folz

Agreed. So, the question now is did they run him into the ground (in 2018 and 2019) and he is finished, or with only 10 games played over the last two years has his body had time to recover? Yes, he was placed on IR to finish both 2020 and 2021, but he probably could have come back from both injuries before the end of the season, but with Carolina basically already out of the playoffs both years, they decided to shut McCaffrey down and not risk further damage. And last year, he had already been on IR earlier in the year, so the second IR ended his season per rules. The Panthers were 5-7 at the time with 5 games left (they still had to play Buffalo and Tampa Bay twice), and McCaffrey was probably going to miss 4 weeks. So, they shut him down. So, the good news is he is not recouping from a major injury this offseason, he should have a fully healthy offseason. And his injuries weren't major knee injuries, etc. They were ankle sprains, muscle (hamstring), etc. Yes, ankles can be chronic, but none of the injuries were major or something that might slow him down, or have long term effects. And I think our training staff could help keep him healthier if his body isn't totally shot (especially from the soft tissue injuries). I'm comfortable leaving the final decision about his health going forward to Beane and the Bills medical staff if a trade scenario was to be investigated.

Here is McCaffrey's injury history (for reference): 2017 season: No missed time due to injuries 2018 season: No missed time due to injuries 2019 season: No missed time due to injuries Sep 20, 2020: Pedal Ankle (high) Sprain Grade 3 suffered a right high-ankle sprain Week 2 and missed six games Nov 8, 2020: Shoulder A/C Joint Sprain injured his shoulder on the last drive of Week 9. Missed 4 games Dec 9, 2020: Thigh Glute Strain Week 14. Missed 4 games. Sep 23, 2021: Thigh Hamstring Strain Grade 2 suffered a strained hamstring in Week 3. Missed five games. Nov 28, 2021: Pedal Ankle Sprain Grade 2 rolled his left ankle in Week 12. Placed on injured reserve. Ruled out for the remainder of the season. No doubt he'd be a risk, even in the slot. I mean is it just bad luck the last two years or can his body just not hold up to the physicality of the game? But, I'd still be willing to take a gamble on him at either position (RB or slot WR). He's still young. And as has been said, he wouldn't have to carry the load in Buffalo---at RB, he and Devin could be a great one-two punch; at slot, less hits, other great WRs to share the load. And we are pretty darn good without him, so if we lose him for some time, we wouldn't be up a creek without a paddle...we obviously wouldn't be putting all of our eggs in the McCaffrey basket (as another team might). But with him healthy, the Bills offense could be generational. If Car is willing to part with him, I'd say take a shot and then use him as a swiss army knife, in multiple roles. And it's not just that the Bills have better training facilities, it's that the Bills have a great training staff (strength and conditioning, nutrition, etc., etc.). The Bills have been one of the least injured teams under McDermott's staff/tenure. So, maybe they could help to make a difference in the health department.

As we all know, Josh and Kyle know each other from working together with Jordan Palmer. Kyle Allen was born in 1996, grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, played two years at Texas A&M (2014, 2015) Christian Kirk was born in 1996; grew up in Scottsdale, AZ; played for a rival high school to K. Allen; was a teammate of K. Allen at Texas A&M (2015) So, the connections for them all hanging out makes sense. But what the purpose was---just mutual friends hanging out or recruitment meeting---is anyone's guess.

Completely agree, though I might change #5. Of course you can't blame Farwell for signing Haack, that's on Beane. He might have a bit of blame if he recommended him, but still on Beane. But, from the blocked punt in week 1, every fan could see that Haack's punt motion was either too slow or he wasn't standing back far enough. I started to hold my breath on every punt. And it never seemed to improve. Seems like there should have been some coaching that could have helped there. We're lucky more punts weren't blocked during the season. And McBeane probably also hold the second Jets game against Heath. It's been a long time since I've seen such poor punting. Haack shanked 2-3 punts and muffed a snap leading to an 8-yard punt. Yes, the wind was bad, but isn't that when you coach up your punter to handle it differently, do something different to combat the wind. I'm no special teams coach, but maybe line drive them instead of pop them up, etc. Also, it's on the coach to not let the guy go into funk, be stuck in his head about the last bad play. And don't forget that McKenzie muffed one punt and made a dangerous play picking up a punt surrounded by defenders in that game too. He didn't lose either luckily, but bad day overall for Heath's group.

In Rochester, in the '80s, we had Ranger Bob...

It's funny that one of the most exciting NFL postseasons ever has produced one of the most lackluster Super Bowl matchups ever. But if the Bills couldn't get there, I'd rather this matchup than any that included KC, Tampa, GB, SF. And, who knows, maybe Burrow/Chase/Mixon and Stafford/Kupp/Donald/OBJ will continue this exciting postseason and give us another great game. There is still a lot of elite talent in this game, so it could be fun. I don't think the winner will truly be the best team in the league this year, but hey, hats off to anyone who can run the gauntlet and win a SB. We all know that ain't easy. P.S. And I'm sure the league would be very happy with a win for Los Angeles.

Everything contributed to the KC loss, the bad decision before the half, thinking they already won up 21 (remember the Oilers?), the lack of emotional and physical reserves after playing the Bills in that epic last week, over-confidence/arrogance. But, I agree with the bold statement above. Watching the game in real time as Romo was talking about them trying to use up the clock, I was saying to myself, that's a mistake, just get the TD (not that I wanted them to win, just thinking what I would do in that situation). Rather than focusing on just scoring the TD, they tried to score with as little time left as possible, wasting downs to run the clock down on that last series of regulation (I think that decision was directly due to Josh Allen and the Bills last week and the last time they played the Bengals). But, in their arrogance, they assumed they could score on any one play from the 5 (or wherever). So rather than having multiple shots at a winning TD, they basically gave themselves only one real chance...and then failed. It was like it was a combination of arrogance and fear at the same time. Not a good combination.

That's if he can find a decent hotel in Buffalo first.

I don't know if Jerry is a miserable SOB in real life or just writes like one because he thinks that keeps his career going/brings readers. But either way, what a miserable existence it must be to never see any positives and always be tearing others down. I haven't read anything he has written in years, because you know exactly what you are going to get. He isn't some unbiased, realistic analyst. He has a big ego, a bad relationship with the team, and is going to be negative 95% of the time (whether warranted or not).

That is honestly just unreal; unheard of in the playoffs [for reference, KC went 11 TDs on 23 possessions (48%) in this postseason, which is damn good in itself]. A 75% TD rate in the red zone would be phenomenal, but that's a 75% TD rate on all possessions.🤯 We didn't win a Super Bowl (yet), but come on guys, what a fun ride this season has been...and there is only more to come with Josh.

No shame in this loss. The boys played their hearts out in what, in my opinion, is one of the best (maybe top 3) playoff games I've seen in my 45 years of watching NFL football (Dolphins/Chargers '82; the Comeback). It's one of those games that it is a shame anyone had to lose. I love the meme of "Cancelling the playoffs and having a best of seven series between Buffalo and KC for the Super Bowl." Once each of these teams (Buf/KC) learned to combat the cover/shell defenses this year, Allen's and Mahomes' games both went up a level. These offenses are at historic levels with these two guys. Look at what each of these offenses did down the stretch and in the playoffs. So, you have to realize that both defenses were completely gassed by the fourth quarter. They held each other to 14 points at the half, but by the end of the third quarter, each offense started to impose its will on the opposing, tired defense. Sure I wanted more out of our defense, but Patrick Mahomes and that offense are just special. It's not like we were playing a bunch of scrubs. You can blame the defense, or the coaching, or whatever. But that's how these games go. One more play...by anyone at any time and it goes the other way. It's tough to swallow. If the coin came up tails and we got the ball first in OT, etc., etc. But just think, about six weeks ago many on this board thought the season was over. New England is back and have the lead in the AFC East. This sucks. Then we got to watch the Bills find their Mojo, rattle off five straight victories, win the AFC East, trash the Patriots in the playoffs with a perfect game, and watch Josh Allen ascend to undoubtable legend in one of the greatest playoff games ever. It's painful now, but let's not forget how fun the ride has been. And it's not over...we have Josh Allen! All year, this has felt like the 1989 season, including now a loss in the divisional round. Big things are still to come...keep the faith! And Go Bills! "Fight on, my men," says Sir Andrew Barton, "I am hurt, but I am not slain; I'll lay me down and bleed a while, And then I'll rise and fight again.

Great article with gifs to really dissect some of the run plays. The Bills finally figured out what they do best in the run game. Pulling, misdirection, etc. Using Bates and Gilliam as the hammers...just awesome. Those two guys have made a big difference. And Daboll is dialing it up now. Some of the formations are very interesting. On the 3rd-and-1 Singletary conversion, this is what the line looks like (from left to right): Knox, Bates, Morse, Williams, Brown, Dawkins, Doyle. Knox slides off the line to the left (taking his man out of the play), Bates pulls to the right, Morse and Williams seal the left side (basically, Morse is now your left tackle), Gilliam comes from the backfield to seal the right side, with Brown, Dawkins, and Doyle at the point of attack. The play is for Singletary to run between Dawkins and Doyle or Doyle and Gilliam, but not before a pulling Bates crashes through the hole first. Singletary rides up behind Doyle, Bates, and Gilliam for an easy first down. So, basically, you have 5 Tackles at the point of attack (yes, Bates and Williams are both playing Guard in traditional sets, but really, the first position for both of them in their careers has been Tackle), Dawkins and Spencer Brown (your LT and RT in traditional sets) are lined up next to each other, and then you basically have Morse playing left tackle. Very creative...using our players to their strengths.👍

Great post as always Virgil! Loved the shout out for Reggie. To the KC play, did anyone else think that should have been a foul on the KC O-Lineman? That's what I thought in real time watching the game. I mean if that was a receiver vs. a DB, and a yard or two off the ball, the receiver just grabs the DB's shoulder pads and throws him to the ground, wouldn't that be a penalty? If not, why don't receivers/TEs try that more often. It's kind of like tackling a man without the ball. Am I wrong here? Everyone seems to be ok with that play for some reason.

I keep hearing this theory/rumor that Josh can't put together back-to-back good games, he lacks consistency, etc. Last season, the Bills won their last six games and then two playoff games in a row. So, they won eight games in a row. Only one of those eight games (the bad weather playoff game vs. Baltimore) did the Bills score less than 26 points. That stretch included games of 56, 48, 38, 34, 27, 27, 26, and 17 (vs. the Ravens). Here is a six-game stretch (in a row) of stats from Josh last year (last 5 regular season games and WC playoff game) Pass Yds Rush Yds TDs INTs Points/Game score 375 11 4 0 34-24 238 28 2 1 26-15 359 33 4 0 48-19 320 35 4 0 38-9 224 3 3 1 56-26 324 54 3 0 27-24 I don't know 392 total yards with 4 TDs and no picks followed up by 355 total yards with 4 TDs and no picks seems like two pretty good back-to-back games to me. There wasn't a lack of consistency down the stretch last year. I think media heads (and now some fans) are taking the up-and-down year that the Bills as a team have had in 2021 and putting that all on Josh. Then just looking at the recent Atlanta/Carolina games and putting two-and-two together, but unfortunately coming up with the wrong answer. If you look at just that stretch: Tampa (great Josh in 2nd half), Carolina (bad Josh), 2nd NE game (great Josh), Atlanta (bad Josh). So, yes, over that 4-game stretch, Josh was up-and-down/inconsistent. But when you weigh in the full season (and Josh's career as a whole), those are two bad games, not some overall pattern that defines Josh. Are you telling me that Rodgers, Mahomes, even Brady hasn't ever had a 2 bad games in a 4 game stretch in their careers? Does that mean they are overall inconsistent? People are still just grasping at straws to prove to themselves that Josh isn't really that good (because they originally thought he'd be trash). And as to the overall ups and downs of the Bills season, they are never looking at context. They are not weighing in the offensive line issues all season until late, the team having to find its new identity, everyone gunning for us this year, defenses catching up to what we did last year, etc., etc. Did not Patrick Mahomes go through many of the same issues earlier this year as well? This year's Bills team had trouble stringing wins together at points this year, but it wasn't always and solely because Josh was having a bad game. And, having said that, the Bills and Josh still strung together 4 big games in a row early this season and now five games in a row to get to where they are now (even though there were a couple of down passing games for Josh in this last stretch). In the early-season stretch, the Bills scored 35, 43, 40, 38. Josh had games of 367 yds 5 TD no INTs; 289 yds 2 TDs 1 INT; 374 yds 4 TDs no INTs; and followed that up with a 379 yds 3 TDs 1 INT performance in the loss to the Titans (but I guess because it's a loss, it doesn't count and means Josh is inconsistent). This year (2021-2022): How many games was Josh's pass % under 65%= 8 games; how about Pat Mahomes? 8 games under 65% pass% How many games did each throw for under 260 yards? Josh 9 times, Pat 8 times How many games did each throw for less than 200 yards? Josh 3 times, Pat twice How many games were they held without a TD? Josh once; Pat twice How many games did they have 2 or less TDs? Josh 9 games; Pat 10 games And let's also weigh in that Josh's worst passing game (vs. Atlanta) also included him rushing for 81 yards and 2 TDs for a win. So, even on an off day, we still have a chance with our defense and Josh's legs/competitive nature. Like I said, pundits are just grasping at straws. I think the inconsistent Josh is a fallacious argument based on looking at one small stretch of games. One last comparison, here is a stretch of games for Patrick Mahomes from earlier this season. Couldn't you, looking at only those games, say Mahomes is inconsistent and can't put together back-to-back good games? @WAS 397 yds 2 TD 2INT @TEN 206 yds 0 TD 1 INT NYG 275 yds 1 TD 1 INT GNB 166 yds 1 TD 0 INT @LVR 406 yds 5 TDs 0 INT DAL 260 yds 0 TD 1 INT DEN 184 yds 1 TD 1 INT

The good news is that the Bills have played at Arrowhead twice in the last year, so they know what to expect, how loud it will be, there won't be an intimidation factor, etc.

So, if we beat KC and Cincy can beat the Titans, the Bills could still host the AFC Championship game. Bills/KC becoming a major AFC rivalry. Should be a great game!

And Jim rocking the Allen jersey. Just awesome!

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.

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!

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?

They call Alabama the Crimson Tide, They call me Deacon Blues Morse Congrats to Mitch, his wife, and family! 👍

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.

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!)

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!

4-1/2 game winning streak...damn refs. 🙂 Let's Go Buffalo! I care not for style points, just dubs!