fergie's ire

I'd like to see the Patriots lose to Dolphins. They still technically have a chance to make the playoffs and I'd like to see that go away before they play us....then maybe the Dolphins can be eliminated by week 17 which will give us an easier path to 13-3.

So....you're sayin' there's a chance.

Yes, I remember someone in the in-game thread commenting that it seems as if when Josh Allen misses high early, it's a sign that he's going to have a bad game. But in this game, his early struggles did not predict his late game performance.

Yeah, in its own way, I thought this was one of Allen's most impressive performances. Even when things weren't going well, he seemed in control and totally took control in the second half. It wasn't just the 3rd quarter. The drive for the field goal was huge...and when the Steelers finally had some success against our D, the offense managed to keep the ball away from them. Collinsworth made a comment about Josh seeming to be in control and it being Brady-esque. I hate to besmirch Allen with that comparison...and yet it seems apt.

I see this...and ESPN listing the Bills chances of winning the division as 99% and my immediate thought is: Wow, this opens the door for the most Bills-y season ever. I know this team is different....but old mentalities die hard.

Interesting. I remember watching a video that someone posted earlier in the year where the analyst (don't remember who it was) picked up on that little foot tap and how it helped Josh rotate his hips better.

No....such a situation requires crunch.

The Steelers remind me of last year's Patriots and the Browns of last year's Bills. The Patriots were a good team with a great record because of inferior competition and with an ageing quarterback whose arm strength issues became more of a problem later in the year. The Bills were a so-so team that pulled out some close wins against bad competition and managed to compile a good record based on that competition. But, as the year progressed, they gained experienced and confidence until by the time the playoffs came they had become a pretty good team.

Our punter does not have enough punts to qualify....even though he hasn't missed a game. Let that sink in.

I watched First Things First for the first time today. I was looking for some Bills talk and I can't stand the new ESPN shows. Flipped this on. The one guy (not Nick Wright) said that he doesn't like the Bills because he doesn't like the quarterback. Says he has been playing terrible for the last two months and had one good game last night. Said that over the last 2 months he has the same QBR as Mullens. (Mind you, ESPN cherry picked their own stats during the broadcast to show that Mullens is off to one of the best starts ever to a career.) Pretty clear than rather than have a reasoned discussion, he sees his job is to PROVE JA is bad. I could see having some reservations about Allen...or not thinking he is one of the very top quarterbacks in the league yet, but claiming he has been BAD the last two months? That's just silly and clearly he has a vested in interest in wanting to prove the he has been right all along about Allen.

I think he is saying it was like facing Mariano Rivera when he was at his peak. What's he going to throw? Cut fast ball. You know it. He knows it. Everyone in the stands knows it. Are you going to hit it? No. He was saying even when they knew just what he was going to do, he was so good that they couldn't stop Allen.

Wasn't Tomlin a so-so coach that many former Steelers wanted fired a couple of years ago? Wasn't Reid the guy who was a TERRIBLE in game coach who couldn't win the game? Wasn't McVay the future of the NFL who was instantly the best coach in the league (so much better than everyone else that anyone who had once had lunch with the guy should be given a head coaching job immediately)? Coaching evaluation takes a long time...and certainly McDermott has shown enough to warrant that longer look.

I agree that they probably won't move it to Buffalo...but there is a precedent for having an extra home game. Post-Katrina the Saints played a "home" game against the Giants at Giants Stadium...and the Giants ended up playing an extra game at home.

The ex-Bills giveth and the ex-Bills taketh away for the football team. Thomas was one of their go-to guys on offense, and when Dallas had the ball, Ronald Darby was their go-to guy.

The run game seems to work best running to the left and when Mongo and Dawkins are on that side together.

And did you see his expression when Fournette dropped a pass? I thought he was going to punch his own teammate. Can't be a fun guy to play for.

Are we still playing the "what two teams would you like to get rid of" game?

I agree and that's what I find exciting about him as a player. He keeps learning and we have not seen the plateau. Before the Cards game I was thinking, "One problem Josh has is he still does a crap job throwing the ball away." In his first year he threw the ball short of the line of scrimmage and got called for grounding. He learned, threw the ball upfield more and it got picked. It seemed to get in his head to the point where even this year he seemed to struggle with throwing the ball away (like stepping out of bounds and THEN throwing it away). However, just after I had been thinking it...in that game...he threw the ball out of bounds to throw it away, threw the ball at the feet of the back in the backfield, and fired the ball 10 feet over the head and out of bounds over a receiver downfield....basically the three ways to legally throw the ball away. He seems to always be improving on something so we just don't know yet where he will peak.

Learn from your mistakes and do your penance....It's all we can ask.

I blame Hapless. If the original gameday had not been merged then the good luck "matriculate the ball down the field" would have been in the pre-game thread. With such good juju this kind of thing does NOT happen.

Must be something about the Cardinals coming to town. I seem to remember a punter missing the ball because the wind blew it back at him before his foot hit it....pretty sure it was against the Cardinals and about that era.

Going out on a limb here then....but I'm guessing you didn't care for Trent?

Yes, remember the insane love for Danny Dimes? What about the Baker craze...or, of course, Minshew Mania.

Indeed. Quarterbacking and defending against young quarterbacks is all about adjustments. That's why it is a bit premature to get all excited about young quarterbacks like Tua. There hasn't been an adjustment yet. DCs will figure out what he does well and take that away...and then it will be up to the quarterback. Some, like Baker Mayfield, don't seem to be able to make those adjustments. Josh, however, has repeatedly shown that you may be able to frustrate him temporarily, but then HE will adjust and learn how to beat what DCs are doing.

...but I think they're getting ready to go on that run.