thurst44

We went out to early dinner, and my wife and her mother and brother are at a movie, while my uncle (fan since 1960) and me went to our house to watch the game. Then, she once surprised me with a Bills uni for our dog Trixie, so she's pretty cool with the fandom.

So, hopefully it's the third time that's the charm (or even better, 2nd AND 3rd). It's kind of funny: we're facing the top offenses the next few weeks, they're facing top defenses.

This actually makes me feel weirdly positive about next week's game. They're due to have a bad game and we're due to get some interceptions. Then again, they're facing one of the two defenses better (statswise) than ours this week.

He said a good defensive team. They were the 4th ranked defense going in.

I agree that as of now the Ravens look like the best team in football, but every team is beatable. What were people saying about our chances v. the Vikings week 3 last year? The one-win Falcons beat the rolling one-loss Saints in New Orleans a couple weeks ago. And in this case, the Bills are actually ALSO a very good team. I don't see how the Bills beat the Ravens either, but it happens. They've been beaten twice this year.

Cowboys fans should not think ANYTHING is a sure win for them right now (especially a team with a 2 game better record than them).

Yeah, I've only seen one person pick against us so far (NFL preview video -- Carolyn somebody). I know I can be obnoxiously positive, but, damn, this may be too much :).

And in Dallas on Thanksgiving is a hard lie -- but we've only been blown out in one game, and Thursday games when both teams have no rest can be plain weird. The Run D has been more unpredictable than it's been bad, so hopefully the good Run D -- the one of the first five games, last week, and a few unlikely second halves -- shows up. If we play like the first half of the homestand+Browns game, yes, Zeke will eat us alive. We should have a good chance to win this game, but it's a scary start to a scary 4-game stretch. But good teams win some of these games.

You mean like they did against the Jets? Oh, wait, they lost to them when the Jets had zero wins? The Cowboys have actually become infamous this year for their slow starts. This past week, they beat the Lions by 7. Oddly enough, aside from the team we just blew out last week, their only true blowout was against that 5-5 team. The Cowboys should not be ranked higher than the Bills (not that it matters and I should not get as mad as I do when I see it happen), but here we are. They have not. Only the same Dolphins, and oddly enough the Eagles. They pulled away from the Giants twice (as we did), beat the Redskins by 5 fewer points than we did, and beat the Lions by 7. If we're going to take the side of other teams, let's get the facts right.

Would he be a fool, though. Let's say he really loves his situation (and few players have seemed to instantly taken to the Bills like he has) and pegs his renaissance to our system, how foolish would it be to take, say, a contract that guarantees 30 million vs. the chance at one that guarantees much more. Would the next 30 million make him that much happier and/or secure if Buffalo is where he actually wants to be. Also, for the poster who (inevitably) mentioned the weather and taxes: many players -- even ones who have lucrative post-NFL careers -- have stayed in Buffalo and/or NY state. Different people have different preferences, and every indicator is that Jordan Phillips is about as Buffalo a guy as can be after a year.

Who thought the Broncos were going to be good this year? Not that this will be an "easy" game, but this is the primary difference between them and the Eagles and Browns. Also, the Browns didn't come into New Era -- we lost a close game on the road. This is a game the Bills should win and need to win, and it is a more likely win than the Browns or the Eagles. Hopefully they do.

400 yards -- kids stuff: Allen 525 yards, 5 TDs, 99 rushing yards

Wow, seriously? I'm on the other end. This is football, not a gladiatorial fight to the death. Hitting someone in the head with a helmet and kicking a player in the head could end their careers. Also, this is why I can't feel any tinge of rooting for the Browns due to their long-suffering fans (and why last week's loss stung extra-hard, even if it was just one close loss on the road). Between Hunt, Landry, and others, this group is just dirty and unlikable to the core. I'd love to see them end 4-12.

You don't see Bills going into Pittsburgh and getting much done offensively against "that defense" (ranked 11th in yds, 13th in pts) but you don't mention the possibility of their 28th ranked offense having trouble against our 3rd ranked defense? Winning in Pitt won't be easy, but they got back to 4-4 with a hard fought win against Dolphins (yes, i know) and beating Colts w/o Brissett when the only player older than I am missed a field goal at end of game. This is not the Steelers of a few years ago.

But the Browns are about as far from a competent team as they come. Not saying we can't lose to them, but we should be favored in that game. Honestly, I can get the ignoring the Bills; I just don't get the continued adoration of the Browns. They clearly are a mess. (My having said that probably ensures they will go 10-6 now.) (also sorry if I was a bit over the top yesterday wrt to the endless positivity v. negativity wars. i don't question your fandom, just was playing off one of your comments)

OK, this I mostly agree with, but we can at least enjoy the game for a few hours. There's a lot that is good about this team; the arrow is almost certainly pointed up on the team, so I'll forgive them a bit and hope it gets better (b/c I'm pretty sure no coaches are looking here to make decisions) and be happy they are racking up the wins and hopefully can go into Dallas 8-3 or 9-2 as they work out the kinks. However, there are things that concern me. Oliver is not one of them, fwiw. He's a rookie who most experts seem to be impressed by. However, there was some bizarre play calling on offense and the defense broke down containment more than a top defense should. Yes, it does seem silly to me to run to a comment board right after to dis a team after a win by 15 pts., but that's not what I was commenting about. It was the whole did-I-do-that comment that I found annoying. The OP was mostly negative, own it! It amazes me how much of this fanbase seems to get more excited about pointing out what's wrong than actually enjoying a win. I'm not saying don't point out the negative, but right after a win -- that's a choice. One he has a right to make, but if you're going to act like people are overreacting, that should warrant a response.

It wasn't framed as a list of things "needed to improve" but thoughts about the game, that was a 24-9 win (against admittedly a terrible team). I honestly did not react to the original post. Fine. I've seen it all before. I have my issues with the game. It definitely had an agenda against players he does not like, but whatever. It was the smug, sarcastic why-do-I-even-bother to write an intro (that whole what-me-negative? attitude) when he knew exactly what he was doing. It was obnoxious.

That's not the point. There's a difference between not "giving high fives" and going to a fan site and making a point to say almost everything is terrible after a win and you know it.

You said "it doesn't seem to be getting any better." That is simply not true based on the second half. They did something hopeful against run and you didn't acknowledge it because it did not fit your narrative. And the logic "only referring to those plays where we got gashed" does not make sense b/c it does not count plays where we could have got gashed but did not. You could say the pass defense is terrible based only on the plays where the DB got beat. Yes, you say some positives, but the balance definitely seems a bit ridiculous for a team that is 6-2, no matter how they got there. There are more positives than you lock on to. Also, watching the Browns. Yes, they could beat us (any given sunday and billsbrowns days are nightmares), but the Browns really don't look "better than on paper."

Nor does it make them true. One example: did you happen to notice that the defense stopped the run almost completely in the second half (AP had 7 yards in the second half). That is very hard when the other team has that level of momentum. It wasn't a perfect game against the rush, but they did seem to improve when it counted . And don't say it was b/c they were behind and they stopped running, b/c it was a close game and if it had kept working, they would have kept doing it. Was it a satisfying win? No. However, to immediately feel the need to go to a board and say how bad this team is after a hard fought win. Why? There were a lot of positives too. Ultimately, they are 6-2, have some winnable games on the horizon and there's a lot to suggest the team's arrow is on the rise. And I really don't get your jeremiad against Oliver.

Admitting something is overly negative in the opening statement does not make an overly negative commentary less overly negative.

Soooooo, those rushing yards don't count, then? Also, the plural of one game is not season in the same way the plural of anecdote is not data. Anyway, you watched the games with your interpretation, I did mine (re-watched a few times on condensed and coaches). What I saw: Dawkins blocking mostly well and often exceptionally for both run and pass. Cody Ford boom-or-bust, Feliciano a beast in run game, Spain much better in run than pass, Nsheke good enough I rarely even noticed him, Morse caught out a couple times, but some brilliant blocks). Admittedly, I'm not a coach, but there does seem to be a lot of things to be hopeful for.

We're 8th in the league in rushing with a 36-year-old featured back and our draft pick out most of the year. Let's get some perspective here.

Eagles run defense is 7th, we're 10th -- the difference is less than 2 ypg. Meanwhile, Bills are 7th in rushing offense, Eagles 14th -- that difference is 24 ypg, so how exactly is this "disadvantage bills." Or were you joking?

There is a definite snakebit quality to the Chargers. Was it 2009 or 2010 when they had the number 1 offense AND number 1 defense and missed the playoffs?