Beck Water

He knows where they're supposed to be, but there's always a chance that the guy gets jammed, held, slips, etc and isn't where he's supposed to be. But Allen had two, possibly 3, windows where he could see McKenzie, that wasn't the issue. The Jets DL got of his block by Bates and stunted around Brown, so Josh (understandably) felt he needed to bail to his L. I think he could have taken another step L and found a throwing lane to McK, or ideally if he could stay behind the LOS hit him in his 2nd window. It was really a protection breakdown at core, but another QB who has less belief in himself as the person on the team best able to convert 3rd and 15 would probably have thrown to McKenzie or to Cook (giving him a chance to evade the tackler and convert)

Well, to that point - Highmark Stadium does have an x-ray room, I believe it's equipped with good quality x-ray equipment but not an MRI or CT scanner. I'm sure White got rib x-rays. He said in an interview that the initial x-rays didn't show the fractures. It's my understanding that broken ribs, especially on a person who is well muscled-up, can be difficult to detect on initial x-ray. I had a college friend who was hiking the CDT, in a van accident, and had this happen. The fractures get more prominent as they start to heal, or can be seen on a scan.

Where he was injured wasn't my point. Right now, the perception (right or wrong) is that his passing isn't the same as it was prior to the 1st half of the GB game. He can make some throws that are brilliant, every bit as pinpoint and fast as before the injury. But he also has throws that are off-target, or that seem like they're slower - especially when he's throwing off-platform or on the move. I think we all want to see Allen heal at the best possible rate. Towards that, running downfield and giving 300 lb moose defenders a free pass to slam their helmets into his elbow and wrench on his arm in the cause of trying to force a fumble (or just "business as usual" as he's buried in a pile of tacklers) can not be expediting the healing process. That's what I was trying to say.

That is, indeed, one of the top questions: What will they do with Ike? They either elevate him today (I think) or put him on season ending IR.

I think I heard someone interview McCoy and he said he didn't try to do anything differently. The interviewer was like "c'mon man!" and he was like "honestly, I just run" Apparently he had such fantastic balance that he could just compensate for all the little slips and slides. Or maybe part of his secret for cutting like he did, was that he used his whole foot more to cut routinely? Micah Hyde said when it's deep enough that they're blowing the yard lines clear and there's a depth change between them, that's something to look out for.

I'll put it out there. I could be wrong - the Bills coaches and Allen could be as pissed off at and down on McKenzie as everyone here - but I'd be very surprised if you see Beasley taking "top slot reps". Again, I think he takes on the role Crowder had, which was 20-33% of the reps. I think we see McKenzie's reps fall from 60-ish (50-70) back to the high-40s/50-ish he had while Crowder was healthy. We see about 10% less of Diggs and less of Shakir in the slot, and more of Diggs and Shakir outside where Diggs is deadly. The exact percentage will shift around depending upon the weather, who we're playing, and what coverage they're playing. But that's just what I think. If Brown is elevated today, it will be because they're trying to keep Beasley with his limited playing time from pulling a groin or a hammy by doing too much too soon, and have him available for other games, not because they're planning to take deep shots.

I dunno but if I were Kelly Skipper, I would 100% want to pick his brain about how he did it. Everybody else's ass sliding all over the field and McCoy runs and cuts like there's nothing but green field all around him.

Good question. Too soon to tell, as weather and the game plan will play a factor. Other things being equal, I'm thinking maybe Bears, as they're giving up 7.1 NY/A passing (which is 31 in the league).

Either or. Not both. Bills have been rolling with 5 WR of recent, and I don't see that changing tonight. Question is whether they go for 3 TE or 5 RB, or whether they actually allow the offense to have the extra player - they normally roll with 22 on Offense, 23 on Defense + 3 ST He gets 3 callups. Could be called up tonight, or 1 different remaining game.

In a 50 of 60 degree building. Everytime I see that I hear Dixie Chicks plaintive wail - I forget the name of the song but the subject is singing about his regrets, “I wish I were stronger I wish I loved Jesus”

No. You do not wish to see Bates at T Edit to add context: Bates says he can play all 5 positions across the OL, and mentally, I'm sure he can. But he has relatively short arms which put him at a disadvantage playing OT, and he doesn't have the foot quickness to overcome that handicap. When he's been put out there, it hasn't been good.

It would be pretty awesome to play that at the stadium

I could be wrong, I often am. But I think anyone expecting Beasley to walk on and return McKenzie to 2021 will be disappointed. I think we may see a shift back to the first 4 weeks if Beas is healthy, which is McK going from 60 to 50% snaps, Diggs playing less in the slot, and Beasley getting 20-33 %

No. No, he is Not. He's Dead to me

Do you think the way their respective QB throw the ball might make a difference there? I'm not saying it excuses it - if you wanna play WR for the Bills, you got to hang on to the footballs our QB throws. But I can see where it might make it harder. I don't know how many drops Jets receivers were charged with, but it's a fact that White's completion % was only a teeny bit better than Allen's (59.5% vs 59.3%)

Well, OK then I do believe Tua is fired up. I think he's heard all the talk and I'm sure it's fueled him. And TBH McDaniel does have the right attitude - you need to just make up your mind that it's not going to matter to you. But Mind over Matter only works if you have enough Matter. The Pats won last year because they could run on us to some extent. They legit had a top-10 run game all season. The Fins have the #28 run game in the league. It's not their thing. But if they come out trying to win on Tua's arm, not sure how that will work for them.

TBH the Bills offensive strategy and execution overall, were not that bad either. We had more 1st downs (16 to 11), about the same net yards (230 to 241). The big turning point in the game was a QB-RB exchange which is charged to Josh Allen as a fumble, but in the announcer's analysis (and I saw their point) seemed to be more on Breida. Two plays later, the Bills gave up a 64 yd run which led to a TD and a 2 pt conversion. Secondary turning point was a missed 33 yd FG by Tyler Bass; if we had made that FG, then on the next drive we try a 36 yd FG instead of going for it on 4D. Those 3 plays: 1 SNAFU by the offense, one SNAFU by the defense, one SNAFU by ST.

Um. Why would Tua be walking by the TSA station? Perhaps the Demon has possessed him and is leading him astray? Pretty sure all the NFL teams Charter planes, and the Charter planes arrive and depart from the Charter terminal. They do have screeners there now-a-days, but pretty sure the screeners arrive and set up shop when a charter is scheduled to depart. I Call Shenanigans. I mean, in theory, it's possible, but even if it happened I doubt that guy has seen that many players. Also Color Me Surprised that a guy with a twitter handle @EliteTua thinks the other team doesn't have a chance against him.

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/2022/12/gone-but-not-forgotten-inside-the-phone-call-that-led-cole-beasley-back-to-the-bills.html Talks about how Beane missed a phone call from Cole Beasley while traveling the day after Thanksgiving. Says they had a lot of things to work through before Beasley signed. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that one of the things they had to work out in Beane's mind, was whether or not OBJ was ready to play and interested in signing here. Does anyone else kind of do a double-take at the notion of 5'8" Beasley and 5'7" McKenzie playing basketball? I know Beasley can dunk. A while back Bills social media put up a clip of Knox and Sweeney playing Horse (spoiler: they were bad) and at one point Beasley walked by, grabbed the ball from one of their misses and casually sunk a 3 pointer on the way through: "WATER!". I believe McKenzie played basketball in HS; he posts off-season clips of himself playing rec league basketball sometimes. So it wouldn't surprise me if they could kick butt against some of the bigger players. But the visual seems hysterically funny. Like picture Spencer Brown trying to get a steal. Or if Beasley threw an elbow, where would it hit? I mean, do you watch film? What "compelling evidence" do you wish? He is, but he typically blocks or chips and then leaks out and runs a route. Elsewhere I posted one example of this, where the Jets actually appear to have planned around this. There's some truth to this, but there are also points that mistakes (INTs) played a role, and that there are plays to be had.

I feel your pain. I, too, failed to develop any interest in football in my kid. 😅 But she would NEVER joke about the Bills losing to the Patriots in my hearing.

I'm sure it's what White wanted to do, but IMHO if a guy has to rush off the field to hop into an ambulance and go to the ER, he quite possibly should just Do It and not play the rest of the game first. 10 honest doctors I guess!

I think Allen is looking at Cook at the point where McKenzie puts the mail flag up, and I think Allen assesses that Cook's chances of making the catch and evading the defender for the 1D are low. But another QB might give Cook a chance.

I think it's more complicated than that. I'm pretty sure this is 3rd and 15 from the Buffalo 25, early in the 2nd Q. The result of the play was 1D on a 16 yd run by Allen. So the Bills have to get to the Buffalo 40. It's hard for me to tell where Allen is looking initially but DL John Franklin-Myers shedding his block by Bates and stunting around the end would loom pretty large in my field of vision if I were Allen. It appears to me (where's someone who knows their OL? @HoofHearted? ) that Knox stayed in to block, but when it appeared that Bates and Brown had Franklin-Myers and the DE (Jermaine Johnson) handled, Knox releases to run a route. It appears to me that Franklin-Myers could *probably* beat Bates and come right at Allen with a chance to get him, but to me, he seems to be watching Knox. The minute Knox starts his route, F-M ditches Bates like a bad Tinder date and stunts around the end. Brown reacts by shoving his guy over to Bates and handing him off to Bates so he can block, but it looks like that's gonna be too late (First pic) Allen can almost certainly see McKenzie in the gap between Brown and F-M, but McKenzie is headed for the line of gain and is not looking at Allen yet - he may want the defender parked on the 37 yd line to shift his focus to Knox, which he wouldn't if McKenzie turns his head (the universal DB signal for "I better get in this guy's pocket"). I think he could sneak a peak at Allen though, to let Allen know he will adjust if Allen throws it early. I think that's what Beasley would do. McKenzie's first window is past the 40 yd line over the middle, and he raises the mail flag and looks at Allen. The defender on the 37 yd line appears to have been lulled to sleep, and there doesn't seem to be a soul anywhere near McKenzie. Spoiler: Brown has in fact managed to pick up F-M and is doing a good job of getting in his way, so Allen has time. (2nd pic) But, Allen has decided the vicinity of F-M is unhealthy to our chances for a first down and drifted L. It appears to me that Allen has a clear passing lane to McKenzie if he just takes another step to his L, though it is possible Cook would think it's intended for him and jump for it or deflect it. But I think by then, Allen has gone all Sebastian the Crab from the Little Mermaid: "if you want something done, you got to do it yourself", and has decided to run for it. McKenzie is tuned in to Allen and when Allen moves further to the L, McKenzie moves with him to find another clear line of sight, but I think by that time Allen may have crossed the LOS. (3rd pic) I think the clamor of fan and media criticism is starting to damage McKenzie, and I think he's delighted to see Beasley in part because he feels Beasley understands what he's trying to do and will give him feedback + or -, that will bolster his confidence and that Josh will trust.

This is a really interesting clip to watch.

End of the Line You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring Waiting for someone to tell you everything Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring Maybe a diamond ring Maybe somewhere down the road away You'll think of me and wonder where I am these days Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays Purple haze This x 100% Fundamentally, a guy who says "I don't see the point" of playing in the regular season is missing it. That's where you build timing and trust; it's also where you bond with your teammates so that they're "all in" on throwing a block for you or running their very best most convincing clearing route to pull away coverage. It's basically "Let me be your Little Dog...'til your Big Dog come..." treating the other guys in the WR room like the "Domestiques" on your Tour de France team.