Richard Noggin

Plus, look at that "clapping" BS he's doing with his hands. His fundamentals have been so erratic with the most foundational part of his job: catching the football. I recall Jerry Rice declaring (in some rando interview or media piece or something) that there are only two ("proper") ways to catch a pass: thumbs together or pinkies together. That's it. Davis often points his fingers of both hands directly AT the incoming ball like a weirdo, or points his hands in opposite directions like an RB taking a handoff, or whatever other nonsense he comes up with on the fly. It's bizarre.

I'm already angry about it. I'm on the Bills side, and I just know I'll be looking across the field at those dumb yellow rags spinning in the stands behind the Steelers bench. They'll be in the stadium early, as visitors always are, so it will seem even worse while the teams are warming up. I'll probably even have to hear the word, "Yinze" at some point. Gross.

No.

Weird topic title. Worked on me, I guess.

Hugely different defensive coach with respect to scheme and tactics. Polar opposite of McD in almost every way.

The Steelers are also coming off a big (divisional) win, no?

Dean Spanos is indeed a nightmare. Headstrong guy like Harbaugh could have difficulty ignoring that.

He admittedly looks like an awesome teammate out there. His guys really do love him.

We didn't see a HUGE overthrow of Diggs after he effing OWNED Ramsey and was running FREE? Or several completely ignored short/outlet routes (Kincaid in the left flat on that doomed 4th and short, for example)? We definitely saw "amped up" Allen early in the game, and it cost the Bills a bunch of points.

Once Allen gained control of himself (his cheeks were VERY flushed from kickoff until into the 2nd quarter - and likewise his passes/decisions were erratic/problematic for the first 25ish minutes of gameplay) by the end of the 2nd quarter, I was weirdly confident the Bills would win as long as the coaches recognized that they had Elite Playoff Josh in the 2nd half. Abandoning the run was actually VITAL to winning IMHO (once Allen had settled down). There MUST be a way to help Allen be less geeked and amped and impatient early on. He needs a QB draw on the first play or something like that to ensure he gets the nerves hit right out of him. I've heard that he doesn't like to eat on gameday because he's prone to puking, and HECK if he doesn't seem like a dude whose blood sugar is not well managed when he's making bizarre mistakes out there. Adrenaline management is still an issue for him, which is bonkers.

Gotta root for Chiefs so they FINALLY have to play a road playoff game in WNY (assuming Bills take care of Pitt as they should). If Dolphins win, the Bills would host either the Browns or the Texans, and I honestly don't love either matchup as much as the Chiefs on the road, finally. Those two teams are more dynamic than the Chiefs this season. More dangerous. Separately, as a season ticket holder, I'm bracing for Bills fans selling mucho tickets to Steelers fans, and then to a lesser extent doing so again the following week (Texans fans not so much, but Chiefs and Browns fans will absolutely be looking to show up). That Cowboys game featured more opposing fans than I've ever seen in OP in McD era (Bills shut them up quickly, thankfully), and I'm afraid Steelers fans travel even better. Bengals fans, for reference, were VERY noticeable in OP for last year's Wildcard round. Their chanting of "TEE!" after any/every play Higgins made was especially disconcerting. Bills fans are definitely open for business, and the home field advantage suffers greatly because of it.

Whatever we might guess about that first endzone INT play, it cannot be denied that Miami ran an all-out Cover-0 blitz, and in that circumstance Davis SHOULD make himself immediately available to his QB, rather than blindly running a deep-ish endzone post route. If he just stops and turns (sensing obvious pressure), the ball would have been on him. Allen could have looked left quicker as he retreated, but either way his WR to that side wasn't speeding up/adjusting his availability.

Sherfield can throw blocks, too. And maybe he won't miss an all-out, zero blitz where his QB needs him to adjust and open-up early.

It was obvious when JA17 finally settled down (end of 1st half)...and from then on I was pulling for passing play calls because the beast had finally awoken. But the 1st quarter and most of the 2nd quarter were ugly. It's so easy to gauge where Allen's at during a game. When he's ON...my goodness, he's the best QB anyone has ever watched. But when he's OFF...yeah, it's not great.

Gotta be distant EVERY week, duh

I want to show this sentence to the founding fathers.

Great find. Fascinating read. Not sure every conclusion the author draws is entirely knowable, but still an awesome, if not subjective, glimpse behind the curtain.

Dean Spanos is weirdly nepo-rich and kind of awful...based solely on my Tempo 1st hand experience serving him and his front office in a private party the night before a game (sometime in the 2000-teens). I was actually warned beforehand by his chief handler not to address him directly about anything. He was incredibly aloof. And, more importantly, a truly awful tipper (when an entire shift was one single party/check, the tip was one's entire wage for the night). That dude did NOT interact with his "employees" at all during an entire game on the TV upstairs (aside from his well-paid marionette). Pretty sure this was 2014, so the game was a Saturday night baseball or college football matchup that the owner had an interest in. Memory is imperfect, so I can't say for sure. Just seemed ultra toxic organizationally, compared to the many other orgs I've served over the years.

About the bolded: selling season tickets, especially for important/playoff games...you have to assume the buyers willing to pay premiums (your stated goal) are opposing fans. Especially if you're in the lower bowl. And even more-so if you're on the visiting side or at least close to the field. On one hand, I support anyone of working class means who can turn a little profit (or at least mitigate costs) off this corporate sports entertainment club membership. It's 100% your right. But on the other hand, I facking hate queuing through the gate surrounded by loud Canadians/out-of-towners sporting opponent gear, and then seeing the closest seats around the field (especially visiting side) teeming with visiting fans. That's some LA and Miami mercenary shizz. Basically, you do you. But also, shame on you. Both things can be true.

I'll be darned if the Bills don't play DOWN to their opponents though, innit

When the Bills falter against inferior teams, it is almost always on the offense. They have gone FLAT and/or coughed up the ball in the "bad" losses. They SHOULD be putting those games out of reach or at least making those mediocre teams offensively one-dimensional.

Sounds like he's right, though. Isn't he?

My preferred format is one neutral play-by-play announcer there only to clarify and narrate what's necessary...and they are flanked by a fan of each team who are getting progressively more drunken throughout the broadcast. But producers have hair-trigger mute buttons if these fanatics get vulgar or just plain boorish, for the network feeds. (There would be an unfiltered feed available on some companion streaming service or sister channel.)