Ayjent

I used to hate when the Bills played the Chargers because Bosa was disruptive and I believe may have even given Josh a pretty good pummeling a few times. The Bills just played two of the most elusive QBs they'll face to start the season. Jackson is on another level compared to Fields, but Fields can really move too. It is hard to keep contain on these guys and rush lane integrity as you are fighting to get by the OL. I'll take losing contain a few times if it means getting sacks and fumbles, because keeping contain without getting home allows a guy to be comfortable in the pocket and that doesn't usually bode well for the back end. If Sanders and Walker develop, Oliver keeps up his level of play and the guys coming off of suspension contribute meaningfully, they are going to be formidable and much different by the end of the season than when they played the Ravens.

Fair enough. Thankfully we didn't have to find out.

Agree on both points. I think the Bills are playing a game of not being dependent on any particular player other than Josh too much. Ideally you draft and develop a talent somewhere near AJ Brown but that is a home run. The Bills have drafted and developed talent though with Shakir, and still a wait and see with Kincaid and Coleman, but these guys all have unique skill sets that allow the Bills to adjust to what defenses present and that is what makes this team so difficult to play defense against. Sure they have limitations in deep routes and sometimes in getting open, but I wouldn't put the ability to get over the hump of getting a championship on them. It would be nice to see Coleman become a revelation and develop into a Mike Evans type threat, but the Bills aren't going to take the top off of many defenses, and the defenses don't really seem inclined to give the Bills many opportunities to do that the way they play them anyhow.

That sounds like an awesome day. It is simply great have a quarterback, especially one that didnt need to do much in order for the team to win, but could have, if necessary.

It had to do with both the offense and defense, it was a team win - the Offense ran the ball well, made plays when it needed them in the passing game, and had over 400 yards. The D played well and dominated the Jets on the first few drives to set the tone. So yeah the D played their asses off, and they contributed to the win as much as the O did. It doesn't have to be either one or the other, it can be both things.

Because its what makes a 7.5 point favorite have a 20pt victory. They know they can unleash the passing game if they need to, they just didn't really need to. Running shortened the game, rested the Bills D and wore down the Jets D. And when people say this team is only Josh Allen on Offense this game says much differently. They could have probably won this game by the same margin with Mitchapalooza.

I thought it was exactly the right game plan. They were going to try to rely on their DL and press with man coverage, and that their best chance to win was to get ahead and force the Bills to pass. The Bills never let them get in that position and ran the ball to neutralize and wear down their pass rushers. They used PA effectively too. It’s not flashy but it was dominant. That’s even with a couple of drops that should have been completed (e.g., Knox in flat on roll out). Also, I love that they are showing that Josh can roll left and make plays. Keon is also showing an ability to run the comeback really well which is a great route against man, especially if you are getting the cover man to turn his hips before the cut. This Bills offense under Brady has shown it can beat you many ways and that is why I think he is doing a great job.

Thats their perogative but it comes with risk of injury. So if it bites them the focus will be on why he was out there.

He played at UNC so there is that.

He’s getting better, and I think he is an exceptional athlete that if he continues to be driven and develops being on the page with Josh could be an elite weapon that is unique in how he is used. He will eventually get more calls as he learns to sell it better.

The ref did a poor job explaining the penalty on the first 2pt catch by Coleman. The question is whether it was illegal contact that should have been an offsetting foul. The no catch was correct, the no call on illegal contact was probably wrong, but Baltimore got away with a lot of contact beyond 5 yds all game. Maybe the Bills did too but i didnt see that make a difference on any given play.

I agree with this. It baffled me to go for it an take points off the board and a potential 5 yd penalty assessed on the kickoff. I get having that advantage if you are a point closer you force Baltimore to think about going for 2 on their next TD, but if you don't get it you are chasing it like the Bills were. I think the last 2 point attempt was a clear penalty on the CB that the refs just totally whiffed on or didn't want to call bc of the criticism it may bring. I think Baltimore playing it that way was really smart, bc worst case the Bills have to try again a yard closer and best case we saw play out. I also think if Baltimore makes the PAT the bills kick a PAT in that situation as well, so in a way it all kind of washed out, and I don't think it really impacted the end of the game as much as people are speculating it did. The defense was atrocious for most of the game, but it was better in the 4th when the game was on the line, and you have to give them credit for rising to the moment, although there are clearly major issues as we were all concerned about. Its curious because everyone can see it and the Bills willingness to stand pat with their guys looks a little stubborn and potentially damning down the road. I also am getting a little tired of hearing how complicated McD's defense is. If the results were better, okay, but come on...we all see what vulnerabilities this team has against physical teams and this isn't anything new - its been a longstanding issue and for a defense that is light and predicated on speed. And speed is what they don't have enough of now at the S positions. Teams are getting to be more physical, and the Bills are not equipped to handle it on the back end of their D. They invested in the D Line, which is great, but you need to create opportunities for them to get home and that has been an issue before they went so heavy in investing in the DL this offseason. Bill Barnwell, who I'm not the biggest fan of because he lets stats drive the narrative rather than stats adding context to the obvious, makes a good point in a recent ESPN article about the Bills' D - it is pedestrian aside from turnovers the past couple of years. And that tracks. The fact that McD is saying "buckle down" and all that is great, and I'm sure that there were mistakes and bad plays contributing, but we could all see that they were outclassed for most of the game and just not talented enough on the back end.

And he benefitted from the reverse the year before when Josh had better stats but Lamar won MVP. Its a valid critique but equally applicable to the past 2 MVPs.

Hell yeah! Ed Oliver was awesome in that game. At least someone was holding it down on D. I actually thought the DL was pretty good, it was everything behind them that was problematic.

This is exactly right. Bernard goes full speed into the C peeling off instead of breaking down where the hole opened up. He may have been engaged by the C regardless, but it may have given the rest of the D some time to react. I'm not even sure where he was going at that angle like a bat out of hell. And honestly that was the only chance the Bills had at creating any disruption to Henry's momentum. This team is supposed to be built to get sideline to sideline in exchange for being a little lighter. They simply aren't fast enough (mentally or physically) at Safety to shore up any failures that happen in front of them and it is antithetical to their philosophy which is why it is baffling that they let last year's most glaring problem remain this year's most glaring problem. If you don't have people who cause enough disruption in coverage to let the DL get home or have the speed and ability to make tackles in the run game in the secondary you are just spinning your wheels no matter how much you invest in the DL. It isn't like the Ravens got creative and changed up their run game, they just did what they did last year but better because they had Flowers which the secondary had to respect.

The media hype about who could and should win versus the evolution that occurs during a season is always fun to watch, and it always comes down to the unexpected contributors, injuries, and playing your best when it matters most. I don’t take too much stock in the hype. I do think the Bills have a good shot but in my mind no one is the favorite. Opinions will swing wildly like trying to hold a slippery fish during the first few weeks as people try to project how everything plays out based on the early performances relying on irrational connections to past seasons and teams figuring things out. I do have reservations about how the D will hold up in the playoffs, but hope that McD evolves, and to me that is the biggest question - it has to be. It’s been the glaring issue, it’s been the place of heavy investment and it’s time that we see a better showing when it matters. And I worry that all the investment in the line is lost on the absolute inability for them to be disruptive bc they don’t have the ability to play tight enough coverage providing easy, quick throws and a porous pass defense. A ton of investment on that side of the ball for years and still major questions. I love what McD and Beane have done but at the same time this is where they’ve been bumping their heads and it’s very interesting that this is the major question about the team heading into the season. I think this is also the season where it is likely someone wants to pluck Brady for a HC gig after it. So I do think there is urgency to bring one home. I love that they aren’t saying it out loud while teams like the Ravens feel that they need to - that’s confidence and a mature team that knows this is a marathon. I think the offense will be better, and it may need to be for the first part of the season as the Defense figures things out.

A crippling trade for Green Bay if it doesn’t give them a huge lift. That’s a lot of cap space, and draft capital. He’s a good player but the Bills showed what to do against him.

I guess that is supposed to be the frozen parking lot feel. Textures like that on any shirt look like shirt without the r.

They would have actually been a lot" cooler" with some low weight red outlining to accompany the blue

He is a typical game manager type with very low mobility. Good quick release, knows where to throw the ball and how to read the D, but he doesn't have great pocket presence and think he does have some issues throwing the out routes

Kyle Trask in Tampa was a bit surprising as a 2nd round pick that didnt look awful but really has never had an opportunity to play much in his time with the Bucs. Although i get why the Bucs went with an experienced backup with their aspirations this year. Bridgewater was coaching HS football and getting in troubke doing it. Just weird that Bucs made that investment, and have had 3 OCs in his 4 preseasons. I thought Trask was over drafted but he is a very accurate passer and in the right offense could be pretty effective.

It'll be interesting - if he turns into a core ST player, then he'll dress a lot more than he won't and I would expect that to mean that players like Moore or Samuel may be inactive on gameday. Samuel you can probably count on being hurt or dealing with some type of nagging injury throughout the season.

Samuel has a terrible contract and not saying this is the case but it certainly feels like he is playing his leverage to some degree to skip camp, preseason and practice. Keeping him sends a bad signal too. He's also hard to trade bc you basically have to find a willing partner to take on 7+ mill this year for a guy that has done very little as a Bill and missed pretty much all of camp and preseason and has been dealing with some type of nagging injury for the past 3 seasons (23, 24, and this one). I absolutely hate the prospects that Samuel makes the team and Shaver's doesnt, but there's agood chance that is the case. I think keeping Samuel is just going to irritate everyone unless 30 catches and 300 yards for a guy that may or may not be 100% at some point is something that makes him invaluable. I think Moore has been available but i havent seen him make any plays that separate him from other fodder in the preseason. In fact if you were just looking at guys without knowing how they got to the Bills i think he'd easily be middle of the pack of guys who will be cut. I know practice matters and we only hear reports but i also think the games are what you are paid for and if dropping balls and losing yds on short passes keeps you on the team Shavers is doing it all wrong. Id be interested to see what Shavers could do and i do believe that he has the talent to makeplays with the starters but that is still an unknown so i get it.

This is exactly right. Consistency is what separates guys who are fringe to be on a roster from all-pros. Cole has shown way too much inconsistency, coupled with not a lot of flash.

I'm not as worried about White as the Safeties. White is a smart player that understands where he needs to be and how to play things. His physical abilities just aren't where they used to be. He will be a serviceable starter until Hairston is ready to start. Bishop better have just been rusty with being out and then limited, because they can't be happy with what they saw against Chicago. Hamlin is what he is, a guy that is limited in range and coverage and makes the D vulnerable and have to play differently. I think the Bills will be very actively looking for someone they can sign. Bishop just looks like a guy that doesn't have it, and I know that seems premature, but I've not seen a single thing from him that looks promising in any game he's played. Usually you can see the talent even if there are things that are clearly not up to par. I'm not seeing it. I'm not really sure why McD's defense puts such a high emphasis on the S position being so difficult. It just makes replacing people difficult. D is a lot of instinct and if you have guys overthinking things it can definitely cause them to look lost and mitigate what they may be good at. So could that be the case with Cole, maybe? Hopefully...but I don't think so. And here is the thing I see, which I admit I may be wrong about because I don't know what goes on everyday behind the scenes: you have what you have, and sometimes you have to make do and find ways to optimize it. Sometimes it feels like that isn't happening enough on the D side. It's very scheme primacy, rather than talent primacy. I think they do a ton of good things with player development, but also I feel like the talent is sometimes there and they are a little stubborn in how they want to use it. Again, just trying to figure out how there are misses in what Beane and co do on draft day with such high picks and what happens from there on the D side.