ShakAttack

Why? Well, I think part of it probably has something to do with maybe because the previous 2 years offense did not seem to be as much of an issue? Particularly, the passing game. I think most of us agreed where we would need an upgrade most was at running back. But after this season, and after yesterday's game, the need for a better WR2 became a seemingly greater priority than it was in the past. I don't think it's rocket science though. Needs change every year. Let's not forget how it used to seem like our WRs had very little issue getting open. So the system was working, at the time. Maybe it's Dorsey's fault? Don't know. When last season ended, it seemed like our offense was elite, ESPECIALLY in the passing game, but the lack of a pass rush kept us out of the Super Bowl, so the priority was pass rush and getting a faster/bigger/more athletic corner to add to our talented backfield. Then everyone got hurt. And things changed. I really always felt like the loss of Daboll was being so underrated when people automatically pegged us the Super Bowl favorites this season. And now Daboll is the NFL's coach of the year.

Defense mechanisms. You kind of have to do that instead of facing the reality of "4 years in playoffs and couldn't make a Super Bowl, last year indeed was our chance to do it and the window is probably closed now" because if you believe that, well, then what's the point?

It’s funny, this is off-topic, but for some reason the OP made me think of it… past couple seasons, it seemed like we were only a “couple pieces away” from winning a championship. Then going into this season, it felt like we picked up the missing piece in Von Miller. but as of right now, this very moment, it seems we have so many deficiencies that it’s more like “Where the hell do we even start?” I wish I could believe this was easily fixable, but this really has the feel of taking several steps back (and quite possibly, the rest of our division may continue moving forward)

You know, if we make the Super Bowl, it will remind me a lot of Flacco and the Ravens. I remember Flacco being a turnover machine during the regular season that year, but once the playoffs started he could not be stopped. And at least, for ONE off-season, some considered him to be one of the league’s best QBs. Go figure. As for Allen, I have to say, aside from the fumble, the interceptions were not Allen’s fault; he actually had a really good day, especially throwing the ball, and I don’t need to remind about the 2 drops that were reversed by replay which also was not on him. But my point is, I still feel like Allen WAS in playoff mode yesterday. It’s a shame that 2 interceptions that were not on him will blemish his career playoff stats though

I live in WA (20 min drive north of Portland, Oregon) and there are actually a LOT of Bills fans here, so Oregon does not surprise me too much.

Wouldn’t be something McD hasn’t done before actually. Member the 2019 playoff game against the Texans? And how heavily we featured Duke Williams? Now, that experiment didn’t really work, but we still should have won. I don’t know. It’s tough. We are frustrated about Davis and McKenzie because of drops. But Beasley had a significant drop on MNF against the Bengals. And I remember Smoke with some unfortunate drops in his last season with us. Who do you trust? And is any one of them that much more important than the next? It’s tough… but my top 2 would be Davis and Smoke. With Davis, I would imagine his presence on the field would help Allen’s confidence in the playoffs. And perhaps, like Allen, he is one of those dudes that comes up big in the playoffs. As for Smoke, our offense is SO MUCH BETTER when Allen has the deep ball working for him and Smoke/Davis/Diggs all have that threat. I was tempted to take Beasley as one of my top 2, but we signed him to be the safety valve guy he used to be, yet he has played 3 game and received 1 target in each, so if we aren’t going to really use him to serve that purpose, then what’s the point?

Stage 1?? I heard he is in Stage 3? https://news.yahoo.com/tua-tagovailoa-not-cleared-to-practice-raheem-mostert-has-broken-thumb-ahead-of-dolphins-bills-playoff-game-215328414.html "Tua remained in Stage 3 on Sunday" Stage 4 - I believe - is when you can start practicing. If he is indeed already in Stage 3, I expect he is practicing as soon as tomorrow. That said, after the Damar Hamlin incident, all the concussion stuff with Tua this year is probably the next "scariest" story line, so I would just hope he doesn't play..... regardless of whether he is cleared.

i don’t know. I wondered about that a couple of weeks ago. If we won the Vikings game, would it have changed the sense of urgency at the end of the Lions game, for instance, when we couldn’t afford to lose another game in large part due to the Vikings game and the urgency to win the game at the end of the 4th quarter so that there would be no chance of going to OT? (to avoid another potential outcome LIKE the Vikings game?) It might sound silly on the surface but as Von and many other players have pointed out “you learn more from the losses than the wins” and all I know is we have not lost a “close game” since that Vikings game. All I am saying is that, if we won that Vikings game, it doesn’t automatically mean we still would have won every game after that

I predict instead, first time we drive down the field, assuming it gets to 1st and goal, we kick a FG on first down to put 3 on the board first in honor of Damar.

To be completely honest, I feel like as of right now, I do not really care as much about the games, playoff seeding, etc. But I think once that Pats game kicks off, I will be sucked right back into it all for the same reasons I became a football fan in the first place: This sport is the ultimate distraction and escape for me and I have been rooting for this team practically my entire life; I do not follow any other team in any other sport, so in my case, whether I like it or not, I think I will be caught up in the hype of the next game as soon as it starts. as for the players, I think many of them will be too. Over the years, I have watched many of these players lose a loved one right before playing a game, and I cannot remember one time where the player did not want to play that next game. Often times, they come out and play harder, better, because in their minds, they are honoring the loved one that has deceased. I realize every person is different, and I realize this situation was brand new to ALL of these players, but from what I understand about football players and their mentality, I do believe that for most of them, the football field will serve as the stage in which they honor Damar Hamlin on Sunday, and if they are successful in doing that, I think it would be a beautiful thing, and one of my fondest regular season memories as a Bills fan.

This happens every single year with Miami as others have pointed out, it is actually incredible, especially with the 8-3 start this year and with the amount of talent on offense, I thought they were a lock for the playoffs, even with their history of meltdowns in the latter half of the season. in fact, the ENTIRE afc East collapsed right around the same time. Not long ago we had an entire division sitting at 7-4 or better (or was it 7-3??) But when the smoke cleared, it was just another familiar looking AFC East standings , with Bills way ahead in first, and the Pats with a small shot at playoffs…

Well if he intends to be back for the playoffs, even more reason I hope we get the first round bye, and he has to play one less game, for his own sake

I would imagine that the most likely “retirement” scenario would be Morse coming back this season to ride out the playoffs, and then possibly retire during the off-season. I don’t think he would hang it up right now unless this particular concussion was different/worse than the others. He is a competitor, has put in the work all season to help the Bills get to where they are, and I would imagine his mind is set on a championship like most of our players. If this happened at the beginning of the season, that’s o another thing, but I think it’s too close to the playoffs for him to turn back now. I’d be surprised to see that, but not so surprised to see him retire in the off-season.

my gut feeling is that it has to be someone in the passing game, and that’s because I think Josh Allen is going to show out. Allen, being the perfectionist that he is, has probably put more focus and mental preparation into this game than any other because you know the first meeting left a bad taste in his mouth and he’s always seemed to bounce back from similar situations in his career. Patriots last year comes to mind first. They beat us in the first meeting. Allen was unable to deliver at the very end of the game. And pats have had no answer for him ever since that night. now, I know it is easier said than done with the EXTREMELY talented defense that the Jets have, but I think the Bills find a way this time around, and hopefully the refs don’t let Sauce get away with blatant pi because sadly that will be a factor as well. anyway , if Allen is having a big game, I’m going with his “go to” Stefon Diggs as this week’s impact player. Kind of surprised I’m not seeing his name much. I guess it’s the respect for Jets Corners?

It’s interesting because in previous weeks the spread would start high in our favor and then little by little trend down until kickoff, but not this week. I am thinking the way we beat the Pats was convincing and it was the type of win people had been waiting for and expecting since we started the season.

How tf has the spread stayed at Bills -9.5 to bills -10 all week?? Everywhere I look people are taking Jets +9.5/10 (even though the vast majority still have Bills winning) but if most of the money is coming in on the Jets, doesn’t that usually influence the spread? this has been the most mind boggling Bills spread of the year for me. Jets have a stingy defense that has kept almost all of their games close I believe, also proved to be the TOUGHEST defense Allen has had to deal with so far, their offense has improved with Mike White and they’re also healthy. So, I keep looking at this thinking I am missing something…. Shrug…. All I can say is I hope they’re right!!!

One thing I love (hate) about this team is how whenever there's an injury nobody gives us anything of substance. They don't tell us sh*t and that just makes it worse for me because in between games, all I ever do is obsess over our injuries.

But we are also undefeated when Poyer is out there. Something's gotta give on Sunday.

Crowder has always been a good player when healthy. The problem is, he gets hurt a lot. I actually thought he was out for the year until about 2 minutes ago reading through this thread, so I'm taking this as some much needed good news today.

We can't replace Von. There is no sugar coating it. That said, we are still a pretty good defense without Von, when healthy. What we need is one of our young guys to turn into the guy that makes big plays in big moments. I'm not counting on it, but that's what we need for the playoffs, because that situation will most likely come up. The reason I don't count on it happening is because that is what separates the elite defenders from the rest, and most teams do NOT have a Von Miller / Aaron Donald / Micah Parsons / Myles Garrett. That said, I remember a few years ago, I believe 2019, there were a few games in which I recall our secondary closing out games with 4th quarter interceptions. We might not find the "big moment" pass rusher on our roster anymore, but Jordan Poyer and Tre White could make the big play in the secondary...... We did not have White OR Miller last year in the playoffs obviously. At least we will have one of them now.... I think. Anyway, a couple wins against the Jets and Dolphins will certainly have us feeling like this defense can get it done against playoff caliber teams without Von Miller, and I really want to be convinced of that as a Bills fan, so.. while I may not be expecting the blowout against the Jets that Vegas is putting out there, if we can be the first defense this season to slow down Mike White and the resurgent Jets offense, that should go a long way towards our confidence in this "new" defense.

you’re not wrong, but it does kinda suck knowing that Miller forced the game winning Int against KC in the regular season. He was doing what we brought him here to do. Someone else is going to need to fill that void. Who is going to be that playmaker when the defense needs a stop in the playoffs?

When we had all these injuries on defense this year I would constantly think to myself “Von is the guy we can always depend on to stay healthy. He’s a true pro and knows how to take care of his body”. And then, With one mis-step, he is done. Just like that. I hate ACL injuries. And what makes this even worse is knowing Von had been making the game changing plays we brought him here to make. This would be a LOT easier to digest if he was underperforming

It was a failed attempt at a joke. I love Big Phil and what he brings to the defense and he is one of those guys that I will check up on for an injury update 10-20 times a day, which is what prompted me to make a thread in the first place. The whole "just barely" (important enough) thing only crossed my mind because it was the morning after the game and it seemed like hardly anyone on the board was talking about it, which was a bit of a surprise, to me. Then I realized, the guys that got their own injury thread so far this season were..... Micah Hyde.... Jordan Poyer.... Josh Allen.... I think you understand where I'm at. But again, just to clarify.... HUGE fan of Big Phil here and I would really hate to lose him against the Jets. I think if we can put the same defense on the field against the Jets as we did vs the Pats, the Jets offense WILL struggle. Hopefully the Bills having a few extra days will also help.

Josh Allen is the only one that said he was “fine” and ended up not missing any time…. but he’s also The Man.