TigerJ

The league is made it abundantly clear that just being a blatant pass interference is not going to get a non-call overturned 95% of the time. The DB actually has to commit assault. Challenging PI is a good way to lose time outs.

I think one official is actually assigned to count the number of players on the field for the defense ans it is much more common for the defense to be guilty of that infraction. It''s rare on offense, so I don't know if there are provisions to check for that specifically.

I can't recall the name for sure (someone will correct me I'm sure). Maybe it was Robinson. But back years ago Buffalo had linebacker who was juked out of his shoes by New York Jets QB Chad freaking Pennington. Pennington was smart but had a noodle arm and ran the 40 in about 5 minutes. I'm not going to be too hard on Milano for losing one to Lamar Jackson.

Whenever there is a loss, lots of things factor into it. The defense did everything expected of it, and more so it's tough to point a finger at them. I thought Daboll's dial up of deep passes early was odd, given Josh Allen's nerves combined with the wind. He also called more inside runs than I expected, with the results I did expect (little gain). Josh did not handle the blitz very well, and Baltimore did a ton of it-about 2/3 of the time. There were also a number of key drops. I think had Buffalo been able to get a few of those plays right, they may have won, but I'll give credit to the Baltimore defense. We expected them to be good, and they were. It gives Buffalo things to work on. You can bet Pittsburgh's defense will be aggressive next Sunday. Given Josh Allen's continued improvement since the begi9nning of the season, I expect that he's going to get better at handling a blitz, Whether it comes soon enough to cope with Pittsburgh and New England over the next two weeks remains to be seen.

I'm picking Buffalo in my pickem leagues. I had to go with Baltimore last week. So, I think there is at least a 50/50 shot, and probably somewhat better, given a better QB situation in Buffalo. Buffalo has also played well on the road this season.

It was a Belichick kind of move.

As one Baltimore CB said, he seemed jittery. I thought Daboll should have recognized that and dialed back on the deep passes that kept sailing over receivers' heads. He didn't handle the pressure very well, but as you suggest, he's not alone in that versus Baltimore. I think it's going to be part of his development. He will think about his struggles, look at film and try to figure out how he can handle it better.

Congratulations on outstanding use of the apostrophe. There is hope for the English language.

Never say never, but both the Bengals and Dolphins are big time long shots versus the Patriots. The Patriots don't have great receiving options for Marcia and their line can't protect him as in years past, but Belichick is still a crafty head coach and they have a quality defense.

In my post, I mentioned Buffalo's upcoming cap advantage as well as their surplus of draft picks. My assumption is they will add quality free agents. I'm not impressed by splash free agent signings as they are usually over priced. Brown and Beasley were great adds last off season. Ideally, most of a team's long term core players will come via the draft, but there is always room for a few long term pickups. Otherwise, free agency is also good for short term role players. For example, Buffalo have six offensive linemen who weren't here a year ago. Only Morse has a long term deal. The rest are on 1 or 2 year deals. Buffalo can retain some of them if they want. Feliciano seems pretty useful for his position flexibility for instance. The Bills may draft one and sign one who is a little higher graded lineman to a 3 or 4 year deal and start to build some long term stability. They can get rid of the weaker links in the group without a cap penalty.

A couple scouting sites suggest he runs the 40 somewhere in the range of 4.75 - 4.8. McDermott's defensive scheme needs a middle linebacker with some serious speed. Edmunds runs the 40 in 4.54. Logan Wilson is a great linebacker in the Mountain West. He's backup quality as a Buffalo Bill.

Allen is has some developing yet to do before he approaches his ceiling. The Bills have another great cap situation and a surplus of draft picks. Their talent will be upgraded again next season. I think the Bills could win a playoff game in January, but I doubt they'll reach the Super Bowl. I expect they will be a top 5 team in the league next year and it looks like they have a good shot at dethroning the Patriots in the AFC East.

I laughed on the one play where the New England receiver scored, but the referee mistakenly thought he's stepped out of bounds. Belichick was out of challenges, so he was helpless to do anything about it.

There were terrible calls going both ways. I didn't keep a count on which team got jobbed worse by officiating today.

Dawson Knox had a pretty catch on a big play. Not enough though.