racketmaster

The point was not that Allen is going to become the greatest qb of all time but that even the greatest qb of all time was not a finished product in the first few years as a starter. Brady made plays when counted on but the early Patriot teams relied more on defense and running the football. It was not until 2005 that Brady threw for over 4,000 for the first time. He was basically a 3600 yard passer with 26-28 tds before they started relying more and more on Brady’s arm to where he could throw for 5,000 and 50 tds in 2007. The fact is the Patriots did not put everything on Brady in his first few years and only later ran the offense threw him when he had proven he could handle that responsibility. Right now, the coaching staff tries to protect Allen and they rely heavily on their defense. They are very conservative on offense until they need Allen to make a play and then they let him loose. At the end of games and 3rd and long situations they allow Allen to open in up and cut it loose a little more and generally he has shown that he is able to make 3rd and longs at a high rate and he moves the ball effectively in 2 minute situations. I think the coaching staff will continue to shift responsibility on Allen as he shows he can handle it. Nobody knows where his ceiling is at but I’m optimistic he can be a top 5 qb in this league when it is all said and done.

None. I don’t want to switch qbs with any team. Allen is developing and he has the ability and mental makeup to be special for a long time. I don’t know what his ceiling can be and he has embraced the city and organization. I’m willing to ride or die with Allen. I think people forget that it sometimes takes times for a qb to fully develop and reach their max potential. It took several years before Big Ben, Brady and Brees became Hall of Fame quarterbacks. And others that have started out fast such as RGIII and maybe Mayfield have sometimes regressed. The Bills don’t have a qb problem. What we could use is a big #1 wr and a more dynamic 1a/1b rb. Put some weapons around Allen and he will take another jump as he did from his first year.

No and I have been advocating for the Bills to reduce or eliminate Gore's touches in recent weeks. Gore's leadership is what they wanted in the room with Singletary and I think it has been a good strategy. Ivory would not have provided that as Gore shows the entire team what it takes to be successful in the NFL for as long has he has. As a bonus, Gore even played some decent football early in the season. So it definitely was not a mistake but I still believe that now is the time to shift away from using Gore on the field and move those touches to Yeldon or another option as Gore's production has fallen off a cliff. I would still dress Gore for games and just use him for end of game situations where the team is just trying to run clock to close out the game without fumbling.

This tells me everything I need to know. If my backup rb can’t come in and run the ball effectively on consecutive plays then what would happen if Singletary went down with injury? We would be in serious trouble with Gore running the show and everyone knows it. The only reason he has not been replaced is for leadership and that he falls down after gaining a yard or two without fumbling and for some reason he gets praised for that.

If that is the case, why keep Yeldon on the team. I would prefer to just play Yeldon over Gore but if the team does not trust Yeldon they should grab another rb off the street like Alex Collins. Gore is completely shot and he kills drives when he is in the game because the defense does not respect his ability as a receiver and he can only run in between the tackles. He is averaging about 2 yards per carry over the past 7 games and just about any rb on the street will be an upgrade. I like Gore and also believe he should remain on the team but this offense is already challenged at wr and we cannot afford to have such a limited option at the number 2 rb spot. Most good teams can roll quality rbs but at this point we cannot afford to take Singletary off the field even when he is fumbling because there is a massive dropoff between he and Gore.

How much of the conservative game plan is coming from the HC?

Only the Bills are willing to trot out a 37 year in almost every key situation and feed him the ball like he is Zeke. Man averages just over a yard per carry (which has been typical the last 6 games) but let’s bench the guy averaging 4.5 yards

I think 3rd time is a charm, give Gore the ball again lol

Would have been nice to have playmaker like AJ Brown out there but instead we have a bunch of of number 2 and 4/5 WRs running routes for us

I was really hoping that when we moved up in the 2nd round this year it was for Brown. I think he is going to end up being a star wr as he is the total package.

Tom Brady and Edelman seem too obvious even though it is completely warranted. I've never been a fan of Rivers or OBJ.

I understand being concerned about Yeldon's ball security based on what we have seen in the preseason and limited action but the stats show that Yeldon has not been careless with the football over his career. I agree, he is not a hammer and would not be that effective in that role but Gore has been so awful lately that Yeldon would still be a better option and he offers versatility similar to Singletary. Dress Gore and if we need someone to run into the middle of the line of scrimmage and fall down at the end of games without fumbling than he is our man. But in any other situation I would prefer Yeldon. And yes, an upgrade in the offseason is necessary. In half of the last 6 games Gore has averaged 1.5 ypc or less and in 5 of 6 games he has been under 2.5 ypc. I mean, he has been absolutely dreadful outside of the Denver game and the Bills would have better success dragging a body off the street (similar to Spencer Ware) than to continue to use Gore. Even though it seems obvious I am not expecting a change since the Bills regime has definitely favored having at least 1 older rb active (Tolbert, McCoy, Ivory and now Gore).

At this point in the season it is clear as day that Yeldon should be playing over Gore (even if that means dressing Gore to have him on standby in case of emergency). In limited action Yeldon has averaged 4.5 ypc (10 for 45) and chipped in with 10 receptions for 100 yards (10.0 ypr). On the other hand, Gore has averaged 3.7 ypc and in much more extensive playing time has caught the same number of passes as Yeldon (10) but for only 84 yards (8.4 ypr). That alone shows that Yeldon has been much more productive but in the last 6 games Gore has really regressed after a decent start. He has been averaging 2.47 ypc the last 6 games. Singletary averages 5.6, Yeldon 4.5 and Gore has been at 2.47. To some this might not seem like a big deal but when the Bills are playing better teams like they are now, every little bit matters. Being able to go to Yeldon when Singletary needs a breather is important because unlike Gore, Yeldon remains a threat to run and catch passes just like Singletary. And if Singletary were to go down in a game we would have to depend on Gore and that is asking too much. Nice story and he moved into 3rd place but now is the time to get real and go with production.

Gore was a nice story to start season but last 6 games: 55 carries for 136 yard (2.47 ypc). He also offers little to no threat in the receiving game. If Singletary goes down in a game it would be much better to have Yeldon step in rather than lean on Gore.

I’m still hot the Bills not only trotted Gore out again for that goal line situation in the 4th, but they handed him the ball. We ended losing another 90 seconds and a timeout because we chose not to sneak it or give it to Singletary. He has been terrible in short yardage for weeks now. Just keep him on team as a leader but do not dress him. Yeldon is much better at this point.

Gore has looked completely shot for weeks now. What is most frustrating is that the Bills continue to trot him out on critical short yardage and goal line situations. I’m all for Yeldon suiting up because if Singletary gets injured during a game I can’t imagine having to rely on Gore to get the job done. Nice story, started off the season better than I could have anticipated but he is now running like a 37 year old and for several weeks has been averaging 2 yards per carry in games. We need better.

Good post. It seems smart to cut ties with Murphy and Kroft. I’d like to find a way to keep Lawson if he is willing to take a somewhat reasonable contract. I think he is an ascending player at a position of need, especially if we cut ties with Murphy. I’d also like to extend Poyer as well as I don’t think he was on the OP list to extend. Essentially, we are in a pretty good spot and I want the Bills to spend all big money in house on guys that have produced. Spend the big money on Phillips, White and Milano and then use free agency to fill in the gaps with more low priced 1 and 2 year contracts. For the team culture and chemistry to continue, it would be best to spend on retaining your players and not using big money on guys outside the organization only to have to let some of your key guys go.

A lot of people are coming a little late to the party on Josh Allen but that is okay. I’m just happy Allen is a Buffalo Bill and he keeps getting better as time goes on. Josh seems to be the perfect fit for our team and organization. Maybe he will never be considered the best quarterback in the NFL (although he certainly has the talent and mental makeup to become that) but he’s our qb and I truly believe he is more than capable of winning a Super Bowl with so that’s good enough for me.

We should be happy to have him. If he played in a different market there would be more buzz with him.

That was a complete beat down of the Rams. Ravens are a nightmare to defend right now with Jackson playing the way he is. They are so physical up front and with their rbs. Ingram runs violently and Edwards is a power back in every sense. If your defense goes with speed to defend Jackson and the perimeter players (malcom Brown) then you more than likely will get run over with their 3 tight ends and physical rbs. If you go bigger to counteract the physicality, then Lamar keeps it and beats you with speed. If you completely stack the box to sell out and stop the run, they can go over the top with Malcom Brown or run him on crossers where he can use his speed to separate. They also have solid tight ends that can block and get down the field to make plays in the the passing game. Add in the fact they are well coached and playing very aggressively on both offense and defense and this is a tough matchup for any team. They consistently go for it on 4th down and short and because of the style of their offense they are tough to defend on 3rd and 4th and short situations. They control the ball and the clock. The Bills have the talent and coaching to at least present problems to the Ravens offense but the Bills have not displayed the "killer instinct" that that the Ravens have showed. They get opponents down to the ground and don't just try and lay on them, but rather they get on top and continue to drop bombs on their opponents looking to knock them out.

At least Rivers threw for over 300 yards last night and according to Bills fans that means he had a great game.

No worries, Beane has Mike Tolbert on speed dial once the Bills realize Gore is done.

It also would help to actually catch the ball when the other team’s quarterback throws it to us.

Allen remains our playmaker on offense. The Bills refuse to lean on Singletary and the WR corps is poor to say the least. We have a TE that has potential but is very raw and learning on the job. John Brown is nice but he is a #2 or #3 on any other good offense in this league. Beasley is a nice #3 if used right but the Bills don’t have a viable #3 wr let alone a #1 wr. There are no dynamic playmakers in the wr corps and if you watch other games there are plenty more options that other quarterbacks have. Heck, the Mayfield has Landry and Beckham as well as Chubb and Hunt in the backfield. Think about that for a minute and here in Buffalo we continue to trot out Frank Gore for long stretches of the game (nice story but he is no longer a playmaker and should have an extremely limited role on any above average offense). Too bad Beane did not add a WR at the deadline as the Bills desperately need a better weapon.

I was hoping for AJ Brown but hopefuly Ford works out.