hondo in seattle

While I'm not a big fan of passer rating, I despise QBR. Yet, in this instance, I think QBR better captures Josh's performance. The picks weren't entirely his fault. And his ability as a runner - not measure by passer rating - obviously had a huge impact on the outcome.

So grateful to have hope this time of year rather than wondering how long the draught will last. I don't ever want to take achieving a playoff berth for granted.

I agree. When I saw how that play evolved from an Atlanta TD to 3rd-and-goal from the 16, I thought exactly the same thing: What a Billsy turn of events! I actually empathized for Ryan and the Falcons because it was so easy for me to imagine being in a situation like that.

I was once married to a generous, beautiful, and gracious Colombian woman with Borderline Personality Disorder. Sometimes she was amazing. Other times, it was as if she was an entirely different, and not very likeable, person. I never knew which one I was going to wake up next to. That's how I feel about the Jekyll-and-Hyde Bills. They beat KC in KC and the Pats in Foxboro - but lost to the woeful Jags. This team can beat anybody but can also lose to anybody. I'm just hoping for the beautiful Jekyll Bills go on a roll and that we don't see the monstrous Mr. Hyde Bills in the playoffs.

We've also called more plays with gap blocking. And we just played one of the worst run-defending teams in the NFL. I'm just not sure how much of the improvement in the run game can be attributed to Bates.

The Raiders are probably the easiest win but I want to spank the Pats to firmly announce that the Bills are the new kings of the AFCE.

Miyagi's take is age-ism at its worst. Like Frazier, I'm 62 and still proficient at my job. I'm not un-innovative in the slightest. In fact, I get accused of being too innovative. There are no signs that the game of football has left Riddick or Frazier behind.

Some of Roethlisberger's off the field issues are a real turnoff for me. And I'm hoping Allen has an ever better on the field career.

The Pats once had 21 drives (not including end of game/half kneel-downs) without a punt. That would be a fun record to break!

I actually feel a little better about the game seeing this. Of course, I enjoy every win. But the passing attack wasn't in sync today. But reflecting that we didn't punt again - that's impressive. When we didn't turn the ball over, we scored TDs. I'm hoping we can do three consecutive no-punt games!

A story I've heard... People say that Tom Brady, after college, went out one night to the crossroads of two highways in the Mississippi Delta. The legend says he stood at the crossroads for a long time. At exactly midnight, a large man dressed in black appeared. Those who believe the legend say the man in black was the Devil. Brady begged the Devil to make him a talented quarterback. The Devil agreed, on one condition. The Devil promised to make Tom Brady the winningest quarterback in the world in return for Brady's soul. With little thought, Brady agreed.

I wouldn't mind playing the Pats in the playoffs so we could beat them and leave no doubt who the new kings of the AFCE are.

Weirdly, I was a Browns fan growing up in Cheektowaga. I liked them even more than the Bills as a kid. So I remember #162, the solidly good Bill Nelsen. Kind of fascinating that Allen is already closing in on him. Allen has become a prolific passer - but it's also a different game today.

My beautiful Filipina wife filled a wooden bowl with 12 round fruit. She filled another wooden bowl with rice in which she placed 12 eggs. Her and the kids all wore polka dots and jumped up and down when the clock struck midnight. This all guarantees that 2022 will be a good year. So I'm thinking: Super Bowl! Happy New Year, Mafia!

According to Sigmund Freud, we all have a Thanatos/Death instinct that drives us toward destructive behaviors. Maybe McD picked on a classmate when he was in the 3rd grade and now he's overwhelmed by guilt. So he purposely sabotages his own success because he feels unworthy of a shot at the Super Bowl. Or, then again, maybe McD, Daboll, and Johnson continually evaluate their offensive linemen and have decided the best starting five doesn't include Bates at this time. I don't know. It could be either one. Maybe 50-50.

Because I love the Bills in general, and Kyle especially, this is probably my favorite Bills video ever. Chandler, thanks for reminding us. It's hard to believe it's been four years. These days we EXPECT to get into the playoffs. Back then it was a magical dream-come-true. The changing expressions on KW's face are priceless!

Agreed. It's not just Epenesa. It seems like our entire cadre of DEs has been mediocre. Even Jerry is less effective than he used to be.

BS ~ I agree with much of what you say. It's hard to believe Edmunds is terrible when he plays in the middle of the best D in the league as measured by yds/game. The thing about Edmunds, though, is he's not a traditional Mike. As you know, we typically line up in a 4-2. Edmunds doesn't have an outside linebacker on either side of him like other Mikes. It's an interesting role that requires more speed and coverage ability than the traditional Mike. As I watch Edmunds, I feel like he does a lot of things well that often don't get noticed. For example, when he blankets his man, forcing the QB to throw elsewhere - we hardly notice that. But when Edmunds makes a mistake - like over-pursuing on a long run - we all see it. It's interesting that the Patriots Wire thinks Edmunds would be a great addition (as a LB) to an already strong Pats defense. And Edmunds has been chosen as a 1st team alternate to the Pro Bowl as a LB. Yet we Bills fans don't want him in our linebacking corps anymore. patriotswire.usatoday.com/2021/12/25/gift-me-him-tremaine-edmunds-would-be-asset-to-deep-linebacker-group/

I think the Bills Mafia just won the Stan Musial Award... William Burke and Dan Konopski ran the donation surge at the time, asking fans to donate $8 – Jackson’s number – to the charity, according to WIVB-TV. The two were honored at the Musial Awards, which honors the "greatest moments of sportsmanship and the biggest names in sports who embody class and character." Lamar Jackson said: "The support that Bills fans provided for Blessings in a Backpack was amazing. Obviously the playoff game didn’t end the way I had hoped but if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Bills Mafia showed amazing generosity by helping out so many kids in need." "Bills fans, I appreciate the sportsmanship, high character and class you displayed after the game. Thank you for the impact your donations have made. You're very deserving to be honored by the Musial Awards."

It wasn't Allen's greatest run but it was indeed deceptively great. I think as people watch the highlight, they underestimate it. Allen doesn't do anything OJ or Jim Brown -esque. No tremendous jukes. No hurdling. No plowing through someone. But let's get the context right: 4th down, against our arch rivals, in a must win game. And then watch the play in slow motion. Two defenders should have had Allen before the 1st down. When I watched it live, I thought we were effed. Very few QBs could have turned that play into a first down.

We have a weird thing going. We either win big or lose in a close one. #1 defense, #6 offense, #1 in point differential... yet only 9-6. The Pack, in comparison: #11 defense, #15 offense, #11 in point differential... yet 12-3. I want to say that we're a better team than our record says we are - except that you are always exactly the team your record says you are.

I don't think this stat is meant to measure how good a receiver is. I think it's meant to measure how effective a connection is. Allen to McKenzie results in completions 78.3% of the time. That's a connection that works. It's a small sample size but so far Allen to Kumerow isn't working. Allen to Sanders hasn't been great either.

Fair question - but I don't know what objective data you want on a subjective subject. We're talking about evaluating QBs. We're all going to have different opinions. And we're going to like whatever passing metric matches up with our own subjective evaluations. I like passing rating better than QBR because it better reflects my own evaluations. It's that simple. But I know passer rating has problems, too. Just to give one example: a QB who goes 12 of 20 for 180 yards will have the same rating as the QB who goes 24 for 40 for 360 yards. I would think the latter QB made a bigger contribution to his team. And, presumably, the D in the latter case would have been more focused on stopping the pass than the former case, so the accomplishment (same completion pct; same yard/completion) is in fact more impressive. Some of the stat geek websites are starting to make insights into which QB stats best correlate to winning. That takes some of the subjectivity out of it. QB ELO is kind of interesting too. But I think it's near impossible to remove the subjective element out of QB evaluation.

I never liked QBR. But this was the day (Rodgers v. Tebow) that I realized how completely and utterly useless it was. I'm not sure who at ESPN invented QBR. But you would think they would have evaluated hundreds of historical games to validate it. If they had, they would have found these problems. No doubt 'passer rating' has shortcomings. But QBR is even worse when it was supposed to be better.

I was slack jawed during the game wondering who these ringers were dressed up like Bills lineman. I started the game somewhat pessimistically. But when I saw the time they were giving Josh, my confidence grew and grew. But before we get too effusive, a few points: * Apparently, the Pats wanted to their D line to contain more than pressure; * There were several times that a single rusher broke through the offensive wall - but Josh was able to elude him; * Josh checked down faster in this game than in some others.