Shaw66

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.

I agree, ignorance is an important component. But the reporter's are ignorant because the standard refrain works for their purposes and there's nothing in it for them to dig deeper. They don't want to know a different story than the standard story, because they won't write the different story anyway. It isn't in their personal interest to diverge from the script, at least until the Bills actually start winning. So you get a lot of media people who can see how Allen is playing, who understand who Edmunds is, who have heard from sources that McD knows what he's doing, but they still don't tell a different story. Their view is the Bills are the Bills until they prove they aren't, and there's nothing in it for them to say anything different. The outliers are guys like Chris Simms, who's been quite vocal about Allen being an emerging star. They're in the minority.

There is a simple dynamic at work that causes the disconnect between the media coverage generally and fan perception. Actually, two dynamics. One, of course, is the fans are homers and as a general rule think the team is better than it actually is. That's a given, and it's always at work. The other is this: (I know there are journalists who actually form independent judgments and state what they believe, but they're in the minority. I'm not talking about them.) Most journalists are in a business. The business is producing content. They succeed in their job if they produce content that people accept, because that keeps people coming back to hear what that journalist has to say. If you're a journalist and you write or say things that people generally don't believe, then people stop listening to you. The general football public thinks the Bills are a bad team. They think that because the four Super Bowls were followed by what they believe was consistent failure, and it pretty much was. The running jokes about Buffalo and the Bills reinforce that belief. Okay, if I'm a journalist writing for a national audience, and I write the same old crap, and simply update it with Allen is not accurate, there were doubts about him coming out college, Bills were 6-10 last year, etc., my audience generally believes it. It all sounds right to them, so they think I'm a smart guy, and they move on to another article. However, if I write something like I did in May, saying the Bills are the next great franchise in the NFL, people think "WTF is this guy talking about?" They might read what I say, but most people simply aren't going to believe it because, well, it hasn't been true for 20 years, so why would be true now. And they're going to think I'm an idiot. If they think I'm an idiot, they aren't going to listen to me next time. Now, I don't really care what people think, so I write what I want. But if I earn my living writing this stuff, I care A LOT about what people think. Five years from now, when the Bills are the next great franchise, nobody will remember that I said what I said and that others didn't. So there's no upside for journalists to stick their nexks out saying the Bills are going to be great. All that will happen is that fans will think they're stupid. It's especially true for a small market team. There's some upside in predicting the Giants or the Bears or the Rams are going to be good, because there's a big market there that wants to hear that. No national journalist really cares all that much how much of the Buffalo market he's capturing.

They're ALL important. They just haven't been meaningful.

I'm bumping this because I thought it was interesting that a Boston Globe columnist recently went after the Pats organization with more or less the same thing I said. I don't think it's a misperception. It's just the nature of the Pats organization under Kraft and Belichick.

I think he's done. The problem for any quarterback is that as he gets older, he has to get better at the mental game. His physical skills are going to deteriorate, and the edge that keeps him in the game is his ability to read defenses, anticipate and make the right throw, accurately. If you've succeeded as a young QB because of your thinking ability, like Brady, you have a head start. When you've succeeded because of superior physical skills, you've got to work hard at improving your mental game, because your physical game is going to decline more than a guy like Brady. You could see this progression in Peyton's game. He had a great arm and it slowly deteriorated. He never was very mobile. But he grew into a true coach on the field, and that's how he survived. You can see it in Ben, too. He just can't do all the things he used to be able to do, but he is surviving on his ability to run an offense and to understand defenses. He looks to me like he's approaching the end. Cam just never was a field general, and I can't see him becoming one now. It's encouraging to me that the Bills are placing all their emphasis of Allen's mental game, his ability to read defenses, to anticipate things, to run the team on the field. That's the hill he has to climb to be a true franchise QB, and he's on his way. If he can climb to the top remains to be seen, but I'm encouraged. Honestly, I don't think Cam ever started climbing that hill.