mjt328

It actually goes back to the 1940s. They just never use it on their helmets or merchandise, so very few people even know the character exists.

Here's the thing... The 17-game regular season is really about positioning for the playoffs. Just over half the teams are eliminated. A couple get first-round byes. Homefield advantage is established. I think we have the best roster in the NFL. But it really doesn't matter who the "best" team in the NFL is. Because once you reach the playoffs, it's one-and-done. No matter how superior we looked in Week 1, there is a LONG season ahead. And even if we blow through every single opponent on our schedule, we still need to win 3-4 games in the playoffs with no slip-ups. So... who scares me? Anyone that doesn't see the Chiefs as another 50-50 coinflip at this point...they are fooling themselves. That team is absolutely still a monster. The Ravens and Chargers also looked good enough to hang with us. The Bengals are dangerous, and always seem to claw their way back into games. That's just the AFC.

So just under 3 touchdowns per game, and just under 300 yards per game. I don't see any reason why he can't accomplish that. Our multiple primetime games is going to help in an MVP bid. Voters will be looking beyond just pure stats. Yes, he threw two picks last night. But everyone realizes the first wasn't close to his fault, and the second was pretty much his only bad throw the entire night. The rest of the game he was absolutely unstoppable.

The way Dane Jackson looked, both rookies are going to be watching from the sidelines a good chunk of the season.

They were pretty sloppy in the second quarter. No question about that. But this was the 3rd game (out of their last 5) where the Bills offense hasn't punted even once. That's going to make up for a lot of the stupid mistakes.

All this is 100% spot on. The question is whether the Bills are really the inconsistent 11-6 team that we saw last year. Losing to the Jags, Steelers and Patriots. Or were they playing down to inferior opponents, and didn't quite get mentally right until the last quarter of the year? I think most people believe the latter. Hence the high expectations for this season.

To be honest, this level of attention is making me a little nervous. It's totally new territory. As a fan of this team, I'm too used to disappointment. Yesterday, all of the NFL Network announcers picked us for the Super Bowl. Not a typo. Every single one of them. Even in the 90s, we were generally overshadowed by the 49ers and the Cowboys in yearly predictions. With that said... I agree with Von Miller. Burn it all. Forget about the past. This is a different team. The Patriots were losers for most of their first 40 years. Before Brady/Belichick, they were 0-2 in Super Bowls and had a grand-total of 7 playoff wins in their entire franchise history. Now they are above the Packers, Steelers, Cowboys and 49ers as the top franchises in the sport.

My feeling is that Ed Oliver is pretty much a lock for an extension. His impact goes far beyond the stat sheet, and the coaches see that. I think he's poised for a huge breakout playing next to Von Miller. If he starts hot, I don't think they will wait until the offseason to lock him up. Tremaine Edmunds is probably a 50-50 split. The coaches definitely value him much higher than the fans. But do they see him as irreplaceable? And what can he fetch on the open market? If he finally explodes this year, he may price himself out of our range. I hate to say it, but Jordan Poyer is most likely a goner. I think the Bills would be willing to extend him 1-2 more seasons with a decent pay raise. But I get the feeling he wants 3-4 years at top safety money. At his age, he just seems like the odd-man-out.

I'm of the unpopular opinion that Brian Daboll was just an average Offensive Coordinator, and we actually may be better with Ken Dorsey. Before coming to Buffalo, Daboll did time as the OC of the Browns, Dolphins and Chiefs... and the results were pretty terrible at all three stops. In his first two years in Buffalo, the offense gradually moved from pretty bad to middle of the pack. Then suddenly Josh Allen had his breakout season in 2020, and the somehow the entire NFL concludes that Daboll is some kind of playcalling genius and quarterback guru. I'm not buying it. Not to mention, Daboll struggled during the first 75% of last season in developing a running game, and adjusting to how defenses were now playing us. Don't get me wrong. Having continuity at OC was definitely a big thing for Allen's development. It allowed him to focus more on his mechanics and learning how to read a defense, instead of constantly restarting with a new playbook (like so many other young QBs). But now that Allen is a veteran superstar, and every defense is keyed on stopping him... we need an OC that knows how to adjust and attack with other players. My feeling in the offseason is that our offense will have a greater focus on the O-Line's run blocking, and getting the backs involved. Which will ultimately make us more consistent, and less likely to have games like Pittsburgh and Jacksonville.

These were issues 3-4 years ago. Today... not so much. Every 8-10 games, Josh Allen has consistently grown in some aspect of his play. If he can come close to maintaining his play from the last postseason, every record on the books will fall this season. Short ball accuracy hasn't been a problem since early 2019. Deep ball accuracy hasn't been a problem since the end of 2019. I'm sure even veteran QBs have issues with disguised coverage sometimes, especially when the O-Line is letting through lots of pressure. But I honestly think Allen is one of the smartest QBs in the league with breaking down defenses. He's very underrated in this area, since most focus on his physical skills instead. Not sure what he's talking about with "timing" on the offense. What makes Allen special is his ability to extend the play, beyond what the coordinator designed on paper. This should not be a criticism, unless you are doing the same to Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.

For nearly two decades, we witnessed all the mistakes a GM/Head Coach can make when trying to rebuild. So it's easy to see what Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott did differently, and how it ended up leading to their current success. Doug Whaley was a strong evaluator of talent. But he was never on the same page with his head coach (neither Doug Marrone or Rex Ryan), and the disconnect was frequently apparent. There is a big difference in collecting talent, and building a cohesive team with a singular vision. It is clear that Beane and McDermott are unified with each move the team makes. Buddy Nix lacked urgency and strategy in building the roster (especially about the Quarterback position). His tendency was to sit on his hands and watch... ultimately forcing him to make an unwise decision out of panic. We saw it with Mario Williams in free agency. We saw it with EJ Manuel in the draft. In contrast, this regime has no problem make bold and calculated moves. Marv Levy was too old school, believing he could build a winning roster almost entirely through the draft. The problem was, his drafting was absolutely terrible. And even though he ignored the big-ticket free agents every offseason, he still managed to overspend on the second-wave guys. Tom Donahoe was aggressive to a fault. His time here was splash move, after splash move. It was exciting and our team was full of talent. But it never quite came together on the field. By the end of his tenure here, the Bills were in terrible cap trouble. We also had very little young talent, since many of our draft picks were traded away for veteran players.

One of the reasons that I believe our offense will be better under Ken Dorsey. It wasn't until the final quarter of the year that we managed to develop a running game. Part of it was the O-Line blocking better. Part of it was Josh Allen taking off more often. Part of it was Daboll just being willing to focus on establishing the ground game. At no point did we suddenly become a "running" team. But once defenses knew we could actually move the ball on the ground, the entire offense became pretty much unstoppable. All it really took was the threat.

Did we ever get clarification on what McKenzie's injury actually is? There was a small note about him "limping" out of practice about a week ago, and a small follow-up saying it looked minor. They never said if it was a knee, ankle, foot, hamstring, groin, etc. The lack of attention made me think he was perfectly fine. Now it sounds iffy on whether he will play Thursday. As one of our starters, I would think this would be bigger news.

Dolphins for sure. They have enough talent to finish with 9-10 wins this year, for sure. My bold prediction for this year... the Patriots will finish last in the AFC East.

None of these situations will have an affect on the Bills winning games. Cody Ford wasn't going to play much (if any) this season anyway. Everyone already knew the pick was a bust. They have been moving him around since his rookie year. He's was always the weakest link on our O-Line, and our blocking improved massively when Ryan Bates finally took his job at the end of last year. Getting something in return was a positive, not a negative. OJ Howard was a busted free agent signing. But it wasn't like he was extremely expensive, and he was only signed as a backup. And one of the main reasons for his release was the surprisingly strong play out of Quinton Morris. We are out $2.6 million in dead-cap, but seemingly have a better/younger option ready to step up in his place. Oh well. The Matt Araiza situation was tough, because the team was put into a very difficult position involving a serious off-field situation. The only critics of the Bills organization are those who agreed with Araiza being cut, but just felt the team should have done it 48 hours earlier. They will voice their opinions, and then we can all move on. Later this week, the Bills will sign a different punter (who may end up being better) and it will be like Araiza was never on the team.

I highly doubt anyone is taking the result of this game seriously. The Panthers played 95% of their starters for an entire half. Meanwhile, the Bills didn't play ANY of their starters (outside of maybe Kaiir Elam), and even sat a large chunk of their top backups. Our third-string QB is tonight's punter, for crying out loud. The coaching staff is clearly using this game as the last chance for fringe guys to win a roster spot.

Imagine if you (or a close family member) was falsely accused of something like rape or domestic abuse. Your reputation is gone. Your closest friends now hate you. And instead of waiting for all the information came out, your job immediately fires you because they don't want to "deal with the distraction" from the media. The Bills front office claims to care about the personal lives of their players. I'm glad that Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are willing to be patient, and won't throw Araiza to the wolves, because it's uncomfortable answering these types of questions from reporters. Again. There is nothing wrong with waiting for the facts.

Rape is obviously a very serious charge. If guilty, Matt Araiza should spend the rest of his life behind bars. With that said, I find it very disturbing how quickly some of you would cut a 22-year-old kid and end his career. It's not disrespectful to women to wait for the facts. We should also reject the idea that it's somehow more righteous to automatically believe every claimed victim, and impulsively throw the accused to the wolves. That's not justice either. Personally, I'm glad the Bills officials are willing to let the situation play-out before making a decision on Araiza. Any player in that locker room could be falsely accused of something criminal. If it happened to Josh Allen, I have a feeling the opinions amongst Bills Mafia would be a little more reserved. There would likely be a little more patience in waiting for the truth. Since we are just talking about the punter, fans think it's OK to just toss him under the bus. The Bills often claim a "family-like" atmosphere amongst the team, and that kind of attitude could be just as damaging to player morale. I'm confident that if Araiza's guilt becomes more clear and apparent, the Bills will make the right decision.

If you took the exact same roster and put a different logo on the helmet, most people would be expecting 6-7 wins. Max. It took 2-3 seasons before people got used to the Bills being good. It's just as hard for people to get used to the Patriots being average.

As it stands, the Bills already have a strong roster. Too many good players and not enough roster spots. They are also very tight against the salary cap with a handful of starting players who they may not be able to re-sign in the offseason. Over the next few months, it's likely that injuries will pop-up. It's also possible that some players will regress, and certain position(s) could suddenly become a weakness on this roster. That is what happened last year on the O-line especially. In my opinion, the smart play is to wait. See how the first several games play-out, and identify where the team potentially needs help. That's when Beane can make a last-minute splash (if-needed). And if we don't need anything, he can use the extra cap space to extend upcoming free agents early. What happens if Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, Jamison Crowder and Khalil Shakir all have fantastic seasons AND all manage to stay healthy? But then Tre White has a setback, and Kaiir Elam/Christian Benford show rookie struggles? This is a totally plausible scenario. It would be foolish to blow all of our cap space on Kenny Golladay or Odell Beckham Jr. (who may not be needed), so that we can't get secondary help.

Dreadful? Really? Including Cody Ford, our GM has only drafted seven trench players in the Top 3 Rounds. Harrison Phillips had a bad injury in Year 2 which hampered his development. But he was a pretty solid rotational DT by his final year here, and is now slated to start for the Minnesota Vikings. Any third rounder who signs as a starter in free agency is not a bad pick. Ed Oliver has been steadily getting better each season. He was a no-brainer for the 5th Year Option, and many feel that he's on the verge of a Pro-Bowl breakout season. At the worst, he's been a rock-solid starting DT for us. AJ Epenesa has been a disappointment. No disagreement there. But we have seen flashes, and I still think he's got the potential to be a solid contributor on this team. This is a make or break year. Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham and Spencer Brown are entering their second seasons, so it's way too early to make a determination about any of them. But Rousseau started all 17 games last year, and graded as one of the league's best run defenders. Basham has flashed this summer and in the preseason. Brown has been injured most of training camp, but did start 10 games as a rookie. If your only standard of a "hit" is landing a perennial All-Pro, your expectations are totally out of whack. Nobody hits 100%. Compared to other GMs around the league, Beane is easily one of the best in the business. This is evidenced not only by the Bills team success, but also by the number of his draft picks who are still playing in the NFL. Out of the 31 guys he has drafted, only Vosean Joseph is not currently on an NFL roster. That's crazy good. The same guy who drafted Cody Ford, is the same guy who drafted Wyatt Teller. That tells me that Brandon Beane does know O-Line talent. The real question is why they gave up on Teller one year too soon (despite him showing flashes), while sticking with Ford until the very end? There was some kind of misstep during the on-field/practice evaluation process which needs to be corrected. I wouldn't be surprised if that played a part in the O-Line coaching change this offseason.

Pretty good analysis. A lot went wrong for the Bills during the regular season. But most of those kinks were resolved by the homestretch, and they were really hitting their peak around playoff time. I think that we not only have a better roster in 2022, but may also be better-prepared mentally.

That is the problem. Too many HOF voters are looking for numerical milestones, instead of just looking at the player himself. Focus too much on stats and you get players like Frank Gore, who were never GREAT... just good for a really long time. Focus too much on Super Bowls and you get players like Richard Seymour... who pretty much just gets in, because he played for the Patriots. The Pro-Bowl is basically a popularity contest, which is further watered-down because half the players decide not to play... forcing them to bring in alternates. Mac Jones made it this year, for crying out loud. Tyrod Taylor was an alternate in 2015. I do understand the problem with guys having short careers, and that's where some players can be questionable. I never saw Gale Sayers play, but I did watch Terrell Davis. He was an absolute monster during his first 4 years, but was never the same after his injuries. Personally I think his career was a little TOO short, but I can see why some feel differently. The WR log jam from a few years ago was stupid. But at the end of the day, I think a bunch of borderline players ended up sneaking in. I'll admit I wanted to see Andre Reed for selfish reasons (as a Bills fan), but I'm not absolutely certain he belongs. He is just as deserving as Tim Brown, Chris Carter, Art Monk, etc... but I'm not really sure those guys were HOF guys either. I've often stated that Eric Moulds is the best Bills receiver of All-Time, and I know I'm not the only fan who feels that way.

Sure. But GOOD for a long-time, is not the same as GREAT. In my opinion, the Hall of Fame should be reserved for the "Best of the Best." The guys other players and coaches are afraid to play against. The guys who dominate on a regular basis. Barry Sanders was a Hall of Famer. Emmitt Smith was a Hall of Famer. Thurman Thomas was a Hall of Famer. LaDainian Tomlinson was a Hall of Famer. I saw Curtis Martin's entire career, and wouldn't put him anywhere near that conversation. Compared to current NFL backs, he was probably on the same level as someone like Nick Chubb or Dalvin Cook would be today. He just managed to stay healthy, and do it for a longer time (when most RBs would start declining around 7-8 years). The Pro-Bowl is for good players. Having a bust in the Hall of Fame should be reserved for legends.

There wasn't a single point during Curtis Martin's career, where I considered him one of the top RBs in the NFL. He played his entire career for the rival Patriots and Jets. Yet he was never someone (as a Bills fan) that I worried about us playing. Never. I worry about Derrick Henry right now. I worry about Jonathan Taylor right now. I never worried about Curtis Martin. It wasn't until his career was pretty much over, and they started talking about the stats he accumulated (yards and touchdowns). That was the first time I realized Martin was going to get consideration as a Hall of Famer. It totally caught me off guard. A guy shouldn't be a Hall of Famer based purely on stats. Especially when they are accumulated over an abnormally long career. The exact same logic goes for Frank Gore.