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No question New England saw a string of mediocre receivers wash through during the Brady years. And I don't think many people will argue against the fact that Brady probably did more with less than any other SB winning QB. But, for a 12-year stretch, he did have pretty good top targets at least: 2007: Moss, Welker, TE Ben Watson 2008: Moss, Welker, Watson 2009: Moss, Welker, Edelman, Watson 2010: Moss (for 4 games), Gronkoski, Hernandez, Welker, Edelman 2011: Gronkowski, Hernandez, Welker , Edelman 2012: Gronkowski, Hernandez, Welker, Edelman 2013: Gronk and Edelman 2014: Gronk and Edelman 2015: Gronk and Edelman 2016: Gronk and Edelman 2017: Gronk and Edelman 2018: Gronk and Edelman *Bold years indicate a Super Bowl appearance. [Note, having Gronk and Edelman was not unlike KC having Kelce and Hill. No question Hill is better than Edelman, but you know what I mean.] Similar to the Bills...no #1 X-receiver (outside of the Moss years), but Brady did still have at least a couple of very good players to throw the ball to (besides the Brandin Cooks, Josh Gordons, Deion Branches, Chris Hogans, Brandon Llyods, Danny Amendolas, and Brandon LaFells that cycled through). The Pats appeared in 5 of their 9 Brady-era SBs during those years, 2007-2018---2 wins, 3 losses in the Bowl. Edelman isn't a HOFer or anything, but he was a damn good player in that system and with Brady (over a 6-year stretch, discounting games he was out for injury/pro-rating them, he was averaging 1,117 yards and 6 TDs per season). And earlier in Brady's career, the Pats had a better defense and Brady was more of a game manager, and though not a murderer's row, he did have Troy Brown, Ben Watson, and Corey Dillon in that era, plus a good D. Still, no question, Brady did more with less. In relation to Josh, I would say that Josh currently (this year) has more/better weapons overall than Brady had for the majority of his career (outside of a few years maybe), but Josh has never had a Moss- or a Gronk-level player either...Diggs was close, but not nearly as dominant (or as big and strong) as the other two in their prime. Diggs was a pro-bowler, Moss and Gronk were generational talents. As far as the Bills of this era, yes, Diggs will obviously be remembered. Shakir may be remembered as an Edelman/Welker type. I think Kincaid and Coleman (if they continue their progression) will probably be remembered. Cook obviously will be remembered (though a RB, not a full-time pass catcher). Hawes is looking like more than just a blocker (who knows where his career goes). But yes, over the previous 5 years, not a lot of guys will stand out from those teams (2020-2024) when looking back from the future. As to the Bills scoring (interesting stat callout OP), If they continue at their current 2025 scoring average of 34 points a game (improbable), they would end the 6-year stretch at 29.93 points/game. If they scored the same amount this year as last year, they would end the 6-year stretch at 29.40 points/game. If they continued at their 5-year (2020-2024) scoring average, they would end the 6-year stretch at 28.98 points/game If I'm not mistaken, any of those scenarios would put them ahead of the New Orleans run. But, we would need to average 38.79 points per game the rest of the season to match New England's run (2008-2013). Really shows you just how good that New England offense was over that stretch---although that team did like to run up the score a lot, which McD never really does---but then, New England will have also played 4 fewer games in their span too (than the current Bills)...due to the increase from 16 to 17 games in 2021, but then the Bills losing the Cincinnati game).

Yes, more pressure from the front four is something we all wanted to see this season. But, it's only week 3. Yeah, the Bills are currently 22nd in sacks. But they are also 13th in QB pressures (which is not terrible and they should get better). 1. Bosa has been playing well (1 sack, 8 pressures, 5 hurries, 3 QB hits, 2 QB knock-downs). He's been pretty active and is still getting acclimated to the system and working with the guys around him. I think the sacks will come. 2. We eventually get back Hoecht and Ogunjobi...which should make the overall line better, which will hopefully lead to more pressures and sacks (even if not by those players specifically). Plus, we were missing Ed Oliver last game (who was playing great the first two weeks). 3. We played the Ravens and Dolphins. Lamar is a really hard player to sack or even hem in...and Tua was getting the ball out of his hands in 3 seconds, the majority of his passes were behind the line of scrimmage. Tough to judge the DL too much (in realation to pressure) with those two games. Need a few more games to see where we really are. 4. The more this unit plays together, the better they should be. There were 7 new D-lineman added this year (and two of them haven't even seen the field yet), and two new coaches were added, specifically to help the pass rush. ...give it a little time.

Slightly off topic, but I didn't know where else to post this (somewhat obvious) thought I just had. If you discount the final regular season game of 2024 (when our starters didn't play), the week 4 tilt in Baltimore last season was the only game that we have lost by more than 3 points since the beginning of last year. [And we were missing Milano, Bernard, and Taron Johnson in the Baltimore game, and then Oliver, Rapp, and Shakir all left the game with injuries. And Cutis Samuel was still working through a turf toe injury.] The Bills were literally 8 points away from being 21-1 over the last 22 games with a Super Bowl appearance (again, not counting week 17, and obviously, in reality we were 3 points away from the SB vs. K.C.). I mean, we are a VERY GOOD team right now (despite any flaws on the defense or perceived weaknesses at the WR position---not saying we can't discuss those things though---just stating the obvious, I guess). Go Bills!

Of course they had a scheme and plan going into the season, but you don't know what is or isn't working until you start playing actual games (especially if it is a new scheme and new players) and when you see how defenses are playing you and adapting to what you are doing. It is talked about all of the time that some teams find their way as the season progresses. Teams don't just set a new scheme and then say, come hell or high-water that is what we are sticking with. You go in with a plan, but then you alter things or tweak things as you see what works and what doesn't, what guys are executing well and what they aren't, etc. Having a scheme/plan going into the season and an offense finding its identity as a team are often two very separate things. Ok, maybe my memory was off with the "everyone eats" thing and that did start in the offseason, I'll give you that. But, your initial statement that I was reacting to was that you said defenses figured out our offense in 2024 and now again in 2025. And again, you are referencing week 4 (the loss to Baltimore---and then subsequent loss to Houston the following week). If that is when defenses figured us out, in week 4 last year, then why were they so successful against almost every other defense from week 6 on? If we were figured out, wouldn't the offense have struggled all year? They didn't. It seems much more logical to me that a team with a new scheme and new players were still finding themselves in week 4, rather than defenses having already figured them out in just 3 games. Plus, don't forget the injuries. In the weeks 4 and 5 losses to Balt and Houston, the following players were injured: Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, Matt Milano, Terrell Bernard, Taylor Rapp, Ed Oliver, and Taron Johnson. I'm sure that had nothing to do with anything, right? It was all just that our WRs sucked, even though two of the top three were injured at the time. Do you really think that the acquisition of Amari Cooper is what turned the offense around (despite him playing less than 22% of snaps on the year). Do you think they would have been bad without Cooper? We won two playoff games where Amari had 2 receptions for 8 yards on 4 targets (across two games). So, was it Cooper coming on board? Or was it the receivers getting healthy and the offense finally gelling and finding its identity (even if you don't believe that to be a thing). I mean how much do you think Mack Hollins was part of the off-season plan and how much of that developed out of need and necessity, and seeing what Mack was good at, and Mack and Josh finding a chemistry? As to #4 above, why Beane acquired Cooper...I already stated that in my last post: I mean, was it because the WRs were just "plain bad and incapable" as you seem to think? Or was it because two of his top 3 WRs were injured and the third was a rookie in his 6th game. Again, I think you can fault Beane for not having enough WR depth last year, but I do not think the acquisition of Amari Cooper was any sort of admission that the offensive philosophy wasn't going to work, that Beane screwed up by not getting a #1 WR. Obviously the offense did work and is still working (with or without Amari). Since the beginning of last year (22 games total---I'm not counting week 17 when our starters didn't play), the Bills are 18-5 and have averaged 31.72 points per game. I'm just having a hard time understanding why you think defenses have figured out our offense, or that you seem to think this offense isn't or can't be successful or whatever (not to put words in your mouth).

Yes, after losing to Baltimore and Houston, Beane went out and got Amari. I know that to the we need a stud #1 WR crowd, this was an admission of guilt by Beane, proving that he had botched the WR position. It obviously had nothing to do with Curtis Samuel dealing with a turf toe injury from training camp, and Shakir getting injured in the Baltimore game and being out for the next two games. We were basically down two receivers (2 of who were supposed to be our top 3 WRs---and our third top receiver was a rookie in his first handful of games) and it was still early in the season (and we weren't expecting Mack to do what he did). We were still transitioning the offense from running it through Diggs, and there were a lot of new pieces. That offense hadn't found themselves yet. Remember, before the season started, Shakir was the only WR to catch a pass from Josh...and then he was out for two games, with Samuel still not being healthy. I think you can maybe knock Beane for not having enough depth at the WR position last year (which he seems to have taken care of this year), rather than that we needed a true #1 stud X-receiver (as how the offense performed the rest of the year proved). Plus, you act as if Amari is what eventually made that offense go. Cooper played in 11 of 20 games for the Bills last year with a total snap count of 21.97%. He had 338 yards (30.7 yards per game average) and 4 TDs on the year. In the playoffs, over three games, he had 6 receptions for 41 yards, no TDs (13.66 yards per game average). Across the season (11 games), he had a total of 4 games over 50 yards (66, 55, 95, and 56). The Bills didn't pick up Amari because defenses had figured out our offense in week 4. The Bills hadn't even figured out their offense yet at that point. It was because the offense didn't yet have an identity and then we were basically down two receivers. Just after that is about the time that the "everyone eats" philosophy started to take off---and work. I don't think it was Amari that made the offense work, it was the new philosophy/the offense finding what worked for them.

The Dolphins were on the 21 yard line with 3:06 left in the game, down 7 points. The Bills had two timeouts left, plus the two minute warning. How much clock could the Dolphins run? Even if they took six plays from there and scored, the clock would have stopped at least three times (plus any incomplete passes). There still would have been time for Josh to just get in field goal range. So, IF Bernard does not make the pick and IF the Dolphins can run clock AND still score a TD and IF they go for a two-point conversion and make it and IF they can stop Josh from getting in field goal range with at least say 1-1/2 minutes left Then yes, they were on the verge of winning...but it takes a lot of ifs to make that statement.

You were responding to Kirby in regards to him saying "When everything happens within 10 yards of the LOS the defenses will adjust." But, can you please show me where defenses adjusted last year? From week 7 on last season (discounting week 17 when all of our starters rested), our offensive point totals were: 34, 31, 30, 30, 30, 35, 42, 48, 24, 40...and in the playoffs: 31, 27, and 29. Our record in those games was 11-3. Can you guys please point out to me when defenses caught up to our offense last season and started to shut us down last year? And to start this season we have scored 41, 30, and 31. And people are complaining about this offense? I honestly do not understand.

It's week 3. The defense has a lot of new parts. Give them a little time to come together. Plus, we are 3-0 and the Bills defense held the Jets to 150 total yards and they held the Dolphins to 276 total yards. And Baltimore has one of the best offenses in the league. It hasn't been as bad as some of you guys are making it out to be. I'm not saying this defense will be "awesome" but they will get better. btw, our horrible, horrible defense from last year was 11th in points allowed, not that bad...and the defense should be much better this year (as the season wears on). And how was Miami on the verge of winning? They never regained the lead after Buffalo tied it up with 4-1/2 minutes left in the first quarter. And if Bernard does not intercept that pass and Miami scores a TD there, the game is tied (Miami wouldn't have had the lead). So, the game would have been tied and Josh Allen would have had 3-4 minutes to go and close out the game. I wouldn't call tying the score with almost 4 minutes left in the game as "on the verge of winning." Maybe if it was a go-ahead TD you could say that, but then Josh still would have had 3-4 minutes to win the game. Oh and btw, they didn't actually tie up the game, because our defense came through with a turnover. But I guess that was just luck (not TB doing prep with his coach), and the defense gets no credit for closing out the game. I just don't know what you guys are expecting. It's like you expect every game to be 31- 3 or 31-7 and anything worse than that means our team sucks.

I'll start with the last bolded statement first. Yes, I totally agree, when the Miami CB went out, the guy replacing him was out on an island to the left. I thought for sure that Brady and Allen would attack that corner with a pass, rather than run Jimbo for like 2 yards. Agreed...missed opportunity there. That whole sequence from the refs giving Hill the first down (and the Bills not challenging it), to the two really bad Bills red zone plays and then missed kick by Prater, and then the Dolphins next TD where it looked like Tre just conceded the TD, was all very strange and changed the game from a total blowout to a tight-ish game. Just weird. But again, I agree, the Bills should have put this game away in the second quarter. It was just a really strange series of events. To the other bolded statement, yes, the Miami receivers are fast, and Tyreek is still a great player, so I wouldn't be surprised if their separation is better on a more consistent basis. But I don't think you can make the inference you did above regarding our D-line (sacks) or receivers (separation) tonight. Tua was getting the ball out of his hands in 3 seconds or less. The majority of his passes (it was 11 passes at one point, not sure if that was the final tally) were behind the line of scrimmage tonight (screens, etc). So, they had very few longer developing plays that would involve a pass rush or even needing to get separation. And I think there are a few things going on with the vertical game. One, we are a much more overall efficient offense than we used to be, with a HC and OC that want a balanced attack. So, we run the ball a lot more than we used to (and throw to the backs out of the backfield). Our TEs have become a big part of our game, and though we have seen Kincaid get vertical (and Hawes too now), generally the TE game will not be that far downfield. And the league has changed since 2020-2021. Defenses learned to slow down pass-happy offenses like the Bills and Chiefs with cover zero, etc. Keep everything in front of you. That is how teams play the Bills now. So, we started taking the underneath stuff and just methodically marching down the field (kind of like the old New England offense---game plan to your opponent and take what the defense gives you without making any mistakes). Not as sexy, but effective. So, being opponent-specific, why would we want to throw a lot of deep balls against the Jets or the Dolphins? They are lower percentage plays with a higher percentage for a turnover. Our coaches knew we could out-muscle these teams and let them make the mistakes (which they did). We are a different team than we were in 2020-2022. We aren't pass first, pass often. We are balanced and disciplined. I just think we need to be patient at this point. When they need to pass or if a defense say focuses on the run and leaves things open downfield, I'm sure the Bills will attack that. I just don't think we have run that many routes downfield yet because we haven't really needed to in these last two games. If we had been attempting a downfield game and we weren't being successful, then I might worry, we just haven't needed to do it much yet. Doesn't mean we can't, we just haven't needed to. I mean we all love seeing bombs down the field, but if they aren't really needed in a particular game, why chance them. I don't feel like I've seen Josh really trying to push the ball downfield a lot but not being able to (a few plays maybe). He's usually hitting something over the middle, at the sticks, or underneath. Plus, we have seen Shakir and Coleman catch deep balls before. We know Coleman is good at 50/50 balls and high-pointing the ball. We have some speed: Samuel 4.31, Moore 4.35, Shakir 4.43. So, it basically comes down to some worry that we don't have speed on the outside (Coleman and Palmer), that true #1 X receiver once again. Maybe, but let's worry about that when we see it not working, not when we are choosing not to do it for obvious reasons. Coleman had that one drop tonight, but has anyone really been upset at how Coleman and Palmer have played thus far? In the Baltimore game, they combined for 13 receptions for 173 yards and a TD. Josh threw 7 passes in that game over 20 yards (26, 22, 51, 21, 29, 32, 25, plus the deep ball to Palmer that drew the pass interference call). And Josh has a ton of other weapons as well...he's hitting 9 different guys per game. I really don't think we have anything to worry about.

Well, we did score the most points in the league last year (including playoffs) and are averaging 34 points per game this season thus far (over the last 4 seasons, the top scoring teams averaged 33.2, 29.9, 29.2, and 31.2 points per game, so I'd say 34 is pretty good). In fact, the Bills have scored the most points of any team since 2020 (5 seasons and 3 games---so that's more than half a decade so far). So... I'm just not quite sure what you guys are expecting. Does Josh need to go for 300 passing yards and 3 passing TDs every week regardless of if it is necessary or not? If Josh has gaudy stats, then he's doing it all on his own, he has no help, there is no talent around Josh. If Josh has a quiet day, because we are playing ball control against an inferior opponent, then Josh has no weapons who can get open, our talent sucks. And yet we are winning games and consistently scoring over 30 points. Something doesn't add up. I'd say the passing game is fine and they will use it when necessary (like the Detroit and Rams games last year or Baltimore week one this year). And I think Josh has plenty of weapons, a good offense around him. Our O-line is top 5, our RB room is top 5, our TE room is top 10 (inching up to top 5), and we have a solid receiving corps with a number of vets. And if separation was a serious problem, wouldn't we be seeing more coverage sacks? There was one coverage sack today, maybe one last week (can't remember if it was coverage, or just a good defensive play). Yes, Josh avoids some of them by escaping the pocket, but he had pretty clean pockets last week and this week (didn't need to escape much). He had 85 combined rushing yards the last two weeks (most of that in the 2 bigs runs---one last week, one tonight). So, he's obviously hitting a lot of his targets on script. It would be interesting for someone who looks at the All-22 film to truly assess whether the receivers are getting open or not. Sometimes I feel like it is just some talking point that has hung around for two years without being really accurate. It sure hasn't felt like the WRs have been stymied a lot this season. I've seen a lot of wide open Bills receivers running all over the field (does it matter if it is great scheming or great get off? if they are open, they are open). This is definitely more game-plan- and opponent-related than anything wrong with the receivers or passing game, imo.

Worked for Tom Brady and the Patriots for what, about 20 years.

This defense is going to get better as the season wears on. Anyone expecting a giant step forward from last year in just the first few weeks probably had some unrealistic expectations. First, it was a short week. Also, Milano and Oliver were out (as were Jackson, Ingram, and Hancock). We'll eventually get Hairston and the suspended guys back. The rookies (and Bishop) are getting valuable playing time and should get better as the season goes on (Walker played well today after one poster last week had already written him off after just two games). A lot of new guys on the D-line (7 new players), the more they play together, work the rotations, the better they will get/more in sync they will be. And there are probably some new wrinkles from the new coaches that they will integrate better and rep more often, etc. Gotta give it all a little bit of time to gel. And it's not like Miami had some crazy offensive numbers/night. They had 9 possessions: 3 TDs (one that should have been a punt or a 4th and 5 try instead, Hill was out of bounds on that 3rd---why was there no replay assist on that, like there was on the Miami first down late in the game?), 4 punts, 1 TO, end-of-game. So, we stopped them on 6 of 9 (should have been 7 of 9) possessions. Tua threw for 146 yards 2 TDs 1 INT Achane led the backfield with 62 yards 0 TDs Hill led the receivers with 49 yards and 1 TD Waddle added 39 yards and 1 TD Total offense: 276 yards Points: 21 Vs. NE in week 2 Tua threw for 315 yards 2 TDs and 1 INT Achane ran for 30 yards 0 TDs Hill had 109 rec yards Achane had 92 rec yards and 1 TD Waddle had 68 yards and 1 TD Total offense: 376 yards Points: 27 Somehow our defensive stats vs. Miami look closer to the Colts blowout from week 1 (except in points because the Colts had 3 turnovers as opposed to just 1 by the Bills tonight): Tua threw for 133 1 TD and 2 INT Achane had 55 yards 0 TDs Hill had 40 yards Waddle had 30 yards Total offense: 224 yards Points: 8

2-0 in the division (first step, win your division) and we squished the Phish. I'll take it. Learn from the mistakes and keep getting better.

Just FYI. Milano injury history. He just turned 31 years old. He has missed 30 games since he became a starter (8-1/3 seasons, possible 124 games). That averages to 4.22 games/season (of course, he lost most of those games in 2023 and 2024). He has played in approx. 75.81% of his games across his career (feels like it has been worse than that even, maybe because he's been such a big loss when out---and because of the last two years---kind of like Tre before we released him). Year Injury Time missed 2018 None 2019 Hamstring pull missed 1 game 2020 Ab strain missed 1 game 2020 Pec strain missed 2 games 2021 None 2022 Ab strain missed 1 game 2023 MCL tear/ missed 12 games tibial fracture 2024 Bicep tear missed 13 games 2025 Pec strain ??????????????? (looking like maybe only a game or two at this point?) I guess we'll seee how he comes back and if he can stay healthy the rest of the year. No question we all love Milano and he's still a very good player when healthy. In the first two games this year, he had 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 pressure, 1 QB hit (and he didn't even play the second half of the Jets game). But, yes, I wouldn't be surprised if this is Matt's last season with the Bills (based on age and injuries). Plus, he's on a one-year deal, and a FA at the end of the season (so, obviously Beane was already hedging his bets). Hopefully Matt goes out with a bang and a ring (not on IR). It's sad to see these guys that helped to establish this new era (Hyde, Poyer, Tre, Milano) coming to the end of their careers.

At the time, this is what I was hoping/thought the Bills would do---trade up for Brian Thomas, Jr. Of course, we don't know that they didn't at least inquire about it...maybe no one would trade or maybe the price was too high, who knows. But that's what I was hoping for too. And by no means is the following an exact science, but I tried to see what might have been if we did go that route. If we moved up from 28 to 23 to take Thomas Jr., according to the draft chart, we would need 100 points. In order to do that without using future draft picks, we would have had to give JAX our first 4th rounder and our second and third 5th round picks (the Bills had two 4th round picks and three 5th round picks at the start of the draft). No one can say exactly how it would have played out, but the two drafts might have looked like this (if the Bills still picked the same players when in the same range): Round Pick 1 23 Brian Thomas, Jr. 2 60 Cole Bishop 4 133 CB Jaden Hicks (this is who KC ended up drafting at pick 133 of the 4th round---not sure who the Bills would have taken, maybe Davis if available) 5 141 Sedrick Van Pran-Granger 6 204 Tylan Grable 6 219 Daequan Hardy 7 248 OG C.J. Hanson (this is who KC ended up drafting with pick 248 of the 7th round) Bills draft as it was: Round Pick 2 32 Keon Coleman 2 60 Cole Bishop 3 95 DeWayne Carter 4 128 Ray Davis 5 141 Sedrick Van Pran-Granger 5 160 Edefuan Ulofoshio 5 168 Javon Solomon 6 204 Tylan Grable 6 219 Daequan Hardy 7 221 Travis Clayton So, basically we lose Keon, Carter, Davis, Ulofoshio, Solomon, and Clayton; but we would have Thomas, Jr. and pick 133 in the 4th round and pick 248 in the 7th round (9th last pick in the draft). I know it wouldn't play out exactly that way, the Bills may have chosen other players/positions in the 4th to 7th rounds in the top draft based on the players/positions they weren't able to draft---for instance maybe they go DT or RB in the 4th instead of KC taking a CB, maybe they can still grab Davis there. But, just trying to get a general idea if it would have been worth it to trade up. As far as Thomas, Jr. and Coleman: Obviously Brian had a BIG rookie year, but he also had a ton of targets. He also played four more games than Keon and didn't have the strange end of a rookie season like Keon did. But to this point in their careers, here are a few numbers to look at: Thomas, Jr.: 70.6 yards per game; 0.526 TDs per game; 8.83 yards per target; 0.066 TDs per target. (152 total targets to date) K. Coleman: 46.3 yards per game; 0.333 TDs per game; 9.77 yards per target; 0.070 TDs per target. (71 total targets to date) [Not to cherry pick stats: Thomas, Jr. currently has 1,342 yards and 10 TDs; Coleman has 694 yards and 5 TDs.] I know pro-rating stats is a bit of a fool's errand because Keon didn't get as many targets as Thomas for a number of reasons. But, if you did pro-rate Keon's rookie year stats out to the same number of targets that Thomas, Jr. had, Keon would have been at 1,288 yards and 11.58 TDs. And Keon is not only looking good so far this year, he's also getting more targets than his rookie year. Last year he averaged 4.48 targets per game, in the first two games this year, he is averaging 7 targets per game. And I know you can't draw conclusions from just two games, and obviously Keon has the better QB/offense, but so far this year: Coleman: 14 targets, 11 receptions, 138 rec yards, 9 rush yards, 1 TD Thomas: 19 targets, 5 receptions, 60 rec yards, 48 rush yards, 0 TD Again, I'm not saying Keon is better than Thomas, Jr., but if he at least keeps pace with him or stays in somewhat of his range, then with the extra assets we got on top of that, maybe Beane played it right. I don't know, what do you guys think? Is Thomas just that much better than Keon that the other assets don't equate? It's basically Keon, Carter, Davis, Ulofoshio, and Solomon vs. Brian Thomas, Jr. and a late 4th round pick.

Agreed on Franklin. His two big solo tackles on kickoff and then helping to clean up a third tackle with some Umph on Sunday definitely jumped out to me as well (shouted him out in the Game Balls thread). He also had a solo teams tackle in week 1. Also, Codrington has been amazing. Not just for his long TD return against Baltimore, but for his hands. There have already been two or three hits as he's receiving the ball that other returners probably would have muffed. The kid has great hands (and toughness) as well as the speed and elusiveness. Buffalo Joe has been active on teams as well. And Prater has been an upgrade thus far. STs are looking up. Yes, there are plenty of Beane free agents that didn't work out...and we can all probably name most of them. But, he has also brought in a lot of guys that have helped the team or played well (at least for a period time): Cole Beasley, John Brown, Ty Johnson, Joey Bosa, Josh Palmer, Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel, Connor McGovern, Mitch Morse, Isaiah McKenzie, Von Miller, Daquon Jones, Jordan Phillips, Jon Feliciano, David Edwards, Emmanuell Sanders, Daryl Williams, Mack Hollins, Mitch Trubisky, Matt Barkley, Sam Martin, Tyler Matakevich, Mario Addison, AJ Klein, Shaq Lawson. (I'm sure I'm forgetting a few too.) Plus he traded for Diggs, and McD brought in Poyer and Hyde as FAs. So, it hasn't all been bad. Have a little perspective. And the Carolina thing hasn't been a thing for years now. Plus, it totally made sense that in their first few years they, 1. wanted players who understood their system and culture to help establish the culture in the new location; 2. They were players they were familiar with, who could at least set a baseline of play; 3. The Bills were an unstable team in a 17-year playoff drought, in a small market, cold and snowy, city---Free agents did not want to come to Buffalo. But if a player was familiar with the coach/GM, they were more willing to come at that time than other guys in the league. But, it's been almost 9 years now since they were in Carolina (almost a decade), and so much has changed. There are only two connections still on the Carolina roster. 1. T Taylor Moton was drafted by Carolina in the 2nd round of the 2017 draft (Beane's last draft with the Panthers...days before Beane left for Buffalo---but he would have been part of that pick); 2. J.J. Jansen, the long snapper, was on the roster back when McD and Beane were in Carolina. That's it. So McD has not coached any players currently on Carolina's roster (except Sam Martin, who they picked up this year as their punter), and Moton is the only player that Beane had any draft/FA input on for Carolina. Plus, the Panthers have been through six different head coaches in the time that McD has been in Buffalo, so there isn't anything left of the Rivera/McD culture there.

Nice topic/stat OP. Josh's current pace has him scoring 9.29 rushing TDs per season. If he were to keep that pace (and Hurts doesn't surpass him), Josh would have the most rushing TDs in league history in about 10.5 years (at age 40). Now whether he can keep that pace as he ages remains to be seen, but even if he just kept that pace for 5 more years, he would already be in 5th place all-time. Unbelievable! At his current pace, he would pass Cam Newton in week one of next season to be the QB with the most rushing TDs. And with two rushing TDs in the first two weeks this year, he is actually on pace for 17 rushing TDs this season (not that I expect that to happen)---but, if he did that, he would pass Cam around Week 11/12 this season. It really is amazing. At his current pace (27.86 passing TDs/year), if Josh played 10 more years (to age 39), he would be 5th on the all-time passing TDs list. If he played 12 more years at his current pace (to age 41), he would be 4th all-time on the passing TDs list (behind only Brady, Brees, and Manning). But none of them were running QBs or anywhere near Josh's rushing TDs (Brady had 28 rushing TDs in his career, Brees 25, and Manning 18---Josh already has 67). It would take Josh 12.25 years (Manning), 13.5 years (Brees), and 16.25 more years (Brady) to pass their passing TD totals (at Josh's current pace)---which would mean playing at a high level to 41, 43, and 45 years old (so that probably won't happen). But, he could literally end up with the most rushing TDs in history (or close) and say 4th/5th all-time in passing TDs. Currently Brady has the most combined TDs for a QB with 677 TDs. Josh had 262 TDs in his first 7 seasons (or 37.43 TDs/season). If he played 11.1 more seasons at that pace (to 40 years old), he could actually eclipse Brady for total TDs by a QB. Again, not sure he can keep up that pace that long, his body is taking a bigger toll than guys like Brady and Brees did (due to the rushing, extending plays, etc.), but it's amazing none the less that he even has a shot at it. We are truly blessed.

So, let me get this straight. Many Bills fans complain continuously that Josh has to do everything on his own. That we aren't as talented as other top teams, so Josh has to put on his cape and play one-on-eleven (apparently). Then we have a game that is a total team win. The offensive and defensive lines control the game and we run the ball a lot. They prove that there is a lot of talent around Josh actually. But now the issue is Josh didn't have enough passing yards, and we got stopped on some second down runs? I have learned over the years that some people just will never be happy, no matter how much you try to do for them. I'm not saying we can never discuss problems with the offense, the play calls, or individual players performances. etc. But we just opened the season scoring 41 points and 30 points, respectively, against two very good defenses. This offense is exactly what McDermott and Beane wanted since like Daboll's second/third season as OC. Don't you remember how many times McD tried to get the offense to be more balanced, get Daboll to run the ball more? We are a bigger, stronger, more balanced team now. We can play in a shoot-out with KC, or we can grind out rushing yards against physical teams (or poor teams). We can change our game plan according to our opponent (as weeks 1 and 2 showed us). We can now run a 4-minute offense to close out games (because we can run the ball better), etc. Plus, the league has changed since 2019-2021. A lot of time was spent trying to shut down offenses like KC and Buf. The move to more cover 0, then to man coverage, etc. We couldn't continue with the aerial attack we had (in the same way), but not be able to run the ball well. The defenses dictated that players like Allen and Mahomes would need to be more patient and methodical. The defenses were keeping everything in front of them. So, the offensive style needed to change. Plus, we needed to be stronger and more physical (which we are now) to face the Cincinnatis and Baltimores of the world. We were much more what we used to call a finesse offense in the Daboll years. Now we can ground and pound when needed (without losing the ability to still have a prolific passing offense). Just FYI Daboll's Bills offense at it's best (2020-2021; 34 regular season games): Averaged 377.5 yards per game and 28.9 points per game. Since Brady took over (mid-2023 to present; 25 regular season games): Averaging 350.8 yards per game and 30.2 points per game. Playoffs: Daboll (2020-2021) 3-2, averaging 30.2 points/game with 376.8 yards/game. Brady (2023-2024) 3-2, averaging 28.4 points/game with 370.8 yards/game. Pretty similar overall, but now our team is stronger and more multiple. We are no longer out physicaled by teams, we can run when we need to, change our game plan according to the opponent, fare better in inclement weather, we're not as predictable, etc...in my opinion. I don't think we have to worry about Brady and the offense. P.S. Someone brought up that we had some struggles in the last few games (particularly Baltimore and Denver). Yes, before the Jets game, our last four opponents were Baltimore, Kansas City, Baltimore, and Denver. All three teams were top 10 defenses in both yards allowed and points allowed last year. Denver was 3rd in points allowed, K.C. was 4th, and Baltimore was 9th. Stands to reason that you'd struggle a bit more against better defenses. And yet, in those 4 games, the Bills still averaged 32 points/game. (Heck, even the Jets' defense was #3 in yards allowed last year and we just had 403 yards and 30 points against them.) But sure, good defenses are going to get some stops too---like on a second down run.

Yes, exactly, it's only been two games. The Bills defense has played 80 snaps thus far. Walker currently has a 25% snap count, which means he has had a total of 20 snaps. Sanders currently has a 31% snap count, which means 24 total snaps. Walker had two solo tackles today and Sanders got one solo tackle today. But, they are rookies in the first 20 snaps of their careers. How much are you expecting from them this early? And I thought at the end of the game today that Sanders actually looked pretty active (despite only 1 tackle). With all rookies, it's a process. I mean, there aren't a lot of 2nd and 4th round picks that look like pro bowlers in their first two games/first 20 snaps in the league.

Yeah, Josh, Jimbo, and Joey. Not a lot of game balls to go around today because the big uglies (linemen) on both sides of the ball completely controlled the game and it was just a solid, team win. Not game balls, but a few guys to shoutout: #1: Cole Bishop: 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 QB hit (hopefully he's ascending) #2: Elijah Moore for getting involved and for his TD (I think Brady will keep trying to find ways to use Moore's speed). #3: Sam Franklin, Jr. Three big special teams tackles early in the game. #4: Mitch Trubisky for coming in cold with a big throw and keeping the offense rolling until Josh came back.

Yeah, you're probably right...back in that era.

I remember watching a Bills/Jets game when I was a kid and the announcer at some point mentioned how big Mark Gastineau's biceps were---can't remember the actual size, but I do remember one of my older male cousins (who was in his 20s at the time) say, oh my God, that's the size of my thighs. The guys basically had legs for arms...unreal.

I'll stick up for Jets fans a bit. I live in NYC (and have for many years). I go to the Jets/Bills game at the Meadowlands every year and I've never had any problems (win or lose), despite always being decked out in Bills gear and cheering loudly. I've also had many Jets fans as friends over the years, and until Josh came along, we basically just commiserated with each other over how bad our teams were. And yes, most of the Giants fanbase comes from northern New Jersey, Conn, and Upstate NY (north of the City up to say Albany/Syracuse...though I think the Bills have been encroaching on that NY territory over the last few years). Most Jets fans are from the City proper (Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn...maybe Staten Island, but who knows, that's like a different world) and Long Island. The Jets fans are die-hards for their team, they complain about the team all of the time (well deserved), but they never jump ship...you gotta appreciate that when they haven't had much to celebrate. As to a rivalry, well, it seems that individual games can be difficult and physical because we are in the same division, fighting for the same crown, but there has been very little what you would consider rivalry types of games and situations over the years because the teams just haven't been good at the same time. In 65 years, the Bills and Jets have only both had a winning record in four seasons total (1981, 1988, 1998, and 2004). Yes, in the 80s, there was maybe a bit of a rivalry (the early 80s teams---Chuck Knox vs. the Sack Exchange, or winning our first division title in so many years over the Jets later in the 80s, etc.). But, overall, there has never been many story lines between the teams to make them rivals (other than being division opponents). I feel for Jets fans, we think we have been through some hard times... In 65 years, the Jets have had only 20 winning seasons, they have only had 3 seasons in 65 years that they had more than 10 wins. They have made the playoffs 14 times. They won the AFL Championship game and Super Bowl in 1968. Since then (56 years), 4 AFC Championship game appearances (no wins). In comparison, in 65 years, the Bills have had 29 winning seasons, with 12 years with more than 10 wins. The Bills have made the playoffs 24 times. 3 AFL Championship games (2 AFL Championship wins), 7 AFC Championship appearances (4 wins), 4 Super Bowl appearances (all losses). They've had a lot less to cheer for than us over the years, despite the Bills having so many down years and eras themselves. Overall head-to-head: Bills lead series 71-58 (55% of the wins to the Bills), but, since 2012, the Bills have won 17 of the last 25 games (68%).

Again, I did not see any Ravens players "engage" or "taunt" the fans before the fan pushed DHop. I mean, how did they "engage" the fans, just by being near the wall? I'd have to watch it again to see if Lamar said something to the fan after the fan pushed DHop, but Lamar did not then engage him physically until after the fan had also pushed Lamar in the head. And note that the push was in the side/back of Lamar's head, which means Lamar was actually walking past the fan, not engaging with him (even after the push of DHop). And I have no problem with people saying that Lamar should not have pushed back (or should be fined)...I mean that is the rule on both sides. Fans should not be touching the players (or face ejection) and the players should not be touching the fans (or face fines). I just don't fault Lamar that much. It was a heat of the moment type of thing, which we have all fallen prey to at times in our lives. Now if he started throwing haymakers or jumped into the stands, that would be one thing, but it was a push in the heat of the moment AFTER a fan shoved two players in the head unwarrantedly. This was all on the Bills fan, not the Ravens, imo.

The Ravens were not taunting, they were celebrating an amazing catch and TD by a great player in his first game with the team. It was his first reception as a Raven and a spectacular one at that, in a BIG game. The Ravens' players just followed DHop, who ended up near the stands, to celebrate with him. Before the first push by the fan, I do not see any Ravens players engaging with the Bills fans in any way (talking, jawing, pointing...nothing). They are just running after DHop to celebrate with him, as teammates should.