Ayjent

I'll probably try to stomach watching it again tonight on the Short cuts - I saw it live so I'm sure that I didn't see everything the same way you do on TV. But I also saw what I saw and I know that people on TV just don't get the entire play perspective you get at the stadium. What I saw was no one too open where the routes were designed. I also wanted to say that I really had the same reaction as you on the Foster pass - but it seemed to me he lost the ball in the air or maybe we are just seeing why he was a healthy scratch and not too involved this season.

McD is fundamentally conservative - no disagreement, and I understand what you are saying about protecting a lead at the half, but as a coach you need to also find ways to show your Offensive team that you trust them and believe in what they can be. Sometimes protecting that lead - does the exact opposite. I just don't understand what they were trying to do on Offense at all - the first touchdown was all Josh extending the play. The second TD the Bills had was yet another glaring example of why you get Singletary involved in the passing game in space. For some reason, the passing gameplan was designed without many short outlets or quick timing routes. The Eagles were not defending the short routes well because they were focused on making sure they weren't getting beat deeper. From the looks of things they were doing a lot of zone in the flats and shallow middle - the Bills routes were not exploiting that at all. When they did - they had big plays. They just had too few of them.

I think the blame can go around to all involved on the Bills from players to coaches. But like you - I'm going to put this one on the coaches and it started early IMO. This was my first game that I've gone to in a couple of years and I was very excited to see them play at home against a decent opponent. I was due a loss in all of my gameday experiences, 8-0 up until that point (watched them beat the Dolphins for half of those games - most during the Marino years). But I can tell you that was quite uninspired as you started your OP - I was left looking forward to Pizza and Wings as the highlight of the trip. The first head-scratcher came right away. They won the toss and accepted the kick going directly into the wind - they almost always defer. And that was the time to defer if you believe in your D, want to make the Eagles Offense one dimensional, and want to give your Offense the opportunity to go with the wind and put some immediate pressure on a team with some internal strife. I get that they wanted the wind at their back in the fourth quarter, but you are facing a beat up and depleted secondary, but a really good run stopping team. To come out with completely unimaginative playcalling that played right into their strength and put the team into an obvious passing down in bad conditions where you are looking at punting into the strong wind if you don't make it. That just had me thinking to myself - what was that?!!! It showed that they weren't going to attack the weakness of the Eagles that other teams had been exploiting. They held on and still were leading deep into the second quarter. The second big head-scratcher came on the 3rd down QB sweep that changed the game - I'm not so upset about that one call, but more of the philosophy of keeping your QB in the game by not taking hits and attacking the Eagle's weakness. You've got to have a better play than that given the conditions and the opponent. Moreover, why is Josh their short yardage back? That set of downs was where the Bills needed to be aggressive, but they decided they were going to see if they could eek out a first down with conservative playcalling, culminating with putting their QB in harm's way as a short yardage back, and then decide if they wanted to push for another score or wind down the clock up 7-3. They weren't attacking to put the opponent away - they were playing it safe to preserve the lead they had. It's that exact stuff that prevents you from pulling away from opponents, and they've been doing it all season. All it does is make you a mistake away from trailing or letting the other team back in. That's exactly what happened. The Bills were killing the Eagles on rollouts and they simply were not interested in utilizing that strategy until the Eagles proved they could stop it. The Eagles did exactly the opposite . They probed until they found what worked in the run game and then the Bills failed to have any answers.

Daboll should be ashamed of that crap game plan against a terrible secondary. I know the weather sucked I was there, but you don’t draft a kid with a rocket arm to try to establish a running game against a stout run d and a terrible secondary. Let the kid play QB and stop trying to use him as a running back. They didn’t come out and attack and I still am baffled by the choice to accept the opening kickoff and come out with those plays called. I thought they tried running way too much and their formations were huge tells that they were running, and didn’t use screens enough.

Yeah I tend to agree and AJ Green doesn't really do it for me given his health and contract status. I think the big bodied guy able to make great adjustments is just the type of guy every team needs but especially the Bills given their other receivers. Duke isn't a bad option in that respect, but he is just a guy at this point until he proves otherwise and the Bills would be smart to try to see if they can find a guy with proven production that meets that description. It would be nice if that player were all-pro caliber, and I think that the player should be young and promising/proven if the Bills are going to make any move. It's got to be the right move and not just any WR will do.

It's definitely something to consider, but he definitely has had Winston and other QBs forcing him the ball to see if can get 50/50 balls or worse. He has really good adjustment and goes after the ball - also consider his production. He is almost always the best DBs assignment, and can be a matchup nightmare if you have other threats on the field. Mike Evans isn't a black hole in the Bucs' passing game that kills drives. He is a guy that QBs throw to regardless of whether he is covered.

Godwin has been their top playmaker. Evans is signed through 2023 and not getting enough targets with a big contract commitment . O.J. Howard is someone the Bucs want to see more passes go to and denied the Pats attempt to trade for him. Jamies is someone that has shown that he is not the answer and they made need picks to get their QB. They need help in a lot of other areas too. It all points toward a higher likelihood than you might think and I think he won’t be anymore valuable as a trade asset than now if he continues on the pace he’s on this season. The cost is the only thing that may prevent it from happening - I’m betting the Pats asked already before targeting Sanu.

Prospects versus a proven commodity for a QB that needs an experienced no. 1 to help him develop. Sure a good prospect comes cheaper but takes longer and is not a proven commodity. I hear what you are saying but constantly looking to future isn’t taking care of the now.

A 1st rounder and/or some help on D. He has a big K so it’s a lot to take on for a team and if he has a down year he is going to be much less valuable by end of year in trade market.

Mike Evans would really be one of the few players that could be a perfect combo of value and skill. I doubt the Bucs would do it, but he isn’t being targeted as much and the Bucs are likely hitting reset at QB in the offseason. So it’s more likely than you might think.

I see what you are saying too, but I've seen this called all the time against the defense. Way too much to be honest, and usually on the other side of the field. This had a lot more to do with the play than most holding calls.

Bad refereeing or conspiracy - both are bad for the game and to rationalize the call being picked up on a technicality of the wrong penalty when the flag was clearly thrown based on a foul is lacking for common sense (not saying this is you but it was rationalized earlier in the thread). The ref who threw the flag knows what he saw and that it was a penalty - the only discussion to have was whether it was holding or PI. The fact that they picked up the flag in that situation should have people looking closer at what happened. Now I didn't watch the entire game, but this was a huge momentum shifting call - which is why the eyebrows should be raised. It's like the Patriots the calls go their way when it has the most impact and against them when they have the least.

Remember when the Bills got rid of an underperforming WR last year? Me too. The Offense got instantly better when Allen stopped trying to force the ball to a WR that wouldn't fight for the ball. Allen made crappy decisions on all of those interceptions, but the WR has to do his part to help the QB. Zay isn't doing that.

I actually think that they can beat some of the better teams just based on the defense playing a great game, and the other team having some bounces go against them. That's true of most any team in the NFL, but the Bills aren't a team that are going to give the good teams as much margin for error. Are they playoff caliber? I think that they are a borderline playoff team based on how the AFC plays out and realistically on how much Allen continues to progress. Teams I see as locks in AFC: -Chiefs -Patriots Near Locks: -Chargers The Playoff Contenders: Texans or Colts or Titans (one will win the South as Division Champs); Ravens or Browns (one will come out of the North as Division Champs); Bills So I really think it is going to come down to those 6 teams for 3 spots - and 2 of them will be division champs - so it will likely be a 4 team race for one spot that the Bills can get in with. I think the Bills are in the same conversation as those 6 teams. The Jets, Dolphins, Bengals, Steelers, Jags, Raiders and Broncos are just not really that good at this point and it will be unlikely these teams emerge as a contender. The Bills appear to have the schedule breaking their way: Must wins because they should be the better team (9 games - 5H/4A) (2-0): Dolphins twice, Jets twice (1-0), the Bengals, the Broncos, the Steelers, the Redskins, the Giants (1-0) Pivotal games (3 games - 1H/2A) (0-0): Titans, Browns, Ravens Underdog games (4 games - 2H/2A) (0-0) : Patriots twice, Eagles, Cowboys That's just how I see it now.

They have an identity on D and that is going to be the face of the team, but the Offense is going to be making people pay attention more if and when they beat some better competition. But as to the competition - the Jets and Giants may very well end up being 2 of the worst teams in the league by the end of the season. However, early on you are getting teams best efforts before the wheels start coming off the wagon. This is the overreaction time in the NFL in recent years. It's almost unbearable to watch some people on TV talking about this and that team. Sure, the Dolphins ship looked sunk before it set sail, but the other 31 teams were looking to prove something and will continue to as they press on more games. Certainly some things look shaky in place right now. Remember last year though, people were writing the Bills off as an 0-16 possibility after a highly embarassing start to 2018. Things change and can be fluid - and the NFL is a showcase of coaching, chemistry and talent - as chemistry builds it can really create a gap between teams, and chemistry can also fall apart bringing teams back to the pack. That means the Bills can continue to build momentum through chemistry with so much young talent, and that starts at QB on Offense. I genuinely have turned the corner and see how completely wrong I was about Allen. I'm not saying he has completely arrived, but man I thought he would be frustrating to watch, especially with his first few games last year. This year he has the look of taking another step forward and the Bills team will follow if that happens. Looking back at last year - as embarassing as it was early on, the QB situation turned out fortuitous for the Bills in the way it played out: Peterman is so bad they have to bench him and look elsewhere for QBs to keep on the active roster; Allen is starting early than the staff wanted - he gets to play with some ups and downs, but has a good showing against the Vikings; then he is hurt; he gets to watch a couple of other guys come in and play that have been in the NFL for awhile;- the Bills find a really decent backup; Allen comes in and starts making things happen and getting the team behind him. It wasn't planned that way, but it all kinda worked out and Allen has made the most of his circumstances so far.

Bottom Line win. Some stuff to get excited about, some to be concerned about. However, division road game victory is a big win regardless of the projected record of the opponent. They are the biggest and toughest games - so to see the Bills win the way they did was a big deal. Good teams find a way to win. They found a way to win.

Well with the Bills home games against the Pats...those things are endzone "decorations" when the Pats score. Maybe the funniest tradition in current sports. And one that begs a lot of questions.

That's pretty much what I saw. I think Jones was too late to get his head around and it made it look like a worse pass than it was - although he was blanketed and not necessarily the best decision to throw there. I think this is a consistent thing with Jones - he is just not good enough at getting his head around, adjusting his body and winning balls. He's fine with space and time, but the NFL doesn't afford much of either. I think the throw to Beasley that was incomplete was a little too early or Beasley didn't think it would be out that fast - can't really tell, but I'm sure they will work that out - they seem to be pretty much on the same page. The play calling was not great, but as you mention they totally changed up the game plan from the first two weeks focusing more on the run game, which when you put yourself into obvious passing downs is not ideal for getting in rhythm passing when the only time you throw is when you have to. I'm hoping the Bills are more open in their actual playcalling during the regular season - I think it benefits Allen to be afforded a chance to miss a throw, as it does most QBs. The running game will be even more opened up if they can pass effectively and give shady the space he needs to do what he does best. The INT was a bad throw - and one that he knew he shouldn't have thrown

Bill Barnwell writes the driest articles and states bull#### premises like there is no such thing as momentum in sports. That premise is supported by no one that has ever played competitive sports at a decent level. Momentum is one of the realest things in sports, e.g., watch any basketball game or the Bills Oilers playoff game. He lost me when I read that article years ago and I haven’t been able to do more than skim his meandering articles since. Stats should support the context of the situation and are not that useful to drive the analysis. Stats have usefulness, but they are not great predictors in football because of the massive amounts of nonquantifiable factors (coaching, game planning, play calling, missed assignments, etc.).

He’s worth the risk. One of the best TEs in the league.

Zay will be solid, but not spectacular at best and he hasn't been that yet. He showed a couple of games where he could be a reliable target, but the difference between marginal NFL talent and good talent is consistency, not flashes. I'm still not sold on him, but he did progress last year, and if he takes another step forward he is definitely a guy that could be a solid NFL player. I think he is going to have to be better to get snaps, but the talk of him being a No. 1 in some of the articles seems misguided and overly optimistic. The guy who was emerging as a No. 1 was Foster, but he still needs to show a lot more to win that title as well. The guys they have a WR are okay, but there are no sure things as a bona fide No. 1 target who will get over 1000 yards. The Bills may just have a collection of No. 2 through 4 options that start at any given time. That's better than last year, but it's not a massive improvement unless Foster or Jones take big steps forward.

I agree stats are just the details of how you got your result, not really whether you played well. However, certain stats can be predictive of success if they are steady, but not the common stats that are usually available (yardage, QB rating), but more contextual stats. For instance first down % (of all plays), first downs per drive, drive to goal line ratio (average drive length (yards)/average field position (yards to goal)) , and scoring range opportunities/% (i.e., plays/drive conversion % inside 35 yds) - if these numbers are good, then you have an effective offense - how you get those stats doesn't really matter. So if a QB is only in the mid-50s in completion percentage that doesn't matter if the first down% is high for the offense - that's why Allen was effective when he came back from injury last year - the offense was moving the chains and the ball even with his completion percentage being low. If you have a lot of plays and a high conversion % inside the opponents 35 yard line you are likely dominating a game. If you are near 50% in the drive to goal line ratio, the Offense is extremely effective at moving the ball and changing field position.

Yeah he misses tackles, and if you watch closely all LBs do. Im a Florida alum and watched him his entire career. I thought him and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson were their best defensive players on a consistent basis this past year. Polite was really good but would disappear sometimes. I really think he is a perfect situational OLB that could be sent to blitz (especially blindside) or cover TEs this year and could step in for Milano really well if there is an injury. He has a lot of instinct and big play ability, and plays his best in big situations. Does he make mistakes and is he in need of work? No doubt, but he will be a guy you want on the field when it matters.

Stop reading the reports and watch the LSU highlights - he wrecked them this year and had no problem tackling. This is a really solid pick, especially for the 5th round