Success

I think "window" is used too much in sports. It's not as fixed as we make it sound, particularly when you have an elite QB.

This helped my mood today. We'll be a different team after the bye w/ some of the guys we're adding & getting back from injury. Even having Kincaid last night probably = a win. I'm hoping for post-Hail Murray kind of run.

I was really impressed with Oliver & Walker yesterday. I think Hoecht will actually be a very big addition, especially against the run. If Hairston plays like a high round pick, I could see the defense being significantly better than what we have seen so far. They won't be elite, but they could crack the top 15, which is what we need. I'm hoping for an add by the deadline in the secondary. On offense, if we can add a WR - in addition to getting Kincaid, Palmer & Samuel back - we can be a 30 PPG team again. Of course, we'd have to stay relatively healthy from there. But if we can, we can still be one of the top 3 teams by the end of this season. Parcells used to say that the season didn't really start until November, or something like that.

I knew it was bad - I didn't think it was THIS bad. They're really been riding the coattails of picking the best QB in the draft the year we got Allen. Otherwise, this is a truly terrible track record. And we overpay for quite a few pretty average players, giving us even fewer options to improve the roster. It's all pretty sad. Even if they replaced Beane today, it might take years for a new GM to right the ship.

As bad as that loss was - I think if any of Samuel, Palmer or Kincaid was in the game, we win. I can't remember us punting so much in a game. The announcers were talking about it at length in the 2nd half - Allen really only had Shakir to look to reliably, and you could see that in how the offense played. There were quite a few times where Allen was able to evade the rush but clearly could not find anyone open.

I have no idea why - but I keep getting vibes from the "Hail Murray" season. I felt a lot about that game like I felt about last night. At the time, it felt like it might completely sidetrack the season - but instead, the team won every game until they lost in the playoffs. I think w/ the bye, and getting back to some health, AND hopefully a trade for a WR - we can go on a good run.

This seems a little gloomy to me. I don't think this is a very good Bills team - but the AFC is so middlin' right now. Last night was a bummer, but we were really missing a lot of guys, particularly receivers (no Kincaid, no Samuel, no Palmer most of the game). That really turned a pretty winnable game into a loss. And I fully expect a trade for WR by the deadline. I think we get 12 wins, which likely wins the division.

I have a hunch we'll end up w/ Meyers. Olave would be the needle-mover, but it just seems like Meyers is the kind of guy Beane would target instead. It's a whelming move if we do it, but Meyers can play & any addition helps at this point. Olave would put us right back in the driver's seat for the 1 seed.

I'm mainly dismayed by the fact that at no point this season have we looked like a Super Bowl contender. We were thrilled after the Ravens comeback - but we were dominated most of that game. It's great to have resiliency like that, but we once again gave up close to 250 yards to Henry. We needed a late break/turnover to win that one - and it was the same w/ Miami. The Saints game was tough, and we lost to the Pats & Falcons. We only looked decent against the Jets. Going pure eye test - this actually looks like the worst team of the JA era. We're all putting quite a bit of hope in the idea that the suspension guys & Hairston will have a very significant impact on our defense, and our WR corps can be completely healthy in the playoffs (and even then, they're bottom 10 in the league).

People were going bananas after his game Sunday. I watched a lot of that game. Maybe I'm just in denial. Still not seeing it. He's definitely skilled and has a great arm, but the play on the field isn't matching the hype, which is at a very high level.

The O was a little more intact. Kincaid & Palmer being out definitely hurt, but it shouldn't result in the # of punts we saw tonight. I get what you're saying. But we're still lacking, even healthy.

This is a good, pretty rational post & reminder. But we haven't looked good basically all season. That Ravens upset was a huge high and it felt like we might roll after that - but it was also pretty flukey. We looked bad & outclassed most of that game. We didn't look all that good against Miami or NO either. I'm absolutely willing to see how we look after the bye, and getting some guys back - and really, I don't have a choice on that. But my confidence was rattled tonight. I thought after that Pats game, we'd respond, even w/ the injuries.

We're an impossibly easy team to plan for right now. We're easy to stop on offense, and we're easy to beat on defense. Players have some of their best games against this Bills team.

It would be borderline tragic to not at least add a receiver. And a receiver that is clearly head & shoulders above any that we have now. There are guys out there. If they're serious THIS year, I don't know how they stand pat.

I'm not 2nd guessing this game like that. I did that for days after last week's game. I'd be an idiot to say "I'm glad we lost." But part of me is glad we didn't find some flukey way to win. We're banged up - but this is our team right now. What we saw is our team, and has been all season. We could easily be .500 or even have a losing record right now. We got one of those plays against Miami, and the Ravens. Games we probably shouldn't have won. I can't say I'm giving up on the season, but we won't compete for a title this year unless Beane does something fairly dramatic at the deadline. We're just not a good team outside of Allen, Cook, Oliver - maybe a couple more guys.

Anyone else envy the Falcons a bit? They remind me of the team we were right after the "Hail Murray." Young, talented, and probably about to go on a nice run. The jury is out on Penix, but that's a fun, good team.

I thought Strong actually looked really good in there, but I've heard nothing on him. But we basically need 1 of 2 rookies to be really good. I don't even think Benford has been playing all that well. Johnson looked a little better tonight. Man, it almost feels like we're rebuilding.

All our receivers would look a lot better if we had a true #1. It's a glaring deficiency.

I agree w/ every word of that wholeheartedly. Every part of that OP is 100% spot on. How did we get here? I always dismissed talk of windows closing, with the old standby "we've got Josh." But we have asked way too much of Josh for way too long, and no doubt about it - what he's not saying w/ words, he is saying w/ his body language and expressions. Our window is closing, or closed. A player like Allen can definitely get a 2nd window, but this isn't where I expected to be in week 6. I agree. But we should NOT have to steal a win against a team like Atlanta. And that is no disrespect to them - they are building a good thing there. But we're supposed to be on another level, and we were coming off of a tough primetime loss. This game shouldn't have been a loss, and it shouldn't have been close. It really wasn't close, but not the way we would have thought. I'm glad we didn't get a play to turn it, in a way. It would have let us celebrate and largely ignore the glaring problems on this team.

This is, imo, the worst overall team we have had in the JA era. I've been a Beane supporter - but how can that not be a reflection on the GM? You take Allen off of this team, and we might be picking in the top 3 of next year's draft.

It's pretty clear why he's regressing. He has no receivers who get open who he can throw to.

I'd call that overly pessimistic.

Unless Beane gives up on the season - unlikely - he HAS to make a marquee kind of move at the deadline. A true #1 receiver. I don't care what we give up. Herm Edwards just said it - we have NO ONE who scares the opposing team or opposing DC's. If we got a true #1, it would make everyone better. And finally give Josh someone he can get the ball to without forcing into coverage.

Alright, alright. Everyone can panic now. Happy? Freak out to your heart's delight. Scream & run around. It's time.

Does anyone even want to make a Super Bowl w/ this defense? I've been through those days. They are as bad as it gets.