ShakAttack

Indeed. Josh was joking around about how he "felt bad" for throwing it a little too hard on the 1st or 2nd and goal dropped pass (forgot which down it was). And I'm thinking to myself, well it's not like he didn't catch one just like that a couple plays earlier 😂 That one was a laser too. Between the two, that 4th down was a MUST HAVE. No second chances on that one.

As ridiculous as I know this sounds, I genuinely believe the Bills allowed Allen to have too much input on the WR he wanted to target from this draft class, and I do believe he (Allen) asked for Keon, and this had been reported previously as many of us already know. In the season prior to drafting Keon, we had an ongoing issue with receivers that could NOT make contested catches. This issue ended up being the reason at least a few of Allen's INTs happened; they were contested situations where the other team's DB "won" the ball from our WRs. There were also a couple deep shots in the playoffs where our WRs - including Diggs - failed to come down with the ball and this likely resulted in the notion that our offense needed a WR that can make contested catches, and unfortunately, that led to Allen and/or the Bills honing in a little too much on Coleman, the WR from the class that was all about the "contest catch" trait. The weird thing about the Bills suddenly becoming hyper-focused on acquiring a receiver that could make contested catches is that it wasn't really a "thing" that our offense had a "problem" with prior to the 2023 season, in the first place. But unfortunately, since it was a theme in our most recent season, it became a focal point, when arguably other things should have been instead... A couple other things come to mind, like if the Bills were purposeful in seeking out the "anti-Diggs" receiver as if to prove a point or something after releasing Diggs. To prove to everyone "See Diggs could never do this for us". Well, too bad we have more memories of Coleman flailing his arms in the air than doing that which he was drafted to do. (But if we were going for the "anti-Diggs" I would have much preferred the field stretcher anti-Diggs with 4.3 or better speed. Forget the contested catches, THE DEEP THREAT is what has been missing Allen's entire career). Bottom line though. The pick was always a mistake. We're just getting the "worst case scenario" of it, it seems.

I think its a big part of the reason the Bills coaching staff has emphasized taking control of the game and building an early lead, particularly coming out of the bye, because of the obvious fact that if you're playing with a big enough lead, your opponent's running game is not much of a factor. Rico Dowdle would have gone off on us a couple weeks ago if it were a close enough game, for instance. And it's not like we stopped him either. Think he still averaged around 5 YPC, but once the game was a blowout he became a non-factor.

I was looking at Irving's rushing stats this year. They actually aren't great at all. I think he poses more of a threat as a receiver than anything else. That said, I hope he does sit out, and not to be a dick, but if they put him out there too early, he deserves the same fate as Mike Evans. Irving was not supposed to return this week. Too risky. Bucs would stay in first even with an L. If they rush him out there and something happens, they deserve those consequences, especially after Mike Evans.

In terms of injuries, I tend to think it’s the players we acquire moreso than the staff. I’ve noticed several ex-Bills that can’t seem to stay healthy on their new teams. And then you also have guys like Josh Allen - who seems to barely work out - yet has more consecutive starts than any active QB, along with our offensive linemen that rarely get injured (knock on wood). so, yeah, it’s a combo of the types of players we bring in along with their own injury history and… luck. People always want concrete answers in life. Sometimes, it’s not that easy. But again, as far as the defense goes, I think there’s something there as far as bringing in guys that have a past history of getting hurt and/or undersized. The most bizarre part of it all is that of all people, Joey Bosa is one of the last men standing.

I've been thinking about that lately, and the funniest part that I just realized today, is that we may VERY likely play the Chiefs yet again next season because it's very likely both teams end up in 2nd. I guess that's alright though since in the regular season they apparently give us less issues than the Jets, Patriots.... or Dolphins now? *shrug*

Here's another perspective. Davis and Shakir are BOTH better receivers than Keon Coleman despite the fact they were drafted much later in the draft than Coleman, who came out of a STACKED receiver class, of which Ladd McConkey was the very next player selected after him. Unbelievable.

That stat is a little misleading in the sense that we used a 1st round pick on Diggs. Having said that, 1 first round pick towards a WR in 2020 is DEFINITELY not enough. Trading DOWN and taking Coleman in a WR Rich draft in 2024 is also NOT enough. EDIT- Especially when there are rumors that JOSH ALLEN is a big part of the reason we went for Coleman. That’s not his job to do!

Hoecht Torn Achilles Why Bother Replacing Through Trade? Next Guy Will Get Hurt -Brandon Beane, in his press conference, kinda

Regardless, if the Bills do not win the Super Bowl this year... No matter how they are eliminated or who they lose to, the #1 subject/reason will be injuries... just like the season a couple of years ago when we finally hosted the Chiefs in the playoffs. We're hurting like that season's Bills team.. already.. And that SUCKS

Agree. Give Ty and Ray more reps, but you want Cook active on Game Day.

He has been out there a lot, usually matched up vs. Worthy

Actually we do usually generate pressure on Mahomes in the regular season meetings. In fact, I would point to that being THE main difference as far as "why can we beat them in the regular season and not the playoffs". We have sacked him, pressured him into ints, bad throws, etc............... but only in the regular season.

I refresh TBD every 30 minutes in anticipation of a notable DT/WR acquisition and this is what we get. Typical.

This is also why the Ravens looked as good as ever last season. It was the one season in which they weren’t dealing with injuries. Same thing with the season SF made the Super Bowl a couple years ago; relatively low on injuries. In contrast, the Chiefs are somehow always healthy where it matters most by the time the playoffs start each year, so every year they have the benefit of the Niners a couple years ago and the Ravens last season. Not to mention, usually a first round bye. For those that claim “KC gets injuries too!” When was the last time you saw Mahomes, Kelce, Chris Jones or McDuffie miss a playoff game? On McDuffie, MAYBE in his rookie year? Other than that, the answer is never. So yeah, Chiefs have injuries here and there, but it’s never the guys they can’t afford to lose.