HappyDays

So just ignore the stats then? Okay.

@MAJBobby now do you see what the problem is?

This is against one average offense and two awful offenses. It's official - we are one of the worst defenses in the league. All that investment, a defensive head coach, and this is what we get.

After a performance like that, his learning will come in the film room, not on the field. If you can't grasp your responsibilities you can't play. Coming from Tulane to playing against an NFL mastermind like Belichick is not an easy transition. Chalk it up to a bad game for a young player... he was still not the primary reason our defense wilted over and over again.

He was unfortunately terrible. Out of position all day. Here's one example: https://streamable.com/hwq41k He needs to pass off the TE to Bernard and take the crossing route to Bourne. His mistake creates a wide open WR with room to run.

Yeah I get the sense that Shakir isn't exactly a bright football player, and that more than anything is probably keeping him in a limited role. He does a poor job of reading the defense/leverage on the fly and adjusting his route accordingly. Doesn't make himself a friendly target to the QB when running through zones. He is also a physically limited player. So he is cerebrally and physically limited. I don't know why anyone thinks elevating that caliber of player to a bigger role is going to be the solution to our passing woes.

Joe Marino on Locked On Bills gave some sobering stats about the defense's performance. The Patriots averaged 12 points per game before yesterday. They had made it to the red zone 10 times in their 6 previous games - that's 10 total red zone trips in 6 games. Against us they made it there 5 times. People can criticize the offense but the QB is playing with an injury in his throwing shoulder. The Pats had the 14th ranked defense by DVOA, not terrible, but just the 29th ranked offense. Most of our draft & free agency investment is on the defense. Our head coach is defensively minded. This is a game where we needed our defense to carry the day a bit.

He hasn't regressed. He's actually having a more efficient season than usual this year. He is just inherently a limited player. And you can't scheme up a bunch of slow developing vertical routes every game, which is all that Davis is really good for. They have intentionally lowered his targets, they just haven't really had anyone worthwhile to redistribute them to.

It's not his wrist. It's poor catching technique. Our #2 and #3 pass targets both have amateur level catching techniques. Gee I wonder why our passing offense is so inconsistent all the time.

Allen should have stolen McDermott's headset and called the final 2 minute series. Good post.

Kyle Trimble of Banged Up Bills predicted this based on the type of injury. Luckily he believes it will be fully healed in about 2 weeks or so so it won't be a lingering problem through the entire season. We are going to have to live with accuracy variance for 1-2 more games. Can the team around him step up and pick up the slack? Based on today's result it's hard to believe that.

My bad that was a typo, I edited it to say #1 in the division.

Mac Jones leading a 2 minute drill TD is the only thing standing in the way of us being #1 in the division right now. If the Pats offense was simply held to their season high before today we would be #1 in the division. I still can't get over it.

It's already been 7 games and in 4 of them the product on the field has not been good enough. And that was the easier part of our schedule we just got through. Still to come: Eagles, Chiefs, Dolphins again, Jets again, Cowboys, Bengals. What reasons are there to be optimistic right now that we are even going to make the playoffs? We've already lost tiebreakers to 2 other teams we'll be competing with for a wildcard spot.

No fresh takes needed. He's the same player he's been since he was a rookie, just undeservedly elevated to a premium role. It should be obvious to everyone that he is nothing more than a depth quality WR. Giving Kincaid more targets today was a step in the right direction, but to take this offense to a championship level they need a lot better from their 2nd outside WR. Do you really still disagree with that?

DTs were absolutely an issue today, but more than that I thought our gameplan was terrible. The Pats have no talent on offense. It's the exact kind of team where you can afford to just drop back and play for coverage sacks and wait for them to make mistakes. A Leslie Frazier coached defense would have won this game. Instead we blitzed repeatedly including (I think) on the 40 yard screen pass that started their game winning drive. Another issue is that for several years now the defense has suddenly fallen into a rut after looking elite, and it never ends up rebounding. To me that is a huge coaching failure. As other coaches get tape on our defense they are finding ways to beat us and we never have an answer back. I really can't get over that we allowed 29 points to the worst offense in the NFL. It's honestly unbelievable. The Broncos defense will give up less than that, I'm sure of it.

I hope Pegula feels the same way. That would be one positive to take away from this loss.

No, I'm glad we lost the way we did. If you're going to lose, do it in a way that shines a light on the biggest problem. McDermott has nothing to hide behind. His unit choked against the worst offense in the league, after nearly choking against the other worst offense in the league last week. Clarity is good even when it's disappointing.

Can you imagine being Allen? You played the game of your life two years ago against the best team in the NFL and never saw the ball again in a loss. Now you're playing with an injury to your throwing shoulder and it's deja vu, putting on your Superman cape to pull out a win and once again your defense fails you. This regime is wasting an elite QB in his prime. Something needs to change, and while Allen has had his issues this year, he is not replaceable. Everyone in the front office and coaching staff is.

I weirdly feel as calm as ever. This loss gave me perfect clarity on the people in charge. I only hope Pegula feels the same.

Even though almost every injury he's suffered has been from inside the pocket. This coaching staff just doesn't get it. They're wasting the prime years of an elite QB.

I'm watching Mahomes convert several 1st downs with his legs including a 3rd and 16 just now. Meanwhile our coaches have neutered our best player. I don't get it.

29 points allowed to the worst offense in football. The more I think about it the more unbelievable it seems. Maybe there's some sliver of an argument that McDermott isn't the problem, but he certainly is not the solution. I'm ready to give someone else a shot. There are even several DCs in the league that I trust over him. Give me an offensive coach and a modern defensive mind at DC that is unlikely to ever get hired away as a HC. That's the modern formula for making it to the Super Bowl.

I'm sick of Allen leaving the field with a lead or in position to get back into the game and his defense letting him down. So many resources spent on defense, the head coach is a defensive minded coach, and that's the result every time. It's unacceptable. Even the Giants almost did it to us. The two worst offenses in football and our defensive head coach can't stop them in crunch time. I've criticized McDermott before but now I'm just done with him. We will never win a Super Bowl as long as he is in charge.

It's a moot point. If the season continues this way and McDermott deservedly loses his job, Dorsey will be gone too.