Beck Water

Typical over-reaction. I think Josh Allen called it correctly a few years back. He said something like "You win, the players are great, the coaches are brilliant. You lose, the players suck and they ought to fire all the coaches."

OK, my take for what it's worth. I expected this to happen. I didn't say so before the game because I don't want to be that "Debbie Downer" fan, so y'all can be fairly skeptical. From the Rams side: 1) The Rams believe they are an elite team that caught some bad luck in 2022 when they had to shut Stafford down, and then in 2023 when they went 7-1 at the end of the season to make the playoffs, and their only loss was OT to the Ravens, then 23-24 loss to the Lions in the playoffs. They do not have the mindset "OK, we're 6-6, we're out of it. You better believe that with them only being 2 games out of 1st place in their division, their coaches were hammering home the message that "hey, we are in the thick of this, we won 7 games at the end of the season last year and made the playoffs; the Bills made the playoffs last season by winning out - so Here We Go!!! 2) Their OC of the last 2 years, Mike LaFleur, knows the Bills well through his 2 years as OC of the Jets, during which I might add they beat the Bills with Zack Wilson at QB and one-scored them with Mike White. Their DC, Chris Shula, is the nephew of former Bills "Senior Offensive Assistant" Mike Shula, who is now at the college level and might "feel some way" about being passed over for Joe Brady as OC. My point is even though the Bills don't play the Rams that much, in some ways this is like a Division game where there is a lot of knowledge of the Bills scheme and players from the Rams - but it doesn't go both ways. 3) Matt Stafford is playing well right now, and when he's playing well and he's got elite receivers, they can beat anyone. From the Bills side: 1) The Bills were a Battered and Dinged sale this week. The Bills were throwing themselves around onto a surface that's hard as concrete. You get an extra species of bruised up and sore. [Edit to clarify: I mean because of the '9ers game, frozen astroturf is hard as cement] 2) Party Hats. Having walloped the 49ers on national TV and clinched the division, the Bills were celebrating. I expect that the coaches had trouble applying that 24 hr rule this week. 3) Not taking a 6-6 team sufficiently seriously. I expect the coaches were preaching "they're a really good team, we need to come out physical up front and affect the QB". I expect the players were hearing "blahblah Ginger blahblah". Traveling to LA, there may have been a Party Mood on Saturday as well. Then there's the point that if it were a must-win, perhaps some of the guys who were limited and practicing would have gone. It's hard to sell that "you need to give it all you got" when the player personnel decisions say "we don't need everyone we got". 4) Bills can't beat a team like this: they can and have, actually. But they have to give it all they got. Take it with a grain of salt, I was once told that blocking on the OL starts mentally, all these guys are freak athletes and it's mental attitude that give you the edge. I expect that's true on the DL as well. That latter was kind of my take as well. Bernard, probably, he's the Captain. 1) Extra helping of battered and bruised from the cold game 2) Party Hats stayed on too long this week 3) Not taking a 6-6 team sufficiently seriously 4) Mental strength and focus

The Bills lost to the Rams because I watched the entirety of the 49ers-Bills game on Friday night (I had missed much of it when my mom went to ER)

Except he got paid prior to last season and he was a terror last season. And Al Haynesworth has more to the story. Check out his Player's Tribune article.

The thing is, this is a year where the Bills have (as far as I can tell) put the least priority ST in roster decisions. Aside from Reggie Gilliam, who has been a ST captain (prior to this year's "captain lite"), and Quinton Morris (who sees the field on offense regularly), a lot of the ST-only players are gone. Tyler Matakevich, Jaquan Johnson, Siran Neal, Tyrell Dodson - all gone I thought Hollins was gonna be the new "Mr Teams", but in fact, he hasn't played teams that much and he's contributing more on offense. I don't disagree that ST has been unusually bad for the Bills, but I kind of attributed it to the combo of new rules plus the fact that the Bills don't seem to be keeping around all these "ST ace" vets. Coddrington has been a bright note, I agree

Same No. But it may be that defense "is what it is", in which case, "can the offense be even better?" is a fair question Remember, one stop was the difference in the game.

Elam does play special teams. It's actually not true, because Elam does play special teams.

Someone, I think it was @GunnerBill, said that a team has to get 4 stops to have a chance of winning. Well, hell, 2 stops would have done it tonight. On defense, they got 2 stops and forced 2 punts On defense, we limited them to 1 FG and forced 1 punt And that is the difference in the ballgame. It has been very aggressive at times. Against KC, they were relentless.

I hear you. But if @MasterStrategist is correct that it was a broken bone with a 4-6 week recovery time, are they really letting him catch Josh Allen zingers, practice release moves against a DB, and run routes without a brace?

I wish I could find it, there was a piece with Zo Alexander and Steve Smith talking about their wives. Parts of it are hysterical, apparently they married college best friends so when they go out together, the ladies are having a blast and the guys are "OK it's 2 am, can we go home yet?" But Zo talks about how he credits getting married with his longevity in the NFL.

I'd bet money he's a Giants fan with the motto "misery should be shared"

Dude, the playoffs are "win or go home". Two teams can not beat the Bills. But thank you for settling that! I'm always amused by people with certainty. There are fellas in Las Vegas who oughtta be happy ta meet ya. Yes, I am. Kincaid is a different receiver than Knox is. Smoother, better route runner, better at separation. Knox is a better blocker. Neither is very good at beating a jam off the line.

I agree with you - the Bills are usually savvier than that about IR, and typically wouldn't keep a guy on the roster unless there's a legit chance he's gonna play before (in Coleman's case) the 5 week IR window of 4 games plus the bye. Even if they don't "need" the roster spot, if Coleman was a 6 week injury at the start or 4 weeks plus a couple weeks rehab, why not elevate a PS guy and get him a game check? Coleman has practiced every day the last 2 weeks and been listed as "questionable", not "doubtful". So I respect guys that may have some inside info or insight, but it still seems weird to me. Guess we'll see tomorrow.

I'm not doubting your info that was the initial diagnosis but, Riddle me This (serious query): it was observed right from the start, Coleman was working out on the sideline doing ladder and other footwork drills with a trainer - with no cast or brace. Even if it were a green stick ulnar fracture or a hairline fracture which is effectively splinted by the radius, wouldn't they splint or brace it just to prevent "oopsie!" worsening of the injury if he accidentally trips or someone accidentally runs into him?

Spector will have 4 games (5 weeks) on IR after Sunday's game, so he's eligible to return. I don't think they've opened his 3 week practice window as of yet though.

Practice squad safety. 2022 late 1st round pick of the Vikes after some college success in Georgia. Was fast at the combine. Pre draft profile Suffered a serious leg fracture requiring multiple surgeries his rookie year 2022 Couldn't see the field on defense his 2nd year 2023 (played some on ST) Was cut by the Vikes before the season and the Bills picked him up and put him on the PS to see what he had Would not be a surprise if a guy with talent who suffered a devastating injury took a minute to find his way back to form, not to mention learning his way in the NFL Would also not be a surprise if the Vikes cut him because there was nothing there In any case, with Rapp and Hamlin playing and Bishop and Lewis healthy, this is probably a "thank you for working hard on our PS all year" game check. Yeah my initial take on this is "woah, Kareem Jackson must look pretty washed" (not a shock as Jackson is 35? 36?) But if we're trying to give a guy who's been working hard a game check, as a vet Jackson is likely being paid a lot more on PS than Cine.

I'm more worried about them destroying Benford, Bernard, and Douglas (shades of Pittsburgh game)

I would guess Bernard's wedding/dinner was planned in advance of Josh's proposal. Maybe Bernard and Anderson started something for Josh!!!!

You know, there's a lot of room there between "pre-season, we were always planning to swap a Day 2 pick for a vet WR at mid season in order to be competitive at WR" and "the idea just popped into our head during the Houston game", right? Why on earth would Beane start the season with a roster he thought wasn't good enough to do the job at WR if he intends to contend? The Bills spent a significant amount of their FA budget on Curtis Samuel. They gave MVS significant guaranteed money given their limited cap. All signs point to, going into the season, "we expect these guys to contribute significantly". I'm sure it was clear from Game 1 that wasn't working out as planned, and I'm sure Beane was keeping feelers out on who might be available and for what price, but yes, I don't think Beane made up his mind to actually swap off a 3rd round pick for Cooper until the Houston debacle. He might have been dangling a 4th or 5th for someone and the trade partner wanted more. We may just have to agree to disagree here. I think for a GM to actually go into the season PLANNING that he would be able to swing a mid-season trade for a quality WR (given his limited cap $$) would be roster mishandling in the highest degree (which, some would say Beane was guilty of at WR and they have a point). OTOH, saying "OK, we've seen these guys we signed contribute at a level we need in previous seasons, but they're not getting 'er done Right Here, Right Now, so I better upgrade, even if it means giving significant resources - that makes sense. Yes, exactly. They knew the playbook and had had rappore with Josh. It was pretty much them, or raid another team's PS and hope the guy you grab is a fast learner. What Beane should have done IMO is make a move before the trade deadline (start looking as soon as Crowder broke his leg) when he could have looked for a guy who had actually shown he could play, and have a bit of leeway to bring him up to speed in the offense.

I just want to point out that guys like Jon Feliciano (who came back from Pec surgery earlier than expected) and others have praised the Bills S&C staff for helping them "gain strength rapidly". In Feliciano's case, the timeframe referenced was 2 weeks, and he was nursing a still-healing injury.

In 2022, what I saw was that Hamlin was ok to solid playing next to Poyer (better as he got a few games under his belt). But when Poyer went out - first Mia game, Pittsburgh, Jets, Minnesota - there was a noticable fall off, not only in the safety play with Jaquan Johnson in 3 games then Cam Lewis playing safety vs the Vikes, but in Hamlin's play as well. And I think that may be what the Bills are worried about as shown by adding Hyde to the PS - if Rapp is now having neck problems after the 49ers game to add to his shoulder injury from the Chiefs game, and it kept him limited all week, the Bills may be feeling he's one wrong hit away from IR with a stinger, and the level of safety play might go from "Servicable" to "Not Good Enough". Again, I note that Kareem Jackson, though a former 1st round pick, is actually 3 years older than Hyde is.

This is also true. I feel that Hamlin has been solid, not the "weakest link" on D. He's not the PhD level safety that Hyde was in his prime, but even then - Hyde did make some game-losing gaffes, and he had fallen off last year. Hamlin has exceeded my expectations (which, granted, were not high) and played solid, That said, the idea of him being better than 62 other starting safeties in the league thus deserving of Pro Bowl status, kind of highlights that Pro Bowl is no longer the prestigious honor it once was.

Just curious why you say that?

I actually don't think for a minute the plan was to upgrade at WR mid-season. I think the Houston game showed that if Shakir went down, we simply didn't have enough quality receivers. Beane's start-of-season plan was to get more quality play from Samuel and MVS and for Kincaid to take a big step in his 2nd season, maybe Tyrell Shavers to be ready to next-man-up. didn't work that way. Beane does learn from his mistakes, so to avoid repeating 2022 end-of-season desperation at WR, he got on the phone and got Cooper. Maybe injury is holding Samuel back, but he hasn't contributed as expected; MVS didn't work out for whatever reason; Kincaid has taken a 2nd year step back so far. So with Shakir out, it was a Bad Bad Day at the Office against a very good defense, and a team which has a lot of insight into the Bills offense and defense through Diggs and Settle.

While all eyes turned to Josh Allen getting engaged during the Bye, it turns out Terrel Bernard quietly got married!!!! https://www.si.com/onsi/athlete-lifestyle/relationships/bills-terrel-bernard-wife-tayler-timmons-surprise-wedding-turns-heads-before-49ers-game He's been dating the same lassie, Taylor Timmons, since High School and they've been engaged since she graduated Baylor in 2023. Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Terrel Bernard! Apparently the wedding was small and private, but they had a Wedding Dinner to which teammates were invited (and posted on Insta of course)