oldmanfan

The current state of the board is more a product of the times we live in. Way back in the day when I was a lad and we'd watch guys like Warren Rabb do stupid things, we would complain at the lunch table at school, and our dads would complain over the water cooler and so on. We'd read Larry Felser or Jim Peters be critical of certain moves. But we got over it pretty quickly, and moved on to the next game. I remember from like 1967-1971/72, when we had guys like Dan Darraugh and coaches like John Rauch trying to use OJ as a decoy, and two teams that each won 1 game per season. We'd holler even louder over the lunch table, and our Dad's would hang out at Costello's (and we'd hang out with them) and complain. But they were our team, and as much as we'd complain we always rooted for them. And as much as we might have called for Lou's head at times in the 60's, when our championship coach came back and put together the electric Company and got OJ going we cheered for Saban. And when he bailed on us again we thought he was a bum. But those feelings generally didn't last that long. Fast forward to today. We now live in an era where it's not just Larry Felser we get information from, it is a myriad of sites, some of whom seem knowledgeable and some of whom seem to write columns that anyone on the board could write. So folks can find anyone they want to support whatever opinion they have. Plus in the Internet era, folks have been programmed to get what they want right now; patience is no longer a virtue. And it allows folks to voice truly vitriolic opinions in a completely anonymous manner which has raised the level of spite and uninformed ranting to an art form. So are we better or worse fans than we were back when I started in 1960? In some ways both. Bills fans have always been borderline crazy; it's in our DNA. We're better now because we have more exposure to the game, to commentary, and such. We're worse because that same increased level of exposure has caused some fans to become completely unrealistic and over the top critical, to the point where they'd rather see the Bills lose and be right about something they spouted off on in a chat room. No matter how bad they played at times in the 60's/70's and no matter how much we may have booed, they were still our team. NO one back then would have ever thought to want to have them lose just to prove a point.

Come on now. Let's all take a deep breath and quit judging these young QBs so quickly. Rosen got thrown in the deep end of the pool last night. And predictably didn't do so well. Allen was the same the week before and yesterday did very well. Darnold did very well his first game, and not too good the next two. Mayfield came in and did well his first game. And will not in subsequent games. Give them all time. Let things shake out. My guess is everyone of these guys will have long careers, if no starters than certainly as backups.

Allen will have games where he struggles. So will Mahomes. So will Mayfiled. Darnold already has. So has Watson. It is what young QBs do. The key is how they handle that and how they learn from such experiences. Allen strikes me as the type who will handle adversity.

If you're, like, a year old.

No call for this. Great victory for the Bills and all their fans.

As an alumnus it's nice to see UB relevant in college football.

If he writes nothing then you know to discount anything he writes. Never heard of him before this thread.

He played well today. As with all rookie QBs he made some head scatcherd as well. But he showed signs of having the two things any long term QB has to have to make it: 1. Poise. Young QBs succeed or fail on whether they can get the game to slow down enough to make plays. He showed that's coming along. Doesn't have the deer in the headlights look. 2. Leadership: Does your team believe in you? Will they follow you? Answer to those appear to be yes.

Depends on the type. The one where the rib articulates is I believe fibrocartilage. Much more fibrous than hyaline and can crack

Yep. You make an NFL roster you are expected to step up when your name is called. i'm fairly certain he won't retire at halftime.

Hyde is too valuable where he is. Pitts needs to put on his big boy pants.

Would any of the safeties we have be able to play corner? Don't think so.

I would say calling a guy in his first game utterly dreadful is over the top. To each his own.

Can I just ask a question without being told I'm trying to attack the guy? I could sit in my basement all day and night for the next year looking at film, but if I'l not sure what the OC had in mind with the play call I don't think my analysis would mean much. Allen missed some passes. Rookie QBs do that. He missed some reads. Rookie QBs do that. Instead of attacking me for asking a question, would it not be reasonable to ask whether the kind of analysis done on a rookie QB in his first NFL game is a bit over the top?

I think you should have a foundation of knowledge to make the kinds of interpretations he and others make. I wouldn't go to say a dentist if I had a heart condition, I want someone that's been there and done that I know Mel Kiper starter an empire doing this stuff. It still puzzles me as to how and why.

I asked the question so I could determine how much weight to give his opinion

Ok. It just seems like there's a huge number of these guys and I'm not sure whether they really understand what they're seeing.

Seven pages on this. I looked this guy's name up on Google. From what I can find, he has some experience as a high school football coach. Is there anything else in his background I'm missing to suggest his opinion has validity? Or would it be like me writing a similar column on say Darnold, and expecting Jets fans to take it seriously just because I watch football a lot?

Don't give me the cap garbage. Sigh. Some folks honestly do not understand realities of the NFL

Because what you claim as facts are not facts.

I agree. I think I've read quotes from him about building through the draft. I see them using their cap money to get solid contributors in multiple areas, but not going crazy getting some supposed superstar.

You cherry picked one weekend of games, got caught looking ridiculous, and now are trying to backtrack. Next time don't post something that can so easily be torn apart.

Are you that desperate for attention? Do you have no friends?

Some folks seem to think NFL players, and QBs in particular, should be like umpires or surgeons. They should be perfect day 1 of the job and then improve.

Such a tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.