Dr. K

Good article. I'm not convinced Tyrod will ever be a good passer, and I'm still a skeptic about his long-term viability, but it makes a good argument that he is a better QB than the eyeball test suggests.

Raiders: some points Bills: fewer points

Well it is true that 22 have a ratio of 2.0 or better.

Thank Doug Whaley. How many people here have criticized him for that trade?

48 yards passing at this point? Just shoot me.

As long as Rex is coach and Tyrod is healthy, Tyrod with start. The only way we see change, barring injury to TT which I do not want to see, is if Tyrod and Rex both go down together. I am convinced at this point that the Bills will miss the playoffs but that the Pegulas will keep Rex and Tyrod. We are doomed to mediocrity for at least one more season. If Rex/Tyrod manage to get them to a one-and-out playoff game, we are doomed to Rex as coach and Tyrod as QB for at least two and probably three more seasons, no matter how bad they play. For the first time in thirty years, I am making no effort to watch the Bills games every Sunday. I still care for and follow the team, but I see no chance of a title or even a deep playoff run with the current coaching regime. Rex is a mediocre coach. He's entertaining, he knows a few things, but he is inflexible and limited. His teams will always take at least 8-10 penalties per game. Some of those penalties will be egregiously stupid backbreakers, but nothing will change the next week or next month or next season. His teams will always take unnecessary time outs because of confusion of slow communication. Clock management will be spotty to terrible. They will always look lost at times during the play, especially against elite teams. The players generally like him and play hard for him, but they don't play smart. He will always go for a run-oriented offense and accept mediocre QB play. He gives great press conferences. He has the macho swagger that many fans think indicates a good coach but that is not correlated with winning. And this package will be just convincing enough for many fans--and the Pegulas, in the end--to keep him on longer than is warranted by the results. I'm not saying it's easy to find a superior coach, but Rex is not one and never will be one, and his teams will be a reflection of the man.

I don't care. A football team is just a football team. Donald Trump is President.

I've been very critical of Tyrod, and I'm still not sure if he's the long-term solution but the Bills could win a lot of games with that level of QB play. Can he sustain it?

Ryan's system makes them look worse than they are.

I did not expect the team to do well this year. I imagined the defense might be a little better but I had no confidence that they would be less penalized or better coached. I did not expect the leap in sacks. I could not tell whether TT would play better--it seemed possible--or be found out by the rest of the league and play worse. But as long as Rex was the coach, I had no hopes for them. Still don't.

This defense is designed to make Gilmore and Darby look worse than they are. In another system they would (and will) look first rate.

Who cares?

Aaron needs to retire before the only way he can get around is in a powered wheelchair.

Gillislee averaged over seven yards per carry against the Pats. The loss of McCoy did not do in the team Sunday.

Over and over again he doesn't throw the ball until the receiver is completely open. And by the time the ball gets there half the time the receiver is not open anymore and gets clobbered. If he sees them at all. Yet he may be the Bills best option. He has made plays with his legs, found open receivers while scrambling when the defense breaks down, like the pass to the fullback early in the game. Given what he can do, and what the rest of the team can't do, and the level of coaching, I'll be astonished if they win more than seven games.

This. I think EJ should be extremely glad to get out of Buffalo, and I think he has a good chance to become a starting QB and succeed on another team.

Start EJ. [ducks to evade buckets of hurled abuse]

Yep.

Whaley gave Rex the players Rex wanted in the draft. Just fire Rex and get it over with.

Gillislee is a legit backup. He's run well when he's had the ball today.

I agree 100%.

Because Tyrod is short, in a league of athletic linemen who are well over 6 feet tall and trained to batt down the ball. Maybe Drew Brees has learned to deal with being only 6' tall, but Tyrod has not.

I don't think I've made a prediction before now. I'll say 7-9 or 8-8.

What kind of coach has the entire offense resting on the back of a single running back, one who is not some beast like Earl Campbell or Jerome Bettis, but a relatively slight guy who counts on people missing, who has injury issues in recent seasons, and who before than had the most carries in the league for several years? I was saying after the San Francisco game that the hysteria about McCoy being league MVP and leading the league in rushing was a delusion because he could not carry that load for a full season without getting hurt. Here we are. Does anyone think the Pats game next week is going to go like the one in Foxboro, where the Bills nurse a slight lead through four quarters—with Tom Brady playing QB on the other side of the line? What's Rex's fallback position?

It does seem to me that TT holds the ball too long and is late on throws when the receivers have the coverage beat. The pass the 2 yard line on the last scoring drive got there late enough for the receiver to get nailed as he caught it; if TT had thrown it a second earlier he would have scored easily. Of course it's easy for me to say this after the fact.