hondo in seattle

A hard-worker, mediocre passer, and excellent runner. The offense was competent when ALynn was his OC.

I agree that it depends on different factors but I think we have to keep perspective about those 13 seconds in KC. McD ended the drought and transformed the team into Super Bowl contenders. All-in-all, last year was a good season. We played well offensively and defensively and won 11 games during the regular season before crushing our nemesis, the Pats, in the playoffs and then losing - barely - to the Chiefs. The Steelers have had only had 3 coaches during the past 50 years and won over 60% of their games during that time including 4 Super Bowls. I'd love to see the Bills achieve that kind of stability and sustained success. If I was a Pegula, I wouldn't be very tempted to replace the HC unless McD suffers a complete spiritual, emotional and psychological collapse.

Not rationalizing... Just being rational. The extremists in the Lombardi-or-Bust clique insist that McD should be fired if he doesn't win the SB this year. But the chances of winning the SB in any given year are small, no matter who lines up under center and or how talented the overall roster is. Fortunately, one season doesn't define an era. I'm interested in how many wins (regular season and playoff) McD and Josh will produce over the next 5, 10, 15 years together. I wonder what others expect the McD/Allen era to look like. And now many wins & trophies do they need to accumulate to call them a success?

After living through the drought, and some prior 1-, 2-, and 3-win seasons, I'll be happy with this: The McD/Allen combo give us multiple playoff games nearly every year and at least one SB win. If McD and Allen don't deliver a Lombardi by the time they're done, then I think there's a good chance I'll pine away my remaining years - I'm in my 60s - without every experiencing the joy of witnessing a SB victory.

All things being equal, each of the NFL's 32 teams has a roughly 3% chance of winning the Super Bowl. But things (players, coaches, injuries, etc) are not equal. So maybe the best teams are up around 10%. There is too much parity and uncertainty (what if Allen gets hurt?) to give any current NFL club much more than a 1-in-10 chance. Brady is widely considered the GOAT as a player. Belichick is considered by some the GOAT as a coach. In their 19 years together, they won the Lombardi a remarkable 6 times. And that's why I don't get the Super-Bowl-or-Bust crowd. Even the greatest NFL dynasty ever only earned the Lombardi once every three tries. While we have a great squad this year, the odds of the Bills winning the trophy this year are not in our favor. So I take a longer view. If the Belichick-Brady era could produce 6 SB victories, how many can the McD-Allen era? I'm hoping at least one and maybe more!

I agree with the Vader the San Josean. I don't care about vengeance. I just want to witness the Bills winning a Super Bowl. As my favorite sweatshirt says: "Just one before I die."

This is what I read: "Davis hasn’t missed a workout since the end of the 2021 season, bulking up from his listed weight of 210 pounds to 227 this offseason (he was around 220 pounds last year), according to his trainer Bert Whigham." He's up either 7 or 17 lbs, depending on your frame of reference. www.pff.com/news/nfl-wide-receivers-bigger-roles-2022-gabriel-davis-sammy-watkins

High School Decathlete Star, OJ Friend & Teammate, Super Bowl Champion, Color Commentator, Playgirl Centerfold, Attorney... a short but interesting career.

I was deep in the Arabian Desert during the first Super Bowl, beyond any tv (or radio) reception. I've never watched it. I never will.

I agree that OJ was an amazing talent. In fact, I rate him higher than most other fans. I think he was one of the top 2 or 3 football players ever. But if I was a member of the Goldman or Brown family, it would kill me to see him enshrined on the Wall of Fame. And I wouldn't take my kids to a stadium where murderers were honored.

TBD, PFT, and Bleacher Report are pretty much the only three I look at. TBD is my daily go-to.

This was an exciting game. Thanks for posting. But it was from some other world in some other universe where the player wearing 78 wasn't named Bruce Smith and the guy wearing 32 wasn't OJ. Very disconcerting!

Sad news. I'm old enough to remember him as a player. One of my first football heroes - back when I considered football players heroes.

Here's what Bart Scott said about Brady: "I'd much rather go against Tom Brady every day of the week than go against Peyton Manning... I believe that's how everybody feels. Like, in the heyday, never ever have I said when I'm playing the Patriots, 'I'm so afraid of Tom Brady.' "I lost as a No. 1 seed to Peyton Manning with the Baltimore Ravens. Peyton Manning gives you a different set of anxiety. ... With Tom Brady it was more about Bill Belichick, the entire team, the execution, them having a game plan." That's kind of what I said. Brady's had an amazing career. But he never personally performed head-and-shoulders above his peers. In fact, many knowledgeable guys, like Scott, don't even think he was the best QB of his era. www.nfl.com/news/five-scariest-quarterbacks-entering-2022-nfl-season-where-gronk-ranks-among-top-

The line for Voodoo can be over an hour long. But their donuts are unique.

As an out-of-state Bills fan the only Bills place I normally visit in Buffalo is the gift shop at the stadium. If you've heard the sordid stories, the Big Tree Inn would be a good second stop. I'm hard pressed to think of any worthy Bills places worth visiting. Is there any kind of marker when the Rockpile used to be? Almost forgot: I learned the Buffalo History Museum has a Bills exhibit though I haven't seen it yet.

Yes, sir, the Hail Mary is more amazing when you see the whole improbable drive. That Hooks catch down the middle, diving over a defender, was freaking awesome. And for an encore, he won the game on the tipped Hail Mary. You were at the stadium? I envy you! I wasn't there but did watch the game on TV and, a big Hooks fan, was pulling for him all game. Sharing the ball with Leaks and Cribbs, Roland wasn't much of a factor until that final, incredible drive.

There was a nice article about him in Buffalo Rumblings in 2011. Ed must have been talented to survive 11 head coaches... For 36 seasons, only one man held the position of head athletic trainer for the Buffalo Bills. On this date 15 years ago, Ed Abramoski retired from that position after a time span that ranged from Jack Kemp to Jim Kelly. After a standout high school football career, Abramoski attended Purdue University on a football scholarship. A back injury forced an end to his football career, but he found his calling at West Point as an assistant trainer. By age 21, he was the youngest Division I trainer in the country at the University of Detroit. He also helped train the Detroit Lions, which led to his next gig. When Lions minority owner Ralph Wilson founded his AFL franchise, several Lions employees joined him, including head coach Buster Ramsey. Ramsey brought Abromoski with him. Abramoski is one of the few employees who joined the Bills in 1959. In 1986, he was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame. The Buffalo Bills Alumni gave him their Appreciation Award not once, but twice - in 1990 and 1994. Also In 1994, the Bills honored Abramoski with a special version of the Ralph C. Wilson Distinguished Service Award for long and meritorious service to the club. He has also been active at the state level with the Special Olympics, and pushed for access by all high school players to athletic trainers... www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/5/4/2153065/ed-abramoski-buffalo-bills-trainer

Huh? Rental prices are lower in Buffalo than most other cities. Sightseeing? Two Frank Lloyd Wright Houses... Pierce Arrow Museum... Architectural tour... If you like donuts, I saw a list somewhere with Paula's Donuts as one of the 10 best donut shops in America.

My definition of dominance is a bit skewed. Football is a team sport and a player's stats are effected by his coaches and teammates. Like many others, I use stats to take something subjective ('most dominant player') and transform it into something partially objective. If a player is truly dominant, his superior performance should show up on a stat line. Btw, the Sporting News has Wilt as #4 all-time. Not too long ago, ESPN had him at #5. SI had him #3. www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/nba-greatest-player-rankings-1-10/1krt9rauze7s21xes8fi657ifo www.interbasket.net/news/the-full-list-of-espns-100-nbas-greatest-players-of-all-time-nbarank/19115/ www.si.com/nba/2016/02/08/50-greatest-nba-players-all-time#gid=ci02556958e0022580&pid=4--magic-johnson

I kind of feel about Brady like way I feel about Emmit Smith. Smith is the all-time rushing leader but there's no way in Hades I'd call him the greatest back ever. He just hung around a long time. Brady owns all the records but he hung around a long time to get them. He isn't even inarguably the best QB of his generation. I've heard people make good arguments for Manning, Brees, and Rogers. When I watched Brady play, I never thought I was watching a guy who was head and shoulders above his peers. When I watched OJ play, however, it was clear he was playing at higher level than any back in the league. And everything I've read about Jim Brown says it was the same when he was around. Domination.

This is a big question and after several hours of prayer and meditation, I came up with this. Players: Fitz and Josh. Two of my favorite players. Both bright. Both down to earth. Both fun-loving. Both seem to be good conversationalists. They like each other. All this will lead to an enjoyable evening. Actor: William Fichtner. Deciding on an actor/actress was the truly hard part. I didn't want a pretentious Hollywood peckerhead at my dinner party. And if the actor wasn't a Bills fan, he'd be left out of the conversation so what would be the point of inviting him or her. Fichtner is from Cheektowaga - I'm from Cheektowaga. And to seal the deal: he once played the role of a soldier - I once was a soldier. So Fich it is.

Coaches wish they were good at everything but they're not. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Some are good planners and organizers. Some are geniuses at x-and-o scheming. Some excel at in-game decisions and halftime adjustments. McD's biggest strength is culture building. The evidence is clear. After a win, players are quick to give credit to their coaches and fellow players. After a loss, you see a lot of accountability and very little, if any, finger-pointing. And when players leave this team - and there's no practical reason to kiss butt anymore - they still usually have great things to say about the culture here.

I agree with a lot of you guys. It's normal for a player to say nice things about his time. But if you follow football long enough, you can gage the expected volume and intensity of those comments. The things we're hearing from Bills players go beyond the norm.

Good historical knowledge, Thurman#1! I wouldn't personally choose Hudson as the most dominant ever but he certainly belongs in the conversation. Twice named NFL MVP, he was by far the best WR of his era and among the very best players of any position. The stats you cite are impressive.