Tim Graham for The Athletic: Remember when the Buffalo Bills used to have fun?

[EasternOHBillsFan]

1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said:

Graham is still a whiny little beach. We lost @Loriover him, but him disappearing from here forever is a pretty close alternative.

 

He's DEFINITELY not missed... we got along without him for many years before he even got here, and we got along without him after he turned tail and ran.

[DCofNC]

On 11/10/2023 at 2:31 PM, Yobogoya! said:

 

Can't even scheme up Spencer Brown to get the big man open in space, smdh 

Which should be easy as the DE is by him a half second after the snap, he’s open EVERY play.

[Fleezoid]

2 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

I don't have a subscription unfortunately

 

When does the author claim the Bills last looked like they were having fun?

 

He kind of eludes to last year:

 

"Once among the NFL’s most entertaining clubs, the Bills have become a prime-time bore. Last year, they averaged 31 points while going undefeated in five night games. The Bills enter Monday night’s matchup against the Denver Broncos with a 2-2 prime-time record and averaging 18 points."

 

I personally think they stopped having fun around the 2nd half of the Packer game last year.

 

Kinda like when Apollo Creed got knocked down for the first time in Rocky 1. That's when he stopped having fun!

 

 

[Comebackkid]

between the lines, I think he is insinuating that Dorsey is sucking the fun out of the offense.   

[billieve420]

Winning cures all so to me the fun aspect is overblown. Teams have figured out the Bills and we have no counter punch. 

[GunnerBill]

On 11/10/2023 at 6:31 PM, boyst said:

Tim Graham is a phenomenal writer. He can construct and convey a story like few others can do even if we don't like his stories or people have a personal dislike for him. 

 

Agree. I say this as someone who has done that job: that was always the difference between he and Sully. Tim Graham is a GREAT writer. Sully can barely use English.

[Mister Defense]

Hard to have fun when tremendous obstacles are placed in your way continuously, and when there are so many they have become insurmountable.

[Scott7975]

3 hours ago, ProcessTruster said:

 

Cover 2  all game'll do that to ya, like it does to all the big play teams.   Defenses don't allow the chunk plays to the Bills any more.   Hell, now defenses are baiting Josh into trying the Gabe Davis - ish 25 yard sideline throw , then drop the LB or Corner  at the last minute and make the pick, as happened in Foxboro and Cincinnati. 

 

Fans were warned to enjoy it while they could, bc Defenses eventually would take a page out of Lesley Fraziers book and play deep cover 2 all game, pen Josh in the pocket and make the Bills  dink and dunk on 15 play drives.   That's the world we live in now.   Hey, Cinci and KC are living that life and doing just fine, thanks.   

 

Sure Tim G, we all see it, nothing you can say is anything new.   The Bills D is a injury riddled disaster,  everyone is playing deep cover 2 and, yeah , Dorsey is getting more careful on offense due to both factors.   Seems pretty f ing smart to me.   

 

Not as fun for the fan, sure, but hey, the NHL was a way better watch before everyone implemented the neutral zone trap as soon as they got a lead, too.   Coaches get paid to play defense, too. 

 

Except they aren't playing cover 2 all that much.  As per @HoofHearted 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Scott7975

[Scott7975]

3 hours ago, QCity said:

 

You see it in the blank stares during losses, of course, but that spark of joy doesn’t crackle like it once did even in triumph. We saw a glimpse when the Bills slobberknocked the Miami Dolphins in Week 4, but that was forever ago. Subsequent victories over the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers elicited mere sighs of relief.

 

 

[PBF81]

6 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Still, I think back to the drought years and try to keep it in perspective. So it’s not that bad! 

 

That is one perspective.

Here’s a contrary one however.

 

We’ve had the second-easiest schedule of any team in the league to date.

 

Among the 8 remaining games, they include two teams that have already beaten us, with QBs Wilson and Jones;

Three current division leaders which include last season’s two Super Bowl participants, with all three of those games being on the road;

One team that will in every likelihood make the playoffs sitting behind one of those division leaders;

and @ another where we haven’t won in six tries since Knox was our coach and Ferguson our QB.

 

Denver on MNF is the odd team out of that mix.

 

Our start equals the start we had in 2017, 2015, 2014, 2011, 2008, 2007, 2002, and 2000.

 

Our record in those seasons respectively was ... 

 

9-7 

8-8 

9-7 

6-10 

7-9 

7-9 

8-8 

8-8 

 

Our QBs in those seasons were Taylor (twice), Orton, Fitzpatrick, Edwards (twice), Bledsoe, and Johnson respectively.  

 

We have Allen!  

 

Our remaining schedule is more difficult than for any of those seasons.

 

Monday’s game is critical at this point. Absolute must-win, and even then it’ll be uphill.  Lose, and I suppose that the wheels start coming off completely and Pegula needs to step in, perhaps not now, but at the end of the season for sure.

 

McD’s had 8 days to prepare, not that he understands what preparing actually is, nonetheless.

 

Payton’s had two weeks.

 

And again, not that what any one of us thinks or says actually matters, but as a contrary perspective.

 

For those thinking that we beat Miami as a feat of significance, consider that Miami has beaten no one relevant, not one team that is presently seeded for playoff contention.  The only team with more than 3 wins that they've beaten is the 4-4 Chargers, and only by 2 in a come-from-behind last-minute win.  They’ve had a similarly easy schedule and the third easiest in the league.  So it’s quite likely that our win over them is less relevant than we originally thought.  

 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by PBF81