Beck Water

Well, in 2022 when the Dolphins played the Ravens, the Poe-Birds took their foot off the gas and shamefully let the Fins back into it scoring 28 points in the 4th quarter, including a go-ahead TD drive with 2 minutes left. So the Dfans think "we did it once, we can do it again", ignoring the fact that last year's Ravens flapped their way to a 10-7 record on the backs of a #3 defense and #19 offense. This season #1 defense and #4 offense, Poe-birds not quite the same foe for the Fins. But the above is how the Dfans see it. As for the Bills, they see an inconsistent team that lost to a Broncos team they (the Fins) humiliated and to a Patriots team they thumped pretty well. So they're doing that transitive property thing.

I think we were all frustrated by their play. I expected the Bills to struggle a bit - when players who could, potentially, play in a critical game (Questionable status) are held out (Epenesa, DaQuan Jones, Ty Johnson etc), I think players "take a message" from that. But I didn't expect the Bills to make Dingleberry errors (Cook 2 fumbles 1 loss, Harty a muff, Allen a bad pick), and I did expect them to assert control. Right On (pretty sure Leonard Floyd said it was him, and he is the only Bill with double digit sacks so....). There are always a handful of called or uncalled penalties, made or missed plays that can swing a game, and the Bills have had 5 close games that swung against them this season. Yes, exactly. We can even do the Chiefs game and say if the Chiefs had been properly called for a hands to the face penalty to Josh Allen on the Bills prior drive, it would have extended the drive and the Chiefs aren't on the field for Toney's faux pas.

In addition if the Ravens win, they clinch the 1-seed and the bye? Hoo Baby Go Poe-Birds!

I think that's probably true of every NFL star. I don't for a minute expect that the Josh Allen face we see and the carefully crafted words he says, are the same he is every moment of the day and in private. Do you? But yes, Mahomes has had great success and it does seem to have bred a sense of entitlement there.

This is reality. Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and KC all arguably played inferior teams this week - and lost. For Cincy, Jake Browning aka "who is this *****in' guy?" against Jax, Indy, and Minn, came down to earth with a *thump* throwing 3 picks and fumbling. In the Minshew/Heinicke bowl, 'ol Masculine Mustache threw a pick at the worst time. KC looked awful vs the Raiders, a 6-8 team lead by a 4th round rookie from that football powerhouse, Purdue: Pacheco fumbled, Mahomes threw a pick. And while it's two top tier teams battling it out, the Ravens came into the 49ers home, dug up their dirt, and planted daisies in it which they fertilized with 4 "Purdy Good" interceptions and some Christian McCaffrey tears. Reality is that lesser teams beat good teams every week. Especially at this time of the year, teams who are out of it play free and loose to delight in playing "spoiler", and top teams start looking past this week's game, past the end of the season towards playoffs. The Bills played badly enough to lose, with TWO (not one) Cook fumbles and a bad Josh Allen pick. They didn't lose, like Cincy Indy Jax, KC, and the 9ers did: they won. That's reality, The End.

If victory was sealed with 1:15 on the clock and 3 time outs for the opponent, the Bills woulda been in the 2021 AFCCG for real with 13 seconds remaining vs KC

Your point of view is fine, we agree you're entitled. But "reality" means "actual or true". Phenomenon like the sun rising, an accident on the road, a squirrel or squirrels biting through the holiday lights wound around the trees in our front yard - those are reality. Drivers suck around this time of year due to holiday stress and trying to do too much for the holidays thus causing accidents, or squirrels get drawn to our yard by the birdfeeders then get territorial about the trees, is my opinion or point of view. Nothing personal, it just irritates me when people try to press their point of view (to which we agree, you are entitled) on other people by telling them to "accept reality" as in your OP "Why is it so hard for fans to admit reality" No, it's not "reality" it's "your point of view"

It’s kind of rough when the ref falls down and pulls up his legs so that he trips you to cause a safety.

Sherfield wasn’t an attempt to replace Crowder. He was an attempt to replace Kumerow on ST. Network doesn’t show enough for me to tell; how successful was that? Gunners don’t show too much on the stat sheet. I don’t think there’s a lot of question Sherfield >> Kumerow as a receiver. (Yes I said that at the time of the signing, I have the receipts) Beane explicitly said they saw Harty as slotting into their #4/5 WR role. In 2021, when that was McKenzie’s role, he racked up a mighty 20 receptions for 178 yards in 24% of the offensive snaps. Superficially, Harty has not done vast well with 14 receptions for 138 yds, but he’s only seen the field for 15% of the snaps. As far as #3 WR, the Bills plan was to have Kincaid factor in with more 2 TE sets, and also to have Shakir step up. Since Shakir has put up 460+ yds and Kincaid 500+, Shakir has been rocking 48% of the offensive snaps vs. 54% McKenzie had last year. So it’s a reasonable case that Shakir has had about the same productivity as McKenzie. PS as far as your points about the silliness of claiming the Bills need worse WR a la Zerovoltz you’re right on that of course

That's basically it. We think we should beat some of these teams in blowouts, then we don't and fans yelp "aint it awful". Reality is that every athlete in the NFL is amazing at a level most of us can't imagine. You know "that kid" who was easily the star of every sport he played when your kids were in high school? He washed out of a DII team after 2 years. The incredibly athletic big guy who just DOMINATES the pick up volleyball game at the company canoe trip? He played DI ball, signed as an UDFA, and was cut from the Raiders at the final 53. They offered him a practice squad spot but he decided he didn't "like pain enough" to play football at the professional level and fell back on his industrial engineering degree. The practice squad guys on the worst teams are still incredible athletes, and the difference between winning and losing a game can be the attitude and energy the guys take into preparation and then the game. A guy like Cook who was extra-sore from a fantastic game last week and then battling illness this week is probably putting himself back on the level of being an ordinary athlete and being susceptible to ordinary athletes '***** him up' with fumbles, just as Micah Parsons was against us last week.

"Reality" around here usually means "align with my personal point of view"

Too much information

Scroll down https://www.buffalobills.com/team/players-roster/ *ding*ding*ding*ding* He has a pregnant partner and it must have hit him hard to think he might not be able to hold his son.

Yeah I need a road map for these things myself many times.

The Chargers social media team likes anime social media videos. https://www.chargers.com/video/chargers-anime-schedule-release-2023-edition They troll each of their opponents (usually in a fairly classy way) based on the previous season. So for the Titans, they show Derrick Henry being rebuilt as part cyborg, they show Dallas throwing Dak Prescott under the bus etc. The Bills (1:37 or so in there) shows Von Miller, Josh, and Poyer (I think) standing in front of a burning console with the Bills 4 Superbowl appearances on it and "Burn It All" (what Von said before the season), then Diggs standing off at a distance watching. So the Bills social media team was trolling them back

I understand different folks have different viewpoints, but I had a little look and I didn't see you expressing this view last week after the Cowboys game. Can it be you're a bit of a...Weather Vane?

Heh.

In other words, you have a dogmatic religious belief on this topic?

Indeed

Needs to hold onto the rock better first. Sleep with the damned thing or carry it around with you, Cookie.

From Hero to Zero in 60 damned minutes. Let's hope he was suffering lingering effects from his mid-week illness.

He’s on IR

OK - well, who do you see on the team as a top talent? Allen, obviously Diggs but he's been kind of invisible the last 5 games for whatever reason Kincaid is coming along nicely but not quite there yet, top defenders can still blank him That could have been a breakout game for Cook, we'll see We don't have a "dynamic duo" at WR like Hill and Waddle with a dynamic RB pair like Achane and Mostert. We don't have a 'terrific trio" like Chase, Higgins, and Boyd or AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert. We don't have a ''quality quartet" like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle. On the defense - Oliver Floyd Rousseau But I think they would be regarded as 2nd tier relative to TJ Watt, Khalil Mack, Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, Josh Allen, Chris Jones, one of the Bosa bros. We have aging talent at safety and no-names at CB right now I don't have to agree with his opinion, but objectively I can see where he's coming from. I think actually Cosell's credibility should increase, not because you agree with him, but because people question whether OBLive is just homers and rose-colored glasses. The fact that Cosell feels comfortable coming on there and giving his frank opinion even if it's negative should speak to that.

Let 'em chirp. Save their receipts. Correct

Exactly. So that's why it's not quite a game plan that "Kyle Allen could have delivered".