Buffalo N.Y. (WGR 550) - Howdy! How’s everyone doing?
Anxiety ridden waiting for Sunday? Yeah, me too. Maybe I can help burn a few minutes for you with the return of the mail bag!
You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers.
Are they the correct answers? Will you like the answers? I don’t know. That’s all part of the fun, so keep reading please.
Oooh, I like it. A real football-y football question to get us rolling.
I’ll say the interior line play is the bigger factor here.
D.J. Reader is an absolute wrecking machine at defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals. Having a plan to neutralize him and successfully executing it will be vital to any hope of running the ball Sunday.
Thanks for this one.
I loved Ryan Miller, on and off the ice. His prime Sabres years were well-before our son Owen started playing the position, but his career meant a lot to us as we made our way down the long hockey road.
Owen’s first full-time season as a goalie was 2013-14. I was able to get a Ryan Miller Team USA Olympic jersey autographed for Owen’s birthday that year. It hung in his room as an idea of what was possible if you worked hard.
Owen would have to tell you how inspiring that was to him, but I know I thought about it probably more than I should have as things got more serious. I mean, it was still so far away at that point, right?
Owen will be in the building on Thursday night. It means a lot to him that he’ll be there to see Miller honored.
One of my all-time favorite Sabres, maybe just behind Danny Gare.
I’ll assume for the purposes of this exercise that a preseason game in E.J. Manuel’s rookie year doesn’t count.
I went to quite a few games at the front end of the drought when I was working mornings Monday-Friday, and was part of the pregame shows on game days. So that’s kind of for work, though, I had no postgame obligations.
So, you know, let the beer flow.
The last game I was at with no radio responsibilities at all was the David White game in 1995. The Bills clinched the AFC East with a win over the Miami Dolphins, and White - a relatively obscure Bills linebacker - made a fantastic leaping interception about midway through the fourth quarter in a 20-20 tie.
The Bills kicked a go-ahead field goal off that takeaway, and hung on for the win.
A few weeks later, the Bills would steamroll the Dolphins in a Wild Card win, piling up 341 yards rushing in the process.
The folks at Spotrac have Miller’s dead money at $40 million and change in 2023, $21 million in 2024. I’d say the chances of the Bills moving on from Miller before then are almost non-existent.
The number is a much more manageable $7 million in 2025, so I’d guess that’s your first window out from under that contract.
Here’s hoping Miller heals up and can help the Bills at some point next season, and into the one after that.
The '90s Bills run of playoff appearances actually began in 1988 when they won the division and lost the AFC Championship Game in Cincinnati.
These Bills of now made the playoffs with Josh Allen in 2019, and were serious contenders in 2020.
I’d say we’re three years into it with this group, others might argue four. Either way, they were contenders for six-straight seasons from 1988-93 and, of course, made the Super Bowl in the last four years of that run. After missing the playoffs in 1994, they were back in 1995 and 1996, but only managed to win one Wild Card game, the earlier mentioned stomping of Miami in 1995.
It was easier to keep a team of great players together back then with less player movement, unrestricted free agency not even existing until 1992.
It’s obviously very different now, though we’ve seen plenty of evidence that having the elite quarterback now can keep a team's contending window open, even if you have to change out important parts due to salary or age.
So say the Bills are three years into being serious Super Bowl contenders right now, do I think they’ll be serious contenders for, at least, three more seasons? I think so. But obviously, savvy drafting to replace expensive or aging out players will be vital.
This is a challenging question, and not entirely because 1990 was so damn long ago and the memories get cloudy.
It’s hard to compare, because the way I view the sport has changed so much. I don’t think back then I thought about games being coin flips as much as I do now. That’s not to say that they weren’t.
It’s just that all these years later and having watched hundreds more NFL games, it’s hard to feel as confident now. For me, I think in the '90s, I felt like the Bills had all these great players, so of course they’ll win.
I know, I know, they ultimately didn’t get it done. But I remember thinking that eventually they would, right up until they didn’t. Then Jim Kelly left a home Wild Card loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on a cart and it was over.
Now, with all that experience mixed in, I feel like the Bills currently have all these great players and maybe they’ll win. I mean, how confident should you feel about a coin flip?
What era is this game being played in?
Dropping Kelly into a game now might look like Ben Roethlisberger at the end. Allen playing a game in the '90s would be an absolute freak show in all the best ways.
They’re both great. Kelly’s career speaks for itself, and Allen has much to accomplish to reach those heights.
I’m not really answering the question, am I...
I’m eager to see Christian Benford back in the mix here, but Kaiir Elam is my answer.
Dane Jackson, at times, this year has had trouble locating the ball when targeted. I’m pretty sure the Bills value Jackson’s experience, and might still have some trust issues with the two rookies.
But right now, I’d lean on Elam.
