GASabresIUFan

This is the year to swing for the fences. No one in the AFC is dominate as Indy just found out and we need long term help at WR. Obviously the Bills made cap space available for a reason.

After last night’s game it looks like our most pressing need is boundary's WR followed by safety. With Palmer hurt and Coleman being only marginal, we still have no one who can get open down the field. It’s a big problem. Maybe Davis helps some eventually, but we help now and long-term. Maybe Shaheed or Olave are part of the solution. At safety, Poyer is starting. That should say it all. Bishop is developing nicely, but with Rapp gone for the year, Hamlin on IR and the depth behind Poyer is a rookie Hancock and a journeyman in Franklin, there has to be some help out there.

The goal of getting Cook more involved in the passing game is to find ways to getting your best playmaker the ball in space where his ability to make people miss is enhanced. He is not a battering ram. The clearest example is the one pass they ran in which Cook gained 11 yards. Line him up all over the formation. GA split him out, threw halfback screens, etc…. Be creative.

A couple of things. 1. Why was this game close? a. The terrible play call on 4th and 2 in the first gave KC a very short field. b. The secondary sucks despite improved play from Bishop and Hairston. We gave up 6 passes of 20 yards or more. 3 of the 6 came with KC deep behind the sticks on a 2nd and 16, a 3rd and 10 and of course a 4th and 17. The only reason there wasn’t more big KC passes was the pass rush had 3 sacks and hit Mahomes 15 times. c. Some more questionable play calling by Brady lead to 3 Buffalo punts, including nearly all running plays in the 4th qtr instead of just running the offense, d. A FG ices the game. Neither Bass or Prater is the answer, 2. Bishop and Hairston are improving each time they play. Hairston looks like he can cover anyone and Bishop is finally showing what the fuss was about. 3. Cook is a star, why aren’t we utilizing him more in the passing game. It really makes no sense. His catch was only his first in 4 games and only his second target in 4 games. Stupid. 4. The WR are just terrible. Shakir is fine in the slot, but this team has no deep threats and no reliable boundary receivers. Coleman is a big slot. Moore and Samuel are also slots, while Shavers is a PS caliber player. Is it really so hard to find a receiver who can catch a pass deeper than 5 yards down the field?

I didn’t say it was “good” that we lost. Far from it, but it did re-focus McD and the team to going back to what they do best; McD coaching the D, running Cook, using the TE and a 4th thing I forgot, Josh not playing hero ball.

I had the displeasure of going to the Bills Falcons game in the Atl. Disappointing is hardly the word for it, except it may have been the look in the mirror the Bills, the coaches and management needed. 3 major changes came out of that game. 1. The coaches (McD and Brady) reminded themselves that Cook is a superstar and they need to feed the beast. In the last two games he’s rushed for 330 yards. He now has 867 yards for the season and is averaging 5.7 yards a carry. The one issue remaining here is getting him more involved in the passing game. His important 1st down catch today since was his first catch since the NO game 2 months ago. Cook has had 18 or more touches every week, but two. Guess the 2 weeks 2. Throwing to the TE. This is the Bills deepest position group. Kincaid is a star in the making. Brady needs to feed him more and today he finally did it. Hawes and Knox also made plays in the passing game. 3. McD back to calling the defense. Over the last two games the Bills pass rush is getting home, opponents 3rd down efficiency has deceased and we have only give up 30 points. This despite injuries all over the defense.

I think everyone would like Brady better if we had better and a more diverse group of wideouts. Coleman is a big slot. Shakir, Moore, and Samuel are inside slots. Shavers is a PS player and Palmer is hurt.

I think that was mostly Bosa and the pass rush. They hit Mahomes 15 times with 3 sacks for 24 yards.

Did they? Bishop had a good game overall, but also left some gapping holes. I thought Hairston had good moments as well, but Poyer, White and even Benford did not exactly play well. We allowed plays of 40 yards, 33 yards (on 3rd & 10), 29 yards (on 4th & 17), 24 yards (on 2nd & 16), 20 yards and another 20 yards. That's way to many holes in the second exploited for big gains.

The Bills D in now out: On the D line: Oliver, Rapp and Hoecht for the year. Hamlin, Sanders and Strong are on IR with Jones, T Johnson, and Thompson week to week. That's 5 starters and 4 significant role players. Our secondary is a mess! Poyer is now a starting safety. Lewis is starting for Johnson at slot corner, with rookies Hairston, Hancock and and PS level players Ingram and Franklin seeing time. At least Hairston looks like the real deal.

See kids, don't do steroids, they destroy your body. So glad we signed Hoecht and Ogunjobi this off-season. I'm not a Beane hater or apologist, but Palmer, Samuel, Ogunjobi, and Hoecht makes one wonder. Thompson and Bosa have been good to excellent signings, but the rest. Awful.

Thank G-d they won because that 4th and 17 implosion could have cost them the game and would have gone down in Mahomes lore over the Bills. Otherwise a solid win. Still our secondary needs serious work as do our wide outs.

Bills 35 Chiefs 31 Bills score a late TD to win.

Next man up! (Who is the next man up with Jones injured as well?) Zion Logue?

Has he not been the same since he got popped in the nose?

This defense could use a little fire.

Everyone feel better? Apparently the sky isn’t falling, the Bills don’t suck and they can still win games. Phew! Now that said, the WRs still suck and Josh seems off. Obviously Cookie had a game. I glad Beane doesn’t read this board and decided to re-sign him. I liked what I saw from Bishop today. Shaq Thompson has done an excellent job for us. The defense looked much better with McD calling plays. Now they need to carry this over and build on it against KC. Win next week and the train if fully back on the tracks.

The more things change the more they stay the same. IMHO the 3 biggest areas of need are the same as they were in the off-season. 1) WR, 2) CB, 3) S 1) The WR group of Palmer, Coleman, Shakir, Moore, Samuel and Shavers aren’t getting the job done. They just aren’t creating separation and aren’t getting deep. We need a legit deep threat to stretch the field and have no one on the roster that can do it. 2) CB - Benford is a given, but White is terrible and Hairston is just beginning to work his way back to the field and as a rookie has zero NFL experience. We need a legit starter to play opposite of Benford sooner than later. 3) Safety - Bishop is improving, but Rapp should be a backup and Poyer isn’t the answer. We need someone to pair with Bishop. I doubt Beane is capable of filling all these needs at the deadline, but if this is the season to go all in, maybe he can fix two of the 3. My choices would be a WR and a CB.

How did GA win that game? Ole Miss looked one drive from dominating. Somehow GA got 3 stops in the 4th and out scored the Rebels 17-0 in the 4th. Impressive win. Chaos winning in college football. 4 more top 10 teams lose. Undefeated Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Memphis and Miami all lose. GA Tech undefeated. Vandy 6-1.

Didn’t realize Cole Bishop grew up in Fayetteville GA, about 45 min south of the Atl. How does a good GA boy end up playing college ball in Utah? Anyway, welcome home Cole.

McAfee is annoying, but unlike Saban, Kirk and Desmond, he picked IU to beat Ill, Iowa and Oregon.

My family is heading to the game tomorrow. We'll be in section 221. Go Bills!

Did IU answer your question today? Cignetti is the man. Loved his interview after the game after the sideline reporter asked a stupid question.

I wore my JA17 jersey which I never do.

The Bills always have a clunker early in the year 2025 - L Week 5 to NE 20-23 Final record .............? 2024 - L Week 4 @ Balt 35 10 Final record 13-4 and the East 2023 - L Week 5 Jax (Lon) 20-25 Final record 11-6 and the East 2022 - L Week 3 @ Mia 31-21 (only blemish in a 6-1 start) - Final record 13-3 and the East 2021 - L Week 6 @ Tenn 34-31 (we beat KC the previous week) Final record 11-6 and again winning the East 2020 - L Week 5 @ Tenn 42- 16 (after a 4-0 start) Final record 13-3 and winning the East 2019 - L Week 4 to NE 16-10 (after a 3-0 Start) Final record 10-7 and a first JA playoff appearance The Bills have played well after early losses. In addition to the above examples they also lost game 1 to Pitt in 2021 (won the next 4), the Jets in 2023 (won the next 3)., of the 7 examples above they won the next game in 5 of these 7 Times The exceptions were a second loss to KC in 2020 and a 2nd loss to Hou in 2024. They followed the 2nd loss to KC with 3 straight wins and the 2nd loss to Hou with 7 straight wins.