PalmTreeMafia
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Posts posted by PalmTreeMafia
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We're also just a few bad games in a row from bouncing down from the #2 division playoff seed to #12 overall in the conference. I still don't think much has changed with this team. Our critical #2 center of the future is now a regular scratch, our $10 million-per-year left winger is pulling a Matt Moulson on us, and our comatose GM continues to waste away the prime years of Eichel without any urgency to make the playoffs.
Or am I being overly negative?
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13 hours ago, Derrico said:
This is not a team I care to route for. They’re soft, can’t score consistently and have Absolutely no heart.
I have too many other stressors in my life right now. This was suppose to an outlet to distract me from some other issues I’m dealing with. Long story short I think I’m going to take a break for a bit from this team which unfortunately includes our little corner of the internet. Hopefully when the team becomes something to be proud of again I’ll return but now is looking like a nice time for a break. For the most part I’ve enjoyed our discussions all. Sure I’ll be back eventually. Everyone in Sabrespace Fantasy Football, you’re still going down!!
I was just about to post the same thing. The lack of response to the Dahlin hit was my personal breaking point. I'll probably still check in a few times a week, though, to read the Bills thread and see what the very knowledgeable hockey people here think about any major Sabres news that comes up, like a firing or a big trade. But the bottom line is that I currently suffer from clinical depression, and following this franchise is not helping my condition at all. There is nothing even remotely fun or entertaining about Buffalo Sabres hockey anymore. I sincerely believe that this current collection of players will never win anything meaningful in the NHL. A team that can't stick up for a teammate will never succeed in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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27 minutes ago, Doohickie said:
This is a key point:
It's not so much that he's "good" it's that he's getting better, and rather quickly. The last two games made that very apparent. The TD pass to Brown yesterday stands out to me as a pass he doesn't make last year, or even earlier this year. He's getting through his progressions much more quickly and is learning to just throw it away if the receiver isn't open and he's being pressured. He's turning from a shoot-out kind of QB to a game manager, although the shoot-out mentality is still in his DNA. In other words, he's harnessing his talent with discipline, something that his critics doubted would ever happen.
This is likely only a temporary but necessary stage in his development as an NFL franchise QB. He simply doesn't have the experience (not just as a pro, but as a QB in general) to run a high-octane offense right now. To be honest, the current WR's and OL don't have the talent to do it either. But when you have a top-5 defense and a top-5 running game (partly due to Allen's own running skills), why not opt for the game-manager QB role a bit more? The team is a singular Steelers away game victory from an 80% chance of making the playoffs; they are an additional Jets home game victory from having their best record since 1999.
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2 hours ago, JujuFish said:
Now is as good a time as any to let Allen hit a 300 yard game. I'm curious to see if they let him pass on this upcoming drive.
Why do people continue to talk about 300 passing yards like it matters? Fitzpatrick threw for 323 yards today. Lamar Jackson threw for 222. Kyle Allen threw for 325.
It's not really that important - in terms of wins or in terms of QB development - for Allen to be throwing 300+ yards in any game this year.
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32 minutes ago, ubkev said:
I remember that well. Tom Brady hates Buffalo more than just about anything. He loves beating the Bills so much. He loves sticking it to the fans every game. He loves when they throw dildos at him. He loves the hate. He just loves it. He throws shade on the Bills out of nowhere all the time.
No doubt.
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25 minutes ago, JujuFish said:
I haven't done the work, but I'd be willing to bet he has faced the easiest combined competition of anyone in the league, for his career thus far. And with one of the best defenses in the league. This is not a good argument at this stage of his career.
I don't know about that one. I'd definitely like to see someone put together evidence of it.
I do know that Josh Allen is the #1 QB in the entire NFL this season during the 4th quarter, with a 139.6 QBR and a 68.8% completion percentage.
What about quarters 1, 2, and 3? Well...that's where he's looking like a young QB still learning how to play in the league after 18 total career regular season games. Mayfield, Darnold, Rosen, and even Jackson (if you overlook his incredible running ability) have all looked pretty rough for large stretches of their young careers.
The Josh Allen haters (as opposed to the skeptics, whom I find perfectly reasonable) are the instant gratification personality types who demand Pat Mahomes production with no regard for the concept of different learning curves and different circumstances for different people.
I certainly will expect a noticeable jump in improvement by next September, which at that point Allen will have had 2 full years with Daboll plus a likely 1st round WR and more solidification along the OL. I think we will see that jump, and I think Allen will go on to be a franchise QB (what type of one - somewhere between Stafford and Brady - I have no idea). In the meantime, just accept that Allen is going to frustrate at various points throughout this season. Fortunately, Beane and McDermott have put together the #3 NFL defense and a top 5-10 NFL rushing offense to help the team slip into a wild-card spot with a pretty easy remaining schedule.
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Risto's plus/minus is 0 after 9 games. That's a fancy enough stat for me which suggests that there might be something to this Krueger guy.
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1 minute ago, Andrew Amerk said:
10/11 with two touchdowns in the 2nd half. Not many 3 and outs in the game. JA looked fine to me.
117.4 QBR. Zero turnovers. Another second-half comeback. While it would have been preferable that he connect on some of those deep passes in the first half, the real disappointment with this game is that our supposedly elite #2 defense let Fitzmagic's troops march up and down the field for almost 400 yards and 3 TD's. Matt Milano is good, but is he really THAT important to the defense? Levi Wallace had a very disappointing game. And I know QB sacks aren't the most important stat in the world, but only 1 against that beaten up Miami OL?!
Anyway...I'm actually in a good mood about this game because we are 5-1 (5th best record in the league) and escaped without any major injuries (that I know of?). Watch the tape, learn from this, and move on to Philly. The Bills are 5-1 and the Sabres are 7-1-1. I'm happy. Keep stacking up these wins, Buffalo!
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1 hour ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:
Is anyone gonna beat new England this year, someone please do it
I don't think it's in the league script for them to lose this season.
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I need to see the Sabres actually clinch a playoff berth before I'm totally bought in. Until then, it's just the same core group of mentally soft chokers that couldn't pull themselves out of last December's spiral to oblivion. Is the head coach the difference? Possibly. Hopefully.
I'm not a total cloud of dark despair, however. I am very much enjoying the 4-0-1 start. Jokiharju and Olofsson are very nice additions.
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34 minutes ago, dudacek said:
Franchise centre: Eichel
Franchise defence: Dahlin
Sniper: Skinner (Olofsson?)
Franchise goalie: (Lukkonen?)
2C: O’Reilly ? (Mittelstadt? Cozens?)
Glue guy: Reinhart
Power forward: (Cozens?)
Those are the core pieces right? Got a ways to go, but we’re ahead of some and we’ve got the hardest two.
Any optimism I feel comes from that.
Lots of hype surrounding Olofsson, Luukkonen, Cozens, and Mittelstadt. We'll see how this plays out, but I'm not holding my breath.
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2 hours ago, Sakman said:
Josh Allen is stubborn and willful, but definitely not an idiot. He deserves through the end of 2020 to prove he's a franchise QB. I think he is. Lamar Jackson's Wonderlic score....wow...
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Looking at the remaining 12 games on the schedule: 6 are against teams that haven't won a game (Fins, Fins, Jets, Skins, Steelers, Broncos), 4 against 2-2 teams (Ravens, Eagles, Browns, Titans), 1 against the 3-1 Cowboys, and 1 against the 4-0 Pats. The Bills are currently tied for the 4th best record in the entire NFL and sit alone for 3rd best in the AFC behind the Pats and Chiefs. A wild-card playoff spot and double-digit wins for the first time this century are realistic goals. We have an elite defense and a strong running game to support Allen during his second-year growing pains.
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32 minutes ago, darksabre said:
Sure. But I'm not going to waste any time celebrating a bunch of second place finishes like people do with the Bills.
So you never celebrate anything about the French Connection years at all? The Hasek years?
You must be a lot of fun at parties.
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My God. We're entering the THIRD ***** year with Botterill and this is the turd lineup they're showcasing? Can you imagine what happens if any one of the following four misses an extended period of time due to injury: Eichel, Reinhart, Skinner, Dahlin? I feel sorry for anyone who wasted their money on tickets for this *****.
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On 9/28/2019 at 12:46 AM, nfreeman said:
I think there's a more-than-negligible chance that he stays on the top line for the bulk of the season and scores over 25 goals.
For a 2014 7th-round pick in his 1st NHL season, that would be freaking fantastic.
When is the last time we scored big on a late round pick? 1999 with Miller? Heck, when is the last time we successfully drafted outside of the first two rounds? We are so unbelievably overdue for this... However, this deeply cynical Sabres fan refuses to get excited about any highly touted prospect anymore until proven on the ice for at least a full season. I'm completey done with the prospect hype machine that is constantly running in order to generate any excitement for this otherwise completely garbage franchise. Still waiting on Mittelstadt to stop playing Fortnite and work on obtaining his first career pushup.
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1 hour ago, darksabre said:
No. I wouldn't. Coming in second four times in a row is nothing to celebrate.
...which is twice as much in 4 seasons as the Sabres have accomplished in 48 seasons. Following your team through a season that ends in a deep playoff run is always more fun than - say - following your team that annually plays for draft lottery picks.
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This is Josh Allen's FIFTEENTH career regular season NFL game. Not even a full season's worth of games. He was drafted with the expectation that he'd be a project. Many were talking about sitting him for a full TWO seasons before seeing the field. The only knocks on him were his accuracy and his decision-making. He's already shown major improvements in accuracy. The decision-making is partly because he has a bit of a Brett Favre hero complex in him, but a lot of it is also due to inexperience. He's only going to get better in decision-making, not worse. Buffalo now has a franchise QB who will play 10+ years and annually lead them to 10+ wins. If we can get past Mahomes and the ageless Brady, maybe we'll even pick up a Super Bowl during the ride.
If you can't enjoy this 3-0 start and this team, then I don't know else to say. A lot of you here have some weird anti-Bills agenda. But then I think back at some of the stupid sh!t you people here have said about these Bills (should have kept Tyrod Taylor, should have drafted Rosen, McDermott is racist against black QB's, McDermott is running a religious cult and claps too much, etc...), and I realize that I should just ignore your garbage opinions and stick to having fun watching this team grow.
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1 hour ago, darksabre said:
I don't understand the optimism. This team's biggest accomplishment of the last twenty years was losing to the Jaguars in a playoff game. They've have plenty of good starts in that time frame. None of this means anything.
The past twenty years don't mean anything to these guys. New ownership since 2014. New coach and GM since 2017. Only 5 players on the roster were here before McDermott (Lorax, Hughes, Lawson, Lee Smith, and Ferguson). It just doesn't make sense to play the "same old Bills" card when these are decidedly not the same Bills. Life is ***** short and miserable anyway, so why not just enjoy the 2-0 start for what it is? Unlike the Sabres, the Bills actually made moves to get better this fall. So far, so good.
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2 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:
Give Poyer some credit there - that was beautiful.
This is the first time I've ever seen the Bills beat the Giants, and it's the first time the Bills have conquered Eli
We have 2 wins in 2 teams' home stadiums before either of those 2 teams has a single win anywhere
Where were you on November 30, 2003?
So right now I have the Bills as a top-6 AFC playoff team:
DW1. Pats
DW2. Chiefs
DW3. Ravens
DW4. Texans
WC1. Chargers
WC2. Bills
The preseason hype trains for the Jets, Browns, Steelers, and Jags appear to have derailed. The Colts are hurt badly by not having Luck. The Titans are a decent team, but I still think the Bills are better overall. Raiders, Broncos, Bengals, and Dolphins bring up the rear.
Thoughts?
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3 hours ago, Neo said:
Heavens to Betsy, I underestimated the ability of a Patriots reference to inspire the vapors. For the record:
1). I don’t care for the Pats or their fans.
2). I’d rather a root canal than an hour with Bill Bilichick.
3). I certainly don’t lionize them, nor do I demonize them.
4). My use of “best” wasn’t meant to assess character or Godliness. Unaddressed by me were the ethics, the mores, of the franchise. As long as someone mentioned it, I’ll say this. Our neighbor’s rarely as bad, and we’re rarely as good, as we believe we are. Casting aspersions in the direction of the successful is both a human instinct and a human failing. I view the habit as the emotional equivalent of the appendix. It serves no purpose, is largely benign, and occasionally flares up and causes great discomfort.
5). I did like The Boston Patriots and the best logo in sports.
If my interpretation of the bolded is correct, you are stating that everyone else is probably cheating and lying about it too, and the act of calling out those who cheat and lie isn't important.
Regarding the first statement: simply no. If the Bills, for example, were cheating during the 21st century, then they did an incredibly terrible job of it I'd say. But the level of cheating that the Pats have done has been especially egregious in the advantages it has given them over opponents.
Regarding the second statement: I think it is very important to recognize, criticize, and shame bad behavior so that it does not become normalized and tacitly accepted. But I've clearly lost this debate in the eyes of the national sports media, as no one even mentions (or wants to mention) Spygate, Deflategate, etc... anymore. The bottom line is that it's okay to cheat and lie to get to the top because winning is the most important thing ever and no one gives a damn about the losers. If I may step on to my soapbox for a second: how very American. The 21st century Patriots are kind of a nice analogy for our modern capitalist system.
Whatever. At this point, I'm perfectly happy to end this particular discussion today so that we can all try and focus on enjoying the 1pm Bills game. I'll be back for Week 4, however.
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31 minutes ago, Neo said:
Spectacular for NE. There is only upside. AB will thrive, or be shown the door without having cost the Pats a penny or jeopardized their culture.
The Pats are bigger than AB. The Pats have all the leverage. He’ll walk into the locker room as just another interchangeable part in terms of value to the team. “We won with Chris Hogan. Shut up, work, or go home”. There will be no Gruden pandering. There will be no series of escalating fines. If he gets in the face of Bilichick, 52 guys will kick his a**.
He needs them. They don’t need him. Whether he recognizes that or not, I have no idea. He’ll star, or go home without leaving a trace.
The Pats are the best organization in four sports. Whether it’s circumstance or genius, we can debate. That they are, we cannot.
And also the most sociopathic. Belichick, Brady, and their Aspergery friend Ernie Adams have perfected the art of cheating, which I would argue is certainly a type of genius. Spygate. Deflategate. Headsetgate. A long history of ridiculously suspicious referee calls ever since Kraft took over in 1994. If you want to lionize teams that bend the rules to win at all costs, go right ahead. But I don't see how this latest Patriot tampering controversy with Antonio Brown is in any way fair to the Steelers or Raiders (or the rest of the NFL). At the very least, Brown should be facing a long league suspension or the Patriots should have to compensate the Raiders with draft picks.
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4 hours ago, Radar said:
I've been thinking we will be at best 8-8. More likely less. I know this is a cold blanket on those more optimistic but objectively speaking that's what I see.
How are you speaking objectively? You are offering an opinion of what you think will happen this season, which is inherently subjective.
Here's my SUBJECTIVE take on the Bills this season: the Bills have improved at every position this season (except punter at the moment). Josh Allen has more experience and familiarity in Daboll's offense. Singletary and Gore will be better than McCoy and Ivory. Brown and Beasley improve the WR's. Kroft, Knox, Smith, and Sweeney have got to be a collective upgrade at TE. 4 new starters on last year's abysmal OL. Oliver and a healthy Murphy at DL. A full year of NFL experience for Levi Wallace and Taron Johnson. Better depth all across the roster. Better kick returner with Roberts.
I'm seeing 10 wins (Jets, Jets, Dolphins, Dolphins, Bengals, Ravens, Titans, Broncos, Giants, Redskins) and 6 losses (Pats, Pats, Eagles, Cowboys, Steelers, Browns) if no major injury losses. They'll probably drop a game or two that they should win (Jets, Ravens) and steal one or two among the tougher opponents (Cowboys, Steelers, Browns).
By the way, I've noticed how McDermott and Allen seem to take a lot of crap from people on this particular message board, much more so than other message boards. Why is that? Is it all the extra hate left over from the failed NHL franchise that is Pegula's Sabres?
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Worst. Off-season. Ever.
EDIT Bogosian Requests Trade, Now EROD wants One As Well
in The Aud Club
Posted
Does this turd really believe playing will make a difference? Does he really think the rest of the NHL will ever see him as anything other than an injury-prone, low hockey-IQ, 3rd overall draft bust? Regardless of playing time, his NHL career trajectory is 2 or 3 more years max as a third-pair defenseman at the vet minimum. Just enjoy the $6-million-per-year you stole from the Sabres, Zach, relax in the warm confines of the press box for the next few months, and STFU until the coach calls your name you piece of ***** Tank Era locker room cancer.