finn

So is Mahomes. Facts say Allen is the better quarterback.

Worst-case scenario: Bills can't establish the run against a stout defensive line, which plays disciplined football and contains Allen in the pocket. That allows a very good pass rush to pressure Allen into less than perfect throws, resulting in at least one interception. Unable to score touchdowns, they rely on Bass, who lets his team down. On the other side, Lamar keeps drives alive with his legs and repeatedly hits Likely, exposing Hamlin and Rapp. Not a blowout, but points slowly accumulate on the Ravens side until time runs out. Best case: Brady doesn't even try running into a brick wall, opting instead for short passes to take advantage of a weak Ravens defensive middle. To compensate, the Ravens roll up a safety and Allen starts hitting MVS and Coleman down the field. Frustrated, the Ravens start blitzing, which works once or twice but also allows Allen to escape and run for big gains or hit short throws for big YAC. Meanwhile, Lamar is kept in the pocket, which exposes his mediocre ability to read defenses and throw accurate balls. He makes his usual "Wow" runs and throws, but he's also sacked four times and, after a few productive drives, the Ravens offense stalls. I think the second scenario is more likely. Allen is playing peak football, and there's no one receiver the Ravens can key on to shut down the Bills offense. Lamar is flashy, but he folds in the clutch. He shouldn't have voted MVP once, let alone twice. The Bills, not the Ravens, have the MVP on their team. He'll be the difference in this game. Bills 27-17.

I've heard this strategy many times, and it seems to represent an excellent opportunity to fool the offense doing it. They send a man in motion, you have someone mirror him, signaling man coverage. The QB responds accordingly, and--Surprise!--you drop into zone. Do teams do this switcheroo? Is it even plausible?

That Orlovsky quote (if it's serious) captures the absurdity of the discourse on Mahomes. It's like, "Who do you believe, me or your lying eyes?" To most NFL commentators, it wouldn't matter if Allen outplayed Mahomes all year and won the Super Bowl, while Mahomes threw 16 interceptions and KC didn't make the playoffs; he STILL would be "better" than Allen in their minds. Motivated reasoning, confirmation bias, backfire effect... pick your bias, they're guilty of it. At the bottom of it all is insecurity. They need Mahomes to be better because they've associated his success with themselves in some twisted, unconscious way, so evidence that contradicts their belief doesn't just not matter, it actually causes them to double down on their beliefs because it's so scary to admit they're wrong and Mahomes (aka, they themselves) are second best. So when Allen is hoiting the Lombardi trophy in February, they'll be even more shrilly insistent that Mahomes is better.

Yes, but the bias goes both ways, right? A lot of gamblers will think, "It just spun 4 blacks in a row, the next one HAS to be black again!"

Funny you don't hear this from the announcers during Bills games, or how Allen had far more touchdowns than anyone in the league last year, a bigger share of his team's offensive output, etc. Instead, you hear about--you know it--turnovers, even with just a single turnover this season. It's like Pavlov's dog: "Allen? What about turnovers?" The opposite is true of Mahomes. He has four interceptions already this season, but the "T" word is never mentioned on air.

It's like flipping a coin, having it coming up heads three times in a row, and everyone shouting, "Heads is obviously the better side. They have dominated tails and always will!"

Agree he's not one of the dummies you see everywhere on national platforms just spouting The Narrative, but I would take the "data-driven reasoning" with a grain of salt. For instance, he sneered at the Bills' fast start in 2022, calling them "Mr. September," ignoring the glaring fact that they had the best December record over the previous five years. None of his chums corrected him, of course, even with all the data in front of them and producers in their earpieces. No, now that The Narrative has his precious Patrick Mahomes ensconced as the best quarterback in the league, he's fine with dispensing favors to the underlings who once threatened that crown.

It starts with getting rid of Diggs.

What's with the hyperbole. Now Martin is one of the best punters in the league? The Bills O-line is the very best? Bass is one of the most reliable kickers in the league? Cheapens the truth, which is the Bills have only one player who is the best in the league.

We're going to have to replace both Babich and Brady after this season.

I mean, how could Allen--or any quarterback--be playing better? What do you want?

All short throws and YAC this year, the opposite of the Dorsey offense.

No pass rush worth mentioning.

I have kicker envy every game now.

It looked late, high AND shanked.

...while also knocking the ass off of Rasul or Benford.

His throws are almost always to wide-open receivers, or short dumps that turn into long gains. I don't see many "Oh, wow!" plays that Allen produces every game.

You were right. "I asked him, 'How do you defend against a player as great as Patrick Mahomes?"

How is Collingsworth going to justify that pick as a brilliant play only one man on the planet is capable of?

It's the Chiefs. Ergo, he made it, according to the Ref Handbook.

I watch alone because I mute the commercials. Most other people keep them on for some reason. Also, I have to confess when the other team is doing well, I often mute the commentary, sometimes even if the Bills are dominating. The announcers are usually just so grating to listen to.

It's possible the depth chart says more about Anderson than SVPG. Maybe someone with access to the All-22 film can verify, but he seems active and effective when he's on the field as a sixth blocker. Feisty demeanor, too, as we learned in preseason. Have they found a gem in Anderson?

Right? These highly paid "experts" obviously don't bother watching the games or looking at the numbers. They just indulge their biases in a case study of logical fallacies. So Joe Burrow is better because he has more swagger, Lamar is better because he's a dual threat, ignoring Allen's similar run production and superior air production, Mahomes is better because of his higher TDs thrown vs turnovers ratio, ignoring Allen's far superior overall TD/turnover ratio. Criticize Allen for not making it to the Super Bowl, ignoring his actual performance in the playoffs. Nice work if you can get it. Spout garbage and laugh all the way to the bank.

As much as I despise Brady's character and smirky ratface, I have to agree with you. He adapted to the strengths and weaknesses of the team around him and had success with a wide range of team types. That's pretty impressive. It's just a shame he was (and is) a whiny, self-important, cheating, lying, fatuous POS. (Full disclosure: I lived in New England during his entire career.)