Shaw66

Agreed. We will see it this year. Next year will be his first full season when we will have a good look at what he can become. He's growing up fast, but hea still just a teenager who has had his license for six months. I agree with that, but they aren't getting THAT open on sharp cuts. The Bill's are running much more of a short yardage passing game and defenses are having the same problem stopping it as they have stopping the Patriots.

Oh, yeah. McDermott's vision is that EVERYONE on the team gets better every day. He and Daboll would agree that Daboll isn't close to being the OC they expect him to become.

Cool. I think there'll be a better play maker on the team next year, and then things will really start cooking. I've been reluctant to say this, but I feel about the same. Darnold maybe. Mayfield maybe. Murray, was too early to tell. Whatever, the list is very short.

I gotta say that when McDermott arrived, one part of me believed that he was selling snake oil. He was sincere and all, but come on, what is this stuff he's talking about. But someone last spring I started to see a little bit of what he was doing and how it was working. I kept seeing it more clearly, listening to what he was saying and watching how the players perform. Then against the Jets, when the Bills went down, I realized I got it, that I could see how he was preparing the team for anything, and I thought the Bills not only had a chance, but actually were going to come back. Then I saw it. Then the Giants rolled over the Bills on the first possession, and I wasn't worried. The rest of the half I saw it happening, including the the problems they still have to fix - like end of half execution. Now I'm fully on board. Something special is going in Buffalo. We've all been sitting here waiting for a winner and a championship. I think we're getting something more. I think we're getting a team that will dazzle the league like the Pats do, but with character as well as with consistent winning. I'm really excited. This is not an offense that is going to overpower teams. It needs some more talent worked into the lineup before it can do that. But it's an offense that can perform and be part of a winning team. Last season, the team couldn't win because the offense was so weak. That isn't the case this season.

Why not this season? Well, it could be this season, but my own sense is that they aren't ready yet. I think we'll see Allen make some bad plays out of inexperience. I think receiver by committee works until you run into a good pass defense. Then it's likely the whole committee gets shut down. I think the running game, even when Singletary is back, will be inconsistent, partly because of the backs and partly because of the line. I think McD himself is still learning. Now, having said that, the oline COULD gel and Beasley and Brown COULD be a handful for most teams and Allen COULD learn faster than I expect. Peter King said, as others here have, that the Bills could be 6-2 at the halfway point, and if they are improving, this COULD be the year. I'd love it. I'm expecting a lot of growth this year, some new talent next year, and then it'll be rolling.

I think so. And I have a recurring thought, which is that 2019 is all part of the process to get to 2020. There are a lot of lessons the Bills will learn this year, and they will learn some of them by losing. Next season, they will take another step.

No. I'm not much of a tailgater. Park on Big Tree, talk to the owner of the house where I park, eat a sandwich, go to the game.

Oh, man. I SO wanted Brohm to be good. It's a whole new ball game. Wait and see. I hope, and think it's possible, that Allen will go the Brady route. Of course, it would help if Allen married someone who makes $50 million a year on her own.

Yes, he's done fine. However, the long punt was just one more example of his problem, which is consistency. Bills are all about consistency. I go to most of them.

Don't look for it Sunday night. It's six and a half hours home from New Era, so I don't write up home games until Monday.

You know, you need wins on the road to go to the playoffs. Bills have two in the book. Go 6-2 at home and win two more on the road (remember, Bills still get a trip to MIami), and the playoffs could be a reality. So whatever the caliber of the opponents, the Bills are where, as you say, they needed to be.

Yes. Last week felt different, too, but this week even more so, because it wasn't marred with INTs and fumbles. Giants cruised down the field to open the game, and I thought "okay." Not "damn!" Not "oh, no." Just "okay, it's a long game." Then it started to happen, the offense lit up, the defense lit up, and we saw a good football team, executing. Lovely.

You know, I'm the guy who says it's less about the talent than most people think. But to be elite, I think you're right. The Bills are out-executing teams, and they aren't doing it with playmakers, except Allen. I don't know about edge rusher. I think that would be a luxury. A true #1 is probably necessary. Brown doesn't look like the guy, good as he's been. I think you're wrong about lulls. I mean, sure, you want your team to dominate for 60 minutes, but in most games, even the good teams have stretches where they don't get the job done. After all, there are very few shutouts in the NFL. The losers usually play some good football during some stretch of the game. Plus, this team is far from a finished product. They're still learning, all over the field. They will get better.

Nice job, Virg. It was just a workmanlike outing. As you say, if everyone does the ordinary stuff, everything seems to go just fine.

Everyone says it and it’s good to remember: it’s hard to win in the NFL. Every team is talented, and every team, if well prepared and determined, can a tough opponent. Everyone says it and it’s good to remember: it’s hard to win on the road in NFL. The opponent is comfortable and has the support of a vocal crowd. So here are the Buffalo Bills, two games into the season with two road wins in the book, including one against a division opponent. The Bills are 2-0, and that was the objective. Mission accomplished. Are the Jets and Giants two of the five worst teams in the league, and therefore no one should get too excited about the 2019 start? Maybe they are, and maybe most teams in the league would have started 2-0 against the Jets and Giants. No one knows, not yet. But there’s nothing more that a team can do but beat the teams on their schedule. Good teams do that; the Bills just did it. Even better, the Bills looked like a good team. In both games, they responded to adversity. In both games they were in control as the game wound down in the fourth quarter. Teams don’t often dominate the play for a full 60 minutes, unless, it seems, you’re playing the Dolphins. What good teams do is dominate enough of the game to be the clear winner. The Bills did that to the Giants. Yes, the Giants, opened the game with a powerful drive, but the Bills responded with a punt and then three straight touchdown drives. Yes, the Giants control most of the third quarter and scored early in the fourth, but the Bills responded with a touchdown drive of their own. After that, the Bills shut down the Giants to end the game. Good teams don’t let stars beat them. The Bills didn’t let LeVeon Bell beat them in week one, and they didn’t let Saquon Barkley beat them, either. Sure, Barkley looked all world on the opening drive, but after that, the Bills had him contained. The Bills defense challenged the rest of the Giants to beat them, and the Giants more or less had no answer. All around, it was a quality win. A few observations: 1. Josh Allen. He is who we thought he is. The guy can throw, he can throw all kinds of passes. He’s still learning. He had an ugly sack fumble that fortunately was blown dead, or so the referee said. He’s still holding the ball too long sometimes, but he will learn. He missed a deep ball. He is getting better and better at finding the open man in the weak part of the defense. He can run, but he isn’t running as much as last season. He’s throwing shorter passes and completing most of them. NFL fans are about to wake up to the fact that the Bills have a quarterback. 2. Running backs. Once again this week, the opponent had the star running back, and the Bills had the better rushing attack. The Bills are getting good blocking at the point of attack, some superb downfield blocking, and the running backs are smart and tough. Gore plowing into the end zone was beautiful. Anyone can see that Singletary can play. He’s special. It would be nice if all he had was a cramp, but I don’t recall seeing many hamstring cramps. His immediate reaction looked like a classic hamstring tear or strain. We will see. He’s a critical part of the offense, even if he isn’t getting a lot of touches yet. 3. Receivers. The success of the passing game is attributable to a point that’s often overlooked: receivers get open based on scheme much more often than they get open because they can “get separation.” Allen’s completions against the Giants usually were uncontested catches, and the receivers weren’t open because they left some defender in the dirt. They ran patterns that gave them an advantage and Allen knew they’d be open. The receivers did their jobs, and they got open. It was textbook football. 4. Who’s responsible for that textbook football? Brian Daboll, that’s who. Over the past two weeks, the Bills offense consistently has had the answer. They’ve had the right play, they called it or they audibled into it, and the entire offense has known how to execute. 5. Micah Hyde. I like how he catches punts. And how he hits receivers. Oh, my. 6. Rookies, rookies, rookies. They’re all over the field, and they can play. It’s a testament to McDermott’s process. When the veterans all do their jobs, somehow it’s easy for McDermott to get the rookies to do theirs. Johnson & Johnson on defense, plus Oliver. Knox and Ford (I know, give him time) and Singletary. 7. Perfection? Far from it. There were more than a few ugly plays by one player or another. There’s a lot to improve on. But big picture, these guys are getting the job done. 8. Bojo. Please don’t outkick the coverage. Please. 9. Shaq Lawson is for real. Two weeks in a row. He’s becoming too much for defenses to handle. It’s nice to see. It’s been years, maybe decades, since Orchard Park has seen a home opener like the one we’ll see this Sunday. It’ll be like a Monday night game. Bills will want and should get non-stop noise. Bengals are 0-2, and yes, they could also be among the five worst teams in the league. The schedule is outside the Bills’ control; how they play is squarely in their control, and so far, the Bills are doing just fine. 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.

Don't get me started on Patriot fans. I live amongst them. I think more highly of the Patriots than I do of their fans.

I was at XXV too. Honor and commitment. Yup.

50, as others have said.

Now, that's a tough question. That forces me to put my money where my mouth is. Would I take the package - Kraft, Belichick, Brady, the rings and the bad stuff? It's sort of like would you sell your sell to the devil in order to get what you'd want. Twenty years ago, I might have done it. I don't have 20 years left; for me, just one Super Bowl will do the trick. Today, I wouldn't do it. Ralph WIlson was a lousy owner, in terms of running a football team. But I will love him forever for doing the right thing and voting AGAINST the Browns' move to Baltimore. It was about more than the money for him, and I was proud to have an owner like that.

Bill Curry played for Lombardi. In his book, Bill Curry said this about Lombardi: He was from a different era, and he would have had NO patience with guys who abuse women. None. He could barely stand Max McGee, because he drank too much. When Lombardi was in his football world, you're right, winning was the only thing. But when morality was concerned, he left the football world and found guidance elsewhere. He had his priorities straight.

Does he? I think that's the impression that some fans have, but I don't hear it in him. That is, I hear him saying things that suggest he wants people with a strong moral compass, but I don't here a dogmatic Christian message from him, not any requirement that his players be God-fearing, chiurch-going Christians. Maybe I'm just missing it. I've always thought it's Belichick. I don't think Brady would have been Brady without Belichick, but if Brady hadn't come along, Belichick would have developed himself another QB.

I'd love to be able to ask McDermott about this. I don't think he'd agree with you. I think Belichick has done things to win that McDermott, a a matter of principle, would not do.

Thanks, Moose. I've been interested in it. I really only wrote the OP to express my view of the culture that seems to prevail with the Patriots I wasn't trying to condemn them, although I will admit to having some feeling of superiority, because I'd like to think that I hold myself to a higher moral standard than the standard Kraft maintains. I didn't know what to expect. I thought the thread might die a quiet death after a few hundred views and a a couple dozen responses. I wasn't trying to start a debate, or even a discussion. The responses and the discussion have been very interesting. The intensity of the responses, particularly. Almost as though people took personally what I said. That has really surprised me. As I posted earlier, I really appreciated that people were pointing out why my facts were wrong. I'm not sure I agree in all cases, but so many people laid into me about that that I'm sure they're correct about a lot of it. But as I said then, I'm sure I'm correct about the more general proposition, that the current Patriots regime is less focused on whether what they do is fair or the right thing than most of the league, and certainly less so than the current Bills regime. I've also been surprised that people thought I was saying the Patriots don't deserve what they've earned. Surprised because I'm one the biggest Patriot admirers around here. I think Belichick is a genius, light years beyond anyone the league has ever seen, and I think Brady has grown to become the perfect quarterback in the best system in the league. They did it with brains and hard work. All I'm saying is that they - and their owner - just don't give a damn about anyone else, which is their prerogative..

No, Chris, you're not listening to me. I'm not looking at it the wrong way. I get that it's a business. And I get that businesses can operate any way they want. And I get that a hard-hearted, take-no-prisoners approach may be the most effective to succeed. What I said is that I, Shaw66, like my team because it puts some limits on itself. The Bills' approach, or so it seems to me, is to seek to have the success the Patriots have had on the field while AT THE SAME TIME, treating people the way people should be treated, fairly and with respect. The Bills want everyone in the organization to operate with a higher moral standard than simply winner-take-all, no-holds-barred. I like rooting for a team that stands for winning AND something more. It's not about works best, it's not about whether the Pats are free to behave as they have. It's about how I feel about my team. Several other fans have posted that they feel the same way. That's cool. Several other people have stated that they don't feel that way and they don't care about the standards the Bills live by. That's fine with me, too. Based on how some people have responded, it seems they think I'm trying to impose my standards on them. I'm not. It isn't an argument. I simply stated how I feel about the Patriots, that they are amoral. I didn't say they don't deserve their success. Beyond that, I said I prefer having a coach and owner who hold themselves to a higher standard. Gunner, I agree with you. It's amazing how people have jumped to some different conclusion. I did no "moaning" and I didn't not try to "discredit" or "devalue" anything the Patriots have accomplished. I said the Patriots are amoral and the Bills' management attempts to operate in accordance with a higher moral standard. I like that about the Bills.

I think you and a lot of other people jumped to the wrong conclusion about what I said. I completely and totally agree with what I quoted above. I never said and never I tended to say their success came because they cheated lied or were immoral. I think what they have accomplished is incredible. I think McD is trying to copy a lot of it and I'm fine with that. What I said is that they are amoral, and I said I don't like that. They aren't gentlemen and they aren't sportsmen, and I dont like that. They don't care about treating opponents and other people fairly; they just care about winning. I dont like that I think if you asked McD about this and he talked candidly, he would tell you that his objective is to build a successful team that has bgh higher goals than the Pat's. It would be a team that honors and respects all people, doesn't lie and doesn't cheat. I think he would say that winning at all costs is NOT what he wants. I know that makes it harder; winning without morality is easier. McD just has a higher standard. I like that and it makes me proud of my team. I think it was clear I was talking about the current regimes, not prior ownership or management. So I'm not interested in all of your pre-McD arguments.