Virgil

Maybe the cigarette smoking man finally died and the conspiracy is over

In honor of this weeks win, can we please just lock all TT threads this week. What's the man got to do to earn a break around here?

Wow. Just wow. What an amazing game that felt like it would turn into a typical Bills loss for the past 17 years. It's hard to not Billieve right as no one had us 3-1 to start the season. I'm going to keep the hype train going and keep all the negatives to one point. Let's get this party started!!! 1 - Officiating - How many times do we come out on the winning side of 50/50 challenges? I know a lot of people want to point to this as the main reason we won, but I have a different opinion. There were three reviews that had a major impact and I think the Refs only messed up one of them, which went against us. For the INT and the Fumble recover, I'm not saying that they were 100% correct calls on the field, but I don't see how you could have overturned either of them. With the fumble, the ball definitely moved before Ryan's arm pushed it forward. The question is, what's the definition of control before a pass? With all of our rules around possession on a catch or fumble, I can see how there wasn't 100% evidence to overturn the call on the field. On the INT by Hyde, I think we got lucky with player positioning and camera angles. It definitely looked like the ball hit the ground with Hyde's hands on it, but you can't get a clear view of whether or not the ball moved. Again, I don't see how you can overturn the call on the field from the replay. Now the Freeman catch is a different story. While I don't agree with the rules on what a catch is after the infamous Dez play, you can clearly see where the ball moves and possession is not owned all the way through the catch. I'm not complaining about the refs or the game overall, but I think an argument can be made that calls went both ways. 2 - Shady - It was hard not writing about Shady the past two weeks. Seeing him with the slightest bit of space and gaining those extra yards just makes me appreciate what we have in him and what he can do if he stays healthy. He's holding that wrist every week it seems and I feel like it's only a matter of time. Besides that, he found a way to fall forward just enough times for first downs and really drive it home on that 9+ minute drive. I would have loved to see him in there more on first downs vs Tolbert, but eh. Also, did you hear about his press conference when he blasted the reporters for not giving him a chance, but he would still let them interview the winners? Got to love that man. 3 - Hyde - This is my first time mentioning him in these reviews and man did he earn it. The man was possessed out there and just controlled this game. Him and Poyer might be the best backfield tandem I've seen in a very long time. They are both money will spend and a huge part of our success. I'm actually looking forward to seeing him cover Gronk (probably famous last words). Either way, I love him getting it together out there and taking control. This was his defense today and there was no doubt about it. He was flying to the ball and I was pulling for the TD on hit INT. He earned it. 4 - Take your time 'cause the way I rhyme's gonna make you smile, when ya Realise that with a guy my size it might take a while, just to Try to figure out what all this is for. Pinch me 5 - Haushka - I'm officially sorry for every negative thing I thought about you when we signed you this offseason. It was nothing personal, I just heard about your missed extra points and your first missed field goal this year scared me. I'm truly, deeply sorry. Because man, are you kidding me with these 50+ yarders!? This guy is killing it for us. I wasn't even nervous on his last field goal. It's amazing to have a guy like this and only begs the question, why didn't we let him kick it before our first punt? 6 - Tyrod - I thought it was a fluke last week, but now I'm realizing this guy just knows how to make this throw. Does anyone understand how hard it is to throw on the run AND across your body? I couldn't figure out why we are rolling him out that way for the harder throw. But the answer is: Because he can! Yes, TT missed some throws today. He missed 2 that were pretty bad. But you know what, so did Ryan. If TT missed that last throw, people would be losing their minds on here calling for Peterman. He also threw some perfect balls today including the deep ball to Clay, the TD to Matthews, and a few others in stride that were starting NFL QB throws. Fine, he's not going to throw for 300 yards and carry us. Ryan attempted over 40 passes and lost. Tyrod escape the pocket and made some amazing plays on his feet and WON the game. We know his limits, but we are seeing flashes as well as improvement. How many more throws over the middle do you have to see before we can agree that it's in his arsenal. Great game Tyrod. 7 - McDermott - There's quite a few calls in the game where I scratch my head as to what McDermott is thinking. Trying to get the Falcons to jump offsides on 4th and goal made absolutely no sense as they couldn't get rewarded with a 1st. But at 3-1, with penalties under control, and with a defense that is just playing amazing, he's earned the benefit of the doubt with me. There was only one play on defense where they looked confused, and that was the passing touchdown we gave up. Other than that, this team went into an insanely tough venue against a crazy fast offense, and held them to 17 points. I'm trying not to get too caught up in things after 4 games, but this really does feel different with him. 8 - Around the NFL and the rest of the season - I don't know if the talent level has increased or decreased, but the parody in the league this year is as diverse as I've seen it in a long time. It really feels like almost every single team can win on any given Sunday. Oh yeah, and the Pats lost at home to the Panthers. Now how does that loss feel for us? I'm not saying anything about us making the playoffs or what I think is going to happen, but you can't deny that every single game on our schedule looks a lot more winnable now than it did in the preseason. The Pats game in Foxboro and the Chiefs games are the only ones I expect us to be favored to lose by a decent margin. Other than that, with today's win and how the league is shaping up, I think a lot of us are re-evaluating our Win/Loss predictions now. 9 - Grass is Greener - It's easy as a fan to watch the same team every single week and pick apart your teams flaws, while not giving them credit for their wins. This is especially true for Bills fans who are used to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But today we saw a team with a Pro Bowl QB, two amazing running backs (seriously, they are insanely fast and talented), and a great receiving core. They had so many weapons that I don't think they know how to use them all. If Ryan just had 75% of the plays run through Coleman and Freeman, I don't know that we win this game. Those guys were monsters out there. But they have so many weapons, I think they feel obligated to spread it around more and use Ryan's arm. Plus, like I said before, there were missed passes by Ryan that would get TT crucified on here. The point is, you have to take credit for the wins as well as the losses. If Ryan looked bad, give us credit for making him look bad. Give TT the credit for winning the game. Rarely is there a perfect game and there will always be plays you want to get back. But that's why you play the full 60 minutes and that's why discipline usually wins out. We are showing that discipline. 10 - Negatives - I'm not going to get deep here and keep it to quick hits. If Tolbert lost that fumble, I'm putting his house on the market. Jones needs quick passes early in games to get his confidence up. That Carolina drop is looking less and less on TT. Mills got blown up twice in a row to start the second half. I really want to know what's up with Dareus. If he's that hurt to not play that much, why dress him? If not, why is he not in more? His snap count was absurdly low. Lastly, should have called a defensive TO on the passing TD. We clearly weren't ready. 3-1 to start the season ladies and gentlemen!!! Who saw that coming?!? Savor it and let's move on. And before we start with the "Here comes the letdown loss to the Bengals.", just stop. Good teams are 1-3 right now and this season is rough for everyone. Whether we are 4-1 or 3-2 heading into the bye week, this was a great win and we are further ahead than anyone thought we would be. So for a week, let's leave TT alone. Let's hope our WR's can step up for Matthews (Talking to you Jones), and Gaines injury isn't too bad. This is a great win and a good feeling. Bills Win, Pats Lose!!!! Go Bills!!!!! *Post Edit - I dont know how I failed to give Clay a spot in here. I had him in my notes and just missed him. Was the leading NFL receiver through the 1pm games. Yes, thats with TT at the helm. Amazing game for Clay and love seeing him develop into the guy we hoped hed be. Hes earning that contract this year.

Good thing we have a bye week coming up. Zay needs to figure things out.

This game hurt our playoff chances. We need to lose to the NFC opponents. Terrible coaching decisions

Seriously with this? Can't you enjoy anything? There's missed calls, passes, whatever in every single game. Enjoy the win man. It's been less than 30 minutes

Wasnt on the field for 1st and goal

Where is Dareus?

Zay?! Are you !@#$ing kidding me!!!!! How are you this terrible at catching?!!! Carolina game is looking more and more on you.

Tolbert needs to not run the ball again unless its goalline or 1 yard is needed. He kills the momentum.

Damn you for making me think about all the things I no longer have! In order.... Burger Time (parents owned a wing shop and it was there) Mortal Kombat II (you could drop me off at the arcade for an hours with just .25 and I would be fine After Burner (Sit Down version where the seat moved) Simpsons Pinball (Again, hours) Daytona USA (Still my favorite racing game to this day) Virtual Racer (The real was I learned how to drive) One day, my goal is to have a universal arcade console in my basements for 1 & 2, and own 3, 4, and 5 as they were.

There is one main rushing play that we ran a ton over the past two years. We showed it in different looks, but the basic concept was the same. Even if the opposing team stacked the box, half of them are immediate behind the play and Shady gets three different holes to chose from as he only needs to choose and cut. For a guy named Cut on a Dime, how more perfect could it be. I know we have a new OC, but this play was an absolute home run for our combination of line and backs. https://youtu.be/7zVD2JUXFyw

1 - Strong offensive game. I dont care if its the pass or the run, but I want to see our highest yardage output. This is the weakest defense weve played all year and I want to see what we got. Also, if we have any chance at winning this game, we need to control the clock with sustained drives. With Vic Beasley and their starting FS out, Im also hoping to see TT escape contain for a few runs as well as some deep shots finally. 2 - Keeping the penalties down in a loud away stadium. We need to play almost perfect and cant give up free plays or yards. Weve been great through 3 weeks, lets see it continue 3 - Get pressure on Ryan from up the middle. I want to see our DTs (Dareus) move the pocket on Ryan and push him into Hughes. We cant give him all day back there and we need as many guys in coverage as possible. Lastly, I just want to see this board meltdown if we win. I cant even begin to imagine the hysteria on here with a win here and then a beatable Bengals. 4-1 going into the bye would be almost unbearable hype. But dont worry, we would still need to cut Tyrod.

Best QBR against the Broncos since Brees. And that was a few yearsback. Yardage means nothing to me. 26 points is 26 points against an elite defense

I started with Grateful Dead as a tribute to John. Then it was all DMB. This year isnt BNL. Trying to keep it to western New York fan favorites. Theres a method good sir

The Raiders? Did you seem them get absolutely manhandled by the Redskins who have a subpar defense and all new Wr on offense? I like the Raiders, but they are not clearly better.

Sorry, but this is horse ****. They went for the fake punt, threw crap ints because they were desperate and shutting them down. They needed to make a comeback and we were in their face. They tried to pick on White and he shut that **** down. I can be a downer as much as anyone, but we straight up took this win from them. It was earned and forced them to play from behind. Its easy to play conservative and make safe throws when you are up.

Especially on offense. Weve looked genuinely different with our scheme following halftime in all three games.

We beat them at home, there is absolutely no team we cant beat. I dont expect a win, but neither would any team traveling there.

Ah, Bills September hope. Its a beautiful thing

If you listen to Tyrods presser, he talks about the touchdown pass to Clay. He said the first read was to Matthews on the outside, scrambling was his second read, and Clay was meant to be the 3rd read. Outside of call quarterback runs, I dont ever think of Tyrod running as a called read. I wonder how many plays hes ran and fans have accused him of bailing on the play. Just something I found interesting and makes me realize again how much we dont understand from our couches.

If the Bills keep it close, Ill take it. I think we will learn a lot about our defense but I cant think of a single team that would be favored in Atlanta right now

They ran quite a few play action calls and the defense was right in Tyrods face. I like that they tried, but its not always that simple

Talk about an amazing win for McDermott and the Bills. This game had everything a Bills fan is used to, except for maybe a different ending than we are used to. If this regime is going to change the culture of the Bills, this might be the game that started it all. Brace yourselves, because as a game that had a lot of ups and downs, these thought are going to be all over the place. 1 - Tyrod - I usually stay away from TT at the beginning of these as I know it get the most attention and the fans who don't like him, will only focus on attacking the positives. Today might have been one of Tyrod's most complete games as an NFL quarterback to me. Not because of his yardage or the win, but because he made some great throws, made some terrible throws, but in the end, found a way to get the job done. I was surprised to see him roll out to his left on so many plays, forcing himself to throw across his body. The terrible miss to Jones was under those circumstances. I was incredibly worried after the first drive that this game was going to mirror Carolina in regards to offensive performance, but Tyrod really got it going on some drives, making solid throws all over the field. I like even more the plays he didn't make. There were a few play-actions passes where he wanted to go deep, but couldn't get the ball out. I was happy for the lack of throw, possible INT, and just making it to the next play. He also kept the final drive alive with some great runs. ​Best Play - ​His TD pass to Clay was beautiful. A lot of people want to harp on TT for bailing on plays too early. He kept his eyes down the field the entire play, forced the defense to respect his running ability, and found Clay wide open because of it. That is exactly how a running QB needs to use his feet, eyes, and arm. 2 - Refs - I hate talking about the Refs two weeks in a row. I'm still salty about the offensive PI call last week and the one against the 49ers on Thursday night. I feel like these guys have meetings and talk about what plays they are going to enforce, 50/50 or not. As for this game, I almost lost it a few times on the Broncos TD drive. The defensive PI call, late hit, roughing the qb calls were all questionable at best. Never mind the excessive holding calls against the Broncos that never seemed to get called. Hughes and Kyle got mugged constantly and no calls were made. As for the unsportsmanlike conduct call, I'm torn. If your kids are watching that game, that's the definition of how you don't treat someone on the field. As an adult, it was funny to me and TT laughed too. What I love about it though? That it didn't happen against the Bills as it almost always seems to. 3 - Tre White - Talk about a tale of two halves. I felt terrible for this kid as the Broncos absolutely picked on him the entire first half. He was in great position for many plays, but the Sanders and Thomas made great catches. But man did he come out a possessed man in the second half. He was just batting down balls, laying hits, and doing it all. It was only a matter of time until he came down with an INT and it felt great when he did. Hats off to this kid for pushing through and contributing to a solid win. 4 - It's been one week since you looked at me Cocked your head to the side and said, "I'm angry." Five days since you laughed at me saying, "Get back together come back and see me." 5 - Dennison - Talk about Jekyll and Hyde playcalling. We had three drives where we started in field goal range and got negative yards on 1st down all three times. The opening drive was a disaster and some of the run calls were uninspired. Now, with that being said, great job calling misdirection plays and routes down the field where Tyrod could get deep with limited pass protection. We had a good number of drives that resembled and NFL offense and I felt confident in our ability to score for the first time this season. If this offense showed up last week, we are 3-0 right now. I'm hoping that this is Dennison and the players figuring things out and each week we will see this progression. 6 - Overall Defense - I'm still a little frustrated with our soft zone in the middle of the field as well as not sending extra guys to create more pressure. There's quite a few plays where I feel like one more blitzer would have gotten the job done. Besides that, and you take Jamaal Charles deciding to show up on a few plays, our defense was fantastic in our bend, but don't break, approach. 16 points given up against a team 2-0 with those weapons is impressive. The Broncos were lucky to score the 3 points they did in the second half as the adjustments made were inspiring. I'm loving what I'm seeing so far and a lot more players made names for themselves. Humber impressed me on a few plays, Kyle played fantastic again, and the backfield is really making receivers pay with some punishing hits. 7 - Tolbert - I'm still not liking this acquisition. His fair catch call on the kickoff made absolutely no sense. He's too slow to be making cuts and I think he's confused as to the type of running back we need him to be. Just put your head down, run straight, and knock someone over. Anything else is outside your skillset. I really wish we had a genuine #2 runningback with Tolbert as just the short yardage bruiser. 8 - McDermott - Great win for the coach and 2-1 after 3 games is about what you would hope for with this schedule. He had another head scratching time out to me when he waited 15 seconds to call it. Other than that, I like his energy on the sideline, clapping and all. I love the lack of penalties. Most importantly, I love taking a knee with 2 minutes left and up by 10. So far, it's hard to not think we have the right coach. ​9 - Defensive Adjustments to Offensive Audibles - I could throw this in with the defense, but I feel it needs to be separate. One of the most infuriating things about our defense was our inability to adjust when the opposing offense made changes at the line. Communication between players was confusing, players were out of position, and we would waste timeouts or give up big plays. So far this year, we are making quick reads, quick communication, and ready with seconds to go before the snap. I can't stress how important I think this is. Our cohesiveness as a defense unit is evident and only going to get better. 10 - Hauschka - This guy made me a little nervous to start the season, but man was he money today. He was booming them today and they were all no doubters. I rarely give much thought to kickers, but he was a difference maker today and deserves the nod. 2-1 and off to Atlanta for what is going to be an interesting test for our defense. I think most NFL teams would be favored to lose next week, but any given sunday..... GO BILLS!

Man, refs screwed over two teams with that BS call within a week. Seriously, they need to get that **** under control. The game shouldnt come down to that