BuffaloBillyG

Rationale and excuses are two different things. Often which word is used tells more about the user than the circumstances. Positive vs negative outlooks and such. As I said above, I am not saying he should be retained. I'm actually wishing they go out and snag Chris Tabor for the role. However I don't see that happening. It sounded like Smiley would be back at the presser. The Bills have done their coaching assessment and have replaced the OC and DC. Sense would say if a change were to be made that we would be into ST by now. And it doesn't appear we are.

One thing I will say that I took away from McDermott's end of season presser that did make some amount of sense to me in regards to STs. Special Teams mainly consists of a bulk of players that are active on gamedays without a defined role. When there is injury to a starter it forces players that haven't practiced STs much to step into the role that is vacated. One good example of this is Taylor Rapp. Rapp has roles on most of the STs. Once he either had to fill in for Hyde or was injured and missing time it forced Damar Hamlin into his role on STs. There was a CLEAR dropoff from Rapp to Hamlin on the punt team as the person protector for example. Go back and look at the times we had pressure in on Martin quick and you'll notice Hamlin was in on almost all of them. During the season there really isn't time to do much coaching of the basics. You kind of have to adjust on the fly and hope for the best. And for the ST coach who you have is dependent on who is healthy through out the week. And there are times when a guy isn't ruled out until late in the week. So basically, Smiley wouldn't be set with who exactly his personal are until late in the week. And no, not everyone can just line up and cover kicks. By no means am I saying he should be retained or that our STs weren't at times this year completely awful. Just some insight into what the position has to adjust to and that there's more to it than many think. Lack of execution on Special Teams was bad on every level. From coaching (12 men on the field) to the players blowing their coverage (the PR opening week vs the Jets). Our kicker and punter both had some issues this year...but both also won in season awards for performance.

And the thing I see there is....he can't even really get credit for "assembling" that staff on offense. He got Shanahan. That was a good hire. However, Shanahan clearly brought the rest in as they pretty much traveled together (LaFleur an McDaniel) at that point.

Will he though? Let's say they go QB and take Maye. Quinn BETTER nail the OC pick. If he doesn't and the offense sputters and the first few years of Maye's career are spent with little development...Quinn's done. And if he does nail the OC pick and they do well....that OC is likely poached as a HC somewhere and they're left with hoping Quinn can nail 2 OC selections in a row. Tough spot.

Yes. And the only success he had was when he had an OC that happens to be coaching in the Super Bowl this year. A tad.... suspect. I really think if he was that good of a coaching hire there is no way Jerry wouldn't have opened up the checkbook to the point of Quinn yet again removing his name and "focusing on unfinished business" in Dallas instead of letting him go to a hated division rival. Maybe he did and Quinn wanted the ***** though. Who knows.

Indeed😂

Vrabel and Belichick officially bypassed by everyone. And yet ANOTHER defensive HC hired this cycle. Defense is BACK BAY-BEEEE

I think some team will jump in a vastly over pay for Higgins. Wouldn't shock me if it's the Jets, either. The defending off-season champs need to make a splash to get the NY media hype machine started. Watch them throw $30M AAV at him and ignore the OL again.

I'd go the other way, actually. I would say it's in his short term best interest to learn a couple years from Payton. But long term his next logical step would be as an OC. He would likely only be OC in name under Payton. And it's looking likely that the Broncos will be looking for some bridge QB like Jimmy G while they transition from Wilson to someone else. Not a very stable spot. However, here in Buffalo the last 2 OC openings were filled by the QB Coach. It's a pipeline to OC at this point. He's been in the QB room with Allen before and already has a relationship there. More than likely Joe Brady is our OC next year and MAYBE the year after...then it's on to a HC opportunity if successful and the unemployment line if not.

People seem to glaze over this fact. At the time I felt we would have beat Cincinnati. In retrospect after seeing the Bills matchup with the Bengals in 2 full games since I have absolutely no reason to believe they would have won that AFCCG.

I know he interviewed for the DC job, but Mike Caldwell has a lot of LB coach experience. Wouldn't be shocked if he's here in that role of something better doesn't come along.

If you can't be an athlete...be an athletic supporter.

Yeah, Washington may be Dan Quinn...but it also wouldn't shock me if he pulls his name out. Not sure Jerry Jones is cool with losing his DC to Washington. He may throw Quinn another raise and Quinn waits until next year yet again If that happens, Aaron Glenn may get the job.

Couldn't disagree with this more. And I'm by far NOT a Carr fan. Rodgers caused a huge ripple in the Jets off-season that set everything in motion. Without Rodgers Hackett likely isn't the OC. Without Rodgers bringing in his buddies like Lazard, Cobb ect the Jets have more money to invest in their OL. Without going "all in for Aaron" they likely don't spend a dumb amount to bring in Dalvin Cook. Carr is the definition of mediocre on a good day. But I feel like it would have made the team the Jets were allowed to field better.

My feeling at the time and even more so now is that I can't blame Wilson at all, either. He already had a ton of bad film out there. Their season was going nowhere. Playing behind that line not only risks injury but also there isn't any hope of him playing better and is just going to hurt his chances of landing somewhere else even more. I don't think Wilson will ever be an elite starter. But he has flashed some talent. He was mismanaged from day 1 there. Of the 2 I can see him having a longer NFL career than Mac Jones.

I'm starting to think you're a paid spokesperson for the site😂😂

30 years ago the Pro Bowl was a fun event for the fans and it meant something to the players. Have to remember back then they weren't making the cash they do now. The extra game check did mean something to the players back then and they got a free Hawaiian vacation out of the deal. These days, why would a guy that makes $40M-$50M care about an extra...what $80,000? Heck top flight players are going to lose money in the deal as some are likely shooting s few commercials. And yes, the injury risk is there even even in a flag football game. The only drawback I see to someone like Allen not attending is that I know players use this opportunity to recruit guys and get them to come in as FAs. At least they used to. The last few actual games they tried to play were just an abomination. Though I will admit I don't mind the skills challenge stuff. It's kinda fun to see. I would actually make the "Pro Bowl" more ridiculous of an event. Make it so no one could be in the skills challenge for their own position. So for the QB skills, instead of seeing Minshew and other QBs, I'd have guys like Justin Jefferson, Jason Kelce and so on. Let's see Vita Vea shagging punts. Give me Joe Flacco on the obstacle course. Let's see the tug of war with just kickers and punters.

Hines can end up anywhere from RB2/KR to camp casualty depending on how he heals Typically a RB coming off an ACL isn't ideal.

Nothings wrong with him. Had a nice performance this year. Takes 2 sides to make a deal so who knows if he's back. Buffalo also kept 3 RBs this year. So even if Johnson's back there's room. I don't expect Murray back. Evans is a JAG. And Hines is coming off major injury.

Oh, I agree. Even if he didn't get one of those 3 we likely lose him next cycle. Of course, having the 3 interviews with the promotion right after may lead to believe he was offered or likely to be offered at least one of them. I get that completely. I actually don't mind the Babich promotion at all.

That is an excellent viewpoint. You're betting on the idea that you already brought in the best possible people and have a good plan in place to replace people you lose. It's a great long term approach if you hit on the assistant staff spots. BUT..... Here's the issue. How do you make certain you have the right people if you don't conduct a thorough search? Not even entertain the idea that there may be someone more suited. With the last 3 coordinator openings they followed the same script. Interview the guy from staff. Minority candidate interview. Another minority candidate interview...hire existing employee. Bare minimum. Why not take the opportunity to bring in an extra 3 or 4 guys and see if someone else meshes? Then if Brady for instance makes the most sense...go for it. It's not that I'm upset about either hire. Fully expected and think they both have the ability to do a good job. And most likely in the case of Babich it was going to be promote or lose him. So I get that. But for as detailed as McDermott is said to be it's just shocking that this is his hiring process. Now, why the heck is Coach Smiley still collecting a check?

Interesting (to me at least) enough, CEH is scheduled to be a FA, should command a "Damien Harris" type contract by my count and was running well late in the year. And we could use another back to pair with Cook. 🤔

I'm a believer that as fans locking into any coach is pretty useless. Sure, he's having a nice run as an OC. But can he coach an entire team? What's his personal philosophy? Can he assemble a QUALITY staff. These are much more important than...ohhh shiny OC. And unfortunately, that's something we aren't going to know as we can't sit in on interviews. So in short, I like Ben, just can't be sold on him.

Physically, he's tall yes. But he's pretty lean for his frame l. And yes, that can be corrected with time and training in an NFL program. He also has a few mechanical issues and tends to lock onto a target too long. Pressure gets him nervous. Even unpressured he doesn't seem to see the field too great and will force throws because of deciding before the play where he's throwing rather than read a defense.

So, your perfect dream involves the Bills NOT winning the Super Bowl next year. Got it. Also, allow me to be the first one to pee in everyone's Cheerios for next year. Barring a 5 or 6 win season or the complete loss of the locker room, Sean McDermott isn't going anywhere in 2025. So which of those are you rooting for?