Success

I'm so glad he's out of the division. Almost 20 years. We were the fans of a team that had to be in the same division as the clear GOAT for that long. The Bills were poorly run during that time, but would it have mattered if we were well run? I'll appreciate what he's accomplished one of these days.

I feel like this is one where "eye test" matters a bit. Also, it's hard to put context around some of the stats. I don't know how much stock we can put on the running stats when we hardly run - or the passing stats when all we really do is pass. Interesting #'s, though. I'd be surprised (as I'm sure many would) if the focus of the offseason isn't the trenches. I doubt we see any big moves or high draft picks on skill positions, or the secondary on D.

Brady is Jordan to me. When Jordan was playing, I really couldn't stand him. I'm a Knicks fan, and he just stood in the way - in the same frustrating, "always finds a way to win" fashion. I definitely spent some time arguing that it was his coaching, or his team, or something aside from what pretty much everyone understands: he's the terminator, and no one can really touch him. A few years ago, I took my kids to the HOF, and I was like, "I saw the flu game!" I'll appreciate Brady quite a bit more after he retires.

I agree w/ all of that. And w/ the posts saying how he single-handedly changed the culture there, and knew how to motivate his teammates. The SB was really just the icing on the cake he had already baked to near perfection. Probably not the smartest thread in retrospect. I saw the comment and figured it might be interesting to discuss. Looking back at it, I realize it's just me futilely shaking my fists at the sky for the umpteenth time in 20 years, and shouting to no one, "BRADY!!!"

It's cool, and you're not really wrong. I shouldn't have started 2 threads about essentially the same thing. The post-game narratives, typically, got to me. Particularly Romo's late-game "well, now Mahomes has to win 8 to be considered the greatest" thing. As though the argument is all rings, all day. I'm not a Brady/GOAT truther. I've thought he was the GOAT for years now, irrespective of rings.

I think my problem is that I look at things from too nuanced of a perspective. For example, people look at the NFCCG, and say "Brady beat Rodgers." But Rodgers wasn't on defense for the 1st half hail mary. And in the 2nd half, his biggest mistake was not seeing the clear lane to the endzone if he just ran to the right, while Brady's 2nd half mistakes included 3 picks. But, the narrative will always be that Brady was "clutch" in that game, and that Rodgers "choked again." It's easier to just say "Brady beat Rodgers."

It's downplaying to dare suggest that football might be a team game, and that rings are often a team accomplishment? I'll try to pipe down about that going forward.

A few posters have made this point, and it's a good one. Brady absolutely brings a culture change to any team (in addition to instantly making any team the most popular FA destination). There was also a report that he was texting & calling his teammates every day over the past 2 weeks, just saying "we're going to win." TB is the most driven person I have ever seen - even outside of sports - and that will to win has to be infectious.

He's the GOAT, and I'm not trying to minimize him. What he did is quite an accomplishment. But it can also be true that quite a few other QB's could have won w/ the Bucs D holding KC to 3 FG's. I just don't like the narratives that come out of a game like that. I've lost count of the # of times I've seen "Brady beat Mahomes" or "For Mahomes to become the GOAT, you have to beat the GOAT." They don't play each other. If Mahomes was on the Bucs, he wins that game. If Brady was on KC, he loses.

There were penalties that I still remember to this day. The one on Hughes where I think his hand brushed by Brady's head w/ a few inches to spare & got 15 yards. There was also a game where we were playing pretty competitively w/ them, and Brady got 3 PI's in or near the endzone in the 1st half, that basically put the game out of reach early. And they were all ticky tacky. It seemed very one-sided over the years, and that's even w/ acknowledging that I can be as much of a homer as anyone when it comes to officiating. It was tough when they were so much better than us - they didn't need the extra lift from the officiating.

I saw this comment on twitter. Thoughts? I might not agree w/ 20 - but I'd say 10 or so. In the aftermath, the focus is Brady, Brady, Brady, and he got the MVP (as QB's do). Obviously, there is something to the fact that he has led his team to that game so many times over the years, and doing it again at 43 is newsworthy & noteworthy. He played okay. He had a good 1st half. If KC's offense had played like KC's offense, he wouldn't have played well enough to get the win. And this was following a 3 pick half in the NFCCG. Imo, that defense deserves 80% or so of the credit for the W. And even more in the NFCCG.

That would be my guess, for sure. Of all the possible match-ups to start the season, that's one of the most intriguing. I'm all for it. Bring on the old man.

This, SB loss hangover & Beane making better offseason moves = Bills taking the AFC next season.

Yep. We couldn't duplicate what the Bucs did in our game against the Chiefs, or even come close to it. Our coaches are smart. Playing soft and bend/don't break was a risk, but they deemed it was their best chance. I can't fault that, even though it didn't work. We don't have the kind of players on D that the Bucs do.

Thinking about it, our SB chances probably ended w/ something that doesn't get talked about too much - Beasley breaking his fibula. With a fully healthy Diggs & Beasley, we could probably overcome an 80% Brown & Davis against anyone. It would be close, but I think our O would still move. With Beasley struggling and no elite TE to throw to, we were too easy to defend.

Yep. Always tough to adjust the day after the SB. Things all of a sudden feel a bit empty. At least this year we had great Bills football all through January. What a difference. I can't wait to see what the offseason has in store for us, and what our team will look like heading into next season.

In general, pundits and fans have to stop talking like QB's play each other. They ALWAYS did that w/ Brady and Manning. Especially early in Manning's career, when the Pats owned him - it was always "Look how much cooler Brady is in the game - the bright lights get to Manning more." Well, Brady never had to face a BB designed defense year after year, and figure that out. And it was the same w/ Mahomes & Allen 2 weeks ago. It was literally some sort of consensus that Mahomes had some sort of "mental" edge, and handled pressure better. What pressure? We hardly touched him. Meanwhile, Allen had guys in his face all day.

Fair points. I agree about Allen. I would NOT trade Allen for Mahomes right now. I think they're close, and I think Allen has a higher ceiling. It was weird watching last night. It almost looked like a mirror image of the game we had w/ them - especially the way Mahomes was running from pressure all night, sometimes retreating 20+ yards from the LOS. There were so many hot takes after our game w/ them that it showed the "mental" advantage Mahomes had over Allen - but clearly, pressure makes a difference. Still, I thought he made some amazing escapes and throws last night. But we've seen Allen do the same under pressure.

Mahomes was actually spectacular in one of the worst SB performances a QB has had in recent years. Some of those throws while he was falling down were just jaw dropping. His receivers weren't helping him.

I wouldn't want to face the Bucs if we get there next year. A lot can change from season to season, but at this point, it's simply not fair: when you have a player at the most important position in football who has been to TEN Super Bowls - half of the years of his career - it's a completely lopsided advantage. You just can't match that with anything else.

One thing that got lost - and that I originally thought would be looked back on as a big turning point - was the Chiefs goal-line stand. That was spectacular. Wasted ultimately - but pretty inspired at the time.

Maybe I'm off, but that doesn't seem obviously uncatchable to me. It's hard to tell where he would be without the trip.

That timeout was kind of inexplicable. Once TB gets it to 3rd & short, you abandon the idea of getting the ball back. There were just over 40 seconds left - the risk/reward isn't there at all in that situation. Even if you get the ball back, with no timeouts, there is a slim chance of scoring. That basically ended the game. Looking at twitter, it really harkened back to some of Reid's clock management issues in the past.

The only athlete I can compare Brady to is Michael Jordan. I love Manning and Rodgers - but both of those guys have had moments that they could have seized, and seemed to shrink from. I never had the impression with either that they felt 100% great about having the ball in a critical moment, late in a big game. Both have had spectacular plays in those situations, but both have come up small, as well. Brady & Jordan both have, for lack of a better term, that "psycho thing." It's almost beyond killer instinct. It's like they live for those situations where everything is on the line and a billion people are watching.

Great post. I remember when the Colts had Manning - and we've seen this in other places: when a team gets such a good QB, the temptation is to try to acquire skill position players high in the draft & FA. But success lies in building up the lines. Win those trenches. That was the Pats blueprint all of those years - outside of Moss, they never went out of their way for skill positions. And great point about Oliver. The better all of the players are on the line, the better everyone is.