hondo in seattle

I see your point and don't think it was a HORRIBLE call. But given the respective strengths and weaknesses of each team, what was the likelihood that the Jags could stop 3 low risk running plays up the gut?

Agreed. Though I don't think Rico should have called a RPO in the first place. We have a good running attack but a poor passing attack. The Jags have a good pass D but a mediocre run D. It was first and goal from the one... Pound it in with a designed power run - no pass option.

I'm not confident about next year. Neither our offensive nor defensive rosters are loaded with young talent. Our O and D statistics were underwhelming. The only stat that looked good was turnover differential and turnovers can be fickle. But I don't know how good Beane is. Maybe he'll strike gold in the draft and again in free agency.

I'm not a Tyrod hater but he was bad today outside that one drive. His poor play, more than anything, cost us the game. You're just not going to win a lot of playoff games scoring 3 points. There were too many plays out there that Tyrod missed. Wish our OL played better too. And while I'm not a big Rico fan, I'm not sure how much fault I want to hang on him in this one. At some point, players need to make plays.

It's classy of you to come here and post something positive when so many Bills fans hate the Pats and say terrible things about your QB and coach. Thanks for the kind words. I liked hearing Cowher talk about McD. It does seem he has the team moving in the right direction. The roster just isn't good enough yet.

I think we need a lot of players: QB, RB (Shady's not getting younger), OL, WR, DL and LB. Only our defensive secondary was solid. Yet McD took this team of no-names to the playoffs. And while we lost, we looked like we belonged - at least on defense. If Beane turns out to be a good GM and makes the roster stronger, we could be a perennial playoff team.

Agreed. The NFL has to keep just making the playoffs a notable accomplishment in itself.

' Good find. Nice to see our fans getting the recognition they/we deserve.

The Jags are statistically much better than us - albeit against a weaker schedule. But the Bills beat both the Chiefs and Falcons. We are capable of knocking off playoff caliber teams. Between Shady's injury, the Jags stout D, and Rico's questionable scheming/play-calling, we'll struggle to run consistently. (I voted 75-94). But we'll win. So hope you're right!

Our RB room wasn't bad until everyone started getting hurt. In limited action, Murphy looks like a legit backup.

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, we finally have a good coach and GM. This is a rebuilding year. Yet McD coached up this ragtag group of no-names into a playoff team. This wins a lot of credibility for McD, his coaches, and his "process." As Jobot says, we also gain playoff experience in a no-pressure situation. We're not expected to make a run this year. All this - combined with a good offseason (hence the assumptions at the outset) - sets us up for a better 2018. This is just Phase 1.

Well deserved.

I seem to have a little dust in my eyes.

Trading up to the top of the draft is so freakin' expensive and drafting QBs is such a crap shoot. I say keep the picks and get the best QB you can.

Agree with all of this. The secondary is, in fact, pretty good. When they produce turnovers, it can change the complexion of a game. The problem, though, is that Marrone is probably going to run 60+% of the time given the matchups. I'm really hoping Shady's healthy because we don't have a lot of weapons on offense.

People were probably telling McD that he'd be able to compete for the playoffs in his 2nd or 3rd year. But he went after it this year, despite obvious holes in the roster. This is not a great team. But they have heart. I don't expect them to make a lot of noise but I wouldn't be shocked if they upset the Jags.

The statistics tell a bad story. Our offense isn't very good. Our defense isn't very good. Yet, here we are in the playoffs after 17 years. To evaluate statistics, there's got to be a way to include turnovers. Maybe Billick's "toxic differential" is the key. I don't know. But cumulative yardage and point totals just don't tell the whole story. I think there's something about grit and resiliency, too, that doesn't show up in the stats. Other teams may outgain us because they have more talent. But at critical times, the Bills will fight a little bit harder, give just a little more. And sometimes, that extra effort transforms a loss into a win.

Gotta love the Bills Mafia. Just reached the 20k goal!

The Bills don't have a ton of talent on offense or defense. But they do play with grit and determination. If 538's computer picked the Bills to win 6 games, it only means their computer is wrong. They didn't input the data that really matters. They didn't write the right algorithms.

Go check out the website. Donations are pouring in from Bills fans, often at $17 a shot. What did Fitz once say? Something like 'Bills fans are unlike any others!'

Done! He made a great play that many of us will remember forever. And it's for a good cause. Yolo - thanks for posting.

Thanks for posting. Good read. When I tell people in the Seattle area that Bills fans are different, they don't believe me. I'm just being a homer, they say. All fans everywhere care about their teams. But Bills fans are different.

Jimmy G is having the time of his life. He's got a great gig in San Fran and isn't going to walk away from it. And QB-starved San Francisco isn't going to let him walk away. It's really hard to imagine a realistic scenario that bring Jimmy G to Buffalo.

Yep. Ticket availability will be the biggest determining factor. I think Bills fans would number maybe 30% if we could find tickets. A few years ago (maybe more than a "few"), I was at the Bills playoff game in Miami. Local TV estimated that something like 80,000 Bills fans were in town for the game. Not all of them were able to get tickets but we probably had 20,000 fans at the game sporting Bills colors! It was super impressive to see what a presence we had in that town and in that stadium. I remember going to restaurants where roughly 1 in 4 patrons were proudly wearing Bills shirts & jerseys. And that wasn't after a 17 year drought. The pent up demand to see a Bills playoff game is overwhelming.

Realistically Brady is probably the Most Valuable Player. But I voted with Yolo's logic.