Shaw66

And that, my friend, is why this season is all on McDermott and Brady.

One way or another, that's been the discussion about the receivers since the day Diggs left. Think about it: Cook isn't McCaffrey, but he's similar - dual-threat guy. The Samuel twins - Deebo and Curtis. Line him wide, put him the slot, run him out of the backfield. Throw the ball all over the field, to many different receivers. Why wouldn't the Bills want to play like the 49ers? If they can spread the ball around effectively, they can pass as well as the Niners, and they have a big, big edge at quarterback. Purdy is like Burrow - outstanding on script, with good decisions and pinpoint throws. Off-script, however, Josh is a monster advantage.

It's highlights, so we don't his drops or missed assignments, but Hollins has made some pretty nice contested catches. And his size is impressive. He looks like a better version of Gabriel Davis. What I liked best about this video, however, is how obvious Tua's limitations are. Watch how he has to wind up to get any zip on the ball, which translates into a slow delivery and the inability to attack tight windows. As soon as the highlights switch from the Dolphins to the Raiders and Carr is throwing, you can see what a real NFL quarterback looks like. Quick release, plenty of pace on the ball.

Yes, because of depth, but that's not what had everyone concerned in the summer. In the summer, people were frantic about having even a decent starter, and that's what some folks are sounding like here. Last year, despite the fans' concerns, the Bills had one of the best pairs of linebackers in the league. Bernard even was able to carry the Bills once Milano went down. Fans completely misperceived the situation in the summer.

This sounds like the same sort of fretting that dominated discussion here all last summer, but the subject was linebacker, not safety. People were frantic. The tenor of the comments was that the Bills didn't have anyone who could play MLB, and why hadn't Beane done anything about it all spring. Finally, I asked whether it occurred to anyone that Beane and McDermott, who sere seeing a lot more of the guys on the roster than we were, might know something we don't. People kept right on complaining. Then Bernard started the season, and everyone quieted down. I'd suggest that maybe McBeane have a pretty good idea what's happening at safety. They apparently could have Hyde if they wanted him, but apparently they don't think it's necessary.

Yeah, I don't see Benford losing the job to anyone.

Wow. I'm wrong. In my mind, they played bigger than that. All the more to the point. Bills need at least one of Rapp, Hamlin, Bishop, (and possibly Edwards) to step up. One can carry a weaker one to some extent, as we've seen over a few years when one of Poyer and Hyde was out. Two stepping up replicates Hyde and Poyer, and that's not improbable.

They don't have classic deep speed in the competition, and they're running against a defense that is designed never to give up a deep ball. Makes some sense. I think the Bills have the speed necessary to take advantage of defensive weakness in formation or assignment, but not speed that dictates defensive posture whenever that speed is on the field.

What? Bills list Bishop at 207. I doubt he's 10 pounds heavier than Poyer and Hyde.

Let me say a couple things. First, there's an interesting discussion of the safeties going on here. Thanks to everyone. I'm looking at it optimistically. I'm counting on McDermott - in fact the safeties this season is a good way to see if McDermott is a master. This is what Belichick did in his defense throughout the Patriots' success - get really solid but not superstar athletes and coach them to execute the coaches' plan. I think that's who Hyde and Poyer were - excellent football players but not stars, and McDermott valued them because they really invested in the plan - all of the details of execution of a complicated scheme. In terms of talent, I'd guess Rapp and Bishop compare favorably. Strictly physically, which pair would you prefer? I'd give the nod to Poyer and Hyde, because I think they physically a little tougher, but I'm okay with the swap. And I wouldn't be writing off Rapp for lack of discipline or whatever, or Hamlin off for lack of size. I think you have to be around McDermott for a while, experience how his defense is working. It takes time. So, I'm expecting more from Rapp this season, because now he has a full season under his belt. And I haven't been counting on Hamlin, but this discussion changed my mind about him. Give him some time. 2022 was essentially his first season, and I thought he struggled. And I don't count 2023 at all. I think 2023 was like an extended training camp for Hamlin, because that's what he needed to recover - it was in some ways like he was going through his rookie season all over again. In other words, I don't think we can assume much of anything from Hamlin based on 2022. He could very well be better than any of us think. It certainly is possible, of course, that Rapp doesn't drink the Kool-Aid or whatever, that Hamlin simply just isn't big enough or good enough to do it, that Bishop is slow to develop, that Edwards - whose out now - doesn't rise to the level necessary to be an answer. Any or all of those could happen. Still, I think the chances are pretty good that there's one good (good like Hyde and Poyer) safety in that group, and the chances are okay that there are two.

Give him time. His strength is his brain. If he had been physically dominant in college he would have been drafyed by day 2. He has to learn to compete phyaically at this level.

A lot of people are saying good and interesting things about this subject. One of many is this point - leaders do have to be their "authentic selves." The point is not that Josh has to become a different person; it is that he has to learn how to command the respect of those who must take direction from him, which is everyone on the offense. (The defense, too, because Josh has to be the top dog among all the players, but first things first, and that's the offense.) And don't think for a minute that McDermott isn't talking to him about this. As I said earlier, we've heard often from McBeane about how they need a veteran leader in every position room, and we hear over and over again from younger guys who understand that they are transitioning into positional leadership roles. Bernard talked about it a week or two ago. So, if McDermott is talking to all those positional guys about their leadership roles and how to grow into those roles, we can be sure that he's talking to Josh. McDermott doesn't leave anything to just happen.

I think it's an interesting problem that Josh has. Graham may have overstepped a bit in characterizing what he thought he heard Pegula say, but I think his point is fundamentally correct. Josh can't be the leader of a gang of junior high school kids, goofing around outside the soda shop. Leaders of men, leaders of organizations, necessarily must stand apart, at least a bit, from the members of the gang, because leaders of men have to hold men accountable for their actions. Yes, there may be different styles. If I think about Manning, Brady, and Mahomes, their demeanor on field may have been different - that is, they had different styles, but in each case it was pretty clear that each demand accountability from his teammates. It's very difficult, if not impossible, to be one of the guys and hold people accountable. I think that Diggs, and Coleman's comment about Josh being goofier than Coleman, are two examples of why Josh needs to be more of the boss. In a discussion here a week ago about Diggs, we talked about how Diggs was a problem for Allen. Diggs wanting the ball put pressure on Allen to look his way, which means that Allen's ability to run the offense as designed was hampered in a way. Diggs could get away with being demanding because Josh wasn't the CEO; in effect, the atmosphere around Allen allows other players to exercise some authority, some power, some control over what's going on, and that shouldn't happen. And once a guy takes some of that power, the way that Diggs did, it's hard to take it back, and everyone on the team sees that the QB doesn't have complete control. Coleman wasn't trying to take control by the goofy comment. In fact, unconsciously he may have been saying that Josh needs to take control. He sounded surprised that Josh could be goofy. Why would he be surprised? Because his sense of how football works is that the QB is supposed to be in control, not making fart jokes in study hall. No one on the Patriots offense told Brady how something was going to work. No one told Peyton. And it looks to me like no one tells Mahomes, either. As I said, their styles differ, but in the case of all three, the QB was indisputably in control. Think about the difference between Kelce and Diggs. I have no doubt that on the sideline Kelce will talk to Mahomes, and sometimes he may be animated about what he's trying to communicate, but he still understands that Patrick is going to make decisions the way Patrick thinks they have to be made. Diggs was different; Diggs didn't always seem prepared to accept what Josh decided. If Josh didn't do it the way Diggs wanted, sometimes Diggs reacted. That can't be the way it works - the QB's decision making has to be accepted absolutely by every player; otherwise, someone else (Diggs, for example) is sharing responsibility for leading, the other players see it, and then the players begin to have doubts about who to follow. Players understand that the head coach gets absolute respect. He's the boss. But there are leaders at every level, and at every level the leaders have to have the respect of the players they lead. McBeane want a leader in every position room. It's something they've always said is key to a solid team. Even more critical is leadership of the entire offense - the leader in every position room has to show respect and follow the leader of the offense. In a sense, Dawkins and McGovern and Shakir and Samuel and Hollins and Cook all have to respect and follow Josh and show the other guys in their room that respect. And Josh has to behave in a way that quietly but forcefully demands that respect. When Josh says they're going to do something, everyone on the offense has to respect that decision, and no one can be thinking in the back of his head, "I wonder what Diggs thinks about that." And the only way that can happen is if Josh behaves like the boss, which means that he has to set himself apart from the gang. He can hang with them, he can joke with them, but everyone in the room has to understand that the moment Josh says jump, they're all jumping.

It might have taken me a while to get their, but yeah, Fitzpatrick. He's had interesting experiences and he could tell the story well. For example, who else in the NFL has spent four years in college with some of the smartest people in the world, a college where the jocks actually take classes. Then he follows it up with an amazing pro career, where he accomplished way beyond what anyone expected of him. And he was funny and reflective at the same time. Remember he wore all that weird red hairy mask think when he was giving his speech at a roast - must have been Eric Wood? And stories about this family and moving all the time. Yes, Fitz! Do it!

It's not a memoir, and I've already read it, but there's a biography of Bo Jackson out that is an interesting insight into a unique individual. That's what would be true about the coaches. I read the Belichick biography, and it's really interesting. Better than most of the player stuff. And I have a friend who wrote his memoir about being a big-time golf agent. Rainmaker. Also good stuff. Really interesting stuff in books by the people who spent a lifetime thinking about their sport at the highest level.

That's great stuff. Makes a lot of sense. I'm not following the roster closely enough to be able to evaluate the talent, but I do have to say that MVS's story, the theme of which is "inconsistent talent," has a ring of truth to it. And what the Bills want is consistent talent. That's the theme for Coleman and Samuel and Shakir. So, yes, I get it. Shavers? I don't know enough to have a point of view. Clayton? I had a different darkest-of-dark-horse story for Clayton, and that is special teams. We haven't seen it in action yet, but the new kickoff rules value big, quick guys who are violent at random points of attack. So, having an athletic rugby player who likes to hit people, whether kicking or receiving, is an asset. And he's on more or less the same learning curve as all the other guys. If he can play kickoffs, then teach him to cover punts. Of course, that might be a dozen reasons why he just can't get up to speed - I get that, but he's a guy who actually could be a surprise winner.

That is great! Thanks very much. And I think, yes, all signs pont to the latter and making Josh take that syep in yerms of decision making. Think about Tom Brady. At yhe snap he always seemed to know where to go with ball. He didn't care who it was; he simply went where the open man would be which was dictated by formatuin and defense. If your QB can do it, it's take what they give you, and they're always giving you something.

Thanks. Interesting stuff. I agree about Coleman's skill set. Having him roaming all over the field from the slot could make him a nightmare for defenses to deal with. Frankly, last season I had hoped we'd see more of that from Kincaid, but his role seemed more limited. If the Bills can get more from him this season, then I like your vision of those two guys running out of the slot. Fact is, those two lined up together almost anywhere along the line is a problem for defenses.

You're technical expertise is way beyond me, but I think you're assuming that Brady has a style, and that style is what he learned in NO. My understanding is that at LSU, with those receivers, the style was different. I'd bet if you asked him, he'd say what McDermott has told him: Play EVERY style. Run, pass, balanced, inside, outside, explosive, west coast, everything. It's true that most people revert to things they're comfortable with, and that may be what Brady will do, but I don't think that's what McDermott wants. Interesting. And as you think about, Allen's maturation and the fact that the QB has to be the leader also meant that Diggs had to reduce his leadership role. I doubt he liked doing that, and that may be why saw him increasingly unhappy.

I agree. I wrote something a month ago about him. When they got him, Bills loved his energy and commitment. They didn't understand that what happened in Minnesota is chronic with Diggs. He is a true dog. Teammates love him for his fight. Problem is that sooner or later, he turns that fight to his own team. Houston should plan on two good years from him, but then they'd be wise to move on.

You said this: I challenged it. Rather than tell us how you know this, you ask me for my data. I don't think you're correct about Josh going deep all the time, so show us it is true.

Thanks. Good points. And I agree - there is no great evidence that Brady has the magic. So, you clarified what you said earlier. It isn't the concept that you find troubling; it is the people executing the concept. I get that.

I don't understand why you're skeptical. The Rams have been doing it for years. Last season, their top five receivers were Puka Nacua WR, Cooper Kupp WR, Tyler Higbee TE, Tutu Atwell WR, Demarcus Robinson WR, which is a hardly a list of stud talent. Yes, Nacua put up big numbers, but he was fifth round rookie. Does anyone really think that he dominated because he has superior talent? Of course not. He dominated because he was operating in a good system that employed the same concepts that we're talking about here. Kupp, too. Those guys aren't studs - they're the right guys for the system they run out there. I'm not saying it's going to work; we'll only know that once we see it in action. But I'm not skeptical - it's the way the league is heading.

Talk about adopting a narrative. I don't think the data support the idea that Josh hasn't succeeded in the short to medium range. Last season he was in the top 10 in ALL categories of throws - 10 yards, 20, 30, 40, 50. Tua was the deep bomber in the league last season, not Josh. But more importantly, this issue about Diggs is not something new. I worried about Diggs all through 22 and 23. It was easy to see through body language, sideline behavior and other things that he was not consistently a team guy. He was a great team guy some of the time, but it was clear that he was always about Diggs. It was obvious, for example, that the Bills went out of their way to get Diggs a completion early - if he didn't catch a ball in the first quarter, his attitude changed. It's a problem when your QB has to worry about keeping his best player happy. The QB's job is to run the offense, and the receiver's job is to run his routes and catch the ball. When the receiver's focus get selfish, and when the QB is worried about keeping the guy happy, that hurts the offense. We saw it last season, but it had been coming before that. In 2023, I didn't think of him as the go-to guy that he was earlier in his career in Buffalo. So, at least for me, the "Diggs is a problem" narrative wasn't new.

I agree, and that's what I've been saying about McDermott's approach in general. I mean, is Bernard really a middle linebacker or just a glorified safety? I think McDermott almost would be willing to play with seven safeties instead of corners, linebackers and safeties. Same thing with the offensive line, except the size of the players is different. He wants mobile guys who can pass block and power block. McDermott might play with five Spencer Browns, if he could find them. Clearly, it's being tried with the wideouts (and running backs) (and tight ends). It's not literally true, but it's feeling like everyone is playing everywhere. In McDermott's perfect world, I think he has 11 well-trained athletes on the field playing almost interchangeably. And I still worry that the problem with this approach is that it works great until they play a Chris Jones or a Tyreek Hill or another stud who is just really, really good, and none of McDermott's jackknives can handle the guy.