BigDingus

Watching the game in person, the most frustrating thing Ive come to notice is the Bills make easy things look hard... Throwing an easy slant pass on 1st down? In the dirt instead. Go anywhere but backwards after getting a hard fought 1st down? Go backwards via false starts to ensure you're out of field goal range. Completing a fair catch on a punt? Nah, fumble in your territory instead. Stop a 3rd and 18 on defense? Easy conversion. Any other low percentage 3rd down conversion for the opposing offense? Commit penalties to keep em on the field. Poor execution makes it so hard to ever evaluate this team's potential.

That's awesome! Thank you! My wife is so thrilled by the whole thing, kept asking me to "ask your Bills friends online!"

I did, but I've never heard of him. I barely use Twitter, only made one to better read stuff people post. Can't find much about him.

So my wife and I were traveling to Houston for the Bills game, and some guy walked up to me and said "dude, did you know you're on Twitter?!" I said no, so he pulled out his phone and showed me a post from a reporter that took a pic of me lol. Anyone know this guy? Sorry, don't know how to post the Tweet with pic in its original form! And if anyone is tailgating here, let me know! Want my wife to meet some fellow Bills fans!

Funny...I'm sure these owners love taxes when it comes to paying for their new stadiums, but boy does he want to avoid them when the money is coming out of HIS pocket And you better make damn sure your drafting is exceptional, otherwise don't expect to field a competitive team since no free agents will come there. GO JETLAG JAGS! The funny thing is we pay just about the same amount of money per person through public money already as those same countries with universal healthcare, only because we've created such a huge multi-billion dollar industry with private healthcare, our money gets us far less, and per person we spend about 3 times more for the same procedures, meds, appointments, etc. than other industrialized nations. Really sucks that we can't go back in time & fix it, because at this point it's probably too little too late...Oh well!

The problem is all these coaches that come in say "the way to win is pounding the rock & a strong defense!" They think because they're in Buffalo, it's the only way to build a team. Seriously, every friggin coach we've had says that same damn thing. It's like they've resigned themselves to the idea they'll never develop a good QB here, so they might as well just pretend like its their intention to limit the offense to run-run-pass-punt. Then again, I feel for these offensive coordinators... They probably WANT to do more, but can only call plays based on what they have. And when the HC's always say they want to build an offense that focuses on "managing the game," field position, and protecting the ball over any kind of creativity or risk-taking, they just have to do what they can within the confines of the philosophy dictated by being a HC in Buffalo. The Bills have had plenty of good, sometimes even great defenses the past 2 decades.... It doesn't mean anything unless your offense can compete in the modern NFL. All these stupid risk-adverse, game management, strong defense coaches pretty much seal their long term fate by trying to play like its 1975. Unless you put together a defense that is one of the ALL-TIME greats, it's a pretty safe way to ensure you consistently aren't a threat to ever do much in a season, let alone win a Super Bowl.

It really doesn't... In the NBA it sure could, but in the NFL not so much.

Well obviously Allen wouldn't make the top 25 rookies...he's not even close to decent yet. More upsetting is that Edmunds isn't on here. Yes, he's young, but he was supposed to be one of those guys you could plug in right away & have a huge impact. Plenty of other LB rookies have done it, even those you don't expect much of anything from (like Kiko Alonso). There's 6 LB's on this top 25 list, with many being only a year or 2 older. Edmunds hasn't been nearly as bad as Allen so far, but he's still not excelling as much as I hoped he would. I figured he'd for sure be one of the 6 best rookie LB's, or top 25 rookies period at this point in the season. Oh well, can only hope he plays lights out the rest of the year.

Yes, both are true, but like the All-22 shows, Allen is the one limiting the supporting cast at the moment, so it doesn't really matter. Until he gets to be even semi-decent, the limits of the supporting cast don't really matter as much. Once he makes it to even their level, THEN the supporting cast's issues stand out more. But if we're saying his supporting cast sucks, and he's the worst player on the entire offense regardless of who's out there, then you may as well say Allen sucks too considering they're not the problem atm.

Throwing no TD, while throwing sub-100 yards (or like last week, throw sub 100 yards until the final quarter where it's pad the stats time), throwing INT's and taking sacks instead of throwing the ball away (not all his fault) IS actively losing a game. There is nothing about Allen's performance the past 2 weeks that can be considered good. You can pick a couple plays, maybe 1 drive, but the entire game consists of dozens of plays & drives! Isolating a few out of an entire body of work does not mean he's somehow helping this team. The team is helping him, in spite of his problems.

Passion is great. Being strong is great. "Would do anything to win," is great. Being 6'5 is great. Having a fantastic arm is great. But being inaccurate, having no pocket awareness, unable to read a defense, takes too long to throw, makes poor decisions, and looking totally clueless out there are NOT great things. How can you sit there & pretend he's anything other than what he is, when this is EXACTLY WHAT HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN and EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS SAID TO BE pre-draft??? I mean seriously, to be even a little bit shocked, or to make any excuses for what we're seeing when we all KNEW BEFOREHAND this is what he is confuses me. If he was some world-beater in college, sure...I'd bite. If he put up monster stats & broke all sorts of FBS records like Mahomes, sure... If he rose to the occasion time after time, taking down tough opponents, sure... If he was the best QB in a conference full of good QB's (instead of an honorable mention in a conference full of nobodies), sure... But when he's exactly what he's always been, absolutely not. Won't blame some lack of talent for just how poorly he plays. Our O-line is a joke, and our WR's suck, but Allen is still lacking between the ears.

Thank God! A move like this should've happened BEFORE the season started, but I'll take it now. Only problem would be if Josh gets yanked & replaced with Anderson. I'd have preferred a veteran start this season over Allen, but at this point the only way I'd play Anderson is if Allen goes down with injury. If you pull him, you're going to see a Losman/Holcomb situation all over again. You'll be killing Allen's confidence, stifling development, and causing a split in the locker room, as Anderson will definitely be able to move the ball better. But hopefully he can provide as a mentor, and that McDermott doesn't start feeling the pressure to make the playoffs in spite of developing Allen.

You know what would make me happy? Picking an O-linemen in both the 1st & 2nd rounds. Just get the 2 best available at any position, then sign some more in FA. Then next year draft 2 more studs, and keep that core together foreevvverrrr! Screw everything else. Yeah, you want someone to throw to as well, but every coach thinks in order to be successful in Buffalo you have to focus on run game first, so at least we'd have that.

If only we had Bobby April as our ST coach at that point in time... Sad though that the most exciting part of Bills games for years was our monster ST players.

I disagree with us not having a choice though. We could sign any number of veterans and let them take the beat down (something we should've done this offseason anyway). Hell, we could've kept McCarron if we didn't even want that. And as much as I don't think Peterman offers us any great chance to win, you made this whole offseason about EARNING the starting spot, said Peterman EARNED it, then yanked him after a half for what? Throwing 2 picks & not moving the offense? Well Allen's done that in a couple games now too, it was kind of easy to see that was going to happen 1 way or another MONTHS AGO. If the season is lost, if the offense is going to suck no matter what, if our QB is going to get sacked like crazy, if regardless of who we put behind center is going to throw a bunch of picks, why can't you throw in any other warm body instead of the guy who NEEDED to sit, learn and develop, instead of take an epic beatdown every week? Man, I'd rather watch Kaepernick kneel every 3rd & long on the field than watch our rookie mindlessly spin-move to his blindside, right into an oncoming rusher who knocks his block off time & time again! I just feel so aggravated that with an awful O-line, awful WR's, no veteran QB, and no plan-B, we take the one QB out of the group that is least likely to succeed in that situation... And it's especially upsetting when you read back at Allen's pre-draft breakdowns, where his biggest gifts are his physical attributes but his most glaring weaknesses signal "NEEDS TO DEVELOP & SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE" if he's ever to have an even semi-decent chance of succeeding in the league. How many QB's have the Bills successfully developed in the modern era in their entire history!?!? They didn't even develop Jim Kelly from the start...as he played 2 years of pro football before even suiting up for the Bills. Sure wasn't Todd Collins, Alex Van Pelt, JP Losman, EJ Manuel, Jeff Tuel, Rob Johnson, Trent Edwards... Different coaching staffs, different personnel, I know. It's just hard to see us succeeding in that regard where others could not. I really, REALLY hope we do though.

Well, we can break it down into 3 groups: Old Guard: 1. Tom Brady (19th season, Age 41) 2. Drew Brees (18th season, Age 39) 3. Eli Manning (15th season, Age 37) 4. Ben Roethlisberger (15th season, Age 36) 5. Philip Rivers (15th season, Age 36) 6. Aaron Rodgers (14th season, Age 34) 7. Alex Smith (14th season, Age 34) 8. Matt Ryan (11th season, Age 33) 9. Joe Flacco (11th season, Age 33) 10. Matthew Stafford (10th season, Age 30) Mid Guard (ha): 1. Andy Dalton (8th season, Age 30) 2. Cam Newton (8th season, Age 29) 3. Tyrod Taylor (8th season, Age 29) <<<Backup 4. Kirk Cousins (7th season, Age 30) 5. Ryan Tannehill (7th season, Age 30) 6. Andrew Luck (7th season, Age 29) 7. Russell Wilson (7th season, Age 29) 8. Nick Foles (7th season, Age 29) <<<Backup 9. Case Keenum (6th season, Age 30) New Guard: 1. Derek Carr (5th season, Age 27) 2. Blake Bortles (5th season, Age 26) 3. Jimmy Garoppolo (5th season, Age 26) 4. Teddy Bridgewater (5th season, Age 25) <<<Backup 5. Marcus Mariota (4th season, Age 24) 6. Jameis Winston (4th season, Age 24) 7. Dak Prescott (3rd season, Age 25) 8. Carson Wentz (3rd season, Age 25) 9. Jared Goff (3rd season, Age 23) 10. Mitch Trubisky (2nd season, Age 24) 11. Deshaun Watson (2nd season, Age 23) 12. Patrick Mahomes (2nd season, Age 23) 13. Baker Mayfield (Rookie, Age 23) 14. Josh Allen (Rookie, Age 22) 15. Sam Darnold (Rookie, Age 21) 16. Josh Rosen (Rookie, Age 21) 17. Lamar Jackson (Rookie, Age 21) <<<Backup 1) So out of those groups, we've only got 10 active QB's who have played 10 or more seasons. Outside of Stafford being 30 and Brady being 41, that group averages about 35 years of age. Any of them could retire, play year to year, or be done after this season depending on how they feel. Others like Rodgers may pull a Brady & continue playing into their 40's, you just never know. But that group isn't only on the older side, they're also far & away the best skill-wise on the field. 2) The middle group is your experienced but younger veterans, who may or may not truly separate themselves, and have often been the most heavily debated bunch on whether they deserve to be called "franchise QB's." People like Dalton, Tannehill, Cousins, and even Newton were often seen as "acceptable," and above average...good enough to get you to the post season, but unlikely to ever get much further, while others such as Tyrod, Keenum, and Foles are seen as bridge players, solid backups, or future journeymen, but not someone you want as the face of the franchise. However, Wilson & Luck both have proven to be franchise-type guys, but due to circumstances outside of their control haven't reached levels of success in recent years that they had early in their careers. 3a) And the final group...the baby faced men who are supposed to be the future of the league. This is obviously the most volatile bunch, with many of the non-rookies having had great success already, but also terrible lows. Carr took the Raiders to the playoffs having a fantastic season before getting injured. Bortles lead his team to the AFC Championship. Now Mahomes is playing at an MVP level in his first games starting. You definitely have some standouts, but it's hard to predict if 10 of these guys coming close to the careers of the 10 guys in group 1. If I had to pick any, I'd guess: Goff, Wentz, Mahomes, Watson, Mayfield, and Trubisky, with Darnold & Carr being the next most likely (however, I see Carr having a Carson Palmer-esque career). 3b) This rookie class was seen as one of the best in years, but considering the franchises they went to, it'd be nothing short of historic to have the Cardinals, Bills, Jets & Browns all find 10-15 year franchise QB's at once. If any draft class seems to likely to yield a trio of quality starters, last year's seems a solid bet with Mahomes, Watson & Trubisky. On the flipside, the highly touted duo of Mariotta & Winston has also kind of been a let down. There's been flashes from both, but considering where people envisioned them to be at this point, I think they've fallen short (especially Winston). Rosen is smart, accurate and has talent, but how high is his ceiling? Allen is a huge question mark, as he'll need to do things he's never been able to do before, only this time at the highest level, in order to be successful.

Let's home he hits his prime earlier than that, because around that time his contract will be expiring. And if I know the Bills, they'd rather draft his replacement than extend him to a big contract. We got the nickname the "NFL's farm team" for a reason.... Or better yet, whatever new coach that comes into town could just start cutting all the old regime's talent in favor of "character guys." Either way, I'd be shocked if we had a great MLB in their prime & resigned them to a long term deal.

Another amusing thing I've been wanting to bring up... that defense of Allen saying "he played in Wyoming, so he'll be good in the wind!" You know who else played in the wind (and insane, unpredictable weather)? Patrick Mahomes. Lubbock, Texas is always on top of craziest weather lists, and Lubbock is ranked the 3rd windiest city in the United States by Weather Channel - http://keyj.com/abilene-makes-the-weather-channels-top-10-list-of-windiest-cities-in-america/ For reference, Buffalo is ranked 10th, so there's that. And in 2013 when Weather Channel did their "Toughest Weather City Tournament," guess which city took #1? Yeah...Lubbock, Texas - https://weather.com/sports-recreation/march-madness/news/toughest-weather-city-tournament-20130315 So if we wanted someone who could play in harsh, windy weather, it seems that guy tearing it up in KC right now would've worked out pretty darn well.

Sooo basically we could've been a year ahead in this scenario had we just drafted Mahomes last year, kept our two 2nd round & two 3rd round picks this past year, and continued to build from there, only Mahomes would've sat a year behind Tyrod instead of sitting a year behind Alex Smith. I think i'd take that in a heartbeat. We also could've gone the KC route & added even more weapons in FA, and really turned this offense into something at least respectable to watch.

And funny enough, fans also bashed him, as well as Nathaniel Hackett. Man, people hated Hackett...and hated Marrone for keeping him around. Then everyone talks crap about what a great situation they left, and how the team will improve now that his crappy offense is gone, even though like you said, he never wanted EJ. Well don't look now, but Marrone & Hackett got the last laugh. They had Blake Bortles play the best of his career & were a quarter away from going to the Super Bowl beating the Pats in the AFC Championship game. Here they are again this year still playing great, with Bortles on pace to throw for around 4,400 yards, 28 TD's & 12 INT's. And like I've been saying for years now, these offensive coordinators call plays KNOWING who they have in the personnel department. If their QB sucks balls, expect a limited & very specific set of plays. Whether it's Hackett, or Roman, or Dennison, when you have QB's like EJ & Tyrod behind center, you're not left with a playbook that's really going to stifle any opponents. But time & time again fans cry foul when execution on the field is horrendous, and blame the OC. Just watch all of Allen's passes from last week in this video, and see how many errant & inaccurate throws he made...even when he had protection & ample time to throw - Something tells me we're still going to get to that same point we always do....blame the OC & start over next year. Maybe one of these days we'll luck into a McVay & it'll all be worth it.

Um... Mahomes would've sat a year here last year too.However, sitting 1 year & becoming MVP-good doesn't just magically happen. And they assembled a good team around him, yes, but he still has to make the freaking plays. He's making them! He's accurate, he's got an arm, he's smart, he's athletic, he can read a defense, he's poised, he's a leader, and he's breaking NFL records. If it was as simple as "sit a year & put a good team around him," everyone would have these results, and no records would be broken. He's the FIRST to do many of these things because he's just that damn good. He played just like that in college, and imagine that, he's doing it in the NFL. If Josh Allen plays like he did in college, we didn't net anything special at all. And that's the crappy part, we picked a guy who not only has to improve, he has to actually get better than he's ever played in his life and do it while playing at the most difficult level. If he simply had to improve to the point to "catch up" to speed of the NFL & then produce like he did in college that'd be one thing, but no... he needs to get far better than that, and do stuff he's never done in HS, Junior College, or College, but against the best players in the world Yeah, that's likely to happen

It's hard isn't it? Especially when year after year other teams seem to find their way, hiring the right coaches, drafting the right players, signing the right free agents, etc. Yet the Bills never are that team...somehow their turn never comes. Jared Goff looked like a possible mistake, then the Rams hire Sean McVay & suddenly the Rams are the best team in the NFC West. Their offense goes through the roof, and LA of all places lucks into having a great team to root for INSTANTLY. The Chiefs have been a team that consistently makes the playoffs every year but cant get over the hump. The Bills have been a failure for nearly 2 decades. You'd think the team that's never going anywhere should be stockpiling great talent via the draft right? Nope, instead the already solid playoff team hits the home-run MVP-caliber QB while the dud team grabs the project guy. The Bills have the weakest WR corps in the NFL, yet when WR talent becomes available we don't go after it because of the risk involved (even though our draft pick was labeled the riskiest of the "big 4"). And who does take the risk? The already great Patriots. Who knows if someone like Gordon (or even Dez) would payoff, but what do you really have to lose anyway? You lose your 3 best linemen in the offseason and fail to invest in viable replacements...all while you're planning on drafting a rookie at QB who needs all the protection help he can get. You simultaneously ignore signing a true veteran at the position to help mentor & guide the rookie QB, unlike all the other teams who went a similar route. Browns? Mayfield with Tyrod. Jets? Darnold with Bridgewater & McCown. Cardinals? Rosen with Bradford. Bills? Allen with Peterman & McCarron????? Wtf. It's crazy to think when we did have Watkins, Woods, Goodwin & Hogan all together with Clay & McCoy we still had a horrible passing offense. There's always something holding us back, and it seems poor decision making is at the top of the list.

You're talking to the wrong group of people here. They're the ones that voted overwhelmingly in a thread last week they'd rather have Allen than Mahomes... Why? Who the hell knows. Inaccuracy & "potential" over record-breaking, MVP caliber results I guess. The insanity here hit new highs after the Vikings win.

Why does Allen always go straight to spinning to his blindside when under pressure? Even when it seems easier to just step up, or throw the ball away, or take off running in another direction... he seems to default to spinning into his blindside and immediately into the hands of an unseen edge rusher every time. Is that just how he's being taught? I don't know why that would be, but maybe there's something to it im missing. Along with having a better internal clock, throwing the ball away more often, recognizing blitzes better, and improving the O-line, I feel not defaulting to that spin every time will help negate a ton of negative plays, and keep us in manageable 3rd down situations.

Yeah, he really looks to be struggling. Our unfair advantage is really showing.