Dan

There’s still a lot of football to be played. Anything can happen. But, this is the Bills. Despite all the amazingness of Josh and this team, we’re still a cursed franchise that finds crushing ways to lose games and seasons. I truly thought Josh was good enough to beat our curse. Last year, I genuinely believed we could make the Super Bowl. I literally could see envision it. Then.. the Chiefs game. Not even Josh with the ball in his hands and a few minutes away from the Super Bowl could do it. So…am I pessimistic. No. I fully expect the team to be in the playoffs (and quite frankly being a wild card team vs the 2 seed doesn’t seem to matter much). But do I expect them to be in the Super Bowl? Come on.. this is the Bills. I won’t believe that until it happens. And I won’t believe they’ve won one until about 5 mins after the game and I actually see a Bills player holding the trophy.

This is it in a nutshell. Last year, they made the move and brought in Amari Cooper. His stats weren’t eye opening at all. But, what he did do was make defenses respect the full field which opened up the underneath stuff more. Now… we don’t have that deep/boundary threat and defenses are loading up the middle of the field, closing the passing lanes and running delayed blitzes and stunts with great effectiveness. It’s easy to say… get a guy like Olave in. But, it takes 2 teams to make a trade. So I can’t fault Beane entirely if they don’t bring in another WR this week. BUT… Brady has to see this and do something different. They need to take shots down field, even if players aren’t open and Josh just throws the ball away. But they have to make defenses back up. Until they do that… the offense is going to sputter.

I don’t disagree… but I find one of the most glaring stat lines (other than the historically bad run defense) to be that Ty Johnson and Ray Davis have both COMBINED for 24 rushes, 89 yards total. Through 6 games. Hopefully, the run game gets fixed today as much as the passing game.

I really don’t disagree with you. I genuinely don’t have a lot of faith in this staff, either. I think most people don’t. They’ve come up short too many times in the same fashion to not have us all on edge. I don’t know how the season is goo to pan out. I don’t think many teams out side of maybe the Chiefs and Colts are looking super good in the AFC. And honestly, I don’t think the Chiefs look that good… I just think the league is going to make sure they’re hosting playoff games for whatever reason. I just hope the Bills can catch a break and shock the world. Go Bills!

No, I’m not questioning you or anyone’s loyalty/fandom. We’re all here talking the Bills because we love this team and all it represents in our hearts. I just think some folks are seeing an empty glass, when it’s easily more than half full. This team has more talent than you want to see. The notion that they’ll tank the season, bottom out and Pegula makes a clean sweep is ..remote.. to say the least. So why not enjoy the team we have and dream of another playoff run, as opposed to hope for a complete collapse and top 5 draft pick? I’m certain the former is much more likely than the later.

In what reality does a team need all that you described to be considered good? I get it ..the hope of a better tomorrow is more attractive than having the Super Bowl contending team we currently have. Given the odds of actually winning the Super Bowl, I suspect you’ll get to gloat about being right and you knew all along how bad the team was, soon enough. I would just suggest you’re a few months too soon to cheer their demise.

Why do I feel like a number of posters here… secretly wish/hope for a loss and collapse of the team? I know a lot of posters want to be right and about the coaching and Beane being the worst ever, but this is drought era thinking. The Bills are 4-2. Your desire to be right about predicting their demise should not exceed your desire to see the Bills win. Go Bills! Always and forever. (Even when Rex was the HC and we all knew that was going to end bad, even before he bought his fancy truck)

Totally agree with this. Get rid of the half the distance to the goal, all together. If you're at the 5 and get a 5 yd penalty, ball is placed on the goal line. If you’re at the 4 the ball is placed at the goal line and its 1st an 11. An alternative idea.. that would be highly impactful would be. If the penalty yards exceeds the field distance (false start when you're on the 4yd line). Its a safety. Done. Agreed. Just as they rule some passes as uncatchable, hence no pass interference. An underthrown ball should be treated the same way. WRs should not be allowed to impede the defender for underthrown passes. The one I don't think I saw mentioned is the 5yds and automatic first down for defensive holding. How many times do you see 3rd and 14, incomplete pass. Woops holding on the other side of the field. 5yds automatic first down. Just asses the 5yds. I get the concern about defenders then just holding anytime its 3rd and longer than 5… but they need to find a way to stop giving the Chiefs free first downs because someone not even in the play held for a split second. Maybe 5 yds and replay the down?

No way in hell you make a move like this now. But after the season… if they fail in a similar fashion in the playoffs. You have to start thinking you have a Marty Shottenheimer situation and make some big boy decisions. You don’t want to blow the entire team up… but something has to be done to get this team over the hump, injuries or not.

Very good points, all around. Basically what I said. LOL. I've been thinking… they got stuffed with the tush push in the championship game, so its like they’re making a very concerted effort to do other things in those situations. Almost like they’ve decided to try and be smarter and get ahead of it.. but instead they look too cute. Mostly because they're trying other things that just aren’t working or are appropriate for needing 1-2 yds in critical moments. Is it me… or does the offense from the last 2-3 weeks not even look like the same offense as the first 3 weeks?

This. I've never played professional football, so I just assume its my ignorance of the way things are. I also don't watch/keep up with many other NFL teams, because the NFL makes it difficult to get invested in teams when they always seem to favor 2-3 teams with officiating. So… maybe its not just a Bills thing. But, yes, I would think… I'm an owner with billions of $$s and want my franchise to hoist the Lombardi because that’s good in so many ways. I would have teams of scouts that do nothing but track all the opponents, all season to develop trends, tendencies, weaknesses and strengths. Then develop game plans off that, based on a team of scouts that continually self scouts the Bills all season. And, they give the game plan to the coaches on monday morning. BUT… if that doesn’t hold true because another team has had ..say a bye week to prepare… you have to be flexible enough to switch plans mid-game. And, for the love of all that is holy, the HC has to demand that certain key playmakers are on the field in certain key situations. Bills had the ball, down by 7, roughly 7 mins to go in the game. THAT is the drive you have to be your best, have your best players on the field, call the best plays you've run repeatedly in practice since TC. AND you need to know what your opponent is most likely going to do to try and stop you, based on afore said scouting. It seems too often.. they just throw a dart at the play board and hope for the best. I know they normally give the players the bye week off. But I would have practices every day, just a different kind of practice. Have them all just go line up correctly in pads, and stand there for 5 mins at a time. Force them to be mindful of their assignments, where the LOS is (are they offside), think. Just think. Why are you 15 yards off the LOS when they only need 4yds? Why are you going to lose contain and let the RB easily get around you to the sideline? What do you do when the guy covering you, blitzes? Why are you running down field like you're lost when you're supposed to break to the outside? Just think about all this. Stand there, repeatedly, in different looks and stand there. Think. No talking, no walking, no nothing.. just thinking. Then, every day after practice, everyone meets in the meeting room and sits patiently while Brady writes on the white board… “I will not forget James Cook is on the team.” 1,000 times. Then have Babbich stand up and write… “I will not suck. I will simplify the defensive communication and I will stop checking the equity reports on my house in anticipation of moving this winter and focus on the Panthers.” 1,000 times. (I'd probably make them do it in cursive writing, just to mess with them.. but i can be dic at times) but.. like i said.. i've never played professional football. So, these are probably bad ideas.

This issue has been discussed before… it’s always better to defer and “double dip” if possible. The only reason this is still an issue here is because our defense, seemingly, always gives up an opening drive score! So I ask, would it be better to take the ball and score first. Then let the other team score. And be 7-7. Or is it better the let them score first, then we score. And be 7-7. ..but in the second scenario, we’re assured to get the ball to start the 3rd quarter. You just have to accept the fact that our opponents will score on their opening drive. It’s just part of the game plan. I’m not sure why? But it sure seems to be.

Does this include Defensive Coordinator position!?

That would be… ieatcrayonz if my memory serves correct. Perhaps the best troll artist ever. === About the game and team, overall…. Yes, we’ve been 4-2 pretty much every year recently. But this year it does feel different. Offensively it seems to me like they’re just getting too cute, to use a phrase everyone seems to be using. It’s almost as though they’re trying to stay a step ahead of everyone and just failing. They started the season with six offensive lineman or three tight ends. They were power, they were running over teams. In the past on third and short, Josh would do the run up the middle and 1st down. And now they’ve decided to abandon all that even though no one was really the stopping it. Why? I also think the lack of a true outside receiver is once again hurting the team. Defenses just don’t respect our wide receivers and they’re putting everything they have into stopping the run and getting to Josh. Last year we got Amari Cooper that helped, even though he wasn’t horribly productive, but he made defenses be honest. What are they gonna do this year? And I’ve seen other people mention this with Coleman… but seriously, he has to be able to run more routes than just sideline back shoulder jump ball type throws. The defenders know this; they play him super tight and more often than not. It’s a highly contested catch. He just doesn’t make anything look easy. Defensively, the safeties are easily our biggest weakness. I was not high on Cole Bishop to start the season, even though everybody thought he was gonna be amazing. But not only is he slow to react I think it’s totally throwing off the communication. Everybody seems out of place cornerbacks, linebackers, and the safeties. The biggest issue I see on defense is lack of communication and people just unknowing what to do. So if they’re gonna keep Bishop and Rapp trying to direct this defense like Hyde and Poyer, they need to simplify it dramatically. I don’t know if Babich is the guy to do that. One thing I’m fairly certain of just getting one or two players back that don’t know the system isn’t going to help they’re gonna be just as confused and lost as the guys that are out there currently. I would seriously consider benching Bishop and/or Rapp and play Poyer and anyone. And that’s why I’m not as confident as I was when the Texans beat us last year. I think in the bye week, they need to seriously self scout and get back to what they do best on offense. And defensively simplify the hell out of it. A trade or two for an actual wide receiver, or safety wouldn’t hurt as well.