BillsFanSD

I think Allen is likely to retire as the Bills all-time best QB. But right now, that title belongs to Kelly. Likewise for Bass. He shows a ton of promise, but he's not Steve Christie. At this point, he's not even Ryan Lindell or Stephen Hauschka. I hate to comment on the DBs -- White, Poyer, and Hyde are all outstanding, but how many of us really study DB play? I don't think anybody else on our team is even within eyesight of "all-time" status. Not that a guy like Oliver (for example) can't get there, just that it's not even up for discussion at this point. Yep. Think about some of the linebackers this team has had over the years. Fletcher. Conlan. Talley. Biscuit. Spielman. Paup. Spikes. I'm probably forgetting some guys, but that's a really elite set of LBs even if some of them spent good chunks of their careers with other teams. Milano is really good and I like Edmunds too, but come on.

The Patriots are playing very good football, and Jones is much further along in his development than most rookie QBs. They're a legit team that's only half a game back in the division with two games against us coming up in December. Do I expect New England to win the AFCE? No. Would I be surprised at this point if they pulled it out somehow? Honestly, no. What I'm hoping at this point is that we can "figure out" Mac Jones. It seems like he's about due for the kind of defensive change-ups that create growing pains for young passers. If that happens, we should be able to pull away pretty easily. If not, this is going to be tight the rest of the way.

I know we have an embarrassment of riches at WR, but I'd like to see more of Gabe Davis, and I don't mean next season.

It was worth shelling out for a round trip flight during the most expensive travel period of the year, several nights in a hotel, and game tix just to see the game without Collinsworth.

Honestly, the Bills deserved to lose yesterday considering how badly they played. If they had beaten Jacksonville by 3 TDs, which they should have, then the officials wouldn't even be an issue. That said, there's no serious doubt in my mind that we win an ugly and worrisome game with halfway-competent officiating. Just something as simple as not flagging Boettger for an imaginary false start probably would have done it. No need to "fix" every single bad call -- just one or two would have been enough.

Why stop at McDermott? The only logical course of action is for the Pegulas to sell the team to owners who promise not to lose to Jacksonville. It starts at the top . . .

We allowed a grand total of nine points. Nine. Giving up a 55 yard FG attempt was not the problem. If the other team scores only nine points, we should be winning by multiple TDs. This loss is 100% on the lack of offense. That's it. With just mediocre offensive production that FG, the lopsided officiating, etc. don't matter.

This matches my recollection of 2018 too. Everybody was happy that the drought was over, but that 2017 team had no upside and no sustainable future and everybody knew it. So we did a tear-down that really wasn't all that bad -- the 2018 Bills had their share of fun moments during an otherwise forgettable season -- and it was pretty clear that the FO had a plan and knew what they were doing. All of this looks great in hindsight because we picked the right QB (and got a little lucky that six other teams passed) and generally made good moves during the rebuild. But there was not a lot of angst about the state of the roster in 2018. 99% of us knew that that season was all about setting the table for Allen and hoping that he would develop into a franchise QB.

Just read this a few minutes before coming over here. Nice article. More than anything, I agree with the "moves that make sense" metric. One of the things I like about Beane is that he doesn't make splash moves for no reason. For example, Beane isn't the sort of guy who signs a past-him-prime diva WR on a one-year deal to pair with a QB who doesn't want to throw more than five yards downfield. He and McDermott have built this team methodically and intentionally. You get what they're doing with each draft pick, each trade, and each FA signing. It's so nice to know that your FO has a coherent plan in place that goes beyond "sell more season tickets this year." When a particular move doesn't work out, it's a lot easier to swallow when you at least understand the reasoning behind it.

Maybe we can get them to throw in . . . eh, never mind.

In the modern NFL, an elite QB is pretty much a necessary condition for long-run success. I don't think a guy like Allen (or Mahomes, or Herbert, etc.) is tradeable at any price.

Not gonna lie -- I was wondering if the Bills might sign somebody off the street after week 1 last season. Glad I wasn't running the team at the time.

I don't think we should be trading away assets this year, and I definitely don't want to see Trubisky traded away. We can win a playoff game or two with Trubisky under center IMO -- obviously he's a big step down from Allen, but I wouldn't mind our chances if we had to start him in a WC against the Browns or somesuch. Unless we're just completely bending Washington over -- and this is Dan Snyder we're talking about so it's not like that's out of the question or anything -- don't do it.

I think if the defense had been playing this well last year, we'd be talking about whether we can win back-to-back super bowls.

The TD was fine. As a bunch of other people have noted, the Bills couldn't run the clock out without getting a first down. They ran the ball, and Miami's defense couldn't stop them. That's on Miami, not us. I'm indifferent about the 2 point attempt. At least that gave Miami a chance to keep a couple of points off the board -- not sure why that should be considered running it up but taking the PAT isn't. Maybe the Dolphins should worry more about their terrible scouting and preposterous wastes of draft picks instead.

Diggs has been relatively quiet so far this season. It's only a matter of time before he goes off. With Knox out, what better time for Diggs to eat?

They're right. If you look at the remaining schedule, 15-2 is a perfectly plausible scenario for this team. Do I expect that to happen? No. There are two lose-able games on the schedule (NO and TB), and even if the Bills win each of the other 9 games 90% of the time (overly optimistic), that implies another probable loss somewhere due to randomness. But regardless, what kind of line would we be looking at if we played Baltimore or KC or Tampa or Arizona on a neutral field? Does anybody really think that we would be significant dogs to any of those teams? I don't.

Nobody is going to feel like losing a tough game on the road against the Titans in week 6 in any way detracts from our Lombardi trophy.

Dude. We probably win this game 80% of the time just starting from the 4th and 1 play at the end of the game. Never mind all the times we replay this game and march into the fourth quarter with a three possession lead. Our offensive line played horribly. Our defense collapsed down the stretch. Our offensive playcalling wasn't the best. And yet we were still in a very good position to win the game at the end. Elite teams occasionally lose games like this -- nobody goes undefeated. It's no big deal and it's a wild overreaction to draw overarching conclusions based on a tiny sample of games that you cherry-picked. I've spent the past 20 years watching every Bills game through the lens of "Is this team heading in the right direction for long term success?" Every loss was a reason to reconsider whether we had the right coach or the right QB. Every loss was a reason to question whether we made the right selections on draft day. Every loss was a statement about the culture inside the locker room. Finally, FINALLY we reached a point last season where it became blindingly obvious that we have the right GM, we have the right coach, and we have the right QB. These guys are going to fixtures of the franchise for the next decade. They are going to win a boatload of games, and I will be disappointed if a championship or two is not among them. We have reached a really good spot as a franchise. That doesn't mean that we won't lose the occasional tough game to a decent opponent. But it does mean that a loss is just a loss. It's no big deal.

Makes sense. Teams are going to start playing us like we (and others) played KC.

LOL at the chants of "D-FENSE" from the visiting fans.

Can't complain about that one. The Titans came up with a good defensive play when they really needed one. Just keep moving the ball and the points will come.

Amazing how well a line can perform if they're allowed to hold.

I would never wallow in the misfortune of another team. Unless the team in question was the Patriots, Dolphins, Jets, or Cowboys. Then I wallow like a champ.

God no don't take a time out.