Dr. K

I would emphasize your use of the word "judiciously." Count me as most definitely against the "throwing chairs through windows" theory of coaching. I've been watching the game for sixty years and I think the emotional speakers and dramatic actors wear out their schtick pretty fast. Once you throw one chair through a window what do you do next? Throw a sofa? Throw a baby? It becomes performance, and players see through that. Marv Levy was not a "throw chairs through windows" coach. He might express anger or frustration, but if you compare him to other head coaches he was way on the intellectual side, quoting Tacitus and poems to inspire his players. Look at the coaches who have been the most successful: Bill Walsh was way cerebral. Don Shula. Hell, even Belichick was more an strategic than an emotional leader. McDermott's psychological style tends more "cool" than "hot." Compare the culture of the team and locker room under him vs. that of his predecessor, the much more theatrical Rex Ryan. We'll see how the team responds after the Chicago fiasco.

Wow. The backups look terrible.

I liked the anecdote McDermott told about the coach throwing the chair through the window to motivate the players before the game . . . and then, next week, he had nothing. That's a crucial difference, I think, between steady leadership and what I'd call "performative" leadership. A lot of people are attracted to the "throw chairs through windows" leaders, but IMHO that is fool's gold. It may work for a game, or even for a season, but it's not a consistent winning strategy, as anybody who has had such a boss can tell you.

There's a contingent of Bills fans who somehow think that if a coach yells a lot and gets angry, he must be good. Sort of like Matt Patricia, who went 13-29 with the Lions.

Loved that. I was a physics major at the U of R. 9.8 meters per second squared! He even knew Galileo was from Pisa!

I meant no disrespect.

It's "fared," believe it or not. A synonym for "ate." When you say someone "fared well" you're saying they "ate well." Appropriate metaphor for a team where "everyone eats."

I've had the same questions about Cooper. He seemed like a fit for the locker room, and he made a few plays, but he did not get thrown to anywhere near as much as I'd expected. Do Josh or Brady not trust him? Does Cooper think that the Bills were not using him properly, or have his skills deteriorated, or is it a matter of money? Seems weird that he's not been on the radar.

Does this suggest that the Bills consider Tre White better than Rasul Douglas at this point?

I was at that Houston game where Haygood Clark ran back the interception to win the game in the last minute.

I'm still trying not to think about it.

To a degree, yes. I'm sure I'll still feel awful if they lose a heartbreaker--there've been so many--but I've enjoyed this season more than any in a long time, and life will go on.

I'll feel better if they can keep Kelce from being open in the middle of the field without any defender within five yards of him.

I am overjoyed the Bills won that game despite giving up as many yards as they did in the earlier Ravens game where they got beaten by 25 points. The Ravens really looked like the better team much of the game, but the Bills still won--it reminds me of the way the Chiefs have won crucial games, and the way the Patriots regularly beat teams who played well enough against them that they should have won. I am very curious as to how they are going to come out against the Chiefs.

I really want the Bills to win in order for them to go to Arrowhead and beat the Chiefs on their home turf. Tomorrow is a big deal.