billsfan1959

Football - Jim Kelly Hockey - Gilbert Perreault (slightly over Dominik Hasek) Basketball - Bob McAdoo Baseball - No professional team. Not relevant to this discussion.

These days, I think it is not so much whether one half of 17 is equal to 8.5, I think it is more about "How do you feel about it being 8.5? If you would rather it be 7, then we can make it 7."

Amen. But, it was the 1st of five conference championship games in 6 seasons...a pretty good run, even with no SB wins

Happy Independence Day to all!!

Great season! I really thought they had a chance to win it all with that defense. I remember watching Charles Romes drop a sure interception that would have won that playoff game against the Chargers...only to then watch Fouts throw a 50 yard pass for a score to win the game. My wife and I had this old RCA TV. I was so angry at the end of the game that I walked over and tried to turn the TV off by kicking the push button - and only succeeded in shearing all the knobs off the front of the TV. We had to turn the TV on, change the volume, and the channel with a pair of needle nose pliers until we could afford a new TV... Not one of my finer moments...

I loved what OJ and the Bills running game did to Pittsburgh in 1975, particularly given the almost mythical status of that defense (and they were damned good) and the fact I hated the Steelers. However, my favorite OJ performance that year was what OJ did in the Cincinnati game (17 rushes, 197 yds). Cincinnati was a really good team that year as well and they also had a top ten defense. While the highlight video you posted showed only one run, I remember watching that game and thinking if OJ would have carried the ball 30-35 times, he would have rushed for 350+ yds. He seemed almost unstoppable that night.

I have to agree. In 1973 it was pretty much "We are going to run the ball. Try to stop us." They literally averaged 70 YPG passing...almost by accident. Averaging 6 YC in that offense (even with that great offensive line) was amazing. In 1975, the team was no passing juggernaut, but they still threw for almost 180 YPG. What I like about 1975, is that OJ was also utilized in the passing game. I think it is close, but I am going with 1973 as his better year. OJ ended up being a murding piece of ****; however, IMHO, I don't believe there was better running back that ever played the game.

I believe he is only going to get better and I am glad he’s our QB...

I'm not disagreeing with you that it was a contributing factor in the game. However, playing different positions or not, they still had 4 of their five starting linemen on the field. Not ideal, I agree, but also the nature of todays NFL. That was the worst offensive performance I had seen from the chiefs in a long time. You certainly can argue that it was a direct result of the line play, and you may be right. IMO, that alone does not account for vast difference in performances against the same team from Week 12 to the SB. We can agree to disagree

Please, they had the same O-line (except for Fisher) they had in the AFC Championship game (and previous game against the Bucs). My guess is if they replay that game 10 times with the same personnel, KC wins 7- 8 of them.

There were so many variables that went into deciding the outcome of that game - and sometimes one team is just, as you say, "firing on all cylinders" and the other team is not. That happens. Everyone wants talk about what the Buc's defense did to the Chiefs in the SB. They seem to forget how Mahomes and the Chiefs rolled up almost 600 yards of offense against that very same defense in a Week 12 win at Tampa Bay. Did the Buc's defense improve that drastically from Week 12 to the SB? Not really. It was just their day. The Chiefs were a better team than the Bills last year, but the Bills were a better team than how they played in the Conference Championship game. Hopefully, the Bills are the better team this year...and play like it when it counts

Jackson had a vastly better TD% than Allen in 2019 (9% to 4.3%) and last year Jackson was slightly better than Allen (6.9% to 6.5%). IMO, Jackson benefits far more from scheme than Allen. Over the last two years, 53% of Jackson's pass attempts have come off RPOs and play action (with the top rushing attack in the NFL) as opposed to 35% for Allen (with a rushing attack in the bottom tier of the league). It is the one thing Roman has done really well as a coordinator - scheming people open off the running game. Kaepernick and Taylor each had their best years, in terms of TD% and production under Roman. I am not a Jackson hater. I think he is a phenominal athlete and a good QB. However, much of his passing success has been derived from their running game. When he has been asked to carry his team when the running game is contained, or primarily operate as a drop back passer in the pocket, his numbers are not as good. I honestly believe Roman's system is great for mobile QBs with limited passing talent, and limiting for any QB that would excel more as a pocket passer. For Jackson to have the kind of passing production he had in 2019 (36 passing TDs), in a Roman offense, it will take a TD% of 8-9%. It is rare for a QB to be over 7%. I believe, since 1970, there are only 7 QBs that have done it more than once, with only one QB going over 7% more than twice (Aaron Rogers - 4 times) - and a QB going over 8% has only happened 13 times. Jackson has one of those times at 9% (tied for the 3rd best season ever) and almost hit 7% or better twice. Is that an indication he can excel as a passer? Or is it merely a product of an exceptional athlete at QB, on a team with a prolific rushing attack, under a coordinator who excels primarily with those two things (Interestingly, Jackson's TD% in 2018 without Roman was 3.5% - but he was a rookie)? I really don't know - and, IMO, we'll never know as long as Roman is his coordinator.

Different time, different philosophies. My guess is if he would have been playing over the last 10 years or so, in the right system, he could have been as productive as a Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Cole Beasley, etc.

Yes. I believe there can actually be 3 positive Ed Oliver comments in a row. But, I believe there can only be 2 positive comments per page for Star Lotulelei, and, as of now, only 2 positive comments per thread for Cole Beasley...

I feel the same way. Because of the ability to have normal OTAs and training camp, the return of some players, the addition of some players, and the maturation of other players (in terms of experience in the system and understanding of the game), I think this defense is going to surprise a lot of people - Particularly along the D-line.

There is no certainty to what the thoughts and views are at OBD because we are not privy. That is my opinion. Feel free to have yours.

My guess is there is a lot less hand-wringing about this going on at 1 Bills Dr than on this board...

Well, when a poster starts calling for people to be imprisoned for a stance or view that isn't illegal, it sort of invites itself.....

1939 Germany called and would like their Fuehrer back....

****** works exactly that way. Beasley absolutely has the right to not get vaccinated and not follow NFL protocol. The NFL and team officials absolutely have the right to address his decisions in whatever way they feel is best for the Buffalo Bills and the league. Whatever you or I think about it is irrelevant. It is between him and his employer. He can make his decisions and he will have to deal with the consequences of those decisions. That's how ***** works.

Fully understand and my response was not to suggest any political motivation on your part. It was just a general observation that people with accesss to the media, including athletes, use that platform all the time to express personal views - many of which are ill informed or could be better expressed in a different way - and that most of us are fine with it when we tend to agree (for whatever reason - not just political) and are not fine with it when we don't. If it is something that is truly something the team feels is disruptive in any way, I am confident McDermott and team leaders will appropriately address it with Beasley, as the should. But, in the end, he has the right to say it and those who disagree certainly have the right to express that as well.

There are all kinds of professional athletes and other celebrities who use the platform their status gives them to share their personal thoughts on all sorts of issues, including those that might be divisive in some way or that could be better addressed in a different forum/way. It seems to me that whether it is acceptable or not acceptable in the eyes of most of us rests soley on whether or not we agree with the stance. However, whether we agree or don't agree, he has the right to speak his mind.

That doesn't make sense to anybody...

Because playing a game is just like putting your life on the line in combat… So dramatic…