Ayjent

I just don’t understand why this team is not built to be way more physical and imposing especially when a home game in the elements dictates you need that type of team. The Bengals just manhandled this team on both sides and with backups on their OL after looking quite pedestrian vs Ravens. I really just don’t see how this is anything but a reality check for the entire organization from Beane to position coaches. And I’m not certain the investments in the D are as bad as they may seem but I do think there are serious questions about their development and training as no players really seem to develop on the DL. Hard to say who is at fault but there is a massive issue. They need to invest in protecting Josh and getting more physical on offense as a priority. I sincerely believe the way the Bills play D wouldn’t be much worse if they didn’t Invest so much into it. It’s the keep it in front of you philosophy that rolls out the red carpet for first downs and long drives against talented offenses - you don’t need top notch talent to play patty cake.

What was frustrating about the offense is that it went from quick release passing attack that looked unstoppable in the beginning of the season to one that turned into Josh running around all over the place until he could find something open with little rhythm. I’m not sure what changed the approach and how much of it was Josh and how much was Dorsey, but if the offense had that rhythm it had to open the season I don’t think we are all down on the direction of the team. Ultimately it is on Dorsey and McDermott to make sure they adapted to the circumstances or stayed with the more effective approach. Hell at times it looked like the team could impose its will in the run game against good defenses, but ultimately they had no answers when it mattered most.

Yes. The game plans for both sides have been lacking and they are getting both outcoached and outplayed. I also think that the DL players are not developing - which is likely a product that is some part bad picks, bad player development and scheme. On offense it’s a lack of investment and scheme - there has been little push to impress the importance of timing and plays that make sure the most dangerous players get the ball to make plays. There is no thing that Bills’ opponents stay awake at night fearful of other than what they could do with Allen improvising.

The news of this article if true is the equivalent of punting from the opponent’s 37 down by 13 with 4 mins left in the game on 4th and inches.

I’m having a problem having faith that the Bills know how to identify OL talent. Dawkins is their best OL player and he is not anywhere near the best at his position. The interior line is very mediocre at best. Sadly I’d think we’d probably be complaining about the whiffs on the OL ad much as the DL had the investment been made there instead.

I just want to hear “Down goes Frazier”. I know that this organization has loyalty and that is a great thing but…not when it is impeding the progress towards the goal that the organization has to win it all. He seems like an incredible person as a human being but Im sorry that isn’t the criteria that is going to win playoff games.

Thing is this defense wouldnt be much worse if they hadn’t invested so much in it. It would still be ineffective and unable to impose its will when it counted. It’s because of the scheme that we don’t see game changing plays frequently. The defense became less capable of creating turnovers down the stretch unless they were gifts or awful plays by the opposing offense. There weren’t turnovers due to pressure or aggressive attacking schemes. The D very much reminds me of Jauron’s. You can put a bunch of scabs or all pros in it and the difference isn’t going to be all that impactful. It’s great for a less talented team to run and it’s god awful for a talented team to run. And with the injury excuses - please stop! Every team has to deal with injuries that’s where coaching and knowing your bench talent’s strengths and weaknesses comes into play. This coaching staff deserves the heat and on both sides.

Bottom line is that team isn’t tough enough nor well coached enough right now. They are not mutually exclusive but one thing was clear on Sunday - the Bengals were superior in both aspects.

So they didn’t do either of those things with elimination on the line. That’s why people are upset. The team is built to win but not to win it all.

Fair enough. What happened bc these guys were playing pretty well early in the season but as the season wore on they became less effective. Guys like Phillips and Settle were disruptive. It’s definitely both play and coaching, and I know you aren’t disputing that but something isn’t right with the confidence of this team and I think we all wanted to dismiss it and hope they would play up to their potential in the big moment. Instead they did the opposite.

They’ve invested heavily in the D Line and it made absolutely no impact against an OL missing 3 starters. I want to blame the players and there is probably some blame to be had but then I realize coaching was what separated the Bills and Bengals. The Bengals put their players in position to win while the Bills simply put their players in the position of an ineffective scheme. You want to protect your depleted secondary? Get to Burrow. If you lose you go out swinging. Instead it was a blood bath where the only strategy was to not take too many haymakers and just get jabbed to death.

This team was exposed on both lines where the drafting has been inadequate (OL) or hasn’t panned out (DL). Beane has done an amazing job but this team has had its Achilles heel with its lack of physicality on both lines for years. But it’s deeper than that - there was a total lack of aggressiveness on D and they looked like they were playing a mid season game where things just weren’t clicking. To me that was the most disheartening thing to watch. No pride or determination. Seems like a franchise altering loss.

Sucks that he isn’t playing but the Ravens for all the good they’ve done haven’t ever acquired or done much to try to acquire a really good receiver that would make Lamar’s job easier. That and the K are the sour points and the Ravens would be smart to try a sign and trade deal with some other team. I can actually see the Giants or Bucs in the mix here. Lamar and the Ravens are destined for a divorce and it’s been a slow motion train wreck. It sucks for the league and Ravens that he won’t be playing but I get it and think his injury is more serious than reported. I think it has been helping the team with its narrative to part ways without the fan base getting too upset. Watkins is just a moron who cost the team any chance to have a shot at the end of the last game with his fumble. His career and what the Bills gave up for him in that draft full of talent at WR just makes you appreciate the current FO so much.

Reagor was an awful pick and I never understood the fascination with Jeudy who benefitted way more than Jefferson from the talent around him. Jefferson had size, speed and contested catch ability that was very impressive. I thought Chase was better but he was awesome in college. I actually didn’t understand why the Bills traded for Diggs that draft with all of the WR talent but it worked out very well for both the Vikings and Bills. And I wouldn’t change anything because Diggs is a leader and a good teammate that helped Josh take it to the next level.

Im not really too high on a lot of the receivers but the kid from Tennessee is good and would be a great fit on the Bills. I think he's potentially available late first. A prospect for much later in the draft or maybe UDFA that was severely underutilized because of poor QB play is Justin Shorter who is from Univ Florida and could potentially play a hybrid TE/WR. He transferred from Penn St. and was a 5 star recruit out of HS. A big bodied WR. He has a ton of really good attributes size, speed, toughness and an intelligent player. Could potentially be coached up to realize potential which just isnt a hallmark of UF past several years, especially at WR.

Fair enough. I was just going on what was reported in Buffalo News article yesterday about Elam as to why but I suspect you are right that there is probably more to the story that is a combination of things unsaid and unreported. I’d be frustrated if I were in his position and thought I had the ability to contribute more. Especially when I was watching someone get snaps that I knew I was better than and that player wasn’t exactly playing top notch. If the player that has you on the bench is playing lights out that may not be very satisfying but you at least understand. All speculation, but I could see a competitor getting frustrated in his situation no matter how good of a person. You want him to be frustrated with that and by all accounts whatever the underlying unstated reasons are he is responding in a positive way.

From what I read it was coming down to proper technique that they are coaching and not playing him unless he can demonstrate it in games/practice with consistency. The raw talent of Elam is superior to Jackson and we’ve seen it flashing, but I had my reservations about his tackling and losing coverage at times before he was drafted bc I’m a Gator alum. His tackling has definitely improved and the Bills have the staff to coach him up without breaking his confidence. He has great talent and it’s going to be needed when we face players like Chase, Higgins, Hill, Waddle, etc. I think we’re all disappointed that he is not further along but I do think the Bills are conservative in their approach. I wanted the Bills to draft Woolen and couldn’t believe he was not a higher rated prospect, although I had no idea that he would be so good so quick. However, Elam is still talented enough to be better than Woolen, but I thought he had more issues to clean up than Woolen despite Woolen converting to CB in college. It’s not that hard to transition because you know the techniques of what you are trying to cover and that was overvalued in dropping his draft stock. I thought of him as being very valuable against a guy like Kelce and bigger receivers because of his size and speed. And the dude is a very willing tackler. Again, I was shocked at where Seattle got him and it’s been tough watching the Bills struggle with consistency at CB2 knowing that Woolen was a really good fit. Then again maybe he’d be facing the same issues with playing time under this staff.

Crapping Out

I think the point here is that many people are frustrated with what they’ve seen from this offense on all cylinders and where they are now. I think they have another gear but I like that they’ve used the running game to win and control the end of games. That was an impressive win on Saturday because of how they used the final drive to put the Dolphins to bed. Yes it would be good to not have to come back and win in the 4th dominating from whistle to whistle, but you had to know that the Dolphins were coming with it all on the line bc they lost 2 in a row coming in and the loss effectively conceded the division even though it is not yet mathematically decided. They need to be able to play like they have the last three games if the conditions dictate it and I think they are better suited than in years past to modify their game to the conditions. There are still a lot of things that baffle me with playcalling and design but the results are there at 11-3 after knocking out three straight AFC East opponents and putting an end to any questions about who is the alpha dog in the division.

like putting mentos in a coke bottle

Jackson is who teams target most of the time. He’s not getting beat by much but he doesn’t do enough to break up the pass with his position even when he has good coverage. Hamlin is the real liability in the secondary.

The running game is starting to be more effective to dictate the game and I will give the Offensive staff credit for that as we saw them strangle the Pats D with the run game and good Defense and then take over the fourth with a good balance predicated on effective running against Miami. It seemed to me that once Morse went out they took some time to adjust and once they realized they could run effectively things worked out. That is who they need to be a team that is balanced and can use play action to get space and matchups for the receivers. Getting Knox more involved was huge and I wonder if they should use Cook more in the slot. McKenzie is someone who just isn’t getting the ball in space, even though I’m not a big fan after seeing him in a more prominent role. I haven’t watched all 22 to see if that is a McKenzie issue, a play design issue, an Allen issue or a blocking issue. I’m sure it’s some combo of all of those things but the truth is that the Bills arent getting much YAC and McKenzie and Cook were supposed to change that. Why the offense has gotten away from timing routes is batted balls from what I can tell and the one obvious attempt to use play action on a Diggs slant that may have been a huge play was deflected on Saturday night. Teams are spying Allen so there should be favorable matchups out of the backfield and slot. The Bills play calling should also use more designed passes that look like QB designed runs. Especially ones that create space by having the spy commit to pursuit creating holes over the spy and under the deep coverage. The passing game lacks a rhythm and is really predicated on Josh escaping and making something happen. Teams are lining up wide on the D line as well and that makes sense because the Bills most physical running back is Singletary and he is a strong back but not some one that is just going to impose his physicality over the course of a game and the Bills aren’t committed to exploiting the weaknesses of such formations enough to make teams think twice about doing it. The passing game just doesn’t seem to have many free runners despite having a really dangerous threat at QB to run it. For those saying it is play design I’d have to say you are likely right, because I’m not seeing great play design unless Josh is just deciding to not execute the easy designed play. Seeing Diggs getting upset as much as he has this season says to me that things are there but something is going wrong in execution as well. The main point is that the Offense has another gear that we can all see and for whatever reason they aren’t in that gear.

Beane deserves a lot of credit for this roster but also the blame for its weaknesses. They’ve failed to get an OLine that is better than average, not investing enough in the draft at those positions or missing when they do. They’ve failed to get more physical despite having to play in conditions that dictate you have that ability when it matters most, especially with the backs and they’ve had the opportunity to shore that up. They’ve not actually drafted any good depth at safety and it shows with Hyde’s injury. There are certainly things to get mad at Dorsey for but the personnel issues are a lot of the real problem. Davis is a fine receiver but they don’t scare anyone underneath at the slot and they need to get more creative in their routes because every throw seems to be contested rather than open by good design.

They need to play Shakir more. He is slippery after catching the ball and I feel like the Bills offense was playing its best in the passing game with him getting significant snaps. Honestly it’s something that has baffled me since the early flashes that he hasn’t been incorporated more. Why Stevenson continues to survive the roster is equally as baffling. He was an awful returner and looks super stiff as a receiver.

Part of me wonders if the owners are just done worrying about the consequences of anything Snyder has. I’m sure he has stuff on Ross, Irsay, Jones, Davis and a few others - easy pickings. However, the stadium issue is real for the team, and the owners have a legitimate reason to want him out because he is so toxic that no one wants to give Snyder a deal and it comes down to that. The team is worth a lot but he has devalued the franchise and no one is excited about them, knowing the best they’ll get is a playoff tease or low seed followed by disappointment. You do wonder if he’s going to eventually float moving the team to create leverage (maybe he has but I haven’t heard that). The only thing stopping that is that he wants the team in the DC region, but I can see that tactic as an option, but not sure where he’d find a region willing partner (St. Louis?). He’d also cause an outrage in this region that would turn up the heat on the NFL to do something. So it would be a risky move by Snyder. I’m sure somewhere would welcome the team with a new stadium/deal but I’m pretty sure the owners would have to approve and see that’s where the owners would have him dead to rights. Will they just deal with the carnage necessary to do it is the only question really.