GunnerBill

I don't think they are struggling to "get pumped up" I do think there are a few things at play here: 1. They have not been starting games well this year on either side of the ball - Miami game (defense) and Jacksonville game (offense) excepted. I think some of that is two new relatively inexperienced coordinators. The Bills have been a pretty good to very good first quarter team over the past 5 or 6 years, we have seen a regression there and I think we need to look at what we can do differently to start the game better on both sides of the ball. 2. They have some less experienced players starting. I look at Kincaid, Cook, Torrence, Coleman, Shakir, Bernard, Williams, Epenesa, Benford, Hamlin and these guys are all in their first or second season as starters. You go back to 2020/2021/2022 the Bills had very little turnover at the starting positions and then they have had a fair amount the last two years. There isn't quite the same on field leadership there has been and that plays a part in some of the ups and downs. Inexperience usually goes hand in hand with a level of inconsistency. 3. The Bills are now a perennial playoff team. There comes with that an element of "the season begins after thanksgiving". When you are a team trying to "make the playoffs" the first 10 weeks are huge. When you are a team that expects to make the playoffs the stretch run feels more important. Whether it is the Brady/Belichick Patriots, the McCarthy/Rodgers Packers, the Mahomes/Reid Chiefs I can think of plenty of those perennial post season teams who came strong later. The Bills have also been a bit like that and have finished the last four regular seasons on 5 game (23), 7 game (22), 4 game (21) and 6 game (20) winning streaks respectively.

I was never convinced he was a vertical guy despite the speed and his struggles getting off press were a big part of that. They need to be using him on more horizontal stuff - getting the ball in his hands and asking him to make guys miss. They have the exact same issue we had before last week. Forcing their rook into a spot he isn't ideally suited to because they simply have nobody else to do it.

Jared Goff is 100% in the race right now. It's a 4 man race.

Boogie was 100% a Beane and Schoen pick. They loved him. Be glad Rousseau was there because they had such a high grade on Boogie they'd have considered him at the end of round 1 if Etienne and Rousseau were off the board. Dion and Zay were Sean not Brandon.

Well previous years I haven't thought the Chiefs had a much better roster I thought it was nip and tuck or even for some of that period that the Bills had a better roster. I don't think that about this interation of the Bills. As for the Texans... they were down guys but I also just think the Bills are a tough out for them style vs style.

Yea he is Ngakoue take II for me. I thought he stunk too.

I'll give you Okereke is above replacement level. He's average. Not an Ojulari fan AT ALL. Think he stinks.

I agree with this. I think his first 15 is ALL about setting stuff up for later / trying to force the D to show its hand. I'm fine with some of that but the balance feels off. It should be the time of the game you can take advantage of a D on its heels.

Meh. I am not as high as you on their roster clearly. I think they only have one legitimate player on their oline - Thomas. They are unlucky he is hurt but they spent the 7th overall pick on Evan Neal and he currently is the backup right tackle and can't get on the field even when Thomas is down. He spent a second rounder on his center who is playing at a replacement level. I think he has been a tad unlucky on the defensive line that Thibodeaux seemed to break out 2nd half of last year and then got hurt. Burns was a reasonable trade. But behind the front 4 I don't like their defense at all. Nubin and Phillips look promising as a rookie safety and nickel corner but they are just potential at this stage. Basically proven "above replacement level" players on this roster are: Nabers, Nubin, Phillips (all rookies) and then Lawrence, Thibo and Burns on the Dline plus Andrew Thomas on Oline. The rest of the roster is trash.

What I say, and I know it's not a popular opinion, Brian Daboll is the best OC the Bills have had in my fandom (going back to 2002). I liked the start Brady made this year but I think the issues have surfaced the past few weeks and his first fifteen are DEFINITELY an area of concern for me. The thing Dabes did better than the other two was get Josh in rhythm early, almost above all else on offense. The first time we got the ball priority #1 was always "get Josh going."

I think Schoen is more to blame for the mess but I always suspected Daboll didn't suit the Head Coach job even though I was (and still am) higher on him than others as an OC. The personnel decisions since Schoen got there have been horrid. Yea he will be back. He and Beane are like brothers. I heard it from someone who was in that personnel setup for a while that Brandon Beane trusts Joe Schoen as an evaluator more than he trusts himself (might be slightly worrying given the Giants experience). And when you watch the draft room videos now compared to when Schoen was here you get much more of a sense that Beane is kind of isolated as the sole decision maker. Gray and Gaine are no doubt valued execs, but he doesn't have that same implicit trust he had with Joe.

I don't believe the coordinators are puppets, no. Do I believe McDermott has no input? Also no. But the sudden 1st quarter issues arise with two very inexperienced coordinators in place. I think it comes down to some growing pains.

No it isn't. The first paragraph reads: Yea I don't think it is a McDermott issue - though of course ultimately the buck stops with him - so much as it is a bit of a sign of the inexperienced coordinators. There is then a para about what I think is going wrong early on O and one about what I think is going wrong early on D.

Read what I wrote in the first paragraph. It answers your question.

For sure they have to be better early on in games. I think the pattern has been dreadful 1st quarter, sort of average 2nd quarter, very good 2nd half. But they haven't just sat back to halftime and waited before adjusting. That is my point.

Sucks. This kid was one of my sleeper guys in my draft thread coming out of Washington State. Been a really good player for them, especially as a 7th round selection.

He is petitioning for the job. You better believe it. If I could get someone to offer me a price I'd have ten dollars on Rex as the next Head Coach of the Jets.

Oh yea obviously when it is that awful that is in part execution on the offense as well. But I was just responding to the idea that it took until halftime to adjust. They adjusted on defense early 2nd Quarter. And agree the 4th down call was nuts.

It isn't true to say it took them a whole half to adjust. The adjustment happened right after the Titans TD drive (which started 1st Q and finished early 2nd). Between that and the last play of the half where they had 33 yards to Ridley with the Bills defending a potential HM the Titans ran 13 plays for 22 yards. Basically after their touchdown drive the Bills made the adjustments and shut them down the rest of the way.

Just to correct we got 5 yards on 1st down and 4 on 2nd down. It was 3rd and a long 1. But otherwise agree totally with your sentiment.

We cut / lost almost all our best STs players over the last two years: Jones, Neal, Matakevich, Jaquan Johnson, Kumerow. That is a factor. As is Smiley sucking.

Me too. Much prefer that crew to the Harlan / Green crew or the Eagle / Davis crew. They should be the CBS B team IMO.

Yea I think on offense even yesterday some of it is just execution mistakes. Cooper drops the pass. They get a penalty on the 2nd drive. Its that stuff they have to clean up. Though I do think Brady should self scout his first 15. Not convinced he is getting the balance right there so far.

"Gotta be accountable. I gotta play better. But we did some nice things in the pass game we gotta run it better so we can actually pass" Hahaha. Never change ARod.

This isn't true by the way. If they finish outside the top TEN in first quarter point scored this season (they are currently 14th) it will be the first time since 2019 and they were top FIVE twice in 2021 and 2022. On first quarter points allowed they were bad in 2022 and only average in 2023 but they were BEST in the league in 2021 and 2020 and THIRD in 2019. So no, they haven't had issues for years with slow starts.