GunnerBill

Ugh. Not a great start. Gotta catch it.

Interesting decision to take the ball.

Let's gooooooo Bufffffaaaaaalllloooooooo!! Cooper to have 80 yards and two TDs.

That is not true. Shakir was really struggling when he was out there as a rookie. Shouldn't be a surprise. He played in a really gimmicky scheme in Boise. But Shakir played a third of the snaps on offense as a rookie. His low target number was down to his struggles getting open. He kept running into coverage zones rather than sitting in spots. He still does it occasionally but has improved a lot as a route runner and his sense of spacing. Also McDermott did a corner rotation before - Levi and Kevin Johnson did one year (maybe 2019)?

Blitzing woulda been a mistake IMO.

I don't think anyone should defend it. I don't think that equates to "they should have blitzed."

Yes. But kinda Rapp level.

Okay. No better than that but okay.

Nothing weird is going on. Hamlin has 3 years in the system. Edwards arrived this year then missed most of camp. He is just less familiar with what he is being asked to do.

It is not safe to say we were all "very happy" with the signing.

He hits the wrong gap plenty though.

I think the complete irrelvance of pre-season means that these days the first 4 or 5 weeks are full of sloppy play and random outcomes. But last weekend I felt like the quality of games had started to tick up. I know the flag fest on MNF was ugly but otherwise I thought it was a better week of games. Overall, no, I don't think the league is declining.

He was excellent against Jacksonville, poor at Baltimore, better against Houston.

In fairness he will get something back for Cooper if he walks in terms of a comp pick, but obviously delayed a year.

Yes, but there are elements that are on him. They didn't lose to Tennessee to blow the division seed last year when in poll position because Tennessee were more talented for example. He is a good Xs and Os coach on offense. But he struggles to lead and he hasn't been able to get the D right at any stage despite a lot of resources being poured into it.

He isn't the biggest issue. But he is a part of it. When you struggle to compete with playoff teams, have late season collapses two years in a row, go through 3 defensive coordinators in 3 years... some of it is on the Head Coach. I'm just not sure he is HC material. He is a really good offensive coach. But you need more than that.

Yea he was the guy in the wrong gap on the touchdown run for their first score too. In his one start he was literally responsible for both touchdowns given up. I want him on the field as much as anyone, and I agree with all the folks saying yea but by week 17 don't you want a settled in Bishop on the field going into the playoffs rather than the known limitations of Damar Hamlin? Of course. But when a rookie making his first start makes two major mistakes that give up touchdowns I think it is REALLY difficult to knock the coaching staff when they put him back on the bench the next week. I think pretty much every staff in the league would have done the same (possibly not the Panthers or Patriots or someone to whom winning this year isn't that important, but everyone else). It's also worth taking note of what @ganesh said above, because he is right. Bishop and Rapp while probably the two most physically talented of our safeties (picks #60 and #61 in the NFL draft respectively though a few years apart) have similar rather than complimentary skillsets. My suggestion for how you get Bishop's feet wet a little bit without exposing yourself to all the rookie mistakes has been to use him as just a man coverage piece in the redzone where I think his size and athleticism has the potential to be a weapon. Goal to go, obvious passing downs, sub him in for Hamlin. Get him comfortable with that then build from there.

I STRONGLY disagree with this. Almost every big play we are giving up is a result of poor safety play. And I am not just on about the physical limitations of a guy like Hamlin. Sure - the Henry touchdown - where everyone up front lost their assignment and then the safeties were just not fast enough to catch up even with the angle. But take that out.... the big plays are safeties making the wrong reads, taking the wrong angles or losing their position in coverage. Even the screen game you talk about multiple of those should - even with some of the failures on the front end - be 5 or 6 yard gains and a safety is out of position or taking a bad angle and its a 25 yard play. It is now, with the Cooper pick up, the single most limiting factor on this football team other than possibly kicker. Teams have gone after the Bills safeties all year and they will continue to do so.

Yep. That's true. But the Ravens didn't need him to be great as a rookie. The Bills left themselves so thin at the spot that they kinda do need Bishop to get up to speed fast.

He was the guy I was calling for before FA!

They need him to be that now. Safety is a major weakness on this team and their second round pick isn't looking capable of helping. That is a worry. I agree he can get there, not giving up on the kid at all, but the Bills needed that pick to hit quickly.

Take the D crew over the C crew. Harlan and Green make my ears bleed.

It's what I say every time someone tries to tell me Beane is forced to draft this way by McDermott...... his team building approach bears remarkable similarity to Hurney and Gettleman - the two guys he learned under. This is how he believes in building a roster. Don't get me wrong I don't think McDermott needs much encouragement to prioritise defensive tackles and linebackers, but his General Manager isn't some puppet having his strings pulled. He is a guy executing a team building strategy he believes in with a Head Coach he is in lock step with. How many defensive line rebuilds are we up to now in Beane's 7 offseasons? Three?

Explosive plays is largely a direct result of where they are at with their safeties IMO. The things we all knew were major problems in the offseason - outside receiver and safety - have been major problems when they take the field. Yes the injuries to the second level guys are unfortunate. The injuries they had at safety in camp didn't help. But at the end of the day when you have spots on your team where you don't have legit NFL starting talent - and the Bills had two until Tuesday - it shows up on gameday.

I want to see him out there too. But after he came in and played like that I think every coach in the NFL woulda gone back to Rapp and Hamlin this past week.