Dr. K

I used to get seriously depressed, but that was silly. Life is too short. I still hate to see them lose, but my life is full of other things that are good and I can't see spoiling them because a game over which I have absolutely no control.

I rooted for them in that first SB against the Rams. What a mistake. Cheats.

The Bills are causing plenty of turnovers. The fact that last season they did not turn any into TDs is an anomaly, not some result of an ineffective pass rush. I'd like to see them do better in that department, and I'm happy with them drafting a pass rusher or two, given Hughes isn't getting any younger and Lorax is 35, but the lack of scoring from the defense--when the Bills got 40 turnovers from their opponents—is not because their pass rush was bad. Plus, they themselves turned over the ball too much, but I expect that to get better. Eleven of the 23 pass interceptions the Bills threw were by Peterman and Anderson.

The weird thing is that the Bills were second in the league in forced fumbles with 24 and tied for seventh in interceptions with 16. It's actually pretty remarkable that they never scored on any of these plays. You'd almost have to TRY not to score in order to go 0 for 40. That's why i say it's a statistical anomaly. By the way, stats say the Bills recovered one fumble for a TD, but that was by Jason Croom when Zay Jones fumbled at the goal line on an offensive play. Not a defensive recovery for TD.

One of those plays can turn a game. The difference between 2 and 0 is not insignificant.

I remember thinking at various times during the season that the Bills were not scoring any defensive touchdowns--no recovered fumbles for TD, no pick-sixes. But I did not make anything much of that at the time. Looking at their team stats, I see they scored none—zero, zilch, nada—the entire season. I can't remember that ever happening before in my more than fifty years of watching this team. It's just a statistical anomaly I'm sure, but it makes me think that this is another reason that, next season, when that's unlikely to happen again, they will be a better team. Likewise they scored zero kick return TDs, which is less of a surprise given their generally poor special teams play. I expect them to do better in this area as well, just as a matter of luck if nothing else.

At least if they hire Rex he can't destroy a fine defense the way he did in Buffalo. The Chiefs are already 31st in the league. I still think it would be a huge mistake.

Seth Keysor has an article on THE ATHLETIC ripping Bob Sutton to shreds over the way he refused to adjust the Chief's defense to take away the middle of the field on third downs. It breaks the plays down the three third-and-long plays the Pats converted in their OT drive and explains how Sutton stubbornly refused to try anything to neutralize Edelman.

Patriots will work the running game and play action against the weak Chiefs defense.

Much to my dismay, I'm expecting the Pats to beat the Chiefs, and it won't be close. I would love to be totally wrong on this but I can't remember the Pats ever being beaten badly in the playoffs, and they seldom are beaten at all.

I want him to fail on the field. I want him to play badly, make some crucial error, throw picks in the end zone, get strip sacked, miss his receivers. All while he is in perfect health.

I'm tired of the umbilical that ties McBeane to Carolina, but I'm not against the hire. It just raises the question of whether they do due diligence on their coaching and player decisions.

Stick a fork in the Chargers. Stick three forks in them. They are so done. I would not bet on the Chiefs against the Pats. Another Patriots Super Bowl.

I hated the Rex hire from day one, and said so at the time. I think Whaley got a raw deal and his treatment by so many as a joke and a whipping boy is unjustified.

Peters refused to play for the Bills. He forced his way off the team.

I take your point, but I think that the Bills might have traded draft picks for the move up. But I guess it's water under the bridge now.

I don't disagree with what you say. The point I'm trying to make is that people seem to think that just because the Bills have a lot of money to spend, they can pick up first rate o-linemen in free agency to fill their holes. But it's more likely they will pay a premium for mediocre players. There just aren't a lot of good o-linemen available, and even the ones who have good reps can flop. This is why it seemed insane to me to give away Cordy Glenn for a draft pick. Left tackles do not grow on trees.

For 2018 a number of teams paid big bucks for mediocre offensive linemen, or linemen that played poorly. Sporting News mentions Nate Solder, Ryan Jensen, and Andrew Norwell, for whom the Giants, Jags, and Bucs paid big prices in free agency, only to have them play poorly. Good o-linemen are hard to find in trade or free agency, and their price is often inflated well past their ability. My friend who is a Bengals fan told me before the season that Bodine was the worst center he had ever seen, and the Bills thought he was going to solve their problem. That's one reason I hated when the Bills gave away Cordy Glenn--teams spend years trying to get a good left tackle and we just sold him away.

Yes

Irrelevant, scary thought: I have held my job longer than "old man" Kyle Williams has been alive.

It's the right thing to do. All respect for the man.

It's going to happen before long that the Bills will have a breakout game, where the glimpses they have given come into focus for a complete game and they show us the kind of team they will eventually be. Allen hits more passes long and short, the running game works, they cut the penalties and turnovers, the special teams manage not to throw away the game, and they shock to world. Why not this week in Foxboro?

The guy is just trolling. Ignore him.

I think the Bills may run better with McCoy out. Murphy and Ford will hit the holes and get whatever yards they can, not try to dance their way to a big gain.

He missed crucial field goals and extra points in that first Super Bowl year, and he was lousy beyond 35 yards. Lots of kickers (including Christie) were miles better than Norwood, even in that era when field goals over 50 yards were rare. For instance, in that season against Denver, Norwood missed two field goals and an extra point in a game the Bills managed to win by one point.