ShakAttack

I do agree that - old as it is - the recipe for success is still the same 3 years later. You CONTINUE to make DLine a priority. Recognize that Epenesa and Basham were wasted picks, but that you have something in Miller and Rousseau, and you keep striving to build an elite pass rush because that WILL make a huge difference when the games matter most. it’s tricky because OL is also a huge priority now but as much as people wanna scream about getting a WR2, I think priority 1a and 1b is OL and DL (pass rusher) still. Unfortunately you can’t control injury luck (unless you’re KC maybe) , but as far as approach, once you have the franchise QB in place, emphasis on OL&DL and the surrounding skill positions will benefit.

we had a Chris jones. But he got hurt. Chiefs key players never do.

It’s truly amazing how even though Mahomes gets all the glory, their middle-of-the-pack (at best) ranked defense ALWAYS come through the rare times Mahomes is stopped. The Bengals controlled their own destiny at the end of the game. Chris Jones is an Example of the reason we signed Von Miller, as we should have! The Bills recognized the value of having a closer in the playoffs, but naturally, it’s OUR closer that gets hurt. I don’t think it is just a Bills fan’s perspective when I say, the Chiefs are the luckiest team in the NFL. like the old Pats, something, somehow, no matter how absurd, always seems to go right for them at the end of the game…. Even if it’s unrelated to their QB!! I hate football. Really do.

On the one hand, it seems like it is inevitable we are going to have less talent on the roster next season, because of Free Agents and the cap hits from our top players. On the other hand, it's not like we had all of that talent at our disposal by the time the season ended. So, if key players are just more healthy than last season, how much are you really losing compared to where you were at the end of this season? There shouldn't be much of an overall drop-off in talent compared to where we were this season, even if we lost Edmunds & Poyer, for instance. You'd have Hyde, Miller and (ideally) a healthier Tre White. You'd also have an entire off-season to find a safety to replace Poyer instead of having to deal with it in the middle of the season. It's definitely going to be our most important draft since 2018, and it'll be a bigger challenge because unlike 2018, we don't have high picks and lots of draft capital. Another thought... during Beane's presser when he mentioned that lots of Bills players were out there playing "Really banged up", I thought, man... in some cases, if a guy is THAT banged up, would it not be better to consider playing someone fresh? The next guy up? Against a bunch of dudes that are definitely hurting from wear and tear during the season too? Of course, this is depending on who we are talking about too. I couldn't help but think about it, again, with the way the 2nd/3rd string Bengals oline dominated our dline (granted, we were technically missing 2 starters on our DLine too in Von and Daquan) and also the way Cole Beasley has looked... even at his age... he just looked more healthy and fresh than most of our other receivers because of the fact he didn't go through all of that wear and tear during the season. I don't know, I just feel like their might be something to stashing a few players / using them lightly during the regular season and then unleashing them in the playoffs. I think a lot of us hoped for that with Nyheim Hines, for instance.

This is worse than the drought anyway because during the drought all we wanted was an opportunity to contend again, a franchise QB, and now we have have those things, been back to the playoff 4 years in a row with that franchise QB and after going all-in and failing this year, and it’s just NEVER enough for one reason or another. I feel the window closing, and once it does, who knows if we have to wait 10-15 years to be in this position again. 2020 and ESPECIALLY 2021 were better opportunities than this season, so in the back of my mind I did think we would come up short somewhere along the way, but to lose by 17? I did not think that was ever going to be possible in a playoff game in Josh Allen’s career, much like I can’t imagine Mahomes ever bowing out like that, even with a high ankle sprain. But heck, his defense will probably step up for him, keep the game low scoring enough for him to have a shot at the end. I’ll admit though, it would actually make me feel better to see KC get their @$$ kicked… but they won’t… cause their coaching staff is far superior, for one thing.

It's hard not to wonder if we didn't use Shakir enough? He made some great plays when we called his number this season. Makes you wonder, if he were given an expanded role, would he come through? Like Hodgins did for Daboll in NY. Yeah I know, completely different players, but my point is, is it a matter of how we are (incorrectly) evaluating our talent?

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.