Logic

There's a metric and a chart that regularly tracks how often NFL head coaches go for it on 4th down when they "should" (i.e. when the analytics say that it's statistically logical to do so), and McDermott consistently ranks at or near the very top. For any of the game day decision making things that people can knock McDermott for, this -- in my opinion -- is not one of them. He's become a very good (and usually aggressive) 4th down decision maker, and I expect that to continue this year. In fact, I expect him to be even MORE aggressive on 4th down due to Bass's struggles from 50+ yards out.

I thoughts Sean McDermott's explanation of it was well stated. It was clear he had a really tough time with the decision. He even said if it was 4th and 2 they would've gone for it, but 4th and 3 was a bridge too far. He rightly pointed out that even if they Bills had gone for it and converted, it wouldn't have necessarily put the game away, as the Cardinals still had all three timeouts. All in all, I was okay with the decision, because putting the opposing offense in a situation where they need a TD instead of a FG adds a SIGNIFICANT amount of stress and difficulty. Also, without that extra three points, that game was likely headed to overtime yesterday, as the Cards were already in field goal position at the end of the game. I don't fault anyone who would've preferred to go for it, but I thought it was the right call in the moment.

Thanks for the writeup. Regarding Von and Groot, because I found the back-to-back dichotomy of "we're paying Von too much for too little" and "Needing to pay Groot gives me anxiety" to be a funny one-two punch: First, I thought Von absolutely DID impact the game yesterday. He played -- and impacted the game -- sparingly in the first half, but showed up in a big way in the second half. If he's a rotational pass rusher that gets 1 sack a game, that's a 17 sack season. Now of course I don't think he'll actually have 17 sacks this season, I'm just pointing out that edge rushers generally get stonewalled more often than they win (at least from a sack production standpoint), and that if you can get one sack a game and affect the offense in a big way late in games once or twice per game, you're a valuable piece. Obviously, money-wise, Von is making a ton. In order for it to be sustainable for the Bills to pay Groot -- and I think he's gonna have a monster season and force their hand, and I DO think they'll re-sign him -- they'll need to get out from under the Von contract somehow, at some point. For now, I'm not gonna worry about the financials at all. It's not my job as a fan to spend too much time thinking about it. It's not my money. I'm just glad we have a kid who looks to be making the leap to "elite" status in Groot and a vet that seems to be returning to "game impacting" status in Von. If Javon Soloman and AJ Epenesa can offer anything rotationally, the Bills appear to be in good shape in terms of edge rusher depth chart.

Concerns? Nope. I do think their offense will pose some problems for our young defense. McDaniel vs Babich, until further notice, is a matchup that you'd have to give the nod to McDaniel right now. He's simply more experienced, and Babich is down two key defenders. But even if we lose the game, I'm not concerned. I tend to think the usual recent pattern of "Dolphins storm through September and October looking like gangbusters, then collapse after Thanksgiving" will play out again. I won't be surprised if they beat us in their house this time around, and we return the favor in our house later this season. The only thing that worries me a little is Josh Allen's hand. As long as he's good to go, then it's onwards and upwards.

A team with this many new faces and two new coordinators were ALWAYS going to get off to a bit of a slow start and have some growing pains. A team down Matt Milano and Taron Johnson on defense were ALWAYS going to have some struggles stopping passes to the middle of the field. With that said, after a forgettable first half, both coordinators had an excellent second half. As the Bills' scoring production (and the EPA metrics) show, the Bills were very good on offense. All the more impressive when one considers the completely revamped receiving corps and OL with new starters in two spots. Defensively, the Bills allowed THREE points in the second half. Three. To a team with Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr, and Trey McBride. When an offense with so many new faces scores 34 in their first outing and a defense down two key starters limits its opponent to 3 second half points...I dunno. I just can't agree with griping about the coordinators AT ALL. I thought both of them had great days, all told.

As a guy who didn't want Coleman (which doesn't mean anything, because I didn't want Allen either), I will say: Impressive day for the rook. If he contributed like this all season long, it would equate to 85 catches for 867 yards. That would be a very good rookie season. The "***** it, Keon is down there somewhere" ball he heaved down field, where Coleman big boy'd the defender and got the Bills into the red zone? Awesome stuff. Josh hasn't had that kind of receiver in...um...ever? Great start. Can't wait to see him grow. I hope he makes me look as wrong and stupid for my draft day take as Josh Allen has made me look for that one.

Others have said it already, but: The Bills went to a dime look late in the game because they didn't trust Dorian Williams in coverage. Typically, Cam Lewis would be that third safety/slot hybrid defender. Because he was forced to play nickel with Taron Johnson out, though, it meant that someone else needed to come in as the sixth defensive back. Elam apparently exclusively plays boundary corner, whereas Ingram plays inside/outside. Essentially, Elam would have been playing a position he hasn't practiced all offseason. If Benford or Douglas were to have missed any snaps, I sense Elam would have replaced them. Instead, it was essentially Cam Lewis as a third safety that needed replacing, and Ingram was the guy.

Five sacks all of last season. Three sacks this year, going into game two. He was a game wrecker. I think he has the potential to become one of the top five edge rushers in the game this year. I know that's saying a lot, and I know people get sick of the "he's so young" argument because of Tremaine Edmunds, but....Groot is 24. His body looks night and day different than it did when he was a rookie. He has grown into his frame, learned the game, and....look out. He could be a VERY good one.

They ought to sign Ryan Tanehill as soon as possible.

.......No?

Soul-crushing pessimism already in midseason form at TBD. Nothing changes...

Cardinals defense was 32nd against the run last year and made no meaningful additions. So for the Bills, my impact player is James Cook. I think it'll be a run game day, not a pass game day. Other than that, I'll say Trey McBride is going to be a big impact player on the day. I don't trust Dorian Williams or either of our safeties to meaningfully limit him in any way.

While I understand the hesitance of those that don't love this move, I have to disagree with the sentiment that paying a good right tackle to stick around isn't good business. I think tackle is right up there with WR, CB, and EDGE in terms of positional importance. Protecting one's franchise QB is a priority of the highest order. Lest Bills fans forget, we wandered in the RT wilderness for many years before Spencer Brown came along. We may like young prospects like Grable and VanDemark, but none of them has yet proven to be on the level of Spencer Brown. Having to go into next year with a big question mark at right tackle -- to add to our likely question marks at WR and S -- does not seem ideal. Beane tends to like to do deals a bit early. Sometimes, they pay off -- Ed Oliver and Josh Allen's contracts now looks like steals. Sometimes, they don't -- see Tyler Bass and Dawson Knox. With Spencer Brown, the arrow of improvement still seems to be pointed upward, and they're banking on him being a top 5-10 RT for the next few years. Time will tell if they're right or wrong, but I certainly can't blame Beane for placing a high priority on the protection of Josh Allen.

I just can't bring myself to be upset about the Bills locking up both their tackles for the next several seasons. Always invest in keeping your quarterback upright and giving him weapons. They've got the "keeping him upright" part down, it would appear. They've gotten a good start on the "give him weapons" part with Shakir, Kincaid, and hopefully Coleman. More work to be done on that front next offseason. Here's hoping Tylan Grable can build on what he showed this preseason and be a capable swing tackle for three-four seasons before taking over at one of the tackle spots when either Dawkins or Brown's extension is up.

It's the 30 now.

The Bills under McDermott have historically done well at limiting mobile quarterbacks. I trust Benford and Douglas to limit Marvin Harrison's production. But Trey McBride? That dude is going to EAT on Sunday. THAT'S the only thing I'm worried about from a Cardinals offensive perspective. As for the Bills offense -- it's just such an unknown to me. I have faith in Brady's scheming and, of course, in Josh Allen. But at some point, the Xs and Os give way to the Jimmys and Joes, and I haven't seen enough of the Bills' new cast of offensive players to have faith that they can or can't get the job done. Some may view this as a likely Bills win. Home field advantage, the Cardinals' west-to-east trip, and the line in Vegas all support that notion. Me? Given the unknowns with this young Bills team, I can't think of it as anything other than a coin flip game.

After reading this awesome article about the new OC energizing his players, improving their engagement in meetings, getting everyone on the same page, and enhancing his quarterback's leadership role, I definitely DIDN'T have "several forum members complaining that this approach is a disaster waiting to happen" on my Bingo card. This board never ceases to amaze me.

Now THIS I can agree on. The big reason I wanted Worthy is that I thought having he and Samuel on the outside would open things up underneath for Shakir, Kincaid, and Knox. That for a team who seems to want to run their offense through their tight end and slot receiver, the best possible thing they could do is get an explosive option outside to take the top off the defense and create space underneath. If one wants to see the impact Worthy made last night, they'd do better to point out Rashee Rice running wide open underneath repeatedly than to point to a reverse or a blown coverage TD.

I was and am an "I wish we picked Worthy" guy. That said -- the discourse on social media last night and this morning is ridiculous. As you said, his two scoring plays came on a reverse, which -- credit to him -- he followed his blockers and scored on. He showed his rare speed. And the other came on a completely busted coverage where Marlon Humphrey thought he had safety help and left Worthy uncovered down the sideline. NEITHER of those plays are indicative of some great talent that Worthy possesses AS A RECEIVER. We didn't see him getting open against press-man, finding the soft spot in zone coverages, or generally displaying the skills it takes to be a good WR in the NFL. Nevertheless, he scored twice (and one of them came on his first NFL touch, no less). And because nuance doesn't really exist in our instant reaction world of hot takes, hyperbole, and instant viral video clips, the discussion is simply "LOOK AT WHO THE BILLS PASSED ON!" So yeah...Even as a big Worthy guy, you're right. The discourse around him this morning his ridiculous. Last night didn't show me much other than "he's fast", which we already knew.

What a ridiculous statement. I do believe that Lamar Jackson catches way less flak than he deserves from the media and fans. That Josh Allen gets dragged for things unfairly and Lamar does not. That Lamar is, at times, overrated. That he probably didn't deserve to win MVP last year. That he historically comes up small in the playoffs. ...But to say that he's "below average"? Absolutely not. That's a wild exaggeration. Lamar Jackson is an above average quarterback. You don't put up the statistics he has and the wins he has and win two league MVPs if you're below average. In 2019, he threw for 36 TDs and 6 INTs while rushing for 1,200 yards. Like....below average? Lamar Jackson is a good quarterback. You can support Josh Allen and love the Buffalo Bills -- and even think that the media treats Josh unfairly compared to Lamar -- without needing to hate Lamar Jackson. Really, you can.

God I hope so. I would so much rather look at Taylor than Andy "walrus meets Kool Aid Man" Reid or Chris Collinsworth's dumb, smug face or the 37th airing of the Dan Campbell Applebee's commercial. She's easily the best thing that's happened to Chiefs broadcasts since Hank Stram in a blazer.

My 12 team home league, full PPR, one QB, which I've been doing for years with co-workers and friends. Picked from the 9 spot. I'm usually a Zero RB guy. I prefer to have three elite WRs and then make due with what's left at RB. I deviated a bit this year because Walker and Etienne were good values that were sticking out on the board when I picked them. Even so, I like my starting WR trio. I won the championship last year, and I feel cautiously optimistic this year, especially if Jayden Daniels hits. QB: Jayden Daniels RB: Travis Etienne RB: Kenneth Walker WR: Justin Jefferson WR: Cooper Kupp TE: Kyle Pitts Flex: Tank Dell K: Josh Karty (Dome kickers FTW) DEF: Texans Bench: QB Jared Goff RB Tyjae Spears RB Austin Ekeler RB Jordan Mason RB Rico Dowdle RB Samaje Perine WR Brian Thomas TE Pat Freiermuth TE Taysom Hill (it should be illegal to allow this guy TE eligibility) IR: Josh Downs Odell Beckham Jr

Who's the person who used to do this all nice-like the past few years? With the maps and keys posted here all nicely and such so we didn't even have to click on the link. I owe that person a beer, and I hope they come back and reprise their public service this season.

Sir, this is a family message board.