RunTheBall

IDK why if it’s just a torn meniscus they are talking about season ending knee surgery unless they are thinking of repairing it which is rare in this age group and takes months to heal. He could have a scope, get that trimmed and be back in a month. It can be as simply as a 15 minute procedure in skilled hands. In terms of Von playing, it’s mainly a pain tolerance thing but depends on how large the tear is. Think of the meniscus as a thin, smooth disk in between the upper and lower leg bones. Now it has a frayed edge that can get caught in the joint as the knee flexes and extends. If it’s small, it just may be a small click but every time it clicks the meniscus gets pinched and yanked which equals pain and inflammation. If it’s a large tear it can completely lock the joint which means urgent surgery to unlock it. Time will tell.

This is a Dorsey get right game in my opinion. He’s finally got a normal number of practice days to install a NE specific game plan and it’s time to start putting it together attacking their weaknesses and avoiding their strengths. I think NE’s LB’s are garbage. They are slow, not instinctive and can be easily manipulated. I expect to see a lot of short/intermediate stuff over the middle. If the Hoodie is stupid enough to play McKenzie man to man again just keep feeding him the ball on crossers. Get Cook and Hines out of the backfield into the middle. Get Knox down the seam. Their strength is in their D-line and their safeties so running to the edges and play-action are huge. Judon has been a beast this year, need to have a plan for him even though he usually blows against Buffalo. Barmore is out so the O-line should be able to hold up a bit assuming they are healthy. I’ve been getting lower and lower on Dorsey as the year has gone on despite the gaudy stats. I hope he proves me wrong and starts growing into this job. He’s relying on Josh to just make stuff up and make tight window throws on every play. He needs to evolve his scheme to take advantage of NE’s obvious defensive weaknesses. I expect to see a different game plan from The Hoodie this year and it’s going to be a tight game.

I’d be really surprised if Hyde decides to play this year. I’m involved in a lot of these neck surgeries. In a good surgeons hands they are delicate surgeries but not technically difficult. He must have only had 1 level fused because if he had more than one level the risk of re-injury by playing too soon is much greater and he wouldn’t even be thinking about it The rods and screws are put in there to hold the 2 neck bones in place before the bone graft heals and fuses. Once it fuses I think it’s pretty low risk for re-injury with only one level done. How long that takes is variable, but its more than a few months to really fuse and strengthen. Given that football is such a violent sport, I’d be surprised if he gets cleared to take those hits so soon.

No team in the history of the league has benefited from game altering calls in their benefit that the Pats*. I’m not talking just a holding call here or there, every team gets those for and against. I’m talking game changing plays at critical junctures - like 3rd down phantom defensive holds, end of game roughing calls against Tom, From Tuck rule to Brady Rule to Just Give It To ‘Em, to any play Gronk was involved with to phantom PI’s in the end zone on critical drives. I hope NE gets screwed every game with a horrible call against them for the next 18 years. They and the few fans that are left watching them deserve it.

Ya know what, I’d agree with you there on Elam and White in man coverage. What I’ve noticed over the last 4 weeks, and by no means am I some football guru I’m just a dude who’s watched every game for 40 years, is that they’ve played a lot more man recently and not very well. I don’t mind mixing it in, but I’d guess our ratio is close to 50-50. I think we are a better zone team, especially with Edmunds in the middle, and would like to see more like 70-30. I think Jackson is a liability in man coverage, Johnson has been smoked numerous times, and Benford is a natural zone corner. We’ve been decimated by injuries on the defense and I get that. I think when adversity hits you go to your tried and true defense and sprinkle in a blitz here or there to get some pressure since our front 4 has been lacking the last month too.

Matt Patricia out scheming Ken Dorsey as an OC. Who’d a thunk it?

I disagree. I think they’ve been getting torched in man. They need to go back to their bread and butter zone once Edmunds gets healthy.

Guys, we’ve got 2 things going on here with 17 one mental one physical. Mentally he got into a rut with with the Jets and Vikings. Bad decisions, not seeing the field, horrible throws. All QB’s go through this at some point, unfortunately he got the elbow injury at the same time against the Vikings. He had a graded 2 sprain of the UCL against the Vikings. I’d guess 75% of QBs sit at least a couple weeks with that injury, not Josh. That elbow is bothering him much more than he let’s on and it’s easy to see. He won’t be back to 100% for a few weeks barring re-injury. Mentally I think he’s back to a good spot but he knows he can’t rocket every throw into tight windows because of the elbow. I don’t think it’s indecisiveness, he’s seeing the field, he’s just not trusting the arm to get it there and doesn’t want to risk TOs given the last few weeks. Which brings me to Dorsey, who I think is the main problem. I know it’s his first year, I know the stats look good, but the eye test tells me he’s been figured out and has yet to adjust. Josh’s pick tonight I knew exactly what play was coming in that situation at that part of the field. He’s too predictable. He needs to adjust his game plan to a QB with a sore elbow and he hasn’t done so. Still gets away from the run, still nothing over the middle, still no Hines who should have feasted tonight.

This only happens because Dorsey is more predictable than my teenage girl telling me she will be home by 8. His play calling is a problem. I’m Joe Average Football Guy and seeing that formation at that time I knew exactly what was coming, so the Lions definitely did. Dorsey is a problem especially in the red zone. I don’t care what the stats say, Josh Allen is making him look better than his garbage play calls. The Lions LBs are absolutely atrocious in coverage and we had nothing over the middle yet again. Knox in the seam? Nope. McKenzie on a short option? Nope. Couple of dump offs to Cook which he botched, that was about it. Where was Hines? He should have feasted today.

This is great news and right on schedule. Where’s the guy who talked to Tre’s family? Where’s the guy with inside sources at OBD who said Tre had played his last game as a Bill? As always, TBD coming through with the absolute CLOWN takes. Tre has been read physically, looks like he’s got his head where it needs to be to get some reps. That’s 100% better than pressuring him to get in the game when he isn’t ready to trust the knee. Gotta give McD credit here, he let Tre come along at his own pace and didn’t force him in while letting him know he was needed.

The Lions LBs suck in coverage. This should be a Knox/McKenzie/Cook over the middle game with a complimentary play-action game for deep shots to Diggs/Gabe because their CBs suck too. I want to see Dorsey come up with a game plan that exploits the Lions defensive deficiencies which are all over the place.

I was speaking more to his early play on the field and I agree with your sentiment. Zack isn’t the natural leader Josh is and will never be. He can learn that, IDK if he’s got the head to turn around the on-field performance

Saleh didn’t have much of a choice after that press conference. He was going to lose the locker room, that is pretty obvious. If Zach wants to have a chance he needs to take a step back and get his head back on straight. We did the same thing with Josh but we got to blame it on an elbow injury. Josh came back a different QB after watching for a few games. IDK if Zack can do that, I doubt it, but except for against Buffalo (of course) he’s a disaster and looks as bad or worse than last year.

I don’t agree with this at all. Maybe new fans or fans who haven’t been through the previous ups and downs feel that way. I don’t think most do at all. Having been through more down years than up, I appreciate the opportunity for us to be a team that should compete for a SB but in no way do I expect it. Too many things have to go right for a team to make it a slam dunk expectation. Enjoy the ride for all that it is because it will come to an end. And if your ability to enjoy this team is dependent on them winning the Super Bowl you are going to miss out on a lot of good football experiences.

Josh is back. I heard it click when he hit Gabe with that beautiful crosser. That first quarter was 80% in his head, 20% thinking of the elbow. The guy was second guessing what he was seeing because I’m sure McD made it clear no turnovers was the goal. Unfortunately you can’t play scared, especially a guy like Josh, but he had the mental fortitude to turn it around IN GAME and straighten his head out. No, he didn’t go bombs away after that, he didn’t need to. He moved the chains, hit his check downs quicker, and took what the D gave him. We needed a game where Josh didn’t need to be THE MAN and we still win comfortably (despite Mr. Inconsistent Gabe on the HANDS team). The team needed to see that when their QB isn’t 100% they can rally around and still win the game. That’s huge and will pay dividends in the future. I expect a similar game from Josh against the Lions with a few more deep shots off of play action especially if we can establish the run again.

All we needed was a W, any way possible and we got it. That’s the most important thing. A few things I liked - running the ball, run defense, Bass-O-Matic looking good, Cook’s carries (he needs more), Knox getting involved, Josh settling down after that gorgeous toss to Gabe “Maybe I’ll catch it, maybe I won’t” Davis (who caught it). I think Josh was a head case until the 2 minute warning and then seemed to turn it around. Not great, but play like that can easily snowball into disaster and he had the mental fortitude to fight through it. Maybe give a little of that Mojo to Tre. Things I didn’t like - CBs getting toasted regularly, I think we are playing too much man coverage. Not getting pressure with the front 4. Red Zone a work in progress but at least we came away with points each time which is an improvement. Biggest thing that pisses me off - does anyone else think that when we go up by 2 scores this defense just starts to act like the game is over? It’s really going right up my ass. The D-line starts playing sloppy as sht, lining up in the neutral zone, jumping Offside, getting out of rush lanes. Von is the worst when it comes to this - you can see him just trying to pad his stats but they all do it. This game should never have been in question after the last field goal but the D just decided to play backyard football. It never should have come down to Gabe “Maybe I’ll catch it, Maybe I won’t” Davis botching the onsides kick (Gabe is on the HANDS team??) and thank god for Jones pushing the ball out of bounds because you all KNOW the Browns were gonna score or get a phantom PI in the end zone with a few seconds left. Anyway, as I said in the beginning, the W is all that really matters. Get a somewhat regular week and build on this on Thanksgiving. Go Bills!

1) Josh doesn’t force the ball and takes what the defense gives him 2) A commitment to the running game for 4 quarters 3) No turnovers 4) Improved play calling in the Red Zone 5) Better controlled rush than we’ve been getting from our 4 down linemen

Just said on NFL network that Poyer says he’s going to play. That’s a plus.

I have nothing to add to this excellent synopsis of what’s going on with our team. It’s maddening to me how conservative we are when it comes to integrating young/new players into our offense. The main take away is Josh is being asked to do too much. He NEEDS to be able to not play his best and we can still win a game. I think we have the playmakers that can do this, Dorsey just needs to call a better game. Dorsey is in a slump in the red zone. His play calling sucks in the RZ and he’s gotta stick with the run more. Dorsey needs to reign in Josh a little bit, integrate other players, stick with the run game, and take some pressure off Allen so he doesn’t have to be Super Man every game. We won’t go far in the playoffs if it’s 100% Josh.

It’s a mental thing right now, it’s in Trey’s head. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to play, he’s just not ready mentally to test it. He will see some snaps against NE. I doubt he’ll play Thanksgiving if he’s not playing Sunday.

Murph is so f’n horrible I have no idea how he keeps that job. I had to listen to the KC game on the radio as I was driving home from Syracuse to RI. He was so horrible I had to change to the Sirius KC feed, and I hate those guys! While listening to Murph, I had absolutely no idea what was going on in the game. He get’s our own players wrong. He has no idea what actually happens on a play (It’s a TD!!! No wait, it was dropped at the 10 yard line), he consistently gets the yardage wrong, and if it’s like 3rd and short forget it wait until commercial break to see if they made it. God awful. My listening to him I could not get a picture in my head of what was actually happening on any given play. He’s that bad.

This isn’t an airport. You don’t have to announce your departure. That being said, this board has had access to a number of legitimate Bills insiders and have chased off every one of them because a number of idiots on here have no way to frame a question without being inflammatory or aggressive or take advantage of the access to take personal shots in order to make themselves feel better. Frankly I wouldn’t bother with this place either if I were connected with the Bills

Dorsey is the problem. Everyone says “Ohhh he’s a psycho he’s so competitive blah blah” well that’s the issue. When you combine his aggressiveness with Josh’s, you get bad football. Dabol was a moderating force to Josh’s internal competitiveness. Dorsey has been absolutely destroyed in the second half of the last 3 games. Flat out coached easily. He has no ability to adjust to what his early season offense was. Zero running game, zero intermediate game, horrible red zone play calling (how many times are we 1st and goal from the 5ish and throw the ball every down??) No, he doesn’t throw the pics Josh has been killing us with. BUT, he can call plays where the reads are short to deep instead of deep to short when Josh his Sugar High Josh. The job of the OC is to recognize how his QB is playing and reign him in when needed. Dorsey is failing. There is no need to worry about him getting poached as a HC. And THANK GOD the MVP talk is over. Who give a sht the goal is the Super Bowl not Allen’s accolades.

A very Billsy loss

At this point I wouldn’t mind using Oliver money to snag OBJ if that’s what would do it. Now’s the time to go all in. We could draft another DL in the mid rounds and get the same amount of production we’ve seen from Ed. Unless these coaches really feel he’s about to break out but it’s year 4, we’ve heard the same thing about Edmunds but at least Edmunds has stepped up a little this year.