hondo in seattle

I've been saying for weeks that this season is preseason for 2019. We're not going to the playoffs this year so let the young guys get experience. Barkley looked good today but he's not the future. I voted Allen.

People usually use the term, "complementary football," to mean that both the offense and defense are playing well. But I'm thinking about it in a different sense. On that first drive, Barkley and Foster made the Jets respect our vertical game. Shady made them respect our running game. The passing game made the run game more successful and the run game made the passing game more successful. To me, that's complementary football. I'll add that I was proud of our OL today. Shady had some holes to run through and Barkley had time to throw. So, yeah, I agree that the Bills fielded a NFL offense today. Barkley wasn't great. He didn't throw with the precision of a Brady or Brees. But he made enough good short, medium, and long throws that the Jets were forced to defend the entire field. I imagine Daboll going into the QB room this week and saying, "See! That's what I've been talking about!"

Do we really need a new thread to discuss how cgg’s opinion has not changed?

Fergie’s underrated. He started out being the guy who handed off to OJ but later developed into a good QB. In 1981, for example, he threw for more yards than better remembered guys like Montana, Bradshaw and Jaworski.

Huh? McD gave Peterman opportunities and Peterman didn’t take advantage because he simply lacks the mental and physical tools of a NFL QB.

Our D would hurt them... like literally injure kids in a man versus boy kind of way.

If you need to blame someone, why don't we blame the predecessors who handed the current regime a failed organization? It's not as hard to sustain a winning franchise. It is hard to build one up.

Bill Gates wouldn't be successful if it wasn't for a new technology called computers. Jeff Bezos wouldn't be successful if it wasn't for a new thing called the internet. And so on. Smart business people often pounce on emerging opportunities. Lots of folks saw the potential of fracking (not "fraking"). Only an elite few had the business acumen to build an organization that could take advantage of the opportunity as well as Terry. It's not like Terry won the lottery because he's the world's luckiest SOB. Terry saw an opportunity and had the industry know-how, entrepreneurship, and organizational leadership skills to take advantage. The fact that he's a poor public speaker doesn't mean that he's an inept businessman. He is, however, a relative rookie in the highly competitive field of professional sports. Just like a rookie QB needs time to learn to play at this level, so does an owner. Personally, I'm not worried. Remember it takes time to build a winning organizations and mistakes will inevitably be made. Eddie DeBartola Jr bought the 49ers in 1977. He went through 2 or 3 bad coaches and couple losing seasons before he hired Bill Walsh as coach. Even with Walsh DeBartola suffered through 2 more losing seasons before the Lombardi Trophies started multiplying. Five of them in all while DeBartola owned the team. I encourage you to be patient.

I always appreciated Tyrod for what he was: a great scrambler, a good guy, and a poor passer who - at least - didn't throw many picks. I was disappointed when he was traded because I knew he'd actually be difficult to replace. But I could also see where Beane was coming from. Tyrod is not a Super Bowl caliber QB so why are we wasting money on him when the goal is to get to the SB?

The Steelers have had 3 coaches since 1969 and have gone 758-458-2 with 6 SB victories. The Bills have had 18 coaches over that same span with slightly different results. Maybe our leadership model is wrong? (Sidebar: The Steelers have had the same guy - Kevin Colbert - running the draft since 2000. There might be something to be said for stability).

Exactly how I feel. You can't look at the roster spending or personnel moves and believe that Beane prioritized winning this year. He's obviously building for the future. But I think McD tries his hardest to win every game.

Stop, Gug. Don't go there.

And this is the gist of the problem. The prognosis for next year is pretty bright. We have a fair amount of draft picks and a lot of cap space to acquire players. But finding a franchise QB seems to be a matter of luck as much as skill. Highly touted guys frequently crash and burn. So do you spend another high draft pick on a QB to increase your odds? Do you gamble that Allen is the man and build around him? I imagine we'll do the latter but it's a crap shoot. I intentionally used the word "astute" not intelligence. It's hard to deny that Terry is astute. He saw an opportunity in fracking and built up a successful team that made him billions. Others didn't see the opportunity or didn't accurately assess it. Still others did see the same opportunity but failed to build organizations that could successfully exploit it. Terry's not the best public speaker by a long shot. But he's not an 'idiot' either. He's still a relative neophyte as a franchise owner but I'm not pessimistic about the outlook. He'll learn. He'll get better. as·tute /əˈst(y)o͞ot/ adjective having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage.

When you are astute enough to earn enough money to buy the Sabres and Bills, let me know. I bet Terry can at least spell "Sabres" correctly.

I like ALynn but... While some guys go to bed fantasizing about Playboy pinups, McD fantasizes about having Phillip Rivers and a $170 million dollar roster, instead of trotting out NP and the Bills talent-poor $127 million dollar roster.

Other teams have QBs too. Not all cap space or players are created equal. Comparatively speaking, the Bills have a LOT of cap space the next couple years.

"Culture doesn't matter" ~ random Bills fan. "Culture precedes positive results" ~ Bill Walsh. That quote comes from page 25 of his book. He goes on to say, "Champions behave like champions before they're champions." In other words, champions think, practice and behave differently. Walsh spent his first year getting ride of the "malcontents, underachieves and unmotivated." The team went 2-14. J curve. We all know what happened next.

I don't get all the anger. Just look at roster spending. Just listen to Beane when he talks. The plan is clear. And according to the plan, this is a rebuilding year. Beane certainly told something like this to Terry and Kim, "First, I'm going to get rid of the players with bad attitudes and bloated contracts. That'll create a lot of dead money in 2018 and things could get ugly. We'll start building things the right way in 2019." When you remodel a building, the first phase is called "demo." Guys come in and start demolishing things. Then different guys come in and make everything beautiful. The Bills are still in the demo phase. You can't judge the remodel yet. In the business world, we call this the "J" curve. When a new leader comes in, things often get worse before the get better. We're at the bottom of the J curve. I have little idea how good Beane is - he's only had one draft so far and he's in the ugly part of his plan. I have little idea how good McD is - he has the lowest paid, least talented roster in the NFL. Of course he's losing more than he's winning. And btw nobody who knows football says culture trumps talent. What smart people are saying is that you want both to build a championship team.

This is awesome - the perfect way to respond to the criticism!

Weo, I agree with your first comment. Most coaches aren't idiotic enough the let the fans choose their starting lineup. That was my point actually. McD isn't an idiot either. So I disagree with the OP. McD didn't let the fans or media decide to start Josh. It was his decision. On the second point, you're also right. McD's leadership is reflected in the way the team plays. He can't change their DNA so he can't change their speed, agility, accuracy, etc. But he should have a positive impact on their effort, preparation and execution. And I don't think effort, preparation and execution are our biggest concerns. I think talent is. So it's a Beane thing, not a McD thing. We have the lowest paid roster in the NFL and getting the results you'd expect with that payroll. Just speculating, I think McD really wanted a veteran QB to mentor Josh this year, letting Josh learn from the bench. But because of cost restraints, the best vet they could come up with was AJ. And when AJ 'wasn't who they thought he was' (Beane's words) and was traded away, McD was left in a bad position. After NP's good preseason showing, McD probably thought Nathan could serve as a borderline serviceable starter until Josh was ready. As it turned out, he was wrong. Peterman was so incredibly bad in the first half of the Ravens game that the coaches lost whatever faith they had in him and so did his fellow players. NP's own confidence was probably crushed as well. So McD decided to give Josh some real time game experience. After all, McD was in a bad place with no truly good options. Who do you send out in the second half? The guy who's shell-shocked and who nobody ever wants to see under center again? Or the eager, but not-ready-for-prime-time, rookie? In other words, I don't believe McD is failing to lead. I think he's doing his best in a bad situation. It's easy for a coach to look bad - and hard to look good - when the players suck.

Love the man. Love the play. But did you notice he had a hole to run through on that play? Not many holes like that this season.

I'm all about the first bullet - though I'd add pass pro. Mediocre RBs can be productive if the OL gives them holes to run through. Mediocre QBs can be productive if the OL gives them time in a clean pocket. Mediocre WRs can get separation if given enough time. As bad as our WRs have been, I think this offseason needs to be all about the offensive line. (Though a top-notch WR would be a great bonus).

Interviews don’t mean squat. McD’s leadership is all about bringing out the best in his coaches and players. Since we’re not privy to most of those interactions, it’s hard to judge him as a leader. But from what I see, he’s not so idiotic as to let the fans and media decide his lineup and gameplan.

As the article says: I don’t think Buffalo has a coaching issue at all. Daboll couldn’t have been dealt a worse hand and it’s hard to envision any other coordinator getting more out of Buffalo’s personnel. We have a terrible offensive roster. Maybe the lowest-paid and overall worst in the NFL. We also have terrible offensive productivity in terms of yards and/or points. Daboll and his staff have neither over-performed nor under-performed.