Billl

Ball is out where it crosses the sideline. He was a yard short.

Called tight all night? 2 penalties on Buffalo. It was a terrible call. The Bills have had the better end of the officiating.

Need to have a separate thread for bitching about the refs. It would thin out this thread by 40%.

Because 3rd and 9 was a gimme but 3rd and 14 made Knox drop the ball? Knox false started two plays earlier and didn’t get flagged. It all sorted itself out.

If you don’t call a timeout, New England does with 3 seconds left and gets a free Hail Mary.

Hell of a pass.

He definitely deserves a mention. In fact, that’s exactly the type of pick Beane needs more of. Getting key contributors on day 3 and later is huge, especially when you’re drafting towards the bottom.

7 tackles, 2 for a loss, and a pass defended isn’t as bad as you’re making it sound. He played more snaps than anyone but Poyer. In a weather game against a team that runs power, having only 2 LBers with any real experience is an issue.

He played nearly every snap against the Jets and Colts.

There’s nothing left to debate about the Allen pick. If he gets hit by a bus tomorrow, it was still a great pick (and not an easy one). Beyond that, it’s hard so say what picks he’s really hit on. Oliver and Edmunds have been major contributors, but I’m not convinced they’ve played to their draft slot. Guys like Ford, Singletary and Moss have all had a lot of playing time, but I don’t know that any of them will get second contracts. Davis looked really good initially, but he’s really tapered off other than one big game this season. Knox is probably his best pick since Josh, but of course the book hasn’t been written on guys like Epenesa, Groot, Brown and Boogie.

Of course, and that can’t be understated. If he had taken some other Josh, he’d be out of a job by now. Setting aside that pick (which is a big aside) he’s got very little to show for 4 years worth of drafts. Fortunately there’s more than one way to add talent, and he’s done a nice job with trades and FAs, but that becomes trickier as cap space gets low and draft slots get later.

Tonight’s game will determine the outlook of this board for the next week. Win, and the topic is getting the bye. Lose, and the topic is missing the playoffs. Here’s hoping for a tie.

He’s definitely done well with trades and FA signings. His drafting has been pretty poor, though. That’s going to need to improve as some of the big contracts start to put pressure on the salary cap.

22-3 before a garbage time TD, and people are pretending the better team didn’t win.

Not sure getting smaller at LB is a good idea after watching what the Colts did.

The issue for next year is the nearly $17mm of cap room that will be dressed in street clothes. That’s likely about 9% of the entire cap.

He could probably play around the middle of next season but won’t really be right until the following year.

Sneaking Josh in a game like this would be stupid. Don’t subject him to a hit in a game that’s already been decided.

They outscored the Colts 8-3 in the 4th quarter.

With Star, 13.5 PPG and 87 rushing YPG allowed. Without him, 27 PPG and 120 rushing YPG allowed. He absolutely makes a difference. Even if you waive the numbers away due to sample size, you’re talking about a defense that already has depth issues. They played 19 games last season and are hoping to play 21 games this season. His absence puts a lot of stress on the D line, as those snaps have to come from somewhere. I think it’s clear via the eye test that you’re a better run defense with him. If he remains out, teams like New Orleans, and the Patriots (twice) are going to game plan to run power sets all day. Indy ran 44 times out of 66 plays. Belichick may run 65 out of 66. That’s a big ask of a defensive line to go without Star when they’ve already had very few snaps from Basham and Epenesa. You don’t want Basham playing inside or Epenesa at DE against power sets anyway, so your options without Star dry up pretty quickly. You become predictable, and that is a problem with 4 games coming up in the next 5 weeks against Payton, Belichick, Arians, and Brady. Buffalo can roll their helmets out and beat the Falcons, Panthers, and Jets so they’re going to the playoffs. What they do in the other 4 games will determine their road when they get there. If it’s me, I want Star out there giving me 35 snaps a game and more if needed.

This is a talented team hitting a wall. I still think they're the biggest threat to unseat Kansas City in the AFC, but they do have some issues. There has been a ton of draft capital spent on defensive players and RBs in recent years that hasn't really delivered and it's putting stress on the rest of the players. Boogie, Groot, Edmunds, Epenesa, and (to a lesser extent recently) haven't produced anywhere near their draft slots. AJ in particular looks like the most easily blocked player on the field. The team just looks physically worn out, and the Colts are maybe the most physical offense in the league which makes for a rough matchup. They're too talented not to rebound, but I do think you're going to see teams try to play smash mouth football against them fight forward, so you'd better get used to it.

The Bills are a good team in a slump. Today’s game makes getting the 1 seed more difficult, but that’s about it. Lot of football left to be played, and things can turn around in a hurry. 4 weeks ago, Kansas City was left for dead after being embarrassed by the Titans. Now they look like the clear favorite in the AFC. As a Chiefs fan, Buffalo is still the one team I don’t want to see in the playoffs.

Young QBs have never seen the cover 2 shell that's suddenly back en vogue. We'll see who can figure it out.

That’s such a lame attitude to take. He earned his status by being great. He’s not Kim Kardashian who is famous for being famous. If he complained that valets were joy riding in his car, would that be no big deal because that’s what it’s like having an awesome car? Leave the guy alone when he’s out and about.

Good luck y’all. Hope for no injuries. Have a feeling this one isn’t going my way, but I’ll watch just in case.