NoHuddleKelly12

Not much given Mahomes' absence for most of the 2nd half while Cleveland went on their little "run."

Just as the road didn't always go through NE during their Brady led dynasty!

No doubt--but fundamentally I have to admit I still like that his default position is looking for the deeper play first, as the scarring from the Trent Edwards et al years runs deep. https://www.espn.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/4056/captain-checkdown-wont-go-deep-for-bills

^^^Yep. That's a point than many here have made from Day 1 of this regime--hit on QB, your ticket's been punched. Whiff on QB, but hit on everything else? There's the door, don't let it hit you on the way out...and rightly so, as that's the single greatest individual factor to determine franchise staying power/success, imho.

Yes and no. I would add that we've also seen plenty of criticism doled out to current roster/coaches (e.g., fire Daboll threads during 2018-19 in which full disclosure I also participated in) that is solely based on what we see on the field. Even now, guys like Singletary and Edmunds routinely get called out by a sizable number around here, even if they are also defended. Conversely, Gilmore would be an example of a former player who's still sought after around here whenever the discussion of opposite corner from Tre comes up...

I don’t disagree with you necessarily, but want to add that an effective rushing attack would also open things up for Josh even more, and improve the Bills’ play action game, which imho was often just window dressing that the coverage didn’t really have to respect (might as well just have snapped from shotgun every single down). Can you imagine Josh with even more pocket time at his disposal??

This also reminds me of the "unbeatable" Pats teams that the Giants took down 2x--the way the Giants were built on D was perfect to disrupt Brady's normally unflappable & efficient O, namely, intense pressure generated even without the blitz, by having monsters capable of crashing the front of the pocket with no extra rushers required. https://www.espn.com/blog/new-york-giants/post/_/id/50776/beating-tom-brady-and-patriots-involves-using-blueprint-provided-by-giants “Definitely create a dirty pocket to where he’s not comfortable.” Brady said passing against the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI was “like throwing in a forest." Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul batted down a pair of passes. Michael Strahan had a batted pass in the 2008 contest. “That’s what we wanted to do. That’s what [Brady] does anyway,” Umenyiora said. "The edge rush doesn’t really bother him much. You need to have some really good interior rushers.” Side note--the Giants D coordinator for their 2007 season SB win over the Pats? Steve Spagnuolo--who of course we just saw in KC.

Agreed--don't miss what happened this year that was light years beyond what we expected. How many doom/gloom threads/posters predicted 9-7 or worse for this team going in?

As we get ready to watch yet another SB featuring the ghost or ghoul that is never-ending Tom Brady, you may get some enjoyment out of watching this "best of" Brady meltdowns through the years--hey, it's something, right?

I don't know how anyone can look at this throw and say it's anything other than a receiver fail (at least from this angle)? Game on the line, playoffs, the yips appeared--or the bracing he was wearing interfered with his ability to catch. Either way, I don't see how Kelly can be faulted for this drop, even though I'm admittedly a biased Kelly homer.

Shades of Ronnie Harmon’s drop in the ‘89 playoffs against Cleveland? Not coincidentally he was sent packing by the Bills after that season too. It’s a fair assumption that given the overall struggles of the run game this season and some untimely wilting in the spotlight, this “motor” will be changed out for a newer model.

Excellent analysis per usual, OP. I was keeping a weather eye out for your column and this was worth the wait! Agree with all your points, esp this: “Anyone who tells you they expected more out of this season is a liar.” I’m getting ready to order some AFC East Champ gear and will wear with pride, secure in the knowledge that we likely repeat as div champs and have our chance at revenge, hopefully at home in Orchard Park with a bye this time!

My new nominee for post of the year

Also empirically, we’re still going to most likely be better off with a high priced QB than not... https://www.rotoworld.com/article/numbers/can-nfl-teams-contend-high-priced-qb

That’s where they step in and rework his K to punt the football down the road so to speak—convert portion of that years salary to a signing bonus and spread it out over the life of the extended term K (up to 5 yrs) for cap purposes? https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fieldgulls.com/platform/amp/2019/2/19/18231248/salary-cap-101-basics-salary-bonuses-john-schneider-seattle-seahawks-frank-clark-russell-wilson

This makes sense--hence the return look to more our 2018 O version than what we'd grown accustomed to this year--Josh's running stats also support this.

Helps when Mahomes leaves the game in the 3rd though? The Chiefs managed just 3 points total in 2nd half... https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/gametracker/recap/NFL_20210117_CLE@KC/

This guy might've done a better job...

He just said for the 4th down after HT, he's likely to go for it in hindsight instead of kicking the FG; if nothing else, he's being open about potentially being wrong, and needing to be more aggressive vs a qb like Mahomes.

Pics or it didn't happen.

yeah but that one time was...glorious! 😅 Minnie would love to get out from under that Cousins albatross I'm sure

Still the gold standard as far as I'm concerned 😅 Good point--and in a league where razor thin margins separate the great from the also-rans, any competitive advantage needs to be explored, even if it's just simulating in-game issues than can come up, such as clock management.

Stumbled across this article and after a cursory search didn't see it posted here yet, thought it was an interesting wrinkle on the concept of gaming out your upcoming opponent's strengths and weaknesses during the season--I'm not a big video game player but for those here who love playing Madden, what are your thoughts on the effectiveness this would have or not? Also, isn't the game only as good as its data inputs/programming? https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/01/25/john-madden-thinks-nfl-teams-can-benefit-from-hiring-madden-players/

Josh Allen.

Thanks for posting OP! Always great to see my childhood hero out & about with the fans