Simon

Only two people thought this was funny? Damn, I must be slippin'. Anyhoo, here is what I think is going on. Last year I think Mr Poyer learned a very hard (and very expensive) lesson about how to manage his health throughout a long season. At the very beginning of last year he was absolutely trying to murder any viable target that came within 10yrds of him, repeatedly throwing his body at full speed and exposed, awkward angles at large armored athletes on practically every series. Needless to say, this is not a strategy that is conducive to playing 16 football games in a row. And sure enough by later in the year, he was a shell of himself being held together by duct tape and bailing wire. I think what we're seeing right now is a smarter, more veteran Poyer trying to play a much more controlled game, preserve his health and assure that when things get really important later in the year that he will be ready to go at full speed. Is it a good idea? I think it is, both for Poyer and for the Bills. It may lead to fewer kill shots and fewer turnovers in the short term, but if it leads to a healthy Poyer in the playoffs, it will have been well worth it. I fully expect to see a transition at some point in December where that heedless assassin begins to re-emerge in games against playoff worthy rivals; and I hope he does it wisely enough that when elimination games start he can step on the field and once again start trying to murder everybody in a different colored shirt.

100% agreed; praise and hype are murder on a football team. But I am getting the sense this group just might be beyond that now.

Not going to stifle conversation by closing it, but I'll unpin it after lunch.

Dear Jordan Poyer doubters, Bite me. Yours truly, Simon

If you don't think that not having Tre White in a playoff game won't affect the outcome, you might want to give yourself a jab in the ribs while you're at it.

Thanks for helping Nic out by bringing him into a good thread here.

The Bills D front was winning before Armstead went down; it might not be a stretch to say that part of the reason he got hurt is because the Phish OL was taking an already increasing ass-kicking when it happened.

Yeah, Benford is fine and the secondary is still going to be mostly adequate, probably even "good" because of the Front 7. But Tre was back to Tre again and that created a lot of options for McDermott on defense that are no longer going to be there. They'll likely give up more points and have less turnovers without White out there. And I think that Poyer learned a hard lesson last year and as a result is now playing the long game so he's not being held together with duct tape and bailing wire in December; I love that y'all are doubting him.

Agreed up until the middle of the 3rd qrtr today. That's going to sting the rest of the way home.

That humor had some depth and got me too. I want some of what that feller is puffin......

The jets got cornholed in the last 5 minutes, but that wasn't a grounding penalty. He was hit as he was throwing toward an eligible receiver.

Absolutely. I was far more emotionally invested in that game than I've been all year, to the point where my wife was laughing at me storming around the living room on 3rd downs. After Tre got hurt, I sat down and didn't make a peep the rest of the game.

Depends on who he's dating at the time.....

I don't disagree with the general sentiment but there was virtually zero chance of that ball being completed into that particular coverage.

He came back in the game and played a couple series after Tre went down. It will be tender but he can go with it.

He's allowed to have contact at that depth as long as he's not yanking on him. His hands are open enough that you can actually see his fingers. When you consider the man under coverage and the down/distance, it is a very strange place to throw a borderline flag where he couldn't even really see the engagement from his angle. Combine it with the egregious holding a couple plays earlier and that's two calls in the last 5 minutes of a tight game that altered possession. It's a really, really bad look.

Either that or just make it a 10yrd penalty without the automatic 1st down.

His hand was open, you can actually see the separation between his fingers. That's a trash call, particularly in that coverage.

You're going to have to wait til 2024

I cannot believe he threw that flag in that coverage

That's going to be a meme tomorrow

Thats got to be coming back wiht offsetting fouls

Don't fluff those pillows yet, fellas

I gave them a game ball in the thread; they were great. Only time it was quiet was the stunned silence after Tre went down.