CLTbills

I was a 4-12 to 5-11 guy, just due to talent deficiencies, knowing that the long term gain (early-round draft picks) was worth it. But after watching these past 4 weeks, I think the ceiling (while VERY unlikely - that's why it's the "ceiling") is 12-4, I think ANYTHING less than 9-7 would be considered a colossal failure after seeing the way we've played so far. This isn't the flukey "good starts" that we've had in the past where we rode Fitz's hot streak but were ultimately a very poorly-coached team. I think 10-6 is more realistic. As another poster pointed out, that win against Denver could end up being huge in a wildcard tie-breaker.

No, not really. They came out with a play they were going to run IF Atlanta gave them the right look. If they didn't get the right look, take the 5-yard penalty (at that point its still a chip shot at 24 yds) and move on. I'd rather them go out there with a chance at punching it in if they get the right look, than just folding and taking 3 without at least leaving the option open for 6 There's also the angle that if he could catch a guy offside and snap the ball, we'd get a free play out of it. The call had a tremendously high upside (potential TD) and basically no downside (a 24-yd FG instead of a 19-yd). I dig it.

i love home primetime games, but I hope not. Nothing good ever seems to come out of them.

5-6

This thread wins the internet today.

Hahaha I love it! Cousin Billy!

7 - McDermott - There's quite a few calls in the game where I scratch my head as to what McDermott is thinking. Trying to get the Falcons to jump offsides on 4th and goal made absolutely no sense as they couldn't get rewarded with a 1st. But at 3-1, with penalties under control, and with a defense that is just playing amazing, he's earned the benefit of the doubt with me. There was only one play on defense where they looked confused, and that was the passing touchdown we gave up. Other than that, this team went into an insanely tough venue against a crazy fast offense, and held them to 17 points. I'm trying not to get too caught up in things after 4 games, but this really does feel different with him. On this one, there was a certain defensive set they were looking for. They had a play called, and if Tyrod got the right defensive alignment, they were going to run the play, if not, take the delay of game (instead of burning a timeout). It's the difference between a 19 and 24-yd field goal. I think after all of his 50-plus yarders, Coach is confident enough in Hauschka to sacrifice the 5 yards. The ball came loose, and while still in contact with his hand, "control" is debatable. If it was a pass, it was more of a shot put-type pass.

I'm addicted!

Wow. He was what I expected to be the solution to the Jordan Matthews issue. Just shows McBeane is more worried about character and such.

That was the game where Stevie Johnson fumbled with like under 2 minutes to go and we lost. Pretty good microcosm of the last 17 years.

This is dumb. Before yesterday we would have won the tiebreaker? Well after yesterday there IS NO NEED FOR A TIEBREAKER. What should we do, intentionally lose? Would that make you happier? Not many would pick out the bad news to talk about after beating the defending NFC champs, and favorite to return to the SB, in THEIR building.

This. The Bills are much more of a surprise than the Rams. McDermott definitely would win if they handed it out now.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. So glad that circus has left town. For the first time in my life I was legitimately embarrassed to be a Bills fan. They times, they are a changin'

Here's the thing. The "total yards doesnt sound flashy. And it easy to say "31st passing offense". But here are stats that give you better perspective. Passing (Comp-Att-Int-Avg) 65 - 99 - 1 - 7.5 He's only thrown the ball 99 times thru 4 games... easy math, 25 times per game. If you look at yards per completion, he's (by my count) 14th in the league. Definitely not Brady, but he's getting the job done. When he does have to throw it, he's fairly effective. The point is, when we ask him to throw it, he's doing a good job, and his running threat is huge for the team, and i'm not talking about when he takes off and runs. It's his ability to move the pocket and buy time.

Dude has been money. I remember the last 2 years with Carpenter trotting out onto the field, you were always cringing... missed easy FGs and extra points. Now, it's like 55 yds? basically automatic.

I was looking at the schedule this morning. If the Bills keep playing like this, who are we going to lose to? I think the Saints, Pats in NE (I think we beat them at the Ralph) and the Chiefs. I know this is a BIG if, and injuries, etc. are going to come into play. But right now, I'm not scared of Cincy, Tampa, Oakland, Jets, Dolphins, Chargers, or Colts. Those are all VERY winnable games, as long as this team continues on its current trend. I firmly believe we're through one of the toughest parts of our schedule, and came out 3-1.

I believed in this team, just didn't think we were "there" enough to beat a team like ATL. I've never been more happy to be proven wrong. I need to pick against us every week.

no doubt. But these are the plays and situations where we always cave and blow a big win.

To be fair, with Rex, it was ALL THE TIME disorganization. With McDermott, yeah, stuff is going to happen but.... It's rare that they've looked out of place, disheveled, confused, unprepared, etc.

If you watch it back, the final play was going to be a quick slant to the receiver that Atlanta had out to the right. Right before the snap, Poyer came up and filled that lane, and Ryan had nowhere to go with the ball. Great play call and great play by this defense!!

Yeah, I've been trying to bleach those 2 years from my brain. What an embarrassment. But NEVER have I been so excited about the direction of this team!

How are we 3 point dogs against Cincy? We just beat Denver and Atlanta (in their place). Cincinnatis ONLY win was against the browns.

And they use him in dumb situations. They ran a draw play today on 2nd and 19, to TOLBERT. He has his usefulness in certain situations.... that is NOT one of those situations.

When the headline is "Stephon Gilmore, Patriots' secondary fizzle out in loss to Panthers" on the front page of ESPN...

You can look at it that way.... OR, you can look at it this way. We were in FG range, and ran the ball well in the second half. We also forced them to burn all their timeouts. Definitely conservative, no doubt about it. But it had some positives as well.