Rich Stadium Original

I've got to think a lot of that is smokescreen..maybe even just to tamp down initial expectations. I think if this is a rookie or a first year player, that may be the case, but Cooper has been around a while. The biggest problem may be terminology and the Josh Allen scramble drill to learn, but he does have WR coach that should be a good interpreter.

I have a very good friend who worked for the Cowboys and knew Cooper then. Said he was a very quite and to himself kind of guy. As someone else said, almost the anti-Diggs

Thought a little bit about why this is dragging out and came up with a couple of scenarios: A.) The asking price is too high and/or there is a bidding war. Raiders may be analyzing all their options as to what is best for them as well. B.) Bills took a serious look and, kind of related to (A.) above, the front office believes that even with a trade for Adams, there isn't enough talent on the rest of the roster to put them over the top. The move would just hurt them more down the road in a season where they can't win a Superbowl anyway.

Thanks for the intelligent reply..as I stated in the original post, have not had the benefit of seeing the whole field on the live broadcast presentation. I'm not sure what the NFL uses as its criterion for a pressure..i.e. if the qb bails early and "induces" pressure does it still count AS a pressure.

Granted I may not have seen the all 22 perspective, and I don't think Allen played a great game. but I do have to take some issues with your conclusions. There is no such thing as a "perceived pressure"...and according to NFL stats on ESPN.com last night, Allen was under pressure on 45% of his drop backs..a ridiculous number. If a Blitzer comes in unblocked, that's not a perceived pressure, that's an actual pressure. And, he wasn't bailing early of the pocket to the right..he was going through his reads and NOBODY WAS OPEN...the bail to the right was in response to a pocket that was beginning to collapse, and he was trying to bide time hoping someone would break open...and they usually didnt.

A lot of criticism of Allen's performance on this board last night and today, some of it warranted, but I think most of it unjustified. Do I think he played a great game?..of course not. There were a couple of throws that probably should have been picked off, and I think the underthrow to Kincaid down the seam is the one I hated most. But according to ESPN stats last night, he was pressured on 45% of his dropbacks yesterday..completely the opposite of the 1st 3 games..many of them free blitzes. Put another way, he is forced to to get rid of the ball earlier than he may want ON NEARLY EVERY OTHER THROW. Couple that with receivers that were just not getting open and its a recipe for 9 for 31. Even when the protection was adequate, you could see Allen go through all his progressions finding no one open, and sensing imminent pocket collapse, roll to his right hoping SOMEONE would break open, but it never happened. So where do I put the blame? Starts with the coaching. Many of the same blitzes the Ravens used last week, and still weren't prepared. Bad recognition at the line calling the protections? I'm not sure what the expectation was for Allen under those conditions. Force the throw to blanketed receivers and risk more interceptions? Play hero ball and take off running more frequently? Texas did have a spy on him most of the game. Even when Allen recognized the pressure and went to his hot read, Coleman wasn't on the same page and the throw nearly bounced off his facemask. I think a lot of this can be corrected, but I can tell you until they do, I've got a feeling what the Jets game plan is going to be next week.

Let's put yet another spin on this autopsy. Their punter kills a punt all on his own at the Bills 4 yard line. If it wasn't for Robert Woods, our punter didn't come close to that the whole game. If his kick goes into the end zone it's a touchback..ball at the 20, and you are looking at overtime. Allen missed a few throws, but I would have to give him an incomplete for this game. Hard to judge a guy when he's pressured on 45% of his dropbacks...not 10%, not 20%, but 45%!!!..thats a pretty pathetic statistic. Many times, the rusher came in free. Even when he had time, you could see him consistently going through ALL his progressions because NO ONE was open. As far as disappointment in coaching, I would have thought they had cleared up the free rushers after the Ravens game..and with the lack of talent at the WR position, I would have expected a more creative route structure to "scheme" folks open...but that didn't happen

I've seen this game before..it's preseason where you take all your starters out in the third quarter, and the other team leaves in their starters and just rolls all over you...only this one counts.

They are not mutually exclusive options. I think every Bills fan wants a Superbowl win. BUT this game will ALSO go a long way to an Allen MVP selection in the process.

Still early in the season, but doesn't this week kind of set the tone for fans of Allen and his bid for league MVP. If Bills win..especially convincingly, he is for sure in the driver's seat. If Bills lose and Allen gets outplayed by Jackson, a lot of the reaction will be "see, he never was a good as Jackson...doesn't deserve to be MVP" Think the Bills need a big game by the D line to keep Jackson and Henry from running wild on inexperienced LBs and secondary, making Ravens one dimensional.

Ravens defense definately isn't what it used to be..though they should be pumped up at the beginning for the prime time game. Still think the Bills can score on them. Between Jackson and Henry, big running threat...Bills have had issues with big backs in the past. Need Jones and Oliver to turn it up a notch and be real disruptors up the middle. This is that game where you could have really used Taron Johnson.

That makes the Bills the worst underdog of ANY game in week 2....when was the last time that happened?

Do you think they could tape Taron Johnson arm against his body, and he could go out and play with just one arm?..gotta be better than what else we have out there...

You mean kinda like when Jake Elliot hit the 59 yarder in the Eagles Bills game in that rainy mess last year??..

Cards don't have the talent on D to keep up with Bills..regardless of who receivers are. See a lot of soft shell zone and tons of blitzing by the birds hoping for mistakes...so expecting a relatively low scorer. Bills fans will be frustrated how many times Murray breaks contain and runs for the first down on 3rd and long...and our kicker misses that game icing field goal near the end...but its not enough. Bills triumph 20-15

He has a lot of talent on his team, and I give him credit for designing an offense around a quarterback without a strong arm..quick hitters with lots of misdirection and run after catch...BUT...I have no respect for the guy after the Bills game when Tuas head bounced off the turf and he got up staggering. Everybody on the planet knew it was a concussion, but McDaniels got in front of a podium and insisted it was a neck injury...didnt seem to care much about the health of his player. And Tua had a much more serious concussion right after that which kept him out for a while.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/01/sport/patrick-mahomes-taylor-swift-kansas-city-chiefs-spt-intl/index.html

Don't shoot the messanger...mostly predicated on the he's a turnover machine theory... https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41001234/nfl-patrick-mahomes-lamar-jackson-caleb-williams-quarterbacks-ranking

Size mostly, exactly. Worry about him shedding blocks inside. He'll face a lot bigger, more talented folks in the regular season.

Every once in a while you come across a player that lacks the physical blessings that other players have at their positions. They make up for it with football smarts, desire and playing all out on every snap(heart), and they just KNOW how to play football. Steve Tasker is another name that comes to mind

I expect the offense to be very competitive. I really don't think they will miss Diggs as long long as the play design and calling is creative. Defense is a different story. Hoping for a revived pass rush. Think the middle of the secondary may be soft. Even if the safties both come off injury before the start of the season, there won't be much continuity. ...and if the injury bug bites like last year, it's see you next season. This defense is razor thin on talent, and more injuries will make it look worse than the Chiefs playoff game last year.

I personally have no idea...but an interesting sign is when the question was posted to Babich yesterday... he said that he would defer injury reporting to the head coach. IMO, if he was just fine, or a very minor injury, I think human nature has you say he's just fine...even if the coach is supposed to make injury reports.

The bad : Just to hammer home the point, what is probably your 2 starting running backs had a combined 4 yards on 9 carries..a very unimpressive .44 yards per carry. The badder: Depth..as bad as the starting o-line appeared today, I think they will get their act together. However, unlike last year, chances are someone will get injured, and most of the backups are VERY inimpressive (see: backup linebackers Chiefs playoff game last year)...fear much of the same with the safeties.

As I've mentioned before in posts, I'm an airline pilot, and when I'm returning from international flying, approaching the customs desk( at certain airports) some camera somewhere is taking a picture of my face. Before I can say a word, and without pulling out any paperwork or passport, the agent knows my name, and what my flight number and departure airport were. Big brother IS watching.

The AFL in 1965 1st Down: Fullback up the middle for 1 yard 2nd Down: Halfback sweep with lead block by fullback for 2 yards 3rd Down: Try that fullback thing up the middle again 4th Down: Punt ....repeat...... Throwing the ball is strictly an emergency procedure. Just a different era and almost an entirely different game.