folz

Bring on the Ravens! Three 2018 1st round QBs advance. It's young guns in the AFC and the old gunslingers in the NFC (except Goff I guess).

If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Bring on Baltimore...I would love to see the two most-maligned, first-round QBs of that 2018 draft face off toe-to-toe for a chance to meet the Super Bowl Champs. If the Bills were to get to or win the Super Bowl this year, I don't want people to have any excuses (they had an easy road, etc.). Fear no one, prepare hard, play strong, and may the chips fall where they may. The Bills showed last year that they can somewhat contain Lamar. They proved in the Niners game, the first NE game, and the Pitt game that they can play physical teams. They'll just have to prove that they can beat another heavy TE team. But the Colts game should have hopefully taught them some lessons. I feel like we'll probably get Pittsburgh, as the Browns have so much going on, but sometimes teams like that rally together and pull off the improbable. So, I will just take it as it comes. As will McDermott and the Bills. You need confidence to win a championship and you don't display confidence by hedging your bets, but instead by going all in.

I think that is why this was a bad matchup for us: their TEs. The Colts 3 TEs caught 14 of Rivers' 27 receptions, or 52% of the catches. They had 136 yards and a TD combined. We usually have Milano to match up against the top TE of a team, and he does that really well. But, they have 3 good TEs standing, 6'6", 6'5", and 6'2". If they put two TEs in and both go out for a pass play, we have a mismatch on the second TE (in height and strength). You can't have Milano and Edmunds both in coverage too often with the threat of the Colts run game. Their Offense just matched up well vs. our defense. As to the run game, yes, we gave up some big chunk plays in the 4th quarter, but I think that was a product of having to adjust to the success of their passing game (and the TEs specifically). The Bills defense pretty much shut Taylor and the Colts run game down for three quarters. At the start of the 4th quarter, the Colts had 59 yards rushing on 20 carries, for a 2.95 yards/play average. Then they had 3 huge chunk runs (2 by Hines and 1 by Taylor). I thought the run defense was good overall, they just got burned a few times late, probably for over compensating to the pass game (thinking Indy has to throw with the score and time remaining---and because that was what had been successful for Indy to that point in the game).

THE game ball for me goes to Head Coach Sean McDermott. He was masterful handling that game down the stretch. To me the difference in that game of two very evenly matched opponents was McDermott's good decisions vs. Reich's bad decisions. Honorable mention: Josh - Outside of the one bad decision on the sack/near fumble, he did what he needed to do to get the W---running and passing. Diggs - These two are automatic game ball worthy every week. Gabe - How 'bout the rookie coming through when the chips were down with two unbelievable, long, toe-drag swag catches. They were both so good that everyone thought each was out of bounds/incomplete. Hyde and Poyer - Made a lot of plays: tackles, passes defended, fumble...oh wait, scratch that one, damn refs...but most importantly, Hyde smacking that ball to the ground on the last play. Beautiful. Tre - Came up with some really timely plays and was good in run support. Beasley - For gutting through that game and coming up with some big catches, when it was obvious he was hurting bad. Tyler - huge FG that was the difference in the game and a nice, saving tackle on one of the kickoffs. It wasn't pretty, but once again, a team win. Lots of guys helped. For example, Zimmer sniffed out and blew up a Colts screen play, Williams recovering Josh's fumble, etc., etc. Way closer than any of us wanted, but they pulled together and got it done.

How is the NFL still employing Riveron. He should have been fired from that position 2 seasons ago. The guy never seems to get the calls correct.

In the draft, I just wanted the Bills to get either Allen, Mayfield, or Darold. I didn't really care too much which of the three we got (only because I couldn't decide who I thought was better between the three). I just wanted the Bills to take a shot on one of those three players, whomever they thought was best. I wanted the hope of a franchise QB. I did not want Rosen or Jackson. Just after the draft, mostly because Allen said he wanted Buffalo to pick him, and because I went back and watched a lot of his highlight reels, interviews, and combine videos, etc. I became a fan...and was hopeful. The Minnesota game his rookie year made me want to ride-or-die with Josh, as he did his best Superman impersonation. And I realized that he was going to be a fun player to watch (even if he still had some growing pains to come). But it was really the Jaguars game, his first game back from the elbow injury that he suffered during his rookie year. That 75-yard TD bomb that he threw to Foster, where he stayed in the pocket, stepped up in the pocket, and launched the ball as he was being sandwiched by 3 Jaguar players ...well that was a big boy throw. That's the kind of throw an old-time, great QB makes. Not to mention, that's how he injured his elbow in the first place, being sandwiched in the pocket vs. Houston---but he showed no fear or hesitation in his first game back from the injury. And then he had that TD run where he ripped out of one tackle, made two nice jukes---weaving his way to the goal line, and then lowered his shoulder to plow through a DT to get into the end zone, where he proceeded to flex like a beast for his celebration (his first Angry Run winner). He had another 50-yard run. Threw a nice touch pass to Benjamin, showing he was starting to control his velocity and have some awareness. Led a TD drive to take the lead early in the 4th quarter. Not to mention just how his competitive juices were flowing all game, playing against Jalen Ramsey, who called him trash. It was after that game when I started telling everybody that I think we finally found our franchise Quarterback.

You forgot Hodgins. Not only do we have one of the best WR rooms in the NFL, it has to be one of the deepest as well. We have the #1 receiver in the league this year, an above average #2 (1a), the #1 slot WR in the league, the #1 kick returner in the league, a burner to run jet sweeps and gadget plays (can also return), two promising rookies (one with 7 TDs), a vet in Stills, a guy who lit up the CFL, and Josh's go-to receiver in college. We can go 6-7 deep with guys who have skins on the wall in the NFL now. And just think, two years ago, we were starting an UDFA rookie as our #2. Brandon knows how to grow a team. #MagicBeanes

Ah yes, fixed. NFL.com had not added Watson's stats for today's game when I was calculating.

Josh Allen ended the season: - 2nd in total TDs for QBs with 46 (only 1 behind Rodgers' 47) - 3rd in yards from scrimmage for QBs with 4,977 (behind only Watson and Mahomes) - 4th in QBR at 107.2 (behind only Rodgers 119.4; Watson 112.1; and Mahomes 108.2) (for passers with more than 67 attempts) - Final completion % was 69.2...good for 6th in the league for passers with more than 121 attempts (eliminating Taysom Hill since he only threw 20% of the passes that Josh did) and he helped Diggs to #1 in receptions and #1 in receiving yards A true dynamic duo! And a true MVP (whether given the title or not)! And not specifically JA related, but... - the averaged score of the last six Bills games is 38-18 (a 20-point differential) - and the Bills finished 2nd in the league in scoring (only 8 points behind Green Bay)

Apparently, your first name has to start with the letter "J" to be a first-tier QB in Buffalo: Jack, Joe, Jim, Josh Second place goes to the letter "D" Daryle, Doug, Drew Honorable mention to the letter "R" Ryan

(Disclaimer) I am not a republican or a democrat. I live in a very liberal city, but grew up in a conservative area. I have friends and family on every side of any issue you can think of to debate, and I love them all. What I think this comes down to is that over the last 4-5 years, many people on the left side of the political aisle have been convinced into believing that any republican or Trump supporter is ipso facto a racist. This is sooooo wrong (and shouldn't even be in the realm of consideration). It hurts me to see intelligent, caring people in my life really believe that 50% of the country are racists. But, when that is your mind set, all it takes is to see one person with a supportive tweet of Trump (or someone on the right), or for someone else to retweet one of Trump's tweets and bam, they are a racist. And considering that western New York is traditionally a conservative area, I am not sure that DF even ever saw anything outwardly racist, all he had to see is someone support Trump and bam, Josh's fans are racists. This is his own issue with seeing racists around every corner and whatever idiotic, unresearched theory he has about the Tyrod situation. It has nothing to do with Josh, Buffalo, or the Bills fan base. And I don't think that you can bring up the Kaepernick issue as racism either, imo. I agree that having signs of Kaep in the crosshairs is extremely distasteful. But these two groups of people were arguing two different issues. And that was the problem with the whole debate. For Kaepernick and his supporters, they were standing up against police brutality towards African Americans, racial profiling, etc. etc. For the more conservative side, they were arguing about not disrespecting the flag/country, what it stood for, supporting veterans, etc. They could never come to terms because they were arguing two different issues and no one would listen to the other side and try and understand their stance. But everyone who didn't support Kaepernick or were angry with him weren't racists (some might have been), but most were just arguing a different issue. And everyone on both sides of that whole thing could have handled it better, no question. And you can hardly call an entire city or region racist because of one stupid, rich real estate owner. Come on dude. There is no question that racism still exists, and we should all call it out/stand against it wherever we see it. But at this point, I feel like a lot of people (like DF) are just chasing ghosts. And that is a good way to actually promote and perpetuate more racism, rather than trying to overcome it, imo.

No question that the guy is just doing it for pub. I don't think he even believes his own bs...especially after some of Josh's hardest critics have finally come around. But the thing that does get me a little (so I guess he's doing his job), is that he keeps saying that Josh was great the first month of the season, then sucked for two months, then was good in SF, and good for a half against Pitt. I keep wishing that one of the other hosts would respond saying it was two bad games, not two months, and point out that Josh also had a shoulder injury. Why other QBs get a pass for an injury, but Josh doesn't, I guess, is just par for the course. Josh has to do more than any other QB that I have ever seen to prove himself. And just to run down these "two horrible months," they would have to include (along with the bad Tenn and KC games) the following match-ups: Win vs. Raiders: 24 of 34; 70% comp., 288 pass yds, 3 TDs, 0 INTs Win vs. Jets: 30 of 43; 69.77% comp., 307 pass yds, 0 TDs, 0 INTs Win vs. Pats: 11 of 18; 61.11% comp., 154 pass yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Win vs. Seahawks: 31 of 38; 81.58% comp., 415 pass yds, 4 TDs, 0 INTs Loss vs. Cards: 32 of 49; 65.31% comp., 284 pass yds, 2 TDs, 2 INTs Win vs. Chargers: 18 of 24; 75% comp., 284 pass yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT So, over this horrible two months (also including the Tenn and KC games in stats below), Josh's team went 5-3 (one Hail Mary away from 6-2) and his average per game stats over that period were: 23 of 34 for 248.75 passing yards, Comp. % 67.88, 28.4 rushing yards, 2.13 TDs, .88 INTs or to round it out a bit, say: 68% completions, for 277 yards (all-purpose), 2 TDs and 1 INT. Not phenomenal stats, but far from horrible, error-prone, below 60% completion Josh, like this guy is proposing. Plus if you took any QB in the league and said, well, if you eliminate their six best games, their stats aren't very good, so they must suck. Plus he never gives context to those games, like Josh's shoulder injury or that Daboll decided to run the ball the entire Patriots game, etc. Anyhow, though this bet with Cowherd is just another self-promotion stunt to raise his own profile (cause we all know that no fan base will come after you like BillsMafia), it also puts more spotlight on the team, on Pinto Ron and the mythic Bills tailgating, etc., so I'm ok with it. Plus the Bills are going to make this shameless self promoter earn his attention by being doused with mustard and ketchup...so it's all good.

I was thinking the same thing today, as some of the national media started talking about us as Super Bowl contenders. It is part of our identity as a team and fan base to be one step away, one play short, screwed out of victory, or to be lost in mediocrity---but to be resilient, pick ourselves up and keep going, stick by each other no matter what. All great lessons for our young fans about perseverance, family, etc. So, I did think about if it would seem anticlimactic (the day after) or change our identity/feeling for the team if we were to win a Super Bowl. Don't get me wrong, I still want it to happen and will celebrate my ass off. But I was kind of feeling the same thing as the OP. I have a friend who is a Pats fan and he said, it would just be so apropos for the Bills to win a Super Bowl in the most apocalyptic year ever. 😊 But, if we were somehow to do it this year, I think that fire would still be there because we didn't/won't get to celebrate in person in the stands, we won't get to celebrate the way we would want to with each other most likely, no parades, no houses full to the rafters with multiple generations the night of the game, etc. So, there would still be something to fight for in trying to win another. Plus, who knows, this year may always have an asterisk next to it (whoever wins)..."yeah, but that was the COVID year, which was all screwed up, teams depleted, no offseason." All things that just make this a harder year to win, but some might say it doesn't count the way it would another year. I don't know. I just think that there would still be something to root for/play for if we were to win the big one this year. But Buffalo to me will always be more than about getting a Super Bowl win. It is the crowd calling for Scott Norwood at the post-game rally after SBXXV, it is the Andy Dalton play to break the drought and all of the celebration and donations that came from that, it is folks showing up at the airport to greet their warriors, their brothers coming home from big wins and big losses, it is the donations to Oshei in the wake of Josh's grandmother passing...and that we will never lose.

To me, the thing with PFF is that beyond any metrics, analytics, or math that they may discuss or use, at the end of the day, their info is completely subjective---based on the people who are evaluating each game. Many of their stats are judgement call stats (i.e., it was a catchable pass/not a catchable pass; a dangerous throw/a great throw, etc.) They have individuals with varying degrees of football acumen and biases (let's face it, we all have biases and sometimes even when you're trying to be objective, the bias is still there subconsciously), evaluating the games and making judgement calls. Plus, they don't know what the team is running, what each player's assignment is, etc. And I'm not sure that they take their evaluations in context. For instance, say a team loses its Center and Left Tackle to injury...I guarantee you (unless the team has great backups) that the Left Guard for that team is going to be evaluated poorly in his next game (because he is probably trying to help cover for the guys around him, or he gets a demerit because the other player made the mistake, but because they don't know the assignments, they guess wrong on who messed up). I can see how their information can be useful for certain things, and especially over a full season, where things start to average out. But I can also see why they so often seem to miss the mark, especially when talking about an individual game or week (player vs. player). Because ultimately, it is subjective. I do give them credit for at least trying to do it though. Especially since there is no real means for fans to evaluate players for which real stats can't give you an assessment on (like offensive linemen, D Tackles, etc.), except the eyeball test of course. But, I would never hang my hat on any of their stats personally.

I just thought that I would throw in the current ranking of Josh's completion % as well. Through Week 13... Josh is ranked 5th in completion percentage for passers with more than 10 passing attempts on the year (which eliminates WRs and backup QBs who have thrown only a couple of balls all season) Josh is ranked 4th in completion percentage for passers with more than 82 attempts (eliminating Taysom Hill who has 347 attempts less than Josh and 355 attempts less than Russell, so Hill isn't really a fair comparison). So this would be the Top Five (under the attempts limitations): 1. Drew Brees 0.735 (on 130 attempts less than Josh) 2. Teddy Bridgewater 0.702 (on 62 attempts less than Josh) 3. Russell Wilson 0.700 (on 8 attempts more than Josh) 4. Josh Allen 0.699 5. Aaron Rodgers 0.689 (on 13 attempts less than Josh) Of the 15 QBs with more than 3,000 yards on the year, Josh is 2nd in completion percentage---only one thousandth of a point behind Wilson and a tenth of a point ahead of Rodgers. Actually, Josh's and Russell's stat line for the year to this point is amazingly similar: Player Att Cmp Cmp% Yards Yds/Att Rush Yds Total TDs INT Fmb QB rate Russell Wilson 436 305 0.700 3,479 8 424 33 11 7 107.6 Josh Allen 428 299 0.699 3,403 8 322 32 8 7 105.9

The 90s Bills ran the counter trey over and over for like 6 straight years. Everyone knew it was coming, but with our O-line and the ball in Thurman's hands, no one could stop it. It's the ultimate taunt really. Like when Larry Bird would tell a defender the exact spot on the court where he was going to hit a game winner from, over that player, and then he would go out and do exactly that. It's demoralizing to the opponent to know what is coming and not be able to do a damn thing about it..

I would hate to see Daboll go at this point...he's calling great games, his relationship with Josh, he's a hometown guy, etc. I hope that he's around one more year at least. But, I wouldn't be as worried as the OP if Daboll were to leave for a head coaching position for three reasons: 1. We are in a very different position for hiring OCs than we were in Sean's first year. In 2017, we were a down-and-out franchise that hadn't done much winning for 20 years and Sean was a first-time head coach working for an organization that had been turning over head coaches every two to three years. Bad team, no stability, and no QB? What OC wants that, unless it is their only option. Cut to 3+ years later, we should be making our third trip to the playoffs in four years under McD, Sean's reputation across the league has really risen, the organization under the Pegulas and McBeane is stable. The owners put money into the team/want to win. Beane has a top FO. The team is talented, with young core players all over the place. You have a top WR group. And most importantly, a young, ascending, franchise QB. Sean should have the pick of the litter with OCs if Daboll leaves and Sean decides to hire outside the organization. And a high-end OC will be able to work with Josh and adapt his scheme and or Josh's game to continue to be successful. And there is no way, with as methodical as McDermott and Beane are, that they don't know who the best OCs or potential OCs are and/or who would be good for Josh/the team. You can't use the hiring of Dennison under the circumstances of 2017 as a future predictor that Sean can't hire a good OC. 2. Because Daboll's system is so situational, the players and Josh learn to attack in many different ways. The offense can be chameleon-like from week to week. Sometimes a QB's skills fit a particular system and they have some success in it, but if you take them out of that system, they seem to regress or not be able to grasp/execute in other systems. But, thanks to Daboll's system, Josh is not doing one thing, one way, every week. He has learned to be adaptable and attack any defense in multiple ways. They have learned more concepts (how many times have we heard jokes about the size of Daboll's playbook) than your average team, so they can call on them if need be against a specific opponent. I think that Josh would be able to pick up another system pretty well at this stage of his development. 3. JOSH himself. The kid just has superhero-level talent and it is matched with smarts, drive, work ethic, competitiveness, and good relationships with everyone. I have confidence that Josh will make whatever his situation is work for him. As long as his coaches are above average (and point one should quell that fear), then I think Josh will continue to succeed. Daboll has given him such a solid base and core (and he's a smart kid to begin with) that I think, at this point, Josh could still flourish with a different coach/system, etc. Josh won't let Josh fail.

BEASE, BEASE, BEASE!!!!! Also of note...of his 9 receptions, 7 went for first downs and 1 for a TD. So, only one reception wasn't for a first down or a score. SAUCE greases those chains and keeps them moving forward!

Robb Riddick was the man...and a tough son of a B, whether on special teams or short yardage. Loved watching him play fearlessly! Core special teamer for six years (as return man and on coverage). Was an important goal line back and STer in '88 (15 TDs, 720 yards from scrimmage, 100 return yards)---the year the "90s Bills" team first really came together...and he also had 1,100 yards from scrimmage, 200 return yards, and 5 TDs in '86. Good receiver out of the backfield as well. A role player, sure, but the kind you always want on your team and love to root for because of their toughness.

Apparently, Carlos Hyde made an interception for the Bills tonight. How he did that from Seattle, I'll never know. 🙃 https://www.nfl.com/news/what-we-learned-from-monday-s-doubleheader

Were you guys also calling for A.J.Klein's head three weeks ago and calling Josh a bust in his rookie season? Sometimes you have to have patience with players. I'm glad that our coaching staff has more patience than some of our fans. Knox did have a nice TD last week. No question, he has not lived up to our expectations for him this year, but I wouldn't write him off yet.

Besides the Notre Dame "Touchdown Jesus" that H2O posted, apparently there was another dubbed "Touchdown Jesus," a statue in Monroe, Ohio. But it was destroyed in 2010 by a lightning strike and subsequent fire.

I didn't realize that Kumerow's nickname was Touchdown Jesus, so I thought that I was going to open the thread to see something like this: But very cool to learn about Kumerow's family/NFL connections. I didn't know any of that either. Who knows what he will do with the Bills, but definitely the type of guy you want to root for.

To me, head-to-head matters when records are close, so... KC and TEN should be ahead of us in a power ranking. and SEA, LAR, MIA, LV should be below ARZ is fringe. They beat us, but on a last second Hail Mary, and we have a better record by 2 games. So, this is my one exception to the head-to-head. I'm putting BUF ahead of ARZ. Then you have: PITT, NO, GB, TB, IND, and CLE in the mix. PITT may be decided when we play them, but for now the Steelers get the bid for being undefeated. And I'm the same as others, NO with Brees is ahead, without Brees, below. GB has the same record, but they have been scoring more than us (and are only 1 point different in points given up), plus Aaron Rodgers. So, I'll put GB ahead. I think Tampa and Buf are close, they have also played a tough schedule and have lots of weapons. But I'll give Buf the edge because we have 1 more win and two fewer losses. I think we are ahead of Indy because of our QB, and I think we have more talent than them. And I'm still not buying Cleveland yet (plus Josh over Baker). For all teams, I took into account head-to-head as much as possible, good wins (say against KC, NO, GB, etc.), team talent, QB, record, and strength of schedule. So, my top 15 rankings would be: KC (10-1) PITT (10-0) GB (8-3) NO (w/Brees) (9-2) TEN (8-3) BUF (8-3) TB (7-5) SEA (8-3) LAR (7-4) MIA (7-4) ARZ (6-5) LVR (6-5) BAL (6-4) CLE (8-3) IND (7-4)

Even if we had lost to the Bengals and only beat Jax by 3, Denver by 2, Minnesota by 1...and Bears by 7 and Texans by 6? Somehow I think that you would be using that to say McD wasn't a good coach (rather than pointing to 3 big wins by 26, 19, and 14 points).