play like the Bills' WR1. Then again, so is Shakir. Then again, they just acquired Amari Cooper. Keon coming on, Shakir getting healthy, Cooper coming to town........amazing the difference a few weeks can make. The present and future, all of the sudden, don't look too shabby at WR.

Very impressive win. Offense, defense, coaching, quarterback. Impressive in every way a win CAN be impressive. Special shoutouts: - Josh Allen. Overcame offensive penalties, bad weather, and a loud Seattle crowd to have a great day. Other than the interception, he was in full command from start to finish. Looked like a field general out there. I love seeing him be able to just play in rhythm and NOT have to be a super hero most of the day, while still being willing and able to put on the cape when needed for a big play. - James Cook. I think he felt the heat of Ray Davis playing well recently. Impressive day from him running the football. - Offensive line. Absolutely MOVED people today in the run game. Wow. - Keon Coleman. To be able to win those 50/50 and jump balls and ALSO exhibit some juice after the catch? I love it. This kid is getting better every single week, and appears poised to make me and all of his other doubters look like fools. - Tight end involvement. I like how Brady involved both tight ends today. I liked seeing them used on downfield routes instead of just short stuff. Both guys played well, too. - The entire Bills defense. No single defensive lineman, linebacker, corner, or safety had an elite day. But they played incredibly well AS A UNIT, limiting a very good Seattle offense to 10 points on the road. - Coaching on both sides. I loved the defensive gameplan to send pressure at Geno and play tighter coverage. I loved the mix of run and pass on offense and the willingness to lean into putting Josh under center in the first half rather than always in shotgun. With the exception of the gross penalties (which may be more an indictment on the refs), the entire coaching staff had these guys ready to play. Fast start, kept up the intensity throughout the game, and finished strong. All on the road against a pretty good opponent in a hostile environment on a rainy day. What more can you ask for? Add to it the fact that the Dolphins, Jets, Ravens, and Bengals all lost today, and you're talking about a pretty flawless day of football for Bills fans. GO BILLS!!!

Per his Instagram account, founding Grateful Dead member and bassist for the entire existence Phil Lesh passed away today. The man was 84 years old and, according to the message, died peacefully with his family. Bob Weir once said "death is the best reward for a life well lived", and Lesh's was incredibly well lived. An incredibly original bassist, musician, and mind. No one played like him, no one thought like him. I will miss knowing that he's still playing music in the world, but I'm so grateful to have endless treasure troves of all the brilliant music he left behind. Rest in peace, Phil Lesh.

Carter and Bernard out means we can expect the Seahawks to attack the spine of our defense over and over again with a heavy dose of Ken Walker III. Frankly, that's likely what we could've expected if those guys were healthy and active, too. The Seahawks will get their yards. It'll be critical to limit them to field goals and to get off to a fast start on offense, rather than spotting them 10-14 points before we "wake up", as we have done multiple times this year.

I think the key part of the Amari Cooper trade that doesn't get talked about enough is that if the Bills DO let him walk next year, they could very likely receive a third round compensatory pick in return, meaning they would've essentially gotten him for the 2024 season in exchange for $800k and dropping, say, 12 spots in the 3rd round. It was literally the PERFECT deal for Beane: Low financial compensation, with a shot to either re-sign the player next year or re-coup the pick he used to acquire him. Garrett would not be that. Garrett would be sending multiple high picks and making him the highest paid defender in NFL history. I just don't see how people think that's a realistic thing that the Bills are likely to do.

Don't get me wrong: Garrett is a great player, and if it was up to me, I'd be calling the Browns and seeing if something could be worked out. I was more speaking to what I think Beane will do vs what I would do. I do not believe Beane wants to denude the top of his draft next year (he already traded away his 3rd) for one player. I don't think he wants to go into the draft with his first pick being in the 4th round. I just don't buy it for where the Bills are in their build right now.

I don't think anything the Bills have done over the past 12 months signals that 2024 is an "ALL IN" (to use your phrase), push-your-chips-into-the-center-of-the-table type of year. They've been cutting veterans, shaving salary cap, and hording (and using) draft picks to re-stock the cupboards with young talent. Everything they've been doing, in fact, points to 2024 being a soft re-set year, with 2025 and beyond being the years they hope to open a new and sustained window of Super Bowl contention. For Beane to suddenly turn around and flip multiple high draft picks for Myles Garrett would be very, very surprising to me. I don't think it's gonna happen.

I really don't think saying that Hamlin "hasn't been playing at a liability level" is singing his praises all that strongly. As for the INTs, you can dissect ANY player's interceptions, and you'll often find tipped balls, gimmes and gifts, etc. The fact is that he made the plays. You can call it luck or you can call it "being in the right place and doing your job". I prefer the latter, but you may prefer the former.

I think they'll sit Bernard this week in the matchup against the NFC opponent on the road, in order to rest his ankle for the big divisional home game the following week. I know that we all say "every game matters", and of course that's true to some degree. But it's indisputable that games against NFC opponents matter less than against AFC opponents.

I have never been more irate than I was watching this play live in Seattle's stadium. It was a horseshit play be the Seahawks, and the way the refs dealt with it was infuriatingly bad. It also had a direct impact on the outcome of the game and, worse yet, Dan Carpenter was basically never the same after this play. It sort of ruined his career. It still makes me mad to watch and to think about.

Seems that way, yep. Pass rusher would have been a fine choice. It would have also been great to combine those two salaries and put it towards a more viable safety like Kamren Curl. Hindsight is 20/20, but obviously Edwards and Samuel (particularly Samuel) both look like huge misses right now.

I agree with what I saw posted on Twitter. He was signed in the same wave of free agency as other "afterthoughts" like Casey Toohill and DeShawn Williams. He wasn't given a ton of money. He then proceeded to miss just about all of camp and the preseason with injury, which surely set him back in terms of fighting for a starting role. Fast forward to now, and I think his biggest obstacle to being gameday active is Cam Lewis. Lewis can (and does) also play nickel corner, and I think his versatility advantage over Edwards gets him onto the field. Edwards has always been a replacement level player, and the only thing "off" in this scenario was Bills fans' expectations for him. As for why he hasn't overtaken Hamlin or Rapp, maybe he's simply not playing as well as them in practice? Maybe he hasn't earned it?

So surprising to see him SEPARATE from the pack this week 😝

Raiders - Cooper (by his own admission) dealt with injuries, drops, and inconsistency, so even though he posted 2,900 yards in his first three seasons, the Raiders didn't want to commit to him long term. They traded him to Dallas instead. Dallas - Jerry Jones didn't want to (or wasn't able to) give Cooper a long term extension. This is the same team, mind you, that handed Ezekiel Elliott an awful contract and recently had long and idiotic contract staredowns with CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott. They traded him to Cleveland. Cleveland - Rumors are that Watson and Cooper didn't get along and that Cooper sort of quit on the team this year. Either way, the Browns are having a down year and likely were happy to get a draft pick back in return for a player who definitely wasn't going to be there in 2025. So all in all, to answer your question: Early inconsistency and injury troubles, then bad front offices. That really seems to be it. Cooper isn't a superstar WR. He's a mid to low end WR1 who will give you 1,000-1,200 yards most seasons. He's a smart and savvy veteran who knows how to get open, commands attention from the defense, and will add some juice to the Bills' receiver room. They'll either re-sign him to a reasonable deal next year or let him walk and re-coup the 3rd as a com pick, but either way, he makes the Bills' WR room materially better in 2024, and his past as an NFL player doesn't change any of that, no matter what theory you ascribe his various moves to.

Cooper is younger, cheaper, and a better fit culture-wise and in terms of the skillset the Bills were lacking. Bills needed someone to win consistently vs man coverage, to separate, to do his job quietly and with professionalism, and to be a good veteran presence in the locker room. For every item on that checklist, give me Cooper over Hopkins.