Shaw66

So cool to hear from fans who've never been to Buffalo. It's hard to imagine being a fan of this team if you didn't grow up there. Just so cool. I'll be there Thursday in 212 with my son. He spent his childhood in Connecticut and became a Bills fan, but he had an excuse - me. His children are growing up in Connecticut, too, and they're Bills fans. Have a great time! GO BILLS!

People were standing in front of us. Bummer.

I agree. There is a lot of Coleman's game that still looks like he's a rookie. I'm hopeful that his dedication and McDermott's leadership will help him continue to mature, both personally and as a player. There were times during the game on Sunday where I thought," if this guy gets serious and develops his game, he will be one of the best receivers in the league." He's not the same body type as Mike Evans, but I can see him being as valuable a weapon. He's learning ways to get open, and he has great but inconsistent hands. It's also quite clear that Allen already is looking to him. Allen is going to be pressuring him to get better and better, and I'm hopeful we are going to see some special things from him. But for now, he does some head scratching things. He certainly didn't look like he was paying much attention to where the back of the end zone was on that play.

Thanks. I didn't know the rule. Seems unfair to be ineligible if you were pushed out. Should be able to re-establish eligibility. DB can still make first touch if he has been pushed out.

I'll say it again: Look at Thurman's post. Bills have been top ten in two-point conversions for three straight seasons.

As Thurman#1 pointed out, the Bills have been top 10 in two-point conversions for the past three seasons. Tied for 9th in '24 with 50%. Tied for 10th in '23 with 75%. Tied for 9th in '22 with 66.66% So, if the Bills have been successful doing it, and if the analytics say go for it, what exactly is the reason for not going for it?

I think this discussion about whether to go for two is classic. I think people like to solve these problems in their heads; I know I do. But the reality is that someone has solved these problems statistically, and they know which strategies have the greatest likelihood of success. They are statistical facts. So, "if the Bills had just kicked the extra point those three times, they would have had the three points they needed to win the game" may sound nice to us, but as a statistical matter, the Bills would have been less likely to win the game doing that. Now, in this instance it turned out to be true, but in most instances it would not have. Same with "Well, if you've already kicked the extra point, don't take points off the board." Sounds nice, but the stats say you're less likely to win if you take that point. Google it. I did. The analytics says if you're down 15 with three minutes or less, kick the extra point. If you're down 15 with more than three minutes, go for two. Twice the Bills were down 15, and they went for 2 twice, just what the analytics say. Then they were down 8, so going for two is a no-brainer. McDermott did it right.

He clearly had both feet in bounds. I don't have the replay up, but when I watched I thought it was clear that he was forced out. Right? He did take a few steps out of bounds; did it look like he didn't get back on the field fast enough? And one more thing about that. I really think the NFL has to change the rules about automatic reviews. Scoring plays are automatic, but plays that would have been scoring plays but weren't because of a ref's ruling are not. So, McD would have to challenge that call, if it's reviewable at all. The lost timeout would have been really costly.

I agree with all of this. They are letting them play, and there's a lot of contact, grabbing, etc., but it's just two athletes fighting for the ball. They have it about right. And yes, Allen missed that throw by at least three feet. Surprised Collinsworth didn't comment on it. You could see that Coleman was ready to elevate and then didn't. Put that ball three feet higher, Coleman gets his hands above his head, and he catches it. If the play was designed for the ball to go where Allen put it, it's a pretty low probability play.

Pounding Dog, Bills Fan 89, and wjag all with great lists of commentary. Good stuff.

I've never seen him as being that kind of guy, but Sunday night could have been the beginning of his ascendancy. NBC showed him on the sideline, I think during the Bills last touchdown drive, before the three-and-out, and he looked seriously dialed in.

I agree - they don't. But the only way they will learn to be better is by working at it. It's something that needs to be in the arsenal, and when it's time to go for it, they need to go for it. JMO

I agree. I didn't say there was anything wrong with people leaving. I wish they wouldn't, because I'd like the stadium to be full to support the team, but it isn't for me to tell people whether they should stay or go.

It's the new NFL. The aggressive play, especially in a game where the opponent is a scoring machine, is to for it after penalty.

Bass going to IR opened a spot, I think.

This is classic! Thanks for your honesty about it. Love it! At a sports bar Sunday afternoon, I sat next to a guy who had flown in from CA just for the game. He was waiting for ticket prices to fall before he bought his. I've been wondering for two days now whether he stayed or left.

This is excellent. Both points. Flowers is a special athlete, as is Henry and Jackson. That's a lot of offensive firepower, probably more than any other team has, except the Eagles. And then they added Hopkins. They can score 40 every time out.

That's Charlie Brown.

I never leave games early. Never. (Well, I left Chiefs-Bills at Arrowhead at halftime during the weather delay a few years ago, but that was only because my wimp friend insisted on it.) I was disappointed that Bills fans started pouring out of the stadium in the fourth quarter after the Bills had fallen behind by the Ravens 40-25 on Sunday night, but different people have different points of view, and everyone’s entitled to theirs. The people who sit beside me at Highmark Stadium leave early most games. I don’t get it, but it makes sense to them, so okay. I always want to see what’s going to happen. I want to see the kneeldowns, if that’s what’s coming. I want to see the desperation passes, the onside kicks. I want to see the players meeting on the field after the game. I attend for the entire experience, whatever it is, so I don’t leave early. I don’t leave movies early, no matter how bad, and I don’t leave the theater early, either. Part of me says I owe it to the players to stay. They work incredibly hard to compete in these games, and they deserve an audience. (I know, they get paid to do it, whether I’m there or not. Still, when someone puts on a show for me, I’m going to watch it.) Did I think about leaving the Ravens game? No, not really, but I can say this: If I weren’t the kind of person who stays to the end, no matter how miserable the performance is, I would have been out the door after the magnificent Derrick Henry did his magic against the Bills again. My impression of the game to that point was that the Bills were fortunate to be only 15 points behind. Up to that, point the game felt like the score should have been 60-25. It seemed the Ravens were dominating. In truth, statistically, the game was pretty even. It was two special quarterbacks running two good offenses, with two pretty good defenses trying to figure out how to survive. The Ravens had had the better of it, throwing haymaker after haymaker. It was exciting, explosive football. Still, it felt like the Bills were being smoked, and although the Bills might score 15 in the last 10 minutes, it didn’t seem likely that the Ravens were done scoring. I knew, of course, that the Bills had a chance. Miracles happen all the time in the NFL. But to tell the truth, sometime in the third quarter I thought it was over. Every time I thought about the Bills mounting a comeback, I thought, “No, it’s over.” Why? Because the Bills just didn’t look very good. They couldn’t convert a two-point conversion. They couldn’t execute a quarterback sneak. They were close only because they got a gift touchdown on a desperation pass that was deflected and then caught by Keon Coleman, diving in the end zone. The Bills were close despite themselves. I tried to talk myself into having some hope. I reminded myself that McDermott stocks his team with players who never quit. I reminded myself that he trains his players to win the second half, and especially to win the fourth quarter. I remined myself that we had 17. Nothing worked. I thought it was over. When did I think they might actually win? Briefly after the touchdown got them to 40-38, but that hope disappeared almost immediately when they didn’t get the two point conversion to tie the game. I thought the chances the Ravens would go three and out were pretty slim. They’d punted only twice in the game. When did I think the Bills might actually win? When the Ravens were 3rd and 9 and there was more than a minute and a half left on the clock. That was literally the first time the possibility of winning came into my head and stayed there. I’d spent the previous hour thinking the game was over. Then Benford made the tackle on Hopkins, the Ravens’ punt bounced out of bounds, and I thought, “The Bills are going to win! THE BILLS ARE GOING TO WIN!” The final drive was magnificent. Josh Allen was masterful. As the commentators always say, the first first down is critical. Josh took an easy six yards over the middle to open the series, and the Bills were rolling. Easy sideline throw to Coleman for the first down. A gorgeous throw to Palmer, perfect, and then back to Coleman, and the Bills were ready to kick the game-winner. What was best moment in the game? The moments after it ended. People clapped and cheered and screamed, and they didn’t stop. The noise just kept coming and coming for three or four or five minutes, maybe ten minutes. Why did that happen? Because for the previous hour, we’d all been sitting there believing it was over, believing there was no hope. People weren’t even standing or singing along with the Shout song after scores. And then, after all of the agony, it was bang, bang, bang, field goal, game over. We couldn’t stop cheering. Who gets game balls? Prater, of course, and Allen, of course, and Oliver, of course. Big Ed made us believe when he bear-hugged Henry for a big tackle-for-loss. And he showed the way to the win when he stripped Henry for the only takeaway in the game that mattered. (Josh’s INT on the conversion attempt wasn’t the kind of takeaway that can change a game.) And a game ball for McDermott. Remember when fans used to complain about McDermott’s game management? Not Sunday night. He knew when to go for two and when to go for one. He managed the timeouts perfectly. His team used every second on the clock to get three points to end the first half, and they used every second on the clock to kick the game winner and deny the Ravens any chance of coming back. His philosophy of stopping the pass even if it means the Bills run defense is gashed proved, again, to be a winning strategy. And his never-say-die attitude carried the Bills to the win. 1-0. GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

So, who besides Ed Oliver should I be watching? Bernard? Daquan? Bosa?

Yes. Good story. To be fair to Marv, it was a different era. There were a lot of old-school coaches back then, and they all were doing it the way they'd seen their predecessors do it. These days, every coach knows that he needs to access resources of all kinds to improve performance. Still, most old-school coaches understood that motivating their players was part of the job.

Bills melancholy is excellent. I do sort of feel that way. I suspect it will pass once I see some real football Sunday night.

Maybe. I didn't see much passion in Hardknocks.

Pretty simple. I drive 400 miles, each way, to go to games. I'm 78 years old. Prudence suggests that at some point that travel just isn't a good idea. On top of that, I moved up to Club seats a few years ago, and I'm spoiled. Comparable seats in the new stadium come with a $20,000 seat license. Now, if I thought I'd be going to games for the next ten years or more, I'd probably do it, but there's no way I'm driving to Buffalo ten years from now. So, it's a combination of age and price.

No. I didn't say McDermott will have the right thing to say. McDermott plans everything, including planning to set what he believes is the proper tone to get his team to compete as well as he can. He may fail at it, but he does it. Levy said, essentially, that he didn't think that was his responsibility. He dialed up the Xs and Os, but he expected his players to get themselves ready.