mjt328

The Bills have been gradually improving since the time Sean McDemott got here. A "signature win" would be representative of how good the team is at the time. We were a borderline Wild Card team in 2017, in the middle of a rebuild with a rookie QB in 2018, and then back to being a solid Wild Card team in 2019. It's hard to notch a signature win against a Super Bowl contender when you simply aren't that good yet. - I would consider our road wins against the Falcons and Chiefs (both 10-6) to be signature wins in 2017, and really set the tone for this team breaking the playoff drought. - I would consider our wins against the Titans, Cowboys and Steelers to be signature wins in 2019, with us beating other Wild Card-level teams. The bar has clearly been raised this season, and nobody is going to be impressed with us beating teams like the Raiders (or even the Patriots) anymore. The games against the Titans and Chiefs were opportunities to make our mark. And we failed badly at both. That doesn't mean we can't turn things up in the second half of the season, and notch one of these kinds of victories. If we can walk away with a victory against the Seahawks, 49ers or Steelers... that would definitely be the signature win that fans are looking for.

Is it possible that our Defense could "course correct" and improve in this area over the second half of the season? Especially if we start getting our key pieces healthy? I agree that we probably can't continue winning the majority of our games if the defense continues to struggle at this pace. But it's also hard for me to believe a defense that was Top 5 for the last two years (and was fantastic at getting stops on 3rd Down), could suddenly drop off a cliff and instantly become one of the NFL's historically bad defenses in that same area.

If you have been following the NFL that long, you know that things change. The Pats don't have our number. They have clearly had our number for the last 20 years. But we dominated them the decade prior. Buffalo has also won the last few meetings against the Patriots when they have been without Tom Brady. I understand the respect people have for Bill Belichick. But his coaching clearly isn't overcoming the roster problems so far this year. Early in the season, opponents weren't expecting the drastic change in offensive style and were caught off guard by Cam Newton's running ability. Defenses have adjusted and now their lack of offensive weapons is killing them.

Yes, but I think you are missing the overall point. The Rams game further amplifies my point about inconsistency. The Bills played fantastic at the start of that game. Then totally fell apart in the second half. And then needed to comeback and win the game. Why can't this team ever play good on offense AND defense? Why can't they play good for 4 full quarters?

Coming up on the midpoint of the season, the Bills will either be sitting at 6-2 or 5-3, and will be in the driver's seat for winning the AFC East. Yet it's not a stretch to say most fans are disappointed in the team's overall performance. I believe the biggest problem is a lack of consistency. During the Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott era, this team seems totally incapable of putting together a FULL four-quarter performance on both sides of the ball. When the Offense plays good, the Defense struggles to stop anyone. When the Defense shuts opponents down, the Offense can't score. When the team gets a big lead, they inevitably fall apart in the second half. When the team starts flat, they often come back in the 4th Quarter. For weeks they are unstoppable in the Red Zone. Then suddenly, they go 0-9 in a single game on scoring a touchdown. At the end of the day, the Bills do usually seem to emerge with a victory. But games we should be winning in blow-outs, always end up becoming nail-biters. And of course, we can't seem to get over the hump against the best teams in the league. It's easy to spot the places where the Bills have been underperforming over the last several games. But the lack of consistency is still a disturbing trend overall, and something I can't quite put my finger on. Is it a problem with coaching and scheming opponents? Do our players have trouble staying focused? Thoughts?

Eh. I'm enjoying the Patriots demise. The only thing missing is that Tom Brady isn't involved. But they DON'T have competent QB play. How many teams could make the claim... "We would have done fine, if only our QB didn't suck."

Actually, I think the teams have been pretty close to what I originally expected. The Bills still have 5 games against teams who are .500 and under (Patriots x2, Chargers, Broncos, Dolphins). Two of those will be against rookie QBs. So even if we struggle against the top teams in the NFL, there will still be opportunity to finish with double-digit wins and take the AFC East.

I don't believe Josh Allen has regressed. Defenses have adjusted to take away the deep ball. Against the Titans and Chiefs, he wasn't patient enough to take the check-downs and struggled. That changed today, and he began taking what the defense gave him. Although we couldn't punch it in the endzone, the offense moved the ball on every drive and didn't even punt once. Overall, he played very well. Just because Allen has "broken out" doesn't mean he's a finished product, or that he's stopped developing. Today was greatly encouraging, because the Jets tried to do the same thing he was struggling with for two weeks... and he was able to overcome it and play very well. If he continues to show patience and willingness to pick teams apart, those deep throws will eventually start opening up again.

Let's watch how the season plays out. The Bills were "battling for first in the division" in 2018-2019 too. Then the Pats kicked our teeth in. If Arizona loses tonight, they will be 2.5 games out of 1st place and will have lost 3 out of 4.

Only ran for 100 because of Allen. We don't need to be the Titans. But at some point, we need to establish a semi-successful running game with our RBs.

Before the season, I said a successful 2020 would be: - Winning double-digit games - Winning the AFC East - Winning at least one playoff game The Bills are on pace to do the first two. But the last two weeks, I'm becoming more skeptical they can accomplish the third task. After 17 years without the playoffs, it's hard to complain at any measure of success. But if Sean McDermott goes into the offseason boasting an 0-3 record in the postseason, there are going to be a lot of fans questioning his ability to eventually lead us to a championship.

Agree the problem is not coaching. But the most successful teams are not one-dimensional.

Last year, everyone was complaining because Daboll was too conservative and not throwing enough. The last three games everyone is complaining because Daboll is throwing too much. The problem (as it usually is) is not with coaching. It's with our players not performing. Coming into the season, the story on Josh Allen was that he couldn't hit the deep ball. So over the first 3-4 games, defenses dared him to beat them over the top. And Allen responded by putting up MVP-like numbers with the deep ball. At the same time, the Bills were struggling to establish any kind of running game. What we have seen recently, is opposing defenses adjusting to our success throwing the ball deep. Similar to what WE did against the Chiefs, they are leaving open the check-downs and daring us to run the ball consistently. Against the Titans and Chiefs, Allen was not patient enough to take the check-downs. Instead, he tried forcing the ball down the field into coverage. Thankfully, Allen did a better job of this today. But we STILL haven't really established a running game. And it's one of the main reasons we also struggled in the Red Zone. Simply put. Our run blocking has been atrocious this year. This is not on Daboll. This is mostly on our interior line/guards, who are not getting any kind of push. Hopefully this changes when we get back Jon Feliciano.

The Bills will run Sean McDermott's defensive scheme as long as he's the head coach. Period. Leslie Frasier is just calling the plays. But don't be fooled. This defense is McDermott's, and nothing in that scheme is going to change. Go back and look at his defenses before coming to Buffalo, and what kind of players they needed to be successful. Our current scheme/system is almost identical to what Carolina ran during its best years. The 2015 Panther team (which went 15-1) actually featured Star Lotulelei, Mario Addison and Josh Norman in the starting lineup. Tremaine Edmunds/Matt Milano are basically the Bills version of Luke Kuechly/Thomas Davis. Ed Oliver is the Bills answer to Kawaan Short. As I've said before. The Bills DO NOT need a total defensive overhaul. They don't need a totally new group of players on the D-Line. They don't need to move Edmunds and get a thumper at MLB. None of that fits what McDermott does. What we need is someone to fill-in for the loss of Lotulelei, and we need Milano to come back healthy.

There are several reasons for Gregg Williams failing. Going back to his first year, Williams took over a team that clearly didn't need a full-blown rebuild. Two years earlier, the Bills had finished 11-5 and were considered a Super Bowl contender. The next year, they finished 8-8. But they still had tons of talent and one of the best defenses in the NFL. Most fans believed they just needed stronger leadership than Wade Phillips to get back to premiere status in the AFC. But Williams (and GM Tom Donahoe) came in and totally dismantled the franchise. They got rid of fan-favorite Doug Flutie at QB, blew up our massively successful 3-4 defense and proceeded to finish their first season 3-13. In my opinion, Donahoe did a pretty good job of stockpiling talent over the next couple years. The 2002-2003 Bills teams were actually pretty loaded with Pro-Bowlers. Drew Bledsoe, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Sam Adams, Lawyer Milloy, etc. But it never really came together on the field. Building a team is like assembling a puzzle. Each coach has a different idea scheme/system, along with a different style and personality. To succeed, that coach needs to not only have talented players.... but also have players that fit into the puzzle that he's creating. For some reason, our talent just never meshed with what Williams wanted to do. Of course, all of these events also coincided with the emergence of the Patriots/Belichick/Brady, making it extremely difficult for anybody in the AFC East to have a real chance at winning that division.

Fair argument. They certainly could have signed someone. Just like they could still sign someone today or tomorrow. My point is that prior to Free Agency/Draft, it's easier for a GM to come up with a solid plan to replace a position. Once those dates have passed, the options are usually not great. Just because some DTs have been signed elsewhere, doesn't mean they would have been a good move for us. I agree with you, that Beane believed either Harrison Phillips or Vernon Butler could fill the void. And he was wrong about that. Either way, the Bills are still 4-2 and could still sign someone to fix the hole at DT.

Vernon Butler was the 30th overall pick by the Panthers, while Brandon Beane was the assistant GM for Carolina and Sean McDermott was the DC. It's pretty clear that our front office believed his disappointing career could be salvaged in a new environment. I'm sure there were also some concerns that Harrison Phillips would recover fully from his ACL injury, and wanted to make sure they had a solid rotation behind Star Lotulelei just in case he struggled. The problem is... Plan A, B and C all went down the drain.

Free agency and the draft were held back in March/April. At that point, nothing had been worked out regarding how the season was going to progress. There was no such thing as a player "opting out" of the season until a few months later when the NFL and Players Association came up with that agreement. And even if that wasn't the case, how exactly could Beane be "prepared" without knowing WHICH players were going to opt out? There is only so much cap room/roster space. You can't have a Plan C at every single position.

Adding Quinnen Williams doesn't really solve our problem. The McDermott/Frasier defense needs a 1-Tech DT who can occupy blockers and command double-teams. - We had a decent one with Star Lotulelei, but he opted out at the end of July. By that point, it was too late to focus on the position in free agency or the draft. - The hope was that Harrison Phillips would be a seamless replacement. But he has clearly not recovered from his ACL injury last year, and has struggled. - The Vernon Butler signing was a one-year flyer, hoping to salvage the career of a former 1st Round Pick. It has not worked out. As of right now, the coaching staff has been forced to either play bad players (Phillips/Butler) in that position... or go with undersized guys (Oliver/Jefferson/Zimmer) who aren't good in that role and are getting run-over. Williams would likely be adding to the latter. It's the same reason I don't really think re-signing Jordan Phillips would be making much of a difference right now. I fully expect Brandon Beane to make a move for a DT at some point (honestly surprised it hasn't happened yet). But I just don't see Williams being an option.

As I've stated in other threads, the last two games have been a reality check as to where this team stands among other Super Bowl contenders. They are not on the same level as the Chiefs, Ravens, Titans or Steelers right now. However, I still see the Bills as a good team that absolutely should win 10 games, finish atop the AFC East and make the playoffs. I believe that many of our recent struggles are due to injuries. Losing Jon Feliciano has really hurt our O-Line's run blocking. Having John Brown hobbled has slowed down the passing attack. Missing Matt Milano has been devastating to our overall defensive performance. We were missing Tre White for the Titans game, which was a major factor in us getting blown out. I also think it's possible Josh Allen's injury in the Raiders game is affecting his accuracy. Hopefully as the weeks go by, we start getting healthier. Yes, we have stunk really bad over the last two weeks. But the Patriots have been arguably worse. They lost to the Chiefs by 16 (we lost by 9). They just lost to a Broncos team unable to score a touchdown the entire day. The Pats got off to a quick start this season thanks to Cam Newton's running. But defenses have adjusted and are now forcing them to win through the air, and that offense simply can't do it. They have no weapons in the passing game. We are the better team and absolutely should win this game. I agree that our trek west is not going to be easy. But let's not pretend those teams are flawless. Most of the wins by Seattle and Arizona have been racked up against non-playoff teams (which is the same thing people are critical of Buffalo for doing). The Seahawks defense has been pretty bad. And prior to Monday night, the Cardinals were on a two-game losing streak against the Lions/Panthers. I fully expect us to win at least one of these contests.

There is only one Bill Belichick. A coach who can constantly adapt and change strategy, regardless of personnel and circumstances around the team. The vast majority of coaches in the NFL are average. They have a system/scheme, and their success is dependent on having the right players to execute it. McDermott's first three years, he was without a Top 15 franchise QB. But his defenses were good enough to carry the team to the playoffs twice. If you can make the playoffs without a franchise QB, then coaching is not the problem. As I've mentioned in other posts, the McDermott/Frazier defense is heavily dependent on the 1-Tech DT and having two athletic LBs. Due to Star Lotulelei unexpectedly opting out and the injury to Matt Milano, this defense is without two of its key pieces. If we can find a decent 1-Tech DT available for trade, and Milano gets healthy, then I'm optimistic this defense will turn it around. If we don't, this is going to be a struggle all year long. Our coaching staff is not good enough to totally reform the scheme in the middle of the season, but neither are 99% of the coaches in the NFL. Belichick is in a class by himself.

Not sure if you have actually seen these other teams play. Agreed the Bills have some big issues, and they are not as good as many of us were hoping/expecting. But most of the teams in the NFL are in the same boat. The Bills should still be favored to win against the Jets, Patriots, Cardinals, Chargers, Broncos, Patriots and Dolphins. It's quite possible they drop 1-2 of these. But it's also quite possible they win 1-2 games they are expected to lose. We are still a "Wild Card Level" team, fortunate enough to be in a crappy division that will only need 9-10 wins to emerge on top. The real problem is that we aren't good enough to beat the class of the AFC (Chiefs, Ravens, Steelers, Titans), which likely means another early exit from the playoffs.

To be honest, I'm not incredibly disappointed with us having a 2-game losing streak. We always knew the Titans and Chiefs would be two of our toughest matchups. I'm more disappointed in our overall play over the last 5 weeks, and not really being competitive in either matchup. This team succeeded in upgrading its weakest link (the passing game)... but has somehow also managed to regress in literally everything else. When all things are factored into the equation, this team has not progressed in the last 12 months. They are still going to beat the bad teams. They will almost certainly get some victories against the other "Wild Card Level" teams. And thanks to a very weak AFC East, I could still see us winning 9-10 games and capturing the division title. But as it stands, this team has absolutely no chance at beating the Chiefs, Ravens, Steelers or Titans in the playoffs. Which is exactly the place we were in 2019.

The Bills are not the Patriots. We don't have the personnel to run multiple defensive schemes. We can make some slight adjustments, but this scheme is what we run. None of that is going to change. If we are going to salvage this season, it will need to come from our players doing a better job. Not from drastic systematic changes. Beane needs to find someone on the street who can play 1-Tech DT at a somewhat decent level. We also need to get Matt Milano back. Both of these things would make a HUGE difference.

In football, Defense is about all the players and coaches working together as a cohesive unit. One crack in the armor, and it starts causing problems everywhere else. The first BIG problem is at 1-Tech DT. For all the criticism he gets from the fans, Star Lotulelei was a key piece on this defense. His job was to occupy blockers, and keep them off the other defenders. Not get penetration and rack up stats. In his place, Harrison Phillips has been an absolute disaster. He clearly is not the same guy as he was pre-injury. Vernon Butler has been a terrible FA acquisition, and also done nothing to replace Lotulelei. In my opinion, many of our problems have spiraled off of this crack in the armor. Without strong play from our 1-Tech DT, it fully exposes how undersized we are on the rest of the Front Seven. Interior blockers can simply double-team Ed Oliver/Quinton Jefferson and make them totally irrelevant on passing plays. Interior blockers can also easily get to the second level on run plays. And shedding blockers is NOT the strength of our Linebackers. As many have pointed out, Tremaine Edmunds is more of a WLB playing in the middle. He can be very good when kept clean. But he struggles badly when taking on offensive linemen. The second BIG problem is the injury to Matt Milano. It cannot be stated how important Linebackers are to the McDermott/Frazier zone scheme, and their ability to run sideline to sideline AND cover the middle of the field. Notice that our coverage is not usually getting beaten deep down the field (even against the Chiefs). Quarterbacks are instead finding open cracks in the short zones. Where we used to get off the field on 3rd Down, we are now letting up those conversions regularly and constantly letting drives continue. Our "bend but don't break" scheme is breaking on those key plays, and much of this is due to struggles in replacing Milano. It's easy to blame coaching. But the Sean McDermott/Leslie Frazier scheme has been EXACTLY the same since the day they got here. It needs the D-Line to get pressure with 4 guys. It needs the 1-Tech to occupy blockers on running plays. It needs two athletic linebackers to stay clean and make plays sideline to sideline. It needs disciplined play when filling run gaps, and the secondary to communicate well in zone coverage. Any breaks in this plan, and everything falls apart. I don't see them making drastic scheme changes mid-season, because the players are not doing their jobs correctly.