Einstein's Dog

Continuing on this pipe dream, if the Bills won and the Chiefs lost, the one seed would be locked. Would the Bills and then play backups? Would they care on the scenario on who they sent into the playoffs? Like it might be a win and in scenario for NE and if they lost Miami might get in. IMO (and probably most) Miami would be a stronger threat to KC than NE. Would be interesting to see.

Me too. I expected a little more from both Beas and Smoke. Maybe they are being treated like the rookies, have to come in and prove themselves (all over again). IMO, McKenzie did not secure the job against Chicago so the opportunity for change still exists. As House mentioned above, getting another weapon for the playoffs would be nice. But this Cincy game has a mini-playoff feel to it.

I'm hoping they have plays devised for both that 3 man front they put on KC is accounted for. Also need to be ready to counter this spy on Josh stuff. Thats where I hope the kinks of when Josh goes to one side and pulls the spy with him, a swing pass to Cook on the other side could really pay off.

They Tried!!! It hasn't worked - the swing passes to Singletary and Cook along with the crossers to McKenzie all are off. From Josh putting too much air under it, to changing and putting it right on them - only to have them drop it. They came in with the plan to incorporate this into the offense (from trying for McKissic to drafting Cook) and it hasn't materialized the way we hoped. Now in the stretch run I think they are considering converting back. When the 5 yards is needed there will be more lasers to Beas than there will be 3 yd crossers to McKenzie.

Miami looks terrible in this. But to me it looks like Tua is doing some self promoting at the expense of Miami. With the first concussion against the Bills Tua came in and won the game - no self reporting. And both Tua and Miami paid a hefty price when the followup blast against Cincy put him out for a while. This time when they lose the game and the timing of the potential concussion can explain away a terrible performance- Tua self reports. Does make for questions of if Tua would have self reported if the results had been different. Terrible optics for Miami. Tua looks pretty self-serving too though, and the franchise can't be happy with him. I can't complain though.

Daboll has done well overall with the talent he has. But my earlier thoughts have not changed - this early success may shorten Dabolls stay in NY. By overperforming early the Giants were unable to move Barkley for draft capital - which IMO is what Daboll would have wanted to do. It may be backing the Giants into the unfortunate situation of one of the teams that give big expensive contracts to RBs. The Giants will also be in poor position to do any radical moves for a QB. One of the boldest moves of the McBeane era was to retool the Bills after making the playoffs. I don't know if Daboll will be given the luxury of the time needed for attempting something that radical now.

Obviously not the best tandem - Chubb/Hunt, Elliot/Pollard, etc. J Cook is going to take on a larger role in the future- that's what good team management does for its higher draft picks. Develop and use the cheap talent you drafted. There is a need next year for a Thunder RB to complement Cook. That RB should be 95% good on 3rd and 1s and good in pass protection. IMO AJ Dillon would be a better fit if the price is right.

I think the plan will be to have J Cook increase at the work load to around 10-15 touches a game. Buying an expensive RB1 for full time duty would limit the opportunity for your second round pick to flourish - bad use of resources. So no Barkley/Hunt/Pollard. AJ Dillon would be a great fit for the role of Thunder - a veteran who could get the short yardage and would know about pass protection. It's about cost though. When the market dries up after the above RBs then Dillon or Singletary might be able to be had at a reasonable rate.

Adding a dynamic RB for the offense for four years is a good thing IMO too. After a rocky start they are developing him into a valuable asset for years to come. It will be fun to watch. The Bills will still need another RB IMO, but that doesn't mean Cook isn't worth it.

I agree with you. J Cook is taking over the Lightning role. And we can now see he has it in him. We keep Hines (maybe restructure) as backup lightning role to Cook and for special teams. The Bills will need a Thunder type - reliable 2-3 tough yards and excellent pass protecter. Seems suitable to be a veteran FA acquisition at a good price point. Maybe even Singletary although he isn't really the tough 2-3 yard guy.

On a related note, what was the reasoning for the placement at the 11 yd line for the punt that had wind aided carry down to the 4? Looked like Chicago was pinned back and then after a slight break saw the ball was placed at the 11. They ran a replay and my friend and I couldn't figure it out (we were at a bar and didn't have the audio). What did they say about that?

The Bills will be one of the Super Bowl contenders next year. They have the QB, management, coaching staff and enough players already. The hope is to keep as many of these elements here as long as possible and the good times will keep rolling! For next year, for the players, I hope Beane can add some offense, OL and WR through the draft. Some difficult D decisions are going to be made from the Edmunds/Oliver/Poyer/Hyde group. I hope they can keep this DL together, it is stellar and doesn't seem too expensive.

The problem with establishing the run early is it takes us away from passing early - the Bills strength. And if the Bills hit on the early mid-level passing the game has the potential of being a blowout win for the Bills. The Bills have the advantage vs almost all other teams on the 20 yard passing game. To the OP, every week for every OC can be frustrating if you are doing a post-game hindsight analysis versus perfection. You point out the Saffold penalty but how quickly you forget when Knox went over center against the Jets and how that turned out. You see the possibilities for improvement for Dorsey but what about McDaniel and his passing on third and one. Or Hoodie and his last play call against the Raiders. People here have revisionist history in their praise for Daboll, he had posts like this after every game too.

These are unprecedented times. Indictments against Beane for the 10-3 number one seed. Talks of firing Dorsey with the number 2 offense. And now the flaming of bringing back two WRs who just recently had 1000 yard seasons.

And can the indictment and hanging of Beane wait until after the playoffs? Or is the two for one sale for those who want to fire Dorsey too much to pass up.

But that's what makes it not a mistake. It certainly appears to have centered on a disagreement over salary. And it's safe to say they got both Brown and Beas back at significantly less than the $6M-$8M that it was originally going to take to retain either of them. Add to that they get them back mid-season, healthy, and without the wear and tear of 13 games that erodes the older players. The original poster who was trying to frame this as some type of Beane mistake is on a Beane haterade crusade.

You conveniently left out the economics of the situation. A huge factor in moving on from both Brown and Beas was the money. Another reason for excitement is that in the older players, they are more affected by the compound affects of the beatings they take. Older players as a rule recover slower. These are fresh veterans we are getting back for the stretch run.

If we had Beas all season he would be a lot more banged up than he is now, and he would never fully recover in time for the playoffs. Now we just need a 4 game regular season win streak, get the bye and win 3 more.

A point not talked about in the Beane bashing above was the cost factor of both Smoke and Beas when they left. $6M-$8M apiece. Now we get healthy, unbroken, veteran players at a huge discount. And they're players with Bills history, makes it less of a buy a title situation.

I'm wondering if it will affect Dorsey's play calling. For instance on 3rd and 2/3/4 will he call up the 4 yard dart to Beas instead of the looping swing pass to Cook/Hines or instead of the crosser to McKenzie. Seemed like they wanted to add the swing pass YAC RB play badly this year and so far it hasn't worked as well as hoped. The speed/touch of the pass seems a little off as well as any kind of blocking. I hope they tone that down for a bit and put back in the dart/laser that Josh excels at.

I think Dorsey gets a bad rap here, especially in comparison to DaBoll who for some reason is now revered around here. Dorsey has the same numbers with a better record (10-3) yet has had less to work with - Dorsey doesn't have a Beas or Sanders. What I think has hindered the progression of the offense this season is the lack of the swing and screen pass. I believe this was the targeted year over year improvement. They tried early to get the WA guy McKissic (?). And after that went blew up, drafted Cook and then traded for Hines. The plan seemed to be increased YAC through swing passes and screens - and it has not worked yet.

You're not going to be able to stop the "Fire Dorsey" crowd with facts. Although it was another comfortable win, pinball numbers were not obtained.

It's not that I don't want Cook to touch the ball, I just want competition. I haven't given up on Cook but the developmental time is over, the leash needs to tighten. If Hines is outplaying Cook, so be it. The cutting routes short, or missing blocks, or not handling pass protection needs to stop. Cook had/has the inside track having been here all year. But Hines has been showing himself well on special teams- making wise decisions and steady hands.

I don't necessarily view these veterans as difference makers, just possibly reliable options. I think Cook and McKenzie need to be on a shorter leash now. The games are getting more meaningful and easy drops or missed assignments need to be eliminated. Cook, Davis, and McKenzie need to step up. If not I am hoping Smoke, Hines, and Crowder can be brought along for the end of season/playoff stretch.

There are some other possibilities/answers though: Top of the list are Smoke being re-integrated and more Hines. Hines is looking better every day. Secondarily, is the tantalizing possibility of bringing in OBJ for the late playoff push (+2023 season) The third low probability pieces are of a Beas and/or Gronk addition. The long season may take this type of load management thought process.