msw2112

If you look at how guys like Sam Darnold and Geno Smith are playing today, on teams with competent coaching, an argument could be made that playing for the Jests ruined the early part of their careers. These guys got other chances down the line, later in their careers, and are now performing well, so their entire careers were not ruined, but arguably the early part of their careers were ruined. Or maybe they just got better with age and experience. How you view it is more of an opinion than an objective statistic, but I don't think it's a ridiculous concept. Based on what I see with Maye and the Pats now, the team does not appear to by dysfunctional or have poor coaching, they're just very short on talent. That will improve over time with drafts and free agent signings. Given what's on that roster, Maye is playing pretty well for a rookie. I think he'll be a very good NFL QB going forward and be a challenge for the Bills. I don't see him getting to the level of Josh Allen in his prime, however, as I believe that Maye was much more pro-ready coming into the league so there less of a ceiling than what Josh Allen had as a rookie. Plus, the strides Allen has made in his career are truly unprecedented. While many QB's progress mentally, as Allen has, very few have progressed with physical-based traits. Guys that are inaccurate coming out of college don't become accurate later in their careers. Can they read defenses better? Sure. Are they more savvy handling crowd noise, weather, playing with injuries, etc., (in many cases), yes. But to become great at something that they were not innately great at to being with is just not something that happens. That's why Allen did not go #1 overall and why it was a huge risk for the Bills to draft him. The risk has clearly paid off, but he's truly a unicorn. Many teams have tried to draft the "next" Josh Allen, but none have succeeded. As an example, Anthony Richardson on the Colts comes to mind as a raw but big, strong, athletically gifted QB with all the tools to be great, but it just doesn't look like he's going to get there. Maye has many of those traits, but was not raw coming into the league. He played a major college program with a strong offensive coaching staff. He's a rookie and has room to improve, but not as much as Allen did.

In the late 80's, I brought roughly a 12-pack of beer into the stadium, probably called Rich Stadium at the time. Me and my buddies took my little brother, probably around 10 years old, to the game with us. We made him wear an adult-sized winter coat with an elastic waistband. We unzipped the jacket, stuffed about 12 cans of beer into his chest, and zipped the coat closed. We told him to puff out his cheeks at the gate to look like a "very fat" kid, as he had the appearance of a very large belly will all the beer stuffed in his jacket. He walked right in, no issue. When we were at our seats and unzipped his jacket to take out some beers to drink, one of the ladies in our row gave us a very disappointed and concerning look. We thought she might call security. So we offered her and her husband a free beer, and all was good! Despite the many scars that kid suffered from his older brothers and friends, he managed to grow up OK and is a successful doctor in Southern California today with kids of his own. He remains a huge Bills fan. He even pays full price for beer inside the stadium. I have recounted the the story on this board before, but it seemed to fit the bill again, given the discussion in this thread.

There was definitely (at least) one to Knox, which was a very good throw, but an even better catch.

Josh Allen is must-see TV. There's no player in the NFL more entertaining to watch.

Wondering if it's AI generated or just a dubbed voice over with a voice similar to Campbell's.

I'm OK with this. Either a) he doesn't know the full extent of the situation and doesn't want to promote false information; or b) he doesn't want to give any competitive advantage to the other team.

I watched every game Bruce Smith played. The guys was an absolute beast and is one of the best ever. I love Bruce. I still voted for Allen.

I don't like how flexing screws the ticket-buying fans, but, given that I am in the West, I have to admit that I like the later starts. Opens up my whole Sunday morning.

I agree that I get those two mixed up on the field. They're not terribly different in size (both 6'1", Benford 205, Bernard 225), their numbers are similar, and their names are similar. Bernard often drops back to help in pass coverage and Benford often steps up to help with the run. Fortunately, they both make a fair number of big plays, so I really don't care which one is which, as long as they keep making plays!

Interesting interview. I did not know that Pegula grew up a Lions fan. Now I do. Terry projected well in this interview. Why can't this carry over to the Sabres? He needs to find his Beane and McDermott for the Sabres and let them to their thing. To add - Sabres fans view Pegula as a buffoon who has run the franchise into the ground. He certainly does not come off as a buffoon in this interview and he could not have had the business success he's had if he was incompetent. How is it that he can be so successful with one franchise and so terrible with the other? Again, the answer is that he has great people in place with the Bills and he lets them do their jobs. He's tried many different angles to get the right people in place with the Sabres and (it appears that) after all these years, he still has not found them. I believe that if and when he finally finds the right people to run the hockey team, the team will be successful and he'll be viewed very favorably as an owner. Let's just hope that the team is not sold off and/or moved from Buffalo before that happens. If you scroll down on the front page of Twobillsdrive, you'll see the Sabres comments and the first one is "Scorched Earth" which essentially calls for Pegula to sell the team. I disagree and think that folks should be very careful what they wish for.

I seem to recall Taron getting injured in the game last week. Does anyone know his status for this week?

I was thinking the exact same thing, but you got to it first! Not all of those Chiefs wins were epic shootouts, but the point remains that those were tough losses to take.

While they may not need to hire someone to do this, they should appoint someone on staff who has a brain to fill that role. McDermott is a great coach in many ways, but this is obviously not a strength.

I have not watched much Steelers football this season. I saw them lose to the Browns in a snow game. My impression of the team is that they're steady and don't make a lot of mistakes. Their ceiling is not very high, but their floor is very high. If the Bills and Steelers played and both played their best, the Bills should win easily. If the Bills were to have an off day, the Steelers would be steady and could pull off the upset. That's different from a team like Miami, where they could play well and the Bills could have an off day, but the Bills would still win. While it's obvious that the opponent has to be taken into account when formulating a game plan, the Bills need to focus on playing their game and being the best Bills team they can be, rather than being concerned about who their opponent will be. Any team they face in the playoffs will be a good team, to some extent. If the Bills play their best football, there's no team that they can't beat. If a team like the Steelers play their best football, there are still several teams that could still beat them.

I've made the same mistake too. TOM Brady has done a Bills game as a Fox analyst and TOM Brady has made other public comments about Josh and the Bills (typically very positive). When it comes to the NFL, love him or hate him, TOM is Brady. Joe Brady is either "Joe Brady" or "Joe" but "Brady" is someone else. I'm a big fan of Joe Brady and he's doing a great job, but he's just not the first person that comes to mind with "Brady" when talking about NFL football. That, and maybe Josh just prefers to call him "Joe" or Joe Brady just prefers to go by his first name.

Or a 1 point squeaker. As long as it's a win. (Except I have concern about the health of many of us if it's a 1 point squeaker. Not sure my heart can handle it.)

A friendly heads-up - there's no place to tailgate at the stadium. Unless you are in the ONE parking lot that allows tailgating, or attending the organized Bills' fan tailgate, you're probably out of luck. The stadium lot with tailgating allowed is already taken up by season ticket holders. I went to the Rams-Bills game there a couple of years ago and we got stuck parking at the Forum (across the street from the stadium) and when we opened up the trunk to take out a hat and jacket, we were accosted by police officers who told us that no tailgating was allowed. The atmosphere pre-game was as sterile as a eunuch. We would have gone to the organized Bills tailgate, but it had already sold out. The atmosphere INSIDE the stadium was great. It's a beautiful stadium with great sightlines, great scoreboard, comfortable, and all the amenities (although everything is very expensive, as to be expected). And tons of Bills fans, who outnumbered and out noised the Rams fans. Like most teams, the Rams have a gimmick that they play throughout the game ("Our House" or "Rams House" or something like that) but it was the Bills House that day and it will be again on Sunday.

Hamlin is a great story, he's playing fairly well this season (exceeding expectations), and he's made some big plays in nationally televised games. Is he among the best in the league at his position? No. Do I care that much about Pro Bowl voting? No. If my memory serves me correctly, the Ravens' backup QB was in the Pro Bowl recently. So kudos to Damar for getting the votes and I hope he makes it.

I didn't think Rapp played very well last season and was concerned about him being a full-time starter this season. He's made a lot of big plays and has proven me wrong. I even have to tip my cap to Hamlin. He hasn't been spectacular and has shown limitations, but he's held up OK and made a few big plays himself. I still hope that Bishop is the "safety of the future" as I believe he has more upside than Hamlin, but Damar is doing a pretty good job with the opportunity he's been given/earned this season. You can't have an all-pro at every position, a team needs role players too, and Rapp and Hamlin are playing their roles well for the Bills this year. They have both exceeded my expectations.

I'd vote no. Ideally, Buffalo fans will spend their time and money attending Sabres games in the spring. The Sabres, of course, need to do their part, which is a big ask. As a smaller market, there just are not that many entertainment dollars to go around.

Hey now, that Dallas v. NY Giants game has the potential to be a very competitive game.

I can't think of the last time I was dying to see a new movie. My daughter dragged me out to see "Wicked" this weekend. The Bills had a bye, so I had a spare 3 hours in my schedule this weekend, and I love my kid, so I took her. The whole time, all I could think of is "when is this going to end?" so I could go home and watch some football (or read a book, or walk around the block, or clean the house....) To the original point, Wicked the movie is not an original story. It's an adaption of a musical. To me, musicals are much better on stage, when you can enjoy and be impressed by a live performance. As far as the Mahomes fine, I get it and understand why they're doing it, but it does seem a bit silly. I saw the gesture live during the game and it didn't even occur to me what it was. I'm not a gun guy, but I don't see how his hand gesture presented a legitimate threat to anyone.

True, but the Fins game was very close, coming down to the final play. The Bills would be wise to take no opponent lightly. The Bills can beat any team in the NFL when they're on their game, but could also lose to many teams if they play poorly. The Niners are not having a good year, but they have enough talent to be taken seriously and if they play well, they could be tough to handle. With pretty much the same roster, they were in the Super Bowl last year and played well enough to go to OT, so a bounce here or there away from being the NFL champions. Do I agree that the Bills are the better team? I do, but they still need to play well to win.

I hate this for ticket-purchasing fans. Particularly those traveling to the game that booked flights, hotels, etc. I'd think that most people flying in for the weekend game did not take Thursday off from work (or possibly even Friday) and now have to take off Thursday, and depending on where they're coming from, maybe even Wednesday. Child care may need to be found and paid for. Some flights and hotels are non-refundable and non-changeable, or if changed, at great cost. Even local fans attending the game may need to take half a day off on Thursday and may have to cancel meetings, doctor's appointments, miss their kids' games, etc. The NFL should offer refunds of the face value of the ticket when they reschedule a game, except for emergency situations. I don't know for certain, but doubt that they do. Although as a TV viewer, I may appreciate the better matchup in prime time, I still think it craps on the folks who purchased tickets and it should not be done.

I disagree. If anything, they are very similar players. Both were highly drafted QBs who had some arm talent and mobility. They both even played at strong academic schools in the same town. Both showed some flashes of strong play with the teams that drafted them, but ultimately, were not able to play well on a consistent basis. Both guys appear to be intelligent with some athleticism, but just can't process the game fast enough to be full-time successful starters. Both are candidates to be solid NFL backups. Trading Mitch for Daniel, in my mind, would be trading like for like. They may as well stick with Mitch, because he (a) is familiar with the offense, (b) knows the playbook, (c) appears to have good chemistry with Allen and the team, and (d) may cost less.