Beck Water

Please define "normal defense". The Lions are the #1 offense in the NFL on points, #1 for 1st D, #2 on yards, #3 on Yards per play, #3 on NY/A passing, top-10 in rush yards/A and fewest turnovers. In short, they're pretty damned good, their coach is as aggressive AF, and wasn't over until it was over. I believe it was @GunnerBill who said your defense needs to get 4 stops per game to give you a winning chance against a top team. 3 punts and a fumble to go with a missed FG for each side. The defense got 4 stops today, not counting the missed FG Our defense only got 2 stops against the Rams to match the 2 stops they got on us One more stop, or no special teams miscue TD, and we win.

You don't need an x-ray for that, bro

Looked like shoulder, late. Worried about that, he's got a lot of hardware in one shoulder and a history of sprains in the other.

Let's start at the bottom and work back. Disagree no one played harder during his entire tenure. The OL...Beasley...Davis (results didn't always match but effort was there)....Milano...Taron Johnson just for a few. Hyde and Poyer, always going hard. Then there was the Steelers playoff game last year where he fumbled the first catch of the game, leading to a penalty as Kincaid alertly batted it out of bounds...he was taking himself off the field and sometimes half assing his routes when the play design didn't come to him. And he wasn't exactly a terror as a downfield blocker. Disagree he was "literally the only player on the team who gave any effort" in the Bengals playoff game. 4 receptions on 10 targets for 35 yards? Those weren't all uncatchable balls. He was given his opportunities, maybe too many opportunities instead of taking the underneath shots, and he didn't come through. Josh Allen laid it all on the line. There was not a "carousel" of OCs. He had Daboll for 3 years, then Dorsey for a year and a half. That's actually less turnover than most teams. You're entitled to your opinion that Diggs was not a dumbass. I think he's probably pretty smart, myself, but I also think he's a card-carrying narcissist and wants the name of leader when times are good, without actually doing the heavy lifting a true leader does in hard times.

This is actually not true. I will say this, though. He doesn't tend to change it up until it's proven not to work against a team. So if a team runs over us the next time we meet them he'll have something different. Example: 2021. First meeting with the Patriots, 222 rush yards. 2nd meeting, 149. 3rd meeting in playoffs, 89. The first meeting, they actually ran a good bit of 4-3 base with Tyrell Dodson substituting for Taron Johnson. Didn't work out very well. Second meeting, they ran a kind of "heavy nickel" with Siran Neal substituting for one of the DBs and if I recall correctly, some base and sometimes a 5th DL. Here's the thing. Practice time is limited during the season, and as fans, I don't think a lot of us realize how complex a modern NFL defense really is. Assignments can change pre-snap, post-snap, then based on the routes the receivers actually run - even "man" doesn't mean "that's your guy no matter what", especially if the defense is set up to create rub routes or they can play half field man, half field zone. So communication and being assignment-sound has to be considered when changing things up during the game. And the defense does try to confuse the offense, by disguising coverage, disguising who the pass rushers may be, and so forth. Just as an offense doesn't necessarily disguise what they're doing by changing personnel but by using the same personnel in different ways. An offense will tend to keep its best players on the field most plays, because they're the best players and because if they sub them out for a player who excels with specific plays, it's a "tell" to the defense. Same thing with substitutions on defense.

It's not always someone you love romantically. It can be an affectionate way to refer to a younger bro, cousin or nephew (even if they're now taller than you) or basically a kid. It's respectful in that sense. Also sometimes "shawty" It's used towards any woman, never heard it used in a derogatory sense towards a woman, kind of implies young and attractive. Like if you saw a young, attractive woman with car trouble and decided to stop and help, you might say "shawty needs a hand" as you flip your hazards on. It can be insulting used towards a random man, kind of implying he's a child or child-like but that's not how Diggs means it here, I think he means it like "brother" Hope this helps @RobbRiddick Nah it's like a general sort of affectionate term for your younger relatives or younger guys you grew up with. You knew them when they were short, even if they tower over you now. "I knew you when" kind of connotation.

Unfortunately, having a resectable (operable) tumor where placing a biliary stent is an option, is about the best outcome in this case, and as you said ....the best outcome is usually you buy a year or two. That can be important. My MIL bought 2 years with radiation and surgery for Leiomyosarcoma. In those two years, she saw her first great grandchild born and another grandchild marry. They were good years. It's not uncommon for the cancer to not be detected until it's spread so far that surgery really isn't possible. This was the case for my friend's brother and another friend's BIL

Um....you sure about that? Am I late to the fair, or did someone already discuss the impact of not practicing Thursday after a walk-through on Weds might have on the team?

It's the TBD equivalent of an email with the entire informational content in the title followed by <EOM> So-called after a former poster who found the practice annoying and beefed about it. Don't tamper with the text. It's "Alice...Alice...who the ***** is Alice??" where **** is a word rhyming with duck

You were responding to this: "The Niners play them twice a year, every year. " I'm sorry it wasn't clear, but the guy you were responding to nor I, made any claims about a WR screen being "freakish" or "unfamiliar". The point is, there are maybe 30? 40? plays in the game plan for the game. They're going to throw a WR screen at some point. They're going to execute other plays at other times. But in what circumstances? And what minor shifts in OL stance or position or QB cadence or anything else might be "tells" to the defense that the screen is coming? That's the point of the chap you were responding to (and mine). All teams run some variant of the same play. Division rivals get extra familiarity with the tendencies of their opponent because they play them so often. The Rams likely had extra insight into the Bills D because of the previous jobs and connections of their OC and DC. The Bills didn't. My comment about "freakazoids" was not that the WR screen is freakish, but that the Bills D doesn't depend on star players ("freakazoids", in Emmanuel Acho's words). Rather, it depends on all 11 guys going hard and working together as one unit. And on Sunday, the DL wasn't.

WTF? They were 100% in the game, too. I assume they told him to go home and not come back while they figure out how to handle it in terms of contract?

There's a couple of things. Yes, I think familiarity with scheme plays a role. The Bills don't have a lot of familiarity with the Rams scheme, but historically McDermott has been pretty good at shutting down Shanahan disciples, which I think McVay's offense still is. McDermott's defense is like a chronometer. Other defenses have 1-3 "freakazoids" who can single-handedly change the course of a game. On offense, we have Josh Allen, to whom that applies. On defense ?? Von Miller was supposed to be a freakazoid for us, but that only materialized for about 10.5 games. Someone here described the Bills defense as a Boa constrictor, there isn't a single part of the snake that seems particularly scary but in the end it strangles you. But, McDermott will tell you, it all starts up front and if the DL doesn't come out ready to own the LOS, it's going to be a hella long day, because it's an "all-11, everyone Do Your Job" sort of system. I do wonder if the defensive players feel some sort of way about having Milano dropped back into the lineup.

Joe Burrow says "Hi!"

Puca was making incredible catches but there's this: if the Bills don't get that punt blocked for 7 Rams points......if if if Point is the Rams are a good team, and at the end of the day they made a couple more plays than the Bills did. I'm having trouble parsing what you mean here. By "that game" do you mean Bills at Rams"? If you mean the Bills don't give that extra step, I think they do. The problem is it's hard to do 2-3 weeks in a row when the injury bug bites. They also come out oddly flat at times, which one would think has something to do with the coaches.

Nothing. The NFL has decided it's part of their mandatory media availability. Yes. They play each other twice a year, every year, and not only know, they see each others trends and tendencies. I made the point elsewhere that because Mike LaFleur was OC for the Jets 2 years (beat them with Zack Wilson and came damned close with Mike White) and because Chris Shula (Ram's DC) is nephew of Mike Shula (former Bills assistant, who likely feels Some Way about being passed over for Joe Brady), the Rams are probably closer to a division opponent of the Bills - but the Bills lack the same insight into the Rams. Still, it starts up front and the Bills OL and DL had their party hats on from beating the 49ers and did not come out feeling the need to be physical and dominate.

OK I think you need to look at the other side of the line as well. The 49ers are giving it everything they have, and the Bills weren't. Number of wins does count - they don't say "hey, you're really still 6-6 because the 7th loss was outside the conference".

There's kind of a causal relationship there. McDermott strongly believes in a DL rotation. That means instead of keeping 2 top-notch guys who play almost every snap and 2 backups who can play, you're trying to keep 4 top-notch guys and 2 backups who can play. Except you can't keep and pay 4 top-notch guys, so you wind up with 4 OK-to-good guys.

Both teams are fighting hard for their playoff existence. Rams gave it everything they had last week against the Bills. They're the "Battered and Dinged" sale this week. Bills still had their party hats on after clinching vs. SF Line play starts with the mind.

Smiley ought to be one crispy critter.

No

You forgot to mention the result of that 2020 meeting Bills 35 - Rams 32 That was the game that featured 1) an interception on an Allen to Kroft pass, that everyone but the refs thought was a tie and thus by rule goes to the receiver 2) Aaron Donald horse-collaring Allen in the pocket resulting in a strip-sack AND an unsportsmanlike conduct against Allen - he couldn't believe what Donald did was legal 3) the 4Q "bar brawl" play, which is meekly scored as "Josh Allen pass incomplete short left. Penalty on Josh Allen: Face Mask (15 Yards), 15 yards (no play)". In this play, Josh grabbed a Rams DB by the face mask, slung him into the path of an oncoming Rams LB knocking them both off their feet like bowling pins, backpedaled, stiff armed Aaron Donald, and turned what looked like a 30 yd sack into an incomplete pass that left the Bills with a chance (losing only 15 by penalty). All the announcer could say is "That's One Strong Dude" about Josh Allen. 4) an opportune DPI on LA on 4th and 8, giving the Bills one more chance. Otherwise we lose 28 -32. In hard fought games between two great teams, victory often does depend on a handful of plays. Yes. One of two things will happen. Either the Bills D will come out fired up and ready to prove something. Or this year's Bills aren't good enough to contend for a Championship.

Typical over-reaction. I think Josh Allen called it correctly a few years back. He said something like "You win, the players are great, the coaches are brilliant. You lose, the players suck and they ought to fire all the coaches."

OK, my take for what it's worth. I expected this to happen. I didn't say so before the game because I don't want to be that "Debbie Downer" fan, so y'all can be fairly skeptical. From the Rams side: 1) The Rams believe they are an elite team that caught some bad luck in 2022 when they had to shut Stafford down, and then in 2023 when they went 7-1 at the end of the season to make the playoffs, and their only loss was OT to the Ravens, then 23-24 loss to the Lions in the playoffs. They do not have the mindset "OK, we're 6-6, we're out of it. You better believe that with them only being 2 games out of 1st place in their division, their coaches were hammering home the message that "hey, we are in the thick of this, we won 7 games at the end of the season last year and made the playoffs; the Bills made the playoffs last season by winning out - so Here We Go!!! 2) Their OC of the last 2 years, Mike LaFleur, knows the Bills well through his 2 years as OC of the Jets, during which I might add they beat the Bills with Zack Wilson at QB and one-scored them with Mike White. Their DC, Chris Shula, is the nephew of former Bills "Senior Offensive Assistant" Mike Shula, who is now at the college level and might "feel some way" about being passed over for Joe Brady as OC. My point is even though the Bills don't play the Rams that much, in some ways this is like a Division game where there is a lot of knowledge of the Bills scheme and players from the Rams - but it doesn't go both ways. 3) Matt Stafford is playing well right now, and when he's playing well and he's got elite receivers, they can beat anyone. From the Bills side: 1) The Bills were a Battered and Dinged sale this week. The Bills were throwing themselves around onto a surface that's hard as concrete. You get an extra species of bruised up and sore. [Edit to clarify: I mean because of the '9ers game, frozen astroturf is hard as cement] 2) Party Hats. Having walloped the 49ers on national TV and clinched the division, the Bills were celebrating. I expect that the coaches had trouble applying that 24 hr rule this week. 3) Not taking a 6-6 team sufficiently seriously. I expect the coaches were preaching "they're a really good team, we need to come out physical up front and affect the QB". I expect the players were hearing "blahblah Ginger blahblah". Traveling to LA, there may have been a Party Mood on Saturday as well. Then there's the point that if it were a must-win, perhaps some of the guys who were limited and practicing would have gone. It's hard to sell that "you need to give it all you got" when the player personnel decisions say "we don't need everyone we got". 4) Bills can't beat a team like this: they can and have, actually. But they have to give it all they got. Take it with a grain of salt, I was once told that blocking on the OL starts mentally, all these guys are freak athletes and it's mental attitude that give you the edge. I expect that's true on the DL as well. That latter was kind of my take as well. Bernard, probably, he's the Captain. 1) Extra helping of battered and bruised from the cold game 2) Party Hats stayed on too long this week 3) Not taking a 6-6 team sufficiently seriously 4) Mental strength and focus

The Bills lost to the Rams because I watched the entirety of the 49ers-Bills game on Friday night (I had missed much of it when my mom went to ER)

Except he got paid prior to last season and he was a terror last season. And Al Haynesworth has more to the story. Check out his Player's Tribune article.