The Helmet of

If he had a bad cold or flu or whatever nobody would ever know. He’s too competitive and obsessed with not missing time. I also thought he looked tired, which means he was probably under the weather.

Interesting discussion. Obviously the one seed is the priority. But if it’s out of reach, give the starters two bye weeks and go into the wild card fresh. As far as being rusty, that’s a risk you’ve gotta run. But it seems unlikely. McDermott is undefeated coming off a BYE.

Anyone else get McD vibes from Todd Bowles D? TB’s D seems to come up small in big games. Gets torched a lot. But they’re also streaky and can have opportunistic moments. In both cases you expect better from a supposed D “guru” head coach. Both are bottom half in key metrics like yards, points, and third down conversion…

+ Phantom holding call on Torrence + bs personal foul call… The hard core reality is that these kind of sub zero temps affect offensive production and efficiency. The ball was frozen and hard to grip and hold onto for both teams… NE played physical AF. If you’re Buffalo, why lay it all on the line when you can just get by with an ugly win? Is it worth it to totally sell out and go into the post season limping? Is it worth it running through a wall beating up on irrelevant division opponents? Winning pretty is nice but it’s not gonna happen every week.

He seems to have a difficult time coming out of his breaks. Not fluid. Choppy.

Lassie dies? I’m not deep into Lassie lore…

I see where you’re coming from. At the same time, he comes from a different generation. Zoomers are different. If you’re suggesting he should be more stoic, or more like a soldier, then I also get this pov. But he’s gonna march to the beat of his own drum. Not sure if he’s gonna be a great leader in the long run but I can’t judge him based solely on crying in front of everyone. He’ll find his own path, win lose or draw. Seems like the offensive coordinator hasn’t been helping him much. He’s got all the physical tools. Mentally, who knows ?

Greg Cosell said he’s a big fan of Maye and suggests he could be the best QB in the draft. He also said the NE offensive line is totally abysmal.

If Von ends up having an impact in the superbowl then he’s been worth every penny. For what it’s worth, his strongest game last year came in the divisional against the Chiefs. He can still crank it up when he wants to.

Herbert’s gunslinger mentality and toughness in the second half has won me over. Payton seems like a miserable SOB.

Has anyone ever seen Sean Payton smile?

I give Herbert a lot of credit for his toughness. His whole body is battered and he’s toughing it out. Kind of like Harbaugh back in the day. Not the best performer but tough as nails.

Dude has a bum ankle. Why run a qb run?

I’d be super happy to play Jim Harbaugh’s team. He had a lot of miserable games playing in Orchard park as QB for Indy. I have no doubt what the outcome would be. I watched a rewind recently of him getting violently assaulted by Buffalo’s defensive line when Bruce was in his prime. I give him credit for his toughness because he was absolutely abused on that old concrete Astro turf. Sean Payton is a gifted offensive mind and would pose a much bigger challenge.

Is Jim Harbaugh overrated? Didn’t he recently say that Justin Herbert is the GOAT and has “the strength of ten men.” I realize he’s an obsessive football coach and considered a guru but he gives off mouth breather Facebook uncle vibes. I do know he took way too many hits to the head during his playing days. Can’t imagine how many concussions he played through.

Is there any other sport where this happens? Seems unethical.

This was in the post game thread but it also seems relevant here. I didn’t know non consensual penetration was a legal tactic…

Good. Buffalo doesn’t need a QB with tiny hands.

This is shocking and appalling. I knew some rough stuff was happening at the bottom of those fumble piles but this is horrifying. Does he mean they are sticking fingers where the 🌞 don’t shine !? I hope the league knows what Dan Campbell is teaching his guys. Mad credit to Taron. He had two big plays, the onside recovery and the hit on St Brown.

He was definitely in on the last two offensive snaps for Detroit. The hook and ladder and TD…. Injury can’t be too serious.

Acho is actually an MVP voter. Not just a random talking head. He’s also a former JA skeptic. So his take has weight.

Agree but people love stats. Why doesn’t player X have better stats is a mindset. There was a thread a week or two ago about MVS. Look at all the success MVS is having in New Orleans why couldn’t Buffalo get more out of him etc. Ludicrous.

He played a lot. I believe zero targets.

Is there something about the turf? Lost count of how many total injuries from this one…

Agree with what you say and agree a lot of the whining and moaning from the fans is annoying. Still, this fan base is ravenous for a Super Bowl. And they are demanding excellence. We know the Super Bowl is a realistic possibility. McD has to be a beacon of excellence at every point going forward. Anything less is unacceptable.