BigAl2526

Rhamondre Stevenson did a fair amount of damage to the Bills in the last game. He's big and powerful with decent athleticism. Buffalo's defense runs a little light with their predominant use of a nickel lineup. That makes them vulnerable to big backs with power, especially when they have athleticism added to it. As far as Agholor is concerned, he's a starting caliber receiver with the potential to hurt any opponent. Being able to face a Patriot offense without Agholor mitigates the loss of Tre White. I don't know that those losses will have the same level of impact on the Patriot offense that losing 40% of a mediocre offensive line and a receiver with high end potential like Gabe Davis. Buffalo is up against it tomorrow, and Sean McDermott is going to have to do the coaching job of his life in order for the Bills to pull off a win.

I presume that means Buffalo's offensive line versus New England will be Spencer, Boettger, Morse, Bates and Williams. Hart and Doyle are the reserves. Ouch. The good news (and it's not much) is that Spencer Brown will have had a week of practice at left tackle whereas last week he was thrust into the role after the team had already finished game preparations for the week. Heaven forbid someone goes down during the game, or someone else turns up positive between now and Sunday afternoon. He's unvaccinated. I really don't think the insider sources that revealed that info are wrong. Gabe Davis will miss the Patriots game, and probably the following week because of the 10 day requirement for unvaccinated players

I think for years the rivalry has been more in the minds of Buffalo fans than in the minds of Patriot fans. They're still the most "entitled" fans in the league believing their team will win most games just by showing up. Buffalo got their attention last season, but now, they are probably just reasoning that 2020 was a rare off year for them. If Buffalo can win this weekend and go on to take the division, Patriot fans will take the Bills more seriously, and the Bills will probably be more of a rivalry game for Patriot fans going forward.

I've never had a lot of interest in "woulda, coulda, shoulda." If Beasley was not vaccinated, he's out of the game, pure and simple - as per league policy. If he was vaccinated he's got a chance. Beasley has had a somewhat reduced role in the offense this season. McKenzie is the obvious option to serve as a slot receiver. McKenzie may not be as crafty as Beasley, but he has more potential to bust a big play. Buffalo still has lots of weapons, even with both Sanders and Beasley out. If Buffalo loses versus New England, the lack of receiving weapons won't be the primary reason.

I think the Bills should figure out if Stevenson can be a speed option at WR for the Bills. I don't mind if they give return duties back to McKenzie, but he should be on a short leash. The Bills ought to be looking at their options at slot receiver and speed receiver when Beasley and Sanders are gone. McKenzie has slot receiver potential while Stevenson has outside speed receiver potential. Whoever is not handling return duties ought to get a couple snaps a game and their ideal position on offense, at least late in games when there is little question about the outcome.

I'm sure after seeing what happened to Carolina, McDermott is probably devoting a little time this week determining if he actually has someone on the roster who could serve as an emergency placekicker. Is it Hyde? Maybe.

To me, starting is not such a big deal. I do think that moving forward, the Bills should start thinking about giving Davis as many reps as Sanders as a baseline. Then adjust based on effectiveness.

It may be a bit windy, but not nearly enough to be a major factor in the short to intermediate passing game. The Bills thrive on intermediate passes, but only attempt a handful off deep balls in a game, like 2 or 3. It's hard to say what Belichick will try on offense, but it seems unlikely he will again abandon the passing game entirely, especially with Tre White unavailable. He'll still probably rely heavily on the run, which means McDermott is going to have to figure out how to stop it if he wants to win. Of course, Daboll also has to figure out how to limit the damage of New England's pressure and the Bills' own inconsistency running the football.

I think Jackson will be the Ravens QB going forward. I think Hunley is mobile enough to serve as a backup in Roman Gabriel's scheme, but he also has a more rounded skill set that gives him upside as either a reliable backup or borderline starter in a more conventional offense.

I think this game will serve as a wakeup call to Spencer Brown to grow up and work more at developing his craft. He has all the potential in the world, but maybe his talent has allowed him to be a little sloppy. Playing at left tackle and being schooled is a reminder that he still has a lot to learn. You can be physical and even a little nasty without being stupid and dirty.

I think the change in policy is probably a mistake. In a big money sport like the NFL, COVID tests are an insignificant inconvenience and cost. Especially with the arrival of the Omicron variant, there are large numbers of break through cases of COVID, but Omicron may not have severe symptoms in most cases anyway, and the reality of vaccinations may mean there are even larger numbers of assymptomatic cases among vaccinated players than among nonvaccinated persons. In other words, not testing could result in the league not catching lots of assymptomatic cases which could facilitate the spread of the disease.

Agreed. Daniel Jones still has a better chance of being a long term starter than Fromm, but if the Giants decide Jones is not the guy, they probably will be searching outside the organization for the answer (draft).

It's really hard to look at a play and determine how hard a hit a guy might have taken. You see plays all the time where players look like they got hit as badly as Parham did, and they bounce right up, ready to play. I just hope that Parham can live a normal life after this, and if he wants to continue playing football, he is able to.

McDermott may not be a perfect coach. He may make mistakes. But I believe the chances for future success (as in for the next decade) are far better by retaining McDermott and building on the continuity we've had for the last 3 years than in making a change at the present time. I am dead set against making a mistake and I think it would be the single biggest mistake the Pegulas could possibly make.

Agreed. When referees make a bad PI call on a 40 yard pass play, the penalty ought to be 15 yards, but when defenses protecting a 4 point lead tackles the receiver 45 yards downfield to protect that lead with 8 seconds left in the game, it probably ought to be a spot foul. The problem is you can't have it both ways.

I'm a BBQ guy myself. Just don't care for Buffalo sauce, and I only like hot things in moderation. A little goes a long way for me.

Oh Dear. I guess Josh Allen should rush out and file a trademark for JA17. We don't want to be left in the dust.

Westerly winds in the 20s with higher gusts. Temps in the 30s. Minimal precipitation factor.

It could rain a bit at the start, but I don't think it's going to be a downpour, and I wouldn't rule out rain turning to snow during the course of the game. It would probably be lake effect, so wind direction has a lot to do with whether or not Orchard Park gets it, and how much. I think the wind is the one thing that is just about a sure thing at this point. Weather.com has the temperature at 39 at 4 PM (their latest available reading - they go out 48 hours with an hourly forecast). I'm guessing mid 30s by 8 PM and continuing to drop.

In a worst case weather scenario (steady winds 25-35 mph with gusts of 40-60, with possible lake effect snow) a passing game becomes very difficult. Intermediate passes become an adventure, and deep passes are virtually impossible. Of course, the kicking game is also greatly affected. The stadium is oriented northwest to southeast and the forecast is for westerly winds after the cold front passes. One team will have the wind somewhat at their backs, while the other will have to drive into the wind versus a straight crosswind, but there will also be a crosswind factor for both teams. Then, of course the stadium structure will affect what the wind does too. Swirling and shifting will take place. The good news is that Mac Jones has likely never faced anything like what he'll be seeing on Monday evening. The weather will also mitigate the loss of Tre White. Josh Allen has faced this kind of wind before, and of the two QBs Josh Allen has the arm to drive and spin the ball better through the winds. Of course, the Patriots have shown the better running game.

Hmm, who would I rather have healthy? Spencer Brown or Tommy Doyle? I think I know the answer. It's not that I wish ill of Tommy Doyle. It's just that Spencer Brown appears to be fully ready to play in the NFL, and Tommy Doyle really needs time to develop. I hope he feels better quickly, but if he doesn't have to be on the game roster the rest of the season, the Bills will be better off.

The weather.com forecast I'm looking at says precipitation will be in the morning. That sets the stage for falling temperatures, dropping from a morning high of 40 to an overnight low of 27. I would guess the temps during the game might be in the low 30s - 30 to 32. But then in six days it's almost certain the forecast will change.

A quarterback is what you get when you take care of your shopping cart at Aldis.

It's been discussed elsewhere, I believe. Breida is the fastest RB for the Bills (except maybe Taiwan Jones who never really plays in the backfield) and he seems to have better vision than Singletary, but he misses assignments on occasion. That will drive an OC crazy.

As long as the present regime (including Kraft and Belichick) is in place, I think we can be assured there will be scandals, and the league will tend to look the other way when it can.