GunnerBill

I just don't think Davis has the vision that Cook has. I know not everyone on this board agrees but it is to me the #1 attribute for a running back in the NFL. James Cook has elite vision. Jonathan Taylor has elite vision. Saquon Barkley has elite vision. Derrick Henry a bit less so but he is something of a unicorn anyway. In a world where offensive linemen are generally lighter and more mobile than in the past you don't get as many pure roadgrading offensive lines that just blow people off the ball so running backs who see gaps as soon as they appear and can scamper through them before they close up again are increasingly valuable. I didn't love Davis's vision in college and I think he has missed too many gaps in the NFL too. Do I accept it is hard to get to the speed of how quickly you need to recognise gaps before they close if you are getting fewer than 5 touches a game? Sure. But I don't think it is a strength to start with.

And that is despite the Jets being 0-11 on 3rd down. Which really demonstrates how bad the other three games were. 29th in the league last year, 25th this year through four games after never being worse than 19th in the seven seasons of this regime that preceded Babich as DC and being top 10 in five of those seven years. I don't like the design on third down either when I look at the all22. I'm not sure what the Bills general approach to play 3rd down defense is. I slightly think they are trying to do to much and be so "unpredictable" that they are sacrificing fundamentals for some designs that are either ill conceived or being really poorly executed (or maybe both). If I was in the defensive meeting rooms with Babich I'd be saying you have to simplify your 3rd down call sheet. Get back to some basic fundamentals, be strong at the sticks and then trigger and tackle.

Singpurpose has been on three teams and lost the starting job 3 times. I agree he was better than Moss but that is the ultimate low bar. He is currently RB3 on one of the worst teams in football having been overtaken by a 5th round pick last year then a 4th round pick this year. Ultimate JAG.

I did say last year Davis just wasn't that good. 11 of the 19 games he has carries in the NFL he is below 4 yards per carry. Now I will concede that his three highest volume games are three of his best games. But if he needs 10 plus touches to be effective that is zero use to us here. Cos he isn't getting that while Cook is healthy. I mean I didn't like Motor either. The only running back Beane has made that I have liked was Cook.

They are not executing. Their gap discipline is not good enough and their tackling is inconsistent.

Frazier was waaaayyyy underrated by Bills fans. I said it then and I say it now. He is a darn good football coach.

I wouldn't give much for him. 6th that is a conditional 5th maybe? But I understand the thinking.

That is very possibly the case. Which is why I'm saying if you can can get anything you should absolutely do it!

And remember we'd need the space to accept his contract before we can renegotiate it. With the Bears 2-2 I think it is less likely now he is available. A 2nd and a 5th or something..... maybe a 2nd a 5th and Curtis Samuel or Elijah Moore? Sure there is an injury risk, but he is immediately a stud on this offense.

He is also turning 26 within weeks. He'd be 28 at the end of his rookie deal. He is never going to be the #1 here now Cook is signed (nor would I ever have wanted him to be but the idea if Cook was still up in the air long term of at least having someone "in the system" to split time with a rookie replacement you might need to draft next spring is now out the window). I'd rather Davis than paying a vet to be in the rotation but Gore is even cheaper than Davis and so anything you can get back for Davis is gravy.

He kicked game 1 but as a practice squad elevation. He wasn't signed until the active roster until week 2.

I'd do that YESTERDAY.

While it is definitely true that the Bills have had some success with draft picks even where they haven't had much impact their rookie season but you are confusing Cook with Singletary. Gore was long gone by Cook's rookie year - though Cook was stuck behind the bang average JAG that was Devin Singlepurpose in his first season.

That is fair. But it still doesn't justify people saying things like "the defense is always bad" and "it's like this every year" four games into a season when that is demonstrably untrue. Whether you value regular season statistics or not the Bills used to regularly post very impressive number and performances in the regular season. So getting four gamed into the regular season and claiming the defense being bad is same old, same old, is not justified.

Yes I would though I haven't really thought about practical affordability.

I didn't judge rookies on whether they'll be good or not. I judged the six premium picks at the spot previously. And Phillips started 11 times in 4 years as a Bill. He was a backup.

If I am living in reality Xavier Woods at safety from Tennessee maybe. I liked him as a low cost vet option in FA though abd if the Bills had been interested maybe they do it then? Jeffrey Simmons also from the Titans if cap space etc is no blocker.

I don't like any of those ideas for the Bills.

I disagree. I think you can. The defense wasn't clutch in the big moments. Indisputable. But it doesn't invalidate everything else.

Frazier's D was a top 3 D. You are arguing with facts to say otherwise. If you want to say they were not clutch in the post season be my guest. But they were a top defense.

McDermott ran the defense quite differently in 2023 from Frazier though. There was plenty of Frazier's own influence in how he ran it. Each of the three DCs we have had (McD included) has run the defense quite differently even if the fundamentals of their scheme are broadly consistent. I am on record as not thinking the fundamental scheme is the issue. I know I am in the minority on that, but fine. True, I more meant about where he was apportioning the responsibility.

There was one person...... We had one of those. He is now Assistant Head Coach in Seattle.

This is all fair but to add that the confusion pre-snap and the 3rd down struggled are largely on Babich. Because they have not been issues prior to him being the DC. It is completely fair to put poor run defense and inconsistent pass rush on McDermott and to a lesser extent Beane, because those have been repeated problems across multiple DCs over many years and they haven't solved them either with scheme or player acquisition. It's also fair, of course, to say McDermott hired Babich and so is accountable for that. What it is not fair to say though is firing Babich would just be scapegoating. There are problems on this defense of his making. Wanting them to keep him to "punish" the HC for hiring him in the first place is an odd way of some fans (not saying you) thinking.

And he is particularly fond of the double overload blitz with off coverage behind. Which means not only is there a big window for a receiver to get into and be available to his Quarterback but if they can connect they basically have one man to beat on that side of the field. He seems to run that blitz at least once per game. I'm sure it will get home someday. McDermott should just order him to take it out of the playbook.

I point fingers at McDermott for the things that I think it is reasonable on a proper assessment of evidence to point fingers at him for. And I certainly don't give him credit for all the positives. A lot of what was right on defense the first six years of this regime was Leslie Frazier as much as it was anyone.