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Most of the tailgate traditions covered in this article have been around much longer than the Bills Mafia thing. It's just grown in notoriety over the last few years given the nature of social media and things going viral and getting more attention. I think the Pinto Ron stuff is great. It's just a bunch of fans making food with really odd utensils and then dousing a dude in ketchup. (Is anyone else a little bummed that Kenny says he really doesn't look forward to it anymore? But still does it because it's just tradition.) I'm a complete spectator when it comes to tailgating. I have no idea how some of youse guys can start pounding 'em at 10-11 AM and then go sit in the sun (or snow, depending on the time of year) for another three hours and keep going through the whole day. I'd be passed out before kickoff. The worst is really the morons who get completely annihilated in the lots and then stumble into the game and start sh*t with people. Went to the 2013 home opener and a dude in the row behind us was plastered and constantly accusing a dude a few seats down for staring at his girlfriend (nobody was eyeing up that mongoloid, who kept egging on her drunk boyfriend). Some pushing and shoving later, my SO and I are doused in beer and this dillhole is getting thrown out before they even did the National Anthem. Crap like that is what makes the gameday experience less enjoyable. But hey, if people wanna do shots out of bowling balls and bust up a bunch of folding tables, go for it. The only thing I hope doesn't happen is some fans start trying to push things to more extremes and next thing you know someone's trying a table dive from the 300 section and they wind up getting scooped off the pavement with a spatula.

Yeah, I'm not real sure where all the love for Marcus Murphy is coming from. If he was as good as some fans on here say he is then he'd probably be a on a team, ya? Peeps be like, "Yeldon fumbled!" Yeah, Murphy fumbles too. Both guys have a bit of an issue with ball security. No one is going to scoop him up at this stage of his career. He's still very much learning the intricacies of the game and isn't experienced enough to jump into a completely different offense and be effective.

Has had quite the career. Good for him. All-time leading rusher for his high school, haha.

But still a fluke, haha. The write-ups will be, "Yeah, Buffalo is 5-0 but who have they really beat? They needed a comeback win over the hapless Jets. They beat an uninspired Giants team, and needed another comeback to beat the lowly Bengals. And then, lil' Tommy had the sniffles and decided he'd let them enjoy a victory. And despite their 58-9 destruction of the Titans, Josh Allen still threw two passes that were actually caught, but they were placed to where the receiver had to reach an extra inch and a half to reel it in, so, clearly his accuracy woes are still very, very legitimate and we just cannot crown this Bills team until they actually beat a real team. Power Ranking: 29th!"

Oh, interesting. I did not know that. He's a goofball, at first I was kinda like, "Yeesh, this dude's obnoxious" but he's kinda grown on me, haha.

He's a guy that's here for more than just on-field stuff. People like to get down on any players who aren't lighting up the stat sheet and wanna send them packing five minutes after they arrive. But guys like Smith, Pat DiMarco, etc. might not have a huge role on the field but they have major roles as locker room leaders and as guys who the coaches want other players to look at and emulate how they approach the game.

Man, does Kyle spike his morning joe with meth or something? I don't generate that much energy in a day let alone a five minute segment at 4 in the morning or whatever friggin' time they get started over there. Only got so many years left on Earth, gonna get real weird with it.

Well, I hope this "journalist" slams his toe off every stupid piece of furniture he owns AND gets the diarrhea from Taco Bell.

Not for nothin', but yesterday marked eight years since the big 34-31 victory over them in 2011. Let's hope history repeats itself. I mean, that specific part of history, no parts of history where it was like 56-10 Pats.

Yowza, that sounds horrible. It's kinda concerning me so many other people are chiming in with, "Oh yeah, had those too." How common are they? How does one prevent them?

I think Rex would be a fun guy to grab a beer with and let him tell all kinds of wild stories he's seen from his days in the NFL. He's a relatively entertaining guy at the least. Overrated as a coach and lacks awareness (i.e. fixes what isn't broken). Mayfield isn't playing well at the moment but neither is most of the Browns offense, the OL especially. Collinsworth kept pointing it out on Sunday night that unless Mayfield was able to unload the ball within two seconds he was in trouble as the line just didn't hold up. However, there were several plays I saw where they did give him a clean pocket and he bailed after his first read. I don't think Browns management made a great decision in giving Kitchens the HC job, especially with the types of egos on that team. I really have no idea what Kitchens is like but from what I understand he seems to be a decent X's and O's guy, but appears to be seriously lacking in leadership. They lose a few more games in the next month or two and a heavy percentage of that roster is gonna check out on the guy and they'll be looking for another HC by January.

OP's question answered... but I thought I'd just make myself look like a dingus and say that I had no idea Notre Dame was in Indiana until I was like 24, haha.

Seems very elusive... although he won't have much luck going backwards in the NFL. Defenders are just too quick.

Yeah, well, Shannon Sharpe huffs his own farts.

Cowplops. Just get sick of hearing about them. Even when they're terrible they're talked about. Part of the reason I pretty much completely stopped watching any pre-game shows, or any talking head stuff. It's all just drivel at this point. Can't say I flat out hate Washington, I actually kinda feel bad for the players there because Snyder is such a chode. A good buddy of mine is a Giants fan who hates Philly so whenever those two play I'll join in that Philly hate a little. Can't hate 'em too much since they beat the Pats in the Super Bowl, so. NFC teams don't get me riled up nearly as much as AFC teams. Lately I just can't stand the friggin' Jets. All off-season they were hyped up because they signed Bell and Mosley while the pundits just ignored the fact that they hired a coach who couldn't lead a group of Cub Scouts to a campsite if he'd been given a map and dropped off ten feet from the location. Guy has no heart whatsoever, a spineless, googily-eyed dweeb.

I figured it'd be Peko over Taylor since Peko's been here longer and has more experience/knowledge in this defense.

Burleson is kind of a weenie. I feel like he might still be figuring out his broadcaster/on-air persona, but the guy is way too quick to crown things. After week one he was on CBS calling Sammy Watkins the best receiver in the league just based on that first game. I get that these guys gotta make comments like these sometimes but Burleson seems like a guy who's always doing that so it kinda diminishes his thoughts/opinions. And yeah, he picked Cinci as his absolute lock of the week. I mean, you gotta kinda have a negative slant towards Buffalo at that point. They've been playing good ball and the Bengals had just got slapped by San Fran, but they were gonna be the sure thing? Bah.

I think for a guy like him it's gonna be really important to finish his career on his terms. If he's forced out by injury or his behavior, that could send him back down that spiral again.

Welp, the same thing said for Allen right now can also be said for Edmunds, he's only started what, 18 NFL games? And he's still only 21, and switched positions from college to the pros. He's been saddled with a ton of responsibility, has been voted a captain and has teammates depending on him to run the defense. That's a lot to throw at a second-year player, but I think he's up for it. What I think I see is that there are times where he's still thinking too much, and that's probably a byproduct of him still learning the intricacies of playing MLB and they've likely added more schemes to the defense that he has to know. I think he has enough talent to turn the corner and catch fire as an MLB. I think he needs to make a big play to give himself a confidence boost. And if for some reason it doesn't work for him at MLB, they can always shift him outside.

Obviously it's never easy against the Pats, but if there was a time and a team to get it done, this Sunday with this Bills team might be it. They're riding a three-game win streak, however they know that they haven't gone in an obliterated any opponents. They've played tough football, overcome mistakes/bad breaks and have earned three hard-fought victories. I think these guys will be jazzed up to take on the Pats. The challenge for the coaches is to keep these guys level and playing within the systems and not letting their emotions run too wild and cost them yards/points, etc. It'd be great if Edelman can't go, but I've been watching Brady and Belichick steamroll Bills team after team for 20 years now and, honestly, it seems like they could be down a dozen starters and they still wouldn't miss a beat. Develin being out is big... but again, NE's ability to plug and play and succeed with almost any player/position is ridiculous. I joked last week when I read the news on their left tackle Wynn going on IR. I said they'd probably find some kid sweeping floors at a Whole Foods and turn him All-Pro by Saturday. Their defense is maybe the best group Belichick has ever put out there. Not one offensive TD allowed so far. But... they did play the hapless Steelers, the white-flag waving Dolphins, and the New Jersey Spleen Machines. Daboll is gonna have to craft one of, if not his best game plan yet and the offense can't afford to muck it up like they have a few times this season. They can't shoot themselves in the foot against NE, not even a little, because they'll capitalize on that mistake in a heartbeat. I do feel like the offense has had some series' where they've been rolling and the only thing that's stopped them was themselves. A bad penalty or a turnover and the drive stalls. Can't have that against NE, not against their D. As for Buffalo's defense, I'm sure the coaches will be preaching/practicing having the DL get their hands up to bat down passes because Brady is (as usual) getting rid of it in about 0.004 seconds on any given snap. I think they'll also have to find some creative ways to produce pressure up the middle because that's where Brady really struggles. If his pocket isn't clean from the middle, he falters. He's amazingly good at sidesteps and subtle movements inside the pocket when the pressure comes from the left or the right, but when it's coming right at him is when teams have success in slowing him down. Also, he's 42 friggin' years old, someone please remind him of that with a monster hit. Everyone's gonna need to be on their A game to even have a chance. Go Bills. Also, anytime I see the phrase "dare to..." all I can think of is Weird Al's "Dare to be Stupid."

Oh yeah, you ain't wrong. I'm prepared for an implosion at some point. I obviously don't want that and am not expecting it, but they're still a young team finding their way and they're likely to hit some speed bumps this season. I just hope it doesn't come against a team like Miami who have just completely mailed it in for this year. I'd like for them to continue this trend of beating teams they're supposed to beat.

I can understand how the lack of national attention/recognition can kinda get on our nerves as fans. It even wears on the players some. After the game, Tre' was asking Matt Fairburn (I think) to write about things that'll hopefully get some attention. I even argued with a dude on The Athletic's comment section that it's alright for a player to want a little recognition, especially after a solid game. His argument was that the Bills haven't done anything worthy of recognition and said that all the players should be like the 90s Bills and just prove it on the field. Never mind the fact that those 90s teams were loaded with guys who had monster egos. Bruce Smith talked himself up in a 1991 SI interview and Darryl Talley campaigned for himself to get in the Pro Bowl, so... anyway... The thing I try to keep in mind when hearing/reading the schlock that these "experts" come up with is this: these guys are paid to make inflammatory comments in order to generate attention and discussion from the viewer base. Some of these nimrods come up with stuff that's so ridiculous that I feel like they can't even believe it themselves, but during a production meeting someone said to say it because ratings or whatever and here we are. Schopp is a perfect example of this. I've heard that the guy himself is a genuinely good dude and that he's almost "playing a character" on WGR. He blurts out all sorts of idiocy in order to get people to call in and disagree with him, which is precisely what they want. It's just how sports media works these days. They pay attention to the big markets and usually shower them in positive praise. With the smaller markets, they'll acknowledge when a team has had some success, but it usually comes with the caveat of, "Yeah, they beat so and so, BUT, that team had some injuries and the coach had the sniffles so they obviously weren't at their best, so how much can we really trust that Small Market Team A is actually good?" It gets pretty old after a while, but that's the shtick, at least IMO. I prefer the shows that just have honest discussion without too much opinion thrown in. I know it's a pure homer show but that's why I enjoyed One Bills Live a few years ago when I was working 4p-12a shifts and could catch the show before heading into work. It's just general Bills talk with a more positive slant and hey, that's alright.

I'd assume the heat has something to do with it, although whenever I consider that I also consider that so many of these players are from hot-ass southern states so they're probably used to playing in the heat. If the Bills find any sorta way to have their worst game against Miami at either game this year, then I am just gonna lose it.

That's classic. Agholor's response is fantastic, good on him. I've never been to Philly, but I worked a customer service job like 14 years ago and once spoke to a 60-something year old lady from Philly who went on for a solid 15 minutes about how she'd lived there here whole life and how the city is the worst. She referred to it as the "City of Brotherly Shove." Like any city, I'm sure there are great parts and not so great parts. But Philly fans do have a reputation that precedes them at this point.

He might not enjoy playing here so much if this trend continues for him: Since McDermott took over in 2017, Brady has more interceptions than passing TDs against Buffalo (3 TDs/4 INTs). It is kinda cool of him to compliment the gameday atmosphere up here. It's also been cool to see comments from that one Bengals coach who said the Cap was louder than Seattle! Keep it going, youse crazy fans youse.