Drunken Pygmy Goat

Random stuff: There was an older NFL referee in the 80s and 90s (not sure his name) that always did an emphatic “first dooooowwwwwwn”. A quote from (I believe) Dan McGuire while in the booth for the Raiders@Bills playoff game, Bills were losing for much of the game, and during their comeback: “If there’s one thing we’ve learned about this team, it’s that you can never, EVER, count them out...” A personal favorite of mine: “Stats never lie, but they don’t always tell the whole truth either”.

But that never happened! I never kept track, but I vaguely remember a game against the Cowboys(?), shortly after the extension, that really solidified the thought in my head. I knew Fitz wasn’t the future, but I loved how he played the game. Hard to not like a QB that lowers the boom on DBs instead of just running out of bounds.

With the way the NFL works, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the opposite rings true. The Broncos and Steelers both have top 10 defenses that look to be improved.

This. You have to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. Last year, the Bills were walking while the Ravens were running. And to quote Aerosmith, sometimes you have to lose to know how to win. Games like this, as well as the WC loss should be viewed as learning experiences that the team should be better for because of them. HC is still rather inexperienced in comparison to most in his position, QB very inexperienced still, many starters on both sides of the ball are still very young and inexperienced; this team is pretty much right where they should be right now, and that’s ok with me, so long as those issues that should be “learning experiences” don’t become habits or trends. The arrow is pointing in the right direction right now.

Seems as though his horse still isn’t as high as the horses that some of the people in this thread ride upon...

I don’t think Reid would have done that for anyone but Mahomes. Trubisky only had a handful of college starts, and I think that was an important factor for teams (other than Chicago, obviously).

I work for a couple Shaughnessys... I’m quitting my job first thing in the AM

USA Today...

I liked your post simply because of your profile pic. Neutral on the post content though, tbh.

Broncos, Raiders, Cards should be better this year, and all road games. It wouldn’t shock me if the Bills lose 2-3 of those games. Not saying blowout or anything, but they should be competitive. Heck, I expect the Dolphins to finish somewhat close to the Bills in win total. Several games could go either way this year, including games against LA, Seattle, Tennessee, NE, Pittsburgh. It’s possible the Bills win only 8 or 9 this year.

We know the opponents and venues, but I’m waiting for the actual schedule to be released before making a final prediction. This is a 9-12 win team on paper, but a tough stretch of games with a couple west coast trips could sway the win total by a game or 2. The Bills were pretty healthy last year, and had a rather easy schedule, resulting in 10 wins. This team may be better, but could finish with fewer wins due to schedule and added travel (AFCW should be much better this year as well, IMO). I wonder how Bleacher Report/this author had the Bills finishing in 2019...

Wouldn’t the NFL just remove full game YouTube videos that aren’t posted by the NFL?

Unfortunately for you, only the sound will be received on the other end. Better plug your nose next time it rings...

Beane said it was an NFC team

Lol sorry, I didn’t bother playing the video...I try to avoid those clowns.

Guys, it’s obvious that he just combined Levi Wallace and Tredavious White, kind of like how we all say “Mcbeane”. It’s just easier that way....CLEARLY worth 8 mil per year

I watched that game on YouTube a few years ago. A couple things that stuck with me: Jeff Jaeger looked like he was wearing some type of space apparel under his jersey. A quote from one of the commentators (McGuire?) during the Bills’ comeback: [paraphrasing] “If there’s one thing that we’ve learned about the Buffalo Bills, it’s that you can never count them out”.

But camp bodies are needed, though...

Great! Does anyone know if there were changes to the G-4 stadium funding program? Perhaps we'll hear something about the owners' intentions in the near future, now that the CBA has been settled.

No issues on me. Only cuts out when 4g signal is below 25%.

Yeah

Remember back in training camp (maybe it was mini camp) when Josh Allen said that it was hard to overthrow WRs like John Brown??? I think you're right about letting the WRs run to the ball. Last year, many of the deep pass connections by Allen seemed to be underthrown balls that the WRs adjusted to. It was quite noticeable for me, just like Tyrod often taking deep shots in 3rd and short, and I think it was something that the coaches noticed and wanted to correct. It's obviously better to overthrow a 1 on 1 ball than it is to underthrow. By week 3 or so, the Bills and Allen failed to connect on 3 or 4 deep passes where the DB was beat for a TD, and the ball was overthrown...easy to connect the dots as to why. Partially mental, partial coached (and at times, part footwork/pressure). And I'm not simply referring to passes over 30 yards, I mean go routes against cover 1 specifically. That issue persisted throughout the season for the most part, until the last few games anyways. As far as that happenening on 3rd an short, under Daboll/Allen, I don't recall any specific instances offhand. I'm sure its happened, but you make it sound as if it happened so many times that it's egregious. That was the case with Tyrod (no exaggeration), not Allen. Anyhow, I don't want to nit pick one comment you made earlier in the thread. Your main point now is that Daboll is holding Allen back, which may or may not be the case. Personally, I think Allen is still playing a bit "raw" at times, missing easy throws that are there to be made. He puts too much zip on the ball at times, making it that much more difficult for WRs on shorter routes. There have been several inexcusable drops this year, but some of those weren't all on the WR/TE. He also has been a bit late on reads at times, although that cannon arm has bailed him out in some of those instances. Those are just a couple of noticable issues with Allen. BUT, he is still less than two full seasons into his career. The issues he has right now are about what we should have expected to see from him at this point in his career. He was about as raw of an uber-talented prospect coming out as we've seen recently, and it was never going to be a fast progression/transition for him. And with a good defense to lean on, it didn't need to be fast. In his first year, we learned that Allen is athletic enough to make plays with his feet, and that he has a "gamer" mentality. We already knew about the cannon arm. After that, there were a lot of areas that need improvement. I think most Bills fans will say that Allen is "better" as a passer this year, but still has a lot of work to do. There have been several plays left on the field this year, and not just 5 yard overthrows on deep TD passes. Perhaps Daboll is holding Allen back, but if the plays are there to be made, yet not being made, that's on the QB. We all complained about how many plays Tyrod left on the field on a consistent basis. Allen has already had his fair share, yet the narrative is a bit different for some reason. Granted, TT was more of a league veteran at the time than Allen currently is, but why is the narrative different when the situation is the same? Why does the guy calling the plays get flack when the play call and design was good, yet the players didn't execute? The way I see it, this team is just scratching the surface. Allen will hopefully continue to improve in areas that have held him and the offense back at times, and the roster on offense should improve as well, making life easier for Allen, and Daboll. I would like to hear a more detailed explaination as to how Daboll is holding Allen back. IMO, the fact that the Bills have a strong defense to lean on, and a bit of a conservative HC has "held back" Josh, in the sense that he is rarely tasked with carrying the team on his shoulders and willing the team to victory in a high scoring game. For the most part, Allen has done what he has been asked to: don't feel like you need to be the hero, and do just enough. Essentially, the offense is being called a certain way, for a reason, and it generally revolves around just how good your defense is at holding opponents to lower scores and getting off the field. I wouldn't lose sleep if Daboll leaves, but I would like to see him stay for a 3rd year. With a presumably better roster and a more refined Allen at QB, we will truly see how good Daboll is. Then again, a new OC would have the same benefit, albeit with possibly a new scheme and playbook for the players to first get a grip on.

I remember that happening somewhat frequently with Tyrod at QB, but not with Allen/Daboll. There are certainly things that we can criticize when it comes to Brian Daboll, but I really don't believe the scenario you describe is one of them. At least not to the point that it's a reoccurring theme or anything.

I figured Joe Thomas had some clout, but damn! I remember Greg Roman "complaining" in an interview early in his time with the Bills about how going on long playoff runs with the 49ers hurt his chances of getting hired as HC, even though there were several teams requesting permission to interview. He basically said that by the time the 49ers seasons finally ended, all those teams had already filled the position. Every year, guys like Ron Rivera this year get hired first, often before the first casualties of Wild Card weekend open up more possible coaching options. Guys like Greg Roman (once again) this year and (hopefully) Brian Daboll will still be coaching in games and find it difficult to land a HC gig that they are truly interested in. Playing in February would really hurt Daboll's chances. Personally, I don't think he's "ready" for the job, anywhere in the NFL. I don't recall him having great rosters/management in Cleveland or Miami as OC, but now it seems he is in a pretty good situation to build something special for the first time. He may want to see it through a bit more, and if the Bills really want to keep him, there's no cap on coaches salaries.