Shaw66

I gotta put it in reverse if I want to approach 70 again. My apologies in advance.: I know absolutely nothing about a fight song. Not a thing. But I had some thoughts about the subject and I wrote them. It's a mix of my memories and the history I do know. Ignore it if you aren't interested. I don't anything about a fight song. I'd guess, though, that all of the speculation here about it being the Bills fight song from the All-America conference team is correct. I recall that when the current Bills came along in 1959, there was some reminiscing about the old Bills, and an occasional comment about how the Bills should have gone into the NFL in 1950. In the late 50s there still was talk about the team Buffalo had in the 40s. about the old Bills, and an occasional comment about how the Bills should have gone into the NFL in 1950. In the late 50s there still was talk about the team Buffalo had in the 40s. But it wasn't a strong tradition that was being passed down. That there was a fight song makes sense, too. You have to remember that in the 40s, college football was still the big game, not the NFL. The NFL was created essentially to showcase the talent of great college players who had no college eligibility left. College football was what it was all about. Then the war came, now it's the late 40s and pro football is still trying to show that it was really viable. College teams were supported by their colleges, so if football wasn't making money, that wasn't the end of the world. The pros actually had to make money by selling tickets. There was no tv and no tv revenue. There were very few player endorsement deals or things like that. It was almost more like what we think of as semi-pro now. The pro teams were trying to figure out how to fill the stadium, because that was how to generate revenue. Who knew how to fill stadiums? Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, etc. What did they do? They had a fight song, for one. They also had a marching band, and when the Bills began in 1960 they used to have visiting marching bands more often than they do now. They did it because the big-time football experience, the college experience, had a marching band, so maybe that would work in the pros, too. I think in the 50s the Colts had their own marching band. So I wouldn't be surprised at all if the first thought in 1959 was "let's use the old fight song." After all, the name was chosen intentionally to tie back to the earlier Bills. I think some people actually thought of 1959 being the resurrection of the earlier Bills. Denver, Oakland, San Diego, Dallas, Boston, Houston all were getting franchises in cities that never had had a major pro football team. The Jets were in a city that already had an active NFL team, and the Bills were the only AFL team that had an actual history of major pro football and lost it. As far as younger fans were concerned, they really weren't interested in that history. They saw football as a fun and exciting thing to go see. They weren't living out the traditions of their forefathers or anything like that. I think I saw it as a more natural extension of the College All-America games from the previous few years. The new Browns did an excellent job of tacking onto the old Browns history, and that history was something of legend. The Mets did a pretty good job of tacking onto Dodger and Giant lore. I never had the sense that this was the continuation of a tradition. I was teenager then. I thought college fight songs were pretty hokey. Old fashioned. Not necessary. I wasn't interested a fight song. And I think it was generally a young crowd that felt the same way. Which is really a long, long way to say if there was an effort to bring back the fight song, it fell on deaf ears.

I have to say that I'm disappointed when Allen misses those throws. I say he's still learning, still growing, but I think there's something about winners that helps them rise to the occasion. I think that Mayfield, Mahomes and Darnold all make that throw by the end of their second season starting. Now, you can argue that they all played in big time programs and have had a lot more experience making big moment throws, but I think for some guys it comes naturally. It's as though he has an inferiority complex and he doesn't naturally believe he can do it. Brees and Rodgers and Favre and Brady all play like they know they can make any throw, and then they do it. Allen has to get himself there.

Your admission that you're overreacting because it's the Patriots is amusing, because I feel the same way. I just want to crush them. I wanted the Bills to be up by 10 with two minutes to go and then have Brady injure something so he couldn't play next week. Saturday gave me confidence. I don't think the Bills will get to Foxboro in the playoffs, and I don't think they'll win if they get there, but they'll have a shot. Mostly, as several of us have been saying, I like the progress, which is significant, and I think we'll see more progress next season. I've been saying all along that 2020 was the season for the Bills to begin playing for the championship, and I think that's been McBeane's target, too. If they turn out to be a year early, great, but I don't expect it.

I hadn't noticed that. That certainly would seem to be a mistake against Brady. He doesn't have great deep threats to begin with, his arm is suspect and he can't always afford to wait in the pocket. This lends credence to the idea that McDermott didn't want to show the Patriots his best stuff in what was pretty much a meaningless game.

I don't agree with this. I don't think McDermott is conservative. I think his offensive approach has been conservative because he doesn't yet have the horses to have a high-powered offense. When you're offense isn't good, it's smart to run the clock and shorten the game, because that keeps the score low and gives your team a chance to win in the end. McDermott has a mediocre offensive line, a young QB who needs to mature (his bad throws against the Pats showed again that he isn't really comfortable and under control all the time), a decent running back and mediocre receivers (Collinsworth commented last night that it's pretty amazing that Sammy Watkins is arguably the fourth best receiver on the Chiefs). I think that you'll see a less conservative approach next season, when the oline is better, Allen is better, the receivers are better and at least Singletary will have a full season under his belt.

Fair enough. I didn't watch replays of the last play, and I believe someone else commented about the tackle failure. If both tackles had made their blocks, Allen might very well have been able to handle one free rusher, and maybe he would have made a play to tie the game. McBeane have gotten a lot of praise this season for improving the oline, and they deserve it, but I think the oline is far from a finished product. I expect one or two new starters on the oline next season. I've never been a big fan of Dawkins. I haven't studied Ford at tackle, but there's been plenty of complaining about him. He will improve, but as many say, maybe his future is at guard.

No sign of a breakthrough? No sign? Are you kidding? The Bills played the Pats really tough in 2018 but didn't have enough firepower to make the game competitive. The Bills were much better against them this season, giving them two really tough games that could easily have gone the other way. This against the team with greatest head coach of all time, by far, and the guy people claim is the greatest quarterback of all time. So what do you recommend? A new head coach for the Bills? I'm satisfied to watch this play out. This head coach and this GM have said since they came here they're building for long-term, sustained excellence, not for a short-term successful run to the Lombardi. That meant, and still means, they intend for this team get better season after season until they are one of the premier teams in the league. It's pretty clear now how they are doing that, and it's pretty clear that at least so far it's worked. They organized their team in the first season and had some unexpected success. They told us the team likely would be worse in the second season. They've met or exceeded expectations in the third season. They have a roster full of young players who haven't peaked yet. They have a lot of draft picks and a lot of cap room, so the talent should improve next season. AND they are competing well against the best teams in the league. Given all of that, I have trouble whining about the fact that they can't dominate the best teams in the league. If they're no better two years from now, I'll be complaining. But not now.

I agree. It may very well be that the Bills' coaches were looking ahead and playing it close to the vest. Everyone on this team is still learning, and they're thinking about all kinds of approaches to the regular- and post-season.

Further evidence that you come here just because you like to argue. Virtually my entire post was about being outcoached, and you say this. Over and out.

That's a good point. I'm generally satisfied with taking the points the game gives you, but the Patriots are going to limit your opportunities to beat them. You need to take advantage of them. Three points in that situation made a big difference. If they get seven and nothing else changes throughout the game, the Bills kick a field goal at the end and go to overtime.

When it's the Patriots, it's never about one thing. It's everything. They do everything well, and they don't let themselves get beat at anything. If you're going to beat them, you have to beat them all over the field, every minute.

When it's the Patriots, it's never about one thing. It's everything. They do everything well, and they don't let themselves get beat at anything. If you're going to beat them, you have to beat them all over the field, every minute.

When it's the Patriots, it's never about one thing. It's everything. They do everything well, and they don't let themselves get beat at anything. If you're going to beat them, you have to beat them all over the field, every minute.

When I see the bright shiny object reference, it means to me that the GM is attracted to the talent, thinking the talent will make the difference, instead of determining whether the talent is a proper fit. The reality is that great talent, talent that demands the ball, for example, doesn't fit McDermott's system, just like it doesn't fit Belichick's. Bills' talent has to be willing to sacrifice self for team. So, for example, I'd love to have Amari Cooper. But the first question will be whether he can be happy in system that won't necessarily have him leading the league in receptions. well said.

Right. He's just gotta keep learning.

This is good stuff. Thanks. I agree that the coaches weren't good enough, both in planning and game management. I don't agree about Edmunds. I didn't watch him all the time, so I won't argue with what you saw. But I've watched him enough this season to know that he already is an impact player, and I expect to see another jump next season. He's smar and, hard-working, and there's no reason to believe he won't get better for another few years. I think Daboll is learning, too. I don't think it's as simple as saying he needs a short passing game. Belichick is a film mastermind. He sees everything you've done with success and he makes it hard for you to do it against his team. Preparing to play his defense means you have to come at them with things he hasn't seen before, and it can't just be simple variations on what you've been doing. In other words, to beat Belichick's defense, you need a very good to great offensive coordinator. Andy Reid is one of those, and that's why the Chiefs have pretty good success against him. Daboll clearly isn't that guy today, but that doesn't necessarily mean he needs to be replaced. One question is whether he's likely to grow into the guy McBeane want. If the answer to that is yes, they'll keep him. If the answer is no, the question will be whether the right replacement is available. McBeane will want someone who runs the same offensive scheme - they won't want to change. That probably means they will want to promote someone from the staff. I don't know if that guy is there. If he isn't, I think they'll keep Daboll for another season and see how he does. Maybe one more season will give McDermott the chance to groom an assistant on the staff to be ready to take over in 2021.

I agree with this completely. And McBeane are not about bright, shiny objects. They a process and they'll stick to it. They've been patient so far, and they can see that what they're doing is workng. The talent they have today will improve. The talent they draft and sign in free agency will increase the competition and improve the team more. Allen will have learned more about playing big games - Pittsburgh wasn't too big for him, but Baltimore and New England were. Step by step. And that's not to say that they're done for this season. They're already good enough that, although it's unlikely, multiple playoff wins this season are possible.

Not round 2. Bills can't be home for round 2. They can only be home if they and the other wild card team make it to the AFC championship game.

I agree with this. Can't give him an A when he misses throws like that. He needs to calm down and recognize the kind of throw he has to make in each situation.

I think the Bills have been getting pretty good pressure with four rushers over the past few games. Yes, they've blitzed, too, but there were a lot of times in the past few weeks where four guys have collapsed the pocket pretty well. Brady kills the blitz pretty regularly, so I'm guessing the Bills' plan was to get pressure with four and drop seven. I think that's another area where the Bills can learn from the Pats. They blitz enough to make teams respect it, and they disguise the blitz well, too. Before the first Pats game, Belichick and Brady said that the Bills are really good at disguising their defense, so the offense has to run on post-snap reads. I don't know this, but it looked to me like the Pats were doing more men in motion and shifting than usual, and I think Brady was getting better pre-snap reads as a result. I think the Bills defense is becoming a bit of an open book for him, and that's a problem. On defense, as on defense, the Bills need more creativity every time they play the Pats. They have to come with enough new wrinkles that the Pats aren't sure what they're looking at.

I'd consider only Mahomes and Watson. Wilson is too old - I'd rather have Allen for 10 seasons than Wilson 5. And Jackson will be stopped as defenses adjust.

Right on the money. Exactly right. The challenge is to get better - better coaching, better execution. Some of getting better will involve personnel changes, some will involve people just getting better at their jobs.

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66 The Rockpile Review is about the Buffalo Bills, but the story of Saturday’s showdown in Foxboro, with the AFC East championship on the line, was the Patriots – again. The Bills have a roster full of committed men, intense competitors, physical players. They are well-coached and they are well-prepared for games. The Patriots have been a great team for nearly two decades because they are all of that, and just a bit better than the Bills, for now. The Patriots have combined fundamental excellence on the field with coaching excellence to produce the greatest winning machine in the history of football. The Patriots players block and tackle and throw and catch exceptionally well – it’s fundamental excellence. They do it every week. The coaches are creative and thorough; they create opportunities for the players to gain momentary advantages on the field. The players use those opportunities to win. Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are trying to build a winner using the same formula, and they have the Bills well on the way to success. The players can see in each game, win or lose, how their combined excellence at the fundamentals makes the difference in the game. Each week they commit to getting a little better, and that commitment is evident on the field. The Bills have become an exceptionally tough opponent. They don’t make mistakes. They grind on offense and defense and they are prepared to take advantage of opportunities. Poyer’s forced fumble and Hyde’s excellent scoop and return are examples of the Bills’ style of play. The story on Saturday was simply that the Patriots coaches were better at creating opportunities for their players to perform. Sean McDermott knows that the coaching must get better. Belichick’s approach to the game is largely about numbers. He creates opportunities for his team, and denies opportunities for his opponent, with numbers. He knows that on most plays, most players will fight their opponent to a draw – they won’t win and they won’t lose. So he knows that on defense he wants to put a lot of players on the ball, because although most of them will fight to a draw or lose, one or two will win and make the tackle. On offense, he does the opposite – he seeks to create isolated one-on-one situations at multiple places on the field, so that if his player wins, there’s an easy opportunity to gain yards. He expects his quarterback to recognize those opportunities. So, for example, sometimes on Saturday he had no one back to return punts. Why? Because the extra man on the line of scrimmage gives him an advantage. He doesn’t need blockers on the gunners, because there’s no return man, so instead of blockers he has two guys back to protect against the fake. The extra man on the line of scrimmage gives him one more chance for someone to win his one-on-one fight and make a play. The punt block is more valuable than the few yards he gives up by conceding no return. Eventually, of course, teams will adjust, but in the meantime, he has an advantage. Another example: the completion to Harry in the left flat. The Pats wanted to get the ball quickly to Harry, but Lawson had picked up Harry and Brady looked to the right for his second option. When he saw nothing there, he came back to Harry. Lawson had continued his pass rush and Harry was alone for an easy completion. Maybe Lawson made a mistake, maybe not, but the point is that the Patriots gave Brady three one-on-one opportunities early in the play – Harry, someone on the right and Harry again. All he needed was one player to win his one-on-one and he had a completion. Or look at the pass and run up the right sideline, I believe to Burkhead. Brady dropped, the Bills had a blitz coming from his right, and Edmunds was responsible for the hot read on that side. Edmunds got aggressive and took a couple of steps to his left and in toward the line of scrimmage when he should have stayed parallel to the line. Once again, the Pats had a one-on-one and took advantage of the win. If Edmunds had made the right play, Brady would have thrown the ball out of bounds. The point isn’t that Edmunds made a mistake; everyone makes mistakes. The point is that the Patriots play to create one-on-one situations, to recognize them, and take advantage of them when their player wins. Or, look at the opposite example. On the Bills final drive, first and goal at the eight, Daboll calls a designed run for Allen to the left. That play is exactly the opposite of what the Patriots do on offense. The Patriots try to create isolated one-on-one situations so they can take advantage if their player wins. A power sweep creates about five or six one-on-ones, blocker on tackler. For that play to work, pretty much all of the Bills players have to win or neutralize their man; if one fails, that one defender makes the tackle. Vince Lombardi could win with power sweeps, but today’s defenders are too strong and too fast; one of them almost always wins. Or, look at the Bills’ final offensive play. In September the Pats forced Allen into several bad decisions with multiple blitz packages, including several six- and seven-man rushes. They knew Allen would be prepared for the all-out blitz this time around, and Allen didn’t see it once, until the final play. Then, true to form, Belichick wanted numbers. He knew that numbers would maximize the opportunity to get a free rusher at Allen and get either a sack or a hurried throw. Either Allen and the Bills failed to recognize it and adjust, or the Bills weren’t prepared for it. If Allen could have broken wide, he had several receivers one-on-one and he would have had opportunities. Still, Allen made a good play, knowing not to throw at Gilmore and throwing a 50-50 ball. Beasley actually made a nice play of the ball, but the defender did his job. In a sense, Brady outplayed Allen and that was the difference in the game. Allen took four sacks, Brady took none. If Allen had thrown the ball away on those four sacks, his completion percentage would have been abysmal, and I’m not sure the Bills would have been much better off. Statistically, Brady was better, but that wasn’t on Allen. Allen missed on a few throws, to be sure, but as a pure thrower, he was better than Brady. He drilled several balls to Beasley in tight windows. His long throw to Knox was beautiful (as was Knox’s catch), and the touchdown to Brown was borderline miraculous. When Mahomes throws one like that, the networks replay it and replay it, raving about his ability to wait, to throw off balance with length and touch and all that, but this is Allen and the Buffalo Bills, so there’s just a comment about it being a nice throw and the announcers move on. That was one of those great long throws that will make Allen a truly dangerous quarterback in the coming seasons. The difference between Allen and Brady on Saturday is simple: coaching excellence on offense and defense. Recall the Cowboys game; Allen was comfortable in the pocket and understood what he was seeing in the defensive backfield. The result? A lot of easy completions in rhythm. On Saturday, not so much. The easy option wasn’t there so often, and Allen was forced to make quick decisions and throw to covered receivers. Brady, on the other hand, looked more like Allen looked against the Cowboys: comfortable, with an open receiver available on many plays. Brady threw accurately and the Pats moved the ball. It wasn’t that Allen made bad choices; he just didn’t have the easy choices Brady had. And Brady’s success wasn’t at the expense of the Bills’ defensive players. Sure, there was an occasional blown assignment, and there were a few more missed tackles than usual, but the Patriots’ ability to muster those long drives was regularly the result of finding the opportunity to create one-on-one situations at the point of attack. They didn’t overpower the Bills; they simply found one-on-ones repeatedly (Brady’s forte) and won enough of them to keep drives alive. As we’ve seen before, on Saturday it looked like the Bills were being outplayed, but all that matters is the scoreboard. The Pats dominated in the first half, but the Bills were down only seven, and when Kevin Johnson won his one-on-one to stop Harry on fourth and one, the Bills were in business. The completion to Knox, the clock management and the play calling on the goal line all were championship caliber. Tie game. The difference in the game? The Patriots finished their fourth quarter touchdown drive, and the Bills didn’t finish theirs. That was it. Give credit where credit is due: the Patriots really are who we thought they are. And the Bills are who we thought they are, too: a very good football team that plays everyone tough. They have a lot of winning ahead of them. Bring on the Jets! GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

You're one of those guys who keeps jumping from point, never defending what you say. First it was SF, and when I pointed out they have a QB who learned from the masters for four years before he ever started, you moved on to Jacksonville. It's kind of funny you picked Jacksonville, because McDermott's one-step-at-a-time approach is designed to avoid exactly what happened to Jacksonville. Then you move on to Kyler Murray, whose coach plays wide open offense, turns Kyler Murray loose, and wins FOUR games. Now you'll change the subject again. We all understand, you want Allen throwing the ball all over the field. Kyler isn't winning doing that, Mayfield isn't winning doing that, Darnold isn't winning doing that, yet somehow you think the Bills would be better off if Allen would be better off with Allen throwing 35 times a game. Now you'll say, well, look at Mahomes, and we'll say, right now Mahomes looks like a once in a generation QB, and he looked like that from day one. Allen doesn't look like that. And Mahomes plays for a great offensive coach with outstanding skill position players around him. Now that we've taken care of Mahomes, what you got? And what's this come back from down 14 or extend the lead stuff First, with the Bills defense, it's hard to imagine being down 14. But Allen leads the league in comeback victories. And the Bills don't aggressively work to extend leads. Not with a young, inexperienced QB.

He he he. The Magox post was great. It's true about New England fans. I loved the comment that they're "brittle." Once the Pats really fall, they'll be philosophical, disinterested. It's the way people are here. And yes, it IS different. I have to admit that I'm at a loss. I don't know how to feel. We've spent 20 years talking about what's wrong, what needs to be fixed, sharing disappointment. Now I feel like there's nothing much to talk about. The only question is how are they going to do on the field this week? I mean, sure, we can talk about receivers and oline etc., but it's all academic. It's the difference between having a '93 Civic and a '18 Camry in your driveway. You wake up each morning wondering if one is going to start and whether it will get you through the winter. The other one, you wake up and know it's going to be just fine for the day and the season - sure, you might like something better, but life's pretty good just the way it is. Hanging out with friends, there's lots to say about your Civic but nothing to say about the Camry. Lexus or beyond next season.