TheBrownBear

Lay off the sauce

Lol. Look at that wind!

Surprised to see so many say the '98 Vikings. They went 15-1, but the NFC was weak that year (the Falcons went 14-2 and were just a "good" team as the Super Bowl showed us). I was born in the late 70's, so here's my list: 1985 Bears 1989 Niners 1994 Niners 2000 Ravens 2007 Patriots The 1990 Bills from like week 10 through the Super Bowl belong with the teams above if they had sealed the deal against the Giants. They were totally dominating in the second half of that season. Their defense was basically impenetrable late in the season. They posted 4 shut outs and gave up 3, 10, 3, and 7 points in the postseason. They are on my list for sure. No one could do anything against that defense.

I remember us being a pretty good team, probably close to on par with the '99 squad, and then our defense was hit with a bunch of key injuries - most notably Cowart - in the Tampa Bay game (I think we were 7-4 or 7-5 heading into it). We actually dominated Tampa yardage-wise that day, but had some key turnovers and gave up a special teams touchdown. Johnson had actually played respectable up to that point in the season and in that game, but it was all downhill from there. I remember us getting absolutely annihilated the following week at the Ralph by Miami in a game where Johnson showed his full ineptitude and then the season was basically over (and Wade said as much in his presser that week).

Interior lineman always take longer than other positions to hit their stride, so I've learned to keep my mouth shut until these dudes have a couple of years under their belts. But still, as a top-10 pick, I think we were all hoping Oliver would be more of an immediate plug-and-play gamechanger, so I understood some of the negativity towards him over the years. I'm glad the staff stayed patient with him and Harry, and we are reaping the benefits now as they've grown into a nice tandem on the interior. Hopefully, we see the same type of growth over the next two years from our gestating edge rushers.

The Rams and Chargers are still playing in front of full houses of fans (most of them opposing fans...haha) and we are probably currently in the worst of the Omicron surge. I can't see them shutting out or limiting Super Bowl fans unless we get some more virulent strain pop up in the next five weeks.

When I was younger, I would have emphatically told you that I wanted an open air stadium with all the Buffalo elements that come with it. Now that I'm on the back 9 of life and softened by years of living in warm weather climates, I wouldn't even consider attending a bad weather game if it wasn't in dome. I love the in person gameday experience, but it just isn't worth the physical misery when you can watch from the comfort of your recliner next to your fireplace.

I assume you're an extraordinarily smart guy that doesn't spend too much time around people of average intelligence. A 28 Wonderlic roughly equates to an IQ of 116, which while not close to genius level, is above average for the American population - probably on par with your average accountant or school teacher.

(Guy who failed the Wonderlic)

It's the playoffs and anything can happen, but I feel like we are a couple of pieces and a year of growth away. This still feels a lot like 1989 to me. Edit: just wanted to add that I think we can make a run so long as we protect the football and play smart. I just feel like we've been a little sloppier this year compared to last.

Diggs is recording his rap single as we speak.

Wonder if they swapped Williams back in for Proehl since Beas and Davis had COVID and are now good for the rest of the season. Same can't be said for our RB room, so makes sense to have a guy like Williams ready to go on the practice squad.

Great story, RWC. Glad everything worked out in the end!

You're the best, Shaw. Thanks for the write up!

I think people are seriously underestimating the Raiders. Their defense is really coming on strong. They went on the road last week and held Indy to 260 total yards and won despite losing the turnover battle -2. And lets not forget that they went into Dallas a few weeks ago and beat the Cowboys while hanging 500+ yards on them. They are a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team, but they have a veteran QB and a higher ceiling than the Pats. I would much rather face a one-dimensional team like New England.

How about Lobbyists?

There are a lot of extenuating circumstances that have led to the drop in performance we've seen from Baker and Lamar this season. I'm not super high on either of them, but they are much better than they've shown in 2021. The Ravens have been decimated by injuries this year and we know Baker isn't healthy. I think the Browns and Ravens should find a way to lock up these guys. I think Lamar gets a Josh Allen type of contract in the offseason. Maybe a little more based on the cap and inflation. I'm not saying he's "worth" that, but they need to keep him and that's what he's going to demand. As for the Browns, they were a nothing joke before Baker. Do they really want to play the QB carousel again for 20 years? Baker is probably around the 12-15th best QB in the NFL when healthy. The question is whether the Browns can get Baker to sign for a contract number in that range. They shouldn't break the bank for him, but do they want to roll the dice on him bouncing back with a big year in 2022 and demanding huge money or walking?

This year really shows you how it's such a game of inches in the NFL. Bills are literally 3 fluke plays/bad calls away from 13-3 and Josh being #2 in the MVP race behind Rodgers (slip against TN, missed DPIs against Pats and Bucs). But overall, I agree with those who say Josh hasn't been as good this year. It's clear from the stats and the eye-test. He's had a few real stinkers, which is something we didn't see much of last season.

His vision on the kickoff returns is comically bad. If he wasn't on our Bills, I'd probably find it pretty amusing actually.

With one single data point, this is honestly meaningless. To prove the point, I just quickly went through Allen and Brady's game logs to see their records in games where their quarterback ratings were sub-65 (i.e., "Bad Games"). Brady is 10-23 (.303 winning percentage) and Allen is 2-9 (.182 win percentage).

It's the playoffs. Of course I'm worried. I'd be worried if we were matched up against Jamestown High School.

What I wouldn't give for him over Stevenson. Kid's nickname should be Mr. Magoo.

The other thing that struck me today is that we have 10 wins, and not a single one has been by less than 10 points. Has that ever happened in NFL history? Just a very odd stat.

Holy crap. Stevenson is a joke. Need an upgrade in the offseason. He's horrible

And Stafford turns it over again.