Alphadawg7

All good - but you know it’s possible to recognize the turnovers cost us the game, not McD, and also still want to replace McD. No one is saying you can’t still want a new HC, but it is pretty silly to blame him for this loss.

So it’s McDs fault Allen threw the INT? It’s McDs fault Allen and Knox fumbled a snap? I guess McD made Keon fumble too? We either lost points or gave up points on all 3 turnovers in a game we lost by 3. We literally win by 2-3 scores if we just don’t commit 2 of them. You have 2 choices - you can blame the person whose fault it’s not just because it fits an agenda or we can stay grounded in reality about the real reason we lost, which was 3 individual mistakes. And hate to break it to you, when you lose the turnover battle 3-1 you most often lose. This isn’t about defending McD, this is about the reality of why we actually lost as opposed to just firing the person who actually had nothing to do with it. Blaming McD for this loss is like blaming your golf clubs for why you shot 110. Does it mean McD gets a free pass - no - but it’s pretty silly to put all the blame on him where the players made 3 very critical individual mistakes.

4-1 and in the drivers seat for the 1 seed. Yes we lost - but we lost because Josh made a terrible pass and choice on the INT, and Knox and Allen collided on the snap to cause a fumble and Keon got stripped of a fumble. Josh doesn't make those 2 mistakes alone and we win by multiple scores. None of that was the fault of McD, but we have a fire McD thread because the players made poorly executed ball control after setting an NFL record for not losing the turnover battle literally all the way into this one game? McD may or may not need to be fired by seasons end, but this is kind of absurd right now and has exactly 0% chance to happen. Also, its comical to see McVay on this list. There is literally no possibility for this. Rams are not trading him lol. Might as well propose we are trading for both Myles Garrett and Justin Jefferson before the trade deadline too, it has about as much realism to it as trading for McVay.

Also completely untrue. Allen didnt throw it because he bailed on a clean pocket before setting his feet to make a throw. Literally every explanation you have given is factually disprovable on film.

I mean some things are just coincidences.

Sorry that is simply not true. If the ball is out in front and to the outside, not only can the S not close on time, the only way to intercept would be to go through Samuel unless Allen threw a bad ball. To say its a sure INT is just flat out incorrect. What you and some others are conveniently doing is taking an early screen shot BEFORE Samuel makes his break, which happens in a fraction of a second after Allen bails on the pocket. You are using that screen shot because it reduces the info to be able to paint a bias instead of the video that clearly shows Allen has a clean shot and and a clean pocket had he not bailed. And NO Samuel is not open because Allen bailed, the safety STAYED with Samuel, he did NOT come off him to let him get open, Samuel was flat out open had Allen just stood in the pocket on the drop back and fired. No offense, you can say its an INT as much as you want, it doesn't make it true and QBs with lesser arms complete this same throw every week in the NFL.

Thats not accurate, Allen is still in his drop back when the window to hit Samuel is opening, and he remained open as Allen moved to his right. The point is, Allen took off early and had he not, then the throw to Samuel was right there and an easy TD strike or close to it. There was no reason to roll right when he did, he should have seen the easy throw to Samuel opening up.

In a Bills fantasy league chat I posted several times during the game that I got to give credit where credit was due for being a big time throw or some kind of Allen-esque type play. He isn't there yet, but the kid has some traits I really liked coming out of college, and quite honestly he is further along in his mechanics than where Josh was in his 2nd year when Josh was still struggling with accuracy. He isn't going to be the next "Allen", because I don't think anyone is, Allen is that good. But the kid has impressed me where he is at and I think he has a bright future. And anytime a young player plays well in an upset win in primetime it always gets magnified. But end of the day, Bills should have won this game by 2-3 scores, and easily, had it no been for 3 self inflicted turnovers. NE and Maye still dont have the fire power to hang if we don't beat ourselves, but the kid deserves credit, he played well and led a game winning drive.

How is the pass to Samuel not the right throw from the pocket? If Allen puts the ball the outside in front of Samuel the only way it can be defended is to go through Samuel. Thats not incorrect, thats just what it is. There was without a shadow of a doubt a window to hit Samuel, its honestly not even really debatable, its just a fact.

I think he is calling it a desperation ball because Josh had to run around for what felt like an eternity to be able to get the pass off. The pass its self wasn't a "desperation" hope and pray ball, but the play in itself was in desperation mode scrambling to extend to find something or someplace to go with it. I still believe Allen flat out missed the right read to Samuel from a clean pocket that would have been a TD or close to a TD.

Respectfully disagree. If Allen puts that ball to the outside and in front of Samuel then Gonazalez would have to go through Samuel to get to the ball. There was for sure a window for Allen to hit Samuel, and with Allens arm strength he might have hit Samuel with out him ever getting touched. Shakir still was interfered with, maybe the most egregious PI of the night, so terrible non call by Refs that should have seen the drive continue. So I don't think there was anything wrong with throwing to Shakir - but there was a clear missed opportunity, and easier opportunity to Samuel from the pocket that gets us close to a TD or a TD. I would bet good money Josh wants that one back.

Flonkerton. Coffee Cup Race. Hate Ball. M&M Chug. Guess The Elevator. Dunderball. Josh would definitely concur 😉

Well that is fair, and I am a big Baker supporter, been a fan since college. So I agree, I think Baker is firmly in the top 10 QB category right now and if I had to pick one I would take Baker over Purdy. That being said, I do think Purdy gets short changed a lot by others, and the way your post read I thought that was more your take on it too, so thanks for clarifying. Yeah, I agree with you on Mac. A backup comes in and wins a game, especially one they weren't expected to, and they get the attention and buzz. But to be fair to Mac, guys like Geno, Baker, and Darnold are all having success later in their careers too after being premium draft picks but faltering in the earlier stops in the NFL as they got better or into better situations. So who knows, maybe Mac can find a rebirth somewhere too. But I still agree with you and think that Purdy is the better QB and the guy I would trust more as my starter, at least right now.

TBH, I just don't really understand why Purdy doesn't get more credit and respect as a QB right now. I have watched every game Brock has played given my wife is a die hard Niners fan. The only exceptions were the few times Niners and Bills were on at the same time where both games were on, but I was only really paying attention to the Bills lol. What I will say is that Brock Purdy has been better than people give him credit for. I am not saying what he will or wont be moving forward, but the touch and precision he has had since he got the job has been impressive. The Niners offense was night and day different the second he took over for Jimmy G. Brock, and the Niners, have been hit hard by injuries every season in the Purdy era. He has still played at a very high level even through the difficulties of constant injuries to all the teams best players on both sides of the ball. I don't know if Purdy has the staying power or not, I am only talking about how he has been thus far. And IMHO, he has been better than he often gets credit for and he throws a pretty ball.

Oh I am with you, this is even better than the SB era IMO in terms of weekly fun and enjoyment because Josh Allen is just that fun to watch. I was more referencing how they will be celebrated and remembered in general.

Lost in the noise of TSW is just how insanely good the Bills really have been and the number of records we have seen individuals and the team set, break, and are even continuing to set right now. And they are doing it in the AFC, which is, and has been, the better conference during the Allen era. To be fair, I think the gap this year between the AFC and NFC is probably closer to even this year given the struggles and injuries to some of the teams expected to contend this year like Balt and Cincy. But no doubt, over the past 5 seasons overall, the AFC has been the clear tougher conference. For example - Heading into the Saints game, in Josh Allens previous 12 games, including the playoffs, he had 30 TD's to 1 Int. I don't if people truly understand just how crazy good that is. Bills are also in the midst of what is already an NFL record of not losing the turnover battle in consecutive games and growing. And while the comment still gets mocked to this day, the facts are "Its hard to win in the NFL". Every game matters, and matters a lot, over the course of a season. This isn't baseball or basketball where if your team just isn't clicking, doesn't have it, etc one game then big deal, its not that important over the scope of a season. Your team has to bring it each and every week in what is already a physical and mentally draining game. The complexity of defenses and offenses is nothing like you find in other team sports. You have to be ready both physically and mentally each and every week, and in some weeks on short weeks before you body fully recovers from the previous game. For a team like the Bills to do things at the level they have done them for as long as they have done them is pretty remarkable. Even the streak they had never losing a game by more than 1 score, thats so unheard of in todays NFL. All that being said - they won't be celebrated or remembered for any of that unless a Lombardi trophy is sitting in our trophy case in the new stadium. And with the landscape in the NFL right now, this season is clearly their best shot. If they can handle their business against the teams they should beat, we could have the 1 seed locked up early and get that all important 1st round bye and the even more important road to the SB in Buffalo.

Ask any RB, coach, OL Coach, etc - and they will tell you the same thing, playing RB is about rhythm and feel. To come in cold for one snap and leave the field is a really tall ask, especially when its usually on an obvious running situation. I have not had time to watch the ALL22 myself, I am going off what I have seen other people post on this subject when they are posting lots of plays showing he had no where to go from their review of the ALL22. So I am sure I have not seen every play, and will just trust your review of those plays and assume he missed an opportunity on those 2 plays - but couple points here on this: I didn't see the 2 plays on ALL22 you referenced, but as a general note: Just because there was a hole somewhere does not always mean that is where the play was designed to go. There isn't a RB in the NFL you cant watch the ALL22 on that you won't find the same thing for. Sometimes its they broke off the designed run and made a bad decisions, other times, they are going right at where the hole is supposed to be and isn't. This also leads right back to my point above. RB position is instinctual, especially when popping out of where it was going to go to hit another hole elsewhere. When you are coming in cold, short yardage, thinking about ball control and just hitting the hole hard then it becomes hard to also rely on those instincts. Football players of all calibers (even Josh Allen) talk about how getting that first hit, contact, etc wakes them up, gets the blood going, etc. I am not here to make excuses for Davis, but I saw a lot of plays where he had no chance on some guys social media post where he discussed the criticism of Davis and if its fair. Doesn't mean there were not some plays he could have done more or not, just means that most of his lack of success this year has been due to low sample size and really no where to go with the ball on most his carries. For me, that makes a lot more sense than some of the theories that his struggles are because he lost 15 pounds.

Curious - has anyone watched any footage breakdown on Hawes over this season yet? If not, there are things on social and youtube to look for, but man is it impressive. He is a manimal as a blocker, and to think he is only 4 games into his career and could perceivably get even better is pretty exciting. Its also pretty wild that a guy known for his blocking got his first target in such a massive moment and way down field in tight coverage against the Ravens and made the play. I like Knox, a lot, so this not about him or anything - just about how much Hawes has himself impressed thus far and how many big and positive plays he has affected with his blocking and limited touches already as what essentially started as a TE3. Its fun film to watch if you haven't seen any outside what you saw live in games.

No disrespect, the year I am referencing it was definitely at least 4 dropped sure fire TD's. Might have been 5, but I know it was 4 as I had a running tally going that season and tracked it. And like I said, it was the throws where he is running down field and having to look back over his shoulder to track the ball and make the catch where the drops happened. And if you look at Cook this year and last year, he doesn't really get those kinds of targets anymore unless its an improvised play where he trying to get open for Allen to have a place to go with the ball.

Yeah, spot on. If you look at the carries, he hasn't had any space of opportunities on the few touches he got. This is why people checking stat sheets and ignoring context, sample size, etc are led to misleading conclusions that he is the problem or failing. Someone was talking about this on social media and cut together a bunch of his carries this year, and on those plays Cook would not have fared any better if he had gotten the carry, the play was blown up with the RB having nowhere to go. It would be one thing if there were holes he was either late or slow to hit, or just flat out not seeing and running into a wall by choice. If there is no place to go, there is no place to go. This isn't like Davis and Cook are a "Thunder and Lightning" duo right now where they both get relevant carries and series to play. Davis usually comes in on one play, that is an obvious running situation, and the D is ready and the play has no where to go. I am hoping as the season goes on they start giving Davis more like a series or two instead of a couple one off individual plays to both reduce Cooks wear and tear over the long season and to also get Davis going for the playoffs where we may be in snow every round of the playoffs as the 1 seed and having a power run game will be of value.

Cook has never been great at pass pro, but he was certainly a lot worse at it early in his career, and I am sure that factored in along with the fact they really liked Devin as well. And we also frustratingly just didn't run the ball enough or as effectively as we do now back then. For the drops, I honestly don't remember if it was a thing or not his rookier year. But I believe it was in year 2 where he dropped at least 4, possibly 5 would be TD's. Funny, he didn't seem to drop a lot of other passes, but it was those routes (like a wheel route) more where he had to catch it further down field tracking the ball looking back for it that he just would muff, the kind of passes Ty makes look routine where ones that were Cooks kryptonite. The team seems to understand that now and Cook doesn't get a lot of those looks anymore and they throw those most often to Ty.

Part of the issue is that there is overlap with Shakir with our guys with the most "juice" in Samuel and Moore. So getting them on the field without taking off the better WR in Shakir is where the challenge is given how they run the offense where the dirty work is also a big factor in their play design and offensive philosophy.

You can't judge a RB who gets a random touch here and there and thats it. RB's need Rhythm, they need to feel the OL, the defense, etc. Then you have the factor that in a lot of Davis carries they are mostly obviously running situations and the defense responds accordingly. Davis is not getting the same type of touches that Cook gets who gets them on downs where we can be passing or running. Davis is getting a random touch here and there on more obviously running downs and with no creativity. And if you actually look at the carries, there are no holes, the play is getting blown up, its not Davis failing to see a hole. This is what happens when people use a stat sheet despite the sample size is so small and the use case context is not considered. You get misleading conclusions. I am not saying Davis is the next Cook, but he has proven he can play, and his lack of production is almost entirely rooted in the fact the plays and blocking themselves failed on the play more than anything Davis did poorly. I am not concerned at this point, not until I see him get some relevant carries that demonstrate he is the reason for the lack of success of better production on those carries. Cook has been playing out of his mind, and they have been riding his hot feet is what the real biggest factor is. Like others, I dont want to see this amount of carries continue for Cook, and I expect they will start to try and get the touches down some as the season goes on. But Cook is also VERY good at avoiding hard contact and big hits. So while there are a lot of carries, hes not taking on the same kind of physicality that comes with it like a Jacobs, Henry, Saquan, etc would be on this many touches where the power run game is a bigger part of their carries.

Oops, yes sorry Singletary ha, went too far back in my mind. But yes, he was frustratingly under used as a rookie when we had Singletary here his rookie year and wasn't even used much in the role we at least thought he was drafted to do which was be a pass catching RB.

I get what you are saying, and as I said in my post, I like Knox and I think if he was starting he would be a top 15 TE elsewhere. When I say "expendable" I am strictly talking about his role on the team - because like it or not, the role has been diminished to a role that can be filled by TE's who are not as good as of an all around player he is because his role is substantially more about blocking than being a weapon. That opens up the door for a lot more players who can fill that role and for a lot cheaper. I don't "want" to move on from Knox, but salary for a TE in his existing type of role is a fraction of what he makes now. Would he be willing to be paid like a TE3 to stay? I mean Hawes is already starting to out snap him because Hawes is an even better blocker than Knox is right now, and honestly might already be one of the best blocking TE's in the game right now, and only going to get better. Ultimately, Knox's future here will be up to him and what he can stomach to get paid on a significantly reduced contract. End of the day though, a formation with Kincaid and Knox isn't much different than a formation with Kincaid and Hawes in it right now. As much as I, and many people, would like to keep Knox - the "need" for him is not what it was prior to drafting Hawes and his future here is going to be a numbers game on what the FO is willing to pay for him to remain in a role that now has further diminished after already getting diminished since drafting Kincaid.