Buffalo Bills Week 4: Bills @ Ravens

[Dubi Doo]

The Ravens are going to be a tough team to beat. Their defense isn't great, but how much of that is due to a beat up secondary? Not sure if they're healed up or not. Lamar will be tough to stop. The offense needs to put up a lot of points on Sunday. It'd be nice to win two of the next three.

 

[Matt Ress]

ESPN: Buffalo Bills, beset by injuries to secondary, sign CB Xavier Rhodes to practice squad, source says.

Bills add CB Rhodes to boost depleted secondary

With their secondary hampered by injuries, the Bills have signed veteran cornerback Xavier Rhodes to their practice squad.

www.espn.com

He is reportedly signed to the practice squad at this time.
32 yr old 3 time pro bowler

 

[Buffalo Norsemen]

ESPN: Buffalo Bills, beset by injuries to secondary, sign CB Xavier Rhodes to practice squad, source says.

Bills add CB Rhodes to boost depleted secondary

With their secondary hampered by injuries, the Bills have signed veteran cornerback Xavier Rhodes to their practice squad.

www.espn.com

He is reportedly signed to the practice squad at this time.
32 yr old 3 time pro bowler

Sal said his familiarity with Frazier's system (Mn) and that he's in shape he could very well be active this weekend. Your other options are Ingram, Neal, and Lewis.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[missingmika]

Dirty kick to the groin…. Don’t know how this isn’t a suspension.

 

[kirby11]

Random thought RE: roster-building given the number of injuries the team has sustained so far.

I'm now in full agreement with @Husko that the Bills need to stop using roster spots on guys who provide zero value outside of special teams (i.e. Jones, Neal, Matakevich). Between the Bills not punting that much, and the fact that most kickoffs are non-events with the ball getting booted deep into or through the end zone, those guys are playing, what, 6-8 meaningful snaps at most per game? To be fair, I don't know if they're on FG/XP protection duty, so maybe bump that number up to 12-15. And, if pressed into offensive or defensive gameplay (which seems more likely this year compared to previous seasons), they'd probably be worse than other, potentially better skill position players who aren't true special teams aces. The fact that Neal, in particular, couldn't even get a look at CB over an undrafted rookie last week says a lot.

Dirty kick to the groin…. Don’t know how this isn’t a suspension.

I still don't know how the Bills ran 60+ pass plays and didn't benefit from a single defensive holding or PI call. The one Diggs drew against Tennessee is the only coverage call they've gotten so far.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Jim Bob]

Josh Allen talking about the Dorsey video was really interesting.

Josh first saw the video when Dorsey showed it to him on the bus.

He also talked about how the players love Dorsey for the passion that he has and for how badly he wants his players to be successful.

 

[brian_griffin]

I hope this one turns out one half as good

Wit was definitely dialed up to 11 on that post...
Let's hope there's no quit in Xavier Rhodes.

 

[TehDoak]

The Ravens I think has a much higher potential to be a shootout than the Dolphins game, simply because Jackson is playing so damn well. And keep in mind, they are going to be highly pumped because we knocked them out of the playoffs last time we played. Think the Colts game last year where they played their best game of the year. That is going to be the Ravens.

Can't make the big mistakes we made vs the Dolphins and leave points on the field. Gotta score TDs.

 

[Jim Bob]

The Ravens I think has a much higher potential to be a shootout than the Dolphins game, simply because Jackson is playing so damn well. And keep in mind, they are going to be highly pumped because we knocked them out of the playoffs last time we played. Think the Colts game last year where they played their best game of the year. That is going to be the Ravens.

Can't make the big mistakes we made vs the Dolphins and leave points on the field. Gotta score TDs.

Lamar is playing great and their defense is giving up a ton both in yards & points.

This is a game where a lot of people are going to take the over.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Lamar is playing great and their defense is giving up a ton both in yards & points.

This is a game where a lot of people are going to take the over.

The Ravens I think has a much higher potential to be a shootout than the Dolphins game, simply because Jackson is playing so damn well. And keep in mind, they are going to be highly pumped because we knocked them out of the playoffs last time we played. Think the Colts game last year where they played their best game of the year. That is going to be the Ravens.

Can't make the big mistakes we made vs the Dolphins and leave points on the field. Gotta score TDs.

Really hoping we get Oliver back. I felt like we missed that push up the middle against the Dolphins even though the defense played well. Morse and Poyer are needed, too.

 

[Jim Bob]

Stacking the 10 best NFL draft quarterback duos of all time: Can Allen-Jackson catch Elway-Marino?

If the 1983 draft that featured John Elway and Dan Marino is the best QB draft ever, where does the 2018 class featuring Allen and Jackson rank? We have the top 10.

www.espn.com

No. 3: Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, 2018​

Ranking Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson this high requires faith in their ability to produce in the postseason, but there's no denying the two have already emerged as elite players in their young careers. Jackson has won an MVP award and led the NFL in passing touchdowns (36 in 2019) while also torching defenses as a runner. He has twice rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season. And Allen has seemingly gotten better and better. He's currently the favorite to win MVP this season. He has accounted for 145 total touchdowns, and his completion percentage has jumped from 52.8% as a rookie to 71.2% this season.

If how this duo has changed the game with their downfield throwing and running ability is any indication of where they're headed, then both look like future Hall of Famers and multiple MVP winners. Ranking them ahead of proven winners like Joe Montana, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees might ruffle some feathers, but it's that potential that puts them this high on the list. -- Miller

Allen's path: After receiving no offers from Division I programs, and then going from starting at a junior college -- Reedley College -- for one year to Wyoming, there were major concerns about Allen's ability to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Part of the skepticism was because of his lack of accuracy (he completed 56.2% of his passes in three years at Wyoming). Despite that, a series of trades were required for the Bills to move up to select Allen seventh overall, including a draft-day trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to move up from No. 12. Allen has since set countless Bills records, greatly improved his accuracy and signed a six-year extension through 2028. -- Alaina Getzenberg

Jackson's path: The Ravens traded down twice in the first round to get tight end Hayden Hurst, then made the bold move to trade back into the first round to get the free-falling Jackson, sending three picks (two second-round selections and a fourth-rounder) to the Eagles to acquire the No. 32 overall pick. But Jackson's path to Baltimore started two weeks before the draft. Ravens coach John Harbaugh stood up in a pre-draft meeting and said the team could build an offense around Jackson to fit his dual-threat talent. -- Jamison Hensley

 

[Jim Bob]

Ken Dorsey’s national freakout is polarizing

Ken Dorsey lost his cool on Sunday against the Dolphins and everyone’s talking about it

www.buffalorumblings.com

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Buffalo Norsemen]

Really hoping we get Oliver back. I felt like we missed that push up the middle against the Dolphins even though the defense played well. Morse and Poyer are needed, too.

ankles on the Bills seem to be about 3-4 weeks.

 

[Zman5778]

Wow. That's impressive.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Wow. That's impressive.

Please, please, please give us D Jackson, Morse, Oliver, and Poyer ready and healthy for this game. Would be a huge boost going into the game.

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Please, please, please give us D Jackson, Morse, Oliver, and Poyer ready and healthy for this game. Would be a huge boost going into the game.

I'd prefer that these guys heal up properly & are 100% for the games which actually matter.

 

[Buffalo Norsemen]

Oliver looks good

 

[Puppa2Miller]

I'd prefer that these guys heal up properly & are 100% for the games which actually matter.

This is a very important game, imo. Baltimore is the type of team you are in the battle with for homefield advantage. You don't want to fall a game behind plus them have the tiebreaker.

 

[Rowley Birkin]

This is a very important game, imo. Baltimore is the type of team you are in the battle with for homefield advantage. You don't want to fall a game behind plus them have the tiebreaker.

In the scheme & magnitude of the entire season - no it's not important.

 

[TehDoak]

This please.

 

[Jim Bob]

This please.

The cap says no.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

I like McDaniel. I think he'll be their coach for a while. He got the W, but the circumstances worked out really well for his team. I believe the logistical f***ery that occurred with the injuries impacted the outcome of the game more than anything McDaniel did, and I don't think that's an outlandish take at all given how much the Bills dominated ToP and yards but couldn't put up points, which is rare for this offense.

If the Dolphins beat Buffalo straight up, then I'd give them more credit, but I can't ignore all the variables at play here. It's not really trashing the Dolphins as much as it is just stating facts- it was a wonky game. I didn't read all that much into the Pats Monday night game for the same reason.

And, just to be clear- I've had Miami as a WC contender since training camp, so I think they're a solid team as well, but they've been very lucky to face two teams depleted by injuries two weeks in a row. Small sample sizes can make solid teams look like contenders early on.

Yup. It was a fluky loss. You play that same game over again 10 times with all the same stats and time of possession etc., bills probably win it 9 times. It was just a “perfect storm” of things that happened and bounces that went Miami’s way to get Miami the win.

I think it was less about what Miami did and more about the circumstances - insane amount of injuries for Buffalo, the weather and heat exhaustion, the uncharacteristic mistakes, Allen being just slightly off (maybe because of the hand injury and/or heat?).

It reminds me of that crazy wind game against the patriots last year. After the game you had analysts talking about how brilliant belichick’s game plan was and how it was still the patriots division, when it was really just a fluky win. Then Buffalo played them again at the end of the year + in the playoffs and showed what was what. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 2nd game against Miami go much differently, just like the 2nd NE game went last year.

We’ll see where both teams are at come the end of the season…