Shaw66

It worked fine, as I've said. But YouTube has screwed me on the price. Long story, but I bought Sunday ticket at the introductory price, and when I tried to login yesterday, I couldn't. After an hour, their help desk called back and told me my subscription had been canceled, they were issuing me a refund, and if I wanted to watch the games, I had to buy a new subscription. This after I had been told that my subscription was not cancelable. So, they issued a refund to my credit card and I bought a new subscription, (at the regular price) which cost me over $100 more. I spent 2 hours on the phone this morning to get them to refund the difference, and I got the usual runaround. I talked to an agent, a specialist, and his supervisor. They all agreed what they did was unfair, but they have do their own internal investigation. They said at some point, they would email me. BS.

Yeah! I played it when I chose the title!

It was a nice day under the roof in Los Angeles, too.

I liked it too. My wife and I went blind watching the four screen version, but apparently we can do split screen with just two views? One game plus red zone makes a lot of sense. Anyway, I was pleased with it. I bought it just to watch the Bills when I can't get them locally (probably5-6 games a year), but yesterday I quickly found that I will watch it for other games too. I get the Pats-Jets-Giants every weekend, so being able to watch other teams will be a plus.

I think a lot of us are low energy or whatever you want to call it. We're wait-and-see. I think there's solid determination in Orchard Park. It's focused energy, not hyped-up. Tonight will give us a good indication. I'm expecting/hoping for a "take care of business," workmanlike control of the game, with a solid but not overpowering win.

There's no Miller, and there are not a lot of new faces on the Dline, so it it's going to look different, it's going to be McDermott's doing.

I agree about the lines. Watching the Cowboys' lines last night was eye-opening. They were powerful on both sides of the ball. The Bills haven't approached anything like that for a long time. Torrence might help, but as you say, Dawkins (and Brown) needs to step up. Defensive line has to be more dominant.

I had two reactions to the game. First, I think the Chargers' problem is their head coach. I watch that team and I always think they are underprepared. The lack of discipline on the pass interference at the end of the half was astonishing. The Chargers always shoot themselves in the, foot, and usually it's with an AR-47 and not just a pistol. Second, Tua and the Dolphins are really good. Tua is smart and an excellent decision maker, and he is an extremely accurate thrower. It's remarkable how accurate his throws are, over and over. The two throws to Hill to win the game were just two examples, but every throw is on the money. And McDaniel is perfect for him. The Dolphins passing attack consistently gets receivers open over the middle, where Tua's accurate arm can find them. (Tua's arm strength is suspect, and throws to the boundary challenge him, so throwing over the middle is critical). He gets receivers open with unusual formations and routes. Yesterday he was starting a receiver in motion a half-count before the snap, so that the defense was caught reacting to the motion when the snap came. It was very clever - it gave the motion receiver an instantaneous advantage that helped open him up for a short throw. I don't know how good their defense is, but their offense is tough to stop.

You can change your vote. Slick Kincaid!

It was a great move by the Dolphins to be on top of it.

Dolphins called timeout.

Thanks for your help, everyone. I just got a call back from the YouTube help desk (an hour wait, but your can imagine how many calls they're getting) and they told me that they had canceled my Sunday Ticket account when I canceled YouTube TV. Of course, they didn't send me a refund, but the guy on the phone just fixed that. So, now I have to sign up again. Thanks for your help.

Youtube I've logged in. Seems to not now that I paid.

I tried getting on and couldn't. It won't show the locally televised games, and the other games it says I have to pay. I paid months ago. Any suggestions?

I voted for the Cooler, but if I were choosing I'd call him "Slick." Slick Kincaid.

But Chaos says all the evidence from last year says they won't be good enough. Did you watch a different season than he did?

Well, my reaction was that the Lions were running on a lot of positive energy. Their coach is like that, and there was so much hype about them since last season ended. I don't think any win can carry you through the season if you aren't a top team, and I don't think this win and an enthusiastic coach will do it, either.

Actually, that's not unlike how I've felt. I come here often to find out the news, but I'm not watching video or finding podcasts like I was doing last year at this time. Last year I was really wired. Amped up. This year I'm anxious. I don't know what the season will bring. But I've realized that part of the reason I'm feeling this way is that the team seems to be feeling different, too. Last year, early in the year, it felt like some big coming out party, and everyone was having a good time. This year, not so much. This isn't a party, it's a grind, and not just for the players. It is for the fans too, and I think that feeling your having is that you know it's starting - the grind and not the party. I think it was here that someone posted about Urban Meyer at Florida. He said winning was anticlimactic. The accomplishment wasn't the joy of winning the game; it was the satisfaction that comes from doing what needs to be done so that the winning happens. I think successful coaches and players focus on doing those things that need to be done, understanding that the winning will take care of itself. I felt that feeling last spring. I'm a UConn basketball fan, go to some games, watch a few games. Dan Hurley is a lot like McDermott - family ethic, constant improvement, positive mindset, etc. As the season went by, and as the team kept getting better and better, the winning was less and less of a surprise. They got into the tournament, and it became clear to me that no one was going to beat them. It was the result of the work they'd done for the previous six months. I've watched all their championships, and I was the least excited for this one. Maybe I'm just old.

You're just wrong about this. Bengals Chiefs and Eagles last season, best or among the very best in the regular season. Teams with the bye regularly have great playoff success.

It's amazing how much your view is strictly rear view mirror. Nothing wrong with that. "No reasonable analysis can be conducted before the playoffs are over." I get it. It's a different version of Parcells saying, "You are what your record says you are." However, that's analysis of games played. It is true that one can conduct a thorough analysis of 2022 and conclude that the Bills were the third best team in the conference, but that doesn't mean they can't be the best team in the conference in 2023 before the season is over. I can't argue personnel, and changes that teams have made, and the evolution of the game, and whatever, but I know there are plenty of arguments that can be made today that the Bills are better than the Chiefs. Arguments like their offensive line got worse and the Bills O line go better. Arguments like anyone who watched their receivers on Thursday has to wonder about the continuing effectiveness of their passing game. Arguments like they are weeks away, and could be months away, from getting Chris Jones back. What happened last season is a starting point, but there are objective facts that exist today that need to be factored into any analysis of the relative strength of teams.

It's gotten worse as I've gotten older. Now, I can feel it starting the day before the game, except sometimes, like today, it's two days before. Day of the game, it just builds and builds to game time. I'm all fidgety, trying to get prepared.

I don't know that you're right, that any reasonable analysis puts them behind the Chiefs and Bengals. I agree, looking backward, they definitely were third. Looking forward, I think one could reach a different conclusion. They might have been complacent last season, but my point is that I don't see them being complacent this season. I think they ache to win this season, and the ache will be there all season. Salonpas won't work; there's only one cure for that ache.

If the Bills are definitively the third best team in the AFC, then those are two really good football teams.

Actually, it's not such a big difference. Both guys are abusing their bodies. The offensive lineman I heard was talking about eating 6000 calories a day for months in order to maintain his playing weight. He said for his entire playing career, he couldn't roll around on the floor with his kids because he had no flexibility, and because all of his joints ached from carrying the weight. I'm not defending Dawkins, at all. I'm disappointed he didn't have the discipline the modern game requires. I'm just saying that it's naive to think that guys going on crash diets are the only guys abusing their bodies in the NFL. A lot of them are, from their brains to their toes.

This is my hope for the Buffalo Bills for the 2023 season. I’d like to say it’s my prediction, but I don’t have a lot of evidence to back it up. I have a feeling for how the season will go, and I hope I’m right. I expect the Bills to have a very successful season. I expect they will win the AFC Championship, and I expect they will win the Super Bowl. No, I don’t feel that way every season. I believed it could happen last season, but I didn’t expect it. So, what’s different this season? I think the Bills have a new attitude. I think they’ve stopped reading and listening to all the people who say how great they will be (in part because a lot of people have stopped saying it). I think they’re, in a word, pissed off. Okay, two words. They know they could have won it either of the past two seasons, and they have developed a mindset for winning. I told you, I don’t have a lot of evidence, but I think that’s where they are. I think many or most or all of the Bills players have developed an assassin’s mindset. The Bills are a team full of assets from a Bourne movie – highly skilled, single minded operatives determined to overcome any obstacle to achieve an objective. Why do I think this? Well, maybe it’s only because that’s what I want them to be, but I think I hear it, or don’t hear it, in what the Bills are saying. They’re not talking about their greatness, or what they’re going to achieve, or how they want to do this for Buffalo, or anything like that. All they’ve really said is that they were enormously disappointed with how they finished the 2022 season. Allen said the other day the captains are holding everyone accountable. Diggs is telling his teammates they “stink.” I fully expect Diggs and Allen are telling Dorsey that he has to give them stuff they can execute and hurt teams with. Dorsey is demanding that Allen play with the discipline the position requires. I get the feeling they’re still a touchy-feely family, but there’s an element of tough love now. Guys like Bernard and Kincaid and Torrence are feeling the pressure, because they can see the excellence and the intensity their teammates are bringing. They know they must match it. And in a few weeks, Miller’s coming back, and he’s going to take the focus to a higher level. In their heads, they know they can beat anyone and they know they can win it all. They know it. I think they’re coming into the season determined and with an understanding of what it takes: Everything, every game. For example, I think they will beat the Jets. I don’t know the Jets lineup at all, and I’ve seen all the hype. I know the Jets will be prepared mentally and emotionally. I don’t think it will matter. I expect the Bills to be prepared mentally and emotionally to an extent that the Jets don’t yet understand. The Bills know how to win a marquee game like this, because they’ve won and lost them. They’ve had a few weeks to get ready. They will come with preparation and intensity that the Jets won’t match. When week two comes, the Bills will remind themselves that they know what it takes, and they will be prepared again. And then week three. And when December and January and February comes, the determination still will burn in them. The Bills now understand, they know what they want, and they will not be stopped. All season long they will come at opponents with the quiet, unstoppable ferocity of an assassin. Occasionally, something will go wrong, the ball will bounce the wrong way, some team will match their intensity, but the Bills will recover and move on. This will be the year. 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.