finn

The league doesn't have to be rigged from top to bottom for outcomes of particular games to be influenced decisively. All it takes is a wink and a nod, nothing that can be proven or even called out. Money or other rewards can be exchanged later. If I'm a congressman (god forbid), I would quietly urge the FBI to probe the matter at least on a preliminary basis. That field goal a few weeks ago by the Rams (I believe) in the last seconds when they were down a touchdown is Exhibit A.

Do you know what the record is?

I don't know. There's a calm emanating from Allen the past two or three games I haven't seen too often before. He seems very much in control of himself and the offense. Even against the Jets he was taking what they gave him until he melted down. Ironically, he might have needed that meltdown to learn (or reinforce) the lesson that he doesn't have to do it all. My sense is that this is the version of Allen we'll see from now on, the same version we saw in the 13-second game. In short, the best player in the league, at any position.

The one to Shakir was perfect and probably should have been caught.

Is there a dumber penalty in football than lining up Offside?

You get a sense the Bills are not going to score again, don't you?

I went away for a minute. Why wasn't that a TD for Waddle?

Poor guy. He worked so hard to come back from the knee injury.

Yeah, but the key there is that the DB didn't turn around to play the ball. If he had, the call might have legitimately gone either way.

Remember Kelly vs. Steve Walsh?

Right. I used to like his commentary, which I found insightful and informed. Now, he either gushes or stumbles incoherently half the time.

Could use Elam's speed back there. The zone isn't working. Benford and the safeties look slow. To be fair, the Dolphins are doing everything right. They came to play. Fortunately, so did the Bills offense.

Romo is a bit of an idiot, isn't he?

Imagine Josh Allen with a receiver who complements HIS skill set, a true downfield speed receiver with hands.

Give Allen a real WR2--not even a second WR1--and they'd be the best.

Did Romo just say "That's why I think Buffalo has a chance"? WTF?

Not much to complain about on that drive. Even the two-yard runs soften the D up for the pass.

I really, really don't want the Dolphins to win. The resulting media adoration may turn me off from football forever.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply he was in fact starting. I was just saying if I would prefer Rapp to start.

I'm hoping he has developed. My impression from last season was an energetic guy who flies to the ball and hits hard but arrives late or overruns plays. You kind of hold your breath when he's on the field. But he did better in preseason this year, so who knows. I think I would be more comfortable with Rapp back there and Hamlin as the top sub.

I think McDermott will have the defense ready. I don't see the Dolphins scoring more than 27 points. That's a lot, but I can easily see the Bills offense scoring more than that. In other words, the Bills are likely to score more points against the Miami defense than the Miami offense against the Bills defense. Genius, ain't I? 😁

Maybe the answer is to rush three in that case, drop eight, and jam the receivers to disrupt the timing. At least every once in a while. Not easy to throw into a flooded zone. Sorry, I didn't read your post before saying the same thing.

He might be an overall liability, actually, and the Bills might do better letting him go after this season. Look at the last game, for instance. Five targets, one catch for a TD, one drop, one interception that arguably was his fault. Not a fair sample, maybe, but his career catch rate is low, his drop rate high, he's not quick, has a hard time getting open, and often runs lazy routes. The positives people have pointed out (except for the blocking) flow almost entirely from playing with a future Hall of Fame quarterback.

But he's small and slow!

Happened against the Patriots when Brady was QB. Worst call I ever saw. Hit created fumble, but it was blown dead for forward progress.