LSHMEAB

In. I THINK we're gonna smash these guys tomorrow. Next week will be a real test.

It's definitely a "fun" gig, but it's not exactly lucrative at my level. I've decided that I like my work/life balance enough that I'll stick with it. I think it would be great to do seasonally or something like that if given the change. The role of ticket writer will be obsolete relatively soon though so I really have no choice but to push myself a bit. Hard work is not really my thing. Congrats on the teaching. But yeah, it's all about math and data. It does make the games a little less fun when you're constantly thinking about it from a numbers perspective, so that's a drawback.

I agree with just about everything, but I don't think the Allen kid could be any more IMMOBILE. They made a big investment for Flacco and I don't even really fault him for his performance behind said O line, but I think it's time to pull the plug. It's just not going to work. I'm sure they'll stick with Flacco until they're inevitably eliminated from playoff contention, but what a horrible mismatch between that line and Joe.

Not so sure about the TO's. I think the one area in which the defense is less than excellent is pass rush. TO's are somewhat random, but I think the greatest contributor is knocking the QB around and making him uncomfortable. I just don't think we have enough horses to really do that on a consistent basis. Beane was definitely snooping around with Clark and Clowney, so I assume he's on the same page. That'll likely be the area they upgrade personnel defensively in the offseason. Defense is still one of the best in the league even with that issue. The offense, and specifically Allen, will determine how far this thing goes. As far as the game prediction; I get where you're coming from. It's tough to see the Bills scoring a ton of points and it's tough to see holding Fitz to less than 10. But I've been in the sportsbook industry long enough to lend some credence to what the money mover's are looking at.

This is a sharp vs public game, but somewhat unusual in the sense that the public likes the underdog. Joe Sixpack is looking at that line and thinking that the Bills don't score, so they won't cover 17. The "sharps" are pounding that line up every time the public pushes it down. So the analytics folks believe the Bills will easily run through that Miami team and hold them to like 7 points. I tend to go with the analytics folks, but I question that total. It's tough to see Fitz not giving Miami 10 and Buffalo 7. Rosen would be a different story. Also wanna add that I fully disagree with the folks who view this as the trap game the Bills usually lose. The "trap" games they usually lose were all THREE road games they WON. They're not often TD plus favorites, but I don't remember them losing one. Last time I recall them favored by a large amount was the 2017 opener and they killed the Jets. I think the Bills win going away.

Really John? Spain? He was on the market for a LONG time before the Bills signed him to a one year deal. He's an OK guard, but nothing special. Feliciano was the score at OL in the offseason. They have 84 million dollars in cap space. They have virtually no constraints. I think they can afford to keep Spain if they choose to do so. It would be helpful if the list differentiated UFA'S from RFA's. Levi Wallace will get a bump. He's an RFA though, which is entirely different. The bottom line is that the Bills will have all the resources available to sign their own AND make a couple of splash signings in the 2019 offseason. DE should be the number 1 target. I'd prefer to go WR in the draft, but we'll see how that shakes out. Beane has the right approach for Buffalo in terms of building through the draft, but there's no reason to get overly stingy with those resources. They're in really good shape as even the top players aren't ELITE. Poyer will get a nice contract, but he'll be a slightly older SAFETY. I love Milano, but I don't think he's looking at a massive payday. Even White may struggle to find a MASSIVE payday given the fact that he isn't putting up INT numbers. Edmunds is likely to get paid because he's gonna work out whether that be inside or outside if push comes to shove. He's an ELITE athlete. There's no way to know what's gonna happen with Allen, but that's a couple years down the line. They're winning the cap war, so no concerns.

I agree with everything you stated about Allen. He's shown a ton of promise, has all the tools, and is quite clearly dedicated to his craft. He also hasn't produced at a high level and has some recognition/situational awareness/ball placement issues. So while I agree that the jury is out, I think Mango makes a fair point. When you critique Allen, you can pretty much expect some incoming venom. That's fine because we're all adults here(maybe). If you can't take some backlash on a message board, the world probably just isn't the place for you. But even floating the notion that Allen may never improve would definitely be poorly received. That makes a great deal of sense to a degree. We're all Bills fans(I assume), so the next 3 to 4 years hinge on JA's development. It would set the franchise back years if he's not the guy. Nobody(I assume) wants to see that. On the flip side, there's value in objective, intellectually honest analysis. I'll continue to take the wait and see approach. It's impossible not to like the guy, but I'm gonna need to see more.

I meant the Allen "kid." Honestly, it looks to me like Flacco has zero blanks to give. They showed a close up on a pass that got batted down and he just had a look of "whatever" or something along those lines. Not a psychologist, but I play one on message boards. It's cliche at this point to crack jokes about Elway's inability to judge QB's but man; this guy was perhaps the best to ever play the position. Zero ability to evaluate.

Yes. I wasn't making any projections about his ability to be a TOP HC; one able to beat the very best. I will say it's not great that he hasn't beaten BB in 5 chances, but he hasn't had the team, or the QB for that matter. He definitely has TB's number, so they're close. So again, no way to know. I'm simply stating what has occurred and adding zero hypothetical spin. The reason I created the post is because I really do like McD as a HC. Much more so than others it SEEMS. I see tons of Beane love; tons of Allen love/projection. I don't see nearly as much respect for the job McDermott has already DONE. So my intention was to highlight the fact that McDermott has proven results in relation to the other members of the big 3; Really the antithesis of projection.

I would say they could have gone into the season with a relatively talented roster. Once they traded Sammy and then Dareus midseason, the talent level fell off big time. Only minor point of contention. I would also add that I'm unsure if McD can ever be the ULTIMATE winner; I don't know that he has what it takes to beat a Belichick, Payton, or a Pederson(yeah, bad year) or whoever else emerges. But I fully believe he's a guy who's gonna get borderline playoff teams INTO the playoffs. After 20 years of purgatory, that's good enough for now.

The worst part as a fan must be that Flacco looks like he couldn't care less. Elway likes a QB? You better RUN from the thought of signing that guy. If I were Fangio, I would just go with the kid. It really couldn't get any worse than Flacco, and if it did, so what? They've 2-5.

Thus far, McDermott has been given a 5-11 roster in 2017 and got them into the playoffs. Yes, they snuck in, but whatever. People cite the point differential as a negative. It's an indication of a team that won more games than it should have, but that's a PLUS as it pertains to the coach. He took a 2-14 roster in 2018 and eked out 6 wins. That was a BAD football team with a raw, rookie QB. 6 wins was the absolute ceiling. Check. This 2019 team is decent, but I view it as a .500 roster overall. Allen is still not playing particularly well, yet the team is 4-1 having won 3 out of 3 on the road. I don't care who you're playing; road victories are huge. To this point, the guy has won pretty much every heavily contested game going back to 2017. The home Jets game stands out because it's really the only one of these that comes to mind that he's lost. His teams are the antithesis of what I've been conditioned to expect from the Bills; they find a way at the end. Not to screw it up; to win. The first game that comes to mind is AT Atlanta in 2017. I fully expected Ryan to drive the field and win. Nada. I think McDermott is far and away the most PROVEN member of the Bills big 3; GM, HC, QB. He is as legit as legit gets through 2 plus seasons. Vastly underappreciated by a large segment of the fanbase.

I actually like Matt Moore as a backup, but I was referencing the Denver situation. Matt Moore ALWAYS seemed to beat us.

Some kid named Allen who's bounced around the league, but never thrown a pass. I mean, like I said earlier, they're not gonna pull Flacco. BUT. This is a horrible matchup for a dinasour QB because the one thing the Chiefs can do is get after the QB. KC is overloading the line, so there are guys open downfield. Unfortunately, there's no time to throw and Flacco certainly can't buy any. Denver also can't run the ball because of the overload.

They're not gonna bench him. I just don't see where he fits in this league anymore. I guess my point was that it was a bad acquisition rather than a recommendation they get him out of THIS game.

This is just one of those games. You would think KC SHOULD win, but.......

They just can't stop loving Ray Ray. They've tried several times to break things off, but they keep on letting him back into their lives. He's shown some promise I suppose. He'll never be an exceptional player, but I think he's good insurance in case McKitrick goes down. Need someone with suddenness to run those gadget plays Daboll employs.

I wasn't saying he didn't work hard or earn respect around the league. I'm saying he didn't fit the stereotype of a tenacious OVERACHIEVER. It was a side convo with some nuance, but the point was that Schobel was born with some legit athletic gifts. He wasn't Rudy.

My favorite defensive players from that era were Schobel, Tim Anderson, Chris Kelsay, Poz, Leonhard, and Tim Euhus even though he was a tight end. On a serious note, Schobel was nothing like your description of on ideal player. Aaron was not some overachieving underdog; he was a very talented, athletic end. Again, very sad story.

Bannan and Leonhard? You seem to have a "type." Anyways, this guy was actually a pretty solid football player and had a decent career. Definitely remember the 2-way thing and thought he was drafted as an OL. Pretty sure he came in around the same time as TIGHT END Jason Peters, so maybe I'm mis-remembering. I'm NEVER shocked when something like this goes down because I don't know these guys personally. I know what their bio says and how they interact with the media. For the most part, as fans, we really have very little idea as to what type of a person a particular player actually is IRL. Hope the woman's OK obviously. Not a good story.

Yeah. I generally ascribe to the any given Sunday theory, but at home, against Miami? I just don't think you can lose such a game and expect to compete. I get the point made by Seasons; the cakewalks that you don't have to sweat are great. I'd feel much better about a blowout facing Rosen in a hostile environment. But even with Fitz, this is a game we should win "relatively" easily if we're going places this season.

I hear you, but I try to look at it this way; if we can't beat the Dolphins at home, the Bills are clearly not as good as we thought they were. Fitz is the better QB. I'm not 100 percent sure this isn't Flores winning a power struggle against management.

Very fair point as usual. Without making this overly political, you either support players/people who buck tradition/norms in their fight against management or you don't. Bring that same energy under different, yet similar circumstances. I happen to support the guy and believe he got a raw deal from the league, but I'm also gonna defend, let's say Nick Bosa, if something odd were to occur.

How about we flip the script. Would you be ecstatic with an Eli Manning like career? Is he really some kind of ultimate winner or did he happen to play for team's that had the right elements to win TWO Superbowls. I believe it's the latter. Wins and losses will never be a QB stat. Yes; there are some guys that seem to thrive under pressure more than others. But in a macro sense, a QB can really only control what he does. I think people are reading this question as if it's "Would you be satisfied if the Bills had the same success as the Lions under Stafford?" Very different question.

The most absurd thing is their refusal to overturn PI calls. What's the point of the replay system if they're just gonna let the play stand? I'm sure there's been a reversal or two, but I haven't seen it. Maybe a DB bodyslammed a receiver and they HAD to change the call. Baseball replay is pretty much the same thing; very rarely are plays overturned. They should really do away with the notion that the replay must show "indisputable" evidence that the call was incorrect. It gives the replay officials too much wiggle room. Even a jury trial doesn't require "indisputable" evidence.