Success

Jordan reminds me so much of Brady. They both have that really psycho determination to win, and they both relish having the ball when all of the pressure is on. Extremely rare, imo. Like Brady, I did not appreciate Jordan while he was playing. Being a Knicks fan, I spent most of his career downplaying how good he was. It's more fun to look back on it now and really be able to take it in without any vested interest. Maybe it will be like that w/ Brady some day, but I'm probably too old at this point for enough time to go by to get to that point. More scars w/ Brady, too. Good doc, though. I agree that it jumps around a bit too much (I can't see what they're trying to do w/ that), but it has some fun "backstage" kind of footage that gives you more of a sense of who the guy was/is.

The Pats have broken the rest of the league like a horse. Brady is gone. The monster in the closet has moved out. Yeah, there is still BB, but he's already outsmarting himself with over-cute drafting & putting his faith in a guy who has 4 professional passes that include a pick 6. The Patriots are done. They will finish 3rd in the AFCE, at best - possibly 4th. And it will be that way for awhile.

First time I've checked this thread. I was on one of the Pats boards, and there were about 3 out of 50 posters who offered even an "R.I.P." Most of the comments were the among the most bitter, petty & insensitive that I've seen. No reason for the comment, other than to provide even more proof that Bills fans are friggin' awesome, and Pats fans are lower than dirt. R.I.P. coach Shula.

I don't have them much, but man, do I love a good po boy (fried oyster). Nothing like a good Italian sub, also.

He's following the GOAT - and he ain't Young or Rodgers. The pressure will be too much, no matter what his skills. That fanbase has won & seen their QB play mistake-free, clutch football for way too long. I can hear the boos already. And there probably won't even be crowds.

On one of the Pats boards, they had a “what is your favorite SB win” thread. What different realities. 2002 - Bledsoe’s first year. I was so excited to get him, and he had Moulds and Price to throw to. That was a good team.

Patriots fans have already talked themselves into the idea that this is their Montana/Young situation. He has very good skills - but he also stares down receivers and isn't good under pressure. He has HUGE shoes to fill - if he can handle that, he could be scary. It probably helps that there won't be crowds this year. That fanbase will have limited tolerance for mistakes & bad games. Still, I don't think we need to worry too much. As of today, they have the worst QB situation in the division.

Ha! Well, it's true. I sort of meant REALLY old, where I don't even remember who is QB...that kind of thing.

Pretty much this. Life IS risk. Every time we hop in the car to drive, we're taking some risk. Every time I give in to my cheeseburger & donut cravings, I'm taking risk. I get what they're dealing w/ here, but there are things that can be done to alleviate risk here. For starters, by fall, there may be treatments that greatly reduce mortality rates. Beyond that, like you said, they can space fans out at stadiums responsibly and take other measures that reduce potential exposure. We kind of have to figure out how to carry on while this thing is still out there. It's simply not realistic to stop everything until it's eradicated.

I remember when everyone was so upset that the Colts were going to continue winning everything in sight when they got Luck. Lawrence looks great in college. Tons of QB's have. I can't lose sleep over it. We have Allen, Diggs & Tre, and will rule the division until I'm old.

I agree w/ that - it bothered me too this year. Both games were there for the taking. That felt like a psychological hurdle more than a talent gap or anything else, which does fall to the coach first. We have to overcome that. McD is definitely more of a defensive coach. He won't get as much of a pass on the offense going forward - we're stacked now. That offense better hum.

The record isn't good, and there are no moral victories - but few coaches were able to limit Brady as consistently. I think McD's defenses were very effective against their offense. Honestly, the thing that bugged me about that article was "pathetic Bills Mafia." I get that it's a troll, but I will put our fans up against the current crop of New England fans any ol' day. They actually have long debates on their boards about "are you rooting for Tampa or the Patriots now?" And they're easily the softest fanbase in the world at this point - no way a lot of those younger fans would make it through the kind of drought we went through, which actually strengthened our loyalty and resolve. That kind of shot from a lame Boston fan is silly. And the writer should know better. He lived through plenty of years (actually decades) of both the Pats and Red Sox being "tomato cans." One of the wonderful ironies of Boston sports fandom for me is how much they hated the Yankees & their fans for years, and now that's exactly what they are.

Confession time: I have eaten Stove Top stuffing straight out of the container. It's really not bad that way. Don't judge me.

Shoot, I clicked. Read the comments - most slammed him for being a homer stuck looking in the rear view, and said the Bills should clearly be favorites. The Pats were tomato cans - or, as was known in popular culture, the Patsies - and will be again. Soon.

I realize since Brady left that I want the Patriots to be bad forever. And not some metaphorical forever. Literally forever. Like if the universe collapses in a few billion years and comes back in a new big bang, and somehow football is still being played, I want the Patriots to still be bad. What a buffoon this guy is. They've been winning so long they don't even watch other games anymore. Allen will be outstanding, and no way whatsoever are the Pats coming close to the division title.

Keep in mind that their special teams coach is now w/ the Giants. As for the D, were they really all that? They looked amazing the 1st 8 games, against weak opponents (except us!) After that, they were fine, but not a world beater. And they lost key players like Van Noy and Collins, in addition to some key players getting into "old" territory. Beyond all of that, losing their O-line coach is a big deal. He held that line together w/ spit & glue at times. Now they have to protect a 2nd year QB? Bring it on. I know we're trained to be cautious w/ the Pats, but it is OVAH. When dynasties end, they tend to go over a cliff. Remember when it looked like the Warriors were going to keep dominating the NBA for years? Remember when Shula started to seem like the game had passed him by, after terrorizing us for almost 2 decades? I see the Pats finishing 3rd at best next year. Stidham will be the 1st of a line of QB's that can't fill the shoes.

Let me just be the 100th guy to say that I would love to see Pop's reaction. THAT guy knew how to be a rival. None of this Brady "they're such a good opponent - what an amazing fanbase" malarkey...

Ha! I remember watching both games vividly. What a contrast. We had a few of those w/ the Browns. Those were like a microcosm of our mediocrity during the drought. I remember going to another fanbases board during the Dallas game, and they were saying how it sounded like a World Cup soccer game, which was accurate from what I heard on TV. Just constant cheering & noise. The fanbase was so pumped just to have a MNF game at home again, and against Dallas no less. Still remember Jerry J. and Michael Irvin celebrating in the booth afterwards. Just painful.

I think I read at some point that he would also tell his lineman to occasionally "accidentally" kick the ball at the LOS to delay things, also. I can't remember that from the game. But I drank a lot that night.

It will be a healthy thing for me to see a Bills sweep or 2 before BB decides to retire. That guy has owned us for too long. He's a great coach, but people do stay past their shelf life in sports. Shula owned us for ages, too, before the game passed him by a bit.

I wanted to believe in Edwards so bad. The Walsh quote sustained me for way too long. He's checking down constantly in this one. It's actually great to watch this game & think how we are now. We had such mediocrity then, almost across the board. We always had a few solid players, but we were never close to competing w/ any of the contenders. Such a different story today. It's great to have a team that has talent all over the place.

Pats fans have already talked themselves off the ledge from Brady leaving, and many are actually convinced that this is exactly like 2001 and that Stidham will follow the same trajectory in the years ahead. Most are back to predicting 12-4 and owning the division again next year. The coming years are going to be delightful.

I'm getting that Kelly/Reich vibe with Allen & Fromm. But, I tend to put the most positive spin imaginable on anything Bills-related.

Thanks for posting. I usually scour this stuff afterwards to get a sense of how people think we did. I didn't even care to see one review this time. It just felt like Beane nailed it. I loved every player, and how I could see each fitting in. I think they all could make the team & play important roles. We're in very good hands these days. I hope Beane is our GM for a long, long time. I want to get to at least .500 in the SB record.

LOL - I still remember the Zeppelin opportunity vividly. I was in 5th grade. That was back when there was no internet and we only had 3 TV channels - most rock stars had much more mystery about them. I remember thinking Zep was from another planet or something. It was exciting to have a chance to go, but intimidating...the fear part of it got the best of me! The Paramount rings a bell w/ the Nirvana show I saw on TV; I didn't catch the venue, though. The stage was really sparse, just the 3 guys (and one dancer on the side over by Kurt - she might have been a fan), and there was a sort of eerie reddish light over the whole stage. No light show, no frills. Just pure rock & energy. Grohl is such a powerful drummer, and Kurt had a real presence. I loved how raw it was. It felt like a punk show - unscripted, and like anything could happen. And they just sounded great. That was a sad loss. I'm sure there was a lot of great music that was still to come if he had made it through that.