TigerJ

Hyperbolic negativity after a loss is almost inevitable for Bills fans, and it's proportionate to the size of the loss. This one was a big one, of course. I'm not happy about it, but I'm one of those who tend to look for the positive, and there were positives in this game. The main positive is that Josh Allen did not embarrass himself despite less than ideal conditions in which to get his first regular season action.

You forgot the last half of your statement, "Don't worry, BE HAPPY!"

As I stated in another thread, I did not see most of the game, and could only listen from the second quarter on. From what I could gather by listening, I agree with the OP. I didn't hear some names he mentioned, so it's not really fair for me to comment on Edmunds or Gaines. I'm especially encouraged by the play of Allen. It's true that the game had already been decided by that point. Baltimore may or may not have pulled starters on defense by that time, but Martindale (the Baltimore DC) was still calling an aggressive game with plenty of pressure, especially given that Buffalo was in a position of having to pass a lot. Allen appears not to have played like a deer in the headlights. His completion percentage wasn't great, but it was better than Peterman's and he his receivers had a number of drops. If the Bills end up taking a step backward this year, but end up with a true franchise QB, it would be well worth it.

Like every Bills fan, I'm really unhappy about the results of the game. I actually did not get to see most of it. My wife are trying to buy a house in the Rochester area (the burbs, not the city) under a tight timeline, and it is a sellers' market. The good news is we found a candidate. I heard a fair portion of the game. It sounded to me as if the offensive line performed as most pundits expected it to (horribly). The defense was also terrible, but some of that can be chalked up to the offense. When your opponent has the ball virtually the entire half, not only does it give you more opportunity to rack up points and gain yardage, but playing defense takes more energy than offense, and the more it is on the field, the more tired the defense is going to get. Meanwhile, your opponent's offense is going to get more and more energized - a snowball effect if you will. Anyway, while Peterman didn't help matters at all, it seems like the offensive line is the primary focus of the putridness. Brandon Beane was hit this offseason with some unpleasant surprises on the offensive line in the career ending injury to Eric Wood, and Ritchie Incognito's bizarre retirement. He made a judgment call to proceed with his initial priority of finding a future QB and a middle linebacker who could make the McDermott defense click. Maybe his judgment was wrong, maybe not. You may not be able to do everything in an NFL offseason when you've got lots of holes, and the salary cap situation doesn't help. He made another judgment call to take all the pain of the dead cap money and endure it this year. He tried to patch the offensive line with bandaids, and at this point that looks to be a miserable failure. So there's plenty of bad news here, and it's not likely to looke any prettier over the next few weeks. Who knows, stranger things have happened in the NFL. The good new is that Josh Allen didn't mess his pants when he came in. No, he wasn't great, and his completion percentage was well below 50%, but he, like Peterman was under heavy pressure from a good attacking defense. The Bills only scored a field goal with Allen under center, but he did manage to move the ball even with all the adversity. He also had several receivers drop balls. He needs to learn to throw with touch, but receivers are responsible to make the catch whether or not the ball is hot. I'm not going to tell McDermott what to do. If he wants to start Peterman next Sunday, that's his business, but if he were to start Josh Allen, I don't think it would be the worst decision he's ever made.

That's essentially why he's not here any more. Not very fast, not very athletic. If a team is hurting for a tight end, you can sign a guy like O'Leary. He'll come in and be productive for you, but at some point you're going to see if you can upgrade. That's what the Bills did. Both Croom and Thomas are way more athletic. They aren't great blockers, but are working on that.

Wind speed will be in the teens, a bit lower at the start of the game, a bit higher toward the end. That is enough wind to be a factor for sure, even though it's not quite a gale.

That's me. Crazy TigerJ

On any given Sunday. . . Of course they can win. There is a lot the Bills will have to overcome, including the facts that our much maligned offensive line and receivers group needs to step up big time and show they have more talent than most observers think they have. It's not impossible though. I do think, given half a chance, Nate Peterman is going to be fine.

I believe Baltimore also places a lot of faith in their running game. If Buffalo is going to win, it will be because they play better. Their much maligned offensive line has to step up big time.

Irrelevant then, Irrelevant now, as far as I'm concerned.

The five interception half is going to rear its ugly head for a long time to come. Between that, Peterman's lowly draft position and very small body of NFL work outside the 5 interception half, and I can see why he's ranked so low. Otherwise, how could you reconcile "He was almost perfect" in the preseason with a second from the worst ranking. If the Bills can win some games in this murderers row to open the season, and Peterman looks competent at the helm, his ranking has the potential to shoot up quickly.

This is my perspective as well. Injury foiled the Cory Carter experiment. I understand that some observers thought Carter was beating Schmidt out before the injury took him out of the competition. I'm assuming Ryan just didn't have enough leg left, and Buffalo figured there were probably some young legs out there that could outkick him for less money. I don't think this kid from New Mexico by way of New England is getting paid a lot, and if the Bills decide he's not going to pan out after a game or 2, they can sign another free agent. They're out there.

Then, theoretically, the defense will eventually figure out that when the Bills line up with 3-4 wide, they can still cheat short, clog passing lanes, and and try to take away the run game. I suppose they could line Croom up in a slot, then have him motion to the backfield for extra blocking and hop the defense doesn't figure out what they're doing, but until the blocking of the 5 offensive linemen improve, it's going to handcuff the play calling to a degree.

Given that we haven't even seen Trent Murphy on the field in any kind of game, your inclination to weigh all the evidence is admirable.

It's the sporting world's version of what happens in politics. Corporations will make contributions to the campaigns of opposing candidates, hoping whoever wins feels beholden to the company for its support.

Doug Marrone this week: "My goal for Blake Bortles is zero turnovers." Doug Marrone next week after a Blake Bortles interception: "My goal for Blake Bortles is no more than 1 turnover this season." Doug Marrone in 2 weeks. . .

I've joined a few. Among my survivors, I have the Rams.

Agreed. They were making choices to try and get the best they can out of the season, but that did not include doing any rope a dope to try and dupe future opponents.

Dunkirk Don as a sample user name was a nice touch. Good job on everything. I'm looking forward to savoring the win LOL.

You know your offensive line is struggling when your offensive tackles are getting pushed back into the QB before the snap, and the defensive end hasn't moved.

That's what it looked like to me. Any NFL lineman will tell you how important chemistry is on the offensivel line. It's very difficult to have consistent play when you're switching players in and out of the line and switching wqhere they are playing on the line. That said, Newhouse looked terrible at left tackle. The chemistry issue had nothng to do with the fact that he plain couldn't handle the defensive end one on one at all.

If the Bills win the game, it's not a waste of time.

Brandon Beane's job as a GM begins with gathering info on available players, not rushing to judgment based on preconceived notions and emotional bias. That's why he's a GM and everybody in this thread is a fan.

Josh Allen comes in as an extra blocker?

Thanks. I'm in.