folz

A few of us mentioned this in the game day thread. The clip Sal posted only shows the kick. It was actually worse if you watch the whole play. The player tackled Diggs helmet to helmet, deliberately lowered his helmet into Diggs' head. Then (purposefully) kind of lays on top of Diggs' head (pushing it down). Then gets up and knees and kicks him. None of the actions were enough to hurt/injure Diggs, but the intent to injure is clear. Watch the whole play. Refs could have called two fouls on that play: helmet to helmet (or defenseless receiver), and then unnecessary roughness for the kick. Yet the ref standing right there called nothing and the TV announcers didn't even mention it. Pats are going to Pat.

I am still a believer in Gabe Davis, despite agreeing that his season has not been as big of a break out year as most of us expected. My questions would be: 1. Has the ankle been a lingering issue? Was out week 2 and severely hampered by it in weeks 3 and 4, but then it seemed to be better for the Steelers and KC games, and then he got the bye. I wouldn't expect it to still be an issue at this point, unless he kept tweaking it throughout the season. I've had two severe ankle sprains in my life and each time (even after it had for the most part healed), I kept tweaking it here and there for months after. It took a while to build back full strength and support. 2. Where is Gabe? Where is Knox? Where has McKenzie been (before the NE game)? Could some of their disappearance be Dorsey's play calling? This is a question, not a statement. Has Dorse had a harder time scheming these guys open than Daboll did for some reason? I don't think these players all of a sudden became bad. None of them are superstars, but we all feel that they haven't lived up to their projections thus far. Could it be a scheme/playcalling issue rather than they just all suck? How many of Gabe's receptions last year (especially his TDs) was he literally all alone (having left some DB 5-10 yards in the dust)? What is different this year? 3. Did Josh's elbow affect all WR production (sans Diggs) for a few weeks? And yet, despite, the ankle (missing one game and being severely hampered in two others), the drops, a new OC, and a QB who wasn't quite himself for a few weeks, he is still putting up solid #2 WR stats. Not as spectacular as we all expected, but I do think he'll come around down the stretch. Also, TBD loves their whipping boys/scapegoats. When things are going wrong, posters love to point to one or two players as the main reasons (rather than it being a full team issue). Look at how many posters would have gladly traded Tremaine away last year. That would have been a mistake, obviously. This year its Gabe, Dane, etc. I have no problem discussing player's short-comings, mistakes, areas that need improvement, etc. But I do think it is unproductive to just continually say a guy sucks and see everything he does that way. Take for instance, this last game against NE. How many posters started trashing Gabe (about drops, etc.) when he didn't reel in his first three targets on Thursday? But, you know what? All three of those were bad balls from Josh. You could debate the pass in the end zone because Gabe did get his hands/finger tips on it, but Josh led him too much. The first ball was in the dirt. And the sideline pass would have taken him out of bounds (if Josh put it on his inside shoulder instead of outside shoulder, it could have been a big play). I'm not knocking Josh, not every pass is going to be perfect. But I'm sure a lot of posters saw those all as bad drops by Gabe (Davis sucks), rather than Josh being a little off with his throws. Was anyone saying Diggs sucks when he dropped that low pass from Josh on 3rd down in the 2nd half? Diggs also had a huge drop in the Vikings game. And let's face it, the onside kick that Gabe muffed against the Browns was a very difficult ball (great kick right at his feet) that I'm not even sure Micah would have corralled. But to others, just another reason for Gabe sucking. Glad he got some redemption, snagging the onside kick in NE. But, once you put on the "this player sucks" glasses, that's all you'll see, whether it is true or not. Having said all of that, I do agree that Gabe needs to step up his game and I think he will, but the constant trashing of him is getting old, imo.

It would be a better watch if it were just Fitz and Whitworth talking ball. The other three weren't very good, imo.

Agree on the penalty being bs. Is he just supposed to let the player score a TD? What is his option as a player in that situation?

Tackled helmet to helmet, then laid on his head, then kicked him in the head. Ref missed it all. Player definitely trying to F with Stefon.

The man got blocked to the ground and rolled into the kicker. Good no call.

I, for one, would gladly welcome Beasley back! Even if he can't get as much YAC as he used to, the man is a beast at converting 3rd downs. Man, I wish Micah could be back for the playoffs. If he was, and Bease came back, then all of the most important pieces of this build would be there for the playoff run/push for the SB.

Yes, Von said OBJ is visiting Bills this Friday...also visiting New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. Von: "And I think, when he comes here...I don't think he's going to leave." We'll see...

I am 100% a McDermott supporter. We wouldn't be where we are without him (I think a lot of fans forget this). For God's sake get over the 13 seconds already. Sh&t happens. Everything about this team is due to McDermott. Without him, no Brandon Beane, no Josh Allen, no Stefon Diggs, no family/team-oriented strong culture, etc., etc., etc. He has brought more fun to us as fans than we've seen in over 20 years. The 2017 drought-breaking miracle (which will go down as an All-Time Bills great moment), the perfect game against the Pats, and even in some of the losses (the KC playoff game last year was an instant classic and will be considered one of the greatest playoff games for years to come; the Minnesota game this year is considered the game of the year thus far). Football is a rollercoaster ride, there are ups and downs. Without the downs, the ups don't feel nearly as special. Just enjoy the ride, for Pete's sake. Anyone calling for McD's job is somehow forgetting how much fun these last 5-6 years have been and who is mainly responsible for all of it. Having said all of that, if there is any criticism I would have for the coaching staff it is that we haven't been nearly as good at halftime adjustments as we were last year and I think a good bit of that is on Dorsey's shoulders. I am hoping that being a first-year playcaller, he will improve in that category eventually. But that is the area of coaching where I see the biggest difference from last year and one of the biggest areas that needs improvement. Daboll seemed really good at halftime adjustments last year, but if you recall, the year before, we really struggled in the third quarter, coming out of the half. So, it seems that is something that a coach can get better at, just hope its sooner rather than later for Dorsey/the staff.

If you are going to say first 5 years as starter (rather than first 5 years in the league), then Patrick has started 3 more games than Josh over that span. So, you would have to stop counting Patrick's stats after week 15 this year, while Josh's stats get to go to week 18. Currently Josh has 161 TDs and Patrick has 179 TDs. But, as I said, Josh gets three extra starts this year. Over the last three years, Josh is averaging 2.73 TDs per game, so that equates to 8.19 TDs for those extra three games. So, a fair assessment at this point (according to your scenario) is to add 8 TDs to Josh's total. Which would make it currently 179 for Mahomes and 169 for Josh. Mahomes would still be in the lead, but not by a landslide (as you stated). Plus when Mahomes started with KC, they were already a very good playoff team with a lot of talent (Alex Smith took them to the playoffs three years in a row before Mahomes took over). Josh's first two years with the Bills, the team was awful and severely lacking in talent and starting with a new coaching staff trying to build a culture. KC's culture was already in place under Reid (Andy had been there 5 years already when Patrick took over). And as others said, there is value to sitting for a year behind a good QB, learning the system and improving your mechanics, rather than being thrown into the fire right away (and with Peterman as your clip board manager, not some vet that Josh could have learned from---Derek Anderson wasn't brought in until week 5 or 6 his rookie year and still had to learn the offense, etc. before he could really help Josh---and that's still not the same as watching another guy actually practice and start for an entire year). A 10 TD difference over 5 seasons equates to only 1 extra TD every 8+ games. Or 2 TDs per season. As I said, yes, Mahomes is still ahead, but not by enough for you to so vehemently denounce this thread (especially considering the circumstances of their first two years). And no one is saying Josh is better than Mahomes. I think most fans see them on pretty even footing as the two best QBs in the league at this point. Saying something nice about Josh doesn't diminish what Mahomes has done, and vice versa.

Not sure if this deserved it's own topic, but wasn't sure where else to put it... I've seen a number of posters the past couple of weeks really down on Gabe Davis, saying he's not a good #2 WR, we should have brought in a FA boundary receiver, the Bills were dumb to count on Davis stepping up, etc. I just want to bring a little perspective... 1. Gabe started out the year with a big 88 yard, 1 TD game against the Rams, but injured his ankle and had to sit out week 2 at Tennessee. 2. Then the team lost Crowder and Kumerow to IR. So, despite the ankle not being healed, Gabe gutted out weeks 3 and 4 against Miami and Baltimore, respectively...because the team was desperate. He obviously did not have good games on the bum ankle. 3. He then bounced back with big games against Pitt and KC (245 yards and 3 TDs)...then the BYE week hit. 4. After the Bye week came the dud second half in GB and the two losses (to NY and Minn), where Josh and the entire offense looked off (not just Gabe). 5. And finally the Cleveland game and Snowmaggedon...not perfect, but a step back in the right direction for the entire offense. It has been such a start-and-stop, weird season for Gabe (with the injury and where the bye fell) and then the offensive woes, which isn't all on Gabe (is it Josh's arm or head, Dorsey's play calling, teams catching up to our offense? etc.). Yes, Gabe has had some drops this year (5 to be exact), but Josh hasn't lost faith in him, nor have I. Deebo Samuel has 7 drops on a similar number of targets as Gabe. Amari Cooper, Ja'Mar Chase, DK Metcalf, and Courtland Sutton all have 6 drops each (granted, on 20 or so more targets than Gabe). 24 wide receivers have at least 4 drops this year. And how many of Gabe's drops were when he was playing on a bad ankle (a couple at least---I know he had a couple of big drops the last couple of weeks as well, though and he's got to clean that up...but it happens, even to the best receivers in the league---even Diggs had a big drop in the Vikings game). Also, people talk about Diggs being double covered as if that means everyone else has a one-on-one, but there have been numerous games this year where defenses have doubled both Diggs and Davis (because they weren't as worried about our run game or the slot as much). Gabe isn't always seeing single coverage. Teams know he is a weapon. And as to him not being a good #2 receiver, let's look at some stats: If you take away the two games where he was obviously playing injured, then Gabe is averaging 80.3 yards and .71 TDs per game. If he continued that average over the balance of the season, he would end up with 1,174 yards and 10 TDs (having missed one game and playing hurt in two others). That sounds like damn good #2 receiver numbers to me. In fact, if compared to WR production last season, that would have put him 10th in total yards and tied for 6th in total TDs by WRs. And even if you include the two games he played injured in for the pro-rated averages (that would then be 68 yards and .55 TDs/game this season), he would still be in line for 1,088 yards and 9 TDs this season. Only 15 WRs had more than 1,088 yards last year. Only 15 WRs had 9 or more TDs last season (only 8 WRs had more than 9 TDs). To drive the point home, currently (this season), having sat out one game and played two games severely hampered, Gabe is still 19th in receiving yards (by WRs) and is one of only 13 WRs with 5 or more TDs. Considering there are 32 teams, shouldn't there be 32 #1 WRs, right? Yet, for what we feel is a subpar season so far for Gabe, he is performing like a mid-tier #1 receiver in the stat column. And yet some are saying that he isn't even good enough to be a #2? It seems that some people are either expecting elite #1 stats from their #2 wide receiver or they are just upset at the offense's recent woes and are looking for scapegoats. Anyhow, just here to say don't lose faith in Gabe. I think he'll be huge down the stretch of the season. Go Bills!

As the video states, Hamlin has played man coverage for 27% of his snaps and only allowed 4 receptions for 29 yards on the year. Plus, the video shows how good he is at his coverage assignments, whether helping to double a player like Jefferson, or adjusting his assignment based on what the offense or his teammates are doing, to make a play on the ball/ball carrier or disrupt routes. So, not sure where you guys are getting the "bad in coverage" notion. And even in the Vikings game, Jefferson only made one big play when Hamlin was over the top of him (safety help). And pound for pound, the kid has to be one of the best tacklers on the team. He has saved a lot of big plays from happening. People forget how important sure tackling is until they have a team with guys that aren't sure tacklers. Same for Dane. What he lacks in coverage skills, he makes up for in fast, sure tackles and run support. We have all known that Poyer and Hyde have been the heart and soul of this defense for years and a major part of why it works. Hamlin has made the Micah Hyde injury bearable. He can be asked to do what Micah did (and will only get better with more experience). But I don't think they can ask the same things of Jaquan. He can't seem to disguise and dissect the way the other three can. Now if Poyer can just stay healthy, our safeties can once again be a strength on this team, thanks to Hamlin's play.

Just watched the All-22 of the play a bunch of times. It was a bad call, but I can see how/why the ref made the call. The defender sets up outside Dion's left shoulder, then rushes inside. Dion does a good job of engaging and sliding to keep the man in front of him. From the ref's perspective, he sees the defender's head poke out around Dion and then all of a sudden the defender is falling sideways to the ground and Dion has one hand on his shoulder and another around his waist. So, from the ref's vantage point it probably looked like the defender was starting to win and Dion tackled him. In reality, as the defender moved to his left, engaged with Dion, Saffold (I believe) pulls off his initial double team block with Morse to help Dion (but gets there late and is behind the defender). At the same time, Morse is being pushed back by his defender. The outcome is a lot of moving feet in the same area and the defender trips. You can clearly see one of the defender's feet get hooked behind the other and he trips. The defender starts falling down to the left and since Dion is still engaged with him, he starts going down too and rides the defender to the ground. Good play by Dion, just unfortunate that from the ref's vantage point, he couldn't see the trip and assumed it was a tackle. There is a possibility that Dion had a good hold on the defender's right shoulder pad, but that would have been a ticky-tack call and in the category of let them play...but the ref thought it was a tackle. I understand let them play at that point, especially since the refs kept their flags in their pockets a lot that game. But, if it was an actual tackle (from the ref's perspective), then that is egregious enough to call even at that point in the game. The call definitely went the wrong way, but I don't think there was any bias, or the refs helping the Jets out...just bad luck how everything unfolded and the ref's view of it.

Beane has been truthful and as transparent as he can be (without giving away strategy, as he said) since DAY ONE. I have always appreciated that. What a breath of fresh air that has been from the Whaley, Brandon, Donahoe days. And not only is he one of the best in the league at his job (Big Baller), but he does sh$t like this: We are very lucky! It is not often that a team has a super-star GM, Coach, and QB, who are also great people that you want to root for. Go Bills!

First 5 years in the league: 63 games 5,512 yards 32 TDs Last 3 years: 10 games 609 yards 3 TDs Basically missed 28 games (almost two full seasons) with an ankle injury. That is a bit unusual. Especially since throughout a good portion of that process the team kept saying he might be back soon and yet he never came back, until the start of this year. He wasn't placed on IR until 11/3 last year despite missing the first 8 games---and then he is placed on IR 11/3 this year (the same date) despite the injury happening back in week 3. So, I can understand people thinking he wants to get paid without having to play. I'm sure the toe injury is legit, but it certainly doesn't help this narrative. I drafted him in the first round of a keeper league in 2020 (so my frustration with him is a bit biased).

Expectations should be high, but this is the NFL, to expect a blowout every week is unrealistic (especially against players the caliber of Rodgers and Jones). Being the #1 team, the Bills are going to get everyone's best shot, and not only was that in play against Green Bay last night, but the Packers were absolutely desperate for the win (after losing three in a row to the Giants, Jets, and Commanders). It was a game of pride for the Packers and the Bills fell a bit short in matching that intensity in the second half. But as McD and the players always say, they will learn from it and move on.

Could it be that teams (such as KC and Baltimore) are making moves because they know they are chasing/behind the Bills? We all know that the 2nd half against Green Bay was ugly, but that is absolutely no need to panic. We are 6-1 against, what at least at the start of the season, appeared to be a brutal start to the schedule (Rams, Titans, Ravens, Chiefs, Packers).

Averaging 109.33 yards and one TD per game over the first six. He's so good that sometimes you don't realize how good a game he's having, until you look at the stats. He makes it look so easy and it just seems so routine now. Special, special player. And the Allen/Diggs connection already feels like one of the great QB/WR duos (though they need a lot more time together to truly match a Montana/Rice, Keely/Reed, Manning/Harrison, etc, of course.). We suffered a long time for this type of star-studded roster. Enjoy it my brethren!

Didn't know where else to post this thought...not worthy of it's own thread, so I'm popping it in here. I heard a few talking heads lament the Bills having such an early bye, especially with them playing as well as they are right now. But I was thinking (as far as rest goes), these guys have been going not since week one, but rather since the start of training camp (which opened on July 24th). So, it has been 13 weeks since the start of training. And if the Bills can secure the number one seed, they would get another bye week in 11 more weeks. So, the bye comes kind of right in the middle of that and with the early season injuries, it seems to me like the perfect time for the bye week. And even if they aren't the #1 seed, but make the Super Bowl, then the split would be 13 weeks to bye week and 16 weeks to the off week before the SB. Still not too bad. And I don't mind the extra time to prepare for a prime time game against Green Bay (even though GB isn't great this year). And again, even though things are going well, with a new offensive coordinator and so many new guys on defense, also seems like a good time to assess where they are and make adjustments where needed for the home stretch.

Metaphorically burning some sage with this post, to clear the bad juju. Far too many posters expecting or maybe even hoping for a CMC injury now (why? because the Bills didn't get him?). As a CMC fantasy owner, I'm looking forward to a healthy and productive stint for him with the Niners. And, it's good for the league if he stays healthy. The more dynamic players playing, the more fun the games are to watch. Not really worried about SF overall (as far as the Bills are concerned). The only question for me is will the transition time for CMC hurt my fantasy team over the next couple of weeks, while he gets up to speed in the Niners offense. But, I'm sure this trade will be an overall positive for CMC fantasy owners in the long run. As a Bills fan, I was more interested in CMC than OBJ as an addition, but as most have said, not at that price (plus I'm one of those guys that really likes Motor). And I'm kind of in the camp of roll with the guys that got you here. Not really into trying to buy a Super Bowl (as was said of the Rams last year). I understand for some fans it's Super Bowl at any cost. But I like what we got now: the camaraderie, family, mostly home-grown team. I don't think we need anything else right now to put us over the top, we just need to stay healthy. No question CMC will make the Niners better and more dynamic on offense, but I agree with other posters who said that without a top-tier QB, I don't know if it will get them "over-the-top" to the promised land. Kind of makes me think of the Bills trading up in the draft for Sammy Watkins, hoping he'd make the QB better; as opposed to drafting a QB and then surrounding him with talent (as the current Bills regime did). Though CMC is obviously a way better player than Watkins in this scenario.

The OG Spiderman! Darryl was the heart and soul of that 90s team...and a damn good player. His motor was never in idle...it was pedal to the metal all the time. He was so much fun to watch and I think he struck as much fear in the opponents as Bruce did, because you knew he was going to hit you as hard as he could, every play, all day long. Guy was a beast!

A bit off topic from how to prevent a team like KC in those situations (Mahomes is just that good and Butker nailing a 62-yarder...not going to happen too often). But, I'd like to give some props to McDermott. He always talks about growth mindset and learning from your mistakes...and he takes that to heart for himself and his coaching staff too, not just the players. And I'm sure the end of the first half had shades of 13 seconds for the team as well as the fans. But, the props are for how they closed out the Baltimore game and the KC game yesterday (2nd half). I wouldn't be surprised if coach spent a lot of time in the offseason researching clock management, etc. at the end of games, as the team has overall handled it well so far this season.

The Jets are tied with Kansas City for second best record in the conference. Let me repeat that... The Jets are tied with Kansas City for second best record in the conference. What kind of crazy world are we living in? Our division is shaping up to be much more difficult than any of us probably imagined. But the Bills are still, by far, the best team in the division. They just need to take care of business in the AFC East and not let these upstarts get any delusions of grandeur. It just might not be quite as easy as we thought it would be when the season started. A few more weeks should let us know if our division foes are for real or not.

I agree that Shakir should get more playing time (he's going to turn into a stud at some point in his career). And I don't know what McKenzie was doing on the missed TD pass (some weird stutter-step hop/mistiming it)? (To be fair, I have to go back and look again at the pass itself to see if he was trying to adjust to it---if the pass wasn't great...but still feels like it should have been an easy TD.) But, I think I put the fumble on Allen. To me it looks like the decision on that play was at the mesh point. Either Josh hands it off to Isiah or he keeps it. Josh kept it, so at that point I believe Isiah is either going out to block and/or appear as if he is going into a receiving pattern. But when Josh turned upfield, there were three KC linemen waiting for him. He realizes he made the wrong choice and tries to flip it to McKenzie, who clearly is not expecting it. I don't think it was meant to be a sweeping option play, where Josh is the main runner and Isiah trails, waiting for the ball if Josh gets in trouble. You can see Josh cut upfield immediately, he is not sweeping outside. I could be wrong, but I think in the heat of the moment, Josh just tried to make a play...it wasn't McKenzie screwing up a called play. Tough to tell though when we don't know their full assignments on the play. And the play that McKenzie got blown up on...well, how can anyone blame him for not hanging onto that ball. Again, Josh kind of hung him out to dry on that play. So, no doubt, a game that McKenzie will want to forget...but I only really ding him for not reeling in the TD pass. And that happens even to the really good receivers sometimes (Diggs just missed one recently). All this talk of cutting him, etc. is just overreaction. I guarantee you that Isiah will still make some important plays for this team this year.

In two different interviews this week Von discussed the bad roughing the passer calls. He said the way he avoids it is to always go for the ball. He's not looking to kill the QB, but to get a strip/sack/fumble. Hopefully this is the mindset of all of the Bills' defenders this week. Contain Mahomes in the pocket and go for that ball. Maybe they can get Patrick to cough one up.