finn

Brady channeling Dorsey. Running too boring, maybe.

Throw to Davis = interception. Any questions?

That's what I've been saying all year. Four possible outcomes when you throw to Davis, in order: an incompletion, a drop, an interception, and a completion, with zero yards after the catch. It's like he's a plant from the Bills' opponents dedicated to the downfall of Josh Allen.

Maybe he won't throw it at Gabe Davis again. Maybe McDermott will play the water boy instead of Davis.

We can't be sure it was his fault, but you don't see Allen miscommunicating that much with any other receiver. Between his lack of separation, drops, and wrong routes, the guy is a flat-out liability, I don't care how well he blocks downfield.

Weird, but it seems this Bills team is the kind that actually wins Super Bowls a lot of the times. It's not always the best team or even a top-five team that goes all the way. Meanwhile, the most impressive teams often don't get past the first round. Too preoccupied about the game to find evidence, but how many flawed teams won the Super Bowl? And how many excellent, even historically excellent, did not?

Maybe. But I can also see them finally clicking on all cylinders. They seem due for a dominant offensive showing. Let's be honest: We have no idea what to expect.

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!