Shaw66

Playifds, Bengals. Dalton. Tune in of you want to see it

It's fun to have really big games, week after week. How great would it be to win another? Playoffs in Foxboro! And I agree about getting the players to believe. McD told them to keep going, to work on what they're given, prepare, then play their hearts out, and they got rewarded.

I don't disagree that the Bills might miss the playoffs next year. This team isn't, in my opinion, very good. But I've become a big believer in McDermott. I've said it several times - I think he's like Belichick. He has a standard defense that he plays, and plays and plays, and he teaches his players to play it. The defense adjusts and gets more nuanced as the season goes by (just like Belichick's defense). He always has another player ready to step in, a player who knows his role, plays within himself, and isn't a liability (Milano, for example). Belichick's teams are like this. His mesage is about continuously improving. When this post season ends for him, he will be at work the next morning, reviewing the season, learning what he did wrong and what he could do better, and getting his coaches to do the same. So, for example, if the Bills draft four position players (other than QB) in the first two rounds, I expect they ALL will be playing significant minutes by the end of their rookie seasons, because McDermott teaches his guys what they need to know to play effectively. So I expect that four holes get filled in the first two rounds, and two or three more get filled in the later rounds. Add a free agent or two, and I expect this team will be a LOT more solid across the lineup. I'm pretty excited about the prospect for the future. McDermott isn't going to do the same things next season that he did this season. He'll change, his coaches will change, and his team will be even better fundamentally.

I think they're definitely in the market for a QB. I just don't think they should go to extraordinary measures to take one in this draft. That is I'm not trading up.

As I said, I think this is a misread of McDermott. He believes he, his coaches and his players all will improve next season. He will study the offense, work with Dennison to change things he didn't like, and work with Taylor unless Taylor's replacement comes along.

I really think people have to tune in to the McDermott way. He might replace Dennison, but I seriously doubt. He wanted Dennison, he brought him to Buffalo, and McDermott isn't going to be disloyal to him by cutting loose after a year. Loyalty is part of the McDermott way. But McDermott isn't going to accept less than excellence. He will spend a lot of time in the off-season, working with Dennison to improve the offense. That work will start right away if they think Taylor is the QB; it'll be delayed a bit if they think they're making a QB change. But whenever and however they do it, we're going to see a revised offense next season. The principles won't change, but the run-pass mix almost certainly will change. They'll be scheming for Benjamin, scheming for Thompson. It'll still be conservative, because McDermott has shown us that's who he is. It's foolish to think that what we saw this season is what we'll see next season. McDermott is about improvement, not status quo.

He wasn't questioning why Gase did it. The point is the Bills benefited from that playcalling. The game could have been closer.

To you and Badlands - I agree you have to take a QB. I think they should take a QB; I don't think they should trade picks to more up high into the first round. I've become a McDermott believer. I think he's like Belichick - not necessarily as good, but like him in that he installs solid offense and defense and teaches players to play it. We saw the result - a lot of solid execution on offense and defense. The draft is an opportunity to add a lot of talent to that system, to build on it. He's the kind of teacher who's going to work rookies into the lineup and get them to perform. Five picks in the first three rounds is a great opportunity. So I don't think the Bills should trade up. Now, I suppose if Beane is really sold on some guy and can make a deal, he should do it. But you've got to be really sold, because the Bills can be really good next season with upgrades at 4 or 5 positions (probably a free agent or two) and solid qb play from Taylor (or maybe Peterman). So I take a QB, but I take one who's available when I'm picking and looks like a good pick. That is, I'll use one of my top 4 or 5 picks on a QB. I should be able to get a better prospect than Peterman, by a good measure, and if that guy can take Taylor's job next year, fine. If he can't, he's my starter in 2019, or if Taylor takes a step up, I re-sign Taylor.

I say it all the time: take the points the game gives you. Points add up to points; taking chances often adds up to zilch.

Can we pin this so fans coming here today can see it?

Well, isn't that nice? Now let's beat them.

And you make your own luck. Generally, over a 16-game season, the breaks even out. So it's unlikely that the Bills got here by luck. The fact is that the Bills overcame a lot of adversity this season to put themselves in the positions to have the "luck" (as the OP calls it) to win. The Bills had one of the worst three-game stretches you'll ever see in the NFL and followed that winning four must-win games, losing only to the Pats twice in that stretch. Plenty of teams would have quit some place along the way. Not these Bills.

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66 All So Improbable “Can a man change the stars?" "Yes William. If he believes enough, a man can do anything!” The Buffalo Bills just ended one of the most improbable years in the history of the franchise. One year ago, the Bills had benched Tyrod Taylor to preserve their ability to cut him. They had fired Rex Ryan, adding momentum to the head coach carousel at One Bills Drive. The press declared the Bills a “dumpster fire” and decried the Pegulas’ failed management of the team. Now the Bills are in the NFL playoffs for the first time in 18 years. Improbable. The Bills limped past the Miami Dolphins Sunday, 22-16, in a characteristic win for them: Not enough offense to take control of the game, an opportunistic defense that seems to be hanging on for dear life but often gets the job done, some good breaks (refs were throwing flags against the Dolphins like New Year’s confetti), and more nail biting down the stretch than good teams should endure. And then the team and Bills fans everywhere watched the closing minutes of the Bengals at the Ravens. The Ravens had taken control of the game in the second half, outscoring the Bengals 17-7. As the Bengals began their last possession, it seemed the Ravens were on their way to the win that would clinch the last wildcard spot. The Bengals began slowly, almost stumbling their way to a few first downs but showing no signs of having the fire power necessary to get in field goal range to force overtime, let alone score a touchdown to win. The Ravens did their part with some timely penalties, including a defensive holding call that negated an interception what would have ended the game. Then, on 4th and 12 – desperation time, Andy Dalton completed a pass to Tyler Boyd for the first down, no, wait, a touchdown! The Bengals go home with a meaningless but typical AFC North win, and the Bills go to the playoffs. Improbable. Random thoughts: 1. How cool was it that Kyle Williams got his first NFL touchdown and his first ride to the playoffs in what may be his last regular season game? So many interesting things about that: First, what Bills player in recent memory deserved a special moment like that more than Kyle? (Maybe one; more about that later.) Here’s a guy who looked like he should have been a leader on the team five years ago, but he never seemed comfortable in the role. He deferred to others, even to notable non-leaders like Mario Williams, because, I guess, it didn’t feel right to him. Then this season, prodded no doubt by Sean McDermott and because now, finally, it did feel right to him, Kyle has stood before the team time and again, the acknowledged leader of the Buffalo Bills. Second, of all the things that Sean McDermott seems to be doing right as a head coach, isn’t it nice that one of those things is to be comfortable enough in the job to recognize the potential for a special moment and make it happen? He wanted the moment for Kyle and for his team, so he installed the play. Then, in the biggest game of his head coaching career, he called it. McDermott already had an oversized running back on his team who was perfectly capably of taking the one-yard plunge for what turned out to be the game-winning score, but for McDermott it’s about more than the wins. Third, with Kyle in the game and the play called, the offensive knew they had to perform. This was for the score, sure, but it was more. It was for their leader, the guy who repeatedly had told them how much this all meant to him. They weren’t going to let him down. Would they have blocked the play so perfectly for Tolbert? Maybe, but for Kyle they had an extra incentive. McDermott’s willingness to go for the special moment helped raise the level of his team’s play and get the score. 2. Who knew that Richie Incognito hadn’t been to the playoffs in ten seasons in the league? It’s a nice moment for him, a guy who’s been through a lot and worked to change his life. 3. Such an unhappy moment for LeSean McCoy, who as much as anyone is responsible for the Bills being where they are today. The guy is a great competitor, and he wanted this win badly. He didn’t have his best game, mostly because tacklers were all over him, but Shady’s presence on the field is enough to make the game easier for the rest of the offense. No better way to honor a fallen teammate than for the offensive line, Tolbert and Murphy to get the job done. McDermott’s players seem truly to believe the next-man-up philosophy. 4. Now the Bills need to find another running back as they return to the playoffs. It won’t happen, of course, but the sentimental choice is Fred Jackson. He’s only been out of the league two seasons, so knowing Freddie, he’s probably still in shape. He went to the playoffs with Seattle, but the man deserves a post-season game in a Bills uniform. Kyle is getting his moment, and it sure would be nice if Jackson got his. 5. Tyrod Taylor, the guy who very well could have been released by the Bills nine months ago, had another Tyrod Taylor day – nice production, no turnovers but still somehow not quite enough. An overthrow of O’Leary in the endzone (Taylor had pressure in his face). Saved by a penalty after a disastrous fumble at the end of a nice run. Two underthrows to Thompson that looked worse than they were: no QB puts those throws in exactly the right place every time, and both throws allowed Thompson to make a play (the only bad throw on those plays is an overthrow). The first time Thompson didn’t make the play, but the second time he forced the interference call to set up the last touchdown. Thompson’s been a great find. Where am I on Taylor? I think Taylor will ask for a trade, and maybe the Bills are done with him. It does seem strange, however, to cut loose the QB who took you to the playoffs. If I’m the Bills, I don’t do anything extraordinary in the draft – I take a first-round QB if one falls to me, but I don’t burn picks to move up (except I like the kid at Oklahoma – he has Kelly-like grit). I’m content to ride Taylor for another season and use my picks to build the rest of the roster. Why? Because I think that with a stronger roster, a healthy Benjamin, an improving Zay Jones and Thompson, Dennison (yes, I’m guessing he’ll be back) can build a better offense around Taylor. 6. I’ve been down on Preston Brown all season, but the man seemed to be all over the field against the Dolphins. Maybe he CAN be the guy, especially if he gets some help on the front four. I think he and Milano are examples of one of McDermott’s best (and Belichick-like) traits. They guys seem to have benefitted from McDermott’s patience with them, and with his teaching. McDermott has let them learn and grow into their roles, and we see it in their play. (It’s McDermott’s patience that makes me think Dennison will be back. McDermott will want to work with Dennison to make the offense better.) 7. Jerry Hughes didn’t make big plays, but he was active and a problem for the Dolphins. 8. Landry has given Bills fans plenty of reason to dislike him over the years, but, man, I’d like to see him in a Bills uniform next season. That guy can play. It sure didn’t hurt to have him, and Drake, off the field for the end of the game. Give the Bills credit for staying composed through that melee, earning them the ejections and some penalty field position. That ref has to stop smiling; he looks like he isn’t taking the game seriously. He finally did get the calls on Landry and Drake correct. I suppose the overturn on Brown’s touchdown was correct. The PI on Thompson was the kind of call that good teams get, and deserve. Thompson and Taylor’s throw put the defender in position to interfere. The Bills got one incredibly generous spot for a first down. 9. Lots of empty seats in Miami. We’ve come to expect that, especially in a meaningless game for the Dolphins. Reverse the roles and put that game in Buffalo, and Bills fans would be out in force. I mean, who wouldn’t want to beat the Dolphins and keep them out of the playoffs? I wasn’t surprised to see the Miami fans’ lack of interest, but how about all the empty seats in Baltimore? Come on! Their team is playing a division rival and playing for a wildcard bid, and the fans can’t show up for the game? Or worse, they came and then left before the end? 10. And speaking of the fans, kudos to all of the Bills making noise at Hard Rock. Nothing better than taking over that place. And the same for all the fans who showed up the airport to greet the Bills when they came home. The videos of that give me chills and tears. And now, improbably, we can say it: ON TO THE PLAYOFFS!!! 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.

I think he IS the new Poz, or less. I think he's too slow to play the position that McD wants. McD's defense in Carolina was goof to great in part because he had a middle linebacker with above=average speed - Keuchly. McD plays a lot of cover 2, which requires a lot of the middle linebacker, especially quick and deep drops into the middle zone. There were a lot of passes completed over Brown's head this season, largely because he couldn't get deep enough into his coverage. I expect Brown will be gone. I expect a guy taken in the first or second round next spring will be out there when the season starts.

First, I was just having fun, and Sweats understood that. I'm supposed to lay off the drama, but it's okay for others. Like this response to my first post in this thread: "Please don't pollute this site like you did on BBMB. And don't insult the members of this site by calling them not serious about the Bills." Now, note that they post to which this response was given was a legitimate opinion about BBMB. It wasn't outrageous. And it said NOTHING about posters here not being serious about the Bills. Nothing. But somehow MY posts are stirring the pot and dramatic and others are not. Life goes on, folks.

It means a lot to all of us that you've declared this thread dead. Maybe as a service to all posters here you could start a thread for the sole purpose of declaring threads dead. That way we all could know all the threads we could ignore.

Hey, Wheels, don't see you around here much. Family keeping you busy?

Agreed. I just feel good about the coach and GM. I was completely bummed when they got crushed three games running in the middle of the season, but McD got them back on track. I'll be thrilled if today plays out right, but not so disappointed if it doesn't, because at a minimum the team looks like it's on the right track

The thing about this is that a message board is a community, and the community has a personality. The personality changes over time as the population changes. Posters tend to come and go, and the mix of people, opinions and personalities change. So life on the message board changes, and the actual personality and appeal of the place changes. The personality is controlled somewhat by moderation, because the mods shape how people behave based on the rules they write and how they enforce those rules. Beyond that, the quality of the moderation depends on the leadership the mods get. Here, as I understand it, there's essentially one owner and senior moderator, and he runs it the way he wants. You can like how he does it or not, and you can have opinions about how he does it, but one thing is certain - you get consistency. He may change the rules over time as issues arise, but his personal philosophy of what this place ought to look like is consistent. The result is that posters learn over time what is permissible behavior and what isn't. The rules don't change. At BBMB you didn't have that. As I understand it, Wyo wrote the CofC at the request of the Bills. I guess the Bills didn't like how things were going in the early 2000s and they came to Wyo and maybe a couple of other people who either were mods then or informal leaders and told them generally what they wanted. Then Wyo wrote the CofC, largely to capture the Bills' concerns. That was in 2003 or 4 or 5. Other than a little tinkering here or there, the CofC didn't change after that. However, the mods changed. If there weren't enough mods to cover the various forums, some senior mods would ask a veteran posted if he or she wanted to be a mod. If the answer was yes, then they'd recommend to the Bills that that person get mod authority, and the Bills did it. The Bills didn't know who these people were they were appointing, and the Bills didn't give them any training or guidance. The mods were on their own. The result of this was that over time you had people becoming mods who interpreted the CofC however they wanted, and no one was supervising them. The Bills certainly weren't paying attention, and there was no senior mod who was shaping enforcement policy. Mods didn't overrule each other. So moderation became really inconsistent; I let lots of stuff go, and other mods hammered people for silly little things that were pointless. They had their reasons, some of which made sense even if their enforcement didn't. And worst of all, the Bills didn't stand behind the mods. The Bills wouldn't give the mods power to block addresses, so bad actors who got banned would come back, literally in minutes, with a new screen name. They could register with bogus email addresses. Mods were chasing bad guys all day long. The consequence was that there was no consistency in who was posting or how the place was being run. It was chaotic. And in that environment, some mods became, in my mind, arbitrary and dogmatic. They created operating rules in their heads that guided them, and from the posters' point of view it was unfair. For some people it WAS unfair. But most people went there from day to day, talked about the Bills, had a little fun and left. That's why so many people went there for so long.

We lost a lot of knowledgeable posters who didn't move here when BBMB shut down. WhateverHappenedtoLarry, who was a Falcons fan, posted often at BBMB because he said it was the best football discussion he found anywhere. The guy really knew his stuff, and he knew the Bills, too. And people complain about JM2009. I used to argue with him a lot, and he'd make me angry occasionally, but he knew his stuff, too. Really good insights, and he could back up what he thought with good data. Problem at BBMB was that you had to be willing to put up with a lot of BS while you were there, so over time some good posters left. One thing that was really useful about BBMB was that for whatever reason some people thought it was cool to be the first person to post news about the Bills. The result was that BBMB was the best place to go for news about the Bills. It didn't matter where the news broke first - ESPN, NFL.com, one of the networks, Buffalo News, Twitter - wherever it broke first, it showed up almost immediately on BBMB. I never looked anywhere else for news. Personally, I never understood why it mattered to be first to BBMB with the news, but enough people cared about it that it was a very useful news source.

Well, yes and know. Frankly, I think BBMB had better football discussions in its best threads, and it was much worse than here in its worst threads. There are a lot fewer jerks here. I suspect that's because the owner and mods here have the ability to ban the bad actors and keep them off. It's nice to have a place to talk with serious fans.

They do agree about Saints Raiders Titans. But you have to wonfer about the quality of ratings when the Bills are at the tip of one list and the bottom of another. It's all based on amateurs evaluating film. That's a joke.

This points out the problem with stats generated by people other than the pro football professionals. Pretty obvious to me that your rating on this list is NOT a measure of offensive line play. It's a measure of something that is related to having a mobile quarterback. Taylor, Brees, Carr, Mariota are all on the top of this list.

I don't think his head going back that far is a "natural response." His entired torso had to move, and since he was lying top of other players he didn't have his legs under him to push himself back. And why would he be pushing himself back, anyway. He was pulled back at exactly the right time; split second sooner and his arms don't get out there, split second later and he would have pulled the ball back first, in which case his forward progress would have been behind the line to gain. Patriots luck.

Fair enough. I'll give you that at least they were supposed to have spotted and measured. But I think it was pretty clear the ball had gotten to the line to gain. Yes, but somebody had to be in position and had to react very quickly. The ball wasn't out there very long.