Ayjent

like putting mentos in a coke bottle

Jackson is who teams target most of the time. He’s not getting beat by much but he doesn’t do enough to break up the pass with his position even when he has good coverage. Hamlin is the real liability in the secondary.

The running game is starting to be more effective to dictate the game and I will give the Offensive staff credit for that as we saw them strangle the Pats D with the run game and good Defense and then take over the fourth with a good balance predicated on effective running against Miami. It seemed to me that once Morse went out they took some time to adjust and once they realized they could run effectively things worked out. That is who they need to be a team that is balanced and can use play action to get space and matchups for the receivers. Getting Knox more involved was huge and I wonder if they should use Cook more in the slot. McKenzie is someone who just isn’t getting the ball in space, even though I’m not a big fan after seeing him in a more prominent role. I haven’t watched all 22 to see if that is a McKenzie issue, a play design issue, an Allen issue or a blocking issue. I’m sure it’s some combo of all of those things but the truth is that the Bills arent getting much YAC and McKenzie and Cook were supposed to change that. Why the offense has gotten away from timing routes is batted balls from what I can tell and the one obvious attempt to use play action on a Diggs slant that may have been a huge play was deflected on Saturday night. Teams are spying Allen so there should be favorable matchups out of the backfield and slot. The Bills play calling should also use more designed passes that look like QB designed runs. Especially ones that create space by having the spy commit to pursuit creating holes over the spy and under the deep coverage. The passing game lacks a rhythm and is really predicated on Josh escaping and making something happen. Teams are lining up wide on the D line as well and that makes sense because the Bills most physical running back is Singletary and he is a strong back but not some one that is just going to impose his physicality over the course of a game and the Bills aren’t committed to exploiting the weaknesses of such formations enough to make teams think twice about doing it. The passing game just doesn’t seem to have many free runners despite having a really dangerous threat at QB to run it. For those saying it is play design I’d have to say you are likely right, because I’m not seeing great play design unless Josh is just deciding to not execute the easy designed play. Seeing Diggs getting upset as much as he has this season says to me that things are there but something is going wrong in execution as well. The main point is that the Offense has another gear that we can all see and for whatever reason they aren’t in that gear.

Beane deserves a lot of credit for this roster but also the blame for its weaknesses. They’ve failed to get an OLine that is better than average, not investing enough in the draft at those positions or missing when they do. They’ve failed to get more physical despite having to play in conditions that dictate you have that ability when it matters most, especially with the backs and they’ve had the opportunity to shore that up. They’ve not actually drafted any good depth at safety and it shows with Hyde’s injury. There are certainly things to get mad at Dorsey for but the personnel issues are a lot of the real problem. Davis is a fine receiver but they don’t scare anyone underneath at the slot and they need to get more creative in their routes because every throw seems to be contested rather than open by good design.

They need to play Shakir more. He is slippery after catching the ball and I feel like the Bills offense was playing its best in the passing game with him getting significant snaps. Honestly it’s something that has baffled me since the early flashes that he hasn’t been incorporated more. Why Stevenson continues to survive the roster is equally as baffling. He was an awful returner and looks super stiff as a receiver.

Part of me wonders if the owners are just done worrying about the consequences of anything Snyder has. I’m sure he has stuff on Ross, Irsay, Jones, Davis and a few others - easy pickings. However, the stadium issue is real for the team, and the owners have a legitimate reason to want him out because he is so toxic that no one wants to give Snyder a deal and it comes down to that. The team is worth a lot but he has devalued the franchise and no one is excited about them, knowing the best they’ll get is a playoff tease or low seed followed by disappointment. You do wonder if he’s going to eventually float moving the team to create leverage (maybe he has but I haven’t heard that). The only thing stopping that is that he wants the team in the DC region, but I can see that tactic as an option, but not sure where he’d find a region willing partner (St. Louis?). He’d also cause an outrage in this region that would turn up the heat on the NFL to do something. So it would be a risky move by Snyder. I’m sure somewhere would welcome the team with a new stadium/deal but I’m pretty sure the owners would have to approve and see that’s where the owners would have him dead to rights. Will they just deal with the carnage necessary to do it is the only question really.

They don’t get over it as much as they use it productively. The article does go there but buries it under some other premise of moving on. I suppose it’s all semantics, really, saying that they don’t hold on to the pain and use it to focus, but I do think the pain is there it’s just the type of pain that makes eventual success that much sweeter as a competitor. You can’t forget a wound like that, but you can stop the feeling of suffering and turn it into improvement and dedication. That’s what highly competitive people do - they use it to drive them and motivate them. If they just got over it, then it wouldn’t be a thing. The Bills wanted to show the Rams that they would’ve kicked their asses had it been them in the Super Bowl and thrash the Titans that had their number the past few years. They didn’t forget, they used it as motivation for this season. I fully expect them to be jacked up for KC and look sharp on both sides of the ball.

Great article. McKenna - an absolute thorn in Snyder’s side. The thing is the guy is so detested by fans of the team that most just say something like “just sell the team already”, or “I don’t even want to talk about them”. Most are resigned to the reality that he won’t sell the team unless forced and that he won’t ever be forced to. If taking a bunch of cheerleaders to Central America and offering them up as escorts isn’t going to get any movement there I’m not sure what will. The new team name and uniforms are pretty much on par for the franchise - amongst the worst in the NFL if not the worst. Washington Football Team was 100x better and that was awful and embarrassing in its own right. It’s like it was designed to be despised.

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/467845/on-the-matter-of-dan-snyders-horns/. Authors https://dcist.com/story/11/02/03/snyder-suit-accuses-city-paper-of-a/ Managing editor I don’t know what you speak of regarding LDS, but let’s just say it certainly is closer to National Lampoon than the Book of Mormon. I live in DC and I’ve been reading this publication for a long time. I followed the lawsuit fairly close bc he tried to shut the paper down, and it’s definitely true what I said about its authorship and management.

Snyder earned every bit of media coverage he’s received and many media outlets in Washington handled him with kid gloves for years before finally turning on him. A little independent and very well respected Washington City Paper did a tremendous and rundown of his terrible behavior up to the date of publication. He’s a special POS and that piece was written over 10 years ago - he tried to sue that paper for defamation and claimed anti-semitism (despite the paper being predominately Jewish run and authored ). https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/221900/the-cranky-redskins-fans-guide-to-dan-snyder/ Funny thing is this guy is always promising better but continually delivering worse. And he is a giant POS regardless of anything else he does. I’m sure he’s in good company with the rest of the owners, too. He bought a storied franchise and exploited its fan base to the point people who absolutely were diehards don’t even watch them anymore. The season ticket was a coveted prize that took years and years of waiting to get - not even something they can sell enough of. The game day experience blows - I went opening day, Monday night game several years ago and it was a generic, expensive experience that featured fans of the team about to fight each other that was the most memorable part of the experience. Tailgating was virtually non existent. The stadium itself is sorry. The location is miserable. Parking was outrageous even by NFL standards. This just isn’t some public enemy of the moment - he’s a turd and has been lowering the bar for NFL franchises for a long time. The media has its issues with being compromised by its revenue sources and possibilities of having access limited more than anything else. Dan Snyder has no integrity and of all times to complain about media this is probably one of the worst examples you could use.

AJ was kicked by Pickett in the midsection coming off the pile. No call. That’s where it started getting heated. You could argue it got heated when Hamlin hit Pickett, but things seemed to settle down a bit after. You can see AJ has all out attack mode the next couple plays and gets taken down wiith what should’ve been a penalty. No call. Lawson then hits Pickett low as he is throwing outside the pocket where things explode. A penalty? Not by rules but you can understand the reaction of the Steelers’ players protecting their guy. AJ was actually helping to keep Lawson from picking up a penalty and further interaction. Hussey came in and needlessly pushed AJ. AJ shouldn’t have reacted the way he did but you can understand why. I’m sure McD didn’t like any of it but there is plenty of blame to spread. The refs did very little to defuse what was clearly mounting in the meaningless minutes of a long decided game

There are two elite QBs - Josh and Mahomes. The rest are quite a distance behind them, especially as Rodgers and Brady are clearly declining and Others aren’t quite close. Herbert has the tools and numbers but he doesn’t quite have the intangibles. You ask any GM in the league anonymously and there are only two legit choices and everyone knows it. 5 games on the front end of the season is still very early so we’ll see how this list looks by week 17.

Good stuff Shaw. It really is surreal watching these Bills have games like this and Titans. They aren’t even playing clean, mistake free games. Turnovers, miscues, dropped passes still happened as you pointed out but only changed the margin of victory. This team is also fiery and feisty which hasn’t really been their DNA in the previous years. I think with a few exceptions (namely 17) this team was a bit soft against physical teams, especially defensively in the past few seasons. Not anymore. They played hard all game even when it was long decided. I’m sure the coaches aren’t thrilled with Lawson and Epeneza letting their emotions get out of control, but as a fan what I saw were guys taking exception to Pickett being a punk, especially after kicking Epeneza as he was coming off the pile. They wanted to dominate and they didn’t want to give the coaches any reason to limit snaps. The refs missed an easy call on Pickett kicking and it escalated over the next few plays, which is why I’m sure Epeneza was irritated with the ref ( no excuse for what everyone knows is off limits). Pickett was getting hit hard and he seems like competitor but he also seems like pretty overconfident A-hole. The Bills had some nasty bang bang plays on Pickett but they don’t give you red Jersey for game day (at least not yet) and if you try extending plays or running for yards good luck. If you don’t like getting hit then don’t take those chances. The offense looks more dynamic with Shakir out there and I think it opens up the field more for everyone. That kid looks like a mix between Woods (his slight and deceiving cuts) and Reed (long upper body with good body control) but he has a long way to go before being in the conversation with anything other than physical traits. A healthy Gabe is a huge difference maker as well. He is so good on the deep ball and you can see how much work he has done over the years to become the player he is. I’d love to see the Bills get more going on the ground but seeing Cook finally have a big play to totally ice it was really nice. Motor had a few good runs. They aren’t really committed to running but I thought we’d see more runs in the fourth quarter. I think they know running is not their bread and butter but I’d like to think they are going to try to evolve as the seasons change.

Watching McDaniels continue to double down on his position that he was confident Tua was fine in light of the obvious is like a slow motion train wreck. Everybody who watched both games knows what happened and why - the most obvious evidence was for everyone to observe and overshadows any more specific testing that occurred. McDaniel’s rationalizations in light of the obvious are attempts to cast something for people to hold on to support him as the Dolphins are winning and off to a good start and that is all that is going on. The dissonance in his messaging would be comical if the real consequences of his BS weren’t so impactful to a player’s long term health. A back injury? That makes it better somehow? This is a joke and that some will stand behind or say it raises legitimate questions about what happened is just taking the bait. Don’t take the bait. It’s embarrassing for the league but it’s not exactly surprising

The Bills offense really had no one helping Josh in the first half. Too many dropped balls and bad routes. I know that was partly conditions but the Bills nearly let the game get too far away from them bc of it. One particularly frustrating series was where Allen got a completion on first down followed by two on target passes that the receivers dropped (Cook and Crowder). The receivers need to step up and I couldn’t help but think to look for Diggs more even with a lot of attention. Shakir looks pretty good to me - very smooth running after the catch. Not a blazing speed demon but a lot like Robert Woods. He stepped up in the slot and I think the team is going to be better for it when McKenzie is back (doesn’t look like crowder will be back anytime soon). They may want to rest Gabe Davis one more week bc it’s clear he isn’t 100%. The running game design leaves something to be desired bc too many slow developing plays out of spread formations and ineffectiveness from the interior line in short tight sets. Morse doesn’t seem to get any push in those situations and there hasn’t been much help from guards either. We don’t have a back that can make those yards despite those issues. It was why I was banging the drum for Dameon Pierce before the draft - a great short yardage ability and good receiver for his size. The type of guy to bring a physical element to the run game. I’ve been trying to talk myself into Cook since they drafted him but I wasn’t that impressed with him in college and I’m still not impressed. The team has plenty of shifty speedy players but they need physicality for tough games and they still don’t have it beyond 17. Moss can be physical but he hasn’t shown to be a solution for short yardage. Despite all of that they still got some things going in second half running the ball. The Defense is really good. That’s who won the game plain and simple. The Bills offense spotted the Ravens some points with turnovers and the D wasn’t quite tuned at the start of the game, but you could see them constricting tighter and tighter as the game went on. Tremaine Edmunds and Milano played lights out. The pressure by Edmunds where he kept his feet instead of flailing for Jackson (where Jackson routinely escapes) was impressive bc Jackson thought he was going to slip out of the pressure and was surprised when he realized he had no chance. Huge play to keep Bills momentum. Milano had several open field stops on Jackson where Jackson is very hard to tackle. You stop the effectiveness of the Ravens run game and Jackson’s ability to freelance and they are not effective - the Bills adjusted and exposed that for the last 2.5 quarters. I also think McD was riding the refs about not calling penalties that were obvious early on - the Ravens were challenging the refs to call penalties with several holds on the Bills D linemen and being especially aggressive with contact on receivers. It worked to frustrate the Bills early on and the refs let it play without many penalties. Speaking of penalties - I’ve heard a lot of people criticize the roughing the passer call on Allen in the 4th quarter but I felt that was a long overdue call where the Ravens had several gratuitous shots on Allen where he’d given himself up and could’ve been called. I think it goes back to Allen and McD riding the refs and finally getting a call, even if it wasn’t the most deserving of plays. A great win for the team and we are nitpicking the weaknesses of a very good team - teams evolve during the season but you start to see the character after the first 4 games.

All that we know is that they say they have a protocol, but whether or not the protocol is followed as intended or easily maneuvered around by teams and/or players is a whole different story. And lets say everything was as intended and it's a legitimate protocol, which I don't believe, but let's make believe and buy that for a second. Common sense has to be employed here bc it doesn't take a medical degree to see a person hit their head in the way Tua did on Sunday followed by a reaction to know that' it was a bad injury, and likely a brain injury. We all know that is nothing to gamble with due to the potential severity in light of all of the recent studies. Whatever those protocol tests were, assuming everything was done legitimately, didn't take the obvious chain of events that lead to the tests enough weight. It's like seeing someone break their leg and having a doctor check the top and bottom of the bone for fractures while ignoring that middle where the players leg was moving in unnatural ways. Everyone can see it is broken but the doctor says "You passed the broken leg protocol". The league wants to report less concussions like they are making positive strides, and you can see how that might lead to a situation where the league persuades "independent" doctors (paid by the NFL) to use a more conservative approach in declaring concussions. The teams and players aren't always going to make the best choices if the discretion is left to them to utilize good judgment (the NFL of the past). Now its even harder when a medical professional green lights it and the team and player have to use the same discretion in light of that questionable call. It's stupid by all involved because it looks like what it is - a sports league that isn't really doing enough to prevent brain injuries despite trying to say it is.

The NFL has never been one to pursue accountability beyond the players until it is undeniably blatant and even then it is iffy it involves the organization rather than specific actors. I love football but the NFL really does allow some horrible crap to occur without much accountability. If the protocol is easy to navigate around then it’s all for optics with no meaning which sounds about right, bc that’s just how insincere most measures to protect or promote employee well being are within organizations. And don’t get me wrong there is personal accountability of Tua here too, but people dedicated to their craft and their colleagues/teammates are conditioned to do what’s best for the team, especially in sports. As far as NFLPA getting anywhere - hard to say and depends on several factors, including how the Dolphins and NFL handle this moving forward. They are doing what they can by exerting pressure exploring legal avenues, pursing investigations and making public comments, but they are up against super connected Billionaires who are pretty much shielded from accountability and really own the league - not exactly an easy task. These players make good money but it’s chump change to these owners and the well paid ones are pretty reluctant to speak out. I’m always wary of people who say “trust me” or “I’m going to be straight with you…”. It’s pretty much signaling that your BS meter should going off.

That’s the school of Shanahan - no one is more important than HC, players are replaceable parts. You get the impression Tua is a dude conditioned to play ball at all costs for everyone based on what they said last night in the broadcast. The whole narrative the broadcast team had was true irony as everything unfolded down to the interception and injury - it was clear nothing really changed except talent around him.

TheDolphins crash the line of scrimmage and blitz a ton. You beat that by good blocking and quick hitting plays in run and pass game. Our OL wasn’t up to task to blow them out of water due to injuries but really they still played very well on Offense as unit. It was poor execution in scoring position, poor clock management, a missed gimme FG and a dropped pick 6 by Milano that cost them the game. Dolphins had everything go their way for the most part and lucked out a W against a team decimated by heat exhaustion and injuries. Sometimes the better team doesn’t win.

Dan Snyder might have to step his game. Snyder is just cruel to everyone - how else can you explain signing prince Harry as your QB and that awful choice for a team name with the worst uniforms since those jags two tone helmets.

It’s clear that the NFL and Dolphins think people are stupid or just complicit enough to not care to dismiss what is obvious to anyone watching the Dolphins past two games. The dude suffered two severe concussions that signaled severe trauma by his body’s response (spaghetti legs and then the frightening neuro response last night). Whatever vocabulary they use to describe both injuries it wasn’t safe to play and if Tua was smart and the people around truly supportive he’d reassess ever playing again if not this year. I have no love for the Dolphins but that is just scary stuff that isn’t worth it. Not immediately but yeah several from CTE.

Jordan Phillips played a hell of a game and the DL didn’t miss a beat with Oliver out of lineup bc of it. That spin move sack he had was nasty and he crushed Stafford on another play that Stafford just got it away on. So glad he is back. I think Crowder laid claim to being option 1 in the slot. Just looks more steady even though McK is more explosive. Collinsworth actually called it right - McKenzie might be the better option when teams play man and Crowder is better against zone. I think they both get a lot of snaps regardless and I think we’ll see Shakir in the mix too as the season progresses.

He was really solid at UCF and big part of a really talented “National Championship” team in Frost’s last season. I really liked the pick but worried about his hands, but the work he puts in is a big part of his continued improvement and that is a talent you can’t measure at the combine. I’m sure being a part of a good organization with a guy like Josh at QB doesn’t hurt either.

We don't need more games, and I really don't even like that they added a game last season. Watered down roster management just makes watching a casual non-Bills game even less interesting or a game that looks great to tune into turn into meh.

So the Dolphins are going to try rub routes and bubble screens to Hill. Sounds like Hill will take a beating as teams leave Strong Safety/LBs in middle zone to clean up. Hell even take a 15 yd penalty for defenseless WR to set the tone. I think Hill is in for a rude awakening when Tua can’t extend plays like Mahomes and doesn’t get him the ball on time. We’ll see how he feels mid season about it, bc right now it’s just meaningless cheerleading. There is no question Hill opened up the Chiefs offense, but Mahomes isn’t going to suddenly suck without him.