Virgil

I would expect nothing less

When I watch other games, I don't know who I'm rooting for until I start watching for a little bit. I don't know what makes me gravitate towards one team or the other, it just sorta happens. For those of you who watched the Lions game on Thanksgiving, I found myself as angry as if the Bills lost to the Jaguars again. The Bears only need one more first down so they can kill the clock and kick the game winning field goal. The Bears line up with two receivers on the weak side. The Lions defenders are 10-15 yards off the line of scrimmage, lined up as if it's 1st and goal from the 20 and it's the last play of the game. Naturally, the Bears receivers runs 5 yards, turns around, and Dalton throws an easy pass for the first down, game over. Watching that play unfold was like watching a tidal wave coming and no one can hear you yelling to take cover. Between the back to back timeout fiasco and that play, the Lions deserve every bit of their win-less record and I'm so thankful for not being their fan. 1 - Tre - It's impossible to talk about this game and not address the big elephant in the room in Tre being done for the year. It's crazy to me how the most serious injuries are typically those where no contact is made. You could tell by the tests they ran on him and how he went down that it was bad. Tre's had such a tremendous impact on this team ever since he was drafted and I hate to lose his play and leadership on this team. With that being said, this is one position and scheme that makes me not as afraid to play on without him. Wallace and Johnson have played great this year, while Dane and Cam have showed flashes. Tre doesn't typically follow a receiver around the field and our scheme is very defensive back friendly. The big bonus is, we don't play a team besides the Bucs that have a true number one receiver for the rest of the year. So, if other teams want to try and start throwing all over us, I think that would be welcome as it gives our pass rush more of an opportunity. 2 - Pass rush - It's crazy to believe that Ed got his first sack of the season in this game. He's had multiple games where he was disruptive, but I would argue none morose than this game. Ed was living in the backfield and had another sack negated due to a downfield holding penalty (I'm not going on a penalty rant again, but the missed face mask against Motor was a joke. I'm also not going to talk about the offside against Hughes when the replay clearly showed the Tackle leave early...). Addison also played a solid game, as a makeup for his putrid performance against the Colts. Both of these guys made me start to wonder about Groot, Hughes, and AJ. I feel like Groot has been fairly neutralized the past few weeks and he's had plenty of 1 on 1 matchups. Our ROI on this rotation isn't delivering the results we'd hoped for and I'm curious to know what this looks like in the off season. When I watch the big paid DE's like Bosa and Chandler take over games in recent weeks, it makes me wonder if that's the route we should be taking. We spend almost the same amount of money in total, but when we rotate guys in that aren't performing, it gives the opposing offensive line a break. Plus, I'm really tired of spending so much draft capitol on the same positions. Granted, those types of players don't come along very often, but just thoughts. 3 - Running backs - I made a point last week to discuss how I believed Moss should be demoted to 3rd string and I'm standing by that even more emphatically this week. Breida and Motor were a great combination and Motor really seemed to embrace being the power, change of pace back. Breida's speed is night and day to the other backs which opened up runs that the other two simply couldn't accomplish. It also allowed the offensive line to hold their blocks less, which is a huge advantage. Additionally, the threat of him busting to the outside keeps the defense honest for their zones, something we could only do before with the threat of a jet sweep. In saying all of this, I can only imagine this team with a Taylor or Kamara on the roster.... As for Motor, he had a couple of beautiful runs where he got to the second level between the tackles and absolutely powered through tackles. For a passing team that needs the opposing team to respect the run, this was a great run/pass ratio and about what I would expect going forward. 4 - Is this just another phase? Of earthquakes making waves Trying to shake the cancer off? Oh, stupid human beings Once you hold the hand of love It's all surmountable 5 - Knox - How does a Tight End with drop issues start playing better with a monsterously swollen, recently broken hand. Knox is pulling down jump balls and broke the single season touchdown record by a Bills Tight End. It's crazy his development and what he means to this offense. I was on the Hollister train earlier this season, not because of not liking Knox, but due to performance and now he's a top Tight End in the league statistically. His relationship with Josh is possibly tied with Josh's with Diggs and you can see it. If teams want to cover everyone else, Knox will make them pay and he is genuinely a threat on the field again. 6 - Milano - Beyond Oliver and Addison, Milano was the defensive MVP of the linebackers looking extra fast on the turf in a dome (hint hint). Milano made some great sideline to sideline tackles and blew up a few plays in the backfield. He wasn't flashy with a turnover like Poyer, but his coverage skills really took away the edges of the field, which is where the Saints like to live. He also did a great job blowing up a screen pass, which left the Saints playbook after that. Great game overall by him. 7 - Saints Defense - I know many are concerned about the Pats game on MNF, but I noticed that the Saints played a very similar defense to what the Pats did against us last year. The Saints defense pressed out receivers and had two safeties deep (one if they guess run). This allowed our guys to win their battles at the line and break free. Allen did have more time to pass than he may see against Judon next week, but this press cover 2 is a defense that Allen looks very comfortable against. Yes, he did throw two interceptions, but one was a miscommunication with Diggs and his arm was hit on the other (crazy how that's his first red zone interception. I bet Lamar wishes he had his first one back). 8 - McKenzie - Anyone else hold their breath on every kickoff and punt return? I'm not sure if it's been discovered as to why, but McKenzie was benched for this game and made some tweets about being done for the season. In his place, rookie Stevenson returned kicks and saw some action at the end at receiver. He had an overall good game, but honored McKenzie with a muffed punt that was recovered by the Bills. Stevenson wasn't used in any jet sweep packages, but overall did well for his first game. If anyone knows more about McKenzie, please post in the comments. 9 - McD - Okay, I lied. It's time to talk about penalties. The Bills were much more disciplined this week with false starts and holds. However, during and after the game, McD was livid about some late hit and low tackles not called in favor of Allen. I'm all about protecting our quarterback, but I also don't believe this is going to do our team any favors with the refs, especially with the Pats coming up. I don't want to believe retaliation like this occurs, but it does get hard to ignore unbalanced ratio of penalties called against us. Lamar in Baltimore gets the same treatment and it's only a matter of time until it leads to an injury. 10 - The Stretch - There's a lot of different narratives about the Bills this season: We can't beat power run teams. We can't come from behind and win. We can't play in the elements. We are soft and get dominated by physical teams. All that being said, we are still in control of our destiny for the AFC East and within a game of the 1 seed behind the Ravens, who have a tough remaining schedule. We've seen a lot of ups and downs by all teams this season and I refuse to believe this Pats team magically figured it out in one season. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe in our defense and a fired up Josh on Monday night at home. If we win this game, barring we don't lose to the Jets, we would own the tie breaker against the Pats should we finish with the same record. I wish we had the Jags game back, but it's behind us and this team bounces back. We beat the Pats and most of the critics shut up. Stay the course, have faith in the better QB on the field, and all will be well. Side Note - I'm debating going to the game on Monday night. It's going to be freezing and it's a 6 hour drive for me. However, I still have PTSD from making the Jax trip. The Bills are 1-2 at games I've attended this year, but I haven't been to a MNF game in forever (actually forever I think). If they lose and I'm there, I'll own it. But I'm choosing to have faith. Go Bills!!!!

I really thought we had better filter systems on this board to not all Pats fans on here 🤢🤮

Unless we lose to the Jets, all we have to do is win one against the Pats and we would have the tie breaker for the division. Besides the Bucs, our remaining schedule is easier than theirs. There is no reason to believe we won’t take care of business. People talking about winning the East and I’m still expecting to get the one seed.

Nike has absolutely ruined fan jerseys. They don’t make the player versions, except for a very limited few players. They charge ridiculous prices for iron ok jerseys. The ones that are “limited” is a stitched iron on and the numbers are smaller. Just a trash operation and I hope they lose the rights soon

If you take away defensive holding penalties this season, his sack total would double

If this was us vs Washington, I was at that game. We were trying to kick a long FG to win and they put us 15 yards closer. I guess the yardage penalty changed. The fans were pissed

Saints 51 Bills 3 Can’t post my normal stuff as I’m currently driving. Let’s just say….PAIN!!!

I saw that movie too

Well, I feel dumb. I thought Ford looked good in his 1 on 1 passing matchups

Are you sure about this? The Pegulas could choose to pay for that part of it I believe. It's not going to be fully tax funded

I saw him complaining about that on the sideline, but the delay between when Wentz threw the ball and when he was hit seemed like an eternity. I don't know if I buy him being a victim there. However, I'll reserve judgement for the All-22

I strongly disagree. I also include him almost every week. There were more pressing concerns to me this week.

I almost feel bad for him. He hasn’t had a full compliment of healthy weapons all season. However, he got gifted extra years as a head coach

Yeah, sorry for the lateness on this one. Yesterday just got away from me. I was never really upset over this loss and expected it. I was fairly mellow all game.

I don't see why it's sterilizing the game. Look at the greatest show on turf. I would argue that dome settings are just as part of the game as cold weather teams. If we were the 85 Bears and knew our identity was going to be smash mouth football for the next 20 years, I'd say leave it be. But the game just keeps following the college schemes and passing is the future. I was all about an open air stadium until a few years back, but I've changed my tune

Mariano Rivera is arguably the best MLB closer of all time. Beyond the numbers and championships, the thing that made him so great was that every hitter knew what pitch was coming. When you were down 0-2, the high cutter was coming your way. Posada would literally stand up behind the plate. As a viewer, it almost didn’t make sense why these professional athletes couldn’t hit a pitch that they knew the location and type, yet it just kept happening. If there ever was an example that represented the Bills game, it’s knowing exactly what and who was going to hurt you against the Colts, but being able to do absolutely nothing to stop it. 1 - Wentz - I could talk about how great JT a was, but I think that Wentz barely completing 50% or his passes for just over 100 yards should tell you the story of how a 40 point loss went. Wentz had a few good passes and managers to Houdini out of a sack, but how often do you see games today where the quarterback isn’t relevant. 2 - Penalties - I’m done pointing the finger at the refs or any other conspiracy theorist, we are consistently one of the worst teams for penalties and it’s losing us games. Penalties comes down to coaching for me and McD owns it. If I were him, I would have benched Addison after his roughing penalty. That was absolutely inexcusable and extended another Colts drive. Addison is also the DE who couldn’t tackle Wentz on the escape play. On our first drive, penalties knocked us back from a first down at the 25 to a 3rd and long from the 40, which led to an INT. Penalties bailed the Colts out on 3rd down multiple times. Poyer jumped in with a personal foul hit out of bounds, that added 15 and put the Colts in scoring range. Some want to question the teams toughness, others intensity. No matter what it is, coaches own all things mental and we’ve been far from good since the Titans loss. 3 - Ford - I was surprised to see Ford and Williams be left to block one on one for a lot of the game. And, surprisingly to everyone, Ford did a great job. He handled Buckner a few times and Josh was relatively good to pass on most plays. 4 -So I'm riding away, away Hiding away, away So much talk it makes no sense at all So I'm flying away, away Driving away, away Passing old friends I don't miss at all 5 - Moss - After watching the past few games, I would be good demoting Moss to our 3rd back. Breida showed some good flashes again and Motor even had some solid plays. It’s tough to talk about the running game when you only rush ten times roughly, but everyone seemed to get the memo about upping their game besides Moss. 6 - Special Teams - If you only had to watch one play in this game to know how it went, just watch the McKenzie kickoff return before the half. McKenzie found a way to trip in the open field and then fumble the ball away, with no defenders within 5 yards of him. On a drive that could have setup the halftime double punch and make this an entirely different game, all the McKenzie haters watched in slow motion as their wildest dreams came true. Also, if you needed more of a reason to understand how off this game was, Bass missed two FGs, one that got caught by the wind and off into the stands. 7 - Chiefs - This is a first for me, but I write them so I’ll do what I want. If you watched the Chiefs game, in what was meant to be a passing slug fest, the Chiefs did two things well. They ran the ball to control the clock, going against who they are as a team. And when on defense, they led their highly paid pass rusher stay on the field and get pressure against Dak. While teams have strengths and weaknesses, they are still comprised of NFL players. Our inability to ever show a power run game and our 40+ million defensive rotation line with our first two draft picks, are not showing up at all and it’s killing us. Yes, the Colts were running the ball at will and we weren’t in a pass rush situation often, but that much money on a line who can’t do the one trick of their one trick pony show is a concern. Some teams are built for certain things, and we clearly are not built to win in the trenches. And in a weather game where that matters and we apparently don’t need a dome, we looked like a high school team. 8 - Daboll - I honestly thought Daboll had a decent strategy for this game and continued his varied looks. Execution and penalties were the real killer here, then add on the 3 score deficit. The Bills offense was going right down field until the penalties knocked them back. If they kept going, (yes, I know SDS), then it's reasonable to believe the game is tied at half. Now, going 3 and out to start the second half was bad and I wonder what happened to the scripted plays to start the second half, but I can forgive Daboll for having to play from behind and not being helped by the defense or player mental discipline. 9 - Dome - Whether you want to say we are a physical team or not, there's no denying that we've had multiple games over the past few years that have affected our offense. I understand that both teams need to play in it, but other teams are adjusting better. I also understand wanting a home field advantage in colder weather against warm weather teams. With that being said, I truly believe we need a dome stadium with a retractable roof. If the stadium stays in OP, the money saved will more than cover that feature. Would it have mattered in a game like this? Possibly not. But would Allen have been able to have a little more accuracy and would the drops have been as rampant? I think the team needs to have the option going forward. We aren't playing the Dolphins in the playoffs anymore. Yes, it was fun, and if you miss it we can open the roof. More so, home field advantage doesn't seem to mean much to this team. The fans are as loud as ever, travel well, and I can't think of a game where the team used it to their advantage. 10 - McD - Someone posted on Twitter that the Bucs were 7-5 at this time last year and went on to win the Super Bowl. There are few teams built to dismantle our front line and we've played two of them in the Colts and Titans. The Bucs are coming up and can probably do the same. Does that mean our roster is garbage? No. Each team is built different and it's a passing league. However, coaches can typically scheme to adjust for weaknesses and I have a big issue that we seem to be crippled by the loss of Star, Edmunds, Mongo, and Spencer. I understand that they are starters, but 2 of them didn't even play last year and we got it done. McD needs to get this team more disciplined and ready to adjust to other schemes. This loss is as much on him as it is anyone else. And going forward, I believe the Bills need to make the business decision about their roster in terms of who is at a higher risk to play in games. We can't keep hoping not to lose guys from week to week and have it affect the team. I respect everyone's decision to do what is right for themselves and their body, but I also respect that this is a business and you need to put the best product on the field. If there is a player that you can't rely on to be out there all 17 games, then you need to make the appropriate moves to be prepared. On to the Saints on a short week and then home Monday Night against the Pats. We are no longer in the driver's seat, nor are we the media darlings we were. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the players bought into the hype. Regardless, they haven't looked right on offense all year and need to figure it out. If they get on track in December, the rest of the season doesn't matter. These next few weeks are crucial and I still Billieve we are playing for the one seed. Go Bills!!!

I've heard of him!

Didn't they just make a deal with him in the offseason? I'm so confused

I just don’t understand why he would opt out if he was so afraid or Covid and then not get vaxed

Does that confirm he is unvaxed?

Stadiums I wouldn’t mind: Baltimore Seattle Stadiums I would hate: Pittsburgh Jacksonville I really would like a dome as I think the weather stuff gets old and it would be more attractive for other events, but I know that’s not happening at this point. However, I can’t think of a logical reason as to why anymore

Not 97? Are you even a fan?

Agreed. This is why I want us to have a dome. I feel like cold weather teams are a thing of the past and it only really helps in playoff games. However, with our fans and the league being a passing one, I have zero concerns with HFA in the playoffs. It will make Josh better and that is what's most important

Colts 10 Bills 3 Bills defense shows up again as the Colts only TD comes on a fumble return off Motor. Allen runs for his life all game as Sanders is placed at Right Tackle.