folz

Yeah, wouldn't be surprised to see Toohill back on the PS. I thought he played well in spot-duty. Granted I wasn't watching him on every snap he took, just noticed him when he made a play. He played 22.35% of the defensive snaps over 13 games. He had 14 tackles; 2 TFLs; 1 sack; 1 QB hit; 2 Pressures; 1 batted ball; 1 Pass defended; 1 Fumble Recovery.

I think he gave it to us in the San Fran game when he realized that the pitch from Amari would be a receiving touchdown for him. Plain and simple. "I Love Football."

Lamar won MVP last year, Josh will probably win this year. Josh had the better statistical year last year, Lamar is having the better statistical year this year. I guess it all balances out. It's actually pretty amazing how even their stats are across the two seasons thus far (outside of Josh having a sizable edge in TDs). 2023/2024 seasons combined Lamar: 8,822 Total Yards 66 Total TDs 10 INTs 20 Fumbles 67.6% comp. QB Rate: 111.7 QBR: 70.35 4th Q Comeback: 2 Game win drives: 2 Josh: 8,716 Total Yards 81 Total TDs 23 INTs 12 Fumbles 65.6% comp. QB Rate: 97.85 QBR: 74.45 4th Q Comeback: 2 Game win drives: 4 Just for reference: Mahomes: 7,531 Total Yards 50 Total TDs 25 INTs 7 Fumbles 67% comp. QB Rate: 91.8 QBR: 63.55 4th Q comeback: 6 Game win drive: 7 Mahomes is behind the other two in almost every statistical category, except the 4th quarter comebacks and game winning drives. But, I guess that is what makes Mahomes, Mahomes. Though he's probably had many more opportunities than the other two over the last two seasons also, with as many close games as the Chiefs have played. I'll taut Josh over Lamar every day when it comes to MVP talk, or who you'd rather have as your QB, but it is pretty amazing that these two guys, who were the most doubted and ridiculed QBs in their draft class, are now tops in the league. Big props to both guys. And we're just lucky to be around to see it.

Just for reference... Most 5 TD games (passing and rushing TDs combined) Brees: 15 Brady and Manning: 11 Rodgers, Mahomes, and Jackson: 7 Big Ben, Marino, Blanda: 6 Josh Allen and Russell Wilson: 5 Goff, Watson, Stafford, Culpepper, Favre, Moon: 4

So, let me get this straight. We get a big win in a game against the team that everyone has been saying is the best team in the league. On the road. In their building. With them coming off of a mini-bye with extra time to prepare. A team who is averaging 34 points a game and has scored over 40 points 5 times this season. Heck, they've scored over 50 points twice this year. They have a 183+ point differential on the year. 183! And against this juggernaut offense, we are missing 3/4s of our secondary, and then lose Cole and Milano during the game. And people are complaining about the head coach and the defense? 🤦‍♂️ Guys, we won. Go Bills!

Believe me, I do understand where you guys are coming from in a way, I just think that too many people ignore too much context. To the bolded: -Well, we won the Colts game and held them to 24 points despite the yardage. Their season average was 28.2 points/game. -The Texans season average was 24.1 points/game. They scored 22 points against us. And it took a bad fumble by a raw Josh Allen, an overturned TD by the sky refs on a mistake by the Texans, and a lucky, miracle play with Watson escaping the sandwich sack for them to win (in overtime, btw)---not sure that I can put any of that on coaching. -I know you won't agree, but no NFL team in history would have won that Bengals playoff game if they had been through what the Bills had been through that season and the amount of injuries they had on top of it (well maybe the Brady/Belichick Pats would, but that's it). The Bengals season average was 26.1 points per game. We allowed them 27. -The AFC championship game vs. the Chiefs, we just weren't ready yet, as a team. Didn't help that our WR corps was severely banged up and the refs let KC maul our receivers, while our defense couldn't breathe on their receivers. But either way, KC was the better team at that point. Their season average was 29.6 points/game. we gave up 38 points. -The other two Chiefs games, our defense was ravaged by injuries. So, the fact that at the end of regulation of both games combined, the Chiefs had only 3 points more than us is actually pretty impressive (despite the losses). So, when you really break things down, it always comes down to the same thing...it's not really McDermott or his defense in the playoffs...it's just the damn Chiefs. And yet, we have played them more closely than any other team in the league, with a 4-4 overall record and two of their wins (in the playoffs) being intensely close, last second wins against a decimated Bills defense. Maybe...MAYBE...we could have pulled out the 13 seconds game with different decisions by the coach, but honestly, how many of the other playoff losses were really due to bad coaching? Think about this. Our playoff record under McDermott is 5-6. At the end of regulation in 4 of the 6 games combined, the Bills were down by 10 points. 10 points over 4 games (obviously two of those games went into overtime). Do you realize how close Sean is to a 9-2 playoff record? 10 points across 4 games. Subtract the JAX game and it's 3 points total over three games (HOU, KC, KC) for an 8-3 playoff record. I just believe that we are closer than some of you guys think. We just need a year where some of the bounces go our way. [Obviously his record wouldn't be 9-2 or 8-3 if he won those games because the Bills would have played further games, so more wins and/or losses would have been added to that.] Didn't call any of those QBs elite. The bar that was set by the posts I was responding to (including this thread's OP) was above average. To me that meant say a top 16 QB. I would argue that most people would put those guys in the top half of the league for most of their careers. You could question Purdy because he's so young, but did you see his stats from last year? In fact, in 2023, Tua led the league in passing, Dak was 3rd, and Purdy was 5th. Even Carr was still 13th. How about passing TDs last year? Dak was #1, Purdy #3, Tua #5, and Carr #10. Are you really telling me those QBs are average at best? Have you seen some of the other QB play in this league? The only QBs I called elite were Brady, Mahomes, Rodgers, Jackson, and Burrow. And Sean still has 8 wins against those QBs (with three of the losses to those QBs being by the narrowest of margins---two in OT and one by 3 points).

First of all, no defense is perfect (except maybe the '85 Bears and the '00 Ravens). And news flash, every defense will look worse against the better QBs who have good offensive lines than they do vs. the average or worse QBs. I actually just posted about this in another thread a few days ago...dispelling the fallacy that McD can't beat the better QBs. I'll condense some info from that here: -Here are some above average QBs the Bills have beaten over the last 6 years: Tua (10 times), Mahomes (4 times), Jackson (twice), Rodgers (twice), Herbert (twice), Goff (twice), Prescott (twice), Carr, Wilson, Big Ben, Rivers, Ryan, Murray, Purdy. -Sean's record vs. Above-average quarterbacks over the last 6 seasons is 32-20 -He's 16-15 vs. like top 10 QBs in their prime [last 6 years] -He's 8-11 vs. elite QBs [last 6 years] [Mahomes, Jackson, Rodgers, Brady, Burrow---that's IF you include Burrow (2 losses) as elite]. And two of the losses to Mahomes and one to Brady were by the thinnest of margins (13 seconds/OT; 3 points; and a bad ref call in another OT game). Could just as easily be an 11-8 record. 2019 The Bills were 2nd in points allowed 2020 The Bills were 16th in points allowed 2021 The Bills were 2nd in points allowed 2022 The Bills were 2nd in points allowed 2023 The Bills were 4th in points allowed 2024 The Bills are 8th in points allowed [Obviously, a bad defensive philosophy] League average of points per game over the last 6 years is 22.9; Bills have allowed 19.4 pts/game over that same span. In the Bills' 11 post-season games under Sean McDermott, the opposing teams have averaged 23.45 points per game. The Bills have allowed three 30+ games by an opponent in eleven playoff games. [For reference, over the last 3 NFL post-seasons, the average score for the winning teams across all games was 30 points.] I have no problem with people discussing issues with the defensive line, or if we should blitz more, or use more man-coverage vs. certain teams, or what type of player we could draft to improve the defense, etc. But these posts about our defense sucks, Sean sucks, change everything, etc. seem a bit off the mark to me. There is no new blueprint to beat Sean's defense. Everyone knows how to do it, the question is can you do it with what you have. There are two ways to beat Sean's defense, imo: 1. Dink and dunk down the field, with quick short passing routes (to neutralize the D-line), and sprinkle in some short to medium runs. But this means you must play mistake-free football across numerous, long-sustained drives for 60 minutes, with consistent execution and yac. Not easy to do. 2. Get great protection from your O-line, have a QB that can make all of the throws, and excellent WR play. You can beat Sean's Defense (as the Rams did and KC has done) in this way (second-level/intermediate passing game). But again, it's tough and you need your offense hitting on all cylinders. Other than the short throws, the windows in Sean's defense are throws that not every QB can make, and not every WR can consistently come down with. Those deep outs or deep seams that take longer to develop (like the ones Stafford was hitting Nacua and Kupp on). So, your O-line needs to be playing their best to give the routes time to develop. You need to have a top-tier QB that can consistently make those types of throws, and again, your WRs will need to make some tough catches on the deep sidelines, or deep over the middle (where they could get their head knocked off). Not every team has the personnel to do that. And those that do still need to be having a near-perfect day to execute it consistently. And as we know in the NFL, not every team has their best every game or even every drive. And even if you can do all of that...you still have to outduel Allen. Can Sean's defense be had. Yes, every defense can on the right day by the right team. But over the long haul, it's been pretty darn good. No other team has been as consistently at the top of the defensive rankings over the last 6-8 years as the Bills. As far as the playoffs, yes, it's tougher because these are the better teams in the league. So, it really comes down to execution. Does the team you're playing have the personnel to beat you? If they do, are they at their best today? If yes, then it's just who makes those few extra plays, the offense or the defense (like the Nacua toe-drag catch in the Rams game, or the Kelce play in the 13-seconds game, etc.). Now, do I wish Sean had a better change-up for when a team is being that successful? Yes, but I don't really know what that would be. It's hard to just switch to an entirely different style if you don't have the right personnel or the practice at it (I mean, you can switch from zone to man coverage, but you aren't going to do something completely different/out of the blue). Seems you just need some guys on your defense (players on the field) to come up with a couple more plays than the offense does at the right moments. Four of our six playoff losses were by one score. We are talking about just a couple of plays a game going the other way. I know those losses are hard to swallow, but we are still just too close in my opinion to be wanting to blow things up in any way. Let's at least see how these playoffs go first, especially if we can finally go into them healthy. Let's not kid ourselves that there is some perfect defensive scheme out there that will consistently and perfectly be able to match up against say a high-flying KC team one week and a dominant running team like Baltimore the next week. We always hear them say, in regards to QBs, they took what the defense gave them. Because every defense has to concede something each week. That is why there are game plans. You try to take away what they are best at and you concede areas where they are weaker or less-threatening. Like the Bills will concede some rushing yards to shut down a passing attack. No defense can cover everything. If a very-talented offense is executing perfectly in all areas, just having one of those days...there isn't much more you can do than try to steal a couple of plays and outscore them, no matter what defense you are running.

That's OUR Quarterback! Wouldn't trade him for anything...no matter how many coupons Denny has.

We have actually been a pretty good team in the playoffs under McDermott. You guys act like we get blown out every year in our first game or something. 5-6 record. And of the 6 losses, 2 were in overtime. 4 of the 6 losses were by one score. The average margin of loss for those 6 games is 8.3 points/game. We have the only perfect playoff game; and despite losing---the 13 seconds game is one of the best playoff games in league history. In two of the losses to Kansas City, at the end of regulation, KC was up by a combined 3 points (across both games)...I mean talk about narrowest of margins. The first three playoff losses, this team just wasn't ready yet (w/Tyrod vs. Jax; Josh was still raw vs. Houston, AFC Championship vs. KC---they were a better, more seasoned team---and got help from the refs). We were in real bad shape injury-wise for all three K.C. games (yet made two of them extremely close). And the loss to the Bengals wasn't hard to foresee with all of the turmoil that season, and again, injuries. People act as if every loss came down to one of the greatest coaching blunders of all time or that we're constantly getting blown out or are over-matched. And you also seem to think that no other coaches ever make mistakes; or lose in crazy, last-second miracles; or have play calls that are questioned after the game. Andy Reid was considered a horrible game-time decider/clock manager for almost 20 years...until he wasn't anymore because he won the big one. So was it true about him or not? Or did sometimes bad things happen, mistakes are made, you learn from them, you improve, etc. Or is it perception only? Until you win a Super Bowl, you as a coach will always be questioned about every decision because your last game of the year will be a loss, but once you've won a Super Bowl, you are a genius and thus unquestionable. Pretty poor way of assessing things, imo, especially when luck plays such a large role every year.

I'm enjoying the heck out of this season...even the loss to the Rams. And I love this iteration of the Buffalo Bills. The saddest thing to me is that I think I want the Bills to win the Super Bowl more now just to quiet all of the McD haters rather than because I'm a life-long Bills fan and have hoped to see it my whole life. God forbid we lose in the playoffs---there will be like 5-10 Fire McDermott posts per day for a whole year (mostly from the same posters that predicted 8 or 9 wins and possibly missing the playoffs in a rebuilding year...but definitely let's not give Sean any credit for the team exceeding expectations this year...anything good must be someone else...Josh, Brady, Babich, etc., only the bad things are down to McDermott apparently).

Yeah, I think it gets confusing when they talk about "in how many years" because Mahomes is in his 8th year, while Josh is in his 7th year, but Mahomes only played one game his rookie year. Taking the number of years out of things, clears it up. As of today, Patrick has started 109 games, while Josh has started 106 games. So, the comparison can be made pretty clearly. Mahomes: 109 Games started 33,797 total yards 252 total touchdowns 74 INTs 13 Fumbles Lost Allen: 106 Games started 29,782 total yards 254 total touchdowns 83 INTs 26 Fumbles Lost If you prorate Josh's stats for 3 more games--to match Mahomes' total---his stats would be: 109 Games started 30, 624 total yards 261 total touchdowns 85 INTs 26 Fumbles Lost Pretty even stats...pretty incredible QBs, as you said. And as others have said, Josh did start with significant disadvantages in comparison to Patrick: Josh: Very raw coming into the league, from a small school, came to a team that was rebuilding with a 2nd-year defensive head coach (only 2nd year as a head coach at any level), and a severe lack of talent. The culture of the team was still being built, McD was still working on his coaching staff, etc., and Josh was thrown into the fire right away. Pat: Drafted by a team that had been to the playoffs 4 out of the previous 5 years, got to sit and learn for a year behind a good QB, got to sit and learn for a year under a great offensive head coach (who had already been an NFL head coach for 19 years with a Super Bowl appearance under his belt), Reid had been in KC for 5 years and already had his culture, coaching staff, etc. built. So the fact that Josh is ahead in TDs and not very far behind in yards (albeit with more turnovers) is actually all the more impressive. But, until Josh gets a ring...Pat will be king.

Is this really true? Or is it like every other coach/team...of course you have a better record against bad teams and the teams with good QBs will be harder wins. But, is your statement true for McDermott? [I only included QBs we've played that would be considered above average (per your statement). I didn't list the average or bad QBs. Though I may have included a couple that don't quite hit the bar.] Last 6 years (not including 2017 and 2018 because we weren't a good team yet): 2019: Beat: Dak Prescott Lost to: Tom Brady (twice), Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson (on an amazing/lucky play by Watson to seal the comeback) 2020: Beat: Tua T. (twice), Jared Goff, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert, Big Ben, Philip Rivers, Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton Lost to: Patrick Mahomes (twice), Kyler Murray (on the last-second Hail Murray play) 2021: Beat: Tua T. (twice), Mahomes, Matt Ryan Lost to: Big Ben, Mahomes (13 seconds), Brady (on a bad ref call in OT) 2022: Beat: Lamar Jackson, Mahomes, Rodgers, Goff, Tua (twice) Lost to: Tua (heat game), Cousins (by 3 points in OT due to a bad snap), Burrow (playoffs after Damar situation) 2023: Beat: Mahomes, Dak, Herbert, Tua (twice) Lost to: Burrow, Wilson (by 2 points), Hurts (in OT after a miracle field goal), Mahomes (by a field goal) 2024: Beat: Mahomes, Tua (twice), Murray, Rodgers, Purdy Lost to: Stafford (by 2 points), Lamar, Stroud So, from my list, that is 32 wins and 20 losses vs. those QBs. Now, if you want to just say higher-end QBs only (ruling out guys like Rivers, Big Ben, Cam---due to age; and guys like Tua, Carr, Cousins, Ryan, etc, who are definitely above-average, but maybe not considered tops in the league), I come up with like 12 QBs (Mahomes, Jackson, Rodgers, Brady, Burrow, Stafford, Wilson, Herbert, Prescott, Hurts, Stroud, Murray, Purdy). McD's record vs. those QBs is 16-15. Could be better, but again, every coaches record against top-end QBs will be much worse than their overall record, and if you are a good team, probably closer to a .500 record vs. top QBs, as it is for McDermott. But, I think the record proves that he doesn't just beat bad QBs only and loses to any above-average QB. McD's record against only the ELITE QBS (and I think I'm being a bit generous by including Burrow---I'm not sold yet that he's in the category of Allen and the rest of the guys listed below): Mahomes: 4-4 Jackson: 2-2 Rodgers: 2-0 Brady: 0-3 Burrow: 0-2 8-11 Again, could be better, but he's still got 8 wins against them (which counters your statement). Plus, two of the losses vs. Mahomes, and one vs. Brady were by the thinnest of margins. Could just as easily be an 11-8 record.

I wonder if it has ever happened before... that a 10-3 team, who has already locked up the playoffs, and locked up their division earlier than any team in 16 years, who has gone to the playoffs 7 of the last 8 years, and has an 68-24 record over the last 6 years (good for a 74% win percentage), who are currently 2nd in the league in scoring, are 7th in the league in points against (despite the Rams' 44 points yesterday), and are still 2nd in point differential...has their fans calling to fire their head coach. Especially when many of those same fans were calling this a rebuilding year and expecting 8-9 wins tops, possibly missing the playoffs. I hope you all realize how foolish that looks, especially to other fans/the outside world. There are probably at least 26 fan bases that wish they had it as bad as we do. And if the Bills were to go on to win a Super Bowl this year (obviously no guarantee, but if...), you guys would look even sillier. And McDermott, if fired, would be hired immediately by another team and bring success there (maybe not to this level, depending on his QB, but still...). It was our first loss in 8 weeks. We just came off of beating both of last year's Super Bowl representatives, sealing our division in the process. Yes, our defense gave up a lot of points to a very talented and desperate team, but we still only lost by 2 points. I mean, seriously, what are you guys complaining about. As for Belichick, no way. First off, I don't want his culture. I love the culture that McDermott and Beane have established. Secondly, I don't want to win a Super Bowl by renting a coach and some stud players for one or two years. I want the Buffalo Bills to win a Super Bowl. And then there is the question of his age and is he past it. Plus, he's a defensive coach...isn't that some of people's issues with McD? And what if he comes in for like 2 years and can't get it done, he retires, and we're searching for a new coach who will change things up again and who knows what our team looks like or how long it takes us just to get back to the level we are already at. Stability is a real thing in the NFL. And even with Belichick, there are no guarantees to win a Super Bowl. It's the NFL.

We just win a big game in the snow to clinch the division and playoffs and the game after the Rams is the big Detroit matchup. I don't want to say trap game, but... They left the cold to fly across the country to warm and sunny L.A. to play a very talented team that is finally healthy (with a SB-winning QB, GREAT receivers, excellent RBs, etc.), who are fighting for their playoff lives (and knowing that a big dog is coming to town that they can prove themselves against). The Rams are a much better team than their record shows (due to the injuries). This was a playoff game for the Rams. They took it too the Bills (in their home) and we still almost came back, losing by only 2 in a 44-42 shootout. It was an NFC loss. We already have 10 wins and are in the playoffs. The guys fought hard even though it was an off day (well for the defense at least). A million things could have gone differently prior, to not even come down to coaching decisions. There are no guarantees that if the coaching decisions were different, we would have won. We couldn't stop the Rams offense today...nothing else much mattered. Exciting game. Josh remains and Alien Beast that is doing things no other Qb has. Khalil is da Man. Heal up, review the tape, make adjustments, and on to Detroit. Go Bills! P.S. Looks like I may need to steer clear of the board this week, the way McD is getting it from posters. I may be in the minority at this moment, but we're very lucky to have him. Some of you guys are becoming like Pats and Chiefs fans---taking things for granted and also expecting perfection.

Funny, when the defense does well, we hear how Babich has been an improvement over McD calling the game, more aggressive, etc.. When the defense goes poorly, Babich is a puppet of McD.

While I don't think a coach achieves this feat without an elite QB, as you mentioned---I also know that just having an elite QB does not guarantee 11-win seasons. You still need a talented team around the QB and good coaching. Beane and McDermott have provided that. Drew Brees: Only 7 seasons with 11+ wins in 19 years. Aaron Rodgers: Only 7 seasons with 11+ wins in 17 years. Dan Marino: Only 4 seasons with 11+ wins in 17 years. John Elway: Only 6 seasons with 11+ wins in 16 years.

Josh is averaging 2.25 TDs per game this year. The same rate over the next five games would net him 11.25 more TDs (just short). And since we still play the Jets and then the Pats twice, it's just as easy for him to be sitting some 4th quarters as having monster games. So, I'm going to guess he winds up short. But maybe if the Rams and Detroit games are shootouts, who knows. Was curious if it had been done before. Unfortunately main stats are for passing TDs only (don't include rushing TDs). For passing TDs, Brady and Rodgers both had 3 seasons of 40+ passing TDs (in their careers, not consecutively). Josh has never had a 40+ passing TD season (he's had 37, 36, and 35)...but we all know that a lot of his TDs come on the ground. I'll look up a few guys to include their rushing TDs: Mahomes has had 3 seasons of 40+ TDs, but they weren't consecutive. Brady had 4 seasons with 40+ TDs (again, not consecutive). Brees had 3 consecutive seasons with 40+ TDs (those were the only seasons in his career though) Lamar Jackson has 1 season with 40+ TDs. Aaron had 6 seasons of 40+ TDs in his career (twice did it back-to-back, but never 4 or 5 consecutively) Peyton had 2 seasons of 40+ TDs (not consecutively) Favre had back-to-back 40+ TDs (but they were the only two years he went over 40 in his career) Marino had 2 seasons with 40+ TDs (not consecutive) Matt Stafford has 2 seasons with 40+ TDs (not consecutive) So, it appears that only Rodgers and Brady have had 4 or more seasons with 40+ total touchdowns in a career. If Josh did it this year, he would pass Brady for most 40+ TD seasons in a career (with 5 seasons) and he'd only be 1 season behind matching Rodgers with 6 in a career. So, Josh is already in elite company, but to do it 4 or 5 seasons in a row has never been done (as far as I can tell). Brees did it in 3 consecutive seasons (for 2nd best). Only 25 times in league history did a QB have 42+ TDs in a season. Josh has 4 of those 25. And only 4 of those 25 seasons were by a QB not named Marino, Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers, Mahomes, and Allen.

Loved the exchange he had with Coach as the game was ending.

MVP stats check-in [yards are from scrimmage---rush, pass, rec] Lamar Jackson (8-5 rec): 3,968 yards 32 TDs 3 INTs 8 Fumbles (4 Lost) 67% comp. Rate: 116.3 QBR: 73.4 Josh Allen (10-2 rec): 3,032 yards 27 TDs 5 INTs 5 Fumbles (2 Lost) 64.6% comp. Rate: 100.3 QBR: 74.5 Jared Goff (11-1 rec): 3,022 yards 22 TDs 9 INTs 5 Fumbles (0 Lost) 71.8% comp. Rate: 109.0 QBR: 57.7 Patrick Mahomes (11-1 rec): 3,210 yards 20 TDs 11 INTs 2 Fumbles (0 Lost) 68.4% comp. Rate: 92.2 QBR: 64.4 Saquon Barkley (10-2 rec): 1,766 yards 13 TDs 6.1 Y/A 2 Fumbles Derrick Henry (8-5 rec): 1,532 yards 15 TDs 5.9 Y/A 3 Fumbles Lamar: Still has the best stats of the QBs, but the record should hurt him (just as it helped him last year), and doesn't help to be on the same team as another guy who has had MVP consideration---kind of dilutes things. Josh: Good record, good stats, weren't expected to be as good as they are this year, has come up big in nationally televised games (and we've had a lot of them), a couple of plays of the year candidates, doing it with what many believed to be second-tier weapons. Can put the team on his back. Winning in Detroit would be big. Jared: Very good record, good stats, more INTs than Josh and Lamar. Pretty soft schedule, and despite the 400+ yard, 4 TD performance against JAX, not really the type of player to put the team on his back (like an Allen, Mahomes, Jackson), imo. Beating the Bills could help his cause. Patrick Mahomes: Very good record, stats and play aren't quite up to his usual standard. Most INTs of QBs. Team has won a lot of close games in kind of lucky ways. Team doesn't look as dominant as Buffalo and Detroit have looked at times. Saquon: Rejuvenated his career, on pace for 2,502 yards from scrimmage with 18 TDs, Philly is winning, play of the year (on the Mt. Rushmore of most athletic plays ever in the NFL). Derrick: 8-5 record and sharing the spotlight with Lamar hurts his case, as does the fact that Saquon has pulled ahead of him in stats (outside of 2 TDs). I'd currently rank it: Josh, Saquon, Jared, Lamar, Patrick, Derrick.

Perfect guy for Buffalo and this team. Brings a toughness to the offense, brings juice to the team. Embodies the "Be yourself with us" motto of Sean's (as mentioned by Dion in his post-game interview). Love that he's a Bill. Heard a reactor on Youtube call him a caveman, because of not wearing shoes, etc. And all I could think of was, "CAPTAIN CAVEMAN!!!" (for my fellow Gen-Xers out there). Maybe, not a bad nickname for Mack. 😀

I really don't understand the negativity towards Damar from fans around the country, but more importantly from Bills fans. He's a Buffalo Bill...why are so many people so down on him? Why aren't you just rooting for him like any other Bills player? It's got to be something psychological. I don't care whether he is worthy of a Pro-Bowl or not, but this season-long narrative that he sucks or is only starting because he's a good story is getting old, especially when he is playing well. I mean, please show me or point out to me all of these big plays that he has given up. And then how many of them have cost us games or whatever? I just don't get it. Is he an All-Pro? No. But he's playing pretty darn well for a 6th rounder who was groomed in McD's system. And he now has 25 starts in the league. Damar's stats for 2024 70 tackles (2nd on the team) 51 solo tackles 2 TFLs 2 (should be 3) INTs 5 passes defended 1 fumble recovery 1 QB hit He is 10th among safeties in solo tackles (out of what, like 64 safeties?). And as a free safety, not a strong safety (though in McD's system, they are a bit interchangeable). And considering that he's generally the last line of defense, that's at least 51 times this season he helped the team out. He is a very sure tackler and he's not afraid of contact. Does he have elite size and speed? No...that's why he was a 6th rounder. But, he's getting the job done, imo. He held off Mike Edwards, he's held off 2nd round pick Cole Bishop. And we all know that McD doesn't just hand out starting positions, you have to earn it. [Per Pro-Football Reference] The Bills are 6th against the pass (yards), tied for 8th in passing TDs allowed The Bills are 18th against the run (yards), but tied for 3rd in rushing TDs allowed The Bills are tied for 5th overall in points allowed The Bills are tied for 8th in Red Zone defense The Bills are 9th in total yards allowed If Damar was such a weak link, wouldn't he get picked on all of the time by our opponents? And if that were the case, shouldn't our defensive numbers be a lot worse? Could we really be a top 10 defense with a safety who sucks? Again, I'm not saying that he is or should be a Pro-Bowler, but it's at least time that Bills fans started giving him some props for his contributions to the team this year.

I know you weren't knocking him for it, or thinking it was coming from a place of ego. But, I don't really think it was about his credibility either. I do agree with you that he was sending a message to the team, but that message was don't take it for granted. Don't take winning for granted. Don't take being part of a great organization for granted. Don't take these fun moments with the fans and your friends and teammates for granted. Cherish this...and yes, remember what it takes to have these moments and don't become complacent. Humble and hungry, Pride in putting on a Bills uniform, etc. And just to note: -Eleven players have been with McD for all 5 consecutive AFC East Championships (Josh, Tyler, Dion, A.J., Reid, Reggie, Taron, Dawson, Cam, Matt, and Ed). -Folks who have been here since 2018 (7 of 8 years with McD): 6 players, 9 coaching staff members, 7 front office members, and 2 owners. That's 24 people. And that's without even looking into who may be left from departments such as scouting, equipment, business, communications, information tech, marketing, player engagement, community outreach, analytics, trainers, medical, etc., etc. Sean doesn't just see players and coaches, he constantly talks about "the whole building," down to the cafeteria staff, janitors, and stadium personnel. Plus he includes the fans. Not that he doesn't deserve a tip of his own cap, but I think that was the furthest thing from his mind. -And there are actually 3 players still on the team that have been with Sean all eight years (since 2017): Dion Dawkins, Matt Milano, and Reid Ferguson.

He actually just created a pretty good new one in that video, "It doesn't happen every year, it doesn't happen everywhere." Good enough for Josh to immediately latch onto it. And his speech was about the Bills and its organization, its history (mentioned playoff drought, Josh passing Jim Kelly, Terry hiring Sean and Brandon, Buffalo fans loving their football, etc.), so very appropriate to quote Marv. Also, being a snow/difficult weather game, again, appropriate to use the "When it's too tough for them, it's just right for us" Marv quote.

Did you even read my post? He was obviously calling a false start not illegal formation. It’s the only thing that makes sense when you weigh in everything that was happening.

I get how there is confusion about what happened on this play. First of all, the TV coverage does not show us well what happened before the snap on the live play because they are in a close-up of O'Connell until AFTER the ball has already been snapped (i.e., you can't tell who has been set and for how long). Then the second replay is tight on the ball, so again, does not show us anything. The third replay, everyone is set, except for #87, the TE on the left side of the line who is motioning out to the WR to move back. The ball is snapped when #87 is still standing and waving his arm. But, we cannot see the WR in this camera angle. Going back to the live play, you can see the WR maybe hop back a step at the TEs request, but again, the ball has already been snapped. Everyone moved on the snap of the ball except for O'Connell, #87, and the WRs. The other problem is that the NFL's signal for both false start and illegal formation is the same. That is dumb on the NFL's part. Why should two different penalties have the same signal. BUT...the call that was made by the head judge was not illegal formation, it was illegal shift. Illegal shift has a different signal from illegal formation/false start. So, the only way the refs got this right is if the ref at the top of the screen is calling illegal formation and the ref at the bottom of the screen is calling illegal shift and the head judge after listening to both of them believed illegal shift was the more correct call and overruled the ref at the top of the screen. Unfortunately, we can't see from the TV coverage (maybe we can when the All-22 comes out) what the ref at the bottom of the screen is calling. Another element of confusion. BUT...does a side judge immediately run onto the field if the play is still live? Which it would be for illegal formation. The ref at the bottom of the screen (who apparently called the illegal shift) does not run onto the field. He stays on the sideline because to him it is still a live play. If the ref at the top of the screen is calling illegal formation, the play is still live and I don't think he would immediately run towards the middle of the field. Also, you can clearly see him put his whistle to his mouth before the recovery of the football. And he has no vantage point to even see if there was a recovery to blow the play dead at that point. Plus he is looking at the head judge, not the ball. If he thinks it's still a live play, he doesn't put his whistle to his mouth to blow before there is a recovery, and he would be following the ball, not running towards and looking at the head judge. So, I think he was clearly calling a false start penalty on #87 because he is clearly moving before and during the snap. It was also obvious that the Raiders all believed that the ref was calling a false start penalty. The center even motions false start to his coaches on the sideline, saying its ok..false start. Just because the refs reaction time on his whistle may have been slow, does not mean he wasn't calling a pre-snap penalty. He is starting to wave his hands declaring a dead play before the recovery. You don't do that if the ball is still live and unrecovered, And at that point, as soon as that ref calls false start, the play is dead and it doesn't matter what the other ref called. Plus the other refs call came after the ref at the top of the screen, also kind of indicating that they were probably making different calls. One that tends to get blown before a play and one that tends to get called at the snap of the ball. Once a play is ruled dead in the NFL, nothing else matters. Play is dead. You can't undo a dead play. We've seen it hundreds of times---a ref makes a mistake by blowing his whistle even though he shouldn't have and the team would have made a big play. Everyone knows that ref was wrong for blowing that inadvertent whistle, but they never change it because it's only fair to the team that would have had the big play. No, it's just sorry...dead ball. You can't overrule a false start penalty and let the play stand. It's against the rules.