Fred Slacks

I hate that we lost as much as the next person. I will add two thoughts. 1) John Warrow looks like the conspiracy theorist from every movie. The zoom calls during the pandemic were my favorite. He looked like he just rolled out of bed. Literally he was wearing a robe in one of them. Also I have never heard a reporter struggle as much as he does to formulate a question. He just starts rambling and then hopes at then end by voice fluctuation it becomes a question. Like Ron Burgandy reading off the teleprompter with a question mark. If anyone has an in with Bills front office it is definitely not this guy. 2) Teams lose. It isn't the end of the world. Good QB's throw picks it happens. It sucks but I am hardly freaking out over this. For every Tom Brady come from behind win he had what seemed like 1 dropped interception throw that could have easily made him less of a GOAT. Sometimes you get the breaks. This last game yea I think Josh was forcing it on the last drive when he still had time. So there is definitely something for him to take from this loss and improve on. I believe it is down/distance/clock management. But just like in every situation you can take good and bad. At the end of the game with 41 seconds he took us down the field to get into field goal range. Quite frankly his throw to Gabe Davis on that last drive in the 41 seconds should have been a TD if not for the defensive PI. If the defender didn't hold on that play and Gabe Davis scores everyone here would be talking about how amazing of a QB we have. I guess my point is this game didn't change how I feel about this team or JA. I am looking forward to Cleveland and Lions. Getting back on track and seeing how this bipolar message board responds.

I think Ed Oliver has had like 3 sacks this season called back on CB's holding. Plenty of pressure up the middle too. Yesterday's game I think was an outlier for a lot of players on this team. Oliver will be resigned.

The only thing Miami did was hunker down in the red zone and short yardage situations. We had the ball the entire game. They couldn't stop the Bills. The Bills just didn't punch it in when they had the chance (multiple times).

Can’t understate how clutch McKenzie’s completion was on the play he got hurt on. And he held on. Also had a huge kick off return. Scored a TD too.

Looks like they’re calling for rain Sunday. I’m sure that could shift as we get closer.

Few things: 1) our defense is good 2) we have given up zero points in the second half of both games. 3) I think people are underplaying how good our defense is. 4) our offense is better 5) our QB is better I don't see this being a close game. Maybe the fins score a garbage TD late to make the score look closer than the game really is. I don't think either of our rookie corners change how we play defense in this game. Would be the same either way. Micah Hyde is the bigger missing piece this week and I still think we do okay without him. 28-17 Bills win. I wouldn't be shocked if we score more than 35.

Just to be clear in the court of law Matt doesn’t need to prove he is innocent. The burden is on the plaintiff to prove he is guilty. I think this is why there is such a polarizing opinion. He’s not guilty of this crime until he’s proven to be guilty. Everyone assumes he is guilty and should suffer. However the reality is unless the plaintiff can prove Araiza was in the room and raped her then it’s pretty much moot point. I do think a jury however will lean towards the plaintiff because the suit is such a disturbing claim. In the suit though there’s a lot of speculation like it says Araiza should have known she was drunk, etc. It also says he told her to have sex with him and she did. Does it actually say he raped her? I never read it that way. The claim is that he led her back into the room where she was gang raped. So based off her own diary she contradicts herself that she doesn’t remember who was there or who brought her to the room. But I’m the suit it says Araiza brought her to the room as well as should have known she was drunk. I get the feeling the attorney is fishing for more information/cooperation from Araiza to help piece details together that he believes only Araiza can help confirm. This next part is all pure speculation. The feeling I get from this whole suit is that Araiza was there, had sex with the girl (as he admitted to) and may possibly know what happened after he hooked up with her. I get the vibe that he probably knew about or became aware about what happened afterwards. That is why they are going after him. I also have strong feelings about a 17 year old girl at a college party at a house on campus. I don’t fault him for that personally. However if he was aware of the gang rape I think he should have informed. That’s not something to stay quiet about. If he was involved he should be prosecuted criminally. His life will be ruined. If he wasn’t involved I hope the plaintiff’s attorney loses his license for they way he destroyed this kids life. I will wait judgement until this sees it’s day in court. I wonder why San Diego PD hasn’t moved forward or made a statement about any of this? I wonder if the civil case helps or ruins any criminal case they had been working/building.

I honestly don't care about that statistic as much as Allen vs all other visiting QB's during that span. The reality is whether plays a huge factor. If Josh's stats are better than the visiting QB's over that span then that is what matters to me. IF you watched the wind game last year vs the Pats he put balls in receiver's chests that were dropped. In the rain and snow he completed throws as well. I am not sure his statistics will always beat out the opponents in the weather (see Philly at Bills with Wentz) but I think it averages out better. Especially in 2020 and 2021. If weather is a neutralizer then I want our QB to be able to perform better in those games which I believe he does. I wouldn't discount running in those games either because those are free yards (or as I call them a guaranteed completion). I also don't believe in the sugar high Josh Allen comments. My biggest argument against that nickname is look at Josh's stats in primetime and playoff games. He has some ridiculous numbers. We have the right guy. I wouldn't change anything about his game right now. Even the running. I don't think he needs to throttle back on scrambles. I wouldn't mind him running out of bounds instead of lowering a shoulder. But he seems to have reigned that in a bit with each season.

I am not opposed to him. I am only saying if Shakir shows he’s at the same level during preseason then I believe he offers more diversity at other positions. I also wonder if waiting until the 5th to take a WR means the front office believes enough in McKenzie to contribute more on offense this year. I have no hate on Crowder. Nor am I assuming that Shakir is better as a 5th round rookie. But if he shows to be comparable in camp I think the front office would stick with a rookie with the ability to also help out with return duties over him. If there’s room for them both I’m sure they will keep them both. I think the more telling play would be Bernard at CB pushing for the other gunner spot. That would free up the 3rd RB spot on game days. whem all is said and done this draft more than most years could end up shaping our special teams more than any of the previous ones. May have 3-4 core teams players out of it.

Not sure how to merge topics. I just posted something very similar. I think we made our defense and ST better. We got a couple of speed options on offense. Overall good upgrades/additions. A couple positions I wish we addressed but alas I don’t think the front office saw position value or agreed with me about the need. I’m happy with the draft. Admittedly a Homer but I think we we got better.

1) Elam- possible/probable starter 2) Cook- probably a lot of touches as a 3rd down back at least 3) Bernard- special teams starter/probably back up LB/maybe some big nickel stuff? 5) Shakir- possible punt returner/WR contribute as a rookie (maybe/hopefully)? 6) Araiza- possible starter at punter (one would hope) 6) Benford- reserve/possibly could start as a gunner (perhaps moving on from Taiwan Jones?) 6) Tenuta- I have no expectations whatsoever from him but who knows with how much depth there was in this year’s draft class. I’d imagine practice squad based purely on roster numbers 7) Spector- Similar to the pick above. I have low expectations. Not because of ability but how stacked our roster is. Probably practice squad. I think all things considered if we walk out of this draft with just a starting outside CB, punter, and solid punt returner that have immediate contributions this season that would be huge for this year. Not to mention Cook at RB if he demands touches because of his ability. I think long term I was hoping to walk away with IOL and TE. But I don’t know the front offices plan with resigning. I’d imagine Knox gets resigned. I think the team loves him and he has a great relationship with JA. Hopefully Shakir is good enough to allow us to cut Crowder. That would be big for our team if he can force BBB to make that decision. Our draft class definitely seems hungry to prove themselves. They sure give off that impression in their interviews. I’m excited for training camp. The smell of super bowl championship is in the air!

I realize you can only play who is on your schedule. I won't argue that we had a good defense. We were a very good defense. I suppose the term "legit defense" I should have replaced with the word intimidating or scary. But if that is what you took from my post so be it. If you thought our defense last year was dominant or feared I think we will have to agree to disagree. I love this team as much as the next fan and realize I am a homer as well. But our defense last year (#1 ranking or not) was not a feared defense. IMO our offense was more fearful than our defense. I am sure the Von Miller signing and some of the other moves will show as much this season.

I am pretty unbiased on which CB we chose so long as it was addressed. I figured if we didn't grab one in the 1st or 2nd round we would be signing a veteran this weekend. I am glad we have a cost controlled contract on a rookie CB though with Tre already being signed to the big deal. I have always thought our defense was 1 good cover CB away from being a legit defense. Hopefully with our interior beef on DL and Von Miller/progress from young DE's it catapults us into being a scary defense. I do feel like last year we were ranked better than we were on defense because of how poor our schedule was. this year will be a better gauge on our ability on defense I think. I realize depth at several positions may be a priority but I am of the mindset of more playmakers on offense too. That puts us into scary opponent territory.

I would still happily give my money to Apple over Direct TV. The customer service with Direct TV is absolutely the worst.

While I agree with the strategy I don’t think this is the year to toss away extra draft picks. Maybe some late round ones. But this draft class should be loaded. A lot of athletes who sat out the Covid year came back this year to play. It’s a really deep draft class. I think there’s draft-able starters in the 4th this year. Maybe even 5th. Time will tell but this may be the most exciting day 3 draft watch for me in several years.

But it seems like an eternity for me 😂

Nelson CB from Eagles still out there. As is Chandler Jones. Really not as much movement as I thought on day 1 of tampering period.

A legitimate question but the Broncos and Giants both are looking to develop young QB’s. Perhaps they both were considering Flores and how he messed up the development of Tua? Just a possibility. I’m not denying that racism is involved. I actually think him being fired by the Dolphins is more of a problem than not getting hired by the other teams because he had done a pretty decent job with what he had there. Also not saying I agree with Dolphins ownership about tanking but if that was true they are the owners. If he as a coach is an employee and didn’t do as told or asked wouldn’t that be grounds for dismissal? Again not saying I agree. Really the Dolphins situation to me seems more messed up. Also the Rooney rule is going to be flawed yes. There have been several good coaches to come out of it though. Marvin Lewis did a great job with the Bengals but couldn’t get over the hurdle. Dungey was a great coach. I think the rule is necessary and good things do come from it. Unfortunately it just comes at a slower pace than many want. But the reality of change is it never happens as fast as we want it to. I think Bienemy would be having his name talked about more.

To be honest my favorite moment was Josh’s last two drives vs the Chiefs in the division round. Showed he was a big time player on the big stage. I realize defense/coaching shat the bed. But I don’t remember ever being that psyched as I was when he scored with 13 seconds left.

After watching the game back a second time finally there was a few plays that irked me. Mahomes big scramble for 34 yards should have been called back for holding. Obada was absolutely tackled by the O-lineman. In OT the big Hardman catch and run was a pick play by Kelce. It was blatant. At first viewing I thought it was Edmunds blown coverage but his responsibility was the RB which was obvious because of how decisive he was pursuing in coverage. That would have been a 10 yard offensive PA. Still his coverage liability is more obvious in a game like this where Mahomes buys time. Maybe against less mobile QB's he looks better. Leaves a bit to be desired though in this game. Obviously the last 13 seconds are brutal to watch. Frustrating to see how aggressive we were in the first drive only to shut down in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. The long drive to score the go ahead TD just after the 2:00 warning was a masterpiece. The Hill TD immediately afterwards I thought was blown coverage on the original viewing but turns out it was just an impressive pass and catch. Levi Wallace actually had pretty darn good coverage all things considered. Josh's drive with 1:03 on the clock was the most impressive of all. This game should of solidified him as legendary status among the league. I think he is more pissed than he is letting on. I feel bad for him because of how much work he puts into this. I still think the league took notice this weekend. Funny how a narrative can turn like Mahomes out dueled JA. If we hold on the last 13 seconds JA finishes with more passing yards and passing TD's (Mahomes did have the running TD though). If that game finishes without overtime people wouldn't be able to stop talking about JA. So yes in that department I think the coaches let JA down big time. Chiefs situational awareness vs ours on defense was embarrassing. Beasley was huge in this game and was bracketed a ton. I am still shocked for the board's hate towards him. I feel like it might be mainly political. the guy absolutely can still play and was huge on the long 4th quarter drive as well as an earlier drive. I am not saying he is better than McKenzie. Just saying he hasn't lost a step. Also Rouseeau was so darn close on several plays for sacks and knocking the ball down. A lot more than I thought during original viewing. 97 blew it on a couple plays on defense. The Hardman run he got juked out of his shorts. A few rushes he allows Mahomes to break contain. I still believe we are 1 elite D-lineman away from shutting teams down. Not a quality player, but a dominant player. Reaffirms my thoughts of sell the farm for that one difference maker. I know I will get a lot of blow back but I strongly feel that way. All that being considered I would gladly take all coaches back in a heart beat. I am not one for fire everyone and start over. There were so many close plays that could have been the difference here. Quite frankly I am shocked that our defense held up as well as they did vs such elite talent. With Wallace and 30 at CB we forced a lot of coverage scrambles. In a bigger lens than the last 13 seconds I think the defense played better than one is willing to give credit for. Also I believe that McDermott is more humble than most coaches and willing to make corrections and grow from his and his staff's mistakes. As much as I think home field would be helpful I really think on the big stage Josh will deliver. One of my biggest concerns is roster turn over. There is no guarantee that the Chiefs don't somehow get better DB's themselves in the offseason. I wonder if next year matched up against them we look as good at WR. Just a lot of thoughts that I wanted to put down to vent a little frustration. I need some healing.

I’m not overreacting. I agree we were the better team and should have won. I also don’t think one game should change the entire game plan. Where you see a strength I suppose I see it as weakness. I think our secondary played great considering. I think DE is still a higher priority than Corner. That’s my opinion but I realize yours is different. I don’t want a DE that rushes upfield only to give up running lanes. I want someone either strong enough or fast enough to close the pocket and still react to a mobile QB who tries to escape like Josh Allen and Mahomes. They do exist and I believe they would impact our team significantly more than a faster CB. That being said I wouldn’t object to better talent at CB either. I do think OL can and should be addressed. Also interior DL. TE should still be a priority as we can’t count on Knox being healthy. I even want more talent at WR. But more than any of that I want a stud DE. There’s no guarantees that any of the drafted DE’s ever turn out. Hopefully they do but there’s no guarantee. To clarify I’ve thought this all season. Just because our pass rush looked good vs a Dolphins or Jets team does not mean it will hold up well in the playoffs. Vs Chiefs or other playoff caliber teams. yes there’s no guarantees that what I want makes a difference. But I’m a game like Sunday we are looking to change a couple plays, steal a possession, or force an incomplete on one more third down. Yes I do believe a stud DE can do just that. Next year it might not be the Chiefs. It might be the Bengals or Chargers. There are some great QB’s and we need to effect them better than we currently do. Especially in the playoffs where we hope to be spending many more Januarys watching the Bills play.

I think you articulated my point better than I could. It’s stupid to just say their QB is better (or as good) and so we should just not bother trying to effect him. We are close. We need someone there who makes a difference. It ups everyone’s play on defense. I don’t think the cap argument is a real argument. Look at teams like the Rams. They keep reading picks and shelling out huge contracts. Somehow they make it work. I’m sure it will eventually rear its ugly head for them. But surely we can manipulate the cap to get one stud dude in here. That’s how I feel.

Gronk I mentioned cause he was fresh on my mind when creating the post. Maybe I mentioned him cause I knew he was a FA from an article I just read. He really wasn’t the focus of my post and you’re right I shouldn’t have added him to this post as it’s a separate topic. Also I agree he is a POS. I do however imagine he would be the type of FA the front office brings in for the DE position. A proven aging vet. I do hope we get someone more youthful myself.

A game wrecker finishes the sacks that so many of our front four could not do. I am not of the mindset of just saying Mahomes is as good as Josh so we should not try to effect him at all. Our front four failed. Sure the chiefs did as well. But that doesn’t mean we need to settle on that. Get to Mahomes. Especially if we aren’t blitzing. Mahomes struggled earlier to find throws because our back 7 actually was holding up for a while. By the end of the game they were gassed and understandably.

I don’t disagree with your observations of the Chiefs game wreckers but that doesn’t change my stance. A game wrecker for us would have swayed the outcome of that game. We contained rushed several times because our guys just can’t win one on ones.