AKC

That sums up the essence of the situation. Elam is a tip the scales athlete who has zero interest in tackling runners in the NFL, a requirement for a team who plays a nickel base D. Damar Hamlin made our roster as a willing and fundamentally solid tackler with athletic skills/size that will always limit him to being no better than a NFL backup at his best. He has this great story- but it is unfortunate for us if McDermott lets some of his own personal underdog achievements influence playing time at Damar's position. With all the references in this thread to Bishop getting blown up, there are multiple plays this year where Damar was well out of position and it cost us including TDs. I have to imagine giving Edwards time might hurt some feelings in the PR Department but maybe we would be a much better Defense if we were willing to try and get better at a position where we clearly need to get better.

It’s incredible watching this kid as he has honed his game. Josh has moved to elite while hurdling those struggling heros of yore like the KC QB who is kept from the league lead in picks only by Will Levis and a 22 year old. Fans of the game from all backgrounds are acknowledging what we are seeing. The Allen/Brady era has arrived!

My favorite part of the broadcast so far was how you could sense how puzzled Aikman was with Kelce using a big word like “apex”!

I normally wouldn’t support it but the film on him doesn’t lie- he isn’t built for the game. How many times in all the years you’ve played did you made a routine stop like Hamlin’s that resulted in someone being assisted off the field? Plus I’m getting a lot more Rick Blaine these days so what I may have jumped into 20 years ago has met with some evolutionary decision making more recently!

I have no idea whether Tua’s history includes youth concussions that would contribute to his being more prone to additional concussions. I have always wondered since the “back spasm” game whether he was simply genetically more prone. I’m unaware of a test for checking kids propensity but whether in boxing/MA or just experience growing up where we all had friends who were unlikely to have trouble with solid hits to the head versus some who went down on what seemed like a whiff, I would bet that Tua is just a guy that has always been far more sensitive to head/ neck pops. He should have walked away from the NFL after watching videos of his “fencing posture” incidents in 2022 but he chose to continue. When I’ve chosen to do stupid ***** like jumping out of planes there has generally been some amount of regulation that might have kept me from certain dangers like hopping into a dive with a bleeding gash on my arm when there was a Bull shark shadowing my dive boat. The NFL is so wigged out on the concussion history it seems like this one is easy. They should be telling Tua they won’t do anything to stop him from playing football, but they can’t let him play in their league. That kid has been playing on borrowed time for 2 years and the clock has run down to nothing.

That loss of any real "training" of fundamentals before the games go live (due to CBA restrictions on practice contact) continues to stand out as the biggest contributor. It will be no surprise to watch Elam end up moving on to a team that relies less on their DBs in primary run stoppage than the McD system. It seems the staff felt he could become a great cover corner and at least become a reliable tackler but he shows no signs of the appetite for getting down and dirty. He is far too athletic to have been unable on the kick return yesterday to just move right and get in front of Dallas's knees to slow momentum and allow at minimum a team stop on the play. Instead he whiffs on a waist high glance that invites no real impact to him- a lot like what you can see in in youth footballers, some who haven't even hit their teens. I don't know how his days are not now numbered based upon the Nickel/Dime D we play, the renewed interest of more teams league-wide to present a more consistent rushing threat, and his increasing body of film showing he doesn't really want to mix things up.

There was a long line at the buffet today but if the portions Josh consumed continue we’ll be seeing Trubisky start soon. When Allen goes back and watches it I hope it helps him to adopt the game Brady is asking him to play. We have the weapons for that and today showed why some opportunities Josh is taking should be served to Shakir or someone else. Shakir’s 1st half catch and RAC are his game and we need him involved regularly. A bigger plate for him please. One way to look at the officiating is that the league may have decided that if their film team sees an egregious call they can contact the field crew and tell them to give up something to balance it out. Had they left the Murray late hit unaddressed there would probably be a whole lot more fan discussion of the zebra work in our game. Giving the UR penalty to us makes it all seem like an issue that doesn’t have to consume the fan media all week long as it might have otherwise. There seems to be a lot of concern over the run/pass ratio but with the limited practice time leading into the season one of the biggest victims is run game timing for the OL. AZ was a good team to getting that timing together and it should pay dividends as early as tis week when we get a Dolphin team that gave up 120 yards to RBs today. ’

I buy into that- it seems the coaching staff/OC felt Josh was trying to assuage Digg's needs by throwing balls his way that would have benefited the team if they went elsewhere. We win by getting Josh in a position (without a diva) to win bigger with a receiving corps that benefits the run game no matter the personnel group. Our O with Diggs on the field was a D tell that even if we ran it could be covered with one less run defender.

While I'd say he outsmarted the gauntlet drill I agree with you about a lot of that- so many of the most reliable and productive receivers in the last 15 years have similarities to this kid's physical and athletic tangibles. Josh should thrive with a go-to that's not 5-9 and doing everything possible to avoid contact on every single play. It's also amusing/disappointing to see Bills Fans, and I know some percentage of them actually are, who would prefer not to simply voice their opinion and convictions with reserve, but instead choose to leave themselves open to being wrong in hundreds (or possibly 1,000s) of posts! At some point in adulthood you learn to take the weight off the pedal even if you're amped up.

Keenan Allen ran a 4.71 at the combine. What a disaster if Coleman becomes the wildly reliable go to wideout that Ground Sloth Keenan Allen has been over his career.

Coy Wire with healthy ligaments?

Add to this something you alluded to earlier in this string- coaches like McVay and Shanahan have proven with contemporary rules that you can scheme guys open in today’s NFL and make guys like Cooper Kupp dominant. I’m expecting Joe Brady and Josh Allen to turn Coleman into a dangerous and productive WR as early as this coming season.

With your Dolphins straw man reply noted, I'll get back to what was actually said. On the Bills there are players schemed/formationed off the field all the time. It's pretty easy to tell the 2nd tier guys acquesing to calls by running off the field , often showing disappoint they aren't in the next play. Diggs leaves the field when he wants to. It's been absolutely clear this past year he takes a blow when he's losing interest. I have no idea the coaching and team strategies in Miami, but almost to a man you can't keep our guys on the bench if they are schemed in. Not the same for Prince Stefon. You can argue the team has some fault keeping him in most play sets but he is getting paid more than the rest of the receiving corps and with that comes the expectation of having the biggest role. For my money Diggs has always had ideas about how offenses he's in should be run, but his ideas are wholly egocentric. Hard worker with a hard head. One of his teammates in Minnesota said before he came to us- "the last guy on our team I would let my sister date is Diggs". The people who work with him most closely seem to get it.

100% and it's even more true for the player who takes himself off the field more than anyone else on his team! He had become the guy interested only in plays where the ball was 1. Going in the air and 2. Designed to go to him. He's a team player as long as it's Team Diggs! Brady invites more QB options on pass plays than Prince Stefon liked- good luck in Houston where you're already 3rd in line at the feeding trough!

Diggs is a former #1 with the game moving past his skill set at a rate similar to his diminishing talents. Can he juke single coverage occasionally and dive to the turf to avoid a hit? Absolutely. Can he burn a defense that’s giving extra attention to him? Not since year 2 in Buff. #1 receivers get wins even when doubled. Diggs disappears when doubled. Houston should check with the league to see if they can give him #1C instead of his ego driven jersey choice. I’m with you- our biggest crybaby didn’t like the new OC system of throwing to open guys- he is in for a big surprise in his second tantrum recovery spot. We should start a poll of whether he ever signs another contract after 2024 when he gets fully exposed for what he’s become.

There's the other side of this- the old school safeties are now playing LB while today's old school LBs are playing edge. My first reaction is this is a hire to help their QB. I doubt any player in the league has prepped more games for Tua than JP, and we have given Tua plenty of problems. For a few million they have a guy who is skilled in defending the Miami O who can help him out. Jordan played with heart and sacrifice. He was a great pickup when he came in for us. I'll miss his play but it has diminished. If this works for Miami though you're right that it isn't likely to be because he's helped them on the field Sundays.

Behind the scenes contributors like yourself have always been and remain the strength of the Bills fanbase. The time you would have otherwise committed to your family or other interests is not lost on the many who help keep the decks of our flotilla safe for the rest.

Yeah, Klein was a perfect call up for the running attack Pitt was likely to and did run. But he is a North South LB who can help with straight blitz rushes against stationary QBs. None of that is happening this Sunday.

Looking at it again I can see that Kincaid is shallow enough that the LB might have been able to get to him before he makes the marker. I'm seeing a good play call on a pass that is among Josh's better short throws, full development of the screen/rub and I have to believe Brady was thinking as it unfolded "throw the ball Josh THROW THE BALL JOSH". Josh obviously thought different. Additionally this was the DBs sole INT of the season. It's not an incentive issue but instead just bad football.

Yeah, Shakir has Kincaid's defender screened out. Perfect play setup, execution is working perfectly. First down with almost any kind of throw and a catch. That began the frustration with the play in real time- Josh blows the first down and then makes a bad throw under duress, then the defender does something stupid. I don't know if it was Collinsworth who said "It's as good as a punt" and then the other reiterated that. All I could think was how dumb it all was- then all week I turn on game reviews and they are saying the same- stupid- thing. I'm not one of the "hate Collinsworth" flagbearers but I do understand how he's easy to tune out. Unlike Romo who had to be told (after he started getting a body of broadcast work product out there) to dummy it down, no one ever had to ask Collinsworth.

We were on the Dolphins 35 on the 4th down play, defending the end zone behind us. The end zone in front of us was the Dolphins end zone. Shakir took a pass on our end of the field into Dolphins territory on the second play of the drive. You're getting the Bills 35 and the Dolphins 35 reversed.

Happens every week of the season. Punting from the opponents 35 is going to be a rare situational choice.

It’s fair to question the coaching, the QB play and/or the decision to intercept either pass. My criticism is really with the 4th and 2 game call about it being “as good as a punt” and the continuing use of that phrase in recaps and discussion. It wasn’t as good as a punt. Of course there were possibilities that could have resulted in better outcomes than a punt but they did not happen. A forced throw on 4th and 2 against your inertia bailed out by a defensive error is just two (or 3) errors that don’t add up to a positive.

We’ve now heard it said many times that a 4th down play with a throw and pick in the end zone is “just like a punt”. This contradicts every coach who has taught his DBs to situationally knock the ball to the ground on 4th if there’s no clear lane to return past the 20. Just this past Sunday Allen throws a 4th down pick to DaShon Elliot in the EZ. For sake of example I’d use another division team- if Elliot had cost a Belichick team 15 yards with a blunder like that he’d probably be sitting for the rest of the game. The reality is you can’t count on the other side to be stupid. A punt in the same situation could easily yield an inside the 10 yard line starting point versus the 20 the Fish got on this play- a play they could have had the ball at the 35 if Elliot played it right.

To Brady's credit the timing of his promotion (for him) was awful, taking over an early season fave reeling and looking like they had already played their way out of the post-season. He has gotten past that gauntlet to now face a FAR bigger test in the playoffs, where better defenses and better defensive coaching is the bane of pretenders. Dorsey was so awful at situational football that Brady has a chance to take the product he was given and improve after the few games he now has under his belt, but the odds are not in his favor. We are entering the "second season" of the NFL when the best in the business exacerbate even smaller flaws in opponent strategy. The one thing it's safe to say about Brady is that we are in better hands than we were with Dorsey. It will be much to his credit to see our O start playing up to their potential right now since he's already been able to reel in the slide Dorsey dragged us into.