Success

It's kind of cool to have an entire country pulling for your team in a game. I suppose it's better to be hated, because that generally means you win a lot - but it's still cool to have the planet on our side.

I think the run game is going to be a surprise. We saw flashes against the Saints - Breida adds a dimension, and it opened up things for Singletary. Now, we have Brown back. It won't be as good as the Pats, but I don't think it will be night & day.

The bolded is actually the only truly annoying part for me. Steve Young said it last week, and I've heard it countless times on various message boards & twitter over the past few weeks - the Bills & other AFC East teams had their "1 year," and now the Pats are back in charge of the division. No. Even if the Pats are good or great - and like you said, with BB they'll always be competitive - the AFC East ain't gonna be the division it was for 20 years. The Bills are here to stay w/ Allen & McD. Miami is well run now, and I think even the Jets will turn it around w/ Saleh & Wilson. And we're still a better team than the Pats, and I'd bet pretty good money that Allen will always be at least 1 tier above Mac Jones, if Jones even pans out. If BB retired after this season - that team would probably hover around .500.

I know things like the Jags game happen to good teams - but I hope it provides a lesson for these Bills players in the years to come. I mean, that's a loss that is just looming so large right now; it's impact seems to grow as the season goes on. It's been discussed ad nauseum, but they bought the hype. That's something good young teams need to learn, imo. This is still the NFL, and you're not given anything.

It's ironic, but the closest parallel that I always think of to the bolded is how Boston felt about NYC for years, particularly w/ the Yankees, but just in general too. I think there are a few fan groups who could relate to the "Bills experience" of the past few decades. Pre-2004 Red Sox fans are one of the few. I always envy that they were able to break their curse and exorcise their Yankee demons in such dramatic fashion, w/ the "4 Days in October" series. That must have felt very cathartic. I feel like we need something similar, but it's probably a longshot. Sweeping them in the regular season & then taking the hat trick w/ a playoff blowout would be pretty close to that for me.

We thought about starting a drinking game w/ Romo for awhile. It's rare that he doesn't at least find time to praise Belichick or Brady in games he's covering (not Pats or Bucs games, mind you - any game).

This is all rational & logical. But I like feeling angry about stuff.

I like the Dane Jackson pick. I expect a lot of run, and from what I've seen, he is unusually good at identifying a running play early and closing on the runner - which we'll need a few times I'm sure (you never want to see a CB tackling a RB, but he can really limit damage when the backs break free from the 1st line).

The downside to the weather - for the Mac Jones hypers, bad weather is considered to be the one thing he hasn't proven himself in yet. If he somehow plays well and the Pats win....do not watch ESPN, or any sports media. Do not listen to any podcasts. Stay away from the internet. It would be best to just move to the wilderness for awhile, like those 70's "man on the mountain" movies.

Once in awhile I see Pats fans say how "entitled" or "arrogant" Bills fans felt about the division after 1 year, and how annoying all of the media hype for the Bills was. I spit out my coffee every time I see that. I mean, even when we're doing well, it's a Patriots world out there.

22 mph isn't as bad - and I like the "windy early."

The hype for Mac is actually hilarious. No matter what happens in his career - there is literally 0% probability that it matches the hype he's getting now. I did a lot of calculations on that, and it's true.

Wind is so much worse. I keep thinking of that Ravens game. We only scored one offensive TD. It's gonna be tough, but it was always gonna be tough. I kind of wish the "wind game" was in NE so we could take more advantage of being home, but if wishes were fishes....

Daboll is going to be tested in this one. I agree that activating all 3 would be a good idea. The Pats have been playing this game all season, with & without wind. Short passing, running outside, running inside. If I'm a Pats fan, I LOVE this forecast. The Bills are the team that has to play against type. If Daboll is HC worthy, this is the kind of game he proves it.

Yep - I'm w/ other posters: go Phins! It's crazy how close we are to both the #1 seed, and missing the playoffs.

Psychology is a weird thing in sports. I definitely have some doom in me w/ all of the experience I've had - and I know I felt VERY different in the early '90's, particularly during and after that 1st SB run. After that post I responded to, I checked out that Pats board - they have an "embrace the hate" thread too where the Bills get a lot of play, not favorable. It's a pretty shocking contrast compared to this board. It's entitlement personified. They may be set up for another long run - or not. But they certainly believe they are. Just add water.

I mean, w/ the weather, what you just pointed out is absolutely huge - on both sides of the ball. Star is such a difference maker against the run, but having our O-line mostly healthy will make a real difference. Pundits and Pats fans expect us to have no running game, and for that to be a big advantage in bad weather. They're not necessarily wrong, but we've hardly seen what we can do when the line is healthy. Breida gave me some hope last week, also (which is a sentence I never thought I'd be writing this season).

Makes sense. They've owned us, not the other way around. I'm a Yankees fan, and I always notice the reverse. Even now after the Red Sox success, Yankees fans almost never talk about the Red Sox outside of the head-to-head match ups. But when I check a Red Sox board, they're basically obsessed w/ everything NY.

Gotta admit - I'm jealous of the Pats signing Judon. He says all of the right things & has a great attitude - but he's just a beast on the field. Exactly the kind of player & leader any team wants. Totally disruptive when I have seen the Pats play. He's just a one-man wrecking crew out there.

Yeah - snow is not a big deal for QB's. The wind is a different story. Allen has a clear advantage over Jones in that case, if you're just comparing the 2. But we're not just comparing the 2 - the Patriots are MUCH more built for that kind of game. Their entire season has been running to set up the pass. And they have a great run game. Could be a distinct disadvantage, but we just have to roll w/ it. No controlling it or changing anything. I feel like they need to take these late season & playoff games into more consideration when constructing the team, quite honestly. I love what Beane has done & I'm sure he has thought of this, but here we are. If it's really windy, it hurts this team (just like the Ravens game in the playoffs).

Nailed it. Not popular here, but I respect Belichick & Brady. I'm a fan of the game as well as of the Bills, and what they accomplished together is remarkable. I used to "hate" Jordan as a Knicks fan - but when I took my kids to the HOF, I was like, "I saw the flu game!" I marvel at what he's done now. The fans are another story. I have quite a few friends up that way, and I really avoid sports talk w/ them in general. All the "hate us cuz they ain't us" jealousy stuff is right there in the mirror for so many of the older fans who hated the Yankees the same way, and STILL do to this day though they have had 15+ years of success against them.

I mean, you're just mailing it in at this point.

I absolutely love the premature, cartoonishly over-the-top hype about Mac Jones. It's awesome. Because he's not going to be as good as everyone thinks right now. He can't possibly be, because they already have him in the HOF. If you watch Pats games, he benefits greatly from the protection he has. This isn't to say that he hasn't been very good, but he can't move well, and has to wind up on any throw over 15 yards. The weaknesses in his game will be much more exposed as time goes on, and his strengths - like accuracy - just won't improve that much more. He's who scouts thought he was. Most pro ready, least upside.

Like fumbling in the last minute against Miami, or giving up a 30 yard pass from Dak Prescott on 4th down to lose that game? Those kinds of things?

I feel like last year went a long way toward breaking the "hex" or whatever it is - but 20 years is a pretty long time. It feels more like a work in progress. But I agree - the players didn't experience that, just the fans. I don't think the players really think about it at all. On a side note, when I peruse the Pats boards, they're always talking about the "in their heads" and "rent free" stuff. And it's absolutely true. Clearly, as I find myself perusing their boards when there is really no reason to. But then I think, wait a sec - isn't this the same fanbase that STILL chants "Yankees suck!" at sporting events where NY isn't involved?