folz
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Posts posted by folz
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How can you not love FITZ!!! He will always have a home in Buffalo!!! A true blue Bill through and through...however short his time was here!
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I voted that I would like Daboll to stay. Feel the same about Frazier. There is a lot of power in continuity...and really, how much can we complain about the results over the last few years. They are both excellent coaches. Their players love them and fight hard for them. But, if they want HC gigs, I hope they get those opportunities.
On the other hand, I wouldn't be too worried if they left either at this point. This is now a mature team, who have soaked up Daboll's and Frazier's lessons for the last 4-5 years. I think they'd be ok learning and growing with a new staff (although there might be a break-in period). But, Sean knows what he wants on defense and will be able to find the right person to implement that. And there are plenty of good OCs out there that could work with the talent on this team. Sean just has to be careful to hire a guy that not only is good, but that can develop a good chemistry with the team---and will let Josh be Josh.
I am curious though why so many people think Ken Dorsey will either be offered the Bills OC job if Daboll leaves or be poached by Frazier to be his OC if he leaves? Do we really know enough about him (other than his playing career) to assume he would be offered those jobs or be ready to take that next step? Not knocking the guy, just wondering why so many posters seem so sure that he is ready/will be good?
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They call Alabama the Crimson Tide,
They call me Deacon
BluesMorseCongrats to Mitch, his wife, and family! 👍
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This should be Poyer's 3rd or 4th Pro Bowl at least...and yet, nothing.
I play in a keeper fantasy league where we play individual defensive players. I know fantasy is fantasy, but I have had him for four years, he never comes out of my lineup, and he has been in the top 3-5 in points scored by a DB in each of the last 4 seasons (includes safeties and corners). He is a baller.
His tackle totals since coming to Buffalo are insane:
2017: 95 tackles
2018: 100 tackles
2019: 107 tackles
2020: 124 tackles
2021: 93 tackles
Plus add in 18 INTs, 6 FFs, 7 FRs, 10 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, 13 QB hits, 8 QB hurries, 1 TD, and God knows how many passes defended...it is a crime that he keeps getting overlooked.
An average Poyer season is: 104 tackles, 6 Tackles for loss, 4 INTs, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 2 QB hurries, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery. That's what he has averaged for 5 years straight. Sign me up for that all day.
And if you added leadership into the discussion, Micah and Jordan should both be perennial Pro Bowl/All-Pro selections. They are the heart and soul of this defense.
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I support Cole Beasley...that is all.
(well, not quite...just wanted to point out how painfully obvious it is that many posters feelings on Cole is 100% due to his vaccination status. Please stop trying to hide behind his age and production excuses. If he had been vaxed, there is no way that this level of hatred would be directed at him. He is still a very important part of this team and we will need him in the playoffs. Let's put everything else aside for a SB run. Go Bills!)
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53 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:
Not sure this was such a great post you had to spin it off into it's own thread. But I'll reply with the same thing I did in the other thread...
Consistency.
Just because the total points scored is high, it doesnt say anything about the pace or deviation of how those points were put up.
This offense seems so feast or famine. We are either rolling, or putting on a clown show, no in between. A big part of that is bad game plans and play-calling and not allowing our O to play to its strengths or develop a rhythm.
Yay! We hung 40 and 43 on the likes of Houston and Washington, but couldnt muster 1 FG per Quarter to beat the Jags.
Great season, not taking that away. But there is always room for improvement. Especially when talking about the difference between a Playoff team and a Super Bowl Championship team.
No question, the offense has had some rough patches, but I'm having a hard time understanding an overall lack of consistency, or the other poster who talked about scoring in bunches. Here are the points scored by the Bills offense this season (from week 1 to week 17):
16
35
43
40
38
31
26
6
45
15
31
10
27
31
33
29
27
The "10" was the New England game in the wind, so you can kind of throw that one out because no team (not even a Brady-, Manning-, Montana-led team would have scored a lot that night). So, that leaves only 3 games where the Bills scored fewer than 26 points (Pitt, Jax, Indy). Only Dallas and Tampa Bay averaged more points per game than we did. Five years ago, if we were told our offense would be averaging 28.4 points per game, for third best in the league, we would all be elated.
For some reason, despite going through the drought, it seems that fans' expectations have become way too high (almost unrealistic), expecting perfection every week (despite opponent, weather, etc.). It is strange to me how that happened so quickly. For instance, let's look at the other top 5 scoring teams this year. How many games did they score less than 26 points. Again for Buffalo, it is 3 (4 if you include the NE wind game):
Dallas had 6 games with less than 26 points (including games of just 9, 16, and 20 points)
Tampa Bay had 4 games under 26 points (including games of just 0, 19, and 19 points---yes, TB got shut out one game)
Kansas City had 7 games under 26 points (including games of just 3, 13, and 19 points)
The Chargers had 6 games under 26 points (including games of just 6, 13, and 17 points)
There are ebbs and flows to an NFL season, for every team, not just the Bills.
And I have no problem discussing coaching and personnel decisions, etc. I myself feel that they mismanaged a number of players/positions this year (Devin, Gabe, Bease, McKenzie, Sanders) as far as playing time/snap counts, etc. What the so-called "homers," "kool-aid" drinkers, etc. (like myself) have a hard time understanding is that too many posters (not saying you Dr.Dawk) go to we suck, our coaches suck, fire this guy or that guy when this is where we dreamed of being just a short 5 years ago. Yes, there is always room for improvement, decisions that can be questioned...and obviously, the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl, not just the playoffs...but it seems some people can't actually enjoy where we are, where we came from, and to acknowledge that we are a very good team whose organization is set up to be good for a long time now. Reading some posts, you'd think we luckily snuck into the playoffs, have no shot at winning anything, and need to start revamping things already (coaches, players, etc.).
The NFL is known as a game of inches, the margins are razor-thin. For instance, all it would have taken to be the #1 seed was for Allen to not slip on that 4th and goal in Tenn. One play and we would have been the #1 seed. We are not that far from our goal, but listening to some fans, you would think it is still miles away.
Go Bills!
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2 minutes ago, billsbackto81 said:
Going into the playoffs on a 4 game winning streak.
LFG!!! Get it done Buffalo!!!
4-1/2 game winning streak...damn refs. 🙂
Let's Go Buffalo!
I care not for style points, just dubs!
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We're Talking Proud Buffalo! SHOUT it out and Billeve!
...a little bit louder now.
Go Bills!
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5 hours ago, What a Tuel said:
Division winner? As far as I know the season isn't over.
Is anyone under the illusion that the monday night game against the pats was a thrashing so bad we are unlikely to beat the pats in 2 weeks?
You don't have to make huge leaps for the division to be up for grabs again in a big game week 16.
Win Bills vs Panthers
Loss Pats at Colts
True...we are 2.5 games behind the Pats right now (looks bad). But, if we beat Carolina and the Pats lose to the Colts, we are at 1.5 back. The next week we face each other. If we beat the Pats on the rematch, then we are even (same record and 1-1 head-to-head). Buffalo would win the tie breaker at that point with a better division record (4-1 to 3-2).
Pats then close the season with Jax and Mia. Bills close with Atlanta and Jets.
So, if we win out, all we need to take the division is for the Pats to lose one game to either Colts (very possible), Jax (not likely), Miami (Phins always play Pats tough and Miami has been playing much better of late).
Take care of business in Carolina and the rematch with New England and the division should still be ours.
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1 minute ago, clearwater cadet said:
If this gets called, as it should have, we have a 1st and goal at the one-yard line with less than a minute left. Game over. Bills win.
This game was called so lopsided. Those who can't believe/don't see that the NFL/refs influence games are just naive in my opinion.
First time I became truly aware of it was in Super Bowl XL (2006). Pittsburgh was gifted that game. No doubt, without the refs, Seattle would have won (and I was rooting for the Steelers). And it has been going on ever since.
Nothing to do about it but not take it too seriously, and be good enough to beat the other team and the refs at the same time. That's the way it is for small market teams outside of Green Bay.
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Let's at least show some pride in the 2nd half boys. Keep fighting!
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Get Gabe Davis on the field!
At this point, it is pointless to force a run game that isn't there. Let the passing game open up the run game.
I'm jut shooting off the cuff here, with very little in-depth knowledge of the Xs and Os. But I say go more 5-wide. Teams are putting a top on the offense, so spread them out wide. Run a short-to-intermediate passing game with your best players on the field. Beasley and Davis need more snaps, more playing time.
I do wonder if the addition of Sanders (as good as he is) didn't disrupt things a bit in the WR corps. Beasley is a beast and Davis was poised to break-out this year, yet Sanders has the most snaps of any pass catcher on the team.
Season snap counts:
Sanders 611
Diggs 603
Knox 502
Beasley 477
Davis 286
Sanders should have come in to fill a WR3 or WR4 role, not be a WR1b to Diggs. Get your best players on the field. To me that starts with Diggs, Beasley, and Davis. It should be Sanders, Knox, and/or the backs rotating in and out. Play some no TE, play some empty backfield. Spread teams out laterally in the 5- to 15-yard area and just keep moving the chains. Eventually the deep shots and running game should open up as teams won't be able to just stack the box and cover over top.
No team should be able to cover Diggs, Beasley, Davis, Sanders, and Knox/RB out of the backfield on short routes, if Josh is getting the ball out quickly. Maybe Daboll and Josh are just looking for too many chunk plays in the passing game, but they aren't there because of how we are being defended. I say spread them out wide rather than deep.
I'm sure that is all an oversimplification of things, but I do feel like the answer for a while has been take what the defense is giving you, rather than trying to be stubborn about who you think you are. Get back to basics. Put your best players on the field and take what the defense is giving you.
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6 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:
This made me laugh out loud!
With all due respect, who gives a rat's ass who is good or bad on a football team?
You think BB cares about that?
He cares about wins.
I wish we had a few more of them than we do have, but of course we are still a GOOD TEAM and I agree we will make the playoffs.
All hope is not yet lost!
I understand that for some fans, they just want talent at any cost because they just want to win. I get it. And no, I don't think BB cares about if his players are good guys off the field.
But I do and I think Sean and Brandon (for the most part) do. I want to like the players that I am rooting for. That may seem strange to some fans, but it's just how I feel. I don't want to root for a bunch of divas or guys who are always getting themselves in trouble, or not treating other people well.
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I know there are a lot of knee-jerk reactions after loses, but I have been surprised at how many posters are so down on Beane and McDermott, some even suggesting we need to get rid of them.
I get it, the loss to New England, which not only put the Pats in first place for the division, but also in the conference, opened up some very old and deep wounds. Seeing Belichick smile after a win in our house sucked...but it also shows you what he thinks of the current Bills (the hoodie almost never smiles---even after wins, except maybe Super Bowl victories).
So, I think we all need a little perspective. First of all, as bad as some aspects of our team is right now (rushing/stopping the run), we are only 4-5 plays away from being 11-1. Take away the blocked punt against the Steelers, if Josh made the 4th down against the Titans, and any one or two plays going our way against the Pats and Jags, and we win all of those games. The margin between the best record in the league and a good/ok record in the NFL is razor thin. Those loses all count, they all matter, but we are not as bad as some are making us out to be. Do we have flaws and warts, players that we need to move on from next year, etc? Of course, almost every team does, but we are still a very good team with a lot of talent.
I do expect that we will still make the playoffs this year (whatever seed). That would be 4 out of 5 years of making the playoffs in the McBeane era...after 17 years of no playoffs. The record/win percentage over the last 5 years under McBeane is 45-31 or almost 60% win percentage (59.2% to be precise). And that of course includes 2018 which was an obvious rebuild year where we were depleted of talent (to fix the cap). In the 5 years prior to McBeane, our record was 36-44 (45% win percentage). In the 17 years of the drought, the Bills' win percentage was 41%. McDermott already has the third best win percentage of all Buffalo Bills coaches (behind only Marv and Wade). And Wade only coached three years and lost both of his playoff appearances. McDermott's two playoff wins are the only playoff wins since December 30th, 1995 (26 years ago).
This team has fun, exciting players. Great personalities. They are good people, with great work ethics, who like being in Buffalo, and play hard for each other and the fans. A true team with players I enjoy rooting for. There is no way in hell that I would blow things up or get rid of Beane and/or McDermott any time soon. Is there still work to do? Obviously. But in over 60 years of Buffalo Bills football, this is the best we've had it outside of the 4-year AFL run and the 8- to 9-year run in the 90s.
Have we already forgotten what New Year's Eve 2017 felt like? That was one of the most emotionally-impactful moments in Bills history, and one of the best New Year's Eves I've ever had (thank you Sean McDermott). Have we forgotten what it is like to have incompetency in the front office? Have we forgotten that they have brought us our first franchise QB in 25 years?
There are still 5 games left to right the ship, get into the playoffs, and possibly make a run. In the playoffs, everyone starts 0-0.
But even if that doesn't happen, I will be backing Beane and Mcdermott.
In that worst-case scenario (missing the playoffs or a quick exit), maybe it would be like the 90s team. In 1988, they had a great record (12-4; a lot of close wins) and went to the AFC Championship game where they were disappointed by the Bengals. In '99, they took a step back with a 9-7 record and a divisional playoff loss to the Browns. Then they went on the run of 4 Super Bowl appearances. Let's not try to kill the momentum that is building. Most success stories are not a straight line up to the top. There are always a few setbacks or apparent regressions along the way---two steps forward, one step back.
Now, I'm definitely not putting this season to bed...they can still turn it around and make a run (there are no dominant teams in the AFC this year---once in the playoffs, every game will be up for grabs). But ultimately, maybe this team just needs one more season of acquisitions and seasoning/experience to be true, perennial Super Bowl contenders. I don't know about you all, but I want to stick to the process. We're so close.
Go Bills!!!!
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Could it be that our run game/blocking schemes don't suit our players' strengths? Morse is an athletic, not stout center; as some said, pulling is Ford's strength; Feliciano trimmed down to be more athletic; not sure about Williams and Boettger, but they don't seem unathletic. Why aren't we running a scheme that has our interior linemen pulling more often for outside runs. Seems like it would suit our backs better too. Get them out into more space. Our guys aren't pounders. Singletary is shifty, Breida fast, and even Moss has shown some elusiveness at times.
I'm no expert on run/blocking schemes, just a thought, so if anyone who knows more about the Xs and Os of the run game/O-line blocking has a better perspective on this...please weigh in.
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Yeah, a number of people (posters, Greg Cossell, etc.) thought the Bills might have packages where they put 3 LBs on the field against New England. All I can say is I hope that wasn't the Bills' plan and they practiced it all week, only to have to change it on the fly now. So tired of this positive test results the day of a game (for all teams).
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Let's face it, the only people who want to see a TB/NE Super Bowl is the media. Sure, Tampa fans and New England fans want their team in the SB, but I could see a lot of New England fans torn about it. Of course they would want the Pats to win, but maybe not at Brady's expense. And they certainly wouldn't want to lose to Brady. And I don't think Tampa fans care who they face as long as they make it back to the big game.
And outside of Tampa and New England, what football fan really wants to see NE in another Super Bowl, or Brady win another ring? The TB/NE matchup is purely media driven. It has nothing to do with what fans would want to see.
As to the refs...the Bills have often got the short end of the stick over the years from the officials. Can't whine and complain about it, you just have to be good enough to not let the refs affect the game. The Bills are the better team. If they play up to their capabilities, they should be able to overcome any bad calls.
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All I know is that I hope the media keeps pumping the "Bills are soft" angle.
Nothing motivates a group of men more (especially ultra-competitive football players) than to call them soft/not tough. Even in today's society, if you question someone's manhood at that level, you better be ready for a fight.
McDermott and Beane have consistently brought in mentally-tough, driven, grinders...all football all the time guys. This team is not soft. They just haven't always played up to their potential this year (some games due to key injuries---not a big surprise to struggle against the run missing your nose tackle and middle linebacker for instance).
I think the "soft" perception comes from four things: 1. Derrick Henry (best RB in the game having an All-Pro/HOF-type season at the time the Bills played them), 2. Jonathan Taylor (the best running back in the league after Henry went down, having a Pro Bowl season himself), 3. the Jacksonville Jaguars game (we played down to the competition in that one), and 4. our middling run game (minus Josh).
But, we won't see another back like either of those two until maybe the playoffs. And even in the playoffs, the only other rushing attack that might scare me a bit besides Indy might be the Browns (Chubb and Hunt). But the Browns probably aren't even going to make the playoffs. Mixon is good, but he doesn't scare me. There really isn't another AFC team that I think could just run over us (especially if Star is playing). We have held 8 teams this year to under 79 yards total rushing. The only other team to rush for more than 100 (besides Indy and Tenn) was KC (which had 120 yards total, but 61 of that was by Mahomes. The KC backs combined for 59 yards).
And hopefully, the team has learned their lesson and won't be taking anyone lightly, like it seems they did with the Jags.
That just leaves our own run game. There has been a slight uptick running with Singletary and Breida, and hopefully the return of Feliciano and Brown will help there too. But, ultimately, we are a passing team. We will live and die by the pass. The rushing game just needs to be complimentary, not dominant, or even even with the passing game.
I think the Bills will put the "soft" label to bed on Monday night.
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At this point, it's all about winning. I'm taking a "get the Dubs and forget about the stats" approach this year!
I love crunching stats, etc. And I understand threads like this, you're trying to get a clearer picture of how good/bad teams really are. But this has been the most topsy-turvy season I ever remember (even more so than last year). Injuries, COVID-list players, every good team has one or two terrible loses, 2-win teams upsetting league leaders. It seems like every week there have been 2-3 shocking outcomes. Who knows why, but the league is just less consistent and less predictable this year.
Are the Bills as good as their stats/rankings show or have they just played a soft schedule? Same for the Pats?
I don't know that we can get a clear picture this season based on stats. Besides, when the Patriots were winning all of those Super Bowls, did anyone say, well it's because they always have an easy schedule, living in a division with 3 doormat teams, they basically get spotted 6-wins/season? No.
One game at a time. First is to flatten the Pats on Monday Night. Just win baby!
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I think it will come down to coaching.
Of course, we are not going to get anywhere near the same level of speed, experience, or coverage abilities from Dane as we did from Tre. But Dane IS a stud tackler (seriously, like Antoine Winfield, Sr. level of tackling). So, as long as the coaches don't ask Dane (or Levi) to do what Tre did and instead play to the strengths of the two guys now starting, I think we'll be ok. Kind of like last year with A.J. Klein. When they put him in to replicate what either Milano or Edmunds did, he failed. But when they played to his strengths (when he was in the game), he played well. Dane has strengths, they just aren't the same as Tre's. Play to his strengths, give him help in certain situations, etc. Maybe they won't be able to take as many chances on D, have to play it a bit safer, but they could still be very solid.
Will Dane get targeted, picked on, and burned sometimes...sure, but I think it's still too early to label Dane's level of coverage ability. He is still very young (2nd-year player, 126 total snaps---or a 4.5 snaps/game average). Young guys get burned by vets, just the way it is. It takes time to learn any position in the league. How many rookie QBs throw tons of INTs their first year, but then go on to be very good QBs in the future. It's because they haven't seen enough looks or different style defenses yet. Once they've seen it a couple of times, they aren't fooled by it, and react better. Similar with CBs seeing different routes, moves, speeds of receivers, etc. Even if he doesn't become a star as the OP suggests, he will improve the more reps he gets. It's just a matter of how fast can he do that, what his true ceiling is, and how the coaches can cover for him a bit until he gets there.
But, either way, I know three things, Dane is going to play physical, tackle like a beast, and give it his all (play his tail off)...and I'm good with that. Hopefully his coverage abilities will continue to improve and not turn out to be a liability. But I think that is up to the coaching staff to put him in situations where he can succeed.
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When it rains, it pours.
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Time for a Reich-like comeback against Reich. Let's start right here with a pick six. Come on boys, still time to turn this around!
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21 hours ago, FarrellsFinest said:
Wake me up when he makes a play this year.
I'm guessing that you were sleeping during the game last Sunday too? I actually gave him a shout-out in the Game Balls thread, as he was very active against the Jets, and yes, made a number of plays.
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I'm definitely not worried about Mac Jones right now (this season). He's playing very well, but he's a rookie. The Pats as a whole though, yeah, there is a little bit of nervousness about them (mostly based on Belichick and bad memories of their past dominance over us).
But, there is no question that the Bills are the more talented team and not just a team with talent, but a tight-knit, well-coached team, all pulling in the same direction. Can the Pats beat the Bills? Sure, it's the NFL---a week-to-week league. But if we played the Pats 10 times, I think Buffalo wins 7 or 8 out of 10 at this point.
I don't think Bills fans can use last year as any example that the tides have finally turned completely over though, as it was the first year without Brady, an old, beat-up QB, and lots of injuries and COVID opt outs for the Pats. What happened last year has nothing to do with this year.
But I also don't think Pats fans can use schedule or who each team has beaten as any measure of being superior to the Bills. Neither team has been tested much yet and the majority of both teams' wins came against easy opponents (either because the teams were bad, rookie QBs, or reeling, missing key players when they played them). Too many factors to claim either the Bills or Pats have an edge in schedule. The AFC East just had an easy schedule overall, based on the other divisions we had to play.
I do expect the Pats games to be tough though. They aren't going to roll over by any means. It's basically one game at a time at this point. But as a Bills fan, I really look to the next 3 weeks as giving us a clearer picture, and if the Bills take care of business, they should be sitting pretty.
If we beat the Colts this weekend (which could be a tough game), then take care of business against Siemien and the Saints on Thanksgiving, we will enter the MNF game against the Pats at 8-3. The Pats have to play Tennessee next week. I think they will lose to the Titans. Which would put them at 7-5 entering MNF. We should be favored to win at home in Primetime. Our boys get up for PrimeTime games, it's at home with the fans, and on 10 days rest. So, I think we should take that one. Which would set the records at 9-3 Bills, 7-6 Pats. That would basically be a 3 game lead for the division (with the Bills having the tie-breaker at that point) and the Pats would only have 4 games left to make that up. So, even if the Pats won out (including the rematch with Buffalo) to be 11-6, that means the Bills would need to lose 4 of their last 5 games...or 3 of their last 5 if the Jets was one of the losses. So, that means we would need to lose to the Jets, NE, and either TB/Car/Atl. Or lose to NE, TB, Carolina, and Atlanta (all 4 of them). (We would still have the division record tie-breaker if both teams end up with 11 wins and split their two games---unless the Bills lose to the Jets on the last regular season game.)
So, if the Bills just take care of business the next 3 weeks, the Pats shouldn't be a problem. But let's go get the Colts first!
Go Bills!
Thurman busts out the Griddy 😂😂
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
Watched that like 20 times in a row. Love it! Love Thurman! 🕺😂
I was watching everyone's reactions in the background. Ha...priceless.
Anyone else catch who all is there...Jim, Thurman, Bruce, Daryl, Kyle Brandt and his wife (in the back). Looked like there might have been a couple of other former players.