Logic

I’ve gone back and forth, and as much as I want to watch the Bills play this Sunday, the health of the players is simply more important. There’s no way the Bills players should have to fly to Tennessee and play a team that is STILL seeing new players test positive every day. Do I want a cancelled game or a win by forfeit? No. But both sound better than 10 Bills players getting COVID. I’m onto the Chiefs.

Every year a few people want to cut a good returner in favor of a sixth string WR who will see 3 snaps a game. Every year they look silly saying so. I've always looked at it this way: If a returner has 30 punt return yards per game -- and that's about what Roberts is averaging so far this season -- it means he's gotten you three first downs. By comparison, not many bottom-of-the-roster wide receivers playing limited snaps would get you three first downs per game. Simple math.

So Daboll will NOT be dialing up any jet sweeps to Cody Ford? *****. I knew I shouldn't have taken that bet.

Titans fans on Twitter are being absolute garbage people about the whole situation, as well. None of them seem to be mad at the Titans or their coaches whatsoever. They're all mad at the reporters who cover the team for being "rats". The players themselves don't seem to have much contrition, either. Sad that one team can jeopardize the entire NFL season with its carelessness.

I wrote an article for Buffalofambase.com about what Norman's addition meant to the Bills on Sunday and what it might mean going forward from a chemistry/psychology/"juice" perspective. I'll post it here in full, but it looks better at the link. As always, please let me know if this violates any forum rules. http://buffalofambase.com/2020/10/07/everybody-was-crunk-how-josh-norman-breathed-new-life-into-bills-defense/ For the fourth time in as many weeks, the Bills were allowing an inferior opponent to hang around. Despite another all-world outing from quarterback Josh Allen and a dominant showing from Buffalo’s offense, the Las Vegas Raiders were just 36 yards away from a game-tying score with 12 minutes left to play. The Bills needed a spark. They needed a big play. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr dropped back and found ascending star Darren Waller in the flats. The speedy tight end trucked Jordan Poyer, turned upfield for more yardage…and then a funny thing happened. Something the Bills faithful hadn’t seen nearly enough of through the first quarter of the season: a Bills defender came flying into the picture, cocked his arm back, and punched the ball out with a walloping strike that would have made “Peanut” Tillman proud. The pigskin skittered across the turf. Several Raiders watched helplessly as the fumble-forcing defender then pounced on the ball, securing the turnover for the Bills. That defender? Cornerback Josh Norman, suiting up for his first game as a Buffalo Bill, saving the day, and immediately endearing himself to all of western New York. “Coach was actually saying, ‘Somebody make a play, somebody make a play. Make a play,'” Norman said after the game. “I was like, ‘I’ll make a play.’ “The whole sideline just erupted,” Bills running back Devin Singletary said. “Everybody was crunk”. Four plays later, Singletary punched in a three-yard touchdown run to give Buffalo a two-score lead. There were still over ten minutes on the clock, though, and the Raiders had proven themselves more than capable of moving the ball with success throughout the day. When the Bills defense returned to the field, though, something had changed. The tightness, the flatness, the anxiety with which they seemed to have been playing for most of the season was gone. In its place was a confidence, an energy, a fierceness more in line with what we’re used to seeing from Sean McDermott defenses. First Ed Oliver burst through the line to stop Josh Jacobs for no gain on 4th and 1. And who was immediately in the picture, pumping his fist, slapping his teammates on the helmet, and firing everyone up again? Josh Norman, of course. Then, after the Bills offense failed to put the game on ice, the Raiders got the ball again, the game’s outcome still not certain. With Carr in the pocket, scanning the field, tackle Quinton Jefferson bull rushed his way in, swiped the ball away, and fell on it. Darting into the picture again, the first player to lift Jefferson off the ground and congratulate him? Norman, naturally. On a day when the Bills defense was needed to help bring home a critical win against a good conference opponent, they stepped up. It was not just technical acuity that saved the day, though. It was not just the usual fine detail or meticulous minutiae that one expects from a Frazier/McDermott crew that put the Raiders down for good. No. It was the swagger and determination of Josh Norman — and the confidence thereby injected into the entire Bills defense — that did the trick. Norman reflected on his excitement and his impact after the game. “It was one of those things, they were having a pizza party and I was like, ‘Well shoot, I’m knocking on the door, ya’ll not going to let me in? So, I had to kick it down”. Kick it down, indeed. It was a great game by the Bills’ newest cornerback, to be sure, but what does his addition mean to the bigger picture going forward? NFL defenses are funny beasts. For all of the talent and skill and jaw-dropping athletic ability they possess, they also rely on certain intangibles in order to perform their best. They rely on confidence, on energy, on what more than one Bills player after the game called “juice”. In a season (mostly) without fans in the stands to provide that energy and to spur on that confidence, defenses across the league will need to find different ways to reach their peak optimum. THIS is where I believe Josh Norman — with his brash and outspoken nature, with his loud and swagger-ific playing style — will pay huge dividends for the Bills. Yes, his coverage ability and penchant for forcing turnovers will provide a boost to the defense’s performance, but it is the intangible spark he provides that has me most excited. Don’t take my word for it, though. Just listen to one of his teammates. “I’m glad to see him get healthy and get out there and get into a position to make plays for us,” Cole Beasley said. “He definitely made some for us today and I don’t know if we win that game without him.” How about his head coach? “The players responded. The fourth down stop was big for us as well as Q Jeff’s sack fumble and Josh’s (fumble recovery) really ignited the turnover situation there. Good to see,” coach McDermott said. If the Bills want to continue their winning ways against the murderer’s row of tough opponents they’ll be facing in the next four weeks, they’ll need their defense to continue to improve. They’ll need to force more turnovers and make more big stops at pivotal moments. With the “juice” and the confidence and the swagger that Josh Norman brings to the table, they may have stumbled upon the missing puzzle piece that will help them do just that.

O-line depth of the Bills may be tested if Hurst was contagious during Bills game.

Uh-oh.

Allen is so hard to compare to anybody, and when I do, I feel silly, because all of the guys I want to compare him to are great players and/or Hall of Famers. Sometimes he reminds me of Elway. Other times, Steve Young. The fun he has playing the game and the fearlessness and the "no...no....YES!" plays remind me of Brett Favre. Sometimes he looks more like Aaron Rodgers. When he runs, I see Cam Newton. When he shakes off defenders in the pocket, I see a young Big Ben. I know, I know, I just compared him to a bunch of all-time greats. But ask yourself: Are any of the comparisons I really made that far off base? Exciting times in western New York.

Yeah, it's weird. I can't remember the person who said it, but I agree with the quote: Losing hurts more than winning feels good. It's not that it doesn't feel good to see the Bills win, of course. It's just that when they LOSE, I fixate on it all week. I think back to each key moment in the loss and imagine how it could have gone differently. I feel a little sick to my stomach all week until about Saturday night, when I'm finally able to flip the page to the next game. But when they win? It just sort of feels like that's what was SUPPOSED to happen. I can't explain why that makes any sense, I can only say that that's how it feels to me. Maybe it's because we've all seen this "process" (har har) play out, and when you put together a good front office, good coaching staff, good roster, and draft a good quarterback with the drive to be great...this IS what's supposed to happen. So maybe it's just seeing the fruition of what our eyes were telling us would happen. I don't know. I, too, don't really know how to act or what to say. My wife, who doesn't care at all about football, asked me last night: "So...the Bills are 4-0. That's pretty great, right?!". I said something like "yeah. It's nice to win games. We'll see". Why the cautious optimism? Why the unwillingness to let my guard down and fully enjoy it? Maybe it's the multiple times we've been burned before. And yes, this time obviously feels different. Still. They don't give away trophies for 4-0. The Bills still haven't won a playoff game in a quarter-century. Maybe it's that part of me still doesn't think the NFL will get through a full season due to COVID. At some point, maybe it will set in that the Bills being good is "the new normal", but right now...it DOES feel weird. And losing still hurts far worse than winning feels good.

Exactly right. Philosophically, the Bills defense is more than willing to give up some runs if it means limiting the opposition’s passing game. As for Edmunds: whatever deficiencies he has in stopping the run are more than made up for by what he offers in the passing game. The team to beat in the AFC for the foreseeable future is Kansas City. With that in mind, I’d way rather have an elite pass defense and mediocre run defense than vice versa. Besides, the Bills have actually stopped the run quite well in three out of four games this year.

I'd tend to agree that if the Titans are found to have violated rules, then forfeiture should be on the table. Whether the NFL will agree, I cannot say. As far as the tiebreaker scenario you laid out...all I know is that I'm fully preparing for this season to be messy and unfair, no matter what. More outbreaks are gonna happen, more games are gonna get postponed, and some may possibly be cancelled. Already, if nothing further changes on the schedule, the Chiefs are about to play three games in ten days. In this weird COVID affected NFL season, unfairness will abound.

I don't know how to answer that. I think they'll make every effort to delay it or reschedule it. If, for whatever reason, that can't happen, I stand by the notion that the NFL would sooner cancel the game outright than force a team to forfeit. I don't think the league forcing a team to forfeit due to an outbreak of a deadly virus would be a good look for them. Roger Goodell was asked right before the season started if it's possible we could see teams across the league playing different amounts of games due to COVID cancellations. He said that it was "a possibility".

I doubt it. They're more likely to cancel the game outright than force a team to forfeit. First they'll try to delay it by a few days. Then they'll try to reschedule it. If neither of those efforts succeed for whatever reason, I believe game cancellations to be far more likely than forced forfeitures.

Sometimes I think I’m dreaming. Thus can’t be real life. A Bills QB as a legit MVP candidate? Madness.

This song is dope. That's all.

Eight divisional bubbles or 32 team bubbles. Only way forward.

Thanks all for reading and for the constructive criticism. Go Bills!

Yet took the time to reply. Cool. Thanks for reading. It’s not longer than most Bills articles by Fairburn, Parrino, Graham, etc. It’s an article. A piece of journalism — albeit amateur. It’s not meant to be a quick blurb on a message board. Nevertheless, thanks for the critique.

I write for Buffalofambase.com, which is run by our old BBMB friend WYO. this is my latest, which I will paste in full here. Let me know if this violates any rules. http://buffalofambase.com/2020/10/02/josh-allen-franchise-quarterback/ Maybe you’re not ready to declare it just yet. Maybe you’d like to see a few more games. A bit more consistency. Maybe after being burned too many times by the JP Losmans and EJ Manuels of the world, you’d like to wait for more of a surefire sign. I understand the hesitation. I understand the inclination to lean into the defense mechanisms of lowered expectations and cautious optimism. Really, I do. But I’m hear to tell you that the wait is over. As far as I’m concerned, the verdict is in. After a quarter-century in the football wilderness, the clouds have parted in Orchard Park, New York, and the blinding light enveloping the Buffalo Bills owes its glorious luminosity to a now undeniable conclusion: Josh Allen is a franchise quarterback. You may think I’m jumping the gun. You may be encouraged, but reticent. You may be saying “he’s looked good, but ‘Franchise Quarterback’ is a loaded phrase”. That’s fair. Before you conclude that I’ve simply consumed a bit too much of the blue-and-red Kool-Aid, though, allow me to make my case. A franchise quarterback needs to be able to make all the throws, sure. After dozens of physics-defying Josh Allen lasers have cut through the winds of autumn the past two-and-a-quarter seasons, captivating viewers and flummoxing defenders, there should be no doubt that the Bills quarterback checks this box . Think of Allen rolling to his right and delivering an on-target dart to a crossing Cole Beasley for the Bills’ first touchdown of the afternoon in last year’s Thanksgiving day game against the Cowboys. Picture Allen tossing up a jump ball to John Brown against the Steelers on Sunday Night Football while the echoes of “Renegade” could still be heard reverberating through the bleachers at Heinz Field. Think then of his ensuing game-winning touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft in the corner of the end zone, stamping the Bills’ ticket to the playoffs in front of a national audience. Ponder the difficulty and improbability of converting a 3rd-and-22 against a professional NFL defense in crunch time of a tight contest, then see in your mind’s eye the fleet-footed Allen retreating from All-World tackle Aaron Donald and firing a rocket to Cole Beasley in the midst of four Rams defenders to convert the yardage and gain a 1st down. Yes, Josh Allen checks the “make every throw” box — and with room to spare. What marks the difference between a physically gifted quarterback and a true Franchise Quarterback, though, cannot be illustrated by statistics. It cannot be quantified, measured, or explained by mere illustrations of athletic talent. Indeed, “Franchise Quarterback” is a designation given only to the rarest breeds of passers. Those whose leadership, heart, unflappability, and command of the offense and the moment are sufficient to again and again pick their team up, put it on their backs, and carry it to victory. Picture number 17 picking up a botched snap on 4th-and-1, powering it across the line of scrimmage, colliding with a defender, carrying him ahead for four yards, and then bouncing up and powerfully signaling “1st down” — firing up an entire roster and giving it the confidence to charge ahead to victory. Envision throwing first a go-ahead score against a red hot Fitzmagic-led Dolphins team in the fourth quarter, then following it up by launching a fearless, magnificent bomb to a streaking John Brown for an insurance touchdown. Recall the sickening and all-too-familiar feeling from this past Sunday of what once seemed a sure victory slowly but steadily slipping away against the Rams. Now recall what came 11 players and 75 yards later: The 3rd-and-22 conversion. The 17-yard pass to Stefon Diggs that gave the offense at least a prayer for victory with under 30 seconds remaining. The game-winning touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft. The replacement of that old, sickening feeling with one of jubilation and awe. Time after time, with his team on the mat, all but defeated, all but hopeless — with the battered Bills Mafia muttering “here we go again” and the football watching world counting him out –Josh Allen has picked his team up and carried them to victory. That — not any QB rating or Pro Football Focus score or Player of the Week award or highlight on ESPN — but the heart, the gall, the tenacity, the sheer will and stubborn-ness necessary to repeatedly ***** victory from the jaws of defeat and to carry a team, against all odds, to victory — THAT is what makes a Franchise Quarterback. The pundits repeatedly told us that this couldn’t happen. They told us Josh Allen was too inaccurate, too wild, too sloppy. They told us he was a “parody of a quarterback prospect”. They snickered. They mocked. They posted videos of errant passes and wayward laterals. They told us he could NEVER be a Franchise Quarterback. They were wrong. After piloting his team to a 3-0 start, becoming the first Bills player to score 12 touchdowns through three weeks, winning Player of the Week and Player of the Month honors, and displaying much improved accuracy, touch, and decision making, the pundits had no choice but to concede, one by one, that they were wrong. After rallying his team to victory when all hope seemed lost the past two weeks and tying Russell Wilson for most 4th quarter comebacks in the league since 2019, the doubters were silenced. The snickering stopped. One dizzyingly masterful pass, one improbable comeback, one incredible display of fortitude and leadership at a time — Josh Allen has forced the pundits to confront an undeniable fact: They were all wrong about him because they all lacked the capacity to understand what made him special: There is no tool or statistic or analytical grading system that can measure the heart of a man. So, Bills fans — remain hesitant if you want. Cling to your caution. Wait for more signs. Me? I’ve seen enough. I’m sticking to my guns. I’m shouting it from the rooftops. I’m buying the jersey in every color. I’m pouring a giant glass of blue-and-red Kool-Aid and raising a glass to the bucking bronco of Firebaugh and Laramie and now, thankfully, of Orchard Park. Here’s to Josh Allen, Franchise Quarterback. Long may he reign.

It's literally the only NFL football video game, so...for people who want to play an NFL football video game, there's not really much choice.

Dan Le Batard really has a face for radio.

Had no idea. Cool beans.

I found this incredibly interesting. The difference has certainly been notable. It will be interesting to see how teams adjust to the "new NFL" as the season wears on. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30003263/how-nfl-manipulating-scoring-2020-fewer-holding-calls-faster-games-way-more-offense How the NFL is manipulating games in 2020: Fewer holding calls, faster games and way more offense by Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff Writer In its entire 100-year history, the NFL has never opened a season on the kind of scoring tear we've seen in 2020. Teams are averaging 24.7 offensive points per game during the first three weeks, 16% better than 2019 over the same period, and 22% higher than their average during the previous two decades. There are a number of theories for the surge, from high-level quarterback play to the coronavirus pandemic-related loss of home-crowd advantage. All have merits. But there is another direct correlation, an inorganic root emanating from the league office. At the direction of its new leadership team, on-field officials have changed the way they enforce penalties -- especially offensive holding -- in a way that is too dramatic to ignore. The decision has not only helped offenses, by cutting their penalty yards in half, but it also has led to slightly quicker games and certainly less public discussion about officiating....

Nobody's throwing at him. Because he's good.