[Matching up with playoff contenders]

2 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

 

I wanted to take a step back from the week to week emotional roller coaster, because honestly, this season has felt ugly at times. We’ve been inconsistent, we’ve had roster holes, the injuries have piled up, and there have been stretches where we looked downright horrendous. But when you zoom out and look at the actual playoff field… it’s kind of stunning. The worst outcome for us is basically a 50/50 matchup, and probably not even against Mahomes. Could we lose to several of these teams? Sure. But the idea that we wouldn’t be right in every single one of these games is pretty silly. All of these matchups are close on paper or lean our way.

 

I ordered them by how dangerous I think they are to us, and it made me feel way better about our prospects. Probably as good as I ever have felt. 

 

Houston

If this matchup happens, it’s going to be tight. They’ve played Allen as well as anyone the last two years. 23–20 loss last year, 23–19 loss this year. Both games were basically a pass protection disaster for us and our offense slogged. It will be a race to 21. A true toss up.

 

Field: Colts, Ravens, Chiefs, Bengals

Colts seem cooked, but the other three would all be battles. Nothing new there. Ideally we avoid these teams as long as possible, but none of them are some unstoppable monster. All 50/50 type outcomes.

 

Jacksonville

A tick ahead of Buffalo in DVOA and playing really well. Coen has completely changed their trajectory. They’ve got legit wins: Chiefs, 49ers, Texans, Chargers. Matchup wise, their defense is built to take away the run. Offensively they’ll try to run a ton, even though the efficiency is mediocre. They’ve had our number a bit, but how much does that really matter now? I see this one similar to Houston,  toss up, maybe slight edge to Buffalo.

 

Denver

Last year’s Denver team was actually rated better in DVOA than this year’s version. Last year’s playoff game was 13–7 halfway through the third quarter until the Ty Johnson 4th down play cracked it open. This year’s Denver? Not as good. It’ll be a game, but Buffalo should have the edge.

 

Los Angeles 

DVOA basically has this team as a .500 group. Tons of OL injuries, very up and down, and outside of those early big wins vs KC and DEN, it’s been pretty uneven. They can’t stop the run well, and while they want to run a lot, they’re not efficient. This could be competitive for a bit, but Buffalo should have an edge. 

 

New England

This NE team is the lowest DVOA 11–2 team since 1978. Run defense is slipping. They don’t run the ball particularly well. Maye flashes but he’s still a young QB.

We all saw the first matchup, tons of things went wrong and it still came down to a FG. This is a Wild Card level team which isn't an insult to them. It's good progress.  We should win in Foxborough and I expect we will.

 

Pittsburgh

We just match up too well here. We own Tomlin lately, and they had no schematic answers on either side of the ball. Complete mismatch in the ground game and QB play. This is the most comfortable matchup on the board.

 

Good assessments. 

 

Of course a lot can change between now and then with injury. Let's hope we stay healthy and other teams catch some injury bugs lol

[Week 15, Bills v. Cheats, PREDICT THE SCORE!]

Patriots have won 10 NFL games in a row. Doesn't matter who they played, winning 10 in a row doesn't happen by accident. But where some may see a rock steady team, I see a team over due for a letdown and a few bad bounces. 

 

Bills 27

Patriots 21

[White jerseys, Blue pants against the Patriots in Foxborough]

10 minutes ago, chris heff said:

Are they worried about Josh throwing interceptions?

Seeing Rivers come back I believe they are preparing to bring Joe Ferguson back to out maneuver the Colts move. Show those donkeys how you REALLY bring back someone from retirement.

[Per Steve Tasker re: 1st round of draft time for selection has changed]

15 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

Goddell  is getting too drunk in the back slurring his words by the end of it so they had to shorten the night 

I still say the most entertaining draft was the COVID year. Between a peek into the Vrabel home life, to drunken Roger in his totally real not staged basement man cave, to Bill Belichick's dog making the picks....what a time to be alive 

[Per Steve Tasker re: 1st round of draft time for selection has changed]

6 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

8 minutes?  who are you, superman?

That includes 7 minutes 45 seconds of stretching. 

[Per Steve Tasker re: 1st round of draft time for selection has changed]

Nothing good happens after 8 (minutes) anyway.

[White jerseys, Blue pants against the Patriots in Foxborough]

42 minutes ago, T.E. said:

Both cool looks. That throwback Atlanta uniform might be the best one in the NFL, unless we bring back the red helmet and retake the top spot. 

If I'm not mistaken, we get the red helmets week 18 against the Jets 

[White jerseys, Blue pants against the Patriots in Foxborough]

29 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

Different game here but didn't fans who are color blind complain a few years back when the Bills and Jets wore all red and all green game. It's very rare one team isn't wearing white. Tampa going with the old school classic looks nice. 

IIRC, reds and greens are the hardest colors for colorblind to see. While watching that game it looked so hideous I was wishing I was color blind for sure 

 

These are two of my all time favorite throwbacks. The orange should play well against the black 

[Josh Allen AFC Offensive POW Again (Week 14)!]

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

Somehow Benford was snubbed for Rasul Douglas of all people.

Douglas has quietly had a really good year for Miami. Bounced back from his efforts last year. Not sure what he did to earn PoW honors, but glad for him getting an early Christmas present.

[The Worthy Trade Keeps Looking Worse and Worse]

1 hour ago, LeviF said:

All this bitching and moaning about Worthy being as bad as Coleman (he's not) is just sophistry designed to distract the entire world from one simple fact: Mahomes is not playing well this year.

 

Josh is a bit up and down but Bills fans have way more to complain about with Coleman because 1. the plan was for him to be our best WR and he's not, even though the entire room is stocked with JAGs and 2. Josh, while a bit up and down, is having a slightly better year than Mahomes in spite of having lesser talent at the WR position.

Saying Worthy isn't as bad as Coleman is kinda like saying a dwarf is taller than a midget. While true, it's still not a great accomplishment.

1 hour ago, Mod_Squad_Reject said:

Who is losing sleep over Worthy and scheming to stop him , he’s irrelevant at KC. 

While I don't think anyone is losing sleep, his speed dictates how you defend the Chiefs on some level. He has wheels that have to be taken into account. Coleman doesn't even add that 

[Game week thread - Bills at Patriots*]

5 minutes ago, chris heff said:

Yeah okay, do you really think Palmer makes a difference? Bosa is a maybe, but I doubt he plays. Of course Hoecht isn’t playing and as the poster said Oliver is out. I think what he meant is, things were worse.

Palmer makes a difference because of the next man up principal. With him there, Coleman and Shavers see less snaps. He is better than those two. 

 

Were things worse? Sure. But let's not act like other than Oliver no one else that's missing or likely to be matters. Heck, I didn't even mention above Spencer Brown may well miss this week too. Does he matter?

 

Overall, yes. It seemed like earlier this season we would lose 2 players for every one we got back. Now it seems we are getting 2 back for every one we lose. But there's still a LOT of guys that will miss this week. And that includes guys on season ending IR. 

[Week 15 Zebra: John Hussey & Co.]

Is this the dude that looks like Steve Carrell?

[Game week thread - Bills at Patriots*]

2 minutes ago, WhiskyBreath said:

Or, will it be another sleepwalk?  Like the last time around when they simply assumed that showing up would assure a win.

 

IMO, this should be all about pride, not just a possible #1 seed.  We need to make a statement now that we are relatively injury free (other than Oliver).

We are missing way more than just Oliver. Palmer and Bosa are probably long shots to play. Hoecht playing that I didn't hear? Shakir probably plays but he isn't right injury wise right now. First practice is today. There will likely be a long list of others that are limited to DNP. 

1 minute ago, Gregg said:

The 2nd Dolphins game was hard lesson learned that you can't just show up and expect to win. Barring a miracle that game cost the Bills the division and a shot at the #1 seed. While the Falcons game was another poop show it wasn't divisional game. I don't know if the Bills win or not, but I can't see them sleepwalking for any of the games left as they fight to make the playoffs as well as seeding. If they no-show, the Pats game then that is a really bad look for McDermott.

I think it's a worse look for the players. These are grown ass men. Professionals in their field. If they need a little bald dude giving them a rah-rah speech to rev them up that's on the players. They know what's at stake. 

[Colts to bring in ….Philip Rivers for workout UPDATE: Signed to PS]

This made me legit lol..

[This can be the passing staple]

1 hour ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

 

This could be your bread and butter... 

 

When a football coach says bread and butter they mean their staple... What you do best... Execute in your sleep 

 

I learned from a very good coach once that you perfect what you do well.. so you can execute it in any situation... Rather than trying to do stuff you're not great at 

 

The other team could know what you're doing but if you execute it to perfection still won't be able to stop it 

 

The trap pass... And we have a terrific running game and great tight ends

 

We opened the game versus Cincinnati with this... It's going to pay dividends 

 

You can't sell out on the run if they'll hit you with this... If you sit back on this James Cook will go for 7 years a carry 

 

Then instead of crossface you start going up the seam...

 

You can run this concept out of multiple formations and it will pay dividends

 

This is One singular concept that can bring the bills One step higher and I'm glad to see it

Can you run a WR screen off this? Asking for Joe Brady 

[Ed Oliver posts a video doing pushups]

Looks good. Suit up. 

 

Seriously, this is encouraging.

 

 

[Game week thread - Bills at Patriots*]

8 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

Also @Slippery Rubber Mats!

 

We don't want anyone getting Brohm'd.

 

 

I'm interested to see how the Bills plan on covering Diggs. He's a chain mover at this point but was very effective in the first game and I hope they have a better plan for him this time around.

 

That was Kolb.

 

 Brohm was the next great Bills QB that we plucked off the Packers PS.

 

And he never got a fair chance.

[Is there Beane/McDermott Tension???]

I think a lot of people are seeing what they want to see and projecting feelings.

[Jackson hawes ceiling ???]

I think he could be a 30-40 catch a season guy. I put his ceiling above what Dawson Knox brings.

[Weren't we a first half team for a while?]

I know we opened the season with a first drive touchdown several straight weeks to open the season this year. Can't remember how many off the top of my head. 

 

Offense and defense have sort of been the opposite to me. Brady has done well on the first drive, but as soon as his scripted plays are spent he's lost. Defense has been the opposite. They are terrible at first then adjust well. 

[NE at Baltimore flexed to SNF]

16 hours ago, bills742 said:

Baltimore tends to play well at home during night games (although not this Thanksgiving) so let's hope that continues. If we don't beat the Pats, we might be rooting for them to keep the Ravens out. 

Not sure on the day game/night game split, but this year the Ravens are just 3-5 at home. Of course, some of that as well may be due to all the injuries, but on paper this year the Baltimore being dominate at home doesn't appear to be a thing.

[Scenarios for winning the division; scenarios for winning the #1 seed]

Wouldn't this be the most "Billsy" season for us to win it all? I don't know about anyone else, but I always pictured that dream season where the Bills dominated, ran through the playoffs and won it all 

 

This year with the imperfect roster, all the hand ringing and "Beane and McDermott need to go" sentiment, not leading the division basically all year, losing to nothing teams like Atlanta...we, collectively haven't been able to settle in and enjoy the ride this year. Would be just like this franchise to win it all in a year we had so much "wrong"

[Leaders in Fumbles (Rushing)]

26 minutes ago, ganesh said:

Look at who is at the top of the leaderboard in Fumbles while rushing the football !!!

 

Player.             Rush Yds  Att.     TD.   FUM

James Cook.  1308.         249.    8.      6

Josh Allen.       487.           87.    12.      5

 

Go Bills !!!

This is the type of dude that gives ankle socks and tighty whiteys to everyone on Christmas. 

[Colts to bring in ….Philip Rivers for workout UPDATE: Signed to PS]

Vinny Testaverde is stretching up now...

[MNF: Eagles vs. Chargers (no Bills stuff please)]

Kinda rooting for the Chargers here to keep KC further back.