msw2112

Norman's play hasn't been very good, but every team needs depth and every team needs veteran leaders. Perhaps he can provide those things to the Bills. No question that Wallace, Dane Jackson and (arguably) even Cam Lewis should see the field before Norman, but injuries happen, teams run 5 WR sets, etc., so you need lots of DBs. Norman's punch out against the Raiders was a huge play in that game and made a big difference in the Bills getting that (AFC) win, so he has contributed on the field, at least a little bit. I also applaud his off-the-field efforts in the community. I didn't follow him closely in the past, but from what little I know, it looks like he has matured as a person.

And how about a Mike Jasper reference?

I think that Darnold has a higher ceiling as a player than Gase has as a coach. I don't think that Darnold's ceiling is anywhere near that of guys like Allen, Burrow, or Herbert and some of other top young guys. I think Gase is done as a HC, and might emerge down the road as a coordinator or position coach. There's always a spot for experienced retreads in the NFL. As to both guys, I agree that the Jests dysfunctional organization hasn't done either of them any favors. To give Gase some leeway (which isn't easy to do), when he said "we," he may have been referring to himself and his coaching staff (who he hired and assigned some of the responsibility of developing Darnold) and wasn't necessarily dragging Darnold under the bus with him.

Bosa is a great player. And also a first-class d-bag, regardless of this particular play. Bosa aside, Allen needs to be smarter. He is getting better at reducing plays where he might turn the ball over (throwing the ball away, etc.), but he still needs to learn when to just take the sack. While yardage is important, keeping himself healthy is more important. These are all points that have been (correctly) made above in this thread.

I agree. I watched the clip a couple of times and I think the whistle blew BEFORE Bosa slammed Allen down. I have no problem with the tackle itself, just WHEN it occurred.

Not sure what's worse - the matchup or the Mowins.

I admittedly don't know all of the nuances of the practice squad and COVID list this season, but I agree that this is a good idea. Not only can you add a guy quickly, but you'd also know that he'd have some amount of practice time when called upon. I agree that you'd want to have a guy who can make most of the easy ones and an occasional harder one. I suppose that you could get away without a kicker for 1 game in the regular season - go for 2, go for it on 4th, and punt more often, but you can't take that kind of risk in a one-and-done playoff game.

Back to the original post....In my 20's we were playing the Broncos and lined up for what I believe was the winning FG. As the ball was snapped, I stood up and went through the kicking motion, I proceeded to swing my foot forward and kicked the bottom of the couch. Really hard. I don't recall whether the (Bills') kick was good, but I do remember that I broke my toe (it might have even been 2). In that instance, it was just the excitement of the moment, and not in anger. I definitely get emotionally involved in games. These days, I am a bit calmer than my younger days, although I do yell and curse at the screen during games and sometimes will pound on the couch or chair after a bad play. I don't break anything. I also get excited and yell for positive plays too. I often have my kids around, so that tempers me a bit.

I can confirm, as I was there. Ugly game, but a win nonetheless.

Thanks for the info. Useful and well summarized.

I'm sure nostalgia plays a big part of it, but I enjoyed sports a lot more "back in the day." I think that analytics and over-officiating has hurt the game(s). 20 years ago, when a pass was incomplete, it was incomplete. Now, after every incomplete pass, the receiver gets up and starts making the motion with his arm that mimics a flag being thrown. Sometimes, it even influences the officials to throw the flag (they are human). I think that whole scenario detracts from the game. You could argue that some of the analytics-based shifts in baseball have improved the "strategic" element and made it more interesting, but I think it takes the basic fun out of the game. I'm not sure I want to hear about "launch angle" during a telecast. I kind of like the "eyeball test" and might not be all that interested in a hockey player's "Corsi rating." Finally, these ridiculous statistics are annoying. I think it's great that Josh Allen is having an incredible season and had a fantastic first four games. But do I really care that he is among only 3 players in NFL history who threw for 1,000 yards, rushed for more than 100 yards, had 6 passing TD's, 2 rushing TD's, has brown hair and was over 6 feet tall the first 4 games of a season? (These numbers are obviously made up, but the point being that the combination of several different statistics to demonstrate a particular narrative is silly.)

Can anyone explain to me the CBS single map? Aren't there some markets where you get both an early game and a late game on CBS? If so, how does the map show that? The 2 map solution for Fox makes a whole lot more sense to me. I feel like I am missing something (and have been for some time now).

As to the OP, at the time it was happening, I agreed with what you are saying. I though the Cardinals were out of sorts and had no TOs left and that the TO gave them a chance to regroup and run what they wanted to. I screamed at TV - "Don't take a timeout!" Looking back, and after considering what's been said on this board, I think the TO was the right call. The Bills played it perfectly, including having their 3 best defensive backs in position to make a play on the Cardinals' best receiver. They had the right call, the right personnel in the right place, etc. Hopkins just flat out made an incredible play.

I think most Bills fans that are old enough know what it's like to suffer heartbreak at the end of a playoff game on a freak play....

I think we are capable of winning all of the remaining games and can match up with any team in the league (except for KC). That said, I still anticipate that we'll drop a couple of games. It's just really difficult to be "on" every week, our defense remains vulnerable, and our running game is MIA (Missing In Action, not MIAMI). And the Bills, like most NFL teams, are not immune to a stinker every now and then, like the Titans game. While the Titans are certainly a good team and capable of beating the Bills, which they did, the Bills performance was an anomaly. They played way below their level and generally crapped the bed that night. I wouldn't expect that to happen again if we play the Titans again, but I could see another stinker somewhere in the next 6 games. (And it doesn't mean I don't love the Bills or that I'm some kind of traitor.)

A few thoughts on thing said here: 1) I recall Aikman saying that Allen had proven him wrong about improving accuracy. I don't remember when he said it, but I didn't watch the pregame, so it had to have been during the game; 2) I think that most of the narrative about Allen these days is positive and many of his critics are admitting they were wrong (and they were); 3) I think Allen is better than Murray, but Murray (who I'm not a fan of) is pretty good. He's a great athlete and a very smart player who runs extremely effectively without taking hits. His team believes in him and he makes a lot of plays. I do think that teams will adjust and slow him down when they get more film on him, as has happened to Lamar a bit and as happened (as well as injury) to RG3 a few years back. I'm not a fan of Oklahoma QBs in general and I think that Murray has a cockiness and arrogance to him that I find unlikeable, whereas Allen is confident, but seems like a great dude. I also thought Murray and Kingsbury would be a major flop, but am coming around to admitting I was wrong and may have to begrudgingly admit they're pretty good. 4) The Cardinals have a decent running game and had a good one vs. the Bills last week. It made things much easier on Murray than they were on Allen. Imagine how great Allen would be if he had ANY semblance of a running game....Right now, it's not even a credible threat and he's still doing pretty damn well.

If Pittsburgh loses a couple and we win both of ours, playoff seeding could be at stake and it will be a meaningful game. If they come in at 12-0, there isn't likely much going on in that regard. I suppose we'd want to make a statement in case we meet them again in the playoffs. Bottom line is that I agree with those who say that all we should focus on now is the Chargers - and getting healthy for the stretch run.

I can relate. I had a bike-car accident in '95 and with most of the damage in my rib cage area. I couldn't cough without pain for weeks and couldn't look over my shoulder without pain for almost a year. It was difficult to drive, because I couldn't look over my shoulder to check my blind spot. And although I was far from in professional athlete shape, I was much younger than Drew is now and had a much less severe injury. So yeah, take your time Drew and get well. And as I mentioned earlier, consider hanging 'em up.

For certain games, it's obvious. Miami-Denver is a good example. You clearly want Denver to win. Or with rare exception, anytime an AFC team is playing an NFC team, you want the NFC team to win. It gets trickier with AFC-AFC matchups. For example, on Sunday night, with the Pats playing the Ravens, who were Bills fans supposed to root for (for PLAYOFF purposes only - I realize that Bills fans generally want to root against the Pats)? For AFC East division reasons, you would root for the Ravens, as a win by them helps knock the Pats out of the division race. BUT, the Pats are unlikely to catch us in the race and the Ravens and Bills might be competing for playoff seeding. If Miami were to somehow overtake the Bills and win the division, and the Steelers win their division over the Ravens, the Bills are then competing with the Ravens for wildcard seeding in the AFC and we would thus want them to lose to the Pats. I realize it's just a little early for this stuff, but it's how my mind (and I'm sure many others' on this board) works.

Taysom Hill is an excellent FOOTBALL PLAYER and an incredible athlete. Also, the way the Saints use him brings an element of surprise that catches defense off-guard. He's a very valuable player on the Saints' roster. That said, he isn't necessarily an NFL-caliber starting QUARTERBACK. To simply say he "isn't good" is not an accurate statement, in my opinion. To say he isn't a good every down quarterback would be more accurate. We don't even know that for sure, as he hasn't been given the opportunity, but based on the Saints going with Winston, that's the likely conclusion. As a bit of an aside, I think that if Tim Tebow, who we know "Isn't. Good." as a QB, was willing to be a Swiss Army knife type of player like Hill - some snaps under center, some Tight End, some H-Back, etc., would he still be in the league and would he be a valuable contributor to an NFL roster? I believe he would be - and I'm not a Tebow fan. Hill and Tebow aside, I think Drew should hang 'em up. He's had an incredible career - record-setting stats, many playoff teams, a Super Bowl win, etc. He's a sure first-ballot Hall of Famer. He's made a ton of money and has lots of endorsements that would continue even after he retired. He has a great wife and family, is revered in his community and has a great reputation nationally. He has nothing left to prove. He should preserve his health and ride off into the sunset. Just my opinion.

Miami and Arizona are better than they were expected to be, and to paraphrase one of my favorite quotes of all-time (from Dennis Green) - the Pats and Jests are who we thought they were!

They are friends from when Brown played in AZ. Prior to the game, Brown cited Fitz as a great mentor of his. And yes, Fitz is one of the all-time class acts in the NFL.

I'm not putting forth any objective data here...I watched the game yesterday as I have watched every Bills game for years. Although with many games, I come out saying that "we really got screwed by the refs," I didn't come out of yesterday's game with that feeling. Sure, there was a bad call here or there, but overall, I don't think bad officiating had a significant impact on the outcome of the game. The could have overturned the interception when Fitzgerald last the ball going to the ground and didn't (which I think was correct, but it was close). The Bills seem to be on the wrong side of many of these. There may have been a PI which could have gone either way and disfavored the Bills, but nothing egregious.

Jax and LA Chargers. SD Chargers had a very solid fan base and a good following in the San Diego area. That move may come back to haunt that franchise.

People need to be realistic. Hall of Famers like Aaron Rodgers throw an occasional interception and have an occasional bad game. Russell Wilson just had his 2nd bad game in a row. Is he a mediocre QB? Allen, too, will throw an occasional interception and have an occasional bad game. Yesterday, he didn't have a terrible game. He made some great plays, and made a couple of mistakes. He also, as noted in this thread, had zero run game support. He still made enough plays to win a road game against a good opponent. He got the Bills into a 4 point lead with 31 seconds to go, making an incredible TD throw to get them there. The Bills got beat on a freak play by two great athletes. If they run that play 10 times, it fails 9. It's hard to take the loss, but at some point you have to take your hat off to Murray and Hopkins, who made a great play.