Dr. K

I have absolutely no clue how this game will go Monday. Usually I at least have an opinion, but I got nothing that resembles a confident take, positive or negative, on the Bills' chances. I could see them getting embarrassed, I could see a nail-biter, I could see the Bills stomping the Pats.

Chill out. No one is a bigger Bills supporter than I am, but be realistic. The Pats have won six straight, by significant scores, while starting a rookie QB. The Bills have gone lose-win-lose-win for their last six, one of those losses to a one-win team, and the other a wipe out, at home, by the Colts. This isn't some conspiracy by the press; this is the normal short attention span of US media. The Bills got plenty of strokes when they were riding high. If they beat the Pats Monday the narrative will change again. If the Bills sweep the Pats and manage to win four or five of their last six, they will be one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. I prefer to hear everybody talking about how great Jones is, and how Belichick is a genius. The Bills players and coaches should be ready to play on Monday night.

Gino Capelletti

But this is my favorite football poem, by Pulitzer Prize winning poet James Wright. It was written a long time ago (1963) so some of the language has dated, but it says something a little sad, a little scary, about why people are football fans. Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio BY JAMES WRIGHT In the Shreve High football stadium, I think of Polacks nursing long beers in Tiltonsville, And gray faces of Negroes in the blast furnace at Benwood, And the ruptured night watchman of Wheeling Steel, Dreaming of heroes. All the proud fathers are ashamed to go home. Their women cluck like starved pullets, Dying for love. Therefore, Their sons grow suicidally beautiful At the beginning of October, And gallop terribly against each other’s bodies.

A Villain, NFL by Scott Campbell You never meant anything to me anyway. If I twist my wrist and thrust it down, I flick my hips and slip away. If I smash my forearm into your grill, this is how I get my thrill. You never meant anything to me anyway. I am just a player, playing for fun. But when I begin to play for money, I flick my hips and slip away. Sometimes, brutality and reality collide. Brothers and players stand side by side. You never meant anything to me anyway. Well-off fans and super-rich owners, to the players, are nothing but donors. I flick my hips and slip away. The players always give their all, but always are expendable. You never meant anything to me anyway. I flick my hips and slip away.

He doesn't pass block. That's why he played less in the second half.

Despite whatever personnel flaws the team has--and it has real weak spots that everybody here has gone on about at length--what you say here is the heart of it. McDermott is being tested at this time in a way he has not been so far as coach of the Bills. The question is, can he get these players to play smart, intense football; can he get them all pulling in the same direction at the same time, can he get all three phases of the game to play their best. This is the moment where he rises to the occasion or he fails. There are enough good players that they can win any game they are in. But they have not consistently played to their maximum potential except for brief periods this season, and it's up to McDermott to get them at least close to that place.

It's not his fault that those dudes refused to get a simple shot that would have increased their chance to be available. What is he supposed to do? Sit by their side and hold their hands? They let down the team; HE's supposed somehow to apologize to THEM?

I think they have the capability to make the playoffs. I think they need a serious attitude adjustment. They think that they just have to show up and they will win, but they are not showing up. Penalties and self-inflicted mistakes are killing them.

The team needs a serious attitude adjustment. At this point they can't change the roster in any significant way. They have played undisciplined and erratic football. It's up to McDermott at this point to get them to take their problems seriously. And this is just me: I am beyond disgusted with those players who have refused to get vaccinated. In the context of trying to put together a winning squad it is a character flaw, a sign that they put themselves ahead of the team in a situation where there is NO COST to them to do the thing will give them the best chance to be available when the team needs them. It's evidence of a "me first" attitude that puts the lie to all their talk about playing as a team.

Here's the deal about the Bills this season, as far as I am concerned: 1) Either they will get better or they won't. 2) I will either be happy or I will be sad. 3) Nothing important in my life will change because of what they do or don't do.

FFS you big baby. Just get the damn shot.

I have thought for a. while that the running game suffered out of the shotgun. Those RPO runs seldom worked. The backs start flat=footed and by the time they get going the o-line has collapsed. The run game looks so much more aggressive from under center. Play action works much better. Now whether it makes it harder for Josh to read the defense is another matter, but I would hope he can function well from under center.

Good comments. But if you're going to praise Breida and then ding Singletary for his "unassisted fumble" you in fairness ought to mention Breida's own unassisted fumble. I liked what Breida brought to the game but we can't ignore that. And I think he was the back who neglected to chip block the free blitzer who wiped out Josh.

Josh averaged over 13 yards per pass attempted and over 17 yards p[er completion.

Certainly seems that way right now.

I post this just as an antidote if you are tempted to obsess about the flaws in the Bills' play this season. Remember that we went through twenty years of games like this. November 3, 2013 Total plays: Bills 77, Kansas City 54. Yards gained: Bills 470, KC 210. Yards rushing: Bills 241, KC 95. First downs: Bills 25, KC 15. Final score: Kansas City 23, Bills 13 Just kill me now, football gods.

The writer John Gardner had a saying about the power of narrative to control people's minds: “Nothing in the world has greater power to enslave than does fiction” (The Art of Fiction, p 87). Like Marv Levy's quote (paraphrase): "If you get a reputation for rising early you can sleep till noon for the rest of your life." Once people have bought into a narrative it takes dynamite to get them to change their minds. Most will never do it.

This attitude seems to be, "Don't just stand there, do something!!!!" as if making any sort of trade or acquisition at all is an improvement. It also assumes that the moves that need to be made are obvious, and possible. The Bills could have broken the bank and forced themselves to get rid of other players in order to sign JJ Watt for this season. And he's done seven games into the season. I am so glad that Beane doesn't do his job as if his hair is on fire. That's not the way to win a Super Bowl. I remember when the Dolphins in the mid 90s spent crazy money to assemble a team of first round draft choices. Everybody was talking about how they had moe talent than anybody in the league. Where did they go--exactly nowhere.

I have been sick of the Singletary bashing for more than a year now.

You're right, it has no effect on the players. But arrogance is a bad habit. It's an ugly look, in my opinion, even though it is as common as breathing among sports fans.

Yes, The guy is another fine draft selection by Beane & Co.

I can understand maybe why they might go for the touchdown, but I cannot justify the two-point try. The thing that bothers me is that they ran Josh in this situation, and especially that they exposed him to risk with the conversion try. The guy is basically the franchise, and any hope of a Super Bowl for the Bills rides on his shoulders. He's obviously going to expose himself to injury through his style of play, but I think it's foolhardy to do it unnecessarily. If I have a worry about the team, this is it.

Whatever you may think about the vaccine thing, Beasley is a smart, gutsy, clutch player.

I was very wrong about that. But some people seem to think I was rooting for Tua, which is as far from the truth as you can get. I did expect the Dolphins to give the Bills a tougher game than most everyone was predicting. They are more talented than their 1-7 record would suggest, though they are not a good team by any stretch. I was feeling sick watching the Bills struggle all through the first half, and seeing the Fins move the ball (until they screwed up each time they had the chance to score). I figured the Bills would play better in the second, but it still was a grind. I was very happy to see them pull away in the fourth quarter.