Logic

It comes back to the "glass half full" vs "glass half empty" outlook that has always been the reason that you and I don't see eye to eye, Scott. You could look at multiple years in a row of going to the playoffs but not reaching the Super Bowl as a failure, and an indictment on the GM. Or you could look at it as the mark of a roster that is built well enough that it consistently wins division titles and makes the playoffs at a higher rate than almost any team in the league. Likewise, you could look at this team with its four years of elite QB play and no Lombardi to show for it and see only the teams that have emerged "better/more successful" like the Bengals, or you could notice the teams that have great QB play and HAVEN'T had the success the Bills have had -- the Chargers and Cowboys, for instance. Personally, I view the fact that the Bills are a consistent double digit win team, a consistent playoff contender, and are perennially mentioned among the realistic Super Bowl contenders as a sign that their GM has built a sustainably good roster. If you will only view said GM as a success once he's won a Super Bowl title, then so be it. Another situation where we can agree to disagree.

If the only measure of a GM's success is winning the Super Bowl, then 99% of the NFL GMs who have ever held that title are failures.

Respectfully, I would suggest that this whole season has been a referendum on Brandon Beane. The Bills likely don't get to the playoffs without the contributions of Cook (drafted), Torrence (drafted), McGovern (FA), Brown (drafted), Kincaid (drafted), Shakir (drafted), Bernard (drafted), Oliver (drafted, re-signed), Floyd (FA), Douglas (trade), etc. Add in the "next man up" contributions of guys like Dane Jackson and AJ Klein and Baylon Spector and Deonte Harty and Trent Sherfield in recent weeks, and it equals an impressive roster with impressive depth, built by Branodn Beane. I get what you're saying. Playoff games against the Chiefs will always be measuring stick games. But the fact that the Bills are even IN this position is a testament to the roster-building of Brandon Beane.

It's not just rushing TDs. Josh had a higher EPA, CPOE, and QBR, threw for more yards, had 17 (!) more total TDs, a better TD/TO ratio, and more Game Winning Drives. And if we're gonna play the "ifs and buts" game, we get to subtract interceptions from Josh's totals for WR drops, too, and to mention that he had to deal with a midseason switch at offensive coordinator, which Mahomes did not. All told, looking only at THIS SEASON, and looking at the raw numbers, Josh Allen had a better year than Patrick Mahomes. It would be nearly impossible to say otherwise with a straight face.

With only one more day to get on the field and still being full DNPs... I'm not confident that Bernard, Benford, Rapp, or Davis will be playing this week. Great to get Rasul, Taron, and Dodsen back, but missing the rest will be tough.

I'd like to continue to add to the offense in a big way this offseason regardless. Specifically, they suddenly seem pretty set at OL, TE, and RB1 (and obviously QB). Go get a 1st round WR (trade up if need be), another mid round WR, and a viable RB2, and they'll be rolling. As it is, the offense has a much brighter long term prognosis going forward, given the career trajectories of Cook, Kindcaid, Shakir, and the OL. But that's no reason to stop adding. MAKE LIFE AS EASY AS POSSIBLE ON JOSH ALLEN. But this is all a discussion for AFTER we win the Super Bowl.

The thing that stands out to me is that our passing offense simply looks to be "behind the times". When I look at the passing offenses of Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, Bobby Slowik -- so, basically, all of the Shanahan coaching tree guys -- I see creativity, cheat motions, orbit actions, variety, legal pick plays, and receivers who are schemed wide open. When I look at the passing offense of Dorsey and now Brady, I see more or less static formations, less creative personnel usage and deployment, less variety, and much less of receivers being so open that you wonder "how the heck did that happen?". To be clear, it's not that there's NONE of this stuff. This offense does, at times, show some of these things. It's just that if you watch it over the totality of a whole game, and then compare it to the Texans, Rams, Packers, etc, it just doesn't seem nearly as dynamic and modern. I don't believe this is something that can be fixed in-season. I'm hoping the Bills do a thorough offensive coordinator search in the offseason. Let Brady interview and give his vision for the offense going forward. If he wins the job, then so be it, but don't just hand it to him. I want more modernity and creativity in the Bills offense. I want to see what Josh Allen would look like in a truly forward-thinking offense that makes life easier on him.

Fallout? Not sure there would be much. Beane remains GM. McDermott remains HC. Joe Brady will either be named OC or they'll do a more thorough search. I'd bet on a defensive coordinator being hired, likely Babich or Washington. The Bills will draft and sign some players. Some players will leave in free agency. Then they'll line up and play again next year and be top five in Super Bowl odds again, because they're a good team with a good roster and an elite QB. The window is open and will remain open.

Absolutely agree. That was my favorite part of the article.

I'll post just the intro, but there's obviously more to the article. Just thought it was funny that this has picked up enough national steam to warrant an article on The Ringer. https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2024/1/18/24042427/buffalo-bills-pit-highmark-stadium-2024-nfl-playoffs-josh-allen Orchard Park, New York, is a strange place. First of all, not a ton of orchards there, in my experience. Far more Tim Hortonses. But more specifically, Orchard Park is an unassuming bit of flat land located 12 miles away from downtown Buffalo. Founded in 1803 by a man named Didymus and his wife, Phebe, it sits just off of Lake Erie, in the heart of a snow band that consistently pummels the area while other nearby towns remain dry. The wind swirls mercilessly and painfully. And as the home to the Buffalo Bills and Highmark Stadium (née Ralph Wilson Stadium), Orchard Park is a plastic-table graveyard that also regularly sees grown men covered in ketchup and mustard, hard liquors of all colors consumed out of bowling pins, and a man/child/golden retriever who’s so gloriously ungainly that his juke moves are confused for fake slides. But currently, there’s something going on that’s weird even by Orchard Park standards. Something supernatural. Something that eludes explanation and exceeds whatever good mojo might come from donating to opposing players’ charities and whatever bad mojo might come from still having O.J. Simpson’s name emblazoned on your team’s Wall of Fame. There is a pit now, and it must be fed. And you’re telling me this hole in the ground has magical properties? Yes, I am. The Buffalo Bills came into the season as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. Then Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in a game against the Bills in Week 1, and everything went ***** bonkers: The Bills lost that game on an overtime punt return; then, in a blowout win over the Dolphins in Week 4, cornerback Tre’Davious White tore his Achilles (and linebacker Matt Milano broke his leg a week later); and then the Bills went on to lose games to the Jaguars, THE PATRIOTS, and, most embarrassingly, the Broncos (on a last-second field goal that happened only because the Bills had 12 men on the field on the previous missed attempt). Buffalo fired offensive coordinator and expected-points-added merchant Ken Dorsey after that loss to Denver, even though he had no connection to the special teams unit (but let’s not get into that). After another overtime loss, to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bills went into their bye at 6-6, with just a 15 percent chance to make the playoffs and with games remaining against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Miami Dolphins. Somehow, the Bills haven’t lost in the six games since. They took down the Dolphins in Week 18 to win their fourth straight AFC East title and then last weekend defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round. They’re now set to host the Chiefs—a team previously responsible for reiterating how cursed the Bills franchise is—in the first true road playoff game in Patrick Mahomes’s career. As the thinking goes, this is all thanks to the Pit.

It's really quite simple. Nick Wright is a carnival barker. An old timey wrestling heel, like Rowdy Roddy Piper or Ric Flair. He is PURPOSEFULLY playing the role of "antagonistic villain", because it gets viewership, clicks, and online engagement, which equals more money for Nick Wright and his employers. He is playing a persona. A character. He's like Skip Bayless or Stephen A Smith. If you've ever heard Nick Wright speak seriously on a topic, then you know that the "Nick Wright" you see on your screen every week is nothing more than a bit, a put-on, a ruse. His character loves the Chiefs and hates on the Bills. It works again and again and again, because Bills fans take the bait again and again and again. I stopped getting mad at him a long time ago because I recognized what he is and what he's doing. You should, too. All I can do now is stand and applaud him for being so good at what he does, which is to antagonize and troll people into continuing to engage with him and the programs he's featured on.

You shut your filthy wh0re mouth, Beck.

Meanwhile, on Twitter...

Pluto TV is free, apparently. I just pulled it up on my work computer and am streaming now instead of doing my work. Thanks for this! Never knew this existed.

Same. On touchdowns and special teams plays, especially. I'm STILL waiting for a flag on the Harty run-back in the Miami game.

The life of a Bills fan in a nutshell. My version of this is that I never exhale until the clock hits double zeroes. 11 point lead and 90 seconds left? Don't care. I'm a Bills fan. Seen this movie too many times before. When the clock hits zeroes and the coaches and players start pouring onto the field, THEN I can accept that it's a win. Never, ever before then.

I'm very curious to know, if the KC roster is better than last season's on offense, why the Chiefs score 8 less points per game than they did in 2022. The defense? Sure. It's better. Absolutely. Best Mahomes has ever played with. But the offense? If the roster is better than last year's, why do they score over a touchdown less points per game? I'm not being antagonistic. I'm genuinely curious. Is it Bienemy being gone? Was he better than everyone thought? Is it Kelce being less effective this year? Going from 29 PPG to 21 PPG is a significant drop in just one season. What accounts for it?

For those having fun with all of this and posting funny pics and memes and making jokes....good on ya. This is a funny thing to poke fun at. For those who legitimately have a problem with Swift or claim she's "attention mongering" or any of the other ridiculous stuff you see on Twitter and elsewhere...get a life. Swift has done nothing since all this began but show up to the games and root for the person she's dating. Big f'n deal. She is literally just existing. Just living her life. And the NFL needs/wants Taylor Swift around FAR more than Taylor Swift needs to be associated with the NFL. The league gains a ton from her presence. She gains...well...nothing but headaches and harassment for showing up, I would imagine. If the mere presence of a talented, successful, famous woman at an NFL game legitimately triggers or angers anyone, then said person has some issues that go far beyond a sports league's coverage of said famous woman. All of that having been said...I hope Ms Swift has a lovely time in Orchard Park watching her boyfriend get eliminated from the playoffs.

Our ideal DT foursome against the Chiefs, IMO, would be: Oliver Jones Joseph Phillips Oliver and Phillips are your 3Ts. Jones and Joseph your 1Ts and run stoppers. Guessing Settle will play over Phillips this week. Bills seem to like him more than I do.

I think that the ridiculous amount of injuries on defense have dampened spirits a bit more than usual around here. Combine those with the fact that we've lost the last two playoff games against the Chiefs and many probably won't believe the Bills can get past them until they see it with their own eyes and...there you have it.

You guys absolutely nailed it. These descriptions are just exactly perfect. Kudos. And just to keep things on topic: I enjoy saying Reggie Gilliam's last name. Gill-ee-um. It's fun.