dave mcbride

Wow!!!!! What a catch,

I feel like this clip deserves its own thread (and pinned!).

Not me. That said, I’m not a homer and try to be as fair-minded as possible. It’s actually interesting — Williams clearly got away with a call in the earlier game, but this time it was called despite being one of those fouls that’s “mixed up in the scrum”, as it were. The refs were looking for it — and probably because someone alerted them to it.

Well, it looks like Belichick must have informed the refs about Williams’ illegal blocking downfield beforehand! He was called for the same penalty — almost identical — that wasn’t called in the first pats-bills game! It was definitely a penalty both times and a dumb play.

Oh jeez.

He was beaten like a drum constantly versus Burns in passing situations (i.e., the majority of plays).

The thing is, the Bills D is really good in virtually every category (and basically tied for the league lead in defensive DVOA with NE), and the fact that no one made it is pretty laughable. The Chargers defense is pretty bad all around; should Derwin James be in there over Poyer? Or is it just name recognition? Given James's terrible PFF ranking, I think I know the answer. But the same could be said for Dawkins, who is bad this year.

PFT didn't have him listed. Must have been an error.

The Bills have the #1 defense in the league and have been at #1 all season. And no pro bowlers. LOL! He’s leading all safeties in INTs this season! Just saw that Micah Parsons, probably the most impactful defensive player in the league this season not named Aaron Donald, didn’t make the pro bowl. LOL!

A lot have final grades right after the first offensive and defensive series of the game!

This is somewhat related and interesting: https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-sports/can-an-elite-madden-player-out-perform-an-nfl-coach

Well, we're not sure if Dawkins will be 100 percent. I guess Epenesa? He's not a difference maker but he does play a fair amount. And it's not looking good for Sanders. He's actually been a very good in the slot over the course of his career and is a terrific replacement for Beasley.

My cynical take: the NFL wants no part of cancellations because it's giving them full spectrum TV dominance. To wit: between last Saturday (Dec 18) and this upcoming Monday(Dec 27), the NFL will have had 8 prime time games in 10 nights. That's crazy.

Yeah, they're pretty likely to be in better shape than the Bills on the roster front by Sunday. It's a real concern.

I can’t believe I forgot Harbaugh. He was an excellent coach for SF after incredible success at the University of San Diego and then Stanford. And he’s been good for U of M overall.

Good point.

The two point conversion success rate is 49.6 percent right now. Winning in OT is a 45/45 proposition, with about a 10 percent chance of a tie. So ... basically the same.

I have a hard time seeing the Raiders lose tonight, but they're the Raiders.

I don't think Belichick gives a flying eff what McDermott said after the game. Like, at all.

Yeah, but under siege 50 percent of the time is almost by definition not good. That's way too often.

Well, there were some good signs. The two early TD throws were fantastic plays, and Knox played well. The Singletary TD run was good all around. With a little more time at the end of the first half, they may have converted all of their red zone possessions into TDs.

I thought he had some high throws but overall I thought he was fine. The first two TD throws were fantastic throws (to Diggs and Davis). He was truly under siege all game too. The INT was just a great play by the defender (and good play design), who fooled Allen. The throw was accurate but Allen didn't account for the DB dropping back in the zone. The Panthers are very good against the pass - 2nd in passing yards allowed and 3rd in net yards per pass attempt. They are first in the league in yards allowed per drive. Reddick and Burns can REALLY get after QBs, and the secondary is definitely better than average.

The line was utterly terrible for the most part yesterday, but at the same time they were facing a very good unit. Probably as good as NE's defense, honestly.

I'm happy because the Panthers D is good, but it wasn't a good game. From Football Outsiders: Game Spotlight: Buffalo Bills 31, Carolina Panthers 14 What Happened: Panthers kicker Zane Gonzalez suffered an injury during warmups. Cam Newton spent the afternoon executing what looked like a six-play game plan, and "Cam dives off tackle" was at least two of the plays. The Bills should have cruised to victory, but they needed some Panthers fourth-down blunders and a late-game garbage-time touchdown to make this closer-than-it-should-have-been game show as a blowout on the scoreboard. What it Means: The Bills are not being graded on their ability to beat the pathetic Camthers but on their readiness to face the Patriots again. On that curve, they get a C- at best. Early Bills drives stalled. They needed to get the ball near midfield to score their first two touchdowns. Josh Allen threw a costly interception before halftime. Cam's QB Power plunges and short RPO tosses were more effective than they should have been. The Bills would have been in real trouble if the Panthers could have kicked field goals or run a game plan longer than a kiddie menu. If the Bills start slowly, execute poorly, and fail to adjust to a run-heavy game plan of routine plays against the Patriots next week, well, we have already seen the results. The Bills may want you to believe that they recorded a statement win on Sunday. It was really more of a mumble. What's Next: Bills-Patriots II: Return of the Mac. The Panthers face the Buccaneers twice in the next three weeks. And frankly, they deserve it. https://www.footballoutsiders.com/walkthrough/2021/zombie-steelers-just-wont-quit

He looked terrible. He couldn't handle Burns at all one on one. He was abused all game. The thing to remember is that Carolina's defense is for real. 2nd in yards allowed and with arguably the best pass rushing tandem in the league. They abused the Bills' line in pass rushing situations all game, and the talent differential was significant. They are a talented unit overall. They were also aided by the fact that the Panthers have the worst quarterback in the league. Newton missed two very makeable TD throws where the receivers -- Sneed and Moore -- had gotten behind the Bills defenders (Wallace first and Jackson later).