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I had that thought as well. There were a couple of times Goff stood in there and delivered it and took a hit right after. It's gotta be a tough line to tow for QBs. Probably even more so for someone like Allen who's still wearing his Superman cape and when pressure comes his instincts wanna take off and run. Not all the time, though. The throw he made to Foster vs. the Jags was outstanding. I still don't know how he got it off. You can't even see him and then suddenly there's the ball floating 60 yards downfield. So he does hang in there at times and at times he bails when he could slide or step up. I think he'll learn but yeah, gotta be tough for some QBs to decide on when to hang in there and when to bail out. Goff crushed it all season on rollouts and designed pocket movement but the Pats completely took that away from him and told him, "Beat us from the pocket, bet you can't." And they were right.

642. Keep count, please.

See, I think he's hit somewhat of a wall this season. They switched up their offense to a power run game throughout the last half of the season. Despite the fact that Brady can still throw it 50 times a game for 350 yards, it appeared as if they don't want to ask him to do that on the regular. Just in watching him this year I've seen a bit more indecisiveness, a little more skittish with pressure coming in and throwing some really inaccurate passes. I mean, he turns it on at times, the AFC Championship game is a testament to that. But the days of him consistently throwing it 40+ times a game seem to be well behind him at this point. He also holds himself to a super high standard. I'd be willing to bet that he failed to reach that standard more times this season than perhaps his entire career. He definitely was not happy with how he played last night, that's for sure.

Right. Because people never say one thing and then change their minds later after things have transpired. Thanks for your contribution.

Alrighty then.

OK, first off, yes I'm aware he's said there's "zero" chance of him walking away. I'm also aware that he's said he wants to play into his mid-40's... However, I picked up on a few interesting things yesterday. During the 347 hours of pre-game stuff, there was an interview with Romo and Brady. Romo asked him if he still plans on playing after this season and Brady said something to the effect of he feels kind of "stuck" to playing in his mid-40s because that's what he's said but in the same breath he alluded to the fact that he's probably going to wait and see. Then, Nantz mentioned that when they spoke to Brady on Saturday night he stated that he's had so much support from family and friends that he can't wait for the day when he has more time to devote to his family and reciprocate all the support they've shown him throughout his career. Finally, during the post-game interview, he kinda stopped himself from saying what seemed like he was gonna go home, spend time with family and see where he was at. He caught himself though, and just said he can't wait to be around his family more. There was also a persistent rumor from early in the season that people close to him were saying he would likely retire if he won another Super Bowl. Welp, mission accomplished. And for the longest time I really couldn't figure out what else he had left to achieve. He's done it all. I know he's hit a stage in his career where he's being told he can't do it anymore because age is catching up to him and his motivation has always been the "tell me I can't" thing that's kept him going. But in terms of achievements I really thought there was nothing left... then during the game they mentioned how Brady was tied with Charles Haley for the player with the most Super Bowl wins, each with five. Well, now Brady stands alone with six SB victories, the most ever for any player. So maybe that was his final motivation? I'm just spit-ballin' on that one but out of all the things he's done, that was one he didn't have until now. So given some of his answers and the way he talked after the post-game, I got the vibe that at the very least, he's going to contemplate retirement and talk it over with family. The Patriots are also set to endure quite a bit of turnover heading into next season as they have 18 pending free agents right now. They have a truckload of picks as well but either way, there'll be some familiar faces ending their time in New England. I've also heard that Kraft is set to hand over day to day operations to his kid in the very near future and from what I've read, neither Brady or Belichick wanna be around for that. Could be all hearsay, who knows. Just some food for thought. So what's everyone think? Does the GOAT finally ride off into the sunset (on a goat)?

I don't think either one is overrated, really. They just got beat. One of the things McVay does to help Goff is how quick they call in the play and how quickly they get up on the line so Goff can observe how the defense is lining up with McVay still in his ear for a couple more seconds. They were unable to do this last night because Patriots fans owned that stadium. With as good as the Rams have been you'd think they'd drum up a bit more interest in one of the biggest markets in America, but people in LA care more about USC than the Rams. Fans didn't travel well. It felt like a home game for NE when the Rams offense was on the field. The crowd was insanely loud nearly every time LA had the ball and when NE had the ball you could hear a mouse fart. Rams were just completely overwhelmed. I mean, they had what, three players with previous Super Bowl experience? (I might even be overshooting that, Talib is the only one I can think of that has played in a SB). Meanwhile, NE had something like 45+ players with prior Super Bowl experience. The Rams seemed caught up in the glitz and glamour of the big game while the Patriots just looked at it like another day's work. Even in the NFC Championship I thought the game looked too big for LA and it took a bogus play for them to win that one.

Rams defense played very well. That DL was setting up shop in the Pats' backfield from the start. The only thing they weren't able to do was shorten more of those NE drives. They did more than enough to give their team a chance to win. All the blame goes on the offense for not adjusting and making too many mistakes. On the one drive where they looked like they were gonna maybe tie it up, Goff gets rattled way too easy and tosses up a wobbler that Gilmore comes down with. Goff was uncomfortable all night and McVay did him no favors by keeping Gurley on the sidelines. McVay has already owned the loss, as he should, he was completely dismantled and out-coached.

Gilmore has always been a good player. He does have a tendency to get burned from time to time and get up after the play looking around like someone else was the cause of his miscue but other than that, he's always been solid. Every DB gets beat. Sometimes with this board you'd think the only way to call a player good or great is if they have a perfect 100% success rate on every down. It's just interesting that they're naming him the best corner in the league right now when honestly, his play has neither elevated nor lowered since he left here. Crazy how much of a difference it makes when you're on a winning team that gets all the attention.

Yeah, I've noticed that a lot this year, rankings are all over the place. I mean, there's like a bazillion more blogs and sources than 10 or 15 years ago. Sometimes I genuinely believe it's just that particular "scout" trying to stand out. Yesterday I saw Jawaan Taylor ranked as the 14th best OT on a site. Guy might be a bit raw but he's likely a first rounder and some think maybe even the first OT off the board.

Yeah, heaven forbid a couple of kids from having some fun.

I'm sure he's on Beane's radar being a local kid and all. The only drawback I've seen about him is he struggles to separate at times and the Bills have a few guys like that already.

I used to be bummed out for the rest of the day if they lost and maybe the next day at work some people and I would lament how they lost, especially if it was one of those "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" type of losses that they've been so well-known for. I used to be one of those guys that threw stuff and punched walls whenever the opponent did well. Then one day I slugged a nice guitar case I had just got and damaged it pretty bad (thanks, Mike Vick!) and it was at that point that I said to myself, "You gotta cool it, man." Since then, I still feel bummed when they lose but it's more like, "Ah, welp, they'll try again next week" kinda thing. No more punching guitar cases and throwing remotes. Ah, to be young and stoopid. I also gained a better appreciation for the game all around, so when an opponent makes a nice play now, I can appreciate it, even if it comes against the Bills. Sometimes you just gotta say, "Dang, that guy just made a great play to undercut that route and score a pick-six." It also helped knowing that most of the time over these last 18 seasons that the Bills were likely to lose, so, as another poster pointed out earlier in this thread, a win is a pleasant surprise. It's when you start expecting wins that your emotions get a little uneven.

Wasn't he hurt during Senior Bowl week? I thought I had read something stating a current injury might limit him at the Combine and thus drop him down a round or two. And last I had read, he was viewed as a 2nd or 3rd round prospect.

While I'm not sure about his comments about being a black QB in a league where the players are predominately black, I do appreciate that he was able to help the Bills end the drought. And although Allen is gonna throw a couple of picks from time to time, I prefer his tenacity and willingness to push it down the field as opposed to Taylor who played it safe most of the time.

No wonder Beane is so adamant about drafting well. I'm sure he's realized the difficulty in recruiting free agents here... also probably why he seems so apt to pull trades. Hope for the best, I guess.

The guy just wants to show everyone that he's gonna play until 45, like he's said a bunch of times already. Regardless of his goals, age is catching up with him. NE switched to a power running team earlier this season and although Brady can still sling it if they need him to, I think it's become pretty clear that they'd rather not rely on him throwing it 40 times a game. If the decline really speeds up for him I wonder if he'll be aware enough to hang it up or if he'll deny it and become a parody of himself. I vote for the latter.

Yep. Longer hours, less money. But I'm sure if they wanted him in a coaching role they would work out a schedule conducive to his family life.

I don't think making PI something that can be reviewed is a long-term solution. Like most of the game, there are so many variables involved and at the end of each play, it's up to the officials to make (or not) the call. And those calls at times can be subjective (although we know officiating is supposed to be an unbiased, objective look at things) but human error plays a big part and they screw up. The problem is, they've been screwing up a lot more than usual it seems. And the game already suffers enough in delays for penalty conversations that seemingly have to happen with nearly every frickin' flag. Even simple procedural calls like a false start. Those zebra idiots huddle up for five minutes. What the hell they talking about? "Wow Bob, your uniform is top notch today." "Thanks Ed, my mom ironed it for me. I'm here unsupervised too!" "Hey do you guys use TurboTax?" There are times I truly believe that the refs want so badly to be a part of the action that they pull those little conferences for everything so the focus is on them. I've been saying it for years, the rulebook these days is so convoluted and unclear that the whole thing needs to be trashed and they need to start over from scratch. That'll never happen, though. NFL admit mistakes? Ha!

From a lot of what I read on the guy before he got drafted he was seen as a great locker room guy, team leader, etc. I'm sure Tre' White could vouch for him, however, I do agree that there's some arrogance to him. If there's two things I hate, it's people who are intolerant of other people's cultures... and the Dutch. And arrogance.

Still haunts me. Just hand the ball to Thurm all game and they win.

Fair point. I wish they could've won just one.

I think it was part of that Four Falls of Buffalo ESPN special that came out a while back but it showed how the nation was kinda tired of seeing the Bills in the Super Bowl for the third and fourth straight years. People were like, "Anyone but the Bills." Wish I'd hear that with the Patriots. I'm sick of their stupid faces. Nine. Nine friggin' Super Bowls in 18 years... so, 50% of the time, they go to the Super Bowl. Enough's enough. That said, I don't really wanna watch, but I will because football.

If he fumbles do they say, "Poopsie made an oopsie?"

I liked Bruce Arians description of Allen, which he likened to Luck: "Yeah, he's wearing a Superman cape. Luck had that on too when I was with him in Indy." He'll learn to take the easy play every now and again. Seen him look at his checkdowns consistently this year and decide, "Nah." Kind of refreshing when you compare it to Tyrod, but yeah, sometimes just dump it off and get those five or six yards. Kid wants to make a play on every snap, he'll learn to reel that in and learn when to go for it and when to dial it down.