HomeskillitMoorman

We need WAY more help on the o-line than 3 mid-to-late round picks. I'm not a Tyrell Williams guy either, we need a better #1 WR than that.

I'm optimistic about him overall, he's a playmaker. I'm not as optimistic in the coach or GM as far as their abilities to build around him. But as far as he goes, I think we have something. The question is obviously if he'll have the accuracy to be great rather than good.

Its crazy that in basically an off year where they haven't looked very good, they're still 9-3. I can't even wrap my head around what that must be like.

Good rundown, always like to read your review. Definitely agree that it's fun to watch the Bills when Allen's out there. I'm in my late 20's and didn't start watching football until Flutie was around, so I've really never seen real quality QB play from the Bills. Hopefully he'll become more consistent, but I like that he has the ability to make all the throws and is a playmaker because this is a playmaker's league. It's hard for me to get past everything with McDermott with his game/clock management, challenges, and penalties. I know you mentioned you only saw the 4th quarter, but he completely butchered the end of the first half by not using his timeouts when the Dolphins were inside our 10 with almost 2 minutes left. That would have given us over a minute on that last drive. On top of the penalties, he also had another terrible challenge which I believe someone mentioned brings him to 0-for-6 this year and 1-for-11 in his 2 years here now. Whatever his system is for whoever looks at these and tells him what to do is beyond horrific. And obviously the penalties have been out of control. But yes, overall even after the rough loss as a Bills fan in general I was happy after this game because QB is the most important thing and we saw some really good things out of #7. And it was actually a fun game to watch!

I agree with a lot of this. Game and clock management are both about being conservative and unprepared. I've seen plenty of first or second year coaches do just fine with it, and I've seen plenty of veteran coaches that started out having problems with it and still do. This is a real problem with McDermott and he hasn't shown any signs of progressing with it. The second year coach thing isn't an excuse. I'm not sure he even realizes it's a problem, which if he doesn't, it's probably not going to get fixed. The challenges are also a big issue. That's all about organizational skills and the system he's putting in place, which is obviously a horrific one. And one that's also spilled into year 2 now without getting any better. What concerns me is him saying "well, I can't always see all the plays from where I am" after the game. Yes, we know that. No coach can. That's why you need to put the right people in place to review those plays and tell you whether to challenge or not. It goes hand in hand with what i mentioned above...it's hard to tell if he knows where the problem lies, which explains why it hasn't been fixed and why it may not at all. The whole KB thing is so contradictory to everything Beane and McDermott have been saying. This is why I had a lot of fun with McDermott's "culture over talent" nonsense. There is no way anyone can justify KB still being around if culture is actually a thing here. The message that's really being sent is: Culture matters...unless we traded any kind of meaningful asset for you and you're making a little bit of money.

This is pretty much where I'm at. All things equal I'd probably go with Mahomes to this point but with the politics involved it'll be Brees. Love the avatar by the way, I thought it was one of my favorites J-Fly for a second but I think that's CJ. Cuse bball has been bruuuutal to watch so far this season. I was expecting so much more on offense.

I'm getting the sense for what kind of poster you are, and it's one that pretty much argues within your own head. There hasn't been anywhere where I've contested this team's lack of talent on the offensive end from the O-line to the skill players, in fact I've had way more arguments about how much work there is to do on that end and my concerns for how little this regime has been able to accrue there around Allen after 2 offseasons. It's also why I'm not and have not at all at any time this year been fixated on what Allen's stats look like, because he doesn't have a real offense around him and this is really just about his development right now. I do think there's a possible issue with accuracy but even there I've given him a break because of what he's working with. And who cares what the bottom two thirds of the QB's in the league are doing? Isn't the measuring stick for Allen ultimately going to be that top third? And before you argue against yourself, no I'm not saying Allen should be there already. The entire time I've talked about wanting to see more and how right now I'm just looking for progression. That's the whole point, it's you who's creating this scenario where I"m ripping on Allen for how "horrible" he is. And yes, saying his ball placement is on par with the bottom 2/3 of the league is vague, and doesn't really mean anything. And again, you are fixated on this whole thing about flipping on players for a message board agenda. i don't have one. I don't need an "out". I'm watching Allen as I go without any preconceived notions because as I said, I didn't watch him for a second at Wyoming. And for someone who self-proclaims he doesn't need to read opinions from wannabe GM's...you certainly seem to care a lot about what's said. I played football in college myself, but I don't see how that's relevant. That was a way for you to try to pump yourself up as if it means your opinion here matters more. It doesn't. And it doesn't make you a better fan, thinking that way about yourself and by proxy the other people here just makes you the worst kind. I doubt your wife doesn't let you talk sports because she doesn't like them...it's probably because of the pompous way it comes out of your mouth.

I just really hope he understands the heavy amount of work that needs to be done on the O-line. WR is a big need as well, but it won't mean anything unless we get some major upgrades on the line. I'm a BPA guy for the draft so I agree with what he's saying there, as long as he's still able to make the significant moves needed on offense in other ways. Forcing it at positions you need is how EJ Manuel happens.

I like Julio as a player, but WR's have a sharp decline when it happens and he's probably approaching that kind of wear and tear soon. I think this would most likely turn into maybe a really good year or two from him and then we end up having a deteriorating version of him or eat some dead money on the backend of the deal.

No. I think the no Superbowls, 1 playoff appearance in 18 years, and a current 4-8 record might have something to do with it. is this kind of the like the threads and posts about Bills fans being "spoiled"?

Both, more on Clay. The other thing with Clay, which I'm sure has been mentioned somewhere here but I haven't gone through all 8 pages...not having the acumen to come back to the ball was a problem. We didn't have to have a TD there, it wasn't 4th and goal or the last play of the game.

Well right now with this O-line and lack of weapons, he's gotta run. And I'll buy it when people say he bails too early sometimes because he's seen the pocket collapse so often. My hope is if this front office actually bothers to get him any kind of protection, we'll see him stay in there more and throw the ball. But I agree his ability to gain yards on the ground is definitely a plus, and he did a better job this past game of not taking the abuse that can come with it. If he's smart about avoiding the hits it's a pretty sweet advantage we have for a QB to be a threat on the ground.

It's not a hot take at all, competent coaches optimize their team's opportunities. He didn't right there. As I've said, I'm not assuming we score with more time and I wouldn't have blamed McDermott if we had turned it over with more time and more plays to run. That's part of the game if that happens, but you have to give your team that opportunity. McDermott sat on his timeouts when the Dolphins got inside the 10, he let a bunch of time go off the clock before the Dolphins ran that play and finally called the timeout with around 45 seconds or something left. There was no reason to do that. They're already inside the 10 with like a minute and a half and had all 3 of their own timeouts, they weren't in any kind of time crunch and we weren't helping them by calling timeouts. They could have called their own if they needed more time on anything. There is no disadvantage whatsoever to use your timeouts in that position. I'm all ears if you come up with anything. If you want to say the runs at the beginning of the last drive were to make the Dolphins burn their timeouts...I disagree with the strategic view behind that but I can at least see the logic. I don't like being that conservative but there is some kind of rationale that you can fall back on there, which you can't for not taking the timeout when the Dolphins got inside our 10. As for the FG vs Hail Mary...I really didn't have a problem with that call either way, but I don't like your logic behind it. It's not because he missed a 55 yarder later in the game. He also missed an extra point, does that mean a 40 yard FG would've been out of the question there too? But it's a long field goal, no real issue for me with the Hail Mary after the timeout. But yes, totally agree on the timeout. That was all because of indecisiveness. That's what McDermott struggles from. He's not prepared. His coordinators are not prepared. There are times when his bad management comes from his incredibly conservative nature, but sometimes it is because he just flat out doesn't know what to do. This is a big problem. It wasted a precious down. If we run a play with the timeout the way we should have, we likely still have the same two options if it's incomplete, or possibly a shorter FG if we make a quick play for a few yards. It's just inexcusably bad game management.

Yup, agree with all of it. I haven't really even gotten to the challenges. He is horrific with them, and you're right, the system in place is on him. I keep seeing excuses made for him, like "the OC wasn't getting the calls in quick enough" or "he's told from someone upstairs whether to challenge or not"...but these are all part of the systems and people he has in place. That's all part of being a head coach and why it's a big job. It's all on him.

I don't like either guy so that's a tough one. McDermott is McDermott and McCarthy won 1 SB with 13 years of Favre/Rodgers. Tough choice, and not really in a good way.

I honestly didn't have a problem with either going for the Hail Mary or long FG there because it's kind of no-man's land. I didn't feel like there was necessarily a "right" call there. The Hail Mary didn't work but whatever, I'm not getting on him for that. It's what led up to that. Not even counting the butchering on the other side when McDermott didn't call the timeouts that was the reason we ran out of time...it's that he was completely indecisive when we got to the 41 and had to burn a timeout because he didn't know what he wanted to do. That 5 seconds was enough time to run a quick play and call a timeout. If we grab a few yards, we can go for the FG. If not, you can still attempt that Hail Mary. The problem here isn't the outcome, it's that McDermott didn't optimize what he had to give the team the best opportunity. And that's a big part of his job. And he's terrible at it.

The hindsight nonsense is such a cop-out here. What part of this is hindsight? Maybe we end up scoring points if McDermott uses his timeouts there and we have more time on that last drive. Maybe Josh throws a pick-6. I'm not pretending to know what would have happened. What we DO know is that it was a possession wasted because we ran out of time because he didn't call those timeouts when there was no drawback to not using them. He left a possession on the table, that's not hindsight, that's fact. Boom. Can't say it any better or more concisely than that. Yes it does. All the time. Good coaches take advantage of getting an extra possession wherever they can, especially in the scenario we were in where there was literally no drawback to it.

Teams do this all the time. Miami was with almost 2 minutes left and still had all 3 of their timeouts. That's an eternity when you're already that deep, and if they needed any extra time for any of their plays, they had their own timeouts to use. Time for them was not an issue. There is literally no reason for us NOT to call timeouts. You'd get yourself an extra possession at the end of the half with a good amount of time without sacrificing anything to the opposition. McDermott literally chose not to do that. It's not hindsight at all, in any way. I never said we would have scored if he had called the timeouts. I'm saying he butchered the OPPORTUNITY for us to potentially score. And I wouldn't blame McDermott if Josh had more time and more plays on that drive and threw a pick-6. If that happens in that spot, oh well, I can live with that because strategically it is still the right play. You still have to have confidence in your offense and give them that extra possession with as much time as possible. No matter what would have happened, it is horrendous game management to not call timeouts there to give us a possession at the end of the half with more time on the clock. And yes, if the calls aren't coming in faster even if it's from the OC, that is ultimately on the head coach. That's why he's called the HEAD coach. The OC is an extension of him and answers to him.

I can't agree that it's based on how the team is going because there's been a pattern of this going back to last year. The being a new coach thing was an excuse for him last year, one I don't really agree with. That's all about preparation and strategic thinking. But even if you did want to give him that, it's year 2 now. There's no way those should just be mistakes. I think it's more of his conservative nature, and I actually think that's less insulting to him. If it's literally that he's a "new coach" in year 2 and can't process a situation or what he wants to do fast enough...I think we have even bigger problems. I just don't like the conservative nature. Haha, no, I'm out of state and have never really listened to WGR. I tried it out a couple of times but just kind of found it boring. I listen to stuff on the Ringer the most often.

What I posted was the exact opposite of pigeon-holing Allen into anything, I think I mentioned like 3 different times in that one post that it's hard to say what he's going to become. I've also lauded his escapability and talked about how he's made plays in spite of the o-line, lack of weapons, and conservative coaching. I created a thread about McDermott butchering the end of the first half that basically wasted an entire possession for him. To say "nothing he is doing can't be fixed" is incredibly vague. Can accuracy substantially improve? Absolutely, but it doesn't for way more QB's than it does. I do think for him it can enough to where with his other playmaking abilities he can be a franchise QB, but I need to see more. The rest of your post, and at least a couple of your responses to other people here are so fixated on message board agenda paranoia. I understand a lot of people have one, but that's not everyone. I'm not trying at all to "ride the fence" on Allen, I've pretty much said since the beginning that I don't know if he's a franchise QB and that I simply wanted to watch him play. I didn't watch one second of him at Wyoming. Frankly, unless anyone works for a team or went to Wyoming and is a fan...I would be kind of concerned about people who did spend their free time watching Wyoming games. My honest take is that there are things that I like about him, more than any QB we've had since I first became a fan which was during the Flutie years, but I need to see how much his accuracy and anticipation progresses. I don't think I've written anywhere at any time that I'm trying to impart some kind of great knowledge. I don't see any from you either with generic comments like "nothing he is doing can't be fixed". I don't rewatch games or look at all-22's or breakdowns, let alone for other QB's or teams. I've never posted an "I told you so" about Allen here after pretty much being neutral on him. There are other things about the team I'm more strongly rooted in my opinion about, like McDermott's shortcomings as a gameday coach. I can and will back that up all day against anyone with examples and factual evidence. I don't pretend I have that with Allen on the broader scale of calling him a franchise QB, I don't think we've seen enough. I don't really get why people have to choose a side with him at this point. But you go ahead with your little fishing expedition to "catch" people who you think are changing opinions. On a rookie QB. Who's played like 7 games. Totally out of line for anyone to not have a definitive statement on him already.

The end of the first half was so badly butchered, and we saw this same exact nonsense go on last year. Why are we not calling timeouts with almost 2 minutes left with the Dolphins having the ball inside our 10? You can not give up possessions like that. That’s losing football. No matter what they did there, we should’ve had so much more time than the 40 seconds we were left with after we didn’t call anything. And then of course we run the ball on the first 3 plays before finally passing, and then are completely indecisive with 5 secs to go and end up burning the timeout when we could’ve tried to run a quick play to get us a little closer. And then the 4th and 2 from past midfield that EVERYONE knew we weren’t going to actually snap and just try to “bait” the D into offsides. I just don’t understand it. Isn’t the point to try to win the game? Not just to stay close? Especially when you have a QB that was making plays. I will never blame a coach for being aggressive to try to win the game if it doesn’t work out. But giving away possessions and being conservative is not winning football.

Totally agree. I’m still not totally sure where I sit with Allen other than he’s fun to watch and I love his competitiveness and playmaking ability. But ultimately you’re right, it’s the best pocket passers that ultimately usually win it all. The really bad misses he has are disconcerting because those have nothing to do with weapons...no matter who it is, if they’re that open, you have to have a QB that can hit them. And then there are definitely plays that could go differently if we had a better o-line and better weapons. The other thing that’s going to happen is teams are going to start making more of an effort to contain him in the pocket, even at the expense of rushing him, because sometimes he really is just better off making something happen on a broken play. At least right now we can say it’ll be fun to watch...and I like the guy...but it’s really tough to say what he’s ultimately going to be.

Never. I only ever went there for the message board. I never liked their content or Chris Brown, the biggest shill on the planet.

I'm not sure I'd keep him on the roster over Isaac McKittrick if it came down to them, but I like what I see from him so far as a possible depth WR.

I disagree with Chris that this was his most consistent or best game. But I disagree with Chris on most things. But I like Edmunds, he's a playmaker. I'm OK with a young player making mistakes if they're out there trying to make plays. We'll have to see if he learns from them, that'll obviously be the big key, but the dude's certainly got talent. I know some people have said he might be better suited for the outside because he has struggled against the run, and I get the rationale, but I think that could still change.