BillsFan4

Steve Tasker said today on One Bills Live that the Bills have been trying to bring Derek Anderson in since free agency opened up. Tasker said that he thought Anderson didn’t want to go through training camp and gave another reason why it took so long but I can’t remember what it was... lol. I fully agree on Brigewater though. Especially when I saw what he signed with the Jets for. There were numerous QB needy teams that didn’t even try to pursue him. The Jets are the only team I know of to even offer him a deal, so it’s not like the Bills were the only ones. But man, I wish we would have signed him... Maybe his knee injury scared teams off? I don’t know.

The Pegulas have poured more money into the Bills/Sabres in their brief ownership than we have ever seen in the history of both franchises. We are small market teams and they are spending right up there with the big boys -on everything from the facilities to the front office to the coaching staffs. The Bills and Sabres are now actually willing to pay to attract coaching talent. There was a story this offseason about how both teams were offering some of the top salaries in the NFL/NHL. It was why the Sabres were able to keep Steve Greeley as their asst. GM. The pegulas were paying him more as an AGM than what the Carolina Hurricanes offered him to be their actual GM. They offered Mike Babcock a record breaking contract that would have completely reset the pay scale for NHL coaches. He ended up using it as leverage to sign in Toronto, but that’s not really the point. They have done done nothing but continue to pour money into both teams and the city of Buffalo. They’ve already made upgrades at both the arena and stadium and continue to do so. They are currently building an $18 million dollar state of the art training facility, all out of their own pocket, for the Bills - both for their own players and to help attract free agents. And they already built a state of the art 2 rink training facility for the Sabres, and as a long term investment to help develop hockey in the Buffalo area. They were willing to go through the pain of a rebuild with both teams (even knowing that it could hurt their bottom line as they go through the difficult seasons) because they wanted to build teams that could consistently compete for championships, instead of just trying to sneak into the playoffs each year. That, to me, speaks loudly. IMO, icing/fielding and being content with a mediocre .500 team (like the Sabres did for years) would be more disrespectful to fans. Like Golisano and Wilson - they were perfectly content being a mediocre team year in and out and trying to maximize profits.

I loved this hire (and still do). I thought he did a great job in Houston and felt he was an upgrade over Gill Byrd (who I was somewhat surprised to see land in the college ranks and not the NFL).

It doesn’t always work out that way though (that a defensive/offensive coach has a good defense/offense). Look at Bill O’Brien for example. He’s supposed to be an offensive guru and his defense has carried him almost his entire time in Houston. Or Doug Marrone, who’s defense carried him in buffalo and now (mostly) in Jacksonville. Or Rex Ryan in his time here... Id be a lot more worried If McDermott’s defense stunk. That would be highly concerning because that’s his area of expertise. I don’t think you have to discard McDermott just because he is a defensive minded coach though. It can take time for both sides of the ball to come together. Look around the NFL. How many teams are great on both sides of the ball? I totally get that people want a top tier offense. I do too. I get jealous watching these exciting offenses around the NFL. And offense is obviously a concern so far in McD’s tenure. But I feel like they really haven’t gotten around to building up the offensive side of the ball yet. McDermott obviously focused on building his defense first. Now that they have their (developmental) QB, I fully expect the offensive side of the ball to be the focus this coming offseason. So I am trying to at least reserve my judgement until then. And until Josh doesn’t look like he’s drowning anymore... which is probably my biggest concern at the moment (but I put drafting Allen more on Beane than McDermott. I am more concerned about our GM than I am about our head coach).

The Bills defense has been playing great. Its impressive when when you think that they really don’t have many (or any...) big name, high priced players. I believe Star is the highest paid at $10M. Even more impressive when when you consider all the young guys playing important roles (Edmunds, Milano, Johnson, White). It looks like McBeane has done a good job quickly making over that side of the ball. Now if they can do something similar for the offense over the next 2 years, we could be in very nice shape going forward.

I wasn’t trying to imply that I am not worried about Josh Allen working out, because I am. I can’t say that I have much confidence in him at the moment. As as far as McDermott, I don’t really get that impression. I do think he can be stubborn in some aspects, like any coach in any sport. But I think he does look to other for advise and does delegate power. Just a few examples off the top of my head - He was a successful DC and decided against calling plays here in Buffalo (a lot of rookie head coaches call plays on the side of the ball they’re familiar with), and when he did call plays for that second half of game 2 he gave the play-calling right back to Frazier the next game, even though the defense has struggled up to that point (and the defense has bend lights out ever since, which IMO kind of speaks to empowering his coaches to be successful). He gave Frazier the game ball and all of the credit for the game plan after beating the Vikings next game, too. That is what a leader does IMO - takes all the blame and deflects all of the praise/success. He recognized he was a rookie head coach and made it a point to hire an experienced coaching staff and has said many times how much he leans on them. He has preached about every decision being a collaborative effort since he was hired. From game plans to roster decisions etc. He’s talked about how he is always trying to learn and grow/adapt many times, too. I remember reading a story when he was first hired about how he carries a notebook everywhere he goes and is constantly asking other (retired and active) NFL coaches, execs, players etc for advise or trying to pick their brain. There was another similar story from when he was first hired, about how he went out to dinner with the Super Bowl era Bills players, and they were saying how he had his little notepad out all night, asking them questions and writing down everything. Yes, I would say that definitively stating that after a whole 5 games Josh Allen will never possibly develop under Sean McDermott is an overreaction. I think we all know that the talent is clearly lacking on this roster. I never expected culture to be able to fully overcome this lack of talent and massive dead cap space. But we are seeing a team that fights tooth and nail until the end of every game. We aren’t seeing that “woe is me, here we go again” Bills team of the drought era. That alone is a pretty big achievement for this franchise and city... lol. I could argue that there probably aren’t many coaches in the NFL getting more from less than Sean McDermott is. This is a rebuild, whether they directly say it or not. IMO We have to at least wait until they start building the team up next season before we can truly judge anything. So far they have focused on the defensive side of the ball and that seems to be working out pretty damn well. The Bills are one of the best defenses in the NFL which is all the more impressive IMO with the rookies we have starting at key positions. I am very encouraged by their ability to piece together a very good defense without very many big names or big contracts. Now we need to see them make some progress on offense. I am not going to lie and say I am not worried about the offense. But I know that they are fully aware of the lack of talent on offense, and I am willing to give them a chance to address it before I write them off as failures.

The hot takes and overreaction on this board in the days following a loss are cringe worthy.

I mean, that does sound like a pretty plausible explanation and not something that is as big a deal as it’s being made out to be. Edit - though the part that confuses me is that they said Allen stayed out on the field with other WR’s. Maybe the other WR’s asked him to? Or the reporter got that part wrong? Or maybe Benjamin isn’t telling the whole truth? Im sure more will come out.

If this is true and there wasn’t good reason for it, You have to wonder if KB is actually trying to get cut. If if that’s the case, do you reward him by giving him what he wants? Or do you just make him inactive?

bull ****

Come on defense. Lets get s turnover here!

Watson’s ball security has been awful today.

I am like that on almost every play in the NFL these days. I am always waiting for a flag, or some dumb ass rule, to overturn any exciting play.

Josh Allen didn’t look too excited that the Bills scored there.

What a throw by Nate! Dropping a dime into the corner of the end Zone!

You are allowed to tackle someone by his hair? Never knew that...

Yeah, about all that stuff I said last season on how I might have to eat a bunch of crow for not wanting Deshaun Watson... I take it back. lol (i’m joking around. I still think it’s too soon to judge. Just as a said after his hot start last year).

Bills football!!

Matt Milano really coming into his own. He’s looking like he could be a steal in the 5th

Hey! And it wasn’t wiped out by a flag! amazing! lol

I dodn’t. Apparently our coaches didn’t either.

Oh come on with these flags.

Special teams is killing us today.

Ugh.