JohnNord

People are talking about the weather as if it’s going to an extreme weather day. There’s going to be rain and a little bit of wind. 50 degrees. PLEASE! Big deal! That’s typical for most December games in the NE. Weather will not impact on the game for either side, though Dallas seems to spending a ton of time thinking about it, so hopefully they outthink themselves

Even though he hasn’t been the same player, it’s not like he’s been a liability in defense this season. He’s been decent and has helped prevent deep passes. Where he’s dropped off at is INT’s. The only bad plays I can remember was when he tried to cover Ridley one-on-one on a C1 blitz. A situation he probably shouldn’t have been in.

Does he get back to early 2022 form? Probably not, but I think he has a chance to get close. It’s going to take some time but he’s slowly getting better. Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict ACL injuries

He also lives in Dallas. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him extra motivated Sunday. Let’s hope.

His comment about running the football wasn’t exactly rocket science. I honestly thought he was at his best when he was making the YOLO 4th down calls. That really kept defenses off balance and gave the offense a lot of confidence. But his other horrendous coaches didn’t help matters

The media swooned over this guy’s press conferences a few years ago. To be fair, I think he was onto something based on how often he went for it on 4th down. It was something that made him different and won some games his team should have lost. But that philosophy backfired a few games including the loss to the Raiders that cost them a playoff spot. From there his approach was much more conservative on 4th down the next 2 year. I think he was ordered to stop by ownership. The past two season, it seemed like he was in over his head

This is why I’m often hesitant about the weather argument. You’d assume a warmer weather team that plays indoors like LA would struggle in elements in Baltimore. But then ended up playing just fine. We also thought that all the weather talk (I wish it were colder) would psych out Miami last December. It appeared to have little impact on their performance on game day - though the temps were not actually that cold for Buffalo that night. So after all the “weather” talk on both sides, it’s possible this is a nothingburger

I also think that slinging the ball around in the rain in Philly will help their confidence. Dallas hasn’t been a great running team but they’ve been on fire since Dak has spread the ball around between Lamb, Cooks, and Ferguson. I think the passing game becomes tougher in the rain, especially without the experience that Buffalo has

You mean to tell me it’s not “Touchdown” Keenan McCardell?

Ugh…. so you want to play semantics? Seems to be popular here. Obviously - but like you said football is played is in all kinds of weather and the games where the weather isn’t so nice is what makes the game unique. I thought that was pretty apparent

It sucks for fans in attendance but I think the weather favors Buffalo. Then again, as a Bills fans for many decades I think of examples where the weather (usually snow) SHOULD have been a disadvantage for teams but just wasn’t.

Me too… but I feel we are largely in the minority among Bills fans. You can tell who read the series and who didn’t

Oh yeah they would reject it in the length alone! The thing is writing an editorial is a type of journalism, but it’s not the type of unbiased reporting you’d see three long articles with anonymous sources. That’s where I think the lines got blurred a bit. It seems that rather than positing the series as his opinion, Dunne presented it almost as an investigative report that went behind closed doors. When he went on Colin Cowherd, he didn’t say “Here’s why I think Sean is the problem.” It was “here’s why Sean McDermott is the problem” So right off the bat, fans started question his bias. Of course, it’s an editorial so he should be biased - his mind is already made up. But that…and some of the personal shots is why I don’t think Dunne got what he was looking for from this article

I added the link… As far as Dunne he’s definitely keeping a low profile on Twitter. He released two new GoLong podcasts - neither of he promoted on Twitter. It’s a far contrast from his own Substack site where he issued a scathing response to the controversy. Like the podcast mentioned, had the article simply been framed differently the response likely wouldn’t have been as negative

If you listen to the first 15 minutes of the Bruce Exclusive podcast, he does a brilliant job discussing the problem with the series. His point is that the articles were an “editorial with sources” but were not framed that way. Instead they were framed almost like an investigative piece. Bruce said that for years, Dunne has expressed the opinion that Sean McDermott is the problem in Buffalo. So he started writing the series with that opinion, and found evidence (through sources) to help lend credibility to his opinion. Dunne is “driving the car and steering where it goes.” This was my main takeaway and the biggest criticism I had when people said “well he did include positive things about McDermott too.” Bruce just did a much better job articulating what I meant to say! This was always a well-sources editorial and not a balanced news story. I feel if people took the series as his opinion, rather than proof of McDermott as a coach - the response would have been different and Dunne could stop hiding from the angry mob on Twitter and wouldn’t have to hide his thoughts behind a wall.

Especially considering Josh has proven he can sling it in the rain. It fascinating to me how Dallas is so focused on the weather. It’s like they’ve never played in 40 degree weather before. It sounds as though they are anticipating the “cold,” rain, and maybe wind will have a big enough effect on them that they need to prepare for it - when really, it’s football weather. I’m hoping this throws them off a bit

Everyone in Dallas is talking about preparing for the “cold in Buffalo.” It’s going to be 48 degrees! Hopefully it pours. We know Josh can sling it in a monsoon

Earlier this year John Murphy did some book signings around Buffalo and Rochester. He is in good health but apparently not able to return to the broadcast booth. The stroke likely affects his speech which is why he is not back. I think he was optimistic to return but given his age, I don’t see that happening. https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/bills-play-by-play-man-john-murphy-looks-back-in-lockport-with-his-new-book/article_e67aec94-6d51-11ee-be34-937db5c7dd4f.html No one knows anything about Kim Pegula. According to the players tribune article, my guess is that she’s still mostly non-verbal and struggling to get back to where she was before. It’s an extremely sad story Both are fine and will play Sunday Did you actually talk with him?

I think weather is only part of reason why Buffalo would never see a Super Bowl. Even if they put a dome on the new stadium and put the stadium downtown, Buffalo is still too small of a city to host that big of an event. The NFL did host Super Bowl 26 in Minnesota in the dead of winter. It was freezing and there was a ton of snow but cancelled flights etc didn’t have much of any effect on the decision.

No, not really. You made the assumptions about the situation that I did.

🤣 Coverage units have definitely been worse but I feel some of that is related Sam Martin’s lousy punting. The only reason I see Matt Smiley back is some amazing turnaround. This unit has struggled all season long. Really the one exceptional moment has been Reggie Gilliam’s monster hit to force a fumble at NYJ.

I think some fans are sleeping on Dallas. They are a very good team with a lot of talent at key positions. The strange thing about Dallas is that they typically don’t well on the road, sans a beat down of the worst team in the NFL. I think points are going to be scored and it will be closer. I’m hoping the Bills can find a way to pull it out

I wasn’t too impressed with Justin Shorter in preseason. He had one decent game if I can recall correctly but also was very inconsistent. As long as there are no serious injuries to the WR, I’d guess that the Bills will shut him down after the window expires

Wayne Arnold… do you really want me to go through the post and bold all of your assumptions. I really don’t want to. But I will. I can think of one off the top of my head - you said he made a “load of money.” Assumption 1 McDermott deserves criticism but at least be fair. To pretend he’s bad coach who just “lucked into Allen” is just not true.

I hope you are correct. I’ve noticed that Poyer has 0 INTs this year, whereas last year he had 5 in 12 games and 4 in the season before. Not sure what to attribute this to, but I’m hoping that number picks up soon