GunnerBill

They are attacking Williams run and pass

Great contact balance.

Nice gameplan from Babich so far

Taron is big in this game. He will end up on Downs a lot.

PICK SIX

Well that drive died on just execution mistakes

A Samuel sighting!

My odyssey of watching Bills games in bizarre locations continues. Last week Cyprus. This week North Wales. Will see how the delay is as to how much I am in the GDT... Let's goooooo Buffffaaaaaallllooooooo!

I know there isn't but I still think your rationale is off. I will give you this though... if we have the division wrapped up and can't be the 1 seed as we hit the final stretch: Pats - Jets - Pats then I think the argument for giving him more time is stronger.

For sure. There is no on size fits all. I wasn't the one arguing there is.

If that was the ONLY mistake he made, sure. It most definitely wasn't.

So I agree with that. Bernard had better players ahead him by a long way. But that wasn't the comparison I was seeking to draw. Your point was you only improve by playing. Bernard is a good example of someone whose improvement came out of the public eye in the film room and the practice field and when he got his second chance he was ready to grab it. And it wasn't a done deal that. His position wasn't totally secure he and Dodson had battled through the summer. Dodson is a good player and is now an NFL starter too and if Bernard hadn't been ready the Bills would have made a change. But he took his chance, he took the opportunity and never looked back. We have to hope that when the coaches believe Bishop is ready for his next shot the same happens.

Hamlin was outmatched against Baltimore and he is outmatched physically most weeks. But none of those big plays were mental errors the likes of which Bishop made. I am not high on our current safeties at all, but that doesn't mean you throw a guy out there who you don't think is ready. And as I say above, I am not sure throw a guy in and watch him get burned is necessarily the best way to develop a player anyway. It isn't how the Bills developed Bernard. And it isn't how Rasul Douglas developed. He kept bing thrown out there as a young player by Philly and kept making mistakes. It was only when he was cut and ended up elsewhere as a backup watching, learning and time in the film room that he developed into a starter.

What's bad about it? Which but do you think is in accurate? Most if it is demonstrably true.

Of course I think players can get better. What a nonsense thing to say. Bishop gave up both touchdowns against Houston he hit the wrong gap for the rushing touchdown and the guy sauntered right through the hole where Bishop should have been. As for playing him a series or two where we have a comfortable lead.... I mean that is what we have done. He got a series late against the Titans. He played late in games earlier in the year against Jacksonville and Baltimore when games were done. Otherwise the ask is to take a player off the field who is avoiding making back breaking mistakes to put one in who is. And your argument is actually hurt by your Bernard example. In 2022 he was bad when he played. He didn't then play again and "learn from his mistakes" while getting beat on the field. The Bills worked with him in practice and in the classroom and when he got his shot again in 2023 he earned the right to stay on the field with his play. The NFL is too hard to have guys out there who are not ready mentally to play in the league. Other teams (even the bad ones) are too clever and well coached and will just spot your weakness and go at it relentlessly. We shouldn't need more proof. The Texans did it with Cole and the week before the Ravens attacked our 2nd level - Spector, Williams, Lewis and Morrow - in the absence of Bernard and Taron with all but one play on offense in that first half on the way to a big lead. When NFL teams know you have a weak spot they go after it. I wanted Cole starting by now. I want him on the field. But he is going to have go some to earn back the trust he lost in Houston. It isn't just with the coaches either. If the other players see a teammate benched for a high draft pick even when that guy is hurting the team they soon let you know about it.

Dime and Nickel are positions in this defense. The Bills train specific guys for those spots. They don't just go "next corner up" or "next safety up". Last year was a bit of an anomoly because they used Poyer as their Dime. Then Rapp would come in and play safety. If this year they were using Rapp as their Dime then Bishop would come in at safety but they are not. Lewis is their primary dime and their backup nickel. Their backup dime is Ingram. If one of their two starting safeties went out I'd expect Bishop to come in. If that happens and Lewis comes in then I'll say okay he is behind him. It's like the Ingram's ahead of Elam debate. He wasn't. The Bills just see nickel and dime as separate positions to outside corner and safety.

Not good. There was no good option. I'd have made the same choice McDermott did. I'd have gone for Klein and hoped that the recognition skill and the smarts would have allowed him to call the defense effectively and make just one positional change to your lineup. The alternative was make two moves, slide Dodson into Mike and then play Dorian at Will and I think Kansas City would have just singled him out and used misdirection against him relentlessly. I'm worried they will do that next week in any event, and Dorian while still not where you'd want him to be is ahead in his development from last year.

Dorian was a spinning top. He still largely is. He'd have got abusee by KC in the playoffs. He isn't behind Cam Lewis.

Eeek Spector was the first guy in at either spot and they really don't have anyone who can play will behind Dorian now. Morrow and Andreeson both really mikes.

I'd say draft but I don't think it is a super talented edge group this year. Is Carter from Penn State the top guy? I've seen him listed as such but to my eye he is a classic Penn State toolsy raw edge guy... put him in the Jayson Oweh and Chop Robinson bucket. I'd be fine with the Bills taking a shot but if he is the best guy out there he will go sooner. Just because of need. I haven't seen as much CFB this year as I'd like with life getting in the way so happy for folks to throw other names at me I might want to try and catch in a game before the season ends and I start my draft work in Jan.

We got much worse, like game losing level, play when they started Bishop. If he'd been just a bit of position in that game that would be one thing. He made the critical mistakes that led to two touchdowns. It's okay saying "get him experience and take your lumps now" but what if he costs you another game? Then what? A third game? At what point do you say you just have to play the guys who have been better to this point. If Bishop had played well at Houston he'd have got more reps. He played really poorly, he rides the pine. It's a meritocracy. And be clear I am no fan of the guys that are starting. I think they are the worst starting safety tandem in terms of talent level in the entire NFL. Bishop is more talented but when he got a shot on the field it went really, really badly. Shakir played a 3rd of the snaps on offense as a 5th round rookie. People talk as though he wae never out there. The lack of production was because he couldn't run routes and kept overrunning the soft spots in zone which was understandable because he came from a gimmicky college offense that never asked him to do those things. Is there an argument they should have committed to him as a peice of their offense ealier in year 2? Yea I think there is. They were trying to force feed the 12 personnel under Dorsey and I think that limited Shakir a but from breaking out sooner.

Rapp very slightly. I would say he has just about scraped replacement level play. That is a tick better than I'd have predicted. He is still out of position plenty and a reckless tackler though. The rest have been bad and the Bills are doing so much schematically to to protect them that it is hurting other elements of the defense.

Yea the reason Hamlin and Rapp are grading reaaonably is the Bills are protecting them with everything else they are doing on defense and some really clever coaching. I'd take the Chiefs defensive talent over the current Bills defensive talent 100 times out of 100 in an instant. Go back 3 years it would be the other way round. But our guys aged out and they built a really solid young D through the draft to add to their one stud in Jones. I'd actually take the Bills offensive talent over the Chiefs right now if we take Hollywood and Rice as gone for the year.

It worked in part because the Fish linebackers suck. If they'd played Baltimore last week I'm not sure we get a different result to the first time.

In fact when he was on the field he gave up 2 touchdowns. He was a much bigger factor in the Houston defeat than the play calling at the end.