Rich Stadium Original

I WAS at that first game in Rich Stadium in August of 1973..80,200 fans...terrible traffic jams...my dad had bought 2 club level season tickets for $7 a piece per game. As the roar of the crowd reached a crescendo right at kickoff, the Bills kicked to the Redskins to start the game...the ball went 2 yards deep into the endzone...where Herb Mul-Key promptly ran it back for a touchdown.

I think it's just wonderful that Belichick decided to invite his grand daughter to attend the awards ceremony with him.

Don't believe much in betting odds to determine outcomes. Betting money placement ultimately determines odds. If as a collective group betters were smart Las Vegas, Draft Kings etc wouldn't exist.

Yes, Mahommes is a good quarterback, but nothing really jumped out at me from his game last night. He threw easy, short passes to guys that were mostly wide open and had big yards after catch. Not much pressure at all in the pocket When he scrambled, or had designed runs, there was NO ONE on the Bills side within 15 yards until he was well downfield. Probably his best throw was a back shoulder down the sidelines where his receiver was out of bounds. I dare say if the Chiefs defense had played as bad as the Bills defense, Allen would have had a much different outcome

TEs..including Knox are frequent winners of the angry runs segment of GMFB...I never would think of Kincaid as a possible angry runs winner.

Random observations after the debacle: A.) Beane knew they had bad safties in the off season after losing Poyer and Hyde. That's why he went to free agency and a high draft choice..didnt help. B.) Yes, Elam had an awful game..but despite a lack of talent, he was set up to fail with how much playing time he's had throughout the season. Wasnt he even inactive a good number of games? C.) Hamlin is a great story, but he's not a starting safety in the NFL. D.) Pass rush discipline..particularly Rousseau...Mahommes running around the right end all night just killed the Bills...any idea why no spy on Mahommes most of the game?...seemed to be effective when it was called. E.) Yes, the Chiefs have Jones, but on short yardage plays the Bills got almost no push whatsoever up and down the line...had thought a big powerful line had been one of their strengths, but not last night. Think whoever had the ball was going to get stuffed in the backfield. F.) Anyone else tired of the fade along the sidelines where Coleman is fully engaged with a DB, and the ball sails harmlessly over his head?...lets just tear that page out of the playbook. G.) First person I'd fire is the special teams coach..what a terrible season. H.) Very solid playoffs by Bass. I.) Better resign Cook..what a great asset. I lay a lot of the blame of these losses on Beane. Years ago everyone knew Chiefs were team to beat..Beane even said it himself in interviews and would try to build his team with that in mind...yet after drafting Rousseau, Basham, and Epenesa and the cap destroying signing of Miller..the D line was completely ineffective AGAIN last night. That signing of Miller was probably the cap reason you were stuck with the safeties you had. This will be a very telling off season. As a lot of folks on this board observed, it's time to blow up the defense and start over..cant do much worse than what you've got.

Aside from the Bills execution, this could come down to officiating. Not only the refs ignoring the Mahommes roughing "flop" for 15 yards, but the Chiefs are notorious for being very "handsy" in their man coverage, and never getting a call. Think a few players on their o-line are weak..its led to a drop in production and increased sacks/pressure..hence all their reshuffling in the last few weeks..how far will the refs let them go in protecting Mahommes? Finally, it's amazing how their tackels are always "allowed" to line up so far behind the line of scrimmage and start early..despite ALL the analysts pointing it out every week.

These nerwork "analysts" are just a clown show. Don't forget, they all thought Allen didn't have the accuracy to play in the NFL...then he had too many turnovers to be a successful QB...then the Bills would be third in the division behind the Jest and Dolphins. How can anyone believe anything they say? And besides, to heap praise on the Bills and Allen would be to admit they were WRONG..and their egos just keep getting in the way.

**Only speculation in this post but: Don't forget these guys have private lives beyond football. Didnt he recently have an excused absence from practice for something un-football related? Is it possible that he has a personal issue (like family health) that's making it hard for him to concentrate on the game? Not sure what it would take to hold him out of a game.

Okay "coach"..please dont call my opinion garbage....I think I'm a pretty good study of the NFL and not your version of fantasy football. Few people would argue the Bills would have won that game if the Ravens had better ball security and fewer drops. You can't credit nonexistent pressure for that win.especially in the second half..it was a few good plays by the defense and a whole lot of luck. All I'm saying is against bad teams you can sometimes overcome your bad defense through your high scoring offense or turnover differential. As you get deeper into the playoffs you can't RELY upon those turnovers to win a game.

Let's not forget that the Ravens moved the ball up and down the field at will, and with the exception of the nice punch out fumble on Andrews, most of their errors were self inflicted. Aside from the turnovers and kneel down at the end of the half. The Bills never forced a punt...the Ravens scored on every other drive. In the second half, the pass rush was non existent. Nearly 500 yards of total offense. Going forward, (I know we've been saying this all season) if the Bills continue to rely on turnovers and the other team plays a clean game this time, they may be setting themselves up for failure. KC probably isn't the offensive juggernaut they have been in past seasons, but if the Bills were to face the Eagles in the SB, they have an RB that is on a tear this year, and an O line that's probably bigger and better than the one they just faced.

Would it have been worth the challenge for the spot on the 1st Allen run to the 1 ..thought it was a bad spot at the 2, and lead to a completely different type of play call on 3rd

Was on GMFB this week as well, and talked about how much he liked watching Josh Allen think he picked the Bills over Ravens IIRC...maybe he'd like to be a Bill?

You obviously didn't watch GMFB this morning...question was posed whether or not the cold was a disadvantage to the Ravens...and Akbar repeated the comments from 2020 almost exactly. He thought the cold would force the Ravens to run more where they have a distinct advantage..so it was to their ADVANTAGE to actually be playing in such cold weather....WOW...if that were the case the Bills management better offer the Ravens all kinds of complimentary sideline heaters!!

Probably one type play in the Ravens arsenal that scares me, and it will be interesting to see how the Bills defend it. It's kind of like a double read option. Jackson first looks for the quick handoff to Henry..if it's not there, he pulls it out and heads down the line..if the DE/ LB have crashed hard inside, he takes it himself on the off tackle run. If the DE/LB are well positioned, he'll take two steps back and either throw to the TE on a crosser, or some other WR with no defender within 10 yards of them because everybody is up protecting the run. I think the only way to defend this is with D line penetration. Either Rousseau or Oliver better be on top of their game.

Wasn't Josh McDaniels the OC in New England for multiple Super Bowl wins before he moved on?

Probably even more than offense and defense (in some cases), special teams is a study in tendencies. You use film study to see where a team is consistently weak in line blocking, and that's where you send your punt block..or when a team lines up in this fashion that's where I expect them to try a FG block. But to me where the Bills are particularly weak is analyzing their OWN team for their OWN weaknesses and patching up the holes. Whether it's the punt they had blocked for the TD or the fake punts they've given up, it's obvious that the other teams exploited tendencies the Bills never saw in their own team.

Aside from Allen.... I know the Chiefs had absolutely awful offensive tackles, but had a guard and center named as All Pro, yet as a team they were just below middle of the pack in sacks allowed (with a very shifty Mahommes behind them) while the Bills led the league in least sacks allowed. Also, the Bills had an RB that led the league in rushing touchdowns, and a quarterback who wasn't far behind, yet NO Bills offensive linemen were considered.

This game could be a big designed rush/ scramble game for Josh Allen. He's been in Clark Kent mode for most of the season in terms of designed runs except for 3rd/4th and short for a sneak. You've got to think that Brady is going to open up the playback now that it's playoff time. Denver also almost exclusively plays man to man, with no eyes on the QB...ripe for QB draws and scrambles. Denver also can bring the pressure with some good D lineman, but I dont think Allen will be afraid to take off. I would expect a spy from the Broncos, but their LBs are average at best.

Rousseau inactive..Von Miller is active...can only guess its bonus related for another sack

Mentioned it earlier in the thread...1974...Namath had 2 completions and 3 interceptions. Took days to dry out

Been to some really cold snowy games over the years...but for whatever reason one of the most memorable weather games had to be against the Jets in 1974. Absolute downpour, and winds gusting over 45 mph. Bills won 16-12. Ferguson only attempted 2 passes and didn't complete any. Namath was 2-18 for 33 yards. No TDS and 3 INTs. More INTs than completions

On GMFB this morning, Schrager was just drooling over Jackson..his choice for MVP as he spouted off all his season stats. He commented on what a beautiful throw it was to Andrews on a play where he was rolling to his right. If it was the TD pass he was referring to, it was a designed half roll, and a simple short toss to Andrews who didn't have anyone within 10 yards of him.

In a defense that has holes up and down the roster, I think by far the biggest liability are the safties. Even when the starters are in there, the play is very reactive instead of proactive. Remember Poyer and Hyde in their prime?..they then seemed to be all over the field..breaking up passes in support and the occasional INT. Current safeties don't seem to have those instincts. Despite playing a high cover two shell, our current corners always appear to be on an island on deep passes. The safeties seem undersized on run protection. I think Beane could see the writing on the wall and that's why Bishop was drafted so high...but although lots of raw talent, it's a steep learning curve. If they run into a really good receiver tandem/trio in the playoffs (Remember Cupp and Nakua?) it could get very ugly.

Dont know if they have a phone number, but I would try the Bills store at the Stadium. I would assume that is who supplies the players with their gear.