mjt328

On most teams, John Brown is probably a #2 and Cole Beasley is probably a #3. No doubt they could use another WR. That does not mean their struggles are strictly due to a lack of talent. Right Tackle is still not very good, but not because of a lack of investment. Cody Ford was our #2 pick. He just hasn't developed quickly in his first year. In terms of using picks on offense.... They literally tore apart the roster upon arriving, just to give themselves the opportunity to amass picks and get a Top 10 Quarterback. Did you happen to miss that 12-15 months? They used 3 of their top 4 picks on offense this year. Ford, Devon Singletary and Dawson Knox. They also focused 99% of their effort in free agency on the offense. Brown, Beasley, Tyler Kroft, Mitch Morse, Quinton Spain, Jon Feliciano, Ty Nsekhe, Spencer Long. If you want to complain these guys are no good, then fine. But don't say our front office doesn't care about offense, or refuses to invest in it. Talent could definitely be better. No disagreement there. I'm just saying, I think the guys on this roster are good enough to put points on the board. There is enough talent to not be bottom 5 in the NFL.

I don't understand why it's SO DIFFICULT for people to have patience with a young QB. I've been following this team for 30 years. These exact same reporters (Sullivan) crucify the Bills front office every single time they pass on a QB in the draft, and instead choose to roll with a veteran like Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kyle Orton or Tyrod Taylor. They complain incessantly about our GM wasting salary cap dollars paying for an average/below average passer. They write their little op-ed pieces about how the Bills need to draft and develop a guy out of college, like all the other successful NFL franchises. But when the Bills actually draft a young QB, they CANNOT WAIT to rip the guy to shreds. Their hands are shaking at the keyboards, eagerly anticipating the day they can definitively call our young passer a bust. It's amazing how quiet Sullivan has been this season, up until this week. Now he is what?... suggesting the Bills shouldn't have drafted Allen and instead stuck with Taylor? What a ridiculous load of nonsense. When it comes to developing a QB, it's not about how you start. It's about how you finish. And even Josh Allen's biggest believers ALWAYS KNEW he was starting behind most 1st-Round level QBs. He was coming from a small college, against very low-caliber competition. His mechanics were poor. His field vision and decision-making needed work. He was a Number One Overall physical talent, with a mid-late round on-field production. Even the draft critics who absolutely loved Allen, quantified their love by saying he needed LOTS of development and would take longer than other guys in the class like Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen. I would say that comparing Allen's stats in the middle of his second season, to a veteran like Taylor who was in his seventh season is totally sad and pathetic. Except, it's actually a huge positive. If he's already playing at a similar level to Taylor, it tells me Allen is progressing quicker than most of his critics expected. There is no doubt that Bills coaches expect Allen to be better than Taylor eventually. Same with the fans. But it's going to take time and patience.

When the team loses, I guess everyone and everything is fair game. This defense is doing its job. Our troubles are on the other side of the ball.

Mentioned this in a few different threads. I don't think the main problem is a lack of talent. The offense has shown the ability to march 10+ plays, 70-80 yards and score touchdowns. It just happens 2-3 times a week, and then we have multiple drives killed by stupid mistakes. Josh Allen has shown the ability in the past to connect on deep balls. I think the goal this offseason was to get him "fixed" on his short accuracy, and they didn't do enough to get his timing right with the other receivers. John Brown is our only deep threat that plays regularly, and he always draws the deep safety help. Robert Foster hasn't played enough to get on track with anything. Things just haven't fallen in place, and now the failure to connect has gotten into Josh's head. Devon Singletary can be a threat, if used more often. Cole Beasley can be a chain-mover, if we actually target him on 3rd Down. There is enough talent to be a good offense. It's just a multitude of drive-killing issues they can't seem to hurdle. If they can put together another 2-3 decent drives per week, I think we will be good enough to get on track. You can't be serious. This team rebuilt the entire Offensive Line and Wide Receiver room in the offseason. If you don't like the additions, fine. But don't pretend they haven't been using resources on offensive talent.

An offense needs to have a balance of efficiency and explosiveness. As I mentioned in another post, Brian Daboll is trying to recreate the Patriot offense, which relies on efficiency. To make it work, you need to consistently put together 10-15 play drives without mistakes. We succeed on this about 2-3 times per game, which is not enough. The rest of the time, we kill drives with penalties, sacks, turnovers, drops and miscommunications. The remedy for this is to either: A) Clean up the mistakes B) Make more explosive plays Personally, I'm becoming more discouraged that we can accomplish A during this season. Nine games in, and we still look the same as Week 1. Which means we need more explosive plays to happen during the game. This will require Josh Allen to start hitting on some deep throws. And it will require us to utilize more of Devon Singletary and less of Frank Gore.

This exactly. Fans don't like watching conservative football. But playing safe and eliminating mistakes is actually a pretty good strategy for winning in this league. If you really think about it, New England is a conservative football team. And they have been for the majority of the last 20 years. They rarely attack downfield. They rely mostly on safe 4-5 yard passes and runs, while gradually moving the chains. They don't turnover the ball often. The difference is, New England's offense is efficient. They don't have frequent penalties, drops or miscommunications. Tom Brady is deadly accurate. He makes quick/smart decisions, and gets rid of the ball instead of taking sacks. So they can amass 10-15 play drives on a consistent basis, and continue putting points on the board. As I've mentioned in several other posts, Buffalo's problem is due to an inefficient offense. Daboll is trying to recreate the Patriot offense. But his guys can't sustain 10-15 play drives without making mistakes. They move the chains a few times, but then get a holding penalty. They make a few nice plays, then get a sack or turnover. They get to third down, then have a dropped pass or miscommunication.

Sean McDermott is definitely a conservative coach. No argument there. Saying a conservative gameplan is never successful isn't completely true. There are many examples over the last several years of teams who relied on strong defense, and an efficient/conservative offense. It's probably not a good plan for long-term success, but it has been known to work with a young and inexperienced Quarterback (which we happen to have). The league average for scoring is 23-24 points per game. Our "bend but don't break" defense has kept opponents under that number in 8 out of 9 games this year. Going back to the bye week last season, they have kept opponents under that number in 12 out of 15 games. Fair point. But if his offense struggles 75% of every game, why would he expect them to be successful in a 2-minute drill before halftime? Hold on. Is he stupid for being conservative? Or stupid for being aggressive? This is a Buffalo urban legend. Every coach values character. And if you don't believe me, then explain why Josh Gordan had exactly ONE team interested in putting a waiver claim a few weeks ago. Not sure why this is a problem. This is mostly a passing league. Which means bigger nose tackles, and run-stopping linebackers are utilized less and less. He's certainly a defensive-minded coach, who lets his OC handle the other side of the ball. That should not be interpreted as he "doesn't care" about the offense. Also, Brandon Beane is responsible for getting the play-makers on offense. Not the coach.

The Defense is starting to show some cracks. No doubt. But they are still keeping teams off the scoreboard, and performing at a pretty high level. Levi Wallace is a solid corner. But teams are starting to realize how good Tre White is, and are going to test him constantly. Unfortunately, very few CBs can continually shut-down good WRs (like Jarvis Landry) without some help over the top. And due to our struggles in the run game, we are being forced to play our safeties in the box more and keep the corners alone on an island. It's all a cycle. What this team needs is the Offense to actually put some points on the board. This will force opponents to become more one-dimension to keep up, and let the defense play to its strengths. It's ridiculous to expect them to keep teams under 14 points every week.

Yep. Another example of why you can't point to a single issue that is plaguing this offense. Bills fans will always notice the questionable playcalling by Brian Daboll, the missed block by Dion Dawkins, the penalty by Lee Smith, the dropped pass by Dawson Knox, or the fumble by Josh Allen. But they don't usually notice the miscommunication with WRs. And unfortunately, these kinds of plays are also happening a lot this year - especially with John Brown. There was a miscommunication in the Eagles game, which led to Josh Allen throwing behind Brown. If they hookup on that play, it's probably a touchdown and that game looks completely different.

Over the last 4 games, Josh Allen has done a good job of eliminating "stupid" throws. Early in the season, this was leading to 1-2 interceptions per game. So this is a big improvement. But with one step-forward, we get one step-backwards.... and Allen has somehow gotten worse with his fumbles (which is hard to believe). He may be the worst QB I have ever seen at ball security when running with it. Everything else on offense is exactly the same. No improvement whatsoever. Same strengths and weaknesses as Week 1. We seem to be capable of moving the ball in spurts, which allows us 2-3 good scoring drives per week. The other 45 minutes of the game, we struggle to do anything.

The Bills are one-dimensional, which makes things extremely difficult for an offensive line. Josh Allen can't hit a deep pass to save his life. And we seem to have poor communication between QB-WR on hot routes. Which is allowing defenses to play lots of Cover 1 and Cover 0 looks. That means lots of guys in the box, and lots of blitzing. The O-Line seems to be doing a good job opening lanes in the running game, but Daboll doesn't seem to believe in that part of the offense.

In my opinion, it's not an issue of lacking enough star-power or lacking an offensive identity (which someone else mentioned). Every NFL player has talent. They key is knowing how to utilize the talent on your roster. There is a guy on this roster averaging 6.4 yards per rushing attempt, and proven to be explosive on screens/swing passes. Our #1 goal right now should be dedicated towards getting the ball in Devon Singletary's hands. But our offensive coordinator is extremely reluctant to run the ball, and treats him like a sub-package player. There is no more effort to get Singletary the ball than our effort to get Isaiah McKenzie involved. When we reach key situations (3rd/4th Down), we should have Josh Allen looking to his main targets first. This is where Daboll should be scheming ways for John Brown and Cole Beasley to get single coverage. The main reason we brought in Beasley was for his ability to get open in short-yardage situations. Yet on 3rd-4 or 3rd-3, we are not utilizing him to move the chains. Every other OC in the league finds ways to get his slot receiver matched up against a linebacker for the easy completion. Instead, we are taking deep shots down the field (which we struggle with). Or we are targeting guys like Dawson Knox, who struggles with drops.

This ultimately comes back to lack of offense. A defense cannot allow negative points. The best they can do is zero, and I consider anything under 20 a pretty good performance. But if the offense is always struggling to score more than 20, then games are ALWAYS going to be close.

Play calling is an art. It's not just about yards per attempt. It's also about establishing rhythm and keeping the defense off balance. When you are successful at running the ball, it causes linebackers to hesitate on play-action. It pulls safeties closer to the line of scrimmage and opens up deep throws. It slows down the pass rush. The Bills offense is one-dimensional, and much of it is Daboll's fault. We are unwilling to stick with the run game, and unable to hit the deep pass. Which makes defending everything else much easier for our opponents.

This is the way the Bills defense is built. They are about discipline, and not letting up big plays. They aren't going to get lots of sacks or turnovers. But at the end of the day, they aren't going to let up many points either. So far, they have allowed less than 20 points in 7 of their 9 games. They have allowed less than 24 points (around the league average) in 8 of their 9 games. Fans can complain that every drive isn't 3-Out, and the defense occasionally get gashed for some yards. But their side of the ball is a winning recipe. It's the offense which isn't doing it's job.

I'm a big believer in continuity, and that you need to stick with your coaches. But I'm starting to get really frustrated with Brian Daboll. We are NINE games into the season, and the offense continues to struggle scoring. The offense continues to go extended periods of time being incapable of moving the ball. Early in the season, it was easy to blame the turnovers, penalties and drops. But we seem to have cleaned up those areas, and STILL can't put enough points on the board. The offense had the ball 10 times today. Even if Hauschka makes those kicks, scoring on 4 drives all day isn't good enough. This offense has absolutely no rhythm. No plan. No purpose. Every drive feels like we are throwing darts at a board, regardless of what is working/not working, or what the defense is showing us. On the other side of the ball, you can see the constant adjustments and the way McDermott/Frazier strategize to keep an opponent off-balance. Daboll is the complete opposite, randomly tossing crap at the wall and hoping something sticks. His inability to utilize Devon Singletary is ridiculous. At this point, our offense should be built around getting him the ball. He had 8 carries today (3 in the first half), and once again averaged 5+ yards per carry. Against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. All the signs point to Singletary being a budding superstar. But instead of building the gameplan around him, our Offensive Coordinator treats him like a gadget player. He's no more important than Isaiah McKenzie running a jet-sweep or Patrick DiMarco catching a swing pass. Our playcalling on third down (and fourth down today) has been especially horrendous. For someone who came from New England, I'm baffled at how pathetic our playbook is on 3rd-short plays. And how little Cole Beasley is targeted in those situations. Your whole playbook should be setup, so those 3rd-5 or less plays are relatively easy to convert. You don't drive 40 yards, get to 3rd-3 and then launch a deep pass to a well-covered WR. We are just as likely to convert a 3rd-15 as a 3rd-3, because our OC doesn't have a plan. He is just randomly calling stuff. I was a strong first-half for the Bills, built almost entirely on the defense suffocating opponents. We got to 6-2. But some cracks have started showing, and the defense cannot be counted on to totally shut-down teams every single week. The offense has had enough time to come together, and they need to hold-up their end of the bargain. Another bad performance is discouraging me from believing that will happen in 2019. If it doesn't, that Wild Card spot might not be such a guarantee.

One of my biggest problems with this coaching staff. As soon as they reached FG range, their immediate reaction was to curl-up and play for OT. They had enough time on the clock, and a TO at their disposal. No reason not to be thinking touchdown on that last drive.

Just like every game, there is shared blame for this loss. As an NFL kicker, you absolutely MUST make these kinds of kicks. So you definitely can't let Hauschka off the hook for an 0-2 day. But it was once again, a poor showing for our offense - who is failing to put up enough points, and continually goes into long stretches of total incompetence.

Another ugly game by the offense. Don't look now, but the Raiders and Steelers are creeping up in the standings. Both have pretty easy schedules down the stretch. Hope nobody booked their playoff tickets.

My only problem with PFF are their grades. I think it's great how they watch every player/every snap. And by watching the same teams/coaches/schemes over and over, you can usually get a pretty good idea what player assignments are on each play. I'm just not a fan of the arbitrary numbers they assign based on what they see. For example, how do you truly grade a Cornerback? Most CBs only face a handful of passes each game. So do you grade them on every single route? The way a CB defends a play during the route and when the ball is actually in the air can be very different. Some CBs may seem to have great coverage, but can't seem to make a play when the pass is actually thrown. That's not good. Some CBs may appear to be beat, but are actually baiting the Quarterback into a throw and have great closing ability. What do you do if there is perfect coverage and the receiver still makes the catch? What do you do if the CB leaves his man wide open and the pass is bad or dropped? What happens if he purposely allows a 6 yard catch on 3rd-10? Agree that both sides have strengths and weaknesses. I was hoping that by starting this discussion, we could maybe pool together some resources and get more intelligent discussion going on. Personally, I get tired of the "Player A Sucks", "Coach B Should be Fired" posts that occur after every loss (or lately after wins too).

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Stats certainly have their value, because they can often quantify what the film is showing. But they can also be misleading, especially when they are cherry-picked.

Over the last several years, I've noticed a growing divide between football fans. 1. Those who rely on box scores, stats and fantasy football to determine how a player is performing. 2. Those who look to All-22 reviews and film studies to judge player performance. You can see this dynamic playing out on this very message board. Post game, we all see the armchair GMs totally ripping into guys like Josh Allen, Ed Oliver, Star Lotulelei and Tremaine Edmunds for their "lack of production" and supposedly poor play. But then the game film reports start coming out around Tuesday morning, and we learn these same players are actually doing a pretty good job. As someone who is over 40 years old, I certainly understand the "old school" way of following the sport. But at the same time, I feel like the traditional stat-hounds are going by the wayside. Even sites like Pro Football Focus and their flawed scores are quickly becoming outdated. There are too many resources available to regular fans for anyone to just say - "Player A sucks" - without providing some real tangible evidence. I'm not looking to advertise for any particular websites, but I thought some of us could share our favorite sources for All-22 reviews. Personally, I very much enjoy Cover 1. They post quick little nuggets on Twitter, along with more extensive breakdowns on YouTube. I also think Joe Buscaglia does a great job, although I admittedly haven't followed his articles as much since he went to the Athletic.

Good list, and I agree with most of the points. On point #1: After a QB gets paid (following his 4th or 5th Year), a team cannot afford to surround him with tons of All-Pro talent and a Top 5 Defense. He needs to be capable of carrying the team to wins without help. On point #3: This is a really tough question for many GMs, because each Quarterback is totally different. While some players prove themselves to be "the guy" early in Year 2, there are some guys who don't hit that point until late in Year 4. A great example is Drew Brees, who struggled badly early in his career, watched his replacement (Phillip Rivers) get drafted, and then suddenly turned into a Hall of Famer. I think what teams need to watch for is the plateau. Each QB starts at a different place, and learns at a different pace. Which is OK. But there will be a point when a player simply stops progressing. At that point, if he hasn't reached #1, you must cut bait and start over. In terms of Josh Allen, I think most experts would agree he started Year 1 behind most of the other QBs in his class (Mayfield, Darnold, Rosen). But he seems to have progressed very quickly, caught up and even passed those guys early in Year 2. He's already made big strides in accuracy and mechanics, and has shown better decision-making over the last 3-4 weeks. He definitely hasn't reached #1 yet, but we also haven't seen any kind of stagnation is his development.

People see what they want to see. Last week, we got DESTROYED, WRECKED, OBLITERATED and TOTALLY BLOWN OUT by 18 POINTS (!!!!!!!!!!) against the Eagles. This week, we barely squeaked by the lowly Redskins by a measly 15 POINTS.

Red flags for what exactly? Nobody is expecting the Bills to win the Super Bowl this year, or even win the AFC East. Very few expect them to get past the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Before the season, people were hoping for them to compete for a Wild Card spot, and that's 100% exactly what they are doing. It's infuriating that some fans keep moving the goalpost on expectations. I watch tons of football games every Sunday. The vast majority of them are still close in the 4th Quarter. Blowouts are rare, and good teams very often need to comeback and beat inferior opponents. The fact that you consider virtually every team on their schedule a "joke" is telling in itself. If the Bills are now expected to totally DESTROY the Jets, Dolphins, Steelers, Bengals, Browns, Jaguars, Titans, Chargers, Raiders, Broncos, Giants, Redskins, Lions, Bears, Falcons, Bucs, Panthers and Cardinals -- that should be a sign that you think they've improved. Uh. Yes. Sorry if you thought turning around this franchise would happen overnight. No. It's important to you, and people who dwell on statistics. Nobody else gives a crap. Coaches don't need a 300 game from Josh Allen to judge his progress. They are calling the plays, and watching how he executes. Pretty much everyone who breaks down film has been praising Allen for standing in the pocket, going through his progressions, then delivering an accurate ball -- you know, all the things critics said he wouldn't be able to do. Unless they benefit from a big play or two, QBs are going to need to make at least 35-40 attempts per game to hit the 300 yard threshold. That isn't our team right now. Allen is averaging just over 30 attempts per game, and threw for 254/243 the only times he hit that range. It's pretty clear this team is focused on Defense and not turning the ball over. They started with a QB who was wild and inaccurate, and are gradually teaching him to be efficient and smart. Balance between aggression and conservative play will need to come with time.