Low Positive

Tua is under incredible pressure to be “tough.” http://amp.awfulannouncing.com/espn/tua-tagovailoa-reveals-his-father-beat-him-with-a-belt-for-interceptions-gameday-crew-laughs-about-joe-jackson-methods.html

Not to turn this into a Tua thread, but yesterday I noticed that he has a really long straight-armed throwing motion. Like he’s throwing a javelin.

Kay Stevenson and Hank Bullough were by far the two worst coaches that the Bills ever had.

MVP! MVP!

The Packers have the #2 ranked D against the pass.

Maybe arm strength doesn’t matter after all.

I don’t think so. That Kyle Shanahan system just asks so little from a QB. One read throws to fast dudes in space and hand offs.

Brock Freaking Purdy is proving you right in SF.

Waddle’s speed makes a lot of guys take bad angles.

Can”t blitz the Fins, especially if you don’t disguise it pre-snap.

Mahomes has never played a road playoff game. Let’s change that.

Remember, the Bengals only beat the Bucs because they turned the ball over on 4 straight possessions. They are not actually playing all that well right now, but just like in the playoffs last year they are getting extremely lucky. If Stevenson doesn’t fumble today they would have lost. The Bills have to get pressure with four and get some sacks on Burrow. Yes, Chase and Higgins will make plays but their secondary gives up plays and the weather should be good. I have watched at least part of every Bengals game this year and I really like the Bills chances.

People complaining about this game seem to have forgotten that this Bears team gave the mighty Philadelphia Eagles all that they could handle just last week.

People, the Bengals almost lost to the Pats today. If Stevenson doesn’t fumble, they would have lost.

I never thought of this but you’re probably right.

Same ole Jets

When the Jets lost last week their season was over. They know it.

That hagiography of Saint Prime at Jackson State seems a bit awkward now.

You’ve covered most of it, but I would also suggest going up to Mt Adams. It really is a unique place that feels like another country from an architectural standpoint.

But @virgil made the same point today about expectations making the wins less fun and nobody had the same reaction. I mean, I usually don't agree with @Einstein but I saw what he meant with that post back in September.

You probably think that you're exaggerating, but the Chiefs have played in perfect weather all year. They have an open air stadium and they haven't even had to play in rain all year. It has never been even windy for them all year. It's going to be cold but clear with little wind for them on Sunday at home while the Bills play in a hurricane in Chicago just a bit to the east of them. Some a**hat in KC clearly sold their soul for this.

And the Bengals, who are everyone's new SB favorite, would have lost to the Bucs without getting turnovers on 4 STRAIGHT POSSESSIONS. There is no certainty in sports and in a sport where each game matters a lot a certain amount of randomness can have great effects on outcomes. For instance, the Bills might lose the #1 seed this weekend because they have to play outside in a winter hurricane, while the Bengals and Chiefs will have much better weather.

Josh needs to be on the side working with Bates and/or Van Roten on snaps under center because he will be taking a lot of them this week.

I'm not so sure that this is true. Without Taylor, they have average at best offensive weapons, a line with average tackles and an all-world guard that they are paying like a LT and a slightly above-average defense. What scared teams about the Colts last year so much that they were willing to drop playoff seeds to avoid them in the first round was Taylor. He was that good.

Reading this thread reminded me that sports fans fall into some traps because we all care so much about things over which we have no control: When the other team makes a play, we all search for "who's guilty" on our favorite team rather than acknowledging that the other team can and will make plays. I think that we do this because we want to feel like the "problems" are fixable with better defensive technique and/or personnel. For example, Hill makes a lot of safeties take bad angles due to his olympic sprinter speed. I think that on this particular play Micah Hyde himself would have taken a "bad angle" because once Hill is at full stride there is little that you can do. I'm not saying Hamlin made a good play, but once Hill gets that ball where he did he is taking it to the house 9 times out of 10. This goes across all sports. To baseball fans, every HR hit by the other team is a bad pitch. On SabresSpace, every goal scored by the other team is a missed defensive assignment. Sometimes the other team makes a play. Imagine being a Fins fan breaking down JA17 40+ yard run. You would blame the DC, the entire DL, LB corp, and the DBs. They all missed tackles and took bad angles. Fans of every NFL team hate the OC. And I mean every team. We do this because it seems to us like a job that we could do. Fans also like the plays that work and hate the ones that don't. Everyone here has conveniently forgotten how much we used to hate Daboll. Go read the post game thread after the Jax debacle for a refresher. Bengals fans HATE Zach Taylor (he calls the plays) with the force of a thousand suns (I know because I live in Cincinnati and hear it all the time). Chiefs fans, after the past two games, want Andy Reid to give up play calling duties (I actually waded into the cesspool that is Chiefs Planet to confirm this). In Dorsey's case, if you look at the All-22 you'll see short and medium options open on every pass play. Dorsey is "scheming" them open but Josh Allen is just refusing to take the layups. It comes with the territory. A QB that takes the easy options doesn't even think to attempt that TD pass to Cook at the end of the 2nd. Nor does he scramble out wide, jump in the air, and throw a TD pass across his body instead of throwing the ball away like JA17 did in the Pats game. I think that Bills fans need to find a way to watch other NFL games with the same critical eye as they watch Bills games. Most NFL games are close, with a few plays deciding the outcomes. And most blowouts are the result of a strange circumstances. For example, everyone is pumping up the Bengals right now but they would have lost to the Bucs if the Bucs offense had not TURNED THE BALL OVER ON FOUR STRAIGHT POSSESSIONS. The first one was a good play by a DB but the next three were a complete implosion by the His Royal Tomness. And in their great win over the KC Chiefs, the Mighty Cincinnati Bengals slot receiver and Bills' fan favorite Tyler Boyd had a worse drop than any this season by Davis or Knox. You just don't remember it because the Bengals won the game and it didn't hurt you on an emotion level.