hondo in seattle

We may not agree on all of the nuances of how it happened, but we do agree on this: Coleman hasn't worked out. I get frustrated when Josh scans the field and finds no one to throw to. Obviously, that happens to every QB, but it seems to happen to Josh more than most. And while the TEs and other WRs are also at fault, not to mention Brady, Coleman bears more than his fair share of the blame. At this point, I'd probably rather see any other Bills receiver on the field. I'm also frustrated with Beane. When you win the lottery with a unicorn QB, you then need to get him two things: a good OL and a good WR corps. We've had one or the other during Beane's tenure but never both at the same time. That's criminal neglect.

Enjoyable way to spend 11 minutes of my life: I counted 13 traditional sneaks and tush-pushes out of dozens of TDs. Way less than half.

I appreciate the response and compliment your talent for making things sound dumber than maybe they really are. For example, you mention the tactical error of "playing him [Keon] the most snaps all season as he continues to struggle..." I don't assume that Keon got the most snaps because the coaching staff considered him the best WR nor were they rewarding him for his effort. I think it was just a matter of how Brady packages his receivers. And, statistically speaking, you could say all our wideouts were struggling, so Keon's production struggles don't stand out. The big mistake was drafting Keon where we did. You could also argue that Beane hasn't managed the cap well which meant we didn't have the space to sign an expensive FA. But, from what I see and know, I don't think the coaching staff made any grave mistakes in how they've handled Keon. The kid does have some talent. They tried to nurse it along. But Keon screwed up enough times that they finally lost their patience. And I'm glad they did. I think it would be super interesting to be a fly on the wall of One Bills Drive and see/hear how these situations truly evolve because we fans don't get the whole story.

I believe we currently have 13 players out on IR and another 16 on the injury report (as of yesterday). Amazing.

I heard Cosell criticize our passing scheme which I agree with wholeheartedly. Cosell also mentioned that we don't have a great receiving corps, which I also agree with. I'm just saying that the Bucs game doesn't prove anything - not that Brady is a good schemer after all, nor that our receivers are actually good. (I do, however, believe that our WRs are better than Brady often makes them look).

This is an interesting narrative but I don't think it's quite accurate. The WR room wasn't "rudderless." It simply lacked a star receiver. "Getting serious about disciplining him after the fact was a tactical error." I'm not sure what you mean there. If you're using the word discipline to mean punishment, it's normal to punish someone after they screw up, not before. In any case, we don't know everything McD's done to correct Keon's issues. We don't what talks they've had. We do know that the discipline has increased from something mild to making Keon a healthy scratch. That's called progressive discipline and it's a normal behavior modification tool. When the little hammer doesn't work, pull out a bigger hammer. When did the Bills coronate Coleman as WR1? They drafted him. They played him. I never heard anyone say he was the top dog, the new star, Diggs' replacement. It seemed more like they considered him a role player - a big-bodied guy who could come down with contested balls. Clearly, Beane drafted Coleman too high but I don't think the coaching staff overstated his value or treated him like a 1. I think the coaching staff probably bought into the idea of building a capable passing attack using the diverse skill sets of our various WRs and TEs ("everybody eats") without a true WR1. And they're not entirely wrong. We're currently 2nd in ypg and 4th in ppg. Our offense is strong without an alpha receiver. In other words, McD is doing what you said he isn't doing - getting the most out of the people available to him. I don't think Beane failed to get a WR1 this offseason because he (or anyone) thought Keon was the answer. I think he screwed up managing the cap and didn't have the resources to get someone better than Josh Palmer or Elijah Moore.

I hope & pray you're right, but I don't see this as an easy victory. Nobody's hung 30 on the Texans yet this year, and most teams don't even reach 20. Considering how bad our defense is, we may need to score 30 to win.

True. Passer rating has nothing to do with passing attempts per game. For example, a QB who goes 5 of 10 for 50 yards will have the same passer rating as a QB who goes 10 of 20 for 100 yards, or 20 of 40 for 200 yards. It's all about efficiency - how effective you are with the passing attempts you do take. Opposing QBs are not very efficient against us. The Bills pass D is better than average in completion percentage allowed, average yards per attempt allowed, and opposing passer rating. None of these stats have anything to do with our weak run defense or how often opposing QBs throw against us.

Josh throwing for 300+ yards against a bad, injury-ridden secondary doesn't prove anything.

There was a reason Hardman was unemployed... Punt Return Fumble Comparison (Career Totals) Player | Punt Returns | Fumbles | Fumble Rate ---------------------|--------------|---------|------------- Mecole Hardman | 89 | 7 | 1 per 12.7 returns Marcus Jones | 45 | 2 | 1 per 22.5 returns Kalif Raymond | 109 | 3 | 1 per 36.3 returns Gunner Olszewski | 91 | 2 | 1 per 45.5 returns Skyy Moore | 35 | 2 | 1 per 17.5 returns Jamison Crowder | 95 | 1 | 1 per 95 returns Jakeem Grant | 119 | 4 | 1 per 29.8 returns The league average is something like 1 fumble per 37 returns.

? Shavers ran a 4.59 at his pro day at San Diego State. He's not fast, though I suppose it's not a terrible time for a bigger-bodied guy (6'4", 211 lbs). Keon's a bit quicker but neither of these guys runs like a deer... Shavers Keon 40 yards 4.59 4.61 10 yards 1.63 1.54

True story... I had a dream last night that the Bills hired a brilliant passing game coordinator to help Brady out in 2026 and the Bills started setting scoring records. I so badly want this dream to come true.

The Texans have a good defense. Nobody's scored 30 on them yet this year and most teams don't even reach 20. They only give up 258.1 yards per game. I see a grind, but one the Bills eventually win. Bills 26 Texans 23

I'm heartened by the fact that it's not the case that the best team wins the SB every year. If the best team always won, we wouldn't have a chance at a Lombardi because our D mostly sucks and our O is inconsistent. But football is a funny game and anything can happen in a best-of-one series. Sometimes good teams have bad games. Sometimes injuries, bad ref calls, weird bounces, and all the other fun possibilities of the game allow the weaker team to win. We're good enough to be in contention and maybe the Gridiron Gods will favor us with some breaks this year.

As a little kid in the suburbs of Buffalo I was as much a Browns fan as a Bills fan. The first game I ever watched on TV was a Browns-Cowboys game with the Browns down by two scores. As a child of maybe 9, of course I rooted for the team getting stomped. And, sure enough, the Brownies came back to win. I was hooked on football and the Browns. I stayed a Browns fan until they moved the team out of the city in the middle of the night. But I remember Kosar well and appreciated the good Browns moments he created. It's a shame he ruined his liver with alcohol. Still, he's in my prayers.