NoHuddleKelly12

I got suckered in as a kid because I grew up just around the bend (literally) from East Brady and JK's larger than life welcome to my town sign (see below for typical snowy, overcast winter's day there) piqued my interest in who he was and the team he played for. Unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) they were so freaking good back then, it was easy to jump on the bandwagon, and my loyalty was forged (partially by having to endure the slings and arrows of being in Steeler country) forever to this day. Obviously I'm hanging on because the taste of JK/Bills success was so sweet (minus the excruciating SB losses), I need to feel that at least once more in my lifetime.

Definite potential to be even better than Talley or Conlan were, based on what he brings to the table with his physical skillset--pair that with maturing linebacking smarts, and there's no ceiling for this guy anytime soon

There was definitely a lot of interest in Edmunds, I highly doubt he would've lasted much later in the 1st: https://billswire.usatoday.com/2018/07/03/buffalo-bills-linebacker-tremaine-edmunds-was-nearly-a-miami-dolphins/

Has anyone taken a look at the Jets and/or Cardinals boards to see what kind of measured, composed thoughts and insights their fan bases are up to?

We could use some serious upgrades in the OC department to maximize whatever supporting talent around Allen that there is. Someone else commented that it would not be a good look for McD to fire his 2nd OC in 4 games such that it probably wouldn't happen, but it also was not a good look to have to pull Peterman after a half of football (twice) after inserting him as the starter (twice), and yet, he did it for the good of the team, regardless of how it made him look. So I'm not convinced that McD isn't capable of pulling a plug here or there if he thinks that it's necessary regardless of his own ego. The bigger question is how does it affect his credibility with ownership as I'm sure he originally sold Daboll to Terry at the time of hire...

Hilarious. Torture numbers and they’ll admit to anything. Next thread please!

^^^^Bingo.

Normally don't put much stock in anything that Rodak puts out there (his articles are usually ghost-written by Captain Obvious for starters), but I'm listening... I know it's a pipe dream, but would you still feel the same way if they were traded for semi-decent offensive linemen who could instantly buy JA an extra .5 to 1 second in the pocket?

I'll take Tebow

Hey it would be incredibly boring if we all agreed on this, and I for one don't want to attack anyone who voices concerns with Allen. He's by no means Kelly of any of Kelly's years here yet. Instead, he is what he is--a rookie in his first couple starts who's going to screw things up hopefully a little less than he gets things right over the course of this season, but is also incredibly gifted, more so than anyone around here since Kelly retired, therefore all of the hope/hype. But IMO any real analysis of how he's doing so far, has to also start with what he has to work with any given Sunday: http://www.oleantimesherald.com/sports/pollock-blaming-allen-for-bills-loss-misses-point/article_8a74cec6-c534-11e8-8182-8bc9caac653b.html

Again, my point was that rookie QB's, regardless of whether they end up turning out alright or not, will have uneven (and in some cases, outright putrid) results during that rookie campaign (always exceptions I know, such as Marino, Roethlisberger)--era played in doesn't affect that general truth (see also Manning's first couple stat lines/record rookie year). I chose Aikman's example for the simple reason that his was so astonishingly bad. And while we're on the subject of rookie campaigns, Sam Darnold as a "can't miss" most "pro-ready" QB allegedly of this draft, is enduring his share of Jets fans already calling him a bust. Really? https://empirewritesback.com/2018/09/26/new-york-jets-sam-darnold-bust-talk-ridiculous-even-jets-fans/ We can say the same thing for Allen

I'm about to hopefully get a "After he tackled the quarterback, he was giving him the business down there" call of my own??

Even the great Belichick has been known to flub talent evaluation (lately he repeated the Coleman mistake of an experiment)--it's an inexact science, hence the continual turnover in the league at the GM position. How many 1st round busts litter the history of the league again? Get the QB right, and most all else will be forgiven. If history shows that they did hit right on Allen, nothing else needs to be said.

I will grant you there are many questions that need to be answered by this regime--what answers they provide will hopefully pay off quicker than later, but this year is looking more and more like moral victories at most can be hoped for.

I'm not trying to compare eras or discuss how much those are the same or different. All I am trying to point out, is that the overall circumstances faced by rookies who carry high expectations, can be overwhelming and appear to produce a bust, when just a little bit of patience could go a long way. This is not to say that automatically having patience will produce good results, as we still don't know obviously how all of this will play out with Allen. But there are comparisons to be made with future HOF QB's having to take their lumps, regardless of era played in.

Maybe it's the eternal optimist in me, or simply refusing to believe that the Bills could screw up QB again after Kelly, so I took the liberty of digging a little bit into the rookie seasons of another HOF great QB that others have also posted about as a point of comparison, Troy Aikman, who endured (and his fanbase by extension) one of the most cursed rookie campaigns (1-15) of all time in 1989 before hitting SB glory (starting with 2x against our beloved Bills of course). As a side note, his supporting cast in 1989 already included a lot of the names some of you old enough will remember from their SB run, including Ken Norton Jr., Jim Jeffcoat, Daryl (Moose) Johnston, Mark Stepnoski, et. al. Oh, and that one win? Aikman wasn't even on the field for that, as Steve Walsh, the other QB Dallas drafted that year since no one was 100% sold on Aikman coming out either, started for 5 games while Aikman sat injured. So take heart fellow Bills fans, and let these quick hits of why Aikman's rookie year will still wind up as worse than Allen's (through Week 4, was for sure) hopefully make you feel a little less jumpy this morning: (1) Local media hated the 1st round pick: http://thecomeback.com/freezingcoldtakes/nfl/troy-aikman-dallas-cowboys-draft-blew-it.html Nothing that happened in 1989 would have done anything to make Al Carter of the Houston Chronicle think that he was barking up the wrong tree...probably a good thing that he didn't have a Twitter account back then to whip up the fanbase into a further frenzy with his "hot" takes of how Aikman was a bust. (2) For a proud franchise which was used to a dynasty of success under Staubach and Landry, going 1-15 in 1989 was actually almost inexplicably worse than going 3-13 in 1988, yet the Cowboys managed to do just that, and Jimmy Johnson somehow survived without being run out on a rail.(The patience paid off Bills fans...) (3) Week 4 of the 1989 season featured the Cowboys going down in flames to the Giants, 30-13, dropping them to 0-4 on the year, and, Aikman left the game with a broken finger, and lost valuable starting reps for the next 5 weeks after that. (Can you even imagine this happening to Allen yesterday??) (4) Aikman's gaudy statistics, especially his completion % and TD/INT ratio in the games that he did start that year, would make even Peterman blush. How would all of you enjoy watching a 52.9% completion rate, double the picks with 18 versus 9 TD's, and a paltry 6.0 yards per completion average?? http://www.nfl.com/player/troyaikman/2499369/careerstats (5) Aikman's O-line surrendered 19 sacks where the pounding he took set the stage for his chronic back and concussion issues which dogged his career. Here's a nice "lookout" block from the interior of his line in 1989 as a visual aid: However, it is also undisputed that the nucleus of the line in 1989 resulted in excellent line play in the years following. Final Note: before "Peterman threw 5 picks" points this out for me, Steve Walsh appears to have been a more serviceable backup to Aikman than Peterman is to Allen--so there's one point where maybe the analogy comes out worse for us. But other than that, who in 1989 could have foreseen what was to come based on what happened Aikman's rookie year? FYI, his numbers his sophomore campaign weren't a ton better, but there was steady improvement with the patience shown.

Have no issue with Reich making the call—players have to execute. As for the kick, I also think trying to ice the kicker was also pretty much obligatory: https://mixpanel.com/blog/2016/11/22/nfl-data-icing-the-kicker/ finally, would’ve loved to have Reich as a HC also.

Not a thrilling compilation, but here goes: https://billswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/30/buffalo-bills-wide-receivers-free-agents-jeremy-maclin-markus-wheaton-kenny-britt/4/

Honestly is it too soon to start the “Shady may be succumbing to the inevitable 30 wall for RBs” whispering campaign? He’s shown nothing, injury or not, so far this year. I don’t want to be that guy who overreacts over nothing, but I feel like Shady’s been flying under the radar and getting a pass based on what he’s done previously. And he wasn’t even on the field for our only good offensive showing so far...

??????Tip of the cap to JA standing up there and not taking the bait when offered, to in any way shape or form deflect blame for the offensive woes on his teammates—though I wouldn’t fault him if he did with that sorry “supporting” cast. You could tell he’d just survived a gauntlet of fire but kept his cool and composure, and I respect the heck out of this kid’s attitude and willingness to shoulder it all, including all of the blame, rightly or wrongly. That’s leadership guys can get behind. Just wish our next game was tomorrow so we can flush the taste of this one down the drain that much quicker...

So I just read this barrel of laughs by our intrepid Pats fan who doubles as the ESPN Bills beat guy—my question is, what personnel moves could he possibly be referring to?? Our roster is what it is and I don’t know how you do anything major in the short term (unless by eventual he means next year) as it’s not like we are about to enter into a free agency signing fiesta this week. Mike Rodak ESPN Staff Writer The Bills seemed to move closer to eventual personnel changes around rookie QB Josh Allen after being shut out by the Packers, 22-0, for the first time since 2008. Allen was sacked seven times and received little help from LeSean McCoy (five carries, 24 yards) or Kelvin Benjamin (one catch, 34 yards on six targets). Allen finished 16 of 33 for 151 yards and two interceptions, including an ill-advised heave late in the first half. Buffalo gained only 145 yards, their fewest since 2006 and only the fourth time they have gained 145 or fewer yards since 1980.

I feel like every rep will help, so long as he takes what he needs to learn from them and not let it destroy his confidence when he gets knocked down—all of the great ones had to take their lumps and he is no exception to that rule. Mama said there’d be days like this, right?

At least we know our role

Thanks! Nothing was going to help today though apparently

Also bet a work buddy of mine who’s a big Packer fan, a cool six pack on this game, no points, straight up. But before you ask, no I don’t have a receipt to prove it.