BigDingus

Yep. It's also not easy to criticize Josh, as we all love him as our QB. But there wasn't one single thing I thought was "overhyped" about the Bengals. If anything, the responses in this thread were overhyping Allen & the Bills. I've said it probably 3 times in this thread already, but the tendency to use cumulative yearly stats like "Allen has 22 TDs, #1 in QBR, #5 passer rating!" to disguise the recent play, allows everyone to pretend this team is playing a lot better overall than it truly is. But look back at recent games & see the offensive struggles: Jaguars: Scored only 7 points through 3 quarters, then we got 2 TDs in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter to make the game look closer than it really was. Giants: Scored 0 points through 3 quarters, then again scored 2 TDs in the 4th quarter (and needed the Giants to miss a goal line TD pass to win) Patriots: Scored 10 points through 3 quarters, then scored 2 TDs in the 4th quarter yet again (against a defense ranked 26th in ppg allowed) Buccaneers: Actually had a good first half, scoring 17 points, but then only scored 1 TD the remainder of the game Bengals: Scored 10 points through 3 quarters, then scored 1 TD with 3:30 left in the 4th quarter So why did people think the Bengals game was going to be any different? Nearly every game the offense does very little until the 4th quarter, or in the Bucs game, did nothing after the first half. Thankfully, the Broncos beat the Chiefs, so at least players won't be thinking "easy game" in the back of their heads.

I'm critical of Josh, but I don't think this is the issue. If anything, he may be putting added pressure on himself to work harder & improve, which has resulted in uncharacteristic play. He knows last year was a struggle, especially the 2nd half & the playoffs. He knows people blamed HIM for the Diggs situation. He knows he leads the league in turnovers the past several years. So knowing all that, he's likely trying to make changes & play differently. Unfortunately, it's still not working out, and I'm not sure the surrounding players/play calling are helping him with that. Josh is still turning it over, but so are others. Along with the penalties, still no commitment to running the ball, dropped passes, etc. it's only adding to the difficulties Josh is having.

I think he's just more cognizant of the turnover machine moniker he's been labeled with. And though I'd love to say "he shouldn't let the outside noise get to him," I'm very sympathetic in that regard. The pressure is already insane, but to hear people hone in more on your mistakes than what you do well, coupled with suggestions that your best offensive player wants to leave because of YOUR performances... that's gotta be rough. So I don't blame him for being hesitant, I just hope he eventually works through it & finds a way to come out better for it.

It's exactly as I (and others) said... Stop using AVERAGE stats for the whole season to try & disguise RECENT performances. We are now 2-3 in our last 5 games, have an inept offense & bipolar defense, and we are struggling against every single team we've faced. Those early few blowout wins have zero bearing on how this team is playing.

This is why other fans & analysts don't believe in the Bills but constantly dismissed KC & Cincy's struggles. Everyone knows Burrow & Mahomes are calm, collected & will self-correct. When healthy, they're proven teams. The Bills aren't like that. Allen isn't great playing from behind, turns the ball over too much, the team invests resources into players that haven't moved the needle, and everyone around them seems to be getting better. And in the playoffs? Nobody believes in Buffalo. At 5-4, with 4 conference losses, many don't think we'll even make the playoffs. Lastly, injuries and an aging roster aren't helping... This season is gonna be tough.

Defense blew it right there, but Dorsey & the offense blew it throughout the game. Josh's INT & Kincaid's fumble... this team seemingly can't go a game without turning it over anymore.

It was just that, BS. But I expect several BS calls from the refs every game at this point. Just have to keep playing smart & execute to make sure those calls aren't deciding the game (easier said than done though).

Looks like a repeat of what we saw 1st quarter of week 17 & the divisional game. Defense just making it easy. Offense can't be flat tonight, can't turn it over.

I actually think the schedule turned out a bit better than it originally appeared before the season. The Bills had the 7th toughest strength of schedule going into the season (Dolphins had #2), but that's based off the previous year's results. While some teams are outpacing their last year's results, others are worse than expected. 9-7 Giants (currently 2-6) 8-9 Patriots x 2 (currently 2-6) 10-7 Chargers (currently 3-4) You also have teams that are better than last year (like the Dolphins & even the Jets), so it mostly balances out. But yes, playing the Bengals, Chiefs & Eagles on the road sucks! Unfortunately, the Bills have the 3rd most difficult strength of schedule remaining (based on current win% of opponents), so this will show us how legit this team truly is.

Fair enough, agree to disagree! And yes, he's very insecure about Mahomes & acts like the world is out to get him... even though everyone in the media praises him constantly & places him firmly in his own tier as the best QB in the league. The reason I think he feels Burrow is Mahomes' biggest threat is because he's far less likely to make definitive statements, promises, or have those wild takes (which he gets so much attention for) when it comes to Burrow. Pretty much just Burrow, too. Literally anyone else is fair game at some point, but he's so much more reserved with how he talks about Burrow after the Bengals beat the Chiefs (in Arrowhead) to make it to the SB. He's also the last guy to admit being wrong about anything (just look at him with his Jokic takes in the NBA or how he STILL tries to talk up Baker Mayfield), so there's just no way he'll ever give Allen proper credit without added sarcasm & joke comments.

I used to think that, but over time, it's clear he thinks that person is Burrow. If you want to read my long-winded take on his Allen opinions, here they are: ***Apologies for the Novel in Advance!*** He dislikes Allen because Nick doesn't know how to be fluid with his takes. He had Allen as a bust after his rookie year, then thought his Sophomore year solidified that. By the time the COVID season hit, Nick was already set in his opinion about Allen. So when Allen has a season that would win him MVP if it was almost any other year, Nick tried to explain it away & justify that Allen/the Bills were still not a REAL contender. 2021 he continued to double down, comparing him to Davis Mills & Daniel Jones, and only talking about Allen if he made mistakes or had a bad game. And the Bills gave him ammo, choking against the Jags & getting blown out at home vs the Colts. The first time he gave Allen legit credit was after the Chiefs playoff game. That's how long it took for him to admit Allen was legit, with no added mockery. But the 2022 offseason made him spiteful, and his Allen appreciation reverted to Allen mockery. It was all because of the media hype & Vegas oddsmakers placing the Bills as SB favorites over KC. This is when he gave Allen the "rollercoaster" Allen moniker. And he's carried on that nonsense ever since then. Unfortunately, a lot of people love First Thing's First, and his narrative is actually catching on with general NFL fans.

He had a monster game last week. Really wish they would've done whatever it took to sign him, as it's not like his deal broke the bank. I know we didn't have much to work with, but the Titans got him for 2 years, $26 million. But that's a steal compared to what Arizona was paying him - $27 million a year.

They were just waiting for an excuse to put Elam on the IR weren't they? Now nobody will be asking about why he's a healthy scratch each week!

So what you're telling me is that our ugliest combo (red on red) is our most successful? Screw it, go to red on red full time! Anyone remember that thing in the 90's where the 49ers had some insane record when they wore their red unis with the shadowed numbers? I have no idea why, but I just remembered some episode on ESPN having an entire segment about how they were undefeated one season with it. Edit: Found the uni I was thinking about

Can we stop the thing we do every year where we ignore very distressing patterns in favor of overall record/stats, just to help cover up the issues? Bills first 4 games - 139 points for / 55 points against (+84 differential / 3-1 record) Bills last 4 games - 78 points for / 81 points against (-3 differential / 2-2 record) Bengals first 4 games - 49 points for / 94 points against (-45 differential / 1-3 record) Bengals last 3 games - 82 points for / 50 points against (+32 differential / 3-0 record) So unless games from 1 month ago matter, I think we should start paying attention to RECENT play, and not overall record/stats. Also worth noting, the Bills last 4 games were against the 6-2 Jags, 2-6 Patriots, 2-6 Giants, and 3-4 Bucs... those are the opponents we faced during our RECENT bad stretch. Bengals have scored more points in 3 games than we have in 4. They also beat 2 teams with winning records, we beat 0. Sure, it looks nice to say we have a +81 point differential vs the Bengals -13, or that our defense has 8 INTs vs the Bengals 10 INTs, but when you've had 0 INTs & a negative point differential in the last month, how does that help predict the upcoming game? I'm not saying we're going to lose, and I get everyone wants to be optimistic hoping to manifest a win into existence, but nobody is "overhyping" the Bengals, they're just keeping a modest mindset.

I know this is about what we should do with Elam, but I dislike the narrative that McDermott "doesn't like to play rookies," or that he makes the young guys sit just because he doesn't trust them. Yes, I know Elam isn't a rookie anymore, but many people still seem to think Elam sits inactive because the HC has a thing for vets > young guys. 2017: Tre White - Started 16 games (he was the #27th overall pick vs Elam being the #23 overall pick) Zay Jones - Started 10 games, played in 15 (79% of offensive snaps) Dion Dawkins - Started 11 games Matt Milano - Started 5 games, played in 16 Nate "The Goat" Peterman - Started 2 games (unfortuantely), played in 4 2018: Josh Allen - Started 11 games, played in 12 (missed games due to injury) Tremaine Edmunds - Started 15 games Taron Johnson - Started 2 games, played in 11 (another CB, 4th round pick, 57% of defensive snaps) Wyatt Teller - Started 7 games, played in 8 (5th round G, now consistent starter in Cleveland) 2019: Ed Oliver - Started 7 games, played in 16 (54% of defensive snaps) Cody Ford - Started 15 games Devin Singletary - Started 8 games, played in 12 (67% of offensive snaps) Dawson Knox - Started 11 games, played in 15 2020: AJ Epenesa - Only started 1 game, played in 14 (only 31% of defensive snaps) Zack Moss - Started 0 games, played in 13 (45% of offensive snaps) Gabe Davis - Started 11 games, played in 16 Tyler Bass - Started 16 games, kinda 😆 Dane Jackson - Started 2 games, played in 5 (another CB, 7th round pick, worked his way into a lot more play time) 2021: Greg Rousseau - Started 16 games Spencer Brown - Started 10 games, played in 13 2022: Kaiir Elam - Started 6 games, played in 13 (57% of defensive snaps) Khalil Shakir - Started 2 games, played in 14 Christian Benford - Started 5 games, played in 9 (6th round CB, injured/inactive for 7 games, 62% of defensive snaps when available) 2023: Dalton Kincaid - Started/listed as a starter in 5 of 7 available games (63% of offensive snaps) O'Cyrus Torrence - Started all 8 games Dorian Williams - Started 2 games So after looking through this objectively, it seems pretty clear our first round picks play EXTENSIVELY. In 2020, there was no 1st rounder, and the best value came later in the draft. But it's clear Elam is the odd man out here. It's not a "McDermott doesn't like to play rookies" thing, it's a "he doesn't like what he sees from Elam" thing. However, you can also see the early years of building through the draft, as opposed to more recent years & less need for immediate help via draft picks. So while it's more difficult for a rookie to see as much play time now compared to the past, you also see late round picks (including other CBs) seeing their play time increase. Either way, the one constant is that the 1st round picks are drafted with the intent to see the field immediately & be the starters. Elam failed that. Unfortunately, I think the best time to trade him would've been before the deadline. Teams in the hunt may be more eager to find help midseason rather than when they have all the time in the world in the offseason.

I honestly haven't been following it, but is it still a shoulder thing? We've seen him go into the blue tent a couple of games already, so is this the same nagging injury that's just bothering him each week or something different?

"Should" isn't the same as "will" though. You'd think after losing to the Jags, then barely escaping with a win against one of the worst teams in the league, the Bills SHOULD have been ready against an awful divisional opponent. Nope. Three straight games they came out flat yet again, and this time the defense let Mac Jones have his best game of the season. Now the same, injury-depleted unit with no top tier CBs, struggling on the DL, and missing their best defensive player overall, is going to have a good game vs Chase/Boyd/Higgins? They looked bad against this game team at home last year, and that's even with the Bengals OL all beat up.

Here's a great play from Douglas - Game sealing INT against the 7-0 Cardinals with 15 seconds left, handing them their first loss of the season! Edit: Go to 27:13 in the video. You'll have to click the link since the NFL is stingy about their clips 😅 Which is going to be great, especially with some of our other leaders out with injury & Von still working his way back into the swing of things. Obviously we still have Hyde & Poyer, but it'll be good to have another highly motivated, highly competitive guy in that locker room.

I think they just know they're going to suck for a while & need to rebuild. And Douglas made it pretty clear he's not down with playing for a losing team that's preparing to lose even more. Glad he spoke up, as that probably made it easier for us to get him!

In terms of how good they turned out to be, probably Gilmore or Winfield. Unfortunately, they went on to have their best years on other teams, but were still great players while they were here. If it weren't for injuries, Tre would already be up there. He was an All Pro after year 3, made a Pro Bowl the next year, and was probably on pace for another in 2022 before the injury.

He did. Quote from him after Sunday's game (taken from ESPN article): "We're saying s--- but until we actually do the s---, it don't really matter," Douglas said after Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings. "I'm thinking about it like, bro, I've never been a loser in my life. These last two years have been f---ing loser. That s--- ain't me. I don't think that s---'s us. We've got to do something, you know what I mean?"

Whoops, my bad. For some reason I thought he missed 2 games.

Nah, we're not big on improving mid-season 😅 But they have to find a way to trade Elam before the deadline... Just my opinion, but he'll have more trade value now than he will in the offseason, especially since it looks like we have zero intention of using him either way.

Just bumping this thread, as I was about to post some stuff about Ed. Ed is #2 among DT's in total sacks with 5.0 on the season (tied for #21 overall with AJ Epenesa), just 0.5 short of Chris Jones at 5.5 sacks. He's also tied for #2 OVERALL in TFL with 10 so far (tied with Aaron Donald & Montez Sweat), just 2 short of Danielle Hunter's 12 TFL. And that's with missing Patriots game too. Also, shoutout to Leonard Floyd who has been the best offseason signing so far. He's got 6.5 sacks in 7 games (missed the Pats game as well).