Week 14 - Bills at Rams Game Week Thread

[Beck Water]

1 hour ago, Kelly to Allen said:

Josh Allen said the team is playing very free right now because a home playoff game is already guaranteed so they are not really too concerned about mistakes. They're guaranteed the division and 4th seed minimum 

 

Josh Allen in that mindset is the most dangerous QB in the NFL which is why we aren't losing another game. 

 

It's also why we are going to destroy everyone imo. 

 

I'm not sure if I love to hear it, or hate to hear it.  "Playing free" sounds great.  Not being concerned about mistakes....mistakes, such as making dangerous throws to a double-covered Shakir when Knox is open underneath for the first down....well, that kind of decision making gets to be a habit just like anything else a guy keeps doing.

[Richard Noggin]

6 hours ago, The Firebaugh Kid said:

I wanna see what 84 has. I have a feeling about him 

 

So **nudging you** are you going to tell him?

[Sierra Foothills]

4 hours ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

The value of the 1 seed will be greater now than it was for the first 30 of those 34 years.  For 30 of those years, the 2 seed also got a bye, hence the automatic win and injury avoidance too.  The 2 seed no longer has that, so over time the SB win % of the 2 seed will drop, whereas the 1 seed % will go up and I’d think the other seeds % will increase ever so slightly too.

 

Mathematically your point is inarguable. Since the expansion to 14 teams, only 1 team in each conference gets a bye whereas it used to be that 2 teams in each conference did. I can't argue with your point.

 

Interestingly though in the 4 years since the expansion of the playoff field the Super Bowl winners (as @Beck Water pointed out) have been the #3, #1, #4, and #5 seeds. So only 1 #1 seed has won in the last 4 years.

 

4 hours ago, Stretch said:

The #1 seed being almost double the next highest % seems pretty damn worth it to me.

 

We were talking about "at all costs." Is being the #1 seed worth it if you lose Dion Dawkins? James Cook? Gregory Rousseau?

 

It's a rhetorical question but that's the point of the discussion... at what cost?

 

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

 

[GoBills!]

14 hours ago, RiotAct said:

man oh man, how far we’ve come from the drought years.

But why aren’t we having consistent 300 yard passing games? That’s the real marker of a champion QB and team right? 😂 

[Kelly to Allen]

Nick the troll wright picked the Rams to win LMFAO 😂 

 

He's feeling the heat for the one seed 

[Coffeesforclosers]

46 minutes ago, Kelly to Allen said:

Nick the troll wright picked the Rams to win LMFAO 😂 

 

He's feeling the heat for the one seed 

 

If I'm Nick picks against the Bills, he's guaranteed to be right 20-35% of the time.

[jcamm1966]

48 minutes ago, Kelly to Allen said:

Nick the troll wright picked the Rams to win LMFAO 😂 

 

He's feeling the heat for the one seed 

Yea this whole I'm a Bills guy is weak, Now the Lions are the team that  has replaced the Bills 

[jcamm1966]

All I know is I'm having the most fun this year being a fan of this team. They are so easy to root for, I love the players their attitudes they are so together. 

No drama I can see, Even Buff Joe must be having so much fun , they truly care and want a  SB for Buffalo. There are more ups and downs yet to come but I fell alot better about this squad than even the the 13 second team GO BILLS.

[Billsatlastin2018]

9 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

I'm not sure if I love to hear it, or hate to hear it.  "Playing free" sounds great.  Not being concerned about mistakes....mistakes, such as making dangerous throws to a double-covered Shakir when Knox is open underneath for the first down....well, that kind of decision making gets to be a habit just like anything else a guy keeps doing.

IF that refers to the 2023 Chiefs playoff game, I am still unsure where the blame lies. Correct me, if I’m wrong. This was a magnificent drive from the 8 minute mark down, involving 4th Down conversions.

 

I thought… wrongly…. that McD had finally figured it out AND conveyed that to Allen… strongly. The goal was to leave Patty with NO Time/ TOs. Get one more post 2 minute Warning FD, bleed the Chiefs TOs and THEN take your shots at the EndZone, including Allen scrambles or a cheap shot FG to go to OT.

 

But never,ever, give the Chiefs any time! Just as they did in rainy Baltimore, the previous year. Just as Campbell did v.s. Green Bay on Thursday!

 

Somebody ***** up!

[fergie's ire]

22 hours ago, Logic said:

I think part of what people underestimate about the Bills offense, and what people don't fear about it, is that it IS unusual.

It doesn't have an exciting, signature, fancy, innovative scheme to hang its hat on. It doesn't wow you with exotic motions and advanced passing concepts. It's not a dazzling, bomb-it-down-field passing offense or a Greg Roman style exotic/dominant running offense.

What it IS is malleable and effective. The first thing the Bills want to do is trot out two tight ends or a 6th offensive lineman and run the ball down your throat. If you sell out to stop that, they'll hit you with play-action chunk plays. If you stop all of THAT and force them to spread it out, they're willing. If you wanna operate our of a deep shell, they'll dink and dunk you to death. If you wanna throw exotic blitzes at them, they'll hit WR screens to Shakir all day. 

No matter what you want to do, Joe Brady is gonna diagnose it and give Josh Allen some "easy button" answers, and the Bills are gonna methodically move the ball and score more often than not. You're gonna see either a touchdown celebration or a Tyler Bass field goal much more often than you're gonna see a Sam Martin punt. Then all of a sudden, you're gonna look up at the scoreboard and see that the Bills hung 30 on you.

"malleable and methodically effective" doesn't scare people. 6 o-lineman and running Duo again and again doesn't grab headlines. But for all the glitz and glamour it lacks, the Bills offense just continues to attack you in whatever way you've left yourself susceptible to, and to the tune of lots of points and lots of wins. 

Meet the boring but deadly 2024 Buffalo Bills offense.

I think that's exactly right and I think malleability is the key difference between Brady and Dorsey.  Dorsey seemed to take adjusting as a sign of weakness..wanted to "impose his will."  The snow games (last week and playoffs against Cincinnati) are a key example.  Dorsey ran the same routes the Bills always run even though they weren't effective in the snow and Brady morphed his offense to make it a perfect snow attack. 

[jcamm1966]

Home game on Sunday up to 50 percent Bills fans 

[MikePJ76]

2 hours ago, GoBills! said:

But why aren’t we having consistent 300 yard passing games? That’s the real marker of a champion QB and team right? 😂 

The real marker of a  champion is having a number 1 wr like Atlanta, Cincy, Dallas, Miami, Chicago do.

 

Those teams are having outstanding seasons because of their number 1 wr and plethora of offensive weapons just like I was told they would in july and August.

 

🙃

[Dr. Who]

44 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

The real marker of a  champion is having a number 1 wr like Atlanta, Cincy, Dallas, Miami, Chicago do.

 

Those teams are having outstanding seasons because of their number 1 wr and plethora of offensive weapons just like I was told they would in july and August.

 

🙃

The main criticism of the Bills' receiving room prior to the acquisition of Cooper was that there was a lack of outside WR speed paired with the kind of reliable skill set that is normally equated with a WR1. I don't think there is any question that the current talent in the Bills' WR room is ascending at the right time, but part of that is each player fits into their proper place. You're not asking a WR2 to be a WR1.

 

In short, context matters. We now have a superior o-line, a genuine running game with multiple backs that contribute, including Cook who is arguably elite, a tough TE that can catch and block in Knox, a flex TE that can stretch the field in Kincaid, an outside receiver the opponent's defense has to respect in Cooper, an emerging solid WR2 in Coleman, a YAC monster in Shakir, maybe a gadget guy in Samuel if he can really get healthy; not to mention a really solid blocker and clutch redzone fella in Hollins.

 

That is an excellent array of weapons for Josh Allen, who is the best player in football, and a dual threat himself. But don't kid yourself. The addition of Cooper was an essential ingredient, and not just a throw-in.

 

[finn]

9 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

The main criticism of the Bills' receiving room prior to the acquisition of Cooper was that there was a lack of outside WR speed paired with the kind of reliable skill set that is normally equated with a WR1. I don't think there is any question that the current talent in the Bills' WR room is ascending at the right time, but part of that is each player fits into their proper place. You're not asking a WR2 to be a WR1.

 

In short, context matters. We now have a superior o-line, a genuine running game with multiple backs that contribute, including Cook who is arguably elite, a tough TE that can catch and block in Knox, a flex TE that can stretch the field in Kincaid, an outside receiver the opponent's defense has to respect in Cooper, an emerging solid WR2 in Coleman, a YAC monster in Shakir, maybe a gadget guy in Samuel if he can really get healthy; not to mention a really solid blocker and clutch redzone fella in Hollins.

 

That is an excellent array of weapons for Josh Allen, who is the best player in football, and a dual threat himself. But don't kid yourself. The addition of Cooper was an essential ingredient, and not just a throw-in.

 

And to pick him up with so small a hit on the salary cap to boot. Wizardry. The third-rounder is a small price to play for a viable season. Plus, maybe he'll re-up for a few more years. He sure seems to be enjoying himself, maybe for the first time in his career. 

[gonzo1105]

Doesn’t look like Carter or Grable is going to be activated for tomorrows game because they would have had to make corresponding moves. 
 

Makes me think Coleman won’t go either because Virgil would likely be one of the corresponding moves

 

Well see on Rapp today because they will most likely move up a safety if he can’t go. 

[HappyDays]

3 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

Well see on Rapp today because they will most likely move up a safety if he can’t go. 

 

Rapp wasn't listed with a game designation yesterday so he will play.

[ShakAttack]

8 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

Mathematically your point is inarguable. Since the expansion to 14 teams, only 1 team in each conference gets a bye whereas it used to be that 2 teams in each conference did. I can't argue with your point.

 

Interestingly though in the 4 years since the expansion of the playoff field the Super Bowl winners (as @Beck Water pointed out) have been the #3, #1, #4, and #5 seeds. So only 1 #1 seed has won in the last 4 years.

 

 

We were talking about "at all costs." Is being the #1 seed worth it if you lose Dion Dawkins? James Cook? Gregory Rousseau?

 

It's a rhetorical question but that's the point of the discussion... at what cost?

 

 

I can think of one non-health related reason the #1 seed seems more important this season:

 

In years past, we had a CLEAR advantage over the teams we faced in the Wild Card round.  In every case, these teams were on a lower level than most of the other playoff teams.

 

This season is different.  As of right now, the teams we could potentially face in the Wild Card round actually concern me a bit.  There are going to be a lot of great defenses in this year's playoffs, and that in itself can keep games close, and once a game goes down to the wire, anything goes.

 

Not having to deal with that at all and play one less game seems like a major advantage in the AFC this season, more than in the past.

[Cash]

Just now, ShakAttack said:

 

I can think of one non-health related reason the #1 seed seems more important this season:

 

In years past, we had a CLEAR advantage over the teams we faced in the Wild Card round.  In every case, these teams were on a lower level than most of the other playoff teams.

 

This season is different.  As of right now, the teams we could potentially face in the Wild Card round actually concern me a bit.  There are going to be a lot of great defenses in this year's playoffs, and that in itself can keep games close, and once a game goes down to the wire, anything goes.

 

Not having to deal with that at all and play one less game seems like a major advantage in the AFC this season, more than in the past.

I definitely want the 1 seed this year, and I’m pretty sure the Bills do, too. 
 

But to whatever poster called it a must win game: no it isn’t. The Chiefs are gonna lose 2 more games, maybe 3. Even if they don’t, going from 2 seed to 1 seed isn’t enough to get to “must win” status. Reserve that for stuff like making the playoffs vs missing the playoffs. 

[Motorin']

2 hours ago, Billsatlastin2018 said:

IF that refers to the 2023 Chiefs playoff game, I am still unsure where the blame lies. Correct me, if I’m wrong. This was a magnificent drive from the 8 minute mark down, involving 4th Down conversions.

 

I thought… wrongly…. that McD had finally figured it out AND conveyed that to Allen… strongly. The goal was to leave Patty with NO Time/ TOs. Get one more post 2 minute Warning FD, bleed the Chiefs TOs and THEN take your shots at the EndZone, including Allen scrambles or a cheap shot FG to go to OT.

 

But never,ever, give the Chiefs any time! Just as they did in rainy Baltimore, the previous year. Just as Campbell did v.s. Green Bay on Thursday!

 

Somebody ***** up!

 

Josh passed up the 2nd pass to a wide open Diggs that easily picks up the first down and possibly goes for 15-20 yards. 

 

That was the mistake that cost the game.