Straight Hucklebuck

It’s too slow to develop. Too often the play is blown up by the time Allen is supposed to be choosing. In regards to Singletary, we always used to talk about creating space with Spiller, and it never happened. I think he needs more plays out of a traditional formation, with just straight forward runs. Every time the Bills try to get to the edges they lose yards.

Put 15:00 on the clock and just play football. No more fake/artificial circumstances added to the game.

It's amazing to me that Bills fans watch this franchise and consistently conclude that we should be much better than any of the teams listed there. I expect every game to be an absolute grind. Because that's McDermott, that's Allen, that's this organization. We haven't won a Playoff game since 1995 and yet, we go 4-0 and fans go overboard. It's not doom and gloom, but I expect a tough 10-6 type record and a 50/50 shot at best to get out of the first round of the Playoffs. For me, that would be a successful season, just win one Playoff game. I don't think our offense has ever shown it can be consistently dominant, and fans that hold onto that 4-0 start are just in denial.

Carol and his staff lost their chance to ice this game by taking the ball out of their QBs hands with <2 minutes to play and running a crappy pitch to Hyde that had no prayer.

Absolutely you try to improve Tight End. This team is limping along with Knox and Kroft and Lee Smith. Engram is a first round talent and young veteran. As constructed the Bills aren’t good enough to do much of anything in the Playoffs, we see how one WR injury (Brown) depletes this offense. You’re never as deep as you think you are. Knox has had plenty of chances.

But someone changed along the way somewhere. Because when McDermott came to Buffalo he sounded like a Defensive Coordinator when talking about offense. He wanted a physical run game, he talked about Special Teams, controlling the line of scrimmage, snowy weather. Then 2017 happened, with the Watkins being traded, being left with Kelvin Benjamin, Zay Jones, Jordan Matthews, Deonte Thompson, Charles Clay, McCoy, Tolbert, Cadet. In 2018, then we draft Allen, and he is not effective as a rookie, with the following: Zay Jones again, Robert Foster, Benjamin, Andre Holmes, Jason Croom, McCoy, I think the FO at OBD made a decision. Because finally in 2019, the Bills tried at WR, bringing in Brown and Beasley, we finally moved off paying homage to McCoy's career.

What does this Coaching staff do to address the putrid 3rd quarter?

How long was Yannick Ngakoue our there? And to see Jordan Phillips not get a 3 year $50M deal, rather a 3 year $30M deal, it does make you wonder if the Bills gauged the market correctly. Our FO still values Panthers. We made our minds up that Butler and Addison had to be here.

With the trade for Diggs, the attempted trade for Brown, and moving away from guys like Chris Ivory, Mike Tolbert, Pat DiMarco, Frank Gore, I am going to conclude that Beane is pushing more of the direction now, because McDermott came in talking about the physical run game/snowy weather. With that said, both Beane and McDermott are obsessed with ex-Panthers to their detriment.

At best he is trending towards being a specialist. Because he was sold as a poor man's Aaron Donald. And instead he just plays like a 280-pound defensive tackle who gets bulldozed. Good for a mop up sack here and there.

Not upper end talent. Nope. Not one person on our defensive line is great. Hughes is 30+, Murphy is 30+, Addison is 30+, Phillips and Jefferson are guys. Oliver is small and shoved around. Epenesa, at best, looks like he needs a year straight in the weight room. At linebacker we have Edmunds, athletic, but no instincts, and really when does he make standout plays? Milano has had serious injuries now piling up. At Corner, we have Tre White who up until this year has been awesome, Levi Wallace who fans cling to PFF ratings from 2 years ago, and then scrubs. Josh Norman is done. He shouldn't be on a football field. Safety is quietly getting older. We have no Tight End. We see with Brown gimpy that this WR group gets a heck of a lot thinner in a hurry. Our line is pedestrian. Cody Ford looks like a bust. You wouldn't extend him if you were presented with the choice now. Singletary can make moves, but ultimately his speed and size limit his upside. Moss is too slow. Which brings us to Allen. 2018 he played below Scouting Reports with terrible weapons. 2019 he played at his Scouting Reports. And it doesn't look like All-Pro Josh in the first 4 weeks is sustainable. Bottom line is, Beane needs to keep doing whatever he can while Josh is on a rookie deal to bring in more talent, because we are outclassed. The Bills are a better version of the Browns, and I don't think its by much.

Also, Epenesa getting stonewalled by a Tight End.

Whoever the backup/rotation is, they'll be just as effective as Ford. He hasn't been good since joining the team.

I'm not convinced of this. Every time the Bills face a game that is a level-up they fail. And the fans are left with morale victories.

Well that's what happens when you don't draft one, and your 2019 LB pick doesn't pan out and Lorenzo Alexander retires (as he was expected to do). The Bills got away with lack of depth at linebacker and corner last year because no one got hurt and they played a weak QB schedule.

Absolutely. I don't want to hear about Allen being raw out of Wyoming, or Edmunds is only in his third year, or Oliver is still adjusting. These are your franchise cornerstones. And if they can't get it done, it's on Beane to identify it and keep the pipeline of talent flowing in here. Fans should be past clapping like seals for ending The Drought. A 10-3 loss in Jacksonville when Bortles played the worst game of his career is not going in the keepsake of cherished memories. Also, squandering a 16-0 lead against a middling Texans team with Allen panicking is not quality. The realistic bar should be ending the Playoff Win Drought at 25 years this year. We love ya' McDermott, but the expectations should be higher for this team. We need to win a Playoff game this season.

Well a few things: 1. If the Bills offense isn't the first 4-weeks offense, then the defense needs to keep teams back around 20 ppg again. Teams don't look afraid to blitz Allen and attack the Bills poor offensive line. 2. The Chiefs could have thrown the ball. They chose to bludgeon the Bills on the ground and run clock. 3. The Bills have no pass rush. Watch the Steelers, then watch the Bills rush the passer. Nobody is saying they're the worst defense in the league. But I think you're seeing this team regress back to 2019 somewhat. The offense is coming back to Earth, and can't score, and the defense is going to have to start limiting teams to 20 ppg again. The difference this year is the Bills stayed healthy last year - Milano, Wallace, White. Now they're injured and so keeping 4/5 corner on the opening day roster sticks out like a sore thumb.

I think they're light in the pants. Oliver is not a poor-man's Aaron Donald, he is just a 280 pound DT that gets shoved around and is able to get a mop-up chase down sack once in awhile. Hughes is 30+ years old, Murphy is 30+ years old, Addison is 30+ years old. Jefferson and Phillips are just guys. At linebacker and corner the Bills lack of depth has been exposed. We keep waiting for Edmunds to make an impact, but he looks like a good athlete with no instincts. Tre White is not as dominant this season, Josh Norman shouldn't be on an NFL field.

You don’t want to be the 2011-2015 Cincinnati Bengals, who made the Playoffs for 5 straight years and couldn’t win a single game. Then the core got old, attrition and regression in draft hits took the team apart. The bar should be raised now to win a Playoff game. Not hey look, we’re still in the league.

With the Bills, the past two games just illustrate the same point: you can’t be all in until you see it. You can’t call Allen elite until he beats an elite team, same thing with McDermott. The Bills get to the doorstep, but never can win the big game that breaks it open. Dallas last year was the closest they got, but in the end, they still couldn’t finish off the Patriots or Ravens. And the mistakes/lack of talent we’re seeing now will show up again against New England, Seattle and in the Playoffs.

Yes. The sky isn’t falling, the Bills will beat bad teams and medium level teams and win 10 games, but last night showed that Beane is going to have to keep acquiring elite level talent because we don’t have enough difference makers on either side of the ball. And on defense, our draft picks aren’t playing well - Oliver, Edmunds, Epenesa.

I think we get to this point every single year with the Bills it seems. Can you step up in class and beat a really good team? And the answer is always no. The answer is always, you’re close, but not there.

Why should we have realized it wasn't going to last if Allen is the Bills franchise QB? I think Allen is the Bills franchise QB, but I think it's clear that Beane has to get more elite level players all over the field, because Allen is regressing back to the middle of the pack. Last night reinforced the following: Cody Ford is a bust (could have had DK Metcalf) so Beane has been right to keep the focus on acquiring lineman, the 40 yard dash times on Singletary and Moss matter, we have no Tight End, take out John Brown and this elite WR group isn't as deep as advertised, Oliver isn't a disrupter, just a 280 pound DT that gets a mop up sack here and there, Edmunds gets by on youth/speed/height, but has no instincts, Josh Norman is done as an NFL player, our Safeties are quietly getting older. We're a better version of the Browns. We can beat bad teams, and medium teams. So we can win 10 games and be in the Playoffs. But we don't have enough elite level talent to prop up Allen. We saw this last year with the defense, when they had to have it they can't make stops, and the offensive line is leaky all the way around. The Coaches see that our running backs are not good enough, that's why they went after Bell. Allen has made progress, but trying to spin last night as a good performance is not going to fly. The sky isn't falling, but Beane has to keep adding elite talent everywhere to help Allen, and he's been up to that task so far.

What did he have? 3,000 career yards and 15 TDs? Edit: Looked it up, he had 3,686 yards and 29 TDs for his career. For the Bills he had: 2,921 yards and 25 TDs in 10 years. I stand by my assessment. The Bills have never had a quality Tight End in their Franchise History.

From a skill standpoint I agree. I think McDermott doesn't trust him in terms of fumbles. Every since he fumbled a year ago, his time has been reduced to emergency fill-in. But I agree, Singletary and Moss are not doing anything right now behind that offensive line.