hondo in seattle

Once the Bills are out, I always have trouble watching the NFL. I usually watch the SB, but sometimes not. I usually skip everything from the Bills' elimination to the SB.

I think you need one guy in charge as OC so there's no confusion among the position coaches or players about who to listen to. But I'm absolutely in favor of creating an offensive brain trust. We already have some former OCs on staff. I would love a few more smart guys - coaches who know how to scheme a passing game and can help Brady fine-tune his craft. I'd love it if Brady spent some time in the offseason with people like Gruden, Kurt Warner, etc., and picked their brains.

Having never played/coached in the NFL and not deeply knowing Brady, I'm not sure how much the offseason will benefit Brady. From what I understand, every team in the NFL runs some variation of the Erhardt-Perkins or West Coast offense. We've been running the E-P which seems the best fit for Josh. So Brady probably won't change the base offense though he can add some wrinkles. Does he have the intellect and creativity to add the right wrinkles? Also, I've heard commentary that our receivers don't run precise routes. That has nothing to do with system and everything to do with coaching and execution. Is Brady going to fix execution? (Why didn't he fix it this year?) I don't know the answers. But in his partial-season tryout as an OC, I did see Brady spread the ball around better than Dorsey. I didn't see an enhanced ability to get receivers open and that concerns me. Josh played well against the Chiefs but only threw for 186 yards because his wideouts were blanketed. That's a WR talent issue but it's also an OC issue. If Andy Reid or Kyle Shanahan were our OC, Josh would have thrown for 300 despite KC's good CBs.

This is part of the problem - The NFL's offensive minds fall into three tiers: Tier One. Geniuses and Supposed Geniuses. Owners tend to like offensive coaches so the Tier One guys are already running teams as Head Coaches. Tier Two. Near Geniuses and Up-And-Comers. These guys are already employed as OCs. Tier Three. Everyone else. This is the group McD has to pick through. Either we stick with Brady as our OC or choose another Tier Three guy. Some might say Brady is a Tier Two guy but I'm unconvinced.

Having grown up in Cheektowaga, I'm sure I'm biased. But I've traveled to 46 states and visited nearly every NFL city at least once and have lived in a few of them. And I do believe we do indeed have the best fans. Between jerseys being worn, flags being flown, and all that jazz - there aren't many cities quite like Buffalo. And think about this. I remember watching a Bills game back in the 90s. The announcers said, perhaps exaggerating, that there were 80,000 fans in the stadium and another 20,000 watching the game on TV in the lots who couldn't get tickets. That's 100,000 people. Roughly 1 in 12 people from metro Buffalo were at the game. SoFi is a marvel. But when it sells out its 70,000 seats, that means 1 in 266 people in metro LA are at the game. The rest are doing LA stuff: fighting traffic, hanging out at the beach, playing golf and pickleball, making movies, smoking crack, whatever. The football game/team doesn't have the same level of consciousness. And what about fund-raising? I can't find it now, but I once read an article about how fan bases raise money for charitable causes. No other fan base comes close even though the Bills are a small-market team in a comparatively low-income city. And, yes, some idiot fans have said and done unkind things to Bass. But these are outnumbered by the fans who have donated $280,000+ to his charity. And don't forget the Bills-Backers bars all over America. Even little Monterey CA, near where I currently live, has a Bills Backer Bar. If you get lost and go to Monterrey, Mexico, instead - there's a Bills Backer Bar there too. Buffalo is a small city, but the Bills weirdly have a national/global fan base. And then there's the tail-gaiting which doesn't need an explanation. Some other NFL cities, not all, have good fan bases. But the mafia is unique.

If you want to win a Lombardi and your Head Coach is a defensive guy, you need a great OC. The opposite is true, too. That's why Reid has Spags. They're an excellent combo. Brady is just okay. I suppose it's possible to surround him with enough great coaches that our offense becomes great. Ideally, though, we'd have a creative genius with great leadership skills as our OC.

I'll add a pro: the players say Brady's very collaborative. He seeks input from both the players and position coaches. I think that's great. But I worry about Con #1. Even with that feedback, he couldn't scheme guys open. And receivers ran imprecise routes. When Josh Allen is your QB, your passing attack should be more consistent and potent.

I won't throw myself into the falls if it's Brady. But I hope they bring in a talented, creative passing game coordinator if it's him. And, yes, I know the Bills have a few former offensive coordinators on staff. But I'm frustrated by this suboptimal, predictable offense that can't seem to scheme guys open.

I know some of the analytics sites rated our OL top five. My eyes didn't see the same. We often struggled to run the ball. And Josh often had pressure. The 2023 line was, though, certainly better than the 2022 line. But as you say, we had the same five all season long. Will we get so lucky next year? Probably not. We need more good offensive linemen. As for systems, E-P seems the right choice for Allen. Maybe we need a better OC who can tweak it to optimize the strengths of Allen and the team.

Like Drew Brees. Lots of accolades and accomplishments. One Super Bowl victory.

Since we're dreaming... I hope Beane has the best draft ever seen in the history of the NFL: a couple of Pro Bowl receivers, two Pro Bowl offensive linemen, a Pro Bowl edge, a Pro Bowl CB, and a Pro Bowl safety. Do we even have that many picks? On the coaching front, Kyle Shanahan steps down from his HC position to take over as Bills OC. Brady, happy to learn from an offensive guru of his caliber, drops down to coach QBs again.

During the offseason, I thought this was the best roster Beane had put together yet. The Jets game put me in confused WTF mode. Then I regained my optimism when we reeled off three consecutive 28+ point victories. And then I was confused again when we went into a funk. And dismayed as we started losing key players. Even when we rebounded and won the AFCE, I didn't expect a Super Bowl run. The limitations of the roster had been exposed and, more importantly, the defensive injuries were just too substantial.

How was McD outcoached? The Bills came into this game with far more injuries to significant players. And yet the result was a toss-up. This game could have gone either way despite the legendary coaching combo (Reid/Spagnuolo) on the other sideline. Given the comparative health, the Chiefs should have won by double digits. McD wasn't flawless but he wasn't outcoached.

I want a Lee Evans (or James Lofton!) type for #2. I was really happy with Sherfield as a depth signing this year. But he killed me yesterday. Shakir looks like a great #3. He came on as the season progressed.

I like the first and last predictions, though neither is likely. Von's contract is hurting Beane's ability to build a SB roster.

I generally support McD. But as soon as I saw the fake, even before Hamlin was tackled, I thought, "Oh, crap!" I didn't like the call and liked the execution even less.

I expected issues with CB and LB play given the injuries. I knew the Chiefs would be able to move the ball. But I did hope that the DL could come up with some big plays to slow the Chiefs down. Their no-show was a sad surprise.

Our best DB, White, was on IR. Our two next-best CBs (Douglas, Johnson) were banged up. Our best LB, Milano, was on IR. A variety of other LBs were banged up Our best DL, Miller, is recovering and still not nearly 100%. At every level of our defense, our best player was out or degraded while others were also hurt. Did you expect our second and third-stringers - and our limping starters - to stop Reid and Mahomes in the playoffs, despite them having an off year? As former NFL team doctor, Dr. Chao, notes, in the playoffs the healthier team usually wins.

Anyone looking at the IR and injury reports knew that a Chiefs victory was probable. And let's think about coaches for a moment. Each team has a Big Four: HC, DC, OC, and STC. But you can simplify this and look at the Duo. A defensive HC needs a good OC. An offensive HC needs a good DC. The Duo in KC is Reid and Spagnola. Both are recognized savants at their craft. Combined with Mahomes, they're the reason the Chiefs get to the AFCCG all the time. Our Duo is McD and Kid Brady (interim). And despite our best defensive players being in the hospital ward, this game came down to a FG that should have sent this game into OT. Our Duo nearly beat KC's legendary Duo despite our bloodied and bandaged roster. We weren't outcoached. And this loss didn't prevent a run at the SB. Did anyone seriously believe this beat-up defense could've beaten the Ravens if we had defeated the Chiefs?

I agree. But good enough to retain the OC job? I've got conflicted thoughts and feelings on that subject.

Dr. David Chao, former team doctor for the Chargers, observes that in the playoffs, the team with the most significant injuries usually loses. We had the more significant injuries. I went into the game expecting to lose, though I hoped for an unlikely victory. The halftime lead and the play of Josh and the OL fueled that hope. And then it all fell apart. Despite expecting a loss, I was not low-key about the defeat. Losing sucks. But that was yesterday. Today, I'm a Stoic about it. No use being emotional about things I can't control.

Yesterday was the end of the world. But today, inexplicably, the sun rose and I woke up and ate a good breakfast. Life goes on and a promising Bills future awaits.

Perfect job for Dorsey.

During the next 17 year drought, I will indeed look back at this time as the Good Old Days. But if we lose today, it will be a very, very bad day. There's no in-between today. Regardless of what else happens in the world today, as a Bills fan it'll either be a really, really good or a really, really bad day.

You're right, of course. As I recall, Walsh wasn't the coach anymore during most of Young's run but was still the power behind the scenes - unofficially at first and then officially. Seifert, his DC, took over as HC in 1989 and simply kept the same systems in place - the same West Coast offense, the same defense, the same philosophy to training camp, etc. Seifert's lack of success outside of SF suggests, to me anyway, that Seifert's two Lombardis with the 49ers owed more to Walsh - the passing game developed, the organization he built, the players he acquired, and the mentorship & guidance he provided - than Seifert. It was Walsh who traded for Young to be Montana's successor even though Montana was still in his prime. I wonder if Belichick had this in mind when he drafted Garoppolo. You can't be loyal and sentimental in this business if you want to maintain success. And normally a QB's play does start to decline once he's somewhere in his 30s. Walsh moved on from Montana and the 49er dynasty continued with Young. Maybe this was Belichick's mental model when he was thinking of moving on from Brady. But the pieces didn't fall into place and ended up with Mac Jones.