Logic

I can easily see Leslie Frazier getting head coach looks in the next couple of years, as well. I figure if Daboll bolts, Ken Dorsey becomes the OC. But if Frazier bolts, who becomes DC? Hmmm....

At this point, I just expect Allen's critics to keep moving the goalposts on him. First it was "he'll be a definite bust. Won't even be a replacement level starter". Well, he WASN'T/ISN'T a bust. I'm sorry, but a quarterback with a 9-7 record and six game-winning drives in his first 16 games is not a bust. Next it was "he's inaccurate!". He comes out this year and shows pretty damned good accuracy, with an obvious few exceptions here and there. Next it was "but he'll never reach 60% completion percentage!". Now he's doing that, and no one says a word. I suppose the last item on the checklist is to stop turning the ball over, and I WILL agree that he needs to do that if he ever wants to be taken seriously as an upper echelon QB.

I will fully concede Roquan Smith and LVE are superior to Edmunds in terms of being old school, run-stopping-first linebackers. As far as in TODAY'S NFL, though? I'll take Edmunds all day long. Give me a guy with his height, wingspan, speed, and twitch all day long over the old school bruisers. And yes, I know Roquan and LVE are not STRICTLY old school bruisers. I realize they have speed themselves and a bit of coverage skill. But in terms of their ability to dominate the middle of the field and completely change the quarterback's thought processes? Edmunds, Edmunds, Edmunds. It's not a coincidence that the Bills vaulted to the top of the NFL's pass defense rankings once they swapped out Preston Brown for Tremainue Edmunds. And on top of everything I just mentioned, he's getting better against the run each and every week. He may never be that big hit, highlight reel tackle, "enforcer" type, but he seems to have the skillset to be one of the greatest coverage middle linebackers to ever play the game. Not too bad for a guy who just gained the right to drink alcohol legally last year.

Miami is giving up *squints at computer screen* 175 rushing yards per game. Pound the rock. Let the defense feast on Josh Rosen. Bills should be able to get enough of a lead early that they run the ball a ton to bleed the clock, which will also help prevent a 300-yard passing day. And I'll say this: If somehow Buffalo struggles to win this game, I'll be worried. I know the Dolphins are terrible, but the part of me that's scarred from the past 20 years of Bills football prevents me from ever being able to overlook any opponent. None of this "let them hang around until the end" crap. This is NOT a Sunday that I want to see a game-winning drive from Josh Allen, because the Bills need to dominate the Phins to such an extent that a game winning drive is not necessary. If there's one game all season long that the Bills need to dominate for four quarters, its the Dolphins at home coming off a bye week.

You've really gotta quit following me around. Maybe find some other hobbies?

Chiefs and Bills: SAME RECORD THROUGH FIVE WEEKS. I expect Zero to show up any minute and eat some crow and admit that he's a troll. Oh wait, no I don't.

My observation is this: I'm super glad the Bills are in the AFC rather than the NFC this year. The NFC, to me, has most of the best teams in the league. Sure, the AFC has the Chiefs and the Patriots. Other than that? A bunch of also-rans. But the NFC? To me, the 49ers, Rams, Seahawks, Packers, Lions, Cowboys, Eagles, Panthers, and Saints all look legit. Throw in the Vikings and Bears as pretty darn good teams, too. The 49ers, I think, are very very good. I REALLY like their offensive scheme and the playcalling of Kyle Shanahan. And one more thing: The Patriots are living on borrowed time. Their defense is lights out, of course, but Father Time is finally starting to tap Tom Brady on the shoulder. Their offensive line isn't great, either, nor their running game. Those factors will speed up his demise. Just watch.

I'm just curious, for those whining about Perry being added to the roster.... Who did you THINK/HOPE was going to be added in week 6 of the NFL season?! Short of a trade, what instant impact player was just sitting out there on the free agency market, waiting to be signed?

I was thinking this exact thing. Freddie Kitchens is the offensive version of Rex Ryan. His team lacks discipline, common sense, and attention to detail. He should be one and done as head coach.

Zay's failure to catch on in Buffalo was not for lack of effort or professionalism on his part. Other than the bizarre offseason incident a year ago, he was a model citizen and teammate. Even this past Sunday, when the writing was on the wall, he was upbeat, cheering on his teammates, helping Duke Williams. Duke said Zay held him (or was it "helped"? "Held" seems kind of intimate...) and prayed for him before the game and gave him tips and pointers all game long. I guess what I'm trying to say is: I'm sorry it didn't work out for Zay in Buffalo, but I have no ill will toward him whatsoever. A change of scenery was the best thing for all parties, and I legitimately hope he does great things for the Raiders. So long, Zay, and thanks for your effort and positive attitude.

I wonder how this conversation would have gone if the Bills had beaten the Pats, like they SHOULD have that day. Oh well. If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, then every day would be Unta Donk Fest

Shaw - The only thing I'll quibble with is your notion that the Bills don't have good deep threat WRs. John Brown absolutely IS a great deep threat receiver. Robert Foster was one last year, too. Now, maybe Foster's injured or in the coach's doghouse for some reason, but I find it hard to believe that he suddenly forgot how to be a deep threat. With Brown and Foster as WRs and Allen at QB, it's a little strange to see the Bills be SO conservative and SO dink-and-dunk on offense. What I think is happening, moreso than the Bills just CHOOSING to go that route, is that defenses are taking away the deep ball week after week, knowing that the best way to beat the Bills offense at this point in time is to FORCE Allen to dink and dunk his way down the field, figuring he'll make a mistake sooner or later. I think the reason the coaches drilled into Josh's head time and time again this offseason the importance of the short game and taking what the defense gives you is that they KNEW this is how defenses would defend Allen this year, and they wanted him to have a counter punch via the short game. My hope, then, is that Allen learns and evolves to be so effective in the short game that defenses HAVE TO start defending it more honestly, thus opening up the deep balls once again. To have a quarterback with Josh Allen's physical gifts and two receivers with the speed of Brown and Foster and to NOT have a lethal deep passing game is, in my mind, a waste. My hope is that, as time goes on, we see the return of the deep game. Toxic differential is a huge factor in the outcome of football games, and one of the ways to make sure to win toxic differential each week is to connect on some big plays in the passing game. Time will tell. In the meantime, as long as they keep winning, any way they are able to do it is just fine with me.

You planning on jumping through any flaming tables or nah?

I'm not ready to say that he's definitely the Franchise QB we're all hoping and waiting for, BUT... Through 16 games, Josh Allen has a 9-7 record as a starter. He is 8-1 when he throws 1 interception or less. He has SIX game-winning drives in 16 games. When you consider that 11 of those 16 career games came last season, when he had a historically bad offensive line, a rotating cast of WRs, and just about NO preparation time as the starter before week 2 of the season....his performance and, more importantly, his W-L record thus far, is pretty damned impressive. The thing I like the most? He's at his best in the 4th quarter. You can't teach that. He has the "Clutch Gene". Yes, it's important to point out that the REASON he's needed to come back and win games in the 4th quarter is that his 3rd quarter performance hasn't been great, but...still. You have to give credit where it's due. I never feel like the Bills are out of a game with Josh Allen behind center. Oh, and one more thing: The whole "he's inaccurate!" critique? He's already proven it false. He is NOT inaccurate. He needs to learn to read defenses better/faster, to make better decisions with the football, and to slide and avoid unnecessary risks. But inaccurate? Nope. Sorry. Not true. He has dispelled this myth already, in my opinion. All in all? I'm cautiously optimistic. There's A LOT to like there, but enough to keep you worried that he may never reach his full potential. Grade: Incomplete, but encouraging.

B+ sounds right. Anything less than that is unfair to Josh, in my opinion. He completed 71.9% of his passes, had a 98 QB rating, had his sixth game-winning drive in 16 career games, and led his team to a road win. He was also accurate throwing the football all day long and made smart decisions on all but the interception. The only thing keeping him from an "A" is the pick. That's it. Good game from Allen overall.

It's gonna be McKittrick. 100%

Quote was proven fake.

Newport is beautiful. Cheerful Bullpen is the home of the Bills in Portland. Not the biggest/grandest place you've ever seen, but there's a big and loyal crew that goes there, and they do the Shout song after TDs, wings and beef on weck, Labatt's (which is not too common to see in most bars on the west coast), Bills gear raffles, etc...Plenty of TVs and even some out back in an outdoor area if the weather is nice.

Welcome to Oregon! I moved out to Portland about six years ago after living in western New York my whole life. I absolutely love it. There are DEFINITELY Bills fans here, as evidenced by the Bills Backers bar in Portland every Sunday, which is usually pretty packed. The biggest football related adjustment for me was learning to watch games at 10am instead of 1pm. Turns out it's much better this way! You can watch the early game and still have your whole day ahead of you, or watch both the early AND late games and STILL be done by 4. Pretty awesome. The lack of snow here relative to western New York is also pretty damned rad. And don't forget the world class coffee, beer, and legal cannabis, if you're into those sorts of things. Whereabouts in Oregon are you living?

The conspiracy theories and complete misconceptions about how concussion protocol works are pretty wild today. ?

Agreed. The most logical inference to me is that his parents wouldn't have even made the trip from California to Tennessee if Josh was going to be sitting on the bench.

The offensive line has been pass blocking sufficiently well most of the time for the offense to have success. It is often made to look a lot worse than it is by Josh Allen, who either holds onto the ball too long or "sees ghosts" (as he did constantly against New England) and rolls out when he doesn't need to or runs himself right into a sack. They're not perfect, to be sure, but they're good enough. The Bills are 9th in the NFL in offensive yardage gained, even WITH Allen's shortcomings thus far.

Our long nightmare has finally ended. But in all seriousness...unless the Bills are comfortable with Ryan Bates as their third tackle, they best start working the phones.

Yep. I think they hold BOTH Singletary and Johnson out, given that they have hamstrings injuries (which are easy to re-aggravate) and a bye week coming up. The good news is that, so long as everyone stays healthy this Sunday (a big "if", I know), the Bills should return from the bye week in pretty good health.