finn

I went away for a minute. Why wasn't that a TD for Waddle?

Poor guy. He worked so hard to come back from the knee injury.

Yeah, but the key there is that the DB didn't turn around to play the ball. If he had, the call might have legitimately gone either way.

Remember Kelly vs. Steve Walsh?

Right. I used to like his commentary, which I found insightful and informed. Now, he either gushes or stumbles incoherently half the time.

Could use Elam's speed back there. The zone isn't working. Benford and the safeties look slow. To be fair, the Dolphins are doing everything right. They came to play. Fortunately, so did the Bills offense.

Romo is a bit of an idiot, isn't he?

Imagine Josh Allen with a receiver who complements HIS skill set, a true downfield speed receiver with hands.

Give Allen a real WR2--not even a second WR1--and they'd be the best.

Did Romo just say "That's why I think Buffalo has a chance"? WTF?

Not much to complain about on that drive. Even the two-yard runs soften the D up for the pass.

I really, really don't want the Dolphins to win. The resulting media adoration may turn me off from football forever.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply he was in fact starting. I was just saying if I would prefer Rapp to start.

I'm hoping he has developed. My impression from last season was an energetic guy who flies to the ball and hits hard but arrives late or overruns plays. You kind of hold your breath when he's on the field. But he did better in preseason this year, so who knows. I think I would be more comfortable with Rapp back there and Hamlin as the top sub.

I think McDermott will have the defense ready. I don't see the Dolphins scoring more than 27 points. That's a lot, but I can easily see the Bills offense scoring more than that. In other words, the Bills are likely to score more points against the Miami defense than the Miami offense against the Bills defense. Genius, ain't I? 😁

Maybe the answer is to rush three in that case, drop eight, and jam the receivers to disrupt the timing. At least every once in a while. Not easy to throw into a flooded zone. Sorry, I didn't read your post before saying the same thing.

He might be an overall liability, actually, and the Bills might do better letting him go after this season. Look at the last game, for instance. Five targets, one catch for a TD, one drop, one interception that arguably was his fault. Not a fair sample, maybe, but his career catch rate is low, his drop rate high, he's not quick, has a hard time getting open, and often runs lazy routes. The positives people have pointed out (except for the blocking) flow almost entirely from playing with a future Hall of Fame quarterback.

But he's small and slow!

Happened against the Patriots when Brady was QB. Worst call I ever saw. Hit created fumble, but it was blown dead for forward progress.

Looks like Edmunds. Plays better, though.

The D always looks bad on the first drive of every game. Then they tighten up.

From ESPN (late August): "The Commanders' offensive line allowed 48 sacks in 2022, the seventh-most in the NFL. ESPN also had Washington ranked 26th in pressure percentage." If Floyd is healthy, the D-line could get some real heat on Howell, who has good pocket presence but tends to hold onto the ball waiting for the deep routes to open up. With a strong rush and an improved secondary, that should translate into sacks and interceptions. You never know, but I'll be watching Rousseau and Oliver in particular, and maybe blitzes from Bernard and Milano.

You might be right. I was lazy, assuming the Chiefs line was always good, or at least better than ours. The product of long-standing envy. I stand corrected.

I think the D will hold Washington to 25 points or less. What worries me is the D line dominating the Bills O line, especially Brown. Yes, you can chip on that side, even keep Knox or fifth lineman in to help, but then you have seven players covering four receivers, with pressure coming up the middle and from the left, forcing short throws all day into rolled-up coverage. Basically the formula that helped the Bucs beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Consider too that the Wash. D-line may be better than the Bucs was, and the Bills O-line worse than Chiefs O-line back then. I still think the Bills prevail, simply because the Wash. linebackers and DBs aren't particularly strong, so YAC should be significant. And while Brown truly sucks in pass pro, he's an effective run blocker. So let Brown and Torrence cook for Cook, work in some play action off that. I'm also looking for a break-out game for Kincaid. Bills 28-21

It's always a puzzle to me how commentators blithely compare quarterbacks--all the usual stats--without taking into account the play of their receivers, running backs, and lines, and whoever is calling the plays. Yes, a truly great QB will stand out despite weaknesses in all these areas (arguably Allen is one), but OF COURSE it matters if one QB is throwing to two or three stud receivers while the next QB has none, or the first is playing behind a stellar line and the next is dodging rushers on every play, and so on. You have to wonder what nobodies would have been stars with better protection, receivers, backs, and/or coaching, and what Hall of Famers would have been nobodies without at least some of these benefits.