hondo in seattle

Blocking rules have changed, too. I remember being taught to block in high school. Our coaches instructed us to hold onto our own jersey's with our hands to avoid illegally using hands on the defender. In the mid 1970s and before, NFL lineman had to keep their hands to their chest in closed fists when blocking. In 1978, the NFL began allowing blockers to extend their arms and use open hands. While this was a huge win for offensive linemen in general, it was especially helpful for pass pro and contributed to the NFL becoming a "passing league."

In another thread, I said I expected to lose this weekend. But now I'm having trouble living with myself so, against all reason, I need to change directions... I was at Arrowhead a few years ago when we drubbed them 38-20. History repeats itself on Sunday. Bills: 38 Chiefs: 20

I lived in KC for a year. Overall, I didn't find the food scene there as diverse or appealing as the food scene in major west coast cities. BBQ in KC, however, was awesome. Burnt ends were my favorite thing to order at KC's many excellent BBQ restaurants. I'm too lazy and untalented to make them myself and not sure if I can find good burnt ends where I now live. I'll have to look. If you can operate a microwave... burnt ends from Costco.

One moment of life - for example, Gronk's cheap shot - shouldn't define a man. (Unless that moment involved unforgiveables like murder, rape, or pedophilia).

Thanks for this @Buffalo716 Let me ask: Is this why some elite QBs (like Mahomes) sometimes have good games against us? Here's what I'm thinking... A smart QB with good coaching will decipher all of McD's complicated stuff and know where to throw. At the point, it isn't about X's and O's anymore so much as it is about execution. And, athletically, the other teams sometimes have advantages/mismatches since our DBs are heady but not necessarily Olympic athletes. Our advantage is we disguise coverage well and confuse QBs with a zone that morphis into man (or vice versa) and so on. Take away that advantage (i.e. the QB isn't confused) and we're vulnerable.

And some here wanted him to start ahead of Damar.

I don't trust stats on receiver separation because I don't trust the methodology. But I do think it's true that our guys struggle. I also think it affects how some advanced metric sites might measure QB accuracy. Maybe it's my imagination, but I think Allen rarely throws to his primary and goes through his reads more than most other QBs. Maybe this is an Allen issue but I think it's because his primary is often covered. So either (A) Brady is designing and dialing up bad plays, and/or (B) our wideouts aren't as good as the wideouts on other teams. In either case, I would guess accuracy generally goes down when going to a second, third, or fourth option. When evaluating Allen's accuracy, I think this needs to be taken into consideration.

That they have. The Diggs issue gave Beane an unsolvable problem. He got rid of Diggs and ate $30 million in salary which meant he was cash-strapped and shopping for wideouts at the Dollar Store where he found Samuel, Claypool, and MVS. Given lemons, Brady has been making lemonade. Hopefully with Coop onboard and players getting healthy, we'll see more downfield passing and chunk plays going forward while playing situational football.

We have a trend of winning the regular season Super Bowl against KC but then not making it to the actual SB because of KC. I want the Bills to win this game for the confidence it will give the players when they face KC - or another powerhouse team - in the playoffs. (Not that this logic has been helpful in previous seasons).

The logic is only odd if you believe the oft-repeated-never-verified story that McD pushed Daboll to pass less and run more. Who knows that McD and Daboll talked about privately? I suspect that McD pushed Daboll to play situational football which means running the ball when running the ball is the smart choice given score, down-and-distance, and defense. I think McD loves when the offense produces chunk plays through the air as much as anyone. And understands their importance (vis-a-vis analytics).

I like an exciting passing attack with 4 wideouts too but you already explained why we don't see that more with the "kinda suck" remark. I think 12 personnel has a place in the Bills offense. Here's why... You can run a variety of run and pass plays from 12. You can keep Kincaid in tight or send him wide depending on the needs of the play. You don't have to substitute to go into a run or pass formation. Because of the flexibility of 12, the opposing DC doesn't know whether to go heavy and load the box, or go light and play the pass. Often the D will send out bigger personnel to counter the possibility of run when facing 12, creating mismatches in the passing game. There's the old dictum that you should 'put your best 11 on the gridiron.' Knox and Kincaid are both arguably among our best 11, particularly when we have injured wideouts. While 12 is often considered a run formation, last year the Bills were 6th in pass EPA when using 12 personnel (and 8th in total EPA).

Your resume puts mine to shame and I'm jealous. Besides my time in the States, I did a year in Korea and then Desert Shield/Storm. When I joined the army in '86, none of us expected to do anything exciting. The few Nam vets still in uniform were treated like unicorns. But after 9/11 - your time - the world became a much more interesting place for our service men and women. And the work you did is appreciated!

Agree. Stats and trophies won't back me up, but I've seen Archie, Payton, and Eli all play and thought Eli was the worst of the three. Yet others seemed to believe Eli would still play at HOF level into his 40s.

Thanks for reasons for hope. Injuries are part of the game. But I'd love to witness a game this season where all our key players (Milano, Cooper, Coleman, Johnson...) are healthy. Maybe this roster - if the playmakers are healthy - is better than I give it credit for. And I'd be particularly happy if all the playmakers were healthy for the playoffs.

I was a cavalry troop XO during the first Gulf War. One evening, deep in the Arabian desert before the shooting started, a bunch of soldiers were hanging out by the MKT (mobile kitchen trailer), drinking the coffee the mess sergeant had just made and shooting the breeze. Then one soldier asked me about an article had seen written by a retired colonel saying that he expected American troops to suffer a 25%+ casualty rate in the upcoming war. "Since we're cavalry and the first ones in, what's our casualty rate going to be? 50%? 75%?" So we discussed the prospects of the coming war. No one wanted to admit they were afraid. No one directly said out loud what they were really worried about: bleeding out in the sand in this alien environment and never seeing their loved ones again. But I understood what those fears were and did my best to reassure them without whitewashing the situation. But here are the vital facts: No one complained. I mean, there was always the normal soldier b*tching about the dust, flies, food, MOPP gear, and so on. No one actually complained about the war itself or its dangers. No one shirked. No one held back. They all did what they had to do. My service was nothing special. But I'll always love and respect the guys I served with - and all those who serve. A belated Happy Veterans Day!

He gained 690 yards one season when he played a lot on a team with a legit passing attack. I though he might equal that here, given the opportunity: little competition at the position; great QB. He won't, and that leaves me disappointed. But he's a good team-player.

A long time ago when Frazier was Minnie's DC, I wanted him for our HC. Then the Vikes promoted him to HC, he failed, and I reassessed. Afterwards, Frazier did a short stint at Tampa and wasn't asked to return. He seemed to do mostly good work with Buffalo and the players seemed to like and respect him. But it's hard to say how much of that D was Frazier's and how much was McD's. Everything considered, I'd take Spags.

As someone who loves the Bills and is at this very moment wearing a "Just One Before I Die" sweatshirt, I hate myself for what I'm about to say. I know it was just one game, but I think the Ravens exposed us as paper lions. We just don't have the roster to beat the league's best teams. This is only the second time this year that I've gone into a game feeling we were going to lose. If we win, it'll be a much appreciated gift, but I'm not expecting it.

Spagnola is the right guy in the right place at the right time. I agree with much of what you say. But games are played by players and every coordinator struggles when he doesn't have good players on the field. It's true Spags was a bad head coach. But the last time he was a real full-time HC was 13 years ago. He may have learned something since. In any case, he plays a different role now. Spags success as a DC isn't owned by Spags alone. Reid builds the culture, authors the training schedule, and so on. But there's a saying that's been around since the pyramids that runs something like this, "It takes a village to build a SB team." Spags plays a vital role in that village. Any good team with good coaches can get lucky and win a Lombardi. The reason the Chiefs have won 3 recent SBs is because their village has Reid as the HC, Spags as the DC, and Mahomes as the QB. It's a deadly combo.

After all these years, I still don't really know what to say to that. No thanks are necessary but appreciated nonetheless. I give my thanks to all the guys who didn't come back alive and whole.

I thought this quote from the linked article was interesting. Does Dodson fit the Bills D better than the Hawk D? Do the Bills coaches do a better job of coaching guys and setting them up for success? HasDodson had personal, injury, motivational, or some other problems in Seattle?

I served my country because I believe in American values including the freedom of speech. I'm okay with Rich Eisen predicting the Bills would finish third. And I'm okay with you saying, "no thanks for your service." And I still thank you for posting a segment of The Rich Eisen show where they were all so very wrong in their predictions. It was amusing to watch.

I don't respect or disrespect people based on their football opinions. I went into war with Pats, Fins, and Jets fans. Respect for all those guys - especially today on Veteran's Day. But this is truly amusing. Thanks for posting.

Neither our offense, nor our defense, nor our special teams have played consistently good football this year. Yet, here were are.

This is an amazing stat. OJ may have been the best pure runner ever. Both he and Thurman are in the Hall of Fame as RBs. But Josh will end up with more rushing touchdowns and only a few of them are tush-pushes.