finn

I think this is correct, objectively speaking.

You can't win without a OL that's at least mediocre. The sheer awfulness of this line is hidden by the quality players all around them. Without them, it would be exposed as possibly the worst in recent history. They shuffle between blowing run blocks, letting rushers through to the QB, and, when their teammates bail them out, they commit penalties to be sure the drive is killed.

Right? After all those years in the wilderness, both before and after the Super Bowl years, it's just so sweet to have a truly good team.

Actually, I've been a Bills fan since OJ Simpson shoved that snowball in the TV camera on Thanksgiving day, 1975. But thanks anyway.

Hey, anyone can be a Bills fan, right?

He wasn't commenting on your grammar; he was paraphrasing Inigo Montoya. You killed his father. Prepare to die.

I wonder if the Bills would consider starting Bobby Hart AND Tommy Doyle. You would think two of them could do the job of one. It would mean no tight end, but at least Allen won't be running for his life all game. And maybe Doyle can catch a couple passes. Maybe I should go into coaching... 😁

Could get much, much worse. Who else on the team quietly chose not to get vaccinated? Mongo? Knox? Davis? We could be seeing the same pattern every week for the rest of the season into the playoffs, if the Bills make them. The margins are pretty slim in the best of cases. Plus, not every player who gets COVID will come right back. Dawkins was in the hospital for like a week or more. But better to miss games, land in intensive care or even die in agony than risk a vaccine that may, someday, who knows?, have side effects. I read on Facebook that a guy's cousin developed a rash!

Maybe they can have Gilliam and Tommy Sweeny play guard and tackle. Only half kidding. The Athletic just released grades on O-lineman, and Ford was rated dead last. Daryl Williams' pressure/sack numbers aren't as bad as I thought, but I'll never forget seeing him frozen in his stance for a full second while the Jaguars DE blew past him to sack Allen.

So, to recap: Our left tackle is having the worst year of his career; our left guard is also playing poorly, but he's injured and has been replaced by a backup who's even worse; our center is playing relatively well (which isn't saying much), our right guard is mediocre at best; and our right tackle is out with COVID, so the replacement will be a) an extremely raw rookie, b) the aforementioned mediocre guard who is alarmingly bad at tackle and would in turn be replaced by a guard who may well be the worst in the league; or c) a inexperienced backup (Bates). This on a team with a superstar quarterback, a terrific set of wideouts, a rising star at tight end, a competent pair of backs, and the best defense in the league. In other words, a Maserati of a team with Walmart tires.

I don't know about that. They're not immune to losing to bad teams any more than the Bills, Rams, Chiefs or Tampa Bay. I can see them losing two or three games to the Pats, Jags, Steelers, Dolphins, and 49ers.

Interesting inflection point for the season. I thought the offense would be much better, and I didn't expect the defense to be this good. If they can play up to their potential on offense, maintain this level of play on defense, and stay healthy, they'll easily be the best team in the league and could run the table in the playoffs, top seed or not. At least they're not peaking too early. 😏

Which raises an interesting question: Would you trade Bass for Teller? I say no.

Fortunately, the Bills punt less than three times a game, tied for third lowest in the league. But he does seem to take his time punting.

Surprise studs: Knox, Brown, Wallace and (if you don't mind one more) Sanders Surprise duds: Williams, Boettger, Dawkins Haven't seen Boettger mentioned in this thread, but watch him on the replays and (negative) highlights. When he's in and there's a screwup on the line, he usually appears at least partly responsible. I would say Williams is doing even worse, though. He seems to be mailing it in. Those studs, though, wow. And Oliver is coming on. In fact, the whole defense is impressive, from top to bottom. I'd like to see them get home on the pass rush a bit more maybe, but otherwise they're just superb.

Think about what it would look like if the running backs had actual holes to run through and Allen had time for all his reads without having to dodge one or two rushers first.

Interesting the way the Bills chose to improve the running game, by carrying three backs. Breida brings a different dimension from Moss and Singletary, who are different from each other, too. As long as the O-line is just below average instead of abysmal, this move looks like it can work. More choices for Daboll.

I hope they hold them to three points rather that play the prevent defense and let them make score respectable. I'm in no mood for respectable.

I don't see a problem with Allen or the receivers or the running backs. It's all, once again, on the line. They can't run block, they can't pass block, even against four rushers. The success the Bills have had and will have will depend entirely on the other pieces. So frustrating. Are they such poor athletes? Or are they just very, very badly coached? I mean, it's every game, every opponent. They're as bad as I've seen on any team at any time.

It looked like the right guard was beat. Is that Ford?

I'm always appalled by how little homework most major media pundits and broadcasters do. ESPN, SI, the NFL site, PFF, the networks... Most of them seem to wing it based on impressions anyone would pick up seeing game highlights and glancing at some obvious stats. The average poster here knows more about the Bills than most of these guys, who confidently predict and proclaim with no idea of what is going on behind the scenes. So I don't take heart in their confidence in the Bills. I'm more encouraged by the betting line; those people are putting their money on the table.

Bummer about Zimmer. Time for Harrison to shine.

Kelly, yes, or Brady, Manning, Bledsoe... Any number of immobile quarterbacks. Allen doesn't get enough credit for his escapability. He's like Houdini back there--he has to be. In fact, he might actually do better dodging one charging D-lineman and rolling out with two more running after him. Either way, his excellent play is allowing his blockers get away with it with poor play. I wonder if they've regressed because they had little incentive to do better, or even maintain their mediocre standards. That's not quite fair: Williams and Dawkins played well last year, and Morse has been steady. But I think most observers would agree that all of them except possibly Morse, are playing worse this year. That points to coaching.

Not sure if even the Thurmanator could run behind this line. Moss and Singletary evidently had the lowest yards before contact in the league last year and so far this year as well (.22 this year!). Even to the extent that they're missing holes, I can't blame them entirely, since they must get shell shocked back there, much like Allen appears to be at times when the pass protection finally gives him time. It could very well be that Moss and Singletary are actually excellent backs, and that their ok yards-per-carry average is actually extraordinary given how awful the run blocking is, much like Allen's amazing ability to sidestep the rush masks its abysmal pass protection. We could be looking at the worst offensive line in NFL history, at least the lineup we saw last week. Dawkins and Williams regressing badly, Boettger a clueless, ill-trained backup, and Ford with his 5-11 pressures/game. Only Morse seems to be adequate--and no more than adequate. Put it this way: insert truly average backs and an average QB, and the world would see plainly how bad this line is.

I would prefer them to bring up Antonio Williams from the practice squad. I think a straight-ahead, pounding running back with good speed is what we could use. I don't blame Moss or Singletary a bit for the poor running game; yes, they missed chances here and there, but when yards before contact is .22 yards--eight inches!--you can't blame the backs. Maybe Ford and Boettger (or Bobby Johnson) will get the message when Williams slams into their backs three times in a row. For this one game, I would rather see three yards and a cloud of dust on most drives, just so the line remembers what run blocking is.