Success

Sometimes, you just have to make a change. We seem to be in an endless rinse/repeat mode - maybe we'll actually break through this year, but I think most feel that it's starting to look like a divisional round exit or worse. Maybe the AFCCG if we're lucky. And I feel almost silly complaining about that after the drought. But what are the chances McDermott is the 1st coach to break through and win a Super Bowl after this many years w/ the same QB? It just seems like he's not going to be the guy to bust through that ceiling.

Anyone else tired of the "bend don't break" philosophy?

I hope Beane is at least working the phones. Now is the time, with the bye week coming up. Get a guy in here & get him acclimated to this offense. It would just be incredibly disappointing if we did nothing to address a pretty clear deficiency.

There is some "is Josh regressing" chatter nationally today - but I'd have a hard time even calling last night one of those games he usually has. Once Palmer went out, the cupboard was really bare. The defense could focus almost exclusively on Shakir. The announcers were correctly observing that, too - not having Palmer along w/ missing Samuel and Kincaid really limited things. And you could see it on the field. The times Josh was able to evade pressure and keep plays alive, he still wasn't seeing anything downfield. Last night could have been Coleman's chance to really shine, but I have no idea what he's doing out there. When Josh tried to get the ball to him, he was covered like he was standing still.

Which is "fine." It's not sexy, it's not a huge needle-mover - but he would give us a good boost.

It's so hard to gauge on defense, imo. I really think our scheme is outdated and doesn't work. It's "bend, don't break" - but breaks often. I think a top-tier DC could use the personnel we have now to create a much more formidable D.

Might be asking a lot of a rookie in likely his 1st game, if he can come back that soon.

I am extremely bummed about Coleman. Thought he had turned a corner in that 1st game. When I think about that draft. We could have traded up for Thomas, or taken McConkey. Very hindsighty, but it seems like our guy has had the least impact out of all of the receivers taken early.

Oliver & Walker both looked elite out there.

We're just fans. We can overlook anyone & it doesn't make a difference.

The Pats schedule is soft, but they're also not an elite team by any means. They can lose to this same Falcons team we lost to. They could lose to almost anyone on their schedule. I think the next game w/ them decides the division.

This - along w/ news that Hairston's practice window might open up - is all great news. I was really worried about Palmer right after the injury. If he's back for the Panthers, that really is big. I thought Milano's might be more long-term also.

Shaheed is intriguing. We need that speed. It would kind of add to "everybody eats," but we also simply need another higher-end receiver. I was hoping Samuel could be more of a contributor but to rely on his health at this point seems illogical. Olave would move the needle much more.

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.