starrymessenger

To me this should be seen as a reaction to being disrespected all year, and especially going into the Cowboy's house on the national stage with everyone expecting Dallas to bounce back against a perceived "bottom feeder" after a tough loss in NE. I don't think many people expected the Bills to win. Just not getting blown out would be a kind of victory. Instead they pretty much dominated. What's my name? Whack! Sometimes, rightly or wrongly, little things make an impression on me. I remember close up coverage of Trent Edwards on the sidelines before a game with Cleveland that we narrowly lost (he was ineffectual). This was before he flamed out and while there was still hope that me might develop. What struck me was his eyes. They were dead. I remember thinking this guy has no confidence and will never make it. Before the start of the Dallas game they showed some close ups of Tre White stretching. As we know, Tre is a joker. I half expected him to at least acknowledge the camera that was pretty much in his face. He didn't seem to know it was there. His head was in another world. His expression was absolutely stone cold. All business. I figured "the team is showing up today, and it's going to be a good game" (though for sure I didn't know how good). As for Zeke, he gets what he deserves. I think Philips should have a job with Comedy Central after he's done with football.

Yeah his highlight reel reminds me of Singletary.

Given his worship of Brady you'd think he might see something in Allen. There was a play yesterday when Allen stood in the pocket with a ridiculous amount of time. He stood there forever motionless like a statue absolutely calm as he waited for something to develop then he uncorked a laser to I don't remember who exactly. It occurred to me that I had seen the same picture before not to so long ago. It was when Brady was still in his prime and had a good offensive line. Funny thing is that a poster on the Pats board had precisely the same reaction.

Allen is the best prospect in a very good class. The reason is because he has the most complete skillset for playing the position and scores highly in every relevant performance category. I say this taking into account his noticeable recent improvement. Not surprising since if on draft day people knew he would start to realize on his incredible upside potential he would have been the first overall pick. He'd be # 1 in my draft redo for sure.

Yeah, makem cry lol

I don't think McD would have done well with that ownership and under that general management. So the question is would Jauron have looked more like McD were he coaching the Bills today. I don't claim to know the answer but I wouldn't be surprised if it is "yes".

I think first half strength of schedule benefitted the Bills a lot, more especially Allen and the offence in general (including Daboll). The takeaway though is not, as most in the national media concluded, that the Bills are therefore pretenders. On the contrary it gave them the opportunity, well used, to improve against lesser competition so that they could be competitive against better teams now. Call me crazy but I rate them at or very near even money with the Pats at this time. They actually outplayed them earlier this year except that Allen had a horrendous game with lots of TOs. He has cleaned up his ball security and has otherwise improved his game a lot. He is a very different QB now than he was then. He's a better QB than today's Tom Brady IMO. Bills will seriously challenge for the division title next year. They could very well be favoured. Im more interested in seeing how they make out against Lamar and the Ravens because, at least in my mind, the question is whether the power run game continues to be their kryptonite. If McD and Frazier have figured out how to scheme for that the Bills will be a very dangerous team in the playoffs. On O things are coming together. Their talent at all positions except at QB is acceptable by NFL standards, but not more than that. Thing is they are hugely talented at the all important position and that by itself can raise the level considerably.

Romo is great but he was clearly disappointed (which is understandable, him being a Cowboy and all). Bills left him with nothing to be thankful for.

Not likely but possible. Whether it's for the division championship or not the Bills have a good chance of beating the Pats when they next meet. Not taking anything away from the Pats D but Allen had a horrendous game the last time and the Bills otherwise clearly outplayed them. NE won't be facing the same QB or O the next time and I think the Bills have a real shot at shutting Brady down. It's a pretty even matchup IMO even playing in Foxborough. Plus the Bills are the team on the rise. Tom not so much.

Yep. I don't recall the depth of the drop exactly but this is what he did on the TD pass to Brown last week and he never looked better IMO. I don't have a problem with happy feet either as long as it's done to ensure the best stability, weight transfer and general mechanics as the QB is going through his progressions before pulling the trigger. It promotes accuracy and that's why Peyton and Brady do/did it.

I'm Canadian but my brother is American and is visiting from Salt Lake City. My wife looks for any excuse to break out the silver ware so PVR is likely to be my only hope.

Ravens have a killer ground game no doubt about it. It's pretty obvious that to beat them you have to shut it down, or at least control it, or keep it off the field etc... Otherwise you are going to lose. Lamar is uber talented and fun to watch but what you do to him is what you do to any young player under centre - you force him to be a quarterback and beat you with his arm. Looks very much to me like there are things that Lamar can do, and do well, passing the football, and still things, lots of them, that he has yet to prove that he can do and really hasn't shown yet. If they aren't running wild Lamar's assignment as far as throwing the football goes gets much more difficult. As others have said maybe stack the box, blitz selectively, have Tre man cover Brown, ask Hyde and Poyer to patrol the centre of the field to minimize the TEs and maybe you've got a chance. As good as they are (loved seeing their O-line destroy the Rams' front) Roman still has to gameplan and pick his spots. Had they tried running inside the tackles yesterday they would likely have met with much less success. I wonder where/how exactly they will choose to run at the Bills. Also worth mentioning that the Rams were hot garbage last night. Out coached on both sides of the ball and not ready to play. That's on the coaches. I've never seen AD look so ineffectual. Just standing around all night not doing anything. Really looking forward to the Ravens-49rs matchup. It won't look anything like yesterday IMO.

Not good.

Sure but my feeling is that they will need to control the ball and score points. I don't know that they will be able to do that. When the game speeds up I also think that turnovers may well prove to be a problem. All remains to be seen.

You don't get kudos for predicting a changing of the guard at the QB position, especially in the AFCE. Brady is ancient, the Bills have Allen, the Jets have Darnold and the fish will be drafting a talented prospect in 2020. Oh, and lest I forget the Pat's current backup is a guy has given indications that he can develop nicely. Having a successful organization supporting him only improves his chances. I agree that Brady even in his offence looks very much and at best like an average to above average starter and a game manager. And I can certainly see why Tom desperately wants Brown. Edelman is very good but he alone won't be nearly enuf to get it done, especially if they continue to have a less than dominant ground game. To me the question is whether Tom still has it in him to raise his game to its former level consistently in the playoffs. I don't think he can but neither can you disregard the fact that no one has done more to prove doubters (like me) to be very wrong.

Makes sense. I would actually cut Kroft some slack and see how he makes out. In Fosters case however I suspect more his background with Daboll at Bama. I have no idea what's wrong with that guy.

Yeah the intangibles are great and extremely important. Almost, but not quite as important as, with the benefit of good coaching and experience, and with the addition of talent and continued growth of the O together with other young players like Singletary and Knox, having the game slow down for him. I think there is a good chance that all of that comes to pass in due course. I continue to think that Rosen is very talented as a passer. If his alleged lack of leadership skills is accurate however that is a big disadvantage for him to overcome. Playing QB at this level is not like playing tennis. I do think it's still much to early to write him off as a bust. As with all things only time will tell. Josh's year was a good class IMO.

Can't say I know how he would make out but I think I'd rather check him out than Foster or Smith who for different reasons pretty much stand out as a couple of non-performing deadbeats who I am tired of having to look at. I get the impression that maybe these guys get the nod because members of the coaching staff have an investment in these underperforming assets. Sometimes that happens. All aboard the A Train, choo choo. Remember that? And who was the guy from the bush leagues who had to sit? The fans clearly knew better than the staff in that case. I don't really have a dog in this fight however and for sure the coaches are more knowledgeable and closer to the action and should be making the right decisions.

The article is well written. In tone it is undeniably positive but to me it's not a product of homerism. Rather it's an accurate and realistic assessment IMO. Allen was and remains a top shelf blue chip prospect. He is not less so today than current MVP candidate Lamar Jackson once adjustments are made for differences in circumstances. As many have said there will continue to be ups and downs. I will be happy to take whatever success the Bills enjoy in the meantime but my expectation in terms of the timeline is pretty straightforward: I expect the Bills to add receiving talent, probably 2 players, another RB and one or more OLine next year. If the universe unfolds as it should, while of course nothing is guaranteed, I expect the Bills to be legit as contenders in 2021 and obviously for Allen to be a big part of that. Overall it looks to me like they are building it right.

I was only being half-serious. But I do suspect that Fitz can read a defence as well as Tom can. And Fitz is more mobile - he scrambled for a 20 yard gain yesterday until it was all called back on a bogus holding call lol. Never seen Brady do that.They can both work the pocket, especially Brady. But bottom line neither one of them can do what Aaron do (Fitz never could) as Chad would say. Anyway, though Tom was great Belly has always been the brains of that operation IMO.

He now reminds me a lot of Fitz. Except with a (still) better arm, more talent to work with, and a better OC. Fitz has better mobility. I think Fitz would be pretty good in that O. Brady will be happy to get his tackle back. I can't believe what a turnstile that Newhouse guy is.

Just curious, but if he lacks (for now) Allen's laser on out patterns, would that middle of the field soft zone coverage we are often in play to his strengths as a passer?

Agree. You no doubt recall the pre-draft commentary about this mechanical flaw. The analysts who liked him seemed pretty sure this (the narrow base) was correctable and minor as flaws go. I recall other analysts making similar comments regarding the lack of rotation in Allen's hips when following through his throwing motion (in addition to other issues). I haven't seen much of Lamar this year. Sounds from your comment that he still has work to do.

Yikes. I hope never to see Allen looking like Trubisky did last night on the sideline after he was pulled with only one or two series left to play.

And not just in football. Happens in ordinary workplace environments all the time when the new boss shows up. And it's not less stupid. I attribute it to insecurity.