Rich Stadium Original

Think you are missing the point...this isn't about firing anyone. The point I tried to make is that while trying to built a successful roster among many player positions, I think it obvious based on draft choices and free agency that Bean put particular emphasis in defensive line and edge rushing. The Bills may win, the Bills may lose because that cant overcome injuries elsewhere. But what will be particularly interesting is that he has his relatively healthy D-line in place in a home game. How successful will the folks be that he put particular emphasis on?

It was obvious a number of years ago Mahommes and the Chiefs were going to be the team to beat in the AFC for years to come. Beane set out to mold his team as the one that could beat the big Boogeyman Mahommes through an effective pass rush. Yes Beane has picked up some great position players along the way, but its obvious with Rousseau, Epenesa, Basham (now departed), Von (I'm back to 100%) Miller, Floyd (and others) where he placed his personnel concentration. Now he has a home game, with all these guys relatively healthy going up against some fairly average offensive tackles. Yes, the secondary and linebacking corps is fairly beat up...but if Beane did his due diligence, it shouldn't make a difference if they can dominate. We will know by midnight on Sunday.

For you youngsters and non hockey people out there, I am having this Deja Vu feeling about the Sabres-Hurricanes semi final hockey series in 2006. Sabres had the best team in the NHL that season, and were the odds on favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Then in the semi finals, the injury bug bit the defense corps, then bit it again, then bit it some more. In the end, the starting defense was a lot of backups and callups from the minors. Despite excellent play by Ryan Miller and the rest of the offense, the deficit was just too much to overcome, and they ended up losing the series. If the gameday inactives look like the current injury report then, well................

I think what can make some of these personnel calls tough on game day is not only can player X start, but how durable will they be, and at what % of healthy level are the playing at? Probably the last thing you want to do is tie up a game day roster spot, and somebody's ankle swells up after just one series, and they have to come out..now you've put a lot of pressure on their limited backups who may also be filling a special teams slot.

I was thinking about this as I watched all the games over the weekend, and without research it SEEMED to me like overall penalties were down. Almost as though the league sent down the message " don't decide the game, let em play" unless an infraction was especially egregious. I thought across the board there were a lot of penalties that weren't called..particularly offensive holding.

Tua is an NFL Pro Bowl selection..Dak is NFC Pro Bowl selection AND received more All Pro selections than Allen..but both those guys cleaning out their lockers on Monday after playing very poorly under playoff pressure After watching all three games this weekend, is their ANY doubt how much more of a weapon Allen is and deserving of accolades he didn't receive?? Yeah, I know.."he throws too many interceptions so I can't vote for him" is the common cry. What revisionist history..wouldn't dare say that about Favre.

Hey, circadian rhythms are a real thing.( when you FEEL most tired)..the largest circadian low is overnight, but there is a secondary one about 4pm..different people respond to it in different ways.

Makes sense, the most recent airport observation shows weather JUST good enough to land now. Biggest issue is reduced visibility due to blowing snow, when it goes down to 1/4 mile

That is a great thought that I forgot about, but not the case..weather is clear in Pittsburgh. They are waiting for weather here in Buffalo to clear.

Just a follow up..that plane was supposed to drop off Steelers and fly right out again to avoid getting stuck here...HOWEVER, just checked the weather observation at the airport, and although the conditions in Cheektowaga (airport) are better than the conditions here in Orchard Park, the ceiling and visibility are to low to land a commercial airplane..Im sure that's why they are sitting on the ground at Pittsburgh. Wonder at what point the NFL would intervene if they can't get in until very late tonight?

Just out of curiosity, checked ticket prices on the market. $33 for upper deck..$175 for power bowl seemed to be the average.

I wasted my time watching clips from a whole bunch of talking heads on all the networks making their picks for the game on Sunday. The vast majority thought the Bills would win quite easily. Skip and a few of the others picked the Steelers not because of their defense..not because of the running of Harris, but the FACT the Allen WILL turn over the ball at least once..maybe more because he ALWAYS does.(At least in their opinion)

Lake effect snow can be very unpredictable. That being said, as important as it was to win the division and play at home, heavy snow WILL negatively impact some of the advantages the Bills had going into the game. I don't care how big and strong Allen's arm is, you just can't throw the ball at all in those conditions. Games de-volve into the neighborhood kids playing street football in snowbanks..where anything is possible. For those of you who didn't see it or remember, the Bills won one of those games vs the Colts in 2017. McCoy ended up running for like 32 carries. (Hi-lights available on YouTube for what may be a preview)

Hopefully there isn't a bug going through the Bills locker room. There certainly is right now in Western New York. Looks like two players didn't practice today due to illness.

As a resident of Orchard Park, the answer is it depends. Right now, the forecast is for localized heavy bands of lake effect snow, blowing and drifting due to winds. Lake effect bands are very narrow..5-10 miles wide with intense snowfall rates. It may be snowing heavy where you are, and blue skies just a few miles to the north or south of you. So whether one of those bands sets up over Orchard Park and doesn't drift north or south will depend on specific wind direction on Sunday. It's in the forecast because you can't tell EXACTLY where they are going to set up. That being said, snow removal crews in Orchard Park, Erie County and New York State are the best in the country...but if one of those lake effect snow bands sets up over the same area and doesn't drift North and South, it can be tough to keep up with.

There is little doubt that the Steelers will try to run the ball, then run even more, and keep running until the Bills can stop them, especially with the weather forecast. Plus it shortens the game and helps to keep the score close They will probably come out in a two tight end set, and sometimes three. I wonder if McDermott will stick to his lighter LB/DB base defense, or if he'll add the extra linebacker to stop the run. Rudolph does chuck it occasionally, but I dont think of Pittsburgh as a throwing threat, particularly if it's windy and snowy.

I don't this was a game where you could judge Miller due to the quick release and rhythm passing of Tua. In fact, if you look at the stats of the D line it's pretty unimpressive. Oliver, who had been on a terror the last few games only had one tackle, and collectively the group had zero sacks. This doesn't mean he would have been making plays on longer dropbacks, but given the nature of the game, I would give him a grade of incomplete.

One of the quarterbacks tonight is a pro bowl selection, the second isn't. Hint: The guy NOT selected is the one with 360 passing yards and 67 rushing yards

Don't forget Tennessee is the reason you are playing for the Division title after they beat Miami a few weeks ago.

Your team is already guaranteed a playoff spot, but your team is VERY banged up. When you play the Bills Sunday night do you: A.) Push all your walking wounded to play in the hopes of retaining division title and #2 seed. Reward is maybe two or more home playoff games..where your record has been pretty good this year Risk is if you win against the Bills you may play a home game, but then bumped off in the first round because your team is even more tired, and no chance to let injuries heal..more players out when it counts the most. Added bonus is it may be elimination game for Bills, but may not know if that's the case until kickoff. B.) You rest your starters and give them a chance to heal..thus increasing your chances of winning that first playoff game...even if it's on the road.

Due to work yesterday I admittedly missed most of the Bills game and Allen's stats speak for themselves. But i watched the highlights of the "MVP Performance" of Lamar Jackson, and found that on his big throws yesterday for the most part he had PLENTY of time in the pocket to scan the field, with almost no pressure, sometimes throwing to receivers that were WIDE open..essentially just playing catch. My understanding is that was not necessarily the case with Allen.

IMO, this game comes down to two things. First is play of the offensive line. Barmore completely blew up the middle if the Denver line last week accounting for 3 sacks and a fumble. If Allen has time to throw, he should pick this secondary to pieces. Second is the creativity of Brady. Pats have a good defense, but they can't cover Diggs AND Davis AND Knox AND Kincaid AND Cook at the same time... if he knows how scheme them open. IF the line can give Allen time, I think we could see a repeat of the second Jets game. If Allen is running for his life, we may see a repeat of the Chargers last week.

You will get little argument from me that Miller has not nearly shown anywhere near his past productivity, particularly with what the franchise is paying him. But I would argue that there is a lot more that we don't know about his injury/recovery than we do know: a.) What was the severity of the original injury, and what is the usual recover time to full speed from such an injury? (A lot of his game is built on speed and quickness) b.) How successful was the surgery, and have there been complications in the recovery limiting speed and agility? c.) What are the doctors and trainers telling him now? How much pain and swelling is he getting during repeated use? d.) Are the Bills aware of his limitations, but putting him out on the field in certain situations just to draw extra attention? I would assume he is a professional athlete with a desire to win, and not just taking plays of because he's afraid of getting hurt again. If his physical condition was as bad as it may appear without hope for improvement, I would have thought the team would have shut him down on IR...We may never have the answers to a lot of these questions until the season is over.

Bolts know Bills a little banged up along the D line...they come out in 2 TE sets and try to shorten the game by running a lot with some success. Think pass rush will give Allen fits at times (see: Mack) Ultimately Bills have more talent and win in what shouldn't have been so close Bills -19 Bolts -17

Sometime teams/players make a run at bending the rules until the NFL figures it out. Another trend lately seems to be the tackles coming out of their stances just a fraction before the ball is snapped to gain a little advantage in pass protection. Seems to be spreading too until they start flagging it.