Max Fischer

The argument that Buffalo went "into a shell" is at best inconclusive. They had TWO possessions win the lead. Neither were that much different than all the other possessions beforehand.

I don't believe the grumbling about First Down play calling is supported by what actually happened. Source: Plays As you can see below, of the 22 plays on 1st down the Bills ran Singletary eight times, and 5 of those sets resulted in a 1st down. Not every situation is the same but using the information below there is a good deal of variety in the first down play calling, all of which resulted in varying amount of success. As for the two "conservative" first two possessions with a 17-13 lead: with the relative success of running Singletary on 1st down, especially compared to all other first down plays, it's not unreasonable to expect a similar rate of success. The initial possession was midway through the 3rd quarter, with plenty of game to go. I don't think there is evidence this was a "conservative" play, as it wasn't much different from the rest of the game and almost resulted in a first down. Again, on the next possession at the beginning of the 4th, it was a handoff out of the shotgun, a play the Bills have had just as much success as a pass play. It didn't work, but it was hardly "conservative" play calling. 1 - Singletary run for 7 yards (Set resulted in a 1st down) 2 - Brown 3 on sweep (FG) 3 - DS 7 yards (1st) 4 - 14 yards to Beasley (1st) 5 - Incomplete to Knox (punt) 6 - DS 1 yard (punt) 7 - Incomplete to Beasley (punt) 8 - Incomplete to Brown (1st) 9 - Pass to Beasley 9 yards (1st) 10 - Goal line (TD on second down) Second Half 11 - Pass 28 yards to Beasley (1st) 12 - Pass - Sacked -12 yards (punt) 13 - 1 yard DS (1st) 14 - Minus 3 DS (TD) 15 - DS 4 yards - Punt 16 - DS one yard - Punt 17 - DS no gain - 1st 18 - Incomplete Brown (1st) 19 - Allen 11 yard run (1st) 20 - Deep incomplete to Foster (1st) 21 - Allen 8 yard run (penalty) 21 - Pass 25 yards to Beasley (1st) 22 - Allen run loses one yard (end game)

Looks like someone is set firmly in denial.

I don’t think anyone would call Belichick conservative but they have dominated the league on dink and dunk, moving the chains. Once the Bills took the lead they had two possessions. The first was in the 3rd when Patriots barely stopped Allen on third down run and the other they indeed attempted two long passes. One turned into a sack and the other didn’t connect. Personally, I would have preferred a series of short plays to get first downs but neither possession could be characterized as “sitting on the lead” in the 3rd quarter and early in the 4th.

Specially, what was this egregious scenario?

Ok, I’ll bite, when did they “sit on” the lead?

Or the strategy gave them a better chance of winning. We’ll never know. Or or perhaps we could if they meet in the playoffs.

I’ve said nothing about moral victories. The Bills have won enough games to make the playoffs and have done well enough in recent defeats to reasonable expect at least one playoff win.

To secure #3, Chiefs need to: Defeat the Bears in Chicago (not a gimme) and beat the Chargers at home; OR, Win either game and Houston loses at home to Tennessee Bonus: If Chiefs win both and Pats lose to Miami, Chiefs are #2 and Pats are #3. Texans get #3 if: They defeat Tennessee at home and Chiefs lose one of two games. Texans get #4: If they lose to the Tennessee; OR Chiefs win next two

The team has surpassed my preseason expectations. It’s nice that it’s now reasonable to expect at least one playoff win and competing in the second round.

This is true, right now the Bills are good and not great. But the last several weeks have given me hope they have the tools to become great. Which is pretty great.

Yup let’s fire everyone and give up on the team. They all suck.

Are we really going to debate a specific play or decision? I’m seeing a lot of fans suggest McD go for the 4th and 1 from the 36 in the 3rd quarter. That’s insane.

I’m disappointed the Bills lost but not upset and it’s because I believed the Bills had a good chance to win but did not “expect” a win. I believe 6-7 weeks ago a great majority of fans would have very happy to have the Bills compete at an extremely high level against the Ravens and the Pats. They were in a position to tie each game in the last minute, our second year QB is clearly on the rise and despite the the disappointing day, the Defense will scare the crap out of upcoming playoff opponents. The last few weeks give me a great deal of confidence the Bills could beat the Texans and they have a good chance to beat the Patriots, Chiefs or Ravens in the second round. The Bills are far ahead of any reasonable expectation for this season and that’s why I feel pretty good. Hers to a week of rest and two weeks of preparation for the playoffs.

Oh, boy. Here we go.

My God, the cranks are out in force.

Not a trick play but I think Allen and Singletary could be dangerous running the option. Perhaps with Knox or Beasley in the backfield.

The most predictable tendency is with Gore on the field it’s often a run between the tackles. Rarely and without much success, Gore will run outside and he’s not a threat to run a pass route. Other than that particular personnel limitation I don’t believe the Bills have many predictable tendencies. On successive set of downs (in hurry up!) the offense will run several times in a row using a variety of schemes and personnel (jet sweeps - often technically at pass, RPO, designed QB runs, off tackle, etc); the next set of downs could be all pass plays to all sections of the field to five different receivers. Early in the season McKenzie seem to appear only for jet sweeps but they have made him a receiving threat of late. Looked like the Bills tried to do the same with Foster, he had a few nice plays vs Denver and Cowboys but tweaked his hamstring(?)and he hasn’t played much since; and hopefully Kroft will begin to add another dimension in the pass game. Two deficiencies in the pass game is poor team execution on screens and Allen’s problem with the deep ball. However, that hasn’t stopped Daboll from mixing them in to keep the Defense honest. At at least once a game the Bills use a play they haven’t run before and most of them work in key situations (see John Brown tD toss). Young, inexperienced and not many superstars? Sure. Predictable? Hardly.

There is little that is predictable about the Bills offense. They have few tendencies, built a steadily improving offense from scratch and each week have brand new plays and scheme. You can complain about the post interception play calling, but on the first set of downs they got a first down; in the second set, the second play was a half back pass that has worked before and certainly not predictable. On the third down, Singletary had a clear lane to the end zone but Watt made a great TD saving tackle. Over the the last few weeks the Bills scored 26 in Dallas, 17 against the Ravens (best D) and 17 in Pittsburgh. That’s at worst, not bad. Before going a suicide crusade you may want to reevaluate your fury.

I'm happy with the series as long as pretend the only movies are: Rouge One (This one blew me away. ) Star Wars (So much fun) Empire Strikes Back (Best movie) Return of the Jedi (minus the Ewoks - has flaws but satisfying "conclusion") Phantom - Just Bad Attack of the Clones - Unwatchable Revenge of the Sith - Have never watched it. Solo - Dull story. Awakes - A near copy of Star Wars (off to a bad start) Last Jedi - Incomprehensible. Skywalker - I think I'll pass.

Wait, I thought Duke Willams was the key to victory . . .

Can't tell if you're serious . . . ?

I'm a huge Scorsese fan but I thought the Irishman was blah. SPOILERS DeNiro was way too old for the role. Laughably old. MS should have used a younger actor and aged him. "Beating up" the grocer was almost a turn-off. Overall, it just didn't work for me. The cinematography was great: sets, customs, music, etc. Very happy to have Joe Pesci back. He was outstanding, every look said volumes. I was concerned Pacino would ham it up, which he did, but his Hoffa was appropriate. A larger-than-life character. My biggest complaint: The story is not at all historically accurate. Yes, it's based on Frank Sheeran's book, but Sheeran was a con artist or a pathetic old man looking for attention. Sheeran was indeed a labor boss, but a small-time guy who would have been lost to history if not for his claim to be an assassin. His stories have been debunked by nearly every historian, FBI agent, mobster and witnesses. Unfortunately, MS turned him into the Forest Gump of the labor-mafia world. At every turn Frank was there. Even Pesci's character, while a substantial mafia boss, had much less to do with Hoffa. A MUCH better story would have been about Hoffa and his relationship to the Mafia. He could have intertwined the teamster's and mafia's history, with both literally and figuratively killing each other off in the mid-70s. Turn it into a six-hour miniseries, explore many other characters, the time period, etc. Anyway, I looked forward to The Irishman for months and I don't need to see it again. Instead, I'll watch Goodfellas, Casino and the Departed a few dozen more times.

At least you won't miss the Pats game. It's almost routine surgery nowadays.

Why doesn't the league wait two more games to announce pro bowl and other awards?