Utah John

You're suggesting that the Giants won those SBs because of Eli. I think the Giants won them because Eli had good years -- much better than he usually played -- and the team kept finding ways to win. I'm saying they won the SBs with Manning, not because of him. I think Peyton Manning was a far better QB than Eli, but he had to go to a new team to win his second SB, and at that point it was Denver's D that won it for them. Peyton Manning spent all those years in Indy, lighting up the league, but Pats/Brady. That doesn't mean Peyton Manning wasn't great. Teams win SBs. QBs are often the most important factor, but not always, and a great QB is not going to win a SB on his own.

Yeah, the first game was pleasant to watch but this is a tough league, and the Bills will have things go wrong, as all teams do over the course of the season. First seven games: Rams - Titans - Dolphins - Ravens - Steelers - Chiefs - Packers I don't know which team it will be but at least one of them will catch the Bills on an off week, and it could be more than one. At the start of the season there was talk that going 4-3 or even 3-4 over the first 7 games would not be surprising. At this point, based on the mistakes they made against the Rams, I think 5-2 is probably the best we can expect. The Rams O line was not good, which made our D line and our overall D look tremendous, but against a better O line the Bills will have a tougher contest on their hands. The Rams game is not a guarantee of future success. The AFCE plays the NFCN and AFCN this year, so the Bills play only one game against the AFCW, which this year is a blessing, even if the one game is against the Chiefs. As for the Chiefs, they played a pretty bad Cardinals team, so we still don't know how good the Chiefs actually are. I'm somewhat more impressed by the Chargers beating a good Raiders team. I'm not that worried about the Titans. They have Henry back but they lost Brown, and the Bills D line is much bigger and stronger, so the Bills should win a tough game next Monday.

Maybe so, but this is still a good analysis. Not a puff piece. A really solid and accurate discussion of what Allen accomplished.

First of all, being rational and unbiased is an oxymoron for Bills fans... The point FilthyBeast is missing is the leadership that Diggs brought to the Bills, and how he worked along with Josh, really hard, to develop the chemistry that made them dangerous. Jefferson might be more valuable in the long run. He's certainly cheaper now. But what Diggs brought to the Bills as part of the big picture was far more than any rookie WR could have contributed.

So the Bills picked the Browns pocket on that one, but the Browns also benefited from the Bills giving up too soon on Wyatt Teller. Not sure if we can count this double theft as meeting the intent of the thread...

Jefferson will be completing his rookie contract at about the same time that Diggs starts to lose a step. Interesting opportunity for McBeane in a few years.

The Chargers had both Brees and Rivers, and had to pick one to keep. They chose Rivers, a very good QB, and they let Brees, who was injured at the time and who turned out to be even better than Rivers, leave as a free agent. I don't know why the Chargers didn't do something to get some kind of return for Brees, who had been their starter for a few years and had played really well in that period. But, that wasn't a trade between the Saints and Chargers. No, the Chargers won that trade by a mile. Except for a couple of seasons when Eli QB'd teams with great defenses, his career was pretty ordinary. The Chargers turned the picks they got for Eli into multiple All-Pro players.

This is the trade I was thinking about. The Chiefs got Mahomes for a first round pick that turned into Tre White, and then the Bills were able to get Allen. I don't think the Chiefs would trade Mahomes for Allen + White, and the Bills wouldn't trade even Allen alone for Mahomes, so they both feel like they got everything they wanted. That trade turned into the steps that made both teams powerhouses. I don't think so. Bailey was an elite player and remained one for years after the trade. Portis, like most RBs, didn't last very long, and he wasn't really very special even right after the trade.

I hadn't realized how well the Rams D played, and yet still got beat 9 times out of 10. The Rams covered everyone just like a coach would want, but the X factor that they can't overcome is Josh Allen. Unless the league creates a new category of QB, for Allen, Mahomes, Herbert, and maybe one or two others, that lets the D play with 12 men, the teams with one of those super QBs will win over and over.

You know, you don't have to have to attempt FGs and EPs the traditional way, with a holder and a kicker. The drop kick is still a legal play. I don't think there's been a drop kick attempted in the NFL since Doug Flutie did it (successfully) in his last game in the league (with the Patriots). But as a safety measure, in case your team's kicker or long snapper or holder is hurt, it wouldn't be a bad idea to train up someone on the team to be able to drop kick. Place kicking is a completely different skill from what most players know how to do. We all grew up punting the ball to our friends in the back yard. At least for EPs, which a relatively short, a drop kick should be more reliable than having an inexperienced holder or kicker attempt a very specific, tricky skill. Plus, since the drop kicker doesn't need a holder, that makes another player available to block.

When a center snaps to a QB in the shotgun, the ball comes up quickly but softly so the QB can grab it easily. The problem for the Bengals was the substitute long snapper couldn't get the ball to come back fast enough (on the missed extra point) or accurately enough (on the missed FG in OT).

No excuse for letting the TE do that. Some DBs and even LBs will try to take down a bigger man by hitting his legs, but you still have to aim at the body. It's football, guys, a contact sport.

Kupp is the best receiver in the game, but he kept getting open. Better CB play would have limited him at least a little. Neither Elam nor Benford has really proved they deserve the job. Against the Rams, our D line overwhelmed their patchwork O line and that helped the CBs. An opponent with a strong O line will give their QB time to pass, and that could be a problem for whichever rookie is playing. As things stand both rookies look like pretty good players, not studs. There's no other position on the Bills where being pretty good is good enough to stick around, let alone start.

Having raw Josh turn into this Josh was a combination of terrific luck, hard work, terrific luck, great coaching, and terrific luck. Half the fans in Buffalo thought we'd drafted the wrong Josh. I don't blame any other team for not grabbing him. I never thought Mayfield was the best player, let alone the best QB, in that draft. The Browns took a gamble, and it didn't come up terribly but it didn't win either. That's a B- grade draft pick, not an F. Here's the thing about Seattle trading Russ Wilson in 2018. What's killed the Seahawks over the past few years was needing to pay Russ, so Pete Carroll traded away or let FAs walk, almost all his star defenders. If Seattle had a solid rookie QB on a rookie contract starting in 2018, they would have kept three or four of their defensive players, and still been an excellent team while that QB got his feet under him and was ready to lead. Seattle would still be a force and not the shell they are now, with all the good defensive players AND Russ gone.

Kupp just broke an Edmunds tackle.

Maybe you take out your best back in a blowout win, so he can't get hurt.

Another chance for sacks. OK, silver lining.

OK this won't be the popular opinion but I love it that the Bills are being aggressive, trying for the extra yard. They're not taking their foot off the gas like the Bills of old used to.

no no no no Be smart Josh

Greed is good

The look on Higbee's face. Love it.

Coffin. Nail. Done.

Coffin, nail, get er done

Who needs the punt god? Who needs a punter?

Let's get to double digit sacks