Dr. K

24-20 Vikings

Of course a better running game, and fewer penalties, and a defense that did not leave them 20 points behind at halftime, would help. That's freakin' obvious. My point was that DESPITE all those failings, Allen had the opportunity to make a lot of plays that he did not make. To me this is an optimistic situation, assuming he has the ability to improve and does so. If, as I expect, those other areas (defense, penalties, run blocking, etc.-) of the game also improve--and they don't have to improve a huge amount to have significant results--the Bills will be a good team even with the personnel issues we've all complained about this season.

Repost from another thread: After watching the replay of the Bill-Chargers game, my conclusion is that the key to scoring points is better quarterback play, and that's pretty much it. Even with a o-line being shaky at times, and the receivers having nobody considered a real star, there were lots of plays left on the field in both the first and second halves. Receivers were open, and Allen had time to throw, especially if he recognizes the blitzes coming and adjusts to that. This is not meant to be an attack on Allen, who was starting his first NFL game, but if he learns to see the field better, analyze the defense pre-snap, and throw more accurately (a lot of things to improve, admittedly), the Bills will win quite a few games. Add in the possibility that the defense could play as well as it did in the second half, and this is a decent team.

After watching the replay of the Bill-Chargers game, my conclusion is that the key to scoring points is better quarterback play, and that's pretty much it. Even with a o-line being shaky at times, and the receivers having nobody considered a real star, there were lots of plays left on the field in both the first and second halves. Receivers were open, and Allen had time to throw, especially if he recognizes the blitzes coming and adjusts to that. This is not meant to be an attack on Allen, who was starting his first NFL game, but if he learns to see the field better, analyze the defense pre-snap, and throw more accurately (a lot of things to improve, admittedly), the Bills will win quite a few games. Add in the possibility that the defense could play as well as it did in the second half, and this is a decent team.

Allen had a lot of time on many plays. He held the ball a long time.

I'd be happy to see them go 11-5 instead. Not holding my breath.

I wasn't that upset. Interested in seeing Allen's play. Before the season I said they'd win five games and at best win two of their first eight. So they are on schedule for that. It sucks but that is where we are. It's not much fun being a Bills fan.

The only way to shut people like that up is for McBeane to get their act together, produce a viable roster, and win some games. The reason the Bills are being laughed at is because they are laughable. When you are down as a result of your own choices, some people at least are going to kick sand in your face.

I am really tired of how the majority on this board use Whaley as a whipping boy. On the basis of what we've seen so far, he had a far better eye for free agent talent than Beane.

I just watched the second half. Allen did not look very good. He missed a lot of throws, and even the ones caught were often way off target. He really looked very inaccurate. And he had a lot of time to throw and still missed his receivers.

I really don't see why everybody is so chuffed about Allen's performance today. He threw A LOT of bad passes, and missed a lot of open receivers. Even on completions, many of his passes were off the mark. He's got a long way to go, in my opinion. I hope he improves.

I think Allen shows promise, but it's funny to me the short memory fans have about previous players. EJ Manuel's first game, against the Patriots, his stat line was 18 of 27 (66.7 %) for 150 yards, 5.56 YPA, 2 TD, 0 Int, and he ran 3 times for 23 yards. His QB rating for that game was 105.5. I'm not saying that Allen is Manuel. He shows real flashes of talent, and EJ probably had better talent around him (thanks to another favorite whipping boy here, Doug Whaley) than Allen does. I hope Allen's learning curve goes better than EJ's did, but any conclusions drawn after this game are premature at best.

Better pick it up again before you trip over it and hurt yourself.

I've been skeptical about McBeane's personnel moves from day one, but I have been hoping that I was wrong about them. I still hope I am wrong and that their plan (assuming they have one, and "trust the process" doesn't just mean, "we're smarter than everybody so do it our way") works out. The Bills at this point really need them to make good personnel decisions considering where they have taken this roster so far. If Allen works out it will make a big difference in my assessment of them.

47-3. 9 for 18, 56 yards. I don't hate Tyrod. You can search my posts and you will not find any reflexive TT hatred.

Right. Those two previous Chargers losses going into the Bills game were on the road against the Patriots and Jacksonville. And three of their earlier losses were by a total of 6 points. And the Chargers finished 9-7, going 6-1 in their last seven games. I think the real Chargers were the team in the second half of the season, not the first (where they lost those nailbiters). Of course this is a matter of opinion, so neither of us can win this debate, but the easy assumption of so many fans that the Bills would have won if Tyrod started has always seemed like a rhetorical position more than an reasoned argument. Yes, Tyrod would not have thrown five interceptions. But the Bills would have been beaten regardless. 47-3 when Tyrod was pulled against the Saints. 9 for 18 for 56 yards. How do you cover up that level of offensive ineptitude? The frustrating narrative is that pulling Tyrod and starting Peterman was considered by so many people to be incomprehensible when it was a completely reasonable choice AT THAT TIME and IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE.

Do you really think that the Bills would have beaten the Chargers in that road game with Tyrod at QB? After the completely embarrassing performance by him in the New Orleans game at home, where when he left the field the Bills were behind 47-3? Yes, the Peterman meltdown was an embarrassment, but that was only after the previous embarrassment of Tyrod's miserable play against New Orleans.

Precisely.

And yet guys like you insist you are not racist. I was born and bred in Buffalo and this kind of common coin racist bilge was so prevalent among the people I grew up with that it sickens me. Kaepernick has never "played the race card" in his football career. I live in the South now and have for almost forty years, but the racism was as common in Buffalo as it is here, and in many contexts more common. My high school graduating class had over five hundred students in it, and NOT ONE was black. It was common to hear racist jokes. That was fifty years ago, and maybe it was understandable at that time since a lot of people were not educated about racial issues then. But it depresses me that this same BS is still current today. I know, I should take it to the politics board. Bad enough that the team is so crappy, but to hear this stuff from Bills fans nauseates me.

You're right, your ethnic background is irrelevant. So is Castillo's.

This really is classic racist stereotyping. I don't know your ethnic heritage but if you were, say, of Jewish descent, would you like someone describing you as having a hooked nose and kidnapping Christian babies for your blood rituals and cheating on business deals? I'm sure you are not racist in your personal life but this is not funny even though it used to be such ethnic jokes were common (if rude). And yes, the o-line's performance has been atrocious and the coach should be held accountable.

Yes. Plus, and this is not the reason I said yes, I like his politics.

I supported them starting Peterman after the preseason but forget that. The one game has shown that it is not going to work. Allen may not be ready, but they have to start him to have any chance of winning any games.

Yep. Only Beane could come in, get rid of all the young talent on the team, keep the guys nearing or at the end of their careers (the team has gotten OLDER under him), replace Watkins with Matthews, Dareus with Louteleli, acquire Bodine and Newhouse to fill gaping holes in the o-line (in part created by his trading away a pro bowl LT in Glen) and somehow convince so many here that knows what he is doing.

Beane, in his short tenure, has been a disaster. How shipping off Dareus and replacing him with Star (talk about a misleading name), or replacing Watkins with Matthews or Benjamin counts as improving the roster is beyond comprehension. In a league where every team is dying to have strong starting offensive tackles, he gets rid of Cordy Glenn when he could have kept him and had bookend tackles in Glenn and Dawkins on which to build a killer o-line. The only hope I see for Beane is if he hit a home run with Allen, although with this supporting cast, it's going to be hard for Allen to show us much. I thought they would be lucky to win five games this season. Make that three.