ShakAttack

With his 0-7 OT record, I can imagine why one would want to avoid a game getting to that point. I mean, at some point, it has to get in his head, right? (In the “what can possibly happen this time” sense) Think about some of these games: - 13 seconds: Never touched the football - Jets OT MNF: Never touched the football - Last year: I’d argue he actually made the play to win the game this time around (after failing to seal the deal during regulation, coincidentally) but the Brandin Cooks things happened. With all this weirdness, I would not blame him one bit if he prefers to handle biz during office hours, as you put it.

I understand that perspective because players are always most remembered by what they’ve done lately, but BTJ’s rookie season shouldn’t be disregarded either. He was arguably the top rookie receiver in a loaded class of rookie WRs. I don’t know what his deal was last year, but there is absolutely no doubt that he “belongs” and that he is an elite talent. He put up numbers as a rookie that most receivers won’t put up in their entire career. Now, it’s up to him to bounce back and become that player again.

Uhh... Someone help me out here... When Brandon Beane comes up short on a targeted player historically, it usually doesn't end well, does it? I.e. botching the Waddle trade, and settling for Cooks & Hardman. Now, I liked Cooks, but generally speaking, moves that are made out of desperation due to a limited # of options left aren't great, more often than not (See 2013 First Round Pick EJ Manuel because the Bills forced their hand into needing a QB at the worst possible time).

And yet, so predictable at the same time. ESPECIALLY when Hendrickson announced he would "make a decision on Wednesday" after the Crosby trade fell through. Gotta love it. But the silver lining - to me personally (can't speak for others) - is that I was extremely undecided on taking a chance on a 31+ y/o DE coming off an injury. Typically, at that age, when you start to get hurt, it doesn't just "stop" and production doesn't just magically revert back to where it was prior to the injuries. The only exception I can really think of is Adrian Peterson, and he was a superfreak.

is it though? Most low first rounders in this year’s class have 2nd round value. Can’t speak to next year’s class, but this one seems even worse than last year. Take our first round picks in consecutive years under Beane and ask yourself is Crosby more valuable than the combination of both players. In most cases the answer will be “yes”.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/raiders-want-two-first-round-picks-and-a-player-for-maxx-crosby if I had to choose between WR and pass rusher, I’m still going pass rusher. The defense is making a comeback in the NFL. Every AFC playoff team except for the Bills was pretty stacked with talent this year on the defensive side, despite some average offenses. Not to mention, the past few years especially, teams with great defenses are winning again… winning it all. KC vs SF Philly vs KC Seattle vs NE All of those games were won with defenses with DLs that could disrupt the QB and passing game. In other words, if I’m the Bills, I make this offer. I don’t know who the “additional player” has to be, but we’ve got a handful of “solid” defenders that are ineffective as soon as the playoffs start and they are unable to matchup vs. a higher class. The Raiders can have one of those guys. Crosby is one of a kind. He’s worth the asking price..

Yeah that's how they won the SB, but JSN was a major part of them GETTING to the SB.

I mean, we made it to the AFCCG, and probably should have gone to the Super Bowl if not for a bad spot on a Josh Allen QB sneak. In ONE SEASON we got closer to the Super Bowl than we ever had with Diggs. But yes, his absence was definitely felt more this season, I'll give you that. That said, this pass offense also ran through the TEs and RBs, and our TE room was #3 in total yards in the entire NFL this season, and that is with all the missed games due to injury. One thing I miss about Diggs is his availability. Like Josh, he almost never misses games. The torn ACL last season was pretty much the only time he missed in the past 5 years. When it come to good players in the NFL, availability is the most important trait of all...

I should rephrase: January has easily become my least favorite month of the year (since 2021). As a result, the off-season has become my favorite time of the season because of its contrast with January, in which we transition from sorrow to hope by way of new player/personnel acquisitions, etc. And somehow, during the off-season, many of us tend to expect the best-case scenario for each of these new & exciting acquisitions (i.e. Jim Leonhard) 😂

This is why the off-season is my favorite time of the year! Well, at least during the months in which stuff actually happens 😆

I mentioned it at the end of the first bullet point, but I don’t blame you for missing it, I let it all out in that post lol. Diggs disappears in the playoffs and he honestly hasn’t done a whole lot for the Pats in the playoffs either. They should lose to Seattle but something feels eerily similar to Tom Brady’s first Super Bowl. Tom was also in his second season and the Pats were underdogs vs. the Rams but came through. No bueno.

Funny you ask that cause I’m a non-Buffalo resident too. Washington state in the Pacific Northwest here, and no, it isn’t easy with Seahawks fans everywhere I go, but make no mistake, I hope they destroy New England. Anyway, we have a Bills Backers bar in Portland about 20 mins away from where I live in WA. So in your case I’d probably say find a Bills Backers bar but get there early because last year for the AFCCG we arrived at halftime of the Eagles game 1.5 hours before kickoff and still I couldn’t get a seat 😆

I actually do find it more comfort in a reasonable explanation versus the feeling of “we are cursed!” because with the coin flip example, to your point, at least you can associate it with a real-life improbable - but possible - scenario. And that’s a whole lot better than feeling like you don’t have a chance in the first place. I think it’s more frustration than anything else. Frustration in the sense that something always does go wrong (in the playoffs) and it usually involves either self-inflicted mistakes or something outside of our control (like a bad call). But you’re absolutely right, and the Bills along with all the 50/50 moments we’ve been in the wrong side of in the playoffs are basically equivalent to spinning a roulette wheel 10 times and landing on black each time, which does indeed happen!

I wish I liked hockey, truly. And I refuse to be a bandwagon fan. So I will just say this: Go Sabres! If they can do it, so can the Bills!

If it weren't for the McDermott firing, this board would look very different right now, and in between following updates on the Bills building and introducing its new staff, etc. my mind will drift back to the Bills-Broncos game every now and then, a reminder of why January has become my least favorite month of the year, by far, because we are in this position every year and it always takes me a little while to get the "PAIN" (as Allen once put it) out of my system. The Bills are truly one of a kind. A unique team with a history that is so bizarre nobody would believe any one of us if we tried to tell the story, regardless of whether you start the story from the 90's or from 2018 (but further back you go, more unbelievable it gets, no doubt). For me, our unique team that has reached a point in which - unfortunately - as a fan I begin every season with the same question that I try to ignore: How are the Bills going to deliver another devastating playoff loss that goes down in history this year? Not sure how long I have approached each season with this mentality, but let's go back to "13 seconds". The narrative in the national media after that game was something like... "Don't fret, Bills fans! Allen is going to win a Super Bowl one of these years!" I remember hearing that narrative and over and over and thinking "Hogwash!! I know better. Been doing this since the 90's and you're all sitting on the outside looking in. This team is cursed; it ain't gonna happen like that". If it were anything else, I never believe in "curses" but with the Bills, I've just run out of rational explanations. This is beyond insanity. Hopefully it was "Rich Stadium" all along. We'll see next year!! (Now, will I really believe the curse has been lifted? No, see above Re: Having the same thought at the beginning of each season. There's a difference between belief and hope. Hope is all I've got. And that's the part I wanted to get off my chest. It is so unbelievably remarkable to me that we were arguably the most cursed/unlucky team in professional sports already and then you consider what happened since 2021 on top of it all: The AJ Klein vs. Kelce game. Probably the worst shape we've been in a playoff game, yet it was at home and we had all the momentum at halftime. Diggs drops an Allen deep ball. Tyler Bass misses an easy field goal attempt. Last year's AFC championship loss to KC. The terrible spot on the Allen "tush push" which absolutely swung momentum and changed the game. Followed by Allen & Kincaid nearly connecting what may have become the most memorable play in Bills post season history, but of course, it did not happen. Honorable mention to the Xavier Worthy "catch" in that game, in light of what happened in the next bullet point... ...which is Bills-Broncos. We don't need a recap. It's still fresh. The Cooks play still pains me. I think about it more than anything else that happened in that game. Going 0-4 against KC in the playoffs, but win 4 or 5 straight regular season meetings (I lost count) Josh Allen becoming the only QB with 7+ playoff wins to never reach a Super Bowl (and now he has 8, and he's still 29) To me, the Cooks "interception" kind of just symbolized our reality of "if it's not one thing, it's going to be another". Something will always fail somewhere. It feels inevitable. For instance, Allen plays a perfect game, but coaching fails us (13 seconds). We have a chance to seize momentum early in a game and never look back, but can't get out of our own way with turnovers (Broncos this year). We make the game winning play in OT for the first time in Allen's career, but refs call it differently than every other instance of the same play (Broncos again). We have the lead and a chance to go up by 2 scores, Allen gets the first down, but refs disagree (Chiefs last year). We can keep going, but you all get it: It's always something. Now, here is where I apologize for the downer post, but good news is we have a more positive ending: IF we ever reach the Super Bowl again in our collective life times, there is NO FAN BASE IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS OUTSIDE OF BILLS MAFIA that could possibly appreciate the JOURNEY and everything we have endured to reach that stage, not to the extent of Bills Mafia, not even close. We are the only fan base in the country that has been through this. What happened in the 90's was already unparalleled (and still is) and what is happening from 2018-2026 has never happened before either. We are let down in the worst way year after year, but if that day ever comes... man oh man.... nobody would have it better than us. Do I believe it? Nah, not really. But I can hope! And I've been wrong before. Heck, I thought the 17 year playoff drought would keep going too. So I guess you just never know.