Boatdrinks

Looks like it’s going to be very cold and windy. Only 8 degrees for a high without windchill. 30 mph winds. Don’t love it, but have to go in and get the job done.

The difference in the game was most certainly Josh Allen, but the Dolphins are a good team. 2021 Bills weren’t exactly on fire offensively in December on their way to the playoffs.

I agree this came from the coach , but there’s nothing iffy about it. This isn’t college football either. You expect a routine kick to be made. You run the clock down and win the game; take many variables out of the equation and don’t give MIA an opportunity.

Disagree. It wasn’t exactly a blizzard- they took that into account , and you can screw up once and Hill is in the end zone. Maybe McDaniel goes for the win with a 2 pt conversion in that situation as the weather was worsening. No reason at all to choose that option if you’re the Bills. Executing the kick is mostly about your players ; playing D has a lot to do with theirs- including Hill.

So it IS about defensive bravado then? Do you trust the defense ? It’s really about percentages and trust that your FG unit can execute one of the simplest plays in football. That choice gives Miami almost no chance. Kicking off and playing defense guarantees Miami a few chances. NFL rules also favor offenses. Why would you choose to be in that situation vs the fastest player in the NFL vs a routine FG?

Timeouts become less relevant with Hill on the field. He can outrun anyone playing defense in the league. Especially in conditions that were worsening. The kick was the obvious play as it would take place within seconds. Who knows how much worse the weather would have been after the commercial timeouts following a TD? One defender slips and Hill scores. You’re overthinking this.

The game is about winning, not defensive bravado. The percentages favored a kick in that situation so that was the strategy chosen. Why tempt fate with Tyreek Hill ?

Couldn’t disagree more. A championship team doesn’t worry about executing a short field goal. That is expected. Hill is the fastest player on the field, and the conditions would have been more of a factor trying to cover him. He could score from anywhere on the field in just seconds. Choosing to kick the FG over covering Hill was a no- brainer. If they’d kicked off to the Dolphins you would probably have been livid at McD as Hill blazed down the sideline. Easiest decision ever from where they were on the field.

Didn’t think the Rams or Bengals looked like a Super Bowl team in last seasons big game . One of them won it though.

WGR Said field is clear and cover removed. Whatever snow falls from now on will have to be removed if it gets excessive

Probably. Don’t see this as a game with a lot of deep routes .

Heard it on WGR and thought the same thing. McKenzie goes back to the role player type thing if Cole can get it done. Seems like Beasley has a good mindset right now

I’d venture that having a defensive Head Coach was a strong influence on their drafts. Their defensive stats since McD arrived are pretty impressive. The offense has been good too. The blueprint hasn’t been flawless but they’re competing for the top seed in the AFC and have notched 10 or more wins 4 years straight. Definitely doing something right.

Josh has been playing through the injury , so that’s why it’s not 2-4 weeks. That would have been if he sat out, which wasn’t an option. So it’s a pain management/ practice workload type deal until most likely the offseason.

He slid vs Jets and he had to leap vs Jets . The Bills are in crunch time now and if they need Josh to truck someone for a first down or TD so be it. He’s willing to pay the price to win a championship and I’m glad he is.

See, I disagree here. Of course Beane is playing a little loosely with the details here. Why would you ask this stuff? Fill in the blanks yourself. There’s a saying that your actions speak so loudly there’s no need to hear what you say. A GM’s job is not to bad mouth his players to the media. Those are not tough questions: they’re questions you are guaranteed to get word salad talkarounds from the GM to shield his guys from outside criticism. As to the player moves, fine. The answers will be that they explored options but couldn’t get a deal done due to high draft pick compensation, and that cap considerations forced their hand. These are very boring give and takes with rote responses because there are things that GMs cannot say publicly. I’m not a fan of this style of press in sports .There are opinion columns for a reason : critique Beane all you want there. Keep “tough questions” for politicians, not for folks in the entertainment business. Just my opinion and your mileage may vary.

I believe Sal C said that beginning in 2024 - due to the NFL formula- the tables could turn. Depending on division finish, the Bills could potentially host KC for 3 consecutive seasons.

How does the call up system work with regards to the cap ? Anyone out there know this ? If say Beasley is called up, does he then get paid veteran minimum for that game as opposed to his PS salary ? Just curious how this works.

That was awful, and pretty much a protest by officials making a judgement call reviewable . It was terrible for the game. There are clear rules for hitting QBs and all too often they throw a flag if they think something happened. I’m not opposed to a review process as these are huge calls and defenses depend on pressuring the passer. PI is different because almost no crew calls it “ by the book” thank goodness- the game might be unwatchable if they did.

So would the Bills brass - and Josh Allen. It could still happen for Shakir, but the Bills are on the Super Bowl express and can’t afford to be patient with rookies. Some guys take more than a half season to break out. I’m glad they’re able to see that some things aren’t working as planned and can bring guys in that Josh is familiar with. The NFL rules on PS callups help as well , as a lot of these decisions come down to money- not just performance. Veteran help can be a valuable thing for a playoff run. A lot of these moves are cap driven- guys went for big paydays elsewhere. Totally understandable, but in getting their greenbacks they also found the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere. I think it speaks volumes to what Beane and McD have built here.

If both teams win their next 2 games - and the Bills offense looks good in doing so then yes I agree. That spread would seem about right.

Maybe, but again this is pretty low risk. Age does catch up, but it may not have caught up to Beasley just yet. A two week stint in Tampa with a 45 year old QB that’s not exactly having a great year is a bit small of a sample size to draw many conclusions. We will see how it plays out.

Only 3 ways I can see that happening and two of them are bad. If Bills are 1 seed they’ll probably play on Saturday

Oh for sure, but given the remaining schedules for the teams in contention that appears unlikely. Not impossible but it would take some more good fortune for that scenario to play out.

Yeah, especially with the MNF in week 17 I don’t see a Saturday time slot happening. Let’s hope it’s Sunday at 4:25 that means it’s to claim home field throughout the AFC playoffs.