Your guide to Sunday's Bills game at Arizona

Ed Oliver is still bitter over the coldest game of his life.

It was seven years ago in Texas, in the fourth round of the state playoffs, the last high school football game with his big brother and the first loss of his varsity career. It was a seminal moment in Oliver’s ascent from brash 15-year-old phenom to Top 10 NFL draft pick. And to this day, it touches a nerve as raw as the Arctic wind.

The Buffalo Bills' defensive tackle twice “vehemently” declined to talk this week about Westfield’s 48-13 loss to Allen in a battle of unbeatens on Dec. 7, 2013, in icy Round Rock, telling a team spokesperson “we got embarrassed” and that he didn’t “want to relive” the last time he played against Kyler Murray.

“Yeah, I can imagine he doesn’t,” said Oliver’s mom, Dana Baker, laughing on the phone. “’Cause they got WHOOPED! Baaaaaaaad. Real bad.”

Oliver will play Murray for the first time since that day when the Bills visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium. Containing Murray is among the greatest challenges the Bills will face this season, with the Heisman Trophy winner and 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick on pace for more than 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards, a feat no NFL player has accomplished in a single season. A victory would send the Bills into the bye week on a four-game winning streak, with consecutive triumphs against NFC playoff contenders.

But for Oliver, it means much more. This one is personal.

“We had big dreams,” his brother, Marcus, said. “We wanted to make it to state and we knew the road that it took to get there, and we were willing to fight every single week to prove that we were the best in the state. Our car rides to the school, just talking about it every day, just made it more fulfilling that you have your brother next to you and you know this is the only year that you have a chance to do it.

“And then you meet the guy who holds every record in Texas, basically.”

Murray ranks among the greatest athletes in the history of the Lone Star State. He was 42-0 as a starting quarterback at Allen, a three-time state champion, twice named Mr. Texas Football and crowned the 2014 Gatorade Football Player of the Year.

He won the 2018 Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma.

In 2019, he was drafted No. 1 overall by Arizona and No. 9 overall by Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics, the only player to be drafted in the first round of both sports, before choosing the gridiron.

“What he did in high school, he’s doing in the NFL,” said Tom Westerberg, Murray’s coach at Allen. “Nothing’s changed.”

Oliver, the No. 9 overall pick that same year, sat down for a video interview with Sports Illustrated before the draft.

“How would you say a Kyler Murray might deal with you at the next level?” he was asked.

“What's crazy is I played Kyler Murray in high school before,” Oliver said, “and when I tell you this guy is fast, that dude’s fast. I think I tackled Kyler Murray like one time. He was running away from me. I got a shoestring tackle. But I can honestly say that guy is the truth.”

If you were an NFL GM you would draft Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick?

“Oh no, I'd draft me.”

Would you be able to catch him at the next level?

“Oh now? I'll catch him easy.”

But Oliver had no interest in discussing the subject this week.

“That game, obviously with Kyler Murray being the quarterback,” said A.J. Blum, Oliver’s defensive coordinator at Westfield and defensive line coach at Houston, “it’s almost like dusting off nightmares.”

‘The wrong side of history’

Green Bay Packers defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, then the defensive line coach at Oklahoma, offered Ed a scholarship with the Sooners after watching the first spring practice of his freshman year, Blum recalled.

“He came off the field and said, ‘Blum, I’m going to offer your guy.’ And I was like, ‘He hasn’t even played a down of varsity football yet!’

“And the joke was, ‘C’mon man, you see what I see.’ ”

Ed didn’t play varsity for another year, when he was a sophomore and Marcus was a senior.

Marcus, an offensive lineman, took his big brother role seriously and great pride in mentoring Ed.

Each morning, Marcus and Ed drove to school in his black Jeep Laredo, listening to Meek Mill, talking about the game. Later, they’d ride home together and talk about it some more.

“Marcus had an ankle injury the majority of that season,” their mom said. “And I remember being like, ‘Marcus, why are you still playing?’ And he was like, ‘Oh, mama. It’s going to be all right.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t think you should be playing on it. Your ankle shouldn’t be purple all the way around like that.’ But he would wrap it up and play no matter what. He still wanted to play with his brother. He didn’t want to sit out.”

Westfield won its first 13 games, a district championship and avenged its postseason loss from the year before, vanquishing powerhouse Dallas Skyline, 55-48, in double overtime in the third round of the playoffs, setting up a game with Allen in the Class 5A Division I Region II final.

“Some crucial memories,” Marcus said. “That year for me was one of the most fun years I ever played football. I love football. But getting to play with him in high school, where it’s not all political, it was just for the fun of the game, it was one of the best times that we had playing football together. He’d probably say the same thing. And then we ran into the man that went 42-0 in Texas high school football.

“We’re a part of history, but on the wrong side of history.”

Allen was in the midst of a 43-game winning streak, of which Murray missed one game, a run of three consecutive state championships and ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today.

“You’re talking about Allen High School,” Blum said. “That year Kyler Murray, obviously he was the centerpiece, but you’re talking about a team that had 18 Division I players out of 22 starters.”

Westerberg, then the Allen head coach, rattled off eight players from that team who reached the NFL.

“Right now, the left tackle plays for the Rams, the right tackle plays for the Panthers, our starting receiver plays for the Chargers, Kyler plays, and then our center played with the Chiefs,” Westerberg said. “We had an outside backer that was on the Patriots practice squad. And then we have a couple of DBs that have made it. It’s kind of crazy.

“We have a safety that’s still playing at Ole Miss, his fifth year. We had a D-lineman that was a backup that played in the game that plays at Washington and will be drafted. There’s a bunch of kids that have made it off of that team.”

That’s 10 future NFL players, including Murray, on one high school team.

“It was a who’s who,” Blum said.

‘Like the Washington Generals’

A rare ice storm in Dallas had wiped out much of the local high school football schedule, but Allen players boarded buses early that wintry morning and creeped south down the highway, 200 miles to Round Rock, site of the regional final.

“We were the only team in the Dallas area that played that weekend,” Westerberg said. “It’s probably about 18, 19 degrees with the wind blowing about 20 miles an hour out of the north. It was awful. And we load up and go play. My father, who was 83 and raised in Minneapolis, said it was the coldest he’d ever been at a football game in his life.”

The Allen marching band – known as “the biggest band in the land,” with more than 800 students who stretch from end zone to end zone – sat this one out.

“We pulled into the parking lot and you could tell the people that came from Allen, they still had snow on their cars,” Blum said.

But Allen came prepared.

“They had coats and heaters,” Baker said, “and we were over there just looking like the Washington Generals. Because we didn’t have coats. All we had was heart. And those boys did go out there and they tried, but that weather just beat them down. I believe if it had been a little warmer, we probably still would have lost, but we’d have gave them a run for their money.

“You have to realize, the north side of Houston, Westfield, we’re not wealthy,” Baker said. “We didn’t have coats. We’re Houstonians. We’re a really, really warm-blooded people. Nobody even thinks along those lines. And then you go up north and you’re not thinking it’s going to be Buffalo cold. But it was Buffalo cold that day.”

Westfield fumbled on its opening possession and Murray threw a 37-yard touchdown on his first play.

It was caught by Jalen Guyton, who now plays for the Chargers.

Allen went up 14-0. Westfield cut it to 14-7.

Then Murray ran for a 30-yard touchdown.

It was 27-7 at halftime.

“I remember being in the game and very quickly being out of the game,” Marcus said. “They were the best team I’ve ever seen on a high school football field.

“After the first quarter, it really wasn’t a football game, but watching Kyler Murray highlights.”

Murray threw another touchdown on the first possession of the second half, pushing the score to 35-7.

Murray finished with 195 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

He also ran for 169 yards and two scores.

“Kyler played well,” Westerberg said. “It was one of the few games, one of the few times he took a huge hit in high school. We missed a pass protection on the back side of him and he got blasted and fumbled the ball.”

That hit, in the third quarter, was delivered by defensive end Michael Jackson, who went on to play at Division II Tarleton State.

On the first play of Allen’s next possession, Murray scrambled 80 yards for a touchdown, bouncing out of the pocket, rocketing down field, splitting two tacklers, looping toward the sideline and spinning another defender before trotting over the goal line.

Nobody came close.

‘Momma made fun of me’

After the game, Baker let her boys have it.

“Ice runs in my veins, and I was like, ‘Sooooo, what was the point of us even coming here, if y’all wasn’t going to try?’’ Baker said. “I remember Marcus being really upset because that was his last game. But Ed was kind of like, ‘Mom!’

“He wasn’t as upset as his brother. He just kind of looked at me like, ‘Mean old lady.’ ”

Imagine what it must have felt like to be 15 years old, to have been offered by Oklahoma before playing a down of varsity football, to have the speed and strength to toy with larger offensive linemen, to have never lost a varsity game, to have teamed with your big brother for only this one season, to defeat Dallas Skyline in double overtime, avenging the program’s only loss from a year ago, to get a crack at the best player in Texas and the reigning state champs.

To have that aura of invincibility frozen and shattered.

And now your mom is talking trash.

“When I come for him, like needling at him and telling him, ‘Oh that player’s better,’ or ‘That’s my favorite player,’ it only elevates his game,” Baker said. “So I think the next year that he played, he really had a chip on his shoulder. Because he was kinda like, ‘My momma made fun of me.’ ”

The boys boarded a bus for the nearly 170-mile trip down the icy freeway, back to Westfield.

It took about four hours. It felt like forever.

“The year was great, when you reflect on it,” Marcus said. “But at the time, we were both emotional. We wanted to win so bad, knowing that we were so close to getting to the state championship game. It always stinks after a loss. But you just have to realize that if you left it all on the field, then you have to live with the results. There’s nothing you can do.

“I’ll forever say this: Kyler Murray is the best high school player I’ve seen on a football field in Texas. Other than Ed, obviously, because he’s my brother.”

Ed’s notoriety grew throughout his high school career.

The 6-2, 277-pound, five-star prospect received offers from a dozen major programs and took a visit to Oklahoma. But he chose to follow Marcus to Houston, where he became the Cougars’ first three-time All-American.

“Ed realized at the end of the day, his family is the most important thing,” Blum said.

In 2017, his sophomore season, Ed won the Outland Trophy, awarded to the best interior lineman in college football.

Ed and Marcus played their final game together on Christmas Eve, a 33-27 loss to Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl. Days before the game, Ed accidentally stepped on a sea urchin.

“Because he’s Ed. And that’s what Ed does,” Baker said. “He was in the water in Hawaii and he stepped on one, and I know when he came home he had at least 30 or 40 of those spikes still stuck in his foot. I don’t know how many he had stuck in his foot that day that they played, but he played on that bad foot. He ran a touchdown on that bad foot, as a matter of fact. And I remember thinking, ‘OK, you repaid the debt that Marcus made when y’all played in high school.’ Because Marcus should not have been playing on that ankle that year.”

Ed entered his junior season in 2018 with talk of a Heisman campaign and the possibility he’d be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. He declared his intent to turn pro before the season even began. But he missed several games with a knee injury and opted out of the team’s bowl game.

Murray led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoffs and won the Heisman.

‘I just have to do better’

High school coaches were invited to Nashville to accompany their former players to the 2019 NFL draft, and Westerberg, the former Allen coach, ran into Ed in a hotel lobby.

The 2013 regional title game came up, and the first topic was the weather.

“He said, ‘You play in cold games and you run around and once the game starts the coldness kind of goes away,’” Westerberg said. “He said, ‘I could never get warm in that game, ever, at any point in time.’ He said, ‘It was crazy.’”

The next topic was Allen’s talent.

“He was talking about the number of players that we had on that team that were going to have a chance to play or are playing in the NFL,” Westerberg said. “He was like, ‘Y’all were loaded.’ ”

Murray was drafted No. 1 overall by Arizona.

Oliver went No. 9 to Buffalo.

The coach had a good laugh.

“I’m sure he’s played in a couple of cold games already,” he said.

Oliver’s mom offered nothing but praise for the Cardinals quarterback.

“I have mad respect for Kyler Murray,” Baker said. “I have watched that boy since he was young. He’s an excellent player and you can’t take anything away from him. He is so awesome.”

Oliver muddled through the start of his rookie season, losing his starting job before a breakout performance in a 26-15 victory against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. He had four tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble that led to the Bills’ go-ahead touchdown and a pass breakup.

He ended the season with 43 tackles, five sacks, eight quarterback hits, two pass breakups and the forced fumble in 16 games, seven of them starts.

But he’s not coming close to that production in nine starts this season, recording 16 tackles, four quarterback hits, one sack and a pass breakup, despite playing a higher percentage of defensive snaps.

The analytics website Pro Football Focus grades him as the worst interior defensive lineman on the team, and among the worst in the league.

“It depends how you define that …” Bills coach Sean McDermott said, when asked why Oliver seems to be struggling this season. “With the D-tackle position, it’s a very unselfish position and sometimes you’re not in the stat column but you may have played your best game of the year. … I think Ed’s moving in the right direction and I can’t wait to watch him this week.”

Baker said her son doesn’t like to dwell on the past.

“He only can sulk for so long,” Baker said. “Ed has about a day on a bad game, and I’ve talked to him on a couple of games this season where he was like, ‘I just have to do better.’ And that’s just how he handles things. Where they have him playing on the line right now is all guts, no glory. So he just pretty much puts his head down and does his assignment. And it doesn’t always result in a flashy play, but he’s handling it well. He’s just like, ‘OK, well, I didn’t get the sack or I didn’t get the pressure, but my teammate did and we won the game and that’s the end of it.’”

Last week, the Bills racked up five sacks, 11 quarterback hits and forced four turnovers out of Russell Wilson in a 44-34 victory against the Seattle Seahawks. Oliver played 60% of the defensive snaps but didn’t crack the stat sheet.

This week, for the first time in seven years, he’s chasing Kyler Murray. 

“There’s a lot on the line on Sunday that most people don’t know about,” Marcus said. “I know he’s going to be thinking about it a little bit.”

Buffalo Bills fans should prepare for some frustration watching Kyler Murray’s running ability in Sunday’s game.

The Cardinals’ second-year quarterback is going to gain yards on scrambles and designed running plays. It’s just about impossible to shut down.

Murray ranks eighth in the NFL in rushing yards and No. 1 among quarterbacks with 543 yards. He’s No. 1 among all rushers in yards per carry at 7.1. He has 12 rushes of 15 or more yards, also No. 1 among all players.

The Bills did a great job of having coordinated pass rushes last week to keep Seattle’s Russell Wilson from running wild on scrambles. He rushed for a mere 5 yards. If a defensive end is going to try to win on a hard move inside, he better know he has a defensive tackle looping to his outside or a linebacker to his outside to keep Murray from taking off. The Bills managed it well against Wilson.

Arizona’s designed runs for Murray are an interesting challenge.

Murray runs on a bunch of zone-read plays, lead draws, designed sweeps and naked bootlegs on the Bills.

By now, the Bills’ defense has tons of experience defending the zone read, where the quarterback hands to the running back on an inside zone play or keeps it off tackle.

The QB draw with the running back leading the quarterback through the hole as an extra blocker is a great play that has become more prevalent in the NFL in recent years.

Arizona uses spread formations at least 70% of the time. Murray is seeing light boxes from the defense. With the running back leading Murray through the hole, it’s an extra blocker that almost guarantees Arizona is getting a hat on a hat. Sometimes the Cardinals will run a jet sweeper in the direction of the running back, so Murray has two lead blockers against a light box.

(Here's Murray following a jet sweeper for a TD last week against Miami.)

The only way to stop the play is for the defensive front to win a one-on-one matchup.

“That’s exactly what I would say – somebody’s got to find a way to get off a block and make a play,” said Bills safety Jordan Poyer. “At the same time, you’ve got to be able to hit him when the opportunity presents itself and force him to not want to run the ball. When we get clean shots on him, we’ve got to find ways to hit him.”

Here's a misdirection Murray TD run against Washington with the RB leading the way:

The Baltimore Ravens run the play with Lamar Jackson, but often out of two tight-end formations. The Bills run it out of the spread, too. Josh Allen hit good gainers with Zack Moss as the lead blocker vs. Kansas City and in the home win over the Jets.

“I think it’s fairly new to the NFL, the called quarterback run game,” Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury said on a call with Buffalo media this week. “It kind of for a while had been thought to be impossible to do consistently because of the physicality of the game, and there is some truth to that. These guys, Lamar and Josh and Kyler, are able to make it work. That definitely adds a weapon each and every week. It’s something in college you see a lot more and defenses prep for it a lot more. But it’s hard to prep for it in the NFL because you don’t see it as often.”

Murray is averaging about six designed runs a game, according to Buffalo News charting. He hit Miami last week for 41 yards on four designed runs and got Dallas for 52 yards on six designed runs three weeks ago. Six of his eight rushing TDs have come on designed runs.

Murray is a relatively small guy at 5 feet, 10 inches and 207 pounds. Baltimore’s Jackson is 6 feet, 2 inches and 215 pounds. Allen is 6 feet, 5 inches and 237.

“I’ve never seen a guy take less hits,” former Bills and Jets coach Rex Ryan told ESPN Radio earlier this year. “As soon as he scrambles, don't worry about it Arizona Cardinals fans, he's not going to get hurt. He does not get touched. He either slides on the ground as a great baseball player, he gets out of bounds or he sticks it in the end zone. You are not touching him.”

Carolina did a good job defending Murray in a 31-21 win over the Cardinals in Week 4. The Panthers’ front four lost containment on a spectacular 48-yard scramble by Murray. But Carolina dropped back, played coverage and got a big game from its front four. Maybe the Bills can do the same.

Air Raid report: Kingsbury got the Arizona job after five years running the Air Raid offense at Texas Tech. The Air Raid is a spread offense approach that has its roots in the offenses pioneered by AFL legend Sid Gilman and the ones more recently run at full speed by Mike Leach, now at Mississippi State. Leach’s approach is: If you spread the field vertically and horizontally with receivers, no zone defense can cover them all. There’s too much space to cover.

Among the popular elements of the Air Raid are four vertical routes, three-level flood concepts, and the mesh concept, which has two receivers running shallow crossers close to each other from opposite directions, all borrowed from past offensive schemes. The Bills and most teams have run all of these things to various degrees.

In the early part of last season, the Cardinals were truer to the Air Raid, running four- and five-wide sets in a pass-happy approach. The Cards offense struggled. But Kingsbury adjusted. They ran the ball more, and now they use two tight ends 31% of the time. Arizona runs on 53% of its plays, seventh most in the league.

One potential weakness of going from the spread so much is a good defense can force the QB to get rid of the ball quickly. Everything has to be quick, and the QB and receivers better be precise.

Pressure, not sacks. Don’t expect a lot of sacks on Murray. He has been sacked only 10 times, the seventh lowest rate in the league. It’s a huge improvement from last season, when he took 48 sacks, the eighth most in the league. Miami blitzed him a ton last week, unsuccessfully, and he recognized free rushers off the edge well.

“I think that is an area he’s taken a lot of pride in,” Kingsbury said. “When you look at the sack numbers, just avoiding the negative plays, that’s been huge. We talk about third down, you try to make a play, and if you get sacked there, it’s not as big a deal. But first down and second down, negative yardage plays are real killers in this league. He’s done a tremendous job of improving on that this season.”

The 30,000-foot view: The Cardinals were one of the worst franchises in the NFL under Bill Bidwill, who assumed control of the team in 1962 and ran it until 2007, when he ceded control to his son Michael. The franchise made the playoffs just three times in 59 years, from 1949 through 2007. But Michael Bidwill has been a much more stable, savvy leader. He pulled the plug on coach Steve Wilks after just one season, 2018, and followed the NFL trend toward hotshot, young, offensive minds in hiring Kingsbury. That led to admitting they made a mistake in drafting QB Josh Rosen and the selection of Murray No. 1 overall in 2019. Good luck is a factor. If Wilks had won one more game, the Cardinals wouldn’t have had the No. 1 pick. But now it looks like Murray will make them competitive for years to come.

Stats for the road:  From NFL Next Gen Stats, Allen and Murray are Nos. 1 and 2 in the league in evading pressure. Allen has done it 29.2%, Murray 28.1%. Third is Matt Ryan at 17.9%. It’s the percentage of dropbacks where the QB was under pressure during the play but avoided it at the time of the throw. ... The Bills remain No. 1 in first-down passing rate in the first three quarters (61%), and they’re the second most successful first-down passing team, according to Sharp Football. They’re averaging 9.2 yards per attempt on those throws. Arizona passes 46% on first down in the first three quarters. ... Arizona is running no-huddle on 41% of its snaps, by far the most in the league.

When the Bills run: Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll barely bothered with the run last week. The team rushed just three times in the first half against the Seahawks. That comes after a game against New England in Week 8 in which the ground game was the primary focus. If you had to pick which way the Bills will lean against Arizona, I wouldn’t expect a lot of carries. If the Cardinals stay true to their defense and play man coverage, that will invite more throws. Rookie Zack Moss has taken more snaps than second-year veteran Devin Singletary in back-to-back weeks, although neither did much against the Seahawks in Week 9. The Cardinals rank 22^nd against the run, allowing 126.1 yards per game. On a per-rush basis, they are giving up 4.59 yards, which ranks 23^rd. EDGE: Bills.

When the Bills throw: Josh Allen’s efficiency has been unmatched by a Bills quarterback in team history through the first nine weeks. Allen is completing 68.9% of his passes for 287.4 yards per game, 8.2 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 107.2. He’s thrown 19 touchdowns against just five interceptions. Bills receiver Stefon Diggs can expect to see plenty of Patrick Peterson. In three previous games against Peterson, Diggs has 11 catches for 86 yards. That leaves John Brown and Cole Beasley to work against Cardinals cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and Byron Murphy – both favorable matchups for the Bills. Arizona’s pass rush is mediocre at best. EDGE: Bills.

When the Cardinals run: It’s quarterback Kyler Murray who provides the biggest threat on the ground. Murray ranks eighth in the NFL in rushing, with 76 carries for 543 yards – an average of 7.1 yards per attempt that leads the league. Murray rushed for a career-high 106 yards last week against the Dolphins. The key for the Bills will be to make Murray hand the ball off on zone reads. He can hurt them if he gets the edge. When he’s not running it, the job falls most frequently to Kenyan Drake. The former Dolphins running back has 512 rushing yards on 119 carries, four of which have gone for touchdowns. EDGE: Cardinals.

When the Cardinals throw: Arizona is the only team in the NFL to run 10 personnel (one running back, no tight ends, four wide receivers) more than the Bills. The Cardinals have used that formation on 115 of their 542 offensive plays this season. Those four receivers most often are DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald and Andy Isabella. Murray can also throw it, too. He’s completing 68.1%, which ranks ninth in the NFL, and has 2,130 yards, which is 12^th. He has 16 touchdown passes, which is tied for 11^th. Last week against Miami, Murray completed passes to nine different receivers. EDGE: Cardinals.

Special teams: Bills returner Andre Roberts always enjoys going up against one of his former teams, which he’ll do again Sunday. Roberts will face a strong kick coverage unit. Arizona ranks second in opponent kickoff return average, at just 16.6 yards. On the flip side, the Cardinals rank 31^st in punt-return average, at just 2.6 yards. Both kickers in Sunday’s game have given their teams reason to be nervous. Arizona’s Zane Gonzalez missed a 49-yard field goal that could have tied the game against Miami last week with less than two minutes left in regulation. EDGE: Bills.

Coaching: Kliff Kingsbury is directing the NFL’s leading offense in just his second season in Arizona after coming to the NFL from Texas Tech. Kingsbury, however, isn’t immune to criticism. He was on the receiving end of plenty last week after getting conservative with some of his play calls in a loss to Miami. Kingsbury also took heat for the Cardinals not targeting Hopkins at all in the first half against Miami. Bills coach Sean McDermott faces a challenge in keeping his team focused on the task at hand. With a bye week looming, it would be easy for the Bills to check out a bit early Sunday. McDermott has done a solid job this season – and really throughout his tenure – on making sure that doesn’t happen. EDGE: Bills.

Prediction: Bills 34, Cardinals 27

John Fina tries to keep himself occupied, almost to the point of distraction, when he watches football. Cooking usually does the trick.

“Because when I sit down and watch the game, I start to get all amped up,” the former Buffalo Bills offensive tackle said by phone from his home in Tucson, Ariz.

Fina, now an account manager for a startup pharmaceutical company called Ocular Therapeutix, describes himself as a “cursory observer of specifics.” Most of what he observes involves his former team, with which he spent 10 of his 11 NFL seasons after the Bills made him a first-round draft pick from the University of Arizona in 1992. Fina’s last year, 2002, was with the Arizona Cardinals, whom the Bills face Sunday at State Farm Stadium.

Even without being too deeply analytical, he has plenty of insights to offer on the Bills’ 7-2 start. After all, Fina spent time as an assistant offensive line coach at his high school alma mater, Tucson’s Salpointe Catholic, when his son, Bruno, was an offensive lineman there. Bruno received a football scholarship to UCLA, where he’s a freshman.

Fina also has been an analyst for television coverage of college and high school football games, and he makes monthly appearances on Joe Miller’s Overreaction Bills podcast.

“What I saw from the last game against Seattle was very clearly that this coaching staff is open to weekly evolution with their game-planning,” Fina said of the Bills’ 44-34 victory against the Seahawks. “How do you score 44 points to win a game by running the ball for only 34 yards? That's incredible. I like that about the team. It's exciting, it's dynamic. They look like they're having fun.

“All of the wide receivers that we have are fantastic, so much fun to watch, so many weapons. One of the things that I took away from the game against the Patriots was, ‘Let's get some intermediate throws.’ And they did that (against Seattle). I'd like to see the play-action pick up against Arizona.”

How’s that for cursory?

Here’s more.

“I think right now, the offensive line is playing good,” Fina said. “I don't think they're playing fantastic, but they're playing good across the board. Josh Allen is kind of a ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ for the offensive line. He did this a little bit better in the last game, but he has a tendency to leave the pocket rather than just kind of moving around in the pocket. That's always bad for tackles, because in your mind there's a guy back there about seven and a half or eight yards, and that's sort of a defining point for your pass set and what you're trying to accomplish. But sometimes, when he leaves the pocket, he exposes those guys on the edge.

“Defensively, yeah, OK, so you miss the big guys in the middle. There's been some injuries, a lot of rotation, guys are picking up the slack. I think they're still trying to figure out how to defend against the run a little bit better. Some of the things that I've seen on the defense is disengaging off run blocks on the proper side of the run. And I noticed they started getting more aggressive and coming down a little better against the run. We've got to get more pressure from a four-man rush. And we've got a new kicker that needs some nurturing, but he seems like he's doing pretty good job.”

Fina, 51, said he cherishes the time he spent with the Bills. It is something his four children (two in college, one in high school and one in junior high) only know from photographs and video and their father’s stories, which he’ll happily share Sunday during a Bills Backers event in Denver.

In the latest edition of One-on-One Coverage, The Buffalo News spoke with Fina about his playing days, former teammates, former coaches, the Doug Flutie-Rob Johnson quarterback controversy, and how offensive line play has changed through the years.

Buffalo News: You joined the Bills at an interesting time. It's one thing to be on the ground floor of that Super Bowl run. It's another to come in two years after it started. What was that like?

John Fina: I was fortunate. Of course, there was a ton of stress and pressure, being the first-round pick, for me to contribute. Now, the expectation wasn't that I was going to contribute (immediately), because they had the offensive line set. To be fair, I don't think they really knew exactly where I'd play. My entire rookie year, I took every snap at center on the scout team, which was both fun and educational. I was fortunate because there was just so much learning to be had. And that offensive line group was great. I mean, they'd give you the requisite amount of crap for being the first-round pick. You took it from your teammates, too, and you had various duties that were more comical than hazing.

But it was a great place to end up, because they were loose. The pressure to succeed wasn't the same as a losing team trying to turn around an aircraft carrier at 20 knots. We just had to continue to build it. I couldn't have fallen into a better situation. Had I gone somewhere, whatever round it was, where I would have had to have played immediately, I think it would have been a disaster. I don't think that I was ready physically, I don't think I was ready mentally to be exposed to that type of football. So, for me it was, it was an optimum situation.

I got to go to a Super Bowl in my rookie year and I got to help take us to a Super Bowl my second year. I just have so much pride and fond memories of battling in each and every one of those games, some coming up short but more coming up positive. And losing the Super Bowl is not a defining characteristic of somebody or a defining event in somebody's life. The defining events are scattered throughout your entire career, not the scoreboard at the end of just one game.

BN: What were some of the biggest takeaways from your time with the Bills, the highs and lows?

JF: Honestly, I don't think about too many lows. It's a little bit like parenting. All of our kids misbehave, but they're just a joy, so if you spend your time thinking about all the disappointing episodes or painful episodes, you're just not really doing yourself right, and life is so short. So, I focus on all the highlights, like beating Kansas City at home in the (1993) AFC Championship Game and just knowing how hard it is to get to a Super Bowl. How many people have played in Buffalo since I and those players have left didn't even sniff a Super Bowl? I love the City of Buffalo, which was where I lived when I was there. If the weather wasn't so horrible, I probably would have never left. But it's just not for me.

I remember guys just getting along and trying to find an outlet for what is really a stressful job. People don't know about it, but if you only had 16 opportunities to prove that you are worth bringing back again next year, that's a lot of stress.

BN: How difficult was it to go through that divisive quarterback controversy between Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson?

JF: I mean, historically, of the number of times that staffs have tried a dual-quarterback system, how often has it worked? And how often has it not worked? I think it sort of weighs in the direction of not working. It's just like you can't please all of your kids. You can't be everything to everybody and if you're the quarterback, you want to play. Both those guys are competitors and then you see politicking going on. Without weighing in on which one it would have been, I think, the wiser move just to select one and go with it.

BN: What was the culture within the team like at that time?

JF: Let me give you a little insight into culture. People throw that word around a lot. We had the best culture in the building with the Buffalo Bills, and then it changed. It took a millisecond for it to disintegrate. The thing that turned the culture on its ear in Buffalo was when Wade Phillips left. Man, I love that guy.

Wade Phillips brought that level of humanity to the game. He was a real person. He talked to you regardless if you were playing well or you were playing poorly. And he congratulated you when you did well and when you didn't, he'd chat you up. Growing up in football like he did, he's a fan of the game. He treated you like an adult; he didn't want a kindergarten class, sort of snot-nosed little boys running around. You just did your thing with him and he was good with that.

BN: What were your impressions of Wade's successor, Gregg Williams, during that one season he was your coach?

JF: You know, looking back on it, I wasn't thrilled with Gregg and the way he did things. He's had a great career, he's a brilliant defensive mind. I don't think that he was as responsible for kind of the changes as the other guy. Hindsight's always 20-20, but the place certainly changed.

BN: The other guy? You mean Tom Donahoe, the GM?

JF: I didn't say it. You said it.

BN: What was it about Tom that impacted the culture?

JF: I just say, cultures change. I didn't like what some people used to write about me, so I try to keep it as even-handed as possible. I left there and I played my last year with the Arizona Cardinals. And it was no better. It's just so hard to succeed if you don't have everybody, from facilities management to security to your quarterback to the PR department, happy to be at work, rooting for one another. It's hard to make a go of it.

You hear around the league, among players, places that you don't want to go, and the Arizona Cardinals were one of them back then. I didn't think anything could be that true and it was. They turned it around, obviously. They added guys like Larry Fitzgerald, who's a first-ballot Hall of Famer for good reason. They have chances now because of guys like that, chances now because the owners understand much better, I think, than they probably did in the '80s what it meant to have players happy, the community happy, employees happy to achieve those goals.

BN: Being in Arizona, how often do you watch the Cardinals play?

JF: I haven’t watched them much this season. I do like to, when I get the chance, because of Kyler Murray; he’s so exciting to watch. But my 14-year-old son, Roman, is pitching great and he’s hitting great and these club baseball teams tend to have games on Sundays. So, I’ve been watching a lot of baseball.

BN: What was the relationship like between all you guys on the line?

JF: There's just such a camaraderie and kind of joy of living, joie de vivre, so to speak, between Dusty Zeigler, Jerry Ostrowski, Robert Hicks, Ruben Brown, Victor Allotey, Corbin Lacina, those were kind of on the back end. But then in the beginning, with Kent Hull and Jimmy Ritcher and Howard Ballard and Will Wolford and, of course, the incomparable Glen Parker, these guys were all personalities and everybody had something to say, everybody had a quip, good-natured stuff. When people talk about team sports, they're not really talking about winning a game. They're talking about the stuff that you get from preparing and working as a group. And those experiences are irreplaceable.

BN: What have you seen in the way offensive line play has changed from when you were in high school and college?

JF: Oh, it's night and day. The real thinkers in offensive line technical play through the NFL basically just gave a gift to every other level. I mean, there's really no excuse now to not have technique. And I think it is sort of a hand-in-hand evolution. Initially, you couldn't use your hands as an offensive lineman. Now, you can. Coaches started working on technique, but then the evolution of the game took over and now it's so exciting with all these spread offenses.

Back 40 years ago, everybody ran a power play, everybody had a counter and there wasn't a lot of real creativity in the run game. Now, the run game is just incredibly exciting. And, of course, the passing game has evolved not dissimilarly. So, you ended up with a situation where the demand for smarter players and prepared players had to match the scheming that defenses would kind of dictate at you. If you were always kind of victimized, if you’re always caught on your heels, you weren't going to be able to protect very well, you weren't going to be able to run very well.

Then, of course, the evolution of play-calling at the line of scrimmage by the offensive line went hand-in-hand with that. As defenses became more relaxed and less stoic and they moved around and had more personnel changes, where every down there were different guys on the field, offensive linemen were now trained to diagnose who the players are they have to block, the likelihood of their alignments and then what they might do on the snap of the ball.

Here is how The News' sports writers see Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals:

Vic Carucci

All of a sudden, the perception of the Bills has changed.

Whatever doubts that surfaced during the 2-2 stumble after the 4-0 cruise were mostly erased in Sunday's victory against the Seattle Seahawks. Josh Allen and the Bills' offense went back to being unstoppable. The Bills' defense made top MVP candidate Russell Wilson look ordinary.

That is the kind of stuff that can take a team to the Super Bowl. And that's the kind of stuff that should allow the Bills to win their fourth game in a row.

Kyler Murray is dynamic, but the Bills' defense has demonstrated it can deal with a quarterback who has exceptional mobility. The Bills' offense also should find success against a D with vulnerabilities against the pass and run. Bills, 31-24.

Jay Skurski

The Cardinals provide another big test for the Bills, but the bigger challenge for coach Sean McDermott may be keeping his team mentally on track. With a bye week ahead, it would be easy for the team to check out a bit early. At 7-2, the Bills are in a great shape in the AFC East race. It would be easy to check out a little early against an NFC opponent. The reality is, a loss here wouldn't be the end of the world. It's OK for me to say that, but McDermott would never agree – nor should he. The performance by Josh Allen and the passing offense last week against Seattle likely did wonders for the group's confidence. Allen should have another big game. The bigger question centers on whether the defense can keep Kyler Murray in check, particularly when it comes to the Cardinals' second-year quarterback running the ball. Expect the scoreboard operator to be busy again this week. Bills, 34-27.

Mark Gaughan

This could be a game where the last team with the ball wins. I think the Bills match up well with the Arizona defense. The Cardinals have better cornerbacks than Seattle. But Arizona lost its best edge rusher, Chandler Jones. The Cardinals have played a lot of man coverage and blitzed a lot the past three weeks. Will they want to stick with that vs. Josh Allen? If they do, I think the Bills win. On the other side, I see the Bills trying to prevent big plays with zone coverage. I don't see the Bills blitzing as much this week as they did against Russell Wilson. That was out of character for the Bills, and Kyler Murray is a more dangerous runner. Murray is brilliant, but he's not as great as Wilson, yet. I think the Seahawks are a little better team than Arizona, even though the Cardinals beat them. This is a gravy game for Buffalo, since it's an NFC foe. Bills, 36-35.

Jason Wolf

The Bills are going to need their pass rush to treat Kyler Murray like they did Russell Wilson, finding ways to consistently pressure the second-year speedster and create turnovers without allowing him to take off running.

That game plan hinges on the Buffalo offense again jumping out to a quick lead and continuing to pour on points throughout the game. But expect a more balanced attack than last week, when the Bills didn’t bother to run while going after the Seahawks’ historically terrible pass defense.

Arizona has a middling pass defense and below average run defense, meaning we should see plenty of Devin Singletary and Zack Moss while Buffalo works to grind out long scoring drives and keep the Cardinals’ offense on the sideline. Bills, 30-27.

Rachel Lenzi

The Bills are carving their path towards winning the AFC East title. They could be on their way to owning the NFC West, too, as they’ll face the third of their four opponents from that division.

Josh Allen played an inspired game against the Seahawks, and he’ll continue that momentum in Arizona. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, however, is finding his stride, which will make this an intriguing matchup on offense.

Defense is what makes this game even more intriguing. The Cardinals are a middle-of-the-road defensive team that have allowed an average of 22.5 points per game. While the Bills managed to smother Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, he still threw for 390 yards. What ultimately turned the game in the Bills’ favor was that the defense forced four turnovers. The Bills' defense has to play with that same tenacity against Murray and the Cardinals. Bills, 34-30.

NFL.com asked its staff to make their midseason predictions for the Super Bowl teams this week. 

Only two writers selected the Bills to make the big game, with Lance Zierlein, who had the Bills losing a close game to New Orleans, and Tom Blair, who had the Bills beating Seattle in a rematch. 

Kansas City was the runaway choice with 12 votes to win the big game. No other team had more than four. 

"It was a little bit of a reach for me, but I wanted to step out because I think all of the top teams have some holes this year," Zeirlein told The News. "I think they are a well-coached team with good toughness.

"They have good potential on the defensive side when they are healthy and I still think their running game can become a bigger factor if they try to establish it." 

At some point, we stop being what the outside world only chooses to see.

A quarterback is so much more than a quarterback. He's a person with a family, with people he loves and who love him. It's a bond that doesn't change with time or the fact countless others know his name and recognize his face and pay attention to all that he does and says. 

That was the Josh Allen who spoke with reporters on a video call Wednesday.

Most of the discussion had nothing to do with the Buffalo Bills' 7-2 start or what sort of encore Allen might have for his lights-out performance in last Sunday's victory against the Seattle Seahawks. His being named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week came up, but only in the context of whether it carried more meaning because he had played the game 24 hours after the passing of his grandmother, Patricia Allen.

On Wednesday, the main topic wasn't football.

It was the woman who a 6-foot-5-inch, 237-pound, tough-as-nails, 24-year-old professional athlete still calls his "Grammy."

"Just the sweetest, nicest lady you'd ever meet," Allen said in his first comments to the media since his grandmother's death became public Sunday. "Not a single mean bone in her body."

"Grammy" died unexpectedly Saturday, not long after her 80th birthday. The pain was still evident four days later.

Allen seemed to relish the opportunity to share what "Grammy" meant to him and his family, to let the many people who have passed along their condolences directly and indirectly understand how big of a loss this was to him and his family.

This was the woman who cooked "the most amazing food." This was the woman with whom he remembered spending holidays with his family in Firebaugh, Calif., and Fresno, Calif., after Patricia and her late husband moved there.

"I mean, she was a huge, huge supporter of myself," Allen said. "She went to all the high school games and she made a few NFL games. It's going to (stink) going on without her for sure.

"I wish I could have been there with my family and give them all hugs, but it is what it is. She'll be greatly missed and never forgotten, for sure."

Patricia's memory isn't only being embraced by her famous grandson and the rest of the Allen family.

In typical fashion, Bills fans and the Western New York community wrapped their giant arms of generosity around her memory as well. They did it by making donations of $17 to Buffalo's Oishei Children's Hospital, because of the charitable connection it has had with Allen since he joined the Bills in 2018.

As of Wednesday evening, Oishei reported the total surpassed $335,000 from more than 17,000 donors. The emotions that have been stirring in the Allen family since the weekend have only intensified with that unbridled outpouring of support.

"Words can't really describe how I feel, how my family feels," Allen said. "Every time I call my parents and let them know the new number, they just start bawling all over again. And to know that people care and that so much good is coming out of a tough situation, it means the world to myself, it means the world to my family.

"It just shows how this Bills community and this Buffalo community rally around each other and that's what they've been known for and that's what they're still known for. I mean, I can't thank everybody who supported and donated, I can't thank them enough. It's overwhelming, for sure, but so much good is coming out of such a tough situation that you can't help but smile at it.

"It's unbelievable."

The same can be said for the way Allen handled himself after receiving the news Saturday that he said left him in shock and disbelief. He revealed that his parents initially didn't want to tell him of his grandmother's passing until after the game so as to not "burden me with a heavy heart."

Once they let him know, Allen said he never gave any thought to not playing against the Seahawks. He said that "Grammy" would have wanted him to play "and to play how I usually play, the fun that I have out there and the sense of pride I have when I put on that uniform and I represent the Buffalo Bills and represent my family. That's all I kept telling myself was that I was doing this for her and I knew she was with me on the field."

Of course, after doing his best to "put on a brave face" and keep "a cool head," Allen did far more than just play. He equaled a season and career high with 415 passing yards, three touchdowns through the air and one rushing. Besides AFC Offensive Player of the Week recognition, Allen also was named the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week.

That was all well and good, but none of those accolades could top the sheer elation of having the sort of game that would have brought some of the loudest cheers from "Grammy."

"To go out there and play for her and to do it in her honor, all my family was all together watching, I mean, I don't think it could have been a better tribute," Allen said. "She was a huge Bills fan."

A few times during Sunday's game, Allen would look up and point his finger to sky. It was his way of letting "Grammy" know that she was in his heart with every completion and touchdown.

"I had some words for her," he said. "It was a long 24 hours."

After the game, Allen called his family. They did what families do when they lose a loved one. They cried together.

"But (his mother and father) both said, 'She's got the best seat in house, her and Papa do,' " Allen said. "It was pretty surreal. It was a special moment for myself and my family."

Not many others outside of the Allen family were aware of his grandmother's death before or during the game. Allen said it was a small group that included coach Sean McDermott, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and "a couple guys in the quarterback room."

"Honestly, I think few guys didn't really know what was going on even after the game when I kind of spoke to everybody," Allen said. "But just talking with some of the guys who had been through situations like mine, a guy like Mario Addison (who lost his brother last year) coming up to me, just giving me a big hug and letting me know like, 'We're going to get through this together.' "

At that moment, it wasn't a defensive end embracing a quarterback. It was brother hugging a grandson and sharing a bond called grief.

Welcome to another edition of the Bills Mailbag. Let's dive right in ...

Luigi Mike Speranza asks: At the time we signed Stefon Diggs, you reported that he was having contract issues with the Vikings. With a year left on his contract, what do you think his salary cap impact will be next year in light of all the others that are expiring? Do the Bills extend him?

Jay: Let’s clarify one thing: Diggs is signed through 2023, so he has three years left after this season. The Bills adjusted his contract shortly after trading for him, putting more money in Diggs’ pocket this season in exchange for greater flexibility at the end of the deal. It’s fair to assume that Diggs will want to rework his deal, especially if he finishes the season leading the NFL in receiving yardage, but the Bills’ biggest contract question right now centers on Josh Allen. It’s all but guaranteed the Bills will pick up their fifth-year option on Allen’s contract after this year. The question then becomes what happens with a long-term extension. It would be a surprise to me to see the Bills make any huge changes to Diggs’ contract until they get some clarity on Allen’s deal.

Barring any other tweaks to his deal, Diggs will count $11.6 million against the salary cap in 2021, which is a bargain rate for one of the NFL’s best receivers.

John Jarzynski asks: The Bills seem to be in a real shemozzle with Matt Milano. What do you predict they will do with his contract going forward?

Jay: First of all, nice use of the word shemozzle. The Bills have themselves a dilemma with Milano moving forward. On one hand, his value to the defense is showcased by his absence. On the other, he’s costing himself money with every missed game. Contracts website Spotrac estimates Milano’s value to be more than $50 million on a four-year contract. That’s a huge commitment for the Bills, given that the salary cap is going to be reduced next year because the coronavirus pandemic has cut into revenue. Additionally, General Manager Brandon Beane has to take a long-term view of his team’s cap situation, with quarterback Josh Allen and middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds eligible for contract extensions as soon as this upcoming offseason. Because of that, I would not be at all surprised if the Bills elected to let Milano walk. The team drafted him in the fifth round, and I could see coach Sean McDermott saying, “Let’s just do that again.”

Bill from North Buffalo asks: With Matt Milano on injured reserve, what are the chances Darron Lee might actually help in pass coverage and has he ever had any good stretches in the NFL?

Jay: I was a bit surprised to see that Lee was not called up from the practice squad after Milano went on injured reserve. I was even more surprised to see this week that Lee was not included on the team’s list of protected practice squad players. That’s not a ringing endorsement of what the coaching staff has seen from the former first-round draft pick since he signed. Lee had a couple of decent statistical seasons for the Jets, finishing with 90 tackles, three passes defensed and two forced fumbles in 2017 and then following that up with 74 tackles and three interceptions in 12 games in 2018. He missed the first four games of 2018 because of an NFL suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The Jets traded Lee to Kansas City before the 2019 season in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2020. Lee played all 16 games for the Chiefs, making two starts and finishing with 31 tackles. He served another four-game suspension before signing with the Bills, which certainly didn’t help his value on the open market.

Lee is a great example of how hard it is to project players coming into the NFL. He was an athletic freak in college at Ohio State. At the NFL scouting combine in 2016, he ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash – wide receiver speed. The Jets used the 20^th overall draft pick on him, but thus far, his NFL career has been underwhelming.

LDsports asks: Do you believe Bills GM Brandon Beane is pushing his anticipated contract extension to the end of the season to capitalize on this season’s success to increase his leverage with both the Bills and other lucrative GM jobs elsewhere which will come open after the season?

Jay: I don’t have reason to believe that’s the case. Remember, Beane still has a year left on his contract, so it’s not like another team can steal him away this upcoming offseason. If anything, I could see Terry and Kim Pegula wanting to wait until after this season to get a clearer understanding of the team’s financial situation. There is risk involved with that, to LD’s point, if the Bills go on a deep playoff run. File that under the “good problem to have” category, though. McDermott has said he can’t envision working with another general manager, and Beane has said “his day will come.” I continue to believe a deal will get done in due time.    

Ed Helinski asks: At this point of the season which Bills player(s) have overperformed and which one(s) have underperformed?

Jay: This might be simplifying things, but you wouldn’t be too far off in just splitting the offense and defense. The list of “overperformers” starts with Allen. He’s made huge strides in his third season. Diggs has also overperformed. We all expected him to be good, but I’m not sure we expected him to be leading the NFL in receiving yards through nine weeks. I’d also put Cole Beasley on the list of “overperformers.” As for “underperformers,” the biggest name on my list is middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Some of that can be attributed to a shoulder injury suffered in the season opener. Edmunds, though, has to be more impactful for the defense. He took a step in the right direction last week against Seattle and needs to build on that. I’d also put running back Devin Singletary on the “underperformed” list through nine weeks.

Paul Catalano asks: Who are these Bills? The Bills that put up 28-plus a game or the Bills that struggle to score? It’s like hit or miss what team weekly we get.

Jay: They are much closer to the 28-plus a game team than one that struggles to score. Let’s look at the two games before the offensive explosion against the Seahawks. Against the Jets, the team melted down in the red zone with penalties and other self-inflicted wounds. The Bills are generally an average offensive team in the red zone – not awful like they were against the Jets. Against New England, rookie receiver Gabriel Davis had a would-be touchdown go through his hands in the fourth quarter. If he catches that, the team gets to 28 points (with a made extra point). That’s a number they can win with. I recognize those two things didn’t happen, but they weren’t far off, which leads me to believe the offense can consistently put up those types of numbers over the final seven games.

Thomas Larsen asks: Why is Harrison Phillips not dressing? Regressing from injury? Or others playing better?

Jay: It’s a combination of both. It was always going to be a challenge for Phillips to be at 100% this year after he suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 of the 2019 season. It’s typical for players to say they don’t totally feel like themselves after that injury for two seasons. That’s not to make an excuse for Phillips, who has been outplayed by Justin Zimmer.

Rich Ullman asks: Play-action and blitz pickup notwithstanding, how long until the conventional running back position goes extinct in this bastardized, pass-happy version of the NFL?

Jay: With the extinction of the fullback position, I guess I’d never say never, but I don’t see that happening in my lifetime. Every level of football still features a running back. In youth leagues through high school, the team’s best player usually fills that role. Teams still need some semblance of a running game, even if it has diminished some in importance.

bk asks: I know it is early in his career, but I think you could make a case for Josh Allen being at least one of the top three quarterbacks in Bills history. Jim Kelly is No. 1 and then there could be an argument for him after that. Might be a sad commentary on the history of the Bills. What do you think?

Jay: Fun question. I asked my colleague, Vic Carucci, to weigh in with his thoughts, and his response was “absolutely.” It’s so difficult to compare eras given how pass happy the league has become, but we both had Kelly and Jack Kemp as the first two. After that, a case could be made for Daryle Lamonica as No. 3, although his greater career success came after the Bills traded him to Oakland. The same can be said for Drew Bledsoe, who enjoyed much more of his success with New England. Doug Flutie is certainly in the running for the third spot, given the buzz he created. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tyrod Taylor are probably in the top-five conversation, but not top three. It’s reasonable to say Allen is already No. 3 in his third season, which, I agree, is a sad commentary on the position overall.

Rick McGuire asks: Think the Bills have any interest in hiring Amy Palcic, the former head of PR for the Houston Texans who was fired earlier this week? Been hearing only high praise for her. Seems to me that someone with her qualifications could only make us better. Maybe Brian Gaine chimes in?

Jay: I suppose it’s possible, although the Bills’ PR staff headed by Derek Boyko is annually regarded as being among the league’s best. To your point, Rick, it’s never a bad thing to hire talented individuals, but with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of easing any time soon, I would be surprised if Pegula Sports and Entertainment – which previously went through a serious staff reductions – is looking to add to the payroll right now.

Larry asks: Your son loves golf and I assume loves the Bills as well. If the Masters and the Bills are on at the same time, which will he watch or prefer to watch? Who is his favorite golfer beside you?

Jay: I’m not sure I’d qualify as his favorite, Larry. Whenever anyone asks Elliott who is going to caddy for him when he gets older, he says “Phil Mickleson.” As you can guess, Mickelson is his favorite golfer. Luckily, the Masters will be on early, so we don’t have to make that choice. If we did, he’d watch golf over football (I would too, except for the part about getting paid to watch the Bills). Either way, enjoy them both this weekend.

Louis Stromberg asks: With all eyes on the Masters and Tiger Woods this Sunday before Bills kickoff, please rank the following tigers: "Eye of the Tiger"; "Tiger King"; "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; tigers (the animal not the golfer), LSU Tigers.

Jay: 5. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Not up my alley. 4. "Tiger King." My friend Jim dressed up like him for Halloween. It was an A-plus costume. I haven't watched it, though. 3. Tigers. Have you ever read “The Tiger”? If not, stop what you’re doing and go get it. 2. LSU Tigers. Last year, not this year. 1. "Eye of the Tiger." Is there a more recognizable riff to start a song? Probably not many.

Louis Stromberg asks: In honor of this unprecedented second chance at the mailbag, please rank the following seconds: "Gone in 60 Seconds," second base (relax: baseball term), second grade, the Bills' secondary, secondhand smoke (layup, that's gross). Go Bills!

Jay: Don’t worry, anti-power rankers – all football questions were answered this week, so Louis gets to double dip. 5. Secondhand smoke. Gross is right. 4. "Gone in 60 Seconds." College me would have ranked this higher. 3. Second grade. Elliott’s heading into it, so check back next year. 2. The Bills’ secondary. It was good to see them come away with a couple of interceptions last week. 1. Second base. My position on my undefeated beer league softball team is an easy No. 1. Enjoy the game. I’m off next week for the Bills’ bye week and one of my News' colleagues has the mailbag, so talk to you all in a couple of weeks.