Richard Noggin

Same for most "reply guys" on any platform/medium. The process one undergoes in search of objective truths is anathema to the impulse to quickly reply online or call-in on the radio. People confident enough to share are most often the least qualified to do so.

Agree almost 100%. I know Schoop is a bad fit for the Gen-X-and-above crowd in WNY, as he is obsessed with fantasy, gambling, analytics, and everything new and "interesting." Seems like the ideal pundit to capture millennials and gen-z listeners...except that younger audience just does NOT listen to local sports radio talk lol. But I think he's smart and sometimes funny. He's best when trying to make Bulldog laugh/react by being hyperbolically nontraditional with his takes. (He's worst when pedantically harping on some take that's anti-momentum, anti-emotion, or otherwise opposed to anything that can't be measured in numbers. Also, was a big Tyrod supporter towards the end, which is so inconsistent with so many of his stated offensive football perspectives since.) Jeremy White, though: I think he's really clever for a sports talk host. Great radio voice, reasonable takes, and enough quick wit and sarcasm to be refreshing in that loud and monotonous sports infotainment ecosystem. Sal is useful as a guest, and super open-minded and reasonable when fielding calls, but he's vanilla as it gets. Falls into repetitive ruts and has never made me laugh once. Just so painfully sincere.

How fast is he at 265 lol? I'm kidding of course. I like the addition. I was only suggesting that a specific personnel grouping was likely not on Beane's radar in signing this player.

Are many actually holding out hope at this point in his career that Davis becomes something more than he's been over the past 3+ seasons? Or, are many hoping KINCAID, an initially underutilized talent (on whom the Bills DID "spend resources"), continues to turn into the weapon he was hopefully drafted to be? He should be featured extensively moving forward. He's a natural. I'd rather see the Bills hold tight this year, then draft a 1st or 2nd day WR in the 2024 draft (VERY deep WR pool, reportedly). Davis could net us a compensatory 3rd if he gets signed away. Gotta keep stacking drafted talent and loading the position group pipelines in cost-effective ways, unless some absolutely obvious moonshot falls into their laps to justify over-spending. But who currently qualifies as that moonshot (and can be fit under the cap)?

Agree with the value of a pass-blocking RB, but not with the specific 11-personnel grouping in mind. That's a bit too narrow and contemporaneous. Big, experienced, physical (and kinda slow) RBs like Fournette have appealed to this regime since McD's arrival. Maybe even Fournette himself has been on our radar previously?

Agree that he was a top-3 off-ball LB in the NFL this season (possibly THE top), but I think a healthy DaQuan Jones was actually more important to the entire unit's success. Jones' play had such cascading downstream impacts on the entire D, including "keeping the LBs clean" as they say.

Our seats are pretty much at the same depth in the endzone, Bills side, as where Godwin ended up. That ball looked like it was going to land in his lap. Luckily someone was bothering him enough that he didn't get his head around in time to track it. Heck of a throw. These last-play games are exhausting.

Log in on phone and attach to post. Or email to self so you can download onto computer and attach from that device instead.

Offense, when played at a high level (which we've seen a lot around here in recent years), can control a football game. It can dictate the game script, the scoreboard, field position, etc., which then disrupts the opponent's gameplan. Defense, for sure, can control a game as well, but it doesn't typically do so by racking up points and skewing an opponent's available options due to the math of possessions remaining and points needed. It's like holding serve in tennis: the server ostensibly has an advantage over the returner (albeit less reliably than 10 and 20 years ago--which is inverted from the NFL where defenses (returners) have become much LESS dominant). So once you get ahead of your opponent, the main goal is holding serve. Translation: keep scoring. Keep dictating. Control what you can control, and you should win. There will always be exceptions to this thinking. And there will continue to be evolutions and YoY trends. But hypothetically, a great offense can just outscore the other team's offense, and help its own defense to stop an increasingly one-dimensional opponent. When you have Josh Allen, it shouldn't come down to defensive stops unless you're playing another elite team. The Bills offense failed to hold serve last week.

I'm speaking specifically about this last game, mind you. That left shoulder is really whipping open early when he looks to drive the ball. That pass 37 feet over Gabe Davis' head (that Davis somehow actually could have caught) is just one example. There were at least 3 or 4 others that really took away potential TDs.

Are Allen's mechanics being mentioned much? I can't work through 18 pages right now, unfortunately. I saw his front shoulder flying open on so many throws; many of which sailed. He has a general tendency to throw from an open stance, especially when running the hurry-up and spread. But that's different than what seemed to inform most of his throws that were high and hot. A breakdown in fundamentals. You see it with pitchers all the time. Which Bills QB was it who talked about focusing on "taking a bite out of the hamburger" (in his left hand)? You know, keeping that left shoulder closed as long as possible, and keeping that left hand up around the face. Was it a younger Allen? Or someone from the drought? Potentially over-rotating/over-throwing to overcompensate for an ailing shoulder?

Is there a highlight reel for how he's doing when initial contact occurs behind the LOS? Or when the OL just kind of gets stacked up at the LOS? You know, just so I can imagine him HERE.

Why would you NOT share that with an interested crowd of fellow fans?

I'm seeing lots of Bills fans heading for the exits.

Hadn't seen that specifically noted yet. Encouraging report.

While I believe Josh Allen sees the field better out of more spread-out alignments, I worry that Kincaid as the TE in 11-personnel looks makes the Bills offense effectively one-dimensional (no reason for defenses to bring in a 3rd (or maybe even a 2nd) LB). Might as well motion Kincaid and Diggs on nearly every play and just go full Daboll at this point. Spread em out, get em to declare, and attack em through the air (or with Allen on the ground). Cook should also be top-3 in targets every week. If we're gonna go for it.

That's the thing. The year the Bills "should" have won it all, they lost their SIXTH (6th) game by week 13/14. Last 3 out of 4. Tapping out as a fan is weird. It's such an emotional response. So vulnerable and reactive. Makes it a bit childlike. No offense.

Lots of excuses/explanations in this thread so far. And most of them valid in a vacuum. Strains credulity as they stack up, though innit? One thing working in our favor, is that the year everyone feels the Bills should have won the whole thing, 2021, they were at one point 7-4, coming off a THUMPING at home to the Colts. They were then 7-5, after losing to the Patriots. They were then even 7-6, after losing to the Bucs in overtime. The first half of that Bucs game felt BAD. Like the Bills had been exposed as a bad team. Like they weren't going to win many more games at all. And then, even in a heartbreaking overtime loss, there was sudden hope. There was that signature turnaound. McD's teams have shown at least one multiple-game swoon in almost every season, to my recollection. We can't rule out such growth this season. Can't rule it out really ANY season with Allen as our QB (and Diggs as his #1 target). History teaches us as much.

Love the Ben Johnson part of the OP most of all. Highly doubt Pegula will step between Beane and McD, especially as soon as this offseason (barring a losing season).

But defensive performance is less consistent YoY anyways. And promising DCs are much less likely to be hired as HCs these days. If you have a good one, promote him to assistant head coach so ONLY an HC opening is a vertical move. Pay him well, invest in his assistants, and let him build a culture on that side of the ball. Just stay consistent with 4-3 vs 3-4 when a change is inevitably made. QB and OC are just so much more important than everything else.

Agree 100% that the lack of Daboll is a huge part of Allen's on-field issues. Disagree a bit with your assertion that "Daboll let him play like he (Allen) wanted." While Dabes did call QB runs and fun trick plays and 16-straight shotgun passes and all that (you know, stuff you call when your QB is a physical freak who likes to be aggressive), he did also absolutely LAY into Allen on the sideline, on TV, more than once. Imagine the Monday film review sessions. Allen was coached hard under Daboll. And he was also unleashed. That's the secret sauce with Josh Allen, perhaps. I'll bet Daboll was able to keep McDermott off Allen for the most part. Insulate him a bit from that defensive (which becomes tentative) mindset.

I'm not 100% opposed to giving Ben Johnson the keys to this offense/organization, should the Bills desire to move on from McDermott (they probably won't). If it gets even bleaker.

I'd be interested in seeing those stats. I don't wish to carry with me a false conclusion about Edmunds' play, which I found to be average, at best, over the course of his career in Buffalo. The lack of impact plays is the most oft-cited and legitimately stat-based criticism. I've heard others suggest his height and wingspan deterred passes into his zones, but is that quantifiable?

They often do that by looking at DEFENDERS (safeties usually) they want to manipulate/freeze, rather than looking at a different target.

But DID he really? That's the narrative, but it isn't supported by anything other than repetition. Can it be quantified at all?