Rubes

Lot of hot takes in this thread! 😝

Well, as long as we're being fair, just about everybody has been dropping passes this year, so it's hard to imagine him having great trust in anyone at this point.

On the very first 3rd down play against the Chargers, Josh missed a wide open Murray out of the backfield, instead trying to cram it into a blanketed receiver, incomplete, punt. Those dump off plays to wide open RBs are there, Josh just isn't seeing them or taking them, for whatever reason.

Nice work. I'd also be interested to include defensive holding calls in there as well, since the two penalties basically only differ on whether the ball was in the air at the time of contact.

...and it's mostly purple, suggesting the Ravens will win...

Such an incredibly sad story. What a great thing for us and our favorite football club to have had such a great, strong female figure as a public leader. With any luck, she'll become that again, but chances don't seem great.

If all Kincaid got were "easy" catches without much YAC that kept getting us first downs, I'd be pretty happy. Anything above that is gravy.

Been wondering this as well. Hard to believe that Cook has all but disappeared from the passing game, even for simple dump offs.

There is still a possible scenario where the Bills get in as #6 and the Chiefs are #3...

...Again...

Brady has always been coaching for his job. He's interim, its not like he's assured the spot for next year. He knows he has to produce every week. I can say with confidence that this is NOT exactly what McDermott wants. I'm sure he would like a run-heavy offense like we saw against Dallas, but not what we've seen the last couple of weeks. If he wants a run-heavy offense, it's to take the pressure off of Allen and allow him to use play action better and to be more productive with the receivers when he does throw. We're not seeing that, at least not yet. I can't imagine this is what McDermott wants...he wants this, but with a better, more opportunistic passing game.

@4merper4mer reels them in again!

Well, sorry to disappoint you with the thread, but I also disagree. It's not a matter of "over analyzing everything," it's doing what a lot of people are doing and trying to look relatively objectively at who are the hot teams going into the playoffs. I acknowledged right off that the Browns haven't beaten a murderer's row of competition, but they've still done so fairly convincingly. Hey, they didn't struggle with a down-and-out Jets team the way we struggled with the down-and-out Chargers (and their defense only allowed 10 points to the Jets in the first half). You can't argue with the fact that Flacco is experiencing a resurgence (and yes, you can argue that his turnovers are a problem, but he's throwing for a lot of yards and plenty of TDs) and you can't argue with how elite their defense is. It was just a simple question: are the Browns a team that other teams are not looking forwad to facing in the playoffs? I say yes, you say no. No need to insult a thread over that.

I just hope they don't screen pass us to death. That has always been a staple of the Pats**** offense, and we have always seemed to be especially susceptible to it.

Kudos to Beane for recognizing it and then going out and getting the right player.

Interesting...insurance policy for the playoffs, maybe?

The thinking for the last couple of weeks has been the Bills...but I wonder how many are now saying it's the Browns? Browns have most all the ingredients you might want: Super strong defense Excellent offensive line Savvy veteran QB experiencing a resurgence One of the top WRs in Cooper Very good running game They haven't faced a murderer's row of opponents lately, but they're thrashing people and really starting to peak at the right time. Of all the teams in the AFC right now, even compared with the Dolphins and Ravens, I think they are going to do some serious damage in the playoffs. Assuming they get their kicking game straightened out...

I had to do this myself for the first time this year. It was the final 4th down play by the Chiefs at the end of the game. Couldn't bear to watch, I buried my head and listened to it, waiting for the words, "no flags!" It was enough to make my head nearly explode.

I think some of it will depend on whether Hunter Henry plays. He's the kind of target that would really frustrate our zone defense, I think, especially over the middle. I also would look for a lot of dump offs to the backs either in the flat or over the middle—need Bernard and Dodson to be on their game.

Yeah, exactly. It seems like that's what he's trying to do, but I just can't see it working.

I agree, I hate seeing that quick WR screen. Then again, I think Brady is using it for two reasons: one, as a substitute for a run play to try and get 4-8 yards (not necessarily to break one every time); and two, to keep the DBs from playing too far off the line in man coverage, setting up a deep ball attempt. Can't really say it's working so far, by my unprofessional eyes, but I think there is some method to this madness, I just can't quite see it.

Pretty sure the Bills-Chargers game was replayed last night...

The universe is jonesing for a Bills-Fins showdown week 18. Take care of the Pats**** this weekend and make it happen.

Thank you for looking that up. I was thinking of doing it myself after this game, since it seemed to me as well that other teams just don’t seem to miss (unless we have 12 men on the field).