Last Guy on the Bench

Yikes! It's pretty amusing to watch, though, now that we know how the story turned out (i.e., we seem to have one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL on our hands).

From the Ringer: Buffalo can go light with three and even four receivers on the field at once. They can put multiple backs in the backfield or multiple tight ends on the line of scrimmage. They can line up under center or in the gun. They can dial up old-school, downhill-run plays, or call more modern option plays designed around the QB. Allen has become a surgeon on underneath stuff, but he’s still throwing rockets to the deep and intermediate parts of the field. And he’s as comfortable throwing to the middle of the field as he is outside the numbers. This offense can do anything at any time, and it does it all at a high level. This isn’t just the best offense in the NFL today. It’s one of the most comprehensive attacks this league has ever seen. 5 Takeaways from The Bills Win

That's where I disagree. If a defender catches a ball in the field of play, he can't run into the end zone and claim a touchback. He has to be in the end zone already, or I think his momentum can take him there. But even then he still has to go down or give himself up somehow. If a defender is running around with the ball in the end zone looking to escape and make a big run back, he is fair game for a strip.

This dude: And I saw a few people on a Steelers board. Totally agree. I think it was correctly called all along. But even if it were called the other way - still our TD. With different stats, as you say.

I've seen a few people online and on TV kvetching about the length of time Fitzpatrick seemed to have possession of Gabe's 2nd TD before Gabe ripped it back. Their argument is that Fitzpatrick had already intercepted it fully and it should have been ruled accordingly. I was wondering about this live, while I nervously waited for the extra point to be kicked before a red flag could be thrown. But then I thought about it more. Even if Fitzpatrick had it and it was an interception, the ball is still live. If a defender has a ball in the end zone, it is live until he is tackled or gives himself up, right? Totally different than an offensive player - if an offensive player has or establishes full possession in the end zone, it's a TD and the play is over. But if a defender picks it and starts running around back there, an offensive player can still strip him of the ball and it's live. So seems to me that at worst, that play is an interception and then a fumble in the end zone recovered for a touchdown by Davis. Am I crazy? The one counterargument I can see is if Fitzpatrick had possession and they ruled he was down by forward progress - but that would be whack - he wasn't being pushed "backwards" - he was running full speed in that direction. In any case. I don't think Minkah every really established full possession in the first place - they were wrestling for it, and Gabe won. But either way, it's a TD to my thinking. Also, the reason Gabe caught it one-handed is that he had to because Minkah was holding his other arm - so it could also have been Pass Interference. Strange and exhilarating play. Just want to make sure my reasoning is correct if I start arguing with a whiner.

Not sure he makes it that far.

Agreed. I thought Knox pulled away from the ball on purpose. Wasn't that other receiver Diggs? I'm not even sure that Josh wasn't throwing to him - he was just past the first down marker, if I recall. Hard to tell where he was throwing, given the tip. Weird play all around.

Agreed. If I was neutral, that game would tell me that in the long run the Bills are the stronger team, probably by a good amount. BUT, I give Miami's defense a lot of credit. They were on the field forever and they still really played tough all day. They were hitting, covering. They made life difficult for Josh who gutted it out but clearly didn't have his usual magic. Miami is going to make some noise. They seem like a scrappy wild card team to me. And they deserve a lot of credit for hanging in that game and making plays. Sure the Bills missed some opportunities. But so did the Dolphins. They dropped a few potential interceptions. Anyway, very difficult to watch. Can't say I enjoyed it. But it was just one of those weird games that happen pretty regularly in the NFL. Too bad we couldn't get a chance for a kick at the end. But given the week we've had, kind of fitting. I plan to forget this past week immediately.

Good points about the defense, but I can't see Miami holding us to 28 points. You never know, but the way their defense plays, injury to X, Josh and Co's current form, etc. make it hard to picture. They could beat us, but I think they'll have to score 30+ to do it. I like our chances a lot more than theirs, even with the injuries.

Don't forget "Shout" - the day that came out (Thursday?) was the most exciting day of the week. I especially loved the training camp notes you could get there. It's crazy how thin those were compared to what our many resident dedicated posters give us, not to mention all the media types observing practices. But it was gold back then.

It's not just for the male. You made that up.

Cool. Let's say you're right in your analysis of SB XXV. (There are a lot more variables at play in a complex phenomenon like a football game than your simple reduction can possibly do justice to, but for the sake of argument, let's say you're right.) You are holding up one bad decision or failure against the LONG pattern of success that @folz outlined. And to you, that means he's a bad coach and can never be "forgiven." You completely erase all the decisions he made along the way to get them to that Super Bowl. I just can't think that way. If you want to argue that Marv wasn't perfect, I'm right there with you. But of course no one is perfect, so that's not much of a discussion. If you want to argue that Marv's failings significantly outweighed his strengths, then I refer you back to @folz's original post.

This is my favorite post of the past five years. Thank you. You're fighting the modern current of smug opinion that labels anything with an imperfection (i.e., everything, eventually) as "trash" and that overlooks the many, many talents and character traits it takes to succeed in even the smallest way at the highest level. Marv had a number of remarkable qualities, and you do a great job showing how those qualities helped him win consistently in many contexts. And that's ignoring the other positive effects he undoubtedly had on many people beyond the football field. And sure the Bills were talented in the 90s, but it is no easy trick getting talents like that to align effectively for a year or two, let alone multiple years in a row. Marv is completely deserving of his HOF recognition, and we were beyond lucky to have had him as our coach.

Chelsea scum here. Good lord your boys waxed us. That was painful. Tip of the hat to you. Premium win. (And I was glad to see Aaronson looking feisty anyway. Took a bit of the sting out.)

Philbin especially. Watching the way he thought about things and interacted with players - I thought he seemed in so far over his head. Very strange choice for the Dolphins (but great for the Bills).

The things they are talking about (e.g., reading leverage) are basic and generic for a professional. Even the most junior opposing coach or player would already know all of this from a glance at film (and from their own systems). I think there is zero risk here. On the other hand, for a nonprofessional like me, these videos are very educational. I love them.

Yep, especially considering he went 29-21 in Chicago with a worse roster. It's definitely not an inflated opinion of the guy to imagine he could go .500 with the Bills.

Very cool story. Thanks for sharing. We are lucky the brother and sister were from Buffalo, so we get the benefit of all of your insight instead of it being wasted on the undeserving fanbase of some other team.

He's not saying anything unreasonable. I'm optimistic. When the Bills are clicking they can crush anyone on offense. And I think the defense will be better this year with the new additions. But they did beat up on a lot of bad QBs last year. And the offense went to sleep at times. The guy wasn't saying anything ridiculous. We might very well lose a game or two more in the division than we have been lately. And we have lots of other tough games. Having said that . . . 20-0! Can't wait!

I don't know if I'd go that far, but it's true that his goodbye was a little thin and chilly for a guy that is usually so emotive.

You obviously know much more about this than most of us. But a quick Google shows that the early Thanksgiving game last year averaged over 26 million viewers. MNF, SNF, and TNF all average substantially fewer viewers than that, these days.

Thanks, I hadn't seen that in his evaluations. Definitely seems like something he could change. It's just a habit. As you say, he's very quick.

Was watching all of Shakir's plays in this Nevada game. Seems like he has a little delay (sometimes even a hitch) at the snap before he starts every route? You can see the other receivers getting off the line into their routes before he does. It's not a quickness thing - to my untrained eye it looks like he kind of stands there or gathers himself at the snap before he leaves the LOS (or wherever he is starting). Any WR experts see the same thing? Is this normal? I don't know much about route running (my big accomplishment this year was finally learning what stacking was - thanks YouTube). Anyway, even if it is an issue, seems like an easy thing to correct. In any case, he had some great plays in this game. A couple of wow catches and a nice punt return. Worth a watch regardless. I'm excited to see him in action this preseason.

What's this stuff about McDermott's good old boys, or small overachievers? Strange narrative. Is it just based on McD's personality and his own story? Because the Bills have been CONSISTENTLY drafting high RAS guys - explosive athletes with good positional size. Where are they small or overachievers? They are drafting giants on OL. DL guys are good sized - Groot makes McD look like a chipmunk. Edmunds is huge for that position. Josh is huge. Their starting corners have decent size. There are a few smallish players, like Milano, who can really ball anyway. And the receivers aren't that big right now. But overall, they have clearly been prioritizing guys with superior athletic traits (including size) who also happen to be very self-motivated football junkies. They've also been trying to get faster, and this draft class will help that. The Bills are not a team of plucky underdogs.

Greg Cosell is completely sold on Shakir in this clip. Raves about him for a couple of minutes. Starts at 10:40. Cosell is not a raver. He is pretty cautious, and while he won't trash guys too often, you always get a sense of his caveats. Not here. He is smiling when he talks about him.