blacklabel

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's accurate. EJ had extra tutors through high school. I think I read that he had some difficulty in comprehension or whatever. I remember reading about that the week before the 2014 season opener. It was an article about how hard the guy works but also some of the stuff he's had to overcome. I remember seeing the part about his issues in school and thinking like, maybe that was why he had such a difficult time reading defenses.

It's not Marcus frickin' Mariota, I can tell youse that much.

I don't think it was that bad. It was probably on par with other teams and near the league average. It's just a lot more noticeable when it happens at really inopportune times, like say, late in OT in a playoff game and two defenders magically bounce off a quarterback. Dear football gods, smite Deshaun Watson, smite him! Oh, they did, look at that, blew a 24 point lead.

He's JAG. They probably thought they'd get a bit more out of him and have him mentor Knox and Sweeney (which I'm sure he does), but he got a bum foot so he was a bum all season. Except that time he caught a touchdown against the Steelers. But yeah, as others have said, I don't think there's a huge love-fest going on for the guy. He could be alright, definitely serviceable. Just depends on him staying healthy. Next season is Rambo's year, though.

Someone will overpay for him. Won't be Beane, but someone will.

It's the old switcheroo. Make everyone think you aren't interested and then bam, that's the guy they take. I kid, but that's actually how they ended up with Kiko. Totally different regime, I know, but I'm sure a lot of teams do that. They knew they liked Kiko from the the first game they scouted him at and then afterwards they made it seem like they had zero interest in him. I'm confident they'll find some offensive playmakers. And I hope they keep investing in the DL. Keep adding studs up front like San Francisco. I expect it, that's pretty much how they operated when they (McBeane) were in Carolina.

Just made a fan out of me. Contact balance is outstanding, runs over guys like a back, change of direction is crazy, yowza. Get this kid in Bills blue, Beanie!

What was his answer?

What about four Cole Beasley's and a partridge in a pear tree?

Ugh, it was the worst. 4th quarter started and I began thinking, "Alright, he's gonna turn it on now, 4th quarter is where he makes his money, flip that switch my man!" Alas, the switch remained unflipped. Sad trumpets. Lateral move for sure. And on a personal level for him, why would he uproot his family and truck three hours down the 90 to coach in Cleveland? His career has taken him a lot of places but he's coaching in his own backyard now. I highly doubt anything less than an offer for a HC job would make him leave here.

I had to turn it off pretty quickly as well, the commentary, not the game. According to Booger, every play was the result of the other team breaking down in some fashion. "Great run by Singletary!" "Well, Joe, again, poor tackling, look at this guy over here, he's 15 yards away and misses the tackle, he should be ashamed!" I just can't stand commentary in general anymore.

Exactly. Can he draw up the run game like nobody's business? Absolutely. But it's his passing concepts that get him kicked to the curb. Very basic concepts, not hard to defend.

Me either, actually. She may have just deleted the original and put up something else in its place.

She edited the tweet, it was different yesterday. Said she thinks the Bills owe Poyer a big payday after how he's played for them. I think Poyer has played well... I don't know if he's up there with some of the top safeties in the league, but I think I'd keep him around. And if I were a pro athlete, I think I'd tell my SO that my agent will handle contract negotiations. Comments like hers (before she changed it) just draw negative attention.

He improved this season. I don't know what kind of number to put on that but it was pretty clear that he got a lot better at the short/intermediate stuff, his pocket presence and movement got a lot better, he didn't seem to have the happy feet as much and he didn't bail on clean pockets as often. He picked his spots when he wanted to take off and run and despite racking up 510 yards, it seems he took less hits than last season as he would slide or get out of bounds. You know, that's one thing I find weird... in Baltimore, everyone loves seeing Lamar run all over the field, "Oh my, what an amazing player!" but almost every other QB with the ability to run, you hear, "Oh my, he took a shot! His coaches don't want him doing that!" I mean, obviously we don't want the guy to get hurt but he's 6'5" 250 and pretty tough. Forget who it was but an analyst tweeted after the game that he couldn't remember a game where he saw a QB endure more contact that Allen did and called him a tough SOB. Anyway... he also showed a better understanding of the offense which allowed him to check to different plays at the line and at times call his own plays. I think he did better in reading defenses although he had a few throws nearly picked where there seemed to be a bit of a lapse in what he was reading. He cut down on the interceptions. He still struggled with the fumbling. Weird that it keeps happening even when he's holding the ball in the typical ball-carrier fashion. Hopefully that can stop happening so frequently. He definitely made some visible strides this season. When I look back on say, EJ, I can only think of one or two things that you could see marked improvement on. I think he was able to change up his throwing motion (he used to aim the ball like he was throwing darts) and probably had a better understanding of the offense. But, he would still take off too soon and struggled against more complex defenses. It was tough to see where he got better... but that wasn't the case with Josh, which is a good sign. Josh shows the ability to address his flaws and do what he needs to do to correct them. I'm confident he'll show more improvement in year three. And I like Brown and Beasley and Knox and whatnot, but they really need to find some big time playmakers to take the pressure off him a bit.

Ugh, barf. I hate seeing sh*t like this. These guys are human beings, but some people act like they're just friggin' football robots or something. Crap has to stop, you'd figure it would've stopped after someone set Leodis McKelvin's damn lawn on fire after he blew it against the Pats back in '09, I believe... but here we are. Kid played hard all year long and definitely bought into the culture the minute he got here, that's all you can ask for. I think he'll get better, and if he doesn't end up as their starting right tackle then they've at least got a heck of a guard they can use to replace Spain if he walks (although I did just read that Spain told his agent that if the Bills want him back he would like to come to a deal before free agency starts). I was bummed when they lost, too. But I didn't get on Twitter and berate the guy. Have some dang class, BillsMafia! Kid probably felt bad enough as it was, even though it was a super weak penalty to call. The officials ought to be grounded, or at least put in time-out for a good month or twelve. Friggin' jerks.

I'm smad! That's sad and mad. Not really, but it was a bummer. I woke up today a little bummed just because there's no more Bills football until September. Meaningful football, that is. Not many truly believed they'd do as well as they did. But they surprised a lot of people. And now they know what it takes to get there, and they have playoff experience under their belts. Lot of promising things to look forward to. What I don't look forward to is that brutal road schedule next season. Excited to see what Beane does in the off-season. Dude is probably already watching film on prospects or upcoming free agents. One things for sure, these guys will never stop working to improve.

Earlier on the week Allen said that the coaches had put an "insane" amount of work into the game plan. Clearly they wanted to be prepared. But part of me feels like maybe they over-strategized. Sometimes you just gotta stick with your bread and butter and let your guys go out and execute.

I just have to laugh at anyone criticizing the players for not instantly being over the loss. If they were automatically over it, it would indicate that they don't really care. Welp, these dudes care. The culture they've created is a team that really cares about one another. Beyond that, they're human beings, they're allowed to be bummed out. I've never understood this perception some "fans" seem to have, they look at these dudes like they're some kinda fancy football machine and they should shirk all other aspects of life and do ONLY football ALL the time. Get the eff outta here with that. The fact that Allen displayed legitimate improvement in areas he struggled with in 2018 is enough for me to believe that he'll come back for 2020 even more refined and ready to go. The dude wants it. Sometimes maybe too much, maybe that's what drives his high-risk heroball shenanigans. Maybe Daboll should've settled him down in OT and realized he had a whole new quarter and three timeouts. Run the ball a bit, do the things that got you there. Instead, he coached as if they had 30 seconds left and needed 60 yards all in one play. Calling low-percentage passes didn't seem like the best strategy. And I said this in another thread but anyone who thinks wholesale player/coaching changes are the answer...move along, cause that ain't it. Continue to build on what they got. They have some cornerstone pieces, they've drafted well, they've signed quality free agents, they'll start extending their own guys pretty soon. Pretty much all the things fans speak of when talking about what goes into building a contender.

I'm happy for Zo that he was able to cap off his career here on a high note. Came in 2016 and racked up 12.5 sacks and was a clear locker room leader. Off the field he seems like a great dude. Go enjoy retirement at the ripe old age of 36!

The OL has had these breakdowns all season. At certain points in the game they start whiffing on blocks and allowing pressure right off the snap. I'm really not sure what you expect of any QB when he doesn't even get time to complete his drop and setup. He had some bonehead moments all on his own and you could see it in his face at the end how bummed he was, probably going over all the plays they missed on. Farts.

What a poopy feeling. I dunno what was up with that second half but it wasn't pretty. Allen got overwhelmed, Daboll forgot he has Devin Singletary, the OL just allowing so many pressures right off the snap, that's been happening all season, McDermott needs to have a chat with Bobby Johnson on that stuff. And a bunch of other miscues. They had their chance, though. Seemed as the game went on they got more out of sync. Maybe it got too big for them. Anybody screaming for massive player/coach overhaul...walk it off cause that ain't it, chief. This team achieved a lot more than most thought they would and they're on the right path, just need a few more pieces. Lastly, holy effin' crap, I will jump in a piranha tank wearing steak underpants before I listen to Joe Tessitore again. Had it muted by the second quarter. I'd pay good money to see him get the taste slapped out his mouth.

They had their eye on him. They met with him several times before the draft.

From what I've read, he's gonna give it a go but no idea how much he'll be able to do.

I have a lot of faith in McDermott and his secondary, they've been the strongest unit on the team since 2017. If LW can't go, I'm sure KJ will be fired up to play his former team. If Levi is a no-go that leaves an open slot in the secondary... who will it be? Marlowe, Coleman?