Beck Water

I would just like to go on record once more to say that in my opinion, Trevor Lawrence looks like a horse. A well-bred horse, of course, but still. This game should be the "Lee Smith Memorial Game" since for once, he can wholeheartedly root for both his former Bills team AND his home-state Titans.

My point is, I see two possible major causal factors for Bills poor offense down the stretch: 1) injuries to starting QB passing anatomy 2) questions about the competence of the OC That doesn't mean our roster build for next season will be cinchy, but neither of those require heavy bidding in FA or sifting through ashes to fix.

OK, so "no excuses" means if the Bills do not win this game, their roster construction is fatally flawed and they should burn it down? (I'm just trying to understand) What about Josh Allen's shoulder, now neck and finger, injuries? The mysterious plummet in Diggs snaps and effectiveness? And, for whatever reason, the comparative ineffectiveness of our offense for the last 2 weeks? I don't want to enter a debate about "excuses", but while I agree that if the Bills don't win this, they don't deserve to be in the playoffs - it seems to me that they might have a pretty good roster build with a couple injured key players (including the most important one) and possibly with an OC who really isn't up to the job Whoever Rapaport and Pelissero's sources may be. They typically don't report unless they have pretty good sources. But also, stuff changes, right? Mitch Morse was "questionable", now he has been revised to no game day status meaning he's good to go.

Ahem. Do not believe that this game is over if the Bills are up by 3 TDs in the third Q. Baltimore Ravens did just that thing on September 18, 2023...and then....

I don't think you should overlook losing Jordan Phillips at 3TDT, and DaQuan Jones being back for 1 week after rehabbing a surgically repaired torn pec. Tim Settle << Phillips. The DL position is not at full strength, for sure. IMHO this is all about Josh Allen's shoulder. Now you add in a sore neck and a finger injury. All that stuff going on with your star starting QB is no bueno. Then, there's the Mystery of the Plummeting Snap Counts for Diggs. And if one more pundit opines that having Bernard has made up for losing Milano I will seriously lose my shite. Yo, media dudes. Milano was playing NEXT to Bernard for the start of the season. Dodson is playing for Milano.

I keep reading this. What does it even mean "no excuses"? If they "no longer" have excuses does it mean they did at one point, and what were they? I'll hang up and listen.

They're related and tend to show up at the same time, for better and for worse. Could we have excellent professional NFL QB Josh who showed up in the 2021 playoffs I mean, isn't that pretty much what happens to some extent after every game and certainly after every big game? Josh said it win, and you're the greatest, unstoppable, fantastic; lose and you should cut everyone and fire all the coaches. Cruel and unusual punishment. Too cruel. Just the Hard Rock Guitar Hotel Test ought to do it.

Let's start with taking care of business in Miami and earning the 2 seed tomorrow night

I'll be delighted to see it. That would be huge. But even though I know Rapoport and Pelissero are reliable, I remain skeptical.

I mean, you or I could probably walk pretty well onto the airplane and travel with the team, What's Your Point here?

You have some great points in your full post. I can't disagree that the Bills have prioritized DL. I don't think it's supportable to say "above all else in every single year Beane has been here". I think the use of a 1st round pick to trade for Diggs, when it was clear we had a good 1-2 punch in Brown and Beasley already on the roster, argued a commitment to a quality WR corps. I mean, if Beane prioritized DL above all else, why not skip the Diggs trade and try to chase after a DLman there? Or go for a FA acquisition then and draft a WR, in what was a pretty rich draft? Beane wanted to give Allen a sure bet at a seasoned and crafty vet WR, and he did. I can't fault that. And having the #2 offense, #3 passing offense that year and #3 offense, top-10 passing offense the following year makes it a bit revisionist to argue that what was on the field for the Bills in 2020 and 2021 showed that Beane hadn't done enough, offensively. I think after 13 seconds it looked to most of us like it was the defense that faltered - and hasn't that been a theme for most of us, throughout this season until the script flipped the last handful of games? A friend of ours works professionally with wild animals. They like to say "it's always OK, until it isn't" - meaning unsafe things can be perceived as acceptable, "never had a problem", until one day they do. I think where Beane went awry was after 2021, in assuming that Davis, Crowder, McKenzie, and a 5th round draft pick were adequate to replace Saunders (who replaced Brown for a year) and Beasley. They weren't, and they still aren't, although Shakir is looking as though he may have something now. Kincaid may have been a good start, but he's got to do more.

But Moss showed good hands in both Buffalo & Indy

I think lack of urgency hurt them too, so

He is. I think they were going for the “Ha! They’ll never expect us to throw to this guy!” factor.

Guy had 6 receptions on the year

Welcome to the playoffs, Houston! ”Minshew and Goodson will think about that all night long” - I think you’re off by about 180 nights, Aikman

Is it just me or do the Colts seem as though they have no sense of urgency here?

I like the go for two and fail scenario but unless the FG kicker suddenly develops acute diarrhea I don’t know why they would.

Eh. We need to take care of business, our own business. If we do, we make it. If we don’t, take care of your own business next time.

OK, so answer with a ruddy here, go for 2 and fail - here we come tie! Crazy that the Colts have not converted a 3rd down as of yet.

I root for him too, but he wasn’t on the field at the time. I’ll be rooting for him on the next drive since Taylor is out

Uh oh , 6 point game…does that make a tie more or less likely?

Bills fans want a tie Pittsburgh fans want a tie And 1st and goal, there goes the tie

I know, right? “We screwed up so just forget about the positive yards you just gained - Me bad, do over”