mjt328

Yes. Based on those rushing stats alone.

There are a lot of games left to play out. It's hard to get excited right now. The Patriots know how to make adjustments and hide their weak points. And even if they drop a few more games than normal, it's hard to picture them winning less than 10 and losing the AFC East. Once a team makes the playoffs, anything can happen. Besides the Chiefs, nobody looks dominant in the AFC. With that said, it's fun to see Mike Gillislee and Stephon Gilmore as two of the primary scapegoats so far. The Bills took A LOT of grief from the national media and their own fans for letting those guys walk to New England. Chris Collinsworth couldn't wait to mock us in the first game of the season. It's nice to see it turning around.

Despite the sarcastic comments, it's a legitimate question. I'm very much in favor of sports figures using their fame for good causes. I'm very much in favor of them speaking their mind on public issues. I'm very much in favor of peaceful protesting. I'm very much in favor of freedom of speech. But I just wish they had kept politics out of the sport itself. There is a time and place for everything. And this wasn't it. By using NFL games and the National Anthem, these football players have caused a massive distraction. Sports should be a time for us to stop the serious political talk and relax. Instead of enjoying the Bills win this week, my mind has been on the protests. This has also drawn a line in the sand (to borrow a quote from Eric Wood) among the American citizens. Support football or the support the United States. Many people feel like they can't do both. The media (as usual) is using this whole thing as more ammunition to make the president look crazy and out-of-touch with the American people. But there is a large chunk of the population that agrees 100% with his comments, and you better believe this whole thing will negatively hurt football's ratings in the end.

Dozens of legal opinions have been published today (on both sides of the fence), and they almost unanimously agree that the NFL has the right to fire players for virtually any reason. The First Amendment does not apply to private business. I agree with Trump. Not necessarily because I'm against the protests or that I wish the players would get fired, but because the NFL should have instructed the players to keep their political opinions OFF THE FIELD. This whole thing has been nothing but a distraction, and very damaging to the league.

If your viewpoint is that the protesters are simply "fighting racism", I can see your point. But it's not that simple. In many cases, these protests support the (false and dangerous) narrative that law enforcement across the country are wrongfully rounding up innocent minorities, and either putting them in prison for no reason or just murdering them. In St. Louis (where I live), the police officers who are trying to protect the community are being turned into the villains. People like Michael Brown, who assaulted a store owner and attacked a cop, are considered martyrs. Rioters who burn down and destroy are being considered heroes. Meanwhile, the city council last week honored Anthony Smith - the heroin dealer, who was killed after clipping a police officer and leading them on a high speed chase. There are groups in St. Louis right now, who are pushing to have police de-weaponized or to make it illegal for officers to chase a fleeing suspect. These protests are making the place I live MORE VIOLENT. Not less. This weekend, a dozen people were killed in St. Louis (including a 6 year old boy shot in the head), and nobody gives a s**t, because it wasn't a white cop doing the shooting. And even if you AGREE with the REASON to protest, the METHOD you protest is important. Even if you go back to the Civil Rights movement, there were conflicting opinions on how to bring about change. Everyone associates the movement with Martin Luther King, who was specific in his goals and was peaceful in everything he did. But there was also the Black Panther Party, Malcolm X and other aspects of the Black Power Movement - who believed in using violence to get their points across. Although the NFL kneeling is obviously peaceful, there are many who find it extremely disrespectful. If other methods had been used, there wouldn't have been such an outcry.

I've never understood this concept. How do you verbally "push" your beliefs and views on another person? If we are having a discussion (in person or on a message board), aren't you "pushing" your views and beliefs by simply telling me what you think? That is the nature of a disagreement. One person states their views, hoping to change the other person's mind. And vice-versa. If Jim Kelly or Donald Trump are "pushing" their beliefs on what patriotism is acceptable, then it can be said the players are "pushing" their beliefs on what form of protest is acceptable.

How are people trying to "enforce their standards" on others? There are no laws being proposed to take away people's ability to protest. There are no laws being proposed to force people to stand for the anthem. Yes, the president wanted the NFL owners to take a stand, and not allow these kinds of protests during games. Personally, I think the league/owners should have that right.. IF they want to make that kind of rule (I would get fired for making political protests at my job). But the NFL is not taking that stance, so it's really irrelevant. By Colin Kaepernick's own words (and don't forget, he was the origin of this protesting), the whole purpose was because he "refused to show pride" in this country, because of what he perceived as injustice. So it's funny that NFL players around the league are now saying this protest has NOTHING to do with lack of pride, lack of patriotism or disrespect for the country. That's a crock of bull. If Kaepernick would have protested on his own time, or found a way to do it without knocking the flag or America - this would have never gotten out of hand.

If he was missing holes, looking slow or lacking his normal elusiveness - yes I would be concerned that maybe he's lost a step or injured. But the last 2 weeks, he's had defenders flocking to him like a magnet. The blocking up front has been horrendous. The defenses we've played have been great. The best runners in NFL history couldn't do anything with the (lack of) holes he's gotten. The Bills succeeded yesterday because they were able to pass when the defense keyed on Shady. If they can keep it up, defenses will be forced to back off. It would really help if Dennison called for a deep shot occasionally... if only to keep the secondary honest. Even taking the safety back a few yards or forcing the linebackers to hesitate a half-second could make a HUGE difference in our running game.

Eh. It's still too early. The Bills have been hovering around .500 ball for several seasons now. This team is the very definition of inconsistent. One week they play good. The next bad. Which is exactly what we've seen so far in 2017. The Broncos were a 9-7 team last year, and were very overrated coming into today's game. I'm not sold on Trevor Siemien, and it was only a matter of time before his play started dropping off again. Denver is a mediocre team overall, but just had a strong start for the first 2 weeks. It's true that I didn't like this matchup, and didn't think the Bills would win today. But I'm not as SHOCKED as some around the NFL are trying to make it. Let's see how the Bills handle a true playoff/Super Bowl contender next week, against the Falcons. If they shut down that offense, or manage a win... then we may have something to talk about. Until then, I still see this team finishing in the 7-8 win range. At best.

Sure, racism still exists. The idea that someone is better/inferior based on the color of their skin is ignorant, disgusting and just plain wrong. Every person is made in the image of God, and has equal value as a human being. With that said... What this country needs is an HONEST discussion about race relations. Top to bottom. No holds barred. Not this "politically correct" crap we always get. We need a discussion that based on facts and reality, not emotion, fear and preconceptions. We need a discussion that seeks to actually STOP racism, instead of just flipping it around as some kind of retribution. We need answers that will bring us together, instead of segregating us further. As someone that lives in St. Louis (and fears taking his family downtown because of constant riots and protesting), I'm simply tired of generic and ambiguous comments like this. Be specific. If there is racial inequality in the criminal justice system, then prove it and let's fight it together. I'm tired of every problem being blamed on "white privilege" and "systemic racism" or some other nonsensical term. If a heroin dealer ends up in a high-speed chase with the police, he's putting himself in the position to be killed by law enforcement. End of story. It's not racial inequality. It's a criminal who is asking for it.

I really like this post. This is what I kept arguing in the offseason. We kept hearing about how Roman/Lynn had zone blocking schemes "mixed in", so the Bills running game would be fine doing it all the time. But it's not that simple. Much of the reason the 2015-2016 rushing attack was so effective, was because it was unpredictable and complicated for defenses to figure out. Zone blocking was only a small piece before. Now it's the whole thing. The Tyrod factor is also huge. As I mentioned in a few other threads, McDermott/Dennison are not going to adapt their offense to Taylor's game. They are putting him under center, and that's the end of the story. It doesn't fit his strengths, and teams are not fearing his running ability like before. Defenses now have an easier time defending our running game. Mix in the fact that we no longer have deep threat speed to keep the safeties honest, and Cordy Glenn's injuries - I think you have a recipe for a total disaster. The offense struggled in training camp. It struggled in preseason. The only time it hasn't struggled (since the new regime took over) was the Jets game, against possible the NFL's worst team. At this point, I think Bills fans need to just accept 2017 is going to be a lost season. No matter how good the defense plays, this offense is going to be horrific. The coaching staff is letting Taylor play his way off the roster. Same with offensive linemen like John Miller, who don't fit the zone blocking. They will almost certainly be drafting a pocket passer in the 2018 draft. LeSean McCoy is fantastic, but he likely won't be on this roster long-term. Neither will aging pieces like Ritchie Incognito or Eric Wood. The team is starting over completely on offense.

I get so tired of hearing this. There is nothing wrong with being a "run first" team. There is nothing wrong with being a "run heavy" team. Both of these techniques can win in today's NFL, and have proven they can win recently. One of the most recent examples being the 2015 Carolina Panthers, who went 15-1 in the regular season and went to the Super Bowl. Where the Bills run into trouble, is they need to be efficient at passing when the run game is ineffective. When teams load 8-9 in the box, we need to be able to take advantage in the passing game. When we are behind by 2 or more scores and need to move the ball quickly, we need to do it through the air in big chunks. When we have a 2 minute drill and need a quick drive, it has to be mostly passing.

The list is Pretty good list. I would make a few adjustments. PROBABLE: (5 Teams) Buffalo, New York Jets and San Francisco are the only ones I consider absolutely certain. Jacksonville is almost a certainty. This is Bortles last chance. Arizona is highly likely. Palmer will be 38 and is looking like crap. POSSIBLE: (7 Teams) Cleveland likes Kizer, but I don't see them passing on a Top 5 QB if he is staring them in the face. New Orleans is a definite possibility. Brees will be 39 and a free agent. Pittsburgh is a wild card nobody has mentioned. But Roethlisberger has been talking retirement for 2-3 seasons now. Denver is getting decent production from Siemien right now, but I don't expect that to continue. And Lynch has been a bust so far. San Diego and the New York Giants will keep Rivers/Manning for at least another season. But they will be 36 and 37, so both teams may be looking to the future. Washington has been unwilling to give Cousins a contract. Will they finally cave, or finally let him walk? UNLIKELY: (5 Teams) St. Louis invested too much in Goff to give up after 2 seasons, regardless of how he plays. Same with Philadelphia and Wentz. Minnesota likes Bradford, and still has Bridgewater as a fall-back option. They are slightly possible, but I think unlikely. Cincinnati isn't going to move on from Dalton. He's been solid for too long. Miami isn't moving on unless Tannehill has a serious setback with his injury. Same situation as Dalton. NO WAY: (15 Teams) Baltimore isn't moving on from Flacco. He's been a solid QB and his contract is too expensive to dump. Indianapolis isn't moving on from Luck. See Baltimore/Flacco. Houston, Kansas City and Chicago just drafted their QBs of the future. New England either keeps Garoppolo or Brady plays another year. Possibly both. Tennessee, Oakland, Dallas, Detroit, Green Bay, Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Seattle all have relatively young franchise QBs.

I said this in another thread.. The coaching staff is not going to adapt the offense to Tyrod Taylor. They have no long-term investment in him, and probably would have moved on already if there were better options available. The offense you see is the offense they are going to run. Yes, they are technically "trying" to win in 2017. This is not an official tank job. But as you can see by the Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby trades, they aren't going to back off the long-term plan to get a couple extra wins this year. Their plan is for 2018-2019 and beyond.

After yesterday, I'm convinced Tyrod Taylor is on borrowed time with this coaching staff. It's over. It's clear Taylor doesn't fit the pocket-passer/quick release mold in this offense. It's been clear since training camp and the preseason, with the only exception being a half-decent performance against probably the worst team in the NFL. Taylor was already a fringe starter in this league, with below-average field vision and limited passing skills. Now he's in a system that doesn't fit his strengths. This coaching staff is not going to adjust for Taylor. They know what worked last year with him, and they still aren't budging. This is the system they want to run. This is the system they are going to build talent around. Taylor has been granted the chance to make it work, mostly because there weren't any other (decent) options available on the QB market. Dennison has handed him the playbook, and basically said "Sink or Swim." With that said, don't expect an immediate change at quarterback. Nathan Peterman was a 5th Round Pick from Pitt. He's not ready. The Bills are still trying to win in 2017, even if (realistically) they realize this season doesn't have much hope. They aren't purposely tanking for a top pick. And if Sean McDermott benches Taylor after Week 2, forcing an unprepared rookie into the lineup, he's going to upset A LOT of veterans. Not a smart move by a rookie coach. McDermott is going to let the season play out. He's going to let Taylor and the offense crash and burn on their own. That way, there won't be a question when he's out in the offseason.

This is an interesting take, and it really makes me think of the Pittsburgh Steelers model. The Rooney's are famous for their reluctance to change head coaches. Amazingly, they have only three coaches over the last 48 years. Chuck Knoll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin. In that span, they also have a whopping 29 playoff appearances, 16 conference championship appearances, 8 Super Bowl appearances and 6 Super Bowl victories. Continuity matters in Pittsburgh. Knoll, Cowher and Tomlin have the same style of coaching. Even when Cowher retired and they hired Tomlin (from the Vikings, not an internal promotion), the transition was very smooth. He didn't make any drastic changes. The Steelers have been running the same 3-4 defense for over 35 years. Their drafting style is always the same (heavy on the Front 7, offensive line and at wide receiver).

Tyrod just doesn't scan and process the field fast enough. I'm convinced he can only go through 1-2 progressions before he is sacked or looks to run. For the last 2 seasons, we saw Greg Roman/Anthony Lynn put Tyrod in mostly shotgun with lots of designed roll-outs, where he was only asked to read half of the field. As a result, we got lots of quick sideline passes, dump-offs to the running back and sideline deep shots. He very rarely used the middle of the field, to the point Charles Clay seemed non-existent. Many Bills fans assumed this was due to Tyrod's height or inability to see over the line. I'm starting to think this was wrong. This year, Rick Dennison has Tyrod under center. His immediate field of vision is now the middle of the field. His first reads are going to be the tight end and dump offs to the running back. Suddenly, the outside receivers aren't being thrown to. There are no more sideline passes. There are no more deep shots on the outside. Suddenly, everything is over the middle and our receivers are the ones being ignored. Don't be surprised if Tyrod isn't our starter after the bye week. The guy has lots of positive qualities as a starting QB, but it's becoming apparent that he's reached his ceiling. Games like yesterday at Carolina happen way too often with him. If teams are successful in bottling up our running game, the offense is totally incapable of moving the ball. I'm not optimistic that Peterman will actually do anything for us, but it may be time to start getting our offensive players used to a traditional pocket passer, to make for a smoother transition with a rookie next year.

Too much is being made of the last play. Zay Jones stumbled a little bit, and wasn't very smooth transitioning to the ball. It was a very tough catch, but it was catchable. At the same time, Tyrod's pass was a little bit high and a little bit behind the receiver. However, as I said, it was catchable and was thrown between three Carolina defenders. A better throw would have helped. But so would better concentration and route running by the receiver. The real problem was that it took 58 minutes to get anywhere close to the end zone, and that we ended the day with 3 points (when only 10 would have won us the game).

Let's not overreact. It's one game. The Patriots were getting decent production from Danny Amendola in the slot, until he left with a head injury. It was also the first game together for Tom Brady and Brandin Cooks. And very few teams have a player like Eric Berry, who can shut down Rob Gronkowski consistently. It would be fantastic if Week 1 was the sign of Brady's decline. But I'm skeptical. Last week was a perfect storm of events that contributed to the Pats offense struggling. This week they get the Saints.

You are right. Teams normally don't comment. But in the case of Kaepernick, they keep making excuses about his work ethic and on-field play (Let's be honest. The guy isn't very good, but he's still better than a good chunk of the backups currently employed). They seem willing to comment, but won't give more honest reasons why. When the owners "hide" their true thoughts, it gives credence to the idea that something is wrong with blackballing players for their actions and behavior.

The statistical difference is not huge. But it is still there. Especially if you look at just the last 2-3 seasons. Colin Kaepernick started his career hot, but his play has steadily deteriorated since the 2013 Super Bowl season. Defenses figured out how to stop him, and he's never adjusted his game enough to get past that hurdle. After three straight poor performances, there is little hope the guy will ever turn things around. Right now, Tyrod Taylor is more accurate, more elusive, more accurate and has less turnovers. It's possible he eventually sees a big drop-off like Kaepernick, but it's also possible he gets better. Kaepernick was a good QB that became bad. Taylor is an average QB that still has time to entrench himself. With that said, I don't understand why NFL owners just can't ADMIT their stance on Kaepernick. Why are they letting ESPN and other media outlets bully them into hiding their true thoughts? As an employer, they have every right NOT TO HIRE someone. End of story. It's not racist. It's not prejudiced. Kaepernick had every constitutional right to protest. But the owners have the right to fire him/refuse to hire him. A large percentage of fans believe Kaepernick's actions were disrespectful to this country, and a major distraction from the sport. Many players have admitted these demonstrations can be divisive among their team. If Hall of Fame talents like Terrell Owens were eventually blackballed from the league because of their behavior (and nobody complains about that), it's certainly fine for NFL teams to decide they don't want the clown show that comes with signing Kaepernick. Very well said. Rioting, blocking highways and kneeling at football games does nothing to fix these problems. In most cases, it only raises tension and increases anger - instead of bringing support to the cause.

I'm glad the Bills won. But it WAS just the Jets. Top to bottom, New York has one of the worst rosters in the NFL. In my opinion, only the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns could be in the conversation for having less talent. Even the people predicting a 5-11 or worse season figured we should be able to beat the Jets at home. Nobody is going to show the Bills respect until they start winning games in bunches, and start playing consistently strong every week.

Like I said in another thread, I don't like this matchup for the Bills. I agree that Carolina is a very flawed team. I'm just not sure our team is strong enough in the areas necessary to take advantage of where they are weak. This is the game our linebackers have to step up big. Carolina's biggest strengths are in Cam Newton's running ability (maybe the injury will limit this), Greg Olsen and Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield. All of these require our LBs to be on top of their game. This is the game our wide receivers have to make plays. Carolina can stuff the run. They can rush the passer and their linebackers are fantastic. The weakness is on the outside at cornerback. When they see last week's film, I have a feeling they will shut down the short stuff. Can Tyrod Taylor work the WRs this week?

In my opinion, this is not a very good matchup for the Bills. The Panthers offensive strengths have the potential to exploit the Bills biggest weak points. Specifically, Cam Newton's running ability, Greg Olsen matched up against our linebackers in coverage and Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield. To stop these guys, you need some speed and athleticism at LB (and we really don't). As a positive, Sean McDermott faced Newton every day in practice. If anyone has a strategy to shut him down, our coaching staff should have it on Sunday. On the other side of the ball, we don't really match up well either. Last year, the Panthers defense was pretty good at stopping the run (Top 10 in YPA). So handing the ball to Shady 20+ times may not be enough to move the ball consistently. The Panther pass defense was bottom half in most categories, but they were #2 in sacks. This was mostly due to them starting two rookies on the outside. If the Jets game was about attacking the linebackers in coverage, this game should be about attacking the corners. With our group of wide receivers, I'm not entirely confident we can do that effectively. It's fair to question whether the Panthers are closer to the 2015 team (15-1, NFC Champions) or the 2016 team (6-10, Last Place). Their record since hiring Ron Rivera and drafting Cam Newton has been constantly up-and-down. They are one of the hardest franchises in the NFL to predict. To win this game, I think the Bills need to have success in areas they usually struggle at. They need to get great coverage from their linebackers. They need to stay disciplined on the defensive line. They need to keep the pocket clean and get yards passing the ball to their receivers.

It's not just about the throw being high. It's also about the defender in front of Charles Clay, ready to take his head off. Clay missed that pass, because he was bracing for a big hit. Tyrod Taylor had a pretty good day, but I believe that interception was his fault.