Threads from our Frenemies-part 2

[*PhilHos*]

(01-20-2023, 01:52 PM)BillsFanInCali Wrote: As a Bills fan, I first have to say that I think the way the Bengals coaches, staff, and fans handled the Damar situation was total class.  Really impressed.  Thank you.

As for the seeding and home field advantage stuff, it was a tough situation for NFL.  My opinion was that teams should have been seeded exactly according to their records.  They would mean Cinci playing in Buffalo, but if Buffalo should win, we'd have to go to KC.  I didn't like that scenario - considering we were the #1 seed going into the Cinci game - but it seemed the most fair.   Your record is your record.

As for this game, I have worries.  The Bills O Line isn't good.  Our running game is nothing special.  Our receivers other than Diggs are meh - they have trouble getting open or even just holding onto the ball (I'm too lazy to research if this is still true but at one point the Bills led the league in drops).  Our offense is Josh and Diggs - mostly Josh.  

On defense, we've struggled to get pressure since Von Miller went out.  If you don't know, the Bills D runs nickel something like 90% of the time.  The problem is that this makes us vulnerable to the run.  The other problem is that it puts 3 DBs on the field when we only have one good DB.  And that one good DB - Tre White - hasn't been himself since his knee injury.  So we actually have zero good DBs.  Safety is problematic for us too.  For the past few years, Hyde and Poyer have been an example of "the sum is greater than the parts."  They play really well together and - because they're interchangeable -  they can disguise coverages really well.  With Hyde out, our safety play has been much degraded this year.  Burrow is primed for a big day, I think.

And yet, for all the their deficiencies, the Bills have won a lot of games this season.  Sometimes, an unexpected hero steps up.  Mostly it's been about Josh making Superman plays.  But he'll need to make several, I think, for the Bills to overcome the Bengals.  I'm hoping he does but wish you guys luck if things don't work out for the Mafia.

I'd say that most of us are pretty much in agreement with everything you said. There's concerns that both teams need to address but this game may just come down to who has the ball last.