LSHMEAB

Take a good, hard look at the offensive lines they've faced and tell me you think the DOMINANCE will continue without flipping fields, creating TO's, etc. If they can, that's great. Not quite sure why you're so defensive on the subject, but that's cool; do you. If they continue to perform at this level; yes. They are dominant. I don't believe they have enough playmakers on the DL to be considered DOMINANT. You do. Fair enough. The numbers at the end of the season will tell the full story. The Bills have a very, very good defense. The debate is very good/dominant. I guess that's better than a garbage/decent semantics war.

All of this. He does look slower, but that's only because defenses have taken away his preferred escape routes. He'll always be a mobile QB, but that's not gonna cut it in this league. He'll sink or swim based on his ability to throw the football.

He's really smart in those situations because he knows he has 4 downs and he knows he can run if he needs to. Doesn't take big risks, remains calm, and generally puts points on the board. He can't play an entire game this way because he'd take too many hits, but I feel pretty good about our chances if we just need one score with a few minutes to play.

I don't really worry about Allen taking anything lightly. He cares too much for that. I'm actually much more interested in seeing him NOT take any particular game TOO seriously. He's at his best when he's not overthinking and just playing football.

I basically stole your post, but it wasn't intentional!

I may be in the minority, but I LOVE the bye week. I can actually enjoy football and relax. I haven't missed a Bills game in like 20 years, but I don't even know that I can say I "enjoy" them. It's only fun if they win kind of thing.

This could DEFINITELY be construed as something I'd prefer not to see. Can you elaborate?

They can most likely keep all 3. Poyer and Hyde will be a little older and safeties don't generally get huge contracts. White will get paid, but we can probably afford to keep him if we choose to do so. I'm not so sure that would be a great investment considering McDermott's ability to pluck guys off the street at the corner position. But we've got a few years to sort that out. The Bills are in terrific cap shape. Not singling you out, but I feel like the teardown has lead some to overestimate the importance/danger of cap space. The good teams are pretty much never under the cap by a great deal. The circumstances would change if Allen becomes a franchise QB, but that would be a great problem to have. I also think people look at Baltimore with Flacco and extrapolate that paying the QB is going to somehow ruin a team. Baltimore's real problem was that Flacco wasn't a great QB. Good, definitely not great. They overpaid and PAID for that. If Allen is the real deal and earns that contract, good. Look at Seattle. They paid Wilson, shuffled the roster a bit, and are in great shape. But all of these issues are so far down the road that I'm not concerned with it.

You're preaching to the choir, but not enough people grasp the concept. In order to be truly dominant, you've got to be wreaking havoc for the opposing QB which is the most surefire way to create those turnovers. They were definitely in MM's mug all day, but Tennessee's line is bad. We've faced some pretty bad lines. We'll see what happens going forward against teams that can generally protect the QB. That being said, the defense is really, really, good.

I think the league has changed a little too much and I don't think our D is at the same level as that Baltimore D. But who knows? I'll take a Bills Superbowl any day, even if YOU'RE playing QB. Dilfer also didn't turn the ball over much and was a perfect game manager. They're just not gonna ask that of Allen, even if it may be beneficial in the short term. They're gonna let him sink or swim by taking chances. In the long run, that'll be good in the sense that we'll know if we have right guy or not.

Thanks alot for rekindling my concern about the Dline pressure issue we discussed ad nauseam!

It's a good spot for such a bet. Win/win. Win 7 times your money or the Bills go to 5-1. I'd still root for the Bills, but it's an idea.

Agreed. The team is solid. I trust McDermott to get the most out of the talent provided. The defense is great. There is a solid, unspectacular supporting cast on offense. This season will ultimately be defined by Allen's growth or lack there of. There are no glaring deficiencies and given the schedule, there is every reason to believe this team should be comfortably in the playoffs.

OK. So I rewatched it and it's a bit of both. Corner may have expected inside help and the safety was just standing there looking at the LOS. Either way, he used his body weight perfectly and had a nice, sharp, inside cut for such a big dude. I saw a lot of good things. I'm not all aboard the Duke train, but I love the energy he brings.

I don't think he's a troll. I think he's a relatively bright Chiefs fan with WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too much time on his hands.

Hyde is a very, very good safety. Quarterback of the defense. Posing the question as to whether or not the defense would suffer in his absence is ridiculous and sort of odd. But that's just my opinion since you asked. No doubt. I've been trying to hammer this point home for a while, but these two are not interchangeable. Hyde is an elite safety and Poyer is a quality safety. Prior to this season, they were essentially seen as the same guy or a duo with little distinction. May as well have referred to the safety position as Micah Poyer.

I find this REALLY, REALLY unlike anything I've seen as a Bills fan. I'd gotten totally used to kickers nailing big moment 55 yarders like it was a PAT.

I knew they weren't done with this Perry character when he was assigned #32. I really don't get it unless the Singletary issue is more serious than we've been made aware of. Much rather have Yeldon than Perry.

ALL OF THIS. The time to win and go bold is NOW. Maybe they'll come up short against KC or NE. Whatever. There's no reason to be content with just staying competitive. I understand that the overall philosophy of the regime is continual improvement and all that jazz. That's fine. This really all hinges on Allen. He's going to steadily improve throughout the course of the season if he's the real deal. If you've got the QB in place, on his rookie deal, you strike hard. I don't think they will, but I think they should.

But there was the KB trade, so I'm not so sure about this. I generally agree. I don't think they're giving up a first for a receiver and that's really the crux of the question.

I think they're in the 9-12 range and I'm perfectly fine with that. The offense has to score more points if they're truly going to be a contender. The Packers at 9 is way off. Lafluer seems to be harnessing GOOD Rodgers and that's not good for the rest of the league. Pettine is a great fit for a team scoring a lot of points offensively. His defense is at it's best when they're able to just pin their ears back and get after the QB.

Allen needs to cut down on negative plays whether they be a turnover, a bad sack, or a poor throw. He does a lot of good things, but in order to keep drives alive, you've got to take advantage of what the defense is providing. 3rd and 3 is a whole lot better than 3rd and 12. We've created negative down and distance situations too often this season to go along with the turnovers. It would be great if Duke becomes the guy some envision and Allen takes some chances (in rhythm and in the pocket as opposed to darting right or left and throwing across his body.) As has been mentioned, the chunk plays are lacking bigtime. They've got to start hitting on some of those. It will be cool to get Singletary back because he seems to have the capability of breaking a dumpoff for 40. We really have no electric YAC guys and that's an issue. Chunk plays seldom come via a fly route. It's nice when it connects, but you want to see the 25-40 yard gains any way you can get em.

I honestly think people will pounce on Cole Beasley if he makes a few more mistakes that affect Allen.

I don't know how Mayfield will respond, but I do think the offseason stuff gets blown out of proportion. What I'm observing is that teams are taking away the throws he's capable of making and daring him to beat them on those that require more arm strength. That arm is nothing special and teams adjust.

Guilty as charged. Had no idea. I did notice that gritty little guy with the blonde hair catching passes. I THOUGHT he was new because I don't remember seeing him last season.