Success

Thanks for the good wishes. I've always pulled for the Colts (especially in the Manning/Brady days!). I watched the replay last night, and still can't believe the Bills pulled it out. In many ways, the Colts dominated that game. There are no real weaknesses that I can see on that team, and they have a lot of great young players. Bright future ahead, imo. And I think there has been way too much second-guessing of Reich. Fortune generally favors the bold, and he was bold - if those plays were executed, people would be praising his aggressiveness. That's just how the game is. He coached an excellent game and had that team ready to play.

That clip is clownish. That guy is the heir to Bayless. He's not the only one though. Josh's only really bad play was that sack/fumble - but my goodness. It was ONE PLAY. Which QB played a perfect game this weekend? I missed it if there was one.

It's hard not to agree w/ most of what he says - that game was almost entirely Allen, and we were dominated at both sides on the LOS. The Colts basically controlled that game. It's also a teensy bit of a hot take. I need to see a pattern there - the team we saw Saturday isn't the same team we saw over the past 6-8 weeks. That team's defense was swarming, got pressure and covered receivers well. Like everyone, I'm holding my breath until the Ravens game. There were definitely reasons for concern that came out of the Colts game, but we may look back on it as more of an anomaly when all is said & done.

I'm still amazed that we pulled it out. Our scores were more like short bursts of playing well. It felt like the Colts dictated the tempo, controlled the ball and were able to put together much more sustained drives. The end of the half was obviously a big turning point. I was already thinking 17-7, and a big uphill battle against that D. I'm really curious which Bills defense we'll see Saturday. I think we all felt like they turned a corner over the past 5-6 games, and then the Colts game was how they looked in September. Probably the most alarming aspect was the secondary - Colts players were just open, all day (though no pass rush can contribute to that also).

I wish we had Star. I feel like the line is night & day without him, especially against the run. Oh, well - I feel like our D has something to prove after the Colts game. Hopefully we see a different unit this Saturday.

Harbaugh is also a coach w/ tons of playoff experience. I think he's in the upper-tier of NFL coaches, for sure. As Marv Levy used to say, where else would you rather be? Saturday night divisional round against a challenging opponent - it beats spending January trying to figure out who has the best shot of beating the Pats...

They played the Pats in a total monsoon. It's a good team. They're not great, and the Bills are better - but it certainly won't be a cakewalk.

That's fine. Very light snow, and standard wind speeds. If it holds, it shouldn't slow down our offense at all.

Exciting times. Ravens are a tough opponent, but so are the Bills.

It seems obvious to want to play Pitt at this point, but if they can pull off a comeback like this, it could give them loads of momentum and confidence....

Roberts has been stellar all season - yesterday was the worst game I have seen him have. You have to take the good w/ the bad w/ him. He probably shouldn't have brought that one out of the far side of the EZ - but sometimes that can be a big gainer for him. Hopefully, we'll see more of what we've come to expect next week.

So, what's the strategy? Keep Milano on Jackson to stop those QB runs?

It's okay. We can beat the Ravens.

I know every team is dealing with it - but what a difference it would make w/ a full stadium. If we had the full crowd yesterday, there is simply no way the Colts make it a close game after 24-10.

That will be excellent prime-time playoff experience for this young team. Probably not as much of a positive for my gameday drinking issues - but that's a side topic...

They barely talked about it. I was kind of stunned - that was textbook, and easy to spot.

This is still bothering me. They had the perfect camera angle. When you freeze frame, his knee is very clearly off the ground before the defender's hand touches his back. This is exactly why we have replay. It's difficult to understand why any ref doesn't overturn that.

Great point. If we want Josh to "take the sack" in that situation, we lose about a dozen or so other great plays where he DID escape over the course of the season.

For starters, I'm euphoric - disappointment isn't even a distant underlying emotion right now. I get that some are feeling that, but I can't really relate to it. I knew going into this game (as did others) that the Colts were a particularly bad match-up for the Bills. Great run game, good coaching, excellent defense, veteran QB. In many other years, a team of their caliber would be a top contender in the AFC. This just happened to be a strong year for the AFC. And they came at us with everything they had. They had a great game plan and executed very well. The D was in sort of a classic "bend but don't break" mode. I can't say I love that, but it worked - they made that huge goal-line stand, and then came up big at the end. When they needed to make the plays, they did.

I'm stunned at the # of comments I've seen (not here, but across the internet) talking about a "repeat of the Houston game" and how he "can't stop making boneheaded plays in big games." Allen was spectacular yesterday. It was really his one mistake - and it was basically just a sack. I didn't see it as him trying to play "hero ball" - he was trying to escape the rush, and he very often succeeds at that when he tries. It's part of what makes him so great. He has that Big Ben type of escapability. Why is he called out for that? I watched the other games, and guys like Wilson and Brady were making all kind of mistakes. It's a double-standard, imo.

It's tough w/ JA. He really can't make a mistake, or it's a "flashback to Houston." I watched all of the games today. The other QB's all had mental mistakes - it's part of the game. That sack/fumble was really Josh's only genuinely bad moment - out of a whole game where he was otherwise pretty spectacular.

Bucs are going to get beat. They're not that good. Brady still bugs me.

The Knox TD was definitely improvised. It was really remarkable given that - Josh couldn't find any opening, and it seemed like forever that he was trying - he just happened to look up and see Knox. It wasn't even a pass - he just pushed the ball toward him. Allen is always thinking, always aware. Great summary. So happy about Bass. Kickers are so important - we got a good one.

WFT might really be able to pull this off.

Wow - terrible challenge from McVeigh....