The Red King

When you highlighted my sentence, you forgot the first three words, "justified or not". In my opinion Tyrod's lack of faith in our receivers was unjustified. They weren't the best, but they were not bad enough to warrant his level of ultra-conservatism.

Justified or not, TT had zero faith in our receivers to make a play, and as a result never took a chance. As a result, the Tyrod you see in Cleveland is not the Tyrod you'd get if he stayed in Buffalo. Even if TT outperforms the Buffalo QBs this year I won't regret trading him because TT on the 2018 Bills would have resembled the 2017 outing.

Not surprising. Tyrod was brought in to provide consistency and stability to a train-wreck of a team. TT doesn't lose games by making mistakes, and doesn't win them with big plays. He may be mediocre, baseline, but right now that stability is more important to Cleveland. By the time the Browns outgrow Tyrod, Mayfield will be ready. This is why they traded for TT in the first place.

I think we have a shot at the division this season...more of one then we've had in many, many seasons. That being said, I still have to say the Pats are the favorite. I think they are vulnerable, but someone has to actually show they can do it. I mean c'mon, most every year there is a story about how the Pats are finally collapsing, and every year they...well...don't. I think the end is soon for them, might be this year...but too early to bet against them.

He's getting old, and wanted to milk it as long as he could. At the same time, he can see the days of the AFCE being a cakewalk are almost at an end. It's easy to want to play forever when your division is your b**** and you're all but guarunteed a playoff birth each season. It's a lot different when you're caught in a legitimate dogfight. Am I saying the Bills/AFCE are there yet? Maybe...maybe not...but they are not far off and Brady's seen that. That being said, I sure as hell am not writing him and the Pats off this season...

Definately. And he taught me what it was like to be a faithful fan even during tough times. When I was two years old, my dad was transfered from Buffalo to Omaha, NE. I grew up there, where the popular team was "whoever was good that year". Caught a lot of hell for being a Bills fan, especially with Super Bowls XXV and XXVI. In '92 we moved back to Buffalo and got season tickets. He taught me everything about the game, answered every question. And now, I'm doing the same for my daughter.

I heard he's getting a new one with Rosanne and O.J... XD

It does go both ways. If you saw my prior posts I called out both TT supporters and detractors.

Yeah, but then he'll complain his furnature wasn't even burned by fans of a playoff team... ?

... "If ya ain't for us, yer 'gainst us!" You obviously haven't paid attention to my prior replies in the thread, and just lump me in with Tyrod detractors. I've said plenty in support of the guy and have repeatedly mentioned he is a middle-ground QB. In fact, from just a few pages back... But yes, by all means, since I'm not a full-blown TT supporter, I must be a detractor that hates him. The irony is...you just perfectly validated the claim I made.

...and this is why talking to Tyrod supporters vexes me. What I said cast TT in the best light possible. Game film showed that he had receivers open deep a nunber of plays and he never pulled the trigger. That's not speculation, watch The 22, or hell, even just the game broadcasts. So, the question is...why didn't he throw? I chalk it up to lack of confidence in the receiver corp. I even made it clear that lack of confidence might be justified, even if in my opinion it wasn't. So, you tell me...game film showed TT had receivers open deep that he just didn't throw to. Now, let's go with your claim that it wasn't lack of confidence in the receivers. Now, that means there was a number of plays TT has receivers that he trusted open deep...and didn't throw. Why? Now...the remaining answers look less charitable for Tyrod...as they are all indicitive of flaws in him...not seeing the open receiver, not being decisive enough to be able to commit to the pass...not trusting himself to throw accurately (remember, you said he trusted his receivers). So...if he trusted his receivers, as you claim...why did he still refuse to throw to them when they got open? I swear, some Tyrod supporters really don't think things through, content to lash out at any anti-TT sentiment without actually considering what was said...

They were talking about the Chargers, not the Bills. The hub-bub comes in them saying the Chargers didn't beat any playoff teams, even listing the Bills as a win, suggesting they forgot the Bills were actually a Wild Card team.

The epitome of the phrase "Consider the source.", I suppose.

So...a team that went 0-16 is an honest-to-god real NFL team, while a team that went 9-7 with a playoff birth isn't? Am I misreading something here? The trade is good for both teams and TT. Tyrod had no faith in Buffalo's receivers, refusing to throw deep even when his receivers did get open, and refusing to throw into anything resembling cover. That confidence wasn't going to magically reappear this offseason. Had Tyrod stayed, we'd see the exact same frustrating ultra-conservative play this season. Going to Cleveland gives Tyrod a new group of receivers. Hopefully ones he can have faith in, which will allow him to loosen up and throw deep again. Note, I'm saying different receivers, not better ones. I think our receivers are better then Tyrod gave them credit for. But warranted or not...TT had no faith in them, he wasn't going to do any better if we kept him.

I'll take this one step further. With people polarized, some people here get real upset if you don't see TT the same way they do. I've said I think he's baseline, he doesn't make big plays to win, and doesn't make big mistakes to lose. He elevates teams below .500 and drags teams above .500 down. In my opinion, the Bills finally outgrew him, and the 1-31 Browns are a perfect fit for him. I have said that, and been attacked from it on both sides. TT supporters blast me for having the audacity to see him as middle-ground and not an amazing QB saddled with the Bills coaching and players...and TT detractors blast me for suggesting he's anything more then useless. It's that absolute factor I think that annoys a lot of people. People aren't flexible. And it's that attitude that makes things worse. Fanatical TT supporters and detractors frustrate the rest of us who just want the season to start so at least one of the two groups might shut up based on TT's play.

We're not gonna see eye to eye here. We have drastically different views on bend-but-don't-break defenses. The real story is, the defense played well enough most games to give the offense a chance to win. They went into Jacksonville and told the offense, "You put 10 points up, all game, and we're going to OT. Put up 11...we'll win." I'd take that in a heartbeat. Yards per game is not a statistic in a bubble as you claim. How often was the Buffalo D out there? How many three and outs by the Buffalo O? Buffalo's poor offensive play contributed to defensive fatigue, and as such directly impacted yards surrendered. Sorry, there is no one statistic that tells the whole story, isolated from any other factor. The Bills' defense regularly kept the team in the game far later then it had any right to. I see that as having played wonderfully, given how woeful the offense was. You obviously disagree, but there is no isolated statistic that will prove either of us right, so we'll each have to hold to our opinion on the matter.

...you know another signifigantly below average offense? Buffalo's. You're right, yards given up is a far more meaningful stat then points. When time runs out, points are just a guideline. Buffalo did not lose the playoff game because the Jags scored seven more points then the Bills, the Bills lost because they only gained 263 yards, when the Jags gained...230. Wait, this can't be right. We got more yards then the Jags...but somehow lost? Yet you insist yards gained/surrendered is a far more important stat then points. What a strange paradox. We got robbed! Buffalo won that playoff game! The NFL screwed up and looked at points, not yards! ...oh...no...wait...I suppose points actually do matter a lot more then yards. ? Buffalo held the Jags to 10 points in their own stadium...the same Jags that put up 45 on Pitt and 20 on NE on the road the following two weeks. I'd call that wonderful.

It's not about accuracy, it's about clicks/views. Best example is the ESPN Power Rankings. Every week there are one or two WTF positionings, not because they believe the teams should be there. Rather so that people will be outraged and load up that 'Comments' section.

I think Benjamin, really. He's had a chance to heal, and there was zero chemistry with Tyrod. I was at the Saints game, and it was like night and day when Peterman was throwing to him. Regardless of our starting QB, I just have a hunch Benjamin's going to surprise people...including the OP, since he wasn't even on the list. ?

Is it? Points surrendered...the three terrible games bolded. Keep in mind the defense did this even given the number of 3-and-outs we had. That was one tired D that could have thrown the towel in, but didn't. vs. Jets: 12, Panthers: 9, Broncos: 16, Falcons: 17, Bengals: 20, Bucs: 27, Raiders: 14, Jets: 34, Saints: 47, Chargers: 54, Chiefs: 10, Pats: 23, Colts: 7, Dolphins: 16, Pats: 37, Dolphins: 16, Jags: 10 Aside from that three game collapse, the D gave up an average of 16.7 points a game, despite being stranded out on the field by our ineffective offense. First Pats game was 9-3 at halftime, second was 13-13. Those three games aside, you don't think that defense played wonderfully?

Oh, to be clear, while I still predict 9-7, I openly admit there can be regression and do not attack/insult people who suggest there might be (people who say there will is another story...I hate opinion states as fact). I fully respect people that put them around six wins even if I don't agree with them. Two wins, while technically possible, is just silly (and if they win two or less games I'll openly admit I was wrong). Buffalo plays Miami and the Jets twice, and those two game alone are normally worth 2-3 wins. So, the argument is either Buffalo will win two against those two teams, and fail to beat any other team...or Buffalo won't even win two of four against those two. Now, I realize the Jets drafting a rookie QB automatically makes them a much-improved, better then Buffalo team by default (wait, did I forget /sarcasm tag?), but still...

Click-bait idiocy. This year's "The Bills season is over before it started." Seriously, did a Buffalo Bill pee in this guy's cereal or something at some point? ?

You took a shot at me, as if using common football terms were akin to using quantum physics. So I simplified it. No high horse here. Good lord, indeed. *shrugs*

...heaven forbid I use something confusing like common football terms to explain. Lemmie try again... Our QB will throw the brown thing deep this season. That means the people in football uniforms that don't match Buffalo will have to play further back. That means less of them at the line of scrim...sorry...that line the ball stars on each play...and that means less people right on top of the runn...sorry...the Bills player that carries the ball. This will make it easier to run. Better? I can draw a picture if it will help, but I hope this is good enough. No square roots or dog's tails.