MDH

Stage 5 is rationalizing things to make one feel better about things. You’ve done a great job of getting to stage 5 this quickly! I kid, but rationalizing crap play has been a staple of this fan base for 20 years. Yeah, they should have gotten off the field more by stopping the Pat’s O and forcing punts.

I didn’t expect a win either. I thought they had a good chance to pull it off. The disappointing part is how they lost. The D was horrible. They got run over, run around and passed on with ease. They couldn’t stop one of the worst offenses in the league all game. They didn’t blitz an offense that has struggled with the blitz most of the year. The strength of the team was exposed. That’s disturbing heading into the playoffs.

Yeah it has. They’ve been good at gang tackling so missed tackles haven’t been that much of a sore spot but it has been a problem all year. I think I saw that they missed 16 tackles vs the Steelers last week! They are one of the league leaders in missed tackles on the season too.

The Bills have been blitzing plenty lately until this game. I’m scratching my head wondering why it changed today given NE’s struggles vs the blitz lately. I’ll agree on this one today and for the first half of the season but the D has really hit their stride with run and pass blitz packages lately. Run/pass ratio is a direct reflection of the lack of confidence they have in the QB and passing game in general. I don’t have much confidence in them either. I’d agree with you if this offense had proven that they were capable of dropping back and letting it rip with any kind of efficiency and they still chose to run this much. As it is I don’t know if it’s conservative or just prudent given the offense. You may be right but it’s tough to tell right now. Kill shot after a turnover? Now you’re just making stuff up! They throw deep plenty, why does it have to come after a turnover for them to not be labeled “conservative”? Slow down play with lead is no different than their normal run first approach. Give them an offense that is effective throwing the ball and maybe they change. Again, hard to tell given what we have on O. The percentage of times they go for it in 4th down and taking shots past the marker on 3rd and long are two examples of them not being conservative. So, I agree with you a little bit (playing for the FG last week on the 2nd to last scoring drive!) but I also see some things that aren’t conservative and the one thing McDermott has shown me is that he does have a the growth mindset he always preaches about. I think being a defensive guy kinda leans him towards conservative but I’ll withhold judgement until they have a more complete offense and they still show these same tendencies.

Winning this game wasn’t about playoff seeding. It was about finally beating the bully that has dunked our head in the toilet for two decades letting the league know that’s not happening anymore. It was gaining confidence going into the playoffs and realizing that this team can beat any team in any stadium. The Bills received another swirly.

Im interested in seeing what he does that you consider conservative. I think parts of his style are conservative but he’s not conservative in other areas.

If he can do it a single time that proves he’ll eventually be able to do it with regularity? No, it doesn’t. It was nice to see it on that play but consistency is what makes a franchise QB. I think we’ll see improvement next year but there is no guarantee he ever puts it all together. Obviously, we all hope he will.

Yep. Brady and the Pats have struggled with the blitz for the past 8 or so weeks. Bills rush 4 lost of the game while Brady sits back and has a cup of coffee before throwing the ball. No idea how that was their game plan.

He’s not that accurate but you can live with that. His biggest issue is his processing time. We need to see a big jump next year in how quickly reads a D and finds the correct guy to throw to. If he doesn’t improve dramatically next season then this regime will have a big decision to make. As it is all you have to do is all out blitz him and he freezes and tries to run out of it instead of planting his foot and firing the ball to an open guy. He just doesn’t know where to go with the ball.

Easier to blame the coaches than the players we love. So many opportunities in this game and the players failed on both sides of the ball.

Jesus, the Bills lay the biggest egg with their crap play and people want to blame the refs. I would say unbelievable but it’s totally believable.

This team lays an egg every time they play the Pats. No idea why a Bills’ fan would want to watch that again in the playoffs. Sh*tiest D performance I’ve seen all year and they save it for the Pats. They couldn’t stop anything. They made Brady look like his HGH supplements were working miracles and he was back in his prime. They let the Pats RBs break more tackles than Jim Brown. So disappointed in the game plan, effort and lack of discipline.

D is so infuriating tonight. Soft as baby poop zone on 3rd and 18 to give them 10 free yards

You want Houston to lose to Tampa to avoid KC in the WC round. You want KC to lose a game so that on the off chance the Bills win the AFC East, they also get a bye. Very unlikely, but as long as Hou loses on Saturday it's safe to root for it.

No, you need route running. You need to understand leverage. You need more than just speed, though that helps. If he could get separation on a regular basis he'd be on the active roster every single week. Every week. You must think McDermott is an idiot if he has a big, sure handed WR who gets regular separation yet he keeps him on the bench. Imo you dramatically overvalue how good Duke is. There's nothing I can say to you that will convince you. I will say this, with more experience Duke can become a productive WR. Get better at routes and body control and I could see him being productive in the future. Obviously the coaching staff doesn't think he's there yet.

I also think Duke brings near zero value. So yeah, Foster isn't super productive but between his ST value (where Duke has zero) and his deep threat value, it's more than Duke's value Imo. Duke has a good catch radius and is pretty good with contested balls but is a threat nowhere past 10 yards down the field and struggles to gain any separation. To me, fans like him because when they see him he makes plays, but they aren't watching him on all the balls that aren't going his way, which is 97% of the plays. He adds near zero value on any of those plays. And despite what fans think, those plays matter too. EDIT: I'll also add that this week, when the Bills are likely to see a ton of cover 0, Foster is a must field. Despite Josh's struggles, the best way to stop cover 0 is throwing it deep outside. Foster gives the Bills that option. Hit a couple of those and they'll quickly abandon cover 0.

Thanks for linking this. That guy knows his stuff, even though he's a Pat's fan.

All depends on which Brady and Fitz show up. Something around the 10-15% chance is what I’d guess.

I bought tix to Hou and have hotel reservations both Friday and Saturday (cancellable) but Im holding off on airlines until its official.

Add to his being a gunner on ST and his speed on the outside bring a safety over and opening up things in the middle for Beasley or a TE in addition to the what, 3 deep ball PI calls he’s drawn this year. Yeah, Foster, easily, brings more value to the Bills.

Hmm, John from Riverside or coach McDermott, who has more information and experience to make the correct decision?

Foster is a gunner on ST. That, all by itself, is more important than anything Duke can bring to the table.

Both the ST and D are due for a return TD.

I’ve thought of the Armstrong comparison too but the difference is the NFL would hide any and all information about the cheating from the public. They’d never let it see the light of day, otherwise the legitimacy of two decades of their sport would be come into question.

Yeah, I want Baltimore too as it means that the Bills have won at least one playoff game. I’ll take that with a chance to knockoff the newest biggest baddie on the block.