theRalph

3-person NFL booth crews don't work when the talent is good, as history demonstrates. Levy and Griese, to a slightly lesser extent, are annoying. I tired early on of their scripted "boy-is-SF-a-physical-team" tripe. Riddick would be great in a duo with a less-pompous play-by-play partner.

With positively no disrespect intended for anyone affected by this pandemic, the Bills may experience some positive COVID effects to go along with their prolific offense: 1. Brain Hoyer will make his first start ever for the Pats and I'm guessing this will be a big advantage for KC. A Chief's win gives the Bills a two-game division lead at the quarter pole. I'd much rather see Cam Newton play, as no one wants to see an asterisk on the NE record but, as they say in Pats land, "It is what it is". 2.The Titans, next for the Bills, have been in upheaval with the positives. The Bills have an edge and possible a free win at hand. Some say the Titans might be better rested after their self-made bye week, but as Eric Wood points out, its not "quality rest" without treatments and trainers and facilities. Now, Roger Goodell has used the word "forfeiture" as a possibility if a team cannot honor the schedule. Tomorrow's COVID tests at the TItan's facility are huge.

He doesn't understand that you must first "earn the right" to win.

It's week 2 and it's a smart move. Might just as well get a feel for the depth. Klein is a talent and will be fine, and it sounds like Dodson will play. This will be a good test for the rotating DLine...they need to take advantage of two rookie 'Fins starters. Sal is right. I still hate Miami.

I'm a regular now...

There are two reasons for preseason games, of course: 1. Warm up for 1s and 2s. 2. Evaluation of talent. Two PS games may be the answer but maybe not. We've always wanted to see players protected from injury in meaningless games and that's been the rallying cry for doing away with the preseason. From an entertainment standpoint though, I found it intriguing to watch two teams that hadn't played a game for 8 months and hadn't seen any film from this season. Furthermore, since we always see teams evolve throughout the season, why not see the evolution that occurs in each game situation from the start in REAL games, without teams having the benefit of throwaway games. The only thing I miss about preseason this year is that feeling that always starts around July 25. Then the build-up to the opener. So different this season. It seems strange that regular season games are already here.

N-A-S-C-A-R Post-Confederate Flag: New Age Socially Conscious Auto Racing N-A-S-C-A-R Pre-Confederate Flag: Non Athletic Sport Created Around Rednecks

By that do you mean "greater than"? As in a formulaic way? Because EO's situation is dramatically different than that of MD.

This is not unusual. Very seldom do drivers under suspicion of DWI, OWI, or weapon possession get the speeding ticket that may have caused the stop. And, in this case, it was another motorist that called him in (probably on a profiling basis) and the stop was not made for speeding. And you got off easy for a 25MPH zone. There was no criminal infraction. A 2nd year law student would've gotten the same result.

Everyone is missing the point here....with talk that it's a meaningless game. The real meaning is that A GAME HAS BEEN CANCELLED. It has little to do with its importance, but everything to do with crowds or even football players assembling in close quarters. This is the beginning that will evolve into no season at all. Of course, just when the Bills were ready to assume some control.

Don't count the Bengals out this weekend. Despite the tire fire head coach situation, Andy Dalton is quite capable, and the Gals D is decent...very good front. The Patsies apologists will tell you we've seen this plot before...December losses. In fact, it's not that common. In the Shady/Belicheat era, the "team" is 62-14 in December thru the 2018 season. (They're now 62-16) Of those 14 losses, at least 5 are due to the Patriots sitting starters at the end of seasons. Several more are to their Kryptonite, the Dolphins in Miami. Conservatively, they have averaged about .5 meaningful December losses per season. In fairness, they went 2-2 in December last season enroute to defeating the Paduka Pandas...er, LA Rams in the last SB. We have to go back to 2015 to the find the previous meaningful December losses. A deeper dive might reveal how many losses they took prior to clinching a berth. This just feels different. Have a feeling about the Bengals this weekend...

On the contrary, a Ravens loss not only creates the blueprint, but it also ties them with Buffalo which influences seeding if the Bills win the East. Home for the playoffs is still a possibility.

This is right. Tiebreakers won’t work. Bills need to win out. Patsies need to lose to KC and Houston.

As said above, they require no help. But a tie would be best, keeping both at least 2.5 games back. Hodges has replaced Rudolph and he’s better. Hopefully they beat the snot out of each other, in any event.

Nothing organized I assure you. But always remember this tried and true adage: “Never attribute to treachery that which can be explained by incompetence.”

Until The last three games. Step away from the sweeping generalizations.

I was in the stands at Joe Robbie Stadium when the Bills visited Miami in the 1989 season opener. The Bills were trailing with :02 left in regulation, and had the ball at the Miami 3 yl. Kelly dove across the goal line and scored, defeating the dolphins. It was the start of the Super Bowl era...Buffalo would play the Giants in XXV 17 months later. Josh Allen’s ferocious 4th down fumble/recovery/ripping thru the Dallas defense happened 30 years later on Thanksgiving. It has begun again. And it won’t take 17 months to get back to the Super Bowl this time.

If Buffalo had lost, we would call it a "Billsy" loss. The game ended up looking to me like a "Patriotsy" win...like many games the Patriots win. The Patriots fans aren't haunted by years of losing and mediocrity, so this type of win for the Pats would look better than it does to Bills fans, especially those living with chronic Drought Effects Syndrome. Frankly, the Bills looked a bit flat in the first half...maybe a bye hangover. Many will bemoan the fact that the Bills didn't crush Miami. As a homer, I rather like how the Bills are able to come back in, now, a number of games.

TheRalph predicted this 16 months ago...

Well put Dr. Thompson. Hopefully the Bills go Gonzo on those pricks.

I wrote about adversity, in a game, this season. If you're unable to respond with any civility....don't respond or perhaps go ***** yourself. But based on the age you appear to be you probably don't know what that even is. SMH I was referring to adversity in a game situation, i.e. trailing, being truly challenged.

There is a prevailing school of thought that places NE over the Bills based on their respective 3-0 records. That school maintains that, although the combined records of each teams' opponents are comparable (0-9 for NE, 1-8 for the Bills), the Patriots have been far more dominant in their games than the Bills. Film and stats support this. But the eyeball test does not. They've both played the Jets, but the Jet team NE faced was missing both Darnold and Mosley. I would venture that the Bengals are stronger than the Steelers based on the QB situation...Big Ben's elbow was non-contact, so it likely hampered him in the opener the week prior to the injury. And any team, including the Giants, has to be considered to be stronger than Miami. I'd give the overall edge to the Bill's opponents. Here's the thing: NE has not yet faced any real adversity (except for the Stidham pick-six). The Bills have. Of course that can be explained away by saying NE is superior...hard to argue this. But it is easy to argue that the Bills in their three wins have had to climb more mountains than NE. So we have NE, the heavy weight champion that has easily beaten three weak foes and the Bills, an upstart challenger that has had to fight for inches in 2 of 3 wins. The Buffalo Bills have been in far nastier fights than the Patriots. There is, I would estimate, a bit of an edge to the Bills that NE doesn't have, based on what it took to arrive at 3-0. Not all 3-0 records are created equal. I believe the Bills will be something of a shock to the Patriots. Certainly the Bills are the best team, by far, that NE has faced this season. Buffalo may well win this game. If so, will the national media laud the Bills, or explain it away by saying NE was short-handed and a bit injured? There is an old adage that says "when we suddenly determine the Bills are good, it will in retrospect be revealed they were already good. The opposite applies also, perhaps for NE. Stat-of-the-Day: In the 18 seasons of Bill and Tom show, the Patriots have gone 4-0 only four times.

If you wish to quote me, feel free, but don't respond to words I did not say. I indicated that he was a high pick that was not getting benched. Nothing about "good". But you saw flashes that game amongst others pre-injury. KD and Daboll are the big influences.

Let's hope not. He's a team wrecker. Let his infection fester in the loins of those lowlife pricks that signed him. Bills sweep them this season.

When the Patriots crash, it will be hard, into a smoking hole. Not at all gentle. It will be partially induced by Karma - like Robert Kraft enabling child prostitution and, more recently, their inviting the cancer that is Antonio Brown onto their team. I was very interested to see that NE blew out the Steelers. Over the last 8 years, most of the Patriots regular season losses have been concentrated in September and they've been blown out in some of those losses. The big win tells me they have bloomed a bit too soon this season and will in turn wither down the stretch. And that the Steelers are done. Bold Prediction: Bills sweep the bastards and win the East. And they'll beat Pittsburgh.