Rochesterfan

Actually look at the first down plays and you will see that you are totally and completely wrong, but why should that matter. For the games on first down the Bills ran 10 times and dropped back to pass 11 times (one was a sack). So they actually passed more on first down than ran. Whoops. In addition - the run mix yielded 4 runs on first down of 5 yards or more and 5 runs of 1 yard or less. I am not sure what you expect, but considering they had good balance on 1st down plays between run and pass and considering half of the 1st down runs were for over 3 yards - why should he go away. Yes it would be great if the 5 carries of 1 yard or less went away, but before the play you do not know which plays are going to work and which are not and the facts remain Daboll called a very balanced and did not fall into an unimaginative place - you are just clouded by a faulty memory of the game.

So true. The Browns I think would have been 100 x better if they had retained Williams as HC and Kitchens as OC. Now the Jets are in the same boat. Let it sink!

It is multi fold for reasons it works, but first yes the offense and defense can sub. The first thing is usually teams try to set up their best play for that situation- so you gain info about what formation and players they want in that situation- plus whether they call motion or not. The second thing is you can see how the offense reacts when you show pressure or drop off - so you know a little better what they are going to do to allow you later on to scheme a package. It has a chance to be a win/win for McDermott - if they switch personnel- they are going away from their top play for that situation- plus you get info to use for a later package when you see that set-up again. It is just a totally different perspective on coaching because of his defensive background. He has much more varied attacks coming from his defensive plans and as long as they are ahead - he likes the knowledge it provides to the staff to use timeouts in that situation.

What I do not get - with the Browns missing the playoffs this year they have now matched where we were in the number of straight years without a playoff appearance. 2002 - 2020 for Cleveland, but that is still all they ever talk about for the Bills - even now that we are going to the playoffs 2 out of 3 years - the power rankings make a dig at this being the 2nd trip in the last 2 decades. Why is that a Bills only narrative- it should move to the Browns - especially as they have the worst win percentage of the last decade and since they returned to the league and now have missed the playoffs for just as long as the Bills did. Somehow the Browns got all the hype and the media is pushing an old narrative and it really stinks. They could even focus on the Bucs or Jets as those are pushing a decade plus since their last appearance.

Looks like a pretty good tackle. He did similar things against Landry in the Cleveland game on a WR screen. For a smallish DB - he is a fine tackler. IMO - If you ask me which is better - this thread or Wallace at tackling - I give the nod to Wallace 100 times out of 100 - even with the miss on Conners.

Disagree. He may be a weak link on one of top defenses in the NFL, but tackling is not his major issue. At his size - he is a much better tackler than Johnson - his 1st round drafted partner. Where Levi has issues is with his overall athletic ability. The play is question was not a whiffed tackle because he can’t tackle - it was his lack of acceleration and a poor angle that got him to a point where Conners had already beat him and he couldn’t make a play. He has failed to wrap up running backs a few times, but Johnson also has whiffed on several tackles. In coverage - he has to back off a bit more because he does not have the top end speed or the size and therefore can not make the plays of a Tre White, but he works well in this defense working to keep guys in front and making the tackle - preventing big plays. He rarely misses his tackles on his WR and generally wraps up and gets them to the ground. Where his issue really show up is in space especially against RBs because he is a step slow to the meeting point and RBs in general are hard for DBs to bring down 1 on 1. We have seen it with White also - missing and not being in the right spot. We see it against it also with Singletary making LBs and DBs miss in the open field.

That’s 3 for Brees - hoping for 1 more and we can hold Brady down.

Just amazing - totally fearless!

Hate this (bold) - then you get even more phantom calls at the worst time. For example - the last Int - if you watch Edmunds gets his hands to the face of the Pittsburgh OL. If the NFL could review - we all would be sitting there celebrating when - whoops he comes a call to overturn the play. Mistakes happen - let it go and move on. Give me much less replay and I am happier. Especially give me less of NFL heads having any say at all - give it to a sanctioned official if you must - at the game, but keep NY and the NFL out of it. I have no issue with McDermott this game. The Bills near halftime had 3 time outs, but were at their 10 and had just gotten the ball back on a Turn-over after their turn over. Take the lead and go into the half - don’t make another mistake like the Philly game that costs you. I do not understand how the fans that do not get this. The Philly game, the NYG game, the Bills drive just before this that in Pittsburgh- etc. The Bills have had a high percentage of turn overs in that situation and it has cost them at least 1 game and without amazing defense the same could have happened in Pittsburgh or against the Giants. The end of the game was the right call - the phantom hold ruined everything. The Steelers should have gotten the ball with about 30 seconds needing 75-80 yards. Running was the right call - they just cannot hold.

That is what they were doing - they showed a run to set-up what could have been a TD. The Steelers played great defense and did not bite on our tendencies. Why was that not going for the jugular? They played to a known tendency and tried a play off from that - that against a lesser coached defense is a TD. Why is it brilliant when teams like Houston and NE try these plays, but for Buffalo - they are not going for the Jugular? I get wanting to drive it down their throat, but based upon what the Bills were running - go ahead and try it. Gore being the veteran- saw the coverage and ate it. At that point the FG was the key - so they ran a draw and made sure to tie the game. It is not like they just downed the ball in victory formation. It was a series that did not work, but at least they did not go all “duck” and have Allen try to force it for an Int. They had a plan and it didn’t work, but also did not cost them.

It was definitely a pass and the Steelers played it well with the coverage in the end zone. I have no issue with the calls because they used the first run to set up the halfback pass attempt. It was a cute play and I prefer that they just man up and make some plays, but sometimes you get an easy score because of tendencies and I think they were taking a shot to mess with their tendencies and it did not work.

I agree totally - you can see by his completion chart they showed during the game - he was living with the very short pass and then getting completions down the field, but nearly nothing in the 10-20 yard range where a QB is reading and anticipating throws. He is basically taking cheap check downs and 50/50 balls, but to Pittsburgh’s credit - it had worked against mediocre defenses like Cleveland. The Bills were prepared and made the plays to win this game.

It will be interesting with the loss today if Tennessee does claim him now. Someone should claim him well before Baltimore.

Still do not think it will matter - he can not report - it is actually better that way - you do not have to pay him or cut anyone else. I do not think he clears waivers and gets to Baltimore. Too many teams that may have to play them should block this.

The entire thing is crazy. Putting in for medical equipment they are not getting. Bad Karma - plus it could cost future players as the fraud could force the insurance pool to lose its tax exempt status. Hard to fathom with the amount of money some players make that they have to stoop to this level to get money. I hope there is a better explanation out there, but it is such bad optics.

So many hot takes. So many incorrect thoughts. SO MUCH FAIL. Funny and sad.

You are probably right, but man Arizona screwed the pooch on this. He is still a valuable asset - with the way their season was going they should have looked to make a trade pre deadline or told him to hold on and we will work to get you to your desired team this off-season. They just waived an asset for nothing and for Suggs he could get screwed and end up on a bad team and mess up his reputation if he acts like a jerk. The league is funny this way and they really should have worked out something better to benefit both of them.

Not really his choice. If anyone puts in a waiver claim - the lowest ranking team gets him. The only way he makes it to Baltimore is if they are the only team to put a claim in or he goes unclaimed. The Bills will put a claim in just to block him getting to NE or Baltimore. My guess is depending on his contract for next year (which seems reasonable) - many teams should put a claim in on him - even non playoff teams. If I am the Dolphins or the Lions - put in the claim - you get a player that should have some trade value In the off-season for nothing. If he doesn’t report - no big deal - you put him on a Non football list and let him sit until the offseason and try to trade him then. You could pick up an asset for no outlay. It might tick him off, but you are not doing it to have him as a player - you are looking for the asset in return. Same thing for a guy that will become a FA - you get another FA loss toward a future comp pick potentially.

I guess I would turn it around - if you have no proof that Belicheck was involved or any players/coaches - how do you justify suspending or destroying their careers. The team should pay as an organization and the only major way to do that is fines and loss of draft picks and I am fine there. I would even suspend Kraft and give him a year away - until after 2021. The problem is going to the next Step and suspending Belicheck or other coaches with no proof they had anything to do with it. I am not ok just assuming that everyone is culpable and should be punished. I also think they were not harsh enough last time- so if proof exists - scorch earth is correct.

Agreed and the plausible explanation is filming for the video undershorts and having the scout as a voice over. The scout explaining what he looks for and then some video showing what that looks like. The kind of thing that fans eat up to help better understand the function. The nefarious reason is to cheat and provide the staff all of the calls during the game. Both scenarios make equal sense and either or both could be true. That is why the original spy gate was set-up this way and why it makes sense. The end result is that the Pats cheated - the level needs to be determined and that is totally influenced by what you believe.

From the accounts I have read - the Bengals security videotaped them taping the sideline. They were doing it in plain view and not hiding it. The security team then told them it was against the rules and that was when they stated “could we delete the film”. It sounds to me like someone getting caught doing something wrong and trying to get out of trouble. Whether they knew or not depends solely on what lens you want to look through. If you assume it was nefarious and they knew - it is a terrible look and signals guilt. If you assume they are just some random guys hired to film a part of a series - then it is an accident and oh crud - how can I quickly make s right- I don’t need this - can I just get rid of it and we move on. Either way - the Pats need to be punished. The difference is the level of involvement- does it hit Belichek or not.

Not anymore independent than the crew from Pegula sports and entertainment, but they sometimes hire external 3 rd party camera crews to do some footage. Everyone is doing these cool behind the scenes documentaries now for added content and many of them hire people that are not part of the company. It could lead to nefarious activities or be totally innocent. The Pats do not deserve any benefit of the doubt, but it also does not mean that Belicheck should be fined and suspended for this. As I stated - I think the team deserves heavy punishment- big fine and loss of highest 1st round pick - no matter what. I also think if they can link it back to the football side- you burn it down - forfeits, suspensions, etc.

The film crew asked to delete the footage not the scout. If you were told that you took photos of something inappropriate- what would you suggest? My party was in Vegas years ago and they were taking pictures of some lovely ladies on the strip being very inappropriate and their “manager” stopped them and basically said you can’t take photos and as being aggressive. The first though was of crap - can I get rid of the photos and not get in an further trouble here. It is a perfectly valid response in both an innocent situation and if they were doing something completely illegal. The response is the same - I still goes to the reason why it was done and if it was a one time or many time thing.

I would agree 100% if it was Pats video crews doing the taping, but like many of these produced documentaries- it is typically outsourced to independent film crews. I have no idea what they have been told or not, but it was already stated on previous videos - this crew was allowed to tape activities on the Pats sideline of coaches and players for other segments of the documentary. My guess would be a true independent crew would not see the difference in taping the Pats sideline for earlier pieces and taping the Bengals sideline to roll under the advanced scout job function. Look - I totally agree that it looks really bad looking through the lens of the Pats history, but I can totally buy where this type of thing could happen by a crew that doing what they consider to be their job in filming this segment. Things like this happen all the time where something is done and posted or filmed and you do not realize the impact because you are looking at it from one perspective and not another. The Sam Darnold seeing ghosts comment - never should have aired live that night - it was a bad look by a production team that makes for good TV, but is not something they would allow to go out. I totally agree that that the screw up in an of itself deserves punishment and I stated as much. What I can not say is whether I believe his was done deliberately and the entire organization deserves punishment - or if this was a true accidental move - where they deserve punishment, but not at an individual coaching/owner level. I could easily see something like this happening with the Bills production crew - doing video of draft work or front office management and caching something on tape that is inappropriate or against the rules and it being a rue accident. I also understand the Pats have already used up their credit with the previous cheating and you are free o assume the worst - I have no issue with that - that is totally your prerogative and right - I just am waiting to find out if this is the only situation or not because there is no reason to be filming the Bengals - that would be a stupid team to get caught against.

I will not absolve the Pats of Cheating or whatever they did in this issue, but there are a few massive issues with your take. First - the Browns were the home team and they were informed of the crew being on site and doing the filming. The NFL and the Bengals should have been informed, but if the true intent was to get info about how advanced scouting works - they really only needed to get permission of the home team to have a camera in the booth. Second - what does an advance scout do - he records plays, signals, situations, anything that is going on that can prepare the team for the upcoming game. Again not to believe the Pats, but if you are doing a discussion on all of that and you want to run video under the discussion- it would make perfect sense to film what he is looking at. He is watching the Bengals sideline - that is what I would want running underneath so as he talks about his job - you can show what he is doing. The conspiracy that it just happens to be their upcoming opponent in the Bengals makes sense because that is where the advanced scout would be. The advanced scout is not being sent to a team they are not playing - he is going to their next opponent to begin gather advanced intel - so that makes complete sense that it would occur at that game. Look - none of that is to say that this is not 100% a bull pucky lie to film upcoming opponents- I would not put that past the Pats, but it could also be 100% a true innocent mistake. The issue is that NE does not - nor should they - get any benefit of the doubt because they have already done this and because this follows the exact pattern given in the past about how to handle this situation. The problem is I really do not know which it is and I am not sure how you could ever tell. There is enough plausible deniability that this could go 100% either way. The admission by the Pats was an acknowledgement that the film crew was wrong, but not that the football side did anything wrong. The fact that this film crew - has been given permission previously to film the Pats sideline as they previewed other jobs blurs the line even more as they did not have an issue doing that - why is this different. I think in the end - the NFL should definitely punish the team - fairly heftily- but unless there is something connecting it to the football side - I do not punish Belichick. A fine and loss of another pick - highest 1st rounder - as a start because ultimately they are responsible for the functionality of their crew, but if you find anything that shows knowledge of this and understanding from the football side - they should burn it down.