hondo in seattle

I'm heartened by the fact that it's not the case that the best team wins the SB every year. If the best team always won, we wouldn't have a chance at a Lombardi because our D mostly sucks and our O is inconsistent. But football is a funny game and anything can happen in a best-of-one series. Sometimes good teams have bad games. Sometimes injuries, bad ref calls, weird bounces, and all the other fun possibilities of the game allow the weaker team to win. We're good enough to be in contention and maybe the Gridiron Gods will favor us with some breaks this year.

As a little kid in the suburbs of Buffalo I was as much a Browns fan as a Bills fan. The first game I ever watched on TV was a Browns-Cowboys game with the Browns down by two scores. As a child of maybe 9, of course I rooted for the team getting stomped. And, sure enough, the Brownies came back to win. I was hooked on football and the Browns. I stayed a Browns fan until they moved the team out of the city in the middle of the night. But I remember Kosar well and appreciated the good Browns moments he created. It's a shame he ruined his liver with alcohol. Still, he's in my prayers.

It looks more like the ball went off his fingertips. Just an inch or two overthrown?

The only thing I'm confident about is that our run D will struggle. Our pass D has good and bad days, like our entire offense. Not sure which Bills team to expect.

I've heard it said that without Kincaid or Shakir, we have basically nothing. Well, Kincaid didn't play yesterday and a gimpy Shakir contributed negative yardage. Yet Josh still threw for 300+ in a 6 TD, 44-point game.

That's truly good to hear. But honest question: Was that because of his skill or Buc DBs blowing assignments? Shavers good game is encouraging, but even Keon had a good game once.

The fact that he was signed on Monday and running a go route on Sunday tells me that McD and/or Brady like the speed he brings to the WR room. I don't think they see him as exclusively a return man. And maybe the calf injury wasn't the legit reason he was benched, but maybe it was. I don't expect him to be cut. But I don't think he'll survive another fumble.

I hardly remember seeing Hairston, yet he played over half the snaps. Ray Davis only played one offensive snap and didn't get a carry. Seems like his star is falling - as a RB, not as a returner. No WR played more than 54% of the snaps. Brady's receiver packages are interesting.

I think Bishop is a legit starter. Really happy with his recent trajectory. I think the rest of them are backups. I like Poyer's knowledge and experience but he's clearly not the player he once was. We've seen enough of Hamlin and Lewis to know they're okay as depth but shouldn't be starting. As for Hancock, I haven't watched him closely enough to have a strong opinion.

Yikes. I want to be wrong and I just got new glasses so maybe I am because what I see so far is a jag. Not fast, not quick, average route runner, good size and physicality. After not being drafted and toiling on the PS for 2 years, he made the 53 this year which suggests coachability and a good work ethic. Put all that together and I'm rooting for the kid, but I don't see him as a HOF Stallworth comp. Though I wouldn't mind him taking more snaps away from Coleman.

To me, Shaq looks like our best run-stuffing LB while serviceable in coverage. Given our vulnerability to the run, I agree he should be on the field more.

Beane's drafts have been very hit or miss, but it looks like he nabbed a couple of good ones in Hairston and Bishop.

MGK, you're right. When I said all our normal starters were healthy, I should have said they were healthy enough to suit up. I just thought the box score was really unexpected. Shavers leading the pack! Latu with more yards than Shakir! Cook finally getting used in the passing game! I also didn't expect the Bills to sign Hardman and was glad to see him run a go route even if it didn't quite connect - just to get it on tape. Cook will find bigger holes if opponents respect our intermediate and deep games. And receivers will get open more often when teams respect our run game and we force them to defend the entire field - horizontally and vertically - instead of just the short stuff. I think the Bucs game will give opposing defenses more to think about because it wasn't a typical run-Cook, throw-short-to-Shakir-and-Kincaid game plan.

Otto did it in the 1954 NFL Championship game - after the Browns joined the NFL. The Browns won the game 56-10, one of the biggest routs in the history of NFL championship games. However, Otto wasn't quite as dominant as the 6 TDs or score might suggest. Like Josh, Graham also threw 2 picks. And he finished the game with a modest 163 yards passing and 27 yards rushing. Today, Josh had 317 yards passing and 40 yards rushing - a better game overall than Graham.

While today's passing game wasn't as efficient as the Chiefs game, it produced more points. And I'd like to see the same WRs suit up next week.