Dr. K

I remember thinking at various times during the season that the Bills were not scoring any defensive touchdowns--no recovered fumbles for TD, no pick-sixes. But I did not make anything much of that at the time. Looking at their team stats, I see they scored none—zero, zilch, nada—the entire season. I can't remember that ever happening before in my more than fifty years of watching this team. It's just a statistical anomaly I'm sure, but it makes me think that this is another reason that, next season, when that's unlikely to happen again, they will be a better team. Likewise they scored zero kick return TDs, which is less of a surprise given their generally poor special teams play. I expect them to do better in this area as well, just as a matter of luck if nothing else.

At least if they hire Rex he can't destroy a fine defense the way he did in Buffalo. The Chiefs are already 31st in the league. I still think it would be a huge mistake.

Seth Keysor has an article on THE ATHLETIC ripping Bob Sutton to shreds over the way he refused to adjust the Chief's defense to take away the middle of the field on third downs. It breaks the plays down the three third-and-long plays the Pats converted in their OT drive and explains how Sutton stubbornly refused to try anything to neutralize Edelman.

Patriots will work the running game and play action against the weak Chiefs defense.

Much to my dismay, I'm expecting the Pats to beat the Chiefs, and it won't be close. I would love to be totally wrong on this but I can't remember the Pats ever being beaten badly in the playoffs, and they seldom are beaten at all.

I want him to fail on the field. I want him to play badly, make some crucial error, throw picks in the end zone, get strip sacked, miss his receivers. All while he is in perfect health.

I'm tired of the umbilical that ties McBeane to Carolina, but I'm not against the hire. It just raises the question of whether they do due diligence on their coaching and player decisions.

Stick a fork in the Chargers. Stick three forks in them. They are so done. I would not bet on the Chiefs against the Pats. Another Patriots Super Bowl.

I hated the Rex hire from day one, and said so at the time. I think Whaley got a raw deal and his treatment by so many as a joke and a whipping boy is unjustified.

Peters refused to play for the Bills. He forced his way off the team.

I take your point, but I think that the Bills might have traded draft picks for the move up. But I guess it's water under the bridge now.

I don't disagree with what you say. The point I'm trying to make is that people seem to think that just because the Bills have a lot of money to spend, they can pick up first rate o-linemen in free agency to fill their holes. But it's more likely they will pay a premium for mediocre players. There just aren't a lot of good o-linemen available, and even the ones who have good reps can flop. This is why it seemed insane to me to give away Cordy Glenn for a draft pick. Left tackles do not grow on trees.

For 2018 a number of teams paid big bucks for mediocre offensive linemen, or linemen that played poorly. Sporting News mentions Nate Solder, Ryan Jensen, and Andrew Norwell, for whom the Giants, Jags, and Bucs paid big prices in free agency, only to have them play poorly. Good o-linemen are hard to find in trade or free agency, and their price is often inflated well past their ability. My friend who is a Bengals fan told me before the season that Bodine was the worst center he had ever seen, and the Bills thought he was going to solve their problem. That's one reason I hated when the Bills gave away Cordy Glenn--teams spend years trying to get a good left tackle and we just sold him away.

Yes

Irrelevant, scary thought: I have held my job longer than "old man" Kyle Williams has been alive.

It's the right thing to do. All respect for the man.

It's going to happen before long that the Bills will have a breakout game, where the glimpses they have given come into focus for a complete game and they show us the kind of team they will eventually be. Allen hits more passes long and short, the running game works, they cut the penalties and turnovers, the special teams manage not to throw away the game, and they shock to world. Why not this week in Foxboro?

The guy is just trolling. Ignore him.

I think the Bills may run better with McCoy out. Murphy and Ford will hit the holes and get whatever yards they can, not try to dance their way to a big gain.

He missed crucial field goals and extra points in that first Super Bowl year, and he was lousy beyond 35 yards. Lots of kickers (including Christie) were miles better than Norwood, even in that era when field goals over 50 yards were rare. For instance, in that season against Denver, Norwood missed two field goals and an extra point in a game the Bills managed to win by one point.

I for one was delighted that they got rid of Norwood, who was an erratic kicker at best. He had missed a number of crucial field goals throughout that first Super Bowl season, and when the Bills lined up for that final kick agains the Giants, from 47 yards, I knew it would be a miracle if he made it. The fact that some fans protested his being replaced--if they did--shows how Bills fans do not always have very good judgment. Christie would have won them that Super Bowl.

Not since the 1950s, when they were great. Titles in 1952, 1953, 1957.

This to me was the most vital sequence in the game. Zay's decision to try to throw it as the play called for instead of getting the three yards that he could easily have managed was brutal. If he gets that first down, the Bills have a shot at scoring a touchdown, or even if they don't they run a lot of time off the clock and leave the Jets will much less time to score.

I admit I was one of the skeptics when the Bills drafted Allen, but I'm getting sick of all the harping on Allen's accuracy. Aikman and this guy question whether Allen can "throw the ball where he wants to throw it." Well, Allen can throw it where he wants to throw it, with pinpoint accuracy, on a wide variety of throws. Anyone who watches him will see many examples of this in this game, or the earlier one, even going back to pre-season. He's getting better at making decisions and putting the ball where he wants it. Looking at the trend curve, I think this is only going to improve. I expect there will still be mistakes and miscommunications and bad days, but I am really coming around to see Allen as a bright hope for the future of this team.

And there should have been a defensive pass interference call on the pay.