Success

That should be an easy thing for Allen to correct. It's pretty clear on the tape on some of the plays. He's adjusting to a new line, and a new style of play. It needs more than a single preseason game to come together.

Let's dream this one into existence. Love so many aspects of it. But none of it is outrageous - all are plausible scenarios.

What the Pats are doing reminds me so much of drought-era Bills. They have a better coach than any we had in that time, so there's that. But I remember having such confidence that we could grind out wins against the Pats and other high-flying teams with great D and a great running game. Didn't work for us, and won't work for them. Inevitably, you're going to be down more than a score, and you have to pass & score points.

Well, I'd say his finest is drafting a generational QB and building a roster that is consistently one of the top contenders for a title. This is probably just to get another guy in camp before the final cuts.

Great post. Re: the O-line observations: I just watched a good breakdown of the O-line play on youtube (Joe Marino - not sure if anyone has watched him, but it was great analysis). A lot of similar observations - Brown was solid, as was Dawkins & the interior. A couple of misses, but most of the pressure was JA sliding left or right when he could have stepped up in the pocket, or otherwise not managing the protection too well. That's really correctable stuff, and the overall conclusion was that people are WAY overreacting to how the line played in those series Josh was in.

I was around for wide right & the rest of it. I'm too invested at this point. They either win a SB, or I will have no peace.

People are overreacting about Dawkins and Brown. I'm not going to say "we're gonna be fine," but let's see how it looks in week 1. Dawkins is a very solid LT, and it sounds like Brown - while he had a couple of mistakes - has held up well so far in the preseason. With the upgrades at guard, this could be the best line we've had in years.

The hot takes here & nationally if we lose to the Jets are going to be off the charts.

I can't believe Beane didn't go after one of the many pro-bowl linemen that are still out there unsigned in mid-August....

Can anyone who watched all of the downs shed some light on Elam? Was he bad? I had some high hopes coming into this season. I thought he looked great at times last year, and like a guy who could easily move into the #2 spot after Tre. One preseason game doesn't mean that much - but it's starting to feel like he is not going to be a starter.

I dig it.

I'm not an expert. But it seems to me - being the Head Coach of a professional football team is a BIG job. You have to wrangle everything. It's like being the CEO of a company. I think it would be hard to be the CEO, and the national director of Sales. A HC has to look at the offense, ST and defense. They have to set a vision for the team in all 3 areas. They have to help with player evaluation and selection. They have to take ownership of all of the little things, like minimizing penalties and ensuring good overall gameplans on a week-to-week basis. They have to motivate the team every week, and monitor just about every player to know where there head is at. Are they unhappy about something? How is that injury? It's a big job. So is being the Defensive Coordinator of a team. More than anything, it's an overlapping set of huge responsibilities. I'm sure McD has thought that through. But I'm still concerned about it.

Glad to hear the observations on Brown. Reading the thread last night, I thought he was a disaster, but it sounds like he held up okay.

Around 80-85 years is just fine w/ me. Especially if we never win a SB.

Nice alliteration.

The rumblings out of camp were that Bernard was looking pretty solid & like he was ready to assume the starting role. All we can do is hope that's the case, and that he fills in capably. I don't expect that to be our strongest position on the defense, but we do need it to be solid.

I'm trying not to add to the negativity today, so this is just a question. I really don't know the answer. Preseason is a time for overreaction, but there were concerning things yesterday: the penalties and undisciplined play can't just be chalked up to it being preseason. The team looked unprepared, and sloppy. Those things are generally attributable to coaching. My biggest concern this season is that McD just has too much on his plate now. He is passionate about defense, and I think he'll be a good DC - but that passion could lead to a more singular focus on just that, since it's now his responsibility. The rest of the HC stuff might take a backseat. Thoughts?

I was expecting much more from the O-line this season - and in a small sample size, they looked worse. They showed the KC & Bills highlights back to back on ESPN yesterday. It was painfully easy to see how much more protection Mahomes has, and how much more time in the pocket. 2nd observation is that Kincaid is the real deal - looks to be a great draft pick. 3rd, even though it was not asked for, is that Elam may not be a starter. Which isn't great.

I was thinking all of these things, then you wrote them down. 100% agreed. I really hate preseason overreactions. But there was a lot to digest tonight, and it all can't be filed under "it's just preseason." I think the biggest concern I have is that McD has too much on his plate now. Penalties and general undisciplined play are not a good look at any time. I really hope we don't end up thinking that the combined HC/DC thing was an experiment that just didnt work. Gotta give it time, though. See if they can work out the kinks.

Zappe just made a great 40+ throw for a TD in the Pats game, after a meh showing by Jones. Take some solace in the fact that New England is about to continue their Losman/Edwards debate phase of mediocrity.

All of the comparisons to the Cincy game. I mean - that was actually a GAME.

For sure. That's actually my biggest concern. Even in preseason - that shouldn't be happening.

The issue w/ preseason is that as fans, we have been starved for football. It's a long wait. When we finally get to see the starters, we want fireworks. We want to look like we're gonna look. But that just ain't the way in the preseason. Not that there aren't concerning things going on. But it's easy to overreact.

It's either: 1) Glad we had this in the preseason - get all of the mistakes out now, look terrible, show up in week 1 w/ lessons learned & ready to go 2) Everyone outside Buffalo is right, the Bills window has closed, and NIck Wright is smiling I'll take door # 1 all day, every day.

That's conventional wisdom. BUT, if Allen just missed a few weeks or something, you need a guy who can hold it steady. It's not all or nothing.