finn

I wasn't surprised. The Chargers were blown out the previous game and their head coach fired. They had ten days to think it over and get behind the interim coach, who by all accounts is a players' coach who rallied the team. They were ready to give it their best shot. Meanwhile, the Bills were coming off a short week and had to fly cross country, so not surprised they were a bit flat. Put those together and you have the game that happened. I think the game actually showed us something about this Bills team. They easily could have lost with those dynamics, and they didn't. They took care of business. I suspect something similar will happen tomorrow night. Like the Chargers, the Dolphins were embarrassed the week before, and they're playing at home, down on their luck and counted out. That's a formula for some fight--at least for some teams. The Bills will be ready, though, or at least I think so. They've been hard to figure out this year, even in retrospect.

Too many dropped passes.

Until last year's draft, Beane has made the defense a priority in the draft. In retrospect, that might have been a mistake, since Allen might have lit up the league with two or especially three quality receivers, likely enough to cover for an average defense. Easiest calls in retrospect: Pickens instead of Elam, and Davante Adams instead of Von Miller. Imagine Allen throwing to Diggs, Adams, and Pickens.

Right, it's a mystery why they stopped the quick-tempo offense. It's almost like Dorsey thought, "Well, that works, so let's move away from it, just to fool them." I don't recall Brady going back to it, either.

That's what the quality control position is all about: keeping an eye on your own team's tendencies. I hope the Bills have a good one. It does seem that Lamar is forever sending long, lazy passes to wide-open receivers, whereas Allen has to put the ball right in his receivers' hands every time.

Quick sidebar: How did everyone miss on Nacua? The guy is amazing.

This big disparity in injuries can end up working against the Bills, big time. It sets up an expectation that, if it's not met quickly, can turn on a dime and work the opposite way with vengeance, just like a huge underdog that hangs with the champions. There's an inflection point where one team starts playing their best and the other their worst. In short, the Bills need a fast start to put this thing away. No garbage like a three and out followed by a quick strike by Tua or kick return for a touchdown. If that injury ends up being important, Brady will have hell to pay for calling a quarterback run at the very end of the game when you have Murray standing on the sidelines.

I imagine that will change quickly. Lawson, Phillips, Settle, and Ford shouldn't be too expensive. I hate losing Floyd, but maybe Beane can re-sign him since he is north of 30 and appears to like the team. Hard to say if Floyd or Jones is the higher priority. Both are key players. I suspect Beane will be able to sign one of them. If Poyer can play one more year, that leaves just free safety to fill, given that Miller or Phillips will replace Floyd or Jones. But, wow, do they ever need wide receivers. If Diggs really is now no more than a possession receiver, that leaves just Shakir and the sound of crickets.

Agree. I wonder if the league will look at that in the offseason, since defenses seem to have caught up with offenses. I'd start with reducing offensive holding to five yards but maybe enforce it more rigorously.

Von will be a tough call. It comes down to whether he's worth the $7 million in savings they'd get if they cut him; the rest of his salary is guaranteed. He's just taking up a roster spot at this point, but it's possible he return to form next year. Tre White is another tough one, could depend on whether Elam develops. The only easy cut is Harty, who just catches punts and falls down. Sounds like Hines will be back, so at least we'll have someone to return kickoffs. I would not restructure Diggs until it's more clear what is up with him.

The refs threw 10 flags on the Bills in the Philly game in the first half alone (1 for Philly) to tip the balance. Absolute corruption combined (in other games) by incompetence. And the league does nothing about it, year after year. I can understand why they ignore the fans, since they keep buying the product. But why don't the owners speak up? Detroit, Buffalo, Miami, Dallas, and other teams have all been screwed by biased, incompetent refs this year and, as far as we know, the owners haven't said a word to Goodell. Do the KC and Philly owners have that much sway? Another mystery: Why doesn't some reporter ask the owners why they aren't objecting? All you read and see are half a dozen narratives, endlessly parroted, e.g, "Josh Allen is a turnover machine, but one thing is for certain: No one wants to face the Bills in the playoffs!" and "Baltimore is an absolute juggernaut." I'm in a sour mood. I'll feel better Sunday night.

It starts with that glorious catch he had for a touchdown, forgot which game, when Allen just rocketed it at him on a rope. Caught it effortlessly. If Sherfield did that, even once, he'd be carrying his weight.

I preferred Jake Kumerow. Dude seemed to catch everything thrown at him. By contrast, Sherfield has caught just 8 balls on 18 targets.

Right. I may be wrong, but it seems to me Brady doesn't realize what he has in Kincaid--or Shakir. He catches 81% of his targets, Shakir 86%. Those are really high percentages. Why not have both of them deeper routes, keep Knox and Cook in for the check downs?

A guy can dream, can't he?🥺

Sigh. No messiah for the playoffs. I had my hopes.

How about that game against the Steelers, who were resting their starters? The Bills had to win to make the playoffs. They lost. Forgot what year that was. A long time ago. It'd be like the Steelers losing to the Ravens Saturday.

What an ugly, garish website. Thanks to the designers of TSW!

One of the best mid-season trades league-wide, I'd say. Six turnovers forced since he arrived. We needed a big-play player with Milano gone, and he's stepped up. Bernard, Douglas, Oliver, Jones, Rousseau, Floyd... along with a lineup of good to very good complementary players. A very nice recovery after all the injuries. Only Miller and (so far) Elam have been disappointments. Even Poona has come on. Meanwhile, the offensive line is much better this year, Cook and Shakir have been much more productive, and Kincaid has been terrific. Only Harty and Sherfield have been disappointing, along with maybe Diggs recently. The defense is surging. Now we need the offense to click on all cylinders. A blowout would be ideal. No more close games!

Two games in a row the offense has not done very well. This game is the one to turn it around so they have momentum and confidence going into the playoffs. I'd like to see some adjustments. Slants, more 12 looks, fade passes in the red zone... anything besides throwing it to a RB or WR in the flat. But even more than that I'd like to see a big running game, maybe sitting Murray for Fournette, who has much better hands and can get you the short yardage, too. I really like Ty Johnson, would like to see him more. 200 yards rushing and a heavy does of play-action passes would work just fine for me.

Remind me: what did he say?

Yeah, but he leads the league in catching those targets--and at 15+ YPC; he's no possession receiver. This board might have a blind spot with Shakir. His numbers suggest he's an excellent wide receiver, certainly better than Gabe Davis. Maybe his uptick in numbers shows that Brady is seeing that. I hope so. The offense needs a shot of energy. More Shakir and Cook might be the answer. Diggs, Shakir, Kincaid, Cook, Knox, Davis: That would be my progression. Also, I'd love it if Shorter emerged as a more reliable Gabe Davis.

And safety...

Yeah, they're injuries are appalling. It's like the Bills down Rousseau, Floyd, Douglas, Morse, Torrence, and Davis (😇), with Diggs banged up. As for their speed, a disciplined zone can handle that. Still, I'd like to see Elam out there. If the Bills are going to make a deep run, they need to click on all cylinders. That means Diggs returning to form, Brady showing something new, Elam emerging (ideally), and Cook, Kincaid, Douglas, Oliver, and other top performers keeping up their excellent play. I'm not as worried about Allen, as long as Spencer Brown at least shoves his man before falling down.

I'm surprised that Von's being a healthy scratch didn't make the headlines. I mean, Diggs sneezes and it's national news.