Temperatures and past Facebook post will be checked at the door of my Super Bowl party.
Mike D
If you are a Bills fan or live in Western NY, you probably know a resident who doesn’t like the Bills. Which is fine because I don’t always like the Bills, even when I root for them. But it’s a special place in hell for those Buffalonians who made it their business to step on the team in years past. If you didn’t accept us at our low, then don’t want us at out high. Therefore, please keep your ass at home in February to watch the Bills win Super Bowl by yourself.
Ok, maybe I’m putting the cart before the horse, but that game was amazing. That was a game where if you were worried that the Bills being “false hope”, that should be put to rest. That was a game where if you weren’t sure about us having the right coach, that should put to rest. And if you had any questions about #17, that should be put in a casket, cremated, resurrected and then put to rest. Instead of my normal post game format, let’s change it so I can explain to certain people the reasons why a”realist” who is normally down on the Bills is making super Bowl plans. And let me do that by comparing them to the New England Patriots.
Be like water- If it was good enough for Bruce Lee and the New England Patriots, it’s good enough for the Buffalo Bills. Being the lil’ brother to Tom Brady (TB12) for 20 years, I’ve seen him throw the ball 50 times in a game. I’ve also seen him hand-off the ball 50 times. The TB12 Patriots were a team that went out there and scored 50 points a game, and it didn’t matter how they did it. And I know what you’re saying “but Mike, you want to pass the ball 50 times a game”. And that would be absolutely accurate, but that’s partly because I’ve seen the Bills run my whole life and suck. So I thought I wanted passing, but to find out I just wanted success. If you can find that running (which the Bills have in certain games), then awesome,
Your guy is better than their’s- That was the beauty of NE during TB12 era. Every time they took the field, they new their QB was better than yours. That allowed Bill and the defense to take risk other teams wouldn’t. That is where Josh Allen is right now. He obviously isn’t that best QB ever like TB12, or even the best QB in the league like Patrick Mahomes. But if you look at the remaining games on the schedule, Josh should out play every single QB on the list. Look for the Bills to run the table!
Cheap backs- The worst part about the drought was the odd infatuation with RB’s. From the drafting of Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch and CJ spiller in the first round; to trading for LeSean McCoy. It was all so infuriating, especially when you have scrap heap backs like Fred Jackson, Mike Gillislee and Karlos Williams producing at high level. It never made sense to me, especially seeing that the NFL was going to a passing league. This Bills team has two 3rd running backs on rookie contracts, with a 1.6M backup in TJ Yeldon. Sign me up for almost any backfield at this price. Bill and NE has been rolling out 3 back committees since the days of Antowain Smith, and I’m glad that we finally caught up.
Small White Guy- First and foremost #Pause. Secondly, this has been the best part of 2020. I’ve watched so many Patriots games where I found myself asking “how is Welker/Edleman always open”. Welp I’ve found out watching Cole Beasley. The way he works in the slot (also #Pause) is a work of art, and I actually look forward to seeing him as much as our #1 guy.
#1 guy- If we are going to talk Bease, we must talk Diggs. He is our true #1. Teams gameplay for him and still can’t stop him.He’s taking the role of Gronk. Just like you knew what Gronk was going to do, you know Diggs will end with 9 catches for 90 yards and a sideline catch that makes you scratch your head and say, “how the hell did he get his feet down”.
Bend but don’t break- In the first 3 Super Bowls, NE defense was the show and everyone went for the ride. As time went on and TB12 decided to be the best quarterback of all time, the defense took on another role. They became a “bend but don’t break” defense who held you to field goals, and since we have a great offense, you will be forced to pass and thats when we get sacks and turnovers. What defense does that sound like? I don’t need the Bills to be the 85 bears or the Legion of Boom, but if they can hold teams to 3 points and be opportunistic, then that should be good enough with an offense scoring 30+ points.
It’s the Coach for me- I’ve never been more wrong in my life and I’m ecstatic. I thought that the 49ers had the superior coaching staff, but on Sunday that wasn’t the case. MNF constantly showing Robert Saleh stoic face was hilarious. He literally had no answers for stopping the Bills. People ran free all day and Josh had all the time in the world, and that’s a credit to Brian Daboll. Credit to Leslie Frazier as well, we were all over Nick Mullens. He sent different looks and different pressures to keep the offense of San Fran off balance. To do that to a Kyle Shanahan offense is no easy feat, so shout out to him. Between Daboll and Frazier, we might have the best “coordinators” in the league. Brian Daboll will be gone next year (unless he pulls a Josh McDaniels) and unfortunately for Frazier, he is a 61 year old Black man who coaches defense in an offensive era. I expect him to be our DC until the defense sucks, or he retires.
Philosophy- This is what really matters. This and #17 are the only reasons why I’m excited. We’ve had hot starts before with Fitz, Trent and Tyrod where we were 5-2 and the city was excited. I was always that person saying “but what about point differential? How about our offense being ranked last in the league in points and our defense leading the league in turnovers with 50 in 8 games (cue hyperbole).” I was the one looking at more than just win-lost record to determine how good a team is. With McBeane being our version of Bill Belichick, the numbers all match up. Beane might be the best GM in the league looking at what he has done. Between the signing, draft picks and trades, Brandon Beane is really good at his job. And the man who brought him here just moved up the top coaches in the NFL rank. The Bills are usually the better prepared team every Sunday, especially last Sunday. Another great sign is analytics. For years, NE was the only team going for 4th downs; Bills went for every 4th down they had until late and decided to give a pity punt to the other team. They are paying attention to what the numbers say and basing decision of that, very similar to Bill. Prior Bills coaches were probably using a magic 8 ball for down and distance situation advice.
Overall
I am in a better place with the Buffalo Bills than any time before. I love watching the games, I love watching the players, I love watching the coaches, and mostly I love the camaraderie in #BillsMafia. Living out of state, I’m not able to feel the energy of the city. But luckily for social media, I can celebrate every touchdown with you. And if the playoffs started today, the (3) Buffalo Bills would host the (6) Miami Dolphins at Bills Stadium. If that happens, we will be celebrating some playoff touchdowns as we advance to the Divisional round!
Ok I’m out, but check out my brothers as they recap the game on an episode of OBP. ✌🏽
Preach, Matt and Millz Recap the Bills vs 49ers MNF game.