The General
Footballguy
You guys will probably be the favorite in the division going into next year. Gotta get Allen a little composure though. Love Singletary, Brown, and that D.
Player clearly gave himself up...I'm choosing to not think about this, but my son and I had this exact conversation. I am fine with "go by the letter of the rule" and also "go by the spirit of the rule," but the mix-and-match approach is not good.
Also, on the end zone fumble, teams occasionally come up with weird rule-bending plays in the return game. If the Bills let up and the returner picks up the ball and runs it back for a score, the narrative is how brilliant the ST coach is and how stupid the Bills are. So why not enforce the rule as written?
The officiating was one sided. By rule, that play in the endzone after halftime should have been a TD or safety. Granted, it's a little insane, but that's how the rule is written. And you don't get to re-write the rule on the fly because you don't like the result. You especially don't get to call a by-the-letter-of-the-law penalty on Ford for harmless contact away from the play after a reversal like that.In case you are a Bills fans and wanted to be even more irritated, watch Duke Johnson’s block at the very end against Edmunds in this 2 point try and reconcile that with the blindside block call on Cody Ford:
Link
According to the rules, these are the ONLY ways a player can give himself up. Let me know which one he did:Player clearly gave himself up...
This is simply wrong. I know his intent was to give himself up, but by rule he did not.Player clearly gave himself up...
Key word here.According to the rules, these are the ONLY ways a player can give himself up. Let me know which one he did:
“when a runner declares himself down by:
falling to the ground, or kneeling, and clearly making no immediate effort to advance.
sliding. When a runner slides, the ball is dead the instant he touches the ground with anything other than his hands or his feet. “
The Bills? Yes. But I sure as heck am going to feel free to blame the players for not executing, the coaches for getting outcoached by Bill O’Brien, and yes, the refs as well. Plenty of blame to go around.The officiating was one sided. By rule, that play in the endzone after halftime should have been a TD or safety. Granted, it's a little insane, but that's how the rule is written. And you don't get to re-write the rule on the fly because you don't like the result. You especially don't get to call a by-the-letter-of-the-law penalty on Ford for harmless contact away from the play after a reversal like that.
But the Bills have only themselves to blame for this one. We had the game won, we blew the opportunity to put it way for good, we pissed away the lead, and we blew chances in OT.
Basically everybody except for Singletary and Hauschka had some responsibility for this loss. And even those two guys deserve some criticism for not hiding Frank Gore's helmet or something to keep him off the field.The Bills? Yes. But I sure as heck am going to feel free to blame the players for not executing, the coaches for getting outcoached by Bill O’Brien, and yes, the refs as well. Plenty of blame to go around.
Watching that game and about as neutral as you can be... it would have been a travesty to award a TD on that play. I have seen plays where they've ruled that a player gave himself up without literally taking a knee. Drop the ball intentionally, hand it to an official - his actions were consistent with giving yourself up.I get it. This is a dumb rule written in a very poor way. If somebody wants to say "Eh, he meant to give himself up, so let's just give it to him" okay fine. But then #### off with that blindside block ####. Because that wasn't the intent of the rule either.
I agree, but that's not how the rule is written. Blame the NFL.Watching that game and about as neutral as you can be... it would have been a travesty to award a TD on that play. I have seen plays where they've ruled that a player gave himself up without literally taking a knee. Drop the ball intentionally, hand it to an official - his actions were consistent with giving yourself up.
What I'd be curious to see... and maybe nobody pays attention... is how often return men do that. With recent rule changes, you don't even have to field the ball in the end zone. I think they most often simply let it land.I agree, but that's not how the rule is written. Blame the NFL.
By rule, you can let the ball land in the end zone and it's dead. It becomes live when the receiving team touches it.What I'd be curious to see... and maybe nobody pays attention... is how often return men do that. With recent rule changes, you don't even have to field the ball in the end zone. I think they most often simply let it land.
I agree 100%. The player made no effort to advance the ball and was tossing it back to the referee. The officials did the right thing.Watching that game and about as neutral as you can be... it would have been a travesty to award a TD on that play. I have seen plays where they've ruled that a player gave himself up without literally taking a knee. Drop the ball intentionally, hand it to an official - his actions were consistent with giving yourself up.
What was weird is that I thought Allen looked cool as a cucumber until the 4th quarter and that complete freakout lateral play with 1:20 left. He'll learn. I don't get the Allen hate. As a Bears fan I'd trade Mitch for him in a second.You guys will probably be the favorite in the division going into next year. Gotta get Allen a little composure though. Love Singletary, Brown, and that D.
Thanks Greg. Losing was a bitter pill to swallow, but at least it was to a likable team with a likable fan base.GregR said:Just wanted to pop over and congratulate you Bills fans on the course of the team. Was a hard fought playoff game you guys played well enough to win. Haven't been able to go watch the broadcast yet and digest, but felt like your defense was really strong and the play calling especially. Did a lot that is how I think teams should attack Houston's offense.
Thanks for this. As Bills fans, we all are going to naturally spend a lot of time picking over reasons why we lost this game. What will tend to get overlooked is the super-human performance that Watson put on in the second half to win the game. Good luck in the next round -- you guys have a fun team to watch.GregR said:Just wanted to pop over and congratulate you Bills fans on the course of the team. Was a hard fought playoff game you guys played well enough to win. Haven't been able to go watch the broadcast yet and digest, but felt like your defense was really strong and the play calling especially. Did a lot that is how I think teams should attack Houston's offense.
He got fined more than he actually got paid for that game. That’s insanity. Doubling down on a dubious call like that is craziness. Especially when the Clowney hit not only wasn’t penalized, but wasn’t fined. The NFL clearly cares more about sticking to a narrative and backing their refs than they do actual player safety.Cody Ford fined $28K and change for the "blind side block" last week, in which he bumped into another player number-to-number. It's like the NFL is deliberately trying to be stupid.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
So do you feel better or worse after seeing that game play out the way it did?The Duff Man said:I am sure this ain’t happening, but if Houston handles KC I will be left thinking that Buffalo could have hosted the AFC championship game.
BetterSo do you feel better or worse after seeing that game play out the way it did?
Allen deserves some blame. That fumble lead to a FG and was inexcusable. And those two sacks he took in the 4th were mind numbingly bad plays.
He made some incredible plays as well and his receivers let him down several times as they have all year, but he does share some of the blame. Overall his good outweighed his bad by quite a bit though IMO.
Is it really overpaying though? Maybe in the lens of the Hopkins trade it looks that way, but Diggs is an elite WR. Probably the best route runner in the NFL with legit deep speed and ability to go get balls.Ugh. I don’t like this deal at all. I was just saying I would only take Diggs for a 2nd or less. And we gave up so much to get him.
On top of overpaying, he seems like a drama queen who has a me first mentality.
And on top of all that I could see him demanding a new contract.
I do not like this trade.
The Bills continue their quest to sign every single former Panther in the league. 9.5 sacks a year over the last 4 years isn’t too shabby, but dude is also turning 33 in September. A 3 year deal to a soon to be 33 year old DE hopefully is really team friendly.Report...Bills sign Mario Addison
You don’t think Diggs is gonna ask for (or demand) a new contract? Wasn’t he already doing that in Minnesota?Is it really overpaying though? Maybe in the lens of the Hopkins trade it looks that way, but Diggs is an elite WR. Probably the best route runner in the NFL with legit deep speed and ability to go get balls.
My first reaction is overpay as well, but they had an extra 5th and 7th round pick this year from trading Wyatt Teller and Russell Bodine. You’re telling me you wouldn’t give up a 1st, future 4th, Wyatt Teller and Russell Bodine for Diggs and a 6th? What percentage of Day 3 picks actually become worthwhile contributors? Maybe 20% tops?
And Diggs is signed for 4 more years at like $11M a year. Did you see how much Cooper just signed for? And rumor is Hopkins is getting a new deal as well. $11M/year for the next 4 years is a freaking bargain. That in itself is value.
Yeah, this receiver draft class is supposedly deep, but that’s rolling the dice on a Jefferson or Higgins to become what Diggs already is.
IMO, ultimately I think the trade is just about right. The Bills get a receiver that suddenly turns their receiving corp into one of the best in the league at a bargain contract, but give up a first and a number of Day 3 draft picks.
He was in the first year of his new deal last year, so no, I don’t think he was already doing that last year. I think it was more about his role in the offense. I think McDermott has earned my confidence that he can make most players happy to be in Buffalo.You don’t think Diggs is gonna ask for (or demand) a new contract? Wasn’t he already doing that in Minnesota?
And I agree that he’s a good route runner, but he’s not the best. I also don’t think Allen’s style of play isn’t greatly benefited by a good route runner necessarily.
I’d be good with either Gordon or Gurley as a #2, especially if they could get one of them at that $5-7M.Apparently there’s mutual interest to bringing in Melvin Gordon. I think he would make a nice 1b. But Singletary looked too good to take a back seat to anyone.
I would also hope it would only be a 1 or 2 year deal and around 5-7 million per.
What? They are? On the surface that seems insane. Are there numbers on what it would cost them to pay said employees for the next 3 months?Welp, the Pegulas laying off all their arena employees and not even holding their jobs for them when this is all over is leaving a REALLY bad taste in my mouth.
After all the crappy years, crappy teams, crappy coaches, crappy GMs, crappy front offices...finally the team looks respectable. Except now the owner seems to be despicable. This may be what finally turns me off of the NFL.
Link if you subscribe to The Athletic.What? They are? On the surface that seems insane. Are there numbers on what it would cost them to pay said employees for the next 3 months?
DE was a sneaky need for them. Their DEs are old as crap. I’m fine with it. Can still grab solid WRs or RBs in the 3rd and 4th rounds this year.Yay. Another DL.
I kinda agree on both accounts.Sorry, that's a ####ty pick. ... Hope I'm wrong.