MJS

I agree. I do acknowledge that they have a really tough job and they do it really well 90% of the time. The NFL doesn't help them out, though. The rules are too nuanced and complicated. They need to really simplify things. Stop asking the officials to make judgement calls ALL the time. It will always be a part of their job, of course, but too much is subjective. Like the catch rule. They have simplified it a lot, so we don't see as many controversial catch calls like we did a few years ago. That is a step in the right direction. But it needs to be simplified even further. No more "football move" subjectivity. If the receiver catches it, establishes possession, and has two feet down, it should be a catch. And that shouldn't change in the field of play versus the end zone. That will increase the number of fumbles, but so be it. Hold onto the ball if you don't want it called a fumble.

Well, the ball doesn't have to actually be delivered. They can start blocking as soon as the ball leaves the QB's hand. The official should be saying to himself, "It looked like the player got yanked down, but I didn't actually see Dawkins do that.". They need to stop officiating the reaction, only the actual action. They are cheating by guessing what caused it. And when they guess like that, sometimes they are right, and sometimes they are wrong. That is the whole crux of the officiating problem. They'll miss some calls if they stop cheating like that, but at least they have a defense. "I can only call what I see, and I didn't see that."

You aren't supposed to officiate the reaction. You are supposed to officiate the action. You see it all the time with phantom facemask calls. The player turns his head and draws a flag when the defender never even touches the facemask. Officials need to be trained out of that. You can't throw flags like that. You can only throw them if you see something actually happen.

I disagree. It killed a drive. And the penalty on Tre White was at least illegal contact. White was engaged with the receiver past 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, impacting his route. And when he fell, he further impacted his route. It was a borderline call that maybe you want to not see called for PI, but it was nothing like the Dawkins call, which was not holding by any stretch of the imagination.

Yeah, I wouldn't go that far. I want them to win it all and I will be dissappinted if they don't. But I'm not going to allow football to impact me in negative ways. It is entertainment and I view it as such. The minute the game starts causing me undue amounts of stress and grief, I need to step away and reevaluate.

Why? It worked out for Manning.

Sorry, I am not here waiting expectantly for you to respond to my posts. The tweet is super simple and I don't believe you when you say you don't know what it means.

If you can't understand that tweet, make sure you aren't one of those fans who criticizes offensive and defensive schemes and play calling, because that is FAR more complicated.

What do you mean? Are they going to forfeit the season next year? How do they not recover?

Fans do say that about the defense, but they don't even know what they are talking about. Basically, if the team converts, he was being too conservative. It doesn't matter what formation the defense was in, what play was called, if they blitzed or not, etc. If the offense converts, McDermott gets called conservative. It is just ignorant, honestly. And it is very similar to when he was being called conservative on offense. It just wasn't true, and it isn't now on the defensive side. The issue is the defense is not very good at stopping teams between the 20's. We don't have an elite defense anymore.

Reid is old school in a lot of ways. Belichick was the same way. There is actually some merit to being conservative and taking the points when you have the opportunity to, especially if you have a strong defense and a good running game, which they do. Being aggressive is NOT always good. How many times have we seen it backfire, especially for teams facing the Chiefs and the old Patriots? You also need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your team. Sometimes the analytics might say go for it, but you might not have the horses to get it done, so you shouldn't.

Not for me. I'll just say that. And if that's what the kids are into these days, we've got problems... And I'm not even that old 😅

Oh, I've always liked him. What makes him a bit polarizing has nothing to do with him, his play, or his attitude. He seems to be a great guy. He is a great QB. He is an athletic freak. The issue has always been him being propped up by the media and others, making him something that he is not, including ignoring or even being untruthful about his limitations. And it is the media who propped him up last year and forced him down our throats as the league MVP. And yet, these same media people are hyper critical of Josh Allen and spin all kinds of garbage narratives to tear him down and prop up the guys that they like. Lamar Jackson is a great QB. He is a tier below Mahomes and Allen, and probably Burrow as well. He is not the best player in the league. He is not without weaknesses. He is not even a QB who can consistently put his team on his back and will them to victory. But he is still great.

Good. I hope the coaches and players feel disrespected as well. We'll get plenty of praise when we go on to win the super bowl. It's obvious that the players used the disrespect leading up to the game as motivation. I remember arguing with a poster here not long ago who claimed that isn't real. Players don't really get extra motivation from bulletin board material. Well, this is yet another example that it is real. Players DO use this stuff for fuel and it DOES impact the way they play.

I meant the Bills having two time outs left.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking at the time. Even if they tied it up, the Bills had plenty of time. I think they had two time outs as well? Not totally sure on that.

Why does this need it's own thread? It seems like it should be a very simple reply to an existing thread.

I think he had some good points about football and that you don't have to draw these cosmic conclusions about teams or players based on individual games. But I do think he didn't give the Bills enough credit, only talked about the good things his team did, and excused away any bad things they did, including the poor decision to not run Henry more in the 2nd half.

I am more confident. The Ravens were a harder matchup for me. After beating them, I feel like the Bills have shown that they are capable of beating anyone, and that they have a very high floor. And I think had the Ravens won, they would have gone on to beat the Chiefs. The Chiefs are solid all around, but not scary in any single way. They are tough to beat, still. But they are battle hardened just like the Bills, and extremely clutch.

No thanks.

I don't think they agree with you. Or the rest of the NFL who rotates their defensive lines as well.

The Bills ran the ball on an icy field. Passing was secondary. When they did pass, it was dump offs and quick stuff over the middle to Shakir. The weather and the game plan made outside and down the field stuff less of a feature. I think the weather will be better next week. But I still expect the Bills to run it a lot.

They just have to keep it up for two more games.

Do you know how many game changing plays Taron Johnson has made for the team this year? Do you realize how difficult of a position it is that he plays? He has to be a run stuffer and a coverage expert. He has to be a linebacker and a corner at the same time. He has to cover all over the field. Yeah, he is going to give up plays sometimes. That's how it is. And when you are playing on an ice field, that puts defenders at a disadvantage reacting to receivers. Your post just shows a supreme lack of understanding about his role and what he is asked to do. He has the hardest job on the defense and it isn't even close. An impossible job, really, which is why he will give up a play here or there throughout the course of a game. And McDermott. And Beane. And Hamlin. And Rapp. And Von Miller. And..........

Good win. McDermott gets credit for that. Thanks for keeping me honest.