Sierra Foothills

Niners put up a good fight but Bills win going away... 28-17

Update: In yesterday's Buffalo News there was a feature on Bobby Babich and the job he's doing. Some excerpts to feed down any hangriness that might develop between now and Sunday: "Here we are, 11 games into the season, and the Bills’ defense is where it usually is. The Bills have allowed the seventh fewest points in the league. They lead the NFL with the fewest explosive pass plays of 20-plus yards allowed, they’re fifth in the league in takeaways, and top 10 in advanced metrics (DVOA) against the run and the pass. Regular-season defensive excellence: It’s a Bills tradition. One sign of the Bills’ in-game defensive adjustments can be seen in scoring. The Bills are third best in the NFL in points allowed in the second half (7.2 a game). To Babich’s credit, the Bills did not play it safe in the victory over Patrick Mahomes & Co. The Bills blitzed Mahomes 11 times, according to Buffalo News charting, and six of them resulted in a failed play by the offense. The first one produced a sack by linebacker Terrel Bernard on a play where he was the spy on the quarterback. There were a few plays where the Chiefs ran a man in motion, and no cornerback followed across the field, making it look like zone coverage. But then the Bills’ corners played man to man. Then, Babich threw a wrinkle late in the game by using linebacker Dorian Williams as a spy. Williams technically was the fourth defensive lineman, and there were six defensive backs. It was a creative way to use Williams’ athleticism. On playing with light boxes: “It’s the philosophical way of how we play defense,” Babich said. “I think over the years, shoot, since we’ve been here, we’ve probably given up the least explosive plays defensively." Don't stuff your faces... chew your food. https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nfl/bills/buffalo-bills-defense-bobby-babich-nfl/article_995f93fc-acfb-11ef-a7c4-aff18ac2dae0.html

As gonzo said, Dorian is a young and IMPROVING player with close to elite physical traits. We still have not seen his best IMO. And I think there'll be a role for him. From the recent Buffalo News article on Bobby Babich: "Babich threw a wrinkle late in the game by using linebacker Dorian Williams as a spy. Williams technically was the fourth defensive lineman, and there were six defensive backs. It was a creative way to use Williams’ athleticism."

Something as simple as moving Mekhi Becton to guard was both ridiculously simple and brilliant.

Yes, this is the best group of Bills RBs in a long time. I'd love to be able to keep Cook too. He might not be "elite" but he's absolutely a difference maker and a home run hitter. With all of the extension-eligible Bills there's the hope that they'll accept an early contract instead of testing the open market. If Cook makes it to the open market it's not hard imagining the Bills being outbid for his services. At that point you hope he takes the hometown discount. Understanding protections and the willingness to engage are important but body type helps A LOT. For a guy like Cook there's often gonna be someone bigger than him running full speed at him. Cook is a pretty slightly-built guy (pretty sure the bye week helped him recover from the collision on his second TD run). Larry Centers was elite in this regard.

That would be better than the Bills by 3 in 9 feet of snow. I can't take too many more nailbiters... especially with frostbitten fingers.

That was a nice exchange. I feel like going to Avenue Subs getting a Royal... or a Hitman... or maybe... the Chicken Cordon Blue (chicken finger sub baked with ham and provolone, slathered with blue cheese)! I feel like going to Avenue Subs... "And for the 3rd time in the game, another busted coverage by the Bills secondary... "

From where I stand it looks to me like you're sitting pretty.

Anyone know how the nomination and voting process works?

Yes, and with nothing redacted! 🙂

Yes, essentially using reverse psychology on the jinx itself. Yes and Curtis Samuel was a RB up until his sophomore year at Ohio State.

I think with all the injuries on defense the last two years it's all the Bills could do to simply keep their base defense intact. I think better health would have enabled them to experiment with different looks but that wasn't an option with all the young, unproven players in the starting lineup. Going forward I'd love if they could scheme up some effective curveballs to throw at Mahomes and Lamar/Henry but I think the greatest good is assignment soundness. That said now that they're relatively healthy they have 5 more weeks to work on different looks and packages.

I agree. Darnold will move on next year to challenge for a starting spot elsewhere. DJ will replace Darnold as the bridge QB to McCarthy.

The door to Flutie's suite will be fortified with a heavy security detail. Yes, I also found out that you have to be good at science to become a scientist.

Taylor Rapp was injured early in the Baltimore game and Cole Bishop got most of the snaps. Rapp has had an excellent season for us. Bishop was welcomed to the league in that one. Also Amari Cooper hadn't joined the team yet.

Not exactly... Good point, Einstein!

We probably need a definition of a "window." That said, in addition to the 5 mentioned above there was also the 1966 team which had won the previous 2 AFL Championship games and was favored to win in 1966... before they were upset by the Chiefs who then represented the AFL in the first (what would later be called) Super Bowl.

Aren't you supposed to toss it to the sports anchor now?

This and variants of this have been mentioned. I like that a new scheme introduces the element of surprise and gets bigger bodies on the field. However with introducing a new defensive scheme mid-season, it's possible that there's just not enough practice reps to get where you'd feel comfortable that everyone knows their assignments on any given play. The likelihood of confusion and a breakdown increase. I think it's easier for offenses to implement schematic changes mid-season than defenses. JMO.

Yes the Bills have scored over 30 points in 8 of 11 games including the last 5 and haven't really opened up the playbook as far as I can tell. Our offense has not been gimmicky which gives me lots of hope that Brady will be able to dial up some nice plays when needed down the stretch and in the postseason.

My guesses: 1) Bills Mafia: The fanbase cares the most, but in large part because of our love for Josh and our desire to see him win the accolade that he has been stupidly denied. 2) The Bills organization: The Bills care for the reason above, but also because anything that brings greater glory to the organization also brings more money to the organization. 3) The Media: The nature of media is that they need material for stories. The MVP race is a good source for material. 4) Josh: He would like the validation that the award would bring... and everyone likes recognition and affirmation of their performance. That said, I think Josh cares a helluva lot more about winning a Super Bowl for the team and the community. I agree with your main point though I think you overstate your argument.

Or worse with a neck injury... Yes, disciples of the Devil... each and every one of them.

Former Bills DE Mike Hamby co-wrote with Bentley... Darby the Dinosaur maybe? We had the Coleco and Tudor versions of electric football. They were different in many ways including the Coleco QB/Kickers throwing a magnetic ball on a masonite field whereas the Tudor QB (as seen in the video) threw a felt ball on a steel field. When you were bored you could adjust the speed control so that the players would start vibrating wildly and falling over, which was kind of fun. Our Tudor players came all white, which we painted to be Bills home unis and all yellow, which we painted to be the Packers home unis.

If he's elite he hasn't proven it yet. He's certainly elite from a tools standpoint but he hasn't accomplished much in this league. Roquan is undoubtedly a great player. It's interesting how he's the closest thing physically to Josh but not anywhere close in terms of performance. Why not? Lowell George was an interesting guy. One fun fact was that he was in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Hard to believe. Yes and as @C.Biscuit97 mentioned, the University of San Diego. You can't argue with his record. Relative to the times, Collinsworth and Aikman are sleepy old dogs. We are now living in the age of the screaming media personality. It's only going to get worse.