CincyBillsFan

You do know what the "straw that breaks the camels back" means don't you? I'll let AI explain: The phrase "the straw that broke the camel's back" means the final, seemingly small event in a series of problems that causes a person to lose their patience or ability to cope. It represents the breaking point, where a seemingly insignificant addition triggers a disproportionately large and sudden reaction due to the cumulative effect of previous stresses.

I agree that failing to sign Hollins alone would not cost Bean his job I said it could be the straw that broke the camels back. Sometimes getting the simple stuff wrong is the most annoying. As for Hollins staying, I'm not convinced he didn't want to and it's hard for me to believe he would have left if offered the same pay and assurances that he would be given a chance to be a bigger part of the Bills offense.

IF and it's still a big IF, the Bills fall apart and miss he playoffs the straw that would break the camels back and cost Bean his job would be the decision not to resign Hollins. The guy would have been cheap, was productive in Buffalo as a WR #3 and on special teams, and has continued to be productive in NE. Another straw would be the Coleman pick over both Worthy & McConkey. But the reason I think this is all a big IF is that I have a feeling the Bills are about to go on a run and will win the Division. I disagree. Reed more ten matched Diggs in the playoffs.

Kelly also had better alternate places to throw the ball in HOFers Loften & Thomas (as good as CMAC as a pass catching RB) then Allen has had.

And who is responsible, in part, for Allen, every bit the equal of Burrow, not having a single WR on the roster who would be considered above average in the NFL? I saw that Allen's QB rating was 151.5 (from pff) when targeting Kincaid. Yet as you note Kincaid is not on the field as much as the stats demand he should be.

Agree. Nothing has been set in stone for either the Bills or Patriots in November. In addition to the Bills history, where they have been in worse situations then they are now, Tampa won a SB in 2020 after starting 7 - 6. They were a wild card that had to play all 3 playoff games on the road. Cincinnati went to a SB in 2021 having to win 2 playoff games on the road. Last season the Lions roared to the #1 seed only to lose in round 1. The Ravens have specialized in gaining the #1 seed and not making it to the SB.

And don't forget that Hollins was a very good special teams player.

This is an eye opening stat.

Are you citing last nights game as evidence of this? NE is playing better then the Bills at this moment but that's not the same thing as saying NE is playing "light years" better then Buffalo.

IMO the MVP right now is Stafford, not Mahe. And NE is not "light years better" then the Bills.

So? Cooks fumble was brutal to. It happens and even the best players will make mistakes. I think some tend to focus on the rare exceptions as being evidence of a problem while ignoring the more fundamental issues troubling the Bills.

Those two toe tap catches along the sideline against the Colts in that playoff game were insane.

The look on Allen's face as the Chiefs first tied the game and then won it in OT was not so different then the one we're seeing now at times on the sidelines.

Go on Youtube and watch a bunch of game summary videos from 2020 - 2023 and one of the things that stands out was how often you see Davis either making a big catch to convert 3rd down or score a TD. And he did it in the playoffs to. I agreed 100% with Beans decision not to pay Davis 13 million per year. His production and other issues did not warrant that level of pay. But if he can return to near his pre-injury production then he will be the best WR on this years team. It's not saying much other then it would be a big upgrade from the current low floor.

With Palmer's injury Palmer/Moore have yet to replace the production and presence of Hollins & Cooper. T.Johnson has been a far less effective receiver then he was last season where he had multiple big time receptions down the field. Ditto for Cook. Kincaid is better then last year and Allen has a QB rating of 151.5 when targeting him. This means that Allen is exploiting Kincaid's jump as much as possible and the real question is why is Kincaid not on the field for even more targets? Coleman has regressed from last season where before his injury he was making big plays downfield. So I don't see how you can say there hasn't been a drop in receiving talent from last season to this season. Oh and last season it wasn't exactly a great WR room either.

Thanks. This is the perfect illustration of the variability in the performance of even the most elite players. The drop from 3 to 7 is likely a direct result of a drop in the receiving talent surrounding Allen.

Again, Allen didn't play great in those games and the Bills roster apparently can't win a game where Allen isn't great. Good thing for the Eagles that on a night their elite QB was misfiring through the first 3 quarters they had enough around him to eke out a win on the road against the Packers.

He got hurt so we'll never know will we. But 2 catches for 60 yards on 2 targets in the 1st quarter before he was hurt suggested Palmer was on his way to having a big game.

The posts would be become very tedious if I front and back loaded my comments with lots of "In my opinion" & "maybe" & "I don't have any inside knowledge but it's possible that"........................

And I can quote a much longer list where Allen has had exceptional plays this season. But what's the point? And for the record I took your Allen is "playing poorly" comment to be for the whole season not just the Miami game. BTW, which QB this season hasn't had a couple of clunkers? Again, Allen is on pace for a 4700 total yards; 41 total TD's with only 13 total TO's. That's a solid season and not a string of 4 yard pass completions. It is almost universally believed that Mahomes has been the best QB over the last 8 years. At the same time he has barely been a top 10 QB in a couple of those seasons.

If we need him to always play like a top 3 guy to win then Bean/McD have failed to construct the right roster. When people say Allen is a top 3 QB it doesn't mean that in every game and in every season he will be a top 3 guy. That ignores the reality that there is variation in every human performance. What being a top 3 QB means is that over time and in Allen's case the last 6 seasons including this one, Allen has AVERAGED out to be a top 3 QB. Last season he was #1 this season he may end up at 6 or 7.

Against Atlanta Palmer had 2 catches on 2 targets for 60 yards in Buffalo's first 2 possessions. It looked like he was going to be featured that game and he got off to a great start.

Again Allen is not playing at an MVP level but EVERY stat available for judging a QB would say he is playing in the top 10. There is almost no credible support for the idea that Allen is NOT playing well. And that ranges from every QB metric to the Bills won/loss record. Could he be playing better? Yes, though the lack of big play WR's is a limiting factor as to how much better he could play.

Your 3rd point is crucial and is the basis for the argument over how much Allen's play is responsible for what we're seeing. My sense is that Allen continues to bend over backwards to give guys a chance. An that is an issue. I also suspect that in his heart of hearts Allen doesn't trust the system and as the season has ground on he's losing trust in some of the WR's. I would also suggest that last years system was different in that it still featured a bit of the cowboy offense that DaBoll & Dorsey favored. There were multiple games where the Bills understood they were in a shootout and unleashed the O accordingly. This season with the exception of the Ravens game they have resisted this and in games where the offense struggles early and the D is porous they continue to double down on the short pass/run game. And even in the Ravens game they waited until the last possible minute.

I live in Cincinnati, how is my speculation on Burrow "ridiculous". The Bengals have taken the exact opposite approach to the Bills in how they structured their roster around their elite QB. Are you denying this? And IMO if Burrow had Allen's track record of staying healthy they would have at least one SB win to go along with the 2021 appearance they already have. I don't see how this is even debatable. As for Darnold it would be only natural that QB's who are friends check out what what each of their teams is doing for their offenses. Are you seriously telling me that Allen didn't notice that the Seahawks signed a WR that many were speculating the Bills would sign?