That Aud Smell

^ I saw a Tweet this morning that showed that, absent his running heroics (which are really quite something, but, as stated, unsustainable), Allen is just about the same QB as EJ Manuel was at the same point in his career. Again, if he weren't so charming and on-brand, I don't think #BillsMafia would be so high on him. I remain ambivalent, but still hopeful.

I'm not looking to compare the two hits - just adding something to the conversation. And I'd forgotten about that hit - wowza. I'm not sure who's calling you an hysterical homer - not me, anyway. I definitely think people who are seeing an ejection there are biased. Which is fine. That's a fan's prerogative. No idea of the context. I just saw on Twitter that someone posted a clip of the hit relative to something Brady said. Brady's quote: "My career started when Drew (Bledsoe) got hit on the sideline. Drew was running for a first down and those defensive players are very fast and very physical. Actually, I had a play like that early in my career in Buffalo where I was scrambling up the right side and tried to hold on to the ball and tried to slide late. A guy hit me and my helmet flew about 10 yards away. It kind of riled up their whole sideline. "I'll never forget this. The next day coach Belichick said to me, 'Hey Brady, if you want to have a career in this league, when you're running like that, you’re either going to throw the ball away or slide.' A lot of quarterbacks who do run and try to make yards and that’s great, but at the same time you are susceptible to big hits. Whether it’s flagged or not, or whether it's a penalty, a lot of the rules have changed over the years, but from a quarterback standpoint I feel like it’s always best to try to be available to the team and take the risk reward (for those plays) and so forth. … "Again, nobody likes to see anyone get hurt out there. But from my own experience, I try to do the best I can to avoid taking any big shots I can."

Ha - right. Keep looking at the less accurate of the available angles to draw the conclusion you prefer. Anyway, apparently Brady referenced this 2001 hit when asked about what happened to Allen: All fair points. It's the day after. Recency bias and such.

We're looking at the same thing, and seeing it differently. Without even knowing the ejection standards (I just ... don't know them), I don't see that hit as the sort of egregious, flagrant foul that gets players ejected. The DB is trying to keep Allen from getting a 1st down. He sets his feet, braces for impact, and absorbs a hit that is coming at him. He doesn't launch himself at Allen. It is the QB that is initiating the (head to head) contact there. He is terrible at his job, btw.

The Pats DB doesn't do much other than set his feet and brace for impact. He doesn't launch himself at Allen's head.

Nah.

What a frustrating game. The D made Brady look not just human, but bad. Huge credit to the coordinator, the D, etc. If not for special teams awfulness and Josh Allen having one of the worst games I can recall a Bills QB having (at least, a Bills QB whose name doesn't rhyme with Shmeeterman), the Bills win that game. Also: I was incensed that the Pats DB wasn't ejected while watching the game. After seeing the replays today, I feel differently. The Pats player just didn't do the things that warrant an ejection. The defensive player mostly stood his ground, Allen ducked his head and led with his helmet. Final takeaway: I'm really not sure Josh Allen is the answer. He knows how to be part of a solid brand, sure. And he talks about being smarter with the ball, taking what's there, and not playing hero ball. But then he laces 'em up, and goes out there and chucks the ball around like it just doesn't matter. I'd like to think that he's a smart, coach-able young player. But on what basis would I believe that?

True story: I’m back to reading Harrington (but not following him on Twitter). The pendulum started to swing for me when The Athletic dudes (led by Graham) were dog piling on the rabbit with MH.

Credit where credit is due: Harrington’s write-up on Sobotka/RaKru is far more contextual than the click bait Tweet from Vogl.

it would make him a god. maybe God? in any case and in such event, rakru would get a statue in the plaza - forthwith. like, before christmas 2019.

Per Vogl's Twitter: Ralph Krueger today on Sobotka: "He’s a real smart player away from the puck. He understands what we’re trying to do here and has very quickly picked up those habits. We’re excited to see that continue. … The players will make the decisions on who plays how many minutes."

^ I read the initial reports, and thought Matthews was acting like a lout while drunk. In light of stuff like what's linked upthread, I don't take such a charitable view of his behaviour.

Huh.

I haven't watched enough to have a take. With respect to the radio content, I infer that the people on the show have to take up contrary positions in order to ... make content. The guy's a sniper, from what I hear. That alone means he should be playing with Eichel, at least to start. Then we'll see if the line can be a net positive (or whether they'll end up conceding more chances than they generate).

Interesting and thoughtful take - from a woman - on the Matthews incident. Frankly, I had not thought about the matter in this light. Matthews’ intention in cornering that woman may just have been to frighten her without committing any further offenses or crimes. But it’s important to note that causing fear was considered amusing in the first place, and that a large swathe of the reaction has been to brush off concerns about what happened as though they’re nothing. .... “You do not approach a female at 2 AM in the morning thinking it’s funny to see how she would react to get in her car,” said Fayola Dozithee, the woman involved, as reported by Katie Strang at The Athletic. “There’s three of you, there’s one of me. You could’ve done anything to me and I was at a disadvantage because of that.” Details and reporting from Strang’s article on The Athletic also revealed that it was not the first time that Matthews had attempted to frighten a woman that night. But, per a friend that had been out with Matthews at the time, he “didn’t give a *****” about the potential consequences. https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2019/09/26/why-the-auston-matthews-story-is-so-upsetting-to-so-many-people/

Yeah - there's an interview somewhere with Reinhart where he talked about how his last year in juniors was devoted to abiding by the development plan that the Sabres provided to him. (Among other things, his PPG number went down, maybe significantly, during that last year.)

Pinto Ron's getting a growing amount of press for his super tailgating fandom. Deservedly so. I *just* put together that he started his run of 409 consecutive Bills games in 1994. So, that's all 16 games?! Right after the Superbowl era. Man. Talk about perseverance. As Pinto Ron said at this piece's conclusion: "The Bills! They make us wanna drink!"

8 years ago to the day. What a game. The last one I attended, I believe.

I was gonna say. Peak Barnaby was a very useful NHL player.

Still accurate, as edited, I fear. (Caveat: I admire and respect the guy. I just think he's washed.)

Thing is, I’m not sure a diminished Okposo is suited for fourth line duty. You want a bang and jammer there.

It's mostly the Sobotkality of what I see. That, and the apparent Okposonity.