nfreeman

I agree with most of this, but would point out that (i) every now and then a big name FA can indeed have a huge impact -- but it's a very tricky business to find the right one and (ii) under OSP, the Sabres failed miserably at signing their own, which was why either the best or 2nd-best team they ever had fell apart, and which is the critical part of franchise-building where I am pretty confident TP will not let us down, if we ever get there.

Well, I thought the game was there to be won or lost in the 4th quarter, and JA won it for the Bills. If he hadn't played maybe the best and most clutch stretch of football in his life in that quarter, I think the Pats could easily have won the game. I don't think the D had anywhere near that level of impact on the outcome. I saw one drop by Sanders, one pass from JA that was well behind Knox and one from JA to a wide-open Kumerow that was overthrown, necessitating a dive by Kumerow and what would've been a great catch to reel it in, which he was unable to make. And I didn't say the Pats' passing game did fine. I said their offense did fine moving the ball. We can close ranks and pretend all we want that JA hasn't had lousy games this year, or missed throws in what was overall a great game by him, or we can be objective. IMHO, the objective reality is that if JA plays like he did yesterday, they can beat anyone in the playoffs (and, as a bonus, he's one of the most thrilling athletes in pro sports). But he doesn't always play like that.

The Bills' pass D didn't win that game. The Pats did fine moving the ball, including via the pass. The Bills won because JA played at an MVP level in the 4th quarter. If he plays like that they can beat anyone.

Best 4th quarter of the season for JA and the offense.

Diggs!!

Ok. This next drive could be the whole season. Time to step up boys.

Great, clutch drive by the Bills.

That’s 2 open receivers in the end zone that JA has missed, for a resulting total of 3 points instead of 14. If they lose this game — that’s the reason.

I freaking love Diggs.

Need to cash in here. They can’t squander another possession with good field position against this team. And they were pretty lucky on that 4th down pass to diggs, as the pats deflected it at the line.

Serious question: What would be the point of postponement?

The O-line has indeed been lousy, and the D has been exposed against the good teams as well. But the Bills are built around JA. If he doesn't play at an elite level, they have zero chance at a good playoff run. And he's been inconsistent-to-lousy against good teams this year.

I watched the first 2 episodes of Station 11, which has been getting a fair amount of critical buzz, last night. I thought it was pretty meh. Not going to keep watching it.

That trilogy went way downhill IMHO. The first one was an all-time classic, the 2nd one was meh and the third was downright bad.

I agree that the Lamar comparison is relevant if it’s an MVP discussion, but if the discussion is whether the Bills are good enough to make a deep playoff run, I think the answer, based on how JA has played against good teams this year, is no. Well, I’m sure some people do define it that way, but I don’t think that’s the case among the erudite Bills fans that populate this board. IMHO, in order for the Bills (or most other teams) to go deep in the playoffs, the QB has to deliver consistently excellent play. JA hasn’t lived up to that standard against good teams this year. YMMV, of course.

That statistical comparison is a good demonstration of the reason that you can't just rely on stats. Anyone who has watched the Bills this year has seen JA have a number of lousy games. He's not been nearly as good as he was last year. Does anyone have a similar breakdown of the Bills' red zone percentage last year vs this year?

Cease and desist.

Cease and desist.

Season 3 of Succession was outstanding. Derry Girls, which is on Netflix, is also outstanding (kinda similar to the movie "The Commitments" although without the music). Very bingeable -- it's a 30-min comedy, and there have been 2 seasons of 6 episodes each. "The Power of the Dog," a new western movie on Netflix, was decent, but a bit critically overrated IMHO.

I would not be shocked if the Pegulas were open to offers, and I think the factors @dudacek mentions are consistent with the team or a stake being available, but I think there is NFW they would get $250MM for 49%. I also think the value is pretty depressed right now and that the depressed value, along with the negotiations with the state on the football stadium, make a sale now pretty unlikely.

I feel like "asinine" is getting overused in here.

Why? I didn't see the Jax game, but they didn't play well in any of the other games.

Any word on TT?

I think suspensions are based on a per game amount, but I don’t think paychecks are. I think the paychecks are based on a full season, minus the escrow percentage. If the NHL hast to cancel a bunch of games, I think it’s likely that the escrow amount will not be sufficient and that the players will have been overpaid.