corta765

Good comparison and I tend to agree. 05-06 like 2020 Bills were just hard working motivated driven teams. The high end talent exists on this Bills team and 06-07 Sabres, but there 100% is a level of complacency because they turned it on. This season to me is just starting to feel like they will make the playoffs but they will lose early, perhaps in a really really gut punching way that might be needed to snap them into focus long term. The KC game on they just look so damn different.

I did my 24 hrs before posting rule and I apologize Virigl if I steal some of what you would say again this week (hey great minds think a like) but here I go: 1. This is the biggest crossroads for McD since the Peterman start and subsequent disaster vs the Chargers. The talent is there to be a Super Bowl team without a doubt, but the flaws are there like any team. The Bills besides being bad on offense and very undisciplined as a team also looked disinterested. The week before against Miami it took until Milano's big hit to seemly awaken the team. Since McD has started this is the least invested the team has been which is my greatest concern and his greatest challenge. McD has done a superb job in his time here getting the team to buy in and truly grind day in day out and take nothing for granted. Since the KC win they look like a team mentally that does not know how to handle being the alpha team. The Bills have had bad losses but you never questioned the buy in or energy whereas yesterday some of then players genuinely seemed to just kind of expect success just because. This is the Bills biggest hurdle more then anything, even when they had lesser talented teams in 2017-2019 you knew they were going a full 60 mins with you. They need to find it and if they do not the season will have a quick end. 2. I have been a Brian Daboll defender and he deserves a lot of credit for Josh's growth and the offenses progression. But time has come for serious questions with his play calling an overall play design. Three separate losses all have had play calls on QB runs, or runs in general, or passing formations that are very east/west in design that leave the casual fan saying what are you doing? With Josh getting the crap kicked out of him why are you running him on 3rd and 2 when your in FG range with Bass who makes those kind of kicks all day and the day itself has been a five alarm fire? For an offense that was soo aggressive last year and creative, this year is a shell. Has Isiah McKenzie had a single jet sweep this season which is a really good play typically? Why is Diggs role feeling so limited? Injuries are part of football, you still need to figure out a way to make it function. He has been behind the ball on many trends in each game until it feels too late. Firing Daboll probably is a bridge too far, but McD needs to have a meeting about the offense and type of play calls they are running and lack of red zone production. 3. Hero Ball Josh made its return but I cannot necessarily blame him. That was Allen's worst game since NE 2019 (week 4) in my eyes. This season I actually think he has been anywhere from decent (PIT) to great (KC) and not truly had a bad performance and the team was winning or competitive because of him. Yesterday was a day where if he just held the ball or didn't force it they win just by allowing points on the board. That said I 100% get why he got to that extreme because the offensive line was offensive and he got zero help. I am less concerned with Josh in terms of play because I know he will bounce back, we know what he is he is fine in that regard. My giant concern is the hits he is taking at this point. He no longer is getting hammered on runs but regularly in the pocket. Even if he does not get a full injury that beating can wear a guy where he is just not at his best when it matters. A team like Vegas would have a field day in the playoffs against Josh if the line play doesn't improve. 4. Tyler Bass is criminally underappreciated. This kid had a rough start in 2020 and since then has been pure money. When we are from distance I do not even worry about him now and across the league kicking has been subpar this year. Appreciate we got a good one even in a game as bad as yesterday. 5. Defense you were failed yesterday and that really sucks. 6. Voodoo! I swear we got some weird voodoo in Jacksonville and play really weird and crappy games there. Adding to poor voodoo might be time to retire the white jersey and blue bottoms for good I am buying that it is cursed. Also if you are an NFL player DO NOT GO ON MANNING CAST it will wreck your week! VOODOO! 7. After Baltimore and Tennessee the AFC is all over the place right now which is good and bad. I am a big believer that you do not know a lot at week 8 compared to the end of the season and getting too antsy right now is not worth it. That said the Bills have a pretty wild field of teams they are fighting for with the playoffs and NE is going to be close at seasons end. I still think the Bills will take the division, but you are not getting the cake walk we had last year. The #1 seed is hard to think of now, but the the AFC is really tight and I truthfully do not think you could make a truly solid guess right now at who is taking the 1 seed. 8. I said last week it was foolish for people to so quickly write-off the Titans loss as no big deal and the team would just bounce back. Football is not linear by any means and emotion matters. The Bills still look like a team that is just expecting to win despite getting punch down in a prize fight three weeks ago. There probably is some truth to the schedule being weaker and the team underestimating it. Last year was easy to get motivated as they wanted the division crown so bad after being so close the prior year where a loss like AZ wasn't a big deal. This year the Titans game if anything was a car dashboard that warning lights started coming on as Josh was constantly under pressure throughout and the O line had a rough night while the D had a down game. The offensive trends have continued and finally the engine broke yesterday asking for repairs. 9. On a final lighter note apparently it was 59 in Jax and Bills fans were in the pool. Never change Bills fans never change

I will politely say F*ck You

TJ Graham fumbled on the Bills 13 with the scored tied 13-13 early in the 4th and it was returned for a TD. Literally the Chiefs defense outscored their offense 14-9

Bills 63 Jags 13 Honestly IDK why I am predicting this game. If they lose this game there will be a five alarm fire sounded in Bills nation about what this team is.

I would just like to note on my Defining Moment Season Series for 2013 this game was the real highlight of the bunch and started of string of losses to KC that were utterly mind numbing.

He is probably the one guy I would give credence to as not knowing his real potential given the list of terror he has had at QB.

That's fine give me lasers too then!

Trevor Siemian started last game and did well. Payton is a brilliant coach I think Thomas would've been fine with their QB situation.

There is something to be said for Big Ben understanding what throws not to make and good decision making. Baker isn't even ahead of him there.

Give me Minnesota's glass cover where it shows a ton of sun and natural light to the point it looks like your outside at points if you were to do a roof. Otherwise outdoor do what Seattle has.

Since 2010 when the rule changes came down on hits to the head, QB protection, WHAT IS A CATCH, etc.. officiating has been pretty rough. BUT to their defense the league has basically created this problem with the vague and ambiguines nature of these rules that make you question how one thing is a penalty and other play isn't. That really makes you screwed as an official in my opinion. Also I would add the NFL does not utilize technology to the max for officials. The camera angles, replay ability, etc for networks and fans supersedes many times what the refs have which is insane. Why they do not have a GPS tracker for first down or TD lines is just beyond my understanding at this point. Additionally the refusal and angered nature that the refs responded to having a sky judge really limits things. Anyone could've seen in that Saints Rams title game it was a penalty. IDK why it is viewed soo poorly by refs to have a guy buzz down and say you need to at minimum review this and it probably should be a penalty. It cheapened the experience for everyone involved. So yea the reffing has been poor for the last decade, but so much is either not being used to help them, they do not want to use to help, or the leagues rules are just so dumb that I am not sure a 1000 great refs would make that much of a difference.

NO

Mike Evans since entering the league has 7 straight 1000 yards seasons (on pace for 8 ) while playing with Jamieis and other crap QB's until last year with Brady. He has averaged 76 catches, 1180 yards, and 8 TDs (nearly 9) a year while being a 3 time pro bowler and 2nd team all pro in a season. Bud there are a handful of guys in the league the last decade near that stat line and get this crap about Davis out of hear until he even goes two seasons back to back with 1000 yds. I could give two craps about athletic ability, the proof of there that Evans has been a far better and more productive receiver playing with lesser QB play until Brady then virtually every WR in his class minus Adams who is the best. Also right now Mike Evans would be leading the Bills WR corp in yards and td's so please stfu about this crap that he wouldn't even start on the Bills, he would straight up challenge Diggs as our number 1 guy.

I wouldn't say you or others were wrong as much as unfilled potential and the reality of playing tough games regularly. I wasn't as high on CLE yet because until you win your division and earn that grind you haven't made it yet as an org. Making the playoffs is good but it also then gives you a playoff level of opponents and with that division its no joke. CLE is not a bad football team but injuries, poor luck, and shakier QB play is really damaging their chances. That said they still have a lot of games coming up in division they won last year that can get them in. The biggest problem from them is CIN taking such a step forward with Burrow emerging as a true young star and PIT not falling down and instead being competitive.

Def the most injury prone of that group

Yep. Listened last night to Freddie & Fitzsimmonds on ESPN they talked about this. Funny 3 years ago I was jealous we didnt' get OBJ. Now I am thinking we dodged a bullet and yea CLE should get Cooks he would be a much better fit and teammate. It's wild the best WR of the draft in 2014 was Davante Adams in the 2nd round and Mike Evans who was the 2nd WR taken (and who I wanted the Bills to take). That 2014 WR draft was insane talent wise.

Which is why it was my first point and you explained it just as well. Drought NE years we would have one game where they typically blasted us, but the other was close like this until a big moment or play happened.

Good I hate long waits

Oh no doubt. I even said in my criticism of DaBoll that it is more the level of expectation then actual poor play or gameplan. I mean they literally sleepwalked through a half and then said OK and scored 23 pts without a lot of pushback. The biggest thing everyone sees is last year the offense flowed sooo seamlessly throughout whereas this year outside of the Washington game they've been a little 3 steps forward 1 back at points. So it is hard not compare, but teams have a year of film and I really think teams have been trying to do what KC in the title game and PIT week 1 did against Allen. Difference is he's evolved into a far more complete QB already so it's negating that most of the time. The Titans game to me was Allen's best this year because their defense isn't bad and he was pressed big time to make all the plays and basically did so. Crappy finish but I thought it really showed how far he has come.

The offensive line has been reallyy up and down this year and the worst it has been since 2018 (obviously not that bad). The difference to me is Allen for the most part no longer gets flustered and is making the plays that negate the pressure coming. As the season has gone on I feel like the PIT game caught him by surprise as the OL got the snot kicked out of it. Since then he looks to have made the adjustments needed to find the open guys and let them make plays (and his guys are also holding the ball too).

That is one of my takeaways in general this year is seeing a team that is a SB contender overcome some lack luster games just because they are better straight up. For all the years we wish we had Brady or Rodgers etc.. Josh is literally doing that now. The 2nd half was basically him willing the offense because he was over it. It is a nice feeling

HEY I didn't say that what am I suppose to read!

I know the guy running the video display PROBABLY gets fired doing this, but he 100% should've put on the display "The Juice Is Loose"

Bills fans obsess over NE. No I don't care at this time and truthfully evaluating anything right now is a mute point. Good for NE they are 4-4, they could also be 5-8 in four weeks and none of this matters or 8-4 idk idc, we are at week 9 the NFL landscape is vastly different every year come seasons end.