UKBillFan

I’m missing most of the game - might be good for my health (and everyone else’s!) that I’m not following it. Just hope for a Bills win, however it happens.

If we’re not starting Josh then we should have activated Barkley. If we don’t have faith in Josh’s elbow from the start, what’s the answer if Keenum has to go off after a series or two?

At what point does White actually suit up? ETA - Gives me even more confidence that Josh must be fine, considering how protective they’re being over White.

That’s a fair point. The question is is today a blip for the season or him reverting to type.

I’d argue that’s like calling Josh putrid after a poor performance against the Jets (plus a quarter versus the Packers). One game doesn’t mark a season and Geno has been good up to now.

As long as we’re fully fit I’m confident in our pass defense.

If we make the SB I’d be happier facing the Bucs then, say, the 49ers. But a long way to go yet.

Jamie Gillan was the Giants player left behind but he knew he would be from the off as he had to sort out his passport whilst he was in the U.K.

Yes, I agree with you. I'm going to have nagging doubts because he didn't practice earlier in the week but, as said already, the coaching team don't tend to allow players to suit up unless they're very confident about their fitness.

I have to agree. If he's not fit to play every offensive series surely we should have activated Barkley? And if he's fit to play every offensive series, why wouldn't we play him? Part of me does think a week off may have been the better choice in the long run, but we're doing it so fingers crossed.

He hit McDermott over the head with the clipboard.

Part of me is hoping we're not rushing Josh back too soon but a fully fit player can be ruled out by just one play. We need him to return to pre-bye Josh; hopefully the playcalling will help in that regard.

If Keenum starts it makes sense to activate Barkley, even if they plan to use Josh as Back Up. If they're starting Keenum then, logically, they may only want to use Josh for a handful of series at most. If something happens early on to Keenum, they're in a position where there'd be throwing Josh into a situation they had been looking to avoid. For me, if Barkely isn't activated, then they're 99% certain that Josh is fit enough to start.

Hence my comment is "I'd say". It's a guess. Nothing more than that.

McDermott will pull rank if need be, even if it results in Josh fuming with a clipboard in hand.

As much as I unreasonably exploded over last week's defeat, a loss in week nine against the Vikings is manageable. Even losing to Cleveland is. I think we have to forget about the number one seed now with the injuries we have and just aim for the play offs. At that point, anything can happen.

If we can't beat the Lions without Josh then there's something wrong (unless half the roster is missing alongside him). Minnesota and Cleveland concern me because of their strength at running back.

We're missing half a team, they're missing two players. I don't like this trade off. 😂 I think White could suit up.

McDermott's been trying to keep Minnesota guessing who will be at QB. Think it looks pretty certain it will be Keenum. I'd say Cleveland is 50/50 and, if he misses that and Keenum looks alright, Josh will miss the trip to Detroit too.

It feels like that's what we were doing behind the bye - mixing things up and taking what the defense gave us. Return to that and I think the offense could be unstoppable, mistakes aside.

A running game opens up the field for passing as defense have to stop the run plays, and also takes pressure off Josh if he's having a bit of a slump. And we've seen before this season the run game work in the first half and we, for some reason, abandon it in the second. For contenders, it is always an option to keep defenses guessing.

The support for Dorsey will obviously be in correlation to how the offense looks. We started well but, since the bye, have become more reliant on big plays and avoiding the dink and dunk. I'm not sure why but it's been to the detriment of the offense.

If purely Josh is missing, and we look a mess on offense, then it will not reflect brilliantly on building that side of the ball. The defense looks like it will be missing a few key personnel so will be difficult to judge.

Perhaps we should dress Josh as a running back? 😄

Agreed. Forget about the number one seed - if we get it, fantastic. If we don’t, the important thing is to get to the post season. And hopefully we’re going through the injuries now so we have a clean slate in January.