Week 11 Gameday Chat: Patriots-Jets clarity? Josh Allen rebound? Burrow vs. Watt...
Week 11 Gameday Chat: Patriots-Jets clarity? Josh Allen rebound? Burrow vs. Watt...
Our Week 11 Go Long Gameday Chat is... OPEN. Hang out with fellow readers right inside the Substack app throughout the games on Sunday.
The snow was no joke here. Orchard Park, the suburb home of the Buffalo Bills, was utterly blasted with 77 inches. For those in need of an Edmund Update, our dog is still loving life here in the nearby Boston/Colden enclave of Western New York. One day after his newfound celebrity, Ed was still unfazed.
It’s a minor miracle the Bills were even able to leave town to play the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field in Detroit. The travel ban put in place by Erie County was absolutely needed. Massive snow plows were getting stuck. Getting to the airport alone was an odyssey for players — kudos to the locals who plowed players’ driveways.
Still… damn. A snow game would’ve been fun, eh? Alas, the Bills (6-3) have reached an ultra-critical point of their Super Bowl-or-Bust season. They’ve got to take care of the Browns (3-6) and Lions (3-6) these next five days before the schedule ramps back up.
So, let’s all talk football.
I wanted to remind everyone here that we’ll be chatting all day within the Substack app.
This gives us a chance to hang out, get to know each other and riff on the games in real time. The Week 11 thread is officially live so feel free to jump in on your phone. Directions on how to join are below if you’re new to the scene. Messages are sent via the Substack app, not email. Turn notifications on to keep up if you’d like.
Many games to discuss…
The Patriots and Jets meet in an AFC East matchup that should reveal a lot about both teams. Bill Belichick’s gang has won four of five. You’ll see plenty of the Patriots soon, too. They’ve got a string of four straight primetime games coming up.
Joe Burrow vs. T.J. Watt. The Bengals quarterback explained what makes Watt so dangerous this week. Nobody in the sport disrupts games drive-to-drive on the defensive side of the ball like Watt.
Justin Fields faces the team that probably should’ve drafted him two years ago: the Atlanta Falcons.
Giants-Lions is a sneaky intriguing game. Eager to see if that Detroit offensive line — that unit that must break you! — can pull the upset in what’s another must-win, desperation game for a Lions bunch playing hard for Dan Campbell. They’ve got the 7-3 New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
I still cannot believe the 8-1 Vikings are underdogs at home to the 6-3 Cowboys.
Thinking about upgrading to join the community? Just bang it here!
We always love it when you share the good word with a friend, too.
Enjoying “The Blood and Guts: How Tight Ends Save Football” — available everywhere books are sold — feel free to let the good folks know with a review on Amazon. Incredibly grateful for everyone diving into this project and looking forward to meeting anyone who’s local at Fattey Beer in Orchard Park a week from today.
OK, without further adieu, see you in the app…
How to get started
Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Chat is only on iOS for now, but chat is coming to the Android app soon.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.
That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.
ICYMI, here’s what we had at Go Long this week…
How Joe Burrow can return to his Super Bowl moment: There's a unique drive to the Bengals star. Expect the game to slow down (again) and Burrow to get hot (again). We talk to the man who can help get him there: QB coach Dan Pitcher.
My conversation with Pitcher is also now available on the podcast feed.
Week 11 Fattey Locks at the pod.
Eric Wood wrote a book... and he's still bullish on the Bills & Josh Allen: The longtime Buffalo Bills center wants to help you tackle whatever's next in your life. Here's Wood on his new book, Richie Incognito, Josh Allen and why he still views the 2022 Bills as the best.
McGinn Wrap, Part 10, the 1979-2021 All-Time Green Bay Packers defense: Reggie. LeRoy. Woodson and Matthews and Barnett. The best of the very best that our Hall-of-Fame writer Bob McGinn covered in Green Bay on defense are ranked.
Let's hang out and talk "Blood and Guts" in Western NY: I'll be at Fattey Beer Company and Mister's Bar & Lanes to sign copies and hang out with you during the football games.
Isaiah McKenzie Show, S2 Ep5. It's gut-check time for the Buffalo Bills: After one of the wildest finishes in NFL history, the Bills are 6-3. McKenzie relives the good, the bad and the ugly. Where does the team go from here? (You can also always get the Isaiah Show on our Go Long YouTube Channel.
What’s wrong with Josh Allen? That’s the topic on the pod with co-host Jim Monos, the Bills’ former personnel director. Buffalo needs its MVP-caliber quarterback back.
Yes, the Minnesota Vikings can win it all. In “The Morning After,” I explain why this is a team that transcends metrics. The Vikings proved in Orchard Park why they belong.
