finn

I don't think it's entitlement. He strikes me as just very young, like a 14-year old. Did you see him dancing on the sidelines in his street clothes before one of the games? A good kid, fun-loving, a bit lazy, not too bright, definitely not a full-grown man. He's a bit surprised everyone is making a big deal of his being late to a few practices, but he shrugs and thinks, "Whatever." To him, missing a few games is a bit of a bummer, maybe, but it's not the end of the world. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a great game tomorrow, not because McDermott game him a stern talking-to or his teammates disapprove of him, but because he's just in the mood to play well. Maybe he'll get on a roll and keep contributing the rest of the season. Or maybe it'll rain, he won't get targets, and it won't be much fun, so he'll start jogging his routes again and not bother fighting for balls because he doesn't feel it. Like so many people his age, he's a man-child. No one would much notice or care except he's in the NFL and his team badly needs him. If I were to project his future, I would say he'll do very little this year and next, get cut, picked up by another team, cut again, then, if given one last chance, suddenly explode not into a star but a solid contributor at age 27, when he finally grows up.

It's a reach, but Allen was frustrated on the sidelines after his last interception after Brady got the call in late, which caused the offense to rush the play. Maybe that will be the last straw and Allen will finally tell (or signal to) McDermott that, despise "loving him like a brother," Brady has done an awful job all year long and is directly responsible for at least three of the losses. I suspect McDermott realizes Brady is bad, but maybe he will finally be moved to action by Allen's increasingly evident frustration. It's not too late to save the season.

Especially if the Ravens also miss. The offseason storyline will be "Changing of the guard." Fine, since that's BS. But does it have to be New England? This is shaping up to be one of those quirky years when a totally unexpected team goes to the Show. Maybe Denver or the Chargers.

They'll win. It's next week that concerns me, mostly because they will win tomorrow. This team can't seem to stay focused two weeks in a row. It's almost like get excited only by challenging games, like KC or Pittsburgh. If that's the case, the weak schedule has worked against them. Same with KC. Both teams have been dominant for so long and have played so many more games than any other team, they're just no longer hungry. Put them in the playoffs, and they'll shine, is my guess. The trick is getting there, or maybe giving them challenges. Maybe they'll see New England that way, instead of another Atlanta-Houston-Jets-Miami-Saints patsy. I'm guessing they think Pittsburgh is a patsy, too, but Allen will be excited to play against Rogers, and his enthusiasm will spread. In fact, he might be the one with the ennui.

If the mods don't mind a quick sidebar, would someone mind briefly describing what has happened to the Sabres since Pegula bought the team? Is it more or less the same thing that happened in the Bills drought years, lousy drafting and coaching? I watched Roger Crozier and the French Connection at the Aud when I was a kid, but haven't followed the team since. The Bills give me enough heartburn.

But that cuts both ways. Maybe it will help the Bills' tackling by slowing down the receivers and backs. It can't make our receivers play worse than the have all season, but maybe the Steelers' DBs will fall down. I'm surprised at how pessimistic I sound. I do think they'll win this game, but I'm really down on the linebackers, pass rush, tackling--and of course Brady, who I'm beginning to suspect is on the take. What else explains his primitive play calling and failure to adapt to what defenses do? IQ? A bad marriage?

But then who plays right tackle? Grable?

Kromer. He was OC in Chicago when the offense set records his first year, before Cutler crashed.

A ten-game winning streak is a lot to ask, especially with a slew of injuries, no bye, and Brady still calling plays. Realistically, the only way they're going to make it is if the offense is utterly humiliated by Pittsburgh and McDermott fires Brady. THEN I see them running the table.

He's very good, of course, but he can't stay healthy.

A more positive spin is that this is a team in transition, with young, promising players like Hairston, Walker, Hancock, and Sanders not ready to take over from the fast-declining old guard. That's ok--it's hard to stay on top year after year, especially with so many injuries--but the offseason is critical. Beane simply has trim the deadwood and find receivers, linebackers, and (once again) pass rushers. If I were him, I'd consider trading Kincaid, Dawkins, Bernard, Knox, Coleman, and others. Come back next year younger, faster, and less injury-prone.

We need to put to rest the combination of the name "Brady" and the phrase "scheme him open." If Cooks doesn't get open in the mesh concept, he can join Palmer, Moore, Coleman, and Shavers. In Brady's scheme, wide receivers come to die.

The image that comes to mind is a drowning man desperately grabbing hold of a inflatable Barney that happened to be floating nearby.

Are you referring to Coleman and Shavers? Or are you going back to Justin Shorter, Isiah Hodgins, and Marquez Stevenson? Yeah, Beane is committed to the position, no doubt. I would go so far as "obsessed." Will the man ever stop wasting high draft picks and cap money on wide receivers? I mean, enough is enough! Thanks to Beane, the Bills WR corps is the envy of the league. Joe Burrows was overheard muttering how envious he was of Allen. "Give me that group and I'd go to the Super Bowl every year," he reportedly said. "And here I'm stuck with Chase, Higgins, and Burton. God!" I just wish Beane would pay more attention to the defensive line. Such an inexplicable oversight. Damn him!

You joke, Brady does not. If Brady can make nothing at all out of Moore, Samuel, and Palmer, all of whom did better with their previous OC, he is not going to do much with Cooks--or even a Waddle or Jefferson. The man's mediocrity isn't even entirely hidden by the best QB of his generation executing his patty-cake plays.

As clear an indictment on Beane's GM acumen as any post I've seen.

A good reminder. The 2021 season is an especially apt comparison. For the sake of perspective, Allen was throwing to Diggs, Davis, Beasley, McKittrick, and Kumerow, with Dawkins, Feliciano, Morse, Ford, and a struggling Brown up front, Singletary at running back, and Knox at tight end. In 2025, he clearly has a better line, a much better back, better tight ends, and worse receivers, maybe much worse, since he has a Beasley in Shakir but no Diggs and arguably no Davis. I would say it's a wash overall, except for one factor: offensive coordinator. Sorry to the dwindling band of Brady apologists, but if the Bills sink this year, it won't be because of injuries, the lack of receivers, the porous run defense, or even the head coach. It will be because of a remarkably inept offensive coordinator who I predict will be a position coach on another team next year. Commentators will shake their heads at the wasted year. The truly incredible Allen can work with a below-average WR corps and compensate for a defense that doesn't always do its part, but even he can't do always do magic with the garbage coming into his ear on every down.

I agree, since what else can Beane do at this point but pick through the scrap heap? Still, the list of aging retreads (White, Poyer, Phillips, Lawson) alongside the fading veterans (Taron, Dequan, Milano), chronically injured (Kincaid, Bernard, Samuel, Oliver), disappointing (Moore, Palmer, Knox, Rousseau, Ogonjobi), and just plain gormless (Coleman) is a bit depressing. On the bright side, Bishop, Hairston, Hancock, Hawes, Walker, and maybe Strong give me hope for next year. And I still think they could go all the way this year, if only because the universe has a sense of humor. They don't get to the Super Bowl when they have the best team in the NFL (2022) or the conference (2024, 2025), so it only makes sense they'll make and, weirdly, win when they're deeply flawed, erratic, routinely outcoached, and past mark of mouth. Making reservations now...

Eagles trade for Jaelen Phillips, Steelers pick up George Pickens, Dallas acquires Quinnen Williams. All of them instantly contribute. The Bills? Tre White, Jordan Poyer, Dane Jackson, Jordan Phillips, and now maybe Shaq Lawson. It's just so discouraging.

It's a fine line between whining in the sense of indulging oneself in thoughtless complaints and pointing out legitimate problems and even predicting unpleasant outcomes. I hope you don't belong to that contingent of posters who simply do not tolerate anything but sunny posts. I'd rather read any number of complaints bordering on "whining" than the kind of Pollyanna, "Bills right or wrong" smarmy shlock you see here, especially in the offseason, that equates criticism with disloyalty and typically challenges the posters' credentials, as in "Are you a GM? Have you studies hours of film?" No, I never mind even harsh criticism. It usually reflects caring too much and having too much faith, not too little of either.

Sometimes this league is unpredictable, and sometimes it's utterly predictable.

Definitely keep the ball out of Taylor's hands and give it to the lame quarterback.

Cincy shouldn't have punted from midfield on fourth and short. The whole world knew that.

Am I the only one who despises Mahomes? I'm not even sure why, since the incessant glazing isn't his fault. I don't despise Lamar or Burrow.

What happened to Higgins?