Shaw66

I haven't looked at this thread at all, so I don't know what's been said. Tonight, the question seemed interesting to me, so I'll write a bit. I think the answer is yes. Joe Brady is the problem. I think a black and white answer like that is a bit unfair to Brady, but ultimately, yes, he is the problem. Here's why I think that: I think defenses have gotten better and better over the past five years. And to give McDermott some credit, his defenses were ahead of the curve. You look around the league now and you see everyone doing what looks like the Bills' standard defense: Rush four, drop seven, DO NOT GIVE UP THE DEEP BALL. Force the offense to run long drives to get to the red zone, and once they're in the red zone, your zone tightens up and your defense gets stingy. Rotate your DL. Teams have gotten really good at that, including teams with better talent than the Bills. The result is that pretty much all teams are having a lot more trouble passing. That kind of defense for the Bills was how they were able to stop the Chiefs so often in the regular season. Now, many teams are playing like that, and the Chiefs are having more trouble. Nobody is winning with great superstar receivers. Well, the Cowboys are, but the Cowboys' bubble always bursts, and I think it will again this season. So, what does that say about the teams that have successful offenses. One, they run the ball, so there's that. But some can pass pretty effectively. The Bills are actually better than most, at least in terms of yards per game. But in all their losses, the Bills scored 20 or fewer points. It was the offense stagnating that lost the game. It's not the receivers who are the problem. The defenses are, like defense around the league, forcing the Bills to throw underneath. Good teams do it effectively, not because they have deep threats, but because they have schemes that get guys open underneath, on time, in places where Josh expects to find them. One way or another, that's on Brady. Either his routes are predictable, his receivers aren't running them, or Josh doesn't understand them. Samuels and Palmer and Moore all have had consistently better seasons on other teams, Knox and Kincaid have underperformed their potential. Josh has shown in the past that he was good at the route trees and the decision making. Defenses have caught up to Brady, and Brady hasn't compensated.

Oh, for sure. I'm not confident. I don't think they'll win the division, and I don't think they can run the table on the road in the playoffs. However, as you said, there's upside. There are the ingredients for a great run, the kind of runs we see regularly in the NFL. I was encouraged.

I'm not predicting that the Bills won't lose again, but this was an encouraging win. First, people aren't giving the defense enough credit. The defense completely shut down the Steelers. Completely. They're scoring 23 points a game, and they could nothing against the Bills. Second, the run game. Third, the depth they showed, playing without the starting tackles and the starting middle linebacker. Fourth, their focus. They were really dialed in. They may get Kincaid back soon, and Palmer. And Cooks probably will be worked into the offense more. So there's a lot that could make the passing game better. Oh, and it looked like the wind made passing pretty tough today. Nice to see Sanders out there, and maybe we'll see Oliver in a few weeks. The Bills look like they're ready for December.

But the stats are that the Bills are 23rd (10th best) in missed tackles. https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/nfl/nfl-teams-with-most-missed-tackles-this-season-bm10/#:~:text=One of the biggest keys to having,the most missed tackles during the 2025 The Bills tackle well. Yards after contact is a different stat. Not every contact is a missed tackle.

This means you don't understand the passer rating. It is a measure of success pass by pass, not game by game. A good passer rating means you're better at pass defense than a bad passer rating. Period

I don't. I think the Bills always saw in Shavers what some people are seeing in him now. They also saw that he had a lot to learn. Finally, they saw a guy who was willing to put in the time, work, and learn. He kept getting better every season. And he kept getting closer to making the roster. I think what we're seeing is McDermott's patience with the guy paying off. What I really like is that Shavers, Palmer, and Davis present big targets to Josh, and I think Josh is comfortable throwing at those targets. He looked different yesterday. The touchdown to Shavers looked very much like several touchdowns. We saw Josh throw to Davis in earlier seasons.

I think we will see some different things as we get deeper into the season. I said earlier in the year, and I'll say it again, that I think later in the season we're going to see more man-to-man. It will be sprinkled in, but there will be more of it. I think. Think Benford, White and Hairston all can play it. I also think we will begin to see more blitzing paired with the man-to-man. There's been very little blitzing so far this year, and I think that will change. On top of that, I think we will see the zone defenses tightening down a bit. One reason all of those passes get completed underneath the corners is because they're playing deep enough to prevent the deep ball from being in play at all. I think it's been McDermott's plan all along to tighten up the zone coverages as the season goes on and as his young defenders learn the schemes. But I don't think the pass defense is the problem. It's the run defense that has to be much more consistent. McDermott has been clear for years that he's willing to give up running yardage in order to stop the passing game, and the stance. This season is similar to other seasons. We're at the top of the league in past defense and in the middle of the league and run defense., this season we're at the bottom of the league and run defense.

I liked how he played the ball on the touchdown catch. It wasn't a perfect throw but he had his eyes on the ball all the way and got his hands in a really good catching position. It was nicely done. It's the kind of play of professional pass catcher makes. That was encouraging. Last week someone said his his blocking is always good. It was interesting that on Johnson's touchdown catch, he followed the play all the way down the field and got in the way of the last possible tackler. That was just solid at football, doing your job.

Yeah. Right!

I agree. All Beane did was get Bosa, Sanders, Walker, Hoecht, Ogunjobi, and Lawson. I'm surprised Beane still has a job.

What defensive weak spots? The Bills have the 6th best defensive passer rating in the league. They're 31st in the league in yards per game rushing. Pass defense is not a weakness.

I really have my doubts about passes for analysis around here. Everyone is on the Bishop bandwagon, and so am I. He's been improving since late last season, and he's making plays all over the place. Everyone also seems to think Poyer has nothing left and is a weakness. I'd suggest watching the games. Yesterday he made a lot of tackles in the running game, and he made some really nice plays on the ball in pass defense. Nearly had an interception in the end zone. Check the stats, folks - he had 15 tackles yesterday. 15! Hancock looked solid earlier in the season and is now getting worked into more playing time. I think the Bills are solid and safety and will be better in a month.

SRO at the harp in Boston! Love it!

Yes and yes.

Huh? He played high school ball in South Carolina. He was an Army brat. When was he in Buffalo?