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If the questions stay based around the game, he has no problem answering. It's when questions about outside distractions start getting asked that he gets grumpy. I forget who the reporter was but she asked about AB and he just stared daggers at her. Most reporters were peeved with this because they felt she had done her job and had no choice but to ask considering how big of a story the AB crap has been. He can just say "no comment" instead of trying to Jedi mind-slap her or whatever he was doing. But yeah, keep it about football and he'll talk. I've seen him go on for five straight minutes about the intricacies of the punting game and how lacrosse influences football, etc. etc. Super intelligent guy. Would definitely be a cool experience to talk football with him. He's funny too, you don't see it a lot but I recall a clip I saw from quite a few years back when Welker was still playing for them and Belichick says, "This kid is gonna take the returner job from you." Welker's career was winding down by then so he probably wanted to focus solely on playing WR, so he says, "Pff, dude can have it." Belichick just kinda shakes his head and says, "Way to compete, Wes!" That said, I do think he's a guy that has no problem not just pushing the envelope but burning the whole thing when it comes to finding creative ways to skirt the rules and gain a competitive advantage.

From what I understand, the dude is the same guy day in and day out. Has a real methodical approach and works very hard to keep the team level, so they aren't getting too high over a win and not getting too low over a loss. It also seems they've kinda changed their approach when it comes to facing the Pats. We've heard it all week from players about how they're not doing anything different or special, they're preparing like they would for any other opponent and most players have been like, "They're just the next team on the schedule for us." Also, last season I don't think anyone expected them to win six games. The fact that they had a patchwork OL, no real playmakers on offense and a rookie QB and stayed competitive in games, even when the playoffs were out of the question, is a testament to his ability to motivate. And people can bag on the culture stuff all they want but he's got this entire group playing for each other and understanding that no one is above the team as well as understanding their roles and responsibilities from game to game/play to play. And the dude doesn't seem like he ever "settles" for anything less than someone's best effort, and that's across the board. Players, coaches, etc. he's always got an eye on improvement even if it means moving on from a talented, well-liked, and respected player (i.e. Shady). I guess my only gripe on him might be some of the blowout losses. Those games kinda screamed "unprepared" to me. Or maybe it was an occasion where they just couldn't rally to overcome the adversity, I dunno.

Haha, I remember those days from my 20s as well, but it was typically in bars on Friday and Saturday nights. That's another thing, I have a cousin who lives out of state and on occasion when he comes home he'll go to a game, but he'll go out and party with his buds on Friday and Saturday and then keep it going straight thru Sunday. I just can't keep up with that. I agree with holding out until your boy is 10 for a game. It's kind of unfortunate that the crowd can get so rowdy that it becomes an unsafe environment for kids. A few years ago Tim Graham wrote an article about the family atmosphere kinda fading away in favor of the table dives and all that. It's been a minute since I've been to a game (I think the last one was the big win over Rodgers and the Packers in 2014, thank the foosball gods that Jordy Nelson dropped what would've been like a 70-yard walk-in TD) so I haven't seen if it's gotten less rowdy or not but if it has that's definitely a good thing.

Haha, he looks like Mario with the jumps there.

Most of the tailgate traditions covered in this article have been around much longer than the Bills Mafia thing. It's just grown in notoriety over the last few years given the nature of social media and things going viral and getting more attention. I think the Pinto Ron stuff is great. It's just a bunch of fans making food with really odd utensils and then dousing a dude in ketchup. (Is anyone else a little bummed that Kenny says he really doesn't look forward to it anymore? But still does it because it's just tradition.) I'm a complete spectator when it comes to tailgating. I have no idea how some of youse guys can start pounding 'em at 10-11 AM and then go sit in the sun (or snow, depending on the time of year) for another three hours and keep going through the whole day. I'd be passed out before kickoff. The worst is really the morons who get completely annihilated in the lots and then stumble into the game and start sh*t with people. Went to the 2013 home opener and a dude in the row behind us was plastered and constantly accusing a dude a few seats down for staring at his girlfriend (nobody was eyeing up that mongoloid, who kept egging on her drunk boyfriend). Some pushing and shoving later, my SO and I are doused in beer and this dillhole is getting thrown out before they even did the National Anthem. Crap like that is what makes the gameday experience less enjoyable. But hey, if people wanna do shots out of bowling balls and bust up a bunch of folding tables, go for it. The only thing I hope doesn't happen is some fans start trying to push things to more extremes and next thing you know someone's trying a table dive from the 300 section and they wind up getting scooped off the pavement with a spatula.

Yeah, I'm not real sure where all the love for Marcus Murphy is coming from. If he was as good as some fans on here say he is then he'd probably be a on a team, ya? Peeps be like, "Yeldon fumbled!" Yeah, Murphy fumbles too. Both guys have a bit of an issue with ball security. No one is going to scoop him up at this stage of his career. He's still very much learning the intricacies of the game and isn't experienced enough to jump into a completely different offense and be effective.

Has had quite the career. Good for him. All-time leading rusher for his high school, haha.

But still a fluke, haha. The write-ups will be, "Yeah, Buffalo is 5-0 but who have they really beat? They needed a comeback win over the hapless Jets. They beat an uninspired Giants team, and needed another comeback to beat the lowly Bengals. And then, lil' Tommy had the sniffles and decided he'd let them enjoy a victory. And despite their 58-9 destruction of the Titans, Josh Allen still threw two passes that were actually caught, but they were placed to where the receiver had to reach an extra inch and a half to reel it in, so, clearly his accuracy woes are still very, very legitimate and we just cannot crown this Bills team until they actually beat a real team. Power Ranking: 29th!"

Oh, interesting. I did not know that. He's a goofball, at first I was kinda like, "Yeesh, this dude's obnoxious" but he's kinda grown on me, haha.

He's a guy that's here for more than just on-field stuff. People like to get down on any players who aren't lighting up the stat sheet and wanna send them packing five minutes after they arrive. But guys like Smith, Pat DiMarco, etc. might not have a huge role on the field but they have major roles as locker room leaders and as guys who the coaches want other players to look at and emulate how they approach the game.

Man, does Kyle spike his morning joe with meth or something? I don't generate that much energy in a day let alone a five minute segment at 4 in the morning or whatever friggin' time they get started over there. Only got so many years left on Earth, gonna get real weird with it.

Well, I hope this "journalist" slams his toe off every stupid piece of furniture he owns AND gets the diarrhea from Taco Bell.

Not for nothin', but yesterday marked eight years since the big 34-31 victory over them in 2011. Let's hope history repeats itself. I mean, that specific part of history, no parts of history where it was like 56-10 Pats.

Yowza, that sounds horrible. It's kinda concerning me so many other people are chiming in with, "Oh yeah, had those too." How common are they? How does one prevent them?

I think Rex would be a fun guy to grab a beer with and let him tell all kinds of wild stories he's seen from his days in the NFL. He's a relatively entertaining guy at the least. Overrated as a coach and lacks awareness (i.e. fixes what isn't broken). Mayfield isn't playing well at the moment but neither is most of the Browns offense, the OL especially. Collinsworth kept pointing it out on Sunday night that unless Mayfield was able to unload the ball within two seconds he was in trouble as the line just didn't hold up. However, there were several plays I saw where they did give him a clean pocket and he bailed after his first read. I don't think Browns management made a great decision in giving Kitchens the HC job, especially with the types of egos on that team. I really have no idea what Kitchens is like but from what I understand he seems to be a decent X's and O's guy, but appears to be seriously lacking in leadership. They lose a few more games in the next month or two and a heavy percentage of that roster is gonna check out on the guy and they'll be looking for another HC by January.

OP's question answered... but I thought I'd just make myself look like a dingus and say that I had no idea Notre Dame was in Indiana until I was like 24, haha.

Seems very elusive... although he won't have much luck going backwards in the NFL. Defenders are just too quick.

Yeah, well, Shannon Sharpe huffs his own farts.

Cowplops. Just get sick of hearing about them. Even when they're terrible they're talked about. Part of the reason I pretty much completely stopped watching any pre-game shows, or any talking head stuff. It's all just drivel at this point. Can't say I flat out hate Washington, I actually kinda feel bad for the players there because Snyder is such a chode. A good buddy of mine is a Giants fan who hates Philly so whenever those two play I'll join in that Philly hate a little. Can't hate 'em too much since they beat the Pats in the Super Bowl, so. NFC teams don't get me riled up nearly as much as AFC teams. Lately I just can't stand the friggin' Jets. All off-season they were hyped up because they signed Bell and Mosley while the pundits just ignored the fact that they hired a coach who couldn't lead a group of Cub Scouts to a campsite if he'd been given a map and dropped off ten feet from the location. Guy has no heart whatsoever, a spineless, googily-eyed dweeb.

I figured it'd be Peko over Taylor since Peko's been here longer and has more experience/knowledge in this defense.

Burleson is kind of a weenie. I feel like he might still be figuring out his broadcaster/on-air persona, but the guy is way too quick to crown things. After week one he was on CBS calling Sammy Watkins the best receiver in the league just based on that first game. I get that these guys gotta make comments like these sometimes but Burleson seems like a guy who's always doing that so it kinda diminishes his thoughts/opinions. And yeah, he picked Cinci as his absolute lock of the week. I mean, you gotta kinda have a negative slant towards Buffalo at that point. They've been playing good ball and the Bengals had just got slapped by San Fran, but they were gonna be the sure thing? Bah.

I think for a guy like him it's gonna be really important to finish his career on his terms. If he's forced out by injury or his behavior, that could send him back down that spiral again.

Welp, the same thing said for Allen right now can also be said for Edmunds, he's only started what, 18 NFL games? And he's still only 21, and switched positions from college to the pros. He's been saddled with a ton of responsibility, has been voted a captain and has teammates depending on him to run the defense. That's a lot to throw at a second-year player, but I think he's up for it. What I think I see is that there are times where he's still thinking too much, and that's probably a byproduct of him still learning the intricacies of playing MLB and they've likely added more schemes to the defense that he has to know. I think he has enough talent to turn the corner and catch fire as an MLB. I think he needs to make a big play to give himself a confidence boost. And if for some reason it doesn't work for him at MLB, they can always shift him outside.

Obviously it's never easy against the Pats, but if there was a time and a team to get it done, this Sunday with this Bills team might be it. They're riding a three-game win streak, however they know that they haven't gone in an obliterated any opponents. They've played tough football, overcome mistakes/bad breaks and have earned three hard-fought victories. I think these guys will be jazzed up to take on the Pats. The challenge for the coaches is to keep these guys level and playing within the systems and not letting their emotions run too wild and cost them yards/points, etc. It'd be great if Edelman can't go, but I've been watching Brady and Belichick steamroll Bills team after team for 20 years now and, honestly, it seems like they could be down a dozen starters and they still wouldn't miss a beat. Develin being out is big... but again, NE's ability to plug and play and succeed with almost any player/position is ridiculous. I joked last week when I read the news on their left tackle Wynn going on IR. I said they'd probably find some kid sweeping floors at a Whole Foods and turn him All-Pro by Saturday. Their defense is maybe the best group Belichick has ever put out there. Not one offensive TD allowed so far. But... they did play the hapless Steelers, the white-flag waving Dolphins, and the New Jersey Spleen Machines. Daboll is gonna have to craft one of, if not his best game plan yet and the offense can't afford to muck it up like they have a few times this season. They can't shoot themselves in the foot against NE, not even a little, because they'll capitalize on that mistake in a heartbeat. I do feel like the offense has had some series' where they've been rolling and the only thing that's stopped them was themselves. A bad penalty or a turnover and the drive stalls. Can't have that against NE, not against their D. As for Buffalo's defense, I'm sure the coaches will be preaching/practicing having the DL get their hands up to bat down passes because Brady is (as usual) getting rid of it in about 0.004 seconds on any given snap. I think they'll also have to find some creative ways to produce pressure up the middle because that's where Brady really struggles. If his pocket isn't clean from the middle, he falters. He's amazingly good at sidesteps and subtle movements inside the pocket when the pressure comes from the left or the right, but when it's coming right at him is when teams have success in slowing him down. Also, he's 42 friggin' years old, someone please remind him of that with a monster hit. Everyone's gonna need to be on their A game to even have a chance. Go Bills. Also, anytime I see the phrase "dare to..." all I can think of is Weird Al's "Dare to be Stupid."

Oh yeah, you ain't wrong. I'm prepared for an implosion at some point. I obviously don't want that and am not expecting it, but they're still a young team finding their way and they're likely to hit some speed bumps this season. I just hope it doesn't come against a team like Miami who have just completely mailed it in for this year. I'd like for them to continue this trend of beating teams they're supposed to beat.