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A run-first team with a "see it, throw it" QB and a group of WRs who don't gain a ton of separation. Taylor isn't the type of QB to throw guys open, so even if there's a slight window where he can throw to where only his guy can get it, he usually won't take that shot. He doesn't see the field well. This is why when those dudes who break down the all-22 stuff can usually find a handful of plays where a guy is open but Taylor simply doesn't or can't see him. On top of that, it's still a run-first offense centered around McCoy. Beyond that, they aren't running very complicated passing schemes. They're forced to find creative ways (rub routes, for instance) to get guys open because really none of them create separation very consistently. They knew that was the case with Benjamin, tho. He's the type of receiver that you just have to throw to when he's got single coverage. Even if his man has him locked down fairly well, you gotta toss it up there because Benjamin is really good with contested catches. They could also use a legitimate speed guy to make defenses account for a deep threat.

Yeah that's pretty much all I was saying. Teams talk to each other. They don't set up deals or anything but they can trade info or give smokescreen type stuff to throw them off.

Hmm, that article just kinda outlines the legal tampering period. I may not have been 100% clear, I was saying I think GMs can speak with each other during the season. They just can't negotiate for any upcoming free agents. I'm sure team scouts talk with each other whenever they see each other at college games and such. It'd be pretty naive of fans to believe that teams don't communicate whatsoever during the season, even after the trade deadline. There's a whole show going on behind the curtain that none of us know about and even the insiders only get a peek at.

Haha, good stuff. I don't doubt that the Bills have an eye on the Cousins situation, just as they have an eye on a part-time/backup player who can't crack the starting lineup on another team like Micah Hyde for instance. The stadium stuff has rumbled around for a little bit now. More people than just DD have made mention of certain areas being looked at, properties being discussed for purchase, etc. etc. It's obvious they know they're going to need a new stadium... which is kind of confusing to me. I mean, New Era isn't the greatest, but they keep adding more to it and renovating and over the last couple years it's definitely looked a lot better. And it's still serviceable, even moreso now that they made the walkways/stairs wider and easier to navigate. As for the firing of a front office guy, I think a lot of people have pointed to it being Overdorf but from what I can recall, I've read/heard that Overdorf has stuck with the organization for as long as he has because he's some kind of numbers wizard. Apparently, he's incredibly good at crunching numbers, moving around money/cap space, adjusting contracts, etc etc. He's found ways to get deals done that probably wouldn't have given the Bills cap situation in recent years (see: Glenn, Dareus, and to a lesser extent, Hughes, I think his deal is pretty fair) but it's deals like those that get teams in cap trouble. Overdorf is a negotiations guy, I think he's one of the first points of contact for agents but when it's all said and done, I believe it's the GM that signs off in approval of whatever contract terms he and his team come up with. Does that make sense to anyone or am I just rambling incoherently here during my lunch break?

Holy crap on a stick, the amount they'd have to give up to sign him as a FA would be astronomical. I think it's been said in this thread previously but teams can speak with other teams about players and possible off-season plans. Teams can't contact players or players agents until that "legal" tampering period starts in March. The Combine in Indy is where a ton of talks happen between teams and agents. I think it's a pretty poorly kept "secret" that the Combine is generally where teams start really discussing free agents and trade scenarios. It's also a good spot for teams to connect with their own players agents if they are up for a new contract and whatnot.

That Greg Gabriel dude (former NFL scout, had some type of high executive position with the Bears for some time, been out of the NFL for a while but helps with some draft site, maybe Rivals or something?) believes that Peterman was the Cousins of the 2017 draft. He may be the only one that thinks so, tho. We keep talking about how this team needs a true franchise QB, one that can put the team on his back and pull off a comeback or come up with the big plays during crunch time and we know that's not Tyrod. We don't fully know if that's Peterman but I wouldn't say it's likely that he becomes that type of QB. I think he's another QB with a limited skill set who will require a certain type of offense around him in order to succeed, much like Taylor. At this point, they have to be working as hard as they can to identify a QB who they believe can be plugged into most any system and excel within it, regardless of the talent around him. Because, remember, as they always say, a true franchise QB elevates the play of those around him. In reality, all these qualities people list as a need for a franchise QB create quite a tall order, and thereby create a situation where if one of those kinds of QBs comes along he's seen as a generational player because that's how rare it is for a guy to possess all those qualities. This is why there are only like, five or six of these guys in the NFL. More than likely they'll end up with a guy who should have more upside than Taylor but will likely always have a drawback or two that teams will just have to deal with. Haha how was he exposed?

I heard that this morning on the radio that Tolbert is a PB alternate and just wondered how in the hell did that happen? Obviously it's not for his work as a RB/FB and I don't recall seeing him make many, if any, plays on special teams.

Kick him in the nards, just like the wolfman.

Glenn may be shorter... but yeah either way, have the ice ready.

I believe he has all brothers, like, four of them.

Ah, I did not know that. I only quickly glanced at his Wiki page and it said he left CBS for FOX in 2011.

It also may have something to do with victories over certain teams. For example, if Buffalo has more wins over more opponents with better winning percentages than the victories Baltimore has, then that would be a tiebreaker that would lean in favor of the Bills. I'm not saying that's how it is, just providing an example.

Feely wasn't great. He repeats himself a lot and seemed to pick really mundane plays/moments in the game to highlight as crucial or important. Mowins is OK. I'm not a huge fan of her voice but she does a good job. She might work better with a different commentator than Feely. Next week is Nantz and Romo. I quickly grew tired of those two. Nantz used to be tolerable when he had Phil Seems next to him but I suppose anyone sounds good next to Seems. And how he ended up with the main anchor job in the studio is beyond me. Dude constantly trailed off mid-sentence, said incoherent things, said "talked about" 52 times a game, etc. And as for Romo, I got a kick out of his first few games when he was sitting there calling out what the plays were gonna be. His insight as a former QB is fantastic but he gets a little annoying when he tries too hard to make something sound exciting. I dig Gus Johnson the most, probably. But he's been on Fox since 2011 and Buffalo plays on Fox only once or twice a year.

Didn't really look intentional to me. I think he was going for the tackle on Taylor and then saw the ball go to McCoy and shifted that way and his hand came up and whacked Taylor. But I agree with what some others have pointed out, intentional or not, shots to the QBs head are always supposed to be called. Yesterday's officiating was pretty bad. Missing that facemask on McCoy is inexcusable, I mean, those are the things these dingbats are paid to watch for. I also thought Landry should have gotten a PF for blocking a guy well out of bounds. He'd already been flagged once for unnecessary roughness and a second penalty of that nature would've seen him get ejected but I don't recall them stating during his first personal foul penalty that if he was flagged again for another PF he would be booted. Refs were not on their game yesterday. And that's been the case in way too many games this season. To me, it's the worst part of the game. I know it's not an easy job but perhaps it'd become a little easier if they overhauled the rulebook and wrote everything out in clear and concise terms.

I turned off this game as soon as Brady hit Gronk for 20 some yards to get them on Pittsburgh's 10 yard line. I knew they would score to take the lead, and then I really didn't watch many highlights later so I missed this whole thing with James. That is 100% a touchdown. I'm sure they've rewritten the rule in some fashion but as long as I've watched football the rule has always been, the moment the ball breaks the plain of the goal line, it's a touchdown, play is over. Look at Tyrod's little jump and extend it over the line vs. the Raiders this season. He had the ball smacked out of his hands but by then the ball had already cross the line so it was a TD, play over. A player carrying the ball over the line can fall and drop the ball but it's still a touchdown as he carried the ball over the line. It's the same concept here. He catches it, turns, gets it over the goal line and that should be it, touchdown, play over. Glad I didn't see this live, like I needed more reasons to hate the Pats. I remember when Buffalo went on their Super Bowl run and there were so many people that were sick of the Bills during those times. Nobody except Bills fans wanted them in the Super Bowl after like, the second loss. Even national media analysts were like, "We're sick of the Bills, please don't let them win the AFC Championship game." Ain't no one saying that about the Pats these days. Over the last 16 Super Bowls, the AFC representative has been either Pittsburgh or New England in 10 of those games. For the love of crap I hope a different AFC team breaks through this year.

Yeah. I think Nantz or Romo said during the game that he's been a healthy scratch for over a month now. I know he was injured earlier this year, but he's been good to go since November. Belichick recently said RB is one position they don't worry about, adding that they feel it's their deepest position. They usually roll with James White, Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead. When Gillislee played, he wasn't any more productive than those three. I wonder if he regrets his decision to sign there now, haha. Also, saw Gilmore get beat for a TD yesterday, that was neat. He did his usual turn around and look at his teammates like, "Hey, not my bad guys, someone was supposed to help me." He also made a horrible attempt at tackling Bell. He did have a monster OL bearing down on him so he went low to avoid getting smushed but still, not the greatest effort you wanna put on tape.

He has my approval right now. He's made some questionable decisions but he's a first time head coach. There's going to be some trial and error as he gains more experience which should serve him well to make better decisions in the future. It's amazing that some people expect a first time head coach to come roaring out of the gate and win 642 straight Super Bowls. Even if a Buffalo coach did accomplish that there'd be a percentage of fans who wouldn't be happy with it. They'd find some menial mistake to pick on and use as their justification for why they think the coach sucks. It's also too early to tell. What's the golden rule with rookie players? Can't really make a true evaluation until they're three seasons in. Seems the same never applies for rookie head coaches. All fan blades are impatient and want their teams to succeed but it's as if Bills fans feel they're entitled to instantaneous success based on the drought...which this staff has nothing to do with. Based on the talent, the lack of consistency on offense and the roster turnover, McDermott has had a successful rookie season. He's had some blunders but again, he's learning. He seems to be intelligent and prepared enough to fix his mistakes going forward but no coach is perfect. My only gripe would be the sense of how they wanna build this team. I understand wanting players who wanna win and put the team first, I understand wanting a strong locker room free of massive egos, that's all fine. But... I don't wanna see this regime go after *only* those types of players. I mean, if you've built a strong enough locker room with solid leadership then they should be fine taking some guys who may have a few character red flags because they can be mentored by the leaders in the locker room. I don't want a team full of strictly boy scouts. Hope they don't limit themselves in that fashion. A little attitude and swagger is never a bad thing as long as it's not keeping the player from reach his full potential. Other than that, McD's whole "earn the right to start" mentality should apply to his coaches as well. Because if we're using that logic then Rick Dennison hasn't earned the right to be the OC for the last 6 weeks. Edit: pardon the typos, mobile

I have it on good authority that after the season Kirk Cousins will be invited to Buffalo to go do karate in the garage.

Yeah, he has a good eye for talent. He's a good scout. That doesn't mean he's a good GM. He didn't work his way up the front office ladder in Pittsburgh because he was clueless. Steelers are one of the most well-run organizations in all of sports. That's why I was excited when they hired Whaley. I figured he'd bring to Buffalo what he learned in Pittsburgh and I'm sure he tried it just never worked. He absolutely nailed the Hughes trade because the player they gave up was Kelvin Sheppard who has since bounced around to a bunch of different teams, mostly in back-up/special teams roles. In fact I think the Bills see him this Sunday as he's on the Colts now. Alonso for McCoy, yeah, no brainer. He didn't draft Dareus, Nix did, and it was the right pick at that time. Nobody complained when Dareus received his extension because he had just come off excellent seasons in 2013 and 2014. He was starting to turn the corner and show that he could be a truly dominant DT. Now had they not extended him, this fan base would have been livid. "There goes another one of our best players! Walks away and we get nothing!" So with that logic, he really can't win either way, can he? Sign him and it's a mistake. Don't sign him, also a mistake. For years fans whined endlessly about how this team consistently would not re-sign key players. Once they started doing that, everyone starts going, "No no, not that way, not that guy!" Can't win. Dareus fizzled out here because he was stuck in a scheme for two years that didn't suit him. He's in Jacksonville now, playing well as part of one of the top defenses in the league. The Watkins trade in hindsight doesn't look great, but before that, fans were constantly upset that no Bills GM would make any moves during draft day. Nix wouldn't budge on his picks. The super-duo of Marv and Russ were clueless so they didn't bounce around in the draft. There weren't any player for player or player for picks trades. People be like, "They need to make moves if they wanna win! They need to take risks and be bold!" So Whaley comes in and he's almost a polar opposite of Nix and Marv/Russ. He swings trades, he keeps the phone lines open, he makes bold moves. He does what fans had been calling for a Bills front office to do for years. What's he get for it? Crapped on. Whaley did find some street FAs that happened to play really well, Gillislee for instance. And Justin Hunter last season was a nice addition. So let's not act as though the man came in and was a trainwreck from the start. He was able to retain guys like Dareus, Hughes and Glenn at a time when it seemed those players were gonna be cornerstones for the franchise (think around 2014). Had those guys left, fans would've wanted him fired for not signing them. He signs them, they still want him fired. And look around the league right now, there are a number of former Bills, drafted or signed by Whaley who are doing pretty well with their new teams. Woods has been balling in LA. Watkins is finally coming around. Robey-Coleman is also out there and is their starting nickel CB. Chris Hogan has an important role in NE. Like I said, a good eye for talent but was never very good at team chemistry and finding the right types of players for the locker room. Is what it is. What exactly can any of these executives or coaches do to truly appease this fan base? Cause absolutely NOTHING is ever good enough. I swear, this team is gonna win the Super Bowl one day and during the parade there's gonna be a truckload of fans screaming about how McD (or whoever is coach by then) mismanaged his time outs or how he should've challenged that one play. "Yeah, they won the Super Bowl, but NOT IN THE WAY I WANTED!" And what are your contingency plans for when you start screaming for coaches and executives to be fired? "Hire this guy here, I know he's good, I read an article and heard a guy talk about him on NFL Network, he is the best ever!" We all get it. 17 years of suck, well, sucks. We're impatient. But for cripes sake, if anyone thinks constantly hitting the reset button every other season is going to fix this team, you're wrong. Doing that will only keep them in the cycle of suck for even longer.

Whaley = great scout, but not a great team builder. He has a good eye for talent, I just don't think his philosophy of drafting guys from big time/winning programs and expecting those young guys to carry that winning tradition over into the NFL.

Really? He's already crowning Wentz alongside guys like Brady and Brees? That's a little premature, IMO. Wentz is having an excellent season but the key factor in him being mentioned in the same class as those QBs would be consistency. Can/will he play like that each season? And it's interesting to see how things have played out between Winston/Mariota and Wentz/Goff. Popular opinion said Winston and Mariota would be the better players. But as of right now, Goff and Wentz are quite a ways ahead of those dudes.

Yeah, I agree. And on the flipside, had they let Glenn walk this fan base would have lost they damn minds. "They can't keep letting good players go! This is absurd, fire everyone!" Constantly put in no-win situations by some in this fan base. I thought it was fine when they extended Glenn. Dude played a full season after an off-season of dealing with a kidney illness. He's been consistent when he's been in there. It's been a tough luck year for him with these injuries. And it's all hindsight. He was healthy and playing at a respectable level when he received his extension.

Because he looked McD right in the eye and said, "Yeah, I know, it was bull ****" and you could tell he wasn't pleased about it.

Finally, everyone gets their wish and sees Reilly called up. Anyone wanna take bets on how many offensive snaps he plays? I'd put the over at 15 haha. Don't think he'll be out there much.

It was more of a mutual understanding between two coaches who, regardless of the responsible party, knew it was complete crap. McD said something like, "Nothing personal but what happened out there was f*cked up." And Belichick said, "Oh I know, yeah, it was bull *****t" in a genuine tone of voice. Belichick may push the envelope with the rules but he certainly doesn't coach his players to do what Gronk did and I hope he tore Gronk a new one on Monday. He clearly wasn't pleased with him because Gronk spent the next offensive series on the bench.