HappyDays

Vrabel is immediately the hottest name in the head coaching market. I am now hoping Belichick sticks around for one more season. My dark horse guess for Vrabel would be the Cowboys, I think Mike McCarthy's job is very much in doubt if they have a disappointing early playoff exit.

He clearly did not want to trade AJ Brown. You can't win consistently without a QB and without pass catchers.

Wow this is a shocking move: For my money Vrabel is a top 5 coach in the NFL, let down by poor roster management. I hope he doesn't end up in New England...

I thought firing Dorsey was the right move, but let's be honest the real improvement in the team since then has been the defense. They went from being literally the worst defense in the league by some metrics to being a top 8 defense. They went from stopping nobody on end of game drives to stopping everybody. That is the difference these past five weeks, full stop. The passing offense if anything has been noticeably worse and the run offense has fallen off badly after one amazing game. I'm still not fully convinced Brady is the long term answer, but the real solution is that we need to start investing in top tier offensive players. No more free agent dumpster diving. Surround Josh with elite weapons and let the defensive head coach manage with more limited resources.

Also it seemed obvious to me in the 2nd half that we were totally ceding the area outside the numbers. Tua threw a couple ducks into that area that fell incomplete, and one ended up being the game losing INT. Go ahead Tua, we're leaving your guy wide open all the way over here. Please lob it to him using the only club in your bag. What could possibly go wrong? Beating Miami defensively is actually somewhat simple if you have smart players. At least until they get more than a bridge QB. Focus on stopping the run on early downs, ignore the pre-snap cheese, force Tua to throw outside the numbers. Bonus points if you can take away the first read which is an automatic win for the defense. Easier said than done of course. McDermott had his players ready, and the consecutive TD drives only happened because we were reeling after losing Douglas and Dodson.

That is a great still shot, thank you. It was 100% the right read and thrown to the best possible spot to give Johnson momentum towards the endzone. If Allen isn't supposed to attempt that throw then running the play at all was a mistake. Personally I just accept that the other team made a great play to keep him out of the endzone. It doesn't always have to be someone's fault.

McDermott has gone through the ringer this year. You can hear it in his voice. This win meant everything to him.

No routes were in the endzone though. I honestly think Johnson was the designed read and Josh thought he had enough leverage to sneak past the goalline. Instead he got stopped in his tracks (by an illegal hit). If Josh wasn't supposed to throw that pass then they might as well have just kicked the FG on 3rd down. Because every throw he could have made there would have been completed short of the endzone.

Somehow this still shot makes it even more impressive:

Just putting this in here for posterity. No other player in the league makes this play. Maybe Deebo Samuel.

It isn't just one bad game though. He has been the weak link for a couple months now.

Edwards won a Super Bowl as a starting guard with the Rams. Bates was a steady player for us last year and would be better with an improved Spencer Brown next to him. I'm not expecting sudden greatness. I would just like the floor to be raised.

100% agreed. I think on the whole Torrence has shown great promise, and that's all you can ask from a late 2nd round rookie offensive lineman. Still I question if repeatedly ramming him into that rookie wall over a playoff run is the right choice.

I don't expect it to be a popular suggestion. Personally I think Torrence's reputation on here exceeds his play. I think early season returns gave everyone a lot of optimism that has not been borne out over the back half of the season. He has a long way to go to cement his spot as a long term starter. That being said the one argument against it that makes sense to me is what you said - do you risk tearing apart the cohesion that's been built over several months of all 5 starters being the same? That is a legitimate concern.

I'm not trying to be inflammatory here. This is a genuine question. Torrence has been the clear weak link on the Bills offense in recent weeks. He's getting beat inside off the snap at a frighteningly high rate. He's making mental mistakes that allow free rushers up the middle. It's no blight on him as a draft pick if we bench him. It's known that OL players in particular take time to develop, and with his body type it would not be a surprise at all if he's hit the rookie wall playing 100% of the snaps this season. And there's still 4 (hopefully) games to go... I just don't know if we can live with Torrence's mistakes in a playoff run that looks like it will be a true gauntlet. We have steady vets in David Edwards and Ryan Bates waiting in the wings. I think the coaching staff should seriously consider making a change now before it's too late.

One thing you can say about this coaching staff, they have depth players ready when their number is called.

I want to shout out Ryan Van Demark. He had to come into the game cold when Dawkins left for a couple drives, playing one of the most critical roles on the offense. Last year in a similar situation we had Quessenberry replace Dawkins and our offense couldn't even function. With Van Demark we didn't miss a beat. The kid was ready when his number was called.

I restrict myself to 6 every week and I just couldn't find somebody to replace with Shakir. Agreed he deserved one though. He has become our most dependable skill player over the back half of the season. Every great offense needs someone like that.

McDermott Sherfield Harty Rapp Allen Benford

Since the Eagles loss, this has been the best stretch of coaching in McDermott's career. Tonight he perfectly managed a close game and made 2nd half adjustments to shut out the Dolphins offense. Still has to win critical moments in playoff games but it's a step in the right direction.