MrEpsYtown

Bills 35 Swifties 21 I think the Bills know they will have to be agressive

I want to sit with Kromer and pick his brain. That jump-setting technique he teaches is so effective but also very unique. Our OL wants to get on guys ASAP, whereas the traditional techniques involve creating space and using length to play keep away. I love what he teaches here. Kromer is a huge key to our success.

So this is an interesting thread and a good read and I appreciate everyone's input. Here's my question...when we say the Bills have exceeded expectations...whose expectations are we talking about? Ours? The fans? The national media? Because I am sure, internally, the Bills have not exceeded expectations. They expect to win a Super Bowl. And we can sugarcoat it all we want and say they have cap space coming and all that. To the players and the coaches, that doesn't matter. And to lose to this team again will be a massive franchise-altering event. Look at the energy from those clips from the Ravens after the game. They are devastated. But they will recover eventually and the biggest difference is that their coach has a ring and ours does not. And I know it was over a decade ago, but it gives him credibility above all. Mark Andrews may never be the same, but the Ravens will be okay. I know, Marv Levy, Sir Andrew, all that stuff, but if the Bills don't get this done, regardless of our own expectations, it is a massive letdown. I think it will be very difficult to recover from. And as others have said, they will dust themselves off and bounce back, but they may never be the same. They know what's at stake and I believe, unless the game is officiated the way the Texans game was, the Bills will get the job done. Doubt and fear are mind-killers. It destroys confidence, and if we lose to KC, that darkness, that doubt has to creep in just a little bit. And that is when all is lost. I believe they will win, because they have to.

Nail on the head. 100%

Yeah, as a HS coach, my biggest gripe with refs is they call things they "think" they saw. They should never throw a flag because they think they saw something. If you see it and it is clear as day and zero doubt whatsoever, throw the flag. This one was awful. Not even close. For a professional whose job it is to stare at these guys and make these calls, it's egregious.

I think New Orleans maybe goes retread, and I think that is why McCarthy is a good fit. Try one last run with Derek Carr. McCarthy is an even more well-connected guy as he was the NO offensive coordinator from 2000-2004. He and Mickey Loomis came into NO at the same time, not too many people mention that connection since it was so far back. If they want to tear it all down and start over, Brady makes more sense IMO.

The roughing the passer stuff is annoying, but on some level I get it. The last second slide, or slowing up on the sideline is just very bush league and childish. So it's annoying to watch refs fall for that garbage. The problem is the offensive holding and defensive holding that the Chiefs constantly get away with. It changes games. The offensive holding thy got away with last playoffs was awful and egregious. It seems that every third-down incomplete pass from Mahomes is accompanied by a late flag for some BS holding. The football Gods need to take their penance. Chiefs need to suffer.

Yeah I'd agree that everything is pointing upward and agree, that the window stuff is silly. The window will always be open with Josh, at least for the next 6-7 years. My thing is the mental headspace and how hard it would be to recover if they lose this thing again to that darn team. I have come off the the fire McDermott space I was in with how he has these guys fighting. The vibes are good in Buffalo, there is love and trust and camaraderie that I haven't seen before. McDermott and Beane get all the credit for that. However, what happens to those good vibes if they lose again? What happens to their confidence in their leader? That's my concern. Yes they are professionals and will dust themselves off and get ready for another year. They can certainly do it and I am sure they will. But at what point do they stop believing? People have mentioned guys like Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin, you can even think about Sean Payton in NO. Those guys have had some strong longevity on their side with many ups and downs and their teams have stuck by them as they should. The biggest difference is that they have won Super Bowls. That's the difference between those guys and Marty Schottenheimer and Dan Reeves. WIn that SB and McDermott gets a lifetime pass from me. But first, they have to slay the beast.

To me, they have to beat the Chiefs. If they don't, I am not sure how they recover.

Yeah, my only issue was the play call. It's the same formation and QB long trap they used when Josh scored earlier. I liked the empty QB dart run that got them down there and emptied the box. But McDermott 100% made the right call there to go up 8. He put the onus on Baltimore to be perfect on that next drive, and obviously, they weren't. But I was tossing and turning. Going up 8 was 100% the right call. That said, if we were playing KC, I am probably going for it there.

Honestly, no one really questions McDermott's preparation, how he has created a strong culture and how the team prepares etc. Typically it's in-game stuff. But I think mostly everyone agrees that McDermott is a good coach who has done a very good job. The question isn't if he can do the job, the question is if he can win a Super Bowl, at least in my mind. And that is where I am. Is he Tony Dungy who had to be replaced in TB to get over the hump? But anyway yes, it's great to hear players, especially a guy like Cooper, talk about how different the locker room is and how comfortable he feels. It's a testament to McDermott and his staff.

This is a good thing because I think it makes the possibility of keeping Brady more likely because McCarthy is going to get one of those jobs, imo. That is of course unless Dallas is interested in Brady which I feel is possible I could see them going after Kingsbury imo.

I was struggling. Pacing around the house, I started doing some clean up around the house. I have problems.

These guys have been awesome and someone said it, most importantly healthy. There have been a lot of hot takes here over the years about offensive line play. To me OL is the position that some football fans know the least about. People were saying Dion was a guard because draftniks said it. Dion is clearly not a guard. People were saying Brown was terrible and was a busted pick. Spencer Brown was raw and was going to take a minute, when healthy he was going to take off and now he is one of the best RTs in the league. People were very worried about moving Connor McGovern to center. Conor McGovern had played center his entire life and has fit in nicely at the position and is more stout in the run game than Morse. He has also raised the play of both guards around him and seems to be very smart. Not too many free rushers at Josh anymore. Some people were worried about Bobby Johnson being let go. Aaron Kromer has forgotten more football than Johnson will ever know. Kromer has been a great fit for these guys. Some of the things he teaches are pretty unique and he would be a very difficult guy to replace if it came down to it. This is one of the positions that takes the longest to develop and patience is important.

Shakir did a nice job

Way off

They definitely like Grable more than RVD. So that makes sense. In terms of Carter, looks like they are going with extra pass rushers and veterans. I like having Solomon dressed for sure.

I understand where you guys are coming from, but I disagree with this type of thinking. It's the playoffs. Shakir is very smart with his body and avoids big hits and there is inherent risk everywhere on the field. To me, it's like the old Herm Edwards "You play to win the game." No reason to hold anything back at this point IMO. Again, just my opinion. But I am interested to see how things go.

Shakir is the answer to all this. But hopefully, Codrington plays. Unless they wanted to bring up KJ Hamler. Jalen Virgil can return kicks.

I am guessing Vrabel and his hand-picked GM

I suppose you never know. Sam could have told Beane he may be riding off into the sunset. But more than likely this is taking a look at a 25-year-old kid who had a really good year a few years ago and has struggled since. And while teams typically wait until the end of the season to sign futures guys, they likely had to act fast to grab him while they are still in the mix before some other team maybe scooped him up. There are so many kickers and punters who fail in their first spot and have tremendous success in their second. Brian Moorman, Cameron Dicker, Jack Fox and not to mention the UFL guys.

If they are going to spy Josh it will stretch that second level defense even more. Hopefully we can take advantage of some matchups.

Brady finally getting back at Peirce for the Giants ruining the Pats undefeated season. In all seriousness, they did Peirce and Mayo dirty and the league will make sure Flores gets a job this year to keep everyone at bay. I just think its kind of crazy. Like, why does a guy like Brian Callahan get a pass? He had Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins, Jeffrey Simmons, Tyler Boyd, L'Jarius Snead, Harold Landry, Tony Pollard...a bunch of high picks on the offensive line and his very experienced dad by his side and went 3-14.

Not sure what happened to him. Bucs fans say he was awesome year one and then had some bad games in there, and got married somewhere in there. They seem to speculate it could be an off-the-field thing. Again, I have zero proof of anything and it is fully speculation, but Bucs fans seem to think he had some issue. There is big upside here if he can figure it out. He is very athletic, huge leg apparently, very inconsistent. A lot of punters/kickers find a home at their second or third stop. It is worth a flyer. He also kicks off. Martin has been pretty good, and cutting him adds minimal savings, but competition breeds success. Bucs fans all talk about this play saving their season a couple of years ago:

Khalil Mack was the story and who everyone though we traded up for. But I guess at our original spot we could have drafted Evans or Aaron Donald if I recall.