Beck Water

Actually right now, I think the ones who should be embarrassed are those who wanted to take Beane to the woodshed for his total waste of a 3rd round pick on Terrel Bernard (and Dorian Williams seems to be showing some promise as well - knock wood) Click on the text of the tweet so that a direct link shows in the browser window. Then copy that link and paste it in.

I do believe that's what "What, you want some of this?" means

Nice writeup as always, Shaw. To this point: I'm not going to say the Bills dominated, I'm not going to say the Bills didn't dominate. But, it's a fact that the score was 32-6, and that 10 of those points came off turnovers. Is that "only 10 of those 32 points came off turnovers, so they still would have won by 16 points", or is that "and 10 of those 32 points came off turnovers, it would have been only a 16 point win"? Potayto, Potahtoe? The Bills sustained 4 drives of more than 4 minutes and 4 drives of 8 or more plays (not the same drives), which some would take as a sign of offensive dominance. On the other hand, 4 drives ended with a FG, including a drive from the Jets 21 and the Buff 46, which is typically not so dominant. Tomayto, Tomahtoe? Yes

I don't know the specific numbers, but to prevent newbies who don't know the ropes here being disruptive by starting a thread for their every thought, there's a limit on how long you must be a member and how many posts you must have before you can start threads. Those exact numbers are closely guarded wisdom revealed to only a sacrosanct few after a secret ceremony involving a skull full of Possum stew, a set of Zubaz apparel, and a bottle of Lagavulin. Just kidding on the ceremony, if I explained what was really involved @Simon would have to kill me, but the part about the newbie limits on time and # posts before starting threads is correct.

Did Simms provide any information to back up his statment that "Shakir is a stronger option on the boundary"? People say a lot of stuff - for example, that Shakir isn't fast enough for a boundary receiver; he ran a 4.43 40 vs. Davis 4.56 and Diggs 4.46. My perception about Shakir on the boundary is that he doesn't have the release to gain separation, especially against press man - he's better this year than last but still - and that he doesn't have the arm length to win against hand fighting (29" arms which is 2-3" shorter than Diggs or Davis.) I think Simms knows something, but I'm not exactly sure what Simms is seeing when he says that.

I dunno about part- vs. full- time or necessary salary, but it's pretty clear to me that the league doesn't do enough to develop and sustain consistent and appropriate officiating. We have officials who are, well, officious, like the guy who threw AJ Epenesa out of the game after the ref shoved Epenesa in the back and Epenesa reacted and pulled up when he saw it was a ref. And we have ridiculousness like that DPI call on Douglas (31) And that DPI play - wasn't that the play where one of the Jets WR basically laid Micah Hyde out with a block, before the ball was in the air?

In this instance, I think Phillips was breaking it up. He stepped in while a couple other Bills assistants/trainers muscled Dion out of there. It looked almost surgically precise - neat footwork and he had his arms up from the start until they got Clemons backed off, then he just stood there like "What, you want some of this?" That'd be Josh. Though rumor (from a know-nothing named Micah Hyde) said that Matt Milano was the biggest trash-talker on the D - wasn't clear if he meant internal or external though.

I hope so..... Yeah, that was BigJ9797 both hands up walking the mass of Jets surrounding Clemons back away from the door ..... and then just standing there like "really?"

FTR, Davis played 93%, 99%, 98% and 88% of the snaps the last for games. Shakir played 65%, 71%, 76%, 74%. I don't THINK that points to Davis being superceded as the #2. I think for this game, anyway, it points to Josh being smarter with taking what the defense offered and being patient. I think it's 4. 3 targeting Harty, 2 Diggs, 2 Knox, 1 Kincaid I think the INT to Kincaid was that deflection that came nowhere near him. Pretty sure at least 2 of the 3 INT to Hardy were deep shots, like the end-of-half this past game.

Agree. Which is not to say that there might not have been a bit of a scrum if they hadn't been separated by wiser heads, but then again - maybe they felt free to go on like that because there WERE wiser heads there to separate them? You know how you can have dogs separated by a fence, and they snarl and bark and growl at each other, then the fence disappears and they're like "What? No, no problem here...."

Davis? People forget the splendid games he did turn in for the Bills. 4 receptions on 4 targets for 87 yds against IND, 2020. Clutch clutch sideline toe taps. We don't get to the AFCCG without him. The 201 yd, 10 target 8 reception game against KC that took us to 13 seconds. 6 receptions on 9 targets, 113 yds against Miami last year. And there have been regular season games too - 2022 3 receptions 171 yds against Pittsburgh, 6 rec 93 against Minn. This season 6 for 92 against the Raidahs, 6 for 100 against Jax, 9 for 87 against Tampa. Yes, he's a good downfield blocker (run or pass) but he's also been a key receiving target at times. As fans we get recency bias and we want to be absolute. The problem the coaches and FO face, is when they have a guy who shows flashes and who can take over the game at times, then disappears at others. Do you part ways, in favor of an unproven rookie or a player from another team? Or do you give your own guy more playing time and a chance to let the flashes turn into a steady light? That's where the Bills FO has made some mistakes the last couple years, thinking that Davis was ready to be a full time #2 with Sanders retiring, and that McKenzie would be OK as a full time slot with the Bills moving on from Beasley. This season, that Hardy would be a step up on McKenzie and that Davis was hampered last year with a lingering ankle and would be better this year. Anyway, point is, for coaches and for the FO, I don't think the picture is generally so absolute as fans want to make it. Gabe's been averaging 5 targets and 3 receptions per game this season. That's a lot of targets for a guy who's around as a run blocker.

Yes. Beane didn't say "for the year". He said they were thinking of shutting him down and letting it heal up. Time not specified, that I heard. Corroborating evidence: Beane had said in the post-trade presser that Elam had been dealing with an ankle injury from back in training camp.

That's my interpretation of McDermott's remarks. Either Harris has lingering concussion symptoms (as Kolb does), OR, he had a vision of himself as paralyzed and unable to hold his expected child that overcame any love for football or desire to continue his football career. He really should be able to, at some level. Spotrac puts his career earnings at $5.7M, that's not private-jet-for-life money, but it's live in a nice house and send your kids to private school money if he's done anything prudent with most of it. This is part of my frustration with the current state of officiating in the NFL. It makes such a huge difference to the outcome whether or not DPI and DH are actually called according to rule.

Wait I'm so confused I thought Smiley should have been fired at halftime yesterday I can't keep up

But here’s the thing. In the past, when the Bills (especially under Frazier) made the safe “defend the sticks, keep it in front of you” choice on 3rd down, but then imperfect zone or tackling allowed the opponents offense to convert, there was a lot of second-guessing here about the “soft” approach, and calls for a more attacking defense that would send pressure 🤷‍♂️

There was a rule change for the 2020 season where any player who is placed on IR during the regular season is eligible to return. This year there’s a maximum of 7 IR’d players who may return, and they must be on IR a minimum of 4 games. So Elam could be designated to return after next week

I don’t know if Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane will win a Super Bowl with the Buffalo Bills But I’m pretty sure Sean McDermott has forgotten more football than Warren Sharp knows.

YOLO! Where the heckin’ heck have you been?

Wait, Wat?

I think the decision to limit the QB run game (designed and scramble) is a strategic decision by McDermott, yes, and strongly influences the offensive tactics during the game as well as the way defenses prepare and play us. I think within that framework, Dorsey has a lot of autonomy. Part of the issue, IMO, is sheer WR talent. The Bills don't have the WR talent (IMO) that they had in 2020 with Diggs, Brown (and Gabe subbing in), and Beasley; and in 2021 with Diggs, Sanders (and Gabe subbing in) and Beasley. Even McKenzie, much as he was a whipping boy here and contracts not withstanding, is looking like a more talented #4/gadget guy than Hardy is showing so far. Then there's Allen's in-game decision making, which is vexing at times. The thing is, other top offenses manage to cope without running their QB 6x/game for 45-50 ypg. But where that's true, they may have better talent at WR/OL.

Yes, of course. Whether it's the right thing or will be effective, can't tell you.

This is just my opinion, but I thought the Bills played like they didn't want to be in Cincinnati in that stadium playing the Bengals that night. I think if you looked at different tape of our lines and of the Bengals lines against different opponents, you might think the opposite. I'd love some of the guys here who have played, especially on OL or DL to comment, but I've been told (by players/former players at different levels) that "defense (meaning DL) is a state of mind" and "you win in your mind first" (that from a HOF LT). That's what's behind Marv Levy's "where else would you rather be than right here, right now" and Poyer's "Be where your feet are". You have to 100% be in the game, mentally and physically, or you make mental mistakes on your assignment and get physically whupped. And if you do get physically whupped on a play, you have to flush it and focus on the next play. People think football players are big dumb galoots and maybe there's some of that at the HS and at the lower college level, but professional football is clearly an elite mental game that also involves beating the crap out of the guy you're assigned to beat. Yes, guys can and will at times be physically overmatched, but at the professional level there's not usually that huge of a difference between backups and starters that an un-dinged backup who is 100% mentally in the game and physically revved up can't hold his own or beat an opposing starter who is a bit dinged (by mid season they all are), hesitant (thinking too much) or mentally, just a little bit somewhere else. I think that stadium and evening right now is Bad Times, Bad Times for the Bills and they're all thinking about it. They're trying not to think about it - no doubt they've talked things through as a team and in position meetings and their sports psychologists and chaplains have been busy. But there's a "don't think about elephants" aspect. Even for players who are not super-stitious but only a "little stitious" it brings back very bad times. I thought having Damar brought into the locker and into a suite during the Bengals playoff game backfired on the team. And I think having Damien Harris injured earlier this season and carted off hit them hard and carried over into the following week. I don't know how the coaches get the team over this. I think this may be one area where McDermott's coaching style of building a family where the players get to know about each other's backgrounds and lives and where he tries also to get to know the players as people and make it clear he's concerned about them and cares about them as people, may work against him a bit vs. a coach who keeps his distance and just chews ass. And I think McDermott gets a bit overloaded on weeks like this, where he's trying to be HC, DC, and keep an open door for any concerns. Yeah, the Bengals were there too, but Damar isn't THEIR teammate and brother, and they were shortly afterwards able to get fired up to a froth by the idea of how unfair the league's solution was to them. Maybe there's a lesson there, in that I'm sure the coaches played their part in "selling" that idea and frothing them up.

They don't get extra practice reps. The number of practices per week and the total number of padded practices per season are governed by the CBA. The coaches may put extra days into film watching or game planning, and probably do - football coaches are "built different" and have to be told to shower and to go home.

Why would you expect McDermott to throw one of his coaches under the bus in public?

Ha. Well, we'll learn what body part and whether or not they practiced.