Success

I went through my mid-life crisis. The Bills were an alarmingly large part of it.

I'm guessing Stevenson. I thought he did really well (the muff was kind of a 1st game jitters thing, imo). He did some good tough running out there.

I don't care about the hype. I actually kind of like that the Pats are now being hyped to the moon, while the Bills are barely being mentioned. What I meant by "I'm glad I'm not a Pats fan" is that right now, I'd prefer to be a fan of a team that is still starting their journey. Not to generalize, but Pats fans have out-Yankeed Yankees fans in terms of being spoiled & having a sense of entitlement. Those aren't enviable qualities. Not all of course - but many.

Cripes...our "little one season of success." I'm so glad I'm not a Pats fan. Teams can actually win too much for their fanbase's good.

You're right. And the drought did instill that mentality, at least w/ me. I catch myself sometimes not enjoying wins or our new competitiveness as much these days. Belichick is like this weird dark cloud that just sort of looms over the game, especially when the Pats are getting this much hype.

I hope Star can play.

I spend too much time looking at Pats boards & listening to Bill Simmons' podcasts, but the bolded is definitely an understatement. Most of them think they have a Montana/Young situation, and are setting up for another long run w/ 6 more Lombardi's. It's already a given that he's clearly the best QB from that class.

He can also fix a sandwich in the pocket he has, while Allen is under duress immediately.

I haven't read through all of the responses, but I think Belichick makes it a wash. They're good enough where I'd call the teams even w/ the coaching advantage. And that's no criticism of McD. I think he's one of the best of that next tier of coaches. But Belichick's teams are more disciplined, and they rarely beat themselves. I can't say that about the Bills.

I haven't really seen that much improvement, so we'll have to disagree there. But he was playing well from the start. His game this past Sunday wasn't that different from earlier games. Since the Bills weren't playing, I was checking out one of the Pats boards during that game - at halftime, a pretty fair # of fans were dismayed w/ how Mac was playing. Over the course of the game, he threw what should have been 3 easy picks, including an easy pick 6 in the red zone that the defender just dropped (which would have changed the dynamics of that game). He rebounded in the 2nd half, but his biggest play was the 10-yarder to a wide open Bourne, that Bourne made a spectacular TD run out of. He's a good QB. As I keep saying, right now, he's playing like the scouts predicted: most pro-ready and ready to start on day 1, but lowest ceiling. I've seen comparisons to Garropolo, Dalton & Alex Smith, which I think are all fairly accurate to this point. He's a game manager.

It's a good question. The 1st thing I thought was, we need all 3 to really have the line we want. As far as most important, I'd have to go w/ Dawkins - some of his play has been a mystery to me. There were times against the Saints when he didn't seem to be trying (but I can't say I watch him closely during the game). We need him to be that franchise LT that he was signed to be.

I read it that way at 1st too, but I don't think that's how he meant it. He's saying after 2 years of that class, and what it was generally considered (not his own opinion). Classes like that - and like the current one - can't really be judged for at least 2-3 years, imo. Sometimes longer. QB's end up in a variety of situations, and so many are projects. Lance could end up the best from this class for all we know.

They might say the same about Mac's class in a few years. I think Jones is so hyped right now that it's much more likely he'll end up disappointing to an extent. But maybe not. Who knows.

Where did I say it isn't? Because he's playing this way as a rookie doesn't mean it's a natural trajectory to franchise QB, league MVP & HOF. This might be as good as he gets. Which is actually what scouts basically said about him - most pro ready, lowest ceiling.

Dallas was probably his best game. I'm not saying he hasn't been impressive. But he's been impressive for a rookie who is being perfectly coached & set up to succeed. As I've said, I think 4 of the 5 QB's selected first in that draft would likely be doing the same. The hype is over the top, but it might pan out. WAY too many pronouncements that this is the best QB from that draft. Allen's draft would have been ranked completely differently from how it is now in years 1 or 2. Jones has great protection & is never asked to carry the team, or be much more than efficient in a short passing game.

Belichick wins. I haven't seen Mac pull even one game out on his own yet.

I appreciate your belief in him, but he doesn't play against Dak or Brady. And man, was Brady off that game. I don't know if it was nerves or BB knowing him so well - but that game is probably a blowout 9x out of 10. The Pats scored 17 points - saying he went "toe to toe w/ Brady" kind of glosses over that. He really hasn't proven anything, except for efficiency & accuracy in an offense where he's not asked to do much, and that is designed specifically for what he does well. He has faced almost zero adversity in the NFL to this point. And he is protected as well as just about any other QB in the league. I can't believe the time he has in the pocket when I watch some of those games.

ESPN just talked about Mac & the Pats for a good 10 minutes. The only mention of Buffalo was that the "Bills Mafia is on notice." But the theme was 100% that the Bills had their year and the Pats are BACK.

Jones needs some adversity. I think they've been down a score once in the games that are in their win column. Put that team in a position where they HAVE to throw. Get them down 2 scores or more, on the road, in a nationally televised game - and let's see if the talent meets the hype.

That's a good perspective. Personally, I was hoping to blow them out twice a year for eternity, while they ended up picking between 8-11 in the draft every year.

I just have a feeling about Groot on MNF. Nothing scientific. But I think we hear his name a few times, favorably. Great summary. LOVED the new RB situation, as I think most here did. Breida brought in a dimension that we need, and seemed to bring out the best in Singletary. That is all this team needs...we don't need to have a spectacular run game. Just keep defenses honest. The return of some of the O-line should add to that. And personally, I liked Stevenson in the return game. He seems like a tougher, more instinctive runner. I didn't mind the muff & will chalk it up to 1st game jitters.

Scouting on this guy was really good - it sounds like health concerns are the only major drawback. High ceiling and brings a lot of physicality, which we need. I know, he'll likely never play. But I'm as good w/ this signing as anyone else who is out there. It's not like there are pro-bowlers just waiting for the call at this point of the season....

I would have taken a competent game manager at ANY point during the drought. I don't see it as a derogatory term at all. It wouldn't be my ideal, but a good game manager can take a team to the SB. Quite a few have. And that is certainly all that Jones is at this point. If he wasn't a Patriot, he wouldn't be talked about this way. He's playing perfectly for an extremely cautious, well-designed offense that doesn't ask too much of him and doesn't put him in bad situations. It's a huge step between that and carrying a franchise, being able to lead comebacks from multi-score deficits, needing to score in the red zone much more & making clutch plays at the end of a game. For all we know, this is as good as he will get. Nothing that has happened so far really contradicts the scouting on him.

Someone might have mentioned it, but BB said that the D was practicing punching the ball out all week last week. And they got 4 turnovers yesterday. Ball security & making sure those punts get off in time will be key. Come to think of it, let's avoid punting altogether.

At least on the internet, most Pats fans have written the Bills off as a threat. Mac Jones is already playing than Brady ever did in his 1st few years, the defense is the best in the league, they still have the GOAT coach, and the league should be cowering in the face of yet another Pats dynasty. It's not ALL Pats fans of course, but that seems to be the growing consensus. The media is right onboard, as well. Every narrative is "here we go again," and "at least the other teams in the division had a year." Which is all stuff I don't mind. The Bills didn't do well when they were hyped. I'm hoping they can get back on track being under the radar.