familykwi

I think Lee just tackled Matthews with all his weight on him. Lucky he didn't get two flags ?

True, but I actually sympathize with Matthews. Since the NFL says they're staying the course, that non call would frustrate me.

What Benjamin lacks in speed, he makes up for with weak hands.

And the Pats are winning 24-0 HERE WE GO! SAME OLD ****! SAME OLD BILLS! If you believed this was the year the Bills would become a serious contender, then you just want wins without any common sense.

Although he caught it, Zay has hands of rubber

Why was that pass not grounding? In the pocket thrown at a lineman

IF it should be a QB, then we should trade down and acquire more bodies. We need that more than any QB that will come out next year. Otherwise we take a stud like Bosa (or whoever ascends by that point)

The Jets have the Fish right where they want them now.

Whoa, whoa, whoa friend. Let's pull back a little on the Nathan Peterman will be the future greatest QB of all time talk. A bit premature don't you think ?

One name: Flacco Prior to this year, Keenum was a throw away. This year he has proven (miracle, or not) that he is a QB that can get his team at least to the NFC Championship. That does not mean every other QB can, so his value is now elevated. He's also proven that the guys in his huddle respect him (more valuable). This would not be a decision based on one moment, or play, it would be based on his body of work this whole season. Like it or not, the dude has played well. Better than many QB's in the league this year. Flacco was the QB of a Super Bowl team that had an extraordinary D, yet HE was the one who got paid. Keenum getting franchised is not an absurd notion. They would more likely sign him before getting to that point though.

What would it take to splinter the Stadium Wall to include a Stadium Void? Can we sub-divide ideas like these that have absolutely NO chance of being a discussion, let alone an action?

I have heard talking heads mention how management has us going in the right direction. I would agree that McDermott has been very involved and that McBeane has been a throw in on the compliments. There were a couple of trades on his watch. The success of those are still debatable. I hope his relationship with McDermott will allow him to coexist peacefully with McD so we can continue to make forward progress. This sentiment usually bounces around my noggin when I hear someone say how well HE has done. This year he gets to earn the praise.

This is a major topic of discussion among officials. I officiate in California and this is one of the hardest things to get inexperienced officials to understand. Too many want everyone to know they are there and that they are watching infractions, but some lack the judgement and patience to wait to see if the foul mattered. I get frustrated watching NFL officials make calls that I know would not be supported in the meetings I attend. What I look for is how fast the flag came out after the "infraction." Quick flags are a bad sign. See the foul. Make sure the foul is in the area of the play/ball. Ensure the foul led to an actual gain by the team that fouled. THEN throw the flag. The one that used to fool me was block in the back on kickoffs. I would see the block lining up, say to myself, "don't do it," then throw the flag as soon as I saw the contact. Unfortunately, the player who was blocked stumbled toward the returner and made the tackle. That happened twice during the same season. That really taught me how to slow down. Ambition some times gets in the way of judgement and patience.

I think the idea of intellectual property rights as it relates to the utilization of plays in sports would be fascinating. Everyone knows coaches steal from each other, but if they could not by law... That's a simulation I'd love to see played out.

Of course my first thought was, "who?" Then I looked him up. I'm tiring of following stats, but I liked Sal's summation of his career. I'm not going to use those to base my positives and negatives. My negatives: * Has no history of QB development. Hasn't had a stud to groom, but has not schemed non-elite talent to play over their ability. * Although he's worked for Belichick, he's not been a coordinator in NE. He shared the job in Alabama, so what were his specific contributions? * Not sure how many other teams were targeting him. My positives (I'm trying to finish on a positive note): * Has been a part of multiple winning cultures. He's seen how it's done well and can bring that to a team that needs people who've been there and done that. * His ability to notably change his offense in the championship game tells me he's not married to one system, or game plan and will live and die with it. * Has been a part of teams that make effective game adjustments. The Bills desperately need that. I was luke warm on McDermott, so I'm willing to wait and see on Daboll also. I'm optimistic about those things I feel need to be changed (winning attitude & ability to adjust).

I cannot say the shoulder contact will never be called because I think the refs are disappointingly inconsistent (I'm a FB official in Cal.), but that's not often going to be called. Both players are entitled to make a play on the ball. Thompson is largely stationary while Ramsey comes from behind, goes around (albeit with contact) and makes the play. The offensive player does not have absolute rights to the ball (as per the Benjamin push off earlier), so if the players make contact while both have a legitimate chance to receive the ball, that contact will (usually/should be) ignored.

This almost got me in trouble at work. I glanced at it during a staff meeting. Had to fight laughing out loud.

Dilly Dilly!

Gotta love wild speculation. Do you have a reliable source to substantiate that possibility? We now take you back to our regularly scheduled reality... Shady is a leader and a great player, but he's not management. He grumbled about Watkins leaving also, but still played like a warrior. He's going to do what he does regardless of who distributes the ball. Team chemistry is important, so hearing Shady out is fine, but he'll will not be taking over McBean's office any time soon. McCoy has to know his window will not be open forever, so pushing to win sooner than later will obviously be his goal. Frankly, it should be everyone's goal. Management needs to get to work, find more talent to go with the useful pieces we have and keep moving forward.

I find it amusing that Peterman being a 5th round draft pick is such a problem. If Peterman deserves no chance due to his draft position, then why is a former 6th round pick our starter?

Prior to this season, everything you said was already true PLUS we had an unproven 1st year coach (and GM) completely retooled secondary AND had given away Watkins, Darby, and Ragland to add future picks. The nation felt we had already quit on this season and would be one of the worst teams in football. I have some of the same concerns you do moving forward, but the results of this season show that players can outperform the perception of what our roster looks like on paper. Now we have a 2nd year head coach with one winning season and playoff experience on his resume. We have a strong secondary and an entire offseason to build familiarity with the system, not learn a new system. What major losses will we undertake this offseason? I just looked at the free agent list and Gaines is arguably the best of the bunch and I expect them to re-sign him. There are others I think are OK, but none are irreplaceable. This year wiped away the filth of the Ryan regime and the Bills should trend up. I'm not going to say we'll be SB LIII champions, but we certainly can be better than we were this year.

I appreciate Tyrod working hard, being a solid guy and raising the level of play from he predecessors (EJ & Cassel). I appreciate him navigating the NFL with Rex as his head coach (not an easy task). There are many players in the NFL that get paid and from what I've heard, do not work as hard at Tyrod, so I thank him for being a true professional and I appreciate him not being the type of man that would be an embarrassment to Buffalo. Considering salary cap and the numerous other needs that the Bills have, I would not be appalled seeing him return instead of overpaying for Alex Smith, or Cousins. I don't know if there will be a veteran improvement at QB in his price range. If so, I'd consider options. Since Dennison does not seem to be able to maximize Tyrod's strengths, I think it is best for Taylor to look elsewhere. Watching him play, I think Tyrod plays safe, tries to keep from mistakes that will cost him his job knowing that he does not have a real challenge to him as a starter. Now that the Bills have made some positive strides, I want more. I want a QB that will challenge defenses and allow the cast around him to make plays. I commented to my friend today how often Tyrod throws balls slightly behind receivers making clean catches difficult. Watching how well Cam and Brees throw the ball slightly ahead of their receivers who would then get yards after the catch was notable. Thanks Tyrod for all you've done. Buffalo has ended the drought and feels a great sigh of relief, but I want more. We all want more.

The 5 pick game won't go away, but today's pick was not a poor decision on Peterman's part. That was a timing play where he drops back and unloads without thought. What I don't understand is why you have a receiver move up field a few yards, stop and wait for the ball. That allows Ramsey to break on the ball against a stationary receiver. Either run the receiver deeper, or slant the receiver inside so that he is moving towards the ball instead of standing and waiting for it. Peterman needs a pocket to make throws. Our line does not create a clean pocket very often, thus the quick timing throw at the end. I agree he may never be a successful starter, but he is a McD pick not a hold over and he fits the Dennison offense well enough that he'll be around next year for sure. Being a rookie, I expect there is still a learning curve for Peterman. Whatever success he's capable of will take time. There have been a few QB's drafted in round 5 or later (other than Brady) who have had successful careers, so dismissing Peterman solely because he was drafted in round 5 is nonsense.

I believe the "clean house" comment to be sarcasm. You would think all Bills fans would have thick skin by now, but maybe some are just on their last nerve. As for this summary, I might look at a couple of the points differently than posted here. One has to do with "the process." The fact of the matter here is that this franchise has lost a culture that expects success (17 non-playoff years will do that). Through 4 SB appearances, the culture assumed regular success and playoff appearances. After our last SB, we appeared in the playoffs for of the next six years. Unfortunately, after Kelly and the gang left, we found that we had not in fact built a successful franchise (such as GB, or Pittsburgh), but instead had a nice run with a Hall of Fame group. I think the players jettisoned, including Watkins and Dareus, presented as me guys, not we guys, so McDermott felt the need to make it clear that type of attitude does not win and is not needed for our rebuild. The Rams are winning because of a superior D line and Gurley, not so much Watkins. Dareus has not make a significant impact since joining the Jags. They both may have made some plays on the field that could have been helpful, but I suspect their influence in the locker room was not positive overall. Although I agree, he's probably not much of a risk taker, I don't think we have enough playmakers to reward him for taking too many risks. It will be fascinating to see if our drafts lean toward defensive, or offensive dominant. The types of offensive players he's accumulated so far (Z. Jones, Benjamin) are more workmanlike type guys than take the top off guys. Unless that changes, you are probably right, but I'd like to see a couple of burners with the guys we have now. That would be fun to see what he does then. For the same reason I listed above (limited talent), I'll reserve judgement on his ability to manage a game. He's done some things I wouldn't do, but I suspect he's not in a position to get very exotic with what we put on the field, so again, until we can build a more talented team, this group is going to look very vanilla. Remember how the Brady offense looked until he got Moss and Welker. Once he had luxury toys to play with, he was a pretty vanilla QB also. Although we've all waited far longer than we should to see a truly successful team on the field, I think what I've seen this year has been more encouraging than I've seen in a long time. We just have to pray next year is not a significant regression.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, so I don't feel payments are being made, etc. etc., but I have seen officials who give too much respect to successful programs. When deciding either/or they give the benefit of the doubt to the favorite on the presumption that they usually make plays like that.