Utah John

Cookie's career was messed up, missing out on college ball because he was tricked into signing a semi-pro baseball contract. With better coaching and today's training, he would have been just as good as Henry and even (forgive me my sins) Jim Brown. But he was what he was. And he didn't play that long after the Bills traded him to Denver.

McDermott saw the Titans score on their last six or seven possessions. His defense wasn't stopping them. The Colts-Ravens OT game was won/lost on the coin flip. Once the Ravens got the OT KO, the game was over. McDermott wasn't going there. It would have been a much more devastating loss for the Bills' morale to lose that way. I completely agree with the decision to go for it on 4th down. I don't agree with the call. Instead of getting into a contest of who's more manly on the LOS, be smart and fake the sneak and run wide, or pass. Also, the first few drives the Titans couldn't do anything. It looked like they were not going to score a lot. Taking the first two FGs was the smart move. It didn't work out because something changed during the game. I'll wait for the all-22 but I'm thinking the Titans changed their blocking scheme and the Bills had no answer. The last couple of drives, the Bills made the choice for Tannehill very easy on every down. If Edmunds played close to the LOS to help stop Henry, a play action worked every time for an easy completion to Brown over the middle. If Edmunds backed out, he'd hand off to Henry. This was not rocket science. For a professional defense, whether ranked as the top D or not, not to be able to handle this, was very disappointing.

That's all true. And, the FG against the Lions came when the officials let the Ravens not be penalized for delay of game - the clock ran out at least 1.5 seconds before their previous snap, And their miracle comeback against the Colts came after all the Colts' CBs were hurt. (Note, the Ravens took full advantage of that, and the Bills didn't.) The Ravens are a good team but will lose games in their division.

Yep. As I and others, he missed a lot of open receivers tonight. On his third sack, he had a wide open checkdown in the right flat with lots of green space in front of him. But he had decided he was going to go deep.

Only one undefeated team has ever won the Super Bowl so 2 or 3 or 4 losses out of 17 is not bad. We're in good shape, barring injuries or covid surprises.

We are NOT one dimensional. It happens that the Titans D line is good against the run, and their secondary is all injured, so passing tonight was the better choice. Against other teams, the Bills have run about as well as most teams (not as well as the Titans or Browns).

I know there's a rule that says no player except the player who fumbled can advance a fumble, in the last two minutes (or five minutes?) of a game. It goes back to a play called the fumblerooskie or something, where the Raiders TE Dave Casper intentionally fumbled forward and someone else fell on it. Or someone else fumbled and Casper fell on it. It was a loooong time ago. I checked on google. The play I remember was called the Holy Roller and it was in a game between the Raiders and the Chargers on 10 September 1978. Ken Stabler was the QB and he was surrounded by Charger defenders with the Raiders losing and time running out. So before he got sacked he flipped the ball forward (making it an incomplete forward pass but it wasn't called that way) and it bounced around into the end zone where Dave Casper fell on it. The Raiders won. John Madden was the coach at the time.

True enough, but he had time before he crossed the LOS to make the throw. He committed to the run and that was that. If he had made it, no one would care he could have passed for a TD. That was just Josh being Josh. I'll take it.

It was a legit call but it did not affect the play since McKenzie was already moving past the line where the block/hold occurred. The refs are just always on high alert during kickoff returns.

There WAS an open receiver in the left corner of the end zone. Allen was just determined to make it on his own, and he wasn't looking to pass anymore once he made up his mind to run.

Yeah, I'm not sure he even noticed his own mistake. It was a good play by Allen. Absolutely right. If the Bills got those two TDs the entire game changes. I think the play calling was not up to usual standards, and Josh didn't have his usual field awareness. There were several TDs that we didn't score because he didn't see wide-open receivers.

He was short. The Bills seemed to be like Casey at the Bat. They could move at will, almost, with the Titans CBs third string. But it seemed like that would have been too easy. They kept running the same running play on first down, getting three or four yards. Then if Allen hit his second down pass, fine, but if he didn't suddenly the Bills were on their heels. And too many times, there was no joy in Mudville. There was no reason to run against the Titans. The weather was good, the field was dry, and the defense was wounded. I don't think we got outcoached. I think we outcoached ourselves.

But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads and say I've changed Well something's lost, but something's gained In living every day Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now I have to say I can't find a single thing about how the Bills are doing lately that I'd trade for a trip back in time to the drought years. The old hopeful feeling that today might be the day the Bills finally figure out how to beat (fill in the blank) but deep down knowing it probably wasn't the day after all? No, I remember the feeling from the SB years, when it was an excited yet calm feeling before a game, knowing the Bills were probably going to win again. That was the best, and that's how I feel now too. I've looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow It's life's illusions I recall I really don't know life at all ibid

So Knox says the usual answer, he just worried about what he could control. Well, the list of things he can control includes how well he himself plays. He worked really hard in the offseason, even consulting a vision specialist, and just like Josh Allen after Allen's summers of work, he got better, a lot better. If he had stayed at last year's level, maybe McBeane make the trade for Ertz. The point is, Knox DID act to control the situation, by working really hard and becoming a better player.

Neither have the Bills, as it happens.

Since the border with Canada is just a few miles from the stadium, how about the Border Patrol?

Looks like there aren't a lot of chess players on this board. I do like the suggestion.

If we get one, the Patriots will get two. That's the rule.

I'd go with BOHICA. Bend Over Here It Comes Again. That's how offenses feel.

Those things would help but so will more experience. There were throws he missed or didn't even try, that a competent NFL QB should make almost every time. Philly isn't going anywhere this year so letting Hurts get his feet under him could pay off. It worked for Josh Allen and a lot of other good QBs.

Wood is a pretty good color guy, but he's also a cheerleader. That play was seven points there for the taking, and the Bills settled for three. Of course that ended up not being important, but you still have to maximize your opportunities. On the broadcast, she said that that meant they were very good.

I've tried to make that point all week, but people keep saying no, Diggs was so wide open that the important thing was just to get the ball to him. I say, that's nuts. This is Diggs, the best WR in the game or one of the very best. If Allen leads Diggs he catches the ball easily and walks in.

Ertz has to be delighted to be going to a team with a legit NFL QB. Hurts might turn into a good player but he was pretty bad last night. Murray has an outside shot at MVP. Of the two teams last night, it was the Bucs who need a CB more badly, but the refs bailed them out. There's a DB on the Bucs, last name Dean, who mugged the Eagles WRs over and over, with no DPI or DH calls. As long as Brady is in the game, the questionable -- hell, the rotten -- calls will keep coming. Very reasonable theory. The Cardinals didn't give up much in terms of draft picks or players, but what are they giving up in terms of salary cap space? Ertz is a long-term veteran with a solid career -- he's got to be earning a lot more than Knox, who's still on his rookie contract.

The Sabres are stuck where the Bills used to be, with a rotten culture. Nothing will overcome that except leadership and success. The Bills did a great job hiring McBeane, and they did a great job keeping Kyle Williams and getting Lorax to teach the younger players how to do things. Also McBeane purged a lot of bad attitudes (Dareus I'm looking at you). McBeane shifted the culture AND brought in a stream of good players. Lightning struck and we are all trying to get used to this. Lightning seldom strikes twice in the same place however. The older players on the Sabres were/are a cancer, and the ones we should have kept (O'Reilly) couldn't stand it here because of the bad attitude. I think it's all been downhill since the Sabres let Drury and Briere walk at the same time, TBH. What's left now looks like the start of a core with good attitudes and team-first goals. Let's see how long they can keep that up when the losing sets in.

I say New York, the pretty part, not downstate where there are some urban areas. And I'm almost always wearing a Bills sweatshirt or a Bills cap or even a Bills covid facemask my wife made for me, so there's no mystery to the person I'm talking to.