GunnerBill

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.

It is a big one. I disagree on the second point though. I think there are multiple Superbowl winners who haven't done those and are less good coaches. But as they say once you've won it they can't take it from you.

I mean his run play was BRUTAL on Sunday. But yea, he does always seem to find his pass rush shoes in Buffalo in a way he never can anywhere else.

What are the criteria for being a great coach in the NFL: 1. Can you build a programme? Check 2. Can you develop players? Check 3. Can you win football games at a high rate? Check 4. Can you show consistent excellence on "your side of the ball"? Check 5. Can you lead through adversity and roster turnover? Check 6. Can you win Championships? [no check] That is literally the one thing McDermott is missing. And I understand and appreciate why to some people they say "and that is all that matters". I get it. But it is the only area where he comes up short. If it gets to the point where the Bills have to move on he'd be hired by someone else within days. I don't think any fired coach since Reid in Philly would be re-hired so quickly.

Ha. Collinsworth and Romo are both definitely guilty of that. If that is your main irritant it is entirely consistent with your wanting Kirk or Troy. To me Kirk normally comes across as bored and Troy as drunk but if low key is your thing I can see why you like them. Literally my only criteria for being a good color guy is can you tell me something I haven't seen. And Collinsworth still does that better than anyone.

The next time we lost back to back games you'd be back to "he is holding us back, the only thing preventing a Bills dynasty is Sean McDermott". When people convince themselves they've found a bogey man they rarely come off it.

He could win a Superbowl at this point and there are Bills fans who would shrug and say "oh well he was just along for the ride."

I was obviously being slightly facetious. Just as you are referring to Collinsworth as a Creep. I do think there are still more people who like Romo than don't but honestly I really struggle with why. What does he do well? Collinsworth is still the best at seeing in real time what has made a play work or not work without needing a slow mow. Often Romo will start watching a slow mo saying something like "watch here Jim the guard misses his block and that leads to pressure...." and then as the replay develops ends up correcting himself to "oh no it was actually a delayed blitzer... great call by the coordinator." And that irritates the hell out of me. Once we are into the slow mo I can see for myself what has happened. His screeching is adding no value at all. Collinsworth is rarely wrong when he calls the Xs and Os even before the replay. He just has a better eye.

Yea I suppose my frustration is that given the relatively low premium on the safety position the Bills have spent a 2nd round pick, and got better than anticipated play out of a lower end free agent and yet because their skillsets are so similar I kind of feel like they still need to commit more resources to the group there in 2025.

Oh you are the majority. You are just wrong. Romo is awful. He started out great and then got neutered by CBS and now adds zero value to broadcasts. That is exactly how I heard it too and IMO you gotta have a pretty big chip on the shoulder to hear it the other way.

I wasn't in any of those categories. I was in darn fine football coach who hasn't got us over the hump in the playoffs mainly because he hasn't beaten Mahomes and Reid. And he is far from the only one. 13 seconds is a legit stick to beat him with and that is just what it is. But I have never been a "he needs to change to get it done" or "he can't get it done in the playoffs" or any of those things. I'd go as far as saying he is criminally underrated by most Bills fans. It is totally that. EDIT: I have also set out the two scenarios in which my mind would be changed to "we need to move on" and they are: 1. We lose playoff games to clearly less talented teams. Losing to the Chiefs and a really good Bengals team doesn't qualify. If we start getting upset in the wildcard or even this year if we were beaten in the playoffs by a Houston for example I'd think that falls more to coaching. 2. We miss the playoffs in a season where Josh Allen is healthy. One game knockout football is way more susceptible to luck than most admit. Especially between similarly talented teams. But over 17 games with an elite Quarterback it takes more than bad luck to miss the post season. Getting into the tournament is the absolute minimum expectation.

He has played better than I expected but I think there is a bit of over the top analysis going on right now. He has been very good against the run. In coverage has kind of been who he always is... a reactor rather than an anticipator and a step late in most places as a result. He has given us serviceable starting strong safety play though and I was worried in the summer we wouldn't even get that and for his cap hit - $2.8m - he has been extremely good value. Given he remains under contract two more years my focus in the offseason would be upgrading at free safety rather than messing with Rapp. The slight issue is they drafted a guy in round two who is also a strong safety and while we know there is some interchangeability in safety spots in this defense I don't know if either Rapp or Bishop have the coverage skills for that center fielder spot.

I do think there is something in that. He isn't as good as he was. I agree. I can't appreciate Romo though. I find him a brutal listen. He is scared to do any analysis in case CBS tells him to dumd down again and his voice is awful. The talk fast, getting higher pitched "this is going to be the game Jiiiiiiiiiiimmmmm" stuff grates like nails on a blackboard.