finn

Who?

That's the catch Hollins didn't make a few games ago.

They'll overturn it, saying he didn't have possession before the second foot came down. But that's not correct. He caught the ball, with one foot down and then the second came down.

Well, it's not like KC wasn't going to score in this game.

Maybe he was going to call a timeout anyway and thought, Hell, why not challenge? I'm reaching, I know.

So little innovation in the NFL, apart from Detroit. Why not try a hard count on the punt instead of the obvious fourth down and long? Why not do a hard count on fourth and long, act like it's all over, then snap it at the last second, when the defense has lost concentration?

Why does the commentary guy always resort to superlatives? It's constantly, "This is the best quarterback/safety/pass rusher in the National Football League." Can they think of nothing else to say? I mean, there is SO much going on out there.

Lamar does not look like an MVP candidate.

Maybe I'm just speaking for myself, but it seems to me no one can predict the outcome of this game. (I mean, to the extent that we can predict more or less accurately.) The outcome will seem obvious only in retrospect either way it goes. "Of course the Bills won. They always win the regular-season matchups." "Of course KC won; the refs rigged the game!" "Of course the Bills won; KC was overdue for a loss." "Of course KC won. How could Allen overcome losing three starters on offense?" And so on. Tell someone who hadn't watched the game either outcome and they'd nod knowingly. My take is that the Bills at full strength (including Milano) are flatly better than KC this year, better enough to win in Arrowhead in January. But not having Coleman, Kincaid, Brown, and Milano, offset only by KC missing Pacheco and the kicker? Edge to KC. But it's in Buffalo, so more or less a tossup. Hate to say it, but it'll come down to the refs. If they call a fair game, it really about as 50-50 as a game could be. (A BIG if!)

I think you might be right. They're triggered even at the suggestion the two players are equal. If they knew Mahomes was better, they would just laugh or make some dry comment. The hysteria is a tipoff that they know the truth: Mahomes isn't better, or even as good as Allen. Allen is better: bigger, faster, stronger, just as clutch, just as much winner. And he's done more with less. (Plus, he's not a whiner like Mahomes.)

We see what we want to see, right? Applies to me, too. I'll try to be objective today. It'll be hard. I'm already primed to say, "See! See!"

Or (Art) Van DeLay.

Samuel? I missed that. Is he injured, too?

A realistic prediction (not cynical or whiny or frustrated or making excuses ahead of time): The refs will flag the at least Bills three times for every two times they flag KC; The KC penalties will be relatively harmless (e.g., false starts, Offside) and never at critical moments; The Bills penalties will mostly harmful (holding, DPI, RTP) and come at critical moments (e.g., killing drives, wiping out sacks); The refs will miss ("miss") at least three blatant KC penalties; they will miss zero blatant Bills penalties. If KC wins, they will have won because of two or three controversial calls in their favor; if the Bills win, they will have overcome at least three critical calls that went against them. I want to be wrong, but I'm not. Thought experiment: Can you imagine the refs blatantly favoring the Bills? (Made you laugh out loud, didn't I?)

This is where the game is susceptible to corruption. A biased ref know he has to tip the scale on just one or two plays to radically change the outcome of a game. The NFL must know that. So what safeguards are they taking? Has anyone heard of, say, bans against refs betting on games, directly indirectly? If so, has any ref been sanctioned for betting? A few scalps would go a long way to restoring public confidence in the fairness of the game. Quite apart from the evidence of bias, it just stands to reason that at least some refs would be corrupt, especially now that gambling is legal and people have huge amounts invested in the outcome of games.

Given that he's ineffective even against much lesser interior linemen that KC has, how about lining up Oliver against the left tackle on passing downs? He's quick and powerful, and he might be more effective than Epenesa, who usually gets glued to the block. I should be an NFL consultant. 😁

So nice to evidence-based analysis for a change. It's vanishingly rare, at least where I'm looking. Thanks for the link.

Will for me. I don't watch the hype, pre-game, halftime, or post-game commentary, and I mute all but the actual play by play. I wonder why anyone pollutes their mind with all the other crap.

About ten days ago Ian Rappaport said Pacheco would be back within the next two or three weeks. But my point was that he'd be back given Murphy's Law.

How nauseating. According to this crew, if the Chiefs win, it's because they own the Bills. If the Bills win, KC doesn't care because "it's their Super Bowl" and KC will win when it matters. No analysis, no data, patterns, insider information... just chest beating. You get a sense it's all compensating.

Look for no Kincaid, Coleman, Cooper, or Brown--and no injuries at all, not one, on the Chiefs. Oh, and they have Pacheco back.

If I had known for sure I could draft Allen the next year, I would have passed on Mahomes, too. I wouldn't want to have to support Mahomes. Just don't like the guy. Plus, Allen is better.

For a fan, the outcome of this game will be frustrating either way. If they lose, KC owns them, etc. If they win, it's "Who cares? KC will win when it matters." Best attitude: Beat them now, ignore the noise, and beat them even worse in January.

For me, with little football knowledge and no access to tape, I just have to trust the coaches on Hamlin over Bishop and, previously, Edwards. He's likely improving, too. But why invest such a high pick in a safety, then? Was it lack of trust in Rapp? What role does Bishop have next year and beyond, if Rapp is playing well signed for two more years and Hamlin is coming on? That's a big investment for a developmental player.

How about Milano AND Dodson? With all respect and gratitude to Klein, I don't want a repeat of the KC playoff game. Milano and Bernard backed up by Dorian and Dodson sounds good to me.