Long Suffering Fan

Eh, I'm busy. Seriously, though. I don't think they are idiots and I am almost never critical of game plans because I don' know what they studied in the film room. However, once the product is put on the field everyone can see it - coaches, fans, experts, and non-experts alike. What I absolutely do NOT understand is stubbornness in sticking with something that is so obviously not working that drunken TBD posters can see it on their TVs.

Sure. I bet they did. I'm not sure why they would have thought that, but okay. They are the experts. I am not an expert, but I figured out after about 3 series that it wasn't helping us win.

I want the Chiefs to demolish the Bucs and it is not even because I hate Tom Brady. I am as frustrated with the last game and with the coaching as anyone, but this Super Bowl is still a measuring stick for the Bills even though the Bills are not playing. I get that match ups are a big part of these games and we might not match up well against the Chiefs and maybe we had a bad game. However, if the Bucs win dominantly over the Chiefs, it will still say something about the Bills. If the Chiefs crush the Bucs, OTOH, I think I will feel like the Chiefs are just a juggernaut and it was just their year. I think it will take just a tiny bit of the sting out of our loss. What I mean to say is, I think I will be thinking about the Bills a lot during the SB. Not just how they could have been in the game, but comparing schemes to the ones used in our game, evaluating the match ups to see what works and doesn't against the Chiefs, looking at the Chiefs dominance or lack there of, etc. It has been a long time since I watched a SB with anything near that frame of mind. I suppose that is just a little bit more evidence of how different this Bills team is.

Every time I watch this play I am amazed that Tre and Taron don't clip each other's heels when they cross. At full speed that would almost always wipe you out. They get ridiculously close.

If I am honest, I need to add something to this list: 1a) What in the world are doing taking it out of the end zone!

I'll settle for three picks. Forget the Gordie Howe hat trick. I want a hat trick, hat trick. And if they were all returned for TDs....

They have two good corners and our running game is hurting and hasn't been that good all year anyway. If I am the Bills, I think I start off by playing 4 and 5 wide like crazy. Diggs and Beasley will beat their top two CBs some, but Brown, Davis, and Mckenzie/Knox will chew up their next three. If they want to play zone, they are not going to be able to blitz. They have to drop 7 against that many threats. If they blitz, they play into our hands because we want them in man. We would have a whole host of one on one match ups and Allen has proven that he will find the open guy. And if they leave a running lane, Allen takes off and runs (or finds Gabe, etc. on the sidelines).

I stumbled upon this article by accident. https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2021/1/12/22226135/did-the-buffalo-bills-choose-wisely-with-kicker-tyler-bass I think most of us agree that Tyler Bass passes the eye test and his progress from early in the season is evident. Still, I always appreciate it when someone puts in some effort on analysis. The numbers on "Survivor" Rookies are an interesting comparison and not something that is readily available. No paywall on this article so others besides Hap can enjoy it too. ☺️

I would have never bought a subscription to the Athletic because I am a cranky old man who does not pay for websites. Fortunately, my son, in his wisdom, gave me a subscription as a gift. I love Xs and Os, but this is a good example of long form journalism delving into someone's life and presenting him as a real person. It is perfect midweek reading. We are done talking about the last game and just beginning to talk about the next game. Heath Farwell, the most important Bills coach flying under the radar It is behind a paywall so here are a few excerpts: (this quotes add up to a very small percentage of the whole article - maybe about 10% - it is truly LONG form journalism and includes some stats and Farwell's college and pro story.) “Our special teams have been kind of under-the-radar,” Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. “Our special teams are as good or better than the other 31 teams in the league in all phases! There isn’t a weak area. “At times, we’re a dominant special teams group. I mean, it’s not even close between our special teams and our opponents at times.” A low profile is fine with Farwell. He’s still new to coaching. He turned 39 last week and is just six years removed from his own playing days. He was a special teams ace with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. He enjoyed a decorated career as far as grinders go, winning the Lombardi Trophy and playing in a Pro Bowl, but it’s not like he basked in the klieg lights. “I just love these guys,” Farwell said. “I have players that care and work their butts off. It’s those guys, not me.” Brad Childress, his first NFL head coach: “He was the nuts and bolts of our team. When I heard he was moving into coaching, to me, that was one of the most natural things ever. He’s got the pelts on the wall, and he can teach it.” Andy Buh, his linebackers coach at San Diego State: “The guy’s a stud. Who becomes an assistant and then, after two years, gets hired as a coordinator? He went straight to the top pretty fast.” “He relates to us,” said Jones, a gunner and jammer. “He does an awesome job of communicating with the guys. He doesn’t feel like a coach. He feels like a player. He feels like one of us. “We got guys that sit in the meetings and don’t even play special teams,” Farwell said. “It’s a cool atmosphere here. They really embrace it.” “Jordan Poyer is on kickoff for me, and he begs me to play more phases,” Farwell said. “He texts me at night, asking ‘What do you think about doing this?’ Which means he went through the game plan and studies it like he does defense. “I always wanted to be the baddest dude on the field. I wanted the other team to think, ‘We just can’t block this guy.’ I wanted to be the guy other teams had to circle. I wanted that respect not only from my own teammates, but the team across from me.” “So in Brock’s newborn photos, it looks like Heath’s about to cry. But it’s not because of the baby, it’s because he just got fired (cut from Minnesota). It was devastating.”

I was shocked by how emotional I became watching that. Thanks for sharing.

That is the thing. Teams have tried to push us around during this stretch. San Fran stuck out to me with how hard they were hitting and coming after us. Even the Patriots came out swinging last night, but we didn't fold.

I lurk from the main page with the articles on it and just click on forum threads as they pop up there on the right. I also don't normally lurk during games. I was just kind of overcome by what I was seeing and at half time I walked over to my grandpa box and posted. :-) I know you said jk, but the policy actually is a good one. It makes sense to me. If the urge comes upon me in future games, I will hold out until after the game I promise. Thanks for not deleting the thread!

Let's add to the list: - The Patriot fan, struggling with holding on to a glimmer of hope at half time watches the Bills come out the first drive of the third quarter and jam it down their throat! - The Patriots play us tough the first meeting of the season and maybe could have won, but get their doors blown off in the second meeting so that you wonder how it was ever that close in the first game. - Up by 22 in the 3rd quarter, the Bills throw deep. - Up by 22 in the 3rd quarter, the Bills play a bunch of empty backfield with no hint of running the ball. - The Patriots punt from our side of the field! - They pin us deep, but it doesn't matter because we score anyway. - The gushing of the announcers!

I'm mostly a lurker, but...as a long suffering fan, I can't help but be stunned by the role reversal I am watching...and it is only half time. Just a few of the things that jump out at me: - The Patriots are playing for pride. - The Bills are playing for seeding. - The Patriots have a QB problem while the Bills have a franchise QB. - The Patriots, feeling overmanned, come out swinging. They are playing with heart. (How many times have we said something like that about a Bills team.) - They even throw a trick play early. It works, but it doesn't...because the guy drops it. Every Patriot fan groans in his heart and says that you can't let opportunities like that go against this team. You have to cash them in. - The Bills give the Patriot fans a break by dropping some TD passes, but it doesn't matter because we score anyway (I can't tell how many times I felt that soul crushing when a break went our way against them, but it did not matter.) - The Bills keep going for it on fourth down. As an opposing team, you just feel so frustrated because it seems so hard to stop the Patriots...err Bills...and when you finally think you might have, they go for it and you didn't. - The Patriots, not long ago, outsmarted us on special teams and did an all out rush without covering the gunner and getting a block. Today, we outsmart the Patriots on special teams by having the up man throw that pass. - The Patriots, obviously down and in trouble and with time running out in the half - in need of a score, run the ball again and again. The Patriot fan shakes his head and says, what are you doing? - The Bills score on every possession (except the kneel down). It is like I am having some kind of out of body experience. I will be nervous in the second half because that is my way. Let me rephrase that - This Is The Way. But how many times I have watched this game from the other side and I went in to halftime with that glimmer of hope....we sort of hung with them for awhile, but I knew there really wasn't a chance...and the other team just pulled away or didn't take us too seriously in the second half. (EDIT - I added...and with time running out in the half)

I have not watched in over a year, but I remember Colin talking in the year after the Allen draft and he talked about Josh and Lamar as being project QBs. He said that Josh had the highest ceiling. He also said that Baker was the most pro-ready QB, but did not have as high a ceiling as others in the draft. He also said that Darnold was the best prospect in the draft. It doesn't sound to far off. I don't remember him trashing Josh at all, but maybe I am wrong. Honestly, I will not even be down on him for his Darnold take because you could take the love child of Aaron Rodgers and Joe Montana and not even he could succeed as a young QB in the Jets' situation.

Witchcraft? Darkside force powers? He's been in my head since SB XXV. We would have beat that team 9 times out of 10.

Cancer sucks. My condolences.

eball, mega props on publicly calling your shot. Going into the 1988 season, I did not see the Bills being so dominant. I hoped they would be a playoff team. They were improving, but they hadn't made the playoffs and I didn't see them jumping up as much as they did. The fact is that some team seems to make that dramatic jump each year. The Bills are an improving team, with a developing QB, a great defense, now a #1 WR, no more Frank Gore, .....there is real evidence that it could be us this year. It is not just wishful thinking. My heart agrees with you and says 12-4. My head is working hard to agree with my heart and I am finding reasonable things to point to in that journey. My Long Suffering Buffalo Fandom is a nagging voice in the back of my head that is a little like Gollum.

Oops. Nucci beat me to it.

Not really. It is the cap that is always the concern. I'm dreaming with you, No_Matter_What.

Thank you to everyone that has kept this discussion civil. I have actually enjoyed this thread instead of clicking off of it. That is not a completely fair comparison. I also hate it with a passion when people hypocritically hide behind their faith. It bothers me at a level that I can not fully describe. The example you gave is someone completely changing the subject and dodging the question. Fromm's response was actually on point. If everyone just followed Jesus' command (whether they believed in Him or not) and loved people as much as they loved themselves, there would be no racism in this world. If Fromm had been living what he quoted, he would have never sent out those original texts.

This is true, but it still helps us on next year's cap. Let's say a player makes $8M this year and $10M next year. By opting out, we don't have to pay the $8M this year and, if we don't spend it, we roll it over to next year. Next year we pay him the $8M and we use the cap roll over to fund it. It effectively gives us $10M more in cap space next year (if we don't spend as much to replace the player this year. The key to all this is the cap space rollover. In the above example, instead of using $18M in cap space over two years on that player, for 2020-21, we only spend $8M of our cap space. Of course, that maybe causes a problem in 2022 as the potential problem gets pushed down the road a year. With the danger of a lower cap next year, I'm okay with that. I agree with Kirby wholeheartedly on this. They will still get people, just like anyone, but they are less likely to get the bargains.

This play cost me a Fantasy Football Championship that year. I had a great team (highest scoring that year), but couldn't buy a break in head to head. Had I made the playoffs, I would have won the championship (yes, I checked). I missed the playoffs by one game and I lost a game that I would have won if he had just held onto the ball. I refused to draft him for a few years after that...

A long, long time ago I was interviewing for a co-op engineering job. The school had drilled into our heads that you want to do prep work on the companies before going in. I had squeezed in an interview with a west coast company in between classes so I went in cold. When asked why I wanted to work there, I replied that I have always been interested in jet propulsion. Yeah, JPL might be named Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but what they are about is rockets and space exploration. I never worked there. ? That was a different situation of course. I'm not saying that Epenesa should have known the background on McD. It obviously did not hurt his draft status with us.

And you should get your money back in that case, but that is not why I follow sports. I may follow the millionaires and really appreciate some of them, but I go for the camaraderie, the shared good time, the common bond I have with complete strangers, etc. No one tailgates for the sake of the millionaires. We go because it brings us enjoyment. I do hope you get your money back though. Please don't make it political. This is my first day posting on TBD, but all the years I have read posts I never read it for politics. Why would anyone do that? :-) I know doctors working in hospitals that say that there are really good signs and that we are way better off right now than we feared 2 weeks ago. No one is a moron who says the we don't know for sure where we will be two weeks, much less two months from now. It could take a turn for the better or for the worse. There are positive signs for the better and that is what I am hoping for.