finn

The likelihood is about the same as the Bills coming back against the Ravens and Bengals. Was it delusional to believe they could do it? Not happening?

I have no problem giving the Patriots credit for winning 10 in a row. You can't do that without good coaching and quality play. But neither can you do it without a healthy dose of luck, by which I mean injuries, weather, scheduling quirks (like timing of the bye and which teams you play at home and away) referee bias (yes, it exists, if only because they're human), and so on. Put it this way: A team made up of All-Pros, with two seasons to play together can coached by any staff you wish, still might not win ten in a row. Such runs are simply not all due to how wonderful and special the team is. I'd say that if the Bills had just ripped off ten in a row. The Pats could easily--easily--have the same or worse record than the Bills and be the exact same team it is now with the exact same coaches and exact same intangibles. So let's not get carried away by the utter gloriousness of this team, as so many commentators are. Yes, records matter, obviously, but essentially they're just another top-ten team in a season where no team in that tier has separated from the rest.

KC is like Voldermort. In fifteen years, we'll still be checking to see if they're dead.

Of course they are. Do you think the football gods are going to let us off that easily? Get ready for a heavy dose of "This is the team no one wants to face" and "They're a different team in the playoffs" and similar garbage.

And the Bengals minus Burrow and Chase.

I'm with you. I've seen Marino, Manning, Brady, Burrow, and others throw gorgeous, perfect balls. But I've never seen anyone make physics-bending throws like Allen makes every season. Think of his sideline collection alone. Mahomes makes his falling-down and no-look throws that give Collinsworth and Nick Collins shivers, but Allen is another level for the truly impossible throws. Oddly, he's not as accurate overall as any of these quarterbacks.

How about the cross-body throw to Cook (I think) when Allen was running one way and Cook the other? In traffic!

The Pats* have a lot of injuries. Not as many as the Bills, but they'll be missing Stevenson, Ellis, Boutte, Milton Williams, Campbell, and possibly Gonzalez, according to Google. Anyone have a more reliable source? The sad thing is that it doesn't matter that they're missing their left tackle and best cornerback since we're missing Bosa and have no wide receivers worthy of the name. I'm glad not to face Milton Williams, though.

Has Maye been challenged by a tough defense yet, like Allen was by Houston and Atlanta? I don't watch their games on principle, but I do wonder how Maye would hold up against a ferocious rush. Not that we have that. I think you're right that McDermott likely to play more soft zones and hope for the best.

Their luck continues. Reminds me of KC last year with all the breaks they got.

Agree. I'm expecting him to make wide receiver his top priority. I just hope he gives it the same attention he annually gives the defensive line--and has better results. For example, I would love to see picking WR with the first pick AND going after a top free agent AND finding two more receivers later in the draft or free agency. That's how empty the cupboards are now. Yes, we need a starting linebacker and, as always pass rushers, but it's time to see what Josh Allen in his absolute prime can do with the caliber of receivers all his top peers have as a matter of course, instead of the collection of retreads, busts, no-shows and JAGS he has to work with now.

I noticed DaQuan, too, ironically because I expect not to notice him. It's like, "Wow, nice play. Oh, it's DaQuan--again." He's playing with so much energy, I keep thinking it's Walker, a much younger guy.

It says something about how narrow the margins are that not having Strong, a sixth-round pick, on the roster could have had a major impact on the team's playoff chances, given how well he was playing and how much Taron's play has diminished. That was a nice draft by Beane, netting Hairston, Sanders, Walker, Hawes, Strong, Hancock, and Lundt.

Sorry, I can be tone deaf sometimes.

How so? If I'm a Bills opponent, I see red meat.