Buffalo vs New England Wildcard Game: 8:15 PM Saturday Night

[Greg S]

33 minutes ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

For the Uniform geeks 

 

https://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/GUD/controller/controller.php?action=weekly&year=2021&week=wc&league=NFL

 

 

 

NOTE they have been off before so.  We’ll see 

 

The TBA on the pants is to be determined but it does look like the Pats uniform is confirmed with their normal white over dark blue road look. No surprise as blue over white is the traditional home look. I would imagine this will be the look for all Bills home playoff games for this year and future years.

[Bills of Boston]

5 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

I swear to god the whole Boston area is clinging to the bellicheck factor. It’s like their “break glass in case of emergency” last ditch effort. 
 

I just listened to a Boston radio guy on an ESPN interview talk for 3 minutes about how Bellicheck owns mcdermott and lives in his head…… after we’ve just taken the last 2 division titles and are 3-1 over the last 2 years. 
 

Elite mental gymnastics 

Oh it’s beyond pathetic.  Literally the last ditch effort until they finally come to grips w the changing of the guard

[Greg S]

7 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

I swear to god the whole Boston area is clinging to the bellicheck factor. It’s like their “break glass in case of emergency” last ditch effort. 
 

I just listened to a Boston radio guy on an ESPN interview talk for 3 minutes about how Bellicheck owns mcdermott and lives in his head…… after we’ve just taken the last 2 division titles and are 3-1 over the last 2 years. 
 

Elite mental gymnastics 

 

They are not that far removed from their dynasty years. They dominated for 20 years and won 6 Super Bowls. Granted the dynasty Pats are dead and the Bills have become the better team but I can understand them thinking they are better. Two division titles is nice but the Bills haven't won a Lombardi yet.

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

33 minutes ago, Ray Stonada said:

Pretty funny from this morning's New York Times (gulp!):

 

"The Patriots’ offense is more of a family SUV than a sports car, and while the rookie quarterback Mac Jones keeps his hands at 10 and 2 o’clock and signals before every turn, he’s not quite ready for rush hour on the turnpike. Jones’s efficiency rating on passes of 15-plus yards downfield of 58.4 ranks 27th among starting quarterbacks, per Sports Info Solutions. Force the Patriots out of their running-and-defense game plan, and Jones looks more like another Zach Wilson than the next Tom Brady."

I love this analogy, gotta remember that one!

[Big Turk]

39 minutes ago, Son of a K-Gun said:

We all know that Mac isn't driving the van...Mommy Belichick has him strapped in his baby seat in the back.

 

Jones was exposed twice, he will be exposed a third time 

[Royale with Cheese]

2 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

He had a couple throws get away from him but other than that he was throwing the ball outstanding. He played excellent when they stopped trying to force the run. 
 

 

 

He was throwing the ball outstanding?  He was 15 of 30 for 145.  Our only TD was in the first quarter after a muffed punt .  We went to the pass because we couldn't run at all. 

 

Outstanding lol.

[harryS]

It's projected to be very cold but is it projected to be windy?  I'm seeing on weather.com that wind is expected to be 9mph.  While the cold is far from ideal, wind is worse than cold for the passing game.  We'll be able to pass if the stadium and lake effects don't kick that 9mph up.

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

We were 1-4 in the redzone.  
He couldn’t throw just fine it it.  It was an anomaly.  You don’t remember Allen’s 5 yard out that was pushed sideways?  Or the deep ball to Diggs where he couldn’t judge it because it was moving like crazy?

 

If we were built like the Jets with that scary WR core, we would be okay.  Davis and Mims just can’t be stopped.

50% completion = “just fine”———if your QB is Macnchz.  He threw the ball just fine vs the falcons and jets too I suppose?

[YoloinOhio]

4 minutes ago, harryS said:

It's projected to be very cold but is it projected to be windy?  I'm seeing on weather.com that wind is expected to be 9mph.  While the cold is far from ideal, wind is worse than cold for the passing game.  We'll be able to pass if the stadium and lake effects don't kick that 9mph up.

Not projected to be windy 

[NewEra]

48 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

I swear to god the whole Boston area is clinging to the bellicheck factor. It’s like their “break glass in case of emergency” last ditch effort. 
 

I just listened to a Boston radio guy on an ESPN interview talk for 3 minutes about how Bellicheck owns mcdermott and lives in his head…… after we’ve just taken the last 2 division titles and are 3-1 over the last 2 years. 
 

Elite mental gymnastics 

It’s a Boston based show.  BB is all they have going for them.  He’s a legendary coach and they have nothing else.  Their 2nd ranked defense was just taken to the woodshed by allen 3 weeks ago.  They can’t just stand there and **** on their team for the whole segment can they?  You know this man

[wjag]

15 hours ago, PastaJoe said:

Buffalo Bandits home game has been moved from Sat to Fri night to avoid conflict with Bills game. Rochester Amerks Sat game has been moved earlier to 5pm. Sabres at Detroit game will still be Sat night, so DVR if interested.

 

I watched the Sabres last night.  Who could possibly be interested?

[Royale with Cheese]

3 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Given the conditions I thought he played excellent and demonstrated he could manage just fine… they finally stopped playing scared of the wind in 4th quarter and were able to move the ball throughout much of that quarter after struggling the first 3.

 

 

LOL, now you're rewording it "given the conditions".   The result was we didn't score, except on the muffed punt and that was in the 1st.  

Josh averaged 4.1 yards per pass.  We were 4-13 on 3rd downs.  

We had 230 yards total offense.  NE only threw it 3 times and had more total yards than us.

Our inability to run made us have to throw in a game where we didn't want to throw because of the conditions.  But if you're not going anywhere on the ground, you have to make a change.  If we could have run the ball like we did against the Falcons, we would have continued.  

We scored 10 points.

 

Yes, outstanding lol.

8 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

As opposed to forcing the ball to Singletary and Moss and taking it out of the best player on the fields hands? 

 

You mean they tried to run the ball when conditions made it very difficult to throw?  

 

16 minutes ago, NewEra said:

50% completion = “just fine”———if your QB is Macnchz.  He threw the ball just fine vs the falcons and jets too I suppose?

 

Scottlaw will find anything, and I mean anything to criticize McDermott.

"He tried to run the ball with 50 mph winds...what an idiot!"

[YoloinOhio]

1 hour ago, Greg S said:

 

They are not that far removed from their dynasty years. They dominated for 20 years and won 6 Super Bowls. Granted the dynasty Pats are dead and the Bills have become the better team but I can understand them thinking they are better. Two division titles is nice but the Bills haven't won a Lombardi yet.

I can’t. When was the last time they even looked good vs the Bills without Brady? I don’t think they looked good throwing 3 passes on mnf, though they deserved to win because the Bills couldn’t score inside the 10 with multiple chances. The Bills have won 3 of the last 4 and 2 were by multiple scores where their vaunted D looked helpless.

Edited January 12, 2022 by YoloinOhio

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

12 hours ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

I think they historically do the opposite. They usually try and get away with rushing 4 early, and bring out heavier blitz packages later in the game. 
 

I don’t expect this week to be any different

 

Right, but that is exactly why I am suggesting it. If you do the same thing every time people will know what's coming (forgetting for a moment whether they can deal with that in the first place, most teams can't), so I would really pressure Jones into a mistake early. I want the Pats in a hole by the end of the 1st

[Stank_Nasty]

28 minutes ago, NewEra said:

It’s a Boston based show.  BB is all they have going for them.  He’s a legendary coach and they have nothing else.  Their 2nd ranked defense was just taken to the woodshed by allen 3 weeks ago.  They can’t just stand there and **** on their team for the whole segment can they?  You know this man

it was a host from boston radio that went onto an espn morning show. it wasnt his own show. he was being asked about his thoughts on the game.

[Greg S]

1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

I can’t. When was the last time they even looked good vs the Bills without Brady? I don’t think they looked good throwing 3 passes on mnf, though they deserved to win because the Bills couldn’t score inside the 10 with multiple chances. 

 6 Super Bowl championships over the last 20 years gives you that feeling of entitlement. I agree with you the Bills are the better team. If they play to their ability then they will win the game. 

[Stank_Nasty]

1 hour ago, Greg S said:

 

They are not that far removed from their dynasty years. They dominated for 20 years and won 6 Super Bowls. Granted the dynasty Pats are dead and the Bills have become the better team but I can understand them thinking they are better. Two division titles is nice but the Bills haven't won a Lombardi yet.

that literally makes no sense. nothing over the last 2 seasons has shown that.

[HereComesTheReignAgain]

1 hour ago, Son of a K-Gun said:

We all know that Mac isn't driving the van...Mommy Belichick has him strapped in his baby seat in the back.

 

[Nineforty]

10 hours ago, Mango said:

Why people who use this argument also frequent message boards is beyond me. 
 

That’s basically the answer to every single commentary from any NFL fan. “Oh, you think you know more about football than player, coach, commentator x.”

 

Dude, it’s an NFL fan board. Literally none of us are qualified to question a single goddamn thing that happens in the NFL. That’s not hyperbole. None of us can question anything based on that logic. 
 

So why show up to an internet message board then?

 

You must be a blast a children’s parties. 

 

lol

 

[YoloinOhio]

11 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 6 Super Bowl championships over the last 20 years gives you that feeling of entitlement. I agree with you the Bills are the better team. If they play to their ability then they will win the game. 

I understand the entitlement is there. But it’s a bit delusional. Now, I don’t think they are a bad team, they are a good team. But I’m surprised some analysts - not just Boston -  look at the matchup the way that they do. I think there are a number of ways the bills could lose but they should be favored given their recent history vs the pats. Mike tanier said yesterday that his upset pick is the pats, but it won’t really be an upset. Didn’t say why, which was my question. I won’t be shocked or anything if the bills lose,  but would consider it an upset. 
 

I worry about Allen’s passes in the cold. Tough to catch those freezing bullets. Mac won’t have that issue. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by YoloinOhio

[Greg S]

6 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

that literally makes no sense. nothing over the last 2 seasons has shown that.

 

When are fans objective about their teams. You are correct the last 2 years the Bills have been better. But Pats fans won't look at it that way. The Bills will probably have to win a Super Bowl and even then Pats fans will probably say "we are better we have 6 of them". 

3 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I understand the entitlement is there. But it’s a bit delusional. Now, I don’t think they are a bad team, they are a good team. But I’m surprised some analysts - not just Boston -  look at the matchup the way that they do. I think there are a number of ways the bills could lose but they should be favored given their recent history vs the pats. Mike tanier said yesterday that his upset pick is the pats and it won’t he an upset. Didn’t say why, which was my question. I won’t be shocked or anything if the bills lose,  but would consider it an upset. 
 

I worry about Allen’s passes in the cold. Tough to catch those freezing bullets. Mac won’t have that issue. 

 

As long as their is no wind Allen and the receivers should be fine. If the Bills do a good job against the run then I don't see how NE can win assuming the Bills don't turn it over. It will be very similar to the game at NE.

[NewEra]

32 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

As opposed to forcing the ball to Singletary and Moss and taking it out of the best player on the fields hands? 

That’s a different statement.  You said that he was throwing the ball just fine.  No…..he wasn’t. 50% completion is not just fine.  It’s poor.  Just because he can throw the ball with velocity doesn’t mean our passing game was fine.  It wasn’t fine.   He wasn’t “fine’ vs the falcons or jets either.  
 

the pats run D is trash. Much worse than ours.  Why would we not at least attempt to run?  In that first patriot game, we didn’t have a viable heavy set.  We used Sweeney on 13 plays and he’s terrible. Expect more running this sunday with Doyle taking Sweeney spot in the heavy set.  

[eball]

I have a question, realizing that many attempted jokes will follow:

 

In cold weather games are the balls kept "warmed" at all?

[PromoTheRobot]

10 hours ago, Putin said:

F them 

How you know that ?

 

It's 5 days away 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

17 minutes ago, Tom Donahoe, GM said:

 

Right, but that is exactly why I am suggesting it. If you do the same thing every time people will know what's coming (forgetting for a moment whether they can deal with that in the first place, most teams can't), so I would really pressure Jones into a mistake early. I want the Pats in a hole by the end of the 1st

I get it, I just don’t think that is McD and Fraiser’s style. 
 

If I wanted them to change something schematically, I think it’d be how they approach the run game and the depth they have their safeties playing:

 

When you look at our defense, traditionally we have at least one if not both safeties playing 15-20 yards deep. I am much more concerned about the ground game with NE, and want to see our LBs play downhill decisively. The issue with this becomes how wide open the PA game becomes over the middle of the field (I.e. see Titans game). 
 

If we roll those safeties down a bit I think it would really allow Edmunds/Milano to be decisive in their reads by taking some pressure off of their backend zone drops and onto the shoulders of our safeties. This would open them up to deep passes, double

moves and really hang our secondary out to dry.

 

I think that is okay and worth the risk for many reasons: 

 

- we have phenomenal safeties

- our DL seems to be getting to the QB

-Jones doesn’t scare me with a deep ball

-If those LBs are coming down hill, at a certain point, they will just keep going and they’ll be extra rushers in the PA game.

 

I would not expect McD or Fraiser to do this regularly, but I could absolutely see zone run blitzes regularly dialed up. 

[NewEra]

23 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

it was a host from boston radio that went onto an espn morning show. it wasnt his own show. he was being asked about his thoughts on the game.

Well, either way….he’s a Boston based reporter talking about him team prior to a playoff game vs a division rival.  You know he has to something good about his team…..what else could he possibly say?  BB is the reason they are in the playoffs.  He’s one of the reasons the team has had so much success over 20 decades….. do you expect him to say negative things about the pats?  Of course he’s going to put a positive spin on things…..and BB is just about the only positive thing going for that team right now….loser of 3 of last 4 games

[Fan in Chicago]

21 minutes ago, eball said:

I have a question, realizing that many attempted jokes will follow:

 

In cold weather games are the balls kept "warmed" at all?

I dont know the answer if the balls are kept warm but my sense is that even if they are, they will get cold in a hurry. Temperatures in the teens can pull away heat very fast. And if the ball is thrown, the convective forces of the wind over the ball will also pull heat away quickly.  

 

Edit - Brady and Allen's balls have been clocked at 60+ mph (wow). So even if the wind is still, the air over this thrown ball is moving at 60+ mph .

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Fan in Chicago

[Son of a K-Gun]

34 minutes ago, HereComesTheReignAgain said:

 

Young McCorkle

[TH3]

1 hour ago, Stank_Nasty said:

I swear to god the whole Boston area is clinging to the bellicheck factor. It’s like their “break glass in case of emergency” last ditch effort. 
 

I just listened to a Boston radio guy on an ESPN interview talk for 3 minutes about how Bellicheck owns mcdermott and lives in his head…… after we’ve just taken the last 2 division titles and are 3-1 over the last 2 years. 
 

Elite mental gymnastics 

I live here in NE and there exists  - from 20 years of TB12GOAT - an entire industrial complex of Patriots tv and radio cheerleaders. It has been fun for two years - and I have to say - the level of production and capability makes Dope and Lapdog look like a Pre-k effort. The locals here are entertaining. 

 

They were on top of the world after Game 1. This week the story is basically all the same. There are some realists (20 percent - mostly the radio guys) who see MJ for what he is and know the Pats are up against it. The other 80 basically follow the same talking points (its almost like a political campaign) for the WC game.

 

#1 - Cherry pick Josh stats in cold weather

#2 - Include Josh rookie/2 year games vs Pats instead of just last 4 games.

#3 -  They went back to the 31-0 Milloy game yesterday to show Bills can win one...but Pats prevail in the end...

#4 - Josh regressed this year 

#5 through #10 - The 14-10 game

 

What is funny is they can't find a single thing the PATS are capable of doing to witn the game...simply grasping at ghosts of the past. 

 

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

Too wind today to benefit practice, as it doesn’t mimic projected game conditions 

 

 

[Motorin']

32 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

It's 5 days away 

 

5 days is 120 hours. Tuesday to Saturday is 96 hours. 

[MiltonWaddams]

8 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Too wind today to benefit practice, as it doesn’t mimic projected game conditions 

 

 

Turn off the heat and leave the doors open. 
 

Edited January 12, 2022 by MiltonWaddams

[Stank_Nasty]

1 minute ago, MiltonWaddams said:

Turn off the heat and leave the doors open. 
 

i think i'd honestly be storing the practice balls in a freezer.

[MiltonWaddams]

Just now, Stank_Nasty said:

i think i'd honestly be storing the practice balls in a freezer.

Chicken dinner for you my friend.

[CincyBillsFan]

I wish I could get paid big bucks to be a professional troll like Nick Wright!  I was watching a video where good old Nick stated with 100% confidence that the Bills and Allen were under the most pressure to win this weekend because a loss would not only be devastating to this season but would be devastating to the career of Allen and the future of the Bills franchise!! He went on to explain that the Bills could never recover from losing to a ROOKIE QB in the playoffs.

 

I would like to point out to Nick that:

 

*  The Chiefs are under every bit as much pressure as the Bills since along with the Bills they were projected as the lead Super Bowl contenders in the AFC.

 

*  And should the Bill's lose Saturday night, and I don't think they will, it will not be to a rookie QB. The loss will be to the greatest coach in the history of the NFL.

 

*  Allen is 25 years old and in his 4th season. If they lose it will only make him hungrier next year,  Ditto for McD & Bean who are both young and at the start of a long & successful run in Buffalo. To suggest a loss would destroy Allen's career and the Bills franchise is delusional.

 

*  I would submit that the team and QB facing by far the most pressure this weekend are the LA Rams and Matt Stafford.  The Rams have traded away their future to win a Super Bowl NOW.  And Stafford is nearing the end of a long career where he has NEVER WON a playoff game.  Should Arizona knock the Rams out of the playoffs and Stafford not play well that would have a bad impact on the QB and team going forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nucci]

There's pressure on every team , player and coach in the playoffs. It's just normal

[BillnutinHouston]

11 hours ago, Rumblinstumblin said:

That's actually human nature. Don't remember where I heard about that, but people actually like to see the fall of somebody they don't support rather than the success of somebody they support. They get a bigger serotonin kick. Not everybody is like that, but a majority is. 

 

Schadenfreude 

[CincyBillsFan]

22 minutes ago, TH3 said:

I live here in NE and there exists  - from 20 years of TB12GOAT - an entire industrial complex of Patriots tv and radio cheerleaders. It has been fun for two years - and I have to say - the level of production and capability makes Dope and Lapdog look like a Pre-k effort. The locals here are entertaining. 

 

They were on top of the world after Game 1. This week the story is basically all the same. There are some realists (20 percent - mostly the radio guys) who see MJ for what he is and know the Pats are up against it. The other 80 basically follow the same talking points (its almost like a political campaign) for the WC game.

 

#1 - Cherry pick Josh stats in cold weather

#2 - Include Josh rookie/2 year games vs Pats instead of just last 4 games.

#3 -  They went back to the 31-0 Milloy game yesterday to show Bills can win one...but Pats prevail in the end...

#4 - Josh regressed this year 

#5 through #10 - The 14-10 game

 

What is funny is they can't find a single thing the PATS are capable of doing to witn the game...simply grasping at ghosts of the past. 

 

 

 

Allen has led the Bills to victory in 3 of their last 4 games against NE.  In those games Allen has thrown for 933 yards with 8 TD's and only 1 INT.  He has also rushed for 161 yards and scored a TD. So that's 9 total TD's ageist 1 TO. Not to shabby against one of the best defenses in the NFL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

13 minutes ago, MiltonWaddams said:

Turn off the heat and leave the doors open. 
 

It’s almost 40 degrees out, wouldn’t do much 

[Dont Stop Billeiving]

51 minutes ago, NewEra said:

That’s a different statement.  You said that he was throwing the ball just fine.  No…..he wasn’t. 50% completion is not just fine.  It’s poor.  Just because he can throw the ball with velocity doesn’t mean our passing game was fine.  It wasn’t fine.   He wasn’t “fine’ vs the falcons or jets either.  
 

the pats run D is trash. Much worse than ours.  Why would we not at least attempt to run?  In that first patriot game, we didn’t have a viable heavy set.  We used Sweeney on 13 plays and he’s terrible. Expect more running this sunday with Doyle taking Sweeney spot in the heavy set.  

Great point on that last part...getting Doyle more snaps over someone like Sweeney has been a really underrated factor in the improvement of the run game IMO.

 

I try to watch Spencer Brown and Tommy Doyle (on his limited snaps) as much as possible when re-watching the games. Given the projects/raw talent they were meant to be, the fact that we are getting this level of contribution from that pair is really impressive. Elite length and athleticism, I've enjoyed the finishing moves after the whistle as well!