Nihilarian

Which is something that Brian Daboll has failed to do since last seasons Miami game. The Buffalo offense just hasn't been as innovative or explosive as it was prior to the playoffs in 2020. The Bills run the ball 38 times against the Patriots in their first meeting and the next week confound the Seahawks the next week by heaving it all over. I don't mind the Bills passing 30-40 times a game if it is working...30 of 51 pass attempts for 270 yards and yet the Bills only scored 16 points all game against Pittsburgh. Bills WR Jake Kumerow saw only 3 snaps all game, at 6'4'' you would think he would make a perfect red zone target. The New England offense is supposed to make first downs over and over till the red zone and then punch it in. Forget the big play if it isn't working and just move the chains, get into a rhythm. Putting the game entirely on the QB's doesn't always work and when that plan doesn't work. Have a game plan besides 51 pass attempts.

It is a bit disturbing that the Bills got this one so wrong. That and they still have faith in the players on the roster that can't seem to get it done. The Bills need to hire someone who can actually evaluate talent at the OG position.

On a different note...its just one game out of 17. Just think, we could be the Green Bay Packers... who benched last seasons MVP in the 4th and lost to the NO Saints 38-3.🤪

First off, the Steelers have a top 5 defense and were #3 overall last season. They had time all offseason to dissect the Buffalo offense. The Steelers also looked a lot like the Chiefs in shutting down the Buffalo passing game. This season might be in trouble if the offense continues with this one dimensional offensive game plan. The passing game isn't working...no plan B...just keep throwing 51 times? Where was the innovation in the passing game? It's games like this that make me yearn for the Bills to build a power running attack to compliment that awesome passing attack (when it works) that can help take the game off the QB shoulders. Does Buffalo need two pro bowl offensive guards? Or can they go with who they have on the line and simply run the ball more often? Penalties 8-81...drive killers. Will it be a long season...

Good stuff Virgil Perhaps not playing the starters enough in preseason hurt their performance for the opener...who knows. Just like against KC in last years championship game...the Buffalo offensive line simply wasn't good enough in the game to protect Allen. Think back to the 2020 season and when Allen had time in the pocket he did whatever he wanted game after game and the results were great things in the passing game. Singletary 11 carries for 72 yards, a 6.5 average. Yes, one 25 yard run. Josh Allen, 30 of 51 for 270 yards. Allen 9 rushes for 44 yards. 51 pass attempts... That 2020 Pittsburgh defense was #3 overall and they showed up big this season again against the pass. They were #3 in passing attempts and passing yards allowed all that year. #12th in rush attempts and 11th in rush yards allowed. My biggest fear going into this game was that Steelers RB Najee Harris (6'1 232 lbs) was going to run all over Buffalo for big yards, he didn't! 16 carries for 45 yards, 2.8 YPC avg. The Buffalo defense showed up today. Special teams had a huge breakdown. No argument from me here. Where was Jake Kumerow? Someone still on vacation after that 2020 Miami game? On another note, As good as that Green Bay Packers offense was supposed to be this season. Aaron Rodgers was shown the bench in a 38-3 loss in NO. The Bills play that Saints team week 12.

This! That Bills O line wasn't good enough against KC and it didn't improve. Also, the Steelers who almost always field a top defense had an entire off season to study that Bills passing offense and Allen's tendency's. Might need to get used to a long, long season if this team attempts to stay one dimensional.

Kinda funny how Terry Bradshaw isn't even mentioned anymore... a guy who won 4 SBs. Montana won 4, Aikman 3. I suppose that's a good thing as I can't stand the Steelers or their fans. I even smiled when #55 took a penalty. Anyway...On a very good team!! How many hall of famers on those 90's Bills teams? There should be a few more too. Tasker, Hull, Bennett, and perhaps Ritcher, Wolford too. Neither Elway, nor Marino had a RB like Thurman Thomas who was so dominant at his position. Marshall Faulk before Marshall Faulk. Those early 90's Bills ran more than they threw a lot of those years. After Don Shula drafted Marino and watched what Danny could do with his arm... he forgot all about what won him his super bowls... a stout run game and defense. Kiick, Csonka, Morris along with a no name defense. There sat QB John Elway on a Denver team with an ex-NFL RB for a HC... then a DC for a HC. Finally, after Denver hired a decent OC as HC, who installed a top ground game and let Elway manage the game, the Broncos won some super bowls. Kinda like Manning with his last SB, win along with a great defense. Montana and Young came from that Bill Walsh WCO offensive scheme. Wanna know what Steve Young was like without that offense. Look at the 1986 Tampa Bay Bucs with no Jerry Rice. As much as I hate to say it, Brady is #1...the freaking GOAT! However, I must admit I did enjoy watching Brady win the SB...only because that Bucs D chased Mahomes for nearly 500 yards behind the LoS.

Who made who? It was Brandon Beane that drafted Josh Allen when most were clamoring for Josh Rosen. Also, most Bills fans wanted the Bills to trade up with the NY Giants and give up the farm in doing so for Rosen. Thankfully, Beane knew what he was doing. Beane also traded the Buffalo Bills #1 draft pick for Diggs..."The Buffalo Bills acquired the Vikings receiver and a 2020 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick (No. 22 overall), a 2020 fifth-round pick, a 2020 sixth-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick". https://www.nfl.com/news/bills-acquire-wr-stefon-diggs-from-vikings-in-trade-0ap3000001106563 There is no question that Allen is the better passing QB, between he and Larmar Jackson. Lastly, what I find amusing is that the Ravens now want to turn Jackson into more of a pocket passer...this with Greg Roman as his OC. We all saw what happened with Colin Kaepernick in SF under Roman when they attempted this same thing.

Like the man said, Morse might be one head bump away from retiring and Humphrey was listed as a pretty darn good OC. KC signed Ex Patriots Joe Thuney now the highest paid OG in the league. They brought back OG Andrew Wylie. Signed retired 3x pro bowler OL Kyle Long who was a OG and now listed as a OT. The Chiefs traded with the Ravens for pro bowl OT Orlando Brown Jr who wanted to leave Baltimore because he wanted to start at LT. They have seven OT's listed on their 2021 roster including Brown. Sounds like some major upgrades to me. I don't even want to think about what the Bills O line would have looked like playing against that Bucs D... if the Chiefs could do that to the Bills. Not...good...enough!

For whatever reason the O line is usually my biggest concern! We all saw what happened to what many consider the best young QB in the NFL when he didn't have time to throw in SB LV. While it did make my season to watch Mahomes running for his life for nearly 500 yards behind the line of scrimmage in that super bowl. This the reason why the Chiefs spent so much to rebuild their O line this off season. The Bills couldn't keep Frank Clark off Josh in that AFC Championship game! KC 4 sacks in all, 10 QB hits in all on Josh. While the Bills did manage to run 18 times for 129 yards, it was mostly Allen 7 rushes for 88 yards. Motor 6 for 17 yards, Yeldon, 3 for 15...38-24. It does give me pause for concern that the Bills offensive line simply isn't good enough... Those 90's Bills used to dominate with the line in the run and pass game all season long... Until they ran into a better team in those SBs. The Giants ran the ball down the Bills throats. The Redskins game the Bills O line was so beat up that they were using TE Metz as a tackle in the AFC Champ game against Denver. The Cowboys had the better lines on both sides of the ball. I'm with the guy who stated he was upset that the Bills passed on Creed Humphrey, only to see the Chiefs draft him.

Ed Oliver was the 9th overall pick in 2019. In 7 game starts, 16 games played he had 5 sacks in 2019. In 2020 in 16 games, game starts he had 3 sacks. AJ Epenesa was a second round pick in 2020, 54th overall. one sack. Trading away that 2020 1st round pick pick for the NFLs leading yardage, receptions receiver in Diggs. I'd say these defensive players are still being developed in McD's and Leslie Frazier's scheme. Trust the process. With Star back on the line I'd think this season will be better for those two. The NFL draft is a crapshoot and sometimes you hit... and sometimes you don't! I'd say Brandon Beane's record on the draft has been pretty darn good so far. Just gotta wait and see.

Fergie not color blind Posted by Chris Brown on June 27, 2011 – 1:30 pm Last week we published a story about the Bills helmet color change from white to red in 1984 being tied to then Bills QB Joe Ferguson. On the whole that was accurate. However, the assertion that the Wall of Famer was color blind was not. Joe Ferguson is not color blind at all. Having corresponded and apologized to him personally for the inaccuracy of the story Joe re-hashed how the whole myth of him being color blind started. “The color blind parts all came from the media,” Ferguson told Buffalobills.com. “At the time of the change of colors we were in a down time with the team and the media was looking for anything to write. Everyone we played had white helmets at that time. Our new head coach Kay Stephenson just wanted to get more of a contrast on the field that may help spot a receiver down the field.” So while the helmet color change was predicated on improving completion percentage and reducing interceptions, which obviously involve the quarterback, Ferguson’s ability to distinguish colors was and always has been fine. We’ve since revised the story on Buffalobills.com to correct the inaccuracies. https://blogs.buffalobills.com/tag/joe-ferguson/ However, Jim Kelly "IS" colorblind. He stated he has never had a problem with it though!

While I agree that there is a huge differential in coaching, I disagree on some points. Last season in that first game the Bills tried to play off of the KC receivers and the Chiefs ran the ball down the Bills throats. RB Hilaire, 26 carries for 161 yards. The Bills held their main WR Tyreek Hill to 3 catches for 20 yards. TE Kelce had 5 catches for 65 yards and 2 TDs. Loss 26-17. In the AFC Championship game is was very different as the Chiefs played their very best game in the previous two months... the Bills played their worst. The Bills settled for four FGs because they couldn't punch it into the end zone on those drives. 12 points vs 28. Both defenses were middle of the pack and KC really turned it on against the Bills by sacking Allen 4x and in his face for most of the game. KC 10 QB hits vs only 3 on Mahomes. There was also another factor in that the Chiefs DBs were holding like crazy. Even the announcer Tony Romo stated that the Chiefs were utilizing a "sticky defense" against Buffalo. Something they didn't get away with against the Bucs in the SB. Not to mention that all the Bills receivers were playing with injuries. I also wonder if the KC O line was also getting away with holding as Hughes only had one sack and one QB hit. Also, for whatever reason the Buffalo offense that had been destroying opposing defenses suddenly fell on its face in the playoffs. The last three regular season games the Buffalo offense scored 48-19 against Denver. 38-9 against New England. 56-26 against Miami. Then in the playoffs, 27-24 against the Colts, 17-3 against the Ravens while the offense only scored 10 points in this game. Against KC 24-38. That #2 overall Buffalo offense didn't fare so well in the playoffs in 2020. I gotta wonder if those HCing interviews for other teams interfered with Bills OCs game planning. Not working the run game much...forcing the QB to carry the team. Yeah, coaching...Andy Reid. JMO

I think Josh will be better this season. Not so sure about the rest of the team though... The thing is, now that teams have had an entire offseason to study what the Bills did last season my take is that it will be more difficult for Buffalo to run a lot of those same plays. Plus, every AFC East team got much better in free agency and the draft. The Patriots and Dolphins both might field top 5 defenses. JMO

At least he can throw...Cam Newton was heaving ducks all over...

Let's not forget that KC HC Andy Reid took a 2-14 team and went 11-5 in his first season 2013...this with Alex Smith at QB. The next four seasons the Chiefs were in the playoffs 2013-2017. Patrick Mahomes got to sit for a season watching Alex Smith play while learning. He started for an already good playoff team with a good run game, good receiving corps, good O line along with great coaching. Andy Reid has been building and refining that team for eight seasons and has been to the playoffs 7 of those 8 seasons. I think Josh Allen is the better QB who has had to deal with a not so great team around him in his first seasons. While being thrown into that proverbial fire he came out hardened like tungsten carbide. I think the best is yet to come for Allen. Still, a lot will depend on how the offense is called. Bills OC Brian Daboll fell on his face in the playoffs for Buffalo in 2020 IMO. The Bills barely* beat the Colts 27-24 while putting the entire offense on the QB to win with little rushing, 21 rushes for 96 yards. Allen sacked 2x and Colts QB Rivers hardly touched with no sacks. Against the Ravens the Bills won 17-3 and the Bills offense scored only 10 points this game. Again, with little run game Buffalo 16 rushes for 32 yards. That pick six in the end zone by Buffalo was a 14 point turnaround. The Bills defense carried this game. Meanwhile, KC HC Andy Reid and his assistants rose up to win a SB in 2019 and made it to another in 2020. Huge differential in offensive coaching for the playoffs between these two teams.

Yea, Whaley was so convinced that EJ wasn't the "guy"... that the next year he traded up to the #4 spot with Cleveland to draft a wide receiver for him that would fix everything. And me! After watching many rookie QB's get ruined and destroyed by bad O lines their first years. Bradford, Derek Carr, Joey Harrington among others. Bad coaching and bad surround cast with little to no run game didn't help them either. I'd say the Bills are exceeding lucky that the Bills drafted the right guy in Josh Allen to survive that first season behind that dreadful O line. People forget...2018 Allen going 5-6 in 11 game starts, 10 TDs, 12 INTs. A 52.8 completion percentage. 89 rush attempts for 631 yards, 8 rushing TDs. a 7.1 yard per carry average. Josh's awesome running saved him in many games I realize that Nathan Peterman was drafted in 2017 (before Beane) with a 5th round pick. It still makes wonder who thought Peterman had the talent to start that 2018 season...and against the Blitz crazy Ravens no less. Josh did miss a few weeks due to injury after he was knocked out of the game against the Texans, week 6. Peterman stunk so badly throwing 2 INTs that lost that game 13-20. The next week (week 7) QB Derek Anderson started against the Colts in a 37-5 loss. Against the Patriots the following week the Bills managed to keep Brady out of the end zone in a 25-6 loss on MNF. Anderson suffered a concussion in the game. Week 9, against the Bears in Chicago Peterman got the start and went 31 of 49 for 188 yards, 3 INTs, 4 sacks. 41-9 Loss! Peterman stunk so bad in Chicago that the Bills went to QB Matt Barkley in week 10 against the NY Jets. a 41-10 win! Week 11, Josh Allen was back at QB against the Jags and led the team in rushing 13 rushes for 99 yards. Bills win 21-24. Along with Nathan Peterman, the Buffalo Bills special teams were also pathetic in 2018. The Bills lost a few games due to bad special teams that season.

When you have a dysfunctional front office and coaching staff...why on earth would a new regime want to watch old tape of that circus side show? I can understand why McD went forward with Tyrod as starting QB to see what they had with him under their new coaches. What we learned was... that nobody is safe if you don't do a good enough job. New coaches fired and replaced. Many, many players let go and replaced. When the GM saw that a #1 pick wasn't going his job in Buffalo... they shipped him out. They didn't attempt to keep making things work with the wrong players. A #2 pick in Zay Jones, buh bye! The list is almost endless of Bills players that have been jettisoned to make room for new players that work hard, make plays and buy into the system. Hence, a trip to the AFC Championship game in 2020. I think we can expect more winning seasons under this regime.

The thing that most fans don't get about the Sammy Watkins pick is that the kid made most of his college receiving yards from screen plays...exactly how often did the Bills call screen plays on offense at that time? Let me answer, very little to none. The Bills scouting dept., Whaley, Brandon fell into that old fail of watching highlights over and over while not understanding the fit in the offense. The thing that really gets me is that right after drafting Watkins with the #4 overall pick in 2014, the Bills announced that they were still looking for that big, tall red zone receiving threat. HELLO! WR Mike Evans, 6' 5" 231 lbs drafted with the 7th pick In 2014. In 2013 Evans, against Alabama caught seven passes for 279 yards. (a school record) Against Auburn 11 receptions for 287 yards, 4 TDs. Holy freaking crap were the Bills FO with Whaley, Nix, Brandon totally clueless on what they were doing during that time of Buffalo Bills history. On another note, Nix gets credit for the Jerry Hughes trade...and yet the Colts GM at the time was desperate to get rid of his predecessor, Bill Polian's last first round pick. That Colts GM, Ryan Grigson picked up the phone and called Buffalo to initiate that trade...and not the other way around. Grigson was in such a hurry to trade away Hughes that he accepted LBer Kelvin Shepard, a third round pick straight up for a #1 pick in Hughes. Buddy Nix was a 70 year old retired scout when Buffalo hired him out of retirement to be the new Bills GM and should have never been an NFL GM. And some Bills fans want to give Brandon Beane crap over some miss fires in his rookie season as GM. Look at the current team! Trading up and drafting Josh Allen who just broke the Buffalo Bills record for passing yards in a season. Trading a #1 pick for Diggs...who for the first time ever in Buffalo Bills history led the league in receptions, receiving yards in 2020! The man is a NFL football wizard who makes Merlin look weak. Trading Tyrod Taylor to Cleveland for a 3rd round pick!

I agree with most of this. Brandon Beane was a rookie GM when he came to Buffalo. A rookie learning as he goes and together with McD built the team we see today...a super bowl contender! The Bills were in cap hell from the Whaley / Nix era to start. Rex Ryan took the best defensive line in the league and neutered it with his moronic scheme. The defense needed rebuilding. The offense needed rebuilding. The O line. The receiving corps. The Buffalo Bills were desperate for a franchise QB! Didn't Brandon Beane just with NFL executive of the year by both Sporting News and the Pro Football Writers of America? The only other Bills GM to accomplish that was Bill Polian. The man found QB Josh Allen who is the very best QB of that 2018 QB class. Better than #1 overall in Baker Mayfield. Better than #3 overall in Sam Darnold. Better than Josh Rosen, Lamar Jackson. Unlike the Jets GM, Beane build a solid offensive structure around Josh Allen so he could succeed. Sam Darnold who was just jettisoned by the Jets. A wasted 3rd round overall pick. Frankly, who shivs a git what Beane did or didn't do in his rookie season, 2017. The Bills still made the playoffs that year and also made the playoffs in 2019, 2020. The Bills were just in the 2020 AFC Championship game. How many players are still on the roster from the Nix / Whaley era? Hughes?

Just happy he didn't go to NE, KC. Tennessee will have their hands full with the Colts.

At the time Whaley stated he personally went down to scout EJ. Nix a retired scout hired to be GM. Whaley had little clue. Russ Brandon...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-Nqjw3UVbo&ab_channel=NFL

I don't see it! Money wise, production wise from Ertz last season and I think this staff wants to see more of Tommy Sweeny. Covid really messed him up last year and my take is they want to see him with more experience under his belt. JMO

First off, didn't Brandon Beane just win NFL executive of the year in 2020? Beane was a rookie GM in 2017 and hired AFTER that draft in April...that is, after the entire scouting staff and GM were fired just after that draft. When Beane traded with Carolina for Kelvin Benjamin, I rejoiced! I really liked Kelvin in the draft and he played well in his rookie year. Perhaps Beane thought the Bills coaches could get him to return to his rookie form...and instead Ben fell on his face. Stuff happens with players. Star has been a anchoring force on that D line and was really missed in 2020. Speaking of anchors, how on earth could Beane know that giving an extension In August to a pro bowl, stalwart force at Center like Eric Wood would result in him needing to retire (due to a neck injury) at the end of the season physical in January? You keep picking on a guy who is arguably the very best GM this franchise has ever seen... and that includes Bill Polian! IMHO Think Josh Allen! Next, Bills fans keep talking about the Bills receivers being injured in that AFC Championship game. They were! There were also other issues. What bothers me is the way the offense looked in the playoffs! After beating the Dolphins 56-26 in the last regular season game. While knocking them out of the playoffs. The Buffalo offense against the Colts, Ravens, Chiefs looked somewhat abysmal compared to what they looked like in the regular season, IMO. Bills OC Brian Daboll started his end of season vacation after that Miami game... That Ravens playoff game! Baltimore didn't even blitz like they had in the past which was to the tune of 65% of the defensive snaps (Allen getting sacked 6x in 2019)! That vaunted Bills high powered scoring offense was held to 10 points for that 2020 playoff game. Not because the Ravens defense was shutting them down either...more like the Bills shot themselves in the foot over and over. Buffalo 16 rushes for 32 yards, no receptions for the Beez and only two targets for him. In the AFC Championship game the Chiefs were holding the Bills receivers like crazy. Announcer, Tony Romo cited it as "sticky defense". Then the Chiefs attempted to get away with that against the Bucs in the SB, the Refs kept flagging them for holding. Same thing with the Chiefs O line. KC in the SB, 11 penalties for 120 yards. It will be interesting to see what happens this season with the Chiefs and Bucs.