Rocky Landing

If the Pats* are hanging their hat on Mac Jones, signing Hoyer makes perfect sense, even if they end up starting Hoyer for the beginning of the season. Hoyer knows the system, and has a helluva lot more in common in terms of the type of QB he is than Cam Newton. Even if you ascribe to the notion of Belichick* as "The Greatest Coach of All Time," it would be strange to build an offensive scheme around Cam, or Mac, and then have one take over for the other. It'd be hard to find two quarterbacks who were more polar opposite.

It was especially frustrating because the Titans were dealing with a whole raft of Covid issues, and had missed a lot of practice. We should have beat the snot out of them. But, the Bills looked low-energy. At least, that's how I remember it. I think also they were a tough matchup for us last season. Hopefully that isn't the case this season.

Ah, of course! I was thinking he had been a Giant because of Coughlin trashing him, but I forgot Coughlin had moved on to Jacksonville. Someone's living up there, and they won't shut up!

Really interesting conversation you guys are having...

And why? Personally, I'm really looking forward to the Titans game. The Bills looked hungover during their last matchup, and I'd love to see some redemption. I'm actually thinking about making the trip to Nashville.

I had just read like five different articles about the dawning of a new age in Jacksonville, and I forgot that the rest of the world doesn't live in my brain.

There's this one:

None that I know of.

There's a bunch of guys I'm really looking forward to seeing play that we'll not likely see again for the rest of the season...

Honestly, I think the Drew Brees is gone, and gone for good.

True that. You don't have to be a fan of a team in the AFCE to hate the Pats*.

Interesting. I would say, just mathematically alone, 17-0 is the best case scenario. Unlikely, sure. But, I will also say that 14-3 would not be unlikely. Maybe I'm a crazy homer, but I really only see two teams in our schedule that we can't honestly say we are better than. And, neither of those two teams are unbeatable.

They don't cheat, for one thing.

There's an almost hilarious account of league officials, in their suits, and dress shoes, stomping on the tapes in a cement-floored hallway outside the room that served as the Patriots* tape library. Sometime afterward, members of congress, furious at the destruction of evidence, actually threatened to rescind the NFL's anti-trust exemption. It has been noted by some in the legal profession that there were some teams in years that were close enough in record ('04 Jets, for example) that the cheating could have cost opponents participation in playoff games, which represent an enormous amount of lost revenue. And, because all the AFCE games take place in different states, that could have potentially opened up the Patriots* to interstate commerce, or RICO crimes.

I always just use the well-earned asterisks when referring to the Patriots*, or Bill Belichick*.

3 of 6 picked one of the Pats* games. 🤮

I would love to see Darnold, and the Panthers beat the snot out of the Jets in their opener. I would also love to see Miami beat the snot out of the Pats* in their opener.

If you're even willing to put the word "scandals" in quotation marks, then I don't think you've really done a lot of research on what they've actually been caught doing. Here's a pretty good article from Business Insider, but there are many more. https://www.businessinsider.com/espn-report-patriots-spygate-scandal-2015-9

Why just Miami? Having swept the division last season, I would like to think we could become to the division what the Patriots* were to the division.

Interesting first week. I was kinda hoping for a division opponent for week one (I was really hoping to get the Pats* week one). But, Steelers will be a fun game, and I don't think it's going to be a cake walk as some do. Some other thoughts: I've actually always kinda like Sam Darnold (hey, a friend of Josh Allen's is a friend of mine!), and man do I hope he destroys the Jets. After the Bills game, I might jump in the car and drive to whatever bar the Pats* fans collect at in LA to watch the Phins @ Pats* game, and I'll wear my Fred Jackson #22 jersey to do it. I'm still not sure who I want to lose that game more, but I'm expecting to see a lot of Pats* fans crying into their Sam Adams in what should be a low-scoring snore fest. Ravens @ Raiders. I'm interested in seeing Jackson throw to Watkins. Assuming Ryan Fitzpatrick starts for WFT, he will enter the game breaking his own record as he starts for his ninth NFL team. Browns @ Chiefs will be the big game to watch. But, I'll probably just watch the highlights, or maybe the condensed replay.

Word. I was born and raised in Penfield. But when asked where I'm from, I will always say "Rochester." That's what anyone from one of those towns would say. Now, I live in Los Angeles. But, in fact, I live in Kagel Canyon. Saying Pittsford isn't part of Rochester is kind of like saying Inglewood (location of SoFi Stadium) isn't part of Los Angeles.

I mean, the size of Rousseau's hands!!!

Of course the Bills don't see the Pats* as a "cake walk," especially with them being a division opponent. They don't look at any game as a cake walk. That is part of the culture of a winning team, IMO. They didn't look at the Jets last season as a cake walk. This coming season, in no particular order, the Bills will face: Patriots (twice) Dolphins (twice) Jets (twice) Falcons Panthers Texans Colts Steelers WFT Jags Saints Bucs Titans Chiefs Of those fourteen teams, and without getting into the variable of home vs. away, I would put the Pats* right around the middle in terms of "teams to worry about." I would certainly put the Dolphins as the more worrisome division opponent, and I wouldn't be surprised to end up, by mid-season, finding the Jets to be more of a threat, as well. But, getting back to the gist of our discussion, I would agree that one season is too short a timespan to draw definitive conclusions on who had a more profound impact on their team. That would be utterly simplistic. However, it is indisputable that when Brady* went to Tampa Bay, he led a team that had previously gone 7-9 to the Super Bowl, and the Patriots*, who had previously finished 12-4, sunk to 7-9. That is a compelling statistic.

Nah, not me. I want them in week one, and I want to rub their noses in a season-opening loss. I keep hearing about how they've upgraded on offense, and especially at receiver. But, I'm looking at a bunch of their WRs walking out the door, Edelman is gone, Burkhead is gone, their O-line is worse, and they've added a red-zone threat in Jonnu Smith, and their #1 WR is going to be... Nelson Agholor??? With N'Keal "Straight Line" Harry as their #2? Whether it's week one, or two, and whether it's Cam, or Mac, they aren't going to be a better team. A week one destruction of the Pats* would be a real nice start to our season... and theirs.

These are the sorts of videos that bring out the homer in me. For me the most exciting element to this is the way McD/Frazier rotate the D-line. The '19 rotation was certainly more effective than the '20. But this year with a rotation that includes Epenesa, and Oliver moving up towards their ceiling, Hughs, the return of Star, and the two monsters Basham and Rousseau? There are going to be some gassed O-lines in the fourth quarters vs. the Bills D, and it's going to be fun to watch! We're going to cut some good depth before the season begins, but what remains should be a really dynamic group.