GunnerBill

...and it's completely by accident. It was not their intention but the NIL and the transfer portal have done something that college football desperately needed - they have levelled the playing field and increased the competitiveness. Why would a 5 star recruit sit as a backup at Alabama or Ohio State for 2 years behind another 5 star who is going to the NFL waiting for their chance to start and make their own case to go to the NFL? Instead they can transfer, go to what traditionally was more of a 2nd tier programme, start and get an NIL deal commensurate with being a star at that school. It has been the best season I can remember, and I am very much looking forward to the playoff. I was against the 12 team playoff because the thing I hated in college football was uncompetitive games. I still say if they'd gone to a 12 team playoff say 5 or 6 years ago it would have been a disaster because most years there were max 3 teams with a real shot and the rest would just have been cannon fodder. I don't foresee a lot of blow outs in these playoffs. Maybe I'll be proven wrong on that, but all year pretty much we have had competitive games. I still think there are tweaks that could be made. I don't agree with 5 conf champs automatically getting into the playoff. With the collapse of the PAC there is no "power 5" anymore... let's be real there's a power 2 - the SEC and the Big 10. I think the other conferences should have two conference champ spots to shoot for rather than three. Equally there are still changes that I'd make to the way the regular season scheduling happens. That said, I think greater parity and competitiveness is here to stay. Fewer dynasties will be great for the sport. Sport needs jeopardy and unpredictability to be at its best. College Football now has that, despite all the administrators pretty much being against how we got here the new reality is going to make some people a ton of money.

He is a great college coach. He was a bad OC in Atlanta. Went from 1st in points the year before under Shanahan to 15th with Sark and the same players.

No to 1 techs in round 1.

Yea I don't believe in stars aligning. They are playing well right now. Hopefully they can keep that rolling and after that the chips will fall where they may.

No, Shanahan and McDermott are in the same bucket. They are very good coaches who have had plenty of success but haven't been able to close the deal against Reid and Mahomes in the playoffs. I think if you switch the two teams around conference wise the Bills defeats are the Superbowl and the 49ers defeats are earlier in the playoffs. I'm convinced of that. But ultimately it's the same point. Some of how they are there is different: McDermott's had great Quarterbacking but lacked elite pieces around it; Shanahan's had average Quarterbacking but a ton of elite pieces. Shanahan's got further in the playoffs but if 0 fer against Andy Reid; McDermott beats Reid more than anyone else but has gone out earlier in the playoffs to him. McDermott's special qualities are his leadership and his culture building; Shanahan is the best offensive Xs and Os coach in the business. But you get to the same conclusion with them IMO.

I'd got the vet route for a free safety, yes. I think Hamlin is a free agent in any event but we should be upgrading there even though the kid has played as well as anyone coukd have expected.

Big Phil started it off. Beane and Big Phil are definitely in love.

It will be tight IMO. Whether he does or he doesn't I'd guess it will be no more than 2 either way. I'd say somewhere between 11 and 15.

He used to call Daboll "Dabes" a lot in fairness.

I understand your take. But I genuinely don't think that logic holds. There is too much randomness, too many variables.

I believe it is what defines a career too. I just don't necessarily believe that every coach who wins a Superbowl is automatically a better coach than every coach that hasn't. It isn't that simple. I think a coach needs a championship to be regarded as great. But having a championship alone does not equal greatness.

The only one that springs to mind is Evan Williams in Green Bay. Can't remember where he went though? Early day 3?

I don't agree with all those being on coaching. I don't think Cincy was. The Bills stunk from top to bottom that night. And in the final series last year there were options for Josh to take on both the final two plays that he didn't.

We need linemen? How many? We have 10 on the active roster and, presumably, Carter to return. He was playing STs because he was up as the 5th receiver and if you are up as the 5th receiver you need to play some teams.

No active HC in the NFL has beaten Andy Reid more times than Sean McDermott.

Only just seen this - what makes you say that? Because the two times he has been through it since he took over the process has been very much run by people within the organisation in such a way that Terry has made the calls completely uninhibited. On both occasions he overrode the opinion of his General Manager in making the decision. Didn't like Kyle Shanahan when he met him in the 2015 process, insisted he wasn't even on the interview list in 2017. Whaley and the Bills front office wanted to hire Hue Jackson and keep Jim Schwartz in charge of the defense, Pegula met Rex liked him and decided to hire him. Whaley didn't think they had identified a stand out candidate in 2017 and wanted to keep conducting first interviews, Terry and Kim already had McDermott and his wife for dinner on the yacht. To be clear I am not saying either that: 1. Ignoring Doug Whaley was a mistake; or 2. That worries about the way Terry would run a recruitment process for a replacement is in any way an argument for keeping McDermott. But I just don't see any evidence based on how he has behaved in the past that Terry Pegula would be at all hands off in the next recruitment round. I think he would want control of the process. The second half of your statement I agree with - there is evidence with the Bills that once he has hired his guys he is willing to step back and just write the cheques. But I think he is only comfortable doing that because they are his guys. He handpicked McDermott and then on McDermott's advice tabbed Beane for GM.

It's also worth saying he has looked more comfortable in the scheme the more experience he has had in it, even from week 1 to now. And that is big in this defense. Do your 1/11th etc.

I think there are enough voters who believe these days that there is no real justification for an MVP that isn't a QB. At least I hope so. If there was ever a year for a non Quarterback to win it then it was last year.

No I call out you saying things that are not true.

Not true. We didn't allow that in the AFCCG. You are trying to find narratives to suit an already decided conclusion. It is classic confirmation bias.

Which of those games did we lose because we couldn't stop the run?

I don't think Marty was a running joke. And I don't think McDermott is either. I also think it is harsh to say that McDermott hasn't held up his end of the relationship. I see how you get there if you are looking only through the prism of the defensive performance in playoff losses to KC. But bigger picture McDermott has been a good Head Coach for Allen in terms of the environment he has put around him.

Yea that is all true. It has always been a mystery to me and most of the NFL I think how someone his size can be so dreadful vs the run so consistently. I think the reason he pass rushes better in Buffalo is likely the Bills are the one team who understand what he is. A 3T in a 1T body.

My definition of what makes a great coach is different than others. I am not trying to redefine success. Sean has had a degree of success. The ultimate success is the objective standard of winning a Superbowl. In Sean's case I think winning a Superbowl would make him a great coach, because he has the rest of the resumé to support that. I don't think winning a Superbowl automatically makes someone a great coach though. Doug Pederson isn't a great coach. Never will be.

No, I don't. Although Bud Grant was, unquestionably, a hell of a coach. Being good and being remembered are not always the same. McDermott will have to win a Superbowl to be remembered. There is no question of that. But I was responding to @Buffalo716's point which I think is right... if he can get the hardware suddenly the entire resume is incredibly persuasive.